The Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News

(dt$hud¡taI. The clergy of the rural deanery of Gloucester, in synod as- sembled, have approved the Government Education Bill. The London correspondent of the Scotsman savs the Clergy Disabilities Bill has been drawn up with so much care that its promoters do not anticipate any grounds of opposition to it, except on the part of those who believe in the absolute indeli- bility of holy orders. The theological element has been care- fully excluded from the Bill, and it is therefore hoped that the question will be discussed on its simple merits. The Convocation of the Province of York has declined to ap- point a committee to confer with the committee of the Southern Province on the subject of the proposed revision of the Scriptures. On the motion of the Bishop of Carlisle, a resolution was adopted expressing the thankfulness of Convocation for the possession of the present' authorized version, and declaring that in the existing state of opinion the appointment of the proposed committee was not desirable. The Convocation of York, at its sitting on Wednesday, dis- cussed among other subjects the Government Education Bill. Several speakers, the Bishop of Carlisle among them, approved the main provisions of the Bill, but some opposition being ex- pressed to the compulsory clauses, a resolution was proposed and carried, "That Convocation recosetl thankfully the general spirit of earnestness and fairness in which the Government Bill had been introduced into Parliament, and that Convocation reserved its judgment upon some points of that Bill." A com- mittee was afterwards appointed to examine and report upon the Bill. Correspondence from Rome published in the French papers states that the Pope is more and more devoted to the infallibility dogma, a.nd is evidently disposed to pay but little heed to the opposition which it has aroused, especially in Germany. It is even said that in conversation with a cardinal who was speaking to him of that opposition, his Holiness replied that the German bishops might become schismatics if they liked, as the church would thereby be "purified," The Dibats remarks that purifica- tions of this kind are not altogether without danger, and that they end by converting a great church into a small chapel. The Roman Church," it adds, was purified once, and on a some- what large scale, it may be said, in the time of Luther. Can anything encouraging be found in this recollection ?" For several days a trial of great local interest has been going on in the Isle of Man. A Manx lawyer has brought an action for defamation of character against the Bishop of Sodor and Man, and the evidence has led to some remarkably curious dis- closures as to the class of curates with which the Manx branch of the Church is supplied. The Vicar of Jurby and the Vicar of Kirkmichael each stated that their curates had been trained at Mr Mossman's establishment at Torrington and another of Mr Mossman's students—"Brother Augustine, superior of the Monastery, at Newcastle"-testified as to the ecclesiastical character ef the Torrington establishment. Brother Augustine said he was now a Roman Catholic, and he would have gone over to the Romish Church long ago but for the fact that he could see very little difference, if any, between the rules and observances of Mr Mossman's establishment and those of the Church which he had just joined. Mr Mossman believed that the Pope was the spiritual head of the Roman, Greek, and Anglican Churches; and his "monks" ("Anglican curates in embryo) believed in an intermediate state, confession, absolution, and penance, and frequently confessed to the head of the establishment.

The Greek Archbishop has been presented to the Queen. In 1867 in one of every eighty-three births in Scotland twins were born. The Economist comes to the conclusion that Mr Lowe's forth- coming budget will show a surplus of £4,500,000. ADVICE TO MOTHERS.—Are you broken of your rest by a sick child, suffering with the pain of cutting teeth go at once to a chemist and get a bottle of Mrs Wmslow's Sooth- ing Syrup. It will relieve the poor sufferer immediately it is perfectly harmless; it produces natural quiet sleep, by •elieving the child from pam, and the little cherub awakes 'as bright as a button." It has been long in use in Ymerica, and is highly recommended by medical men. t is very pleasant to take; it soothes the child; it softens he gums, allays all pain, relieves wind, regulates the owels, and is the best known remedy for dysentery and: iarrlnea, whether arising from teething or other causes, e sure and ask for Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup. No other should be without it.—Sold by all Medicine ealers at Is. ld. per bottle. London Depot, 203, Riga: olborn. ° • LiV;.•'•sw ■■ 'I JO* 'r tahi ,w '• r L'-i t ;s;: ';<i.

(ENTERAL The Marquis of Hartington and Earl Spencer have been elected members of the Reform Club. Sir J. Lubbock was returned on the 25th ult, for Maidstone by a majority of 102, having polled 1,504 votes against 1,402 recorded for Mr Foster White. At the Shirehall, Stafford, on Saturday, Thomas Earley, the owner of the vitriol which caused the injuries to the two railway porters, under circumstances recently published, appeared be- fore the magistrates. The Bench imposed a penalty of £20. A remarkable appeal lias been addressed to Sir Moses Montetiore by the Jewish congregation at Jerusalem. It appears that their wells are dried up, locusts have consumed every green thing, and they are literally starving. The career of Mr Anson Burlinghame, who has been visiting the principal European Courts as the ambassador of China, has been brought to a somewhat sudden termination. He died at St. Petersburgh on Wednesday morning, after four days' illness. We (Times) have authority for stating that Mr Bright is pro- pressing favourably, and that he is by degrees regaining his health. The unfavourable reports which have been in cireula- tion the last few days are without foundation. The subscriptions to the Professorship of the Celtic languages (in connection with the Royal Irish Academy), which is in- tended to form a memorial of the late Dr Todd", have reached a respectable sum. Alfred Barker, aged 20, late station master and goods agent at the Milverton station, indicted for embezzling Is. sd. and 17s. 5d. from the London and North-Western Railway Company, has been sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. Her Majesty held a Court last week, at Buckingham Palace, at which the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince and Princess Christian, and the Princesses Louise and Beatrice were present. The Court was largely attended, and the members of the Royal Family were warmly cheered by the spectators who had as- sembled to witness the arrivals. It is recorded, as a striking proof of its determination to follow a pacitic policy, that the French Government, in order to assume the initiative in disarmament, will re luce the contingent of 1870 by 20,000 men. A rumour is also current that Prussia will follow this laudable example. The eccentric George Francis Train adopted effectual means a few days since to bring himself once more into-brief notoriety in New York by going to the French-cable office in that city and sending this telegrtin: To Victoria, London.—Give me back my tramways, 0" down goes your monarchy. Train." The freak cost him lOdols. 50c., the amount he had to pay for the telegram. Charles Hambro, Esq., M.P., was shooting near Wareham on Wednesday when he discovered two poachers with rabbit nets and ferrets. They refused to give them up. He tried to take them, when they set upon him with sticks, seriously wounding him, but they decamped on a friend appearing. They are known. It is reported that the establishment of female classes at Cambridge has proved remarkably successful. Upwards of tifty daughters of local tradesmen have availed themselves of the opportunity of receiving mstructionJrom the most distinguished professors at the University. The lectures are a repetition of those which are delivered as part of the University course. Nineteen adherents of the Countess of Derwentwater" were indicted at the Newcastle Assizes for riot and conspiracy in having forcibly seized some farm stock belonging to the tenants of the Derwentwater Estates. The bailiff, who superintended the seizure, was sent to prison for nine months, and the others were released on their recognizances. Don Carlos was arrested at Lyons last week on the ground that he was about to organize an insurrection in Spain. He was requested by the French Government to take up his resid- ence in the north of France, or to proceed to a foreign country. He chose the latter course, and has gone to Switzerland. Vice-Chancellor James has refused the injunction applied for by Mr Salisbury, to restrain the directors of the Metropolitan Railway from applying certain sums alleged to be capital to the payment of a dividend. His Honour based his decision chiefly on the ground