The Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News

THE ABERYSTWYTH TIMES 1 ALMANACK. THIS ALMANACK win bfe presented to our readers, as usual, at the end of the year; and the Publishers will be obliged to any correspondents who will furnish them immediately with reliable information re- specting Fairs, &c. TO ADVERTISERS. ALL ADVERTISEMENTS sent to the ABER- YSTWYTH TIMES are also inserted, without extra charge, in the CAMBRIAN NEWS AND MERI- ONETHSHIRE STANDARD, and thus find their way to a large circle of readers in Merionethshire and Carnarvonshire, as well as Cardiganshire. Advertisements should be sent, not later than Thursday evening if intended for publication in the current week, to the Publisher, PHILIP WILLIAMS 12, Bridge-street, Aberystwyth

The new Bankruptcy Act comes into operation on the 1st of January, and it may be well to summarize its pro- visions. Debtors can no longer make themselves bank- rupt, but, the power will be in the hands of the creditors and small creditors can combine to employ it. Dt:btors, will be compelled to pay a substantial dividend, under penalty of being deprived of their future earnings for a considerable period; and fraudulent settlements of pro- perty are prevented. A debtor about to leave England may be summarily arrested and one who conceals any portion of his property may be punished with hard labour for two years. The Debtors' Act of 1869 abolishes im- prisonment in the case of the unfortunate debtor, but in- flicts it upon the fraudulent and dishonest. Many of our readers take a deep interest in the opening of the National Universities, and the present is a favour- able time for helping on the movement in that direction. Important meetings have been held at Oxford and Cam- bridge, and a strong attempt is being made in the univer- sity towns and other parts of the kingdom, to induce the Government to introduce a comprehensive measure. Sir J. D. COLERIDGE'S Bin, it is felt, will not do. It is only half a measure, and the Universities, once for all, must be freed from sectarian restrictions. Our readers in their different localities can assist, if they will promote me- morials to the Government in favour of the proposal to which we have alluded. The Wrexham Guardians have now under their con. sideration one of the most important questions of the day —the best method of depauperizing the children of paupers; for that is really what the boarding-out system amounts to, if evidence apparently of the best kind can be trusted. The proposal before the guardians is, that pauper children, instead of being brought up amongst the degrading influences of the workhouse, shall be boarded out in families. The system is adopted in Scotland, with excellent results we are told, though it is iair to add that some of those who have inspected it are not so favourably impressed. The immense mass of evidence, however, is in favour of the system, and at an important meeting held at Birmingham last week, it was unani- mously approved. At this meeting letters were received from all parts of the country, speaking in high terms of the results of the system. Sir W. Curtis, a Guardian of Ludlow Union, said the system had been adopted there, and it was good in theory, good in principle, and good- though somewhat difficat-in practice. The plan has also been tried in the Dartford, Highworth and Swindon, Manchester, Bath, and other unions, and everywhere, as ,far as we have heard, with success. The .testimony from Bath is that the expenses are reduoed very materially, and ithat the children are immensely benefited; from Man. chester, that the system has perfectly answered" there. ;It was stated that the payment made by the guardians in ,different places varied from 2s. 9cL to U P, week per child, with outfit and money for the renewal of clothing.

ABERYSTWYTH. TREAT TO THE INMATES Of THE "WORKHOU&I —On Thursday last the inmates of the workhouse were enter- tained in a most hospitable manner, through the pf Mrs Gilbertson, who has always taken the greatest in- terest in the welfare of the poor ih this neighbourhood. The treat on this occasion consisted of a most abundant Supply of different kinds of roast meats, plum cake, tea, lie., which was provided in the Board-room at the work- jiouse. Shortly after three o'clock,, upwards of fifty of the nmates sat down and partook of the repast, their wants oeing carefully attended to by Mrs Gilbertson, Miss Gilbertson, and the two Misses Parry, Llidiarde, Mr J. LI. Griffiths, master of the workhOtise, and the matron, (Mrs Griffiths. After justice had beien done to the good jihings provided, the children, under the direction of the naster, sang several Welsh and English puces, and before lispersing a vote of thanks was proposed to the kind lady i;rho had given the treat. These pleasant proceedings vere brought to a close by the singing of a piece called I' Good Night." A library for the boys and girls has been tarted, and we hope that the movement will be en- couraged by those who take an interest in the future wel- are of the poor.

LAMPETER. f POPULAR ENTBRT.AINHDT.-The fourth of these enter- tainments for this season was given at the Town Hall on Friday evening, the 3rd instant, when the Very Rev. he Dean presided. There- was a good attendance, and he audience seemed to appreciate the selections. After a ,'ery amusing speech from the chairman, whose remarks reated great laughter, the following programme was well one through, and gave universal satidaction pianoforte Duet-" Palermo Quadrille, Misses Evans w i. wiu'uuiupurevB, ,5ong—Poor Old Joe" Mr D. Williams. .Recitation—" The Redeemed Day" Mr J. T. Powell. Jong—" The Railway Belle" Mr R. P. Llewellin. iteading-" Look at the ClooW MrJ. L. Evans. .ong Cymry lan" Miss Evans. leading—'Little Minnie" Mr F.Jones. •ong—" Can I Forget Thee" Mr V. Harding. tedtation-" The Bishop Mr Umber. ong- Velocipede My D. Morgam. leading— (Welsh). Mr L. Jones. ong—Welsh) Mr S. Davies. iteading-" T&Wng Latin" Mr W. J. Morgan. ong—"It's a sort of thing y«u read about, but very seldom see," and a Welsh melody. Mr T. Lloyd. "God Save the Queen.

