Vraniutial.

The nomination of the candidates for Ripon took place on Friday week, before an assembly of 300 people, who patiently endured a sharp shower of snow. Two candidates were proposed—Mr. Reginald Arthur Vyner, till recently a clerk in the Foreign Office ; and Dr. F. R. Lees of Leeds, the well-known advocate of the permissive Maine-law Bill. Mr.

Vyner deekred himself unworthy to follow the footsteps of many emi- nent men who had represented Ripon in Parliament. He will support the constitution, although he will not oppose a mild and moderate system of Reform. Ile is in favour of maintaining the Army and Navy effi- ciently, and is warmly attached to the Volunteers. It strikes him that there is not much zeal in the county about Reform. Education and

intelligence have greatly increased since 1832; and he will, therefore, support.a six-pound rental franchise, and the redistribution of seats pro- posed by Lord john Russell's Bill. But Mr. Vyner is opposed to boroughs like Ripon having their constituencies increased by the addi tion of a large number of surroundine,° places. Dr. Lees called upon th electors to "proclaim to the country, whose eyes were upon them, th political emancipation of the city from the aristocratic vassalage of hundred years.' The show of hands was largely in favour of Dr. Lees hut he declined to go to a poll ; se that Mr. Vyner was elected. A pol was taken pro forma on Saturday. • On Friday week, Mr. Bass, M.P., attended the annual " baron of beef" dinner at the County Hotel, Derby. In replying to the toast of "The Borough Members,' Mr. Bass said the approbation of his constituents is the reward he hoped for which he was thankful to say is freely

bestowed upon him. He had no intention of noticing his recent speech at the Mayor's dinner at Derby ; but, after hearing Mr. Gisborne' s amusing resume, he could not pass it over in silence. He is in a position to state that his remarks will occupy the attention of Parliament at a very early period. Some of his friends have viewed the matter in an angry light, and one of them has said, "What is Bass talking about if

it is not malt and hops ?" Mr. Bass confesses he took great interest in malt-and hops, and he thinks he understands them ; and if honourable

members will content themselves with talking about things they under- stand, it will be a step in the right direction. The number of speeches made by metropolitan members is nearly a thousand, and as there are some silent ones amongst them, he felt it necessary to say who made the speeches; but he disclaims any personal feeling upon the subject. It is the general feeling throughout the country that too much speaking is done, and he hopes what he had said will lead to an alteration.

Mr. Loch arrived at Dover, on Thursday, vid. Calais with the Earl of Elgin's despatches. The Mayor, Recorder, and some of the inhabitants, met him and offered their congratulations.

Major Barttelot was returned, unopposed, on Thursday, to represent West Sussex in the Commons, in the room of the present Duke of Rich- mond, elevated. to the House of Peers on the death of his father.

The Birmingham, Chamber of Commerce held a special meeting on Thursday, to receive Lord Alfred Churchill, who seeks the appointment of a Consul at Abbeokuta, and to pass a vote of thanks to Mr. Cobden for his services in connexion, with the French Treaty. Resolutions accord- ingly were passed, the Chamber approving,of bath suggestions.

The weekly meeting of the General Relief Committee was held on Wednesday, at St. Mary's Hall, Coventry. Lord Leigh, who presided, congratulated the Committee on the success which had attended their efforts to raise funds ; the aggregate amounts to nearly 12,000/. A sub- scription of between 21. and 31. has been received from- the bravo blue jackets of H. M. ahip Heels (Captain Hall's Heck), now lying at Ports- mouth; 4501. has been collected in the churches and chapelsef Coven- try. The report of the Committee stated that 10371., had been distributed during the week. Mr. Newdegate, M.P., proposed a resolution, which was carried— ,v

