I3IIIUt.

MONDAY, SEPTEN.BEE 30TII.

A DARING burglary, accompanied by deliberate murder, was committed at Bilston, Staffordshire' on Sunday last. The premises of a tailor named Bagott, residing in Church-street, were broken into, plundered and set on fire, and Mr. Bagott was strangled by placing his head on the fender and pressing the poker across his throat. Mr. Bagott was a bachelor, and though well off, lived alone, and was very eccentric in his habits. He kept banking accounts both at Dudley and Bilston, but frequently had as large a sum as 2001. in the house, secreted under the floor or in other hiding places of a similar description. About four o'clock on Sunday morning the occupants of a neighbour- ing house were roused by a disturbance in Mr. Bagott 's premises, and on information being given to the police they were entered and searched. The gaslight in a small room on the ground floor was found to be burning, and the table in the same room was covered with bottles and glasses. Mr. Bagott was lying quite dead, with his neck on the fender and the poker across his throat. His face was discoloured with sopt, and his clothes bore marks of a severe struggle having taken place. In Mr. Bagott's bedroom everything was in dis- order, the burglars having evidently been acquainted with his habit of secreting money. The cash-box had been violently broken open, and every article that could possibly contain money had been ran. sacked. A. fire of paper and linen had been lighted in the grate, and the remains had been raked out upon the carpet, which was in flames, and but for the arrival of the police, the house would probably have been burnt down. Four men have been apprehended on the charge, under very suspicious circumstances. A short time after the murder is supposed to have been committed, a policeman on duty at Bradley, near Bilaton, stopped three men carrying a bundle. They immediately threw the bundle down and made off. After a fruitless pursuit, the policeman returned to the spot where the bundle was left, and before long a man named Jones, of Tipton, returned for the bundle, and was taken by the officer. The gang which Jones belonged to being well known to the police, several constables proceeded to a disreput- able haunt in Berry-yard, where they apprehended three others, one of whom, Thomas Jukes, had just come in with blood on his shirt and in an excited state. The police are now on the track of a fifth, who is supposed to have been concerned in the affair.

— A Parliamentary return of the receipts and expenditure of all the railways in the United Kingdom has just been published. It appears that the total receipts of railways in England and Wales during the past year were 23,454,8101., and the total expenditure 11,258,1041. The expenditure was distributed amongst the follow- ing items :

Maintenance of way ... £2,025,465 Locomotive power ... 3,275,058 Repairs and renewals of carriages and waggons ... 941,541 Traffic charges ... ... 3,202,058 Rates and taxes 430,823 Government duty ... 335,789 Compensation for accidents ... 162,921 Miscellaneous ... 884,449 11,258,104

Leaving a total of net receipts of 12,196,7061. The receipts of Irish railways were 1,368,4771., and their expenditure 623,1361. For Scotland, the receipts were 2,925,2291., and the expenditure 1,306,1281. The general results for the United Kingdom are em- bodied in the following statistics :

UNITED KINGDOM.

Total receipts Total expenditure ... ... £27,748,486 ... 13,187,368 100.00 Proportion of expenditure to total receipts per cent. 47.00

— The election of Lord Mayor, which is usually a mere formality, the alderman next in rotation having been chosen without opposition in every instance since 1831, is this year the occasion of a severe contest. At a Common Hall of the Liverymen of the City of London, held at the Guildhall, on Saturday, the names of the aldermen eli- gible for the election were read out, and a show of hands taken, the result of which was a large majority for Sir H. Muggeridge. About one.third of the Liverymen present held up their hands for the Lord Mayor, and about the same number for Sir Peter Laurie. A poll was then demanded on behalf of the two latter, and was opened at three o'clock. The rule in case of a contest is that the Livery shall return the names of two aldermen to the Court of Aldermen for selection, and in this instance the supporters of the Lord Mayor wish to secure his ultimate election by coupling with his name that of Sir Peter Laurie, who has declared his intention of refusing to serve the office again, if elected, and has strongly protested against the use to which his name is being put. If, therefore, the names of the Lord Mayor and Sir Peter Laurie are returned to the Court of Aldermen, they will have no alternative but to select the former. The partisans of the Lord Mayor put forward as his principal claim for re-election his exertions inParliament against the Corporation reforms proposed by Sir George Grey, which, if carried, would have deprived the Liverymen of the right of electing a Lord Mayor. The poll, which remains open for seven days, closed for the day at four o'clock on Saturday, when the numbers were as follows : The Lord Mayor, 125: Sir Peter Laurie, 104; Sir Henry Muggeridge, 87. — The Wymondham, or 21st Norfolk Volunteers, were entertained by Lord Wodehouse, late Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at his seat at Kimberley, on Thursday. After going through various evolu- tions under the command of Captain Gurdon, the corps sat down to dinner in a tent near the mansion, Captain Gurdon in the chair. Lord Wodeliouse proposed the toast of "Prosperity to the Wymondham Volunteers." While he did not go so far as Lord Ellenborough, when lie said that the military profession was the first profession, and the first reward was military honour, he still thought that no nation could ever prosper without the military spirit. "Unless you, as a nation, show that you possess the military spirit, and that you are ready to defend yourselves, jthe arts of peace, which grow, as it were,

Net receipts United Kingdom.

Maintenance of way ...

Locomotive power ... Repairs and renewals of carriages and waggons Traffic charges Rates and taxes Government duty ...

Compensation for accidents ... Miscellaneous

... £14,561,118 Proportions of Expendi- ture per Cent. 18.48 28.83 8.49 28.05 3.93 2.75 117 8.10 under the shadow of such a protection, can never flourish. I will not say that boasting well becomes us. I will not say that we excel the other nations of the world in patriotism ; but of this I am quite certain, that we make no idle boast when we say that we come behind no nation in the world in patriotic spirit ; and this is the ease because we are, and have been for ages, a free people. (Hear, hear.) Being a free people, we know how to take care of ourselves. We respect the laws, we look up to our Queen and our Government, but we rely on ourselves and thaeself-supporting spirit which has always distinguished the inhabitants of this country and brought us through every difficulty, whether it be in peace or war. The volunteer force has especially illustrated the existence of this spirit. Lord Ellenborough said that military honour was the highest reward, but I think the greatest reward of all is the consciousness of having done our duty; and we may be certain that we in this districtin common with gentlemen in other parts of England, who are making considerable sacrifices of time, and taking much trouble for the purpose of promoting this defensive movement—are doing our duty in the most effectual and conspicuous manner. But, gentlemen, while we take credit to ourselves for what we have done, let us not forget to look forward to what still remains to be done. We have seen in another and very great country how sig- nally Volunteers may fail. I should be the last person to say one word in dis- paragement of the courage or public spirit of the North American nation; but this I must say—I think they have boasted too much, and the old saying, that 'Pride comes before a fall,' was well exemplified in what took place at the battle of Manassas. What has occurred will not, however, prevent the Volunteers of North America, possessing as they do a pluck and public spirit derived from this country, from recovering their high position, which has certainly been somewhat diminished by recent events. As regards the fatal war in which the Americans are engaged, I will only say that while we should grieve to see any diminution of their military spirit, for no man can look with satisfaction on the decline of a great—still less a kindred—nation, yet we must all wish that this fratricidal war may end as soon as possible. Gentlemen, we in this country are not likely to be called upon to take part in such an unhappy contest, and 1 think we may also congratulate ourselves that we have, at the present time at all events, a good prospect that this country will remain at peace. The feeling of every man in the country, although he wishes that we should be ready to defend ourselves, is for peace. We echo the old French saying, Gare it qui me touches' but we desire that while nations should respect each other, and be prepared to defend their in- dependence and position in the world, they should remain in a state of repose to cultivate those great arts of peace which distinguish this century—that the shield and spear (or rather in these days the rifle, the great weapon of our Volun- teers and of modern warfare) should remain bung up in sight and ready, but still not be used unless in self-defence. (Loud cheers.)" —The members and friends of the Derbyshire Agricultural So- ciety dined together on Friday, the Duke of Devonshire in the chair. In proposing the toast of "Prosperity to AA newly-established Derby- shire Agricultural Society," his grace remarked that while great good was done by the establishment of a count,/ association, he was still desirous of retaining all the smaller locar societies which had

previously existed :

