The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

TOWN TALK. j BY OUB BPBtOIAL ceRBBSFONDENT. I 01W rtaders wiO.iwiStf'SfffinS that tee do not hold owrselvts wjyssv I wfe&jfor ow iflWs Correspondent's opinions, j SomL has suggested that the pecsple of London rld rest sometimes. Drinking foun- | tains have hs d a run—though many of them do not I run at all, the water being suffered to dry up, or í the supply being neglected. They have had a I useful day of popularity, and have added adorn- u ments to many streets and open spaces. It must be confessed, however, that the English are not a water-drinking people—the climate no more de- veloping thirst than it favours out-door life. Only in the summer days do drinking fountains prove an attraction and real service to the pedestrian. At length, however, some one has "bethought him- self that, though people are thirsty only three months in the year, the public in the streets are tired all the year rouiad, and that the inven- tion of pubIie seats would really be a service day and night; in London, especially, they would be a mercy. A million persons a year or more come up to London to see it, and look about it, and they walk weary miles on unaccustomed flag- stones, which create aching feet. Not visitors alone, but metropolitans walk about—mothers and children, eight-seeing, or visiting parks or spec- tacles; but nowhere in all London, except in the parks, is there a seat to sit down 'upon. Those who are tired must bear weariness, or enter a coffee-house, or refreshment-room, to obtain a seat. Public seats would be a great convenience— they have always been a necessity—more than ever a necessity, when more people are abroad than ever, owing to the activity of railways. In- deed, in every populous town wayside seats are needed. They are more easily supplied than fountains; they cost less-they can be be placed where a fountain could not go, and are capable of being made tolerable objects, if not pretty or elega.nt. When foreigners come to England they are struck by the bustle and business of the people. Everybody rushes about as though. he was under arrest and escaping a police-officer. To find an Englishman sitting down in the public streets would be a new fact in the history of the race. It is just possible this will come to pass. VALUABLE information is communicated to the public on the interesting but important subject of "scurvy," which marine readers maybe glad to hear of. The prevalence of scurvy in the merchant service has caused the Government to order the doctors to report upon it, and the obser- vationsof the said doctors have just been printed by order of her Majesty. As often as one hears-and that is, alas too frequently—of vessels arriving in port from distant stations, with the crew in the last stage of life from the ravages of scurvy, it is mere humanity to support every endeavour to arrest this frightful Rinderpest of the Sea. It is a fact that the English navy has more of it among its men than any navy in the world; and the reason is that the vessels of all other countries carry a greater variety of food on board than our vessels do. Variety of food is one source of pre- vention. Continuity of salt meat is a well-known cause of scurvy., but it is proved that men fed on fresh meat, if the fresh meat is unvaried, acquire scurvy. The medical remedy is lime juice, which ought to be given daily as an article of diet, and "Jack" ought to be made to drink it; but he won't unless looked after. To, keep the juice good, a certain amount of spirit should be added to it, and the juice requires to be kept in bottles of not more than a gallon size; kept in casks, where the air can get to it, it soon corrupts. Dishonest chemists sell bad juice to ignerant captains, or dishonest captains buy a cheaper and unwhole- some article of bad chemists, and thus murder the poor, scurvy-stricken tars, who, in their extremity, have to depend upon it for their lives. It is pro- posed that the Government shall appoint certifi- cated sellers of lime juice, and compel the use of proper bottles to store it in. But I pause-this is useful information, and useful knowledge is very tiresome, and perhaps the less said about it the I better. IT is a curious fact, and not useful knowledge, and therefore I will mentioa it, that the Rassians have better notions of how to test chain cables and anchors than we have. Our Board of Trade provide machines for testing the strength of iron cables and anchors, and ingenious manufacturers use iron that will just bear the test which is gradually applied, and then let the article take its chance in use, and wrecks otten occur through the cables giving way I under the sudden strains of rough weather. Anchors are submitted to a gradual pressure, but if ia use they receive a sudden shock they break. Sometimes an aachor falls upon a