The Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News

At the annual meeting of the Cheshire Agricultural Society, held on Wednesday last, it was agreed to re- duce the premiumns for the next show to the extent of about f,100, entirely abolishing those for poultry. The sequel to this course of proceeding may be found in a reported deficiency of JE32 in the funds. At a meeting of the Cattle Defence Association last week, Mr John Clayden, the chairman, in opening the proceedings, alluded to the past exertions of the Association, which are fully detailed in the Society's report, read by Mr Waller, the secretary. The follow- ing resolutions were unanimously adopted —" 1. That with a view to prevent the recurrence of cattle plague and other contagious diseases, it is desirable that statutory enactments should be substituted for Orders in Council. 2. That this meeting is of opinion thai the ensuing session should not be allowed to pass without effective legislation upon the subject of the foieign cattle trade, and that immediate steps should be taken by the Home Cattle Defence Association to effect that object. 3. That the members of the Asso- ciation be requested to bring their influence to bear upon their local representatives, and those of other constituencies, and to obtain financial support in aid of this important object." The first of these was moved by Mr M'Combie, M.P., who remarked that he heartily concurred in it, and that the subject was one in which he took a deep interest. Mr Pell, M.P., in moving the second resolution, observed that for a length of time he had taken an active part in promot- ing the object the Association has in view. The re- solution was seconded by Mr Jackson, of Tattenham Hall, Cheshire, who said he and some of his neigh. boars had been among the heaviest sufferers from cattle plague. Mr C. S. Read, M.P., in moving the third resolution, urged the necessity of obtaining Par- liamentary support for a comprehensive measure in reference to the foreign cattle landed at the various ports of the kingdom, and for improving the means of transit through the country of home cattle. At the monthly gathering of the London Farmers' Club, one of the most interesting and valuable papers that have ever been read at any of its meetings was given by Mr J. K. Fowler, of Aylesbury. The subject was, the influence of railways upon agriculture. Some conversation followed, including rather a review of the past history of railways than an attempt to show how agriculture would be made more profitable in the future, by the present, or any extended, railway system. The paper itself contains a large collection of statistical returns, which Mr Fowler interspersed with illastrations and well-pointed anecdotes. Among the subsequent speakers, Mr Mechi took the opportu- nity of again introducing his favourite topic by saying: —"I rejoice to find one more nail has been knocked into the coffin of prejudice by Mr Fowler's excellent paper." Mr Everett, of Norfolk, intimated that if the Government took the management of railways into their own hands, passengers might be carried 5 or 600 miles at 2s. 31 a head. This idea was subse- quently shorn of its attractiveness by the assertion of another member, that any one might be carried any distance in Great Britain at three pence a head. Mr Smith cited the case of the townsmen of Northampton opposing the London and North-Western Railway, and so far succeeding as to keep it RS far off as lis- worth. Sir Harry Verney. M.P., Buckinghamshire, referred to the great difficulties with which railway makers had to contend at starting. Mr Bradshaw asked how many observations had been made which applied to the subject on the card ? Whereupon Mr Jacob Wilson referred to Lord Grey's Bill for forming a railway and allowing the cost of it to be charged upon the land, and mentioned a case to show that no line can prosper which has agriculture alone to depend upon. He calculated, however, that the railway benefited him on his farm to the extent of 3s. 61. to 4s. an acre. Mr Read said it had been 'stated by Mr Nockolds that though railways had absorbed land, there were but few counties in England in which fences might not be cut and gruboed to the same amount. Mr Masfen merely instanced the abuse of railways, when he mentioned the dissemination of the cattle plague by them. Branch railways cannot be made to pay, and any one who has to do with them should first have a good understanding with the trunk line. Labourers could now be transferred from their own to any other county in England for a week's wages. Mr Duckham referred to the manner in which foreign railways were calculated to cheapen agricul- tural produce in this country. And a very interesting discussion was bronght to a close by a general reply from Mr Fowler. The publication of the live weights of the animals exhibited is so interesting a feature in this year's Show at the Agricultural Hall that, now it is done, we can only wonder how it has happened that the Smith- field Club had not done the same thing before. Had this record been kept 20 or 30 years, how much more interesting would have been the present returns. As it is, they throw a clear