The Sun. — London, England, 1865-08-07 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN. Mr. C. E. Stewart, the secretary of this com pany, has sent us the following statement With a view of making the public aware, at the earliest period practicable, of the dividend likely to be de clared by this company at the ensuing general meeting, I am authorised to slate that the accounts, though not yet finally audited, or approved by the board of directors, indicate a dividend, for the past half-year, at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum." NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE. The report of the directors states that the depres sion in-the iron trade alluded to in the last report was greatly increased by the strike of the puddlers. The entire suspension thereby occasioned of me of the staple trades of the distri ct, combined with the recent Parliamentary reduction of tolls on the canal, had caused such a falling off in the revenue that the directors were unable to recommend a divi dend at the rate of more than 3i per cent. per annum for the half-year. The strike in North Stafford shire having now terminated, it was expected that trade would resume its former activity. The goods and cattle traffic for the half-year ending the 30th of June amounted to £102,807, and the number of tons carrted to £734,361, against £103,743 for the corresponding half of 1864, and 770,832 tons car rier, showing a decrease of £1,936 in the receipts, and of 36,471 tons. The receipts for the convey ance of 947,867 passengers, &c., were £45,959, against £45,323, for conveying 801,466 passengers in the corresponding half of 1864, showing an in crease in the number of passengers of 146,212, and in the receipts of £636. The tolls on the canal amounted to £36,504 for 705,685 tons, against £46,217 for 804,087 tons in the corresponding half of 1864, showing a falling off of £9,713 in receipts and of 98,402 tons. The increase in the number of passengers was attributed to the running of short trains at low fares between the towns in the Pot teries, consequent on the opening of the Hanley and Bidduiph lines for passenger traffic. The bill for the loop line to connect the Pottery towns with the main line had passed last session with a few un important alterations. The works on the Chester ton branch were nearly completed. The Leek line and the Burton branch were progressing satisfac torily, and it was expected they would be ready for traffic towards the middle of next year. Prepara tions were in progress for the construction of the Macclesfield, Bollington, and Marple Railway, to which the company were subscribers - of half the capital. Of the £355,000 new preference 5 per cent. stock the shareholders had accepted £213,457, and a further sum of £79,000 was disposed of at a premium, which would go in diminution of interest. The account showed that £4,627,027 was expended on the railway, and £1,170,000 on the canal, mak ing 1.5,797,027, leaving a balance of £269,086. The total traffic receipts on the railway for the half-year amounted to £162,301, the expenses to £75,095, and the balance to £87,206. The canal revenue amounted to £55,067, the expenses to £29,190, and the balance to £25,876. LONDON, CHATHAM, AND DOVER. A special general. meeting of thig - • company was held on Friday at the Victoria Station, Pimlico— Lord Sondes in the chair. On the motion of the chairman, the directorawere authorised to convert the ordinary shares into ordi nary capital stock in the general undertaking of the company that had not yet been so converted ; also to convert 2,400 Dover preference arrears of interest shares of £25 each (X 60,000) into stock, to be called the Dover preference arrears stock, redeemable. The directors were also authorised to capitalise further arrears of interest on the Dover preference, capital, by the creation and issue of £llO,OOO of additional shares or stock, redeemable and entitled to h dividend not exceeding 5 per cent. per annum. Mr. Ifolroyd, in reply to some objections by share holders as to capitalising the arrears of theDoverpre ference stock, explained that it was very desirable to spread the charge over a number of years, instead of taking the full amount of current revenue. As a financial arrangement it was deemed beneficial to all parties to capitalise the arrears, and the sanction of Parliament was obtained to an Act for capitalis ing the arrears and spreading the payment of them over a period of 15 years ; so that, instead of the ordinary and second preference shareholders not re ceiving anything until the whole of those arrears of interest were discharged, they would receive any thilig that might be available, less £12,000 a year, which would be set wide for the redemption of the arrears The CHAIIIMAN then moved a formal resolution authorising the creation of £370,000 capital stock under the Act of 1863, and of £150,000 under the New Lines Act, 1864, and that these two stocks be called the Victoria Station Improvement Stock. Lord HAttrus seconded the motion, and ex plained the circumstances under which it was neces sary to raise the new capital. The company's Vic toria Station and the approach to it were inadequate to accommodate the traffic ; many complaints were made in the public press, and otherwise, of the want of punctuality in the company's Metropolitan Ex tension trains, not only at the Victoria, but also at the Blackfriars, City, and other stations. The only remedy was to get an independent branch line cf their own, and they had accordingly obtained powers to go from a juntion near Wandsworth Station across the Thames to the Victoria Station. This would enable them to accommodate the traffic of other companies as well as well as their own, by which they would be materially benefited. The works were in course of construction, and it was hoped they would be completed in April next. The resolution was adopted. Formal resolutions were passed authorising the directors to borrow further sums of £123,000 and £50,000 in respect of the £370,000 and £150,000 share capital referred to in the preceding resolution. Sir M. PETO, M.P., in reply to questions by Mr. Billings, said that his firm had been and were carry ing on the works vigorously, with the view of bring ing into operation at the same time the four lines of rails from Farringdon-street to Herne-hill and the Victoria Station, which he believed would be accom plished by April next. - The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman ankirectors. MID KENT (BROMLEY TO ST. MARY CRAY). The- half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Tuesday at the office, King's Arms-yard, Moor gate-street—Mr. W. Dent in the chair. On the• motion of the CHAIRMAN, a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum for the past half year was declarecl'payable on the Bth inst. I wThriIAIIPToN AND BANBURY. The half -yearly meeting of this company was held on Saturday, at the office, Victoria-street, West minster—Dr. Beatti e i n the chair. The report stated that the works were prod progressing satisfactorily, and there was reason to believe that the ra il wa y would be opened for traffic by the time originally contemplated. An Act was obtained in the last session for making an extension line from Chipping Norton to Banbury, and running powers were secured over the Buckinghamshire line and part of the London and North-Western, by which they would be enabled to convey iron ore from Northamptonshire to South Wales. Running powers were confirmed by Parliament, and also the snaking of a half-mile branch of the Northampton and Peter borough Railway at Northampton. The whole length of the line would be 511 miles. They would ask theimoprietors for power to raise capital on 5 per cent. preference shares authorised by the Com panies' Branch Act, 1865, and also by their Exten sions Act, 1865. The report of Mr. Collister, the engineer, stated that the entire line would be com pleted by the autumn of 1866. