The Sun. — London, England, 1869-04-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOULITI..? The Times, in discussing the recent debate on our licensing system, observes that within ten years of the beer law, Lord Brougham, who had been one of its strongest advocates, proposed a measure for its repeal, so terrible had been the immorality occasioned by the system. The notion of the reformers was that by bringing good beer to every poor man's door they would be keeping him from the public-house-- in ether words, from bad company and vicious habits, The result, as they discovered too late, was that by putting beer in everybody's way they induced a certain number of persons to drink too much of it, and so promoted the very evil they desired to suppress. To this disappointment was added another misfortune of unexpected magnitude. The object of the Legis lature in transferring the licensing power from the magistrates to the excise was unquestionably good. Magistrates were often brewers themselves, still more frequently connected with brewing and moneyed interest; so that for various reasons they might be expected to discourage the new establishments, and, under cover of requirements touching moral character and repute, to put difficulties in the way of beer licenses. The excise officers, on the other hand, would be anxious only to increase the revenue by the consumption of exciseable articles, and, moreover, they bad no ,liscretion in the mat ter, provided the applicant for a license complied with the very easy condition of the Act. The consequence was, in the words of Mr. Bruce, "a check exercised on public houses which did not exist in regard to beerhouses "—in other words, beerhouses became independent of all control whatever. A bench of magistrates could refuse a wine and spirit license without diffi culty— the Excise could not possibly refuse a beer license. No doubt the reformers of 1830 imagined that a shop for the sale of beer alone would be as harmless an establishment as that of a grocer or teadealer ; but experience has shewn how completely they were mistaken. The truth came out the other day in our reports upon the haunts of habitual criminals. Of all the bad places in the country, a bad beershop—and of these there are many—is about the worst. Over these houses - tile' ma'gratiates have no control, the police have no control, and the Excise have only a control which is utterly nugatory. That, in fact, is the point at which reform is now most imperatively needed. It is idle to think of establishing a reign of sobriety by putting beer absolutely out of reach, but we can insure that beershops should, at any rate, be no worse conducted than public-houses, and that when they are turned into dens of thieves a short and sharp remedy should be in the hands of those who are responsible for public order. The Star says the beershops may probably be dealt with, or at least their evils will be so thoroughly exposed in discussions such as that which took place on Sir 11. Selwin-Ibbetson's bill, that a general measure on licensing kill at last be extorted from Parliament. :eucceseive Governments have long been willing enough to deal with the subject ; but they have always found themselves hampered and impeded by certain great interests and crganisatior.s which effectually prevent the matter from being settled on its merits. If the agitations which have so usefully begun go on, it will be seen that the present state of things is unbearable. It would be a good thing at once to get rid of beershops, becarse they, unlike public houses, are inevitably, if not intrinsically, bad ; but this part of the work were acconirAished there would still be many questions to be disposed of. We should have to snake up our minds whether the liquor trade ought to be open or restricted, whether the restriction should be in the form of certain requirements in the way of rental and accommodation, or should be secured by placing a discre tionary power in the hands of magistrates, or by giving a veto to the inhabitants of each neighbourhood. For the peace of the country, as well as for its sobriety and decency. all these questions ought to be settled. The Standard refers to Mr. Lowe's scheme for hiding the law courts in a hole where nobody can see them except by adventuring himself upon a penny steamboat, and declares that by the side of the Government proposi tion Sir Charles Trevelyan's plan appears at once economical, magnificent, and convenient. Mr. Lowe and Mr. Layard have mutilated the Embankment saheme, rejecting all its good and retaining all its bad features. The sum of Mr. Lowe's financial operation is this. He could erect such law courts as Le considers necessary for he has substituted h's judgmeet that of everybody at all conversant with the question, upon the Carey -street site for a net sum of about—including the money already expended —one million and six. hundred thousand pounds. This, however, he refuses to do, and embarks in a speculation which, however favourably it may turn out, assuming the land to be acquired for £OOO,OOO, most necessarily turn out a losing one to the public. Mr. Lowe, in the name of economy, wants to make ducks and drakes of the public money to prevent the erection of a palace on rising ground, which those who have to use it can conveniently get at : proposes at greater cost one in a 'aollow which cen be convenient to nobody except, perhaps a few of Mr. Layerd'e constituents, and, in a noble paroxysm of economy, attempts to dragoon the House of Commons into the perpetration of the most costly filly-- if it be not the most scandalous job—its annals can ahem The Times contrasts the position of a clergyman of the Established Church with that of A minister of a voluntary Church, as exhibited in two cases recently brought before legal tribunals—the cases of Mr. Bennett, of Frome, and of Mr. Gordon, the pastor of an Independent chapel as Peening. The clergyman holds a stetus fixed by law. The position of the minister is fixed by private contract. The clergyman, if only he obey the law, is safe, neither congregation nor bishop having power to interfere with him ; whereas in many denominations, whether or not among the Independents, the minister is at the mercy of his congregation. In short, the clergy man's tenure is infinitely tire more secure ; though that this is a doubtful advantage is, of course, open to voluntaryists to maintain. Upon the question whether the bishop should be invested with a discretion as to the initiation of proceedings against a clergyman, much may he said on both sides. The law, it may be urged, is made to protect the congregations ; it is they who seller from its violation. Hew can the law be equal for all, if each judge • i s t o ha ve a dispensing Tower? Why give a discretion to bishops, who, m the matter of doctrine orceremony, are ae great offend ersas the clergy under their charge ? If a bishop may spare a heretic, what is to prevent him from sparing an open profligate? The law is the same both for one and the other. For these reasons LOrd Shaftesbury, in his bill be fore Parliament, proposes to give power to prosecute to any three inhabitant householders of the • diocese who are Churchmen. On the other hand, it is necessary to look to the practical working of the system. As to immorality, no bishop is charged with being indulgent to immoral clergymen in his diocese, though he may not prosecute them, on account of the expense ; but for this the remedy • lies elsewhere. Then as to doctrine, the truth is, it is not Food that the law should always be rigorously enforced. These prosecutions are often oppressive to individuals • they di s t ur b t h e public, beget ill-will w h ere a ll should b e friendly co - operation, and entirely fail to produce doc trinal uniformity, The Herald thinks it necessary that an ample reserve of well-trained regular soldiers should be created, who should be ready to join the ranks when required. The great obstacle to its creation hitherto has consisted iith length of the recruits' engagement. But th e new regulation, which leaves the colonies to pr o• vide for their own protection, and largely increases the home force, e and by to make the term of service shorter; and by Passing the soldiers more rapidly through " the mill," will provide an ample supply of the best description of men for the reserv e Lord Menck, while b ear i ng ample testimony to the . patriotism of the volunteers and their utility should occasion arise for their services, very pronerry " objects to their being reckoned among the standing forces of the country ;" but we ca nno t co i nc i de in hi; opinion that the total abolition of the purchase system would tend to increase