and useful light on the deci- sions of the judges, so far as the practical value of weight in the cross-breeds, and of true character, apart from weight, in the pure breeds, is concerned. Among the beasts there are some noteworthy differences. The 1st prize young Devon weighed 1314 lbs. the 2nd, 1388 lbs. and No. 2 upon the catalogue, 1495 lbs. the lightest in the class-weighed 1109 lbs. These ani- mals do not exceed 2 years and 6 months of age. The next class weighed—1st, 1721 lbs.; and 2nd, 1562 lbs.; And the oxen above 3 .years and 3 moriths-lat, 1912 lbs; 2nd, 1934 lbs. The 1st is 3 years and 10 months old 2nd, 3 years and 11 months while the commended beast weighed 2106 lbs., at the age of 3 years and 7 months, or 3 months younger than the winner of 1st prize, and 4 months younger than the 2nd prize. The heifers exhibited similar differences. The cows, which of course have arrived at the age of maturity,weighed-thelst, 1548 lbs.; the 2nd, 16081bs, and the remaining three of this class, 1230 lbs., 1360 Ibs., and 1432 lbs. Mr Heath's great Hereford ox weighs 2536 lbs.; the 2nd prize, 2211 lbs.; the 3rd, 2186 lbs.; and the highest in this clas, 2044 lbs. The 2nd prize Hereford heifer here and at Birmingham, and which we last week said was too small of frame to merit a high honour when put to the test of the scale, only weighed, although fed to the fulness of an egg, 1560 lbs. against 1960 lbs. and 1742 ;ibs. for the first prize and another respectively. The older Shorthorn steers, under 3 years and 3 months, ranged between 2201 lbs. for the 1st prize, and 1672 lbs. for the light- est in this class the 2nd weighing 2145 lbs., and 3rd, 2030 lbs. The Shorthorn oxen over 3 years and 3 months are but little, if any, heavier on the whole than the class below them. Some of these tests pro- duce apparently odd results. The 1st prize ox weighed 2002 lbs. at 3 years and 4 months the 2nd, 1956 lbs. at 3 years and 6 months the 3rd, 1948 lbs. at 3 years and 5 months, while the Highly Commended ox weighed 2301 lbs. at 4 years and 8 months. The heaviest ox, Mr Overman's, is only Commended, his weight being 2526 lbs. at 3 years and 10 months, the one next to him in weight being the cross-bred-looking ox which was 1st at Birmingham. His weight at 3 years and 11 months is 2469 lbs. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales' ox, at 3 years and 10 months was Commended, and weighed 2202 lbs. The Shorthorn cows were of various weights the 1st prize, at 4 years 11 months, weighed 1959 lbs.. the 2nd, at 6 years and 3 months, 2250 lbs. the third, at 5 years and 2 weeks, 2091 lbs. The pair of Aberdeen Scots weighed 1st, 2635 lbs., at 4 years and 7 months and the 2nd, Mr M'Combie's, at 4 years and 8 months, 2042 lbs. In the Cross-breds there is the heaviest ox in the hall; this is the 1st in Class 33, his weight being 2660 lbs., at the age of 3 years and 10 months. The 2nd here weighs 2572 lbs., at 4 years and 9 mothII. The lightest animal in this elasa weighed 1960 Ib1.. j :*U ■ -K. •* i • i. •; j

Last week, "at Nbtth feligh, a woman gave birth to fine healthy child in a ferry boat. Mr George Virtue, the proprietor of the Art J our- rtaZ, and an old inhabitant of Ivy-lane, St. Paul's, died suddenly last week. The health of the so-called Countess of Derwent- water" ia saia to have received a severe shock, ito consequence of the exposure she lately underwent in the lane at Dilston. During 11.: recent gale the venerable Reform Tree," in Hyde Park had a very narrow escape. Mr Charles Dtckens is to be entertained at a banquet on the occasion of his farewell visit to Liverpool. The other day a child of fourteen months died of inflammation of the brain, occasioned by a lead pencil penetrating her eye, as the result of < fall while she hadjthe pencil in her hand. A son of Sir Rowland Hill has invented and pa- tented a machine for stamping letters. By its help as many as 218 letters can be single-stamped and 180 double-stamped" in a minute. Lord Stanley before quitting office authorised the presentation of 25,000 to Mr Rassam, and £2,000 each to Dr. Blanc and Lieutenant Prideaux in con- sideratian of their sufferings while in captivity in Abyssinia. The foundation stone of a new infirmary, to be erected under the provisions of the Metropolis Poor Act, was laid at Highgate, last week, by the chair- man of the St. Pancras Board of Guardians. Three men, named Collins, Early, and Whale, have been sentenced by the Winchester magistrates, to two months' hard labour each for a trade outrage. They attempted to drown their foreman, because he would not give them the piece price they desired. The bellriBgers of Bishopwearmouth have struck, in consequence of an interference with their fees, and the parishioners are summoned to church by the tolling of a solitary bell. Reports of disastrous gales continue to be received from all quarters of the globe, and an unusually large number of shipwrecks have occurred upon our own coasts, involving a great loss of life and merchandise. Queen Elizabeth's oak in Beddington.park has lately been felled. It was supposed to be more than a thousand years old and Queen Bess, in her frequent visits to Beddington-park, used