Zbe Vrobinces.

Birmingham has been rejoicing in its musical festival this week : and the occasion has attracted great numbers to the town, although the pro- gramme boasted less of peculiarity than used to be considered essential ; for the object seems this time to have been, by saving expense, to realize the larger residue for local charity. The so-called sacred class of performances commenced on Tuesday morning, in the Town-hall ; and they were continued for the next two days; mere secular music, to exhibit the singers in their lighter element, being given at the theatre in evening concerts, consisting of mutilated operas, &c. In spite of the desire for parsimony, it was deemed a wise economy not to omit some of the Metropolitan attractions among vocal musicians ; and accordingly, Miss Clara Novello, Mrs. Alfred Shaw, Miss Rainforth, and Miss Hawes were there ; with Mario, Fornasari, and Phillips. One of the principal pieces performed was Rossini's Stabat Mater—already hacknied in London ; and the Morning Chronicle's "own correspondent," willing to give it a " lift," lays great stress on the superior style in which the choruses were got up. Another " novelty " was that of Dr. Crotch's rarely-played oratorio of Palestine; which appears to have been a failure—an unimpressive cento. As usual, the most crowded audience assembled to the Messiah, on Thursday. This festival has enabled the people of the great Midland town to hear some of the newer singers and as to the matter of charitable profit, we understand it has been eminently successful.

A large meeting of. farmers and others was held at Mynedd Mawr, a

romantic mountain half-way between Carmarthen and Swansea, near a small lake called the Lake of Owen with the Red Hand. Though it rained

hard, about 2,000 persons collected round the waggon which served for a

hustings. The chairman was Mr. Hugh Williams—the only speaker in English. A petition adopted touched upon the usual grievances, includ-

ing " the indiscriminate selection of irresponsible Magistrates "; sug- gested that the local rates and tithe-composition should be imposed directly on the land, and that "elective assessors " should be appointed to determine fair rents to be paid after discharging those burdens ; anti prayed for the summoning of a new Parliament— "The Welsh speeches," says the correspondent of the Times, "were delivered with great fluency, were sometimes violent, and appeared to abound in witti-

cisms, which made the crowd laugh. There were many ejaculations made,

and short sentences uttered, as the meeting proceeded, which I got one or two farmers near, who understood English, to tell me the meaning of. They were of a most inveterate description. I was anxious to get these if I could, as showing the tone of the meeting. The expressions translated to me breathed a bitter spirt of defiance, of hatred, and of vengeance against individuals ob- noxious to them."

The Welshman gives a report of the speeches, some of them from the subsequent repetition of the speakers ; but the Times reporter says that the representation is faint. Most of the speakers deprecated night meetings, and complained bitterly of the separation of man and wife under the Poor-law. Mr. William Thomas, of Rhosfawr, dwelt on the poverty of the farmers— So poor was the farmer that he could scarcely taste the butter made by him- self; but was obliged to sell it for the purpose of procuring cheese, clothes, and

money to pay the rent, tithes, or taxes. Farmers suffered three famines in the course of the year : one was a bread famine, which took place just before the harvest, when the old corn had been exhausted and the new had not come

in; the other was a cheese famine; and the third was at the time the farmer could not procure clothes. He knew, in his parish, farmers paying 40/. or 50/. in rent and a heavy tithe, who bad no Change of clothing for their children to go to the Sabbath-school. He understood the petition prayed for a dissolu- tion of Parliament. Whenever that took place, the farmers must work for themselves, must maintain their principles and stand by them. They must not forsake them for the purpose of pleasing their landlords. They must narrowly watch the Tories, ay, and look with caution on the Whigs, who had acted hypocritically towards the people. If they had always voted in support of their own principles, Mr. Goring Thomas would not be taking all the farmers' cream and leaving their children to live on whey. He had no talent to speak, neither did he profess much understanding, but he bad experience to teach him. He was willing to be reduced to poverty by Providence, but not through the iniquity of man.