the efficiency of our army. reee motion from the ranks can only with safety be adopted in an army raised by conscription, which ensures the presence in the ranks of men of family and such education as would qualify them for promotion. In ours, consisting of volunteers from the lowest, most ignorant, and generally the worst-conducted class of the population, it would be simply impossible to find persons suited for commissioned officers in such numbers as would at all affect its organisation for the better ; while special provision for one pot tion of the men existed would not only be attended with increased expense, but would create jealousy and discontent amongst the others. The first need of the country is a reserve of regular troops, which will place it beyond the risk of danger. and from the tenor of the debate in the Upper Il ouse on Lord Monck's motion we have every hope of the speedy realise tiou of this most necessary adjunct to our national defences. The Daily News says that the story of Mr. Benjamin Higgs remains something more than a nine days' wonder, even in these days of sensational crime. If that gentle man is watching the world from the retirement he so opportunely sought, he has at least the satisfaction of having made a sensation. Thou g h the crime of which he has been guilty is nothing but commonplace and vulgar felony, he may at any rate claim the advantag e o f th e very Philistine distinction between wholesale and retail. He has been a wholesale dealer_ in roguer i es , and the more his proceedings are i nves ti ga t e d the more strange _and startling they become. It is of course easy to be wise after the even t. but it dace seem remarkable that Mr. Higgs's doubl e lif e should never have became known to . the directors of the • very immenslty of the difference g as between Mr. office, and Mr. Higg,3 of Perhapsl 1 of ti ‘- the - pastf his security. The con. Teddingtoe, constituted idea'. Where the tract is almost like one of the dreams of romance. It the antithesie of the real and ti,e lt i 4 ,i;seen,,i; failing in ti, directors of this company ale a inquire into their clerk's private , f, „ ' n ' e•iditere, but in fail ing to see that their oe system i of ' accounts was fairly e `ect eve; , carried out. They had a syslein Si) tint, better, leo now, the accountants can devise netei , n, worked. Yet they took for granted that it was bens,. Time it wes on this very system that Higgs also relied. directors did not. look alter it; but he den an 1 it answered his purpose as it rniL-ht 'have answered theirs. After all Higgs held his p,sition by the sane tenure by which everything is hell--that of wakefnlns,4 and watch fulness. He was kept awako by the penalty of dis covery—those, who should have mad., the d'seovery had' no such fear to keep tiled) Tv.vake, and they went on •in the sleepy way in which business is so generally transacted. Active personal supervi.,ion will always beat systems ir. &Inv; business, and the v: ry best machinei7 of accolm worked by a clever r , gne for his own inter-st. and no careftiflywatched by those whose interest,, :t id sueant, t;• guard, uiil on'y give a frau : a lon,;er ehanc of life. Trrz IIORI?ILLE MrI?DER 111 ISOUTII WALES, Mr. J. Williams, coroner for Breconshire, has opened an inquiry at Fenderyn touching the death of Mary Jones, who lived on a farm known by the name of Nant-y-derry. The house in which deceased resided is about a quarter of a mile from any other dwelling, and for several weeks past she lived alone, her husband having died about ten weeks ago. After his death a neighbour's daughter slept with her for three weeks, and then she told the girl to go home, as her mother had work for her to do. The deceased formerly carried milk into liirwain every day for sale, but latterly she had not done so. She was frequently heard to say that she had money enough to keep her without troubling anybody while she lived, and she was considered by her neighbours to be tole rably well off, but no one knew where she had placed her money. A will has been found in the house, bequeathing all the property she possessed to her stepdaughter, who residea at Pontypridd. The evidence of Mr. Webster, surgeon, shewed that there was a compound fracture of the skull at the back or the head, a contuse,' knd over the left eyebrow, the left hand was charred, and the right slightly so, and the body was also burnt in several places. His opinion was that death arose from laceration and injury to the brain, probably caused by the leg of a chair. The inquiry was adjourned for a fortnight, and the coroner expressed a hope that the pollee, in the meantime, would be successful in-their search after the guilty party ; but as yet the case is involved in mystery. THE TIPPERARY MURDER. An Impression now prevails that the murder of Mr. Bradshaw was not agrarian, but originated in a feeling of jealousy, excited by the habits of the deceased. There is some sense of relief in the thought that the relations of landlord and tenant have had nothing to do with the crime. It is not positively known what the immediate provocation was, but there is reason to believe that the assassin was actuated by a desire to avenge some real or. supposed wrong, wholly unconnected with land. - Bradshaw was remarkably quiet and inoffensive in his public capacity, but his relations in his household were not equally satisfactory, and led to much domestic unhappiness. He seems to have entertained some apprehensions of the fate which overtook him. A few weeks ago, as rumour has it, he dreamt he felt some per son pressing his throat as he lay asleep, and next day he made his will. In the disposition of his acquired pro perty, which was considerable, he is reported to have marked his estrangement from his wife by leaving the greater part of it for the benefit of his sister's children. He had no legitimate children of his own living. The inquest was held by Dr. Morrissy, of Tipperary, one of the county coroners. The murder has produced no ordi nary excitement among the local gentry and the people. The assembly was so large that it became necessary to conduct the inquiry in the open air. Nearly all the magistrates of the sarroundin district were present. A private investigation was afterwards held. Allis still remains in custody. He is the son of a tenant who was in arrear of rent, and whom it was stated Mr. Brad shaw intended to evict. At the close of the inquest the farmers present entered into a subscription for a reward fund to obtain information, and in a quarter of an hour they put down their names for £250. It is rather singular that it was the deceased who recently found the drunken man in a ditch at Cappawhite, and, seeing blood on his face, raised a groundless alarm of murder. LAW AND POLICE. THE CASE OF OVEREND AND GURNEY.—On Wednesday she case of Overend, Gurney, and Co. was before Vice .:!hanctilor Malins on a demurrer. A bill has been filed to make the directors responsible for the loss the company sustained by purchasing the goodwill ani undertaking the liabilities of the old company on the representation of the directors that the business of the old firm was solvent, whereas they knew that it was insolvent to the extent of £2,700,000. The directors demurred that a question of damages was not one for an equily, but a common-law court. The Vice-Chancellor overt Wed the demurrer, holding that it was a proper case to std,mit to a court of equity, and that the bill was pro. pet ly framed and ought to be answered. A LITERARY DISPUTE.—A literary inquiry of some intcri:st has Leen going on in Vice-Chancellor James's court during the last day or two. Mr. Pike, the author of a work entitled " The English and their Origin," pub lished in 'Ally 1866, filed a bill to restrain the publication of the defendant's book "The Pedigree of the English People," on the ground th t it was a piracy of his work. Both works arose out of a competition for a prize of 100 guineas offered by the National Eisteddfod at Aberystwith, in 1865 and 1866, for the best essay on the Origin of the English Nation. The plaintiff competed in 1865, when no prize was given ; but the arbitrators expressed a hope that his essay would be published. He published it in May ISGG. In that year the defendant competed for the prize, which ag eitl was not awarded. The late Lord Straugford, who was the adjudicator,praised his essAy highly, and after submitting the NIS. to several ethnologists, the deen,lant arranged for its publication by Messrs. Longmans. A copy of the work was sent to the plaintiff for notice in the Anthropo logical Renew, when he arrived at the conclusion that an unfair use had been made of his book, and filed this hill. The defendant admits having read the plaintiff's book, but asserts that the scheme and argument of his work were in existence before its publication. The case was not concluded. Dr. Irons, of Queen's College, Vicar of Bromp. tun, has been elected Barnpton Lecturer for 1870. Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, K.C.8., has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Mediter ranean Station, vice Lord Clarence Paget, whose period of service has expired. At the M insion Howe, on WedneFdly, Sydney T. Webb, a clerk in the employment of the Provincial Bank ing Corroration, was committed for trial on a charge of being cone, rued with another man, now under sentence of seven years' penal servitude, in forging and uttering a ch quo fur £397 10s., with intent to defraud. ELECTION PETITIONS.—TIIO two special cases out of the 70 election petitions arising out of the late general lection have been appointed to be argued in the Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday next. The cases are New Sarum and Manchester. THE CASE OF MADAME RACHEL.—The writ of error obtained by Madame Rachel, who remains in New. gate, is to be heard on Saturday, in the Court of Queen's Bench, when Mr. Mellish, Q.C., and Mr. Gibbons will appear for the defendant; the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, and Mr. Poland for the Crown. The error is in law--whether the court was properly consti tuted. The Bishop of Salisbury appends to a circular wbich no has issued to his clergy asking them to make collections for the Diocesan Church Building Society the following observations :—"I cannot allow this request, which I have much reason to think may be the last public ono may be allowed to make to my clergy, to go forth, without reminding them that I am seeking their -ssistance in behalf of an object which must be amoLgst those dearest to a Christian's heart, the worship of Gcd irr His Church on earth. I would also at the same time thank them for the prayers, which I have the great comfort of be lieving are being offered up for me by them and their con gregations, to the end that I may bear my sickness patiently, and that the sufferings of my body may by the gract, of (lir Lord Jesus Christ be made to minister to my son,'s rest and peace." The statistical table showing the number cf candidates who have sent in their names for the Oxfold local examinations, which commence at the vanous centres on the 24th of May, has been issued. Th,‘ total number of candidates is 1,636 namely, 1,200 juniors and 436 seniors; last year the numLer was 1,553•-1142 juniors and 411 seniors, being an increase over tlo. l'ar 1868 of 83. There are tnenty-'our centres to which can didates are stnt. The most consideruLl.! o f th ew , I; of course, London, where 338 candidates were exami ne d_ 92 seniors, 246 juniors. 31ancLee , ter comes next with 184, 35 seniors, 149 juniors. Liverpool had 158, of who u , 53 were seniors; Bath 113, 20 seniors. N, xt comes Binning. ham, 91 candidates. Tho lowest in the scale is Swansea, with only 12 candidates. Windsor had 19; Lincoln, 22; Ex. ter, Norwich, and Truro, 23 each. . SUSPENDED ANIMATION.—I have read of trees remaining dormant for a season, but I shall tell you of a case that is probably unique of its kind. There used to grow against a wall of my house a Virginian creeper. It was an old plant with a stem thicker than any man's arm, and it spread across to the next house, and my neighbour has as good a share of it as myself. By some accident the stem was broken or cut through—l think it occurred when some workpien were about the place Well, it was cut down to the ground, and the place was paved over for some distance round about, fo the roots of the plant were in a yard. Last summer, to my surprise, a strong shoot of Virginian creepeg started by the edge of a paving -stone and grew four - or fly/ feet. That shoot is now pushing a new growth, and I have no doubt at all that my creeper will be restored or the very spot where it stood before. The story so far may appear nothing extraordinary. I must add that betweer the disappearance and the reappearance of the plant fon) years have elapsed. That there may be no mistake about my meaning, let it be understood that we saw mothiug GI it through four successive summers. I suppcse some part of the r ,ot, still alive, was quickened by ttr intensely hof weather of 1868,—The garcloter'eyiragazilx. TfiE SUN, LONDON ; THURSDAY -EVENING, APRIL 29, 1.54_69. NEWS7ENDORS' BENEVOLENT ASD • - PROVIDENT INSTIT U 7 lON. Tf:e anniversary festival in aid of the funds of this charity was held on Monday evening, at the Freemasons"favern, Great Queen-street. In the abstmce of Mr. Charles Dickens, the president, Alderman Sir Benjamin Phillips occupied the chair, and amongst upwards of 200 ladies and gentlemen present were Mr. J. R. M'Lean, M.P., Mr, George Elliott, M.P., the Sheriffs of Loudon and Middlesex (Messrs. Aldermen Cotton and Hutton), Mr. Charles Dickens, jun., Mr.:Eduaund Yates, Mr. C. L. Gruneisen, Mr. F. Clements, Mr. P. Clements, Mr. Aird, &c. The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been duly honoured, Mr. Alderman CorroN, in responding to - the toast of " The Corporation of the City of London," proposed by Mr. Adams, referred to the value of the charity, and expressed a hope that it would be well supported. The CHAIRMAN proposed the toast of the evening, " Prosperity to the Newsvendors' Benevolent and Provident Institution." Before venturing to ex patiate upon the newsvendors he wished to say a few words with reference to the newspapers them selves. He then referred to the early history of newspapers, from their establishment in the 16th century, pointing out how their legitimate influence bore upon Kings, Lords, and Commons, and main tained the freedom of the people. But the ability of the literary staff and the labours of the print ing -office would go for nothing were it not for that distributing class, the newsvendors. It was for the decayed members of this great class that had now to plead. The institution was deserv ing of the support of all classes, and he re gretted-that its financial position was not better, and that its operations were crippled for want of funds. lie drew attention to the small amount of subscriptions on the present anniversary, and ex pressed a hope that that gathering would result in an accession of at least £5OO to the funds of the charity, which he hoped would be distributed amongst the necessitous newsvendors of the day, and not be put away for the benefit of the next generation. In conclusion, he expressed regret at the absence of Mr. Charles Dickens, the president, and itsho hoped dnds that t ea t t h ly e increasedsOcie the proceedings nevertheless, find of the evening. _ _ The toast having been drunk with enthusiasm, Mr. EDMUND YATES proposed in complimentary terms "The Health of Mr. Charles Dickens." A list of subscriptions, showing a s itiscactory addition to the funds of the charity, was then read by the Secretary. Mr. CnAs. DICKENS, jun., in proposing " The Ladies," said that, although his father had been seriously indisposed, there was no cause for alarm. It was true that he would be prevented for some time from appearing in the - capacity of a public " reader," but he would still be enabled to attend to his literary duties, which would be continued as heretofore. 111I,SrELLANEOUS NEWS. TEE RIGIITS 0? WOMEN. ! A correspondent of the Slur writes on the subject of women's property. Ile declares that good and just Englishmen cannot be aggrieved if their • own practice is made the binding law on all. F 4 upremacy unsanctioned by law will in variably degenerate into lawlessness. Supre macy, in the sense of a right, is slowly relaxing its hold upon society. Women have the more need of protection for any property of which they may be pos sessed, as:they are excluded bycustom and law from the rich:pastures apportioned by men to themselves. He affirms that if the principle of subordination and abnegation of self on one side are essential to social harmony, it Lid better be understood that marriage settlements are illegal. The reformers on this question are impelled by the guiding principle of modern society, and the more woman gains in independence and dignity the more she gains value in .her relation to man. In conclusion, the writer says that if a mother's property cannot be ber own, regardleLzs of her responsibility to her children, a father's property should come under the same strict restriction : but in a Philistine age we must be content with Philistine progress. The inquiry, too, amongst the slaves and others whO have come out of the Soumali country resulted iii nothing. Nobody had heard of the