often to sit under its wide spreading branches, attended by her courtiers and favourites. A claim for compensation, arising out of the Aber- gele catastrophe, was heard on Saturday at the Man- chester assizes. The action was brought on behalf of the three children of a merchant of Blackburn who had lost his life through the accident, and whose pro- fits were estimated at the rate of £ 1,200 a year. The jury returned a verdict of £ 4,350. The rivers in Yorkshire and Lancashire rose to an unusual height during the late heavy rains. At Sheffield two men were drowned while angling for wood in the Don, and two others narrowly escaped losing their lives while engaged in the same perilous occupation. Mr Carlyle, being asked to deliver a valedictory address to the students of the Edinburgh University on ceasing to be Rector, declined in letter eminently characteristic of the writer. He exhorts the students to "fight the good fight and quit themselves like men" in the warfare before them. They are told to love wisdom c. piously, valiantly, humbly." Ten thousand gold florins have been found in the timber-work of a ship which has been broken up at Tristie. This sum had been confided by a mercantile house to the vessel for conveyance eight or nine years ago, but, having been missing ever since, was generally supposed to have been stolen. Last week, in an action brought by Mr Bardel, one of the Abyssinian captives, against Mr Hotten, pub- lisher, to recover damages for a libel in a book entitled "Abyssinia and its People; or Life in the Land of Proctor John," a verdict was taken by consent for £100, and an apology made. It was alleged in the work that plaintiff forged a letter from King Theedore to the Emperor Napoleon. On Friday week, while the wherry Eleanor was discharging bricks at Friars Goose Chemical Works, on the Tyne, five miles from South Shields, the boiler exploded, and killed the crew of four men. The bodies of the men were literally blown to pieces, portions being found on the quay and house tops adjoining. A signalling apparatus, for the regulation of street traffic has been erected in the middle of the road between Bridge-street and Great George-street West- minster. It is a column twenty feet high, with a gas- lamp near the top, the design of which is the applica- tion of the semaphore principle to the public streets at points where foot passengers have hitherto depended for their protection on the arm and gesticulations of a policeman. Mr W. H. Anson, midshipman on board the Terri- ble, was last week dismissed the service by court- martial. He was charged with stealing a sovereign from the chest of Sub-Lieut. Callender, and also with having taken a key from that officer's waistcoat pocket, unlocking the chest, removing his purse, and replacing it. The first charge was not clearly proved, but the accused admitted the second charge. The Rev. Thomas Adkins, a celebrated dissenting minister, died last week at Southampton, upwards of eighty years of age. He preached nearly sixty years in the Above-bar Independent Chapel, succeed- ing there the Rev. George Clayton, who afterwards became i famous London minister. The Scotsman says: I A strange story comes to us from Dunfermline. There is near to that place a powder magazine, where the stock of those who sell powder in the burgh is deposited. It was discovered on Thursday afternoon that this place had been broken open, and an attempt made te blow it up. Gunpow- der htd been scattered on the floor, and a sort of slow match laid and fired. Fortunately the fire had not reached the powder. The verdict returned by the jury in the case of Mary Grant, who was killed in the election riot at Newport, is as follows:—" The jury desire to express their deep sympathy with the bereaved family, but they are unanimously of opinion that Mary Grant was accidentally killed by a bayonet wound, received in a charge of a division of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bell; the said charge being made for the purpose of dispersing a riotous and disorderly mob: and the jury are of opinion that no blame whatever attached to the mili- tary, and chey consider that but for the humanity and discretion evinced by Colonel Bell much more serious consequences must have ensued." Exeter Hall was crowded last week by the mem- bers and friends of the National Temperance League. The attentendance of representative men belonging to almost all the religious denominations formed a pecu- liar feature of the meeting. On the platform were seated, amongst other gentlemen, the Yen. Archdeacon Sandford, the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, ex-Presi- dent of the Baptist Union; the Rev. Samuel Romilly Hall, President of the Wesleyan Conference the Rev. Marmaduke Miller, President of the United Methodist Free Church Conference; the Rev. T. P. Oliver, President of the Bible Christian Conference and the Rev. James Towers, Moderator of the English Synod of the United Presbyterian Church. Archdeacon Sandford, who was a principal speaker, expressed his belief that the cause of temperance would never be thoroughly worked until the whole of the ministers of religion associated themselves with it.

