Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

WAR NEWS. CONSTANTINOPLE, June 16. Mehemet All Pacha, telegraphing to the Porte on the 15th inst. from Kolacnine, announces that he has fought all engage- ment with the Montenegrins in the neighbouring forests, in which the Montenegrins were beaten and routed, with a loss of upwards of 200 killed. The loss of the Turks was thirty killed and thirty-one wounded. The Ottoman troops, after havin taken all the villaes situated between the Rivers Dora and Regene, returned to Kolachine. The inhabitants of the district of Tirasova, which consists of twelve villages, have given in their submission. A despatch from AU Saib Pacha, from Scutari, bearing yesterday's date, announces that the fire of the Turkish artillery has compelled the Montenegrins to cease bombarding Sponz. The Monte- negrins who -were preparing to bombard the village of Inocha had been repulsed, and some villages in the vicinity bad submitted to the Turkish troops. A despatchfijflm Suleiman Pacha. dated Gatzko, 14th inst., announces that the Montenegrins have advanced on the side of lourza to the centre of the Duga Pass, where they were surprised by a Turkish ambuscade, which prevented them from continuing their march. Some time afterwards they were prevented by another ambuscade from advancing to the last fort of the Preschka. The enemy thereupon en- trenched himself on the high road between Preshka and Lidahadjika. Cannonading is reported from several points on the Danube. The following is the Montenegrin account of the recent fighting between the Montenegrins and the Turkish troops —"On the 15th inst. Xi.-sics wa rerictualhid without a ÚIl the tame day -i very severely contested euage. ttenVvwJtonght it. Vasojv iv'.ch between the Montenegrins çt All .f>aøha at tilt" head of Turks. The beateD. On toe i6th hut. four de- made 1'1 the Turks bctwet:n il:r. d ,howe1l'er, orously ,fp.ipuls.;œ \y. 1Iet4.tly rein- '1' '>Wt\f J t.iaâ fflitlië ItêllQ. Ttø i aad 'wotit.ied. Anothar T TOIS COII^OV PW;, RHING S«. RAQUSJL, ^ane ir.—Intelligence from Sclavonic sources I statM that a sanguinary engagement was 'ought ali day yesterday at Kaoino-GtaviJca betwtwu 10,000 Turks and 3,000 Mouteiwsrira The Turks wer* defeated, aud pursued iI far as leaving killed on the field. The Montene- ) 6-in iosses were not so heavy. The Memorial Diplomatique states that the Czar gives no countenance nor encouragement to the warlike demonstra- tions which are taking in Greece, and that a Note, calling the attention of the government at Athens to the subject, has been despatched to the Russian plenipotentiary in the Greek capital.

The Correspondent of the Standard, telegraphing from ntmople on Sunday afternoon, says Although it is difficult here to understand the exact course of the war in Asia, there seems to be good reason to believe that the Rus- sians are not progressing so rapidly as was at first supposed. They seem to have come to the conclusion that they must take Kars before they can attempt any other operation, and consequently they have recalled all the forces which had spread themselves over the district between Trebizond and Van, and have concentrated them round Kars. To the best of our knowledge there are no Russians at present at Baimbourt, Olti, or Toprakaleh, and very few at Ardahan. Throughout the week the Russians have attacked Kars frequently and violently, but have always been repulsed with heavy loss. On the occasion of the latest repulse they are said to have withdrawn some miles freni Kars. On the other hand, your Special Correspondent in Ahmed Moukhtar's camp reports that Ahmed Moukhtar has been very largely reinforced by infantry and artillery, I can confirm this from excellent sources. Your Corres- pondent states that Ahmed Moukhtar, having now sufficient strength is about to assume the offensive. I can confirm this, but of course I am not at liberty to state what Ahmed Moukhtar's plans are. Your Correspondent also reports that since the withdrawal of the Russians towards Kars there has been a great effervescence of £ he population against the Russians, and that great numbers, especially the Kurds, are flocking to Erzeroum to take part-in the war —From Batoum and Soukhoum Kale we have nothing fresh.—The Egyptian contingent of 7,000 infantry and 30 guns, under Prince J3.<tssan, has arrived. Another division of 5,000 men is expected.—The 6,000 Zebok3, whom I have often mentioned have now been newly clothed and equipped, and will at once be sent to the seat of war The Caucasus Gazette states that on the 1st June the morning train from Poti brought to Tiflis 100 Turkish pri- soners, of whom four were officers. The party were escorted by only one officer and 10 men, and seemed to be perfectly in different to their lot. After staying a few hours in the town during which they attracted very little attention, the con- voy started olf for Stavrapool, where all prisoners taken in Armenia, are to be interned until the end of the War. A Pera correspondent, referring to the statement made by the Russian general to the effect that when he entered Ardahan he found 800 Turks killed, says he is informed from a trustworthy source that these 800 Turks were men women, and children; that the cause of their death was an attempt on the part of the inhabitants to revolt against the harshness of the Cossacks; that after the capture of Ardahan the Cossacks ruthlessly massacred everybody and that when the Russian general arrived the slaughter was discovered. Considerable anxiety reigns in the Christian quarters of Constantinople owing to the arrival of a large number of Bashi-Bazouks, who are noisp and quarrelsome, and show The greatest animosity to the Christians. Mehemet Ali, who was killed in the fighting in the Tamer defile near Kars, was a distinguished Turkish officer, who served in the Crimea. )

ON THE USE OF TORPEDOES. A Correspondent of The Times, writing from Roumania, saysi A rather absurd mystery has been made of the way in which the Turkish monitor was blown up by the torpedoes. There waa nothing new about the means used. The torpedoes were carried at the end of long poles in front of boats and fired by electricity, not by contact with the enemy. One boat missed, a second succeeded. With ordinary precautions such attacks ought to be foiled, but the Turks do not seem to keep watch—certainly, they do not keep, as they ought to keep, small boats looking out for an enemy. Modern means have certainly altered some of the cofiditions of warfare, -but there is really nothing startling or diffi- cult to provide against in torpedoes, which are acquir- ing a place in popular estimation which is quite un- deserved. Hitherto ships have been counted as castles, where a sentry on the battlements could give all the aJann required. Now they must con- sider themselves as camps or forts, and must throw forward outposts in the shape of boats, either row- boats or steam launches. If a small vessel can sink a monitor by means of a torpedo, so can a besieg- ing force blow up a bastion if the besiegers allow it. As there are in warfare by land outposts, mines, and counter-mines, so must there be in naval warfare. Ships must not be left to the care of two or three sleepy sentries, but must have their regular outposts, and in some cases, when they are fixed for some time, their own system of torpedoes. Fixed torpedoes are liable to deterioration, to be swept away by floods, to be remo ved by the enemy, without any knowledge of it coming to those who laid them. Unless the water where each one is sunk is carefully plumbed, and the depth of the chain or rope regulated accord- mgly at intervals of time, they are too low under the surfac<5 in case of. flood, and high enough to be seen wher the vvater sinks. The effect of a system of torpedoes is cniefiy moral, and that effect is to be overcome by Nelaonian tactrcs. If a ship or two must be sunk to achieve a victory, why let them sink; beat the enemy, and he will have to give up his ships to you if you demand them. If all the new science imparted into warfare is to make soldiers and sailors timid if Generals, or Parliaments, or popular assemblies hope to make war without losses, that side which tries the experiment will certainly lose. It is not the armour but the strong man inside it who is to be trusted. Let your science be as perfect as you will, the strong hearts and sturdy bodies, with good hard brains that do not calculate odds too much, will win at last. So it will probably be in crossing the Danube. The Russians will succeed, but only with heavy loss, which they count at 30,000 or 40,000 men.