captives. TIIF. VOLUNTEER S, In these days of army reform and military reor ganisation every little wind seems to turn public opinion about. Ten years ago the volunteers were the pets of society ; they are now the best-abused set of people in England. A military spectator of the Portsmouth Review writes to the elegraph protesting against both extremes. He admits that there is much that is anomalous, a great deal that is absurd, in connection with the force. They have no commissariat; they are badly orga nised in some respects ; they committed blunders— perhaps serious ones—at Dover ; and they have done quite as bad elsewhere. But, notwithstanding, they are not therefore to be despised. They have shewn qualities of steadiness and solidity which, should occasion require, will be brought out. They know nothing as yet of military experience. But an enemy would hardly invade without notice; and there would be time to organise, and to raise a commissariat, &c., by the time the force would bs required. The military correspondent does not say why—supposing, as he does, that the volunteers would be required in time of invasion—the organisa tion and the raising of a commissariat, the teaching in the art of arms and war, should not be carried out rather in the calm clays of peace than during a panic caused by fear of invasion. Most probably lie knows no reason, MORE ABOUT GUNS. The Ordnance investigation, hitherto prose cuted before a Joint Committee of Congress, has developed the following, among other interesting facts : SUMMARY OF BURST GUNS. Parrott 100-pounders (rifles) Parr4:tt 15D- pounders (8 inch rifles) Parrott 10-inch rifles Parrott 30-pounders Rodn.an 12-iuch rifles .. - 4 Podmau 8-inch rifles Rodman 15 inch smooth-b' re (navy) l7 Rodman 1.1 - -inch smooth-bore (army) 1 I `ahlgren 150-pounders (rifles) 3 Dahlgren }n-pounders (rifles) Dahlgren 50-pounders (rifles) Dahlgren 30-pounders (rifles) Dshlgren 80-pounders (condemned) 2 Dahlgren 50-pounders (c. , nd ruffed) D;d 150-pounders (condemned) 6 Dahlgren 13-inch smooth-bore 1 Dahlgren 11-inch smooth-bore 1 Miscellaneous wrought and cast-iron Burst. spontaneonsly Cracked, fissured, or ruptured before proof Total_ 258 Eighteen Parrott 100-pounders, in addition to the above, are unaccounted for, supposed to be burst. Twenty-seven Parrott 150-pounders were con demned by the navy. Of 43 Rodman 15-inch guns, cast for the navy, which was the greatest number' in service at any one time, 17 have burst or been disabled. ' Of three 12-inch Rodman rifles, cast for the navy, one was rifled on the plan of Mr. Parrott acd burst at. the 27th fire ; one on the plan of At water, burst at the 30th fire; one on the plan of Rodman, burst at the 16th fire. Of four Dahlgren 150-pounder rifles, one burst at the 27th fire, one at the 20th fire, one at the 75th fire, and one at the 60th fire. One 13-inch gun, cast solid, at Provi dence, endured 178 fires. One 13-inch gun, cast hollow, at Pittsburgh, endured 108 fires. The navy 15-inch guns, cast on Rodman's plan, are divided by Admiral Dahlgren in his testimony into three classes :-1. The original Dahlgren model. 2. The new model by Captain Wise. 3. The new model by Captain Wise. Of the first class, 3-1 were cast, 17 were altered to the second class. Of these, eight were disabled—nearly half—after enduring but an average of 135 fires for each. One-fifth of the un altered guns were disabled after an average of 175 fires for each gun. Sixty-six guns were cast of the third class. The trial gun endured biit 131 fires, when it was disabled. Of the remaining 65, 40 have been mounted in iron -clads, and have been altogether fired 1,333 times ; one burst, three condemned, two of them sold as old iron. One-fifth of these failed, being subjected to an average of 53 fires each. The guns above enume rated are all the 15-inch Rodman guns which have been fired in service, none of the army guns having been so fired. The Rodman gun was first officially adopted in 1862 by the Ordnance Board, of which the inventor and patentee was a member. When Gen. Dyer became Chief of Ordnance, in the fall of . 1864, one of his first acts was to appoint Gen. Rod man Constructor of Ordnance. He raised the price of the 15-inch gun to $7,000, which was previously $6,500, and issued an order to receive the guns made under the supervision of the constructor without subjecting them to the powder-proof. Thus it can be seen that General Rodman has held in succession three important positions in relation to ' the reception of his guns, one-twelfth of the whole price of which he has received as royalty, viz. :- Ist. Inventor and patentee while an officer of the United States army, and of the Ordnance Board— the power behind the throne—which adopted his invention officially for the service of the United States. 3d. Constructor of ordnance, charged with the inspection and reception of the guns in which he is interested as patentee, receiving a royalty. two hundred and ninety-six 15-inch guns have been re ceived by the army ordnance department under this organization :-1.233 10-inch Rodman guns, and one hundred and fifty-five 8-inch, for which car riages and a large supply of projectiles b ave been pur chased. There are no data upon which to found an opinion that the Rodman gun, if subjected to service test, would have any special rate of endur ance. 'None of them, except those referred to above as used in the navy, have been fired in battle ' or service. A large proportion of them have been mounted without having been fired at all. The siege and sea -coast guns purchased by the Army Ordnance Office from the Ist of July, 1861, to June 30, 1866, c05t55,354,365 51 ; of this amount, $708,554 20 was paid for Parrott guns. The rest of this amount was paid principally for Rodman guns. $3,230,526 52 was paid for Parrott projec tiles. 4289,105 80 was paid to Mr. Parrott for carriages for his 1 0 0 -pounders, 200-pounders, and 300-pounders. The navy purchases from the Fort Pitt fouitdery, where the Rodman guns were prin cipally made, amortnted to $2,116,052 62. The navy purchases from Mr. Parrott have not been ascertained. It is believed that more than 175 100-pounder guns were. obtained. The number of the Dahlgren shell guns which have been cracked or fissured inside previc us to proof, or during ex periments or service, could not be learned. The Chief of the Bureau evaded the questions relating to the bad qualifies of his own invention, while he was elaborate in his answers as to the bad qualities of the gams of al er inventors.—New York Tribune. GOOD NEWS FOR SCHOOLBOYS. A society has been started to effect a reform in our spelling, and it has just held a meeting at Liver pool. The society do not adopt the phonetic system, which would alter 80 per cent. of the words in the English language. They propose a milder revolution, which would affect only 20 per cent. The changes consist for the most part in omitting " unnecessary " letters, such as the letters ugh in words ending in ough, and the omission of the b in such words as debt and doubt. The advocates of this change clearly attach no value to philology. Of course, the word det would convey no indication of its derivation from the Latin .de7;ct ; on the contrary, it would seem to be derived from a verb which has exactly the opposite meaning, which implies that something has been given, instead of that something is owed. The advocates of this change cited W. S. Landor Fran' lin and Swift as being on their side. But these would have been the last to sanction alterations which destroyed the history of our language. There is more to be said for another change which was suggested at the meeting, namely, that all regular plurals should be formed in one way ; that words ending in y, for instance, should become plural simply by the addition of an s, instead of, as at present, by a change into ies. FREE AIYMISS_zIONS. Some of the theatrical folk are complaining of the system which pfevails of filling houses with persons who have not paid for their places. It is said that there is hardly a theatre in London which is paying its expenses. The reason for this is said to be that most theatre-goers know where to get free admissions. They don't want to ply where they can see and hear for nothing. The manruzers reply that they cannot help themselves. The public will have full houses. An empty house begets a still emptier one. Cer tainly the managers ought to hnow their own inte rest best. Put it would be worth while, as the present system does not Pay, tryinz the new one. THY: if MDT 0 0 TIE FIGHT. The Morning Advertiser, the organ of the " No Popery " party, states that there will be three divi sions in which Mr. Gladstone's attempt to endow