DOLGELtJSY, OARD OF GUARDIANS, THURAWY-, Dec. 9.-Pre- i sent: L. Williams, Esq. (chairman)* and R. M. Richards,Esq., ex-officio; Messrs Richard Williams Robert Williams, Llanaber; Griffith Roberts, Llan- enddwyn; Owen Owens, Llanfihangel; John Edwards, Llanegryn; Morris Evans, Celynin; Richard Jones, Llanddwywe-uwch-graig; John Jones, Talyllyn; John Breese, Mattwyd; and the Rev, Evan Lewis, Dolgelley. Lunatic Asylum.-A letter was read from the Denbigh "unatic Asylum informing the- guardians that- John vans, aged 55, a tailor from Mallwyd, who had been an imate of the asylum for some time, wiaa now in a fit state !> be discharged. It was decided that he should on his .turn be admitted into the house until he could get some 'ork and that Mr Morris Jones, relieving olace-r should ke some clothes from the workhouse for him in order to 'ring him there. The Children's itoom.-The Master reported that he id been unable to put the children under eighteen in a 10m by themselves as it was arranged, because, although room had been adopted for the purpose, it bad not yet lren properly furnished, as there were no tables or other 'iceasary articles of furniture, fie further stated that he jt& called upon Mr Humphrey Jones, joiner, who was ow very busy with the ioineigr of,the, New id had not yet been able to make, the, new tables recently l-dered of him.- The master was directed to see H. Jones •rain, and if he would not make th £ tb>ing^ in three days e master was to employ some, otbot ioiner.—The con- ieration of the painting and staining of the woodwork of e workhouse was deferred until the next Board. Nm-payment of Calls. —The Clerk said he would have to 'Ply, according to the standing orders, for authority to ■oceed again&tihe overseers, of-the parishes of Dolgeuey, '-anaber, and Llanenddwyn, far non-payment of calls.— ;ie application was deferred. Sharp Dealing.—The following correspondence respect- j the case of Mrs Evans, who formerly resided at :'D.gor, waajMad, but no further action was taken there- %t present-o-. ■ i SWf ngw, one of the relieving ottoec* tot that u*ion, with wpe«t o this case, and to ask for your advice thereon. The above pauper, by an order of removal from the Conway Unicn, has become chargeable to the common fund of this union in respect of her husband's settlement, and it is inferred, from particulars lurnished to me by the said Margaret Evans, at a personal inter- view, that she was improperly induced to leave the Bangor and Beaumaris Union, where she had become irremovable by reason of her residence there for twelve months without being in receipt of parochial relief. Margaret Evans was married to her husband, Griffith Evans, at St. John's Church, Manchester, in the month of November, 1866, and afterwards lived at 64, Bridge-street, Green Heys, Manchester, for about twelve months, when she left for Bangor, her husband having gone there a short time previous, and both lived together at Caelleppa, in the city of Bangor, for twelve months, when her husband died. She remained there for about two months after the death of her husband, during which time she was allowed parochial relief from that union. About this time Mr Edwards, the relieving officer, suggested to her that she should go to see her relations, and that her relief should be con- tinued wherever she went. She, relying upon this, went to reside at Dwygyfylchi aforesaid, and her relief from the Bangor Union was continued for a short time, but at the expiration of seven weeks she was informed by Mr Hughes, relieving officer for the Conway Uniou, that it was fctoppt d. She, consequently, on the eighth week, went to Bangor, und saw Mr Edwarus, who told her that her relief bad been discontinued a fortnight pre- viously, and tIlat she had no claim whatever on that union, inasmuch as she had resided there for ten months only. She de iied that most positively, and she afterwards atteudel before the Board, and produced a letter written by a master tailor, with whom her husband had worked, stat.ng that he had been in his employ for twelve months. After her visit t J enquire the cause of her relief being discon- tinued, aUe retuined to Dwygyfylchi in the Conway Unioc, and applied to that Board for relief, whereupon an order of removal from that to this Union was obtained. The Guardians felt that, assuming the particulars furnished by the pauper to be correct, the relieving officer of the Bangor and Beaumaris Union exceeded his duty in suggesting to her that she should reside elsewhere than Bangor, informing her at the same time that her relief would be continued, with the view, the Guardians cannot but think, of getting rid of her off his books.—Yours, Ac., GRIFFITH WILLIAMS, Clerk to the Union. The following letter from Mr Doyle in reply was also read:— Dec. 2,1869. Dear sir,—I have communicated your letter of the 27th of Nov. to the P- or-law Board, who, I have no doubt, will write to the Guardians of the Bangor and Beaumaris Union for an ex- planation from Mr Edwards, the relieving officer. I um, dear sir, faithfully yours, ANI" w DOYLE. The New Collector of Llanaber.—A letter was received from the Poor-law Board approving the appointment of Mr Owen Williams as collector of the poor rates for this parish. The Master and Matron.-The following letter was re- ceived from the Poor Law Board respecting the master and matron Whitehall, Nov. 26, 1869. Sir,—I am directed by the Poor-Law Board to acknowledge the reoeipt of your letter of the 13th inst., and to inform you that they assent to the arrangement under which it is pro- posed to allow the child of the master of the Dolgelley Union Workhouse to reside in the workhouse, on condition that a payment of Is. 6d. per week is made to the guardians in respect of its maintenance. The Board further assent to the proposal to increase the salary assigned to the master from 240 to £44 per annum. The Board, however, request to be informed in what manner the guardians pro- pose to apportion between the master and matron the annual salary of 244.-1 am your obedient servant, H. FLEMING, Secretary."—After some conversation it was de- cided that the salary of the master should be fixed at 228, and that of the matron at 216 per annum. Paupers relieved out of the workhouse during the last fortnight:—John Jones, Barmouth district, 620; Morris Jones, Talyllyn district, 397; total, 1,017. Amount paid in out-relief during last fortnight:—John Jones, Bar- mouth district, 2117 19s, 5d.; Morris Jones, Talyllyn dis- trict, 274 lis. 9d.; total, 2192 lis. 2d. No. of vagrants relieved during last fortnight in the workhouse was 34, being less by 20 than in the corresponding fortnight of last year. No. of inmates at present in the house is 41, being more by 2 than in the corresponding week of the last year.

Births, Marriages, and Deaths. n BIRTHS. 26th ult., the wife of Mr JOHN DAVIES, Aran-lane, Bala, of a son. 30th ult, the wife of Mr ROBERT ROBERTS, Llechwedd- hen, near Bala, of a daughter. 9th, the wife of Mr THOMAS MORRIS, Tegid-place, of a son. MARRIAGES 2nd, at Brunswick Chapel, Liverpool, by the Rev. Herbert Hoare, JOHN DAVIES, only son of E. PENNY, grocer, Festiniog, Merionethshire, to FANNY, youngest surviving daughter of the late E. TUNNA, farmer, North- wood, near Ellesmere, Shropshire. 3rd, at Peniel Chapel, Festiniog, by the Rev. D. Roberts, Rhiw, Mr JOHN PRITCHARD, clerk at the Welsh Slate Company's Quarry, to Miss DOROTHY OWEN, Baltic Hotel, both of Blaenau Festiniog. 4th, at the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Llanuwchllyn, Mr EDWARD MORRIS, to Miss JANE WILLIAMS, Llech- weddystrad, near Bala. 7th, at the Parish Church, Oswestry, by the Rev. G. Cuthbert, WILLIAM, eldest son of the late Mr RICHARD TAYLOR, Llwynymapsis, to Miss ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, of Llanrhaiadr. DEATHS. 24th ult., aged 68, Mr DAVID ROBERTS, auctioneer, Car- digan. 25th ult., aged 28, Mr W. D. EVANS, grocer, Liverpool House, Chalybeate-terrace, Aberystwyth. 27th ult., aged 48, at No. 1. Queen's-road, MARY, the second daughter of the late Mr EDWARD THOMAS, carrier, Market-street, Aberystwyth. 28th ult., aged 45, MARGARET, the wife of Mr JOHN EVANS, 29, Marine-terrace, Aberystwyth. 28th ult., aged 67, at Cardigan, Capt. DAVID TIMOTHY, of the smack Sarah. 29th ult., aged 7 months, ELINOR ANNE, the infant daughter of Mr WM. JONES, joiner, Powell-street, Aber- ystwyth. 1st, aged 69, at Machynlleth, Miss ANXE EVANS, form- erly of 8, Marine-terrace, Aberystwyth. 2nd, aged 5, MARY ELLEN, daughter of Mr EVAN EDWARDS, shoemaker, Llangollen. 3rd, aged 73, WM. FRANCIS, Esq., The Pentre, Aberha- fesp and on the 6th, Mrs FRANCIS, relict of the above, aged 84. 3rd, aged 69, Mrs ANN JONES, Pencelli, Llawrbettws, near Bala. 3rd, aged 71, Mr ROBERT ROBERTS, Dolhendre, Llan- uwchllyn, near Bala. 3rd, aged 84, Mrs ELIZABETH PITCH, Castellhen, Llanycil, near Bala. 4th, aged 60, Mr JOHN DAVIES, bookseller, Kerry. 5th, aged 84, Mrs GWEN JONES, Tynywern, Rhosy- gwaliau, near Bala. 5th, aged 68, Mr WILLIAM THOMAS, of Penlan, Blaenau Festiniog, and late inspector at Diffwys Quarry. 7th, ANN, the wife of Mr D. THOMAS, compositor, Aber- ystwyth. 8th, aged 32, at the Elephant and Castle Hotel, New- town, the residence of her cousin, KATB, the wife of Mr WILLIAM RUDDLE, of the Voelas Arms Hotel, Pentre- voelas.

