Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register

THEJCASE OF COLONEL TURR. VIENNA, Wednesday Morning.-The Emperor, as a mark of consideration for his illustrious ally, Queen Victoria, has granted a pardon to Colonel Turr. THE PEACE CONFERENCES. The Debats of Tuesday contains a long article pretend- ing to foreshadow Russian intentions as to the interpre- tation of the fifth point. The only part of it which seems to us (Globe) correct is the following:— Russia has accepted this clause, like the others, on the understanding that, in its quality of a belligerent Power, Russia is comprised in the reserve of the right to pro- duce in a European interest some special conditions in addition to the four guarantees." This right belongs to it, it says, as it belongs to France, England, Turkey, and Sardinia, which are also belligerent Powers, while it can- not be claimed by Austria and Sweden, allied Powers which have taken no part in the war, nor by Prussia, a neutral Power. Our contemporary (continues the Globe) is also right, in stating that foreign consels in the Russian ports of the Black Sraare involved iu the third condition, and there- fore need not not be included in the fifth. As to the in- terpretation of the fifth clause, the main question of journalists seem to be, whether the definition of the Asi- atic frontier can be included as a point in the interest of European security. We have no special information on this topic, but we can remember the integrity of the Ot- toman empire has long since been declared, even by Prussia and Germany, as essential to European interests; and that without the Asiatic frontier defined, or at least restored to the statu quo ante helium, the integrity of tae Turkish empire cannot be said to exist But as full and reliable official information on this point will not be long delayed, our readers will doubtless prefer to wait for posi- tive information, rather than trust to the haphazard in- formation" of our irresponsible contemporaries. Indications from Berlin, received since we yesterday published M. De Sacy's remarkable article (says the £ )aily Pim81) tend to confirm, as was to have been ex- pected, the accuracy of that gentleman's information as to the line likely to be taken by Russia in the confer- ence. The Emperor Napoleon has ordere d apartments to be prepared at the Elysee and elsewhere, for the official re- sidence of the members of the Peace Conferences. The Constitutionnel is informed that the Emperor Al- exander addressed a most friendly letter to the Emperor of Austria, on the existing negotiations, expressing a decided wish for the early re-establishment of peace. It is said that the Emperor Alexander had expressed the de sire that the contents of his letter should be communi- cated to the Emperor Napoleon. This communication having taken place, the Emperor of the French is said to have addressed, in his turn, a very friendly letter to the Emperor Francis Joseph, and, it is added, that the latter has communicated it to the Court of St. Petersburg.

The late debate in the Piedmontese Chambers upon th adoption of the new loan was most spirited. Count Ca- vour spoke well, but the best speech in its favour was made by Count Buffa. All Italy," he remarked, has applauded our participation in the war against Russia The victory of the Tchernaya has been a fete for us and for Italy. Has not the political importance of Piedmont in Europe sinee then increased, and is this the moment for asking us where we are leading the country ? We lead you to see our army honoured; our General-in-Chief called to the European Councilor War our King travers- our Ki n q 'trav i rs- ing Europe in triumph! Where do we lead you? We lead yon-I ought rather to say (addressing the Right,) we drag you—there where eight centuries of noble tradi- tions beckon ns." SEVERE WEATHER IN THE UNITED STATES.—A let- from New York, of date Jan. 21, says We are in the midst of an arctic winter. A great snowstorm has whi- tened the continent. The city of New York was snowed in. for a day or two nearly all the ordinary business of outdoor life waa suspended. Half a million people went without milk. The city railroads, which are now com- pletely through nearly all the great avenues, were impas- sable, and a body of snow, two feet deep, lay on the town For much of the time during the last four days Fahrenheit's thermometer has stood below zero. There has been much individual suffering, but the poor of New York have been well provided for. Considerable damage has been done to onr commerce along the coast, and seve- ral accidents have occurred." CUTTING IT SHORT.—In a carriage case before the Queen's Bench Mr. Hawkins had frequently to advert to that description of vehicle called a Brougham," which he pronounced in proper dissyllabic form. Lord Campbell suggested that the word was as frequently contracted to broom." which was just as well known, and the use of which would save a syllable. Hence- forward Mr. Hawkins called it broom." Presently the argument turned upon omnibuses, and Lord Camp- bell frequently used the word omnibus," to which he gave its due length. I beg your lordship's pardon," retorted Mr. Hawkins, but if your lordship will call it' bus' you will save two syllables, and make it much more intelligible to the witnesses." The learned lord assented to the proposed abbreviation. Too MUCH AND TOO LITTLE.—The mate of a trans- port at Balaklava has been flogged for drunkenness, by order of the provost marshal. It appears to be far from certain that the man was drunk, a natural stammer having been taken for the defective utterance of intoxi- cation. The case was thus only one of strong suspi- cion of drunkenness punished with the cat-o' .nine- tails. But assuming that it was proved drunkenness, let us compare the punishment with the treatment of the same offence on the part of the clergy, who should be our patterns of conduct in the ecclesiastical courts, which we have lately had occasion to notice. The charges in those instances were of habitual intoxica- tion, not of single cases, and the ready excuse found by the court for the vice was that the rev. defendant was led into it by a kind and social disposition. The pro- vost marshal at Balaklava discovered no such extenua- ting circumstances in the mate's case. It was enough that he found him drunk, or seeming drunk, and he flogged him accordingly. If the culprit had been a clergyman instead of a ship's mate, how much more indulgently his offence would have been treated. Or if, on the other hand, the rev. rector, whose habitual drunkenness the Arches Court so indulgently ascribed to his amiability, had been in the place of the mate, in I the hands of the provost marshal, how he would have smarted for his cups. Certainly it would seem that the church would be better for a little of the provost mar- shal in its discipline as regards drunkenness, and that the army would not be the worse for some of the leni- ency of the Arches Court.-Examiner.

