30 AUGUST 1856, Page 7

Sir Benjamin Heywood of Manchester has received a letter from

Lord Palmerston, stating that, in consequence of the death of his brother, he will be unable to preside at the inauguration of the new Mechanics In- stitution; but he hopes to be able to visit Manchester on some future occasion.

The North Lancashire Agricultural -Society held its annual show this week, at Preston. In quantity and quality the stock exhibited surpassed all previous meetings. The dinner was held at the Corn Exchange, and Lord Stanley was in his place as President. In proposing the Society's success and prosperity, he gave a flourishing account of its condition and prospects; dwelt on the necessity of drainage works; of using-up instead of wasting town sewage ; of acquiring theoretical in aid of practical knowledge ; and of freely helping the State to the statistics of agricul- ture. Sir James Kay Shuttleworth addressed the tenant-farmers on the progress of scientific agriculture, especially in the application of ma- chinery and chemistry to farming ; and urged the importance of deeply pulverizing the soil to admit of the fertilizing action of the atmosphere. He praised the farmers for the energy and skill with which they had met foreign competition : "no class of the community has put forth more energetic exertion than the agricultural class during the last ten years."

It was remarked with pleasure by the Chairman, that there was a larger attendance and a more numerous subscription on the part of the tenant- farmers than there had been for some time past.