podurial.

The ceremony of presenting colours to the Uth Hampshire Volunteers, took place on Thursday at Ramsey. The presentation was made by Mrs. Henderson the wife of Captain Henderson, the Commandant of the corps. Lord Palmerston was present with Lady Palmerston. He said— My friends, men of the Ramsey Rifles, I congratulate you first of ali upon your soldier-like appearance upon the ground. Next, I congratulate you upon the valuable present you have received today 'from Lady Mill, and I can only exhort you to remember that national expression to which one of our great poets (Dryden) gave birth.-.' None but thebrave deserve the-fair.' I am sure you will deserve by your bravery, whenever an occasion shall present itself, all the smiles which the Hampshire beauties may have it in their power to bestow upon their valiant men in arms. I wish you cordially success, both in your warlike operations, if ever you should be called upon to perform them, and also in those more agreeable avocations of peace which recommend you to the favour of your fair countrywomen." i A banquet was spread later n the day. Captain Henderson proposed "The-Health of Lord Palmerston." Lord.Palmerston in responding, said it was impossible for any person who had any share in the responsibility of conducting the affairs of this great country, not to take the most lively interest in this Volunteer movement, which, although of recent origin, has obtained so important a development; and it would be diffi- cult for any person who sees how this movement has been progressing, and what features it has assumed in his own immediate neighbourhood, " not to feel proud as I do of the corps which has been raised in this town of Ramsey." Every man who serves his sovereign and his coun- try in this happy land is a Volunteer ; and therefore, although you, said Lord Palmerston, addressing the Volunteers, "may emphatically, and by way of distinction, be called the Volunteers of England, you must not assume to yourselves any peculiar merit for your voluntary services as your share, although no doubt you. would share the glories of the Army, the Navy, and the Militia, if ever your country required your services "— "It would be presumption in any man, who is merely a civilian, to give you any advice as to the manner in which you should perform your duties, or acquire the proper skill and science necessary for the proper performance of those duties. But I may be permitted to remind you that the duties of the Rifle Corps to which you belong are greater, and require a larger degree of skill and science, than those of corps formed oa, a different principle ; because you have not only to learn the duties.which more properly belong to what is called battalion exercise, and you may be sure that, 'however circumstances or recent events have led men to think that loose and irregu- lar troops are a match for those which are organized-on a more skilled and steady principle, you will find that in order to give effect to your determi- nation to do good service to your country, you must acquire the steadiness of battalion movements, and something more than the mere activity of skirmishing pagties. But if you need an enoouragement, all that is neces- sary is that you should look to what your countrymen have done in different parts of the world. It was said in former times that we were not a mili- tary nation—that we were skilful and brave upon the ocean, but that our tastes and habits did not lead us to equal military distinction. But there are certain historical records of the Peninsular war and Waterloo that suffi- ciently refute any opinion of that sort."

The conduct of the civilians at the Sepoy mutiny, ought to induce the civilian Volunteers of this country to pursue that course which they have begun.

Mr. Cardwell met the Fifty-ninth Lodge of the Order of Ancient Druids, at the Town-hall of Oxford, on New Year's Dav. He defended the House of Commons from the imputation of talkativeness. The House had " lustenerlao 'noble efforts of eloquence,. such as perhaps no sather popular assembly. in the world was ever privileged to listen to. We had high and lofty expressions of the position of our country in the face of other nations which were worthy of the leading representatives of this free and generous people."

Among those 150 Acts that we passed into law, there will hemund many which were the neult of labour and the, offspring of thousut ; and, although they were not the subject of party conflicts or keen disputes, nevertheless, by the consent and cooperation or politicians of all oblides, they were inserted in the statute-book, and will, I believe, confer lasting benefits on the whole community. But., gentlemen, your popular institu- tions, of which the House of Commons is the chief, and that free press which, cooperating with them, so collects and distributes the united intelli- gence of the whole people, that England now presents the spectacle of a country in which the reason and enlightened conviction of the entire nation prevail' and govern in the last resort,—I say, that those popalar iustitutiona give to your councils in the eye of the world weight arid 's force which no other institutions have ever giVen to the councils of sey other State, and which, even amoug ourselves,. were, probably, never raised to a greater height than they are at this moment." Mr. Cardwell eulogized the military operations in China ; and spoke in hopeful terms as to the material advantages and consequent effeots of the treaty with Franee. Coming to Italy. Mr. Cardwell said—

