The Sun. — London, England, 1864-09-10 00:00:00

ALF E v R E E i p y E v M z E is, N L G O N CONCERTS at ' F S g h t itoYAL ITALIAN OPERA HOUSE, COVENT-GARDEN. GRAND VOLUNTEER NIGUT. Mdlle. C. Patti, Mdlle. Krebs ; Mr. Levy, Mr. J. winter lfoottm, Arban (his last ppearance but two), and Mr. antley, This Eveninc,r. The Faust Selection. Orchestra of One Ilundreci Performers, and the Band of the Coldstream Guards. Conductor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON. promenade, Amphitheatre Stalls. and Arriphithea're, One shill%ng ; Dress Circle, 2s. ed. ; Private Boxes, £1 ls. and Vs. td. Thursday next, a SPOUR NIGHT. On On Friday next, _--------_ ROYAL PR INCESS'S THEATRE.-. So l e Lessee and M anager, Mr. Geo. Vining. THIS EVSNING, BORN TO GOOD LUCK. Paddy p , Rafferty, Mr. Dominick Murray. • biter which, THE sTitEET3 OF' LONDON. Messrs. giving, J. W. Ray, D. F i her, D. Murray, J. Nelson, H. Forrester. H. Mellon ; Mrs. Henry Manton, Miss Emma Barnett, and Miss F Lnny Gwynne. Ni W TriEA Y AL, ADELYIII. eOle PTODTIGLOT and Manager, M. B. Webster. TIIIS EVENING, MY WIFE'S MAID. Messrs. J. L. Toole, P. Bedford, R Philips, and Miss Wjolgar. A WOMAN OF BUSINESS. Messrs. J. L. Toole and Billington. Simms. iss Atter which, THE HEN AND CHICK.ENS. 3tessrs.Bil lington, Phillips, Eburne; Mrs. Stir ing, ,Yl 11. T EIE ACTOR'S RETREAT. Messrs. J. L. Toole, P. Bed ford, R. Romer, it. Phillips, and Mrs. A. Mellon. Commence at 7. R OY AL ST. JAM ES'S THEATRE. ganaf,,,,er, gr. Benjamin Webster. E,3ILIN EN I' TA LENT AND COMEDY. This popular Theatre will OPEN for the Winter Season on litOS DAY, Sept I`2, with (second time) Mr. Arthur S ketch ly' s hooy-successiul and , original Comedy of HOW WILL , 12 6 6,1 GET OUT Ot IT, and F. C. Bernard's Laughable TroAresitie of FAUST AND , MA.RGUERITE. Those cele Dra.ted artists Mr. and Mrs. Char es Mathews are re-engaged ,ii.s. ;3tirling, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Matthews, Mr. F. Robin: ;on.•;tr. Asnley, Mr. J. Clark, Mr. Chamberlain Mr. J oun stone, gr. H. Montague, Miss Cotterel , Miss Fanny Joseph ytiss Patti Josephs, ric. &c. scenic Artists, Mr.Gat an bi s pupil. Acting Manager, Mr. J. Kintoch. Musical Con ductor, Mr. Wallenstiene. Stage Director, Mr. F. Webster. EMOSES AND SO N • respectfully call attention to their large and well assorted stock of JUVENILE CLOTHING. The newest taorics are combined with the latest and most fashionable designs, and the best workmanship. E. MOSES and SON give particular attention to this important branch of their business, and they can with confidence affirm that the prices Are such as must satisfy the most economical. Tnis depart ment is in a oistinct part of the premises, which will be found a great convenience tor ladies and children, E MOSES AND SON • respectfully invite public attention to their large and wed-assorted SUMAIELL STOCK. - V, MOSES AND S ON'S .12.4• "SANDRINGHAM" WRAPPER introduced by them) is the newest an most fashiontb:e style ot Overcoats for the sdeason. "V . MOSES AND SON'S Au. READY-MADE and BESPOKE CLOTHING,' for all classes and all ages. nMOSES AN D SON'S J. CELEBRATED "INDISPENSABLE" SUIT, from 30s. E• MOSES AND S ON'S tu• HOSIERY and DR A.PERY, for all classes and all ages. ,V MOSES AND SON'S 1-A• HATS AND CAPS, fur all c asses and all ages. J MOSES AND SON'S • BOOTS and SHOES, for all classes and all ages. MOSES AND SON'S • OUTFITS. for all classes, all ages, and all climates. ... _________ E, MOSES AND SON'S . LONDON HOUSES, 154, j 55, 150, 157, Minories ; 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, Aldgrate ; 506, 507, 508, New Oxford—street ; 1,2, 3, Hart-street; 137, 138, Tottenham-court -road ; 288, Euston-road E • MOSES AND SON' S COUNTRY ESTABLISHMENT, Bridge-street, Bradford, Y orkshire. EMOSES AND SON'S • Establishments are closed every Friday evening at sunset until Saturday evening at sunset, when business is re surued until II o'clock. A n a rticles are marked the lowest prices in plain figures. Ay article not appr,ved of will be exchanged, or the money re' urned. List of Prices with - Rules for Self-measurement, FashionC,trd, c,trd, and our new pamphlet, " The Tercentenary ; or, The Three Hundredth Birthday of William Shakspeare," gratis oup post tree. COALS. —The LILLESHALL COMPANY'S COALS. Direct from their own Collieries. Marquis'. .238. per ton. I Double.. 2os. per ton. Top .2s. „ I Deep ..215. „ Well screened and delivered within five miles of their De pots, Westbourne Park-road, W., and 17, south Wharf, Paddington, W., and Maiden-lane, N. Best Coke Terms cash. JUUN SCOTT, sole Lgent. THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN,' 1 Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, Ban be had Every Evening of G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. THE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN' supplied, as soon as published every Evening by HENRY 1111001iS, Newspaper Agent, 21, Old Cavendish street, W. kIIGII WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY.—:Morning, 7h. 38h:6—Afternoon, Bh. 12m. ro-icox.B.ow.-Morning, Bh. 55m.—Afternoon. 911. 40m. , LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1864 We are told by the trite cld maxim that it is necessary to lieu both sides of a question if we would know the truth, and certainly if such an axiom were ever necessary to be borne in mind, it is especially so in regard to all intelligence received from the American States. More particularly is this caution advisable when the news we gather comes, as it commonly does, from Northern sources, for the ingenuity with which defeat is turned into victory—failure into success—a trifling advantage into a glorious and conclusive triumph•—and un conditional retreats into tratistorta strategic movements, eclipses a n y tneri have long ago t . on on record. learnedEnglish to take the grand flourishes of the North their true value, and even their own country must, by this time, appreciate them yadttceseunirvte. Such transparent devices —such flimsy ad s v u a ei r p i l c f : a n i g a. , fi w e la ten in reality public they are rapidly to persuade the they are losing ground— when the truth must ultiru:t s l of Wry news, out, if only through the revelations of ret e t Y creep disabled soldiers —augur for the Federal cause. and These indicati ons p rove not onl y that the fortun e o f war has, ,3n. t he whole, been unfavou ra bl e to the North, but also that the hearts of the people a re not enough in the cause to render it safe for them to knovirthe extent to which they must eventually E uffer . They lack the intense feeling, the unanimity of sentiment which give vigour to the armies of the South. While no shuffling or misrepresentation is necessary in the seceding States, but the news of repulse or misfortune only stimulates the energies of the people, the Northern leaders have too good grounds for fearing that, as soon as the weight of the war is really felt by New York, the popularity of " the Union" will be seriously diminished. Accordingly, every device is necessary to keep up the existing state of things ; and , the recent events at Petersburg gave the Feder a l r ornaccists a good foundation for weaving their s kilf u l we b s . The last great feat of which they had to boast was the springing of a mine beneath the Confederate earthworks at Petersburg, an event of which the English public heard long since through New York. Seen from a Virginian point of view, it appears in somewhat different colours, and the results of the grand strategic movement were any thing but satisfactory to the Federal commander, who lost in the repulse of the attack some thousands of men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. It is no great wonder that General GRANT, wearied with the fruitless nature of his protracted campaign, and hopeless of forcing his way into Petersburg by the ordinary means, should recur to the scheme which obtained him possession of Vicksburg, and achieved one of the few successes which have attended th,e Federal arms. It is true that the conquest of Vicksburg has brought no great fruits to the Northern cause ; but GRANT'S victory was the same, and it is not surprising that resting in despair before Petersburg he should resort to the old method. His army rapidly melt ing away with nothing accomplished, his men daily losing heart, while their opponents naturally gathered encouragement from the delay, it became necessary to give the Northerners long waiting on the tiptoe of expectation, some wonderful intel ligence. Accordingly the underground works were pressed forward with a celerity and despatch which surprised the Confederate engineers, and anticipated their opposing movements; and on the :30th July, as we know, came the grand explosion, the tem porary discomfiture of the Confederates, the sub. sequent repulse, the panic of the negroes, and the terrible slaughter which filled the yawning mine with dead and dying. The Confederates, more fearless of the truth than the North, openly affirm that the troops in the work should not have been so easily dislodged from it. Only two guns were blown up out of foar within the salient ; and it is said that if the gunners of the other two guns had stood firm, and had been sup ported by the infantry behind them, no entrance could have been effected. There is, how ever, great allowance to be made for men flying from so uncertain a danger, and the suddenness of the explosion might well startle those totally un prepared for an artificial earthquake. It was not many hours before the work was again in the hands of the Confederates, for General GRANT found himself unable to reinforce his troops, and the negro regiments, so far from being animated by the vin• dictive spirit ascribed to them in some reports, took refuge in the mine itself where they were shot down without mercy by the Confederates. The lscls of that "attribute of God himself" has been painfully manifest on both sides throughout the war, and