Maynooth will be resisted. Mr. Whalley and Mr. Sinclair-Aytoun will take the initiative in the matter. The Advertiser does not expect that they will be successful, but hopes to spew up Mr. Gladstone. The Owl believes that Mr. Gladstone will concede to the Opposition the pint about the transfer of ecclesias tical residences. A DIVISION WITIIOVT A DIVIDEND. The House of Commons has just enjoyed a novel in the shape of a division in which the numbers f 4 the Ayes were 0. Sir Robert Clifton. the word representative of the class whose special advocate I is, insisted upon dividing; the House against Sir Seiwin-Ibbetson's bill, and succeeded so far as to fir another teller, Mr. Conolly, an Ulster M.P., vei strong upon the Irish Church, and, it would seen equally strong upon public-houses. But the tm tellers went t o th e i r pos t s to no purpose. The waited and waited, but not a single member gave i his name, not even Mr. Martin, the member fc Rochester, and the two hon. gentlemen had I undergo no slight amount of chaff when the Sneak( announced " Ayes none, Noes 232." QUESTIONS AND NOTICES. An improvement has been made in the arrange. ment of the parliamentary- notices. Hitherto notice, of questions have been huddled up with notices o • motions. They are henceforth to be kept distinct to the great convenience of members and of al persons who take in the parliamentary papers. Some very important questions will be asked to-night Lord John Manners will inquire if the Chief Secre, taffy for Ireland intends to propose any measure fo] the better security of life in Tipperary and West. meath„ Viscount Enfield will ask if Mr. Bruce': attention has been drawn to the decision cf the Middlesex mag etrates with regerd to the Haymarket night-houses. Mr. White will eslc if church rates cannot be levied and enforced under the local acts and, if so, whether Government is prepared to relievc parishes from such compulsion. Some of the notices of motion also are important Mr. Lefevre (who is a member of the Government', will as!: for a return of the names and the capital of all life insurance companies registered since 1844, and the particulars of any amalgamation or winding up that has taken place. Mr. Headlam will ask for full particulars about the Rinderpest. Colonel Lindsay will ask what the Government intend to do in consequence of Sir Hope Grant's statement that " the volunteer force cannot be really serviceable if it is not placed while under arms under some more stringent military control." Mr. Raikcs will call attention to the position of parliamentary agents at elections, Sir Georg e J en ki nson t o turnpikes ; and Mr. 'Norwood means to move on going into committee on the Imprisonment for Debt Bill, that it is not expedient to abolish such imprison ment without extending the power of the judge for committal in order to secure the payment of small debts. In other words, Mr. Norwood wants to give the tallyman still greater hold over the unfortunate Cornish miners who suffer from extravagant wives than he now possesses. STREET TRAMIVAYS. Unless the House of Lords interp oses it s arm, London will soon be supplied with tramways. The select committee of the House of Commons has agreed to the details of three schemes, and the substitute for the crazy, lumbering omnibus will, it is to be hop e d soon have a trial. If successful, the " tram s " will ere long be laid down throughout London, will spread to the towns of the provinces , and create - a revolution in locomotion second in importance only to that caused by the introduction of steam. The experiment will be watched with the greatest interest, THE PERMISSIVE BILL. --- An important meeting was held at Manchester on Tuesday night in favour of the Permissive Bill. Sorneof the leading men of the neighbourhood spoke. Mr. Birley, the Conservative member for Man chester, said he "Had often felt that, however anxious they might be to promote temperance, and however willing they might be to impose sacrifices upon themselves, yet it might be a question how far they had a right to impose those sacrifices upon others. But when he considered that in the progress of legislation it was sometimes necessary to curtail and diminish the freedom of the individual for the general good, it certainly appeared to him that the present was an occasion upon which that principle might be fully carried out. He believed that if the bill was adopted in any large portion of a c:ty, that that portion would become the favourite residence of the respectable inhabitants. It was distressing to know that, at the present time, a respectable working man e:pe rienced the greatest difficulty in finding a home for his family in a locality where they were not exposed to sounds and scenes which they ought not to see and hear. Last year he visited many towns in Germany, and he made it his study to see whether there were to be seen there the degrading sights which met the eye at every turn in this country ; but he observ, d a marked difference. A degree of quiet and order pr.vailed in the lower parts of the towns which could mt be found in this country amongst the same orders of soe , ty. 'rhe evil of drunken ness had risen to a height hich must be earnestly grappled with by bath the people and the Legislature." TUE CAPTIVES IN THE SOUMALI COUNTItY. During the excitement caused by the successful termination of the war in Abyssinia efforts were put forth in this country to obtain an interest in some very apocryphal white slaves, who, it was said, were being detained in the Soumali country. The story told was most romantic. A ship called the St. Abbs had been wrecked off the coast of Soumali on the west of Africa. Certain of the crew managed to escape drowning, and were cast up on the shore where the "wild Africans" live. Those most interest ing persons had no pity on the shipwrecked sailors, but took them into the interior of the country and sold them for slaves. That they were still alive was said to have been attested by certain inscriptions on the &ins which came from the neighbourhood where they were supposed to be held in bondage. The story was investigated. how it arose nobody knew. Certain it was that nearly every statement on which it might be supposed to rest fell to the ground. Thera were left only the two facts that a ship was wreaked, and that skins inscribed with Roman literals had come to the coast. This was considered sufficient to call for a private expedition. The Government ordered every inquiry to be made. Mr. H. A. Churchill, C. 8., her Majesty's political agent at Zan ibar, writes to the Poreign Oflice reportinf.v, that Mr. Heale, who had been sent to Brava, lm; .s learnt nothin respecting. the men, The sum of £lOO was offered for every captive, but ito response was wade during the six months that 311.. I was at Brava, from any quarter, althouo the most influential chief of Brava male the ofLr knovm far ; , ,jici neAr, THE DUNE OF HAMILTON. A Gl,sgow paper announces that the Duke of Hamilton is about to give up the turf, and will sell his horses. We do not know if this intention is due to disgust at being blackballed by the Jockey Club, but we do know that it will be the wisest step which his Grace ever took. Ilis career has been only one degree less of a " frightful example" than that of the Marquis of .Hastings. The sums that the owner of two dukedoms has lost. on the turf are something prodigious TliZ SEASON. The London season has commenced, and the li.d.etropolis is full. Full too at a time when the country is so very beautif u l. All the-great families have left their mansions, parks, and lawns, with the freshness of spring upon them, and are now helping to choke the over-full, and certainly not lovely, metropolis. Why is this? Fashion, we arc told, ift inexorable. No matter th , A real enjoyment cannot be had. Excitement can, and the onemust makeup for the other. Moreover, materfamilias urges that she wants her daughters to marry. And so she leaves the more healthy country and comes to ruinously expensive London, there, amidst the feverish whirl of balls and parties, to get her daughters mated for life. The L'ailyYexs ass whether all this is necessary : • " We would ask if everybody cannot be seen and every body get married without everybody rushing up to London for the purpose at a certain time, and that time the most delicious one of the r ura l year? We fancy that folks married and gave in marriage before the days of the iron rail, and still go through those indispensable ceremonies in countries where iron rails and their con verging points at a metropolis are as yet wholly unknown. As for free and frequent intercourse with comparatively distant neighbours, that, no doubt, was a matter difficult of attainment before steam was applied to locomotion; but the very same ease and r a pidi ty of moving about which we now owe to railways can surely be utilised in carrying people from county to county, and from one part of the country to another, as in carrying them all up to London." AMERICAN FLVA NCB, 1865-1869.