2 NOVEMBER 1861, Page 3

Una.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28TH.

Tun Right Hon. C. P. Villiers and Mr. Weguelin, the two members for Wolverhampton, were present at the annual dinner of the Wol- verhampton Licensed Victuallers' Society on Thursday. In respond- ing the toast of " The Borough Members," Mr. Villiers said that there was no class of persons were so much interested in dis- couraging intemperance as the licensed victuallers.

" It was impossible to disguise from themselves that there was a great con- currence of testimony in favour of the view that many of the misfortunes of the poor could be traced to intemperance (hear, hear), and he certainly shared that opinion, and, from the office he held, he had constantly brought before him proofs of that fact. He certainly thought those persons did great good who encouraged the humbler classes to be temperate in their habits, and when he said that he was decidedly friendly to these views, lie had yet to learn that he way saying anything opposed to the views of the assembly. (Hear, hear.) All sorts of things were said against the interests of licensed victuallers, but be must say that he never thought they were otherwise than the enemies of intemperance. (Hear, hear.) He said that from evidence brought before the committee to which he had alluded, and which had placed bins to some extent in a position ofhostility to that body. It was stated in evidence before the committee that no class had so strong an interest in discouraging excess, intemperance, and disorder as the licensed victuallers themselves, since discredit was thus brought upon their business and their capital jeopardized, and that they were perfectly ready to submit to any regulation which the committee might suggest calculated to prevent excess and disorder. (Loud applause.) It was farther stated that one of the most important regulations passed of late years for the preservation of order and the discouragement, of excess proceeded from the Society of Licensed Victuallers in London. That was an Act passed requiring all houses to be closed on Saturday night at eleven o'clock until Sunday afternoon, previous to which they could be kept open during the whole of Saturday night ; and a regulation more calculated to promote the good order of towns, and discourage intemper- ance, was never passed by the Legislature (Applause.) It was well known that, before the passing of that Act, at seaports and in all large towns men went into public-houses on Saturday nights; the publicans could not clear their houses, which were ofen open for the whole night, and men were lying about the streets the next morning in a state which was the greatest scandal, and scenes the most disgusting were exhibited, and it was highly creditable to the licensed victuallers that they promoted a passing of a law which did so much to prevent intem- perance and restore public order by taking away a great temptation to excess. (Loud applause.) He referred to that to show that the licensed victuallers did not differ from him in desiring to do everything escalated to discourage intem- perance. (Renewed cheering.) They rather required more power to enforce the law against disorderly customers than they at present possessed (hear, hear), and they were at one with those who desired to discourage intemperance, and the only question which appeared to arise on which any difference of opinion existed among enlightened men was as to the means to be used iu order to attain this result."

Mr. Weguelin also responded. After some jocose allusions to " the example which had recently been made of him" for having touched on forbidden topics at an agricultural meeting, he said he should very much like to know what politics really were :

" He had been studying the question since he was last in Wolverhampton, and he found that Dean Swift said that a great Minister told bins that politics were common sense, but added that the Minister told him that this was the last troth he wished the world to believe. He did not know whether his right honourable colleague, who was himself a great Minister, endorsed that definition, but if he did he was satisfied that there were societies in which it was not expedient to talk politics. (Laughter.) A heathen poet had said that it was pleasant to be unwise at certain times; but, unfortunately, a member of Parliament had no such relaxation allowed him. (Laughter.) He was expected to be wise at all times, and if lie could not be wise he was required to look wise ; and there was an eminent man of the present century of whom it was said that it was not in mortal to be so wise as Lord Thurlow looked. (Laughter.) Perhaps he might venture to say, especially as be was in the presence of a Minister, that some of them would like to be a little less taxed than they were (hear, hear), and that they would be glad if the Government could do what all persons now had to do in a depressed trade—somewhat curtail their expenditure. (Loud cheers.) He felt it to be quite necessary that this country should maintain her high position, for he felt that this position was at the present moment essential to the peace of the world; but he ventured to offer one suggestion in reference to the transforma- tion of the wooden walls of Old England into its ironsides. As a member of a large society of shipowners, lie knew that iron ships differed essentially from wooden ships in their duration. At the end of 25 or 80 years an iron slop was as good as when it was new. No one knew the life of an iron ship, and be thought it would last 100 years. A wooden ship, on the contrary, not only required constant repairs, but in eight or ten years, as the phrase ran, was off the first letter at Lloyd's. Looking at this fact, it did appear to him that as in their fixed defences they had raised the money by annuities at 28 or 80 years, paying the amount with interest gradually, so in their iron floating defences, which were enormously costly, the adoption of the same principle—by making the next generation, to whom these vessels would be bequeathed, participate in the expense—would be only a matter of justice to the taxpayers of the present day. (Hear, hear.) He knew how dangerous it was for a civilian to say a word about the army, but he did hope that the 15,000 troops now on their way from India, and which bad not hitherto been supported at the charge of this country, would not be added to our present force. (Hear, hear.)"

— The Essex _Liberals replied on Thursday to the recent Tory demonstration at Hedingham, by one of a similar nature at Maldon, the only Essex constituency which at present returns a Liberal mem- ber. The dinner was attended by about 160 of the leading Liberals of the district, among whom were Mr. Sutton Western, M.P., Mr. J. Hardcastle, M.P., Mr. Western Wood, M.P., Mr. C. Buxton, MY., Mr. Wingfield Baker, late M.P. for South Essex, Mr. Gurdon Rebow, late M.P. for Colchester, Sir C. Page Wood, &c. Mr. T. Burch Western, who occupied the chair, proposed "Prosperity to the Mahlon Independent Liberal Club." He said :