" I have been familiar with agricultural societies in other parts of the country, and I can say from experience that there is nothing inconsistent in the prosperity

of is county association and the prosperity of those associations which occupy more limited districts. In fact, I believe they materially contribute to the suc- cess of each other. (Hear, hear.) In those parts of the country where you find a large number of small holders it can hardly be expected that they will take an interest in the success of a society which does not come tolerably near to their own doors. They can hardly be expected to aspire to excel except in their own immediate neighbourhoods. I feel sure that to absorb these small societies into a general county association would be to deprive them of great advantages, of ad- vantages connected with the local societies, without presenting them any ade-

quate return. (Hear.) Many of these local societies have, besides their annual exhibitions, discussions on agricultural matters, which, though they excite little interest beyond their own neighbourhood, are very useful in stimulating the attention of the farmers who attend them ; and I should be sorry to see such discussions put an end to by the absorption of the local societies into a general society for the whole country. (Hear, hear.) Societies such as this, adequately supported by landlords and tenants, ought to be able to offer prizes on such a scale as to excite the emulation of the most enterprising farmer of the United King- dom. (Cheers.) It ought to be the means of bringing before the agricultural public examples of the utmost excellence in every description of stock, and of setting before them models of what the stock of every farmer ought to be. But beyond these meetings affording opportunities for the meeting of landlords and tenants, they afford facilities for the meeting together of agriculturists and of persons engaged in commerce and manufactures. Some of the most successful meetings this year have been held iu manufacturing towns, and in no case have agricultural associations met with a more cordial reception than in some of the great centres of our manufactures. (Hear, hear.) This may be regarded, in part, as a proof of the established conviction that the prosperity of all classes is intimately connected. (Hear.) Perhaps it,may.also, in some degree, be owing to the fact that the points of contact between agriculture and commerce are be- coming closer and closer, and that machinery, which has played such an astonishing part in our manufacturing towns, is becoming every day more and more important in the agricultural districts. (Hear, hear.) We have long been familiar with the steam-engine as applied to thrashing, but during the last two or three years those who take an interest in agriculture must be aware that steam has been most successfully applied to the actual cultivation of the land. I would not venture to say how many farmers possess machinery for the culti- vation of their land by steam, but there can be no doubt that it has made an immense progress within the last few years, and there can be no doubt that steam is destined to play a most important part in the improvement of agricul- ture. (Bear, hear.) Besides the incidental advantages of agricultural societies, we must recollect that their main object is to improve agriculture. The fanners of the present day have before them a flue field of industry of which their fore- fathers had not the slightest idea. I believe that the tillage farmer of the present day has before him as wide a field for the exercise of his industry and ability as any man in this country. But improvements ought not to be confined to farmers on a large scale. No farmer, however email his holding, ought to consider himself in too humble a position to avail himself of the advantages which improvements have placed within his reach. There is no description of farming in which hn- provement may not go forward. I trust the society is destined to be a great instrument in the improvement of the agriculture of the county, and, believing it to be so, I have given it every support in my power, and I trust on future occasions we shall see the show-yard better filled and an increasing interest manifested in the welfare of the society. (Loud cheers.)"

— A frightful accident happened at York on Friday. A. lattice girder-bridge, in process of construction across the Ouse, fell in with a tremendous crash. At the time of its fall no less than fifty-two men were at work on it, but fortunately sufficient warning was given to enable the great majority of them to make their escape. Eight, however, of the workmen were unable to escape in time, and were carried down with the falling mass to the bottom of the river. Three of them are dead, three severely injured, and the fte of the other two has not yet been ascertained. The inquest on the bodies was opened on Saturday, but the jury adjourned, after viewing the bodies, until Friday next.

— The annual meeting of the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society was held on Thursday, and was largely attended. Among the company were a considerable number of ladies, who were admitted to the proceedings of the society for the first time. The dinner took

i place in a large marquee on the race-course, and among those present were the Earl and Countess Spencer, Lord Lyveden, Lord Burghley, M.P., Lord Henley, M.P., Mr. Knightley, M.P., Colonel Cartwright, M.P., M. G. W. Hunt, M.P. The Hon. F. C. W. Villiers took the chair, and gave " Prosperity to the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society," and alluding to the great use of steam machinery in agri- culture, mentioned that he and some friends had been making expe- riments with a view to applying a modification of the windmill to the same purposes. Earl Spencer then proposed "The Labourers."

I think that the prosperity of agriculture depends in a great degree on the prosperity of the labourer. (Hear, hear). I ant sure that you agree with me and re-echo that sentiment; because you must be aware that without the improve- ment of the agricultural labourer this or no other country can keep pace with the improved agriculture of England generally. (Hear, hear.) We have seen in our show-ground to-day very useful agricultural implements, some of the most supe- rior of which have steam power applied to them; but without improved labourers we cannot work those machines. (Hear, hear.) Not only must you have a good ploughman now, but you mast have an intelligent man able to work a steam- engine. (Hear, hear.) I am sure that you are anxious to improve the labourer. There are only two ways of doing that. The first is by the improvement of the cottages, which has been so ably referred to by my right honourable friend the chairman. I fully concur with him that we must improve the cottages. Steps have already been taken in that direction by gentlemen who, when the opportu- nity presented itself; pulled down old cottages and erected new ones in villages ; but I think we must go further. Next to the question of how to maintain them and increase their accommodation in their cottages is that of the education of the labourers. (Hear, hear.) I hope that all classes in England are now fully aware of the importance of education to the labourer. The report recently issued by the Commissioners of Education show that a great step has been taken in that direction; but we have more to do. (Hear, hear.) The quality of the education which we should give to them is not the feast interesting portion of the subject. My opinion is, that we ought to give the labourers a good rudimentary education ; but not one that will make them be above that occupation. (Hearthear.) We ought to give them such instruction as will enable them—if they have character, energy, and talent—to raise themselves above their present situation. (Hear, hear.) I believe, in fact, that more attention ought to be given to plain reading, writing, and arithmetic ; for too much has been given to those higher branches of instruction which the time devoted by the labourer to school does not enable him to acquire, and which for that reason cannot be so suited to his The (Cheers.)" The toast of "The Successful Competitors" was proposed by Lord Lyveden, who said :

"The committee of this association, in the exercise of a most wise discretion,

have thought fit to postpone this toast to a time when it is impossible for me to address you in the manner I would have otherwise wished to do. I regret that having seen this morning every kind of improvement, and every stall teeming with something new—fresh descriptions of fodder for cattle, new agricultural im- plements of every kind—when we come together this evening nothing new is pre- sented to us. We have the same speakers, the same stale jokes—the same anti- quated imageries—the same worn-out arguments. (Laughter.) There is nothing to tell you that the breed of orators is improving. (Renewed laughter.) I am sorry that it has fallen to my lot to address you now. I should have been glad to see it fall to younger and better hands ; but, indeed, there is only one novelty which appears to be open to comment and congratulation, and to that every one who has spoken has alluded. The fact that this is the first of your meetings to which ladies have been admitted betokens bow backward must have been the state of your agricultural affairs in times past. It does present itself to my mind, that when politics were excluded Ladies ought to have been admitted. Not that I think that ladies are by any means bad politicians. (Hear, hear.) I admire them as politicians, because they are personally warm, vehement, and passionate. (Hear, hear.) They love the leaders of their own party, and Lord! how they love when they do love! (Laughter and cheers.) They hate the leaders of the Opposition; and Lord! how they hate when they do hate! (Re- newed laughter and cheers.) They give a zeal and zest to the tame, calm, cowardly, conventional hypocrisies of public life (laughter); and, therefore, I should be sorry to see them excluded from meetings like this. (Hear, hear.) And I must say that I regret to find politics so rigidly excluded. I do not see why moderate controversial politics should not be discussed at these meetings. My. honourable friend (Mr. Hunt) said that lie was

i

longing to engage in politics because he saw me beside him. I sin glad to say that I have often met my honourable friend in controversy, but not in any spirit of acrimony. We have often grappled together in argument, but never, I rejoice to say, in animosity. I have often sat ropposite to him, but I have never been opposed to him in any other than a Parliamentary sense ; and I should rather meet him at a feast than at a fray. (Cheers.) 1 do not know that I have any general observations to address to you. (Cries of ' Go on.') If it was earlier in the evening I might be disposed to say a few words on the prospects of the country—commercially as well as agriculturally, and I believe that what I would have said could not have been considered as trenching upon politics. (' Go on.') I should have warned you that though we have bad—and thank God for it—a successful harvest, you must not be too elated. You must well know that there are other great interests besides that of agriculture to be considered in this country. There is the manufacturing interest. We cannot lose sight of the fact that any suspension of our manufacturing prosperity must be attended with very serious consequences to the country generally. It, however, there should be any suspension in the supply of cotton, I am happy to say it cannot last very long (hear, hear), for I can tell you from trustworthy information that there are places within our own dominions in which a supply can be grown. We have nothing to do but to turn to the East—a source of supply which we have too long neglected to avail ourselves of. (Hear, hear.) You can get a supply from India, which, though it may not be of the same staple as that grown in America, will be very valuable to the manufacturer ; but you must remember that much depends on the price paid. If you are not prepared to raise the price, you will not be able to get cotton. What you want in order to ensure a supply from India is an improved system of roads and increased facilities for bringing cotton to the ports ; but you are not entitled to lay a tax on the people of India for your benefit. It is contrary to all knowledge of the principles of free trade that you should grow a particular growtb, that you should throw it upon the Government to take the place of a private capitalist, and apply its powers to making the people of India grow cotton instead of indigo or any other plant. Let the manufacturers of this country remember that the people of India might be induced to direct their attention to opening iron and coal-mines, which might enable them to produce manufactured articles as well as the raw materiaL I allude to this subject as one that should prevent you from being intoxicated with your present success, and imagining that there is nothing to prevent it lasting for ever. To the successful competitors on the present occasion I offer my con- gratulations, and I ask your pardon for trespassing on you for three minutes longer than I intended. ('Go on.') It is very well, ladies and gentlemen, to say ' Go on ;' but I am afraid that the train has by this time gone off (laufhter), and I will tell you another thing. Your excellent toastmaster has intimated to me that I am standing in the way of a toast whictiyou must be all burning to drink—. The Ladies.' (Cheers.)"