" That a separate column in the accounts of this general and of all local committees be kept, in which shall be entered, together with the dates of their being granted or renewed, the amount of each separate grant, by way I of benevolence, over and above the sums to,which each lamb eemmittee shall be or shall have been entitled according to the rules, which define that, its the first instance, the amount of relief granted to each parish or sub-district shall be in proportion to the actual population and destitution within it. And that the general committee shall have power to require from each local committee or local sub-committee, at whose disposal such benevolence shall have been placed, a detailed account of the expenditure thereof; and that an auditor be appointed, at a reasonable remuneration, who shall weekly inspect the accounts of each sub-committee and of the general committee, and assist in reducing them to a regular form." The Reverend Mr. Waddington, in moving the adoption of the report, made a startling statement, and, referring to a communication he had received from Lancashire, said that an impression prevailed that the statements of the distress in Coventry had been exaggerated. So far from this being the case, they were understated, in proof of which he might state a startling fact—that a man in his parish, who had from feelings of delicacy not applied for relief, had actually died of starvation.. The Reverend Dr. Temple of Rugby attended, to second the report.. The meeting is adjourned for a week.

Rugby School broke up on Saturday. The usual concert took place on Thursday night ; the final service in chapel at three p.m. on Friday, after

which the class list was read out. The chief events of this half year have been the presentation of a flag from a young gentleman in the United States an account of which appeared in the Spectator, and a disastrous fire at one' of the boarding-houses. On Tuesday, December 4, at about 2.30 p.m., a fire was found to have broken out in one of the studies of the house belong- ing to Reverend R. B. Smythice. Help was soon obtained, and two fire- engines were brought to work ; yet, owing to the great quantity of wood- work in the partitions of the studies, it was not hrought under till past five o'clock. Much damage was done by the fire, but more by the over-officious zeal of the bystanders in removing the property. Next day it presented, indeed, a scene of desolation. The boys were accommodated for the re- mainder of the half in the school sanatorium, the school-house, and other boarding-houses. The play of the school at football has in no way de- generated, as has been eNinced in the Sixth and Old Rugbeian matches.. Theformer of these, in which the Sixth conquered their opponents, was played on the 61h of October ; the latter, in which the school were vic- torious, on the 1st of November. The two best houses this year were Evans and Mayer's; they accordingly played against the school on Saturday, De- cember 15, but victory declared with neither side. In consequence of the representations of certain influential Old Rugbeians, various alterations and. additions have been made in the laws of football, by a levee of Big Side, es- pecially in those relating to "taking up" and "touch." The Rifle Corps has at length got its uniform, a copy of the Eton, and has already attained great proficiency in drill. The following are the officers—let company, Captain T. M. Davenport, Lieutenant If. II. Marsden. Ensign E. Rutter; 2d company, Captain M. T. Martin, Lieutenant F. R. Evan, Ensign C. Booth ; Sergeant-Major B. E. Hammond (head of the school.) The chief inconvenience which this corps experiences is the frequent change of its officers that is necessary ; thus it has already twice lost its senior captains— viz., Captain S. Linton and T. M. Davenport ; indeed, in three years' time, there will not be left in the corps a single member who was present at Re- formation.

Apropos of the breaking-up of Eton for the vacation, the Morning Past gives usa statistical summary of the "present state of the school"—

No..,f Scholars.

Sixth form 20 Fifth form 148.

Middle division 121 Lower division 124.

Remove 146 Fourth form 149

Unplaced a.

_Lower School.

Third form 83 Second form First form

Total number of scholars 820

Which is precisely the same number as at election 1860, a number never at any former period equalled. The lowest number for the last 250 yearn of which we have any record was in 1732, when there were only 212 scholars at Eton ; Dr. George being head-master. The well-remembered trio of 777 in 1846, Dr. Havetrey holding sway as head-master, marked the highest number of the school, up to the last two years, when the inerease has been remarkable. Dr. Goodford became head-master in 1853, whew-ate number on the school lists was 613, and we give the numbers' from. that time to the present, to show the gradual rise of the school up to Represent prosperity-1854, 602; 1855, 614; 1856, 666; 1857, 744; 1858, 758; 1859, 803; 1860, 820. It is a curious coincidence that in the decade of years ending 1856 there should be again three equal numbers-666. We believe- the enlargement of the school will be commenced in the Midsummer vacation."

