The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

TOWN TALK, j BT OUB SPEC'XAII CORRESPONDENT. Oiriwufn witi understand thai we do not "hold ourselves respon1 S'iisiri jo f our abw Correspondent's Qpiuiom&t TEE horrible stteof things which exist in the I Strand Union, brought to light by the nurse Beeton and Dr. Rogers has led to farther inquiry I into the treatment of the sick poor in two other workhouses, being promoted by the Sick Poor I Association. These investigations are now going on, one at Rotherhithe, and the other at Padding- ton. At Rotherhithe Miss Beeton was told by the clerk to the guardians that if she failed to substantiate her allegations, she might expect legal proceedings to be taken against her. With this incentive to speak the truth in the shape of a threat before her eyes, she proceeded to give an account of what she had witnessed, her statement in parts being almost too disgusting for repeti- tion, and, as a whole, would have been well nigh incredible, had we not by this time have become accustomed to these fearful disclosures. The diet was insufficient, the spirits were diluted, beer, when ordered by the doctor, was frequently not given; rags for poultices could not be obtained, and if a patient required more than one poultice in twenty-four hours, he had either to pay for it or to save bread for it; maggots crawled on the beds and on the floor; sheets were changed once in three weeks, and the patients had to wash their hands and faces in the utensils, other appliances for cleanliness not being provided. However, as the patients were only paupers, some of them it is possible, even "professional," too much stress must not be laid on such trifles as insufficient diet and a superabundance of filth. From this point of view what remains behind is more im- portant. There were three nurses, two of whom got drunk occasionally, while the third was a con- firmed drunkard. One nurse used to beat the patients until they were black with bruises, more particularly those who had no friends. On com- plaining to the matron about the cruelty of this nurse, Beeton was told to get used to these things, for workhouses were not like hospitals. In Miss Beeton's opinion, many patients were actually killed by this nurse. When the patients were very troublesome she used to give them a dose of opium, put them on their left side, and then let them die of natural deaths." Re- specting the Paddington Union, I will only say, at present, that the statement furnished to the Poor- law Board discloses almost as bad a state of things as that which proved to be a true account of the Strand Infirmary, and that the guardians have always maintained a high reputation for humanity and good management, so much so, that when the Archbishop of York described, in Willis's Rooms, the general inefficiency of the arrangements made by the various London Boards, he specially excepted the Paddington Board, as he had heard a very good report of their house from, what he considered, to be an authentic source. Seeing that mismanagement has been proved to exist in so many workhouse infirmaries, in the Strand, Bethnal-green, Shore- ditch, St. Giles's, St. Pancras (I say nothing of Rotherhithe and Paddington, as the inquiries are still pending), the conclusion that the present system is radically wrong, can only be contested by those who are interested in its maintenance. The plan proposed by the association of which Lord Carnarvon is president-the consolidation of the metropolitan infirmaries, their support by a metro- politan rate, and their supervision by the Poor- law Board—would render the occurrence of such scandals as take place under the present system an impossibility. Erected, as it is proposed these infirmaries shall be, in conformity with the sug- gestions of Sir William Fergusson, Dr. Quain, Dr. Bence Jones, Mr. Paget, and many other most eminent physicians and surgeons, they would be suited to the purpose for which they would be used, and the medical arrangements would be in accordance with what humanity requires. When, tnereiore, the majority of the metropolitan guardians oppose the erection of such buildings, "and the massing together of chronic disease," on the ground that new types of disease would thereby be generated, they, and all those who express the same opinion, only make themseltes ridiculous. To set up their common sense," which is valuable on all questions con- nected with haberdashery, coats, shoes, and vegetables, because on these matters they are specially well informed, against the common sense of physicians and surgeons on matters with which they are specially well instructed, is ignorant presumption. The common sense which alone is a safe guide is that sense or conclusion at which the whole or a majority of a body of men, duly qualified on any given subject, has come to upon that particular subject. In a word, it depends upon whose common sense it is. On the subject of the proper treatment of the sick, I prefer the common sense of the eminent medical men above- named to the common sense of the more or less respectable retail tradesmen, who constitute the great majority of London Poor-law Guardians. -THE marriage 0f our Princess Mary of Cam- bridge to Prinee Teck has been really celebrated amid much rejoicing. The Princess, with charac- teristic kindness, in the midst of her own happiness did not forget to make others happy. The school children at Kew, where the wedding took place, and where the Princess has resided for many years, had a. treat, and thirty or forty poor