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said he thought he might congratulate the proprietors on the success of the Board in Chipping Norton, and from Banbury to Brockley, which would not only enable them to develop the local traffic, but also through traffic between Northampton and South Wales, by taking iron ore from Northampton and bringing coal from South Wales to Northampton and other stations on their line. The extension from Banbury to Chipping Norton would give them the shortest route to Cheltenham and Glocester, and, along the Severn Valley line, to Monmouth and South Wales. It was evident that those extensions would give them great advantages. The report of the engineer told them that the works would be com pleted within the time specified, which must be con sidered satisfactory. Mr. SHELDON seconded the motion, and stated that he resided in the centre of the district through which the extension from Banbury to Blockley would pass. It was greatly in want of railway communication, was a rich agricultural district, and rather thickly populated. It was also a grazing country, and in want of young cattle, which could be supplieddirect from Wales by their lines. Coals were dear, but when the extension railway was made through the district they would be considerably cheaper. Mr. BANKS remarked that there was a great want of direct railway communication from Hereford to Northampton, which their line would supply. They now carried iron ore from Northampton to Merthyr to mix with other ores there, and when other com panies' new lines, sanctioned last Session, were com pleted, and also their own lines, he thought they would have an enormous traffic. The report was unanimously adopted. _ _ The meeting was then made special, and the directors were authorised to create and issue exten sion shares with a preference dividend of 5 per cent. per annum for the purposes of extension lines. The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman. GREAT EASTERN. It is understood that a new traffic agreement has been signed, sealed, and delivered between this com pany, the Great Northern, the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire. Captain Jervis, M.P., the de puty-chairman, has addressed a letter to the pro prietors, in which he repeats in detail the charges against the management, stated in our columns on Tuesday last. WEST NORFOLK. It appears that the works on this line are proceed ing siavourably, and that it is expected the traffic will be commenced to Burnham before the close of this year, while it is believed the whole line will be come available early in 1866. The line commences by a junction with the Lynn and llunstanton at Ileacham and terminates at Wells-next-the-Sea. DANIIBE AND BLACK SEA. The directors in their report state that the busi ness of the company continued steadily to extend. The receipts for the half year ending May 31 amounted to £16,922, against £14,728 in the cor responding period of last year. Of the last named amount £1,710 was derived from an exceptional source—viz., the transport of Circassian emigrants —whereas the last half year's return contained no thing exceptional. The increase was due partly to the natural development of the goods traffic, but chiefly to the carriage and shipment of grain grown along the line—a growth entirely due to the formation of the harbour and railway, which had induced an industrious population to settle on land formerly uncultivated. The increase under this head in the half-year had been £2,599:—viz., from £382 in the half-year ending May, 1864, to £2,981 in that ending May last ; and this rate of progress had been fully maintained during June and July. The prospects of trade for the current half-year were considered good. Naval and Military Intelligence. VALETTA, July 31. —Her Majesty's screw cor vette Pelican, 17, Coln. N. B. Smith, arrived at . Malta on the 21th inst., 13 days from Beyrout, haling performed the passage under canvas. She brought as passenger Capt. Saulez, R.N., whose appointment from the Racer to the Cossack by the Admiral was not confirmed by the Admiralty. The Pelican was admitted to pratique, after performing only three days quarantine, although the esta blished term is seven full days. On the 25th the Racer, 11, screw corvette, Com. L. Brine, arrived from Barcelona, also under canvas, in seven days ; and on the 26th, the Phoebe, 35, screw frigate, Capt. W. R. Rollond, came in from Corfu, and the Piraeus of Athens, seven days from the latter place. King George of Greece left Corfu on the 15th inst. for Athens, and it was expected he would re turn to Corfu in about a month. A quarantine of seven days was imposed on the 11th inst. by the Corfu Board of Health on arrivals from Malta. It is said that the late presence of the English fri gate Phathe, at Corfu, arose from an application for British protection by the native Signori, who feared an attack on them from the agricultural po . - pulation. The Tyrian, gunboat (lately commis sioned by Lieut. IV. D. D. Selby), left port on the 23d inst. for the - Bay of Rosa; with mails and de spatches for the naval Commander-in-Chief and the division sailing under him. Col. Mattei, R.M.F.A, Capt. Thatcher, Capt. Gardner, and Mr. G. Gib son, Government Inspector of the Malta and Alex andria Telegraph, left in the Ripon for Marseilles and England. Commander Johnstone, R.N., Lieut. Shaw, R.N., Mr. Bacon, R.M., and Mr. E. Wat son, R.N., left in the Sicilian for Liverpool. Capt. Saulez, R.N., Capt. Ansell, Licut M. G. Cole, and Mrs. and Miss Piesse left by the, Delta for South ampton. Her - Majesty's ships in port are the 'fiber nia, receiving ship (bearing the flag of Rear-Admi ral 11. Kellett, C. 8.) ; Phoebe, 35; Chanticleer, 17 ; Pelican, 17 ; Racer, 11 ; Wizard, 2, and tug Hearty. Foreign—Tunisian steam cortette Mansur, 4." AUGUST I.—Just after closing my letter yester day I received letters from Tunis announcing the arrival there of her Majesty's ship Caledonia on the 23d ult., and the investiture of the Bey by Rear- Admiral Yelverton with the Grand Cross of the Bath. The Caledonia was to leave Tunis on the 31st ult., having been ordered by a telegram from the Commander-in-Chief to jqin the squadron at Castellamare, in the Bay of Naples. The French despatch vessel L'Actif was at Tunis, as well as three Tunisian gunboats. The English gunvessel Surprise, which was also there, has arrived at Malta. Her Majesty's Chanticleer, 17, Commander W. 11. Fenwick, left Malta harbour yesterday with a mail for the Commander-in-Chief and the ships sailing under his orders on the coast of Spain. The Italian mail steamers have resumed running to Malta, but do not take goods orpassengers. The English squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir R. Smart, consisting of the Victoria, Gibraltar, Orlando, Royal Oak, Resistance, Enterprise, and Psyche were to leave Barcelona for the Gulf of Rosas on the 22d of July. Private letters received from the squadron speak in the highest terms of praise of the reception given to it by the Spaniards. It is currently reported in the squadron that the Italian authorities, in marked contrast to the Spanish, have thrown some difficulties in the way of Admiral Smart's taking so many ships to the ports of Italy ; and fears are en tertained that the Admiral may have to break up his small but effective squadron so as to meet the wishes of the Italian Government. On Saturday the Board of Admiralty, comprising the Duke of Somerset, K.G. ; Rear-Admiral Eden, C.B. ; Rear-Admiral Drummond, C.B. ; Mr. Chil ders, M.P. ; Rear-Admiral Robinson, Controller of the Navy ; Capt. Clarke, Director of Engineer and Architectural Works ; with Capt. Hall, private sec retary to the First Lord ; Sir Richard Mayne, and Mr. F. M. Mallalieu, Chief Commis loner and Inspecting Superintendent of the Metro politan Police Force, made the annuaynspection of d the Royal dockyard at t - o Pembroke. The Lords of the Admiralty arrived Pembroke n Friday even ing by the Great Western which reached New Milford, on the bail express, s e of haven, They at once embark e d undera salutehlrom 11.M.5. Blenheim, Capt. Mason, lyi ng in w as answered from the guns of th e fort,a veann,d went which on board the Enchantress, Admiralty yacht, Staff- C o mmander J. E. Petley, which had been sent round from Portsmouth to meet the Admiralty lords. On Saturday, the Orontes, iron troop ship, Capt, 11. W. Eire, arrived at Pembroke from Ports mouth, with the 62d Regiment, comprising Colonel Ingall, commanding, Col. Luard ; Capts. Carter, Hunter, Gilpin, Cubitt, Hughes, and Sharp ; Lieuts. Dundas, Hall, Reader, Brown, Waring, Cor bett, Hathway, and Greame ; Ensigns Boughey, Wodehouse, Rogers,Laws, Todd, Ferris, Gaskell, and Bennet; Surg. -Major Ewing, Quartermaster Gamble, 560 rank and file, 2 officers' ladies, 78 soldiers' wives, and 146 children. A detachment of the 62d had previously been sent on to Pembroke as a guard of honour to Prince Arthur on his visit to South Wales. The Wanderer, 4, screw gun vessel, Commander Michael C. Seymour, arrived at Spithead on Satur day from the. Mediterranean, and soon after arrival, having received orders to proceed round to Sheer ness to dismantle and pay out of commission, left Spithead again under steam. The Walmer Castle and Salamanca, hired sailing transports, sailed from Spithead on Saturday for Dover to land there the 89th Regiment, which they have brought to