MISS MARY CARPENTER. Miss Mary Carpenter, the philanthropist, was found dead in her bed at Red Lodge House, Bristol, on Fri- day morning in last week. She had retired to rest apparently in her usual health on the previous even- ing.—The, Times ef Monday gives a very interesting memoir of this philanthropic lady, in which her life- long exertions in the cause of the education of neg- lected children are sketched, and from this article we make the following extracts :— She was born at Exeter on the 3rd of April, 1807, being the eldest child of Dr. Lant Carpenter, then one of the ministers of the Unitarian congregation of that city, from which he removed to Bristol when she was ten years old. She very early showed a remarkable aptitude for learning, and was educated by her father in many subjects that were at that time seldom taught to girls. She also showed no less aptitude fur teaching; aud while studying Latin, Greek, and mathematics with her father's elder scholars she was intrusted, while still in her teens, with part of the instruction of the younger ones. lany men who have since filled conspicuous positions in public life now look back with interest to their early association with her as class fellows, or with gratitude for the careful and judicious training they received as her pupils. She very early took part in the Sunday school attached to her father's chapel in Bristol, and the interest she thus came to feel in the education of the poor was the germ of that which sub- sequently inspired and directed the great work of her life. She did not satisfy herself with Sunday teaching, but fol- lowed the member of her class to their homes, endeavoured to make their parents regard her as their friend, and aimed to help them, by leading them to help themselves, in every way within her power. Her father having relinquished his school in 1829, she united with her mother and sisters in a school for young ladies, in which she toek the leading part until it was relinquished in 1845, always devoting a part ef every Sun- day and many hours of the week to teaching and visiting her Sunday scholars and their families. As some of these lived in one of the worst localities in Bristol, she was brought much in contact with a lower class than that of the respectable poor whom she usually visited, and a strong desire Few up in her mind to make an attempt to elevate it. What the heard of the Ragged Schools that were being established in London about the years 1S46 and of institutions more or less similar in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen led her to take steps for the establishment of such a school in the locality which she had fixed on as most likely to be benefited by it; and, with the pecuniary aid supplied by friends, a suitable place was secured for it, and a master was feund who proved to have a special apti- tude for dealing with the "street Arabs" who presented themselves as his scholars. This school speedily became a marked success its beneficial influence on the neighbour- hood was obvious to the police and while training these young waifs and strays, Mary Carpenter was training herself fur the still more difficult work which she afterwards undertook. She gradually awoke to the fact that the occasionally criminal class does not form the lowest stratum of the population of our great cities, but that there is a lower deep still, that of the permanently criminal, which cannot be reached by any ordinary means of elevation, and into which the neglected children of the class above are very apt to fall. The condition of this lowest class then became the special object of her study; she gathered all the information she could collect from various public sources, put herself in communication with the Rev. John Clay, of Preston, the Rev. Sydney Turner, of Red Hill, Sheriff Watson, of Aberdeen, and various other gentlemen who had made themselves conspicuous by their philan- thropic efforts for the reformation of juvenile criminals, and searched out its haunts in the lanes and alleys of Bristol, venturing alone where policemen were afraid to go ringiy Five years thus passed away, her ideas gradually be- coming more mature, her desire to carry them into action increasing in strength, and her conviction of the vast good thaå might be accomplished, being almost daily strength- ened. for at this period it was shown by statistical tables that juvenile crime was increasing in a ratio far exceeding that of the population generally; and it was no lesa clear that if the evil were not speedily checked, it must increase yet further. Schools, penitentiaries, and gaols, ma<*e impression on it; could not some new and more successful remedy be devised? It was in the early part of 1S51 that the appointment of Mr Matthew Davenpot Hill as Commissioner of Bankruptcy in Bristol, by leading to a renewal of an early intimacy with the wicow of Dr. Carpenter (who had died in 1840), brought him into personal relation with Mary Carpenter. Each found the other a most fitting coadjutor. As Recorder of Birmingham, Mr. Hill had acquired a large experience on the subject of juvenile crime and in his successive charges had repeatedly urged the importance of reformatory dis- cipline for its prevention and cure. On the other hand, Miss Carpenter had not only acquired a practical familiarity with the class from which the ranks of juvenile criminals are recruited, but had clearly shaped out in her own mind the principles on which any attempt to deal with them should be based. In mutual concert Mr. Hill and Miss Carpenter formed the plan of a Conference, to which the numerous isolated workers in this field should be invited, with the view of agreeing, if possible, on a com- bined plan df action, by which Government might be moved to take up the subject, and Birmingham was selected as a suitable meeting place, both in virtue of its eeutral situation and because the influence of Mr. Hill was able to secure the friendly aid of its local authorities. Full oppor- tunity was thus obtained for the discussion of the scheme which had been previously draughted by Miss Carpenter and Mr. Hill, and it was adopted by the Conference without any essential ehange. After vain attempts to induee Government to take up the subject, the promoters of the movement prepared a Bill which was brought into the House of Commons by Sir Charles Adderley in 1S53, and which they succeeded in carryuig through Parliament in 1854. Even before it became law, Miss Carpenter, in conjunction with Mr. Russell Scott, then of Bath, had planned the establishment of a reformatory on the spot originally selected by John Wesley for the education of the sons of ministers, at KingsWood, near Bristol The old tviegswood Rpfcr.t? baring been elaew1¡ere developed into a new E. ô., 0011 of much highr grade: th property, whkh included a small farm, with farm-buildings, as well s10 the school-house, C:1.me into the market, and this having becn purchased by :\11'. Scott, the new institution was set going./ In he first instance it was Miss Carpenter's idea that girls might be combined with boys in such a manner as to ievelope somewhat of a family feeling; but various dilll- Wi'vUee soon arose w' ich rendered tlds plan impracticable, so m it btmiM n«oe«aary for the gills to bo provided 31 'ss C^jgetttgr tkomrht fj. hetief -lit thsiu an<! to JL.uigswoi>u and t.te boys m I th««anA6 of gentlemen who were willing to carry it (WJt' Just at this juncture a. curious old Elizabethan house t, iatol called tbet"3»«l 1<oa«e. last occupy*! by Dr. j u, 'for aale, aud. being peculiar I i), iI:I her work, li-aa 'Vrpenter sonjgtit the aid r of Ay I Byron, who had for several years shown a great interest in her proceedings. Lady Byron readily uiidei-Wk to purchase the house, and to place it iu MiSs Carpenter's harids :¡,t a small rental, on condition that she should undertake fie eatire manage- ment of the institution, and should be free to carry out her plans without any other control than that of the Home Office, to which the Reformatory Schools Act made her re- sponsible. With this condition Miss Carpenter gladly closed. The house was furnished by the aid of friends who desired to see her placed in a position of independent action, and the institution was forthwith opened, the number of girls originally received being about 40, afterwards increased to nearly 60. it had been scarcely brought into working order when Miss Carpenter was struck down by a severe attack of rheumatic fever, which so seriously affected the heart that for many weeks she seemed hanging between life and death. Even after the disease had itself passed away certain conse- quences remained, of which the persistence was apparent through the whole remainder of her life, and to which her sudden disease is attributable. In due time she became able to resume her charge, and the success of her efforts soon unequivocally manifested itself. Probably no one has ever combined the qualifications already indicated as needful to the juvenile reformer in a higher degree than Mary Carpenter. Her faith that there is a holy spot in every child's heart" was a part of her nature, and with this was combined an insight that made her quick to find it out. The knowledge she had gained during more than thirty years of educational work enabled her to use her rare gifts to the best advantage and she had a fount of love and sympathy which no demands could exhaust, but which never ran to waste. In 1856, at the age of 50, Miss Carpenter was left by the death of her mother (with whom up to that date she had re- sided) without any family ties that would interfere with the entire devotion of her life to what she had come to feel to be