TIDE TABLE FOR ABERYSTWYTH, ABERDOVEY, AND BARMOUTH. Dec. Aberystwyth. Aberdovey. Barmouth. a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m..a.m. p.m. Sat. 11 0 49 1 19 118 1 48 0 58 1 28 Sun. 12 1 53 229 222 258 2 2 238 Mon. 13 3 3 334 3 32 4 3 312 3 43 Tues. 14 4 7 4 38 4 36 5 7 416 4 47 Wed. 15 5 6 5 19 5 35 5 48 5 15 5 28 Thur. 16 5 31 5 53 6 0 6 22 540 6 2 Fri. 17 6 12 633 6 41 7 2 621 6 42

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. I The Vale of Ayron (Capt. Vaughan's) Hounds meet on Saturday, December 11th Llanifhangel-ar-Arth Bridge Tuesday, December 14th Altllwyd Friday, December 17th Altyrodin At 10.30. The Idris-side Harriers meet on Monday, Dec. 13th Cambrian Mines 1- At 10.

MODERN INVENTION:. —That great invention the cc Chrono- qi apA," which times all the principal events of the day, and has revolutionized and superseded the clumsy old- fashioned Stop-watch," seems likely to be eclipsed in fame by that still greater and more useful invention the KeylessWatch." The fact of no key being required ren- dars these Watches indispensable to the traveler, the nervous, and invalids. The enormous number sent even by post to all parts of the world is a convincing proof of their great utility. The prices at which they are sold range from 5 to 100 guineas. Thousand* of them are manufactured by Mr J. W. BENSON, of Old Bond Street, and of the Steam Factory, Ludgate Hill, London, who sends post free for 2d. a most interesting historical pamphet upon watch- making. BANKRUPTS.—'The following announcements appear in the GazetteAllen, Thomas, Shrewsbury, hop merchant, Dec. 10, at 12: sols., Mr Kough, Shrewsbury, and Messrs James and Griffin, Birmingham off. asig., Mr Kinnear. Hamer, Elizabeth, Llanllwchaiarn, provision dealer, Dec. 7, at 11: sols., Mr Jones, Newtown; off. assig., the Registrar. Hamlet, Edwin, Shrewsbury, publican, Dec. 14, at 11: soL, Mr Kough, Shrewsbury off. assig., Mr Peele. Parr, Jonathan, Llandudno, licensed victualler, Dec. 13, at 12: sols., Messrs Evans and Lockett, Liver- pool; off. a3aig., Mr Turner. Ellis, David, Nevin, Car- narvonshire, shipowner, Dec. 15, at 11: sol., Mr Breese, Pwllheli off. assig., the Registrar. Hammond, Samuel, Ludlow, provision dealer, Dec. 22, at 10: sol., Mr Lloyd, Ludlow; off. assig., Mr Williams. Worthington, Thomas, Lampeter, lime, coal and general merchant, Dec. 18, at 11: sols., Messrs Abbott and Leonard, Bristol; off. assig., Mr Acraman. EXTRAORDINARY CURE OF A COUGH BY POWELL'S BAL- SAM OF ANISEED.—"Her Majesty's Gun Boat, 'Netley,' Wick, North East Coast of Scotland, 7th September, 1868.—Dear Sir,—Having had a most distressing ana severe cough, which caused me many sleepless nights and restless days, I was recommended by his Lordship, the Earl of Caithness, to try your most invaluable Balsam of Aniseed, and I can assure you, with the first dose I feund immediate relief, even without having to suspend my various duties; and the first small bottle completely cured me; therefore I have the greatest confidence in fully re- commending it to the million.—Most respectfully yours, W. LINZELL, H.M.G.B. 'Netley.'—To Mr Powell."— POWELL'S BALSAM OF ANISEED can be had of all Chemists. In Bottles at Is. lid. and 2s. 3d.—Warehouse, 16, Black- friars-road, London,—Ask for "POWELL'S BALSAM OF AXISIID."

FISHING v. MINING. SIR,—In the course of a supposed dialogue, recently published in one of your contemporaries, as carried on between a mining proprietor and a lodginghouse keeper, some foolish questions are asked about the rivers being purified. I would tell them at once, as I have told them before, it never can be done. If pits were sunk at every five yards from the mines to the town it would be no clearer, and as long as the mines are in the favourable position of soon becoming more profitable to the county so long must your rivers be fishless. Shut up mining, and you may close the doors and windows of almost every house in the town except the workhouse. Look at the town now in the immediate mining district of the county, the richest of almost any lead mining county in the king- dom, but the rivers without fish. Look at the same town thirty years ago-rivers abounding in fish, but lead mines very few. Compare the difference, and place mining and fishing in the scales: which speaks the truth ? Which predominates? Which, I ask, has caused the town to boast of her beauty, of wealth, and knowledge that she now possesses, and tell me if mining and all its branches are to be trampled under foot for fishing; or merely to see your rivers (which we boast of for mining purposes as waters in a thirsty land) coming clear and sparkling into your harbour-a harbour filled with mining freight, too, going from your town almost daily? "L.H.K." further re- marks upon the method of washing lead by the late Mr Lewis fugh. and of the present generation of mining men, who consider themselves far superior to those before them. In Mr Lewis Pugh's day, there was but very little, if any, machinery for washing beyond the bucking system; and, besides, what quantity did ever Mr L. Pugh wash com- pared with the quantity of the present day ?—just like one cow in a farmyard to the million in the country. Do not therefore think that I am averse to the rivers being full of fish. I should enjoy it as much as anyone, but when the question comes it must be answered so as as to give satis- faction if possible on both sides, of mining and of angling; as the one brings and spends in and within fifteen miles of the town 1:150,000 a year, whilst the other could not thirty years ago bring sufficient to keep the lodginghouse holders alive. What could they do now without mininpr v Rhosgoch, Dec. 6th, 1869. S. T., JUN.