it is one of the saddest reflections that press on the mind of the observer, that the same tragedy which is desolating the fertile couutry is at the same tiros degrading and brutalising the people. The Southerners have certainly borne the palm for superior magnanimity, if such a word may fairly be used on either side ; or rather they have shown less ferocity, while their provocations have un doubtedly been ten times as great ; but they have not escaped the evil example, and while their miss deeds have been few in comparison, they have not sufficiently borne in mind that whatever the con duct of their opponents, they were bound by the moral code of civilised war. The burning of towns and villages as retaliation for the atrocities com mitted by the North, will not be likely to mitigate the harshness and inhumanity which the Federals seem to think must distinguish a general, but it will inflict much needless suffering. Retaliation between two contending armies usually means re venging the misuse cf power on the helpless and inoffensive, and if such is the spirit in which two Christian nations are to carry on a war, let us no onger hear the Americans boast of their civilisation. The condition of cottages is at all times a subject ,hat requires consideration, but it is too often put aside for others of a more exciting character. Yet rightly understood, few things can more deserve inquiry and attention, for on the right regulation of this matter the comfort of many are concerned. It is besides a reproach to the community in which the scandalous occurrences take place that are con stantly put before us regarding the condition of the dwellings of the labouring classes. It is some safe- guard that an act has been passed which invests the landlord with responsibility as to the state of his cottages. It is to be hoped that the affair in which Mr. BtiRROUGHES has been engaged will be productive of some good in this respect, and that the painful exposure to which he has been sub jected may be a warning to others of his class equally careless as to the welfare of their depen dents. It is really almost incomprehensible how persons of education, and accustomed to responsible positions, can thus neglect their duties and wil fully ignore the rights of those who are in a great measure dependent upon them for all that makes life desirable. It is not only the health of the inmates that is affected by the total want of sani- :ary arrangements which appears in many instances, but the feelings of decency_ and morality are violated, and the social condition of the place must be bad where the provisions are such as appear in the scanty and ill provided tenements of the poor. It is well that the inspector in the instance referred to has been so vigilant, and, undeterred from the prosecution of his duty by the position of the defendaant, has made known a decided dereliction of duty on the part of a re sponsible individual. It is to be hoped that the example thus set will be followed by others, so that, in some degree at least, the terrors of the law, most especially as regards its publicity, may be put in force against such offenders. No terms can be too harsh to employ in the discussion of the conduct of those landlords who persist in letting things alone, and only trouble themselves where their own immediate interest is concerned, as they think ; for, in reality, the sanitary state of the cottage relatca to the health of the neigh bourhood, and if the condition of the former be such as shocks inspection, it cannot but be injurious to the community around. They will incur a fear• ful responsibility, and have a frightful reflection to dwell upon, who by their acts of omission and com mission in this respect endanger the lives of their tenants, and invite the ills of pestilence to scatter themselves around the place in which their property lies. Such negligence is sowing broadcast the seeds of disease in many a fair locality, and woo unto those who incur this odium. An unfavourable season, the state of inmates at the time when they enter into the abode may have something to do w ith the propagation and extent of the calamity, but still they who have the power to remedy abusee and d eth w er the will no t do it are as much to bl am e w evil be escaped or whether its viru lence has to be endured. It is well that the pre sent enactments of the law should have been made so stringent, but it is lam th entable th a t th e occas i on puttin g ton force now bette r th an should onuldglt on arise l for i naputarteioenag, s a t i i n u st le th as os t e o render themselves liabl e to i conviction. As we kn ow that un happily the re are many landlords to keep Mr. BURL OUGUES in cone_ take " tenance, it will be we ll f or them c heed to their ways, and to endeavour to s m beare a like catastrophe befalling them. It nnot but that the notice that will be taken of this affair w ill promote some beneficial result, for there are man y persons who are always impressed by the