44t Puniurr5.

Mr. Disraeli has taken the opportunity afforded at a Buckinghamshire meeting to make an address to his county constituents. The special occasion was the dinner at Aylesbury, on Wednesday, followingthe annual ploughing-match and distribution of prizes of the Royal Bucks Agricul- tural Association. Mr. William Lowndes of Chesham occupied the place once filled yearly by the Duke of Buckingham. Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Vyse were the only Members of the Legislature present ; for the rest, the Horning Post observes, as if the matter were thought Significant, " there was a marked absence of distinguished persona; there were only half a dozen magistrates, out of eighty in the county, and four clergymen." The toast which brought Mr. Disraeli on his feet was of course that of "The County Members." Referring to the flattering mode in which the Association had on several occasions acknowledged his public services, and disclaiming the commonplace excuse, sometimes too liberally exercised, of saying that politics were for- bidden at such meetings, he offered, in "that unaffected manner which be- crime their communications," his views on the difficult and discouraging po- sition which they now occupy. The late revolution in the laws of industry in this country were made, so far as agriculture was concerned, upon certain representations. "It was held out to England, that the system to be abrogated, and which was called the protective system, was the bane of our agriculture; that the reason why the farmers of the United Kingdom could not compete with the cultivators of the soil in other countries was that they were not men of energy and en-

terprise ; that they were men deficient in skill ; and that the want of energy. enterprise, and skill, were occasioned by the system of protection to which I

have referred. Well, no doubt, this statement, made in a reckless manner, was accepted by the mass of the people ; and, not encountered at the time, or encountered too late, this insinuation was made an important agency—it carried public opinion with it." But the subject is now considered more calmly and more accurately. It is now known that the English farmer is a man who has raised from every acre of the soil more produce than any other farmer in Europe or America. "That is a point now universally admitted, and it is not necessary in any society to discuss the truth of it. Even yesterday I heard a statement respecting the cultivation of

the soil of France. The ordinary produce of France is only sixteen bushels per acre, while the average of the United States is only eighteen. According to the papers placed before us as official doeumen Us in the 'House of Commcns, at the end of the war with the American States the average produce per acre was twenty bushels of wheat in England, and when the Corn-laws were abrogated in 1846, the average produce was thirty-two bushels. I can only draw from that fact a conclusion opposite to those ar- rived at by many of our distinguished political economists; mind I do not think that it tells against the system under which so great an increase of produce is effected. There is another remarkable fact now universally ad- mitted,—namely, that in the period of time which has elapsed between 1821 and 1846, or a quarter of a century, the increase of the population of this country was 32 per cent, and the increase in the produce was 64 per cent. This also is a proof of energy and enterprise, and another fact which no one disputes." In the next place, that eminent statesman the author of the repeal of the Corn-laws publicly stated, that he did not expect from the measure any material diminution in the price of corn ; and a whole catalogue of eminent men—the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Lansdowne, and others—did not anticipate any serious fall of prices. There were therefore two pretexts for the repeal,—that the farmer was incompetent ; and that the repeal of the Corn-laws would only stimulate his deficient energies without affecting prices. But the facts are now acknowledged to be exactly the reverse : the farmer was never, and is not now, a man deficient in energy and enterprise ; and the change which was effected does press most seriously on the price of his produce.

For this great, unexpected, and unjust depression, what is the remedy ? On this point, Mr. Disraeli said he had always spoken with frankness. "My conscience does not accuse me that when the protective system was attacked I did not do may best to uphold it. But to uphold a system that exists, and to bring back a system that has been abrogated, are two different things. I am convinced myself, that that system, generally known by the protective system,' can never be brought back, unless it is the interest of all classes—at least of all classes of importance—that that should be the principle which should regulate the national industry; and unless the nation speaks out upon the question in an unmistakeable manner." But if the one remedy that is satisfactory can be only obtained under most difficult circumstances, are we therefore to sit still ? No. Look- ing to the general question, be found that the reason why the British agriculturist—whom he had shown to be a man of energy and enter- prise, and to have command of great skill and capital—cannot compete with the foreign producer, is that he is subjected to a load of local and partial taxation. In support of this position—that the farmer bears an excessive and disproportionate burden of taxation—Mr. Disraeli went rapidly over the main points of the statistical proofs which he more than once presented to the House of Commons last session. He referred to the success of his nrgu- ments in changing the votes of that assembly from a majority of 100 to a