LAUNCR OF THE" CITY OF BROOKLYN."—On the 2nd inst., Messrs Tod and M'Gregor, shipbuilders, Partick, launched from their shipbuilding yard a mag- nificent screw-steamer named the "City of Brooklyn," for the Liverpool, New York, and Philadelphia Steam- ship Company (Inman line of Atlantic Mail Steamers). Both banks of the river were lined with spectators, and a select party of ladies and gentlemen, friends of the owners and builders, assembled within the build- ing yard to witness the launch, which proved a most successful one. Amongst the gentlemen present were Wm. Inman, Esq., of Liverpool: James Reid, Esq.; Rev Mr M'Coll, Partick, &c. After everything had been got in readiness, the signal was given, and the magnificent vessel moved off the ways in beautiful style, amidst the cheers of the spectators. The cere- mony of naming was gracefully performed by Miss Finlay, Windsor Terrace. The arrangements for the lapnch were so complete that the huge ship was brought to in mid-channel without the occurrence of the slightest hitch. The City of Brooklyn will form a valuable addition to the large fleet of the Inman Com- pany. The ship iá"of great capacity and power, is of strong build, and her dimensions are as follows:— Length over all, 370 feet; breadth, 42 feet; depth, 28 feet 6 inches, aud her tonnage 3,000 tons B.M. Her passenger accommodation will be of the most ample description indeed, in this respect, and in the general finish and fitting-up of the vessel, she will equal, if not surpass, the other first-class ships of the same company's fleet, of which she will be the largest. The City of Brooklyn will be propelled by horizontal direct-acting surface-condensing engines of 450 lionte power nominal, and they can earily be wrought up to aftost 2,000 H P. .» i i.a. c .'J. A, .li .;•» £ .•! L:r: iv }. t ifc IMUI 11 ioodl

To COUNTRY RESIDENTS.—The carriage is paid to any rail way station in England on any order over 20s. No charge is made for plain stamping paper or envelopes. Dies cut at half price. The cheapest house in the world for every kind of stationery. Samp es and price lists post free.—PARKINS AND GOTTO, Manufacturing Stationers, 24 and 25, Oxford-street, London. P. and G.'s Guinea case of stationery, the most complete thing in England. THOUSANDS OF PRESENTS TO SUIT EVERY PURPOSE, TASTE, AND POCKET, AT PARKINS AND GeTTo's.—Portrait Albums, despatch boxes, writing cases, dressing-cases, travelling bags, envelope cases, blotting books, ink stands, desks, stationery cabinets, book slides, work boxes, tea caddies, hand bags, reticules, card cases, purses, scent bottles, cigar cases, card trays, pocket-books, electro-gilt and elegantly-mounted goods; ornamental articles for mantel-shelf, drawing and library tables. Bibles, prayer books, and church services in every type. Small articles carefully selected and sent post- paid upon prepayment.-Illustrated catalogues sent post free —PARKINS AND GOTTO, 24, 25, 27, and 28, Oxford-street London. LUXURIANT AND BEAUTIFUL HAIR. Mrs S. A ALLEN'S WORLD'S HAIR RESTORER or DRESSING neve fails to quickly restore Gray or Faded Hair to it youthful colour and beauty, and with the first applica tion a beautiful gloss and fragrance is given to the Hair. It stops the Hair from falling off. It prevents baldness. It promotes luxuriant growth it causes the Hair to grow thick and strong. It removes all dandruff It contains neither oil nor dye. In large Bottles-Price Six Shillings. ZYLOBALSAMUM (Mrs S. A. ALLEN'S) far excels any Pomade or Hair Oil. To those whose Hair is naturally dry, requiring frequent dressing, its cheap- ness and great value will be proved. Its early use on Children's hair will in-ute an abundant and bountiful supply from Youth to Old Age. In large Bottles—Price Three F)Iiillings. Sold by most Chemists and Per. fumers. Pepot, 266, High Holborn, London. Sold by W. H. 1PSBI Chemist, Church-street, Oswestry. o. •_ r • t

Mach surprise has been occasioned by the with- drawal of Mr Samuel Morlej, M.P., for the executive committee of the Liberation Society. Mr Morley avows himself still a decided anti-State Churchman but he is unable any longer to accept the third branch of the object of the society respecting the secularisa- tion of all national property held in trust by the Church. He has found practically that this proposal of secularisation is an offence to many who would otherwise be disposed to entertain favourably the idea of separation, and becomes an abundant source of misrepresentation, which no explanations are suffi- cient to avert. Extraordinary excitement prevailed at the meeting in London of the Society for the Promotion of Christ- ian Knowledge, on Tuesday week, when the subject of debate was, whether the grant to Natal of E2,000 should be administered by tho committee alone, or by the committee along with the Bishops of Capetown and of Grahamstown. Clergymen and lay subscribers from all parts of the conntry crowded the room to overflowing it was said hundreds could not gain ad- mittance, and the excitement was intense. The im patience to vote was such, that Dr Miller could not command a hearing until he threatened to leave the room, and the Archbishop of York threatened to vacate the chair. Amongst those present were Lord Harrowby and Dean Stanley. The voting was by ballot, and the amendment in favour of episcopal aid was negatived. According to the Northern Express, a clergyman, living within a few miles of the residence of the Bishop of Manchester, lately wrote that he had 150 catechumens waiting for confirmation, and that as it was a long time since that rite had been admin- istered in his parish, he hoped his diocesan would