CIRCUITS OF THE JUDGES. I On Thursday the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, met for the pur- pose of determining the several circuits upon which they should proceed to hold the Commission of Oyer aud Ter- miner and Gaol delivery in and for the several counties throughout England and Wales. The following are the arrangements finally agreed upon :-North Wales and Chester—Mr. Justice Earle will proceed on tf is circuit, and meet Mr. Justice Williams at Chester, South Wales —Mr. Justice Williams. MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.-On Friday evening last, a butcher from Caerwys, named Jonathan Hughes, was preserved in a most miraculous manner from meeting with an instantaneous death, and from being crushed to' atoins It appears that the man, who was booked for Ohester; on his way 'to Liverpool, had left a par- cel on the offside of the Greenfield station, and just as the up-train was coming into the station, he manifested a desire to go for the parcel, but was warned by the porter not to run the risk; however, in' despite of the caution he did start across the line, but the train came up at the moment, the buffer struck him, and he fell under the train between 7 the lines. In this awful position he fortunately had the presence of mind to lie quietly whilst the train passed over him, and so remained unhurt. The moment the train had passed, the man got upon his'legs, put his hat on his head, and walked off, with no other evidence of hav- ing been so near the jaws of death than the loss of a few of his whiskers, which were burnt off by the fire that fell from under the boiler. Such foul-hardi- ness deserves to fie punished as a caution to otuers. GOLD MINING IN NCRTH WALES.—One of the most promisi-ng trines recently opened in the vicinity of Dol- gelley is the Ellen Frances Mine, situated near the Tyn- y-Groes. A level has been driven about 20 frns. upon "De of ?he lodes, and visible "£ bld has been discovered in -?ares ?n te lode. There are likewise several pper lodf-a Ilpoli'the property,which are already lened. The Cambrian Gold Mine is looking well, and great activity is displayed in the ihe stamps. -Ati?, ing, Journal. t of the late Mr. Thomas Cubitt is one of on record, and extends to 386 Chancery ?:-mg 30 skins of parchment. The personal aeds XI,000,000 and is charged with the os-nt in the scale of pnbate duty, the stamp 0' 0. The widow has an immediate bequest 0 and an annuity of X8,000. Mohilier Society is decidedly to be established nn, atid it is to undertake works of public I

SAVINGS BANKS ? THEIR HISTORY AND TENDENCIES. The original founder of the present system of sav- ings banks was the late Dr. Henry Duncan, parish mi- nister of Ruth well, in Dumfriesshire. In early iife he had been connected with a banking establishment in Liverpool, and tue business habits he there acquired assisted him greatly in after life. At the age of twenty- five he entered the ministry, and was mtrum ntal m increasing the comforts of the poor of his charge. It was whilst engaged in trying to avert the introduction of the poors-rate into his parish, that a paper fell into his hands containing a scheme for the abolition of poord- rates in England, a part of which was the proposed erection of an economical bank for the savings of the industrious. All institutions of this nature wnich had as yet been organised, were rather as charitable induce- ments to economy, than as places for the regular trans- action of business on the independent footing of ordi- nary banks. Thus in 1799, the Rev. Mr. rimith, of Wendover, in Buckinghamshire, with two of his church- wardens, offered once a week to receive the deposits of his parishioners, to the amount of twopence and up- wards and engaged that if they allowed the money to remain till the following Christmas, they would receive a third added to. In 1804, Mrs. Wakefield, with the assistance of six friends, established a savings bank at Tottenham, and guaranteed five per cent. on all depo- sits of ze20 and upwards. And in Bath, in 1808, we find that eight philanthropic individuals (four of whom were ladies) invited domestic servants to deposit their savings, and held out as an inducement the obtaining of h 1)' four per cent. of interest on the same. But it was ne- cessary that some other principle should be introduced which would secure to the depositors interest upon the sums deposited, without creating a feeling of depen- dence upon the wealthy, which exercised a pauperising tendency upon those who were bl-nedtcd by such genu- rous kindness. It was the aim of Dr. Duncan,to propagate a means of improvement and amelioration, dependent Qn the prudent forethought and economy of the people them- selves;" and in the beginning of the year 1810 he sub- mitted his scheme to the gentlemen of the county of Dumfries. In the month of May, 1810, he adopted the necessary steps far giving publicity to his scheme, and testing the practicability of his plan by open- ing the Ruthweli Parish Bank. And his success was flatteringly exhibited in the returns made by the bank accounts for the first four years, showing the re- ceipts for the last year, 1814, to be £922. His scheme was adopted in other places, and in the year 1814, the Edinburgh Saving's Bank was opened. This was fol- lowed by the opening of similar institutions in Kelso, Harwich, Carlisle, Liverpool, Manchester, Exeter, Winchester, Southampton, Bristol, Belfast, Dublin; &C., &C. Dr. Duncan lived to learn that in the saving's banks of this country there was upwards of £ 25,000,000,— the monument which the shillings and sixpences of the working classes have reared to his memory. Within forty years of their first establishment they have accu- mulated upwards of 430,000,000 sterling. In the year 1817 the savings banks of England and Ireland became connected with