bare preponderance of votes against him on the question. He then argued, that as the injustice of the case is demonstrated—he assumed it to be adhat- ted in the Queen's Speech—it is the duty of Ministers "to oiler the terms

on which the present system can go on." lie himself gave no opinion on. those terms. He thought it most unwise for the landed interest to golo any Government and say, " We are suffering ; give us a fixed duty, or give us a sliding scale, and cure our suffering." Instead of constantly murmuring, over the past, and execrating those who had been traitors to them, they should endeavour to clearly understand their position, and to unite, with that advantage which intelligence can only give to great bodies of men. Thus united, they should urge their case thus—" We are suffering, as you admit, year

after year ; we are suffering, and we have discovered that the cause is an ex- cess of taxation which our energies cannot endure ; it is a restriction upon our industry which no industry can prosper under ; and we call upon you to

do us justice, and to place us on the same level as our fellow-citizens. If you can't do that—if you have some device as politicians, as statesmen, as men of the world, as Members of Parliament—if you have some device which is a compromise, come forward with it ; it is for you to do so, and for us to consider whether upon the whole, with such political and financial ar- rangements, we can any longer endure the burden which we now experience :

this .is your affair, and not ours ; we are not to fall into the trap which

you are always making for us, that we are a class smiting to tax the food of the community. What we want is political justice—what we want is finan- cial equity' give us that whish we demand—let us be placed upon the same level as our fellow-subjects with regard to taxation and freedom of industry, and we will attempt to maintain that struggle. If you can't do it—if you can't act according to those principles of justice which you have so loudly declared—then come forward and give us seine scheme, some arrangement, which may be the result of your wise counsels and of your skilful statesman- ship; and we will do that which the agricultural class, as an eminently loyal class, is always ready to do—we will look with respect and consideration to any proposition that is made by the Minister of the Queen." Such would be

the nature of the case they would urge. As to the mode of urging it, and,

the precise juncture for putting it forward, he .added these hints. "When. Parliament meets, it will not, probably, be in my power the moment it as- sembles to call upon the Government of the country to do you that justice, because, by a most wise resolution, which I supported, the Income-tax is limited in its existence now only to a few months. Either it must be con- tinued or it must be repealed. If it is continued, Government has a surplus ; and I shall ask in your name, if you authorize me, that the Government should take advantage of that surplus, and commence a system of financial justice. "If it is not continued, whatever party is formed must come forward to ask for direct taxes, and on your behalf I shall demand that those taxes

shall be abolished (?) on principles of financial justice. Whatever happens, therefore, we have a fair chance—if we are united we have a certain chance of justice."

Of course Mr. Disraeli did not conclude without a reference to the new Reform Bill premised by the Premier. "Perhaps you will do me the justice to remember that I have never been one of those who was frightened at a

large constituency. I have the honour to represent a large constituency, and if its numbers were greatly increased I should have no hesitation in appearing before it; and I can say that if the Minietry of the Sovereign, to whom I give credit for being men of honour, and amen duly sensible of the great responsibility of their exalted position, which is to revive and re- construct our constituencies, (created under a measure, that was not de- vised by your friends,) I shall give to such a proposition, introduced by such men and under such circumstances, my most respectful and unimpas- sioned attention ; but if I were to find, that instead of being a measure

brought forward from the profound consideration of a wise Cabinet of responsible statesmen, it was brought forward in the excitement of

party feeling, and from the exig it of a fictitious necessity—that its only object was to curtail the influence of the land which t has injured, or to increase the power of some limited class or coterie—then, even at the risk of being called an Anti-Reformer, I pledge you my word that I will give it an unceasing and uncompromising opposition. They may carve the constituencies of this country as they like, but the greatest employers of labour [the agriculturists, according to a previous cal- culation in the speech) will make themselves felt. That is not an artificial state—that is not the social position which any political manceuvres can neutralize the,influence of. I have confidence in the intelligence, in the spirit, in the power of the greatest employers of labour, if they only are united ; and I have confidence, when we are threatened with these Reform Bills, in the genius and the fortunes of the county of Buckingham. Differ- ent places are celebrated for different things. One is famous for cheeses, another for calves, and a third for cotton ; but Buckinghamshire has always been famous for politics. Why, it was in the bosom of the Chiltern Hills that the English constitution was invented. It was amid the stately &nes and triumphal arches of Stowe, dedicated to oratory and to public vir- tue, that the young ambition of Chatham meditated on that policy which converted an island into an empire. It was under the prophetic oaks of Bea- consfield that Burke poured forth those divine effusions which in perplexity and trouble have been the counsel of statesmen and the consolation of the nation. And let me remind you, when this isle is to be frightened front its propriety by the threat of a new Reform Bill, what happened in Buckinghamshire when the last Reform Bill was brought forward. Did we wince? Did we shrink like frightcd deer from the scene. No; we sent up a Member from the County of Buckingham—not to oppose an increased fran- chise—not, on behalf of the community, to express any want of confidence in the people—but, on the contrary, by one motion, at once to increase the newly-enfranchised constituencies by more than one-eighth, and at once to invest with its privileges the most numerous class of the new constituency— I will say, even in your presence, not in the least inferior in intelligence, in public virtue, and in private acts—the landed tenantry of England. You will act in the same way under the same circumstances. You have not for two centuries and a half influenced the political destiny of this great country, now to prove traitors and recreants to your high office ; and I doubt not, whatever may be the changes that are invented or devised, that v will send men to the Senate of your country who will uphold the renown of the county of Buckingham."