There are now upwards of 300 nailmakere, on strike at Belper, in Derby- shire, and at present there seems no probability of an arrangement. There- can be no doubt that the masters are seriously inconvenienced, but the men. must be more so, for a very small number have ever given evidence of fru- gality or forethought, though their wages have been good ; the consequence is that they are thrown upon their own resources, and find. " tio effects." Up to Saturday last, sufficient hands were at work to enable a sum of 8s. per man weekly to be paid to those on strike ; but the masters, with one or two. exceptions, have declined giving out any more iron to those who have con- tributed, thinking, doubtless, that a want of funds will soon terminate the strike. The men state they have great expectations from the glassblowers of Dudley, to whom, it is eaid, the nailmakers contributed under similar circumstances some time ago.

The required repairs of the Great Eastern, now lying securely and snugly on the beach at Milford Haven, have been commenced, and are vigorously being carried on. They will be completed early in the spring of the ensuing year.

An accident occurred near Gainsborough on Wednesday night/ on the railway from Manchester to Hull. A third class carriage weut to pieces : some of the passengers were pitched out ; one clung to the foot-board for two miles. One passenger was so bruised as not to be expected to recover.. A child thrown out was.afterwards found in the snow unhurt.

Once more Hetton Pit has been the scene of an explosion. Some few par- ticulars have been received. Hetton is one of the beet ventilated eollieries: in the North, and is under the supervision of Mr. Nicholas Wood; the emi- nent colliery viewer, and under him is Mr. John Daglish. Twenty-three men. and lads are unaccounted for The explosion occurred at nine p.m, about 200 had "come to hank "at six, or the consequencesmight have. en dread- ful. Twelve men were saved. The stud of horses and ponies were destroyed.

The bodieri,of nearly all the poor fellows killed by the ext lesion in ilettcia Colliery have been recovered. No new facts have transpired, and the co- roner's inquest, which was opened on Monday last, has been adjourned until the 8th of January, by which time it is anticipated the pit will be fully restored to a working condition, and *the facts with regard to the ex- plosion thoroughly ascertained.

A Coroner's Jury empanelled to inquire into the accident at Guslet Pit, Mary port, have returned the following verdict—" We are unanimously agreed that great neglect has existed in the management of the said pit. We therefore beg to recommend that in future the suggestion of Mr. Dunn, the Government Inspector, be adopted, and that a lamp cabin be established, with a sufficient number of competent men to examine all lamps before being allowed to be taken into the workings ; that a careful inspection of the mines be instituted on Sunday mornings as well as other mornings ; that the system of allowing 'privileged men' to go down before the over- man Fives the signal that all is right, be in future discontinued ; and that sufficient ' brattice ' wood be supplied when required."

An accident disclosing a domestic danger, occurred at the house of Mr. Longley, Park Street, Leeds, on Christmas-Day. A boiler in the kitchen exploded, killing Mrs. Longley on the spot, and severely injuring Mr. Longley, his daughter, and a servant girl. The boiler, which was made of cast iron, was one of those ordinarily known as closed self-feeding (fire- back) boilers, and was used for domestic purposes. Until the matter has been fully investigated, it is impossible to state positively the cause of the explosion, but it very probably arose in consequence of the boiler having become red hot, owing to the water having been drawn aft and the feeding- pipe having become frozen, thus preventing the boiler being gradually re- Rued as it became empty; eventually, the ice in the feeding-pipe had thawed, and the cold water rushing into the red-hot boiler, generated a quantity of explosive steam, which caused the boiler to burst instantaneously. 'fhe noise of the explosion was very loud, and its consequences, as already indi- cated, moat disastrous. The door and window of the kitchen were blown out, the walls were nearly destroyed and the furniture smashed, and the window of an adjoining room was shattered to pieces. Three of the unfor- tunate sufferers, who were in the kitchen at the time, were covered with the fragments ; Mrs. Longley's body was shockingly mutilated. Mr. Long- ley's injuries include severe bruises of the head and face, and he lies in a precarious state. The servant girl was also much cut and bruised. Miss Longley, who is about twenty-five years of age, was in a passage adjoining the kitchen, and was knocked down with great violence ; one of her legs