specially her work, and found herself possessed of a small independence, which sufficed for her very moderate wants. She then removed into n house adjacent to the Red Lodge, over which she could thus exercise a more constant super- vision, and began a scheme by which she could make hr own domestic establishment a part of her Reformatory system. She had previously purchased and annexed to the institution a small house which had been occupied by very undesirable neighbours, and to this she had trans- ferred the laundry and other industrial appurten- ances which were placed under a separate superinten- dent. To this "Cottage" were promoted from the 'Lodge' such girls as had shown themselves fit to be trusted under less rigid surveillance to be admitted into it was an object of desire, furnishing a strong motive for self- restraint, while to be sent back to the "Lodge,' as the neces- sary result of misconduct in the Cottage," wasa punishment severely felt. She now established a higher "order of merit," recei ving into her own house three girls, who were placed under the immediate superintendence of an ex- perienced housekeeper, and specially trained for domestic service. These girls while still under sentence," were allowed as much liberty as the younger servants in an ordinary household, being sent abroad on errands, and in- trusted with commissions involving the expenditure of money. Constantly under Miss Carpenter's own watchful eye, her quick insight immediately detected any symptoms of irregularity; and, while a recommendation from her was known to insure to any girl who had been thus trained a suitable place on the expiration of her sentence, the prospect of a relegation to the "Lodge" operated, in conjunction with her own personal influence, as a powerful deterrent from misconduct. "On this plan the Red Lodge Reformatory has been carried on to the present date with a very large measure of success. Difficulties and partial failures must occur from time to time in any undertaking; the ablest superintendent cannot always find, or, having found, cannot always retain, the most efticient aubordiu&tes and the evil nature of girls brought up in an atmosphere of vice and crime (and usually far more brutalized than the average of boy criminals) can- not be speedily eradicted under the very best system. But hundreds of such girls have been permanently res- cued, and either in respectable domestic service or as wives and mothers of families are now fulfilling the best hopes of the philanthropic woman who, with faith that never wavered, insight that never failed, and love that never wearied, devoted herself for more then 20 years to their welfare. Although the funds provided by the public purse for the maintainance of the Red Lodge Reformatory proved adequate to the remuneration of a lady superinten- dent in addition to the staff of mistresses, Miss Carpenter never appropriated one farthing of this surplus to her own use, but expended a part of it on the institution itself, a part upon kindred objects, latterly laying by the most of it against the time when the appointment of a permanent and well-paid superintendent in her place might become a necessfty." The writer of the article then adverts to the efforts of Miss Carpenter and her friends, by whose co-operation the Industrial Schools Act were carried, and which enables magistrates to place in such schools for long terms the neg- lected boys who are brought to them by the police as habitually found about the streets, their parents (as in the case of the reformatories) being held liable for their support." The writer then alludes to Miss Carpenter's efforts to reclaim the "street Arabs," their introduction into the ordinary National.British. or Board Schouls." being generally found very detrimental to the schools and of little benefit to the members of this peculiar order. She then placed her Ragged School on the footing of a Day Industrial, similar to that established 30 years previously in Aberdeen, the children being attracted to it by plain but sufficient food, and being kept in it the whole day. This system she had advocated in her original book on Reformatory Schools,' but the strong objections raised against it on economical grounds and the difficulty of supporting such a school by voluntary contributions had prevented her from undertaking its responsibility. She now, however, determined to make the trial; most of the supporters of the original Ragged School con- tinued their aid and the day (feeding) Industrial School proved as successful as her previous undertakings. Miss Carpenter succeeded in convincing Lord Sandon, by the six years' results of the Bristol Day Industrial, that the theoretical objections to her system had ne real existence, and that it might lafely receive legislative support. It was entirely in deference to her authority that members on both sides of the House Of Commons consented to give the plan a fair trial; and having herself an assured conviction of its success, she had the intense satisfaction of feeling that she had at last brought to completion the system of legislative prevention, as well as reformation, which she had been gradually working out for thirty years. further series of vigorous efforts in the same direction remains to be mentioned. During her attendance at the meeting of the Social Science Association at Drolin, in 1861, her attention was drawn to the Reformatory system for adult criminals which had been worked out in the Irish convictprisous by Sir Walter Crofton. She at once saw that it was based on the same principles with her own, and from that time she did everything in her power to urge it upon public attention, both at home and abroad, publish- ing, in 1804, a work in two volumes, entitled "Our Con- victs, She kept up a constant correspondence on the sub- }cct with prison reformers in almost every country in Snrope, as well as in India, the Britlnh Colonies, and the United States, and took an active, part in the International Conferences by which the results )f different systems have been compared and the hands of isolated labourers strength- ened by mutual co-operation." That other great field of Mary Carpenter's activity, o r Indian Empire is then alluded t) by the writer, who says that she determined in 1866 (whm in her 60th year) to pro- ceed to India, with the view, in jihe first instance of tho- roughly acquainting herself with fhat was being there done for education, for juvenile reformation, and for prison discipline, so as-to be able to laboir for any improvements she might consider desirable, will full knowledge of the actual condition,; of each case, the precise objects tó be arrived at, and the practical difflmlties which might have to be overcome. The Home Governnent showed itself ready to promote her views by giving he: credentials which opened to her every public institution in India, and which secured for her a cordial reception by the very highest authorities in the three Presidencies, as well aa by a large number ot their ablest subordinates; and the moit intelligent of the Native community vied with each otherin their appreciation of the motives of her visit and in readneôs to further its objects. It was strongly in her favour wilJ them that she had come all the way from England simply to see what she could do to benefit the natives of India, witaout being on the one hand an agent of the Government, fT, on the other, being iu- fluenced by the desire for religrons proselytism, which ani- mates and directs the educatloml work of the missionaries. She found, however, that thete vaa a powerful dead-weight of prejudice among the Hindooi of the old school in favour of female ignorance, and that the Government was indis- posed to do anything to suppot the educational plans until the Native community should h:1.v£ shown a readiness to forward them by the voluntary support of the institutions for female education which she proposed to establish. Not long after her return home, in iiCT, she published a book in two volumes, entitled Months in India,' in which she embodied the general resets of her inquiries, and the suggestions she was prepare i b Offer as to the subjects of them; and since that date she dree times revisited India with the view of giving all the aid in fer power in carrying out these suggestions, and found on cam occasion increasing reason to believe that the good seecf siie has there sown will in due time produce a rich and abUidant harvest. The interest now taken in her work, and the profound respect and gratitude felt towards hesfce! on the part of the Native community, are shown byr tie number of addresses she received from bodies of lftrti?es of'the highest considera- tion, not only in the localities she herself visited, but also in places in which she was okly known by repute, many of these addresses being accomptnied with valuable presents and she also received lettefs from several independent native Princes, begging her te extend her labours into their territories. On her return last year from her fourth visit she considered that she fed laid such a foundation for the building up of a permanent system of female educa- tion that her work in promotilli it would thenceforth lie in this country. At the request of the Secretary for India (who has more than once expressed in the House of Lords his hjgh appreciation of hetfviews in regard to the social elevation of its Natir« rad#), she prepared two reports- one on Prison Diaciplj^n, th,«L other on National Schools for Female Teachers—which helias recently placed before Par- liament, and it may be conftde tly expected that he will do his utmost to give effect to the recommendations which they contain."