The Liberal electors of Bradford have in public meeting resolved, by a large majority, to unite in the support of Mr. Robert Milligan as their candidate. The names of Mr. Clayton and Mr. Joseph Sturge were also put to the meeting, and met with approbation ; but a compact exists that the Whigs and the Radicals shall nominate alternately, and on this un- derstanding Mr. Milligan was preferred. It is understood, however, that ho will vote generally with Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright. Mr. W. G. Forster, whose name was mentioned last week as a probable candidate, was the seconder of Mr. Milligan; and it is said that the latter is sure of being returned.

The Congregational Board of Education held at Manchester, on Tues- day and Wednesday, a series of conferences for promoting the system of education by voluntary effort. The Reverend G. W. Condor, of Leeds, read a paper" On Voluntary and Religious Education, its Principles and Prospects." In his opinion, the present noise about free education—or more properly, compulsory education—proceeds from a few very small sources : whence some of the agitators wish to go to Parliament ; whereas if the people really wish for it, the means of obtaining it are readily at hand. From conversation with the leaders of the National scheme, he knew that they are prepared to ask Parliament for the compulsory pro- vision. The Chairman, Mr. J. Sidebottom, regretted the compromise of Protestant Nonconformity which had been made in favour of the Govern- ment grants in Manchester ; he could not see where is the halting-place between the school-desk and the pulpit. A voluntary subscription of 5660/. was announced towards purchasing Homerton College, as a train- ing-school for teachers.

Mr. Alfred Clarke, a resident of Taunton, and for many years a stanch adherent of the Roman Catholic Church, has publicly renounced that communion, and been openly received into the fellowship of the Church of England. At the conclusion of the public service, the officiating clergy- man, Mr. Temple West, presented the convert with an " elegantly-bound " Prayer-book.

At the election of a Governor for Birmingham Borough Gaol, on Wed- nesday, the Magistrates chose Mr. R. A. Stephens, Chief Superintendent of Police, out of a list of forty candidates. Among the unsuccessful was Captain Maconochie, the late Governor : it seems that since his appoint- ment to the office he and the Magistrates often disagreed on the subject of the discipline to be pursued in the prison.

The inquest arising out of the accident on the Buckinghamshire Railway at Bicester was concluded on Monday. Only two material points of testi- mony were added. Mr. Bruin, in opposition to Mr. Bruyeres's theory that the "siding" at Bicester is the main down-line, and that all down-trains ought to go into it whether they stop or not, stated that this view differs from that of every official at the station ; that no instructions were ever riven to him that all down-trains should pass through the siding,: and that , in fact the excursion-trains are too long for the platform in the siding. The other point concerned the lamp which the engine-driver and guard were positive they had seen, and which signalled "all right" to them, but which five of the station-officers declared to have been unlighted at the time, and until after the accident. It was proved that the sun or moon are reflected by the lamp towards evening, in a manner that might be mistaken for a burn- I ing light. The Coroner's summing-up was given at ,,oreat length, and the Jury deli- berated in private for an hour and a half. In the case of the death of Eliza- beth Easley, they found, "That the deceased died from accidental causes" ; but they appended the following special observations to the verdict. The Jury consider that in closing their investigation as to the cause of the me- lancholy catastrophe which has been attended with such fatal results, they are called upon, as well in regard to the distressed feelings of the relatives of the deceased as of those unfortunate sufferers who have survived the accident, and also in justice to the public at large, to record sonic special observations with reference to the events preceding the occurrence and attendant upon it, but further with reference to the future traffic of the Bucks Railway. " The Jury find, that the railway upon which the lamentable event occurred is a branch line from the London and North-western Railway, diverging at Bletchley to Oxford through Bweeter, and from Steeple Claydon to Oxford is a single line only. "The Jury find, that the train to which the accident occurred was not only an ex- cursion-train advertised by public notice for passengers to leave London on Satur- day and to return on the following Monday, but it also formed a return excursion- train for passengers who had left Oxford for London on the previous Monday, as well as for those who had left Oxford and Bicester on the previous Tuesday.