In the course of the proceedings, a letter was read from Mr. William Chambers junior, who had presided at the Mynedd Selen meeting, but had subsequently been the object of repeated attacks and of false re- ports. He explained the truth as to many reports. For example, a report that he had shot a man, originated in his assisting a wounded man : he had never sanctioned the firing of a shot. He concluded his letter thus-

" I have gone thus far into explanation, as it is a duty I owe to myself, not to the cowardly miscreants who fired my houses, my corn, my hay, and shot an unoffending animal. Is depriving the poor of employment, and depriving cattle of food, the way to redress grievances, and to better the condition of the poor or of the farmer ? If there is any doubt upon this, ask my poor farm- men and women at Fynywaun, Manson, and Gellygalog, how their situation is

improved. 1 have very little more in my own hands for them to finish; so that is not likely to influence me in writing this. I have my life (devoted for these twelve years to the expenditure of my father's ample fortune in this county) threatened; but the coward who did this had better mind that the sacrifice of his own is not the reward of his temerity when he thinks proper to attempt

mine. 1 v :11 not advert to the horrid crime perpetrated at Hendy gate, as I profess to write for my own satisfaction alone ; but I cannot refrain from saying, that I trust the Almighty God will let the death-shriek of that poor old woman haunt the soul of the guilty sinner to his dying hour."

The correspondent of the Times mentions a freshly-noted grievance- " Another great evil has been the system of making enclosures of the hills and mountains by the more wealthy, to the almost certain ruin of the poorer farmers, who used to graze their sheep upon them, and who were thus greatly aided in meeting their rents, &c."

The Times gives more statistics of the toll grievance, which prove that all the local bodies are not able to take the work of providing adequate remedies into their own hands-

" The Kidwclly trust extends over seventy-four miles of road, and there were on those roads thirty (!) turnpikes and bars, or, according to my calcula-

tion, a bar or gate for every two miles and a half of road throughout the trust.

That this was thought a grievance by the people, is evidenced by the fact that only three of them have not been destroyed, and are standing. That the .trustees themselves thought this number of gates and bars oppressive and wrong, is shown by the fact that they have agreed to abolish sixteen (I) of them."

On Monday night the 11th, about four hundred persons visited the Fish- guard toll-house, near Haverfordwest, and completely destroyed it. They then proceeded to Parkymorfa toll-house, and instantly demolished it. After firing guns and frightening a great number of the inhabitants, they levelled a piece of wall belonging to the Road Surveyor, and dis • persed about three o'clock in the morning. About 2,000 persons were assembled in the town, looking on whilst this was going forward ; but no one interfered.

The Welshman relates the destruction of Llechryd Wei; near Car- digan, on the night of the 13th, by Rebecca and her Daughters-

" She had long threatened to do so; and on the night in question she put her threats in execution. It appears that threatening letters had been sent to some gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Cardigan, that a small weir near Vel- ingigfran would be pulled down that night ; consequently the alarm was given, and the Marines marched from Cardigan down to watch the said weir; but Rebecca and her Daughters went to work in another quarter, and succeeded in their enterprise. We understand that a rear-guard of the Marines, on their return from Velingigfrag, fell in with the Rebeccaites; two of them were in advance, and the third a little behind. Becca asked him if he had a musket ? ' Yes,' replied the Marine. Is it loaded ? " Yes." Is it capped ? ' Yea.' Take off the cap, then, aca come with us.' He was then taken to a public- house in the neighbourhood, and treated with several glasses of ale, and then discharged. He arrived in Cardigan two hours after his comrades."

On Thursday morning the 14th, Rebecca's people again pulled down the Pontardulais gate, at the same place where they were wounded by the Police in the collision of the previous week, and threw it into the river. On the same day, a bar was erected ; but they would go through the gate twenty-eight sod upwards at a time, and refused to pay tolls ; and they an intimidated the toll-collectors that they were afraid to re- main at the gate. Mr. Bullen, the lessee of the tolls, also received & threatening letter.

According to the correspondent of the Morning Chronicle, a new chief who has been appointed to the Police of Carmarthen, has ex- asperated the townspeople by his absurd and ostentatious rigour. He gave orders that the constables were to compel everybody to "keep moving." On Saturday night, a young woman jeeringly told a con- stable to "keep moving "; when the coward struck her ; the girl's friends came to her aid ; and ultimately there was a riot, which dragoons were called out to subdue.