pay him a visit as soon as possible. The bishop re- plied that he should take the parish in question in due course, and be there towards the end of 1869. The rector wrote back calling attention to the extreme rarity of confirmation, begging that an exception might be made in this case, as the population was extremely migratory, and hinting at the hardship of keeping so many persons back from Holy Communion. The bishop wrote a reply of four lines, in which he said that in all probability he would not get so far as the parish referred to before June or July 1870 Dr Tait explains why, as Bishop of London, he re- fused to allow "Father Ignatius" any longer to offi- ciate in the Church of St. Edmund's. The Bishop states, in a letter addressed to the rector, that a lady had placed in his hands a communication-perhaps we should call it a "bull"—from the "Father," in which be proposed to excommunicate this lady's daaghter, and publish the sentence in the news- papers." The offence which was to be so severely punished, consisted of the young lady having "broken a solemn vow of obedience" to the Father-which vow was "received and taken in the name of the Most Holy Trinity." I know," says Dr Tait in his letter to the Rector of St. Edmund's how much you have felt that the zeal of Mr Lyne, and his earnest appeals on the great Christian verities, have affected many of your people for good, and I wish you could retain what is good in him, without being compromised by his peculiarities. But I have no doubt now that this cannot be." Last week a singular collection of ecclesiastical vestments and Ritualistic paraphernalia came uader the hammer at the auction rooms of Messrs Deben- ham and Storr, in Covent garden, but, contrary to expectation, the clerical element, in the shape of pur- chasers was conspicuous principally by its absence. Consequently the old clo" men had the field pretty much to themselves, and some rare bargains they se- cured. Judging from the prices realised, vestments of the true Ritualistic order are not very much in de. mand :— A chasuble, stole, and maniple, beautifully embroidered in white moire antique, and lined with crimson silk, sold for 20s. Another purchaser obtained for 25s. a rich set of priest's vestments, of the form used in the 11th cpnturv made of gold brocaded satin damask, trimmed with tWk silk lace, and lined with crimson silk. A magnificent coDe the body formed of fine cloth of gold, richly brocaded, and bordered with silk lace, lined with crimson silk, the hood ornamented with the iamb in silver embroidery, and decor- ated with massive silken fringe, brought only two guineas. A richly-worked and bordered violet satin-damask chasuble, stole, and maniple, lined with silk, realised 10a. A grand processional banner, of brocaded crimson satin-faced dam- ask, with rich fringed border, having in the centre of the figure of a saint, beautifully embroidered and worked in high relief, experienced great difficulty in finding bidders and was at last knocked down for 16s. The crosses fared no better. A large number of these, of great size, and formed of cloth of gold brocade, beautifully woven in colours, for chasubles, were sold in lots of two or three, the price of the lots ranging from 7s. to 18s. Two gorgeous stoles, in jewelled cloth of gold, realised 10s. only. A bishop s mitre, of cloth of gold, richly ornamented, together with an altar frontal two gilj^ea mats, and a scarf, slowly found a purchaser at 12s. A white silk humeral veil, measuring nearly 10 feet in length, aad splendidly^ ^nibroidered, went for 87s. Twn costly stoles, of rare artistic design, produced 6s. A crimson silk altar cloth, embroidered in the highest style of ecclesi- astical art,Isold for 18s.; a blackt silk velvet ditto, with white silk trimmings, bringing only 17s, 4 u waue

The Newcastle Daily Journal records the fact of a pear tree being in full bloom at Aln wick as an evideneaf of the extraordinary mildness of the season The rptirina editor of the Louisville Democrat, in announcing the transfer of that journal to a new pro- PrietaUi.. makes the following confessionThe worst sin I have on my conscience is helping to make great men out of very small material." Chambers's Journal tells a funny tale It is the rtWnya/iian?.e?tar7,.rep0rti^ ,oreach at the end of his turn, to write the name of the re- porter who follows him and this i8 aet iu type for the guidance of the printer. On one occasion this printer s direction was left in a moraine Danf>P „;fu the following result :-Mr Disraeli wa's depicting g owing words the damages to society team some°act of the Liberal Government, and exclaimed, in the midst of his peroration, "Then sir „i,o( « iT « Green follows Robson." What follcms? A ~i ii Company (ot inj„Ue ras„loed b Jjna.. the contention of the Dlaintiffwoo'♦», P sea. aad^ alio., „„ ta«h ii dSSeto swordfish through the connpr tv^ D <*men by a of the bottom. The defendanfa^n 1D*J Peking, was left by the negligence 0f ttlfl l that the hole copper had, after a length of timp ers^an<* the off; and that there was no^oeCayed and brok«» which such a damage was inflict recor^ iu without the sword (which, althou^h^n J a swordfish without the sword (which, although vvonderf'lly hard, bedded in the wood. The em" plaintiff. J eturned a verdict for The following is a bona fide answer fmm of a Middle-Class Examination :RiZr<i Tpap^8 Henrvaner h he ™ »n Henry II.; he was very fond of tea parties, and hunt-. married Berengaria of Navarre "u ?.00*1' H, w,ol? „„,hiog: b. great deal of money and did no good TVP didate had a far more correct idea of Richard I** thTn nine people out of ten. The enerav „!> K • •' • and his rigorons notions an u T criiicism member of sTety are mOSt r m*keS a part of his paper he 121Ia mother thought about Richard. He writes8—" r 8econd tinued. Richard I. began to con- H. taprisoned 1