MISSIONS IN FOREIGN PARTS. Sm, -A letter appeared in the Observer last week respecting the above subject, in connection with which A Visitor" made some comments on two letters pre- viously pjublished on the same. My object in sending this is, to justify myself ("Another Churchman") the author of the second letter. "A Visitor" finds fault with my letter for saying in one place that the rev. gen- tleman's lecture was well attended," and in the very next sentence that had he the encouragement he expected he would have given more lectures." Now, "A Visitor" wishes to know what more encouragement did he expect than to have the room well attended ? I beg to inform him that I have expressly mentioned what more en- couragement he wanted, i.e., the presence of our worthy vicar and curates; but this passage was left out by the editor of the Aberystwyth Observer for some reason best known to himself. I should like to know from the above- mentioned editor, why did he omit the above passage ? Was it llawer gwir goreu ei gelu, leaving my letter incom- plete and open to the remarks of A Visitor." Again, A Visitor" regrets that A Churchman" should be so wanting in decorum as to apply the some- what harsh term apostate but allow me to inform the above-mentioned "Visitor" that he is guilty of the same offence when he calls the deputy-managers of the Welsh Church Sunday School "poor, erring, and misguided, though probably well meaning. In what, I demand to know, have they erred ? How, and by whom have they been misguided? Also, "A Visitor" fully concurs with "A Churchman's" opinion that, "it was not right to lecture on successive Sundays to the entire neglect of the poor Welsh children." In what sense does he think them poor? Surely he cannot think them pooras regards Scripture history; if he does, it certainly is a mistake, for I venture to say that the poor Welsh children" far exceed their neighbours, the English children, in this respect. I con- clude, hoping that A Churchman" and "A Visitor" will leave the Welsh Sunday School alone, and paddle their own canoes. Aberystyth. ANOTHER CHURCHMAN.

TRAFFIC RETURNS. I 1869. Great Western } £ 76,110 West Midland s. 1868. South Wales ) £ 73,585 1869. London and North Western ") £ 124,753 Shrewsbury and Hereford V 1868. Shropshire Union ) £ 122,214 For the week ending December 5th. CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS (178 miles open).—Passengers, parcels, horses, carriages, dogs, and mails, £ 1,251; mer- chandise, minerals, and cattle, 21,128. Total for the week, 22,379. Aggregate, to this date, 274,544. Corre- spondingweek in last year (176 miles open). -Passengers, &c., 21,2-20; merchandise, &c., 21,237; total 22,457; aggregate, to this date, 270,899. For the week ending November 28th. BRECON AND MEBTHYR RAILWAY (60f miles open).— Passengers, parcels, &c., 2156 12s. 2d. goods and live stock, £ 949 Is. 6d.; total, £ 1,105 13s. 8d.; £ 18 4s. Od. per mile per week. Corresponding week last year (59% miles open).—Passengers, &c., 2151 3s. 10d.; goods, &c., 2890 Is. lOd.; total, 2104159. 8d.; 217 10s. Od. per mile per week. Increase, 264 8s. Od. Aggregate from 1st July, 1869. 224,582 Os. 10d.; ditto 1st July, 1868, 220,394 2s. Od. In' crease, 24,187 18s. 10d.

THE IRON TRADE. BIRMINGHAM, Dec. 2nd.—There is no new feature in the Iron Trade so far as this district is concerned. The brokers tried very hard to do business to-day, but there is a general dis- position to hold off new engagements; in fact, the really buying class were but a small section of the large number of persons in the Exchange. In the course of the week some of the principal makers have received orders by letter. Of course those are placed at the advance; but it is quite certain that a good quan- tity of the finished iron now being sent out is at the old rates; and there are many makers whom necessity will, for a time, at least, compel to take fresh orders, at little, if any, advance on the old prices; but notwithstanding this, it is fair to state that those who rank amongst the heads of the trade have not abated confidence that a great improvement in the demand will, before very long, be experienced. We rather incline to the opinion that there will be found to have been some miscalculation in this respect, and that there will not be any flush of orders, but a progressive increase in the demand. Pig-iron is in fair sale, at a little advance on Quarter-day prices-that is, for best qualities. The movement on the part of the thin-coal men has come upon that branch of the trade as a surprise. The general opinion is that nothing will come of it; but after recent events it is im- possible to say what may or may not take place.

SHOCKING ACCIDENT.—TWO MEN KILLED. A shocking accident has occurred at the Vochrhiw coal pits, situated about three miles from Dowlais. About eight o'clock on Monday morning, two men were ascending the pit in the usual way. All went well until the carriage had reached to within 250 yards of the pit mouth, when the rope suddenly broke, and the tw6 men were precipi- tated to the bottom of the shaft. The poor fellows were literally knocked to atoms. The pieces were picked up and deposited in two sacks. The names of the two men were William Long, aged 49, and William Dunstone, aged 19. It is a singular circumstance that Long, who had been working all night, left off at six o'clock, at which hour he ascended the pit. He went home and had break- fast, and he then recollected that he had left one of his mandrils in the pit. The poor fellow returned and went down the pit again, and, having secured his mandril, he joined Dunstone in the carriage which was to ascend at eight o'clock, and which proved so fatally disastrous for I himself and his companion.

How TO SWEET«N THE YEAR.—Buy Mr Rimmel's Heroines of the British Poets," whose fragrant perfume covers every day in 1870. Judgment was given on Saturday by the Judicial Com- mittee of Privy Council in the case of "Martin v. Mackonochie." Their lordships decided that the defend- ant's mode of complying with some parts-of the monition he had received with respect to the administration of the Holy Sacrament was an evasion. As, however, he now stated that he had never desired to oppose the monition, and his defence being that he had complied with it, they dismissed the application, but condemned Mr Mackon- ochie to pay the costs of these proceedings. The Scotsman reports a terrible explosion on the Clyde, on Wednesday afternoon. A screw steam-lighter was observed between Dunoon and Innellan, when suddenly she seemed to be lifted out of the water with a tremendous explosion, and the next moment sank. She was at first supposed to have been a gunpowder lighter, but it has since been ascertained that she was the Pioneer, with a cargo of coals for Brodick Castle. The explosion is attri- buted to the bursting of the boiler, but as all the hands on board, three in number, perished, the exact cause must remain a mysterv. BREAKFAST.-E"S'g COCOA.-GRATZYUL AND COMFORT- ING. -The very agreeable character of this preparation has rendered it a general favourite. The Civil Service Gazette remarks:—"The singular success which Mr Epps attained by his homoeopathic preparation of cocoa has never been surpassed by any experimentalist. By a thorough know- ledge of the natural laws which govern the operations of digestion and nutrition, and by a careful application of the fine properties of well-selected cocoa, Mr Epps has provided our breakfast tables with a delicately flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doctors' bills." Made simply with boiling water or milk. Sold by the Trade only in t lb., i lb,, and lIb. tin-lined packets, labelled—JAMES Epps & Co., Homoeopathic Chemists, London.- -Igent for JAS. Epps and Co.'s Special Homoeopathic Preparations:—EVAN NEWELL, Escuan Farm Buildings, Towyn, Merionethshire. SHOCKING OCCURRENCE.—A frightful suicide took place on the Neath and Brecon line on Monday. It appears that the train leaving Brecon at 11.55 a.m. proceeded at its usual speed towards Neath, calling at the intermediate stations, when after rounding the curve near Penwylt a man dressed in a white smock and the ordinary attire of a abourer emerged from behind the buttress of the road lbridge, and, unseen by the driver, placed himself at full length on the near rail The whole of the train passed over his body, cutting it completely into fragments, part of the flesh adhering to the engine wheels. The frightful mutilation was witnessed by the guard, who also saw parts of the body on the line move, by muscular contraction, into the channel by the rails after the train had gone over them. The driver was not aware of the terrible disaster till after the train had arrived at the station. The frag- ments of the body were subsequently gathered up to pwa the coroner's inquest,