"You have watched with interest and hailed with delight the results of • the conflict in which that noble people have been engaged. You have seen the clergy and the laity, the rich and the poor, aide by side contending to shake off the tyranny to which they had been so long eubjected. What does the great !Sinister of Italy tell you is his aim and object ? Why, to raise his country after the example and according to the model of England, which he truly designates the classic mother of liberty.' And, gentlemen, you know that with Italy the struggle is not over when the strife of arms has ceased, but the real question is whether, when the victory in the field is won, her people will be able to build up for themselves those popu- lar institutions by which they desire to be governed, which they have to create by their own wisdom and their own exertions, and which you, by the blessing of Providence, have derived as an inheritance from your ancestors, and mean to transmit unimpaired to yaur posterity ? " He expressed his sympathy with the people of "that great Republic in another hemisphere, whose origin is the same as ours, whose laws, language, and literature have descended from our own." Mr. Cardwell then passed to his own department, and said- " Gentlemen, in these blessings I am happy to tell you that the sister island shares in a signal and remarkable degree. Ireland has been more severely tried, perhaps, by the harvest of the year which has just closed than her richer sister England. The time is not long gone by when her warm-hearted population had not the pursuits of industry open to them, for there were no means of obtaining wages for the labour of the day. But those times are now happily past, and in Ireland there is growing up a spirit of industry, a desire for improvement, and a thirst after knowledge and the blessings of education which bid fair year by year to raise her more and more in the scale of nations. Depend upon it that, side by side, the two sister kingdoms will continue to flourish and improve, forming one united empire, the envy of surrounding nutions, and the happiness of the people who inhabit them."