was broken in two places. • A whole family, named Pearson, were poisoned on Friday at Bilston The mother and one child died ; three other daughters suffered much from the effects of the poison. The father left home on Friday evening, leaving his wife and four daughters in good health. Two of the girls took their father his supper ; on their return home, the mother and daughters had supper and went to bed. The eldest girl was alarmed by hearing her youngest sister cry out she was ill. In a few minutes, they were all seized with a

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similar illness. The eldest . aughter knocked at the wall for assistance, but when a neighbour came the door in consequence, the girl was too weak to cry out ; the family w, e obliged to remain alone in their helpless state until the eldest daughter was so far recovered as to be able to go out. When assistance was obtained, the mother and youngest daughter were found to be dead ; two are out of danger, but another child has not yet spoken.

Milner Lockey, convicted of the murder of Harrison ; and Thomas Smith, of the murder of John Baty, at the last Durham Assizes, were executed in front of the County Gaol on Thursday.

The jury at the inquest on the body of Martha Ann Greenway, slain by her husband a few days ago at Henley Hill, Sussex, have returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against William Greenway.

An inquest was held on Monday, at Woolwich, on the body of Mary Ann M'Gowan, aged eighteen a servant in the house of Major-General Sir Richard Decree, K.C.B. 'She committed suicide by takicg poison on the previous Saturday night. The deceased was daughter to Joseph Al‘Gowen, a gunner of the Royal Artillery, and had formed an acquaintance with a young man in that corps, which her parents did not approve. On the pre- vious Saturday night, she became suddenly ill, staggered, and fell. Dr. Evans was promptly in attendance, but life was found to be extinct; a small bottle was found in her pocket, which had contained cyanide of po- tassium, a poison used for renovating gold lace' to which the deceased had access. The jury returned a verdict, "That the deceased committed suicide by taking poison whilst labouring under temporary insanity.

An inquest was held on the body of John Brown, at Upton-St.-Leonards, near Gloucester, on Thursday ; he was found dead in an orchard on Tues- day-, with his body mangled by some pigs, which had gnawed away his arm and part of his nose. George Clapham, on seeing the pigs collected in-the orchard, went to the spot and saw the body of the deceased ; he drove away the pigs, and examined the body. Deceased was lying on his back, his right arm was extended, and had been gnawed by the pigs, which had also gnawed his nose; deceased was dead, and quite cold ; his hat, a bag, a handkerchief, and a raw onion, were lying near him. There is a footpath running through the orchard near where he was lying ; four pigs were standing near the body. William Avery saw deceased on Monday evening, and asked him where he was going, to which he replied, "to my old lodgings ; " by which Avery understood him to mean some cattle stalls in which he had slept all last winter. Brown supported himself chiefly by begging, but he worked a little in the summer ; the footpath through the orchard was in the direction of the stalls. Thomas Brown said deceased was his father, and was sixty-seven years of age ; he left me between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, saying he was going towards Upton ; he had a bag which I lent him; he had his supper, and I gave him 3d. ; he has tramped about for ten or twelve years, and has had no settled home for that time ; I begged and prayed him to go into the Union workhouse during the winter ; he promised he would. The Jury returned a verdict in accordance with the evidence.

Lord Tredegar presided at a meeting held on Thursday, at the Town-hall, Newport, to organize a subscription for the surviving widows and children of the men killed at RISC*. The families have, up to this time, been main- tained by the Black Vein Coal Company. The number of bodies recovered since the 20th instant, when the inquest was adjourned, is about thirteen, and supposing the lists originally furnished at the pit's mouth to have been correct, there are thirteen bodies still re- maining below. The total number recovered up to last night was 126, and of the 64 persons brought up alive immediately after the explosion 31 are now dead ; so that the total number of lives lost through the accident, so far as can be at present ascertained, must be set down at 142, the number of widows left being 50, and the number of orphans about 109.