government. In the year 1818 164 sav. ings banks haclenrolled themselves under the act of 1817 which had been passed for their benefit, and P,914,000 three per cent. consols had been purchased with the savings banks funds of England and Wales. The ac- ceptance of Government securities by the previously existing Scotch savings banks, was perfectly optional, and from the greater certainty of interest being at a less fluctuating rate than formerly it was liable to be. All new savings banks might, if they chose, adopt na- tional security, which, for the above reason, was gene- rally the case. Depositors received 23 per cent on their deposits, a quarter per cent,, which is 5s., being reser- ved for the necessary expenses, such as clerks, rent. &c. The rate of interest held out as a stimulant to deposi- tors was then JE4 lis. 3d. per cent. for every 2100 de- posited. This rate was Jcontinued till 1821, when it was reduced ton 16s. Old The latter rate continued till the year 1844, when it was reduced to £ 3 5s. per cent. ?p to the year 1835 the interest on the deposits of the Scotch savings banks was paid out of the funds of the Scotch chartered banks, into which the funds of the savings banks were deposited; and in 1824 the in- terest allowed by these banks was reduced. But in the year 1835 the Scotch savings banks were connected with Government, and these enjoy the privilege of na- tional security for all sums placed by the directors in the hands of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. But, of course, they must depend upon the honesty of the directors or managers in lod. ing the money in the proper quarter. <:> In all the legislation on the savings bank system the labours and self denial of Dr. Duncan were assiduous- ly devoted to the production, of a satisfactory result, and with great success. He watched over them with the greatest solicitude, and it is mainly to his unwea- ried efforts to keep these institutions before the public mind, and his influence upon members of the legisla- ture, that they have spread so widely and so rapidly. They have also been established in America and on the Continent of Europe. Savings banks are often the means of securing fu- ture opulence they create habits' of forethought and econoniv-a frame of mind disposed to regard a future and substantial advantage rather than a momentary gratification. Self-usefulness is the lesson of the sav- ings bank, for the best way to assist men is to make them the agents in bettering their own condition. There are various objections to taking advantage of the privileges it affords to the working classes, which may be noticed here. The risk which a man runs of having his wages les- sened, if his master finds out that he is able to save a part of them.-We never heard of a case in which a mans' wages have been lowered on this account. It must be borne in mind that the rate of wages depends upon the demand for labour, just as much as the price oi cotton or iron goods depends upon the quantity in the market, and the demands of purchasers. And it is jnst as natural for the mjrehant who exports goods to Canada or Australia, to say to the manufacturer, Sir, because you are a jolly-looking gentleman, and wear a gold watch, and keep a carriage, and have an iron gate to the avenue which leads to your honse, and neither of these are necessaries of life, therefore I will not give you so much for your goods as I used to do." If the manufacturer informs his stingy customer that there is an exporter to Brazil and the United States who will be glad to have them without referring to what may be his own surplus profits by the transaction, of course the exporter has only Hobson's choice, either take them or leave them;" it is quite as natural for the merchant to act thus to the manufacturer as for the employer to act as has been hinted to the workman. But it is quite certain that if habits of forethought and providence had long ago thoroughly pervaded the working classes, their condition at the present time would have been better than ic is. And it is not the employer's interest to seek to reduce his workman's wages because they have formed frugal habits. He who puts his cash into the savings bank on Saturday night is the man who can be depended on for Monday's labour. The confidence of the employer would be much strengthened in the workman who, instead of spending his hard-earned wages, lays by a part of them for fu- ture use. There is another advantage of a general use of sav- ings banks for all spare money possessed by the work- ing classes When a man requires clothing, or any article of furniture, if he has money laid by he may purchase these and in making such purchases, circu- late his ronèY. and give employment to another to make for him the article he requires. This is repeated again and again, and at last the very money he once laid out for work done for him returns to him again in the shape of wag- His employer also shares in the benefit derivable from his frugality, in so far as it is a part of the hational thrift, which, as everybody knows, is the basis of a good home trade. ° Therefore, because the cultivation of habits of pru- dence nd frugality are conducive to national prosperity, and are a guarantee for a workman's good conduct and regular attendance upon his work, which are advanta- geous for his employer's interest, and because the rate of wages is regulated by the demand for labour, there- fore the mere calling of a man's name at a savings bank table by the teller, will not tend jq his injury or detriment in the estimation of his employer. We have been thus particular with this point because it has been asserted, in evidence before the House of Commons, that it was an objection to persons deposit- ing in savings banks, because their names might be made known to their masters. (To be continued.)

