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AGBICCLTCBAL NOTES. WRTTTIV ExruKflBLT BT FINIS'S Dim, ESQ* iBH FARMER S UNIONS DESIRABLE? 11 De formation of tenant farmers'nnions has hMm <MtMMM M one of the nmedieø for the nHff «| the present depressed state of agrieoi- late. A meeting to inaugurate such a onion WM to be held at Warwick this week and in other tMtliBM etrch combinationB are talked of. It is, fcrwocT, difficult to realise the good purpoeea )jM<w to' result from each anions. They may grot»atoM for the ventilation of difficulties and MMYmncds: and in then hard times may draw tegethe* fellow sufferers, and enable them tr J exchange soothing sympathy. But they can little farther; ttoeir effortB must begin an*" <ond with t8Jk.. *&ey cannot expect to eater ,48 their -eonchitktsB, however reasonable and. !'hey eancot raise or add to the sadly ne capital, cuboiUe swishine, or deterir .1M auspicious WMUMM, or regulate prices, or c or increase production. It is scarcely ^^ujble, even if it J wore desirable, to use aur A ^ujona u political eogjaea for either of politics. Although taking to„higber ain* A" will certainly appear tahave been oovBti+^tod to make a stand against landlords on tha two band, and labourers on the "other. Tbey will probably be regarded byiand- lorda in snoK the same light in which labourers' unions were eome years ago regarded by tenant fawners. Kindly feelings woald he jeopardised; «1S08 would thereby be set against class. In the present agricultural crisis it ie, how- 1 ever, specially desirable that landlords aad, tenants should work together. Co-operation at;tkia time must be mutually advantageous. With a strong pull together they may secure some further remissions or te-diatribntionof the looa 1 burdens whichpres8 so heavily on land. They may obtain properly constituted county boards They may get a minister of agriculture to watch more narrowly over their interests. The still larger questions of entail and hypothec, of dis- baint for rent, and of the transfer and registra- tion of land property may also before long come to the front for general discussion and amena. meat, and deeply affecting as they do the interests of occupiers as well as owners of land, might be advantageously debated at chambers of agrioalture. and dabs comprehending landlords as well as farmers. Bents and covenants, liberty of action, and payments for unexhausted improvements, woald presumedly occupy a large share of the attention of üepMpoaed farmers unions. But such two- Bided topics, wàichadmittedly demand reconsider, tticc in many localities, in a purely farmers meeting, would probably be looked at ehiefly from one point of view. In class discussions, prejudice is with difficulty held in abeyance. Opposing forces are often needful to reaiiae a happy mean. Moreover, aee not farmers, by forming a sort of close guild about to hide their lights and their troubles, diaadvantageonsly limit their auditory, and lose convenient opportunity of setting forth their wants, their difficulties and proposals to landlords, agents, and family solicitors ? Surely this is short-sighted policy on the part of those who would start on a mission to regenerate the fallen fortunes of farming Into the chambers and clubs already in opera. lion, they might usefully infuse more activity and enthusiasm. It would benefit both themselves and their calling, if they would turn out in greater force at such meetings. They need have no fear that liberty of speech would be interfered with. The daya are gone when honest, plain, ontspokeness injures tenant farmers, or anyone else. In the present agircultural situation, with too many vacant farms, all who have land to let are naturally desirous to make reasonable terms with men of capability and means. But neither Englishmen nor Welshmen like even the appear. anee of coercion or dictation. A strong tenant farmer.1 union, if such an institution were ever formed, would have diiBculty in persuading landowners to adopt ita views, or follow out its suggestions. Is it likely that landowners, who so generally demurred to follow the precepts of the Agricultural Holdings Act of 1875--set forth with all the authority of a carefully considered legislative enactment—would accept the un. authorised teaching of farmers unions ? There are other more promising channels into which in- telligent farmers can turn their energies.

FARM SPBING WORK. Old farmers declare that we must go back to 1823 to find a parallel for the long severe winter. Drier, brighter weather at last, however, glad. dens farmers' hearts, hastens the drying of the land, soaked with seven inches of February rain, itemises some valuable March dust, helps along TOB sad arrears of work, enables beans and peas, .iyetcbea, and oats to be satisfactorily put in. In many districts the first opportunity ainoe Novem. ber was last week seized to drill wheat, and the low price has led to much debate whether oats and barley should not be substituted for the bursery or April wheats. In some cold and back. ward situations wheat drilled in October ia only this week showing itself above ground, and there will nowhere be the exuberant flag to cover a March bare. The wet autumn and sharp winter are reported in some districts to have cut up the clover, but thia genial weather may briniforwarc1 tsore plant than haa yet been apparent. Boots, both in burries and standing in the ground, have suffered so severely from froat that stock masters anxiously look for an early grass crop. So many potatoes have been injured that special care is necessary in selection for seed; the liberal im- portations from Germany prevent, however, prices as yet advancing much. Never haa an abundant h",y crop been of greater value than during the froat and anow, when roots wereoltan inaccessible, or if procurable were eo frozen that they did more harm than good, Even now the hay lasts well, and can be readily bought at 0£3 to .£4 per ton. The fine weather has ahortened the deliveries of grain, and again given an upward tendency to prices. Beef and mutton are bringing about 7d. per lb., and heavy weights and coarse qualities Id. less. From the high prices at which stock were bought in during the autumn, and from their slow progress during the cold weather, feeders' profits are small. Good stores, whether cattle or akeep, are still scares or dear; breeding should certainly stili pay. At tlfe jttngingham shorthorn sale last week, 70 cows nd heifers, and 300 bulls made a grand total of JCM,666 19a. 6d., or an average of nearly ,£:3(1 ¡ Not a great many were passed at the moderate upset price of 20 guineas; the highest price of 92 guineas was given for Mr. G. W. Garnes's champion bull, and great good must follow from the wide distribution of so many useful well. bred young shorthorn aires throughout the bred. ing and d^iry tarda of the country.

TENANT FARMERS AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES. j A crowded meeting of Warwickshire teaant f&i iteis Was held at the Corn Exchange, Warwick, en Saturday afternoon, for the purpose of a tenant farmers' association, whose province shall be to consider all questions, whether political or otherwise. affecting the interests of tenant farmers, and to make known to members of Parlia- ment and others what, in the opinion of members of the association, is most desirable for the advancement ot their interests. Mr. Stilgoe (Clopton) presided, and observed he wished tenant farmers to abandon the Da.meof Crumble and go on," and take that of "Struggle and help yourselves. He hoped the projected association would embrace not only all tenant farmers of Warwickshire, but throughout England. (Ap- plause.)—Mr. Serwen (Wormleighton) proposed, and Mr. Wakefield (Fleckhampstead) seconded, the formation of a tenant farmers' association on the basis named. The latter urged the im. portance of farmers being directly represented in the House of Commons. Mr. Clarke (Church- over) supported the proposition in a vigorous speech. With land in Canada and America to be bought for the rent paid for land in England, and American produce of every description brought to England, duty free, in eight days, rents, he said, must go down with a vengeance—(cheers)— not merely 10 per cent. returned, but o0 to 40 per etnt. actual reduction. (Cheers.) If this were not done, tenant farmers would be entirely ruined, or would have rapidly to retire, and leave land- lords to cultivate their farms themselves. Their indifference would lead to farmers exerciaiog their political power with more independence, but £ £ nld.al8°, lead to temporising farming. In addition to a large reduction of rents, rabbits and bares must no longer be allowed to destroy crops. (Cheers.) A ."tenant right" for in- vested capital m land must likewise be promptly conceded, and tenant farmers must fce directly represented m Parliament by their own fi Mr. Serwen, Wormleighton) reminded the meeting that there was the ehamber ef agriculture, and advised all to join ft; but was met with derieivoenes that it had utterly failed, and was practically dead-etat6ments which elicited re. s pensive cheers. It was decided to form the association, and many membera were enrolled. It we3 euggeeted amid cheers that it should be extended to the whole of England, aa farmers were ev(7jnhfiie enE*rn%; but it was stated thiapmat evened fc? futme consideration.