rock, when it snaps, and the sbip is probably lost. In Russia anchor testers let the anchors fall from a height upon a hard bed, as a test of the quality of the iron. This is a practical idea, which does credit to the astuteness of the Russians, and is far beyond our English Board of Trade, with all our national renown as iron-workers. AT the late Royal Academy dinner, the Earl of Derby took notice of the number of excellent paintings sent in by women, which, he pleasantly said, would be, he supposed, quoted as an argu- ment in favour of the feminine franchise. The names of women painters would make a good show if put altogether; but it happens that the female artists do not like their names or their pictures put together and treated separately. They prefer to have their works mixed up with and judged by the same canons of criticism as their mala com- peers of the pencil. I WOMEN, however, do not make chains as well as they make pictures. Women are employed in making chain in Staffordshire, and they make it i badly. It is too heavy work for women. The welding is where they fail, and the result is tragical at times at sea, or in mines, or at wharves, where the weld gives way. Mr. Cowen, M P. for Newcastle, has given notice of a motion in Parliament for suppressing the labour of women altogether in chain-making. I HAVE seen no notice of the great hail storm in Bucks, which came in with the great change of weather. The stones eo astonished and astounded the good folks of Buckingham that they really thought the Fenians were firuig on them, for ï whose arrival the Duke of Buckingham was known I .vr, to have made mysterious preparations at StoJre. f A very few hail-stones—six or seven—asteally i weighed a pound. Nearly every house in the market-place of Buckingham had windows broken, and in the chief houses nearly all the windows were smashed. The tewn appeared as though it had been subjected to a siege. The residents hardly knew their own houses again when they rose next morning. A STATEMENT lately appeared in one of the leading provincial newspapers—the Newcastle Chronicle, if I remember rightly-to- the effect that when a certain eminent exile (M, Louis Blanc) first fled to this cc-untry his small fortune is the French funds was confiscated, and it was made a matter of reproach that the Imperial I Government still retained the money. This is I not true, and M. Louis Blanc, with an honourable sentiment of fairness, wishes it known that the Imperial Government repaid to him the 4600 standing in his name in the French funds, and which was indeed scandalously confiscated by the authorities at the time. THE press has just got through an eruption of hydrophobian letters. It was impossible to allude to the subject while the eruption was out—it was too irritable a matter. Everyyearat certain seasons these letters break out as badly as if the press had been bitten. It is again stated that Sir Benjamin Brodie and Mr. Youatt both find nitrate of silver applied to the bite-wound at once an effectual preventative; that Mr. Youatt was" seven or eight times bitten by mad dogs, and did not care for it so long as he had this remedy at hand-a more agreeable remedy than the common plan of cutting and cauterising the wound. The new feature of late has been the appearance of the Yicar of Birling trying to raise .£500 to purchase a recipe known in his parish as. the "Birling cure," in the possession of a person who demands that sum for it. There must be a good business done in hydrophobia at Birling to make the recipe worth this sum in the market. Rabid dogs must be very active thereabouts, and a I fair sum paid for the mixture, as .£500 may be held to represent an annuity of 125 a year. A recipe cannot be worth more commercially than its sale produced. That there is virus in bites of dogs in some cases there is no doubt, since animals who have small imagination are affected by bites; but in the case of human beings imagination has a good deal to do with the result, The late Mr. Weekes, the eminent chemist, over- came an attack of hydrophobia by pure strength of will. In genuine cases the quality of the virus depends upon the state of the dog's health and chemical condition, and when transferred or trans- fused into the human subject, it must be affected by like conditions, and it in very unlikely that there is any universal cure for it any more than for any other malady. IT is not a matter of political opinion, but a public historical fact, of which mere will be said in future than we can imagine at present, while the fact is occurring—that the whole policy and principles of the Conservative party in England have undergone a transmutation, or a develop- ment," as modern casuists would term it. There seems no doabt that a Reform Bill is about to be passed exceeding the dreams of any party in the country a few months ago. Z.