that the plaintiff knew of the intention of the directors in August last, and should therefore have applied more promptly to the Court. At a meeting of the conservatives, held at the Carlton Club .lv on Saturday, it was unanimously resolved, on the motion of the Marquis of S ilisburv, seconded by the Earl of Derby, that the lead of the party in the House of Lords should be "offered to the Duke of Richmond. His Grace has accepted the post. It is stated that a section of the Irish liberal members propose to hold a meeting early in March, with a view to counteract the agitation against the Land Bill promoted by Sir John Gray and his friends. As the latter are said to number only eleven mem- bers of the House of Commons, the Government' are probably not in very much alarm at their declared hostilitvv Observer. The election for Tipperary took place on Saturday, and this time the Fenians were unsuccessful in placing their nominee at the head of the poll, as Mr Heron obtained a majority of four votes. Kickham, the Fenian candidate, had large majorities in several towns, but this advantage was more than counter- balanced by the immense preponderance of votes given for Mr Heron at Nenagh. At the Pettigo Farming Society's annual dinner, great objec- tion arose to the drinking of the (Queen's health. The Chairman (Mr Abraham Anderson) persisted, in spite of strong anti-Roval sentiments, in proposing the toast. Only five persons drank the Queen's health. The toast of the Prince of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family was not recognized. The toast of "The Lord Lieutenant, and Prosperity to Ireland," was ignored, ex- cept by the chairman :uid five persons near him. Great disrespect was shown to the Queen. A snowstorm which began in the midland districts of Scotland on the :24th ult., continued for some days. Passage by cart or waggon along the road was all but stopped. On the railways several trains were dropped in consequence of the increased power required for locomotion. Deer and other running animals left the mountains and woods, seeking refuge in the villages. Weather prophets infer from this a continuance of the incle- ment weather. Sheep died in large numbers. The snowdrift in some villages was so deep as to bury whole cottages. A shocking outrage upon a young girl, named Emma Rivers the daughter of an innkeeperof Penzance, has just come to light' It appeared that on Thursday evening she left home for the pur- pose of going on an excursion to the First and Last Hotel, at Land's End. On Saturday morning, at an early hour, her dead body was discovered in a deserted house near St. Just, in Corn- wall, and there is every reason to believe that she was outraged and subsequently brutally murdered. A young man named Henderson has been apprehended. He was last seen in her company. A farmer named MTavish. living at Duddingston, a short distance from Edinburgh, has been apprehended on the charge of wilfully murdering his wife, Clara. The pair have lived un- happily in consequence of the deceased, it is said, being given to habits of intemperance, and it is believed that they had a quar- rel, and he struck her on the head. She was found at the bottom of the stairs quite dead on Saturday morning. The accused who is well-to-do, was found in bed, and taken into custody.' The unfortunate woman's skull was found dreadfully fractured, and at her side lay a thorn stick with blood on it, with which the crime had been committed. Charles Webster, alias Thompson, and Edward Robinson, alias Robert Moffat, were charged, before the Keswick magistrates on Saturdav, with various depredations in the Lake districts' Their principal achievements were robbing churches and schools. After they were apprehended they acknowledged that they had broken into all the churches and schools in Westmoreland and Cumberland charged against them, and that their object was to obtain money to go to Australia. Failing to find ready money they proceeded to sacrilege, burning the Bibles, surplices' drinking sacramental wine, &c. A curious railway accident case was decided on Saturday The plaintiff, Mr Kicly, formerly drill instructor to the Brecon Rifle Corps, was traveling on the London and Xnrth-\Ye-ter:1 Railway, and, arriving at his destination, attempted to letdown the window to give notice of his desire to leave the carriage There was no strap to the window, and as he was trying to open it, it fell with considerable violence. The glass of the window was broken, and plaintiff's hand was so much injured by the broken glass, that, after six weeks' suffering, one of his fiivers had to be amputated. The shock to the system was so »reat that he was obliged to give up his (liferent appointments and employments, and was not now enabled to earn his livin". The jury awarded E450 damages. Dr C. J. Williams, of Brook-street, Grosvenor-square, last week sued the Duke aud Duchess of Somerset for libel. In the autumn of list year the plaintiff professionally attended Earl St. Maur, the ouly surviving son of the defendants, who was suffering from bronchial affection. On the 30th September the patient suddenly became worse, and died within a short time after a difficult surgical operation had been performed under the superintendence of Dr Williams. The Duchess imme- diately circulated a pamphlet amongst her friends and acquaint- ances, accusing the plaintiff of ignorance and want of skill, calling him a hypocritical murderer, and attributing the reai cause of Earl St. Maur's death to "Dr Williams's reckless inves- tigation to confute a rival and gratify his selfish professional vanity." The duke and duchess, however now offered the amplest retractation and apology and, as this was satisfactory to the plaintiff, a verdict was merely taken for a nominal sum. A trial at Warwick assizes, on Saturday, revealed a sad story of the results of a breach of promise of marriage. The plaintiff was a working engineer at Coventry, and his daughter, a girl said to be of singular beauty and remarkable intelligence was barmaid at a restaurant in the Strand. The defendant is traveler in a great City firm, and having fallen in love with the voung lady, took her away from her situation and sent her to a high- class school to acouire certain accomplishments previous to their being married. After a while he broke off the engage- ment, and an action was brought for breach of promise. Before it could be tried the poor girl died of a broken heart. The action was to recover the cost of the boarding-school accomplishments • the bill for which defendant had left the bereaved father to pay' After the trial had made some progress an arrangement was made under which a verdict for £ 41 and costs was returned. A shocking murder was perpetrated on Saturday at the Western Gas Company's Works at Kensal New Town. One of the men named Philip Ralph, a^ed 40, had married a widow who turned out a thorough drunkard, dissipating the greater part of her husband's earnings in satisfying her craving for alcohol On Saturday morning the unhappy couple quarreled, and Ralph knocked his wife down, leaving her on the floor. On her re- covering she went to her son, a stalwart young fellow of 23 named Camken, and told him what had happened. Camken went to a neighbouring beershop, where he was drinking for some hours, and was heard to utter threats against his father in- law. He then went to the gasworks, and finding his father-in- law in the retort-house, felled the latter to the ground and then beat in his skull against a piece of iron. The poor fellow's neck was also dislocated, and he died in the hands of his murderer. Three men who stood by, and saw the whole transaction neither interfered nor prevented the escape of Camken. The contest between Mr Bernal Osborne, the liberal and Mr Smyth, the nationalist candidate, created great excitement in Waterford. The national party was strong and well organized Mobs armed with sticks, and professing nationalist sympathies surrounded the polling booths from an early hour, and yelled at the electors early in the day. Mr Bernal Osborne was in the morning much ahead, but by noon the nationalist had slowly crept up. The excitement increased, some of the streets appearing like wrecks. Mr M'Grath, proprietor of the Citizen was beaten by a mob. The breaking of windows continued throughout the afternoon and Mr Cadogan, who seconded Mr Osborne, was assaulted. At two o'clock the nationalist's posi- tion had still further improved, and the riot became more dangerous. Three of Mr Osborne's committee were attacked by the mob, and drew revolvers in their defence. A charge was made by the military and police, and many wounds were inflicted After four o'clock, when Mr Osborne had polled 468 and Smyth 448, the majority for the former being thus 20, acts of violence were perpetrated. Captain Brandon was only rescued from being trampled to death by the mob, by the cavalry who escorted him to his hotel, where he lies dangerously ill with two of his ribs broken. The mob continued to commit acts of violence.