Mr. Horsman met his constituents at Stroud, on Wednesday, to give ar, account of his stewardship. He congratulates the country that we have ended "the calamitous Chinese war." There is another war for which the note of preparation." has been sounded," and when it breaks out, the interests of England in the Adriatic will take her into the thickest of the fray." Parliament had been elected and the Government con- structed upon "a comprehensive Reform Bill ; " two sessions have passed away, and where is the bill ? "What service to the cause of Reform had been rendered by Lord John Russell's cunningly-devised legislation, un- scrupulous machinations, and successful manceuvres, by which the public interest had been sacrificed to personal and private ends ?" He took his own course as to the French treaty; he made no apology, for many who condemned his opinions have seen reason to modify their Owl]. His con- stituents have forgotten all about it. Mr. Horsman criticized the con- duct of Lords Palmerston and John Russell and Mr. Bright as to the Treaty— There was an impression in the House of Commons that it was the noble Lord's pledge with regard to the Reform Bill that caused the conversion of Members to the Treaty. It was supposed to have been found that the Re- form Ministry was about to be brought to an untimely end by its own in- ability to grapple with Reform ; for when, in the recess, the Cabinet as- sembled to frame their measure, such ardent Reformers were they that it was said the fifteen Members of the Council held no less than fifteen different opinions on Reform, and that such unflinching and uncompromising Re- formers were they that they did not agree on a single principle, and they difthred upon every detail until the fragmentary bill became a confused mass of useless statistics. But, then, something must be done to continue to the country the blessings of a Reform Ministry even without the blessing of Reform. It was stated that the wiles of secret diplomacy were set to work ; and it was discovered that, although the Most ardent Reformers were sincere and determined on Reform, they were much more ardent worshippers of peace, and of commerce as a blessed instrument of peace ; and it was advised that if a bad Reform Bill could be supplemented by a good French Treaty the Government might still go on and the Liberal copartnery be kept out of the Gazette. The Treaty was rapidly negotiated, and they,could say— We strurk in time, the bsresin was agreed, We still have shifts age'nst a time of need. The rats that always trust ta one poor hole, They never can be rats of any soul. The Treaty was ushered in in the Queen's speech as a measure of vast importance ; the Queen prorogued Parliament without mentioning it. Passing from the Treaty, Mr. Houma inveighed against the party who conceived it— There was a middle-class party—happily a very small portion of intelligent and moral and soundhearted English middle class—so small that he bored It had no disciples in Stroud—whose principle of notion is trade at any price; and there was enthroned in high places a more aristocratio party,. whose principle had been place and patronage at any price. Now, these two parties had nothing in common except an inability to see or bear anything that did not tell in favour of their own views. He believed that they de- spised each other most cordially ; but they assisted each other most effectu- ally. He would not place them on the same level,- forklr. Cobden, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Bright, had this very high title to our respect. We might deem them unsound in opiuion, illogical in their conclusions, but we felt them to be strong because they were known to he sincere, and at times even fanatical in their belief. He would not degrade them by a comparison with mere purse-worshipping politicians, who possessed neither the fire of patriotism nor the pride of statesmanship—men who made merchandise of the constitution and safety of England by sudden conversions, not veiled even in the decent hypocrisy of converted sinners, but rather exhibiting the profligate audacity of some. cool, calculating, skilful gamester, whose cha- racter is so well known that be surprises nobody, while he sticks at nothing. Mr. Horsman thinks the faults of the Budget are "universally acknow- leged " it is the first principle of a Budget that it balances the expen- diture; but the last Budget did no such thing— It professed to find an income of 71,000,000/. to balance an expenditure of 71,000,000L, but they managed to do this by borrowing 4,000,0001. from the income of 1861, creating a deficiency to that extent. Besides that, they took an insufficient estimate for the Chinese war, and nothing at all for our new fortifications. With Oak unusual deficit they proposed to repeal the Peper-duty, and make up that deficiency by adding to the Income-tax. To that proposal he objected on two grounds—first, that the revenue could not spare the Paper-duty, and next, that it was a less objectionable tax than the Income-tax. And he should be surprised if his constituents did not agree with him in that conclusion. On the first point, there could be no difference of opinion. Taxes ought to be repeated when there was a surplus, but that there was none was proved by the fact that the Government had to impose new taxes_ and also to raise a lean. It was obvious, then, that the revenue could not bear the repeal of the Paper-duty. Now, with respect to the second point. It was said that the Paper-duty was a more objectionable tax than the Income-tax. To that he entirely objected, and on a ground a!so that interested his constituents. Putting aside the moral and consti- tutional grounds, he would assert that merely upon a fiscal comparison of their merits, the Income-tax was much more odious, oppressive, and objec- tionable than the Paper-duty. It was said that the Income tax was a direct tax, and that, as all direct taxes fell on the rich, the Income-tax ought to be a popular tux. Now, there never was a greater financial fallacy. The returns which had been published showed that the tax fell with a cruel and crushing weight upon the poor man whose income was 1601., while the per- son who paid on an income of 50,000/. a year hardly felt the pressure at all. The number of persons who paid un 1000/. per annum was 845, while the number who paid on 150/. was 145,694,—not lees than 172 times as many. The income of those at 10001. a year was put down at 786,8001., while the income of the poor class was charged on 13,667,3.57/. The amount actually paid by those assessed at 10001. was 22,950/., while the amount paid by the lower classes was 318,7951. But comparing the pressure on incomes of 1601. a year with incomes over 100,000/. the result was still more remarkable, for 51 individuals were paying on that amount, while 145,691 were paying on 1501_ the sum paid on in one case being 5,036,8001., and in the other 13,647,37/. Ile condemns the practice of agitation, which sets " class against clue ; " the upper class is not alone composed of the landed gentry, for returns show that there are 160 members of the middle clue who make 100,0001. per annum : there are not fifty noblemen who have that in- come. Thera is an aristocracy of millowners as well as an aristocracy of landowners : only the other day the Queen elevated the son of a poor shepherd to the House of Lords. Mr. Horsman reviewed his own career as a Radical and administrative reformer—

When he first entered Parliament, the Radical party bad leaders of whom any party might be proud, They were men of high character, great eminence, and vast political knowlege, with most of whom he was very well acquainted. They had their councils and their organization, but he never was directly or indirectly associated with them, and for this reason— that there were from the first differences of principle between them and him. They were for organic change as an instrument of improved administrative government ; whereas, from the first day he entered Parliament, he avowed his principle to be improved administrative government in every department as the best means of effecting organic change. Whether in the Army, the Navy, the Chureh, or the Law,—colonial or foreign administration at home or abroad—he had voted in favour of thoseimprovernents, whatever might be the Ministry. There was not a single question in which he had not been in advance of the Liberal Government themselves when they were out of office. Ile had always protested against that blind and suicidal policy of the Whigs by which they refused concession after concession, until they had die- gusted and broken up their party. They aimed at resuscitating and recon- structing themselves in office by promising a Reform Bill. Mr. Horsman next addressed his attention to the national defences, of which he told an amusing history.