TFS lire now ezderlng Oi/cjAmtft C<i«s< Er:asTi»tfc in tiicdsaiids of because i, co-t. tMef BfOfe c«Wtiw» m a flesh-formta? elements than Uilj awl ia preferable to the thisk sins thy oa owirarViy nolJ. Wow you Mt for < t-ccoa. be sure you get it. as ehA*k«er«rfl often jmsh imitotioiiS for the saie of Mtffft. MBfcwpa to the Qucon. fwift *>, *aiibowcf, pit

OUR LONDON LET ,fER. trsOH ouB own cowor '1 Iainkulungwaneesiakumi" v was the sice long oomfor (tons of thousands), Captain Augustus Lindl' wayo's inquiry some ye* # «ww«ed King Cety- were many breeohkw >rsagoastowhether there way to the African in England. On his passed through 7 «WJ«lda CaptamLindley Cetywayoand b; territory and astonished a breechloader A warriors by showing them wh*t They are wi eAd a Boxer eartridge could do. carried tb, AW am. Thosunds of them have iroldfield Martini-Henrys and Sniders at the derful But where did they get their won- Qazf military organisation? The Cologne [ df Åe pnUishes a letter from an old Bettler, fieeating the idea that German officers have I jQ»ibrd them. The military training of the Zulus is, be says, far older than the rrussian. lney wore dreaded enemies of the white man in 1830, and their tactics are precisely the same now as they were then. I fanoyagood many people have been speculating en the subject. On<* of the faults attributed to the wotno light is that it is intermittens. It flickers. So it does in pablic regard, too. At first it waa going to earry everything before it, and gas shares would bet worthless. The Holborn Viaduct experiment was held by many to be crucial aa to street illumination. But the Commissioners of powers do not think so. They are not continue the experiment. Their oondemaat! of the light, however, based, aa tlt ,18.. on economic prinoiptea for the _08 p. A. is not very sweeping. The ooet w*a sevev^ and a half timea that of gas; but the ugnt 1"1U seven timoa greater. Thia pretty well square matters; but it was added that the gas lig^at was more equally divided. The (Sty is getur^gr wonderfully economical, few, at tha aame meeting, the expan- diture of the London 1iJch?Ol Boa.rd was denounced as enormous. I don t thmk iibe electric light or the School Board, bewever, will be snuffed out justyet. Alexandra House, the Home for Working GulemSt. Job ..street, West Smitafield, is to have a sister house at the West-end, in Quedu's- road, Bayswaier. Snch aa institution is qnite aa necessary ia the latter situation as in the former. Victoria House, as the new building is to bewailed, wiil at once be opened as a boarding bouse for those engaged in business, on the follow- ing terms ;—Board, i.e., breakfast, dinner, and tea (Sundays included), 4s. 6d. per week. Thoae who do not require full board can have separate meals at the following prices Breakfast 2¡d., dinner 6d., tea 2!d., or supper Id. Every girl in the Home has to pay a weekly sum of 1110 9d. or 2s. 6d. for lodging, and they have also to pay for their own washing. Of course these charges do not make the place self-supporting; but a higher scale would exclude the very class for who m the Homes are designed. Some time ago the more bibulous portion of the community was shocked by the revelations made about plastered sherry. It is quite possible that the discovery drove some persons back to their beer. They would stick to malt and hops-if they could get them. A good deal of confidence, not to say credulity, waa necessary to make one believe in the malt or the hop and now some facts have come out about beer which throw the plaatered sherry into the shade, and are calculated to send us back to pure water and make 118 thankful if we can get that. In a case tried before the Master of the Bolls, and which is said to have pro- duced a startling effect on Sir George Jessel, some questions—which were, to say the least, suggestive — were asked as te the fining of beer, ale, and porter, and restoring them when sour. The parties in question were called upon to state whether they used suorate of slime or sugar and ooleio oxide in restoring or fining beer; whether they had not cured 2,000 hogsheads of beer which had become "aiok," and whether they had used any other additional materials. They replied that they used the form uniformly used in restoring or fining beer—pure lime or whiting, or both mixed—and that the custom of using these ingredients was common among the brewers. This will render many of us suspicions of the beer when it sparkles, and suggest the idea of lime and coleio oxide rather than malt and hops. Professor Clifford's death took me by surprise, though I knew, of course, that he was very ill. The first time I ever saw him was when he lectured at St. George's Hall on Walt Whitman's poetry. He was not a good reader; but his attainments in other respects were very conspicuous. That he should die at the early age of 37 Emeritus Professor of Applied Mathematics at University College, London, attests his almost precocious genius. He graduated Second Wrangler and First Smith's Prizeman in 1867, and was elected Fellow of Trinity the next year. But he vacated his fellowship by marriage, and, I am afraid, leaves hia wife and family poorly provided for. It was not so very long ago I met him acoi. dent-.1ly in a railway carriage, and as he con. versed with me in his peculiarly thin mild voice, I thought how little the other occupants of the compartment would have guessed what a tremen- dous iconoclast it was I was talking to. Another link in the past is gone. Little Bed Biding Hood is demolished now. Not content with explaining away Cinderella for the fiftieth time, Mr. Balston, at St. James's-hall, acted Niebuhr to the myth of Bed Riding Hood and the Wolf. Now the current has set in all the old nursery stories will 'to, just as Romulus and Bemus have gone. By the way, I wish. Dr. Schliemann-would go to fiome and turn up something belonging to the she-wolf's offspring, ijusb as he has unearthed the sur- roundings of Agamemnon, king of men, if not the monarch of Mycenae himself. What do the destructive mythologists say as to the siege of Troy being only a solar myth now? some of the juvenile critics (who are the best in this case) looked at Mr. Balston as though they evidently thought he was story-telling in the sense which that phrase bears according to the Tode of infantile morality. But he tells his stories uncommonly well, and I should think the unfortunate Glasgow Bank sufferers, in whose interest he told them, would reap considerable benefit. It is well that some kind of story-telling should benefit them. One reason why the electric lights on Holborn Viaduct have proved a failure is that they were fitted with glasses so thick that two-thirds of the light given out, so to speak, is absorbed and never leaves the opaline globe in which it is encased. Bnt another is not far to seek; the fact ia that a large number of members of the London Common Coun- cil, who are interested in gas shares to a large ex. tent, have never ceased to find fault with the new invention, and are said to have forced the special committee which had to inquire into the matter to report against it. They may be sure, however, that if electricity is worth anything for lighting, their opposition will only delay its use for a very little while. I hear that Mr. George Conquest got thirty thousand pounds for his interest in the Grecian Theatre. He has retired from the nsrthern house of amusement, of which he has been the moving genius for so long, a fairly rich man, for, if report be correct, he had saved a good deal of money besides. The success he had made at the Grecian was wholly and solely due to his own versatile genius. He is one of the best gym. nasts, as he is one of the cleverest actors living, and whether he appeared on the stage as a man, an octopus, or a tree, has been always both clever and amusing. He will not, I hear, give up the theatrical profession, but, although he leaves the Grecian, will continue in the service of the public. By the way, he used to contrive all his own pan- tomimes, which were admittedly amongat the best in London. Perhaps now he quits the Grecian he may give us something good at a more western theatre. Weare sadly off for good things just now. I saw a very novel exhibition recently in the Strand. On a window was marked up a notice to the effect that paasera-by might have their boots soled and heeled for half-a crown, while they waited, and ladies could meet with the same assistance for eighteen-penoe. There was a large crowd in front of the place, and inside the window were two men with a novel kind of iron apparatus, made in the form of a foot, upon which they were soling and heeling the pedal coverings of a pale young man who was waiting in the shop. The interest taken by the crowd, so long as there yet remained a pieee of leather to nail on, was simply unbounded. They had evidently seen nothing of the mystery of bootmaking before. Yet, cheap bootmaking is not the only descrip tion of clothing which London produces at a low rate. Quitting the Strand, I reached Piccadilly, and presently the Brompton-road, when I came to a large shop, in the window of which was a notice to theeSect that the proprietor of the place, anxious to keep pace with the co-operative stores, had resolved to sell the beat pantaloona for five shillings and ninepence. and black coats .or eight shillings—that, the notice intimated, was the prioe of the "Palmerston nonpariel fashion- able suit." I could not call to mind-having once be- fore heard of Lord Palmerston's predilection for five and ninepenny continuations," but perhaps that ia owing to my ignorance. Jne of the Cabinet Ministers will accompany the Queen during her Majesty's visit to Italy and her stay there, but it is not as yet decided which one. Lord Cranbrook was the most likely to be selected, but I understand that affaus m India are thought still to demand his constant attention. Of course Lord Salisbury cannot go Coloner- Stanley is equally busy, and Sir Michael Hicka. Beach has quite enough to think of. let some. body will have to go with her Majesty, and the question is still, Who shall it be*" I hear on very good authority that Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard, who commanded the de- fence at Eorke's Drift, are both to receive the Victoria Croes, and that a monument is to be erected at Aldershot to the memory of Lieuten- ants Melville and Coghill, who saved the colours of the 24th Regiment. Some means of commemo. rating the gallant fight made by the troops at Isandula are also to be devised; but what they are ia not at present decided. The Queen will also cause Brmnhead and Chard to be promoted at once, so that they will gain some substantial reward for their bravery. And there ia a plan on foot for recompensing their men; but what that is I do not yet know. Lieutenant James, of the Scots Greys, who has gone to Zululand as a volunteer with the 17th Lancers, after having engaged himself to be married to Misa Miliais, daughter of the great artist, was out in Turkey as a spectator during the war, and in company with Captain Godson, cf the King's Dragoon Guards, also gone to Zulu, land, was present at the heavy fighting at Kamazk, ail<Í in the retreat which Baker Pasha go skilfully arranged. He was also at Shipka, and witnessed some of the terrible fighting there, writing some very eleyer reports from both places to General £ >ir Collingwood Dickson, the principal English iiuitary Attache at Constantinople, He was esteemed an excellent young officer and a brave man. Only one occupant of the Front Opposition Bench voted in favour of Women's Suffrage. That one was Mr. Stansfeld, who haa. perhaps, leas weight in politics than even _Mr. KnatchbulL- Hngeseen. Mr. Brighu, Sir William Harcourt, Mr., Lowe, Mr. Chilaers, and Sir Henry James voted against the proposal. Mr. Gladstone and Lord HariingtoB did not vote at all. Following tbe hint of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Treasury Bench went with him a^d Mr. Cross into tie rights-of-man lobby* On otharaido Mr* Fa w- eett voted, as of oid, with his friend Hr. Courtney. as the working man's repreWBUtivo, wa* chivalrous. Mr. Macdonald was not present. Mr. i r Trevelyan went, aa he should do, for the ex ten- I lion of the suffrage. Sir Charles Dilke showed < Radicalism is not afraid of having to oonve ] the gentler sex. Among the Conservatives fo I in favour of the measure were Mr. Gorst, m 1 for Chatham Mr. PuleBton, member tor port; Mr. Forsyth, the representative ■ bone; General Shute, from B«g> (mirabile dictu) Mr. Wheelhouse to see Wheel'us" and Mr. Benja- r of the United Kingdom Allianr ff^owi one another in the divnaon list. K ™ *> Mr- Beresford t* „ >lwljpHBphlet that they do care i\^tsshlin<ieed- Those ladies are le«- and are exclusive of those wlStn o? ^'in the movement. Theyare-l. « positions, such as aohool board o cer:a..i r;ruardians of the poor. 2. Women .*literature and art, 3. Women foliow- 1 a- aD<l professional careers. 4. Women ^^n educational work. 5. Those engaged P jSetfthropic work; and, lastly, those who are p.- and have left behind them written expres- ^QDS of opinion in favour of the measure. These fnciude Miss Mary Carpenter, Mrs. Grote, Mrs. Jameson, Lady Anna Gore-Langton, Miss Martineau, MrB. Nassau Senior, aud Mrs. Somerville. In sooth a goodly company "No more of Johnny Keata," wrote Lord Byron; and there seems a probability of our get. ting more than enough of Mm just now. The papers are flooded with anecdotes of him as if it were the height of the silly season. Two people are disputing as to priority in telling the story of Keat's throwing out of the window a dinner which had been sent in by trattore. If he ever did so foolish a thing the less said about it the better. We have put Keats's monument up in Westminster Abbey, and labelled the house in Borne where he died. Now let him rest.