A correspondent with, sneial opportunities for estimating Miss ùter's jrivate character writes to The Times:— ( None who only knew her in public life could be aware how much she possessed of the artatic and poetic tempera- ment, how keen was her enjoynent of nature, and how. strongly she was interested in the general progress of scientific thought; and onq those who shared her closest intimacy could knw the depth of her religious fervour, and tht eonaiancJwith which she humbly aimed to follow ia the ootsteps of her great Exemplar. Even those who early drank from co-operation in philanthropic work with one they regarded as outside the pale of Christianity fouad themselves compelled to recognize iu Mary Carpenter a devoted disciple whom Jestis himself mnst have lov^l. Owhe 'Morning and Even- ing Meditations with Irayirs.' wch she first published anonymously about thirty yakrs a#, she was able to say in her preface to the ftfth editHn, p'plwhed in 1863, that' It has met the religious wat of persons of all denominations it has comforted their and solaced the dying bed of many, while ,^he closet companion of numbers without r the Bpirit knowing no such distinction w* ^uijiou with its Maker.

FT CENTER. The remar" Titer were interred on Tuesday near Bristol. The hears wenty mourning and priva' if the mayor and high sher la of the Kings wood Re amatory, and Park-row iating minister was the twin's Mead Unitaria.

TB 5JNCH On Sf place of the Frenchal of excite- ment Ï1 demonstra- tion o' was read from 1 ie House to assenf :\8 then re- ferrec1 n. In the Chan iterrupted, and 1& Be hmont, a me: it forward an in ry to give an « inro tenr Marshal racterised the impotent for plied for the measure ad inimical to Gambetta tl itained that t) i because it acc.. the TTltra- mom -ftpjithat. after fVo ^sllopublicans, ao' uid return 400 j ifgfaog an account s serie, s t' 48 for the of Deputies, ft •cee<^ ^ct allapi ^questionably the most heated, nn ;couragir!sittiiig that has been belt. ven years. It ex- tended over five i, and during that longtime, amid an aapedup, as it were, in every-gallery, ih es, staircases, and waiting-rooms, th vged roar of voci- ferations reboundir1.. ,f the Chamber to the other. Every Plao. by assault, and it was only with difficulty owd was prevented from violating the i ted it at the street, and from was necessary to turn out two persons to l wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and The sitting was scarcely opened v»hpn tht ..ttle broke forth. The Minister of the Interioij'M. <de Fourtoa) as#endecl*the tribune, and read a declaration which was a paraphrase of the Message sent to t-ie> Senate, but the following passage of which it is w -U to quote textually :— 'The President of the Republic remains convinced, after two sincere but fruitless t) wis, that no Ministry can liop« to muster a durable majority ,!I1, this Assembly without asking to be backed bv the Part) > Ch professes Radical doctrines, and without thereby prom 'l"ig the progress of them. Full of respect for theinstttuti govern us, and resolved to maintain them intact, llefoinks himself entitled to em- ploy all the prerogatives "vniel; they give him to resist another step being taken in a j ath which seems to him to lead to the ruin and dearauawou of the country. He has chosen Ministers who snare j^ea in this respect, and assume, in the eyes<» France, reSpongibility of it.' From this moment (continues the correspondent) it became evident that one part of the Chamber was ready for any violence, and that the other part, unable to contain itself to e ,^on^nsion of the sitting, would end by taking part 111 tumult. I cannot pretend to give an idea ol what occurred. There were things beyond description but I shall be quite under- stood when I mention that M. Paul de Cassagnac alone interrupted 97 times, not to speak of the inter- ruptions which were met jn the uproar; that there were five calls to order, and two censures pro- nounced." ''At one time, when M ^&tnbetta BAid. that power was at present in suspicious M. Paris, the Minister of Public Works, sprang, a threatening air, towards the tribune, and the Right ana Left dashed forward. The ushers had to separate the armies. It really seemed as if this time there would be a iBfed-to-hand fight, and all in- stinctly waited for the of revolvers. When the tumult subsided, M. Gafl^etta resumed his speech amid fresh cries, and for a few nnnutes a few phrases from a voice by this time rendered hoarse were only heard between the recurrent yells, till both sjjteB were worn out, and the speaker finished in a scarcely inteluglble voice. It is impossible to describe this terrible struggle of one man against a hundred—this orator, with his heavy manner, his pale face, his soaking brow, drinking cup after cup of coffee or beer, using up pocket-handkerchief after pocket- handkerchief, stalking up and down the tribune, defying his adversaries with gesture and voice, mingling vulgar tones and trivial expressions with the finest French eloquence, throwing back hishead with contempt, gesticulating furiously when declaring himself indifferent, and presenting to the breathless galleries' the spectacle of a struggle which elieited iu turn admiration an<i criticism. Nor can I describe the Assembly of the country of elegance and wit, shrieking, hissiiig, imitating the voice of the speaker, and presenting to the alarmed spectators the picture of a lamentable decadence and unbridled violence And then, on the arrival in Paris, how can I paint the eager and restless crowds at the station and round it, the agitated Boulevards, the rush for the newsj/apers, and that feverish and agitated curiosity which precedes evil days and an un- known future—all this explains the characteristic words of one of the orators of the day-—lj. Bethmont-who said to me, voulez VQUS J' Agony is never beautiful to look at." It is said that after M- Gatnbetta had delivered his speech, he fainted; but speedily recovered and pro- ceeded to Paris in the evening. A. Republican senator M. Pierre Lefranc, though very ill) proceeded towards the House in a Bath chair in order to take part in the sitting. Before arriving, however, he fainted, and died soon after reaching his residence.

The following (in the Union) of the disgracefully riotous scenes at Versatile M scarcely exaggerated :— What a sitting Never, perhaps, since the terrible scenes of the Convention was a Parliament dishonoured by such shameful excesses. Political passions burst forth with savage fury in a concert of fierce invectives, coarse interruptions, and inarticulate cries. The re- presentatives of France were seen foaming at the mouth, their faces pur.pm with anger, shaking their fists in each others' and exchanging insults. They hissed and roared like wild beasts."

The Correspondent of The Times, writing on Mon- day, says. The same crowd as on Saturday again crushed into the train to-day, invaded the passages, and filled the galleries. There were the same defiant looks, the same violent atti- tudes but energy seemed spent by the struggle of Satur- day, and from weariness, not from greater wisdom, the spectacle was less painful. 0.11 the return from Ver- sailles the crowd in the station was immense, and this even= ing the Boulevards are as animated as ou Saturday. It may be said of these two painful clays that the violent Parties of the Chamber presented an equally saddening spectacle that those who cherish the cause ot f ranee must wish that the country may be preserved as much from the excesses of the one as tha other." ^„