"The country might congratulate itself on the fact that the Conservative Op- position had not succeeded in displacing the present Government in the course of last session, although they had asserted that they could readily have done so; for, from the large warlike armaments now maintained, and the unsettled state of Europe, any mismanagement on the port of this country might have produced complications ending in a general war. The policy of the present Government had been one of peace and neutrality, and so ably had they conducted the Foreign Department that they had created abroad a feeling of confidence in this country which might not have prevailed if the other party, wills their known Austrian tendencies, had been in power. Having reviewed recent events in the various parts of Europe, the honourable gentleman added that we did not see such great changes in our own country because we did not require them, well knowing how to appreciate the blessings of civil and religious liberty which we had long en- joyed; but there never was, perhaps, a time when it was more necessary that the Liberal party should be united, as the Conservatives had lately been making strenuous and unusual efforts to better their position. They had also been suc- cessful in some recent elections, a circumstance which had induced them to think that a reaction had taken place in their favour, although on this point he be- lieved they would find themselves decidedly mistaken. (Hear, hear.)" "The Liberal Interest in Maldon," coupled with the name of Sutton Western, M.P., was then given. Mr. Sutton Western, in responding, said it was owing to the exertions of the Mahlon Liberals only that the yellow flag was floating from at least one citadel in Essex : "Tire enlightenment, energy, and courage of the Mahlon Liberals had pre- vented the Conservatives of the county from being as thoroughly blue from one end to the other as the woad-stained aborigines who first peopled the Essex plains, a parti-coloured but somewhat primitive race, whose principles were represented by the Conservatives with sufficient fidelity in the nineteenth . century. (Laughter.) Ile was happy to say that the results of the registratkm just completed iu Halloo affordedfurther guarantees for the future, and .tiie present powerful meeting warranted him in hoping that the Liberals of the town were not only destined to uphold the cause of freedom among themselves, but also to stimulate their less fortunate neighbours to similar efforts. (Cheers.) After some facetious observations at the expense of the Malden Conservative Association, concerning which he stated that he could not afford any information, as he did not even know whether it bad now any existence, the honourable gen- tleman added that there appeared to be a Nemesis banging over Conservative banquets. Thus Lord Derby, in his speech at the Mansion-house last spring, said that the Government owed its very existence to his forbearance, and that he was pleased to continue that existence for the present. Yet within forty-eight hours of that time the noble earl's forbearance was so completely overcome by an unexpected opportunity of coalescing with some of the Irish members, that he divided against the Government, nominally on that excellent measure the repeal of the paper duties, but practically on the Galway Contract. And what was the result? Why this self-styled toleration of the Liberal party, even with the adventitious aid of an angry faction, was beaten by a majority of fifteen. If such was the fate of the noble guest, what became of the sympathizing host? Strong in the prestige of turtle and punch, what became of the Lord Mayor, whose zeal for political hospitality gave such an opportunity for Lord Derby's gasconade? Mr. Western Wood, who fought his Lordship in his stronghold, and whom he rejoiced to see present (cheers), was best able to reply to the question. The poet talked of a place where:

The rage of the vulture, the love of the turtle, Now melts into sorrow, now maddens to crime;'

but far be it from him (Mr. Western) to say that it was the ' love of the turtle,' accompanied or unaccompanied by punch, which, when brought into the arena in question, impelled the civic chieftain to give up his seat elsewhere for the pur- pose of contesting the vacant seat for London with his honourable friend Mr. Wood. (Laughter.) He (Mr. Weston) felt it to be his bounden duty to give his whole support to the present Government, and he could assure the member for the City who honoured the meeting with his presence, and whose name was enriched with paternal honours achieved in the cause of liberty, that he con- sidered it difficult to over-estimate the importance of so opportune a triumph to the Liberal party as that gained by the result of the City election. That contest occurred at a time when the cry of a Tory reaction was at its height, and when any credit given by Europe to such a cry would have entailed incalculable injury upon the influence exerted by Great Britain upon foreign affairs."

Mr. Gurdon Rebow proposed the health of Mr. Western Wood, M.P. for London. In responding, Mr. Wood said the sole reason of his coming forward to contest the City was his anxiety lest a seat filled so long by a statesman who had done so much for the Liberal cause as Lord Russell had done, should fall into the hands of the opposite party.

"It had been remarked that the City election was a momentous event for the interests of the present Government and for the interests of the coun- try, and no doubt it was so. At the time it occurred there were, inde- pendent of any other considerations, several vacancies which had been created by the transfer of places among the Ministry ; all these elections would have succeeded that for the City ; and had the Lord Mayor been enabled to triumph there, the return of several of the Ministers would have been placed in very serious jeopardy. That was one important consideration, and a still farther one was that a defeat of the Liberals would have involved a complete change in the foreign policy of the country. We were perhaps selfishly interested in that which more particularly affected our domestic and social concerns, but lie believed that every home question sank now into insignificance when compared with our foreign relations ; and if Lord John Russell on his retirement had been succeeded by a Conservative in the City representation, the chances would have been mate- rially increased that the administration of foreign affairs would have been trans- ferred into totally different bands. On behalf of the Liberal members o the House of Commons, watching their acts as he had hitherto done from a private station, he saw no reason to doubt that they would continue in that course which had won for them the approbation of the present meeting. If, as, alas l a rather old man, he might venture to offer a piece of advice to the Liberal members, he would recommend them to take a leaf out of the book of their Conservative opponents. Unhappily, gentlemen on the Liberal side of the House allowed various little differences to sow division among them, while the Conservative party were far too wise to permit any such discord to prevail among them. The Conservatives did not ask whether every candidate was for this, that, or the other ; it was simply enough for them to'know that he was a Tory, and they voted for him. Now, he (Mr. Wood) did not ask Liberals to follow so blind a doctrine as that, but he would appeal to every Liberal consti- tuency throughout the kingdom to be a little more tolerant of their candidates when they presented themselves. Let them by all means assure themselves that they were honestly and strictly Liberals, but let them not be hampered with little questions, for in many instances Liberal divisions had led to the introduc- tion of a Conservative into the House. If gentlemen on the Liberal side of the House would also sink all minor differences, and only press forward what they considered of great importance at proper and fitting times, they would not find themselves in the difficulties in which they were occasionally placed, and they would not afford the right honourable gentleman, the member for North Essex, an opportunity of facetiously describing, as he had done recently, how on almost every (Wednesday his party had, as the Americans would say, whipped' the Li- berals. He (Mr. Wood) trusted that the Liberals would see their error in this respect ; in the course of his election he had avoided giving any distinct pledges upon any subject ; and he believed if the party with which he acted merely en- deavoured to carry out Liberal principles upon the broadest and widest possible basis, they would have no difficulty in keeping out the Tory for a long time. He should be most happy in thinking that they could keep him out for ever. (Cheers.)"

Mr. Buxton, M.P., then proposed the toast of " Civil and religious liberty all over the world." He did not think that the recent events in America should be referred to any failure of free institutions, for they were simply the result of the violent hostility naturally engen- dered between South and North by the difference of their views on the great questions of slavery and protection. He feared, however, that there was some discouragement in watching the working of free institutions in Australia.

" He did not hesitate, strong Liberalas he was, candidly to own that experience did appear to show that a very broad line must be drawn between universal suffrage and the possession of the franchise by those classes whose position, how- ever humble it might be, still afforded some indication of the exercise of the virtues of industry, self-restraint, and prudence."