OUR OLD MOBILITY. THE bOMERSETS. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort owna in- Gloucestershire 16,610 acres. Monmouth 27,299 „ Brecon 4,019 Wilts 1,939 Glamorgan 1,215 „ 51.082 with a rental of £ 56,209. The Gloucestershire eetates were partly acquired by purchase. The far-famed seat at Badminton, which has a park 10 miles in circumference, was purchased of the Botelers in 160s by a younger son of the head of the house of Somerset, and was bequeathed by his only daughter to the Somerset who was after- wards,created the first Duke of Beaufort, by whom the mansion was erected in 1682. Other manors in Gloucestershire appear to have been acquired by purchase still more recently. But it is in the counties on the Welsh border that I am more particularly interested. Monmouthshire returns two Conservatives, one of whom is the son of the duke; Brecon returns/ a Liberal, Glamorgan, one Conservative, and one Liberal. That the t overwhelming majority of county electors in South Wales are Liberals I presume that no one < who knows anything of the district would doubt for a moment. Nowhere is Nonconformity more staunchly Liberal thaa in Sooth Wales, and no. where does Nonconformity appear in such strength, It is the territorial tradition alone that makes the return of a Conservative in either of these counties possible. That evil tradition has been recently broken in Brecon, for which the Liberal candidate, who in 1874 was de- feated by a majority of 558, now sits as member. That which is possible in Brecon a possible in Monmouth and Glamorgan; but the tenantry of the Duke of Beaufort and other territorial magnates have yet to learn that when they have paid their rents they have discharged their obligations in full. The Somer- aets are Plantagenets; and the Herberts, from whom they derived most of their Welsh property, were Normana, Old John of Gaunt, time. honoured Lancaster," third Bon of Edward III., had a family by his first wife, from whom Henry VII. and subsequent English monarchs are descended; by Catherine Swinford, whom he afterwards married, he had three sons and a daughter who took the name of Beaufort from a castle in France where they were born. The second of these sons was the Cardinal Beaufort of Shakspeare, the eldest was created Marquess of Somerset and Dorset. The son of the latter was created Duke of Somerset, and had an only daughter, who was married to Edmond Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and became mother of Henry VII. He also left an ille- eitimate son, Charles, who took his father's title as a patronymic. Charles Somerset was therefore the half-brother of the mother of Henry V II., and as was to be expected, he shared in the spoils of the final victory of the House of Lan- caster. He obtained a number of employments from Henry, but what was of far greater impor- tance to the fortunes of his descendants, he became a great lord of the soil by his marriage with the daughter and heiress of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Huntingdon, through whom he acquired the larger part of that noble. man's estates. He was Lord Chamberlain to Henry VII. and Henry VIII.; in the reign of the former monarch he was known in right of his wife's possessions as Baron Herbert; by the latter monarch he was created Earl of Worces- ter. We must now return to the Herberts, whose early history is somewhat obscure. It is not quite clear who the original Herbert was. As a simple knight he distinguished himself As a simple knight he distinguished himself in the French campaigns of Henry V., but his fortune was made by espousing the Yorkist cause. The bloody fight at Towton was followed by enormous confiscations, and one of the ohief gainers thereby was Herbert, who obtained im. mense grants of lands in South Wales. For instance, I find in Jones's History of Breck- nockshire that Edward IV. very early in hia reign granted the castle, town, manor, and lord. ship of Crickhowel, Ystiadw-isaf, and Tretower, with other large possessions in Wales, to Sir Wil- liam Herbert. Pembroke, Haverfordwest, Tenby, and aeveral other places in Pembrokeshire, were acquired tn like manner, as also several estates in Glamorgan and elsewhere. The right of the Tory Duke of Beaufort to compel Liberal Welshmen to vote aa he pleases rests upon a grant of estates confiscated by Edward IV. because their former owners supported the King whose father Herbert had served as a soldier. We may trace the Monmouthshire estates most easily by meana of the ancient buildings; the possession of a castle usually indicates the ownership of much of the surrounding property. Monmouth Castle -the birthplace of Henry V., who was hence called Henry of Monmouth-was granted by Henry III. to one of his younger sons, whose de. scendant, Blanch, married John of Gaunt. Raglan Castle, one of the principal seats gf .the Somersets till it was deposited in the time of the Civil War, was held by several Norman families in succession, and was probably derived by the Herberts from one of them by marriage. Chepstow Castle, where Henry Marten, the regicide, was immured for several years, appears to have been purchased by the Earl of Pembroke, Tintem Abbey was granted to the Earl of Worcester in the reign of Edward VI. I presume, but am not able to state with certainty, that the Glamorganshire property of the Somersets at Oystermouth, near Swansea, and elsewhere, was formerly part of the Herbert estates, and obtained in like manner with the rest. Of the subsequent history of the Somersets there is little of interest to record. The fourth Earl of Worcester, who had been Master of the Horse to Elizabeth, was made Lord Privy Seal to James I., with an annual salary of iCl,500 for life. The fifth earl is said to have expended .£300,000 in the cause of kingly despotism, and he and his son used their great influence to waste the lives of Welshmen in the battles of Charles I., as their ancestors had done during the wars of the Roaes. Clarendon speaks ef the Earl of Worcester as the richest man in the kingdom, and in the time of the Common- wealth the estates were worth no less than £ 20,000 per annum. Early in the Civil War Charles 1. created the Earl of Worcester a marquess. The second marquess was a dabbler ia science, and published A Century of Inventions," from one of which the idea of the steam-engine is said to have been derived. The third marquess was created Duke of Beaufort by Charles II.; he made an ineffectual effort against the Prince of Orange, but subsequently took the oath of allegi. ance. For the next generation or two the Somer. sets were regarded as timid Jacobites, without the courage of their opinions. During the pre. sent century I count no less than five Somersets in the Church (the Duke has 24 livings in his gift). and 12 in the army. Most of the latter, of course, rose to a high position. The most distinguished of them was Lord Fitzroy Somerset, who served through the Peninsular War, lost an arm at Waterloo, subsequently held Several lucrative military offices, and waa created Lord Raglan. At the outbreak of the Crimean War he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British army, which post he held when the victories of Alma and Inkerman were won. Me died in the Crimea during the siege of Sebastopol.—" Noblesse Oblige in the Echo.