VERDICT, NOVEMBER 11TH.—" The inquest on the body of Albert Edward Johns, the child of R. Johns, tailor, of 7, Morley Street, Plymouth, who was burnt to death the previous day, was held yesterday at the Cambridge Inn, before J. Edmonds, Esq., coroner. It was shown that the deceased, in the absence of its mother, must have lit some matches which were on the table, and thus set fire to the room. The jury, by their foreman, Mr Rolestone, in returning a verdict of Accidental Death,' recommend- ed the use of Bryant and May's Special Safety Matches, which light only by friction on the box in which they are contained. In this the coroner concurred." HOLLOW A y'S PILLS. -The Liver, the Stomach, and their ailments.—Alternations of temperature, muggy weather, a troubled mind, sedentary habits, excesses of the table, and a gay, reckless mode of life exert the most deleterious influence over the liver and stomach. When once these organs are fairly out of order, great inroads are quickly made on the general state of the health the constitution, which has been deprived of two of its noblest organs, soon gives way, and diseases quickly follow, from which, if neglected, the worst consequences will inevitably result. If a course of Holloway's celebrated Pills be persevered in, all will be well a°ain, as they are the finest and noblest correctives of the blood ever known, and a certain cure for all disorders of the liver and stomach. .r ,¡ 'c" ;j;.u .,J, "1 Č1:O: >■> ■ -i' 34 1 H.¡'n,¿ ..i i d;t.-

PROVINCIAL INSURANCE COMPANY. The seventeenth annual meeting of the shareholders of company was held at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel, Wrexham, at noon on 25th ult., Thomas Barnes, Esq., chairman of the Board of Directors, presiding. The following shareholders were present;— Thomas Barnes, Esq., chairman, Messrs James Bell, J. R. Barnes, G. Bradley, John Bury, S. T. Baugh, C. G. Bay ley, Wm. Clayton, William Connor, R. S. Comberbach, C. B. Clough, R. N. Davies, Rev. James Dixon, Messrs E. Davies, M.D., David Davies, John Dickinson, Rev. Samuel Evans, Messrs A. W. Edwards J. F. Edisbury, J. H. Foulkes, T. T. Griffith, M. Gum- mow, John Gittins, Charles Hughes, J. A. Hughes, T. R. Hey- wood, John James, James Jackson, Thomas Jones, T. Ingham, 'ZVi111 ;M\J,nnes' ;,ohn J°nes, solicitor, Daniel Jones, John Jones (Chester), 1. C. Jones, Thomas Eyton Jones, R. V. Kyrke, C. E. Kershaw, Edward Lewis, John Lewis, E. Lovatt, Rev. William Lews, Messrs William Low, W. M'Ewen, M.D., John Milligan, Milligan, W. Overton, Jonathan Owen, Rev. E. Powell, Messrs G. Powell, Robert Parry, J. T. T. Pilkington, Captain P. U. Panton, R.N., Messrs K Powell, William Pierce (Liverpool), K. Peters, E. Prosser, Thomas Price, E. Rowland, W. J. Sisson, Eo Sm sen., E. Smith, jun., E. B. Smith, Edward Tench, Thomas Williams, and William Wilcock. The report, having been printed and circulated amongst the shareholders, was taken as read. It was as follows :— REPORT. The directors have now to present to the shareholders their report of the business of the company for the year 1869. In the lire department the premium income was ,£65,704 2s. 7d., and the claims paid £40,507 5s. lOll. The directors have pleasure in stating that, although from causes which are not likely to recur, the tire income was not so large as that of 1868, yet the income from direct busitie.-ta (which has received their special attention), and the amount and num- ber of new insurances, exceeded those of any previous year. The Board have also great satisfaction in being able to state that the claims since the Commencement of the current year are much smaller than they have been for the corresponding period of any one of the last six years. In the life department 587 proposals were received, resulting in 477 policies, assuring £123,378, and yielding in annual premiums £4,056 15s. 4d.; the total income of the department being £ 38,856 8s. Id. The claims paid during the year amounted to £ li,240 6s. lid. The depressed state of trade throughout the country consider- ably retarded life assurance business during the year while the recent public disclosures with respect to certain offices caused many persons who might otherwise have become assurers to hesitate and delay. The influence of these causes has been felt by this company in common with others; still the new premiums nearly equalled those of the previous year. The periodical valuation of the life business will be made at the close of the current year, but the directors have, for the satisfaction of the policyholders and shareholders, requested the consulting actuary of the company to furnish them with his opinion of its present financial position, and they have great pleasure in calling attention to the following communication from him:— <i Directors of the Provincial Insurance Company. GENTLEMEN,—I have been furnished by the secretary with a statement of the new Life Assurances which have been effected from December, 1868, to 31st December last, and also of the number of policies which have been struck off the books of the company during the same period, and have been requested to express my opinion as to the state of the life business of the company at the end of the past year. Having made an approx- imate valuation of the life risks in December, 1868, and con- sidering the increase which has since then taken place in the lile funds, I am of opinion that the life business is in a satis- factory state-that the assets are fully equal to the present value of the liabilities. As another quinquennial investigation will be made at the close of the current year I did not deem it necessary to re-value the policies now in force, nor would the time admit of the work being done by the ensuing general meeting. I remain, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, ,.T "GRIFFITH DAVIES. London, ICth February 1870." The directors who retire by rotation are Mr Thomas Barnes, Mr Owen, and Mr Painter. Messrs Barnes and Owen offer themselves for re-election. Mr Painter, having removed his residence from Wrexham, does not offer himself for re-election. The Board greatly regret the loss of his valuable and long con- tinued services, in which feeling they have no doubt the share- holders participate. The following gentlemen have been nominated as candidates for the vacancy at the Board, caused by the retirement of Mr Painter:Mr George Bradley, Grove Park, Wrexham; Dr Edward Davies, Plas Darland, Wrexham Mr W. J. Sisson, Llay Hall, near Wrexham. The directors have observed with satisfaction an improvement during the last few months in the business of the London branch; and they have confidence that the efforts of Mr Lloyd, It'*1 secretary, will be attended with very gratifying The directors are giving their best attention to increasing the number and efficiency of the company's agents, and they hope that the arrangements and appointments made during the past year, as well as others which they have in contemplation, will be followed by a large increase of business. They cannot how- ever, close this report without an earnest appeal to the share- holders for their co-operation. Such a proprietary as that of this company have it in their power to double the new business in a single year. THOMAS BARNES, Chairman. ROBERT WILLIAMS, Secretarv. Ihe CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, sa'id he thougiit that, in one view, it might be said to be a satisfactory one, though in another view, the Directors felt that it was not. It could not be satisfactory to the shareholders so long as there was no dividend and yet if they compared it with the report of last \ear, and if they took into consideration the circumstances in which, in common with other companies the com- pany had been placed during the past year, he thought there were elements in the report which were satisfactory, The income of the tire department showed a considerable falling off in the receipts, amounting to something like £11,000, but for which the Company would have stood something like ,£7,000 or £8,000 better than it did because the fixed charges could not he materially reduced, and therefore anv falling "off told directly upon the protits of the Company; but insurance business was in itself a business of risk, and it would be unrea- sonable to expect that every year should be a year of prosperity, rhe > ears 18(5-4,18G5,156(5, and 186/, were four verv bad vears thou°"h he could not say that any of the business taken in those vears was imprudent or extra risky. Two or three of those years were very bad years commercially, and this had the effect both of increasing the losses and of preventing- the Companvrecouping itself by an increased business. The directors had no doubt, though of course it would be impossible for them to prove it' that a large number of the fires by which the company suffered loss in those years were intentional and would not probably have taken place but for the bad state of trade at that time. The falling off in tire business had arisen from several causes In the tirst place, the directors during 1869 had restricted the amounts of their limits on certain classes of re-insurance with other offices. Another cause of the falling off was a cause which he