England from India. Lieut. Prince Alfred, having yesterday attained his majority, the Royal Standard was hoisted on the King's Bastion flagstaff of Portsmouth town fortifications, and on the main royal masthead of her Majesty's ship Victory, all the other ships of war in commission at the port hoisting the naval ensign at their respective mastheads in honour of the occasion. At 10.30 p.m. a royal salute was fired from the guns of her Majesty's ship Victory in Portsmouth Harbour, from her Majesty's ships Octavia, Constance, and Liverpool, and from the garrison battery of the King's Bastion. The troop-ship Renown, 1,293 tons, Capt. J. H. Taylor, and the Windsor Castle, 1,074 tons, Capt. H. B. Pryce, owned by Messrs. Green, of London, left Kingston Harbour on the 3d current for Gib raltar, having on board the 78th Highlanders. As the ships left the harbour the troops were loudly cheered by those on shore and by the sailors of her Majesty's ship Royal George, who went aloft for that purpose. To these cheers the Highlandmen heartily responded. The pibroch could be heard distinctly as the ships sailed out of the bay. The Ist Regiment of Life Guards, under the com mand of Col. the' Hon. D. de Ros, left Aldershot camp on Saturday morning about 20 minutes past 7 o'clock, and marched by way of Bagshot and Ascot to the cavalry barracks at Spital, near Windsor, where it now remains. A portion of the baggage was conveyed by the South-Western Railway to Windsor. The following has been promulgated at Aldershott for general information, and ordered to be read to all regiments at that station on two successive parades : " Horse Guards, July 3. " His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Com manding-in-Chief has had the honour to lay before her Majesty the Queen the proceedings of the Gene ral Court-martial held at Aldershott on the 28th of April, for the trial of No. 693, Private Henry Hamilton, of the 62d Regiment, who was arraigned upon the undermentioned charge—viz. :—First, for insubordinate conduct, and to the prejudice of good order and military discipline at Aldershott, on or about the 23d of March, 1865, towards Capt. G. W. B. Hughes, 62d Regiment, his superior officer, in saying, when awarded punishment by the said Capt. Hughes, ' I will not do it ; .I will not do drill for you or any one else.' Second, for having at Al dershott, on or about the 28th of March, 1865, when a prisoner awaiting trial by a district court-martial, and undergoing medical inspection for the same, struck with his fist Surg.-Major J. Ewing, 62d Regiment, being his (prisoner's) superior officer, and in the execution of his office,— upon which charges the Court came to the following decision : The Court, having maturely weighed and consi dered the evidence in support of the prosecution, together with the prisoner having nothing to offer in his defence, are of opinion with regard to thefirst charge that he, the prisoner, No. 693, Private Henry Hamilton, 62d Regiment, is guilty. With regard to the second charge, that he the prisoner, No. 693, Private henry Hamilton, 62d Regiment, is guilty. The Court having found the prisoner guilty of 'both the charges preferred against him, which being in breach of the Articles of War, and taking into consideration his general bad character, his being in the second class, and former convic tions, do now sentence him, the prisoner, No. 693, Private Henry Hamilton, of the 62d Regiment, to suffer penal servitude for a term of five years. Her Majesty , was pleased to approve and confirm the finding and sentence of the Court, and to command that the prisoner be kept in penal servitude accord ingly. " By order, " J. W. ARMSTRONG, A.A.G." The Ist Royal Dragoons, under the command of Colonel R. Wardlaw, will march from the camp at Aldershott and proceed to their destinations in the following order : —Two squadrons to Shorncliffe this day ; the head-quarters and two squadrons to Brighton to-morrow. Tho dismounted detachment for Brighton will march to the North Camp Station on Thursday morning, and proceed by train to its destination at half-past 10 o'clock. The dismounted party for Shorncliffe will march to the same station on Saturday, and proceed by train to its destina tion shortly after eight o'clock. The undermentioned batteries are held in readi ness to move from the camp at Aldershott as fol lows :—Royal Horse Artillery, A battery, B bri gade, to-morrow (Tuesday) for Dorchester ; Royal Artillery, K battery, 4th brigade, on Thursday, for Woolwich, encamping at Hounslow ; Royal Artil lery, E battery, 9th brigade, on Thursday, for Mi mi. The 2d battalion Grenadier Guards, ftnder the command of Colonel Cure, arrived at Aldershot Camp on Friday, and took possession of tho ground previously occupied by the Ist battalion. The marching in strength was 17 officers, 37 sergeants, 27 drummers, and 619 rank and file. The regi ment is attached to the Ist brigade. The dismounted portion of the 3d Hussars, with the wives and families of the regiment, has arrived at Aldershot from Manchester, and taken up quar ters in the South Cavalry Barracks. The remainder of the squadron from Manchester will arrive at the camp on the 15th inst. The 39th Dorsetshire Regiment, under the com mand of Lieut.-Col. Munro, C. 8., will leave Alder shot on Thursday for Dover. The troops composing, the Aldershot division, under the command of Lieut.-Go. Sir J. L. Penne father, K.C.8., have been actively exercised in field manoeuvres during the past week. On Monday the cavalry and Royal Horse Artillery had a field day at Bickley Bottom, in the presence of the Duke of Cambridge, the evolutions lasting about four hours. On Tuesday a field day of the whole division took place. The chief interest of the proceedings con sisted in a grand attack upon the heights of Caesar's Camp, which were carried, and the whole of the re giments and batteries grouped upon them. The force on the field consisted of A and B batteries Royal Horse Artillery, Ist Life Guards, Ist Royal Dragoons, 3d Hussars, Bth Hussars, 14th Hussars, B, E, and F batteries, 9th Brigade, Royal Artil lery ; K battery, 4th brigade, Royal Artillery ; A and B troops Royal Engineer Train, Ist battalion 13th Regiment, Ist battalion 17th Regiment, Ist battalion 21st Regiment, 31st, 39th, 69th, 74th, 85th, and 92d Regiments. The evolutions lasted about two hours, and were witnessed by some Japanese tourists and a Parsee judge and his family, the latter being accompanied by Col. Battersby, of the British and Ottoman armies. The following appointments have been made at the Admiralty :—Staff Commander William Forbes promoted to be retired captain ; Commander Edw. R. Foster and Commander C. A. J. Heysham to be inspecting commanders of the Coastguard ; Staff Commander W. W. Dillon to the Fisgard ; Lieut. Arthur Salwey to be Lieut. and Commander of the Linnet ; Jas. Riddle, master, to the Donegal ; Edw. 11. Mills, master, to the Royal Oak ; Wm. F. Greet, second master, to thelmpregnable, for the Sea La'rk ; Daniel N. Browne, second master, to the Boscawen for the Ferret ; James Ryley, chief engineer, to the Terror, vice Brown ; W. Anderson, chief engineer, to the Cumberland for the Rodney, vice Ryley ; Jesse Bridgeman, chief engineer, to the Royal George ; Jas. Carlisle, chief engineer to the Cumberland for service in the Charybdis ; R. 11. C. Drayson, clerk, to the tl D ie ee S ; t. a G n e a or i g i e e n c y J o A h . n . C G u m r e m e t i , n a s s , s a i clerk,s s t s . ist. cle r t k o , ai r ti l ie ' o l d 7 vt, u o u Ln d ac e vo r e r n i l i a e cr n aci t a i o cit i i i so e h d gentlemen ri rpos to the Octa v i a . s— have been noini- A a lf n r d ed ß W eg , ,i t i a l g d ret, d l e Vm t .. Dering. CONSTANCE ICENT.