23 AUGUST 1851, Page 8

Ail Italian num

It is announced that the Queen will, as she returns Southwards from, Balmoral, on the 9th of October, visit Liverpool, Manchester, and Sal- ford ; making herself the guest of the Earl of Ellesmere, at Worsley Hall, for two nights. The local organs are already, seven weeks in advance, describing in exalted strains the preparations which the Corporations of Liverpool, Manchester, and Salford, and the Earl of Ellesmere, are making for the event.

Mr. Edward Lewes is appointed Chairman of the Commissioners of Sewers, under the late act for renewing the Commission for another year.. The Count de Thun, a distinguished Austrian painter, and M. Ruben, director of the Royal Academy of the Fine Arts in Prague, have, it is said, been commissioned by the Austrian Government to examine into the several organizations of the schools of the arts of design in England, France, and Germany, with a view to propose such ameliorations as that examination may suggest in the schools of Austria. With this view, they had arrived in Berlin ; whence M. de Thun was about to set out for Dresden, and M. Ruben may be expected shortly in London, to be ulti- mately joined there by the Count.-21thetheum.

A correspondence of some controversial interest has lately taken place between the Bishop of St. David's (Thirlwall) and the Archdeacon of Cardigan (Williams), respecting a statement by Sir Benjamin Hall in the House of Commons, that " archidiaconal visitations in the diocese of St.. David's had been prevented by the Bishop."

On the 4th of last month, Bishop Thirlwall wrote to Archdeacon_ Williams- " A statement of Sir Benjamin Hall's is a matter of very little importance in. itself, but when it is made in the House of Commons, and not only contains a gross' falsehood with regard to myself, but involves an imputation on the veracity of one of my Archdeacons, I think I am bound to inquire into the foundation on which it rests. It is possible that no such conversation ever took place; but if it did, there can be little doubt that you are the Archdeacon alluded to; and I therefore address myself in the first instance to you and beg to be informed whether such a question was ever put to you by Sir B. Hall, and whether you made the reply above reported ?" Archdeacon Williams acknowledged the receipt of Bishop ThirlwaIrs- letter, and promised " further communication after hearing from Sir Benja- min Hall.' He wrote to Sir Benjamin Hall, and received an answer by return of post, enclosing a copy of a letter addressed by himself to Sir Benjamin last February, in answer to questions put by letter respecting "the disgraceful state of many of the churches" in the diocese. This. was the enclosure.

"THE ARCHDEACON OF CARDIGAN TO SIR 13. HALL.

"Llandovery, Feb. 10, 1851.

" My dear Sir—Your brief questions, received by me today, seem to me to indi- cate on your part a wish that I should give you a rational account of the reason that. I have been archidiaconally inert. A detailed account of the reasons of this inert- ness and inefficiency would occupy a volume, but I have no objection briefly to touch on the most salient points of the question. " I ought to inform you, that from my boyhood up my excellent and respected father devoted me to the cause of high education in Wales ; in other words, to try- to establish a system of regular instruction in the Principality, which might vie, as far as reality went, with that received at the highest schools in England.

" I thought, at a particular point of my career, that were I to exchange the living of Llanbedr, at a great pecuniary sacrifice, for the archdeaconry of Cardigan, I might be able, in my regular charges, to place before the public the sad state of our spirit- ual and intellectual destitution with authority and an official sanction. " The pecuniary sacrifice was made, to the serious detriment of the inheritance of my children ; but the opportunity of making the charge was never realized.

" The late Dr. Jenkinson was fully aware of my reasons for desiring the exchange, and pledged himself to support me in the attempt to supply the deficiency of npe scholars for the theological course at Llanbedr, by the establishment of something like a gymnasium, or middle school between the old grammar schools and the new college. But he died; not, however, before he had informed me, that, according to an opinion given by Dr. Lushington, I might enter upon the duties of my archdea- conry.