A daring highway robbery, accompanied with considerable violence, took place on Saturday morning, in broad daylight, at Melton, near Portsmouth. gay-sergeant Thomas Davis, of the Royal Marine Artillery, was proceeding from his house at Kingston to Fort Cumberland, the head-quarters of the corps, with a sum of money in his 'on amounting to 1011. 10s. for the purpose of paying the men, and had reached as far as the school-rooms in Melton at about half-past seven o'clock, when he received a violent blow under the left ear from some weaponl and on partially turning round, im- mediately received another on the right temple, which felled him to the ground insensible. On partially regaining consciousness, he discovered two men in the act of rifling his pockets. who no sooner found that their victim gave signs of reanimation than they successfully made off with their plun- der. The men wore slouched hats, with soldiers' grey coats thrown over their shoulders. A clue is in the hands of the police, which it is fully be- lieved will lead to the detection and capture of the thieves.

Police-constable Griffin, of the Leeds force, apprehended an escaped coni; vict called Thomas Brown, in Kirkgate, Leeds, on Saturday. Brown was convicted at the Louth (Lincolnshire) Quarter Sessions on the 23d of Octo- ber, for a felony at Great Grimsby, and sentenced to four years' penal ser- vitude. Three days after his conviction, he escaped from Louth prison, and was not heard of until he was taken on Saturday.

The Earl of Derby prosecuted ten men at the Liverpool Assizes on Satur- day, for night poaching on a farm belonging to one of his tenants, and most savagely assaulting his keepers with sticks and pitchforks. One of the keepers was so far injured as to require medical attention. The Jury ac- quitted two for want of evidence as to identity, and found the others guilty of a common assault. Mr. Justice Keating sentenced them to six months' imprisonment.

Captain Thompson sued Mr. Inman, shipowner, for a wrongful dismissal from service, and the cause was tried at Liverpool Winter Assizes on Mon- day. The answer of Mr. Inman was a justification on the ground of mis- conduct, and the exact form of the charge was the attempted seduction of Mrs. Id‘lienzie, the stewardess of the captain's vessel, the Glasgow. Cap- tain Thompson, in his evidence in chief, specifically denied every charge made by the stewardess ; she was examined, and detailed either a series of gross perjuries, or, if true, one of the most scandalous and systematic out- rages ever attempted. The Jury, believing the captain, awarded him 2501. damages.

Thomas Holt brought an action at the Liverpool Assizes, on Saturday, against the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, for compensation for the loss of his son, who was killed by falling into a cutting during some alterations which the company were making at the Daisyfleld station, near Blackburn. The deceased was returning home on the 15th of April, when he fell over a parapet wall, in consequence of the neglect of the company to provide suitable protection, and he was precipitated a depth of eleven feet, sustaining such injuries as to cause his death a few days afterwards. The company admitted negligence, and the jury returned a verdict for the plain- tiff—damages, 2501.

An action was brought at the Liverpool Assizes on Friday week, against Mr. Davis, an agent of the Mutual Life Assurance Society, by a doctor prac- tising at Liverpool for 6401. upon the life policy of Ralph Samuels, a watch- maker, formerly of Liverpool. The claim was for professional services, and the policy was given to Dr. Cohen, by Mr. Samuels, to insure the doctor the payment of the claim, and also secure his services from the date the policy was transferred, 1858, from deceased to Dr. Cohen. When this occurred, deceased was suffering from derangement of mind, and shortly afterwards died. The plaintiff's bill amounted to 712/., and extended from 1838 up to the period of Mr. Samuels' death. In defence, it was urged that the doctor's bill was exorbitant. The jury found for the plaintiff—damages 500/.