RELEASE OF MR. JACKSON, THE DONCASTER PAWN- BROKER.—The Queen's pardon and the warrant for the liberation of Mr. Jackson, the Doncaster pawnbroker, from the Wakefield House of Correction, arrived at that establishment on Saturday morning, and was im- mediately communicated to the prisoner, who lost no time in leaving the place, and arrived at Doncaster by the train at 11.20 a.m. The news of his return spread ,hout the town, and nurnerous with great rapidity throughout the town, and numerous friends and sympathizers called upon Mr. Jackson dur- ing the day to offer him their congratulations. He was convicted on the 6th of December, and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. He was actually in custody seven weeks and two days. He has never undergone any hard labour, but has had every indulgence the prison regulations would allow. i

¡ AGRICULTURE. REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE, DURING THE PAST WEEK.—(From the Mark Lane Express.) The influence of the "pacific news" has continued throughout all the corn markets of the United King- dom, and has produced an equal effect in France. It has also been felt in Belgium, Holland, the Mediter- ranean and the Baltic. Both London and the country presented the same prostration as to business on re- ceipt of this important intelligence; but during the week there have been indications, especially in the country, that the lowest prices, for the time at least, have been passed, and a returning confidence, with im- proved rates in several places, may revive business in the metropolis. Peace, however desirable, is by no means morally certain; as surely implicit faith can hardly be placed in Austria's disinterestedness. The Russian Asiatic frontier has to be defined, as well as the stato of her Exuine fortresses; and what with her multitudinous counsellors and most intricate points, we may again very probably indeed be driven on the shoals. But as peace mnat be certain before corn can be ship- ped from Russia, in proportion to its difficulties must these arrivals be distant. And then comcs the oft-re- peated question, What has Russia to send? We think but little, except possibly in the articles of oats, which may have accumulated at Archangel; but next July is the earliest time to expect even such shipments. Then, moreover, with barely an average crop of wheat our- selves, and an annual demand for foreign of 5,000,000 quarters-under any circumstances it seems next to an impossibility that Russia can send us 600,000 quarters this side harvest; and before this could be done, she must have satisfied the most urgent wants of Northern Germany. Prices in America will doubtless be in- fluenced by the turn of affairs in Europe, and her ship- ments being made more freely be a check to a material advance; but low rates seem out of question till we arc more fully assured that the stores of the new world are equal to the wants of the old, and our own crops in spring give promise of future abundance. Though farmers generally have been reluctant sellers at the extreme decline there has been a good show of samples.

I MINING INTELLIGENCE. I I THE IRON TRADE. I BIRMINGHAM, Jan. 26.—The general state of the iron trade in South Staffordshire and East Worcester- shire is reported to be good; and, although some little amount of underselling prevails, it does not affect in any material degree the market for the best descrip- tions of the staple article of these districts. The fact is that the prices of raw material and labour prevent any makers, except they are extremely needy, from running undercurrent sales; and the fact of their doing 50, if known, attaches a stigina which it is most desira- ble to avoid after recent disasters. The pig makers maintain their prices; stone is as dear, if not dearer than ever; coal, rather declining, as it is stated to be doing for domestic purposes in London, is in great re- quest, at high rates, and labour to be depended upon is no cheaper. Under these circumstances, and taking into consideration the increased demand for iron for home consumption, as well as possibly the increase4 spring requirements for the United States and Canada, no person can reasonably anticipate a reduction of the quotation adopted at the last quarterly meeting. The dispute between the ironmasters of South Staf- fordshire and East Worcestershire and the railway companies with respect to the proposed increase of freightages for the conveyance of goods continues, and, unhappily, as far as we can learn, assumes a more serious aspect than at first was anticipated. The charge from Garston or Liverpool to this district will be an advance from the price of conveyance now charged, 4s. 6d., to 7s. 6d. per ton. This is conceived to be an extraordinary exaction, not justified by circumstances, and placing the ironmasters of Staffordshire in a posi- tion of great disadvantage when competing with their formidabls rivals in South Wales. It will act almost as an entire .prohibition upon Ulverstone and other northern ores. The various branches of trade and manufacture in Birmingham are represented on all hands to be improv- ing, The exportations to Australia, after two years of depression, are improving, and the dearth of orders which for a lung time was noticeable in the Brazilian trade has laterly been succeeded by substantial com- missions for Birmingham manufactures from Bahia and Rio. These may be taken as favourable indications of future prosperity and, if the war should be concluded upon honourable terms, our merchants are sanguine enough to expect an overwhelming trade with nations nearer