t4t Vrnuittrro.

There was a public meeting at Leicester on Tuesday, convened on re- quisition by the Mayor, to convey to the Government their sentiments "on the necessity of prompt, energetic, and decisive action, at the pre- sent important crisis of the Eastern question." The assembly was Ter/ unanimous in its sentiments. Speeches were made by Dr. Noble, Mr. J. F. Hollings, Captain Harris, and Mr. J. Biggs. Captain Harris defended the Turks against the charge, so frequent of late, that they are barbarians : if enlightenment means high moral principle, then the Turks are the most enlightened people in Europe. When in Turkey, he had everywhere been received by all classes with hospitality and kindness, and all the more be- cause he was an Englishman. The resolutions of the meeting set forth, that the unprincipled aggression of the Emperor of Russia calls for "the most decisive interference on the part of the English people " ; and that it is the plain duty of England to fulfil her treaty engagements and main- tain the integrity and independence of the Turkish empire. Upon these resolutions a memorial to Lord Clarendon was founded ; praying that he will "take such decisive and immediate measures as shall lead to the evacuation of the Danubian Principalities, to the full indemnification of the Sultan for the injuries sustained by the late invasion of his terri- tories, and his future security against such an act of aggression." At the end of the meeting, some one read from an evening paper the current an- nouncement that the Sultan had declared war ; a statement which was much cheered. The people of Hanley, summoned by their Chief Bailiff, met in the Town-hall on Monday, to consider the conduct of the English Govern- ment in reference to Turkey. Mr. David Urquhart was the prominent speaker. The resolutions were similar to those adopted last week at agtord. They condemn the present Ministry, as incompetent to manage the intercourse of nations with a due regard to the interests and honour of England; and they condemn secret diplomacy.

The Royal South Bucks Agricultural Association, established in 1833, "for the encouragement of industrious labourers and servants," cele- brated its majority on Tuesday, at Salthill. There were no fewer than forty teams in the field set apart for the contest in ploughing ; and the work done is reported as excellent. At the dinner in the evening, Mr. Joseph Trumper of Domey, and Mr. Dupre M.P., figured as the principal orators. Politics were not discussed ; they were only alluded to for the sake of noting that there is a "lull in the political atmosphere," and an absence of party animosities, which, the Parliamentary speaker said, could not be expected to last long.

The East Berks Agricultural Society celebrated its annual show on Thursday, at Maidenhead. The exhibition of stock was good. Prince Albert obtained the silver cup given by Sir Gilbert East for the best five- acre piece of Swedish turnips. At the dinner Mr. Robert Palmer and Mr. Vansittart, the County Members, congratulated the farmers on the cheering prospects.

The Radnorshire Agricultural Society held its annual meeting on Saturday, at Knighton. The show was most excellent in quality, but deficient in number. Sir Frankland Lewis was the principal speaker ; and the gist of his discourse was an eloquent exhortation to go forward- " forward with caution, forward with though; forward with perse- verance." He denounced the scourge of toll-bars in the neighbouring counties of Salop and Hereford, and showed that by forcing farmers to use broad wheels, narrow wheels paying higher tolls, a limit was put to improvement. He hinted at the success of " Rebecca" in getting rid of superfluous toll-bars and broad wheels ; a hint which pleased the farmers mightily.

At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Diocesan Board of Education, at Tunbridge Wells, on Tuesday,—the Primate in the chair,—it was stated that 20001. had been expended in aid of schools during the past year; that in three years the School-Inspector had visited 406 schools, and that "the secular education throughout the diocese was lower than formerly," but that the state of religious instruction was more encoura- ging. The Archbishop and Sir Walter Stirling lamented that the secular instruction given in the schools was inferior, but consoled themselves with the fact that the clergy had done their duty. It appears the Board are "greatly in need of extended pecuniary assistance."

The winter session of Queen's College at Birmingham was opened on Tuesday ; Lord Lyttelton, the Principal, presiding. From the report read on the occasion, it appears that there are eighty-nine pupils, and that seventy medical men, now practising in Birmingham, were educated in the institution.

It seems highly probable that the Lawson Observatory will be esta- blished after all. It is known that Government has agreed to grant 2000/. towards the project, and that Prince Albert presented the com- mittee with one hundred. guineas. On Saturday, the last day for making up the 10,000/. required to found the Observatory, the Nottingham Town-Council held a special meeting, and resolved to grant three acres of land on the Forest, or six on Mapperley Plain, on condition that should any other site be preferred they might repurchase the land for 5004 This brought the subscription to 90001. and the committee have gua- ranteed the remaining 1000/. Three gentlemen—Mr. Lowe, Mr. Brad- ley, and Mr. Chapman—have been deputed to make the necessary ar- rangements with Mr. Lawson and the Treasury. Mapperley Plain is said to be an admirable site. It lies high the atmosphere is so dry and clear that Belvoir Castle and Lincoln Minster can be seen thence with the naked eye.

The "private" banquet to Lord Derby at Liverpool came off on Thursday. The guests were forty-five in number; including Mr. EL T. Liddell M.P., Mr. William Brown M.P., and Mr. Heyworth M.P.

On the assumption that Mr. Gladstone will be staying near Manchester on a visit to a friend on the 10th instant, the Town-Council have re- solved to invite him to a publio entertainment on the 12th.

The bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, intended to stand on a pedestal in front of the Royal Infirmary at Manchester, was successfully fixed there on Monday.