Acting upon this opinion, I prepared my charge, and would have delivered it had Dr. Jenkinson lived a few months longer. I stated this circumstance to Dr. Thirl- wall, our present Bishop; who objected to any action on my part—first, because it would be a violation of a certain etiquette ; secondly, because there was a legal hitch which required removal, and which I was led to suppose, from the expressions used, that his Lordship would soon attempt to remove. From that day to this his Lord- ship never breathed a word to me respecting the performance of my archidiaconat duties.

Since my return to the diocese, I wrote to his Lordship, stating that I had heard from trustworthy parties that his Lordship had given as a reason why he did not avail himself of the service of his Archdeacons, that they had been appointed when the offices were merely honorary and uithoutjurisdiction. I added, that this- certainly was not my case, and that I had accepted the archdeaconry with the full intention of actively performing its duties ; and that Dr. Jenkinson, who appointed me, was cognizant of this fact. Of this statement his Lordship took no notice. You may reasonably ask, what made me silent during so long a period of official inactivity; and why I have not boldly claimed my rights, and, if refused, have appealed to my Archbishop ? The sole reason has been a wish as strong as death to fulfil the duty to which my father devoted me, and to establish at least one seminary of sound and efficient learning in Wales before I die. " In the present state of the Church in Wales, there was no chance of carrying such a wish into execution, without at least the permission of the Bishop; and it would have been madness on my part to have provoked my Bishop by any appeals which would have irritated him when at the same time I humbly asked for his assistance. But now that his Le:rdship, in conjunction with the Bishop of Llandafi; is attempting to give new powers and privileges to the institution at Llanbedr, which I conscientiously believe to have been a blight and curse upon the spiritual and intellectual energies of the Principality, and to have been the slaughterhouse of the rising talent of my country, I have no hesitation in coming forward and claim- ing a public inquiry into the past, present, and probable future of Llanbedr College. It is situated in my archdeaconry, and the Archdeacon of Cardigan was absolutely appointed its original visitor ; but 1 have never been allowed to be present at an

examination, or to witness personally the proficiency of its students. It may be worthy of all patronage and of fresh privileges, but I do not acknowledge the truth of any such claims. I know that in past times it has been not only inefficient but corrupt in its educational operations, and I see no reason why its past mismanage- ment should be rewarded with additional powers. Far be from me for a moment to hint that Dr. Thirlwall, or any other person active in the cause to which I am opposed, is influenced by any other than an honest wish to promote the spiritual and intellectual improvement of Wales; but my own conviction is, that the source of their conduct is an error in judgment, and a want of all practical knowledge of the peculiar characteristics and indomitable idiosyncracies of my countrymen; and the attempt to force them to become prematurely Englishmen and Anglicans has been as unfortunate in its results as it was impolitic in its conception.

" The Romanists are now availing themselves of the opening thus made for their insidious attempts; and I know from trustworthy evidence that there are scholars better suited to be efficient ministers among our people in the Jesuits College, near St. Asaph, than there are at Llanbedr. Let us have an inquiry by all means; and if intellect Mid scholarship are to perish in Wales, at least let them perish in open day.

"I am, yours very faithfully, Joni wicciams. " To Sir B. Hall."

Sir Benjamin Hall's reply to Archdeacon Williams's late application con- tained this passage-

.. The real fact of the matter is this, that the Bishop of St. David's cannot bear any allusion to the disgraceful condition of his diocese; and it is proverbial that when any comments are made upon it he loses his temper, and substitutes abuse of indi- viduals for either the admission or refutation of charges. The public have lately been made acquainted with some extraordinary facts in regard to the diocese of St. David's; and these facts are founded upon such incontrovertible evidence that not even the Bishop himself, with all his powers of reasoning, his love of argument, and his invariable habit of mystification both in speaking and writing, can disprove them. First, lie is (unfortunately for Wales) Bishop of the diocese ; and, secondly, he has an income assigned to his see of 45001., and in order to make up an imagi- nary deficiency in that amount, lie takes 1600/. a year from the Ecclesiastical Com- mission (of which he is a member) : and by the return just published, No. 400, 1851, it appears that so far from that sum being required to make up the income of 45001., one-third of it would be amply sufficient, inasmuch as he has about 10001. a year more than the income assigned to his see. He is also Dean and Treasurer of the Collegiate Church at Brecon, the state of which is sufficiently known ; and neither he nor any one of his brethren in that chapter have ever performed duty or admi- nistered the holy communion in their collegiate church. I presume, however, his Lordship will hardly deny the truth of the report of the Government Commissioners with respect to the state of churches and services, extracts from which I read in the House of Commons. It is also doubtless a fact that no Archdeacon has made a visitation during the eleven years of his episcopate."