must name though hewould much rather pass it over in oblivion, and that was the action of persons who were under an obligation to the company and who ought to have been its friends—who in fact had engaged to be its supporters. Those persons had now done ali they could do and the company had nothing more to fear from them. What they did was adverse to the company's interests for a time, but only for a time. It had the effect of reducing their re-insurance business with some offices. Time cured misrepresentations and misconceptions and the directors thought it best to work away, and leave those mis- representations and erroneous conceptions to rectify themselves There was a third reason. The company's London Office had greatly disappointed the expectations of the Board and they had deemed it necessary to make some changes in the Branch and he was glad to say that for some months past the increase of business in London had been of a most satisfactory character and he believed that in course of time they would have a. very much larger business in London, and of a very much better character than they had had hitherto. It would be seen from the accounts that the total amount of the Are losses during the year had been £10,507. The number of losses was 581 and therefore the average loss was only £69. He should state that of the losses which had fallen upon 1869, a large proportion arose from insurances effected in 1868, in which year, as he had before observed, the income was larger than in 1869. He would now refer to a topic of a little more pleasant character—the losses the company had escaped. They had, of course, declined a large number of proposals, and they had ascertained that in fourteen of those fires had since taken place The total amount which would have been insured, had they taken those risks, was £20,721, and the losses they would have incurred amounted to about £15,000. They had escaped this large amount of loss by declining those insurances. Why were they declined ? Some of them were declined because the premiums the company required for those risks were greater than the in- surers would pay others were upon a class of risks which the company does not accept; and the remainder were upon risks which the directors declined, because they believed them to be bad of their class. With respect to the life department in 1869 there were issued 477 policies against 595 in 1868 The amount of new insurances effected in 1869 was £123,000 against £130,000 in 1868. This showed a falling-off in the amount as- sured, but the premiums paid in 1869 amounted to £ 4 056 against £ 4,169, showing a larger average in the amount of'the policies, and consequently a better class of lives. The total in- come of the life department in 1809 was £:38,356 against £35,623 in the preceding year. The shareholders would see from the report what the consulting actuary of the company, one of the most careful of actuaries, thought of their life business. This letter was the best evidence of its satisfactory character. The di- rectors believed that the life department was in a thoroughly sound and prosperous condition, and the number of proposals which they had received since the commencement of the current year was very satisfactory. During the year through which they had passed, insurance business all through the country was greatly shaken by what had transpired in respect to one "Teat company which had been before the world. For some weeks after the exposure in reference to that company, life business was almost altogether at a standstill, and fire business was also considerably affected, but the alarm appeared to have subsided and proposals were now coming in freely, and he thought that next year, when the quinquennial investigation was made it would be found to be of the most satisfactory character The repeal of the duty had not yet made much difference, but he did not think it had yet had time. They had to teach people to insure. He should like to ask every proprietor present whether he was doing his duty to the company bv insuring his own pro- perty, and thus setting an example to others. Such a proprie- tary as that of the Provincial had it in their power to double the business of the company in a single year, and thus place the di- rectors in the position to pay not only a dividend, but a very good dividend. There was only one other matter which he would allude to, and that was the Bill which had been intro- duced into Parliament by Mr Cave. He had not seen that Bill but it was one he thought that every proprietor should look at. He was told that it was in many respects a good Bill, and that most of the large companies were in favour of it. There may be some points in it which might affect them, and it was their interest to. see what the clauses of the Bill were. After referring to the loss which the company had sustained on the retirement of Mr Painter from the Board through the state of his health requiring his removal to a milder climate, the chairman said he looked upon the prospects of the company as very favourable They had passed through a very flat and bad state of trade generally, and they were now entering upon an improved state of things, from which he thought they would derive benefit even if they did not take any special means to increase their business. But they were doing so. Their secretary, Mr Wil- liams, had already commenced, and was carrying on a systematic visitation of the agents in different parts of the country and stimulating them to greater efforts, and inducing them, if pos- sible, to increase the business of their agencies. The beneficial results of this visitation were already seen he intended to visit every agent, as soon as his time would allow him to do so. In conclusion, he asked the proprietors to use their best efforts to increase the business of the company, and with their co-opera- tion—with the means which were being used, and with the im- proved state of trade which they believed had set in—the direct- ors were confident that next year their report would shew satis- factory progress, They had now passed through two months of 18/0, and he was glad to say that they had sustained fewer losses by fire, and were in a much better position than they were at the same time last year, though last year was a considerable im- provement upon the previous one. Dr GRIFFITH seconded the adoption of the report. He said he thought they must all agree that a fairer, more lucid and more satisfactory statement of a complicated business than had been given by the chairman could not have been given. There was much in it to encourage them. As consulting surgeon of the company, of course he had examined every life proposal that had been presented since the 1st January, and he might safely say that in his experience of the company's transactions there had not beeu a better succession of lives offered than in the last two months. Several remarks having been made and questions asked with regard to the accounts by Captain Panton, Mr Wilson Edwards Dr Davies, Mr Low, and others, and replied to by the chairman amI secretary, The report was unanimously adopted. On the motion of Mr ARLINGTON HUGHES, seconded by Mr MILLIGAN, Mr Barnes and Mr Owen, two of the directors retir- ing by rotation, were unanimously re-elected. Three gentlemen had been nominated as candidates for the vacancy at the Board, caused by the retirement of Mr Painter namely, Mr George Bradley, Grove Park, Wrexham, Dr Edward Davies, Plas Darland, Wrexham, and Mr W. J. Sisson, Llay j;{; M', ]- -1 ■j i.c :i t Hall, near Wrexham. The latter gentleman, whilst thanking his friends for the compliment they had paid him in nominating him, stated that not having had time to take active measures to secure his election, although several gentlemen had sponta- neously offered him their support, he preferred withdrawing; and the contest, therefore, lay between Mr Bradley and Dr Davies. Mr Bradley was proposed by Mr JOHN JONES, solicitor, and seconded by Mr OVERTON; Dr Davies. was proposed by Dr GRIF- FITH, and seconded by the Rev. JAMES DIXON; aud upon a show of hands the choice fell upon Dr Davies by a majority of terr-a ballot was then demanded on behalf of Mr Bradley. (The poll took place at the close of the meeting, and resulted in the election of Dr Davies by a majority of 259 votes, the num- bers being—For Dr Davies, 660 and for Mr Bradley, 401.) On the motion of Mr PILKINGTON, seconded by Mr THOMAS WILLIAMS, the sum of £500 was voted to the directors for their services during the past year. Mr Prosser, the company's superintendent of agents for South Wales, made a few pertinent remarks upon the excellent posi- tion and prospects of the company in his own district, as evidenced by the amount of business done, and concluded by making a forcible appeal to the proprietors to exert themselves to increase the business of the office and to help the agents to do so. On the motion of Mr OVERTON, seconded by Mr EDISBURY, Mr John Bury, of Wrexham, and Mr John Jones, of Chester, were re-elected auditors for the ensuing year, and the sum of £25 each was voted to them for their services during the past year. A vote of thanks to the chairman for his conduct in the chair terminated the proceedings.