FOBEIW INTELLIGENCE. ———<►. FRANCE. PARIS, May 18. ■. -Nlay 18. The Emperor signed to-day the treaty negotiated at the London conference. The Eleru'itrd of this evening says:—"We believe that the conirnii lee on the reorganisation of the army insists on rejecting the whole of the Government proposals. v 'I'm n We hope that the Chamber will not approve the action of the committee, should the latter persist in its inten- tion.' The France hopea,that an agreement will shortly he arrived.at-on the sutJjecfc' *;>'• It is sSid that the Queèn df Spain will visit Paris about the 20th of next month. PARTS. Mnv 19. The Prince of Wales visited the Jockey Club yester- day, where he was most warmly received. In the even- ing his Royal Highness was present at the fSte at the Tuileries. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the King and Queen of the Belgians, attended the Chantilly races, to-day. It is stated that they will leave this evening or to-morrow for London. La France of this evening states.that the committee on the reorganisation of thEf army will meet to-morrow. The Government, it adds, is said to have drawn up a fresh scheme calculated to bring, about an agreement. PARIS, May 17. To-day in the Legislative Body, M. Schneider, the president, announced that six bureaux had rejected the demand of M. Picard for leave to question the Govern- ment relative to the amount required for exemption from military service. One bureaux had allowed the demand, and in two others the votes were divided. The France of this evening says that M. Schneider has made an endeavour to-day to reconcile the views of the Government with the proposals of the committee on the reorganisation of the army. Some cases of contagious typhus having appeared amongst horned cattle in several districts of Germany, especially at Frankfort, a ministerial ordinance, dated 15th May, has been issued prohibiting the importation and transit of ruminating animals, fresh hides, or car- cases along the whole length of the French frontier, from Lauterbourg to the department of Savoy inclusive. BETROTHAL OF THE KING OF THE GREEKS. I ST. PETERSBURG, May 17. Salvoes of artillery were fired this morning in honour of the betrothal of the King of the Greeks to the Princess Olga, daughter of the Grand Duke Constantine. ITALY. FLORENCE, May 17. In yesterday's sitting of the Italian Parliament, In yesterday's sitting of the Italian Parliament, Signor Massari having asked the Government to lay the papers relative to the London Conference beforethe House, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said that the papers would be communicated to the House after the ratifications of the treaty had been exchanged. He also stated that the report that the admission of Italy to the conference had been made dependent on the. fulfilment of. certain condi- tions was uiitrue. PRUSSIA. -BERLIN, May 18. The King of Prussia signed yesterday the treaty agreed "to by'the London Conference for the settlement of the future position of Luxemburg. ,> THE CANDLAN IL^S URRFI CTIBTFJ CONSTANTINOPLE, MAY 16. News received yesterday from Omar Pacha statewtbat two engagements lately took place between detachments commanded by Mehmed and Hassan Pachas and the Greek volunteers, wherein the latter were defeated with considerable loss. Omar Pacha was on the point of leaving Retimo to proceed against Sphakia. The Greek telegrams contrary to the above are entirely untrue. i,1 AMERICA. (BY ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.) NEW YORK, May 13. The Court of Richmond has released Mr. Davis on bail to appear in November next. The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeals of Georgia and Mississippi, on the ground of want of jurisdiction. NEW YORK, May 14. Mr. Davis has left Richmond for New York. The In- man steamship City of Manchester arrived out to-day. T „ NEW YORK, May 16. Mr. Jeffeison Davis lias arrived New York on liis way to Canada. The French Government have purchased the ram Dunderburg. NEW YORK, May 17. The negroes at New Orleans and Mobile are still disorderly. < i. CHINA. SHANGHAE, April 23. The rebels are reported to be near Hankow. Advices from Japan state that the Tycoon has de- clared his intention of extending to all nations the treaties already concluded with some foreign Powers.