home. The factors of the town, most of whom have now agents throughout the country, speak of the orders re- ceived satisfactorily. In the country towns of the north, where credit during the past year was doubtful, affairs wear a more hopeful aspect. Stocks of almost all descriptions of hardware have for many months past been extremely low; ironmongers generally, owing to the uncertain prices of material and the possible change in Birmingham discounts, refusing to give Qr. ders to any considerable extent. They have learnt a lesson. Raw materials of all descriptions have main- tained their price—some have advanced. Birmingham discounts are generally in statu quo, and now stocks must be replenished, in some instances at advanced prices. With regard to brass foundery, more particu- lary, there is little chance of any reductions from the existing lists; and present discounts are likely to con- tinue for some time to come. Fewer changes were made in traveller's lists previous to the commencement of their present journeys than have occurred at a simi- lar period for the last two or three years. For some descriptions of hardware there is at present a good de- mand and our manufacturers are well employed. Edged tools are greatly in request, and a large qnantity under order for expcrtation to the West India colonies. The hollowware trade is improving, and the workmen em- ployed in this branch are not so entirely dependent upon the the manufacture of the munitions of war as they were a few months ago. The fire-iron business, which is the almost exclusive employment of artisans residing in certain localities of Birmingham, is scarcely so brisk as at the commencement of the winter. In some shops work is extremely slack, and the masters, for the goods they produce, are compelled to accept al- most any prices tile slaughterers," as they are termed, may offer them. Inferior qualities of these articles arj at the present season, when they winter trade may he said to be drawing to a close, selling at ruinously low prices. Implements of husbandry continue to be in good demand, and are sent off in great quantities, par- ticularly to the southern and western parts of England. THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON. J (From lIlr. Blackwell's Lecture.) I SMELTING PROCESSES.—The differences in the che- mical nature of the various -elements forming, on the one hand, vegetable, arid on the other, mineral fuel, are '0 k' d d Qnly in degree, not in kind, except in so for as regar d s the composition of the earthy residuum of ashes left after the volatilization of the other elements. It may therefore be in the different nature of the substances present in the ashes of wood and of coal that we must seek for the explanation of the causes which produce such a widely differerent quality in iron smelted with these two species of fuel. Notwithstanding the great extent to which raw coal and partially terrefied wood have been long usel in the blast furnace both in this country and abroad, on a careful consideration of the process to which both coal and wood must be sub- jected before the carbon they contain can be utilized in the reactions of the furnace, it appears that there car- bonization may be effected with most economy, and that the quality of the coke or charcoal which results from this proeesa will be best when effected in closed ovens prior to the introduction of the fuel into the blast furnace, and rot within the furnace itself. HOT OR COLD BLASTS.—Much controversy has ta- ken place with respect to the difference 'in quality sup- posed to exist between pig iyon smelted with cold and with hot blast. It was generally considered that the pig iron smelted with hot was inferior in quality to that produced with cold air, but he attributed this im- pression to ignorance of the facts of the case. Furna- ces blown with heated air exerted so great a reduc- ing power that refractory ores calculated to produce inferior iron, were now easily smelted, and thus had arisen the opinion alluded to. At the same time, it was admitted that the more elevated temperature of the hot blast furnace had a tendency in a slight degree to in- crease the quantity of si licum and other cognate metals which formed alloys with pig iron in the smelting pro- TRADE op SOUTH WALES. By the var i ous ship- TRADE o? SorTHWAi?.-Ry the various ship- pings, metal, and other returns it appears that the trade of South Wales is in a very improving state. The quantity of coal raised is daily increasing, and a grow- ing amount daily finds its way to the seaport for ship- ment. The towns of Cardiff, Newport, Neath, &c., show an increase of exports and imports, while at s ow an mcrase ol I?xports and imports, while at Swansea the rise has been very great, showing an in- crease of import tonnage to the extent of 62,000 tons during the past year. During this period nearly 50,000 vessels entered the harbour, with a tonnage of 450;000 tons. Large shipments of iron are shortly to be made °DS' I-L e new pipping locality at Neyland terminus, the hue to whICh 19 now completed. The various dock extensions are also progressing, and a vast amount of new railways and branches will shortly develope the ITTGS of hitheito unworked localities, while they afford so much employment that labour is very scarce. I Ireland. I UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES OF IRELAND. There are some truthful observations in the Banner of Ulster with respect to the efforts now being made in various quarters for the development of Irish resources. The Encumbered Estates Act has been, as it were, the pioneer of