— William Maloney was tried on Friday at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of his wife, at Leg-court, Westminster. The evidence for the prosecution differed in no important particular from that already before the public. James Saunders, the labourer who said that he saw the prisoner stab the deceased, was cross-examined at great length, but his evidence was not shaken iu any way. His statement was to this effect :

" I am a labouring man, and on the 2nd of September I resided in Brunswick- street, St. Pancras. I left my home on the morning of that day to look for work about five o'clock in the morning. I went to several places, and I saw a person named Calder, who is employed at the Royal Mews at Pimlico, about seven o'clock. After this I went to Westminster, and arrived there about eleven o'clock. I went into Leg-court, a little after twelve o'clock, and went into one of the houses in that court. The house door was open, and so was the parlour-door, and I looked in and saw a man and a woman in the room.

" Mr. Clerk.—What else did you see? " Witness.—I saw the man strike a knife into the woman.

" Mr. Clerk.—In whet position were they? Witness.—The man had his back to me, and the woman was standing facing me.

" Mr. Clerk.—Did you stop to see anything else ?

Witness.—I did not. I did not stop to see anything more, but went away directly.

" Mr. Clerk.—What sort of a stab was it that you saw the man give the woman?

" The witness made a forward thrust with his right arm.

" Mr. Clerk.—Did you see any person in the court when you went away? " Wit ness.—Yes, there were several people standing at the top of the court; and as I went by them I said, There is murder going on in that house.' saw the prisoner led away by the police, and I observed that he had a white slop on. " Mr. Justice Byles asked the witness whether he had heard the other witnesses examined.

" He said lie had not. He added, that the man and the woman were entire strangers to him.

" By Mv. Sleigh.—Although I saw this deed committed, I did not render any assistance or say anything to the police.

" Mr. Sleigh.—Did you go to the police-station ? "Witness.--No.

"Mr. Sleigh.—Did you not think that it was your duty, after seeing such an occurrence as you have described, to go to the police and give information?

" Witness.-1 did not think about it. I was confused and frightened.

" Mr. Sleigh.—Then, are we to understand that you saw a man deliberately murder a woman, and did not think it worth while to say anything about it to the police or any of the other persons who were upon the spot? " Witness.-1 was confused, and did not know what I was about."

Mr. Sleigh addressed the jury for the defence, and contended that Saunders's story of having gone down a blind alley and seen a murder committed was highly absurd and improbable, and that his subse- quent conduct, on his own showing, was sufficient to render him un- worthy of credit. Mr. Justice Byles summed up, pointing out that, if in addition to the indirect evidence of the prisoner's guilt they believed that of Saunders, the case was at an end. His story might appear improbable, but. the jury must consider whether the explana- tion he gave of his conduct, attributing it to fright and confusion, was not a reasonable one. After a quarter of an hour's deliberation, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that they found the prisoner guilty of killing his wife, but that he did so without premeditation. The judge refused to receive the verdict, and in answer to a question from one of the jurymen as to whether they could not find the prisoner guilty of manslaughter, said he saw no evidence which would justify them in returning such a verdict, and explained to them the distinctions between murder and manslaughter. Ulti- mately, the jury agreed upon a verdict of guilty on the charge of murder, but recommended the prisoner to mercy on the ground that they believed that when he went home he had no intention of mur- dering the deceased.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST.

— The committee appointed to inquire into the decay of the stone- work in the new Palace of Westminster have issued their report. They divided their inquiry into four heads :

"I. The extent and position of the decay.

" II. The causes to which it is attributable, taking into consideration the com- position of the atone, and the influence exerted upon it by moisture and by the acids diffused in the London atmosphere. " IH. The best means of preserving the stone from further injury.

"IV. The qualities of the stones to be recommended for future use in public buildings to be erected in London."

With regard to the extent and position of the decay, the committee do not appear to have been able to arrive at any definite conclusion. In the most recently executed portions, in sheltered situations, and on plain surfaces, the decay is as extensive as in any part of the building, while in many cases the most elaborately carved stonework does not present a symptom of decay. The committee do not adopt the theory that the decay is owing to the stones not being placed upon what is termed their natural bed—that is to say, stones which were laid horizontally in the quarry being placed perpendicularly in the building—as they found clear proof to the contrary in several instances. They cannot either place any reliance on the assurance of one witness who expressed his belief that the progress of decay in

in-

duration. only extends to a certain depth, and is followed by n- duration. They conclude their report on this point by remarking :

"13. At present the decay appears for the most part on the plain surfaces, while the finer and more elaborately wrought portions of the building: unless under projections, are not seriously affected. And however disappointing and disfiguring these defects may be, especially in a building so recently erected, the committee are of opinion that at present the decay does not affect the stability of the structure."

As to the causes to which the decay is attributable, it appears that the principal part of the stone used in the Palace at Westminster came from Bolsover and Allston quarries ; that from the former having been originally recommended on the ground that it was the same as the stone used in the Norman portions of Southwell Minster, which are remarkable for their high state of preservation. With regard to the Allston stone the evidence laid before the committee was very con- flicting, the contractor and his foreman stating that the stone from those quarries was extraordinarily good, while other witnesses main- tained there were stones in the quarries themselves in a state of actual decomposition. One remark of the committee makes it ap- pear clearly enough that it is to one of the numerous branches of the Circumlocution-office we are indebted for the all but ruinous state of our greatest and most costly national building : "With reference to the selection of stone, the committee venture to remark that it is much to be regretted that the offer made by one of the commissioners, particularly well acquainted with the selection and working of stone, to examine that used in the Palace at Westminster for the moderate salary of 1501. per annum, was not accepted, owing to some difficulty in regard to the party who was to be held responsible for this unimportant amount, and that the matter was left to persons who admit that they had little or no prior experience of this de- scription of stone, though they evidently entertained suspicious of the durability of some of it which they were employing."

With regard to the best means of preserving the stone from further injury, the committee were unable to come to any definite conclusion, They do not think it necessary or desirable to proceed with any general coating or washing, &c. &c., of the whole building, as by far the greater portion of the stonework does not need any such ap- plication. What is wanted is the discovery of some process capable of arresting the progress of decay in any stone, immediately on such decay being perceived. Such a process has not yet been discovered, and the committee recommend that the series of experiments com- menced by them with a view to its discovery, should be continued for some considerable time under chemical supervision. The com- mittee were not able, through want of time, to enter fully into the question of "the quality of the stone to be recommended for future use in public buildings to be erected in London." They appear to incline, however, to carefully selected Portland atone, in preference to any other. In conclusion, they state their belief that a large por- tion of the stone in the palace is of a durable nature, and their confi- dent expectation that some remedy for the decay of the remainder will speedily be discovered.

— Capksthome Hall, Cheshire, the residence of A. H. Daven- port, Esq., was burnt to the ground on Saturday night. The fire broke out in a flue leading to the bell turret, and was not discovered until it had made too great progress to be arrested. The valuable contents of the library, and the celebrated collection of paintings, articles of viral, &c., were saved by the exertions of the servants. The building was insured, and the loss sustained is said to be over 10,0001., and probably not less than 20,0001.

— The Dowager-Marchioness of Londonderry gave her annual entertainment to her Irish tenantry on Thursday, in the town of Carnlough. Over 300 of her ladyship's tenants sat down to dinner in the Town-hall, and her ladyship was accompanied by Lady Laura Antrim, General Upton, M.P., Sir Hugh Cairns, M.P., &c. &c. Mr. Kellem, a tenant farmer, proposed "The health of the Mar- chioness of Londonderry." Her ladyship, who on rising to respond was received with enthusiastic cheering, said :

"My friends, your affectionate reception always rejoices my heart ; none kmow better then the Irish bow to give a hearty welcome (applause); and I assure you that, when I have the pleasure of finding myself once more among you, I forget the exertion and effort necessary to arrive here. (Cheers.) It is also encourag-

ing to believe that these annual meetings really do , and this is clearly demonstrated by the improvement you make; and t e bringing us together affords an opportunity of cultivating a kindly feeling between landlady and tenant (hear); besides, I have the vanity to fancy that my lectures and warnings have been of service (laughter and cheers), because you well know that, although my advice is given in all due humility, yet it is always with a sincere and anxious desire for your own good. (Applause.) And while I deplore that the state of things as regards your farms, your houses, &c., is far, very far from what I could wish, still there is no doubt progress has been made. The simple fact that in 1858 only 27 acres of fiat were in cultivation, and in 1861 it is increased to 150 acres (great applause), speaks volumes. On the other Band, I grieve to hear that, iii defiance of all warning and advice, you have planted the potato in far

greater quantities than you ever did before, and mark how fatal this has been and bow universal the blight, and let me entreat you to beware how you repeat the experiment. (Hear, hear.) I hear the different schools on the estate are prospering and progressing, and, thanks to the excellent system and valuable aid of the National Board, there are good schools in almost all the townlands, and it is really your fault if your children are not properly educated. (Hear, hear.) It ought to be a source of gratitude to you, as I am sure it is to me, that these annual gatherings are generally distinguished by the presence of visitors who we could hardly expect world condescend to attend such little humble meetings. The estate is small, the locality distant, and yet on these occasions I have always found myself friendly supported by persons whose importance, whether as county landowners or as individuals, have conferred honour by their presence. I feel this deeply and gratefully as a mark of friendship shown to me, and for which I beg to offer my best thanks. And now, my friends, it only remains for me to read the names of the successful candidates, and then you have to listen to the valuable advice of those who may kindly take the trouble of speaking to you. (Prolonged cheers.)"