VALUABLE TREASURE-TROVE PROM: A WREOK. The fearful wreck of the Netherlands ship Jonkherr, Mr. Van de Wall de Puttershock, of Dort, in Poljew Cove, near Mullion, in one of the recent gales, will be remembered by most of our readers. Twenty-seven persons perished among them three ladies, whose bodies were soon washed in, were described at the time, and were buried. One of them was a steut lady, of about 40, and it has since transpired that she was a Mrs. Sophia Woollett, who was born of English parents in Holland, went to Java, and Was returning with considerable property, to spend her days in Holland. She had lived at DjoejcaVta, Java-a name spelt in our maps Djokjakarta-and at what was pro- bably a village or town near Oreanger Regentschaper. f jyirs. W oollett has a sister in Manchester, Mrs. Schroe- 'I der, and she and Mr. Cooke, a lawyer of Rotterdam, have Written 'Mr. Ludlow, of Penzance,.the Netherlands Vice Consul, informing him that Mrs. Woollett had with her when she so unfortunately lost her life, important papers, securities, coin, &c. Since the wreck diligent search has been made for II' valuables, and half a mile from where the hull wäs eventually thrown up, on the exact spot where the ship struck and her bottom was crushed out, have been found about six and a half tons of tin. Fragments of clothes have come ashore, but of no value and with no marks of identity. The glass, by means' of which articles are seen more clearly in deep water, and grap- nels have been diligently used, and on Wednesday to I good effect, for a compact tin box, padlocked and unin- j 3ured, was. then drawn up. It was opened by those on the spot, m the presence of the Rev. E. G. Harvey, the Vlfiar of Mullion, and was sent on to Mr. Ludlow, who was engagea some time in drying and.arranging the J following articles Two securities, bills of exchange at seven per cent. payable in November, each for 7.000 j ut ls- 8d. each). From 35 to 37 bank notes i onn ^rn!. eac^' tour lor 25, one for 40, and one for These would all be negotiable at the Rotterdam | ank. They are, some of them, discoloured by the water, but have been very carefully separated and j dried by Mr. Ludlow, and are now in excellent-preser- vation. The will of the poor lady who thus perished with her wealth, in sight of land, was also in the box, rubbed into pieces, but these easily joined, and in | favour, we believe, of Mrs. Schroeder. There were also ] 199 silver Netherland pieces of 24 gulden each, and 86 silver single gulden, blackened by saltwater, but readily brightened. The 86 single gulden had been handed ilL-s, Woollett as change for her bill at an inn before she left Djoejcarta; Iii a silver box within the tin box, also blackened were three. Victoria sovereigns, five small silver coins Netherlands, and BataVian, two gold bracelets (ena- two gold brooches, three pairs of gold earrings, some strings of beads, locks of hair, and the deceased's own photograph by artists in Java. The coins were in three coarse canvas bags, which are frayed and torn by ( 'u: the washing about of the box to such an extent thav, the decent preservation of the bank notes,, will, &c., seems wonderful. In the larger box also was x small English New Testa ment and a little note-book for the ball-room, for danto engagements, and a small hook to -the cover, to faster it to a waist-belt. The whole of these things, so fortunately rescui from the deep, has been kindly shewn to many scores the curious by Mr. Ludlow, and will be held by hir, the legal representatives of Mrs. Woollett. 'AJItWIUI'&'JMIIRIIIM.æ.'IW!'t'or:)

HOW TO MAKE OHEAP PiUM AND T/ Mr. Jousiffe, of 19, Buckingham-street, Adelphil 2, Peter-street, Southwark-bridge-road, appeared. Bow-street, on Saturday, to a summons, at the instar of the excise authorities, charging him with having s to a publican a quantity of treacle or saccharine ma; to be used in the adulteration of beer. As-the defendant pleaded guilty, the facta were i gone "into but Mr. Dwelly mentioned that the.. fendant, who is a manufacturer of vinegar and cord-, had for some time been suspected of supplying ad-Lilte- ing matter to publicans. A watch had been set him, and he had been detected in the act. Mr. D- produced a circular issued by the defendant and h brother, "Charles and George Jousiffe, importers Dàntzic spruce, cordial compounders and makers liquid refined sugar and spirit colouring." Several the articles mentioned; in the circular seemed design*, or the adulteration of spirits. One of the items v Londdn Cream," which was stated to be "highly app ciated by all who have tried it, been flavoured wi the finest juniper berries and other ingredients used ? distillers. To 100 gallons of gin, 17 or 22 U.P., t.. four gallons of London, Cream. Use no-sugar. It wi allow of six or seven additional gallons of liquor, and b superior to any gin. made in the ordinary way. word liquor," as used in the trade, means water.) In making up gin or cordials the liquor should be boiled and used cold." H Concentrated essence of pine.