—This convict still remains in the Wilts County Prison, at Fisherton, Salisbury, no com munication having been received up to Saturday, of her ultimate fate. Her demeanour is still calm and collected, and it is not true that she has signified any intention of making a further confession. EVENING, A NCO 2 Akiir.' The National Artillery Association, The proceedings of the National Artillery Association's first prize meeting were closed on Saturday with the distri bution of prizes by the Marquis of Hartington, M.P., Under- Secretary of State for War. The oereniony took place in the Royal Artillery drill shed of Shoeburyness, a most com modious building, used for the instruction of the troops in the Armstrong gun-drill, and which was filled with an audience composed of the volunteers who had been en camped during the week in rear of the barracks, and of visitors from Sheerness, Chatham, Gravesend, and other places on the opposite shore. There wore also many ladies present, and the men of the Royal Artillery had given the shed quite a holiday appearance by decorating it with flags, and it would have appeared an ordinary mooting hall, but for the Armstrong guns ranged round it, and their em brasures, through which there now peered all who could not find room inside. The excellent band of the Royal Ar tillery played a selection of operatiemusic during the morn ing. His lordship, who was accompanied by Viscount Har ding°, Colonel Wilmot, the commandant of the Shoebury depot ; Colonel Fisher, the instructor of the Royal Artil lery; Colonel Harcourt, President of the National Ar tillery Association ; Major Curtis, and other Royal Artil lery and Volunteer officers, was received with military honours, and on ascending the dais which had been erected of practice targets, and on which wore arranged the prizes, he was warmly cheered. . _ Colonel EURO OUBT, in opening the proceedings, com menced by expressing the obligations which the council of the National Artillery Association felt to Lord Hartington for coming to Shoobury on this the first meeting of the Association. The council, he said, had been much indebted to his lordship personally for the courtesy he had on. all occasions shown them, and they accepted his presence among them that day as a proof that the Government did not disapprove the Association, but was, as he believed, disposed to give it every assistance. It had been rather hard upon the council that the entries for the camp at Shoeburyness had boon made by certain corps very late indeed, as some ten days beforo the time announced for the commencement of the meeting there were only 70 names entered. And this was not the only difficulty they had had to contend with, for when he came down on the Thursday, as the camp was to be opened on Saturday, he found only 25 tents sent down. This was somewhat disheartening, for he did not then know what he had since found—that he should receive every assistance from Colonel Wilmot and the other officers of thesßoyal Artillery—(cheers)—and it was not too much to say that, but for their aseistanco, the meeting would have been a failure. All the Volunteers, he was sure, would unite with him in thanking Colonel Wilmot for the arrangements which he made for the comfort of the encamp ment, and Major Curtis and the other officers of the Royal Artillery for the carrying out of his wishes, as well as Colonel Fisher for the kind manner in which he had de voted all his time in superintending all the Volunteers' pmc tice. (Cheers.) His lordship would pardon him, for ob serving that if the Association was to be a permanent insti tution it would never do for it to stand still, and unless the Volunteers got what they all desired the Association must be considered to have failed. It was not likely that his lord ship would ask, at all events not in his official capacity, as to what wore the desires of the volunteers, but if he did they were quite ready to answer that they wanted rifled ordnance. (Laughter and cheers.) It might be said that the Government did not possess the guns, and that it would bo costly to obtain them, and to this he would reply that though the War-office held the purse strings the purse be longed to John Bull, and he believed a song sung at the camp fire well expressed the national feeling in saying that "Jolly John Bull" was so proud of his sons that he was quite willing to "shell out twice as much" as he had done if it were necessary for him to do so to add to their effi ciency. (Cheers.) It might also be said in objection that it was not decided which class of rifle ordnance should be adoptedas the gun for the army, and to this he would take the liberty of saying that if the Government gave up the 40-pounder Armstrong tho Volunteers would bo only too happy to receive that gun. (Cheers.) On behalf of the Association, he begged to thank his lordship for the favours received, and to assure him that they were quite prepared to ask for more. (Laughter and cheers.) Colonel WILMOT acknowledged that the officers of the Royal Artillery had looked upon the encampment of a largo body of mon outside the barrack walls with some apprehen sion—an apprehension he saidwhich was entirely unfounded, for the Volunteers had been unexceptionably well conducted, a testimony which he was proud to bear. With respect tothe drill of tho Volunteers he could say there was not an offi cer or non-:commissioned officer of the Royal Artillery who was not much astonished and agreeably surprised at the manner in which the Volunteers had done their work. He could only say in reference to this that if the time should come for the Volunteers to be trained with the Armstrong they would, as men of intelligence, turn their instruction to good account. (Cheers.) If it should be arranged for the Volunteers to come again to Shoeburyness the Royal Artillery would be glad to give their best assistance, and he might say that apart from the feeling they had experienced towards the Volunteers as brother gunners and as men wearies; the blue coat, they bad only done what they had at the express wish of the War Department, and at the desire I of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief. (Cheers.) Colonel FISHER. said it gave him pleasure to state before the Marquis of Hartington that having well watched the Volunteers at practice ho could bear testimony to their zeal and ability, and his opinion was that if the Volunteer force of artillery was to be utilised the sooner it commenced the Armstrong drill the better, for then its members would be able to do justice to themselves and the country from which they sprang. (Cheers.) He acknowledged the discipline which had prevailed, and ho thanked the Volunteers for the ready obedience they had shown throughout the meeting. Viscount Hannisoe stood forward as ono of the council of the National Artillery Association, and maintained that the objects for which the association had been formed were worthy of every encouragement, not only from the Govern ment but from every one who took an interest in the de fence of his country. It was to bo borne in mind, he said, that in the extensive system of fortification assented to by Parliament, and begun on a considerable scale, it would be impossible for the guns to be manned in the hour of need without a large supplementary force of Militia and Volun teers. Tho Militia force would be necessarily limited, but ho wished the volunteer force could be doubled, and he im pressed upon all the necessity that was for the strength of all corps leeing kept up. He believed the Volunteers would go from that camp with grateful feelings to the officers and men of the Royal Artillery for their assistance and co-ope ration, which, he could answer for it, would always" bo given to men who responded to the call which their coun try made to them to stand ready for her defence. (Cheers.) Lord HAItTINGTON then said—l must beg, in the first place, to thank Col. Harcourt for the kind manner in which ho has spoken of me and mentioned my name, and I can assure you that it has given me sincere pleasure to come and distribute among the winners prizes which have been competed for during tho past week, I only regret that it was not in the power of Lord de Grey, the Secretary of Stato for War, to hold the position with which I have been honoured to-day. I regret it, because I know that it would have given him much pleasure to have been present at the first meeting of this association, and I regret it because I know that it would have given you much pleasure to have had the personal support of ono who has taken so warm an interest in the volunteer movement, and has worked so hard to promote its efficiency and prosperity. (Cheers.) The Government has not wished to take any fame to itself as having by any exertions on its part produced the volun teer force, for that force was the spontaneous act of the people themselves, and no Government could have pro duced such results as have emanated from the spontaneous exertions of the people. (Cheers.) Neither does the Go vernment lay any claim to the credit of having brought forward those two institutions which have engrafted them selves on the volunteer force, and which have had, andwill continue to have, I hope, much to do with its efficiency, value, and per manency—l allude to the . National Rifle As siation and the National Artillery Association. What the National Rifle Association is to tho Volunteer Rifle Corps the National Artillery Association witl bo to the Volunteer Artillery Corps. You are all aware that this association is in its infancy as yet, but I have groat hopes that in the course of its career it will confer as great obligations