About the World. One of the most enterprising of swindlers has been run to earth in the United States. For some years letters have been received in this country, addressed to deceased persons, and purporting to come from someone who had either been wronged by the deceased or supported by his generosity. At first the letters" took," and large sums were sent, to cover what was supposed to be the shame of the dead man, or out of pious respect to his memory. At last, however, the fraud was exposed in the papers, and its success began to fall off. The swindler was recently discovered through a letter addressed to the late Mr Hooper, of Southampton. Mr Westlake, the brother-in- of the deceased gentleman, suspected a fraud, and returned a cautious answer, telling the writer of Mr Hooper's death, and asking for further information. The second letter came, and then Mr Westlake took such steps as resulted in the capture of a man named Sprague, an Englishman of good education, at Philadelphia, who had previously been in custody. One of his successful swindles was representing himself as a forlorn Virginian widow, whose husband, wounded in the service cf the Confederacy, had lately died in England, and whose whole estate had been laid waste by the Federal army, and offering by letter, to many persons in Maryland and elsewhere, some autographs of Washington, the only relics of her household gods, which she was compelled to sell to support herself and her two orphan children. These autographs were readily bought in Baltimore and elsewhere, and one of them was thought so precious by the citizens of Philadelphia that they had it framed and glazed, rnd hung as a kind of national relic in Independence Hall. His "business" had brought him in as much as 21,5W a year. The appointment of Mr Hayman to the headmastership of Rugby school has given rise to a newspaper correspondence. Mr Hayman, it seems, is a man of con- siderable acquirements, but his chief recommendation is alleged to have been his strong churchmanship; and the appointment has caused great disappointment to some of the old Rugbeians, who have known the school under Arnold and Temple. A correspondent of the Daily News gives an account of the inauguration of a statue which the disreputable Com- modore Vanderbilt has erected to himself in New York. The Mayor, an Irishman, pronounced the oration, of which the following is a specimen:— Stand there, familiar image of an honoured man! Stand there, and breast the storms, or glitter in the sunshine of coming centuries Stand there, colossal subject of metropolitan pride. (A voice Bully for you.") Stand there and daily teach the lessons which the results of your own long life inspire. (The same voice 11 You are the chap to rub it into him.") Stxnd there and tell those whose industry has been crowned by wealth, that the honours of life and the praise of future generations follow those, and those only, who make the world the better for their living in it." Further on in the proceedings a poet appeared, William Ross Wallace, and for half an hour went on in this style- Mighty monument to Conquest-so the Great Republic cri< s, Power orbed on her vast forehead, earnestness burning in her eyes; Well it is my myriad children, with such thoughtful gladness hail Thus thy miracle of dreamiogs, now resplendent fr im the vail. Well, it is 'he Soul of Music, with a shout of triumph leapt, And o'er all the New World's Banner a new benediction swept. For a conquest inspiration thou art, with no carnage dye- Prince Napoleon has just sent his eldest son, Victor, seven years of age, to a private school in the Rue Caumartin, in which there are about 15 pupils. The principal asked the father how he should address the boy, as "Monseigneur" or Your Highness." "Call him simply Victor," said the prince. "But on the lists of honour for attention and good conduct?" "Oh, then, Victor Napoleon but when his companions give him a blow or he returns it, Victor, short; and in no case what- ever Monseigneur." Can-nobody enlighten us as to the quality of Australian meat ? The South Australian Registrar says- Shipments have been made in respectable quantities, and have proved but a drop in the bucket as compitred with the require- ments of the consignees. The British public, acutely sensitive in all points touching the palate, have been prevailed upon to give the imported food a trial, and with the tiial their prejudices have vanished. >• But a dinner was given in London the other day to 1,500 working men, and the Times reporter says- The best that can be said for the meat at last evening's dinner is that it was wholesome; for, whether in a mince or a stew, it certainly waq not particularly palatable. The sausages served with hot potatoes were something like the German sausage, though scarceiy so eatable; but the criticism of some of the company on the meat rolls was that they tasted much better when the meat was taken out. The stew, as a whole, was not bad, but the minced meat and rice' was an execrable dish. There were large pieces of prepared meat uncookel on a sideboard, but nothing approaching to the size of a mutton chop was laid before the guests. In fact, the Australian meat must be 'finely minced' before being cooked, and, when being cooked, it must be allowed to 'stew very gently, and be well stirred occasionally.' Dr Temple has again been asked to disclaim his sym- pathy with "Essays and Reviews"—this time in a very affec- tionate letter, by the Bishop of Lincoln-but again he has thought it right to decline. The Standard is very angry with him, and talks a good deal about the 12,000 clergy- men who condemned him as one of the Essayists. Did it occur to the Standard that possibly Dr Temple wants the famous 12,000 to feel to the bitter end the folly of their sweeping condemnation? They are honestly pained, d, many of them, by the "scandal" as they think ft, of a bishop's complicity in such a book; but is not Dr Temple honestly pained at the injustice of so large a body of his own clerical brethren? The Emperor will hardly like an unpleasantly sugges- tive comment in one of the Paris papers. Certain passages in this speech remind the Temps of "the last speeches from the throne of Charles X. and Louis Philippe. In a disused arch of a railroad viaduct near Dalston- rise, the police have discovered a little assemblage of bandits who had evidently studied romance, since one of them entitled himself Dick Turpin, while others bore equally disreputable, though less notorious, nicknames. Dick Turpin had qualified himself for his distinction by pointing an empty pistol at the head of a servant maid in her master's garden; and all the rest appear to have been inoculated by the spirit of adventure, calling their railway arch a cave, and issuing from it by night to commit small depredations in the neighbourhood. What is the secret of the popularity of The Daily Telegraph ? Not alone its" fine" writing, we imagine, for men like Lord Malmesbury can hardly be taken in by that; and his lordship, writing to the paper, says, Your journal is a favourite of mine, although, I am sorry to say, the feeling is not reciprocal, and that whenever it honours me with its notice, the favour is not compli- mentary The occasion of his lordship's writing was to correct a statement made by the Telegraph, to the effect that he was deposed" from the leadership of the Con- servative party in the House of Lords. He resigned, he says, in pursuance of a long-standing intention, when Lord Derby withdrew from his public career. The Standard, by the way, is much exercised as to the leader- ship of the party, and has been canvassing the merits Of different statesmen, without any very satisfactory result. Dr Temple was entertained last week at dinner by members of Friendly Societies at Rugby, 650 of whom signed an address to him. In responding to the toast of his health, he insisted chiefly on the comparative insigni- ficance of class distinctions and the great good which might result from freer intercourse between all sections of society. I cannot tell you (he said) how deeply Pfeet the great Christian duty of recognising the brotherhood of each other. (Cheers.) And while acknowledging all the distinctions that there may be in society—because we find them here amonpt us, as it were, a sort of ordinance of Providence, and we cannot expect to alter them, I feel that all these things are absolutely as nothing in comparision with that tie which binds every man to man- (cheers)—which really teaches us all that we are ereated in the image of one God, which must make us one, whatever else may separate us—(hear, hear)—which certainly in the other world will make many of us wonder that we should ever have been held apart by anything. (Loud cheers.) I have felt, I think, as much as I have felt anything at all, that if I should choose a motto out of our poets, above all other mottoes I should like to have— motto out of our poets, above all other mottoes I should like to have- I The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that. (Vociferous applause.) And so amnsg all deaths of good men that ever I have read of, though there have been no doubt others that express more heroism, that express in some way or othpr loftier characters, that express what may deserve at other times more admiration, the one that has always touched me most was that of Judge Talfourd on the Bench, when he expired with his last words expressing a wish that all eiasses should have a closer intercourse with one another-(cheers)-and that there should be fewer of those barriers which keep men apart. (Cheers.) He did not feel that it was always the business of the upper classes to guide the lower. He thought that each had to learn from the other, and latterly it had seemed to him as if the latter were more often right than the former in matters political. I have thought that the chief things which the two have to learn from one another, are a deeper senseot justice and a greater refinement of nature. I think that if there is a fanlt in the political views of the upper classes, it is that, generally speaking, when there is a choice, as there sometimes may be, between justice and refinement, when the question is whether you will be what is just or what is cultivated, there is a perpetual temptation to put justice second and refinement first-(cheers) —a perpetual temptation to think that it is putting a severer stigma on anything to call it vulgar than to call it unjust— (cheers)—there is a perpetual tendency to say that if yon de- grade and lower politics by excluding refinement, or by lessen- ing it, you do a greater evil than if you maintain some positive mischief working injustice between man and man. (Hear, hear.) And it is because the lower classes are free from this that I think the upper classes have a lesson to learn from them. Everybody who has thought at all about the subject will recognize the justice of that, and call to mind great dis- putes in which the conduct of many good men can only be explained by the hypothesis that they yielded to the temptation of putting refinement first and justice second. From the upper classep, Dr Temple proceeds to say, the lower have also much to learn, for the cultivation on which the former pride themselves is a very real and valuable possession, and one thing it might do for the latter, is to stem the evil of drunkenness. I cannot help feeling that whatever other measures may be taken to remedy this evil in the lower ranks, nothing would really be so effectual, and nothing would be so excellent, as that the lower ranks should catch from the upper the same gradual amelioration of manners, and be induced in this way to put it down by tho public opinion of their own class. (Cheers.) In another passage we have the secret of Dr Temple's remarkable influence. He has the "enthusiasm of humanity"— I have believed it, because I have felt it, that there is some- thing in a man's face which helps his fellow. I cannot stand and !ook on my fellow-man without seeming, as it were, to be almost inspired and I cannot doubt that that which moves me moves others, too—(cheers)—and that if I can sav one hearty word to encourage those who are doing their duty to the best of their power, I may be of far more use in helping them on than if I attempted in any way whatever to do it for them. (Cheers,) And he concludes with words like these- My profession requires of me that the first duty I have to do, at all times—and it is a duty which I should feel, I think, im- perative upon me, even if my profession were not that of a Minister of God-jai to the utmost of my power, to teach every soul that I can to live in the spirit of the Bible, and to love our Lord and Master, Christ. (Cheers.) But in the discharge of that duty, that which will always be to me the most delightful, the most truly to correspond with my own nature is, when I shall be l able to impress upon my fellow men that there is no service that they can render to their God equal to that of helping and aboor- ing and, to the utmost of their power, blessing their fellows. ) (Loud.andprolonged applause.) No bishop at present on the Bench could make as effective a speech as this, impressing men, like those whom Dr Temple addressed, so vividly with the power of Christian truth; at any rate, no episcopal address of recent days has breathed so much of the spirit of Christ Himself as this after-dinner speech of Dr Temple's at a club dinner. A few more such bishops, and we should begin to tremble for Dissent. The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher seems to have only one defect in the eyes of a certain newspaper-writer in Phila- delphia-he doesn't swear. He is a splendid preacher, an excellent farmer, and "never dines with his hat on," but he has not learnt the practice of swearing. If he had, says the writer, "he would throw into it an amount of pathos, and splendid imagery, and moving earnestness, and resistless energy, topped off and climaxed with a gorgeous pyrotechnic conflagration of filagree and fancy swearing that would astonish and delight the hearer, and for ever after quiver through his bewildered memory an exquisite confusion of rainbows and music, and thunder and lightning. A man of high order of intellect could sit and listen to Mr Beecher swear for a week without getting tired."