* (From the Anglo -American Times.) t! , e Ist July, 1860 This article thus opens—" The public debt of the United States amounted, nn to a capital of £13,400,000. On the Ist July, 1865 ' according to Mr. M'Culloch's latest report, the tl u yh r e s_sc years notoe t t( e ) Gab' between nmite, the debt, including unliquidtted claim 3 exceded r e i e x7 i e e ° n: v n d:i rt°u' considers d averaged ers. During th n at e nearly President and Congress alone prevented political parties from being formed anew on financial grounds on the submi , sion of the Confederate States. Of the men who directed the financial policy of the Johnson Administration he does not think highly, and though the President interfered little, that little neither increased his reputation as a financier nor as a statesman. On Mr. M'Culloch and his subordinat-s fell the labour and re sponsibility. That gentleman gained his financial experience in Indiana, when that State was a part of " the West," and so ,kilfully conducted the State Bank that it maintained specie payments in 1857 when all its rivals had suspended. On Mr. Chase, the Secretary, in 1861 converting the bank-note circulation into a national currency, he selected Mr. M'Culloch for Comptroller of the Currency. In 1864 NI riChase was succeeded by SenatorFessen den, who, after nine months, returnel to the Senate i❑ preference• and APCulloch was promoted to be Secretary of the Treasury. The Reviewer describes Mr. M'Culloch as good in his judgment and advice, unquestioned in integrity, patient, hopeful, courage ous; but he hari no weigh t,no influence,easy in temper, and inclined toyield; therefore, however forcible and just his remarks, no one attended, Congress seized his functions, and left him to c irry out its policy with which he had only a moderate sympathy. Mr. Rollins was neutralized by political jealousies, and Mr. Wells' duties were consultative only. Con gress distrusting the Executive assumed some of its functions, but unfortunately the members had been taught to regard with contempt mere administration compared with the moral questions on which they were returned. " The leaders of Congress, brought up as they had been to study moral abstrac tions alone, carried, as heads of committees and framers of bills, the wildest financial theories into practical effect. They undertook, with the aid of their boldest and ablest member, the late Thad deus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, to make laws of political economy by Act of Congress, and they succeeded so far as to throw the economical fabric of society into an unnatural and unsound condition, likely to last many years, and to cost the nation either a more or less violent shock if corrected, or a still severer blow to its credit and honour if al lowed to become chronic." The Reviewer then goes o❑ to discuss "rings" and their influence, asserting that "no bill that has money in it is-said to have a chance of h2coming law without paying tax to some one in its passage. On the surrender of the South ern armies the embarrassment of the Treasury was great, but the people took up at once £100,000,000 of Seven-Thirty cores, and from that time there has always been a surplus instead of a deficiency. The financial difficulties belong to the two classes ; those which relate to the management of the debt, including the depreciated Legal- render currency, and those which relate to revenue. Mr. M.Culloch turned his attention first to the Currency, but Con gress declined to give him supreme power in deal ing with it, limiting him to withdraw £2,000,000 of greenbacks in six months, and afterwards £BOO,OOO per month. After reducing the amount from £80,000,000 to £73,000,000 hard times came ; a cry was raised against contraction, and Mr. M•Culloch yielded, and stopped redemption. On the meeting of Congress, in spite of the Secretary's protest, a Bill was passed withdrawing the power of contraction. The Reviewer defends Mr. M'Cul loch's policy in accumulating a large gold reserve in the Treasury to encourage regular trade and to discourage speculators, and he managed to liquidate £260,000,000 of temporary obligations within three years after the war, more than £125.000,000 being actually paid out of surplus revenue; but lie is of opinion that all England considers him to be in error in devoting so large a sum to the discharge of a debt while industry was suffering under such de • structive taxation. An excellent summary of the attacks on the national credit is then given ; the proceedings of Congress; of the politicians to make political capital ; the real feeling of the nation ; and what the repudiators got for their pains. All which is familiar to our readers, and we are glad to see how admirably correct the " Review" is. The Reviewer proceeds to discuss the way in which the Government raised the necessary revenue. There was no want of money, for the country was very wealthy, the Northern States being untouched by the war; but how to collect it proved the problem. The excessive taxes imposed were destructive to healthy industry and violated every economic law. After enumerating these imposts, he adds, " Perhaps the most mischievous tax of all, which eat into the heart of society like a cancer, was that which resulted from the additional profit charged by every tradesman or manufacturer, as a compen sation, for the risks to which he was subjected by the daily fluctuations of the currency." To this system and to this vitiated currency the Reviewer attributes the corruption which has undoubtedly been developed. Productive pursuits ceased to * " Edinburgh Review," April, 1869. !yield a return comparable to the rapid gains of trade and speculation- —the rural districts threw their surpl Ll 3 population into the great cities, which, in spite of the rise in rents and cost of living, rapidly grew. The currency acted as a violent spur to speculation and as a screen to profits ; smuggling became a system and fraud a habit. This state of things attracted the serious attention of Congress, and the still more serious attention of really patrio tic citizens, but though Congress stormed, it did no thing effectual to check the tide. The system of officering the Government service was ingeniously contrived to give force to the current ; bur, not withstanding the efforts made in both Houses, no change took place. We write from memory, but the Reviewer does not appear fully to appreciate what a tremendous check corruption would receive in the passage of such a bill as that of Mr. Jenckes, of Rhode Island. Ile asserts with truth what Mr. Wellsaffirms, that the effectof greenback currency is to make the rich richer and the poor poorer ; to make speculation a trade, and to generate huge corpora tions, whose wealth and power create oligarchies in their States. Strong and severe as is the article, we are bound tosay that the writer has put down naught in malice, and its point and force are derived from its simple truth. Although the overflow of corruption, leaving its slimy traces all over the country, breeding plagues in its malaria, is not a pretty picture for Americans to contemplate. They do not object to hear the truth from a foreign critic. It is below what their own papers state to be the case, and the Reviewer can substantiate all he says from official documents. Still we hold with the Hon. Thomas A. Jenckes that it is but a temporary phase, one of those manias which follow other periods of excite ment, and which end in a general smash when people will awake to a stern reality, and learn by experience that they must not only be honest them selves, but force their neighbours to be honeit as well ; and that any lapse from this rule will surely tend against the weal of society. It is but the scum which has boiled up to the surface that we see, while beneath it is clear. and pure. Before the war there were those who affirmed that all martial quali ties bad died out in the trading, peddling Yankee, yet the world knows how this was belied by events. We hope the first step in reform is the passage of the Civil Service Bill ; that the Courts and I, ,gisla tures will be purified ; but, above all, that society will learn to stigmatize crime, and cease to hold that success makes any difference. 