Freedom, however, was making steady way over the face of Europe. Mr. Buxton then briefly noted the advances made of late years in every European kingdom. In France, indeed, there had been a terrible and shameful disaster, but everywhere else the prospects of freedom were brightening. Even Austria had been compelled to offer a constitution to Hungary, though for very good reasons the latter country had declined the gift. At all events, it was a signifi-

cant fact that the offer of a constitution should lave been made in such a quarter. In Italy, the liberation of Rom and Venice only was needed to make the triumph of freedom complete :

" Upon the whole, we had this comforting truth forced upon as—that the day of despotism was waning in Europe, and that constitutional self-government was steadily making its way. He knew that the progress made was slow, and he confessed that it was disappointing that in many cases the people did not lay a strong grasp on their liberties, and that they did not seem to value them quite so highly as it might have been hoped they would have done; but the lesson which history most strongly taught statesmen was that of patience. Six centuries had passed since Edward I. first called the burgher class to Parliament; yet, although he (Mr. Buxton) did not see many grey heads before him, there was hardly any one present who had not lived in times in which the middle classes had had to wrest from the upper classes their fair share of political power—in which the Dissenters were excluded from the municipal franchise by the Test Acts—in which the Roman Catholics and Jews were shut out from theirjust rights--in which 238 offences were punishable with death by the laws of England, and in which free trade was abhorred and slavery maintained by the British law. With such experience of how long it took to effect great changes, we must not look tee impatiently upon the tardy steps with which other nations were treading in the freedom which was new to them ; but if we looked, nevertheless, at the growth of representative institutions in Europe, we might say that '—Freedom's battle once begun,

Bequeath'd from bleeding sire to son, Though baffled oft is ever won.'

(Cheers.) He believed that every Englishman, whether he were a Whig, or whether he were a Tory, world rejoice in the probability that as years passed by there would not at length be a single nation of Christendom which would not succeed in crowning itself with the blessings flowing from civil and religions free- dom. (Cheers.)"

Several local toasts then brought the proceedings to a close.

— Within two months of the death of Lord Herbert, within still less of that of Lord Eglinton, we have to record the passing away of another of the front rank of English statesmen. Sir James Graham died at Netherby on Friday, from heart disease, from which he had been suffering at times for the last eighteen months. He was born at Netherby in 1792, the same year in which Lord John Russell was born, and after being educated at Westminster School and Queen's College, Cambridge, he commenced political life as private secretary to Lord Montgomerie, British Minister in Sicily, a post which he filled with great success. His subsequent political career is reviewed in another column. The deceased baronet was the eldest son of Sir James, the first baronet, by Lady Catherine Stewart, daughter of the seventh Earl' of Galloway, and is succeeded in the baronetcy and estates by his eldest son, now Sir Frederic Ulric Graham. — Captain Jervis, M.P. for Harwich, delivered a lecture on Ameri- can affairs at the Town-hall of that borough on Friday. The honourable member commenced by adducing statistics showing the disastrous results to the country which must follow from a suspension of our traffic with America, and repeated the " wish, previously expressed by him in public, that Government would interfere in the quarrel for the sake of alleviating the otherwise inevitable distress which. would result from a cotton famine. He then entered into a long argument to show that slavery had nothing to do with the point at issue be- tween the North and South, and that, therefore, we should not be deterred from interfering in favour of the latter by any fear that in so doing we should be in any way supporting slavery. With re- ference to the secession question, Captain Jervis maintained that the Southern States acted in strict accordance with the constitution of the United States when they wished to govern themselves. After quoting instances in which separate States had asserted their independence of the Federal Government, Captain Jervis appealed also to prece- dents which had been set by this country :

" As an instance of what our own country has done in such questions, I would recal to your recollection that at the time we emancipated the slaves in our colonies the Dutch settlers on the Cape of Good Hope objected to it, left their territory, and settled on the Orange River; and England had since always recog- nized that territory as independent. Again, as far back as the year 1780, Ireland objected to our governing it, and carried a resolution in its Parliament that it only recognized the Irish Legislature and George III. as King of Ireland, and not of England. We had then undergone the sad experience of the American war, and we recognized that independence, and it was only by sound argument, and not by attempted force, that we had brought them back again, I have en- deavoured to bring the question before you in three points—first, that the question of cotton has nothing to do with the question of slavery, and that we do not stand up for the North or the South ; secondly, that the question of slavery is only introduced from interested motives; and, thirdly, that that of secession, which the Americans call rebellion, is simply a large population, numbering over seven millions and covering an area of 850,000 square miles, wishing to govern themselves, but are stopped by their neighbours.'

In conclusion, Captain Jervis denied the power of the President to declare war or announce a blockade without the authority of Con- gress, and quoted from a speech of Daniel Webster on a similar case twenty years ago, in support of this view. The proceedings ter- minated with a vote of thanks to Captain Jervis, which was carried amid hearty cheering.

— It appears from the monthly Board of Trade returns which were published on Saturday, that the failiag off in our exports for last month, when compared with those of the corresponding month of 1860, amounts to 2,426,4481., or nearly 18 per cent.-12 per cent. of which, however; is on the one item of cotton. The total exports for the first nine months of the year have been 93,795,3321., against 101,724,3461. for the same period of last year, showing a decrease of 71 per cent. The principal feature in the returns relating to imports, is the remarkable decrease in the arrivals imported during the past month, which; though still nearly double those of September, 1859, are less than half those of 1860.

TUESBAY, OCTOBER 29TH.

— The Duke of Argyll was entertained by his tenantry at dinner, at Inverary, on Friday last. Dr. Colin Smith, minister of Inverary and moderator of the General Assembly, occupied the