1tt rindl)¡ttity. FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE LISBURNE MINES.—On Wed- nesday, the 23rd ult., a lad named Richard Benjamin, aged fourteen years, while at work with his father in the forty fathoms level, accidentally fell thirty fathoms through a pass and was instantaneously killed. His father went into an adjoining bargain about twenty yards distant, to borrow some powder, requesting the deceased to remain where he was until he returned. He heard the lad follow him singing, and again entreated him to remain where he was, but he still followed and fell into the pass. There was a plank across the pass over which the father had passed, but the poor boy, being in the dark, un- fortunately missed it. COLLIERY DISPUTE IN NORTH WALES.—On the 24th ult., the Executive of the Amalgamated Miners' Association, holding their sittings in Bolton, decided to support 500 men who have received notice from Messrs Maurice, of Vron Colliery, near Wrexham, that, after the 12th of March their services will not be required. The cause of the dispute is stocking coal. In the month of January the employers agreed with their workpeople to submit the matter to the arbitration of the Rev. J. Jones, Baptist minister, of Brymbo, and his decision was that there should be a limitation of stocking coals to a quantity to be agreed upon at a future meeting of the miners at Wrexham. That meeting took place, and the limit was fixed at 3,000 tons. The firm object to this resolution, and are determined to resist any interference in their mode of managing their own commercial affairs. The firm express their willing- ness to take the men back individually, but do not wish to be controlled by the union in these matters. The Executive of the Amalgamated Association of Miners have transmit- ted word that, as this is equivalent to a lock-out, the men will receive support, and will be kept out till they receive an advance of wages to the amount of five per cent., a demand for which has been made by the men of other pits.

¿ ¿\grirutturnt. The Birmingham Daily Post states that n decided effort is about to be made to call public attention to the Game Laws, with a view to their total repeal. For this purpose a meeting was held in Birmingham, on the 3rd of }[arch. SEED CATALOGUES.- We have received a couple of catalogues of Agricultural, Garden, and Flower Seeds from two of our neighbours. Mr Porter, of The Cross, Oswestry, and Whittington Nurseries, issues a very choice assortment to suit the taste and requirements of farmers and gardeners and Messrs John Evans and Sons, of Llanymynech, who are well known as nurserymen, state that this is their first year as seed dealers. SUPERPHOSPHATES.—Artificial manures should now be in store, ready for application. Those intended for drilling or sow- ing broadcast along with the seed require to be thoroughly mixed with sifted ashes or dry mould. Some mix beforehand- others sift, weigh, aud mix as the work of sowing requires. We have tried both, and give the preference to the latter. The mixing requires to be carefully done, otherwise the manure will not be equally distributed. It is one of those manipulations not easily taught by book rule, as a moist atmosphere and a dry one have their respective requirements. Practically speaking, the person who does the work must thoroughly comprehend what suits the machine. Much depends upon the uniform dryness of the ashes and guano, and for obvious reasons we have found it advisable to make the person who prepared the ashes last sum- mer do the work of mixing at this season.—The Gardeners' Chronicle. MILK FOR LAMBS.—Is a cow old in milk or newly calved the best source of milk for lambs If we can do without this artifi- cial assistance, and trust to the supply furnished by the ewe, we shall find our lambs thrive best; but cow milk must be resorted to more or less every season. We have been struck with the direct contradiction of opinion expressed by shepherds upon this subject. Quoting from Mr Wilson, of Edington Mains, we find that to give the milk of a recently calved cow to a young lamb is usually equivalent to knocking it on the head." On the other hand, a very experienced shepherd of a Southdown flock, numbering 600 ewes, has repeatedly assured us that the newly- calved cow is fittest for the purpose. Which is the true answer to our question ? Or are we to assume that this is a matter of in- difference ?—Agricultural Gazette. DRY EARTH FOR WOUNDS.—Some remarkable cures of obsti- nate wounds by the simple application of dry earth have been related. Amongst them is that of a gentleman at Mount Gambier, Mr James Pratt, who about six years ago received a kick from a horse below the knee of his right leg. The wound was healed partially, but after a time it broke out again and spread until the whole of the lower part of the leg was aSected. Mr Pratt, having hear of the success of the earth treatment in other cases, procured some virgin soil taken from below the roots of the grass, and applied it to the wound, which at the time was as large as his hand, and caused the leg to be very much swollen. The result was that the swelling was reduced in the girth measurement three inches upon the first application. The treatment was continued for three weeks, at the end of which time the wound was quite healed.—Overland Telegraph.

PLANTING HEDGES. It is generally admitted that fields which are surrounded by hedges are more fertile than those which are unenclosed; but this is not universally true without limitations. In dry situations, and on light sandy soils, they are undoubtedly of great benefit from their effects in preventing the escape of moisture, and therefore, in such places their value will, in some measure, in- crease in proportion with their number. But, on the other hand, these same effects must be injurious to a soil which is naturally damp and moist if the hedges abound in number. There are a great variety of plants used in the cultivation of hedges, such as hazel-nut tree, common birch, narrow-leaved English elm, beech, prickly broom, and privet. Hedges are some- timos fonned of one of these species only, but often of several mingled together, as of beeehwood and privet. None of the above-mentioned plants make a good hedge. The plant which is best adapted to the purpose is white thorn or hawthorn (Cratajgus oxyacantha). It is almost the OIùy one which pro- duces a good fence of compact growth and, of all others, its use is attended with the fewest disadvantages. It can be managed so as to fonn a very comp:1ct and equal fence, and yet occupy very little space; its roots do not throw out new ramifi- cations into the surrounding soil; and, on account of its thorns, it is avoided by all animals, and does not harbour birds and in- sects, unless it is allowed to spread out its branchlils to an unne- cessary extent. It is a pernicious practice, that of planting trees in the line of a hedge. Most trees (such as the oak, beech, and elm) grow faster than thorns, and when grown in the midst of a thorn hedge spread their roots in all directions, robbing the thorns of their proper nourishment, and soon overshadow them, and deprive them of the benefits of sun and air. During the first few years the top of the hedge should be moderately pruned, and the lateral branches suffered to grow untouched. It afterwards becomes necessary to cut them, but they should be left as bushy as possible at the lower part, and gradually tapered towards the top. The triangular section is proved by experience to be the best form of a hedge, as it ap- proaches most nearly to the natural form of the hawthorn tree, and may be grown to a height of four or five feet without ceasing to be thick and well clothed to the very bottom; and such a hedge forms a pleasing, impenetrable, and most durable fence. The hedge while young must be properly fenced to protect it from injury hy animals, and its roots should be kept carefully clean, and the soil around it occasionally stirred.