Ecclesiastical. The Venerable Archdeacon Mackenzie is the new Suffragan Bishop of Lincoln. The municipality of Moscow has been deliberating on the establishment of the greatest possible number of Sun- day schools for the working classes of that city. The case of Mr Bennett came before the Privy Council last week, but as the defendant did not appear it had to be adjourned. The Solicitor General (Sir J. D. Coleridge) will deliver an address at Sion College, to the clergy of the arch. deaconry of London, on Thursday, the 22nd of January, on The Freedom of Opinion Necessary in an Established Church in a Free Country." At the Cambridge Union, a debate was held on the fol- lowing question, proposed by Mr A. Foster, of St. John's College:—" That in the opinion of this house it is desirable that the connection at present existing between the Church and the State in this country should be dissolved." After a discussion lasting for three hours, the motion was negatived by 101 against 35. It has been noted to the credit of Dr Wilberforce that he leaves the diocese of Oxford, after holding the head pastorship for twenty-four years, without a single relative holding a place within it. But what if some of his rela- tives ought to have been appointed ? Is a man to suffer because his uncle or his cousin has the good fortune to be made a bishop! The proprietor of the Church Herald announces that he hIs suspended its publication "on account of the objection- able tone of "its articles." The Tablet having by some accident pronounced that "all the natural virtues collected together in one individual would be sin, in the absence of faith," now unequivocally accuses its own sentence of heresy, declaring the doctrine to be good Calvinism and excellent Lutheranism, but positively condemned by the Church." The experiment of self-government has had an unpro- mising beginning in the diocese of Dublin. From the first the clerical and lay elements have threatened to come into unpleasant collision, and in Dublin this collision has actually taken place. At a meeting on Tuesday week of lay representatives and clergy to elect delegates for the General Convention, Lord James Butler moved an ad- journment, in order that important matters connected with the position of the laity in the Church might be fully discussed. Amidst great confusion, the Archbishop refused to put the motion, but ultimately he yielded, and the pro- posal was lost. Afterwards a similar motion was proposed, and the Archbishop allowed it to be carried, but declared that he would not attend the meeting, and recommended the clergy not to attend either. A correspondent of the Church News, an organ of Ritual- ists in the Church of England, suggested that Tuesday, the 7th instant (Vigil Conception of Our Lady), ought to be observed as a fast by all the Unionists, accompanied by an act of penitence and the Come thou Holy Spirit," in order to obtain a blessing on the Roman Council next day. He adds—" Would it not be well for all priests to offer the Holy Sacrifice on the 8th with the same intention, at such an hour in the morning as would enable the faithful to attend ? The Veni spiritus sanctus could be sung either before or after the consecration, thus uniting in the mass sung at St. Peter's on the same day." ihe Jiev. J. L. Kyle, writing to the Record, suggests the revival of the office of subdeacons, which would allow young men to begin preaching at twenty years of age, and it would be a sufficient test for admission to the subdi- aconate that they should be young men of good character, good education, earnest in their desire to enter the Church's service, and apt to teach." He also suggests the establishment of an order of Evangelists, selected on account of their possessing peculiar powers of preaching." These evangelists, preachers, or whatever they might be called, would be without incumbencies, and would be in- dependent of parochial divisions. Their movements might be directed entirely and exclusively by the bishop and his Diocesan Council, and they would go armed with authority to preach wherever the bishop and council sent them. Mr Ryle strongly insists upon the necessity of cultivating the preaching powers in the Church; and protests against the indelibility of orders.