exc i E ernent of discussion and the stir of unusual occurrences,who never think of analysing a subject for themselves, or taking themselves to task as to whether or not they have properly performed their duties. The condition of the cottages, which was the subject of inqui:l- before the magistrates, was a disgrace to ail connected with them; they appear to have been totally unfit for habitation, and nothing short of their immediate removal and the substitution of more desirable tenements can at all reinstate their landlord in the good opinion of his neighbours and tnF, Tt 19 an THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 10, 1864. Ron an loners. " Mynxt tirthr The ajinual general session of the magistrates of Lanca shire was held in the Court House, Preston, on Thursday. There was a tolerably numerous attendance of magistrates. The Court reappointed Lord Stanley as chairman of the sessions for the ensuing year, and Mr T. Greene as the vice-chairman. HER MAJESTY, Lord Stanley acknowledged the compliment, as also did Mr Greene. BALMORAL, Sept, 8. A report of the Treasurer of the general expenditure of the county was laid before the Court, along with the report of the General Finance Committee in regard to the same matter. The Queen, accompanied by the Duchess of Saxe Coburg and Princess Louise, drove to the Lynn of Quoich yesterday. Her Royal Highness Princess Helena, attended by the Hon. Harriet Phipps, drove to Birkhall. Mr T. B. ADDISON referred to the expenses of prosecu tions at quarter sessions. Ho said there was a great dis.. parity between the present expenses and those which had been reported at previous courts. The expenses in con nection with the sessions at Preston, Salford, and Kirkdale, were almost equal. At the Kirkdale sessions the expenses were a little below those at Preston, which had generally been the least in amount of any of the sessions for prose cutions. The expenses for the whole of the prosecutions amounted to upwards of £14,000. There had, according to the report for the past year, been a reduction of £1 on the whole upon each prosecution. He might also observe that in the matter of juvenile prosecutions there had been a great saving. The power of prose cuting juvenile offenders in a summary way had been lately introduced, and if they calculated the expense the county would have been put to if such offenders had been sent to the sessions, they would find that there had been a saving of about £ll,OOO. After some further conversation, the various accounts were passed. Mr T. B. ADDISON moved—" That upon the recom mendation of the visiting justices of the House of Correc• tion at Preston, a sum not exceeding £4O be granted for the purchase of the vestments, chalice, linen, crucifix, candle. sticks, and other articles necessary to enable the Roman Catholic minister to celebrate the services of his church." Mr. Addison said he could not see how, after it had been decided to appoint a Roman Catholic chaplain, they could refuse to supply those articles which were absolutely necessary, according to the rules of the Church, for the celebration of divine worship. Perhaps part of the ceremony could be performed without some of the articles named, but he believed that in the celebration of mass it was essential that they should have the vestments, &c., named. Mr R. TOWNLEY PARKER seconded the motion, Mr G. PARKER opposed the motion. Atter some discussion, Mr G. PARKER proposed as an amendment that no crucifix nor graven image be introduced within the walls of the Preston House of Correction. After some further discussion, MI GOLBORNE PARKER handed in an amendment to the Chairman. It ran thus : —" That no crucifix or graven image be introduced within the walls of the Preston gaol at the expense of the county." The amendment was not seconded ; and, after a good deal of discussion, the Court divided on theoriginal motion: —For the motion, 18 hands were held up; and against it 19. The names were then taken, with the following result : —For the motion, 22; against 19. The motion was de clared to be carried. he other business was unimportant. Probable Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Sweden. STOCKHOLM, Sm. 9. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected here at the end of this month. A letter of invitation has been addressed to them. by the King of Sweden; and a Swedish man-of-war will be dispatched to meet them. PRINCE ALFRED.—A letter from Bonn states that Prince Alfred of England will arrive there in the autumn, and will study for a year at the uni• versity, where, as will be well remembered, the late Prince Consort passed a portion of his youth. The Earl and Countess Fitzsvilliam and Ladies Fi;zwilliam have arrived at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, from their seat in Ireland. The noble earl and countess will entertain a select party al Wentworth daring the Doncaster races• The Earl of Westmorland has left the St George's Hotel. The Earl and Countess of- Scarborough will re ceive a large party at Sandbeck Park, near Rot her' ham, during the Doncaster race meeting. The Earl de Grey and Ripon and his son, Vie count Goderich, are now staying at Nocton Hall. The Eirl and Countess Russell and Ladies Rug' sell have arrived at Windermere from Derbyshire for a tour of the lakes. The noble earl, as one of the Secretaries of State, mill, on the 12th instant relieve the Right Hon. Sir Charles Wood, now 111 attendance on the Queen at Balmoral. Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston arrived Cambridge House, Piccadilly, last evening, from Brocket Hall, Herts. The noble Premier and Lad/ Palmerston, however, leave town early in the ensn' ing week for Broadlands. Viscountess Jocelyn and Hon. Misses Jocely n have left Switzerland for Turin. Viscount and Viscountess Holmesdalc, and Si t Edmund and Lady Ramer, will remain at the shooting quarters at Invercauld, N. 8., until the Ol d of next month, when they leave for the south' They intend to pay a Belies of visits on their Wal to Kent. Lord Seaton has arrived at Lochnaw Castle, Wig' townshire, the seat of S r Andrew Agnew, Bart , ) M.P. Lard and Lady Stanley of Alderley and go, Misses Stanley, who, since their return from Ge r ' many, have been on a visit to Lord and Lady WeD s ' leydale at Ampthill Park, Bedfordshire, intend t° leave there to-day for Aide flay Park, Cheshire. Lord and Lady William Osborne have left Eng . laud on a tour in Germany. The Marquis of Sligo has arrived at the 0 George's lio The Earl Cadogan is again seriously ill, but v il ! worse than he was in the summer. Several members of bid family are in town owing to his illness. TUE EMPRESS EUGENIE AND THE PROTESTAI4/ 55 —Not long since some Protestant ladies applied t o tis t Empress Eugenia for a donation in aid of a Protestall. Orphan Society. A few days later they received a letter is which the Empress said that she fully sympathised in tlie l a work, and entered into their views ; and to prove that 01 0 did so she sent them for a lottery two magnificent p orco vases, worth 600 f. each. C AMBER WELL WORKIIOUSE.—On Thursday 15P: 200 of the inmates cf Camberwell Workhouse, inclu about 40 imbecile patients, were conveyed in vans to Purrs Downs, near Croydon, under the care of Mr. and _, smithers, the master and matron. On their arrival tbei°, do xn to a substantial dinner of roast beef and porter;; 13te j in the day to a good tea, with cake, &e. Those of the ° g e l , inmates who were too ill to bear the fatigue of the jol lr i lae ,; were supplied with a good dinner and tea, and with 01*. of punch and cake at bedtime, DESTRUCTION OF A FEMALE PENITENTIAR Y LIVERPOOL—LIVERPOOL, September 9.—A fire of 3 alarming nature occurre I this morning, which he s unfeft ri nately resulted in the entire destruction of the reforreet°'4 institution for females called The Home, situated in 1 0 , 4 ° street, Edge-hill. It appears that about half-past 4 t'd,' one of the inmates perceived a strong sme ll of fire , fi l3 e j having at once given the alarm, a messenger was despe tel' to the fire engine stations. Half an hour nearly 311 o! after the different engines had reached the scene of the 5 , before any hose could be brought t o p la y on the builclif:# owing to a scarcity of water in the mains, and by the tjl the flames were subdued the building was completely gutA The loss is estimated at about £2OOO, and this is c ov,ife%) insurances in the Royal and Guardian offices. AltO t ' v there were about 40 inmates of The Home in bed etla time the fire broke out, none of them were injured. 4/ j fire was caused by the overheating of a stave in. the 151 0 which set fire to some clothes. , THE STORY OF A LOST SOVEREIGN.. —HIL '' .1/1' GRINDLE AND ROGERS.—An action was b r oueo the Bristol County Court on Tuesday , to recover the it ioll of £5, the value of a clock belonging to the pl a intiff, / 111 20 0 he alleged the defendants had imp ro p erl y and illegalli t Vt sensed themselves of. Mr. Roper, for the plaintiff, sai d ) action was brought to recover the sum of £5, the vei rt ; t e a clock, which the plaintiff alleged the defendants held ti lawfully taken away from his house. It appeared tha t 0 1 12th May, 1863, was the first day of Bath r aces ju t to year, and on those occasions it was usual for parson°ool assemble upon Lawrence-hill to see the vehicles g oing ts returning from the races, and gentlemen on their 0/„01 and from the races were in the habit of throwing 0 % 0 0 to the boys who there assembled. The plaintiff's 5073, other boys, was on Lawrence-hill on the evening iX tion watching the people retu r n f rom the races, and 'oil near the Carriers' Arms he s aw a coin l y in g u p on the roe which he picked up, and conceived it to be a oc li ( IV thing. He carried it home, and then his mother 0 0 cover ed that it was a sovereign which he h ad ° n ot ° The plaintiff told all his neighbours of the fact, but,l3tyo appeared to own it, and he determined, after the eg i° d