THE MORDAUNT DIVORCE CASE. The Mordaunt case in its present stage was concluded on the 25th ult. The small and dingy Divorce Court was again thronged in every part to hear the summing up of the Judge Ordinary. The Judge Ordinary said—There are those who will lament that matters of this kind, arising between husband and wife, should become topics of .public discussion, and there may be some who think that such public discussion, carrying with it as it does knowledge of immorality, and matters which every one would wish should be kept from the eyes of the many, is not desirable, and that in this case the avidity of the public to take an interest in the trial arises from the anticipation of the immorality that is to be revealed and made public. Now, as to mere im- morality, abstracted from its incidents and circumstances, it is unfortunately true that in the proceedings of this court there is not a week or a day which would not fur- nish materials that to such depraved tastes would be equally acceptable. But it is the position and station held by those whose names are implicated in the matters which have been made the subject of our inquiry which have excited such keen attention and interest in the pre- sent case, and it is natural that those who stand in high places should be conspicuous, and those who are conspicu- ous must expect to attract attention. It is no doubt matter for regret that in an inquiry into matters arising between husband and wife, things are stated which affect the character and reputation of third persons, who are not directly parties to it. It almost savours of injustice that we should have matters stated or discussions raised which incidentally appear to aim a serious blow at the characters of others, who are not always able to instruct counsel to defend them, and who, indeed, have no charge distinctly stated against which to defend themselves. This is almost an injustice, but is it not a necessary in- justice ? Is it possible that we can conduct an investiga- tion of this character fairly, honestly, and truly without sparing any one, and keep out of sight all the circumstan- ces that may affect the reputation of others ? It seems to me that we cannot, and therefore the supreme interests of justice are best served by presenting, without reserve, whatever matters become important to the interest of the two principal parties, and enter necessarily into the ques- tion to be determined by the suit, even though these may disparage the characters of others. I am not quite sure that there are not corresponding benefits in this. The great pub- licity with which everything is conducted in this country is an advantage in itself, and even as regards the parties them- selves whose names were thus brought into the inquiry independentlyof their own wishes, there may be correspond- ing benefits. You are not called upon to-day to give your verdict upon any of .those matters which concern third persons, but it is no light benefit that all that is known and is to be proved upon the main question and its incidents should be brought forward in open court and in the face of the public, and that you should have the ad- vantage of hearing all that can be said upon the subject without let, hindrance, or favour. The case erf Sir Charles Mordaunt has been conducted by an intrepid advocate, who has omitted nothing which he felt it to lie his duty to state, and who is a consummate waster of legal .rhetoric. „ •< -■ f ■.•••' t, V- ■> a: — The investigation has taught us precisely what could be proved to justify or confirm the statements made by Lady Mordaunt herself after her Confinement; and in reference to the Prince of Wales particularly, it must be a matter of congratulation to you that the advocate for Sir Charles Mordaunt should have come forward and told you fully and exactly whatever he could put before you. I am afraid I rather embarrassed him by suggesting that names of parties should not be mentioned in the first instance, but neither in his opening nor closing speech did he make any charge of adultery against the Prince of Wales, or go farther than to suggest the existence of an intimacy be- tween the Prince and the respondent greater than her husband desired. If Lady Mordaunt is out of her mind now, and if, in three, or four, or five years she is fit to ariswer, Sir Charles Mordaunt will have his remedy. Therefore your finding, if it should be that she is insane, would not put an end to Sir Charles's remedy; however, it is a question which has never been argued, whether, even if Lady Mordaunt is insane, Sir Charles would be stopped from going on with his suit. In this case you will observe the question of adultery is raised only in reference to the proof of the adultery. The sanity of the respondent is the very thing that is at issue, and the question is, if the facts are true, it goes some way to show that she was sane when she made them. Let us see how far it is established incidentally that the lady committed adultery. First, with regard to Lord Cole, the evidence seems to me of a very cogent character. The respondent made an entry in an almanack, and opposite the 3rd of April she put a mark, and wrote "280 days from the 27th of June." Now we have it from Sir Charles Mordaunt that she was expected to be confined about the 3rd of April. What could this mean but that she was to be con- fined on the day 280 days after the day on which her child was conceived ? On the 27th of June her husband was in Norway, and the appearance of the child tallied with that period. On that day Lord Cole was with her, and re- mained one hour and three quarters after those who were there with him had gone. Was this in accordance with the usual custom of society ? This is not all. On the day she goes down to Walton he meets her at Paddington and holds the door open, and travels with her as far as Reading. A few days afterwards he went down and stopped there a guest of Lady Mordaunt for four days. On the 15th of July Sir Charles Mordaunt comes home. Well, when Lady Mordant is confined she says, That is Lord Cole's child," and repeats it several days following. Then in the case of Captain Farquhar, it was certainly proved that Captain Farquhar was in the hotel on the night that Lady Mordaunt went there. Where he passed the night has not been proved. But I doubt whether you would at- tribute much weight to all this but for the letter, supposed to have been written by him, in which he says he got home very tired to the Tower, and speaks of having deceived Charlie. Lady Mordaunt went home on Saturday, the 9th, and she was unwell for a week, and this letter was not discovered until the following Saturday. But some conversation passed between Bird and Clark, which in- duced the former to put by the Morning Post. The suspicious part of the matter is the way the letter came to light, both Bird and Jessie Clark having told everything they knew except about the letter, which was not men- tioned by her to the attorney until April. This throws some amount of suspicion on the matter. The case with regard to Sir Frederick Johnstone is so slight that if I were trying a case of adultery I should have to say that there was no evidence independent of Lady Mordaunt's admission. The whole evidence is that he dined with Lady M ordaunt, and we ^are surely not arrived at such a pass that a gentleman cannot dine with a lady without adultery being assumed to occur. I must not omit the case of the Prince of Wales. In the evidence in his case it is said lie called frequently. (Here the learned judge read the evidence of Jessie Clark, Johnson, and Bird, de- posing to the visits of the Prince of Wales.) Here again I should have to say to you that there is no evidence. The rule in this court has always been to judge of conduct where mere suspicion was raised according to the ordinary rules and habits of society, and if there was nothing ex- ceptional in that respect in the conduct of any persons, not to assume anything against them. In the present instance the visits of the Prince of Wales to Lady Mor- daunt were all made at established hours, and in accord- ance with the usages of society. Moreover, it is necessary to bear in mind that established usage prescribes that during the visit of a royal personage all other visitors are forbidden. There is, therefore, nothing singular in this having happened when the Prince of Wales visited Lady Mordaunt. I now pass away with pleasure from that branch of the inquiry, and approach what is the real ques- tion in the case-the sanity or insanity of the lady at certain times. Tests have been resorted to by the peti- tioner. He says the lady made certain confessions—were they true ? Secondly, he asks did she not say and do reasonable things? I am not quite sure that either of these tests is perfect. Suppose that Lady Mordaunt admitted the adultery, and that it was true, is it quite certain that her mind was not disordered ? Is a woman at the time of her confinement, provided she is of disordered senses, never to refer to anything that occurred ? Is it a test? Would it be impossible for a guilty woman to confess her guilt, and, with her imagination excited, add a number of other things that "were untrue? It has been suggested that she made the confession because she knew the child was diseased. If that was shown it would indicate a rational process in her mind. But facts do not support it. On Monday and Tuesday she said the child was Lord Cole's, and then she asked the nurse whether there was anything the mat- ter with the child? The nurse said "No." Yet she made the confession that the child was Lord Cole's. Although she made the confession she does not try to reconcile her- self to her husband. Her reply to the nurse was that she would humble herself to no man, and to Mrs Cadogan, when that lady asked her to tell her husband she was sorry, But I am not sorry." Passing to the other test, is it uncommon for insane people to talk reasonably ? If we go into a lunatic asylum, should we find everything around us inconsistent with reason ? The ques- tion is not what reasonable things did she say or do, but what unreasonable things did she say or do ? If there is one thing universally attendant upon the birth of a child, it is the mother's clinging affection for it, but in this case the mother seems to have turned