chair, and proposed the toast of the evening, " Long Life and Pro- sperity to the Duke of Argyll!' His Grace, in responding, said that the occasion which brought him before his audience that day was simply a medium way of expressing the old feudal feeling, which, he must say, he was glad to believe had not yet died out in the rela- tion between landlord and tenant : " And he believed that the feudal element, which undoubtedly still did remain in the ordinary relation between landlord and tenant, was one of the great strong- holds of the liberties of this country. (cheers.) It gave local attachment, and in the strength of local attachment and local feeling there was and there always had been the best security against the inroads of a centralizing tyranny. He said this whether they referred to former or to present times; for whether those were away or not, of this be was quite certain, that the relation of 1 andlord and tenant was not, and could not in its own nature be, one of a merely pecuniary kind. Why, even if they took the ordinary cases of leases in Scotland, which as they were all aware, were run from 19 to 20 years, that was a period which, if a man entered upon in middle life, the chances were that he would not see the end of it. And he need hardly tell many of those whom be now saw present, that with regard to the smaller class of tenantry who had not and never had a lease in this country, their tenure had very often been much more permanent than that of those who had had leases. (Applause.) There were tenants in that room who had been on this estate, he believed, for many generations—for some centuries—in fact from time immemorial. The relation between landlord and tenant, therefore, whether they looked at it with reference to the large tene- ments under lease, or with reference to the small tenements, was in its nature an almost permanent relation; and it was impossible that in such a relation there should not arise, and there ought not to arise, feelings of mutual regard, and he might say of mutual dependence, which were wholly different from those which sprang from a purely mercantile trans- action. (Loud cheers.) At the same time, the observations which were made upon this subject in the press, or by writers upon political economy, ought to

teach them that the public had an interest in the relations between the landlord and his tenant. Of course, the public had also an interest in the relations which existed between the master manufacturer and his men; and he need hardly tell them that in the present day some very difficult and awkward questions had actually arisen between those who employed labour and those who laboured. But there was something in the very permanence of the connexion, and in the universality of land over thh whole area of the country, which attracted and fixed public attention more upon the relations between landlord and tenant than in the relations between mere capital and labour, and it was right and natural that this should be so, and he thought, therefore, that on all public occasions of this sort— agricultural dinners where tenants and landlords met—they should not merely meet for the purpose of complimenting each other, however natural and right such feelings might be, but that they should take that opportunity of explaining to each other and of explaining to the public how far they were contributing to the general welfare of the country and performing the duty which lay upon them both as landlords and as tenants. (Cheers.)"

After some observations on the agriculture, decrease of population, &c., of the county of Argyll, which only possessed local interest, his Grace spoke at some length on the American question. He con- sidered it to be our absolute duty to preserve a perfect neutrality throughout the contest, and not only so, but even to abstain to a great extent from offering! advice :

No good whatever can arise from offering such advice as that, for example, which was lately offered—I have no doubt with the best intentions—by the Em- peror of Russia to the contending parties in America. The answer which the Americans will infallibly give to any such interference will, however civilly ex- pressed, virtually amount to this: ' We are very. much obliged to you for your kind advice. We have no doubt that it is conceived in the best spirit and with the best intentions; but there is a general rule in this world that every man should attend to his own affairs; and there is this additional reason for doing so in the present case that it is quite evident that you don't understand ours.' That is the answer which, virtually, the Americans have actually given, and which I am convinced they will continue to give to all such counsel. Because, after all, the truth is this, gentlemen, that mere general advice to compose these differ- ences without any specific suggestion as to the terms upon which those differences are to be adjusted, is always held by the Americans to imply indirectly, even though it be not intended, that the objects for which they are contending are either unworthy or at least trivial and unimportant. (Hear.) Now, whatever we may think of that contest, in fairness to our American friends we ought to admit that no more tremendous issues were ever submitted to the dread arbitra- ment of war than those which are now submitted to it upon the American conti- nent. I do not care whether we look at it from the Northern or from the Southern point of view. Take the mere question of what is called the right of secession. I know of no Government which has ever existed in the world which could possibly have admitted the right of secession from its own allegiance. There is a curious animal in Loch Fyne which I have sometimes dredged up from the bottom of the sea, and which performs the most extraordinary and un- accountable acts of suicide and self-destruction. It is a peculiar kind of starfish, which, when brought up from the bottom of the water, and when any attempt is made to take hold of it, immediately throws off all its arms, its very centre breaks up, and nothing remains of one of the most beautiful forms in nature but a thousand wriggling fragments. Such undoubtedly would have been the fate of the American Union if its Government had admitted what is called the right of secession. Gentlemen, I think we ought to admit, in fairness to the Ameri- cans, that there are some things worth fighting for, and that national existence is one of these. (Cheers.) And then, gentlemen, if we go to the South, if we look at the matter from the Southern point of view, difficult as it may be for ua to do so, I mast say also that I am not surprised at their conduct. If they be- lieve—as they loudly proclaim that they do believe—that slavery is not an evil which is to be tolerated only and brought to an end as soon as possible, but a Divine institution for the benefit of mankind, to be maintained, and, if possible, extended, and which if it is assailed, even in a single outpost, must be defended to the death, then, even though the citadel of slavery be not assailed, but only an important outwork, then it is but natural that the South should rise in its defence."

The health of the Duchess of Argyll and the other members of the ducal family was then drunk, and the proceedings terminated.

— A new drinking-fountain, recently constructed on Tower-hill, mainly at the expense of Earl Russell, was publicly opened by that nobleman on Monday. A very large audience had assembled en the occasion, and Earl Russell addressed them on the benefits conferred on the labouring classes by providing a good supply of pure water. He stated that at present there were 85 free drinking-fountains in London, but that number was insufficient for the requirements of the population. It was calculated that no less than 6000 people partook daily of the supply from the drinking-fountain at the Exchange. Dr. Lank ester and several other gentlemen also said a few words in sup- port of the movement. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30T1I.

— The Council of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce received an intimation from the Board of Trade to the effect that important alterations in the official classification of British exports are in contem- plation. It has been represented to their Lordships by Mr. Fon- blanque, chief of the Statistical Department of the Board of Trade, and Mr. Messenger, Inspector-General of Imports and Exports, that the present system of classification is in ninny respects faulty, and while including many specifications having now no commercial im- portance, it does not provide for the registration of articles which have become of considerable importance since the list was first esta- blished. Owing to the modification in our tariff last year, the classi- fication of imports has improved, and there is therefore a favourable opportunity for the revision of the classification of exports also. In consequence of these representations the Board of Trade wish to receive suggestions from the principal Chambers of Commerce as to what changes may be desirable in the specifications of articles be- longing to the leading branches of our export trade.