tt / of ten days, that it should be expended in proviai°V little fellow who had picked it up with a new suit of u l° Bo tti The fact of the sovereign being found subsetitl4o got to the kncwledge of Grindle, ono of the defeUu" . toe who sent for the boy of the plaintiff, ands 05 4 , him that the sovereign which he had found wee 1 / I , o o° perty. He locked up the boy in a stable, and three' 0 1 him that if he did not state that he had feU llci O 4 sovereign in the place indicated by him he would still a constable and give him in charge . That intimiden, boy, and he said whatever they re q uired of him. (21,f/f, and the, other defendant then went to the plaintiff where they saw his wife, and said that if she did no d ' them the sovereign, or some compensation, they wea l $ the boy in charge. The w ife said that she could 000: an ything in the matter, and that they had better WO B/ ", h er husband returned. They, however , said the Y ll to be put off in that way, but that they mutt hal ° thing to hold as security for the payment of the 0 03 4 and they took away an eight-day clock, which hadb,,iej property of the family for some time, and which the of. V. valued at £5. The action, Mr Roper said, would 1 ,4 been brought if in honour the defendants had returtl.ol clock, and made the plaintiff some little compeu°l4l Ti the trouble and annoyance they had occattioned plaintiff, his wife, son (who picked up the moverelo another boy were called in support of the plain he 09t The wife, in her cross e xamination, denied that ell fore ges ted that the clock s hould be taken as securitl /1 0 0 sovereign, to prevent her son being locked UP' t h rea t en ed her 'Lad said she would be locked uP toolo her son if she did not give them the money or the- 00V worth. She admitted having assisted the defeo:s,6 carry the clock to the house of Mr. Burrows, Nal ° father-in-law of Grindle, and with whom he also stated that Sergeant Porter was present W' e ettr i " defendants told her she must g i ve something 05 °-. 4 i' and she also alleged that sergeant Porter 13° 0 she must, and she therefore thought that it t o `gip right. Mr Beckenham, on behalf of the defeadu!tiro'fli tended that the clock had been given by the fOOOA and at her own suggestion, and was by her and othe to veyed to a publichouse in the neighbourhood, tliel,otei‘ m ain as security for the repayment of the ° i ° li e cl4 Grindle and Rogers, the defendants, were el' in ioo ti the latter stated that he missed the scvcreje "or s pocket of his waistcoat, which he had hung 11 ' 10. 0 stable at the time the plaintiff's boy was ther e ',oo tt not, however, suspect him until he heard `"0,1 afterwards that he had found a sovereign' i ct , ao d, he went to his mother, who offered hire m io ttl' o , duplicates as security rather that her soa ° 0 d id % to the police-station. Ho told her thet 11 0 0 0 know anything about them, and then °I eolli him the clock or anything that was in th_ 4 o „ se curity. Mr Weston , fa rrier, and Mr Barr;lr examined in support of the defendants' case • ur tte l j re plied upon the defendants' case, an d his 1-1011°..0000°,1 summed up the evidence, the jury v e rdict for the plaintiff as again st Ro g ers, but the plaintiff in respect to Grindle, iminctliatelY abuse of power that ought not to be tolerated, and by every means efforts should be made to change the aspect of affairs which permits such out• rages on the good sense and good feel ings of the community_ The labourers are often compelled to reside in unfit places, beeause there are no proper habitations nearer at hand, and thus it is more incumbent upon country proprietors than town ones in a great measure to see that the right and fitting steps are taken that the poor should be properly housed and enabled to live decently and correctly. If such cottages as those that figured in the inquiry were described as existing in a foreign land, many would exclaim in horror, and be virtuously indignant, but they do not look at home for sights that shock propriety, and a state of things that is an offence to morality, and an incentive to evil courses. If the term be unpalateab!e. it is not at any rate an unprofitable one, and it is to be trusted that a particular instance of the want of proper cottages will not be passed as a nine days' wonder, but that those who are inti mately and immediately concerned in the matter will at once devote their energies to the task, and render the cottage of an English labourer such a dwelling as a working zaan may inhabit who re spects himself and desires the respect of his neigh bours. This desideratum is one which is earnestly to be hoped for, and the welfare of the community Idepends upon its fulfilment. The Bath Meeting of the British Association, The preparations for the 34th annual meeting of the British Association are now in a forward state. Applications for tickets are pouring in from all parts, and the attendance will be exceedingly numerous. Amongst the eminent personages who