from it with loathing, or not to have cared for it, and this is a material circumstance for you to consider. If her mind was shaken from its balance, was it by the consciousness of guilt ? Hancock was a very important witness, and so was the next witness, Mrs Cadogan. (His lordship then read her evidence). We have had an extraordinary contradiction in the progress of this case. Sir Charles Mordaunt writing letters from the Wednesday to Saturday describes the condition of his wife, her prostrate nervous state, odd be- haviour, and so on and then a medical man, Mr Orford, comes into the witness-box and declares that these were not true descriptions of her real state. It is, therefore, very material to observe and weigh Mrs Cadogan's account of her condition on those days. Mr Cadogan next saw her, and it appears from his account that he went for the express purpose of getting from her a more express acknow- ledgment of guilt. (Mr Cadogan's evidence was here read). The Dowager Lady Mordaunt then saw her, and I will read you her evidence, which comes naturally in this place. Having done so, his lordship read the evidence of Sir Charles Mordaunt, and observed As to the condition of Lady Mordaunt up to the 13th March, it is impossible that any evidence in the world can be so trustworthy as the letters written by her husband. (Here these were read). There is a great deal of contradictory evidence in the case, and a great deal that we cannot reconcile at all and it is a singular feature of her state that we find her husband describes her in these letters as sleeping well. That a mind strained by effects of simulation should have such repose would certainly be singular. So far as they go I think you will agree with me that the letters offer un- exceptionable testimony as to the condition of Lady Mor- daunt, and one thing strikes us upon reading them, that at the time of his writing them her husband did not him- self believe in her guilt, and first began to believe in it when he found certain letters in his wife's desk on the 14th. His lordship then referred to the fact that Lady Louisa Moncrieff was not called forward. I was rather inclined to smile at the suggestion of the learned Serjeant, that Lady Louisa need not have felt more pain at being called upon to give evidence than the servant girl, Jessie Clark. I am bound to say that I never recollect a witness who exhibited a more cheerful alacrity in idence to the dishonour of her mistress than JessieTOlark. But the reasonable supposition is that if Lady Louisa could have controverted the evidence of the servant she would have been called. Lady Mordaunt left Walton on the 15th of May, and on the 16th wrote from London the letter to her husband which has been produced and read. This was certainly just as reasonable a letter as any human being ever wrote; but supposing it to be genuine, and not written for the purpose of deception, does it not tend to show that she did not leave her husband's house with a knowledge of her true position as a woman accused of adultery? Again, if she was shamming, is it likely that, beginning with this, she would end by being really out of her mind ? Or, if she is now out of her mind, is the supposition of her shamming any longer tenable, or can it be relied upon with any degree of force? If she was shamming, what did she really propose to herself ? If she could simulate madness so successfully as to prevent her husband from prosecuting a suit for divorce, she must have laid her account with being set down for mad during all the whole remainder of her life and what is life worth under such circumstances? We must ask ourselves how far it is likely that any lady would simulate madness, with the certain prospect before her of this for the rest of her life. There is, however, another view of the case which led in the opposite direction, and which might have operated with Lady Mordaunt to put on these appearances, which is, that if her husband went on with this divorce suit, it would be a very important thing for her to show that she was out of her mind at the time of her confinement, and that the confessions she had made were the offspring of delusion. After referring to other evidence, including that of the doctors, his Lordship said- The medical men said, here are symptoms maintained without any break, and this singular continuity is utterly inconsistent with the notion of simulation. They further reason in this way, and they say it is an extraordinary thing that during all this time she has got fatter and that is a matter worthy of your consideration, whether a per- son suffering under the pressure of mind, which we are told must have been the state of this lady, could or would not fall back in condition. His lordship then called atten- tion to the evidence given by Sir C. Mordaunt's witnesses as to Lady Mordaunt's residence at Bickley. Now, it was stated that she did not care for her child, that she had fits of taciturnity, and that her mind was weakened. He proceeded—Sir James Simpson saw her on the 14th of April, before she left Walton, and he said she was suffer- ing from puerperal insanity, which probably began earlier than her confinement. (The evidence was read, which was to the effect, as will be remembered, that the effect of puer- peral insauity is to lead to self-accusation and taciturnity). Well, gentlemen, I need not trouble you further on his evidence, because a gentleman of great eminence, Dr Tyler Smith, called by Sir Charles Mordaunt, confirmed this evidence. There is, therefore, no doubt that a woman at the jtime of her confinement, if her mind be disordered, is jt -T 'i likely to fall into self-accusation in regard to some sexual matter. Nor is it inconsistent that she should confess some alleged facts which were false, and some which actually had taken place. The evidence of Dr Tuke, Sir James Aiderson, and Dr Priestley goes strongly to show that she was not in her right mind. It is now agreed on all hands that she is insane, and the strength of the respondent's case is that she showed, only in a lighter degree, the same symptoms at Walton as are observable now. The strength of the case on the other side is that notwithstanding those symptoms, she has been able to speak and act with a reasonableness absolutely inconsistent with the fact that her mind was gone. The question then is, whether, balancing the two views, you can come to the conclusion affirmatively that on the 30th of April she was m a condition unfit to give instructions for her defence That she was a maniac, or utterly bereft of her reason, is negatived by every part of the case. Are there any si ens or appearances which enable you to say at what period loss of reason commenced? For that she is at present insane is admitted. Taciturnity and want of compre- hension are symptoms spoken to all along, and it will be for you to say whether these were not evidences of real disease all along, diversified by gleams of rationality and intelligence. It will also be for you to say whether you think the theory of her assumption of insanity, or sham- mmg, to be probable or maintainable. His lordship con- Jlf'i byre-stating the questions to be left to the jury • Whether the respondent was on the 30th of April in such a condition of mental disorder as to be unfit and unable to answer the petition and duly instruct an attorney for her defence; and whether, if she was not then so unable aid. unfit, she at any and at what time afterwards became so ? The jury retired at five-and twenty minutes after two, and returned into court after an absence of only eight minutes. Amidst breathless silence ° Mr Billings, the Clerk of the Court, said-Gentlemen, have you agreed upon your verdict? The Foreman—We have. Mr Billings-Was the respondent, on the 30th of April, in such a condition of mental disorder as to be unfit and unable to answer the petition, and duly to instruct her solicitor for her defence? The Forernan-We find she was totally unfit. Mr Billings (to the Judge Ordinary)-Then the other question, my lord, I need not put, I suppose? The Judge Ordinary—The other question is immaterial, I suppose. Dr-Deane-We should like to have the opinion of the jury on the second point—down to what time she was insane. The Judge Ordinary: The second question is -Did she at any subsequent time become so ? Mr Billings- Then what do you say, gentlemen, as to her state of mind since? The Foreman-We are equally of opinion on that subject. he Judge Ordinary—What is fonr opinion, gentlemen, as to her state now? The Foreman—Our opinion is that she is still unfit, and has been ever since. The crowded court was speedily cleared. The greatest excitement prevailed in Westminster Hall at the an- nouncement of the verdict. rw!if»a..

REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. (From the Mark Lane Express.) Although the past week opened with decided indications of the frost's departure, it yet lingered a few days, when the weather became fine and open enough for the renewal of tillage and all field labours. If there were occasionally light falls of snow and rain, no decided complaints yet come to hand as to any damage. March, if true to itself, will not do much to help the growth, though wanted for the condition of samples and the sowing of Lent corn; but a kindly spring may once more bring plenty. The failure this season of remuneration for cereals may suggest a more extended culture of stock, as meat continues dear but this is not without the difficulty of winter keep and the liability to disease, of which growers have lately had smart experience. It is remarkable that the same suggestions are thrown out in Canada—colonists there being quite as much disheartened as British farmers and foreigners complain as well, without paying as high rents and rates for their land. But it must be admitted there have been worse times than these from which the agricultural interest have fully recovered. Nor can we shut our eyes to the condition of the working-classes, who still suffer more- and these fluctuations seem inevitable. It is hard to be hopeful when the current of adversity runs strong but it is better to take heart than despond. We can only say we have never seen the depression last long when things are sold at less than the cost of production. Foreign advices show very little change.