INQUEST UPON AN EX-ARMY OFFICER. In London, on Saturday, an inquest was held by Mr. W. J. Payne, coroner, at the board room of the St. Georges 9 Workhouse, Borough, concerning the death of Henry Augustus Williams, an ex-army officer, the circumstances surrounding which were of a distressing nature. The widow of the deceased, Amy Williams, who described herself as the daughter of the late Rev. R. \V. Hartshorne, curate of Christ Church, Blackfriars, and who appeared in court in the workhouse clothes, said the deceased was 45 years of age, and had besn an army officer. He had served as captain in the Royal Scots Guards, the Osmanli irregular cavalry, the Gold Coast Artillery, and, lastly, in the 2nd West India. Regiment. Being desirous of im- proving his position, and seeing, as he thought, a good opening in Canada, he sold his commission for £1,000 and proceeded to Canada, where he em- barked in a new undertaking, In a short time the business failed, and he became a ruined man. He then returned to England with the hope of finding something to do by which he could support him- self, witness, and their three children, whose ages were five, seven, and nine. The deceased's hopes were, however, never realised. He tried to get em- ployment in various ways, but failed; and he then applied to the Charity Organisation Society, from whom, however, he received no effectual assistance. Subsequently he wrote for an appointment as mis- sionary, to go to America, but before that matter could be gone into thoroughly he was compelled by hunger and want to apply for admission to the work- house, which they entered on the previous Monday. The deceased was employed in carrying wood, but in a short time he was taken suddenly ill and died from apoplexy.—By the Coroner They had lodged in Nelson-square for a few weeks, but, having ot a little in arrear in their rent, did not wish to impose upon the landlord, who was very kind to them, and, therefore, left for the workhouse. For at least a week none of them had had very much to eat. Her husband was a healthy man, but had complained of pains in the head from walking in the sun of late. Witness had friends who had helped them, but they did not like to be continually making claims upon them. Deceased was a strictly sober man, and so was witness. As a proof of the high estimation in which her husband was held, when he left the army the colonel of the regiment recommended that £100 should be paid to him in addition to the £1,500 due to him. Dr. Cotton, of Cavendish- square, London, knew them well, and she believed would have helped them if he had known exactly how they were placed. The landlord of the deceased's lodgings in Nelson- square spoke in high terms of the deceased and his wife. He had no idea of the distress they were in. The Coroner observed how sad it was to see a gentle- man of education and position and a lady, the daughter of a clergyman, brought so low as to enter a work- house with their children. No doubt there had been a false delicacy in not making their condition known, which was to be deplored, because there could be no doubt help would have been forthcoming from their friends. This was just one of the class of cases which the wealthy and charitable public ought to know of, for to help the widow and her three children would be far better than giving to societies. The Jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.

A GERMAN VIEW OF ENGLISH POLICY. The Cologne Gazette says :—The secret of the Eng- lish policy is the consciousness of England's military weakness. Since the time that the English were obliged to play so subordinate a. rCle in the Crimea, they eschew every war, at least in Europe. They cannot decide themselves to introduce general military service, and their volunteers may not be despised in case of an invasion of the happy island, but for a. foreign war they do not enter into consideration. Part, of their enlisted army the English want to keep their British Empire, and there remain only 40,000 men available if they commenced a war on the Con- tinent. With this there is little to be done nowadays, and if, through the use of torpedoes, the supremacy of the English fleet became questionable, England would sink before the rising generation disappears to the level of a Power of the second rank. England is for the present not to be counted on, and whether extra- ordinary events will be able to supply the wanting Chathams and Palmerstons we must wait to see.

ANOTHER "TICHBORNE" DEMON- STRATION. In London, on Monday night, Mr. De Morgan con- vened another "Tichborne" Demonstration in Tra- falgar-square. The expected thousands did not assemble, and two bands were sent to play round Charing-cross. A congregation having been thus ob- tained, Mr. De Morgan took his place upon the wall, and said this meeting was preliminary to still another demonstration," which had for its purpose the immediate opening of the prison doors of Dartmoor. He said they had now come to the "last constitu- tional means" of obtaining justice. They had been told to move the Law Courts, and they had moved and failed. They had brought the matter before the House of Commons and the Govern- ment, and they had power to bring it before the House of Lords and the Throne. This course they would adopt now, and send a memorial signed by 20 or 30 delegates of different towns, in which they would tell the Queen the" deep feeling" which existed among" millions of Her Majesty's subjects," and if justice should not be done, then, whether it was an idle threat or not, he promised that another" demonstra- tion should be called, when such means should be used as would bring the Government to its knees. At the next demonstration there would be as many thousands as there were individuals then present, when they would make the House of Commons tremble and shake the hinges off the prison doors at Dartmoor. The people who were listening took a cheerful view of the aspect of affairs, and while some few cheered, the majority laughed. Mr. Skipworth and other speakers addressed the crowd and Mr. Dunsley, said to be one of the jury, which convicted the Claimant, declared that the infor- mation which had come to him since tha trial had- oowinc'ed him/that the Goverumfent was not justified in davining t&e convict in prison. The chairman then placed; thAritone plat'Sry* » youth flftscrlW] as "youitg rtw.H^Sger." the of the prisoner at Dart- moor, in np&ei. to f.ho',v that Nature, which never Hed," had traced in lihn the lineaments oi the true ¡ he speeches were interspersed with music, ap- paivj tjy m order to kee^, the crowd from wandering away.—Times.

FOUNDERING OF THE 1ACIFIC MAIL STEAMER CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. The Hon. Mr. Sargent, one of the passeng«~ on board the Pacific mail steamer City oi San Francisco, g^es follow- ing account of the foundering 0f that vessel aw the narrow escape of the passengers and crew. He says "On Wednesday, May 16, shortly after 9Xi1Di a peculiar indescribable tremour was felt, the ship living struck against an unknown rock, cutting into thfe-^fl a length of sixty feet, the water rushing in with ful velocity. The ship was then about six miles S.W. of the Tartan shoal, and thirteen miles from the shore, the captain having known by observation her position at eight o'clock. The rock on which the vessel struck is not marked on any chart, but a man named Peror had communicated the existence of rocks at that point to the United States' consul at Acapulco. The ship was at once turned towards the shore, and was gradually sinking until she grounded on a sand- bank at 10.20 a.m. As soon as she struck orders were given to get the beats ready and life preservers on, as the danger of sinking was most imminent. During this fearful interval, while evidently foundering, not a cry was heard from the passengers; there was a little confusion, but silent anxious waiting, although there were 130 passengers, of whom 30 were small children and many young women never before at sea. The boats started for shore about 13 miles away, but not a passenger was allowed a pound of baggage of any kind; and when reaching shore each boat was capsized in the heavy surf, and the passengers thrown in the sea, but not a life was lost. The captain at once sent one of his officers to Acapulco, 80 miles distant, but the boat fell in with the gunboat Mexico, and although under orders to get provisions for the besieged city, the in- habitants of which were starving for food, the captain at once steamed off to the relief of the shipwrecked passengers. They were all taken off the shore safely, and next day were transferred to the Pacific mail steamer Costa Rica, Captain Whiteberry. The cap- tain of the City of San Francisco states that he has frequently ran the vessel over the spot where the steamer struck, and the only conjecture is that the late earthquake on the South American coast, which was made manifest by a terrific tidal wave, may have upheaved a submarine rock. The passengers lost everything, nothing being saved—it was a run for life." A later despatch says that during the excitement one of the passengers, a young man from New York, jumped overboard, but was fortunately picked up by one of the boats and placed safely on shore. The monetary loss is exceedingly great. A German gentleman and his sister had 11,000 dols. in their trunks, which went down in the steamer, and the wife of an excise officer, named Smith, belonging to San Francisco, lost 8,000 dols. Other passengers, not being able to recover their luggage, have lost large sums of money, varying from iW)0 dols. to 10,000 dols.