have already signified their intention to be present at the meeting are the Earls of Cork, Enniskillen, and Nelson, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Bishop of Oxford, Bishop Colenso, Lady Franklin, Sir Roderick :Murchison, Sir John Bowring, Sir W. Jardine, Sir Benjamin Brodie, Sir William Armstrong, Sir E. Belcher, and many others. The programme of the proceedings for the nine days, as at present arranged, is annexed : —Wednesday—Meeting of the general committee in the Guildhall, at 1 p.m., for the election of sec tional officers, &c.; first general meeting in the Theatre at eight p.m., whe❑ Sir W. G. Armstrong, C. 8., LL.D., F.R.S., will resign the chair, and Sir Charles Ly ell, Bart., M.A., D.C.L„ F.R.S., &c., will assume the presidency, and deliver the inaugural address. Thursday—The eight sections will open at 11 a.m. in the rooms mentioned above. A conver sazione in the Assembly-rooms, commencing at 8 p.m. Friday—The sections as usual. Protessor Ros• eoe's lecture in the Theatre on "The Chemical Action of Light," at 3.30 p.m. Saturday—The sections as usual, Excursion to Frome, Holwell, and the Vallis; excursion to Stanton Drew and Radstock. Evening banquet in the Guildhall, given by the mayor. Monday—The sections as usual, Meeting of gene. ral committee in the Assembly-rooms at 3 p.m. to decide upon, the place of meeting in 1865. Dr Livingtone's address concerning his explorations in Africa during the last six years, in Theatre, at 8.30 p.m. Tuesday—The sections as usual. Microsco p•.cal soiree in the Assembly-rooms at 8 p.m. The instruments collected will be insured during their railway transit for not less than £6,000. Wednes day—Concluding general meeting at 3 p.m. in the Assembly-rooms. Evening banquet i❑ the Guild. hall, given by Mr Tite, I.P, Thursday—Excur sion to Bristol and Clifton ; excursion to Salisbury, Old Sarum, and Stonehenge.—Bath Chronicle. Health of the Army at Home. The annual reports—statistical, sanitary, and medical—from the Army Medical Department have been issued in relation to . the year 1852. The average strength of non-commis. sioned officers and men in the army serving in the United Kingdom was 78,173—and for every 1,000 of mean strength there were in the year 919 ad missions into hospital, 53.45 constantly sick, and 8.72 died. A l ,l these numbers are lower than the average of ",,he two previous years. The reduction in the rortality was chiefly in miasmatic and re spiratory diseases. Venereal diseases, though de cidedly less prevalent than in the two previous years, continued to hold a very prominent place as causes of inefficiency, the admissions into hospital still reaching to a number about equal to a third of the entire force. At Colchester the admissions were as high as 464 per 1000 men of mean strength, at Manchester 455, at Canterbury 441. The total in efficiency from the cause was equal to the loss of every man in the home force for eight days, or the constant loss of two regiments out of 78,000 men. Intemperance also causes a considerable amount of inefficiency ; in the cavalry depots the admis sions into hospital from intemperance and delirium tremens reached 13-17 per 1,000 of mean strength. Corporal punishment ranged between 6.4 per 1,000 in the Military Train, and 0.6 in the Foot Guards, but in none of the arms except the Military Train and depot battalions, did it amount toltwo in a thousand of the force. The mortality of the cavalry, artillery, Military Train and Infantry regiments was below the civil population of healthy districts in England at the egos, but the mortality is kept under by the process of invaliding. The invaliding, however, was much lees than in the previous year, and amounted to only 41.27 per 1,000 or 3,226 in all. The mortality in the fegiments on the average of three years was lower than in civil life under 25 years of age, the same as in civil life between 25 and 30, but considerably higher at the more ad vanced ages. In the French army serving in France in the same year, 1862, the num• ber constantly non-effective from sickness and the sick time to each soldier were almost identical with those of the British army at home. The deaths of non-commissioned officers and men n the army serving in France amounted to 9.59 per 1,000, or 0.87 Above that of England. It ap pears a legitimate inference from the French re turns that the cases of venereal diseaso in the year were at least as numerous, in proportion, as in the British army. THE NEW MARSHAL OF FRANCE.