people had a good dinner of her providing. And in celebration of the event, the benchers of the Middle Temple sent around champagne to the > various bar messes. Her Majesty, and those in; immediate attendance upon her, were attired in the deepest of deep mourning. The Duchess D'Aumale, who was present, and who has but j recently lost her royal aunt and mother-in-law, the venerable widow of Louis Philippe, did not, however, appear in mourning. I THE "panic," which has swept like a tornado ] over the City," and left behind so many wrecks to show its destructive force, presented one notable j feature to which public attention has been, and j will for seme time to come be, earnestly directed— j I mean the extent to" which wide-spread ruin was j caused by the deliberate conspiracy of certain j parties, acting upon an organised plan, to send j down the price of shares and securities, in them- selves perfectly sound, in order to put fortunes into their cwn pockets. Those who hare iarested their capital in Joint-Stock Banks and F'inance Companies, are at present completely at the mercy of these so-called bears, whose modus operandi is of the most infamous and unprincipled character, and deserves to be punished by penal servitude for life, or a halter, far more richly than many a crime to which such punishments are awarded. The mode in which these conspirators against the fortunes, it may be said in many cases the lives, of innocent and unoffending people achieve their object may be easily described, and the I remedy I think is equally obvious if we once seriously set ourselves to devise one. Let us see how a bear" goes to work. A specu- lator, who has HO shares in a Joint-Stock Bank or Discount and Finance Company, goes into J the Stock Exchange, and offers to sell one | thousand shares for the next account at Sí lower I price than they stand in the market—say 62 instead of 64. The" bear" has no shares, and does not intend to have any; he merely lays a wager, and says, in fact, I'll bet you £1,000 that the shares of the bank will be sold at J26Q, or less, I before the next account day, three weeks hence." The result of the operation is that shareholders get frightened and rush into the market to sell; the price of shares really falls, and the bear," who has nominally sold one thousand shares at 62, j finds the price before settling day 60 or 61. He buys the shares at one of these prices, and is ready to deliver at the agreed price of 62, realising £ 1,000 or £ 2,000 by his wager. This was espe- cially the character of the run against the Agra J and Masterman's Bank, whose stoppage has caused j more misery and ruin in every part of the world than could the failure of any other bank, except the Bank of England. The scoundrels who set j themselves to destroy it were not content with J ordinary "bearing," bad as that is, but abso- I lutely sent circulars, friendly and confidential," J to depositors, advising them to withdraw their deposits before the bank shut up. One of these circulars was received by a depositor while he was on a visit at Paris. When depositors rush to a bank en masse to demand their money, and frighten shareholders into the market to sell at any price, the end must come-the stoppage of what was a thoroughly solvent concern when these nefarious practices commenced. Within the last two months men have committed suicide, and widows and orphans have been thrown into poverty by these "time bargains" or wagers. When solvent banks are brought to a stand then, shares become nearly valueless, and the widow who was left by her husband, what he thought, at least, a, decent competence of £ 10,000 or 1, 15,000 in first- rate bank shares, finds herself and children almost penniless. "Skittle sharping," which is punishable by law when the sharpers are detected, is far more honourable and much less mischievous than bearing." Even when they do succeed in entic- ing some young man from the country into a skittle alley, get Mm to play at a game of which, probably, he knows little or nothing, to. stake his good money against their bank of elegance notes and dummy sovereigns, and, lastly, "bonnet or drug him, and escape with his watch and chain, the injury they do is confined to the individual, and is upon a limited scale. But a glance at the list of shareholders of the Agra, and Masterman's Bank is sufficient to show that enormous loss will be felt in every part of our Eastern possessions in China, in the Straits, and by the military and ) civil service in India, especially with whom the Agra was a pet bank. One comparatively timid proposal to check such really criminal practices has been considered by the Committee of the Stock Exchange, namely, that sellers of shares should be required to give the number of j the shares they wish to sell. The committee rejected the proposal by a majority of fifteen against twelve. By so doing' they clearly preferred the interests of the members of H the House to those of the public, and for the sake of the brokerage on these fictitious sales, which constitute so large a portion of the business transacted in the House, they are quite ready to deny the investing public any protection whatever. But, as usual with purely selfish, calculations, they may find out by-and-bye that they have done the very thing they wished to avoid. The mere "wagerers" do not invest, it is those who have money to spare from business, or who have retired from active iife-and if they cease to invest in shares that can be affected by such nefarious operations, both bulls and bears must