this new state of affairs by removing some of the most formidable obstacles to the introduction of new capital, skill and spirit into the various depart- ments of agriculture; and a hope has sprung up that the Legislature, encouraged by the marked success of this measure, whenever peace ia firmly re-established, drown the last howl of agitation by some fair adjust- ment of the relations between landlord and tenant, "The treasures of our island," says the Belfast journal, are not confined to the surface. Many of the most valuable miuerals are found beneath it, and already coal, iron, copper, and lead, are successfully worked to an extent which at least serves to show how much remains to be achieved by capital and enterprise more largely and judiciously applied. The coalfields now partially worked are seven in number. Three of these are in our own province of Ulster, and, though as yet they have not proved of much economical value, we prssess strong presumptive proof, not only that they occupy a much larger area than has hitherto been imagined, but that other fields in still more important localities, are not discovered merely because they have not been explored. The geological indications which have of late been so frequently referred to are destined, we trust, ere long, to pass from the rather dreamy re- gion which they now occupy into that of reality, and thus acquire a better title than they yet possess to the name ot important discoveries. The 150 and odd thou- sand of tuns of coal and culm, forming the total esti- mated I output' of 1854, ought not to be regarded in anv other light than as tue first fruits of an abundant harvest which will yet be reaped Iron ore, as almost invariably happens, doubtless by a benevolent arrange- ment of Providence, accompanies the coal. It also occurs in other localities in sufficient quantities to fur- nish, under proper auspices the materials of a great branch of national industry. As yet, however, scarcely anything has been done to turn it to account. Of cup- per ore we are able to speak in more gratifying terms. It is now actually worked in five different counties and 15 different localities, and during the last five years has been regularly and even rapidly increasing in amount. In 1850, the quantity of Irish copper ores smelted at Swansea was 10,021 tons, and the value 069,594; in 1854, the quantity was 11,739 tons, and the value £ 120,653. Lead also makes an important figure in our list of mineral produce. It is worked in six counties, and in 1854 amounted to 2,210 tons 15 cwt. Nearly the half of this quantity was procured from the mines at Newtonards, From the ore were obtained, in addition to the lead, 18,096 ounces of silver, which, at 5s. per ounce, yield £ 4,524. Among more recent accessions to our mineral riches it would be unpardonable to forget the salt mine of Carnckfer- gus, the actual annual produce of which cannot be less than 15,000 tons. But in order to form a proper idea of the resources of Ireland we must quit the solid land, and, after making a survey of its rivers and lakes, bays and long withdrawing creeks, hoist our sails, launch out into the deep, and make ourselves familiar willi the tenants of the adjacent seas. In nothing, perhaps, is the unaccountable apathy with which everything Irish has been too long regarded more conspicuous than in the neglect of our fisheries, in which, under any degree of prudent management, not only might valuable returns be at all times secured, but the horrors of our years of famine might have been greatly assuaged, if not alto- gether averted. The herring fishery on the east coast of Ireland is prosecuted ehiefiy by 200 or 300 vessels from Cornwall, who carry their fish to the Dublin and Liverpool markets, while the fishing vessels of Dublin and its adjacent ports content themselves with the humble office of becoming purchasers and carriers to these men of Cornwall. Such is the statement; and though it is almost impossible to read it without blush- ing, its accuracy cannot be impugned. The Irish mar- kets are still extensively supplied wi*-h cured fish from Scotland and the Isle of Manl In 1853, 25,339, and, in 1854, 121,887 barrels of herrings were imported into Ireland. Why should it be so? For no better reason that can be imagined than that Providence bestows its bounty on our countrymen, and they through sluggish- nes's, or some worse feeling, allow others to reap all he advantage." t

MARRIAGE WITK A WIFE'S SISTER.—A most im- portant decision has lately been pronounced by the Court of Session in Scotland, which has given a new aspect to the question of marriage with a deceased wife's sister. It has been constantly asserted, in Par- liament and elsewhere, by the supporters of the Bis hop of London's clause in the act commonly called Lord Lyndhurst's Act (5th and 6th William IV., c. 64)4 that such marriages are totally repugnant to the ancient laws as well as the modern feelings of Scotland. So much was that assumed to be the case that the Scotch claimed and got exemption from all operation of that act, because they repudiated the ratification of past marriages of affinity (which Lord Lyndhurst provided for England), and took for granted that they did not re- quire the prohibition of future marriages of this kind, which the Bishop of London then, for the first time, imposed upon England. Accordingly it is expressly enacted that nothing in that act shall be construed to extend to Scotland. Some years afterwards it began to be doubted whether marriages with a wife's sister or niece really are incestuous and invalid by the law of Scotland. The