Sir Hugh Cairns, M.P., proposed "Prosperity to Agriculture :"

"I am somewhat afraid that we are rather in the habit of attaching more im- portance, as regards prosperity to agriculture, to sunshine and to seasons than to other elements of prosperity which are much more under our own control. There is no doubt that fine seasons are excellent things, but we cannot command the seasons, and yet there are some things which we can command. If I might be allowed to suggest to you, as one of the first elements of prosperity, not only for agriculture, but for every other employment, I would say the first and chief eenunt is a spirit of self-reliance and of persevering industry. And, gentlemen, I might go further, and notice what occurs to me as another important element in the future prosperity of agriculture in this country. I would say that it is the diffusion—the wider diffusion—of education among the agricultural classes. Formerly it used to be thought. that a farmer required no education, and, in fact, I have heard people say that education was a bad thing for a farmer (laughter), because it took him off his work. (Renewed laughter.) I think, however, that we are getting rid by degrees, at all events, of that idea ; and the truth is, when we come to consider it, we not only find that education is necessary for a farmer, but the occupation of farming above all occupations with which I am acquainted requires the benefits and advantages of education. I pass over the primary and elementary part of education, such as reading, writing, and accounts, because you will agree with me that in this lies the only means of acquiring information, and the only mode by which any person who has got property or money can expect to thrive in the employment he has undertaken. (Applause.) But look to the other kind of information the farmer really requires. How is the farmer enabled to tell how to properly manure his lands, or how can he understand the combinations of fertilizing elements of the soil, unless he has, at all events, an elementary knowledge of chemistry ? How is he to be able to tell with regard to the strata of the ground which he cultivates, and the minerals which it contains, and the best mode of arranging the different soils, without a considerable knowledge of the sciences of which one of the most distinguished proficients, Mr. Stewart, is sitting opposite me—I allude to geology and mineralogy? How is a farmer able to tell you how to use the instruments of his employment, and the advantages of various implements which are coming into use in agri- culture every day in this country, unless lie possesses a knowledge of mechanics? (Hear, hear.) How is a farmer without some knowledge of the science which regulates supply and demand to know how he can best dispose of, or keep in store, the produce of his farm? Lady Londonderry has told you that you have got throughout this property a number of most excellent schools, in which the elements of an education of this kind can be acquired. This is a matter which, perhaps, more concerns your children than yourselves, but I hope you will allow- me to say that this is a question in which you have got a solemn duty to discharge towards your children, and unless you wish your sons who are to come after you and to be the tenants on this property as you have been—unless you wish them to be unskilled labourers, cultivating the Found without hope of prosperity, you must sacrifice a little of the advantage which you might derive from their labour in early years in order to allow them to go to school (' Hear, hear,' and applause), and to remain a proper time there, so that you may have the satisfaction of think- ing that those who may come after you may be men rising in the world, culti- vating their farms better than you may have done—keeping pace with the spirit of the times and the progress of agriculture. (' Hear, hear,' and applause.)"

With regard to the present satisfactory state of Ireland, Sir Hugh Cairues said:

" Ireland in the last 15 years has been passing through a fearful, but neces- sary, ordeal. Fifteen years ago, that awful scourge of Providence, the famine, visited this land. It was not on every estate in Ireland that the proprietor was able to stem and mitigate that fearful calamity and scourge as the head of this property was able to do. And we see the consequences. In the south and west of Ireland a number of properties changed hands. Scotch and English capital was introduced, and what has been the result ? Why, I was only reading in the newspaper the other day a description of what the correspondent of the Times saw in the south and west of Ireland. He tells us of farms of 3000, 4000, and 5000 acres in size, with large farmsteads, supplied with water-power and steam- power, the farms giving most excellent employment to the population of the country. In districts where wages formerly were from 2s. to 3s. a week, the wages are now from 7s. to 8s., and even 10s. per week. This is the state of things now in the south and west of Ireland. We may all rejoice that such is the state of things there. What is the consequence to the people? That there is abroad at the present moment in Ireland a spirit of peace, of prosperity, of happiness in the population, and of loyalty and obedience to the laws, such as never had pre- vailed in any former period in this country. When at thepresent moment we see a great nation across the Atlantic, Of the same lineage and language, of the same birth and parentage almost, as ourselves—when we see the North against the South, the father sometimes against the son, the brother against the brother, international combat, and all about a cause of dispute on which no two men in their country are agreed as to what it is—when we see that, we may well look with pride and happiness on the union and harmony which prevail in all parts of these kingdons. (Great applause.) It is in the development of the industrial and, above all, the agricultural resources—it is in the improvement in point of social progress of the people, in the spread of education among the people—it is in the spirit of enlightened and liberal enterprise among the people, such as has characterized every work on this estate—it is in that interchange of kindly feel- ing between the owners and occupiers of land, such as we see expressed in this case, that the renovation of this country is being effected—it is owing to and by these things that Ireland is becoming in reality what poetically she has often been described to be—

Great, glorious, and free ; First flower of the earth and first gem of the sea.' (Applause.) And, gentlemen, therefore it is with all happy auguries fir the future I propose to you the toast Prosperity to Agriculture.' (Prolonged cheering.)'

— The revenue accounts for the quarter have just been published. It appears from them that the gross produce of the revenue for the undermentioned periods, compared with the corresponding periods of last year, Iras as follows :

Quarters ended Dec. 31, 1860. March 81, 1861. June 30, 1861. Sept. 30, 1861.

£5,861,000 £5,824,000 £5,821,000

£5,982,000

4,359,000 4,873,000 5,171,000 4,221,000 2,036,000 2,191,170 2,186,000

2,013,000

1,293,000 314,000 1,363,000 160,000 3,530,000 880,000 4,024,000 895,000 2,588,000 825,000 991,000 870,000 83,000 228,348 76,000 338,816 67,000 377,594 66,479 297,753 £18,270,348 £18,535,986 £18,398,594 X14,601,232 Quarters ended Customs Excise Stamps Taxes Property Tax Post-office Crown Lands Miscellaneous Totals ...... Dec. 31, March 31, June 30, 1859. 1860. 1860.

Customs £6,225,000 £5,550,618 £5,732,777 Excise 5,360,000 4,507,000 5,114,000 Stamps 2,018,000 2,128,016 2,068,242 Taxes 1,424,000 313,000 1,354,000 Property Tax ... 938,000 6,002,000 1,088,816 Post-office 830,000 9L5,000 825,000 Crown. Lands 88,000 75,000 66,000 Miscellaneous 234,830 729,178 570,339

Totals £17,112,830 £20,219,807 £16,819,174

Sept. 30, 1860.

£5,888,000 5,089,000 2,053,000 166,000 2,281,000 800,000 65,568 315,598 £16,658,166

The total produce of the revenue for the year ended September 30, 1861, was 69,806,1601., against 70,809,977!. for the previous year, being a decrease of 1,003,8171. The excise shows a decrease for the year of 1,446,0001., while the property-tax, though showing a de- crease on the quarter of 1,290,0001., altogether brings in 823,0001. more than last year. The large decrease under this head for the quarter is owing to the tax having been anticipated by the collection of five quarters in four, and also to its reduction from 10d. to 9d. This, of course, accounts for a large portion of the decrease on the quarter, which amounts altogether to 2,221,845/.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND.

— The proposed embankment of the Thames has been the sub- ject of a warm controversy between Mr. Cowper, First Commis- sioner of Works, and Mr. Thwaites, Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Mr. Cowper was of opinion that, though the con- struction of the work should be left in the hands of the Metro- politan Board, it was for many reasons desirable that Government should initiate the necessary legislation. Mr. Thwaites replied that the work was purely local, to be executed by a local authority, and to be defrayed wholly by local taxation, and that the interference of Government was uncalled for and unjust to the Board. Mr. Cowper reiterated that there was no wish on the part of Government in any way to interfere with the Metropolitan Board in the construction of the works, but that it was only his intention to introduce a bill for carrying out the plan recommended by the Royal Commission, and to take the steps prescribed by the Standing Orders. Mr. Thwaites laid the correspondence before the Metropolitan Board, which autho- rized him to reply to Mr. Cowper, stating that "The Board, while anxious to defend what they believe to be their rights, were too deeply impressed with the importance of the subject and the difficulties surrounding it to wish in any way to increase them by raising controversial ques- tions, and at once adopted the suggestion I submitted to them, to suspend the instructions they had already given the engineer for the preparation of drawings and documents required to comply with the Standing Orders, feeling that, after the assurance you had enabled me to convey to them of the intention of her Majesty's Government to assume all legislative responsibility, any present action on their part would necessarily be either antagonistic or superfluous."