THE AMERICAN CATTLE TRADE. The fix at consignment of live stock from the United States since the new Privy Council order came into force has just arrived in the Mersey, and considerable interest attaches to the incident aa ?n experimental test of the new arrangements which the discovery of pleuro. pneumonia has necessitated. The steamer which has now arrived ia the Brazilian, of the Warren Line, which has been peculiarly aucceasful in her transport of live stock. This ia the second passage "she has made from Boston during the winter, when the Atlantic is rough, without losing a single head of cattle. On Friday the Brazilian landed 301 head of cattle at the special lairage licensed by the Privy Council at Birkenhead, and every animal was apparently sound and healthy. Under the new law they were landed at the floating stage, and then driven into the lairs provided by the dock board. Within the ensuing 10 days the whole of the cattle must be slaughtered at the same place,, and it is antici- pated that they will nnd a ready market in London and Liverpool as dead meat. If this should prove to be the case, the American exporters are ready fo-send a largo number of beasts under the same conditions; but meantime the whole trade may be said to be at a atandatill. At present there is not a single vessel at sea. with live stock for the United Kingdom from New York or Boston, and the American shippers are anxiously waiting telegrams as to the result of the experiment with the Bftzillan's parcel. It should be stated that before the cattle were takes on board the ataamar they were icspeoted by veterinary surgeons ap- pointed by the American Government, who gave a certificate of their freedom from disease. The i Brazilian also brought 120 sheep and 7V piga. but as these animals are not incladed in the Privy < Council prohibition they were landed at tha Waterloo Dock, Liverpool, ia accordance with the ordinary usage of the trade,

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THE RETIVALTST MOVEMENT IN THE RHONDDA VALLEY. A "KIKG'S DADGBTBa" AMONG TBE PEOPLE. MISS fcHEPPAKD INTER-; VIEWED. IXTRAORDINAY RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS. (From an Occasional Correspondent.) THE TALK IN THE VALLEY. I was pleased to' He that the popular and talented contributor to the columns of the Western Mail, who writes under the jiom de pluine of Morien," has on two occasion described the extraordinary religious proceedings now going on in the Bhosdda Valley under the leadership of Miss Sheppard. I myself, induced principally by his first article, have spent some, time in the Valley, both ia watohing the movement and conversing with the inhabit. ants, and if the editorial*privik!ge be oonceded to me, propose to detail some of the incidents that have come under my notice and the facts which I have gleaned. Go where you will, from Fonty- pridd to Treherbert, and the one qnastion upper- most is HAVB YOU BEEN CONVINCED?" Colliers, hauliers, labourers, pit boys. working men'a wives and daughters form the great bulk of the inhabitants of the Rhondda, and to see and hear them would lead one to imagine they have all been "convinced," which word, I may mention, ia now almost invariably used instead of "converted." In the pita, and on the pita' banks, at meala, and on the road-side scarcely anything else ia spoken of but religion. Men of the very worst character are moat enthusiastic about it, and having, as they consider, been saved," are making the most strenuous efforts to save their former com- panions. At one of the "experience" meetinga which I attended, a thick-built, care-worn collier, apparently about 40 yeara old, was addressing a crowded chapel in the following words :—" The Lord has delivered me, and redeemed me as was one of the worst scamps aa ever broke bread—one of the wickudist chaps in the Valley, praise to His name! But poor Dick, my butty, is as bad as ever. God save every man in that machine, turn their hearta, bring them all to glory? Amen." These words were fre- quently interrupted by groans, eoba, and cries of Amen," Blessed be the Lord." Another man, who I waa afterwards told had been A NOTORIOUS PRIZE. FIGHTER, Was recently addressing a group of fellow- workmen on the road Bide on the great change which has been wrought in the place. Amongst other observations which he made were the fol. lowing :— The Lord has been merciful to me, a sinner, he has All the hauliers at Pentre have been saved-glory to God, they have! The veryhoraea have noticed the. great change that have come over us-iss, indeed. One time we had to shout oaths before they would go' when the tram got off the rails, but now all we have to do is to strike up the hymn, Think of the home over there,' and bendigedig, the horses will trot off in a minute." The great earnestness of the speakers, and indeed of the numerous congregations who nightly fill the chapels in the district, cannot but impress the most cynical critic. However dissolute the life some of THE CONVINCED PEOPLE May have led, and, notwithstanding the suddsn- ness of their conversion, there can be no question as to their present sincerity. If the language in which they express themselves is uncouth, they cannot help that. It certainly gives an odd character to the proceedings, but in no wise detracts from their merit on the score of personal earnestness. When I waa in the world," said a man to me, I didn t know God, but now He is everywhere about me. I see Him on the table before me when I go home to dinner, and feel Him when I am down in the pit. lss, air, I use' to be one of the biggest blackguards that ever lived, but IT IS ALL CHANGED NOW. I use' to take jugs of beer up to the mountAin, on Sundays after stop tap, and was one of the best fighters from here to Monmouthshire. Bllt, it is all changed, now"-rand a tear was visible in the poor fellow's eye as he repeated, in almost solemn accents, it is all changed now." A MISS SHEPPAED, Assisted by two other ladies, is, aa yonr readers are aware, the leader of thia revivalist movement. She is a rather good-looking girl, aomewhat below the medium height, and about 18 yeara of age of a bright, fresh, rustic complexion, with two large appealing dark eyes. Her mobile face is one of a sweetly winning type, and just the sort you would expect in a person influenced to a great extent by emotionalism. Her countenance ia wonderfully impressionable, and reflects as she speaks her anxiety for sinners, and her enthuai- astic devotion to her life's mission. She is said to form one of "A Salvation Army" whose headquarters are in London, and to have been Bent hither by Mr. Booth, who is well-known aa an evangelist in the City. Of intellect she possesses a very ordinary amount, and judging from her public utterances her education has not been as well attended to as it might have been. Possessed, however, of a capital voice, she sings and talks with much natural ease and some con. siderable power. She makes no pretence to preach, strictly speaking but opens her meeting with a short address and prayer, and at subsequent intervals speaks as opportunities offer, or sustains the interest of her listeners by sud« denly giving out m hymn. There is nothing more remarkable about Misa Sheppard'a meetings thaa what may be termed their IlECBANISX OR METHOD. Net a moment is lost. Now she speaks, now she sings, then a "brother" proceeds to narrate his experiences, or to pray; and with all her amia- bility the young lady has a practical turn of mind, for she almost invariably tells the "brother" when about to commence, to pray short and to the point," emphasising the worda short" and pout," as if she feared nothing so muoh as to be bored by long and rambling statements. I have not myself had the pleasure of an introduc- tion to Miss Sheppard, nor do I think I should learn more by conversing with her than by listen- ing to her public addresses. I have heard she does not care to make any acquaintances in order to gratify mere curiosity, although she weksomes everybody with an open heart who desires ta ob- tain religious counsel. Apropos of this, I«can vouch for the statement of a journalist who com- bines the qualifications of a pictorial artist and who told me he desired to INTERVIEW Miss SHEPPARD. I asked her," said he, "who she Was, with a view to writing some account of her life." She replied, "I am the King's daughter." Although somewhat perplexed at this anawer, my informant pursued his inquiry task, by asking How many converts have you made?" "Five hundred," was the reply. "Where do you intend to go," he next asked, "when you leave hert! ?" "To heaven," answered Mies Sheppard. I mean," aaid the man of letters. where do you intend to proceed on terminating your atay in these parts P" But the young lady put a speedy end to the interviewing business by asking the "special" how his soul was. "Look to your sonl's aalvation," she said; and then she added that it was not her purpose to spend her time in supplying matter for newspapers, but to work for BOUIS. The preasman to whom I refer considers interviewing hia strong point, but he told me that he was never so puzzled aa to how to proceed on any former occasion in his life. "I could not," he said, "but feel touched by the simplicity and earnestness of the young lady, and the entireneaa with which she gives herself up to her cause. She is the first lady preacher I have ever spoken with, and for professional purposes, at any rate, she shall be the last." I could not help laughing at the manner in which my friend desoribed his disappointment; but I was candid enough to tell him that he might have expected las much. Indeed, I felt a sly pleasure at the reception he met, for, in my humble opinion, the American custom of inter- viewing is carried altogether too far when attempted under the circumstances applicable to the present case. SITNDAT AFTERNOON Was the time to have been at Pentre. A proces- sion, headed by Mies Sheppard and the two other ladies, walked down towards Heolfach between three and four o'clock. They soon came in view of many hundredB of men and women waiting their arrival. The moment the young ladies approached the throng in front opened to each Bide of the road, and Miss Sheppard and her army walked through the lane made for tnem. On the field Miss Sheppard gave dut a hymn, and it was enng with thrilling effect by the vast mul- titude. One after th<* other then offered up prayer, now in Welsh, then another in English, each standing bareheaded in the throng. As illustrating the character of those prayers, I give the following, which a young Welshman KNEELING IN THE CART In whichJMisa Sheppard stood uttered in Welsh: 0 Lord, we thank Thee for such a fine day as this to worship Thee in the open air. We thank Thee, 0 Lord, for having induced such a multi. tude as this to come together to hear Thy word. Thou didst open the eyes of the servant of the old prophet in old days to enable him to witneaa Thy power; Thou converted Saul on hia way to Damascus, and Thou didat open the heart of Lydia to receive Thy Word. 0 Lord, cpen the eyes and hearts of this vast multitude now before Thee, to see Thy Majesty, and to receive Thy healing word. [Hundreds of Amena were here said fervently by the orowd.] 0 Lord, the hands of Thy handmaid here are weak to hold the bow of Thy Word. 0 Lord strengthen her hands, and may Thy hand carry the arrows from the bow to the hearts of the people Then followed the hymn, giren out by Miss Sheppard— Must I be carried to the skios On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to WiD the prize And sailed through bloody seaa ? The young man who had offered up tha prtjer then addxeseed tha multitude. He said that MISS SHEPPABD HAD BEEN INSUiiTEP, And that "pl&yera came out and laughed athsr, and that ahe had tcld him the Kvil One had sent thm to mock her, but she would enter their hon^ea, if they Jiif.d, to 8^.dak to them ab-mt Christ Josus. We," poiitir.r:ed the Ppeakcr, "tbo young reen of Tetrad, will protect Mies Sheopard Sh*. however, is protected (pointing to the aky) by a higher power." THE PVBXIC-HOXT?E AI7D THE REVIVAL. As raight be supposed, the result of, Mws skvppaid'B preaching has bean to empty the public-houses very oonaiderably. The publieaus r with whom'I have conversed say they have no desire to see the movement. interfered with. Ou the contrary, they wish it God speed," but r object to some of the extreme things said against their trade by certain over.zealoos oonvarta. One of the hymna sung by the Salvatipa timy" ia alao muoh disliked by the licensed vio- tuallera. It opens with the following verses:- I. The devil and me, we can't agree, 1 htte him, and be hatea me; He had me once, but he let me roo He wants me agaiu, i>ub I don't mean to go. The publicans are crying out., Because the Mission is going about; But fa till about we mean to tto, And rout the devil and every foe. THE BELIGIOUS 0ALLANTBY, If I may so phrase it, of the young men of the Rhondda is not the leaat remarkable feature in connection with the present movement. They eagerly follow Mias Sheppard in her prooeaaions, and are highly jealous leet any rude or irreverent persons should mock her or treat her work with ridicule. There is an anecdote going the rounds here, which I give as I heard it, and with which I will conclude. A collier, a young man, in his Sunday clothes, is said to have been reclining on the road-side when Mies Sheppard h&pgesed to be paaaing along, and, going up to hiS^ inquired, Jo you love Jesus, young man ? The admiring sinner, so the story goes, looked up in the faoe of his fair questioner affectionately, and after a short pause, quietly answered, I don't know, but I loves you, Miss, I am sure." I give this,' as I Baid before, just as I heard it—there are many strange tales told just now in this district, whiou the judicious will doubtless receive cum gra.no. salts. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Great interest is felt throughout the valleys of Glamorganshire ia". The Army of Salvation," and also eagerneae to ieam more particulars about it than are generally known at present. It appears that the organiser of the movement or mission, ia the Rev. W m. Booth, sometime Wesleyan nuniater. He reeidea in London, and, like Field-Marshal Von Moltke, he commands the various eec. i tiona of hia army" by telegraph and post. office. An interesting "omoer" in this sinsulaor. II army" informed me recently that the "divisions" under the immediate com- mand of Mr. Booth are about 150, scattered throughout England and Wales, all engaged in attacking the citadels of the arch enemy of man. hind. The rev. founder of the mission left the Wesleyan connexion simply through a desire to extend the influence of Christian teaching beyond the domain of sect. To employ the worda of one of the Army of Salvation, he (Mr. Booth) felt that the respectable and fashionable were abun. dantly cared for by the churches and ohapela dotting every parish, but that there were tens of thousands in the by-lanes and slums of the large cities upon whom the beams of the Sun of Bighteousness with healing is His wings never shone." Be made up his mind to endeavour to be the instrument in the hand of divine Providence to convey the light to those dwelling in the shadow in the by-lanes and slums. He appealed for "Soldiers of the Cross II; he sounded the assemble with his evangelical bugle, and he issued notices in the name of the, King of kings as to what manner of recruits he required to make up his army. The following olasses he de- clared he did not want:—Persons who, being out of employment, desire to give themselves," &0., &c. Who do not think they can be ex. Sected to exhaust all their strength in labouring ay and night in saving souls." Who, if engaged, will endeavour to give satisfaction to their employers." Who desire "light employ- ment," "find their work begin to tell on them," &c. Who "would like to know particulars all to salary, hours, home, &o., before engaging." Who are sometimes troubled with doubts" about the inspiration of the Bible, the Divinity of Christ, the Atonement, election, the possibility of falling from grace, eternal damnation, or the personality of the Devil. Who, "having had considerable experience" in our kind of work, think they know how to do it. Thebngle again plays a fanfare, and Mr. Booth then proceeds to say what kind of people he does want—men and women of God, anxioua to de- vote their lives oo the work of saving Bonis, whose characters will bear any amount of inves- tigation. Who can talk to a crowd of people out of doors and in, so as to wound sinners' hearts. Who can lead a band of godly men and women to do anything likely to win Bonis. Who are perfectly ready to speak, pray, visit, sit still, travel a hundred milea. or die at any moment. Who have given up drink, tobacco, and finery for Christ's sake, or are willing to give up anything and everything for Him. Who ara willing to be led and taught, and be sent home again if they do not Bucoeed." That Mr. Booth knows whom to select is evi- dent by the young women hff has sent to Pentre for their leader there, viz., Miaa Sheppard, seemg to be a mild edition of Joan of Arc; indeed, Voltaire's "La Pucelle D'Orleans" came for. cibly to one's mind when witnessing the tramp, tramp of hundreds of sturdy men, following the lead of the modest maiden, and obeying every wave of her tiny hand but, permit me to say, it was witnessed without the sarcasm of Voltaire rising to one's lips. One singular feature in Mr. Booth's miaaion is the adoption of tunes for hia hymns which the publio have alwaya associated with rebellion and the battle-field. He has borrowed the chief aira of the Frenoh Revolution and the glorious old "March of the Cambro-Britons. Thus we find the terrible Maraeillaise wedded to such words as the following :— Ye sons of God, awake to glory, A host of foes before yon lies; The saints renowned in sacred story, Behold them seize the glitteiisg prize! Shall frowns of earth, or hell's lead thunder Afflict our bosoms with dismay. Or chase you from the narrow way ? While angels gaze with joy and wonder. To arms, to arm a. ye brave; See, see the standard wave, March on, march on, the trumpet gonads, To victory or death. The treacherous world stands yonder Smiling, And points to wealth, delight, and fame More venomed than the serpent coding, bhe leads to anguish, want. end pain. Fly her embrace, disdain her fury; What though her legions she engage ? From all the fellies of .tier rage, The shield of faith can well secure ye. To arms, to arms, ye brave; See, see the standard wave. March on, march on, the trumpet sounds. To victory or death. Then follows Old Wales," the tune being Men of Harleoh." Christians, rouse thee. war is raging, God and fiends are battle waging, Every ransomed power engaging. Break the tempter's cpsll. Dare ye atilllie fondly dreaming, Wrapt in ease and worldly soheming, While the multitudes are streaming, Downwards into hell? Through the world resounding, Let the Gospel sounding >to Summon all At Jesu's call. His glorious cross surrounding, Sone of God, earth's trifles leaving, Be not faithless, but believing, To your conquering Captain cleaving. Forward to the fight! It iB stated that when the Army of Salvation" first marched into the Valley of the Rhondda a month ago, even religioua people were inclined to condemn it as a burlesque upon religion. The placards announcing when the "aimy" would appear, and open fire along the line," were the subject of goneral merriment. But the object the promoter of the mission had in view, namely, exciting interest in the movement, was fully attained, and greatly enhanced when it was dis- covered that the army" consisted of three young maidens, like the three graces of classic lore; and the manhood of the whole district has been attracted to hear what the three lasses have to say. It appears that at first the authorities of large and beautiful chapele in this part of the valley were reluctant to place thair chapels at the dis posal of Mies Sheppard, ftariag the roughs" who crowded to hear her wonld damage the "varnish" with which the temple ia adorned. The Ii varnish," however, has been forgotten, and every chapel door ia now open for her and her roughs," and the movement daily m. creases in popularity.