THE LATE LORD JUSTICE MELLISH. Lord Justice James, on taking his seat in the Court of Appeal on Saturday, paid the following warm and graceful tribute to the memory of his late colleague Sir George Melli. h :— We have to deplore the loss of our very dear col- league the Lord Justice Mellish. We had hoped against hope that he would rally, as he had so often rallied but the last long and painful attack nas been too much for his shattered frame. What he was at the Bar and on the Bench is known to the profession, to the suitors, a.nd will long be remembered but to no man was his judicial character so known as it was to me, who, for so many years, bad the inestimable advantage and privilege of sitting by his side in the Old Court of Appeal, and working with him duting all thalj, time in the most unreserved intimacy and confidence. During that time I have seen him sitting by my side writhing under the painful disease by which he had been racked from his early youth, and subduing a pain to which any other man would have succumbed by his strong will and his resolute determination to do his duty. And yet he has continued to apply his powerful and clear intellect and the unrivalled stores of his legal learning to ascertain the truth, to main- tain the law, and to do right and justice to all manner of men. That was the single-minded object of his judicial life, which was as free from vanity and caprice as it was from prejudice, passion, or partiality. With it all there was that marvellous sweetness of temper which was never disturbed or altered. Day by day I learnt to lookupon him more and more with an admira- tion which was only equalled by the love with he inspii. ed me and by the regret with which I now pay this truthful tribute to a very great and a vood J Ildge. His Lordship, in delivering this touching and appro- priate tribute to the memory of the late Lord Justice whose loss will be most deeply felt by the whole pro- fession, was much affected, and his address was received with earnest and respectful sympathy by an unusually large number of the members of the inner and outer Bar who filled the Court. Mr. Glasse, Q.C., as the senior Q.C. present, said:— My Lord,—On my own behalf and on behalf of the Bar, perhaps your Lordship will allow me to address a few words to you. We desire to express our very great regret at the loss which we, as well as the public, have sustained of a J udge whose learning we have admired, whose great courage and patience in bearing intense suffering we have witnessed, for whom we entertained the highest respect, and of whom I am not saying too much when I say that the Bar will always retain the moat affectionate remembrance. The Court was at once adjourned.

^—■———■ RUSSIAN CENSORSHIP. The Pallll-fall Gazette of Tuesday says :—We have- received from a subscriber resident in a Russian town of some importance a copy of our impression of the 18th of May, in which the report of the anti-Russian demonstration in Hyde Park on the previous Sunday has been obliterated by the Censure. Since the date, however, of that ingenious and original measure of statecraft the Russian authorities have decided on re- sorting to a simpler precaution for protecting their people against the corrupting influence of foreign criticism and the numbers of this journal from the 1st of June inclusive have been refused at the St. Petersburg Post-office, and returned to us unopened. This exclusion of the Pall Mall Gazette from the Russian capital is a circumstance at which we, at any rate, have no right to be surprised but it scarcely seems to accord with the view taken by some among us either of the enlightment of the Russian Government or of their faith in the attachment of the people. Surely, the love of the children for their father the Czar" ought to be proof against any criticisms of an unsympathetic foreign press upon his conduct and motives.

AMERICAN HUMOUR. A Western reporter died of brain fever the other day he tried to take notes of a discourse that his mother-in-law was making for the benefit of the family, and the swiftness with which he was obliged to work over- strained his mental organization. There may come a time when everything bad of Brigham Youug will be forgotten, and he will be remem- bered as the great philanthropist who buried twenty-seven mothers-in-law in a dozen years. The man who could do all the business he wanted to without advertising has been compelled to advertise at last. The new advertisement is headed" Sheritr's Sale." In concluding an article on the last corn crop an Alabama editor remarked We have on exhibition in our sanctum a magnificent pair of ears." Mr. John B. Weller, junior, Assistant City and County Attorney, San Francisco, is about to apply to the Legislature for permission to change his name to Better. Being asked What is an epigram?" Josh Billings replied An epigram's a bee-a little thing With just a buzz, some honey, and a sting." Newburyport, Mass., has 1,300 more women than men. It is a small place, and," says the New York Sun, "a wedding there creates almost as much sadness, as a funeral." A preacher in Chicago says of Soloinon-" King Solomon had 300 wives and 700 other lady friends." "Suppose, Bell," said a poor but honest ytmth to his girl, "suppose that a young man loved you dearly-very dearly-but was afraid to ask you to marry him, because he was very timid or felt too poor, or something—what would yon think of such a case?" Think," answered the girl immediately, why, if he was poor I say that he was doing just right in keeping quite still about it." The question was dropped right there.