Mr. Cowper said in his reply :

"You speak of your Board being anxious to defend what they conceive to be their rights, and as I am one of the last men who would wish to infringe, even inadvertently, any of their rights, I am anxious to ascertain what those rights can be.

"In considering whether the Metropolitan Board of Works possess any right to construct an embankment of the Thames out of the funds accruing from the coal duties, I am met by the following circumstances: " 1. The Metropolitan Board has no right or authority, except that which it derives from the Act of 1855 and subsequent Acts ; and the Act which empowered it to raise rate gave it no authority over the coal and wine duties. "2. These duties are levied, not by them but by the corporation of London. "3. These duties are not received by them, but by the corporation and by her Majesty's Treasury. " 4. The area over which the coal duties are levied is larger than that which is represented by the Metropolitan Board. " 5. The application of these duties to metropolitan improvements has been entrusted to the corporation and to my predecessors in office. " 6. The foreshore and bed of the Thames are under the jurisdiction of the Board of Conservancy. " As, therefore, your Board has now no power over the coal and wine duties, and no power over the foreshore of the Thames except in regard to their especial business, the main drainage, I cannot understand how the introduction of a Bill to confer upon them such powers could be treated as an aggression upon their rights. I do not see any force in the argument that because such a work would have to be authorized in a provincial town by a local Act, promoted by local commissioners or by the corporation, a similar course should be followed in re- spect of the metropolis.

"In every civilized country the metropolis receives aid, protection, and co- operation from the national Government which is not extended to other towns; and I am sure that Londoners cannot wish that their town should in this re- spect cease to be treated as a metropolis, and be reduced to the level of a pro- vmcial town."

In a subsequent letter, Mr. Cowper states, that as the foreshore to be reclaimed from the river is vested in the Crown, or the Board of Conservancy, and the surplus land may he required for public im- provements of some kind, lie intends to propose that it shall be vested in the Commissioners of Works, on behalf of the Crown and the public, but that the proceed of any such land which may be sold, shall be paid into the Embankment and Metropolitan Improvement Fund. The correspondence has been referred to the Main Drainage of the Metropolitan Board, under whose consideration it now is. — A grand review of the Lanarkshire Volunteers was held on Saturday in the park of Sir John Maxwell, at Pollok, two or three miles from Glasgow. The number of Volunteerspresent was over 7000, who were divided into two bodies for a sham 4ht, the attack- ing force, 4142 strong, being commanded by Colonel Sir J. Douglas, IC.C.B., and a defending force of 2700 men under the command of Colonel Maclean, Royal Artillery. The affair would have been a great success but for one unfortunate oversight. No adequate ar- rangement for selling and receiving tickets at the park gates had been made, and an enormous crowd—said to have amounted to upwards of 300,000 people—which had gathered from Glasgow, Paisley, and other adjacent towns, accumulated much faster than the two ticket-collectors at each gate could possibly admit them. An extraordinary scene of confusion, of course, ensued, and before long a weak point in the park fence was discovered, and the whole mass rushed m, trampling down hedges, pulling up iron fences, and ulti- mately quite overwhelming the comparatively small number of troops engaged. The whole force of police on the ground did not number more than 200, who were, of course, utterly powerless to keep the ground clear, and it was with great difficulty that the Volunteers could be distinguished from the crowds which pressed round them on All sides. At the conclusion of the review, in a short address to the

officers who had taken part in the proceedings, Sir John Douglas said :

"I hope you will express to your regiments how very much gratified we feel at the appearance of the Volunteers. Sir Hope Grant, who has ,tust left the field, said he had been mach pleased with the display. The only thing wanting is strict discipline. If attention be paid to that, the Volunteers this day reviewed will form as fine a body of troops as any in Her Majesty's army." — A shocking murder was committed at Newcastle on Tuesday. Six months ago, Mr. Frater, a tax-collector, distrained on the goods of a cabinet-maker, named Clark, for non-payment of the tax on -keep- ing a dog. the latter has several times since been heard to say he would be revenged, and on Tuesday morning, as Mr. Prater was entering his office, Clark rushed at him with a long knife, and stabbed him in the neck, completely severing the jugular vein, and causing almost immediate death. Clark was arrested on the spot, and ap- pears quite calm and unmoved, dwelling, however, with great appa- rent satisfaction on the large sale of the penny papers which will result from the publication of the particulars of his crime.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3RD.

— The Cotton Supply Association publish a letter from their secretary, Mr. G. R. Haywood, to the Viceroy of Egypt on the pro- duction of cotton in his dominions. Mr. Haywood has visited some of the cotton-producing districts of Egypt, and is of opinion, that while no soil in the world can surpass that of Egypt for the produc- tion of cotton, the implements now in use are of the rudest description possible, especially those required for irrigation. Mr. Haywood repeats his former suggestion that some such institution as a Cotton Bank, which would make advances to the fellah, or to be employed in im- proving his mode of cultivation, at 1 or 2 per cent. per month should be established. He also recommends that the American variety of cotton should be introduced into Egypt side by side with the Egyptian.

— The effects of the late bad harvest have been perceptible throughout the present year. The value of the importation of wheat in the eight months ending 31st August last was nearly twenty mil- lions sterling, against seven millions in the eorresponaing period of 1860, and eight millions in 1859. The following table shows the sources from which it was derived :

WHEAT.

Eight Months ending 31st August. 1859. 1860. 1861.

Total importation (qrs.)... ... 2,885,245 2,528,640 4,908,208 Per-tentage. - From

1859. 1860. 1861.

Russia ,.. ••• ... • 154 19 124 Prussia ...

16 31 14 Denmark ...

5 8 84 Mecklenburg

34 5 2 Haase Towns ...

14 34 34 France ••• 374 5 34 Turkey and Moldavia and Wallachia

2 5 4 Elrypt ••• 12

a

54 United States ...

— 154 364 Other countries ...

7 5 15

100 100 100

— Mr. Forster, Af.P. for Bradford, delivered a lecture " On the Civil War in America" at the Bradford Mechanics' Institute, on Tuesday evening. After dwelling on the peculiarly calamitous nature of the civil war in America, and its injurious effect on the mercantile interests of this country, he denied the assertion so frequently made, to the effect that it was a causeless war.

" He should show that evening that it was the natural crisis of that disease which had been born with the American commonwealth and grown with it, and which was now testing its very life. It appeared almost puerile to state any other cause except slavery as the cause of this war, when all who had studied American affairs had been wonderiug year after year that this state of things could go on without a convulsion. Yet there were able writers who took a con- trary view, on the ground that the South could not have intended, on account of slavery, to break up that union which virtually made the whole of the States the prison of the slave, and every Federal officer his gaoler, and drew a line bounding their own territory over which he might escape to freedom. It was argued therefore by such writers that there must be something behind slavery, and it was suggested that this something was love of place, or development of democracy, or especially, desire for free trade. But let them look at the facts; and in doing so they must judge men by their actions, not by their motives. Events depended upon what men did, not what they intended to do. (Hear, hear.) The Southerners had seceded because the Republicans had elected a president. How, then, did these Republicans come to exist? The two parties of Whigs and Democrats which had divided the Union had beau replaced by a new school of Democrats, who advocated the right of the Slave States nut merely to govern themselves as regarded their slave institutions, but to rule the whole Union for the support of those institutions, and against whom had arisen the Re- publlcan party, who said, `We will let slavery alone where it exists. We wish to preserve the union of the Free with the Slave States, but we will not allow that union to be a pro-slavery commonwealth. We will no longer be governed by the slave power, or suffer our judicature to be corrupted, our foreign policy to be controlled, our own freedom to be endangered, by the determination to conduct our Government solely for the support of slavery.' These Republicans nearly elected Fremont at the presidential election before the last, and now they had succeeded in electing Lincoln. Having elected theienuin, they must have a policy—what they called a platform.' That platform was not the abolition of slavery, but its limitation. They did not propose to interfere with the Slave States in their management of their slaves, but seeing how the slave system desolated the soil, debased the population, made labour a disgrace and idleness an honour, made the rich extravagant and insolent, and the poor degraded and disorderly wherever it existed, they declared that they would not, have it carried as a matter of right into the new territories or colonies of the- Union. The party, therefore, in their Convention at Chicago last year, passed at resolution to the effect that Congress had no power to establish slavery in any territory until its inhabitants bad formed themselves into a State, and declared for themselves whether or not they would have slavery. Now, let us turn from the North to the South, and see how it was that the alaveholders considered this resolution of the North as threatening to their peculiar institution, as if it had been not merely for its limitation, but for its immediate abolition. While a new party had been arising in the North there had been a great change in the South.

