16 DECEMBER 1854, Page 9

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The nomination for the vacant seat at Abingdon took place on Monday. Both the candidates, Major Reed and Mr. J. T. Norris the London Com- mon Councilman, are Liberals. Mr. Norris has a paper-mill at Sutton- Courteney, and that gave him a little local interest. Major Reed was proposed by Mr. Alderman Hyde, seconded by Mr. Stacey ; Mr. Norris was proposed by Mr. G. Davis, seconded by Mr. J. Kent. The show of bands was in favour of Mr. Norris; and a poll was demanded. The election terminated on Tuesday, in favour of Major Reed; the numbers being—Reed, 125 ; Norris, 117 ; majority, 8.

Mr. Holford, now abroad, has consented to contest East Gloucester- shire. Mr. Grantley Berkeley also offers to go to the poll, as a firm sup- porter of "Lord Derby, or any other Minister whose measures will mete out to every class a fair share of those blessings, which are not blessings unless shared in universally." [What doe* this mean ?]

There was a meeting of the Rochdale Bible Society last week, at which the Reverend Hugh Stowell took the liberty of making some reflections on the Emperor of Russia. Mr. John Bright M.P. happening to be one of the company, he volunteered a speech, and mildly took Mr. Stowell and ether speakers to task, not only for speaking against Roman Catholics, but against the Czar. Those references to him "whom we are bound by our law to regard as our enemy," are objectionable. He had been told, by an independent Minister at St. Petersburg, that the Czar admitted Bibles into the Lutheran provinces free of duty ; nay, that he was him- self a subscriber to the Bible Society to the extent of 3001. or 4001. It was not judicious to speak in such terms of a contributor of that Society.

At a meeting of Convocation at Oxford, on Tuesday, it was resolved, by 68 to 64, to adopt one of two designs for the new Museum; and by a subsequent vote the design marked "Nisi Dominus," Rhenish Gothic, by Deane and Co., Dublin, was adopted, by a majority of 81 to 38. A Delegacy was nominated to carry the resolution into effect.

At a meeting in the Manchester Town-hall, on Wednesday, the Mayor presiding, it was resolved to form a joint-stock company for the purpose of erecting public baths and laundries for Manchester and Salford. The capital is ilzed'at 35,0001. in five-pound shares, and they were nearly all taken up at the meeting.

The accounts from the manufacturing districts generally are more cheerful than of late. Part of the increased activity is due to the Govern- ment orders for heavy textile fabrics, for iron-work of various kinds, and for arms and cannon-bulls.

Mr. John Gilbert junior, oil and tallow merchant at Bristol,- is-in custody for conspiring to rob Messrs. Hare and Co., oil-merchants, of barrels of oil. It is alleged that Gilbert, Davey his clerk, and Gastrell, oil-cooper tc Messrs. Hare, were in the conspiracy. Gastrell, who has been admitted as a witness for the Crown, states that he arranged to send oil to Mr. Gilbert, receiving a very low price for it. The offence was discovered as two casks of oil stolen, with one paid for, were in course of being carried away by Davey : he es- caped.

Mr. Peat, late master of the ship Golden Era, recently from Melbourne, has been committed for trial by a Liverpool Magistrate on a charge of having imperilled the ship and the lives of the people on board by his continual habit of drunkenness. The Board of Trade prosecutes.

Mary Ann Fisher, a married woman, has been committed on the verdict of a Coroner's Jury at Norwich to take her trial on a charge of poisoning her husband with essential oil of almonds. The deceased, who was recovering from a protracted indisposition, is supposed to have been killed by his wife that she might avoid payment of a weekly instalment of 28. 6d. due on a loan ! At least, no other motive is apparent.

While the Clyde screw-steamer was on her way from Greenock to Ports- mouth, thence to convey troops and stores to the Crimea, one of her boilers burst, killing two men and badly wounding eight others. The self-acting safety-valve seems to have got jammed tight—probably by some one' havings inadvertently stepped upon it.

There has been a serious railway "accident," arising from negligence, at the Bescott junction, seven miles North of Birmingham. A number of goods-waggons had been placed upon a siding, but the pointsman had not taken care that they were quite clear of the main line : one waggon pro-

hected from the siding. A passenger-train which left Walsall for Birming- am in the evening came in contact with the end of this waggon ; it swung round, and striking its broadside against the train, smashed four carriages. From fifteen to twenty persons were hurt.