— " W. W." writes to the Times on the spirit of the reckless spe- culation which now convulses the cotton market, and which he is convinced, must before long, entail heavy losses on all who hold stocks of cotton. The speculation is based upon the supposition that the home and foreign consumption of cotton for the ensuing year will be equal to that of last year, and that the present stock will prove in- adequate to supply that consumption. Such, however, cannot pos- sibly be the case. The requirements of the manufacturers have already decreased from thirty to fifty per cent., and yet the manufacturers' product was never in worse demand. Speculators have also laid great stress on the foreign demand. How much it is likely to raise the price may be judged from the fact that the cotton trade on the Continent is so paralyzed by speculation that the falling off in the demand is proportionally greater than it is in this country, and foreigners are even now reselling their stocks of cotton in preference to spinning and manufacturing abroad. The speculation is at pre- sent carried on by ladies, clergymen, lawyers, and others not regularly engaged in business, who have fallen into the mania as others did into the railway mania of 1345: " The professional cotton speculators have, I am told, retired from action. They know that the bubble must burst; they know that the speculation is not warranted and supported by the requirements of the world ; nor are they blind to the fact that a sword of Damocles hangs over the head of the cotton specu- lator in the form of the American crop of cotton, which must, sooner or later come here. An armistice, a recognition of Southern independence by our Gallic friends, a few cargoes successfully run through the blockade, will any of them cause an immediate collapse, and cotton, which was sold last year at 6d., and which is now selling at lid., will as surely fall to its old value as the railway stocks did when they collapsed from the fictitious price in 1847.

" Manchester, Oct. 26." Ar.

— Mr. Edmund Potter, President of the Mancester Chamber of Commerce, has been brought forward by the leading Liberals of Car- lisle, as a candidate for the representation of that city in the place of Sir James Graham. On Tuesday Mr. Potter addressed a large meet- ing of the electors, in the lecture-hall of the Atheneum, and ex- plained his political views. He thought the suffrage should be con- tinually extended, to keep pace with the increase of population and the increase of the intelligence of that population. As to the ballot, lie was accustomed to vote under it at various clubs. He considered it a great luxury to himself, and as such felt bound in some degree to extend it to those who stood still more in need of it than himself. He was in favour of the total abolition of church rates, believing that the apparent loss would be liberally and ungrudgingly made up by the members of the Church themselves. With reference to American affairs, he earnestly hoped that a policy of strict non-inter- vention would be carried out by the country :

" No wish had yet been expressed to meddle with American affairs, but they were beginning to feel a pressure which be feared would call out very strong

feelings in favour of intervention for the sake of getting cotton. Honesty is the best policy,' and we should wait till we can honestly be supplied with that cotton by those who are the present owners of it. The I rench Chamber of Commerce was urging a different course, which he thought was a dangerous sign. He attributed the present secession to the disgraceful American tariff, and said that if the American nation had come forward and devoted five or six millions a year to the abolition of the slave trade we should not have had the present secession. It was all very well to talk about the abrogation of slavery, but he put very little faith in it if they would not pay for it. They had no excuse; they were wealthy to a degree; and he believed their great wealth and easy sustenance had led to the present miserable spectacle of demoralization."

As to the cotton question as affecting us, he feared we must look forward to a period of serious privation, to relieve which lie was con- vinced we must only look to India.

— The rivalry between the old omnibus and the new tram-car still continues to agitate the suburbs. Mr. Knell, a gentleman re- siding at St. John's Wood, was summoned on Tuesday at Lambeth Police-court for the non-payment of fourpence, the omnibus fare from Regent's-circus to the ` Horns," Kennington. The conductor of a Brixton omnibus stated that on Monday week Mr. Knell was a passenger in his omnibus, and because his driver stopped for a short time on the tramway in the Kennington-road, defendant called him a scamp and a blackguard, and although he told him it was not his fault defendant continued to abuse him. The witness also swore that he had not crossed the tramway more than once, or in any way en- dangered the safety of his passengers or hindered the progress of the tram-ear. Mr. Knell, in defence, stated that directly the omnibus reached that portion of the road where the tramway was laid down the driver kept crossing and re-crossing it, with a view to hinder and retard the progress of one of the tram-cars. This be did to an extent which so endangered the safety of the passengers that the defendant took the first opportunity of getting out of the omnibus. In support

of this statement, he called the driver of the tram-car, who deposed to having been delayed to nearly double his ordinary time by com- plainant's omnibus, which once stopped directly in front of him so suddenly that he had great difficulty in avoiding a serious collision. The magistrate here adjourned the case, and directed that a summons should be taken out against both the driver and conductor of the omnibus.

— The Archdeacon of Surrey held his annual visitation at Guild- ford, on Tuesday. In the course of a long charge he referred to the principal events affecting the Church which had occurred during the last twelve months, briefly alluding, also, to the disastrous failure of the voluntary system in America. The opponents of church rates had received a heavy blow, and an attempt to undermine the Church by the publication of Essays aid Reviews had also signally failed. With reference to the revised educational code, which he earnestly hoped would be either withdrawn or modified, the venerable archdeacon stated that the average loss per annum to each school in the arch- deaconry would be 421. per annum. The great defect in the code, however, was the absence of the religious element. — The last remains of the India House, in Leadenhall-street, will be disposed of on Monday next. The sale will comprise no less than an acre and a half of buildings, among the component parts of which are 1700 doors, many of them made of solid mahogany, 200 tons of lead, on the roof, 2000 feet of sheet copper, 15,000 feet of York and Portland paving, &c.

THIIRSDLY, OCTOBER 31ST.