come to grief. They can't live upon one another. If j such practices were attempted against a private bank as wrought the downfall of the Agra and Masterman, the perpetrators would very speedily find themselves in the hands of the police, and at the bar of the Old Bailey. Why should joint-stock banks be deprived of the same protection? It is, however, very clear that protection is not to be looked for from the committee, though the fact, that there was so large a minority indicates that even within the House itself, there is a strong and wide-spread eonvictisn of the necessity for a change. Mr. Leeman, the member for York, has taken the matter up and introduced a bill into the House of Commons, which has been hailed j with mucn SatlsfaetiOL, though already it has j been criticised as going rather too far, and as not being sufficiently comprehensive. The I bill provides that all contracts for the sale or transfer of shares, stocks, or other interests in any joint-stock, banking, or any other joint-stock company, shall be null and void unless at the time of making such contracts the respective numbers and designations of such, ox the or stock are stated in writing. Fake statements in such written contracts are to be treated as misde- meanour, and legally punishable accordingly, Upon the main principle of the bill there will probably be little difference of opinion in the House of Commons, and any discussion will be as to the extent to which it should be applied. The Times, in its City article, recommends its applica- tion to banks, discount, or other credit establish- ments, while others think that nothing short of actual registration of all transactions will be an effectual remedy. If that was the law it would I place the "jobbers" in the same position as the j public, who, when they go into the market to j purchase, have to pay money down and undertake j all subsequent responsibilities and liabilities in, j respect of the shares so purchased. A stringent provision of this kinëJ, it may be said, would, in j the long run, put a stop to "jobbers "altogether. S If sq. Bill the better for the public and She jobbers t will probably betake themselves to some other I congenial calling,, or, perforce, learn to earn an I honest living. z. j

SUMMARY OF PASSING EVENTS. Fk-O'M: all quarters on the Continent we hear a 1 war sound at present there is an ominous still- J ness in many of the German States, which will, I we fear, break out shortly into thunder. The j two great Powers, Prussia and Austria, are now I in battle array, the old principle of those who are not for us are against us" is at work, and notwithstanding some of the lesser States wish to declare their neutrality, they are not allowed to do so, but expected to join in the war. The movement of troops, in a military sense" (as Count Bismarck would say), has fairly com- menced. The Prussians have entered Hanover, and forced the Hanoverian army to retire. They have also entered Saxony and the Electoral Hesse, two States who declared in favour of Austria, and these, together with Hanover, have received threats from the Austrian Go- vernment that unless they join that Power their Principality shall be overthrown. They have declined compliance with this haughty de- mand, and it is probable the first ferocities of the war will fall on them.. The Federal Diet met on Saturday, and by a majority of ten to five resolved that the motion of Saxony for assistance from Austria and Bavaria, should be acceded to. The nine votes given in favour of Austria at this Diet by the lesser Powers represent a population of 10,859,731, and contingents of 173,798 men. Whilst the four votes, exclusive of Prussia herself, who follow Bismarck's advice, only represent a popula- tion of 2,954,580, and contingents of 33,500, thus showing an immense preponderance in favour of Austria, Prince remains quiet but hesitating, whilst England, having done all in her power to preserve peace, falls back into the strictest neu- trality; yet, with all her care, there is danger that even she may be drawn into the battle field. FROM America we learn that the Fenians have made their lang-thieatened raid into Canada, and the same mail which brings us the details of the movement brings also the report of the dispersion and surrender of the raiders, and the arrest, by order of the Government of the United States, of these deluded people, many of whom have given their money, and some of them their lives, to this absurd and ridiculous movement. It is stated that Stephens, the" head-centre," is at Washington, and it will oe fortunate for Mm if he does not find that the Government of the United States is dis- posed to deal as vigorously with breaches of inter- national law as the British Government did in the matter of his attempted rising in Ireland. As to this raid, it appears that a numerous band of un- disciplined men, calling themselves the Fenian Brotherhood, made their way over the border to Canada, and immediately commenced plunder. They met with the Canadian volunteers, who drove them back to the United States, where they were received as enemies, some of them slain, and many taken prisoners. This will, we hope, effectu- ally stamp out Fenianism; and we trust every Xrisnmas will return to his honest labour, forget- ful of fancied wrongs, and accept the advantages that a British subject has under the mild and be- neficent rule of the English constitution. EVERY effort is being made by the Italians to obtain possession of Yenice; Garibaldi is again in the field; and Miss Florence