" The .Jury find, that the notices to the .public cif these excursion-trains were fin. perfectly and vaguely drawn ;, for while the Company's officers at Bicester construed theta to mean that the Saturdareeicursien-train fronfLondon to Oxford was to call at Bicester, the officers at Bletchley construed them to mean that they should not stop at Bletehley but go through to Oxford ; and the Jury consider that both of those constructions might be fairly adopted without the imputation of any neglect of duty on their part as arising from such cause.

"The Jury find, that the Company's servants at Bicester were prepared for the train to stop there for the Bieester passengers to alight, but that the engineman in charge of the train acted upon the belief that he was to go through to Oxford with- out stopping at Bicester, and that such a misunderstanding had a tendency to pro- duce confusion in the arrangements, and required more than ordinary vigilance to be paid to the points and sivals; and the Jury consider that there was a want of ade- quate instruction to the guards from their superior officers as to the stoppages of the train to be consistent with the public safety. " The Jury find, that although there is much discrepancy in the evidence adduced before them as to the speed at which the train was travelling when it reached the junction-point at Bicester, yet the engineman admits that he was going at a greater speed than he would have done had he known that he was to stop at Bicester. It appears, therefore, that in the absence of a clear understanding among the officers as to stopping at Bicester or not, the only guides they had to direct them were the sig- nals provided by the Company with directions for their use. That in the present case the signalman had used the necessary signal and caution at the auxiliary signal. post, and of danger and stop at the points. That the engineman and guards had observed the caution-signal at the auxiliary post, and had slackened speed accord- ingly; hut that the driver and his guards were misled by some optical illusion as to the white light or Go on' signal at the principal signal-post at the station. " The Jury find, that the white light was not turned towards the approaching train ; yet they see no reason to doubt that the engineman and guards were, from some unexplained cause misled, by the appearance of a real or reflected light, which they believed to have been the white light signal for 'Go on ' ; and that, being de- luded by this supposed white light, they did not observe the danger-signal at the points until they had approached so near to them as to be unable to stop or to re- verse the engine.

"Time Jury find, that if the points had been fairly open for the train to pass down either the straight line or the siding,. and had been in perfect condition at the tinie, it is more than probable that the tram would have passed to the station. "Time Jury find, that there was nothing observed by the pointsman at the time the train reached him to indicate any defect whatever in the points ; but they find also, that after the train had passed the pointsman, and before any other train had gone over the points, it was discovered that the tie-rod, which is shown to have been partially broken before, and which connects the two point-rails, had been broken asunder near to the screw and nut, and that the heel-chair was also broken, and the point-rail attached to it bent. "The Jury find, that these injuries to the tie-rod, the chair, and point-rail, were occasioned at the momentary transit of the engine or tender over the points by com- ing in contact with the toe of the point-rail; but whether tbey were to occasioned by sand, gravel, or any other material, having prevented the points falling into their proper position, or whether by any indecision on the part of the pointsman as to which line of rail he was to send the train down by, or whether by any slip of the handle of the points-lever, or by any other cause, yet the Jury find that from some such cause the engine went over the points on to the straight line, while the rest of the train took the siding, and resulted in that awful loss of life, serious injury to per- sons, and great destruction of property, which is now so painfully deplored.

"That, while the Jury find that there was not that measure of culpability in the conduct of any of the Company's servants as to warrant the finding of an adverse verdict against any of them, yet they feel that it Is due to the public safety that tome greater means of protection to life and property than now exists should be resorted to by the Company; and that, in the monopoly which railways have achieved in tra- velling, the lives of passengers should not be jeopardized at the shrine of interestand dividends. "The Jury find, that a single line of railway necessarily involves more danger to paelesetengi.nerishteheanneaedeoseubwItiox;veb would easetorii,eoref tqhueiretrrinnstteavohtyert.o pits ozerejsinc:iont- , points are occasionally delayed at We stations to prevent collision with other trains ; and hence that the eng,inemen on duty are superinduced to travel at a greater speed than is consistent with safety on a single line of railway, in order to observe the times appointed for their arrival at stations. These and other matters of more minute detail impose upon the Company's servants a degree of watchfulness and care on a single line of railway almost superhuman ; while the pointsman, in the discharge of Isis duties, is liable, from a mere accidental slip or fall, or from a want of nerve, Or that presence of mind which is so essential in cases of difficulty and danger, to be the innocent or accidental cause of destruction to life and property.