This information was forwarded to the Bishop of St. David's by Archdeacon Williams, with the additional statement in a note-

" Your Lordship must be well aware, that it is not owing to me, but to yourself or some dependent, that I have not performed my archidiaconal duties; and I can only add the assurance, that I shall be prepared to dis- charge the duties of my office on receiving the shortest notice from your Lord- ship to that effect." The Bishop of St. David's replied instantly. He was not surprised at " the perfectly uncalled for" transmission of his letter to Sir Benjamin Hall and of Sir Benjamin's letter to him ; he " fully appreciated the charac- ter of this proceeding, both with regard to the usages of society and the common dictates of Christian charity." He considered that the Arch- deacon's letter to Sir Benjamin Hall, of February, "instead of justifying his statement, contains direct proof to the contrary. For it appears that the first and last communication which you received from me on the subject, was a letter written to you while you were Principal of the Academy of Edinburgh; and that in this letter I was so far from forbid- ding you to act,' that I stated 'there was a legal hitch, which required re- moval,' but at the same time used expressions which led you to suppose that I should soon attempt to remove it'" . . . " Whether I have reason to regret that your archdeaconry has hitherto been a sinecure, or to wish that it should cease to be so, must depend on the conception you have formed of its proper duties, and on the spint in which you would set about the fulfilment of them. An Archdeacon who was able and willing to look into the state of the parishes in his archdeaconry, and to exert his official authority and his personal influence to set right what he found amiss in them, would indeed be an invaluable coadjutor to the Bishop of such a diocese as this. But such aid I never have looked for, and now less than ever ex- pect, from you. That you should periodically assemble the clergy of the archdeaconry in order to deliver your views to them in the form of a charge, may or may not be desirable in other respects ; but, as far as concerns the improvement of the condition of the diocese, it is the part of the archidiaconal duty about which I am least interested. But I have never either forbidden or prevented your discharging it, and never shall do so."

Archdeacon Williams now reviewed the matter historically; maintaining, that if his Lordship did not "suspend any further action on my part until some indefinite period, the termination of which was not within either my power or knowledge, common words and common sentences have no definite meaning " ; and calling to mind the fact, that of his "gentle remonstrance" his Lordship "never condescended to take the slightest notice." He now inquired categorically, did any legal hinderances still exist to the perform- ance of the archidiaconal duties ? if so, what were they ? if not so, did his Lordship " desire " that he should make his visitation ? " These are very plain questions, and I hope your Lordship will be pleased to give as plain answers."

The Bishop, in reply, first called attention to the distinction already drawn by him between the two classes of archidiaconal duties—" the one consisting in the examination of the state of parishes in the archdeaconry and the ex- ercise of official and personal influence for the improvement of their condi- tion ; the other consisting in the holding of a court and the delivery of a charge." To the first he knew of no legal hinderance. With regard to the second—the holding of a court and the delivery of a charge—he would in- quire. As to his "desire," he saw no reason for such a visitation "on the score of any benefit which I can now anticipate from it, either to the diocese or myself' ; but he had not thrown, and would not throw, any impediment in the way of it. The Archdeacon fixed upon the distinction drawn. "I do not understand your Lordship's novel doctrine (at least to me) of the double character of my archidiaconal duties ; and my firm belief is, that when you wrote your letter of 1843, your Lordship had not adopted the theory with which you now try to mystify the simple question, because, by the words I cannot recommend that you should hold your visitation this 'ear,' your Lordship then insepar- ably connected the charge with the visitation, which your Lordship and your advocate, Mr. Monckton Milnes, now attempt to divorce." But at present any further answer would not be called for.