Lest year it was charspd against him that he had submitted a proposal to the Government which. shocked the friends of economy as well as the sincere advocates of peace. When he said that the k;luperor might mean invasion, it was said it was a provocation to war. When he stated that the expenditure for the defence of the country would he 8,000,000l., it was said that he was extravagant. When he went further, and amid. the sum should be raised by loan, some persons thought he was labouring under ineanity. It was upon that occasion that Lord Palmerston sneered at what he called "the rifle fever." During the recess, the ride fever began to spread. The Prime Minister caught it, and became a rifleman and the vice-president of a rifle association. Next session, the Queen congratulated Parliament on the progress of the ride fever, and a few months afterwards reviewed sonic 22,000 rifle patients. But, to crown all, in July, 18.59, his proposition having been defeated, Lord Palmerston, in July, 1860, came forward, reproduced his (Mr. Horsmank) arguments and his proposal, pointed to the Emperor of the French much more strongly than he (Mr. Horsman)' had dohe, took the sum of '10,000,0001., and even the most novel and boldest part of his scheme—namely, that the sum should be raised by the way of loan. Of course, a large majority having followed Lord Palmerston into the lobby when he opposed his (Mr. Horaman's) plan, a still larger majority followed him when he accepted it. He justified his course on foreign affairs: the Government had adopted. his views, for although he was at issue with the Liberal party, there vas not one of the questions on which, before the close of the discussion, they did not come round to his views— There was no vote, or sentiment, or speech, of which he had the smallest cause to feel regret. He was sensible of the general kindness and courtesy he experienced from his constituents ; and, although he knew that some of them differed from him, and be was afraid would always do so, yet they were frank and manly opponents. He did not ask any one for their clemency, mercy, or even for their forbearance. He stood there for justice; and not to him alone, but justice to themselves. They had sent hint to Parliament to, represent their principles. He would ask them to which of the ptinciples they sent him to represent had he ever proved himself false ? (Celea of "To ereiw one.") Ile hoped he should not be met by an evasion like that, but that they would tell whieh specific principle had he been fake to. They senthim to Parliament charged with their political interests, which one had be- abandoned ? They did not _send him to Parliament to be a mongrel spaniel or a lackey, (eras of " sent you to be a trateh-dog.") But one of their complaints was, that lie barked too much. He did not come there as the ally or nominee of any particular party; but if the constituency would hold a public meeting, and allow him to express his sentimesits, and they thought him worthy to represent them, be should feel it a pride and houour to undertake that service. On that understanding he went into Parlituuent, mid he now stood before them bold and strong in the conviction that lie bad done his duty to them; that their Parliamentary good name, their high character, their unsullied honour, had not been damaged in his keeping ; he bad not served them, perhaps, as ably as they might have desired, but this testimony be deserved—that he had served them industriously, independently, and faithfully, to the best of the ability that God had given. him.

The electors frequently interrupted Mr. Horsman, and one of them, Mr. Bowly, moved a resolution, which WWI carried almost unanimously- " That this meeting, having listened to the address of Mr. Herman, re.. grets that be has felt it his duty to pursue a course of Parliamentary come duct during the pest session of which it cannot but record its disapprobation —a course which, in their opiuion, is calculated neither to promote peace or- liberty in Europe, nor the true honour of this empire. This meeting desires. to express its confidence in her Majesty's Government; amid feels disap- pointed that, during the late session of Parliament, instead of receiving the. support of Mr. Eforsumm, to which it was entitled, it was subjected to re- peated attacks, which this meeting considers undeserved." Mr. Horsman said that, itutwithetanding the vote., he hoped to be, fur many years, the Liberal representative of the Liberal constituency uf Stroud.