—The nomination of the candidates for the representation of Ply- mouth, took place yesterday. Mr. Morrison and the Hon. W. Adding- ton having been duly proposed and seconded, the former addressed the assemblage first. Commencing with the subject of Reform, he expressed himself in favour of granting some share of political power to the working classes, but not to an extent at all approximating to universal suffrage. He would rather give the franchiseto those who had proved themselves qualified to possess it by their honesty, industry, and sobriety. Though for a long time opposed to the ballot, he had recently been convinced that it was the only means of securing purity of election. He believed that there was no party in the State which had done so much for the poor during the last fifty years as the Church, and lie was therefore desirous of strengthening the Church by re- moving all abuses connected with it, and above all, church rates, which only served to engender ill feeling wherever it was attempted to levy them. He objected, on the whole, to the new Minute ; the system of examination proposed by which, was not, he thought, cal- tidal ed so to train the minds of the children "that after they had learnt to read, they might be enabled to acquire knowledge by them- selves." On the great question of our national expenditure, he was convinced that it ought to be reduced, but in what way it could be done, was not very clear. A reconstruction of the Board of Admi- ralty was, he thought, one of the most necessary steps to the attain- ment of such a desirable result. As to foreign policy, he should heartily support that pursued by the present Government. The Honourable W. W. Addington then spoke. In briefly alluding to the disturbed state of the Continent, he said lie thought it would not be possible to reduce our army or navy, but that the only way to obtain a reduction of the estimates, would be by rigid vigilance and scrutiny of each vote by the representation of the people. After ex- pressing his dislike to the ballot, he referred to the New Education Minute, which he strongly disapproved of, principally because it broke faith with the national schoolmasters. He could not agree to the unconditional abolition of church rates, but would support any rea- sonable compromise. On the conclusion of Mr. Addington's address, a show of hands was taken, and was declared by the Mayor to be in favour of Mr. Addington. A poll was then demanded on behalf of Mr. Morrison, and the proceedings terminated. — A public meeting was held at Ayr on Monday, for the purpose of considering what steps should be taken to express the respect so generally entertained for the memory of the late Earl of Eglinton, the Marquis of Ailsa in the chair. Colonel Fenris Hamilton, in pro- posing the first resolution, spoke of the wide-spread popularity of the deceased Earl, and dwelt especially on his promptitude in attending to every communication lie received, no matter from whom it might come, high or low, and whatever the subject might be, important or trivial. Mr. Oswald proposed the second resolution, and remarked that he had never seen full-grown meu in Scotland shedding tears before he attended Lord Eghinton's funeral. Lord Ardmillan pro- posed that some permanent expression of their feelings should be decided upon. Several different suggestions with reference to the nature of the memorial were made, the Marquis of Ailsa proposing an educational institution, Lord Colville a sailor's home, and Major Hamilton a public park. Eventually, however, this point was reserved for the division of the majority of the subscribers. — The jubilee meeting of the National Society for the Education of the Children of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church was held on Tuesday, at Worcester. Lord Calthorpe pre- sided, and there were also present the bishop of the diocese, Lord Lyttleton, Lord Alfred Churchill, Sir John Pakington, the Right Hon. C. B. Addesley, M.P., Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P., Mr. New- degate, M.P., Sir John Ratcliff, the Hon. and Rev. Grantham Yorke, the Rev. Dr. Miller, &c. &c. The Rev. L. Tattiejt read the report, from which it appeared that

"The number of schools in the union had been steadily increasing, until they DOW amounted to 11,725, containing upwards of 1,100,000 children, the whole number of Church schools being 25,000. The building grants by the society amounted to 372,5791. Since the society had devoted its attention to training i colleges it had apen t 54,0001. in the erection of 23 of these institutions: It ha also spent 218,0001. in the maintenance of its own training colleges, from which bad gone forth 8500 teachers. Diocesan inspectors had also been appointed, and other means of making education effective adopted. Altogether, the society bad spent no less a sum than 700,0001. in the cause of education. Its income was only 14,0001. a year, a sum far below its necessities."

The Bishop of Worcester moved the first resolution, which expressed the thankfulness of the meeting for the Divine blessing which had attended the efforts of the National Society during fifty years. He referred to the revised code in the following terms :

" Without making any lengthy remarks upon the revised code, he might perhaps say that from what he had heard and seen there were two points in it which materially affected the society. The first was that under the moat favour- able circumstances no school could obtain so much aid under the new as under the old code ; in fact, it seemed to have been the object to diminish the amount previously granted out of the public funds for education. The second point had reference to religious education. The report of the Royal Commissioners recom- mended that the amount of support given to the various schools should depend principally upon the proficiency of the scholars in the three elementary branches of education—reading, writing, and arithmetic. This suggestion the Committee of Privy Council had taken up, and they had even gone beyond it, for they made all support depend upon proficiency in these elementary branches. In this he could not but see a great blow struck at the religious education of the youth of the country, for, though managers of schools would doubtless devote great attention to religions ednoation, their greatest attention would naturally be devoted, first of all, to that secular education which was necessary to secure their grants."

Sir John Pakington moved the second resolution :

" That this meeting desires to record its deep conviction that, although the

voluntary efforts of the clergy and laity have deep largely subsidized by that portion of the Parliamentary grant which has fallen to the share of the Church of England schools, there is still urgent need of the sustained and extended. operations of the National Society."

After briefly sketching the Parliamentary history of the education grant, Sir John explained fully the principal recommendations em- bodied in the report of the Royal Commissioners. They had stated that while Government assisted 6800 schools, containing 917,000 scholars, it left unassisted 15,700 schools with 671,000 scholars,. besides private schools, and that to carry out the present system throughout the country would require at least 1,300,0001. per annum, or, including capital grants, 2,100,0001. They recommended that local rates should be appropriated for educational purposes. When. Mr. Lowe moved the Education Estimates in July, he declared the intention of Government to reject the recommendation as to the ap- propriation of local rates, but promised that a revised code, founded upon the report of the Commission, should soon be laid on the table._ That revised code was not laid on the table till the very last day of the Session, a course by which Parliament was deprived of its legiti- mate functions on the matter, and, in his opinion, it was not founded in any way upon the report of the Commission:

" But, while all he had said might tend to the opinion that he was opposed to the present system of education, he desired to say that he was not antagonistic to it on its own merits. He believed it had done great good, and until a better system were produced he was prepared to support it. Whether it was the best or not the best he was not going to dispute for a moment, but what he intended to say to the Government was, Are you prepared to give us a better system of education? If not, then we will adhere to the one we now have, although it is defective.' He had no objection to the administration of the system being made more simple, provided it was equally effective; nor had he any objection to its being made more economical under the same conditions; but what he objected to was the pretence of simplicity and of economy, without the reality of them. The .sole object of the Government was, he believed, to reduce the expenditure for education—rather a question of small expenditure than of effective education."

Under these circumstances, Sir John concluded there was more necessity than ever for the efforts of the society. The resolution was- seconded by Sir Stafford Northcote, who said he thought it would be far better if all discussion on the educational code were to be de- ferred until after the opening of Parliament, when the matter would be discussed as a public question, and a full explanation would, no doubt, be given by the responsible minister for the department of education. He thought Sir John Pakington had been too much dis- posed to look on the dark side of the question. The great things. that had been done for education during the last fifty years inde- pendently of Government aid ought to make them hopeful for the future.

" In that time they had carried three great points: first, they had established in the minds and convictions of the people the certainty that education was a benefit the people were entitled to at their hands, and that they ought freely to bestow upon them ; second, that that education would be useless, or even mis- chievous, if it was not an education founded on religion ; and, third, that the religions education to be given by the country should not be a general, or what was called a comprehensive religion, but that it should be a religions education,. given by each Church and each denomination throughout the country, accord- ing to its convictions and principles. These great principles were so well esta- blished and were so thoroughly possessed by the public mind that they would not let go again, whatever might be the course of those in authority. And, there- fore, when he heard it stated that the new code would have a tendency to place religion in a secondary position, he at once threw aside the idea that in this country now anything could place religion in a secondary place. If there was to be any such change, if the meaning of the new code really was that Government would do nothing for any but secular education to be given to the children, then. all he could say was that the effect would not be to put religion in a secondary position, but to put Government in a secondary position, by occupying themselves with the secondary part of education, while the primary and more important part was left to those who had the power to determine that the education given by them, and that they only could give, should be a religious education."