late Lord Rutherford declared his opinion that they are not, but he had no opportunity of declaring it judicially. It is stated in Mr. E. B. Denison's pamphlet on the Validity of Marriages with a Wife's Sister Celebrated Abroad' that unless this marriage is a capital felony, as all incest" is by the law of Scotland, there is no prohibition whatever of it in the Scotch law that incest is expressly defined by the Scotch statutes to be a violation of the express prohibition of the 18th chapter of Leviticus and that all marriages not so prohibited are declared to be law- ful. This view of the Scotish law has now been affirm- ed by the decison of the Court of Session in a case of Livingstone v. Livingstone" which has been pending for several years. The Lord Ordinary declares that he would willingly defer to the authority of the Scotch Confession of Faith if he could but, sitting as a civil judge, he is obliged to decide that "marriage with a deceased wife's sister is not incestuous by the law of Scotland, and that the issue are legitimate." The consequences of this decision are most important. Mar- riages in Scotland are expressly declared to be free from the operation of Lord Lyndhurst's Act. What- ever doubt may be raised as to its effects upon mar- riages celebrated in other countries, respecting which it is silent, there can be none as to its effect in Scot- land and, as no ecclesiastical ceremony is requisite for a marriage there—nothing beyond a declaration before witnesses-the ecclesiastical law of that country is al. together immaterial. There is therefore now no reason to doubt that a marriage in Scotland between an Eng- lishman and his wife's sister is just as valid in England as a marriage in Scotland between minors (the common Gretna Green marriage), though both are equally prohibited in England; and so there is practically an end of the prohibition, against which also it should be remembered that the House of Com- mons has already three times solomnly decided in three different Parliaments. PROPOSED COLLEGE AT NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.— It was stated a few weeks ago that the mining engin- eers of the north of Englond proposed to found a college in Newcastle, with a capital of at least ^30,000. It appears that this project is in prospect of tealiza- tion at no distant period. Mr. Nicholas Wood,: an eminent coal viewer, and President of the Mining In- stitute, a short time ago brought under the notice of the Duke of Northumberland the intention to found a col- lege, and requesting that his Grace would' lend his as- sistance to the movement, and become patron of the college. The noble Duke in answer to this appeal, signified to Mr. Wood, through his agent, Mr. Hugh Taylor, that in case the subscribed capital should reach £ 15,000, his Grace would add £ 5,000" to that sum, mak- ing it £ 20,000; and if it should reach £30,000, his Grace would subscribe £10,000, making it £ 40,000. This, aq might be expected, has given an impetus to the design, and it is now intented forthwith to apply to the other wealthy coal-owners of this district for their support to Ithe undertaking. Application will also be made to the leading manufacturers, as it is in- tended that the college shall give instruction in other branches of science besides those immediately bearing on coal mining operations. In connexionwith this design there is anoth er of a kindred character about to "be realized. The library of the Literary and Philo- sophical Society of Newcastle is one of the most val uable and extensive in the north of England. The building which contains it was erected in 1825 at a cost of £12,°9.0, the founcktion-stone having been laid  Duke of SqSSx. ?library contains about 2o,000 volumes, and it has heen from time to time enriched by many valuable presents. Mr. Robert enriched by the eminent engineer, about two years ago, offered to pay one-half of a debt the institution has incurred, amounting to £6,200 provided the other members of the society would find means to pay off the other half, and reduce the terms of admission to one guinea per annum. The committee have obtained sub- scriptions tCl- nearly the required amount, and at the ?mual meeting of the society to be held ear?yne? wcem'Mr'st ileVed will be in a condition to accept Mr. Stephenson a offer.

I POETBY. HUNTING THE FOX. Stags in the forest lie, hares in the valley-O Web-footed otters are spread in the lochs; Beasts of the chase that are not worth a Tally-ho I Are all surpass'd by the gorse-cover fox I Fishing, though pleasant, I sing not at present, Nor shooting the pheasant; Nor fighting of cocks; Sritig shall declare away How to drive care away, 'Pain and despair away, Hunting the fox I Bulls in gay Seville are led forth -to slaughter, nor Daines, in high rapture, the spectacle shocks Brighter in Britain the charms of each daughter, nor Dreads the bright charmer to follow the fox. Spain may delight in A sport so exciting 1 W hile stead of bull-fighting We fatten the ox. Hunters of chamois surmount the acclivity Bounding o'er torrents aud scaling the rocks Horns on the mountain the prize of activity, Ours in the valley the brush of a fox! While him who thinks fit, Sir, To follow the S.vitzer To bottomless pit, Sir, An avalanche knocks. England's green pastures are grazed in security, Thanks to the Saxon who cared for our flocks He who reserving the sport for futurity, Sweeping our wolves away left us the fox. • When joviality Chases formality, When hospitality, Cellars unlocks; Song shall declare a way How to drive care away, Pain aud despair awtiy Hunting the fox.