7 HE PACIFIC RAILROAD. The Union Pacific Railway fight continues un abated, indeed grows in dimensions and crops up everywhere. In IJtah, in Washington, and in New York it excites great interest { ; in the courts and in the Legislature it is the all-absorbing topic. De bate has followed debate, recrimination has followed recrimination, and the public are utterly at a loss to judge of the merits of a case wherein the de fendants openly proclaim on the witness stand• and in the halls of the Legislature the rascality of the plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs assert as confidently the rascality of the defendants. In the examina- Lion there is a wide discrepancy between the affi davits sworn to, and the evidence given, and in Congress the speeches on the subject deal very freely with the characters of the directors. Senator Stewart, of _Nevada, made a savage attack on Loth the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Credit Mohilier. The latter be asserts to have de featt d the law which int Aided the stock to be open for subE.criptiou by subscribing a little, then closing the books, and building the road out of the enor mous subsidies obtained for bonds. The Senate con cluded by passing -a motion to direct the President to fix the point of junction according to the legal rights of the respective roads; and another motion was agreed to, off e red by M r . Davis, of Kentucky, to investigate whether or not the character and all the franchises of the Union Pacific Railroad and its branches have not been forfeited, and to execute all necessary legal proceedings if they have ; second, to investigate whether the said company has not made illegal dividends upon its stock, and if so to execute the necessary legal proceedings to have the same reimbursed ; and third, to investigate whether any of the directors, or agents, or employes of the company have or have not violated any penal law, and if so to institute, the proper criminal proceed ings againsts all of them who have done so. The House Committee on the Pacific Railroad, after hearing arguments for and against the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, decided to suggest the adoption of a resolution asking the House to autho rize the continuance of the investigation and the taking of testimony during the recess of Congress. A joint resolution was eventually passed by Con gress, after long and adjourned debates, by the Senate. It provides that stockholders of the Union Pacific Road shall bold a meeting in Boston on April 22 to elect directors and estab.ish the general office at such place as they may select ; that Ogden shall be the point of junctiou of the two roads ; that the Union Pacific shall continue laying the track until reaching Promontory Summit, but the Central Pacific shall pay for and own the same from Ogden ; that the President shall appoint Gotnmissioners to examineinto the condition of the roads, and shall withhold a sufficient amount of bonds to insure their completion as first-class roads in every respect, and that the A ttoruey-General shall institute an exa mination as to whether the two roads have forfeited heir franchises, and, if so, to proceed against them. tThe liouseComrnittee agreed to withhold/row both companies the bonds on the 80 miles of road be tween Monument Point and Ogden until the ques tion of junctiou was ~ : ettled, a decision which quickly brought the companies together to arrange their differences. In the meantime the legal squabbles progressing in .New York are b ecom i ng a bore. The affidavits, the speeches of counsel, the ruling of Judges are interminable; however, the latest de velopment is of interest, namely, that a clerk of Mr. Durrant has credited to his private account $5,000,000, against which the Union Pacific draw cheques when it wants money. By direction of the Secretary of War, the military route of travel to the Pacific coast is fixed by the Pacific Railroad, and $2OO advance mileage will be paid to officers under orders from the East to California, Oregon &c. PRICE OF GOLD. Coe qUotalion of gold at Paris is about at par, and t .c sheri exchange on London is 281. 170. per £1 sterlin_ ii c. , hiparini ; these rates with the Englisii dint price of , e. WO. per ounce tor standard gold, it itupe.rs that gold at the above price is of ab int the same value in Lon ~ oii and Paris. The course of exchange at ;Sew York on London for bilis tt i3O days' t•nrtu was oil the last date about 1 81 per cent At this rate there is no profit on tile hoportutlou of via from the Um cu tates. LUXURIANT AND BEAUTIFUL lIAIR.-11RS. S. A ALLEN'S WORLD'S HAIR RESTORER OR DRESSING never fails to quickly restore Grey or Faded Hair to its youthful colour and beauty, and with the first application a beautiful gloss and de lightful fragrance is given to the Hair. It stops the Hair from falling off. It prevents baldness. It promotes luxuriant growth; it causes the Hair to grow thick and strong. It removes all dandruff. It contains neither oil nor dye. In large Bottlea Price Six Shillings. Sold by most Chemists and, Perfumers Depot 266. High Holborn [A I) V ERTISEMENT.] Dysp e p s i a (Indigestion), Constipation, Debility, Consumption, and all nervous, bilious, stomach, and liver complaints in every stage, are only aggravated and accele rated by drugs of every description, but perfectly curable by Du Barry's health -restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had been considered hopeless, such as —cough. asthma, also diarrhoea, hemorrhoids, liver complaints, flatulency, nervousness, biliousness, fevers, sore throats, diphthe ria, catarrhs, colds, influenza, noises in the head and ears, rheu matism, gout, impurities, eruptions, hysteria, neuralgia, irrita bility, sleeplessness, acidity, palpitation, heartburn, headache, debility, dropsy, cramps, spasms, nausea, and sickness, even in pregnancy or at sea, sinking fits, bronchitis, scrofula, tightness of the chest, pains at the pit of the stomach and between the shoulders, Sc. We quote a few :—The Pope's health restored by Du Barry's Food. Cure No. 68,413—" tiome, July 12, 1863—The health of the Holy Father is excellent, especially since, abandon ing all other remedies, ho has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food, of which no consumes a plate ful at every meal. It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on his health, and his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly.—From the "Gazette du Midi," July 23. Cure No. 46,')70 —Mr. James Roberts, timber merchant, o f F r i mley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derangement, and partial deafness. Cure No. 1.7 71—Lerd Stuart do Decies, Lord-Lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia. No. 49,832—" Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria July." Important Caution.-- Beware of the many unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, without authority, Baron Liebig's name is most auda ciously attached. _ _ In tins, at Is. I_d.; 1 lb. 2s. Id.; 2 lbs. 4s. 6:1 ; 5 lbs. Ils.; 12 lbs, 225. ; 4 lbs, 40s. Also Do BARRY'S 113VALENTA AF.," THCA. Cuoco LATE POWDER is packed in tin canisters; for 12 cups at 25., for 24 cups at is. 6d., for 48 cups at 65., for 288 cups at Os. foi 576 cups at 55s.—being about oue penny per cup. Tho 30s. and 555. tins are sent free of carriage in England on receipt of Post °face Order.'—BAßßY Do BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent street, Lon don; and all Grocers and Chemists. CRIME IN PHILADELPHIA. TWITCHELL'S CONFESSION AND DEA TIL—For those of our readers who do not know the circumstances' s " may mention that a man named Twitchell, holding a good-positi on i n soc i ety i n Philadelphia, was COh: victed, aft er a f a i r tr i a l , of the murder of Airs. Hill' Ms mother-in-law, whose body was discovered lying beneath the window of her house, from which she had been thrown. It appeared evident on investi gating the room that the old lady had been murder ed when asleep o u th e so f a, and that the perpe trator had cast th e b o d y t h rough the window. TWI caell ant 11:5 wi f e were wrested ou suspicion and , tried ; th e f ormer was found Guilty and condemned to death, the latter being Acquitted. The atrocity of the act, coupled with the social position of the accused, excited towards this case an unusual degre e _ of attention. E very e ff ort that !honey or intere s t could exert was made to save the culprit; and, these failing, he was supuosed, iu c ud _ . junction witu h is w if e, to have made a COni".. sign, throwing the guilt on her, who, as already acquitted, could nut again be tried. fits contessie u t is its follows :—" I went to my room on the ei ght of the murd er , an d i nstead of going to bed I laid down on the lounge iu my room and fell a sleep My wife was in bed at the