The European Black Doctor Mo^Tv^ was killed by all the papers last 6S' resuscitation, in a lette- daf-pd f Hi a"noances bis inst. "ated from Paris on the 4th mJrbWpm!l^REAf'The Welsh paternity of this re- of the Fren ^ance .ls easily traceable. The S tint Greal otthe trench c,,pylsts is the cup that was used at tha Last Supp.r, and which Joseph of Arii»atW u over into Britain filled with the blood of °"g as it poured from the wound inflicted hv +kp 0 I the Roman soldier Longus. This cun ,uKPZL!f °f appeared, and could only be seen by a knieht u" less conduct, and him it provided wUh an fault; things good to eat and dri-.fc °f this cup was a diamond which fell from Btory when the archangel was worsted in fiX K It was afterwards hollowed y Ml°baeL the angel who comforted t.hl of a CUP Gethsemane with the r!Zf Saviour m the garden of into the hands of JWnlT aF ? then passed ion of his descendant ti,' came into the posses- on Good Fridav wk'I a JP^oheur. Every year, and deposited in L dovre tended from on high, ipsi'n ea 111 the cup a consecrated wafer Ev Tal lhe GradaI' or Graal> « described7 as a large shaUow dish, which had the property of insoirin^ of al mysSes18dItir'rind kaowle/^e future anl r,1? jsszjt: lin^PerpT °f thS Druids' .and/appeared with Mer- Wdsh thp n name' CTT Vnough' signifies in stated t Companion of the Basin, and, as already stated, he was a friend and contemporary of An»„r;„ whose identity with Gildas is generally recognised The the^ 0 WaS also,a,Bfrdic ^mbol subsequent to naturally lo»t upon ChreMUn de Troye,, wh.,i i„gel" ria«e'-r/^r v™my,h" « «

Political. On Saturday it was announced that the post of Judge Advocate General had been abolished by Mr Gladstone, thereby saving £2,000 a year. This is not true. The return of Lord Advocate Moncrieff for the Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities is to be petitioned against, on the ground that the honourable gentleman, by his agents, paid the registration fee necessary to the exercise of the vote. The return of Mr W. H. Smith for Westminster was celebrated on Wednesday week by a dinner given to him by the London and Westminster Working Men's Constitutional Association, the number of members present being 800 or 900. The supporters of Mr Bruce (now Home Secretary) at Merthyr have determined on presenting him with a testimonial, in recognition of his services to the borough, and a committee of intluntial gentlemen has already been formed in order to carry out the object in view. The last official act of Mr Gathorne Hardy was to receive at the Home-office a depution from the Church and State Defence Society. An address was presented to the right hon. gentleman containing more than 350,000 signatures, with a request that he would lay it before her Majesty. This Mr Hardy promised to do. The accommodating member who is to vacate his seat in favour of Mr Bruce, the new Home Secretary, will, it is said, be Mr Cadogan, who was returned for Cricklade—a place, by the way, which nobody when a general election comes round, seems to have ever heard of before. Cricklade nevertheless returns two members, one of whom, thanks to the gallant fight made by Mr Cadogan, is now a Liberal. The report is contradicted. Mr Gladstone has issued an address to the electors of Greenwich, soliciting re-election. After referring to the resignation of the late government, and his call to the head of affairs by her Majesty, the Premier as- sures his constituents that his administration will certainly use every effort in office to give effect to the great measures which, out of office, its members generally have agreed in recommending to the country." The Echo says that previously to his introduction the Queen was considerately pleased to inform Mr Bright that in deference to his religious scruples, as a member of the Society of Friends, she wished him not to kneel as is usual upon kissing the Sovereign's hand and ac- cepting office and further, that Mr Gladstone and his colleagues were very graciously received. An odd apology was made by the Earl of Dalkeith for absence from the annual meeting of the Rugby and Danchurch Conservative Association. His Lordship had to attend a show of fat pigs," and therefore could not gratify his Tory friends with his presence. The Earl of Denbigh also absented himself, but for a very good reason; though he "rejoiced that North Warwickshire had elected two Conservatives" he "differed from them on the question of the Irish Church." An abundance of work is being cat out" for the judges who have taken upon themselves the task of investigating election petitions. The seats of no less than 80 members have been assailed, 51 of the hon. gentlemen" being Conservatives, and the remainder Liberals. Amongst the places from which the peti- tions come are Brecon, Blackburn, Bradford, Glou- cester, Manchester, Preston, Salford, Stockport, Shrewsbury, Westminster, and Windsor. This does not speak very well for the deterrent effects of the new act for repressing bribery and corruption. The Cabinet, as now constructed, consists of 15 members, the oldest of whom is Lord Clarendon, who is 68 the Lord Chancellor, 67 Mr Gladstone, 59 • Mr Bright and Mr Lowe, each 57 Mr Cardwell^ 55 ■' Mr Bruce and Earl Granville, each 53; the Duke of Argyll and Mr Chichester Fortescue, each 45; the Earl of Kimberley, 42 Earl de Grey and Mr Chil- ders, each 41; Mr Goschen, 37; and the Marquis of Hartington, 35. The Lord Chancellor, Mr Bright, Mr