Soon after, the Bishop having been again questioned if he had yet received a solution of his legal doubts, replied, on the 2d August, after a cool and sarcastic preface, that he was informed that " it is considered doubtful whe- ther, as the law now is, you could give legal effect to your citation to the clergy or churchwardens to attend your visitation, and whether you could legally levy or enforce payment of a church-rate, or do any other legal act appertaining to your office."

The Archdeacon now wound hp the controversy. Pointing out that such doubts must equally apply to the diocese of Llandaff, where visitations have nevertheless been made, and that the Bishop himself does not seem to have taken any steps for removing the doubts, he concludes that the doubts are ".of an imaginary character." He shall therefore proceed immediately to perform the duties of his oftlee—" not merely by the delivery of a charge

(which I consider only a portion of my duty), but by a strict the state of the archdeaconry, with a view to remedy the existing bill published abuses." If he find any legal difficulty, he will repollim4bas Lordship, " in the hope that, as the Bishop of the diocese, as a the Ecclesiastical Commission, and as a member of the Legislature a;.' not allow another period of eight years to pass without removing it."

It is expected that Liebig, the eminent chemist, is shortly to be the guest of his former pupil, Dr. Muspratt, of the Liverpool College of Chemistry. Tom Spring, almost the sole representative of past generations of prize- fighters who were at once brave and honest, died on Wednesday evening. Acute disease of the heart had prevented him for a long time from taking exercise, and then dropsy supervened and carried him off. Tom Spring 8 real name was Thomas Winter : the assumption of a nom de guerre on first coming out in the ring was a common practice among the fancy.

Mr. Albert Smith, the clever litterateur, has made an ascent of Mont Blanc. He was accompanied by the Honourable Lionel Sackville West, son of Earl Delawarr,. Mr. Charles Floyd, cousin of Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Phillips, of Christchurch College, Oxford. The party left Chamouny at half-past seven o'clock on Tuesday morning the 12th instant, accompan:ed by sixteen guides, and almost as many porters well stocked with provisions, &c. After crossing the Glacier de Bossons, the travellers arrived at the Grande Mulcts rocks, above the level of the perpetual snow, (where it had been arranged they should sleep,) at a quarter past four p. m. " Here," says Mr. Smith, " we made our bivouac, having brought up. wood for a fire ; and on this spot we remained until midnight, when we again set of on our journey, proceeding by the aid of lanterns, as the moon was not up. At four o'clock on Wednesday morning, we reached the Grand Plateau, the scene of the fatal catastrophe in 1820, when Dr. Hamers exploring party were swept away by an avalanche ; and finally, after a great deal of fatigue and ha- zard, we all got safely to the summit, at half-past nine o'clock a. as. ; at which time there was not a cloud to destroy the wondrous view. Mont Blanc had never been before invaded by such a large party. The return was accom- plished in much less time ; but the danger was considerably increased by an unexpected thaw on the glacier below the Grands Mulcts. However, the whole party returned to Chamouny at half-past six o'clock on Wednesday evening; where we were welcomed with guns, illuminations, bouquets, and every kind of demonstration that the inhabitants—who had watched us all the way with telescopes—could command. On the night of our ascent, Sir Robert Peel was at Chamouny, and invited all the villagers to a supper to drink to our healths. Altogether, the expedition was a very gratifying and successful affair." On their return, the travellers and guides leaked very jaded and sun-scorched, and had very bloodshot eyes, and rather dilapidated costumes ; but, in other respects, they seemed to be in tolerable condition_ This successful ascent by four Englishmen turns the scale of numbers in fa- vour of the English ; the French tourists having been hitherto accustomed to point with satisfaction to the fact that more of their countrymen than of ours had succeeded in reaching the top of the Kin..' of the Alps. The present forms the twenty-fifth ascent—the first dating in 1787. The cost as well as the labour and danger of these darine° excursions is very great : the talk of the village declares that the ascent will cost the party of four travellers fully 1501.