The old school of alaveholders had believed that slavery was an evil, and had looked forward to its ultimate extinction. This might be proved by extracts from speeches of Jefferson and other founders of the Constitution, in which document slavery was never mentioned, so much were its framers ashamed of its existence. Owing, i however, to the great demand for cotton, more persons had become inte- rested in slavery, and, at the same time, the progress of opinion had more and more attacked it; so that the alaveholders did that which men had always done under the same circumstances ; finding their profits endangered, they declared the principle upon which they were based to be not only not an evil but a great good. This they did until they actually believed what they said, so that the South came to be ruled by pro-slavery fanatics. Mr. Stephens, Vice-President of

the Southern Confederacy, had said, in a public speech' that its foundations

were laid—that its corner-stone rested on the great truth that slavery—subordi- nation to the superior race—was the negro's natural condition; that the Confede- racy was founded on these principles, and that this stone, which was rejected by the first builders, had, in their new edifice, become the chief stone of the corner.' "

Mr. Forster adduced other quotations and facts to show that in both North and South the question of slavery was regarded as being at the root of the quarrel, and dwelt on the avowed intention of the latter, if successful, to endeavour to extend slavery southward :

"For instance, Mr. Brown, the late colleague in the Senate of Mr. Jefferson Davis, had openly declared that he wanted Cuba, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States, for the planting and spreading of slavery, like the religion of our Divine Master, to the uttermost ends of the earth.' Mr. Stephens had also recently spoken to the same effect, and the editor of the Southern paper who reported his speech had remarked, with true Southern eloquence: ' A cordon of Free States mast never surround the God-given institution of slavery. The beautiful tree must not be girdled that it may wither and die.' "

The South were also bent upon the revival of the slave trade, though at present, in order to bribe the slave-breeding border States, and so blind England, it was their policy to be silent :

" But bow could the slaveholders suppose that they could succeed in establish- ing this great slave-holding, slave-extending, slave-trading commonwealth ? They would never have thought of succeeding if it were not that slave-holding made men both ignorant and braggarts. It so accustomed them to tyrannize over others and to shut themselves out from opinion beyond them, that they imagined that they could carry everything before them. They relied for success upon their democratic allies in the North, and upon the dependence of England and Europe upon their cotton. For instance, the Governor of Georgia, in his message to his Legislature, had actually said that the new slave commonwealth ' could, by means of its control over the export of cotton, compel the British Government to a treaty by which Canada should no longer be a harbour of fugi- tive slaves.' (Laughter.) And, terrible as would have been their success, it seemed for II..time as though this conspiracy against the progress of humanity might succeed. The North were surpnsed—stunned. It appeared as though they themselves were about to recognize the independence of the South ;

if they had done so, it would have been difficult for England not to follow their example. Calamitous, therefore, as was this war, lie rejoiced at the time—and from the bottom of his heart he rejoiced still—that there had been such an up- rising of the people of the North after the attack on Fort Sumter. Whatever else happened, that uprising had, he believed, saved the world from the calamity greater than any war, of the fulfilment of the aspirations of the leaders of the secession. (Applause)"

Mr. Forster said lie wished success to the North because he loved freedom and hated slavery:

"But it might be asked, Why does the war last? Why do not the men of the North let the South go? Why do they not make peace and have a free Union, clear of all partnership with slavery ? Before they blamed the men of the North for not doing that, they must put themselves in their position. In the first place, if he was one of them, he should doubt whether he did not owe a duty to his 4,000,000 black fellow-countrymen,—whether he ought to leave them to the tender mercies of their masters. But, putting that aside, the great reason why the men of the Free States did not say, We will dissolve the partnership in peace, and make ourselves a free Union,' was that they doubted the possibility of a tree Union upon such terms, and still more the possibility of peace."

Mr. Forster looked hopefully on the prospects of the North in the present struggle. They had more money, more men, and a better cause, and he believed the defeat of Bull's Run had set them to work in a true English spirit to remove the causes which had occasioned such defeat :

" But, if the South were defeated, what then ? Would the Slave States be re- admitted into the Union, or would they be allowed to form a separate but subor- dinate Republic? There were reasons why the Free States should be content with, or even prefer, the latter alternative. They would not be likely willingly to give up the control of the Mississippi, or to surrender the coast of tlorida, the acquisition of which had cost them so much ; but they might consent to allow the Slave States to be hemmed in by a line from the Potomac, along the Alle- ghenies, to the Mississippi, in order to escape the danger and difficulty of solving the slave question. But he was by no means sure that the restoration of the Union was impossible, although in England it was generally thought that it was so. The war might utterly disorganize society in the South. For a time the President had forced General Fremont to lower the standard of freedom which lie bad hoisted ; but military necessities might compel him to raise it again. In that case the war would be ended sooner; but it might leave the con- quered anxious for the protection of the conquerors, who would themselves feel that it was their duty to reorganize society, and to control the negroes whom they bad freed. But, even supposing this extreme policy not to be adopted, this result might follow from the success of the North. There might be a return in the South to the old feeling about slavery. The pro-slavery fanatics would be disgraced; war would have taught the non-slaveholders—the "mean whites"— that it was slavery that made them poor. The slaveholders themselves would find slavery less profitable, with India and all the world spurred into competition, and with their slaves at 6(.4 difficult to manage. And so all parties might agree to take measures for ultimate abolition, in which case the South and the North would both wish to remain in partnership." MP. Forster concluded with a few remarks upon the duty of England, which he conceived was clear: absolute non-intervention.

" We could not interfere for the North ; we should insult them if we tried to do so. It would be an eternal disgrace to us if we interfered for the South and for slavery. And we must remember that any breach of international law, by in- fraction of a legitimate blockade or by a premature recognition of the Southern Confederacy, contrary to the international rules which we ourselves had laid down, would be such intervention."

— Mr. Spurgeon lectured on the Gorilla, at his Newington Tabernacle, on Tuesday evening. Mr. Layard, M.P., took the chair, and introduced the lecturer. He said he had no idea what view Mr. Spurgeon would take of the gorilla—whether he would. treat him as a first-cousin, or whether he would speculate on the probability of a period arriving when Mr. Gorilla would lecture on some Mr. Spur- geon, instead of Mr. Spurgeon lecturing on a gorilla. Mr. du Chaillu was also on the platform, and a striking theatrical effect was pro- duced by a stuffed gorilla standing in a speaking attitude, with an arm outstretched, in the place usually occupied by the lecturer. Mr. Spurgeon then went through all the principal statements in Mr. du Chaillu's book, expressing his perfect confidence in the truthfulness of the author. A series of dissolving views, reproducing most of the plates in Mr. du Chaillu's book, were also exhibited. The immense building was densely crowded. in all parts, and the pro- ceeds of the charge for admission were to be devoted to the Band of Hope Union. — A public meeting was held, on Wednesday, at the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House, for the purpose of consolidating the Metropolitan Evening Classes into a collegiate institution, to be called "The City of London College for Young Men." The Lord Mayor presided, and the first resolution was proposed by the Bishop of London, in a long and eloquent speech. It was stated. that since 1848 nearly 6000 pupils had received instruction from the Metro- politan Evening Classes in the following extensive range of subjects : French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, music (vocal and instrumental), arithmetic, political economy, book-keeping, short-hand, chemistry, elocution, writing, history, English literature, grammar and composition, and Bible instruction. Upwards of 5441. had been received in 1860 from the pupils for the funds of the association, but as at present its income was derived solely from the .payments of the pupils and occa- sional donations, it was necessary it should be either dissolved or reorganized upon a self-supporting basis. About 400/. was sub- scribed at the meeting for the object in view. It is proposed that the college should consist of— "A patron, vice-patrons, a president, and vice-presidents—selected from among persons eminent in station and friends of education—and members, associates, and students. The members are to be divided into two classes— affiliated members, who are studying at the college, and student members, who are attending some class or classes. Upon certain conditions, small scholarships are to be conferred by the council on those who do best in the annual examinations of the college; and the title of associate will be conferred by the council, subject to certain rules."

The management will be entrusted in a great degree to the pupils themselves.

— The Friend of India gives the following statistics relative to the class from which the civilians appointed under the competitive system are derived. Of the pursuits of the successful candidates of 1859 and 1860 there were :

" Officer in the Queen's army... 1859.

... — ...... 1860.

2 Ditto in the Indian army ...

• .. 1 -

Ditto iu the navy ... ••• — 3 Ditto in the militia ... ••• — 1 Ditto in the French army ... — 1 Indian Civi! Service ... ••• 2 2 Home ditto ... ... ... — 2 Colonial ditto... ... ••• —

1

Church clergyman ... ••• 9 16 Wesleyan ditto ... ••• 2

-

Presbyterian ditto ••• ••• 1

-

Law ... ... ... ••• 2 3 Medicine ... ••• 4 10 Gentleman ... ••• 6 11 Banker ... ••• — 2 Butcher ... ••• —

1

Civil engineer ... — 1 Linendraper .