-To 50 gallons of essence, or according to the quantity of liquor used." Concentrated essence of pine, No. 2.— This is the same as No. 1, but contains an artificial heat, which allows an extra quantity of liquor." "Cheap rum.—To five gallons of proof rum add one gallon of liquor and one quart of concentrated essence of pine No. 2." Che,ap, gin.To 10 gallons of 22 U.P. gin, instead of sugar use two quarts oCthe cream and three gallons of liquor," &c. The defendant said that the material which he sold to the publican in question, a Mr. Moore, was nothing but pure saccharine matter. The learned: magistrate said it was an unlawful trade altogether, and of that the defendant must have ber perfectly well aware. The defendant said all publicans used similar gredients and always would do so and if persons ir trade did not take it round to them, they would b' of the grocers. Mr. Dwelly said the grocers did not sell this sort ( saccharine matter, and the publicans did not use ordina sugar. If they could get nothing cheaper than 1 sugar supplied by grocers, it would not pay to adulterate Defendant said at all events he should not sell it an- more. The magistrate inquired if this was Mr. Jousiffe's first offence. Mr. Dwelly said -it was the first time he had beer. detected. He was fined in the mitigated penalty of X125, beh. one-fourth of the full penalty of X500. -n_

ANOTHER FENIAN SENTENCED T( DEATH. Sentence of death has been passed on Cap M'Cafferty. The prisoner addressed the court, protested against the injustice of the sentence, on th. ground that guilt had been brought home to him on evidence of a perjured witness. He denied that t, independent witnesses had been produced to prove t1 overt act of treason alleged against him. He did no deny that he sympathised with the Irish people, an claimed that he had a right, as an American, to sympa- thise with the Irish or any other people who might please to revolt against a form of government by which they were tyrannically treated. Englishmen sympathised with both parties in- the late American war; but who ever heard of an Englishman being arrested and prosl- cuted by the United States Government for taking ir arms for the Confederate States ? If he were free to- morrow, and the Irish people were to take the field for I I maepenaence, bis sympathies would be with them and he would join them if they had any hope of winning that independence whilst he would not give his sanction to any useless effusion of blood. He found nc fault with the judge' or jury. He would go to his grave asagentlemanand a Christian. Thoughhe regretted that he should be cut off at this stage of his life, still bl' recollected that many noble and generous Irishmen on behalf of their native land. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald having sentenced him to be executed on Wednesday, June 12, the prisoner requested that after the sentence had been carried out his remains should be handed over to his solicitor, to be interred in consecrated ground. He then thanked his counsel and attorney and retired. Two men, named Mooney and Smith, were then tried and found guilty under the Whiteboy Act, for appearing in arms at Tallaght. ° T—O-

THE QUEEN, on the recommendation of Lord Derby, has conferred on Sir George Marcoran, late member of the Supreme Council of Justice in the Ionian Islands, the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St George. THE FENIAN TRIALS.—The prisoners Flood, Duffy, and Cody were found guilty by the special commission, on Friday, of treason-felony. The court postponed the sentence. An attempt was made on Thursday night to murder a young man named Aylward, it is supposed because of some suspicion that he had been giving information to the authorities on the subject of Fenianism. At a late hour on Thursday night Aylward drove to a hospital, and stated that when walking with several companions along the banks of the Royal Canal, near Charlemont-bridge, one of them drew a revolver, and fired at him and others also fired, and three of the shots took effect, grazing his temple, and inflicting two scalp wounds, none of which turned out to be serious. As he refused to state the names of his companions, and as he had been previously in custody, the police again took him into custody, and charged him with being one of a party of eight who assembled the previous night for Fenian purposes at Charlemont-place. He was remanded. ■John (iusiirll and Co.'s Cherry Tooth Pasfe price Is. 6(1. Decidedly the best preparation for cleansing and presrrvinp th3 teeth, Bold by all perfumers and chennsts,- aa. upper Thames-street London. Instant Belief and a rapid cnre of asthma, eollizi, p- tion, iaftuenza, coughs,colls, of tl»* brewfa and iuuys., insured by Da: j rtarojirc "WAPBISS. Tneyhttvea.p!easmt .tAS £ ,e. P jeid id. B3.,ail eksaaats.