Another ascent was made on the same day. Mr. Vansittart started with three guides two hours after the other party, and, after a fatiguing journey, reached the Grands Mulcts at sunset. He bivouacked there till midnight ; when he again started, and arrived at the summit about nine o'clock in the morning. He returned safely to Chamouni in the evening.

The Committee of officers nominated to adjudicate between the competi- tors for the prizes offered by the Duke of Northumberland for the best modal of a life-boat, have determined in favour of the model sent in by James Beeching of Yarmouth.

The United States sloop of war Dolphin has been fitted up for a scientific expedition. One of the objects is to obtain soundings, if practicable, from the Bermudas to the coast of England.

Professor Pietro Sari, of Pisa, has proved, in a paper which ho read to the Academy of the Georgofili at Florence, that the cryptogamous plant which has this year attacked the vine, and caused so much uneasiness to the Itathin agriculturists, is the same plant which from time immemorial has attacked rose-trees, the melilotus, and other plants, and which Demazieres describes under the name of "Oidium Leuconeum." Its great development this year is attributed by the Professor to the peculiar atmospherical influences pre- valent during the present summer.

An immense " flying ship " is " on the stocks" at Hoboken, near New York. The sanguine inventor, having spent 5500 dollars, has been stopped short by the want of a few hundreds more; and a New York paper says, ' it is to be hoped " that some one may be inclined to supply them for the won- derful project. " The car is 61 feet in length, very sharp ut either end, width 6 feet, height 6 feet 4 inches; the whole composed of a strong light wooden frame, covered with canvass, with doors and glass windows. The boilers are of copper, on the tubular plan, and occapy a space equal to four cubic feet; the engines are very perfect, being composed of gun metal and cast steel; they are of 12-horse power, and are to work 20 inch stroke 65 times per minute, which will give 400 revolutions of the floats, which are placed in a substantial framework on the top of the car. There is sufficient room for 25 passengers, with fuel for four hours. The float is 260 feet in length, of a cigarlike shape, 24 feet diameter in the centre, and has a gas capacity equal to 95,000 cubic feet, which gives a lifting power equal to 6500 pounds. The entire weight of the car, float, and fixture, is about 4000 pounds, leaving 2500 pounds surplus. It is designed to run about 200 feet above the surface of the earth, at a rate of speed varying from twenty-five to fifty miles per hour. The engines are a curiosity, their weight being 181 pounds." At present, the engines are to be worked with coke and spirits of wine ; but Mr. Ilobjohn, the inventor, entertains some notion of " decom- posing water, igniting the gases, which again become water, which is con- verted into steam by the combustion; and this steam is again condensed and returned for decomposition,—thus securing entire immunity from waste, and a uniform weight during the longest voyages."

During the year 1850, no fewer than 221,119 persons visited Hampton Court Palace ; in January 879, and in July 58,164. The number of visitors to Kew Gardens was 179,627.

The progress of the curious case at Bath, in which a multitude of needles been taken from the body of a maid-servant named Ann Hanham, is noted by the Bath Herald. On Tuesday last, the .fifty-seventh needle was taken from her; and what is very remarkable is, that it was broken into no less than twenty. seven pieces. The operations were skilfully performed by Thomas Barrett, Esq., surgeon, St. James's Square. The needles, which have been extracted from various parts of her body, differ much in size; and it is supposed that they have been in her body upwards of fourteen years, since it has been ascertained by reference to a needle-manufacturer of some celebrity in Birmingham, that no needle of the character of those referred to has been made during that period." Many more needles still remain to be extracted, or to work their own way out. There is a balloon mania in Paris ; nearly every one is gazing skyward at the monsters that float through the air. "Each child in Paris has a balloon of his own, or cries till he gets one ; and this, or a parachute, he is per- petually throwing out of his nursery-window, to his own imminent danger, or dragging through the streets, to the annoyance of the passers-by. The new name for parachute is ' la distraction dee enfans,' and the distraction-sellers attract your attention at the corner of every street." The Poitevins now daily attain the greatest height of absurdity : Monsieur and Madame ascend each on a horse attached to a balloon, with a groom on another horse at a respectful distance below ! Three women have been figuring in the streets at Belfast in the " Bloomer" costume—tunics and trousers. They met with so unfavourable a reception that they speedily disappeared. They are said to be the wife and daughters of the, master of a ship. The audience at the Liverpool Amphitheatre have been convulsed with laughter at the climax of a tragedy. Mr. Yandenhoff, who was enacting Brutus in Julius Cesar, was about to stab himself, when a venerable-look- ing goat came on the stage and walked deliberately to the foot-lights. The goat could not be removed instantly, and Brutus killed himself with what gravity, he could : the goat, seeing the Boman fall, walked to the body and sniffed at it : this was too much for the gravity of even Mr. Yandenhoff, who joined in the chorus of laughter as the intruder was hurried off the