Nightingale wishes them God-speed, and gives advice and assistance in establishing hospitals for sick soldiers. Louis Napoleon looks on calmly and says nothing, but rather beckons the Italians on to victory; whilst the Emperor of Austria, appears to be making no efforts to resist any strong force or to protect the Venetian territories. THE sensation of the week in politics has been the defeat of Ministers in passing their Reform Bill. It had dragged its dull course along for eight weeks, and it appeared to many that it was not adopted with energy even by Ministers them- selves. The county franchise clause had passed after much. opposition; then crane the borough clause, which was to admit persons at a rental franchise of £ 7. Lord Dunkellin pro- posed as an amendment that it should be a rate- able qualification instead of a rental, in which he was joined by the Tories; and although the Government accepted this amendment as fatal to the bill, upon a division they were beaten in a very full House by eleven votes. A GRAND review of volunteers and sham fight took place the other day in Pashanger-park, the seat of Earl Cowper, in the presence of an im- mense concourse of spectators. A large body, consisting of the Herts and Essex corps, the Lon- don Rifle Brigade, the Queen's Westminsters, and St. George's were present. Earl Cowper as briga- dier, with a large staff, efficiently performed his duty, and Colonel Erskine, the Inspector-General of Volunteers, highly praised the commanders and the battalions for the manner in which the opera- tion was performed. GREAT preparations are being made for the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. A new idea has struck the Commissioners—namely, to assign a special locality for the display of the I weights and measures in use in all countries; and it is hoped that some system may be adopted by which one common standard shall, be used throughout the whole of Europe. IN courts of law there has been much done of late. The long and tedious litigation of Mrs. Ry ves, who claims to be the Princess of Cumber- land, and to be of blood royal, has been brought to a close, the jury having decided against the j claim set up, the court ordering all the documents to ba impounded, some of which were pronounced J to be forgeries. j counter charge of perjuryagainst Mrs. Allen, who accused Mr. Moseley, a dentist, of improper conduct in a railway carriage, has been brought before the magistrate at Marylebone. Her state- ments in reference to Mr. Moseley were rebutted chiefly by collateral evidence, but circumstances added to his denial; and as the woman's antece- dents were not by any means favourable, the magistrate committed her for trial. j THE murder of the housekeeper a,t the London merchant's warehouse, in Cannon-street, still re-' mains a, mystery. William Smith, who had been committed for trial for the murder, has been I si-qritied. The eddaiiee givex), hxm differed in no way from that brought forward at the Police-court, and for his defence it was very satisfactorily established, by no less than eleven j witnesses, that the prisoner passed the night of t,he murder with some friends at a beer-shop, and that he was one of the last of the company to leave. To the finding of the jury, the judge who tried the case added, that it was due to the prisoner to say "He was more than not guilty; he was innocent." The result is unsatisfactory, inasmuch as it leaves unarrested the real author of the crime, and tends to throw discredit on the efficiency and ability of the poliee force. It is by no means pleasant to think that all the machinery of the poliee and the detective system is unavail- ing to discover the man who committed a murder in one of our leading thoroughfares, and only obtained a few minutes' start of his pursuers. We trust that this Cannon-street atrocity will not be permitted to add another to the number of undis- covered murders which have recently occurred in England.

The Carr's Hill Murder.-Sir George Grey has directed an offer of X100 reward to be made or- the part of the Government for information respectiElT the murder of the little girl, named Sarah MelviB, between, Felling and Carr's Hill, so as to lead to the apprehension and conviction of the guilty parson. Carmon-_streefc Murder.—When £ >mith, lately tried on a charge of having murdered Mrs. Milsona, returned to Eton, after his acquittal, o» Friday night, he was received with cheers by numbers of the people amongst whom he had lived. lIe vvas waited for at Windsor station, and his friends forming in procession, marched aria-in-arm to his home, about which hundreds of people had gathered. On Ms ap- proach these received him with loud shouts of we)" come. John Gofmell and CO-19 Cherry Tooth Paste, price III. Decideø,Jv Mle best preparation for cleansing aud preserving the teefrfr. Soldbyall perfumers aud chemists. aa, Three King-ot., Lombard-at., J5. C. In consequence* of the HOnotion in Duty, Horwiman's Teas are now suppbedi by the Agents EISHTPENCB per Jb. CHEAPER. Every Genuine Packet is signed Homianan « Co." pHILDREN TEETHING.—Airs. Window's SoothiBg Syrup, for children teething, is per- fectiy harmless. It produces natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child .from pain, and the little cherut) awakes as bright as a button." It cures wind oolie, and regulates the bowels, gives rest to the mother, and health to the child. It has been 30 years m 1J.6EJ in America, and is now sold in this eountry by &L; j&e principal medicine dealers at Is. lfd, par bofetie.