GIULIA GRISI. The following, from the pen of Mr Shirley Brooks, appears in Punoh. NAY, no elegies nor dirges Let thy name recal the surges, Waves of song, whose magic play Swept our very souls away: Ana the memories of the days When to name thee was to praise; Visions of a queenly grace, Glowings of a radiant face, Perfect brow-we deemed it proud When it wore the thunder cloud; Yet a brow might softly rest On a gladdened lover's breast. Were thy song a Passion-gush, Were it Hatred's torrent-rush, Were it burst of quivering Woe, Or a Sorrow soft and low, Were it Mischief's harmless wiles, Or wild Mirth and sparkling smiles, Art's High Priestess! at her shrine Ne'er was truer guard than thine. Were it Love, or were it Hate, It was thine, and it was great. Glorious W om an- -like to thee We have seen not, nor shall see. Lost the Love, the Hate, the Mirth- « Light upon thee lie the earth!

From the first of January the postage per letter to the United States will be 3d. In consequenee of serious allegations made by the Spanish Minister of Finance with reference to the mis- approbation of the crown jewels by the deposed Queen and her mother, the Cortes has demanded a full investiga- tion of the matter. We read of a "musical gymnasium for ladies," and we wonder how they manage about the dumb bells. -Punch. General Prim, in accordance with his promise, last week presented a decree to the Cortes, restoring the constitutional guarantees of the Spanish people,

THE APPROACHING EDUCATIONAL CON- FERENCES IN WALES. A correspondent forwards us the following particulars of the scheme to be submitted to the approaching Educa- tional Conference at Aberystwyth. The meeting will first consider the state of primary education in Wales, and it will probably be moved that a deputation of Welsh ijiberal members be requested to wait upon Mr Forster urging upon him the importance of bringing in an educa- nonal measure which will meet the wants of the • v11?? wJj?re» although the great majority of the inhabitants are Nonconformists, they are very frequently either compelled to send their children to National t0 for!?° th,e Vantage of a good education, rartly from poverty and partly from religious differences lar^ge districts are entirely destitute of Government schools, while other parishes have two schools—a national and an unsectanan school-both of which are only half filled, because there is not enough population to support them. In the mining districts the employers of labour impound the workmen's wages for the building and support of a school. Sometimes the employer insists upon a church school, whereupon it is no uncommon occurrence fbr the men to voluntarily tax their wages a second time in order to establish a non-sec- tanan school. These are hardships which the labouring population have long borne with patience, and it is felt that they ought speedily to be wiped away. It is under- stood that several Welsh Liberal members have expressed their readiness to wait upon Mr Forster, and make known the wants of the people. A deputation from the Bir- mingham Education League will attend the conference, a?d it will be proposed that the conference, on behalf of Welsh Nonconformists, join the League and assist in furthering its objects. The second question considered will be that of a University or a University College for Wales. There are some six or seven colleges in Wales, but they are all denominational-that is, they have been built by the various denominations for the pur- pose of educating ministers for their pulpits. Hence they are all theological. Every college is built and maintained by collections made in the chapels of the country—that is, by the sixpences and shillings of the poor and the students, who are nearly always drawn from the humbler ranks of life, make a point, during the vacation, of collecting money from their friends for the support of the colleges. Practically the state of affairs is this—that while Government has built and endowed col- leges in Ireland, Scotland, and London, where young men may get a liberal education, the Welsh people, who set a high example of national decorum, and require no troops to maintain order or crush sedition in the country, are absolutely destitute of a Government grant for the furtherance of first-class general education. If a man wants to go to college in Wales he must-, ho a nmu>Li- -v IJ.I.V.&.A.IIõ;I.& It may be said that this is not absolutely true, inasmuch as St. David's College, Lampeter, enjoys a Government grant, and is an institution to which all may resort who desire a liberal education. The fact is, that till within the last few years it was a theological college for supplying clergy to the Church of England. Latterly it has been thrown open, but so intimately is it connected with the Church of England, and so little do the people trust it, that only one application has been made for admis- sion by a non-theological student; and so utterly un- expected, apparently, was the application, that the reverend Principal was completely taken aback, de- claring, with a burst of astonishment, that such a thing was almost unprecedented in the annals of the college. In order, then, to afford to the young men of Wales an opportunity of gettiug a general liberal edu-. cation, it is proposed to establish at Aberystwyth a University College, to affiliate it, in connection with other Welsh colleges, to the London University, the examination for degrees to be conducted by the Board of the London on for degrees to be conducted by the Board of the London University. The college will be non-sectarian, but ample provision will be made for students to attend religious services, and the professors will be required to declare that they will teach nothing contrary to the doctrines of Christianity. About £ 30,000 are required £ 16,000 have been promised, and of this Mr Morley, M.P., promises 21,000. The large hotel at Aberystwyth, worth 230 000 and purchased by the College Committee for £ 10,000, will be nearly completed by the end of next year, and the college will then, it is hoped, be opened without delay. For the encouragement of grammar and other superior Welsh schools there will be annual examinations of boys at the University College; the names of successful boys and of their schools to be published. At the forthcoming con- ference a deputation of Welsh members will be requested to wait upon the Government asking for a grant towards the University College. Mr Morley, Mr H. Richard, and Mr E. M. Richards, have signified their intention to form part of the deputation. About forty or fifty applications for admission for intending students have been received by the Rev. D. Charles, the secretary. -Dtily News. ROUGHING IT AT SUEZ.—At the opening of the Suez Canal so many visitors were asked that it was impossible to attend properly to any, and an amusing book might be made-and probably will be-of the adventures that befel Europe's representatives at the great inauguration. We are told of one injured individual who got an interview with the Khedive to complain that he had been allotted a double-bedded room. The Viceroy, with quick humour, retorted by ordering three additional beds to be put up in the unlucky wight's apartment. The confusion and strug- gling and fighting for place and victuals, was on many oc- casions of a nature calculated to be more entertaining in the retrospect than in the performance, and a story is told of Lord Dudley being Been at a railway station "dusty and desperate, heaving- his bulk upwards in the throng, his hat on the back of his head, a loaf of bread under his arm (at which a foreign person was tugging furiously), and a plate of some dark-coloured substance in his hand."