1 Druggist ... — 1 Farmer ... 1 1 Ironmonger ... — 1 Land agent ... 1

1

Merchant ... 1 7 Organist ... —

1

Printer... — 1 Professor in college 2 1 Schoolmaster 2 1 Steward ... — 1 Undertaker — 1 Wine merchant —

1

Manufacturer 1

Miller... ... ...

1

Registrar of diocese .. 1

Secretary to public society 1

Upholsterer ... ...

1

Tailor... ... ... 1

Not named ... ... —

5

Total ... 40

80" — Mr. Lindsay, M.P. for Sunderland, addressed his constituents on Wednesday evening. In reviewing the principal events of the year, Mr. Lindsay said he regretted that though the session had not been altogether barren, not so much had been done as might have been on the great points of reform, retrenchment, and economy, the three leading questions upon which the present Administration had accepted office. With regard to reform, he feared that the " tide in the affairs" of the nation had been lost when the bill of the late Administration was rejected, instead of being amended into a useful measure. He hoped that the great question of reform was not lost for ever, but he feared it would be a long time before they obtained that wise and prudent measure which was necessary.. He wished for reform because he thought it would be easier to obtain re- trenchment and administrative reform from a new House than from the House of Commons as now constituted. The present Govern- ment had not done their duty either with regard to reform or re- trenchment :

" With regard to the latter, let them refer to those two items alone—the.ez- peuditure connected with the army and the navy—and it would be found flames

FRIDA.Y, OCTOBER 4TH.

be had the pleasure of addressing them, two years ago, they had spent upon the army and navy alone, including the four or five millions for the China war—they had spent in two years of otherwise profound peace no less than 61,000,0001. sterling. In the army and navy alone they had spent more money during a period of peace than the value of all the ships which this great maritime nation and all her colonies and all her possessions owned. They had been importing corn, the'r were aware, to an enormous extent for these last two years ; yet they had spent more money upon the army and navy in two years of peace than the value of all the corn they imported in the same period, of all the wine they imported, of all the oil, of all the provisions, and, he might add, of all the tobacco, of which, he was sorry to say, they 'lied so much. (Laughter.) Let them put all these articles together and something more, and they had actually, upon our army and navy, spent more than the value of them all put together. Why, they knew there must be an end to this. If there was a necessity for it, then he said the people of this country would not begrudge the expenditure; be, for one, would not lift his voice against it; but, at the very moment when they were professing peace with all the world, to be going on with an expenditure such as that was truly alarming. The tax-gatherer was knocking almost every morning at every man's door, and that taxation was telling very seriously upon the bone and sinew of this country—the middle classes, the men with fixed in- comes (cheers); and it would tell more seriously, he feared, if a state of things to which he would thereafter refer unfortunately took place. Now, what had they done in regard to economy? He bad shown, at least, that there had been no retrenchment. When he used the word economy,' he meant it in this sense —what had they done to give the people of this country value for their money? They might remember some six or seven years ago, when he represented a neigh- bouring borough, that, in connexion with other gentlemen in London, at the breaking out of the Crimean war, he brought under the notice of the Government the state of things which then existed. They called to the attention of the then Administration that there would be an enormous sacrifice, or rather loss of money, unless some great administrative changes were made. They pointed out to the Government, and called their attention to certain facts, because these were the best means of showing an evil, and how that evil could be remedied. They told them, for instance, when they were taking away their ships, that, instead of sending their own surveyors to Newcastle, to Glasgow, or Liver- pool to examine the ships, they required the ships to go from Newcastle, Glasgow, or Liverpool to be examined. (Laughter.) That was a palpable matter that needed reform. Yet no change was made. For twelve months they insisted that the ships should go to London, and that the surveyors should not go to the outports. What was the consequence? The consequence was this, that the owner demanded and obtained higher rates than lie would otherwise have done. They brought forward an instance of an order which was given to a ship to proceed from London to Newcastle, on her way to the Crimea, to load 12 tons of cylinders; and they said they thought Newcastle was not exactly on the road from London to the Crimea, and that it was easier for the 12 tons of cylinders to be brought to London than for the ship to go to Newcastle and Iced them. They called their attention to the want of system in the loading of cargoes—that it was not altogether the thing to stow medicines and shot into the same compartments. Those were palpable matters, and yet there were no steps taken to remedy them. They might remember the discussion which took place in the House of Commons on the subject, and how his friend, Mr. Layard—who he was happy to find, was now in office, and he hoped would prove a good administrative reformer there—how he and Mr. Laing, who had proved himself so worthy a financial representative for them in India, and how the humble individual before them, were humbled down by the Government of that day, because they brought those glaring facts before them which needed reform."

The mismanagement in dockyard matters was still worse :

"In 1858-59, the late Administration appointed a committee to inquire into the management of the dockyards. That committee consisted of practical men. They examined the dockyards thoroughly. They brought in a report, saying that great changes were utterly necessary to be made. By the time that report was brought in, the present Government got into office, and, somehow or other, the committee could not get that report before them. At last it came out, and the charges brought against the administration of the Admiralty by that com- mittee were so grave, that the present Government had no other course left than to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the dockyards, and see whether the committee were justified in the remarks and in the recommendations which they made. That committee consisted of three most able and independent mem- bers—Lord Gifford, Sir Henry Willoughby, and Mr. Dalglish. That commission examined thoroughly also into the dockyards, and their report distinctly stated that in one yard they found no leas than 8000 errors in the books in the course of eight months. When they could not find any one in the dockyards who could give them the remotest idea of what a ship would cost, they set to work themselves, and by a great deal of labour, and taking the number of ships which were built in the coarse of ten years—between 1843 and 1858—at Pembroke Dockyard, they found the cost per ton of the bare hull alone, without making an allowance for interest on capital in the dockyard, was 331. 8s. 5d. ; and out of 44 ships which were built in that time no less than 30 of them were vessels of less than 1200 tons' register. Well, with a report of that kind confirming the report of the commit- tee, they would have thought that the duty of his lion, friend, Mr. Clarence Paget, as representative of the Admiralty in the House of Commons, would have been to go down to that House with that report in his band, and say, We regret these things ; they are too tru; but we cannot allow them to continue for one day longer.' If he had done that, and the Government had told him that he had no right to do so, and had given him the hint to leave office, the people of this country, in spite of our Government, would have carried him back to office, and carried him back to be First Lord of the Admiralty. But instead of that they sent his hon. friend down to the House of Commons, and they said, Oh, we find it necessary to make a change in the mode of keeping the accounts ;' as if the mode of keeping the accounts would reduce the cost of building a ship from 331. to 101. or 121. per ton!"

Mr. Lindsay then proceeded to comment upon what he considered as the groundless distrust of France, which was manifested so strongly in this country :

" Now, this led him to a question, which bad been a very vexed question i

during the last session of Parliament. It was the rivalry in arms between England and France. Scientific men said to the Admiralty that in some respects France was likely to move ahead of us in iron ships. Well, that might be very true ; but if they had got into error, whose fault was it? It was the fault of the Government not using their money in the proper quarter, and for the right article. Well, we bad now jumped into it, and just before the House rose, besides the vote of 12,000,5001., they took a vote of 250,0001., being an instalment of 2,030,0001., for the building of six more Warriors. He said that at all hazards we must maintain our maritime superiority. (Loud cheering.) But it was a most lament- able fact that as we spent, France spect ; as France spent, we spent ; and when we perhaps had got 100 Warriors, France might have got 75, and the relative position of the country would bejust the same then as it was now. What was the value of our Foreign-office, or our ambassadors abroad, if they did not endeavour to put a stop to that tomfoolery? (` Bear, hear,' and cheers.) But was it the case that France was marching onwards at such rate—that France had intentions of invading England? Why, it was an idle dream. It was a cry got up to tax them for the benefit of others. It was proved from an analysis that while we were spending 13,000,0001. on our army and navy, the expenditure of France upon her army and navy, in all its branches, did not exceed 5,000,0001. How, then, he asked, could France be marching ahead of us in maritime superiority if we were Wnding more than double what she was doing?" ith regard to America and the cotton difficulty, Mr. Lindsay ex- pressed himself thus : " If cotton could not be got down from the plantations to the depots before the rainy season came on they would not get it in England next season, and until the blockade was removed cotton certainly could not leave the plantations. Now as it would be some time before cotton was received from India, Jamaica, and else- where, he considered it the duty of our Government to endeavour to induce the Federal Government, in the cause of humanity, to remove the blockade. (Cheers.) Considering the bold stand made by the Confederates, and the strength of the South, he thought it almost time that the Governments of England and France thought of recognizing the independence of so numerous a body of . people. (Cheers, and some hisses.) It was evident that the North was not sincerely anxious to abolish slavery, which would never be removed by a servile war. The separation of North and South was much more likely to accomplish the object. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, the honourable gentleman said he would endeavour to do his duty, and carry out the principles upon which he was elected two years ago. (Loud cheers.)"