on the branch of the force it is intended to serve as its elder brother has conferred on the other branch. This is not the time for long speeches, but I will just take an opportunity of stating what occurs to me with reference to this association. We all know the great value of the volunteer force, and we are also aware that this value depends upon its efficiency and the assiduity to which the Volunteers devote themselves to their drill. But we know that continuous drill is not a very amusing or exciting occupation, and many officers have found it a difficult matter in getting some of their men to attend sufficient drills to make them efficient. Well, then, the association is necessary to give mon an interest beyond mere drill—an interest in the weapon they use, and to pro duce among the Artillery Volunteers something of the same feeling of emulation as has been produced among the Rifle Volunteers by the National Rifle Association, which by its contests has been the means of making the shooting one of the most popular amusements in the country. (Cheers.) What has been so successful in the ono case will, I hope, be found to be equally successful in the other. It is true that the accuracy of a shot does not so much depend upon indi vidual qualities or skill, but at the same time it is true that the accuracy and perfection of any artillery practice depend still more than in the case of rifle shooting upon the assi duity with which the mon have attended their drill. Though therefore there is not so much skill necessary to individual members of detachments in winning prizes at artillery competitions, I think it as equally honourable to members of detachments to distance their competitors, and I think it is a greater honour for artillery corpe:to produce a good detachment, than for a rifle corps to produce a crack shot. As I said before, the Government takes no credit for pro ducing this association. Tho credit is due to Colonel Har court and his brother officers and members of the council, and it is upon the exertions of the Volunteer Artillery force in general that you must depend for ultimate success. The Government will remove all difficulties and obstacles it can, and on the part of Earl de Grey I can venture, I think, to promise that such assistance as the War Department can give shall bo given. (Cheers.) Some remarks have been made about the value of the Volunteer Artillery force, and 1 can add nothing to what has fallen from those speakers, but I can say that I think the Volunteer Artillery force is one T 7, 1865. be interesting to you to know what are the present num bers, and what is tho condition of this force. I have brought with me memoranda showing what the, force has been and what it is, and you will learn with pleasure that the force was never in a more satisfactory condition than it is at the present time. The first return which we had of the Volunteer Artillery force was in August, 1860, a short time after the movement had commenced, and there were then 16,000 enrolled members, of which .numbor 15,000 were what were then called " effectives." Without troubling you with any statistics showing the progress of the force, I will say that on the let of December last the numbers enrolled wore 80,000, of which over 22,000 wore "efficient" under the law of 1863, and only 7,000 returned as non-efficients. As you know, the standard of efficiency now required is higher than under the old law, and it is a fact of which wo may be proud that we have upwards of 22,000 efficient Artillery Volunteers in this country. (Cheers.) Colonel Harcourt, in the most kind and consi derate manner possible, has mentioned a subject whichhas been brought to our notice in the House of Commons, without, however, the same kind of feeling. I need not tell you that the whole of the Volunteer Artillery force is at present drilled in the use of guns of the old smoothbore nature. I wish it were otherwise ; but it is impossible for me to give you any assurance that It is intended to arm you with rifled ordnance; and, oven wore it intended, my official position would preclude me from stating it here. But I would remind you, which, in fact, Colonel Harcourt has already done, that wo are only in possession of a very small number of rifled guns, that they aro very costly, and that it is undecided which is the best kind of gun. I would also remind you that the largo num ber of works which you would have to man in case of an invasion still consist, and will for some time, of the guns with which you drill. It is right, therefore, that you should drill with the guns which you would have to use if you wore called • out for active service. Still, I hope that the time is not far distant when the number of our rifled guns will be increased, and the Volunteers trained in their use. (Cheers.) Your visit to this place must have been most instru,Live and-highly interesting to you. You have here been on the " battle ground" of all the guns, and you have probably seen speci mens of the work of the Armstrong, the Whitworth, and of other inventors. You may have - seen in the targets effects of some of their triumphs, and you have witnessed a considerable number of the results of their failures, and if you have mixed much with your brethren of the Royal Artillery, you have probablyheard many things which will enable you to judge of the difficulties in which the Govern ment is placed in reference to the vexed question of pro viding the country with the rifled gun. No one who has been hero and seen Colonel Wilmot and his brethren of the Royal Artillery engaged In the experiments for showing which is the best gun but will be prepared to make the best allowance for the Government if there has been any apparent delay in this matter. I trust that wo have got over some of the difficulties, and if wo have not arrived at a perfect and satisfactory conclusion we are beginning to see and have smoothed our way to it. (Cheers.) Nothing, I am sure, will give the Government and the House of Commons.more pleasure than seeing the way to place the country in possession of a large number of rifled guns, and then nothing Shall be allowed to interfere with the Volun teers being trained to the use of superior weapons to those which they now have. (Cheers.) His lordship then pro ceeded to distribute the prizes to the winning detachments in the order in which they were won. As has been reportod in The Sun, the Brighton Artillery Corps (Ist Sussex) won both Lord Palmerston's prizes and the Queen's prize ; the Duke of Cambridge's prize was won by the 4th Cinque Ports (Hastings) ; the Association Cup, by the let, Middlesex Artillery ; and the prize given by the Prince of Wales, by the Ist Kent Artillery. The Sports Committee pies for swimming were also pre sented, the winners being members of the 3d Durham ; and a vote of thanks proposod by Colonel Harcourt and seconded by Captain Page, as representing Lord Elcho, having been given and acknowledged, the proceedings ter minated with the National Anthem being played by the band. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.—The intentions of the country and of the House of Commons with reference to Parliamentary Reform might furnish metaphysicians with a new illustration of the pardox of free will and necessity. With abSolute control over its own actions, the com munity is content blindly to wonder whether it is about to effect a groat constitutional change. What statesmen can do, and what they will do, is doubt ful, especially as the officialleaders of opinion openly ask for guidance and pressure from their followers. It is generally agreed by all, except the consistent adherents of Mr. Bright, that no improvement in legislation or in administrative practice is to be ex pected from an extension of the constituency. The demand for additional hands to the rope is pref&red exclusively for the satisfaction of those who are at present debarred from a share in the labour of go vernment. There is no doubt that there may be an advantage in providing employment fora certain number of discontented idlers. The mobs which have lately disgraced several towns by their violence probably consisted of non-electors, and it is possible that the possession of a vote might develope the rudiments of decency and self-respect. The class, however, which is supposed to desire enfranchise ment is too respectable to create disturbance, except under the influence of genuine political excitement. The workmen of great factories in the North are often intelligent, and they are said to feel a corpo rate desire for a share of electoral power. At the same time, it must be remembered that a mechanic or artisan with an income of £lOO or £l5O a year generally takes little trouble to acquire, or even to register a vote. When the working classes are told that they care little for the extension of the fran chise, they always denounce the statement as a calumny, but it is evident that in their individual capacities they are almost indifferent to the privilege. If a certain number of seats could be given up to the manufacturing operatives, all parties would be inclined to settle the question by a rough empirical compromise. The existing constituencies are willing to be diluted, while they reasonably object to be swamped. No practical scheme has, however, yet been suggested for buying off the most formidable claimants of the suffrage. Although nine-tenths of the House of Commons would be glad to leave things as they are, there are wide differences of opinion as to the prudence of total inaction. Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe agree on the probable tendency of any considerable measure of Reform. They believe that the present constituency maintains a political and social system which is obnoxious either to th 3 in terests or to the prejudices of poorer classes. It would follow that a large extension of the franchise would lead to important consequences, and Mr. Bright especially hopes that it would cause a redis tribution of landed property. If Parliament were once thoroughly convinced of the soundness of Mr. Bright's judgment, it would be useless for any party or for any Government to propound a scheme of Reform. English society is not prepared to undergo total reorganisation in a time of unprecedented prosperity. There may be many advantages in a subdivision of property, but accumulation is more consistent with the national habits of thought ; and the rapid increase and wide diffusion of wealth and of luxury every day multiply the natural supporters of an aristocratic social system. It happens that the theories of commercial freedom which were once ad vocated by Mr. Bright are at present chiefly supported by the upper and middle classes who exercise political power. Mr. Lowe commanded the assent of his audience when he vindicated the legislation of the last thirty years as thoroughly enlightened and beneficent. He inferred, like Mr. Bright, that the representative body had expressed the convictions and principles of the constituency, and that a new body of electors would probably introduce sweep ing modifications of financial and general policy. A few years ago Mr. Bright announced that a re formed Parliament would throw the whole burden of taxation on the class which would have been pre liminarily deprived of all electoral power. lie now adds that the public expenditure would be largely reduced ; but even if his anticipations were well founded, the prospect of stricter economy can never furnish an argument for organic revolution. The same House of Commons which is asked to intro duce promiscuous suffrage has absolute power to reduce the estimates according to its own judgment of expediency. While democrats in England con sult public opinion by promising a diminution of expenditure, their American allies are proving, to their own satisfaction, that a national debt is a bless ing ; and, amongst other reasons for their conclu sion, they dwell on the advantage of high customs duties in affording incidental protection to domestic industry. The House of Commons is, on the whole, not prepared to adopt Mr. Lowe's belief that a mode rato reform would promote the designs of Mr. Bright. There is a general feeling that the danger of revolution would be diminished by some limited concession, and almost every prominent Liberal politician, with the exception of Lord Pal merston and Mr. Gladstone, took the opportunity of the election to intimate a theoretical concurrence in a moderate Reform Bill. As Lord Russell could not appear at the hustings, Lord Anilarley, with amiable simplicity, informed the electors of Leeds that his father had just published a new edition of his well known work, with additional notes or appendices in favour of Reform. Lord Palmerston probably in tended to discourage constitutional changes, but the silence of Mr. Gladstone may bear an opposite in terpretation. His_ former imprudent defence of universal suffrage gave sufficient notice to the ex treme Liberals that, if they had a chance of power, they would not want for a leader; but, for the pre sent, Mr. Gladstone is willing to act with his col leagues, reserving himself for the choice of a policy when he assumes the chief conduct of affairs. Some of his political opponents have more definitely fa voured the projectoof the moderate Reformers. Mr. Henley inclined to a household franchise founded on rating, and Mr. Walpole has lately published a letter in support of a similar scheme. No plausible objection can be raised to a £2O franchise in coun ties, except that the highly respectable voters who would be admitted are not desirous of the suffrage. Mr. Walpole properly points out the difference be tween a £6 rental and a £6 rating, as the qualifica tion for a vote. It is certainly fair that householders in boroughs should bo excluded when . the landlord compounds for their rates, and that in counties the level of the occupation franchise should com mence the payment of the house-tax. Almost the only unjust fiscal measure since the Reform Act consists in the exemption from the house-tax which the £lO voters have secured for themselves. If a Reform Bill is introduced, it will probably corre spond with the suggestions of Mr. Henley and Mr. Walpole. The greatest difficulty will be found in the small boroughs, which were some years since eloquently defended by Mr. Gladstone, as they are still approved by Lord Russell. Lord Stanley is willing to consent to a redistribution of seats, and if any considerable change takes place, . it will be difficult to preserve the most useful of existing anomalies. The members for petty boroughs are well aware of their danger, and consequently they will offer a formidable opposition to any scheme by which the privileges of their constituents may be menaced. Tho institution of equal electoral dis tricts would be the most ruinous of innovations, and any approximation to such system must be watched with jealous vigilance. The advocates of the rights of minorities ought to understand that the small boroughs already effect, to a certain ex tent, the purposes which they undertake to attain by elaborate and impracticable contrivances. At least one half of the most eminent members of the House would be excluded from Parliament by an enactment that the smallest constituency should consist of a thousand voters. Mr. Gladstone, who now represents ono of the greatest constituencies in the kingdom, first acquired his great reputation as a nominee member for a little market town. The advantage of a certain number of small boroughs is generally appreciated, but in a Reform Bill, which must necessarily bear some reference to arithmetic, statistical symmetry may not improbably outweigh considerations of general expediency. It would be absurd and offensive for a legislator to say that Lord Lansdowne or Lord Zetland should be regarded as severally equal to twenty or thirty thousand ten-pound householders ; but it is never theless undeniable that Caine and Richmond are better represented than Marylebone or the Tower Hamlets. . Existing institutions which are found convenient may well be tolerated, but new legisla tion must be plausible as well as just. It is not surprising that all political parties are puzzled with the difficulties both of reforming and of abstaining from reform. THE " LONDN REVIEW" ON THE GUILD OF LITERATURE AND ART.