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH AND T P ALLEGED ACCIDENT. The following letter was addressed to the Daily on Saturday by Mr. C. E. Stewart :— The uninterrupted state of telegraphic commit .tion with America is evidenced by the fact that r course of yesterday "91 (ninety-one) messages pa. yielding X2,591 7s. (two thousand live hundred ninety-one pounds seven shillings). In order, howev to mitigate as far as possible the effect of vague exaggerated rumours, I feel it my duty, as chairman this company, to ask you to place the public possession of the following -facts, viz. :—On the- dnstant it was reported, that, on the 4th instairl 6.30 p.m., a large iceberg grounded off the hour of Heart's Content, Newfoundland, ato. one and a-half miles N.N.W. of Northern l'.o and 200 yards east of the 1866 cable, in about; fathoms water. No danger with present wind.' the 8th instant it was reported that Iceberg has ti appeared;' but in passing over the cable of 1866 seems, however, that some damage must have been dot for the signals through that cable became imperfect, p. have now ceased. The cable of 1865, however, is u; jured, and there is no reason to doubt that the injury the cable of 1866 will be repaired without delay or considerable expense. I need only add that the capa of the cable of 1865 exceeds the requirements of; business, great as it is, between this country c. America.—I am, &c., CHARLES E. STEWART, chairm of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, 26, Broad-street, London, May 17." A::tI!II1I1

PARIS EXHIBITION. The total sum of X116,650 voted for expenses connected with the British Department of the Universal Exhibition at Paris is thus epitomised in Class 4 of the Civil Service Estimates for the financial year 1867-8 :—For internal fittings, X-16,100 for supplementary buildings and JJCUK, AZ6,Ub £ > lor ancient and modern art, £ 11 050 •. tor exhibitions by Government departments, jjll',490 for management, which includes watching, cleaning, &c., £ 14,755, and house and office expenses of all kinds, £ 17,190 for jurors, delegates, and reporters, X12,000 for transport and return of objects, zt8,250 and for Royal Commission expenses, £ 2,750. The sum allowed for exhibition of objects by Government departments is divided thus :-For the War-office, £ 2,037 for the navy, £ 2,653; for the Trinity-house, < £ 3,750 for the Treasury, X200 for the Post-office, £ 300 and for the Science and Art Department, £ 2,500. The allow- ance for jurors, &c., is distributed among 85 jurors, 52 associate jurors, 18 delegates, and 85 reporters, at an average expense of £ 50 each/ some for services extending from the 1st of April, to the 1st oi*«/uIy, and others to the end of the Exhibition. ,Lu. consequence of tho licductiou in IMiv, Rommau't Teas are supplied by the Agents EiGHTPKKCa per lb. cheaper Genuine fuclcets are signed Eormimm & Co.. Lm&on."