—

it John Coleridge explained his views on the new Educa- tional Minute to a meeting of the Honiton Church Association, on Wednesday. The object of the Association is to bring together the supporters of the principal Church Societies in one general meeting, at which a representative of each society might attend, and subscrip- tions would be received either for any particular society, or for a common fund to be applied to whatever society might be deemed most in need of support. After alluding to the general merits of the Association, Sir John Coledridge said be thought the National Society claimed a large share of their support during the present

year :

" I will, however, abstain from going into the general merits of the National Society, or the mode in which its affairs are conducted, or the great object which it has in view; but I suppose that every one of you has heard of—I am sure the parochial clergy will go along with me in saying that they have heard of—with some degree of alarm a certain official Minute, so called, of the Privy Council, lately promulgated, which there is no doubt will have a very considerable-1 feel I may say a very alarming—effect upon the spread of education through the country, and upon the operations of the National Society. (Cheers.) I don't mean to enter into the particular merits or demerits of that Minute. It may be perfectly wise, and founded upon perfectly good principles, for all I know. I. am only speakicg, according to the simplest mode of calculation, of what will p.ro- bably be the effect upon different societies and the parochial associations which are assisted by the National Society. I happened this morning to have a letter from the Principal of St. Mark's College, Chelsea. He tells me, as a matter of fact, without reflection one way or the other, that the effect of the Minute will be to diminish the grant from the public to his college between 8001. and 9001. a year. (Hear, hear.) Only consider what the effect of that is upon one institution—upon a college that is at present educating more than 100 masters for parochial schools throughout the country, and that has done and is doing incalculable good. if you look back upon the state of things before the college was in existence you will see what masters generally were at that time, and their operation upon the community. That is a fair way of looking at it, for you must try a great question in a broad way. If you find that that which was bad, and negligent, and indolent before, is now founded on a well-known prin- ciple that is active in its operation, and that the spread of good teaching through the country has very much increased, you are bound in justice to say that it 111 attributable to an agent that came into force at that time, and that the operation of that agent has tended to produce this good effect. Now, I have given you one instance, and if I should not be troublesome I will give you another, as to the effect of this Minute upon the parochial schools through- out the country; and I have the opportunity of stating what a careful, kind, and dispassionate man has said will be the effect upon his school. We find that, instead of receiving in his parish help from the county to the extent of 401. a year' he will for his small school only receive about 91. a year. Now, let us bring to our mind what the effect is on this particular parish. It is probable that in that parish the clergyman is the person to make up all defi- ciencies in the expense. It constantly happens—and I desire to speak from my personal knowledge of what the clergy, generally, throughout the country are called upon to do—that, in addition to all his other labours, the country clergy- man may be described as being the mainstay of the national school; that is to say, he has to answer for all expenses in carrying on the school ; and when the question is put, Is your school in debt or not?' and they get the answer' No,' it is only that the clergyman has paid off the debt. Now, if this is the effect of the Minute upon the training college in one case, and on the parochial school in the other, the question is, How is this to be met?' By the unaided assistance of the National Society ? Not unless we, the public, and the country at large come forward to assist it more liberally than we have hitherto done. It received, as other societies did, what appeared to be a great shock by the withdrawal of the Queen's Letter, which used to produce 90001. a year, and which was at once taken away. I never complained of that, nor ever guilt. Let us stand upon our own merits and upon our own exertions, and let us remember this, that the money which came fsom the Queen's Letter came out of the pockets of the public.

i

Well, is it very much to ask, if you think the object good, that you should give? The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts by vigorous exertions has met its loss, and I think the public ought to take care that the National Society and the other societies should not suffer by the loss of the Queen's Letters or the diminished grants of the Privy Council. Let it come in a gracious stream of charity • let it come in the shape of voluntary contributions from ourselves, instead of being taken from us as a por- tion of our taxes. (Cheers.) I do, therefore, hope that by-and-by you will think that the National Society is entitled to very great consideration. (Hear, hear.) I do not, 1 am sure, wish to interfere with either of the other societies. I look forward, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, to the new code of law which has been promulgated by the Government having this serious and dis- tressing effect upon us. Will you forgive me—as reference has been made to me in the report—in saying that 1 took part in framing what is called the Education Report? I was one of the commissioners, and I have heard it put forward that, with the view to carry out the recommendations of their report, this step with respect to the Minute has been taken. I think that that is most unfair. (Hear, hear.) Those who take the trouble to read the report will find several recom- mendations, all of which go to form a part of the whole. (Hear.) It is therefore unfair to take one and omit the others, and then say that you are acting on the recommendations of the commissioners. I disclaim it entirely. I, for one, am ready to stand by them—subject, of course, to having our errors pointed out. We do not suppose that we are infallible, or that it has been impossible to make mistakes. This I say, Don't attribute to the Education Commissioners anything that you do. If you take one part, don't omit the other from considera- tion.' I be your pardon for detaining you so long, and 1 shall now conclude by simply moving the adoption and printing the report." — The annual meeting of the Ludlow Agricultural Association took place on Friday last. The proceeding concluded with a dinner, at which, according to custom, a tenant-farmer presided. Among those present were Lord Northwick, Viscount Newport, M.P., Hon. Captain Clive, M.P., Mr. King King, M.P., Mr. B. Botfield, M.P., Sir Charles Boughton, &e. &c. The usual series of toasts were proposed and acknowledged by various speakers. " Prosperity and comfort to the labourers in this and adjoining districts' was given by Sir Charles Boughton, who proposed a scheme for securing better cottage accommodation for labourers : " If I shall not tire you I will give you my views of cottage accommodation. From conversations, however, that I have had with various farmers in the neigh- bourhood, I am afraid that the opinions I hold are not those that are generally entertained by the agricultural interest. I will beg you, however, notwithstanding, to allow me to state them, and it will afterwards, of course. be open to any gentleman to combat them if he thinks proper. I will oat, then, at once, with the bens of contention which I imagine will exist between us, and say that I think the whole of the cottages on an estate ought to be in the landlord's own hands. I would have him, on his part, provide amply for the wants of his estate in this respect (say one cottage for fifty acres); these, as I said, to be in the landlord's own hands, and let solely to agricultural labourers of good character. (Cheers.) I would have them let at one rent if the occupiers worked off the estate (say a rent which would pay five per cent. on the outlay), and at another and a reduced rent (probably half the amount) if they worked on the estate ; but with full liberty to choose their own master. It strikes me that some such arrangement as this would amply protect everybody; it would protect the tenant, inasmuch as it would give him a constant supply of labour close at hand to choose from—labour whose interest it would be to employ itself for him in preference to other people ; it would protect the workman from the caprice of possibly an unjust master; and, lastly, it would protect the landlord, whose property is often most grievously injured under the present plan, and without the possibility of his being able to fix the damage on the right individual. There is nothing in this arrangement I have suggested to prevent a fanner making any written agreement with a workman for any number of days', weeks', or months' service that they might mutually agree upon ; and I would here point out to the farmers a mistake they, as it seems to me, often make—that is, in following the prevailing practice of this country in having a verbal instead of a written agreement with their men. (Hear.) If they would follow the latter plan, all that litigation and expense to both parties, with which we are all so familiar at petty sessions, would be avoided, and the time of the magistrates would not be wasted in deciding the most difficult questions that come before them—not difficult on account of the slightest obscu- rity of the law on this point, but solely difficult from the very conflicting nature of the evidence from which they have to get the true facts of the case. (Cheera.)'

— The twenty-second anniversary of the Canterbury Diocesan Education Society was celebrated at Maidstone on Thursday. A sermon was preached in the morning by the Rev. Canon Robertson, and a meeting was afterwards held in the Town-hall, under the pre- sidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The meeting was ad- dressed by the Marquis Camden, Mr. Deedes, M.P., Mr. Gathorne Hardy, M.P., the latter of whom advocated at length the claims of the National Society. In reply to a vote of thanks for presiding, the Archbishop of Canterbury referred to the new Education Minute in the following terms :

" It had been, as they were aware, proposed to revise the system of national grants. He did not say whether to some extent such revisal was not necessary, for he did not believe the country would be able to employ the vast number of pupil teachers which had been produced of late years, and he knew instances in which persons trained as pupil teachers had been drafted to other situations. No doubt they had benefited by the education which they had received ; but it was not the intention of the State to train them for their own private advantage. In other points also, perhaps, some revision of the regulations was desirable, for those who had attended to some of the publications which bad been recently issued would agree with him that the sort of education which had been given to masters of country schools was something more than that which fitted them for the occupation they were to pursue. The character of the examinations was such as to show that their education was carried to an unnecessary extent, but be trusted that the feeling of the country was such that nothing that was really useful would be suffered to be changed. What had transpired daring the last few weeks showed that there was a great desire to mitigate what might appear severe in the Minute, and to argue the question on principles of common sense. He was sure that none of them would be sorry to see the whole matter tested and determined on such principles, and he was quite of opinion that great good would ensue to the cause of education from the subject being thoroughly discussed. (Cheers.)

The proceedings then terminated.