Mr. Horaman again addressed his constituents at Stroud on Thursday. At the close of his speech a resolution was proposed, to the effect '• nit

thiS sheeting, having heard Mr. Horsman'e explanation of his votes and Arecbes in the late session of Parliament, are decidedly of opinion that his views and conduct are so much at variance with the Liberal con- stituency of Stroud, that he no longer represents them in Parliament." The majority for the resolution was very large. Mr. Iforsman refused to resign.

A meeting was held on Friday week, at the Corn Exchange, Preston, for the purpose of forming a County Rifle Association. The magnates of Lancashire, political, municipal, and commercial, attended in great force. The Marquis of Hartington explained the object of the meeting- " It was well known that the Volunteer army now numbered about 170,000 men, but if any cry of real alarm were raised, there would be six times as many ready to defend the country. The great object at the pre- sent time, was to keep the force up to its present numbers and efficiency. There would, of course, be many influences to counteract this, such as arose from the declining novelty of the movement, the tediousness of the drill when the novelty had vanished, and the probable difficulties when the time for new clothing arrived. There might also be years of profound peace, when we might be lulled into a sense of security, and think the Volunteer force unnecessary. It was the object of the present meeting to give per- manence to the Volunteer movement, and it was thought that they could do so by no better means than the establishment of a County Rifle Associa- tion; and they hoped the time might come, when the most successful shots with the rifle would be as well known in the country as were the most sue- sessful cricketers in the South, or the wrestlers in the North. There had already been two successful rifle competitions in the county—one at South- port, and the other at Hightown ; but the object of the County Association would be to create, by an easy and simple organization, a competition with a sufficient number of prizes tor the whole county. It was intended to make the competition a permanent institution ; and he hoped the association would meet with such support, that it would be second only to the National Association."

The necessary resolutions for the formation of the Association were passed. After which Lord Stanley proposed-

" That the annual meeting shall be held not later than the last week in September, successively in different parts of the county, at which numerous fprizes of Moderate value shall be offered for the best artillery, rifle, and car- bine practice, to be competed for by the Regular, Militia, and Volunteer services, and by members of the association."

Lord Stanley takes it for granted, that the Volunteer movement de- serves public support. It has had a powerful and pacific influence upon the politics of Europe. And what we all ought to desire is, that the VolUitteers should become one of the permanent institutions of the coun- try. The former Volunteer forces passed away so soon as the dread of beirig invaded disappeared. " We want, therefore, a regular organization, and the object of that or- gaVization should be not merely to induce men to connect themselves with this m ovement—not merely to induce them to join themselves with parti- -attar corps, but to induce them to give to themselves these two qualities, without which no Volunteer corps is valuable for military purposes—disci- pline and skill as marksmen. Neither of these qualities comes by nature ; they can only be acquired—skill in shooting by a long and arduous trial, 'only relieved by the interest taken in it ; and if that is the present want of the Volunteers, I am prepared to contend that the association which we are fnow forming directly supplies that want. It does much also for the pro- motion of discipline, by holding out certain privileges and advantages to those who are inclined to join the regular Volunteer service. Directly, it gives encouragement to skill in the use of the rifle, by applying that which Ii a most powerful stimulus—competition, publicity, honour, and distinc- tion."

Lord Stanley urged that the Association should include the whole county of Lancashire, and that no other county should be admitted-

" aka to the question, who were to compete ? preference and advantages should be given to members of the regularly organized Volunteer corps; but, at the same time, they ought not absolutely to exclude those who did not to the Volunteers. Some advantages should be given to Volunteers i.stlon for the drill and discipline which they had taken pains to

• at the same time, there were many who had not time to connect theststel■es with the movement who might yet feel anxious to learn the use .oI'tnrie, and should not be entirely excluded. For these latter, prises

beoffered as for outsiders. As to the prizes, the resolution said they cur h -to be numerous and of moderate value ; and the meeting would pro- baky tweet in both those requirements. They did not want a few great prises for a few crack shots, but such a considerable number as would give every asen a reasonable chance of obtaining one; and as to the value, he did sot think they should be of large value, as the winner would always *ink Oas of the value than the honour. The prizes should be articles that cosld be preserved by the winners, and handed down to their families after The Earl of Derby was unable to attend the meeting, but sent a letter, sithintely ' explaining his views upon the subject of the meeting, and contributing valuable advice to the promoters-