A MODE UN SERMON. We extrpct from a Portsmouth contemporary the following satire on a certain claBs of sermons. We do so with little hesitation, for we are glad to think that sermons Buch as those aimed at are now less frequently heard than formerly. Not only can eermens of the highest order be heard by all who care to take a little trouble, but it may be safely eaid that at no previous time have more thought and earnestness been displayed in preaching by the clergy in general than at present, 'lhe followitff is the sermon in extenso :— Brethren, the words of my text are :— Old Brother Hubbard, she went to the cupboard, o get her poor dog a bone; But when she got there, the cupboard was bare, And so the poor dog had none.* These beautiful words, dear friends, carry with them a solemn lesson. I propose this even- ing to analyse their meaning, and to attempt to apply it, lofty as it may be, to our every-day life. •• Old Mother Hubbard, ehe went to the cupboard, To fetther poor dog a bone. Mother Hubbard, you see, was old; there being no mention of others, we may presume that she was alone; a widow—a friendless old solitary widow. Yet did she despair ? Did she sit down and weep, or read a novel, or wring her hands r No she went to the cupboard. And here observe that she went to the cupboard. She did not hop, or skip, or run, or jump, or use any other peripa- tetic artifice; she solely and merely went to the cupboard. We have seen that she was old and lonely, and we now further see that she was poor. For, nrark, the words are the cupboard.' Not one cf the cupboards,' or the right-hand cupboard,' or the left-hand cupboard,' or the one above, or the one below, or the one under the floor, but just the crpboard. The one humble little cup- board the poor widow possassed. And why did ehe go to the cupboard ? Was it to bring forth golden gobleta cr glittering precious atones, or eotitly apparel, or feasts, or any other attributes of wealth? It was to get her poor dog a bone! Not unly was the wHow poor, but her dog, the aolc prop of her age, was peor too. We can imagine the ecene. The poor deg crouching in the corner, looking wistfully at the solitary cup- board, and the widow going to that cupboard—in hope, in expectation may be—to open it, although we are not distinctly told th"tit waa not half open cr ajar, to open it for that poor dog. But wbenehe got I h ^e the cupboard was bare, And eo goitheinoor df g had none.' "'When she got there!' Yon see, dear brethren, what pereeverancs ia. You seo the t-faaty of pen ieience in Coirg tight. r She yo< there. There wa? no turrmig^ a .d t vMinga, r.o dippingB and slioings, no leaning to the right or faltejingB to t/ e left. Wiih glorious aimylioity we a?e tcld she,got there. .AEd how was her noble effort-rewarded P The ehpboard toas bare !r It Wis barfe 1 ■ There were to be found neither apples nor ( ranges, Iftr cheesecakes, nor penny buna, nor gingerbread, nor crackers, nor nuta, nor lucifer motcfaes. The cupboard waa bare! There waa butane, only one eolitary cupboard in the whole of that cottage, and that one the Bole hope of the widow, and the glorious loadstar of the poor dog, was bare! Had there been a leg of mutton, a loin of lamb, a fillet of veal, even an ice from Gunter's, the ease world have been very different, the incident would have been other- wise. But it waa bare, my brethren, bare as a bald head. Many of you will probably say, with all the pride of worldly sophistry—' The widow, no doubt, went out and bought a dog-biscuit.' Ah. DO Far removed from theae earthly ideas, these mundane desires, poor Mother Hnbbard, the widow, whom many thoughtless worldlings would despise, in that the only owned one cup- board. perceived—or I might even say saw-at once the relentleBB logic of the situation, and yielded to it with all the heroism of that nature which had enabled her without deviation to.re^ti the barren cupboard. She did not attempt, like the stiff necked scoffers of this govirdtion, to war against the inevititble; she did not try like the to-called ntn of science to explain what she did not understand. She did nothing. Thu poor dog had none And then at thia point our infor n ation ceases. But do we nat ki;ow suffijiep ? Are we not cognisant of enough ? Who would dare to pierce the v;' shrouds the ulterior fate of Old Mother '^f»iibard —ber poor, dog—the tupboard-or the < that was not theief Must we her still standing at the open cupboard ê'oar, depict to ourselves th« £ og still droopy disappointed tail tupftb the door, t^e, 'Bought-for boae remaining somewhere elPtl ? i no my dear brethren, we are not rj0 ^aresitted to attempt to read the future. Sp.'ffice ü tor us to glean from this beautiful story .its wuny lessons; suffice it for ns to apply theiat, t& study them as far as i us lies, and bearing ie mind the natural frailty of our nature, to a,void being widows; to shun the patronymic of Hnbbard; to have, if our means afford it, more than one cupboard in the house; and to keep stores in them all. And oh! dear friends, keeping in reoolleotion what we have learned this day, let U8 avoid keeping dogs that are fond of bones. But, brethren, if we do; if Fate has ordained that we should do anything of these things, let U8 then got as Mother Hubbard did, straight, without curveting or prancing, to our' cupboard, empty though it be-let us, like her, accept the inevitable with calm steadfastneas; and should we) like her, ever be left with a hungry dog and an empty cupboard, may future chronicles be able to write also of us, in the beautiful worda of our text— And so the poor dog had none.