The Right Honourable C. B. Addesley, M.P., moved a resolution expresiing the obligations under which the town of Birmingham felt itself towards the Society. He earnestly recommended that Society to the support of his audience, reminding them that all Government aid was but supplementary, and that if the National Society withdrew from the work, all that supplementary aid would be withdrawn too, and the whole system of education would come to a stop :

"As lie understood it, the principles of this National Society were the three —first, the voluntary agency and management of national education; second, that the basis of this education of the poor must be religion ; and, third, that the education of the poorest was the primary object of the system. And be humbly conceived that the spirit of the revised scheme of public grants was in accordance with those three principles. He did not think that the plan was perfect, he did not know that it was practicable, and he law much in the details that would require alteration, but in those three points the spirit of the change was consistent with that of the National Society. What greater libel could there be upon the clergy and managers of schools than to suppose that because the examination of the Government Inspectors was only directed to secular matters, they would therefore neglect to inculcate the great truths of religion? And as to the paying for results, he would remind Sir John Pakington that the system of paying by results was to apply to the minimum of education the three Ws, and not to the maximum, and that it would therefore enable most of the 16,000 schools mentioned by Sir John Pakington as not being now in the receipt of aid from Government to obtain their share of the public grant. For if a school could not show a result in those elementary subjects, then, surely, it could scarcely be called a school."

Mr. Newdegate, M.P., seconded the resolution, and a vote of thanks to the chairman brought the proceedings to a close. — General Peel, who has represented Huntingdon for thirty years, was on Wednesday last presented by his constituents with his por- trait, which is to be hung iii,the Town-hall by the side of the portrait of Lord Chief Baron Pollock. General Peel was afterwards enter- tained at dinner in the Town-hall, the Duke of Manchester, the Lord Chief Baron Pollock,' Lord Robert Montagu, M.P., Mr. Thomas Baring, M.P., Mr. Fellowes, M.P., the Earl of Sandwich, &c., being present. The toast of the evening having been given, General Peel returned thanks. After expressing his deep sense of gratitude for the confidence manifested in him by his constituents daring thirty years, he entered at some length into the present state of political affairs. Alluding to his separation from those who call themselves the followers of Sir Robert Peel, he said :

"It may be imagined that I had some reason to doubt the policy that he had adopted, or that I had less affectionate regard for his memory. it is not my in- tention to enter into a discussion of that policy, far less to speak of my attach- ment to the individual. I have only to say that I have acted as I think and feel confident he Would have done had his life been spared. (Cheers.) I will only say that the moment the great Conservative party—I will not say adopted or accepted—but no sooner did they admit that the great commercial policy which he had introduced was not to be changed, there was no longer any differ- ence between us. (Bear hear.)"

On the foreign policy of the two great political parties, General Peel expressed himself thus :

"I know it is the fashion of the Liberal part? to land to the skies the foreign policy of the Government, and to make invidious comparisons between the Go- vernment of Lord Palmerston and that of Lord Derby. It is true their policy is the same, but they say Lord Derby was not able to maintain the peace of the country, and Lord .Palmerston has. There is a great difference between main- taining peace and preventing the first outbreak. And I believe that any media- tion on the part of Earl Russell in 1858 would have been as ineffectual as that of Earl Malmesbury. But looking at the proud position of England, and the moral influence she possesses with other countries, yet she was detested by every other nation under the sun. (Hear, hear,) No doubt she has respect paid to her wealth and the power which she always commands ; but it is respect accompanied with distrust and terror, and not accompanied with regard and esteem. We were all told not long ago to look for other alliances and turn away from France. But I ask you where they are? I ask you, are not other countries rather seeking an alliance with France than with us. Whence proceeds all this distrust? Depend upon it, no man is hated by everybody without 801218 cause, either from jealousy or from overbearingireatment in dealing with others."

The Earl of Malmesbury and Admiral Walcott, M.P., were present at the meetingof the South Avon Agricultural Society at Christchurch on Tuesday. Admiral Walcott expressed a hope that the American contest might be terminated by the establishment of a Southern Re- public, and Lord Malmesbury directed his remarks almost exclusively to the subject of the volunteer force.

— The trial of John Curran, the cabman charged with an assault with intent on Miss Louisa Jolly, at Dublin, was concluded on Wed- nesday. The case was tried before Mr. Justice Ball and Mr. Justice O'Brien, and occupied five days, having commenced on Friday. Miss Jolly and her brother repeated the evidence they had given at the police-court. She positively identified Curran as the man who com- mitted the outrage. Agnes Wyles, a woman of the town, deposed she had seen Mr. Jolly take the cab for his sister, and recognized the prisoner as the cabman. She also swore that the statement she had made to the police to the effect that she was at Holyhead on the night of the outrage was false. It was the week before that she was at _Holyhead. This witness, however, was distinctly proved to be galty of perjury by four witnesses, who swore to having seen her on board the Holyhead steamer on the night of the outrage, and she was accordingly committed to take her trial on that charge. For the de- fence, several other cabmen who lodged in the same house with Curran were called to prove that he was at home between nine and ten o'clock on the night of the outrage, but their evidence was not satisfactorv, and one of them admitted that he had subscribed to a fend raised among the cabmen for Curran's defence. On Wednesday Mr. Justice O'Brien summed up the evidence minutely. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and the prisoner was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18T.

— A Tory demonstration took place at Worcester on Wednesday, the occasion being the anniversary of the City of Worcester Conser- vative Association. Sir G. A. H. Le,chmere presided, and there were present the Earls of Shrewsbury and Talbot, Viscount Stanley, M.P., the Right Honourable Sir J. Pakington, M.P., the Honourable F. Lygon, ALP., the Honourable W. Coventry, and Mr. Johnson, the Conservative candidate for the city. Mr. Lygon, in proposing the Army and Navy, pointed to America as an example of what this country might come to if those who were desirous of revolutionizing our institutions were to succeed in their object. Viscount Stanley responded on behalf of the army, and the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot for the navy. Captain Candler proposed the House of Lords, and Lord Shrewsbury and Talbot responded.