" We have had abundant evidence this year of the readiness of those who are net in a position to give their personal service to aid the movement by peiminiary Contributions, and especially by offering prizes for proficiency in rifle shooting; and this has even been carried to an extent which makes us think it necessary to guard against the possible danger of too much promi- ogees being given to rifle practice as against rifle drill. We must not for- get that the national object is the formation of rifle corps and not rifle clubs, and this distinction ought not to be lost sight of. In laying down the rules for a County Rifle Association, the first practical step must be to provide the sinews of war,' not for a temporary but for a permanent object; and, with this view, I should suggest that whatever contributions are made, should be in the form of annual subscriptions, or if given in a lump sum, that sum to be invested in the names of trustees, and the annual interest alone to be ex- pended. Now, as to the application of any funds which may be raised, the summit of which need not be very large, provided they are certain, I think they should be limited to two objects—lit. The providing an adequate num- ber of ranges for practice at long distances, to accommodate the various dis- tricts of this large county ; and, 2d. The establishment of certain prizes to he annually and permanently given, subject to alterations from time to time by a Committee, the appointment of which, after the principles are settled, *hall be the very first step. It is needless to say that this should be a work- ing committee, composed of men willing to give to it their time and at- tention, and impartially selected from all parts of the county." The rules of the Assooiation were proposed and passed, but it is un- neoetRaty to repeat them here, as they are based upon suggestions which hssa bean frequently published for that purpose. General Yorke Sear- lett, in seconding a vote of thanks to the Earl of Sefton, said- " I hid the pleasure of seeing in London and in Edinburgh bodies of men that, with a little more training, would make admirable troops. I am a greet advocate for-rifle practice, but at the same time I must remind gentle- men that discipline and drill are necessary. There are two kinds of. dis- cipline, one which leads simply to drill, and another which leads to the dis- cipline of the mind. Our great object should be to have our Volunteers aided by officers who have some notion of military matters. There are a great many of these among our country gentlemen. Our noble President today is one ; and if these gentlemen were placed at the head of the corps—the corps d'armee of Lancashire I might call it, for it is large enough—we should go on admirably; but there must be some military knowledge to guide the machine. I am quite sure that then the Rifle Volunteers could hold their own against any enemy."

The Coventry Relief Committee met on Thursday. Lord Leigh said that the Distressed Manufacturers' Fund had given 5001., and promised 500/. more ; he had also received 500/. in subscriptions. Mr. Binney, of Weigh House Chapel, London, has sent the proceeds of a collection, and one subscription had been received from Lausanne, in Switzerland. The grants for the week were 12591. 15s. A meeting was held at Rugby on New Year's Day. Mr. Widdrington, the Vicar of St. Michael's, gave a deplorable account of the condition of the people of Coventry- " He spoke of a respectable woman being reduced to such extremities as to eat the garbage from the gutter ; of respectable families sleeping like pigs in the straw; and called upon his Scripture-reader, as more closely conver- sant with the facts, to state how many families in his parish had a blanket left to them. Answer= None. They had all pawned them.' 'Had any died of starvation lately ?" Several, to my personal knowledge.' Mr. Widdrington and the Committee were deeply thankful for the contri- butions which they had received, and for the sympathy felt for them through- out the country ; but much more was wanted ; for, though people thought that Coventry alone lay then in deep distress, it was really a circle of coun- try described with a radius of ten miles round that city, including Nun- eaton, Foleshill, and the neighbouring districts."

Dr. Temple, of Rugby School, seconded the appeal for help in an elo- quent and impressive speech. He reverted to the strike of last summer as in part the cause of the present distress. The men are now suffering the punishment of their folly ; but there must be a limit even to punish- ment. The best way of showing our sympathy is not by talking po- litical economy to them, but by doing—by helping them now in their hour of need.

At the County prison, Winchester, on Tuesday, James Johnson was exe- cuted for the wilful murder of Sergeant Chipta and Corporal Coles at Alder- shott Barracks. Upwards of 3000 persons were present. On Tuesday, the culprit told the chaplain the rifle was loaded only a few minutes before the shot was fired ; but it was not done with intent to kill_Sergeant Chipts, but only to disable him.