A large number of the master spinners and manufacturers of Burnley and the neighbourhood have formed an association to resist the demands of the workpeople. The men demanded an iacrease of wages from two houses ; the masters generally inquired into the matter, and they came to the conclusion that the present pay was fair and ample. They have now mutually bound themselves by bonds of 2000/. each to act in unison ; and they announce, that unless the hands return to the two mills at the aW price, all their factories will be closed on the 28th October. At Ba- cup the millowners are associated, and have given bonds for 5000/. to be true to each other—the amount of the bonds signed by the Preston houses.

Within eight months the shipwrights of Sunderland have had their wages increased from 248. to 30*. a week. They were still unsatisfied, and demanded 36.t. The employers met, refused the demand, and reta- liated by announcing that from the let November the wages would be reduce! to 278. Probably a compromise will be made to retain the 30a.

The,dyers in the employment of Mr. W. Andrews, of Ardwick, Man- chester, who had struck for an advance, have returned to work ; Mr. An- (trews having at length conceded to them the full advance sought in the first instance of 38. per week.

The Durston and Yeovil branch of the Bristol and Exeter Railway was Opened for publics traffic on Saturday. This is the first line which has heist completed to the small manufacturing town of Yeovil. At

-3rr. Nattrass, master of the shi Matanzas, has been committed by the Liverpool Magistrates for shooting 'Wake, a sailor, at Bahia. The crew re- fused to weigh the anchor at that port, alleging that they were short-hand- ed ; the master besought them to do it "for his sake" ; Wake, the spokes- man, said they could not ; "Take that, then !" exclaimed the master, firing a pistol at Wake ; who was wounded in the shoulder, and left at Bahia in a dangerous condition.

Mrs. Elliott, the wife of an estate-agent at Liverpool, has captured a burglar. She discovered that her jewel-case had been meddled with; she was questioning the servant, the only other person in the house as she thought, when she observed a man's feet protruding from under the bed- stead ; she ordered the girl to fetch a policeman, and to close the street. door after her. When the servant had gone the burglar attempted to escape ; but Mrs. Elliott seized him, and held him tills constable arrived. This is the second housebreaker that the same courageous lady has captured.

A very impudent robbery was perpetrated on Tuesday evening, about two miles from Faversham, near the Canterbury road. Five men, masked, entered a cottage, seized a man, his wife, and a labourer, and tied their hanas ; one was left as a guard over the prisoners; the others proceeded to the neighbouring house of Mx. Monk, a cattle-dealer. They seized him, his housekeeper' and a boy, tied their hands behind their backs, and put them in a cellar; the other three prisoners were brought from the cottage and put in the cellar also. Then the robbers regaled themselves, took 50/. in notes, some watches, clothing, and other articles, put them in Mr. Monk's cart, and drove off. Sonic neighbours saw them pass along ; but the villains escaped capture for a time.

The Magistrates of Crockernwell, in Devon, have sent a farmer's wife to prison for a week for assisting in wilfully propagating smallpox ! Her ser- vant had the disease; a woman sent her children, according to the custom of the district, to take the disease ; the farmer's wife tied a handkerchief which had been used by the sick servant round the children's necks, and they became infected. The Chairman told the persons implicated, that if the children had died the offenders would have been tried for their lives.

There has been a fatal collision on the Ambergate branch of the Midland Railway. An engine got off the line in the evening. An engine went from Derby with a number of men ; it was thought there was not strength enough to right the locomotive, and another engine was sent for; it approached with fourteen or fifteen men. Meanwhile, the disabled engine had been got on to the line, and the first engine sent to aid it ran towards Ambergate on the wrong line. The consequence was, that it came into contact with the second Derby engine. A great many men were more or less hurt, and one soon died : some of the survivors received bad frac- tures and wounds.

About half a mile from Dorchester, an arch was built across the Wilts, Somerset., and Weymouth Railway; when nearly complete it was pronounced unsafe, and it was removed. A. new arch was built. But this was soon found to be unequal to the traffic of the turnpike-road. Workmen were employed to underpin a pier ; one man heard a crack, and he raised an alarm in time to enable twenty to escape—the whole structure fell in.

The Preston strike has been attended with a painful calamity. A num- ber of the turn-outs were directed to proceed to the Corporation Arms public- house to receive their weekly allowance of money from the fund subscribed for them : a room in the yard at the back of the house was used for their re- ception; this room stood twelve feet above is lumber-room which formed the ground-floor, and admittance was gained by a flight of steps : on Monday night, the room was crammed with upwards of 200 people ; the flooring was insufficient to sustain so great a weight ; a centre beam snapped, the floor parted in the centre, and most of the assemblage fell into the room beneath, those who were near the middle of the upper apartment buried under the persons who stood nearer the walls. Jane Smalley, a girl of fourteen, was taken out dead; some forty or fifty others, mostly young female., suf- fered more or less, many having fractures of the ribs, legs, or thighs.

The woollen-mill of Messrs. Whitworth and Co., at Halifax, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday evening. The damage is estimated at from 60,000/. to 80,000/. ; the insurances were 34,000/. A. thousand hands have been thrown out of employment.

Farm-produce valued at nearly 2000/. has been destroyed by fire at Shef- field, near Basingstoke. A little boy made a fire in a road to amuse himself, and some burning straw was carried by the wind into Mr. Butler's stack- yard. The farmer is understood to be fully insured.

A little boy has lost his life at Hatton in Lancashire from the bite of a dog. A surgeon had promptly cauterized the wound, but the boy suffered dreadfully : chloroform partially alleviated his agonies.