time. I was roused by her repeated calls, and ran down to the room, wnere I found her much excited, saying, I have had a quarrel with mother and killed her.' dO not kuow whether she said, ' Save cue ° i t Help me, hide we!' b u t at l ast we threw the bo dy of lilts. tilt out of the window, to make it look it sue tell out. I went down stairs auu wasued iffy hands and face at the hydrant, then went co al twin, undressed, and went to bed. My wale eaine up atterwards and got into bed, where we staid until SaraftUumpuen rung the bell. 1 thing were in toed ten or twenty minutes. I made l e solemn vow to the eternal tiod that night that a °aid Lever reveal it, but 1 cannot keep it AY longer. I am sorry that I have said I knew nothing of it, but I oiu it with we vow In my mind, aua L ° save nix wile. I now wake these thselusures thati may have peace With biud. (Signed) GEoitGE 6 ' iwercitEhh, jun. lu pit:suttee La the Rev. tieurg e litiuBuurst and William IL Peikius." shortly after the confession, but before it was publiseedi Mrs. Twitca,ll visited her husband tor the 1 06 time, and had a conveisation with the Rev. G' Briughurst. From him she learned, in respell° to her eager questions, that Twitchell had confessed' and con n ec te d h er w i th the murder. " ihe°2 exclaimed ans. Twitchell, "he is a villain,- th e greatest villain ou the face of the earth. On asii ihg whether he intended to make any statement on the scaffold she was answered that he did. T he knowledge appeared to disconcert her that news - Riper reporters ft ould be present. She did not re peat her visit, but left the city shortly after, and IG was then falsely rumoured that she was n°" where to be found. Twitchell, on learning th at Mr. Bringhuist had published his coniession, de clared it to have been against his desire and '; o ° - sent, as he only wished it to become known alt er his execution. While asserting its discrepancies to be the best proof of its truth, he was unable W whettitr his wife was dressed or nut when al' e called him down, being, he declared, so stunned by what she had told him. When questioncd more closely on the mot ves of his coureaston, he said, " I did it because my wiie deserted ine. Be fore last Filthy week she called to Lae me twice week, but always seemed in a hurry to get aw a i t and did nut show any affection for the. On the 0 C casiou of her last visit the othcer of the prison told her taut from that time out she might see me every dal it she desired. \\rhea leaving I said to he r, there must be some light thrown liP e° this thing.' She only replied, I will come su° Ll again.' She then left, and I haven't seen he r since. I think it hard that she should abandon hie now after the sacrifices I have made for her. If immediately after her acquittal she had told me th e whole truth, I believe my life would have been saved. I see the shameful death I am to die oil Thursday, but I would not change places with her , fur 1 wilt die with the colvicluaSueSS of yielding iiP my life for a faithless and crinimai wife, while slid will live, after Thursday, with my blood added to tier soul, which is already stained with that of for mother. The truth will perhaps never be kilaW°l fur wheu Thursday dawned the day on which he was to be executed, Twitchell was found by keeper dead in his bed. Ou the previous night he gave Mr. Briughurst the key wi t h which he had wound up his watch, remarking, it was the last time' Ile saw Eaton., who was to be executed the sam e day, and remarked, " Jerry, you will have i° g cl mune, l will not be with you , b ut mum ' s the wol d• „ On this being told the officers of the prison, his cell was Carefully searched, even the locking-glass being taken away. lie suffered intense mental agony when visited by three Catholic priests, and eviuced an overwhelming terror at his impending fate. i t : 12 o'clock he was wal k ing about his cell, b at 'I) a.in. when th e k eeper looked in he was iu b the blanket over his head. When next the keep er visited him it was 5.15, when the blauket, Wa s thrown down to his middle and his face looked deathly, though the neck was still warm the li-b ibs were rigid and cold, his mouth open, his ban d° clenched, and discovered he was dead. 'There Was a piece of liquorice with the end bitten off, but Pr' Shapleiga discovered a bottle wrapped in paper i° the toe of a boot half filled with a solution of cyani de of potassium, the other portion hating evidently neeu poured into a tin cup and swallowed by th e prisoner as he lay iu bed. Thus perished Twitalelit Who commenced his career of crime by a frau d ' which he followed by a murder, then by a Con fession believed to be a lie, and lastly by suicide' So deep was the interest in the case that the Ledge r of Wednesday had to be reprinted, a thing Wh ie i ll never before occurr e d i n Phil a d e l ph i a, and we find that most correct of journals with the Iced/test/0 heading still over the Thursday's paper. Th e Even' illy Star of that city sold 95,000 copies, said to be th e largest edition ever printed by a Philadelphia &lib' . paper. Gerold Eaton slept comfortably wh ile 1. witchell was in the agonies of death, then got UPI took his bath, ate his breakfast, bid his wife fare 4 well, and, as the noose was being adjusted, h e turned to the person who was fixing it, and said , "S 9 help me God, I did not do it." Ilia body W ag acted oc by a galvanic battery ; the eyes Wer s u opened, the he art pu l sated, and one arm was raised under heavy charges. It was on the night of the 12th of June that he, while drunk, met Timothy Heenan. and attempted to shoot him, but was re" strained by his companions. The party visited other saloons, and, at a later hour, encoun tered . Heenan on the street, w h en E a t on ma d e a second unsuccessful attempt to discharge his pistol at him' Subsequently, however, while Heenan was end° . vouriag to help a friend, who was drunk, out of th e street, he carat close to E aton an d hi s party: and was shot, and died next morning. Eaton and one of his associate, were arrested and put on trial fo r murder, of which he was found guilty, and, aft er being reepited by Governor Geary, was finaq executed. Births. ASSHETON —On the 20th inst. the wife of Balkh Asshet° lll Esq., M.P., of a daughter. DoFuzn—On the 27th inst., at Shaftesbury House, Xerl sington, the Hon. Mrs. Hubert Dormer, of a daughter' Marriages. BATHURST—EIBTON—On the '24th inst., at St. George ' l Hanover-squar e , Lieut.-Colonel Hervey Bathurst, (~), the Gren a di er Guards, to Ada, only daughter of Bir J• Itibton, Bart. HACKMAN-131,min' —On the 28th inst., at St. 31411' ;', Bickford, Willi am G3orge Hackman Eof Ghultni e l. House, Lon g Li t ton Surrey, to Caru'line, sq. t'hird daughte r of the lat e W . S. Blight, Esq., of Bideford. Deactu3. BECK WITIL—O U th e 2 7t h inst , Mr. Charles Beckwith, of Milner -squ are, Islington, and Oat-lane, E.O. I.3LANcuAnn On the 2dth inst., at the lied House, blare'street, Ha c k ney, M r. Henry Louis Blauchard, a ged 1 11, MUND AY — On the 27th inst., at 11, Kin g - s t ree t, Snow -111 Dr. Charles Munday, aged 56. London : Printed and Piblished by WILLIAM AND 1 1 , 01. 4; of Ao. 112, Stra n d, P r i nter, at l'as SUN ()Me?, No ; ztrand. rll9 Preetaot of the In the (Jaunt/ ° Zii ddleuez.—Thursclay, Ara 29, 1869. eelebt Prize Meal. Pure . 11 Soil in Lot the Agents in 8, GRI Observe the lan's LL Whi It/TUTU, • (It 14, BUSSE ADVANCES Wd or L ea ' s , able weekly, orals free 07 , 1 . 1 OYAI Great Suce nuet.—ltr. A 130 nes in th greatest Vent Wo nderful 11l Actresses -- li arrY and talented arts Open at 7, private boxes M. Tvi A DAI a - (of No Bake wich) Inisaion, the m orninz AR (1Y RVE/ Rooms have mid Co. Th an attractive Dance Music MUBiCS, THE p.ll Luna) for deviling; ORIGINAL A sm Very Fine P Old Crushed Shipping). Sparkling C lery, Q ua il Sample bottles Sher 1 B. 1 • nex Consignee 1 Celebrated 1 , Mim e aux IN 'Whiskies, f also he semi / 111 1111)er of I of others wa SMENT ORNA', and AOrtmont &c., in Ital Fib in, Spar. TENNAN W.C., Lon. Mr. , 'rem MINERAT of Lyell's I tate the i GEOLOGI guineas enc PRAOTI MINERAI 149, (Straw Offices- The Inv Firo Revell The moder Bonus for value as render the leave is gni thirty days lIL Oro APPEAL ponses. A SEKNIF "/ off Gr 4 Na icns. w The race X 879 less t SUBSCI Williams, the Seer,-t, street, Lot Qualiflea Governor, NATr( Under the eb Whereby a Girls of all the kingelor The obje. lieh edneat: and lanndr Wise provi; imitable nit The Com Stitlrely en: °Mee. 121 11 RI T Mae] Patrol Per the destitute c and of al prosperonl One hu; etitntion ; Increase endow e d, assistance Subscrf Inatitutioi i ts Peculia The ha Secretary. Offices, Banken hue ; and REALTEI DU 11 anc