" The House of Lords, he said, was an institution highly valued, and if lie might be allowed to say so, deservedly esteemed by the nation. It had often been said by noisy democrats and clamorous republicans that the House of Lords was of no use. Prue, they were not at liberty to tax the people, but they were in their place to protect their rights and to preserve the institutions of the country; and he must remind them that the Barons of England were the first to grant liberties to the people. Their privileges had not been given to them for their own personal benefit, but for the sake of maintaining those institutions which their forefathers had handed down to them. Reference had been made by previous speakers to the unhappy contention that was going on on the other side of the Atlantic. (Hear.) In America they saw democracy on its trial' and they saw how it failed. (Hear.) He was afraid the result would show that the separation of the two great sections of that country was inevitable, and those who lived long enough would, in his opinion, see an aristocracy established in America. He would not say an aristocracy of dukes and earls, but an aristocracy of some sort or other, so great was the necessity of having a middle state between democracy and despotism. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the present Govern- ment, he said they had kept themselves in power by advocating one set of prin. apfes and practising another. Lord Palmerston had been connected with every party that had been in office in his time, and lie likened him to a successful poli- tical Blondin (laughter), who from his political tight-rope looked down from the giddiest heights, only caring to keep himself where be was."

The next toast was "The House of Commons," which was re- sponded to by Sir Jolm Pakington, who was enthusiastically received. He said the Tories were often asked why they complainedof the pre- sent state of affairs when they had a Conservative statesman for Prime Minister. He believed this to be strictly true. Lord Pal- merston had not forgotten the principles he had imbibed when a Tory, but he could not trust Lord Palmerston's Conservative opinions, for the simple reason that Lord Palmerston did not trust them himself. Lord Palmerston might have been a reluctant party, but still he was a party both to the Reform Bill of 1860 and to the reckless and ruinous Budget of the same year.

"And what had they seen in the Session of Parliament lately closed? They had seen a very similar proceeding enacted. They had again seen the finances of England ruinously and recklessly dealt with, and he was sorry to say they had seen a statesman of high private character corning down to the House of Commons week after week speaking against measures which his more democratic friends and allies had introduced, and then walking into the lobby and voting for the very propositions which he condemned. (' Rear, hear,' and cheers.) This was a very dangerous state of things, when men of Conservative feelings were so bound and fettered by party connexions with men of very different opinions from themselves, that they were no longer able to maintain that high character for honesty, consistency, and public principle which ought to be the leading characteristics of the British statesman. (Loud cheers.) lie (Sir John Pa- kington) wanted to see this state of things put an end to. (hear, hear.) It was unwholesome, it was unsafe ; and he wished to see a restoration of that honest line of principle from which they would be able to know, when they saw an which side of the Chamber a gentleman ranked himself, what were really the feelings and principles by which he guided his political actions. And he would remind them, as the previous speaker (Mr. Baker) had done, that we had at this moment before us a warning which ought to bid us beware how we continued to play fast and loose with democratic principles. Let them look across the Atlantic, and they would there see the sudden and extraordinary collapse of that attempt to promote and increase the happiness and welfare of mankind by governing them on the principles of extreme democracy. (Hear.) That great Republic had fallen to pieces. It was rent and torn by civil war. Some of the finest provinces in the world were being devastated by unjustifiable bloodshed—brother was arrayed against brother, parent against child were fighting—and what were they fighting for? There was one great principle which they might have had in an- tagonism: the North might have said, You Southern people are the owners of slaves, and we do battle with you to put an end to slavery.' (Cheers.) But they had not said so; they could not say so; for though the Northerners did not hold slaves, they had sanctioned slavery, and they were not waging this horrible war in tinier to put an end to the evils of slavery. (Hear, hear.) His belief was that, from President Lincoln down.. wards, there was not a man in America who would venture to tell them that he really thought it possible that by the force of circumstances the North could hope to compel the South to again join them in coustitutiug the United States. It was altogether hopelese, and it was shocking to see a war waged with so little vane, for it was his sincere belief that the real instigation for this terrible war was the shame they felt that the world should witness the disruption of that great experiment. (Hear hear.)"

After some further remarks on the same subject, Sir John concluded by defining the great function of the Conservative party to be the prevention of unuecessary innovation when in opposition, and the promotion of improvements when in office. — The polling for the election of a member for Plymouth took place on Thursday. Mr. Morrison, the Liberal candidate, took the lead from the first, and at the close of the poll the numbers were,: Morrison, 1179; Addington, 984. — The long-anticipated ceremonial of the opening of the new Library at the Middle Temple by the Prince of Wales, took place on Thursday, on which occasion also his Royal Highness was called to the Bar by the Society of the Middle Temple. The new Library, the first stone of which was laid by Sir Fortuuatus Dwarris in 1858, is ninety-one feet long by forty-two feet wide and seventy-two high, and cost, including the purchase of the greater portion of the site, about 27,0001. The most exteusive preparations had been made by the Benchers for the occasion. Fountain-court was converted' into an immense pavilion, beautifully decorated and carpeted. Between it and the hall was a brilliantly illuminated canvas corridor, and both pavilion and corridor were elaborately adorned with trophies of flags, statuary, mirrors, exotic plants, &c. Shortly before two, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, and the Lord Chief Baron, all members of the Lon, arrived, and were followed by a large number of distinguished guests, among whom were the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Cranworth, Justices Byles, Blackburn, Keating, and Willes, Barons Channel and Martin, Sir Cresswell Cresswell, the Attorney- General, the Solicitor-General, Lord Clyde, &c. &c. At two o'clock Precisely the Prinoe of Wales arrived, and was met by a guard of honour composed of eighty rank and file of the Devil's Own. His Royal Highness then proceeded to the new Parliament, chamber,

where a Parliament having been formed, he was called to the Bar, and subsequently elected a Bencher. A procession was then formed to the Library, the Prince of Wales and the Treasurer, Mr. Ander- son, Q.C., leading the way. A short address from the members of the Society to his Royal Highness was then read, and the Prince, in reply, declared the Library to be opened. A short service, specially composed for the occasion by the Master of the Temple, Dr. Robin- son, was then performed at the Temple Church. At four o'clock, 760 guests sat down to a splendid banquet. As there was only room for 250 in the hall, 500 were accommodated in the pavilion. As previously arranged, there were no speeches, and after the usual loyal toasts had been honoured, the Prince of Wales rose, and said, "Gentlemen, I wish all prosperity to the profession, and I give you Domus.' " His Royal Highness then left the hall amid loud cheering, and the remainder of the evening was spent by the assembled guests in securing a large collection of works of art and scientific objects which were exhibited at a eonversazione in the Library.