The little border town of Presteign, in Radnorshire, is in a state of unwonted excitement" in consequence of an attempt having been made by Lady Langdale's agent to enclose a piece of waste land called Wardens, which has long been used by the inhabitants as a sort of public promenade. If the statements made at a rather indignant meeting may be trusted, and the recollection of the old squire who presided be correct, the history of the disputed waste is a curious one. The Wardens formed part of the manor of Melenydd, which the Earls of Oxford leased from the Crown during a long period. More than seventy years ago the Rev. John Harley induced his brother, the- then earl, to make over this veritable waste to the parish to be used as a recreation ground. The inhabitants ac- cepted the gift and improved the place by levelling it and planting it with the noble trees which now give it a market- value. The Crown lease having expired, the manor, of course, reverted to the Commissioners of Woods and. Forests, but either from ignorance on their pact or from some other reason no demand for rent or fine was made by them on the inhabitants for the occupation of Wardens, and the town retained possession of it without interference from any quarter. Lady Langdale now' claims it as heiress of the last Earl of Oxford, and apparently grounds her claim upon the fact that the Crown had tacitly conceded it to her by not valuing it with the rest of the manor. On the other hand, the people of Presteign offer this dilemma: either the land belonged to the Earls of Oxford, and hence the gift by one of them is valid, or it belonged to the Crown, and has lapsed to the present holders be- cause no claim boa been advanced during tire, past fifty years.

gtfmtt the World. j The following letter from Melbourne, although perhaps written with an animus, shows at least what can be done in the way of bribery with the ballot, as conducted there— The papers here have been making a great deal of the Bribery Commissioners and the Bridgewater revelations. They maintain that the result of these disclosures must be the adoption of the ballot. As you may be discussing the subject at home, I will give you an instance of what actually took place here during the last general election, and leave you to judge how far it prevents bribery. At (ieelorifr a certain party worked by the so-called loyal iberals, had their committee-room immediately opposite the central polling booth. On the poll being opened, their j r.tatep was to send in a voter who was supplied with a blank ) piece cf paper, the exact size and colour of a balloting ticket. Having obtained his ticket from the returning officer, he retired to one cf the private desks used by the voters for tilling up the fonts, p fcced the ticket in his pocket, and the blank paper in the nrn. He then took his ticket back to the committee-room, where he oval liberals erased the name of the opposing candi- date, saving only that of their own nominee. This ticket was then handed to the next v< >ter, who placed it in the box as his own -vote, and brought hack his ticket to be used in the same mansr by the next voter. Thus the committee ensured not only that each of their meu should vote, but that he should not vote wrongly, as only one paper is allowed to each voter, and his returning his own paper unaltered was a guarantee that he had earned his money. In this way nearly 300 voters received bribes, and detection was impossible. The Daily News, in directing attention to the two blots in Ir Forster's Bill-permissive compulsion and denomi- nationalism—says — Few, apart from the special arguments in favour of unsecta- rianiam and compulsion, this permissive legislation, which is nothing more or less than indecisive legislation, is itself a mis- take. Permissive legislation resigns the prerogative of Parlia- ment, and remits to the people of a thousand different localities a discussion and decision which ought to be made once for all by the Imperial Legislature. It destroys the unity of the law, aud opens the way for all kinds of evasion and abuse. Parliament itself outfit to settle these two difficulties of religious teaching and compulsory attendance, and settle them once for all. Mr Forster asks Parliament not only to avoid such a settlement, but practically to declare itself incapable of making it. A large, comprehensive, and most efficient measure of universal educa- tion is to be passed, but when the people ask whether the schools are to be sectarian or unsectarian, or whether parents who refuse to send their children are to be compelled to do so, they are to be told that Parliament cannot make up its mind, and they must settle it among themselves. And then our contemporary proceeds to point out, verv forcibly, how many difficulties both these defects will give rise to. The neglectful parent will become obdurate when he finds that, though Mr A. and B. in his own district say he must send his child to school. Mr C. and D. in the neighbouring parish allow the boys and .girls to go to work. In respect to the denominational blot matters will be still worse. Town Councils and vestries will under this clause have the power of electing persons who will decide on the denominational character to be given to the schools of a district. If the Romrm Catholics can set a majority on the Board, all the schools mav be made Roman Catholic; if the ritualists, or evangelicals, or any denomination of nonconformists, can get the upper hand, the national schools will adopt their tenets. A new zest will hereafter be given to municipal elections and to country vestries if this clause is to stand. The Church-rate war in the parishes will have been nothing to the new religious war which will soon be raging along the whole line of local administration. And besides all this, the conscience clause will really afford a poor protection where parents are timid and school managers are bigoted or tyrannical. These two blots must be erased before the nation can be satisfied. A touching and yet laughable incident was narrated at the Marylebone Board of Guardians last week. upon the case of a poor Irishwoman, which was brought before the Board. The story, as narrated by Mr Galsworthy, a guardian, is a8 follows. The woman and her husband rented a small farm in Ireland, and through misfortunes had fallen two years in arrears of rent. "Under fear of a distraint, she determined to go to her landlord, who, as she was told, was in London, and plead for leniencv. The only address she knew was Mr F-, London," and the name of a country residence he had somewhere in England but in her simplicity she imagined that the first person she met on her arrival would be able to tell her where to find Air F-. She arrived safely in England, and took train for London by the London and North-W estern Railway. At one of the stations she got out to have a cup of tea, leaving a bundle in the car- riage, and upon her return she found that the bundle had been stolen. It contained a dress which she said she had brought with her in order to appear dacent" before her landlord, and a little money. Lpon the train arriving at Euston-square, she was found by the officers of the com- pany sitting in the carriage crying. When asked what was the matter, she told her tale and begged to be taken to Mr F at once. Of course the officials explained to her the hopelessness of finding him, and she was taken to the Marylehone Workhouse. Mr Tubbs, the relieving overseer, took her before the magistrate and obtained an order for her conveyance to the workhouse of her native place, but this could not be acted upon at once, as she was near her confinement. A fortnight after her arrival she was delivered of a child. In the meantime Mr Douglas, the master of the workhouse, discovered Mr F the landlord, who immediately called at the workhouse and made the poor woman happy by forgiving her the two years' rent and promising to do anything else he could for her. Mr Galsworthy did not like her to be sent under a magistrate's order to the workhouse of her native place, and wished to know if the Board could legally pay the expenses of her going to her home. Mr Bedford, the secretary, was sorry to say she could only be taken back at the parish expense under an order of removal to the work- house. Mr Galsworthy asked if an application for the necessary money could not be made to the magistrate. Mr Tubbs was sorry to say that the new relief society had stopped all chance of this, as the magistrate would only give the inquiry tickets of the society. Mr Gals worthy: Then in that case I shall be happy to receive subscriptions from the members of this Board. The guardians sub- scribed freely, and several pounds were soon raised. The names are suppressed in compliance with the understood wish of Mr F-. The Record says that at the funeral of a man in Black- burn, the widow lingered by her husband's grave-side in apparent grief. Suddenly she drew something from under- neath her left breast, which proved to be her late hus- band's clogs, iron at the sides. These she threw into the open grave, exclaiming, Heer, tay thees with tha, for tha's punshed mi wi um oft enough." The bereaved widow momentarily dried her tears, and soon after re- joined the mourners. Professor Maury has recently delivered a lecture in New York on the Gulf Stream, which shows that he does not share the scepticism which has arisen concerning it. He declares that it is in volume nearly equal to the great equatorial current itself, and 1,000 times larger than the Mississippi River; that it moves across the Atlantic on the track of a great circle of the earth, and in obedience to its diurnal rotation; that it unites with the waters of the Mississippi beyond the Bahamas. With touching en- thusiasm, he compared the Gulf Stream to the Milky Way, because its warmer water was sought by myriads of phosphorescent insects which make it sparkle and glow like a sea of fire.