stage. - A peculiar assault case has been tried at Chester Assizes. The plaintiff

was Ralph Hulse, a small freeholder who seems to have been frequently short of money ; the defendant, Mr. William Spencer Tollemache, brother of the Member for the county. Mr. Tollemache horsewhipped Hulse : he does not appear to have hurt him much; but an attorney got hold of the case, made a great deal of it, and put his client under two doctors, whose treatment seems to have been rather more annoying than the beating. That the man was beaten there could be no doubt ; but did he deserve it ? For a long time he had been annoying Miss Tomkinaon, sister to Mr. Tollemache's wife : he persecuted her with letters offering love, waylaid her out of doors, planted himself opposite her at church in order to stare at her, make gri- maces at her, and threw kisses to her. He received not the slightest en- couragement, only evidences of fear and disgust. As the law gave no remedy, Mr. Tollemache was impelled to administer what he thought was preventive justice. The evidence was very laughable in some parts, and exceedingly damaging to the plaintiff and his attorney. Mr. Justice Wightman left it to the Jury to assess the damages for the assault upon a consideration of the circumstances provoking it. They gave one farthing, and requested the, Judge not to certify for costs. The decision was met with a burst of cheer. jug- Mr. John Scott, pawnbroker, assistant overseer of St. Nicholas, Newcastle- upon-Tyne, and collector of Income and Assessed Taxes, has absconded, leaving a deficiency in his accounts estimated at between 30001. and 40001. He had hitherto borne an irreproachable character. He seems to have left the country by way of Southampton, with a large sum of money in his pos- session.

In the Derby County Court, Robson, lately a driver on the Midland Rail- way, has obtained a verdict for 191. 19e. fid. for wages. He had been sus- pended because he drove his train into a coal-train at Long Eaton junction : he was tried at the Sessions for the act, and acquitted ; subsequently the directors dismissed him. He claimed his wages for the time he was sus- pended, and for a fortnight's notice. The company contended, that as the man had been suspended for misconduct, his supension was equivalent to dismissal. The Judge held that no negligence had been proved against the plaintiff; and therefore allowed his claim.

While a boat was proceeding from Port Carlisle to Annan, on Saturday evening, with four men and a woman as passengers, it came in contact with a fishing-net, and was upset. Two men clung to the net till they were res- cued, but the other three passengers and the boatman were drowned. The boatman was known as "Bishop Brough," as he had married some hundreds of persons at Annan according to Scotch rites.

A number of porpoises having swans up the Laira with the tide, some sportsmen of Plymouth managed to detain them till the tide ebbed ; and then a general onslaught was made. Three fish were killed, the rest escap- ing when the tide flowed. The largest captured was 11 feet 2 inches long ; the smallest 10 feet 1 inch. One of the monsters weighed nearly eight hun- dredweight, and was between eight and nine feet in girth.

A letter from Tudela states, that of seven persons who were bitten by a raging wolf a short time before, nearly the whole had died. Three of them were taken to the shrine of San Pedro.de Calanda ; but one was obliged to be left afterwards at the hospital of Saragossa, and died of hydrophobia three days after. The other two arrived at Tudela on the 8th : the same symp- toms immediately presented themselves in one of them, and he died two days after ; and the other, a man named Pedro Reza, alias Resit°, who had cou- rageously fought with and killed the wolf, was also seized with the same symptoms, and has succumbed to the disease.