THE ALLEGED RITUALISTIC PRACTICES AT ST. M'AB Y'8 CHURCH CABDIFF. At an adjourned meeting of the Consistory Court of thia diocese, held at Llandaff, ou Mon- day, before Mr. R. 13. Ollivant, the Chancellor, and the Registrar, the petition of tbe Rev. G. å. Jenea, vicar of St. Mary's Church, Cardiff, for a faculty to authorise certain alterations in the church, again came under consideration. As at the first application, Mr. F. de C. Hamilton ap- peared as proctor tor the petitioner, and the opponents, who are headed by Mr. John Griffiths, one of the churchwardens, were represented by Mr. T. H. Staphena. Considerable interest waa manifeated in the proceedings, about 50 of the leading parishioners being present. Mr. Hamilton, in opening the proceedings, reiterated the objects of the petition—namely, to obtain authority for the removal of the pulpit to a more convenient position in the body of the ohureh, the removal of the organ from the west gallery to the chancel, and the conversion of oertain pews on the centre aisle into free seats. He added that the proposed alterations, were devoid if any doctrinal significance, and tended Bimply to the comfort of the congregation and the con- venience of oonducting the services, and pointed out that the cost was fully] guaranteed. It was the unanimous wish of the congrega- tion that these alterations should ba made, and he submitted that a clearer case had never been made out for the granting of a faculty, and he was bound to say that it appeared thp the opposition were animated by a previous existing feeling of hostility to the vicar, and < enmity to the Church of England. Having r.. stated the grounds of the petition, Mr. Hamilton called the following witnesses, whose evidence wfn taken upon oath Mr. John Priohard, dioceaa t architect, deposed to having prepared the plana for the proposed alterations, and he stated thatj he considered they would improve the ay-, pearanoe of the ohureh and add to the eon- venience of conducting the services. At pra. sent the pulpit obstructed the gangway, and the position in which it was proposed to place the organ was the usual one in the churches of the diocese. He could not recollect an instance in which the existing arrangement of the pulpit and organ were in force elsewhere in the diocese; such arrangements were now obsolete. There would be an increase- of 72 in the number of sittings by the new plan.—The Rev. C. Parsons, rector of Penarth, aaid he ha.d preached from the pulpit at St. Mary's Churoh for many yeara, and he considered it waa decidedly objectionable.—By Mr. Stephens He believed the proposed altera- tion would be an improvement, and it depended upon the height of the new pulpit whether the preacher would be heard from it in the north gal- lery. Had heard good oongregational singing in the church, but that was when the choir waa in the organ-gallery. Re-examined: He thought the singing might be improved by placing the choir at the east end, and that the choir and organ should be together. The Revs. E. F. Puller, vicar of Roath, and C. J. Thompson, vicar of St. John's, also testified to having preached from the pulpit, and to having found it inconveniently placed.—Mr. R. S. Fisher, organist of St. Mary's Church, said he had been organist for 20 years, and he now found it difficult to accompany the choir. He considered that the best position for the organ was on one aide of the church in juxta-poaition to the choir. In its present position the organ was injuriously affected by the damp in winter, and by the aun in the summer. By Mr. Stephena The organ had twice undergone extensive repairs during the last 20 yeara, and had been partially tepairea many other times. It was now incon. venient to accompany the choir because they were away from the gallery.—Mr. Atkins, organist of St. John's^ Church, said he had been organist at St. Mary's Church for four years, and during that time he noticed that the choir and those around the organ were doing all the sing- ing themselves. At St. John's, where the organ was in a similar position, they found great incon- venience from it, as the congregation in the galle- ries and body of the church were often singing different time. Cross-examined Had not heard that the congregation had refused to have the organ removed from its present place, and be- lieved they had no other place for it. His belief was that at the parish meeting upon the subject thepariahionora were generally in favour of re- moving the organ.—The Rev. H.A. Coe, curate of St. Mary's, also expressed an opinion that the present pulpit was very inconvenient and in the way. This was the case for the peti- tioners.— Mr. Stephens, addressing the court for the opposition, emphatically denied that they were actuated by any feeling of hostility to the vicar or of enmity to the Church. They were adopting the present course from a sense of duty, and he maintained that Mr. Griffiths had as much right as any other man, even of greater influence, to come there and state his opinion upon the subject. He submitted that the peti. tioners had not made out any case whatever, and that the effect of the alteration of the sittings would ibe to banish 160 people to the gallery, where they could not hear the preacher. The proposed removal of the pulpit and organ were both unnecessary, and inas- much asa the parishioneta had not been oossultcd in the matter, he contended that the vicar was in no way justified in asking for the faculty. The petitioners in favour of the altera- tiona were desoribed as "seat-holdera" and "■communicants," and they might be parishioners, or come from anywhere. Not a tittle of evidence had been brought forward to show that there was any hostility to the vicar, or enmity to the Church, on the part of the opponents. And, 011 his side, it was contended that the alterations would in. crease the ill-feeling among the parishioners, which had been referred to, and give increased opportunities for objectionable practices in the Church. He'pointed out that the alterations were refuse 1 by the court some time ago, because the consent of the parishioners had not been given to them, and a large majority of them still maintained the same opposition. Both organ and pulpit had anawered the purpose well for the last 20 years; the principal obstruction to the view of the communion table had beenjjremoved it was shown that the organ had only required extensive repairs twice within 20 years; and no Berious objections had been made to the pulpit except on the part of the few clergymen who had been called. In conclusion, Mr. Stephens urged that no case had been made out by the petitioners which would justify the Court in granting the faculty, and that to interfere with the property of the parishioners against the wishes of the ma- jority would be contrary to all principles of common law and equity. He then called Mr. John Griffiths, who denied having any feeling of enmity to the Church, or hostility to the vipar, and &sid that in opposing the proposed alterations he felt he was simply doing his duty. He could hear very well from the present pulpit, and see the communion table from where he sat in the friddle aisle, and he thought the alter- ations were unnecessary. In cross-examination he admitted that he waa present when two petitions were presented to the churchwardens in favour of the alterations. When he went about getting signatures to the petition he very likely told people that Mr. Jones was making the church like a Roman Catholic Chapel, but he did not authorise anyone to say that the alterations would increase the rates. Mr. Carr, a former churchwarden, gave evidence in support of the opposition, but, upon being pressed in cross- examination, admitted that he was no longer a member of the Church of England, and that he occasionally preached in Nonconformist chapels. Mr. Hamilton, having replied upon the whole case, the court reserved judgment.