THE WELSH IRON, TIN-PLATE, AND COAL TRADES. As announced in previous reports, there has been of late a considerable increase in the demand for rails, and better prices have, therefore, been realised. Indeed, as far as the present de- mand for railway iron is to be considered, scarcely any difficulty is met with in securing contracts. Cou!d the same be observed in reference to the other descriptions, it might now be said that the iron trade had attained a thoroughly satisfactory position. Sooner or later, however, it is believed the prices of merchant iron must assimilate with those of railway iron. At all events, as far as the latter is concerned, there is every probability that the principal works will be kept in full employment on good orders for some time to come. The majority of the hands are now on full time. From home or foreign markets there is not much change to note in the demand. American engagements are now vigorously pushed forward, as fears are still entertained that the tariff on iron may be advanced. From thti continental markets there is a good inquiry, and the competition of French and Belgian houses has materially decreased. There is some perceptible revival in India business. Rail orders are offered on home account, but the general disposition on the part of the makers is to decline fresh engagements until they see the turn of the markets at the commencement of the New Year. There is no change in the dull state of the tin-plato trade, and no improvement is now looked for before the next quarterly meeting. Hitherto the improvement remarked in the steam coal trade in the last few weeks has been sustained. The ironmasters have ceased to send such large quantities for shipment as they did formerlv, for the reason that the out-put of their collieries is nearly to the full required for consumption at the ironworks, in consequence of the increased make. Yet there is the fact to be remembered that there is a very large power of production lying dormant; and in the event of proprietors seeing their way to profitable prices, they would readily re-open the numerous collieries that are now and have been for a long time storaed. House qualities continue in better request. Coke is in good de- mand,, on Staffordshire account.

REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. (From the Mark Lane Express.) Winter in earnest came with the 1st of December, the cold being greater than at any previous period since the commencement of 1869. The growth of all vegetation has therefore come to a standstill, and such weather will severely try the potatoes in store, which this season have little power of resistance. With this decided change has also come an improvement in prices, it being obvious if it should last that little can arrive from the Baltic, or other great sources of supply. This cannot fail to relieve the trade and give farmers a better chance. The average improvement may be taken at Is. per qr., though several places quoted 2s. So that the recovery is only partial, and not enough to pay growers or importers, yet it is something to feel the bottom in crossing a flood, and as our London averages, 45s. 8d., are the lowest of the year, and the number of quarters sold is only 48,960, instead of 64,660 qrs. last year, or 15,700 less than then, there must either be so much less wheat in the country to sell, or so much less disposition to sell it. Taking either alternative, we are drawn to the conclusion that prices eventually must mend. As respects the future crop, we only know it is backward, and much still unsown, but no calamity looms in the distance, and we hope none will; for if it should, we must still more rely upon foreign aid, whether forth- coming or not. As regards the continuance of large im- ports, simply viewing the question in a monetary light, there is no inducement to foreign houses to send on their produce, the values here being relatively lower than any- where else, California perhaps excepted; but even there prices run too close to make the risk encouraging, and no one port alone was ever able to meet the wants of Great Britain; and the quality being white and comparatively scarce at New York, merchants there are competitors with us for its possession, its sale also being more free than in England, where it is excelled by Australian, fine Danzig, and home-grown qualities. It is very remarkable that our recent depression found a response in no foreign port. France seemed most affected, but is now recovering. Belgium had no pressure from heavy imports; Holland was dull, but has not since declined. In several parts of Germany as well as at Danzig prices have rather improved. Hungary, though quiet, has not wavered. It has been much the same at Odessa, while New York quotes higher prices. The sales of English wheat noted last week were 48,960 qrs. at 45s. 6d., against 64,660 qrs. at 51s. in 1868. The imports into the Kingdom for the week ending 27th of November were 1,313,773 cwts. wheat, and 132,473 cwts. flour.

HOLLOWAY'S OINTMENT AND PILLS.-Sore Throats, Diphtheria, and Bronchitis.—These medicaments boldly face the evils they profess to remedy. Local relief and general purification progress together; disease is cured, while the whole system is cleansed. Holloway's Ointment rubbed on the throat and chest exercises the most beneficial influence over sore throats, diphtheria, and cough, whether resulting from catarrh, asthma, or bron- chitis. This ungent acts miraculously in arresting the extensions of sores, healing ulcerations, curing skin diseases, and completely stopping all destructive inflam- mation, irrespective of its exciting cause, character, situa- tion, duration, or severity. Holloway's Ointment, aided by his Pills, gives most immediate and most marked relief to those irritating itohings and painful swellings of the shins occasioned by mercury or latent syphilitic virus. Printed at the Caxton Steam Printing Works, Oswald-read, 0.- westry, by ASKEW ROBRBTS, EDWARD WOOD ALL, an A RICIRA" HENRY YBNABLES, and Published at 12, Bridge-street, Aberyst' wyth, by PHILIP WILLIAMS. Saturday, December lltA, 1869,

The Ecumenical Council began on Wednesday, with great pomp. The sittings, it is. said, will last to the end of June, but what the result will be, aobody seems to know. The Council will really be a fight between the Jesuits and the Liberals, and the question who will win is exciting considerable interest. -Presi(ientGR&xT delivered a long message at the opening of Congress. With regard to the Alabama Claims he disapproves of the JOHNSON and CLARENDON Convention, and thinks some apology should be made for "the unfriendly course ofGreat Britain" during the war. He hopes that the time ia at hand when the matter can be settled.—Dr TEMPLE was. duly "confirmed" at Bow Church on Wednesday. Biahop TaowER opposed, but the VICAR-GENERAL said he had no power to review the appointment of the Crown.—The election at King's Lynn has resulted in the return of Lord CLAUD HAMILTON (C) by the majority of 19 over. Mr YOUNG (L). This makes no difference in the state of parties. -The Egyptian Viceroy is said to have accepted the conditions laid down by the SULTAN in his last firman.