Lowe, Mr Bruce, Mr C. Fortescue, Lord Kimberley, and Mr Childers, are respectively new to the duties of Cabinet Ministers. Of the 15 members of the Cabinet, six will sit in the House of Lords, viz., the Lerd Chancellor, the Lord President, the Lord Privy Seal, and the Foreign, Colonial, and Indian Secre- taries. Nine are commoners: the Premier, the Home and War Secretaries, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Presidents of the Board of Trade and the Poor Law Board, the Post- master-General, and the Chief Secretary for Ireland. Seeing that the indications of the dawn of a general millenium are not very assuring, it is satisfactory to find that we are on the eve of 11 a financial millenium. Good tidings" were brought from the New Ministry by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the other evening, when he was invited to the festive board at Fish- mongers' Hall. In responding to the toast of the House of Commons," the honourable gentleman said You have only to wait a little time, and in a few days or weeks you will find, I have no doubt, a striking reduction in taxation-in fact a financial millenium will begin, which will of course go on increasing from year to year." After continuing in this strain awhile, Mr Lowe went on to anticipate the devising of Some mode of settling legal differences, which will pre- vent men from ruining themselves by having rescource to legal proceedings, so that in the end we shall all, Whig and Tory, embrace each other and say, Brother, bi other, we are both in the wrong, and we need not dispute about the matter I' With the hymnologist we are ready to exclaim- Hail the happy day approaching!" The Times, in its brief notices of new members, thus speaks of the Liberal representative of the county of Denbigh:- Mr George Osborne Morgan, of Rooksburv, near Chertsey, the new Liberal member for Denbighshire, is the eldest son of the Rev. M. Morgan, vicar of Conway, Carnarvonshire. He won his seat in the teeth of the powerful interest of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, displacing, however, not the wealthy baronet, but his Whig colleague, Colonel Myddleton-Bid- dulph. He was born in the year 1826, and educated at Shrewsbury SchooJ and at Balliol and Worcester Colleges Oxford; he took his B.A. degree, obtaining a first-class in classical honours in 1847, and was afterwards elected to a Stowell Law Fellowship in University College. During his Oxford career he won the Craven University Scholarship, the Newdigate Prize for English verse, and the Chancellor's Prize for an English essay in 1850, the subject b-ing—' A Comparison of the Ancients and Moderns in their Adminis- tration of Justice.' He was called to the Bar in 1853, and practices at the Chancery Bar; he is known as the author of several legal works of a high reputation. lie married, in 1856, Emily, second daughter of the late Mr Leopold Reiss, of Broom-house, Eccles, near Manchester. The line of Conservative policy foreshadowed in the ex-Premier's recent manifesto seems anything but satisfactory to several prominent members of the Tory party. The other day Sir R. Knightley condemned Mr Disraeli as a singularly bad leader," and more recently, at a Conservative meeting at Rugby, we find one of the members for North Warwickshire endorsing the condemnation. Referring to Mr Disraeli's threat of obstinate resistance to Mr Gladstone, Mr Newde- gate said stationary resistance would be of no use. A leader who only proclaimed resistance in that sense set up his followers to be riddled by their opponents, like so many targets. There must be something aggressive in the resistance. If the leader of the Conservative party had not the courage to use the weapons of the Conservatives, that party would go on a highly- respectable minority, perfectly stationary, privileged to provide warming-pan governments whenever the Papistical and Radical elements, which commanded the present Liberal party, quarrelled amongst them- selves—warming-pan governments, which, nominally Conservative, would carry out the policy of their opponents, grateful for the small privilege of place and its emolumonts.

Lord Mayo arrived at Calcutta en the 18th Nov., and was very well received. A New Testament, translated by an American mis- sionary, is now being circulated in Japan. The Roumanian Chamber has passed a postal treaty with Austria and the North German Con- federation. Thirty-three vessels have been more or less dam- aged in the neighbourhood of Neva Scotia by terrific gales. A quarrel has broken out between Turkey and Greece. The Athenian Government has been as- sisting the Cretans, and the Saltan will stand it no longer. He has accordingly sent an ultimatum to Athens, and Hobart Pasha, his English Admiral, to the Archipelago, with orders to sink Greek ships carrying volunteers. The ultimatum has been re- jected, and there has been great rejoicings in Athens. It is reported that an outrage was recently com- mitted by a ferocious mob on two British subjects at Formosa, and the local mandarins absolutely declined to afford them protection. Atonement for the outrage upon the Yangchow mission is to be insisted upon, the British consul having gone to Nankin, with an escort of three war vessels, for that specific purpose. A congress of Fenians has been sitting at Phila- delphia, and the President, General O'Neill—assum- ing the airs of a real republican chief—has sent a "message" to his Parliament. The document is a curiosity. It recommends that a commission should be appointed to confer with the representatives of the English Government, and demand from them with firmness and dignity" in the name of theuish