Iltisallamous nt£IIif\.tntt. HOMB) FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. THE PROPER TIME TO MARRY.—In a comparison between the condition of the floating population of canal-boats and the workers in factories, a contem- porary says :—" It would be interesting to know the time when female operatives usually marry." The information is easily supplied. Factory operatives like most other girls, marry just when they can meet with husbands.—Judy. EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS.—According to the annual report of the Committee of Council on Education, the schools in England and Wales visited by the inspec- tors for the purpose of annual grants, which provided in 1869 for 1,765,944 scholars, or for 8.34 per cent. of the whole population, were in 1876 sufficient for 3,426,318 scholars, or 14.13 per cent. of the estimated population. There has been an addition of room in aided schools for 1,660,374 children in seven years. The average attendance in aided schools (day and night) has arisen from 1,225,764 in 1870 to 2,034,431 in 1876. There were in 1876 2,943,774 names of day scholars on the registers of inspected day schools, and this is the number of children, out of at least four and a half millions of whom elementary schools are required, who received moie or less of efficient instruc- tion in such schools during the past year. Of the day scholars on the registers 1,041,219 were below, and 1,902,555 above, seven years of age. THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES.—A Welsh gentleman engaged in business in London, in addition to sums of £250, 22,500, and £ 1,100 (the last sum in conjunction with his brother) previously subscribed, has just placed in the hands of the council of the University College of Wales a sum of money to be used in promoting scientific agriculture in Wales. According to a circular just issued, "one of the means proposed to be adopted in furtherance of this object is the delivery of courses of lectures free of charge to persons engaged in tuition in Wales, whereby they may be qualified for giving elementary instruction in the principles of agriculture i- their several schools." Pro- fessor Henry Tanner, M.R.A.C., examiner for the section under the Government J >epartnent of Sciem 0, will, on the 7th A ii,xt. begin a course of 20 lectures, to be continued from day to day, at the College in Aberystwith. Those qualified to attend' the lcctures are the teachers of science classes, the teachers of public elementary schools holding science certificates with other persons engaged in tuition possess such an acquaintance with chami3j £ £ 3^J^|flfe&j or phystefogy lectures, which will be based upon the adopted; by the txavaranletit <l«s.aj-tment. jflt TRADE MABKS-—TKE IMVVJ?CFMB-OSLIOR*. op. trade fcarks recite that the^ets direct thk no one shall institute proceedings after July 1 of tlds year for infringement Of a trade mark unless he is the regis- tered owner of that trade mark. It then proceeds to tered owner of that trade mark. It then proceeds to say that by reason oi' tbe difficulties attending the registration of trade marks used in the textile indus- tries it has been found impossible to complete the registration of such trade marks within the time specified." The time is therefore to be extended for textile fabrics but as for goods in classes 23 to 35 in- clusive, under the rules made by the Lord Chancellor by virtue of the Trade Marks Registration Acts, 1875-6, and dated September, 1876, the extension is till January 1, 1S78, or such further time as the Queen may by order in Council determine. I THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT. (beene-c)oliLil Belgravia.)—Mr. Smith, after words with the cabman, gives his name and address, Smith, Thames Bank." —Cabman. That won't do, you know. It seems to tue I've heard of a Smith afore to-day and as to Thames Bank, it reaches from here to the Nore !— JUIj. iVH. GLADSTONE AND THE CLAIMANT.—The follow- ing aiinver has been returned by IVLR. Gladstone to a letter aulressed to him on behalf of the Claimant:— "Dear Sh--I am in receipt of your note and sermon. I have never fJ-ard a more singular case of a-doubtless inno- cent— misunu>vstan(jiUg than that which you appear to share respectin^uly relation to the Claimant. It never hap- pened to me to Ù, called upon to exercise a discretioii-in auy ordinary sensi of the phrase-as to him at all, except ouce upon a collateni point arising incidentally, and then the decision was the uie more favourable to him. What I have said of myself is, Ibelieve, true of tie whole of the late Government, unless yo; consider this statement to be limited by the fact that thy did not take the unexampled step of interposing to preveit, the law from taking its course. I ave no more connection vith this than with any other judicial sentence pronounced vhile I was head of the Trea- sury.—Your faithful servant, IN B. GLADSTONE. June 13." SEA SERPENTS."—Mr. Anlen Wilson, lecturer in Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, at the Edinburgh Medical School, writes to The Times About a year ago I ventilated in the columns of several journals the idea that the "sea serpents" so fre- quently seen, were in reality giaat tape fishes or riband fishes. While not meaning b? this statement to exclude the idea that other animals—such as giant sea snakes themselves-may occasionaUy personate the 'sea serpent,' I am, as a zoologist fully convinced that very many of the reported appearances of sea serpents are explicable on the supposition that giant tape fishes-of the existence of which no reasonable doubt can be entertained-have been seen. The report of Captain Pearson, of the Royal yacht Osborne, appears, as far as zoological characters are concerned, to be fully explained on the 'ri'and-fish' theory. The long back fins, the scaleless skin, the rounded head, and, lastly, the two great" side (or. pectoral) fins, each measuring many feet in length, all form so many details corresponding exactly to the appearance of a great tape fish. I offer these observa- tions with the view of showing that, given a recital founded, as I believe the present narrative to be, on fact, we possess in the lists of living and of well-known animals adequate representatives of the great un- known." COOLNESS OF THE TURK.-The Vienna Corre- spondent of The T.imes writes :—The coolness of Eng- lishmen is well known, but for a real calm disregard for personal peril I can recommend a Turk. The other day at a station here a quantity of gunpowder was being packed in trucks for Shumla. One of the tin cases got damaged and some wiseacre sent for a brazier to repair it where it stood. The man came with his fire and soldering iron, mounted the truck, and was followed by a score of soldiers anxious to see the fun. He was just about to commence operations when the stationmaster jumped up after him, and, unceremoniously pitching him and his hot iron on to the platform, told the soldiers that they might kill themselves if they liked, but that he was responsib e for the station, and nobody should blow that up while he was there. WATERCRESSES FOR PARIS.—The London Medical Record observes that it is well-known that this whole. some vegetable is very largely consumed in Paris where it°is extensively used as an adjunct to many plats, and not as in this country, chiefly in its un- cooked state as an accompaniment to the matutinal ham and eggs. Recent statistics (for in France every- thing is a matter of statistics) tell us that no less than 30 waggon-loads of watercresses, each worth E12 ster- ling, daily pass the barriers of Paris, making the daily expenditure of the capital for this esculent £ 360 sterling. IT IS AS WELL TO KNOW. Pleasant Child (to Young Man making his first call): See here! if you're coming often, and going to make up to one of my sisters, you'd better be sharp and pop the ques- tion, 'cause I've noticed, with all the other Fellows, when it goes on so long it never copies to notliin, Jwly. DESIRING RECLUSION !-The World says "Prince Otto Von BiKmarck-Schonhausen, accompanied by his wife, Princess Joanna, hii daughter Countess Marie, his son Count Herbert, and a suite of five servants, is taking the waters at Kisoingen, and trying to recover, through their agency, his lost power of sleep and the balance of his over-strained nerves. For this purpose he guards most zealously his privacy, and denies himself to all visitors, newspaper correspon- dents. and the admiring public. So anxious is he that his incognito should be absolutely respectod, that on his arrival he addressed a most quaint and charac- teristic epistle in the Kissiwjen Anmgcr to the bathers, begging them, not to say ordering them, not to congregate for the purpose of staring at him when daily obliged to attend for his bath, and to recognise or haw to him in public'; for" either he would be oblipd to ignore their salutations and be condemned as an ill-mannered man, or he would at every instant be compelled to take off his hat, catch cold, and lose all benefit of his cure. TRUE PRESENCE OF MIND !-The unueual presence of mind of an adtor is illustrated by the following anecdote in the Virginia Chronicle Last night Jamel Ward was Myles na Coppaleen in the Colleen Baton, the weapon did not respond to the discharge-only tho click of the hammer could be heard. Danny Mann, however, fell as usual, and Myles, after he had rescued Eily O'Conner, pulling out his gun, went right ahead as follows :—" Be the powers, 'im little air- guns is a great invintion. Ye can blow a hole in the back of a blaggard without making enough nize to wake a sleeping cat; and, bedad, the shmell o' slimoke is d'.ne away wid entirely." The actor's promptness brought down the house. ROUBLES AND TROUBLES.—The Russians are try- ing to raise funds, by means of another loan, to feed their enormous armies. But they have already re- ceived a check on the bank of the Danube. Why do not they negotiate that 1—Judy. AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH ConT.-Tlie follow" ing are the average prices of British corn for the week ending June 16, as received from the inspectors and officers of Excise:—Wheat, 64s. Id. barley, 34s. 7d. ? oats, 26s. Id., per imperial qr. Corresponding week last year :—Wheat, 47s. lid.; barley, 34s. Od. oats, "Ss. 3d. PAPER Housrs.