—A pleasant county, and a healthy, is Hertfordshire. According to an old say ing, the land is worth a certain amount of extra purchase-money, by reason of the pare air. Green slopes of meadow-land, intersected by leafy lanes, stretch from border to border; small woods of timber-trees, and coppices of tender saplings diver sify the more open ground ; stately seats of distin guished :families umbrageous with oaken glades where the deer browse and glimmer, and deep with ferny dingles where the hares crouch, or, flit like sha dows in the sunshine before the intruder's footstep, preserve, at intervals of a few miles, little Paradises of secluSion and silence ; old villages and farmhouses lie thickly scattered about the high roads and quiet ways ; and, at St. Alban's, a venerable abbey, grey with mists of Saxon and Norman antiquity, and an ancient town, haunted with memories of Roman Verulam, now utterly vanished, introduce an ele ment of historical interest into the pastoral freshness and the patrician grandeur. Though seated so near to London as to be within half an hour's jaunt by rail into its very -core, Hertfordshire is as rural in its scenery, as bright and pure in its atmosphere, as though a hundred miles intervened between it and the huge smoke-cloud of the metropolis. If literary men really love sylvan retirement as much as they generally profess to do in their writings—a point which must, we fear, be considered rather doubtful —one could hardly fix upon a better county than the northern neighbour of Middlesex for enabling them to gratify their taste. You have in it a sense of the neighbourhood of London, combined with immunity from London cares. The peasants talk in a tone just roughened with country characteristics, yet not so difficult as to provoke impatience in the cultivated ear ; and, "sitting muffled in dark leaves," or meditating over a tankard of ale in the shady parlour of a wayside inn, you are still, so to speak, conscious of-the near pulsations of that mighty centre of intelligence which can never become uninteresting to any man who is not either a misanthrope or a fool. The projectors of the Guild of Literature and Art have therefore chosen a charming spot for the erection of their Homes for the decayed man of . in tellect, supposing him really to desire a cOuntrylife ; and certainly the ceremony of last Saturday, with its accompanying festival at the fine seat of Sir Bulwer Lytton at Knebwortli, about two miles to the south, was calculated to exhibit the project in the most attractive light possible. The country around Stevenage, where the Homes are situated, is at once open and well wooded ; the buildings them selves are pretty Gothic structures ; the day was fine, and a jocund company, headed by Mr. Chas. Dickens, the Vice-President of the Guild, and one of the chief promoters of the undertaking, passed a merry afternoon at the seat of Sir Bulwer Lytton, the President. All the circumstances were of a nature to captivate the imagination, and to call forth seine of the kindliest and most sympathetic emotions of our being. The old hall of Knebworth was draped with the banners of many generations of its owner's family, and the host had provided for his guests a luncheon such as formed no bad prelude to the speeches, and to the subsequent`dancing in the green alleys of the park. It was pleasant also to listen to the two most illustrious of living novel ists speaking each other's praises in words of which, we are sure, the sincerity was equal to the elo quence. Literary men are so often charged with mutual jealousy and and the charge has been supported by so many ugly facts, that it is truly delightful to see two foremost men in the same walk of literary art thus crowning one another. We do not marvel that the words of both speakers should have been interrupted by " loud cheers," for the enthusiasm of such moments is contagious, and it is then that we find even cold and reserved natures betraying their latent heat and brightness. That the day was in the highest degree successful, is certainly no wonder ; and that it will impart a powerful stimulus to the Guild, which has lan guished a good deal since its first establishment 12 or 13 years ago, we cannot doubt. THE " SPECTATOR" ON CHILD MURDER.---The public, in its healthy horror of the crimes committed by Charlotte Winsor, the Torquay murderess, has we think rather missed the point of the ghastly story told by her accuser. It has fastened justi fiably and naturally upon the sickening revelation involved as it were incidentally in the woman Har ris's statement, upon the fact that in 1865, in a pleasant village of Devon, there lived a woman of forty-five to whom child murder was a profession, who would, by her own statement, " put by" any other woman's offspring if only she were paid, who was willing to kill " forty" children if it were made worth her while, who had put her finger under the jugular vein of one, and stifled another three weeks old, and put away a third " for her sister Poory," and killed a fourth while her accuser looked on by throttling it under the bed-ticking, who took " orders" for murder as other women take orders for washing, who when a doubtful commission ar rived only objected that her customer, had she been " honest, would have prepaid her fee, and who when asked if she had no supernatural fears, bade the questioner " go to hell, for she was doing good." Murders like those committed by Pritchard or Con stance Kent are justly felt to be trifles by compari son with massacres like these, with a habit of mur der contracted by a woman who had no motive other than a desire for very trifling rewards, who had no animosity and no remorse, who wept when her accomplice gave evidence against her, and who seems, by ono of those awful perversions of nature which alinost justify the Calvinistic view of hu manity, to have been willing to commit a murder as an evidence of goodwill. Thugs do not reach that point of degradation, and to see it reached in the present day in England, and among a village population, has given a shock to the community such as no murder ever gave—a shock deepened by an' impression, instinctive rather than logical, that Charlotte Winsor may not.be the only woman who increases her means by making a trade of the one great crime supposed to be stopped by civilisation. We do not wonder that the public, well aware that infanticide is one of the specially English crimes, that in Lancashire " overlaying" is one of the most frequent causes of infant death, the overlaying being deliberate, that the Coroner for Middlesex has affirmed and proved the existence of 12,000 women in London each of whom must have mur dered a child, that no week passes without the police reporting the discovery of the bodies of infants, should have seen in the Torquay horror new proof of a condition of affairs it had all along suspected, should have fastened upon Charlotte Winsor, and altogether forgotten what seems to us the main sentence in Mary Harris's story,—the story, let us always remember, of a woman almost as guilty as Charlotte Winsor herself. She stood and saw her own child killed, killed " barbarously," to use her own words, from a ghastly curiosity to see what its death would be like, and then helped to strip the poor infant, not yet cold, and pack it away in a rabbit-box, all apparently without a sigh, though her conscience or her fears afterwards awoke. This woman said in, her cross-examination, " I had had 3s. 6d. a week for-a previous child, but I had never had but those two children." So it was not to con ceal her shame, as penny-a-liners always assert, and juries seem always to believe, that she had put away her child. She had had one before, shame was over and done with, and she wanted to be rid of the second baby, not that she might be believed chaste, not because she " had been tempted and had fallen," —she had lived with her paramour six years,—but simply that she might be rid of a trouble and an expense for which he was no longer willing to pay. That, it seems to us, is the true point of a story such as ought to cover the kingdom with shame, to rouse men, if it were possible to rouse them to any thing, to a savage decision that at any cost, whether of effort or liberty, or even minor morals, a scandal like this shall end. We shall never discover the remedy if we go on ignoring the facts, and the first . and most dreadful fact is that shame is not the only cause of infanticide, but only one cause, and pro bably not the main one, that we have something to cure besides unchastity, something to denounce be sides men's lust. • We believe if the cause of every such crime during the past year could be made known to men as it is known to Heaven, we should find shame very seldom recorded, should discover that the majority of such crimes are committed by women who have no fear of the world's opinion in the matter, being far below that, and more than a moiety in the matter, being far below that, and more than a moiety of the remainder, perhaps more than five-sixths of the remainder, by married women. It is the toil and the worry and the ex pense, the weary hours of nursing and the incessant watchfulness, the interruption of work and tho danger of utter poverty, which these murderesses dread, and not merely exposure. COUNTRY MARKETS NOTTINGHAII-SATuRDAY. A limited breadth of wheat and barley has boon cut dur ing the week. Reports respecting the probable yield vary. Our corn exchange to-day was sparingly supplied with wheat, which sold slowly at is per qr. over late rates. Barley limited, and slow at late rates. Oats scarce, and supported their full value. Beans small, and late prices were sustained. Old white wheat, 44s to 488; old rod, 40s to 