"The Jury therefore earnestly urge upon the Directors of the Company, as they value human life and deplore the sacrifice of it, that they will cause a second line of rails to be laid down without delay, as a means of preventing the recurrence of such a dire calamity as that which has now formed the subject of thew very anxious in- quiry and inost painful deliberation." On the suggestion of the Coroner, this sentence was added-

'

"That until the line is made double, every train should stop at •the Bicester station."

, Mr. Wagstaffe, on behalf of the Company, said that the verdict and suggestions would receive the most careful consideration of the Directors.

Similar verdicts were then taken in each of the other eases, and the pro- ceedings ended.

Charles Parks, station-clerk, and William Manser, porter, at the Kingston station of the South Coast Railway, have been sent to prison for six weeks by a Steyning Magistrate, for neglectinF to put up a danger-signal while shunt- ing a coal-train across the rails; in consequence of which, a train from Brighton ran into the trucks and smashed two of them.

Mark Bassett, an old man, is in Winchester Gaol, for killing his son, a boy of thirteen. He threw a walking-stick at the boy with such force that the small end broke through his hat and penetrated the skull to the brain. The father was found with his son in his lap, dying : he suffers so much ' that it is doubtful whether he will live to undergo a trial.

Millburn, the Morpeth butcher, has been found at Liverpool He intended to sail to Australia. He admits that he and a companion prepared the ap- pearances which led to the belief that he was murdered. The rogues had a 'bottle filled with blood, which they intended to spill at the spot where the hat and other articles were left; but in their hurried flight they forgot this part of the scheme.

Bradley, a labourer of Bicester, has been committed to prison on a charge of stealing a bundle of clothing the property of Mrs. Bailey, one of the pas- sengers in the unfortunate excursion-train. Mrs. Bailey was very badly hurt ; Bradley picked up the bundle on the rail, took it home, and locked it up.

Two girls of 'Arrington, near Bristol, have died from swallowing an infu- sion of drugs with intent to procure abortion. The taking of such things seems to have been a matter of common conversation with the girls and their acquaintances Henry Thomas had heard from another man that "they used to haud the stuff about from one to the other in the singin.g.- gallery of the church." In each case the Jury returned a verdict of "Fete de se."

Two clergymen of the Church of England have this week committed sui- cide, while suffering from insanity. Mr. Umpleby, Rector of Yarburg, near Louth, went out in the morning with a double-barrelled gun ; a search was afterwards made for him, and he was found in the shrubbery, shot through the head. He had been in a despond- ing state for some time.

The Reverend John Thomas Hatton who had been an inmate of the Glou- cester County Lunatic Asylum for sixteen years, rose from his bed at an early hour, smashed his window-frame, and got through the aperture. He fell on the pavement beneath, and died two hours after. Itappeared at the inquest, that the pauper part of the asylum had iron window-frames, but in

the 'Superior wards they weneltif wood, as the patients objected 'to the "ex- hibition of restraint." The jury recommended that iron flaMea be univer- sally employed.

At the inquest at Radcliffe On Mrs. Warburton, who was killed while at- tempting to get into an excursion-train, it appeared that as she was about to enter a carriage, a passenger within extending his hand to assist her, a rough fellow pushed her away and got in himself; the train was then starling, she fell, and two carriages passed over her. The brute who pushed the poor woman has not been discovered. Verdict, "Accidental death."

A plate-layer of Chesterfield having been up all night, attending a sick child, was very sleepy next day, and while on the railway with other men, he sat down on the rails, and fell asleep. A train came up, and neither the shouts of his fellow workmen nor the whistle of the engine awoke him : the train passed on, and he was all but killed on the spot.

The Black Horse inn at Rotherham has been destroyed by fire. Mrs. Nicholson, the very aged landlady, perished in the flames while endeavour- ing to escape ; and her infant granddaughter was killed-by a servant leap- ing with it from a window. This servant and another one were dangerously hurt. Money and plate had been missed from the house and a suspicion has arisen that the fire was wilfully caused by a relative of 1rs. Nicholson.