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PROPOSED SUNDAY CLOSING BILL FOft WALSS. I MEETING AT CARDIFF. On Tuesday evening, a meeting, promote the Independent Order of Good Temple- "7 held in the Town-hall, Cardiff, for the » w- advocating the closing of public-ho. "š Of days. Mr. Ebenezer Beavan prep AOIJ on Sun. were about 250 per tons present. -14*C there Mr. EDWARDS explained had arisen out of a moveu* tember last. Wales war getonfoot m Sap- a Sunday closing j Wtaoally m tavour of having been grantevian^ it should also 7 te^relMd and bcotlaud, They had, therefore jf^tended in connection wi'Jo Wtyted a aeries of meetings tbe first of whio' received some held at Mold» th«y had Dean of Be encouraging letters. Tha *wrote to say that he was in had also 4 SoaSay Closing Bill for Wales they hinW veoeived encouraging letters from several tri^ Mr. Morley, M.P., had con- cr xCtesa j £ 5 towards canvassing in support ,t the Bill. (Applause.) This was not a temperance movement; they had deemed it right to ;place themselves in the hands of the public, and to ask all Christians and right-thinking citizens to give them their assistance. (A.p- ■ plause.) Mr. J. W. AEMSTBONQ proposed "That this meeting is of opinion that tae eaie of intoxicating liquors on the Lord's Day is productive, of a large amount of drunkenness, pauperism, and crime amongst the people, and inasmuch as it is enacted that other trades shall not be pursued on that day, it is both impolitic and unfair that such sale ehould be sanctioned, as at present, by the law of the realm." He said he thought this was a question which demanded the support of the whole community, publicans not excepted. The publicans should be the leaders of the move- ment, and should not leave it to the temperance advocates, as they were the persons who would derive the greatest benefits from the passing of a Sunday Closing Bill. The Rev. J. M. EVANS seconded the motion, and said he believed that nine. tenths of the people in Wales would welcome the day when a Bill was passed for the closing of public-houses on Sunday. He felt that Wales ought to have such a measure granted to her, as well as Ireland and Scotland. (Applause). The Rev. N. THOMAS supported the motion, and eaid they came to that meeting for the purpose of rescuing the Lord's Day from universal dese- oration. The motion was carried unanimously. The Rev. A. TILLY moved That this meeting expresses its thankfulness to Almighty God that the Bill for stopping the sale of intoxicating liquors on Sunday in Ireland has become law, and that now the whole of the country, with the exception of five towns, is enjoying the bleaaings of that legislation which has been benefiting Scotland for upwards of 24 years. That this meeting earnestly calls upon all members of Par- liament to give their persistent support to a measure which will bestow a similar boon on the whole of England and Wales." He said that in advocating this measure he did not see why they should wait for England: if a Billweie passed for the Principality: it would not hinder England, but would help her, and he would warmly support any movement for the attainment of this object. He did not support the resolution as a Sabbatarian, though he had the greatest reverence for the Sabbath, and had a solemn conviction that the closing of the publio-housea would be a religious boon to the people. As a total abstainer he would rejoice to see the measure become law, but there were special reasons why the publio- houses should be closed on Sunday. The working classes had more leisure, they had more money, and the result was that there was more drinking and more drunkenness on that day than any other. He thought, they might get an Ao passed for Wales alone; at any rate he hoped the matter would be seriously considered. The Rev. W. E. WINKS seconded the motion. He observed that he believed there waa nothing that was sapping the manhood of the country so much as the traffic in drink. When he reflected that their Government was professedly a Chris. tian Government, and recognised the Sabbath, legislated for the Sabbath, and would send a man to prison for keeping a. place open in which useful articles were sold, and yet legislated for the keep. ing open of the public-houses upon that day, he felt ashamed of the Government, and he felt ashamed of the country. The Rev. JAMES SMITH supported the motion,; stating that, as an Englishman, he felt bound to stand by the Sunday closing movement. The greatest blot on the national escutcheon was the Sunday drink traffic. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. EBWABDS proposed—"That this meeting believing that an unmistakable .expression of opinion irom the electors of the Prinoipality in favour of a measure for Sunday closing would have great weight with the Legislature, heartily approves of the canvass that is beinv prosecuted, pledging itself to support the same by all egitimate means." Ihe Rev. A. J. RUSSELL (Incumbent of St. Stephen's) seconded the motion. He said that the drink traffic was the greatest obstacle to the success of the Gospel, and he thought he would not be far wrong in saying that if they took the whole of the persons found in the public-housee in Cardiff on the Sunday they would exceed in number those found in the places of worship. It grieved him to see that the National Church was so thinly represented at the meeting. The resolution having been adopted, a vote of thanks was accorded to the mayor for granting the use of the Crown Court for the meeting, and to the chairman for presiding. This concluded the proceedings.

A RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY AT BRIDGEKD. At the meeting of guardians, on Saturday, Canon Green, the resident Catholic priest, attended and asked the board for information wby the Superintendent of the Cottage Homes haa prevented certain juvenile inmates named Mannirg and Foley from attending the Catholic Chapel, and sent them to the Protestant Church. The Chairman suggested that the matter should be dealt with by the committee at the homes. Mr. Evan Lewis objected. The Chairman said that no positive orders had beea given as to these children, who, when first re- ceived into the house, had been entered as Beman Catholics, but had recently said they were not. It was ordered that inquiries should be made into the matter. Canon Green: But some action has been taken by preventing these children from attending their usual place of worship. The Chairman said no order had been given to Mr. Thornton (the superintendent), and he must have acted under a misapprehension. Mr. Thornton: The girl Manning said her parents (who had deserted her) were both Protestants. The Chair. man remarked that though the girl had gone to the Catholic Chapel since she first came to the house, she now said that she had not gone previously. Canon Green said that when he called to the homes relative to these ohildren, the schoolmaster told him that he had received orders to send the children to the Protestant Church. This appeared like plain action. The Foleys had attended his chapel for four or five years and received instruction. 1 he rev. gentle- man went on to state what he had gathered as to the religion of these children's parents. There was a long discussion on the matter, and at the request of the chairman, the Clerk read the regulations on the subject, which states, among other clauses, that Such orphan while an inmate of the workhouse shall not be instructed in any other religious creed than that as entered, unlees be or she, being above the age of 12 years, shall desire to receive instructions in some other creed, and unless he or she be considered by the Poor Law Board to be competent to exernise a reasonable judgment upon the subject." The children Foley and Manning are under the age of 12, and are registered in the books of the vcikhouse as Boman Catholics. It was observed by the Chairman that Canon Green had made out a case as regarded the Foleys, aud a prima fade case was shown respecting the Mannirgs, but further information was needed. It was agreed that the children should in the meantime attend the Catholic Chapel.

MERTHYR CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. The second annual meeting of the subscribers to the Merthyr and Cefn Children's Hospital was held at the institution on Tuesday afternoon. The Rector of Merthyr presided, and there were also present Dr. and Mrs. Dyke, Mr. and Mrs. W. Simons, Mrs. Plews, Messrs. R. Hartap, C. E. Matthews, M. L. Evans, D. Davies, H. W. Southey, Mr. H. Lewis, secretary, &c. The minutes of the former meeting having been passed, Dr. Dyke, the hon. surgeon, said he had very much pleaBhre in reporting that two .little girls had been sent home to their parents since Christmas; one of the patients was cured of her ^disease, and the other was greatly benefited. Two boys "had been admitted, who would have to undergo a surgical operation. The two girls who had been in residence a for Bome time had much improved in their general health, and would, he truated, be sent home so far cured of their disease as to be free from pain. The Medical Officer stated, with regard to one little girl, Mary Jane Edwards, that the parents were so pleased with what the hospital had been able to do for their child, that they haa come down with a donation of 5s. The report (which was inserted in the Western Mail a tew days since) was then read by the secretary, attar which it was announced that in addition to his subscription of.£5 5e., Mr. B. T. Crawshay had Bent a donation of «E10 10s. On the motion of Mr. C. E. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Luther Evans, the report and abstract of accounts were adopted, tbe Chairman remarking that, satisfac- tory as the report was, the eommittee would be more pleased if there waa a greater number of subscribers. A very numerous committee of ladies and gentlemen was then appointed, after which Mr. E. B. Evans, Brecon Old Bank, was appointed treasurer. Thanks were tendered to Dr. Dyke, hon. surgeon, who, in acknowledging the same, expressed the hope that the usefulness of the institution would be in. creased in the future. He also said be should be glad to have the assistance of some junior membar of tbe profession, and expressed his hope that the institution might be so extended that they could take in some of the slighter oases of disease emorgst children. He would be glad to continue to render all the assistance in his power, both as regards hia experience and his purse. Va-rioua tuggeetions were thrown cut, and considered for obtaining an increase of the bet of subscribers; and Mrs. Simons. Mrs. Dyke, and Mrs. W. James were appointed three honorary lady secretaries). Votes of thanks were thru passed to Mr. Heury Lewis, the eecrafary Mies Aflame, the matron; and Mr. Bees Thomas. who ha.d supplied the drusrs end appHarces free of charge. The Rector of Merthyr wsi deputed to arrange with his rev. brethren,and the ministers of the various gatious for the holding of the HoBpital Sunday and a vote of thanks to him for pzeaicUng con- cluded the proceedings. .I

CURIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A SHAM VISCOUNT. HOW THE CHARITABLE ARZ DEFRAUDED. THE LATEST DODGE IN CHEATING. At the Bow-street police-oourt, London, oB Saturday, after the disposal of the ordinary busi- ness, Vernon Monteomeiy (known also by the aliases Viscount de Montgomery, Sir JameS Bitchman, Percy Montgomery, Hamilton and Co., Ao-), aged 42, was brought before Mr. Flowers on a warrant arrested by Inspector Littlechild, of Scotland.yard, oharged with obtaining charitable oontributiona by false pretences; and a yonn £ woman, named Ethel Vivian, aged 20, was charged with aiding and abetting him. Both the prisoners- were described as journalists," residing at 21.- Begent-equare, Gray'a-ian.road. Mr. Wontner (in- structed by Mr. A. Could) conducted the prosecu- tion, and Btated that the first charge related to art advertisement which waa inserted in the Times ot January 4, as follows Dear H.: I entreat you to help me in this time of deepest trial. Ill and friendless. I can look to nothing but for yout assistance. By the memory of the past I implore your aid, or I know not what I shall do. My last shilling is expended on this advertisement. Be* member me in this season of happiness and reunion. I have no home now, so please address. E. V. Barfoot, 295, Strand, London." Thia^-Ad- vertisement waa also inserted in the Telegraph and Standard, and inquiries which hafd been made by the Charitable Organisation Society and Mr. Gould had lead to disclosures which made the preeent case a very remarkable one. The society had published a request that the numerous persons who had responded'to the advertisement and had forwarded money, or communicated by writing with E. V. would at once forward. particulars and letters tc their office, and the result transpired that a very large number of charitably disposed persons had been imposed upon. Some of the letters were signed" Z 'V. and others Ethel Vivian," but all appeared to have been written by the male prisoner. Samples of the letters were read, and they desoribed the abject misery, poverty, and helplessness of the writer, although he should show that at the time in question the prisoners were living in absolute luxury in Stamford-street, St. John's-wood, and Begent-square. Mr. Gould had interested him. self in the prosecution, owing to an extraordinary circumstance which had led to the detection of tbe prisoners. He was a member of a firm of advertising agents who employed a printer named Doherty to print their circulars, and to whom the prisoner sent a man named Stephenson with an order to print certain prospectuses, intimating that he had been recommended to them by Messrs. Brown, Gould, and Co., of Ludgate-hill, &o. The order was executed, although the charge of £ 2 or .83 made for the same was never paid. Mr. Doherty applied to Mr. Gould upon the subjeot, exhibiting the written order for the printing, and Mr. Gould at once recognised the handwriting as that of Mr. Percy, or Viscount Montgomery, aRaa Hitohman. whom he proBeeuted, at hia own coat mainlv. in 1870, for a fraud on Lady Scott. This disco&ry, Of course, stimulated inquiry, the result of which would be detailed in evidence. It would be shown that, under the guidance of the police officers, an appointment was made with the female prisoner (who in her letter expressed her inability to re- ceive gentlemen at her house), and, the appoint- ment having been kept, she was afterwards followed to Begent-square, where that day they were arrested while taking breakfast together on the drawing-room flat of the house. Mr. Wontner stated the facts of the oase, and said particulars of other frauds in which he alleged that the prisoners had taken part as, the pretended agents of London newspaper had Seen laid before the Treasury, and it waa believed that the prosecution would be undertaken by the Crown.—Inspector Littlechild, of the Criminal Investigation Department, Scotland- yard, said he was acquainted with the male pri- soner. He had inquired at the offioes of the papers mentioned as to the. advertisement, and ha had also ascertained that money had been sent in conaequence of its insertion. He had loat sight of the prisoners at St. John's Wood, but on Thursday week last he saw the female prisoner meet a gentleman at St. Panoras Station. He followed them to Begent's-equare, and that morn- ing he found both prisoners there. He told the male prisoner he should arrest him under the Vagrant Act for obtaining and attempting to obtain charity by fraudulent pretences; and the female prisoner that he should arrest her.-The case was re- manded. In reply to the male prisoner, Mr. Flowers said he could not take bail for him, but he would taker two sureties in JBtt) for tho female prisoner, who was carried from the dock fminting.

THE RIGHTS OF BRISTOL CHANNEL PJLOTS. IMPORTANT PEOSECUTION AT CARDIFF. At the Cardiff borough police-court, on Moil- day, James D. Hall, a Bristol pilot, appeared in answer to a summons issued against him at the instance of the Cardiff Pilotage Board for unlaw. fully demanding and receiving, in respect of the pilotage of the ship Lisbon, a higher rate than he was lawfully entitled to; to wit, £ 8 la. 6d* instead of JES 10s., whereby a breach of the Merehant Shipping Act of 1854 was committed. Mr. L. T. Reece, who appeared for the Pilotage Board, stated that on the 13th of February the defendant boarded the Lisbon, s.s., eastward of Lundy, and piloted her up to Penarth Roada, and on the same day he made a written claim for.£S Is. 6d.. which was a larger amount than was allowed by the Cardiff rates and by-laws. The vessel was bound to Cardiff, and by the rules and regulations of the port the charge for piloting a vessel of over 800 tons and low than 1,000 tons was.£5 10s.; therefore, an overcharge had been made. Mr. Reece, anticipating the defence that would be set up, argued that as the vessel was bound to Cardiff, and the demand for payment was made within the limits of the port, the court had jurisdiction, although the defendant received payment two days afterwards in Bristol. He also referred the court to the Bristol Pilotage Act of 1861, which provided that vessels piloted to Cardiff and Newport by Bristol pilots were subject to the charges prevailing at those ports. Mr. Inekip, of Bristol, who defended, agreed to the by-laws being put in to prove the Cardiff rates of pilotage. He also admitted that the defendant had received the Bristol rate. Mr. Reece pointed out that this case was not brought for the Bake of a few shillings, but was of great interest to the port of Cardiff, as it would be a hardship if Bristol pilots were allowed to pilot vessels to Cardiff on their own terms. Mr. Inskip addressed the court on a point of law, first taking exception to the concluding observations of Mr. Beece, who ap- peared to appeal to the bench, aa Cardiff justices, in the interests of the port of Cardiff. He pro- ceeded to say that in 1807 an Act was passed which provided that after the 1st of October, 1807, all vessels eastward of Lundy should be compelled to engage a Bristol pilot to navigate up Channel. The Bristol Pilotage Act of 1861 certainly repealed the impo- sition of compulsory pilotage to some extent, but the general powers of the Bristol pilots were net affected by the Aot of 1831, and he contended that Bristol pilots were legally entitled to seek employment under the powers cf their own board, although they were not now able to impose their services on the captains of veaaels. Thia was a oase in which vested rights and interests had to be respected. The Bristol authority was in existence long before the Cardiff Board, and although supplemental powers had been obtained by Cardiff, he submitted that the original powers of the Bristol authorities were still pre- served, although they did not retain the compul- sory powers. The defendant was not Hoenaed for Cardiff or any particular port. He was licensed for the Briet I Channel, and it was not competent for a Cardiff»'-lot to displace him. But if, say, a Newport pil« J™8. called to a Cardiff vessel, ha could not tal a her into that port, as he was only licensed for Kewport. At the conclusion of Mr. Inskip's speech. Alderman Watkins said this was a very important case. As the decision of the magistrates would depend on the correct reading of the Aots of Parliament, he would adjourn the case till the 24th inst., when the result would be given.

BREACH OF THE MINES REGULATION ACT AT ABERBEEG. A MANAGER AND OVERMAN FINED. At Tredegar police-court, on Tuesday (before Mr. Wm. Llewellin, Dr. Coates, and Mr. G. A. Brown), John Stanfield, manager and part owner of Cwm Colliery, near Aberbeeg, was summoned by Mr. Thomas Cadman, Government Inspector of Mines for this district, for infringing the 3rd and 29th general rules and the 57ch. section of ths lWnea. Regulation Act, 1872. Mr. Plews appeared for. the prosecution; the daien-lant was not repre- sented by any solicitor. The various neglects were in not having the mine duly inspected before the men went to work; not record- ing such examinations in a book, and not having the rules printed and posted in a conspicuous part; of the oolliery. The defendant admitted that- he had not kept a record of the examinations of the workings, but urged that as the level had only been opened a few months, and the book had been ordered, he had not been culpably negligent of the rules. He had been a manager of collieries in various dis- tricts for a period of 18 years, four of which were spent among the most fiery pits in the Rhondda Valley, and up to the present he had never lost one life, so careful was he in seeing the law carried out. Mr. Cadman said when he visited the Cwm Colliery, on the 7th of February, he saw the over- men (Richard Stanfield), and on asking for the report book, was told that there waa no book, and that no report had been made. The Defendant: If the inspector had been a week sooner it would have been out of his grasp, as I had not 20 men at work in the level there, and it did not come under the Act of 1872. Mr. Cadman: I wish to explain that if only two men are at v orK the Act is in force directly they get under cover. The charge against the overman was for neglecting to record in a book the result of his daily examinations of the pit. Defendant said ha examined the phce every day, and nevex; missed, so that he could not be guilty. Dr. Cortes Did yon enter it in a book? Defendant: No, we had no book then, but one csme the day after.—Dr. Coates = That wcs too late.; yen nra not charged witlf tegleeiiiig to iBPppnt the pit, but with not eportizglha inspoetion. Tha defendant subse- quently entered a pka of guilty. Mr- Llewe^'n The daf-rdant, John Stanfield, is fined s, f. vii costs in ca?o and Stanfieid 1b. end costs, »r»d I hope m"a in their position will be more etno", in obeying tha Act- dealing with colliery management. It is very • xplicit, and those who use ,(;11\1 cf neglect mast offer tto peD ally.