people, u the recognition and acknowledgment of the independence of Ireland." General O'Neill's idea is that the hands of the Fenians will be greatly strengthened" by this procedure, because, if they are compelled to draw the sword, the world will uni- versally acknownowledge that they have exhausted every amicable means of averting war. Spain is again under a cloud. A re-actionary movement in the provinces, which excited little at- tention at first, has assumed alarming proportions. At Cadiz there have been sanguinary encounters be- tween the government forces and insurgents, and though there was an armistice concluded, the object was merely to bury the daad, and allow time for the removal of the women and children. In the capital the government are threatened with difficulties. The workmen whose wages were recently reduced by the municipal authorities have resorted to arms, and maintain a defiant and threatening attitude. It is believed that the spirit of revolt is fostered by the distribution of large sums of money. A triple poisoning case, which came to a termina- tion the other day at the assize court of Aix, disclosed a wonderful jumble of crime, ignorance, and super- stition. Three women, one of whom was young, handsome, and wealthy, confessed to having got rid of their husbands, by means of poison, arsenic, and belladonna, supplied jointly by a fortune teller and a herbalist. Two of the prisoners seemed to have an indistinct notion that it was bewitchment which was to follow the administration of the poison they were desirous of freedom from the restraints of married life, and yet not so far gone as really to wish for the death of those who stood between them and their ideal liberty. The herbalist gave directions to one of the women, that she should bring a black ribbon, to wear round her neck, as a charm, and that she should re- cite a pater nosier when the poison was used. One of the wives had scruples, not of conscience, but of prudence, and expressed fears to her mother that she would certainly be found out. The mother comforted and encouraged her by the assurance that if she would burn a wax candle before the altar of the famous chapel of Notre Dame de la Garde at Marseilles, the Virgin would protect her from discovery. But dis- covery was made before long, and now all the prison- ers have been sentenced to hard labour for life, except one, and in her case the sentence is twenty years' hard labour.

^rvss? £ r^ fined £ 2, and costs, at *aa aadonkey,byiBmcting8°me ^ing*^ quarters. met with his dea°hthaet the'ha^d^of Th Wh° Saarland, has ended in a committal o°n ^tpitS At Cardiff assizes, last week, it labourer, nameci a woman of the name of Sr„ ° • of cohabited, at Michaelstonn W wbom he had twenty years' penal servitude."11 8entenced to tr.^7L™egb,'b^hZfi'lad be,0re «>• week, charged with rwtino al Shem' i.1? sion of the election for No°rth L*in f °D °CCa* the defendants were remS 7 °e?tershl™- Most of charged. landed, the others being dis- Mansdel^wfth7 riotrng ^r^hT60 ?harged at Speaker of the House of r n°mination of the who is a Tory, and in whose i^tf8' fD<1)llis col! eague, ham "lambs" were imported.10 Thfr" of,Notting- variously fiQed in sums ranging from S^3 s iar Sunday ev.oi.g, and b,» ,SC, be'^ ?'"T ? notwithstanding that the University ritl £ °!' police are actively engae-ed in i oonn^y o- tU u engagea in searching for him Since the above was put in type, the body of Mr Brookes has been found in the canal jectured that, having to cross the water vd tV" gates, he accidentally fell in. 6 loc^ The other day, a man named Patrick Golding, living at 8, Burrough's-zardens Bevington-bill, was walking along the last-mentioned thoroughfare, when knee began to swell. A JuKSry dooto? J?7* 2 him, but death took place on Wednesdav L t f nju st is to be held on the body 7 WGek' A° Stak on occasioned by the receipt 'o(T°«Xro7*S messages from London for the purchase of American bonds. As the time for the delivery of sneh messages and the execution of the order embraces only a few minutes, it is probable that a zreat J changed hands, though of course the validity transaction will be a matter for al'dity of the practice of forging Melr *° JThis before been attempted, at°least nnt ,believe> not A number of forged orders wo i 8° arge a scale» to Liverpool during the day. ™ SCnt b^tele8raPh peroetrate?at Abe^dar^88!1^1^1 nature was pieced in the by a family named Richard., a train laid, and a maPtch Terook'taSI? bdn/ r eXpl09i°n' blew off nr« Tn k M/-°yed aIm08t erery article of furni- ture in the building. Strange to say, though ten members of the family were at home, they all escaped unhurt. Not so, however, the scoundrel who Kd the infernal machine." He WM 7 from the farm with his clothes burnt off D°J person severely scorched from fh? u i*™' and his No motive has transpired' and the fell hl8 feeL is Thomas Morris is in » H fellow, whose name Garotters do not it is not their practice tn t-heir for defending themselves ff^ vlctlms a °bance of ever was ,l!«, I ? °f these Boot»ndrels, how- n»vJn M w frustrated in an attempt made to Boa0rd of Hea^TT' & Sofial ooara or Health. The garotter sot hia a.m « intended victim but Mr Moorhouse had strength and presence of mind enough to clasp the arm of the man tiQhtly between his chin and chest, and hoisting him on his back was literally running away with Z garotter, intending to land him in the kitchen of a public-house, with a view to ulteriour proceed- in an „ /'J g himself 80 suddenly caught efforts tn T i.- made the most sinuous, to release himself, and having succeeded in doing so, ran away with a fleetness which defied pursuit. ueuea