-A manufacturing company in Wis- consin keeps three mills constantly running on building paper, having capacity for the making of sixteen tons per day. As long ago as 1857 the company began the manufacture of paper for building purposes. The paper is a thick, hard pasteboard, wound in rolls of 251b. to 1001b. each, and usually 52in. wide. While in process of manufacture it is subject to a pressure of hundreds of tons, which compresses the fibres together in one solid body, thus making an absolutely air-tight sheet; and as paper is one of the best non-conductors known, it resists the action of both heat and cold, and so a building lined with it is made warm in winter and cool in summer. It does not shrink like lumber, and is not affected by frost, cold, heat, or dampness; and it is known that it will not burn so readily as wood, on account of its hardness and solidity, and by its use a house can be almost, if not absolutely, air-tight. STAGE FIGHTING. Ma,yfair says:—"Mr. Barry Sullivan has within the last few days undergone a ingular operation. It will be remembered that at Drury-lane Theatre, Macduff's sword accidently struck him in the eye, causing an abrupt tenninatidn of-Iiirt engagement and his retirement for some weeks; In the end he left the doctor's hands cured, .■ believed, but ever since he has been troubled wftii » curious affection of the eye. Having consulted art oculist, the conclusion was arrived at that there mnit be something in the eyeball itself. -Barry Sullivan- consented to undergo the necessary operation- ÍoX" testing this theory. His eyeball was cut open, and from it there was taken an eyelash, which had been thrust in at the point of the sword. Mr. Barry Sullivan is now, I am glad to say, recovered." SPEAKING IN ADVANCE !—The Novoe Vremya of St. Petersburg, in an article on the peace rumourSj says that the progress of the war has shown how indis- pensable it is for Russia to be mistress of the Black Sea. "Without that sea and a free passage through the Dardanelles, Russia cannot play that part in the East at which she has for centuries been aspiring. Now that we have entered upon the task, we must complete it. The task is doubtless difficult; but it is worthy of a great nation. We venture to believe that as Germany did not conclude peace after Worth or Sedan, so Russia will dictate peace not at the foot of the Balkans, but in the heart of Turkey. It is not where the blood of the unhappy Bulgarians has flowed, but where the order for their massacre was given, that peace must be concluded in that magnifi- cent edifice of Byzantine art, in the shadow of the temple of St. Sophia." CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.—" A Looker..On" writes to The Times :—" I observed the other day, when read- ing through the debate on Mr. Pease's motion with regard to the abolition of capital punishment, that none of the speakers seem to have hit upon what seems, in my judgment, to be an almost conclusive argument in favour of its retention-namely, that deliberate wilful murders have been rarely, if ever,. committed by regular professed criminals, but only by persons who so far as is known have been hitherto Un- tainted by crime. The simple reason is that to the pro- fessional criminal the punishment of death is too great a risk to be run, so that it does not pay to commit murder. We should, I think, soon see what would happen were murder placed in the same category with other ordinary crimes. SOLVING THE MYSTERY.—Mr. Proctor, a great authority on geology, says the earth is growing larger day by day. Consequently it is not able to move round so quickly in which case the months and weeks would lag a little. Perhaps this will explain why everything is behindhand this year, whether it be vegetation or cash payments. -Jitdy, SOUTH AMERICAN MEAT.—In London, on Thursday and Friday in last week, at the Cannon-street Hotel, there were exhibits of fresh meat which, it is stated, were preserved in Montevideo ten months ago. The importers are the preservers, a firm at-Montevideo, who declare- that the meat can be sold at from 3d. to 4d. per lb. retail, without bone, and hopefully look forward to a large trade being done in this meat—as hopefully as have the promoters of ,tber I'Ake- inventions. The meat is turned of zinc cases, and it is not particularly unsightly, though it differs -con- siderably in appearance from the joints seen at the cheap butchers'. The meat shown was beef, and it had very Hitle fat—indeed, it might be pronounced ts srving- it was stated to 6 f and coo§ed i^mffersrvery little from -*t4akSk#aneralJy J wn.louie; r TH E CHINESE J* *BASSADOK IN THE LAW COURTS.— The Chinese Ambassador one day hist week made his appearance in the Poort ri Appeal. The usher. whispered to one of tne' T'id^es, who whimpered to anotnei man, and so on, uitil fhe whole ueri 'h was informed of what was about to hftpi-ii. Then entered the Chinese Ambassador and his suitt.. all of whom chin-chinned, while their lordships grà""el'S sainted in return. Ten minutes of the proceedings vi-nre enough for his Excellency, who, on retiring, shook hands gravely with each and all the Judges. and wound up by shaking hands with the usher, whoti he appeared to consider the most important man in the place. The usher was, apparently the person whr> least enjoyed the joke.—Law Times. VERY SMALL CHANGE.—The annual report of the Mint shows that in the year 1876 there were coined here 162,000 pieces of bronze money of the nominal value of one-third of a farthing each. They were coined for Malta where they are legally current. FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY.—The Corres- pondent of The Time. writing from Rustchuck, says:- In my long rides and railway journeys I have every- where seen abundant crops. All this corn will soon be ripe, and it occurs to me to stir up English public opinion to make itself felt in Turkey before it is too late to cause this corn to be saved for the benefit of humanity. Under the Turkish law and system of farming taxes, the crops sometimes lie on the ground for months after they are cut, waiting for the assessor to value them. England would be doing a real kind- ness to Turkey if she would urge the necessity of re- laxing certain usages at this time. The farmers will not cut their crops, because they have no permission to remove them and consequently, if this ground is fought over within a short time millions of quarters of "h corn will be trampled under foot. To save this urgent remonstrances should made, which might do a good' work and which would hurt nobody. The moment the corn ripens every ablebodied civilian should be compelled to turn out, cut and then remove it to places of safety within forts, leaving the question of the amount of taxation to be settled after instead of be- fore removal. KEEPING THEM IN THEIR PLACES.—Ladies' hus- bands and ladies' dresses are both arranged on the same principle now-a-days. The only method on which they can be said to suit their fair owners, is when they are quite kept back.-Judy. A LUCKY IRECOVERY.-A fawner of Cberville, in the district of Caux, France, was struck with horror the other day, upon opening a cabinet, to discover that five bank notes, one for 500 francs, the other four for 100 francs, had been gnawed to pieces by mice. He collected the fragments, and sent them to the Bank of France, who, after much pains in trying to fit to' gether the pieces, reported that a considerable portion of the notes was missing, and suggested that as niiev do not eat fine paper, but simply "cut it up to carry away as lining material for their nests, he should organize a hunt and seek for the abode of the despoilers. The farmer at once set to demolish an old wall pierced with mice holes, and found a nest composed of the- precious fragments. These were put together ani sent to the bank, where the officials managed to nt' them in with the pieces previously sent to them, and accordingly paid the farmer the value of the notes. i CHARLES LAMB.—The Academysltys :—" We are in- formed that the long lost Poetry for. Children," by Charles and Mary Lamb, published in two tiny volumes at Godwin's Juvenile Library, in-1809,- has at last been found in South Australia in possession of the Hon. Air. Sandover, of Adelaide, and through his courtesy and generosity has been safely re-trans- lated to the country of its birth and publication. The total disappearance for so many years of a book of which a whole edition was rapidly sold off at the time is one of the most extraordinary circumstances in the literary annals of the present century. In the forth. coming (July) number of the Gentleman's Magazine a paper will appear containing a full account and do- scription of the volumes, with copious extracts from them. The poems are 84 in number and of these only 29 were hitherto known." AN IMPERIAL "PICK-IE-UP.The Paris corre- spondent of The Times has received the followiJJg in a letter from Ploesti, from one who is in a position to have exact information "Since the Emperor left St. Petersburg he is really, as it were, transformed. For some time lately he had been troubled with sleeplessness. He would continually wake up during the night and ask for news from the seat of war, aun- when lie was told none had been received he would get up and send off telegrams in all directions.. His physician advised him to go as near as possible to the seat of war, and only the idea of this restored his gaiety. You cannot imagine what a reception-lie has met with everywhere- Russia is convinced that this time the Eastern Question iI1 be settled. The Czar has sent off all who were urging hilll to make peace qua?id i;, eme. Ile had difficulty in drawing his sword, but since the beginning of the campaign every- thing has succeeded wonderfully well, though slowly." GETTING USED TO IT !-One can get used to ANY* thing in time (says "The Tatler" in the Pictoru1* World). I was having a chat the other day with a friend of mine in his rooms, which overlook the Thames near Barnes Bridge. This is a nice look-out," e £ l<1 I it's very pleasant of an evening to sit and smoke, and watch the boats and things go down the "Yes," he answered calmly, "there's a good dew going on, what with the eights and 'fours' from tn^ 4 London,' and the dead dogs and broken bottles. "Did you ever see a dead man go by ?" I aske with an unpleasant shudder at the thought^ of 1 Oh, yes he replied with a yawn, we riversia people sec a good many. I saw one three weeks with his knees floating uppermost. But, lor' bless yo»^ I took no notice of him, and went -on eating lunch. We get used to that sort of thing dewn here However. I thought I shouldn't care to live QUITE so close to the river myself, for fear of having my OlgeB" tion disturbed by some ugly might or other.