44s ; new white, 44s to 48s ; new red, 39s to 44s per 36 stone. .Bar, ley, new malting, 27s to 35s per qr ; old grinding, 26s to 288; new, —S to —s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 25s to 30s ; new, 21s to 258; old foreign, 22s to 26s per stone. Beans, old, 43s to 468 ; now, 40s to 42s per 38 stone. NORWICH--SATURDAY. At this market to-day there was a fair quantity of wheat offering, and in consequence of a continuance of showery weather an advance of is to 2s per qr. was given by mil lore. The weather being fine to-day there was no further improvement. A considerable quantity of rain has fallen during the week, and has impeded harvest operations. White wheat (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 48s to 498 ; red ditto (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 40s to 42s ; best malting barley (weighing 551 b to 561 b), 30s to 33s ; runs ditto (weighing 541 b to 551 b), 28s to 30s ; distilling ditto (weigh ing 521 b to 531 b), 24s to 26s ; oats, 24s to 26s ; beans, 37s to 39s ; peas (maple), 36s to 38s per qr; flour, 26s to 34s Od per sack. YORK-SATURDAY. In this extensive county harvest operations have com menced. Our corn market was sparingly supplied with wheat to-day. Tho demand was tolerable, and prices is per qr. higher. Oats in small supply, and firm at late prices. Beans made former prices. New white wheat, 448 to 48s ; new red, 40s to 43s per 86 stone. Barley, for malting, - sto —s per qr ; grinding, 288 to —s per 30 stone.• Oats, new, 22s to 25s,per 24 stone. Beans, 40s to 42s per 40' stone. Malt, 58s ; rye, 28s per qr. Flour, 32s to 33s per sack of 2801 b. LEICESTER-SATURDAY. The late rains have been of great service to the pastures, root crops, &c., in this neighbourhood. Harvest work has, however, been interfered with. There was a limited sup ply of wheat at our market to-day, and samples sold steadily at an advance of is to 2s per qr. Of barley, the show was scanty and the demand ruled middling at late prices. Old white wheat, 42s to 46s ; old red, 38s to 43s ; new white, 45s to 49s ; new red, 39s to 43s per 36 stone. Bar ley, malting, 32s to 34s per qr. ; grinding, 26s to 29s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 28s to 30s ; new, 22s to 25s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 42s to 45s ; new, 39s to 42s per 38 stone. THE LATE MR. ARBUTHNOT.—The Civil Service and the public generally have sustained a heavy loss through the death of Mr. Arbuthnot, of the Treasury, which occurred on Friday, the 28th ult. At the tiino of his death Mr. Arbuthnot held the office of Auditor of the Civil List, to which he was appointed in 1850, and had completed an uninterrupted service in the Treasury of 45 years. As Auditor of the Civil List he was intrusted with important duties, requiring in their 'performance great tact, judgment, and firmness. These qualities ho possessed in an eminent degree, but it was chiefly in his capacity as one of the principal working officers of the Treasury that his remarkable aptitude for business was displayed, and it is difficult to over-estimate the influence which he had ac quired in assertin g and maintainin g the position of the Treasury as the department specially charged with the duty of chocking and controllin g the public expenditure. The continual pressure exercised upon the Exchequer from all quarters, and chiefly by the great military and naval departments, supported by the influence of the Cabi net Ministers who preside over them, renders it indispens able for the Treasury to contain within itself at all times the elements of strength requisite for mooting, and, if necessary, moderating these demands. In this respect, indeed, the condition of the Treasury is, and ought to be ! ono of constant but qualified antagonists to tho other de partments of the State. The talents of Mr. Arbuthnot, added to his great official knowledge and honesty of pur pose, were of very material assistance in enabling hisEdo partment to sustain their position in these conflicts, and in lending weight to their decisions. As confidential adviser to successive Chancellors of the Exchequer upon various questions of public importance, and especially those re lating to currency and banking subjects, to which he had for many years paid attention, and in which he took a peculiar interest, his assistance was constantly afford ed. As Privato Secretary to six successive Secretaries of the Treasury and two assistant-secretaries, and as private secretary to Sir R. Peel, when Prime Minister, and to Sir C. Wood, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Arbuth not had possessed unusual opportunities of becoming ac quainted with every detail of public business, and the ex perience which he thus acquired rendered him peculiarly fitted in later years to advise the members of Government under whom ho served, and to receive their confidence. A few years ago when the question of the renewal of the Bank Charter was under discussion, Mr. Arbuthnot pub lished a pamphlet in vindication of Sir Robert's Act of 1844 and it is understood that he also contributed occasionally to the Economist. His style was singularly vigorous and clear, and the rapidity and energy with which he wrote constituted not the least remarkable of his many merits as a public servant. The connection of Mr. Arbuthnot with tho Treasury was hereditary ; his uncle, the Right Hon. 0. Arbuthnot, who had previously held the posts of Ambassa dor at Constantinople, and Minister in Sweden, having served for many years as Secretary to the Treasury. Ripe with the experience of his long official life, but to the last full of vigour and energy, Mr. Arbuthnot died literally in harness, and has left a void which cannot easily be filled. OUR GREAT TOWNS.—An estimate has been made by the Registrar-General of the population of ten large towns in the United Kingdom in the middle of the year 1865. The estimate is as follows :—London, 3,015,494 ; borough of Liverpool, 476,368 ; city of Manchester, 354, 930 borough of Salford, 110,833 ; borough of Birmingham, 327,842; borough of Leeds, 224,025; city of Bristol, 161,809; city of Edinburgh, 174,180; city of Glasgow, 423,337 ; city of Dublin (and some suburbs), 317,666. LADVEATISEMENT.I—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills.— Happy Health.—However provident, however careful man may bs, he is still destined to be assailed by sickness, and it is wisdom to be provided with a remedy against such a calamity. The ointment and pills discovered by Professor Holloway are acknowledged by every person who has tried them to possess the highest merits in curing all outward diseases and other maladies arising from violence, expo sure, mineral poisons, or scrofulous taints. This ointment heals all descriptions of ulcers and subdues inflammation. These pills purify and strengthen, and thus, even in mo derately good health, occasional doses of them prove highly beneficial, by their tendency to preserve the body from im purities and weaknesses, whence serious ailments fre quently arise. Births. DECIE.—On tho 4th inst., at Clarence, Roehampton, the wife of Captain R. Decio, R.E , of a son. HurroN.—On tho 4th inst., at Upper Tooting, the wife of Thos. 0. Hutton, Esq., of a son. WALKER.—On the 2d inst., at Banks of Clouden, near Dumfries, the wife of Major Walker, M.P., of a daugh ter. • Marriages. BROOlCE—Monnum—On the 3d inst., at St. George's, ilanover-square, Arthur Watson, son of Sir William do Capell Brooke, Bart., of Oakley Hall, Northamptonshire, Eleanor Frances, daughter of the late Thos. Thornhill, Esq., of Fixby Hall, Yorkshiro. LUSH—FREE.—On the sth inst., at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington, Robert C. Lush, 8.A., eldest son of Robert Lush, Esq., Q.C., to Alice, youngest daughter of the late Lieut.-Col. Free, 10th Bengal Cavalry. Deaths. ADAMS.--On the 2d inst., at Ansty Hall, near Coventyl, Katharine Anna, second daughter of Capt. Adams, R.N., aged 17. BRABY.—On the 3d inst., at Brighton, James Braby, Esq. of Maybanks, Rudgwick, Sussex, and late of Newington causeway, Southwark, aged 68. COFFIN.—On the 3d inst., at Brighton, Thomas Aston Coffin, Esq., aged 43. FLETCHER.—On the 3d inst., at Worthing, Robt. Fletcher, Esq., aged 74. HuTcnixsoN.—On the 3d inst., at Tuffnell-park-road, UP' per Holloway, John Hutchinson, Esq., aged M. LANG.—On the 27th ult., at The Shrubbery,Reatud, BM' tol, Thomas Lang, Esq., iron merchant, aged 57. London : Printed and Published by WIL LIAM ANDRBW ‘ S . of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tx Sim office, No 1 14 : Strand, in the Precinct of the nvoy, in the COLA' Ga Bliddlceeze—Monday, August 7, 1865. s t tit • be :Lc lIL Li 111 11( rt Ni,