The correspondent of the Times says that, so far from striking terror into Rebecca's followers, the wounding some of their number in the attack on Pontardulais gate has only exasperated their spirit of re- venge ; and he remarks that incendiary attacks on the property of private persons are now often substituted for attacks on toll-gates. The daughter of a Baptist minister who lived near Pontardulais gate told the reporter that she watched the proceedings : the Police, on coining up, suddenly fired on the rioters, before they had fired a shot. That, whether the fact or not, is what the people generally believe.

A strong body of the A division of Police has arrived in the disturbed districts, from London.

An Anti-Corn-law lecture at Cuckfield, delivered by Mr. Backmas- ter, a young lecturer, was recently interrupted in a ludicrous manner by a hotheaded opponent of the League. The narrator is a correspondent of the Morning Chronicle-

" Dr. Byass, a gentleman of Conservative politics, resident in the neighbour- hood, who, flinging up the window of the inn at which he had had a dining party, opened fire on the lecturer in the following terms—' Halloo! there. You ought to be dragged through a horse-pond. (Laughter, surprise, aid shouts of derision from the meeting; Mr. Buckmaster looking perfectly as- tonished.) You have come here to prey upon the vitals of these poor men, and ought to be well ducked. (Laughter and cheers; amidst which Mr. Buckmaster was seen to shrug his shoulders.) Were the meeting of my mind, they would forthwith deal with you." " Mr. Buckmaster, amid cries from the Doctor's friends of ' Hear, heart' began to fear manipulation, more especially as the Doctor, ' suiting the action to the word,' flung three handsful of wheat at him, amid loud cries of Order, order!" Shame, shame!' laughter, and great confusion. The Doctor—" You are paid by Cobden to come down here. (Cheers.) You are a bully of the League! (Laughter.) You are nothing but a snob. (Great laughter.) You are a liar. (" Order, order I") I say so. Men are best off when bread is dear. (Shouts of laughter, and cries of " Oh, oh! ") You come here to set men against their masters. (Cries of "No, no!" " Order, order !" and " Go on, Buckmaster Goon, go on !" " Bravo!" cheers, and much uproar.) " Mr. Buckmaster accordingly resumed ; observing, that he hoped the Doctor knew more of physic than he seemed to know of the Corn-laws ; when he was again interrupted by the indignant Doctor, who offered half-a-crown to any one who would throw a pail of water over the Anti-Corn-law lecturer.' A voice (amidst much laughter) cried out, Hold, enough two can play at that game ; ' a hint which had the effect of throwing a damper on the experiment." Mr. Buckmaster's interposition saved a constable, who would actively have seconded the Doctor's proposals, from some rough handling by, the people.

The Manx Liberal tells how a lad succeeded in breaking Castle Rushen prison, and freeing himself with five others, on the morning of the 12th instant. This lad, Hughes, was confined with an idiot in a room over the kitchen. He tore up the flooring of his cell, and dropped into the room below. By means of a long table from the kitchen, he reached a small square hole communicating with a cock-loft under the roof; and thence he forced his way on to the leads. He had procured a quantity of bed-linen, with which he dropped into the fosse, a height of sixty feet. Here he found a door, padlocked ; it led to the great staircase into which opened all the prisoner's cells, which were fastened on the outside. He wrenched off the padlock, and successively opened the doors of the cells of five other prisoners. The party of prisoners got a quantity of tables, benches, and other prison-furniture, which they piled on the roof of an out-house ; by that means they reached the high outer wall, along which they ran until they came to an ivy-covered bastion, abutting on the quay ; and some fishing-nets that happened to be drying on the bastion aided their descent. They seized a pleasure- boat, loaded it with fish that lay drying at cottage-doors, and launched it. But they found a larger pleasure-boat at anchor, to which they transferred their provisions and themselves ; and they were last seen from the Calf of Man, " spanking away past the Chickens, with a brisk breeze and a flowing sheet, in the direction of Ireland."