LITERARY GLEANINGS. The tongue is like a racehorse, that runs the swifter the less weight it carries. The man who threatens the world is always ridicu- lous for the vyorld can easily go on without him, and in a short time cease to mias him.Tohmon. The only pleasure of fame is that it paves the way to pleasure; and the more intellectual our pleasure, the better for the pleasure and for us too.-Byron. If you wish to know whether any body is superior to the prej udices of the world, ask him to carry a parcel for you. TAXATION.—The taxes are indeed oppressive; yet if those imposed by the Government were all'we had to pay, we might contrive to discharge them. Unhappily, we have many others, and they are much more grie- vous to bear. We are taxed twice as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot relieve us by making any abatement.—Franklin. I RURAL WALKS.—If we wish rural walks to do our children any good, we must give them a love for rural sights; an object in every walk we must teach them -and we can teach them-to ftdd wonder in every in Woiid 6 r in every in* sect, sublimity in every hedge row, the records of past worlds in every pebble, and boundless fertility upon the barren shore; and so by teaching them to make full use of that limited sphere in which they now are, make them faithful in few things, that they may be lit hereafter to be rulers over much.-Kinyszei LORD BYRON.—There was something about him not to be definitely described, but almost universally felt; which captiyated those around him, and impressed them in spite of "occasional distrusts; with an attach- ment not only friendly but fixed. Part of this fasci. nation may doubtless be ascribed to the entire self- abandonment, the incautious, it may be said the dan- gerous, sincerity of his private conversation. But hia very weaknesses were amiable, and, as has been said of a portion of his virtues, were of a feminine charac- ter-so that the affection felt for him was as that for a favorite and sometimes froward sister.-Lord Brough- ton's Travels in Albania. THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN AMERICA,-Ilere is all amusing specimen of American cUriosity,G you,rd from down east, I guess?" said a sharp nasal voice be- hind me.-This was a supposition first made in the Portland cars, when I was at a loss to know what dis- tinguishing and palapable peculiarity marked me as a "down-easter." Better informed now, I replied, "I aally 11 Going west?" Yes." "Travelling alone ?" -"No." Was you raised down east ?,, -Not in the Old Country." "In the little old island? well, you are kinder glad to leave it, I guess ? Are you a W1?.Nv o." Wwlh°a- t V You travelling on business ?" —? No' ?" WWhat business do you follow ?" None Well, now, what are you travelling for Health 11 well, now, Well, now I guess you're pretty con- siderable rich. Coming to set-tie out we6t 1 -suppose?" —" No, I'm going back at the end of theVall Well now, it that's not a pretty tough hickory-nut' I cuesa you Britishers are the queerest critturs as ever was raised! A CUNNING MONKET -Bangalore itself lies about two miles from the military centre, and is, on that side, completly hidden by a dense tope (grove) which stretches round it, and is penetrated at different points by roads leading to the gates. This grove is a perfect metropolis of moneys. They swarm in thousands, chasing each other on the roads, capering on the hedges, chattering on the boughs, and grinning hun- garily at every one who passes with any eatable. They are a constant pest to every housewife in the town, dis- covering unsuspecting passages to their stores, fore- stalling the meal, and making hasty retreat. A native fable, in illustrating the danger of mischievous com- panions, tells of a man who took a journey, accom- panied by his monkey and his goat, taking with him rice and curds for a refreshment by the way. Arrived at a tank, he resolved to bathe and dine. Laying down the bundle with the provisions, he tied the two animals to a bush, and went down to the tank. No sooner had he disappeared than the monkey took the bundle, untied it, disposed of the good things, and then, wiping his hands on the beard of the goat, so as to leave plenty of marks, sat down solemnly at the outer side of the tree. The poor goat suffered the beating due to her arch compauion.A Mission to the Mysore. THE POLICY OF ENGLAND SHOULD NOTBK INSULAR. So long as Gieat Britain is engaged in a com- mercial intercourse with other nations; so long as her insular situation only serves to promote and extend those commercial relations; so long as other States possess a large portion of seacoast, engage in a wide commercial circle, and are acquiring a navy of for- midable power; so long as Britain interferes with them in other quarters of the globe, where her dominions are the most valuable and extensive, it is an abuse of language to talk of her being separated from the con- tinent of Europe by the Straits of Dover The transport of an army by sea is often more easv than the march over a considerable tract of land. It is to her armies that every nation, insular or continental, must look for her sure and natural defence. But al- though it would be absurd to recommend that the in- ternal resources of a country should be neglected, either in order to favour its naval force, or in order to com- mit its defence to the movements of intrigue, and the efforts of foreign policy, yet he would be an equally dangerous councillor who should advise us to neglect those means of preventing war, and of rendering it harmless when it does occur, which are only to be found in compliance with the balancing'system.-Lorel Brougham. J. UNEXPECTED GUESTS AT WASHINGTON.—When the detachment of the British army, sent out to destroy Mr. Maddison's house, Entered his dining parlour, they found a dinner table spread and covers laid for forty guests. Several kinds of wine in handsome cut-glass decanters were cooling on the sideboard; plate-holders stood by the fire-place, filled with dishes an d plates; knives, forks, and spoons, were arranged for immediate Use everything in- short was ready for the entertain- ment of a ceremonious party. Such were the arrange- menta in the dining-room, whilst in the kitchen were others answerable to them in every respect. Spits loaded with joints of various sorts turned before the fire pots, saucepans, and other culinary utensils stood upon the grate; and all the other requisites for an ele- gant and substantial repast were in the exact state which indicated that they had been lately and precipi- tately abandoned. The reader may easily believe that these preparations were beheld by a party of hungry soldiers with no indifferent eye. An elegant dinner, even though considered considerably over-dressed, was a luxury to which few of them, at least for some time back, had been accustomed; and which, after the dan- gers and fatigues of the day, appeared peculiarly in- viting. They sat down to it, therefore, not indeed in the most orderly manner, but with countenances which would not have disgraced a party of aldermen at a civic feast; and having satisfied their appetites with fewer complaints than would have probably escaped their rival ?OMrmoM?, and partaken pretty freely of the wines, they finished by setting fire to the house which had so liberally entertained th?m.—?fo?M and C(lmi"l Library.