The boiler connected with the warming apparatus at the Beeston Hill Independent School burst on Saturday morning, and did considerible damage, but, fortunately, no one was injured. A part of the building lititf blown down, Another kitchen boiler explosion took place, on this occasion in the School of Medicine and Surgery, in Piccadilly, Manchester, on IVednesday week, doing serious mischief. Five students had a narrow escape; they. were together in the dissecting room above the place where the explosion occurred.

Robert Kerslake laid his neck across one of the rails just in advance of a train journeying towards Hackney, near Newton Abbot, on Saturday. The train passed over him, separating his head from his body. It is not knoin what induced him to commit this rash act.

On Tuesday, three men were precipitated down the New Odd Pit, Browser Moor, near Leeds ; they were descending to their work, when the- crank broke, and they fell to the bottom; two were kilted, but one isexpected to recover.

William Roughead and William Octon, John Roughead, Joseph

Roughead, and Benjamin Roughead, all fishermen, were drowned at the. mouth of the Tweed on Christmas night, under very deplorable circum- stances. The drowned men were four brothers and a cousin, and on the morning in question they put out to sea to fish. They remained at sea all- Christmas Day, and in the evening, about half-past eight, the crew at- tempted to enter the harbour ; but, owing to the quantity of floating ice in the river, they were unable to do so. A heavy fog prevailed at the time, which prevented the people on the shore from seeing the boat; but the loud cries of the poor fellows, who were jammed up with their small craft among the floes of ice, could be heard. The father of the Rougheads heard the cries of the unfortunate men, and ran to the quay to induce the master of the steam tow-boat to go out to their assistance, but he did not succeed in prevailing upon him to do so. From some cause or other, which has not been explained, the lifeboat did not proceed out to either. The cries Of the poor men were heard until about midnight, when they ceased altogether. At daylight, the boat was picked up in a sinking state, but all the poor fel- lows were gone.

Last week, the Lords Justices of Appeal released the steamer Victoria,

laden with the Rangoon telegraph cable, from Mr. Newell's injunction ; this week she sailed, but the elements have stayed the legal release, for the steamer is now ashore in Barnpool, on Wilderness Point. All attempts made to get her off have proved unsuccessful; another attempt will be made

i after part of her cargo s removed. Her hull and keel have sustained no injury. . .

On Tuesday afternoon, an an inquest was held on the bodies of Edward lie.- ken, James Toms, David Libby, Walter Hosken, and John Crapp, the erew of the schooner Speedwell, which was wrecked on Saturday afterneen„ tween Redding Point and Boos Lake, just under Mount Edgeumbe. Evi- dence was given that the vessel had exhibited a pilot-jack at the fore cross- tree, and a burgee at her main-top-mast. Mr. -Williams, a master la the. Royal Navy,. stated, "There was no signal of distress ; for what we consider a signal of distress is an ensign turned upside down.: But

But

she had no ensign on board at all, and I considered fro the fact of her having the pilot-jack flying that she wanted a pilot to thine to her; but it was impossible for a pilot to go near her on account of the boisterous state of the weather." A curious conversation took place between this witness and the Coroner. The Coroner.—Were there any-large Ships of war inside the Breakwater ? Witness.—One man-of-war and a steam sloop. The Coroner.—Could they have seen the perilous position in which the schooner was ? Witness.—It is most likely, if she had had a proper signal of distress flying; but, nautically speaking, the pilot-jack and the bu

were not a signal. The Foreman, addressing the Coroner, said—The verdict we find is that of "Accidental death," and we -wish to say at the same time, that Mr. Williams and his men did the utmost in their power to rescue the men • but we think that a great censure should be laid on the commanders of the men-of-war in the Sound, and also on the harbour-master, for it is evident that the ship, having laid where she was for so many hours must have been seen by the harbour-master and the commanders of the veaseln. At a meeting at Hellen, on Thursday week, a committee was appeinted to collect subscriptions for the widows and orphans of the.miners who perished at the Hatton colliery explosion.

The lletton Coal Company have undertaken to provide for the families of those who were left destitute by the late explosion in one of their collieries. Mr. Nicholas Wood, one of the partners of the Company, said it was at first the intention of the proprietors to subscribe 10001. to a fund for the relief of the afflicted; but the owners of the colliery subsequently determined to ex- tend their munificence by providing for the widows and children, the former for life or till re-marriage, the latter till they were able to provide for them: selves.