—Gen. B'izline, who has just been appointed to the dignity of a marshal of France, comes from a military family, whose fame he has done much to maintain. His early lessons in the art of war were obtained in Africa, where he gained the Cross of Honour on the field of battle. In 1837 he was de tached, and served with the foreign legion, but afterwards returned to Africa, where he received the rank of captain, and saw further service. In 18-I8 ho was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel; in IMO he was placed at the head of the foreign legion, and at the commencement of the war in the Crimea, he was chosen to command the brigade of infantry formed of this corps. During the siege of Sebas topol the bulletins of Generals Canrobert and Pellissier more ithan organisation.o n Afters testimony m t hoen retreaty to his of b t r h a e v e it r adnhs_is hew skill a s appointed governor of the place, and in Sept., Mob:, was promoted to be general of division. In Oct. following ho was placed at the head of the expeditionary corps destined to act against Kinburn. services in the Crimea were, of course, soon afterwards ended ; but on his return to France, high commands were conferred on him. Ile is commander of the Legion of Honour. FALSE ALARM OF FIRE AT THE ADELPIII THHATRE. —At half-past eight last evening, during the per formance of "The Woman of Business," and while Mr Phillips, Mr J. L. Toole, and Mr Stephenson were on the stage, a sudden panic ra_i through the audience owing to cries of "Fire 1" from persons in the gallery, and the audience suddenly rose with a view to rush out of the house, although they were assured by Mr J. W. Anson (the treasurer), the police on duty at the theatre, and Mr Stephenson and Mr Phillips that there was no cause for alarm, that no fire existed in any part of the theatre, and that the smok e w hi ch had caused the alarm arose from a wood fire in a chimney of an adjoining baker's, which had penetrated thrcugh one of the open windows. Unfortu- nately, the alarm spread outside that the theatre was en fire, and engines from the Chandos and Farringdon stations arrived, adding to the unnecessary consternation. By order of Mr Anson the firemen were refused admission, it being considered that their appearance would cause a second panic. The audience being at length satisfied resumed their seats, and the performances were continued. One gentleman had his shoulder dislocated, LATEST INTELLIGENCE, (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) ITALY. TURIN, SEPT. 10. The National Bank of Italy his raised its rate of discount to 8 per cent. FRANCE. BOURSE, Sept. 9.—The market has been rather weak, and the business done shows a slight decline. Threes, for the Account, are now at 66f. 65c., and Mobilier at 1,006 f. 25c, Railway Market also heavy, and some of the lines are quoted lower. The market became rather rirmer towards the close, and left off as follows 41 per Cents 92 70 Do. end month 3 per Cents 66 50 Do. end month 66 70 Credit Mobilier 100 7 50 Do. end month 1008 75 Bank Shares 3400 Credit Fonder 1215 Roman Italian Loan 67 20 Do. end month G7 40 Ditto Threes..." — New Alemican Russian Austrian Spanish Threes 49 50 Home Debt .. 47 75 Deferred RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans.... 893 75 .. 895 Northern .. .. Lyons and Neditorranean 920 .. 922 50 Southern 630 .. 635 Western ...... Eastern .. .. Sardinian 346 25 .. 346 25 Austrian Lombard North of Spain Saragossa .. 482 50 .. 481 25 Ditto to BareQlona .... 210 .. 210 suppose, we ought to believe that ellarles Edward was the last of his line, boause Mr. Fullom, stand- ing at his tomb, felt and thought that he was. The spirit in which the author went about Rome is evidently that of a man full of the vulgarest notions about Romanism, and resolutely determined to find support for them. He at once knows a young Jesuit on the Pincian hill Ly " his eye and look before we note his shovel hat.'' "Craft and knavery are spread over his cheek like its bloom, and make the bloom a blight—a blight that seems to shrivel his frame. His very man ner is treacherous, " for he is lurking rather than standing, and looks down." Then—still, with a bland disregard of rule about the verb being in the plural when its nominative is plural—" a few yards further brings to light one of his brethren peering at him through the trees , a nd p retendin g abstrac9 I tion, so thorough is their system of trickery and deception." The priests at Rome may be an unr worthy crew, but any body can see that Mr. Fullom's talk about craft and knavery and shrivelled frames is simply the result of an over-excited Protestant inagination. Any weak-minded English traveller comes home with just the same story. A Roman clenched his fist when Mr. Fullom asked his opinion of the confessional, and the questioner understood the gesture, " for the Roman was a husband and a father." Then, on another occasion, ho saw a lady enter a church by the Farnesi Gardens : It was unfrequented at that hour, and I followed her in, thinking she was one of my friends whom I know to be ex ploring. I found she had been met by a priest half-way up the church, and they were walking on together, but heard me enter, and turned with a startled look. The lady had coma to confession, and I perceived she was not the person I thought, and withdrew, leaving her and the priest alone. We do not for a moment doubt that Mr Fullom is honestly describing his own notions, but there is a dramatic tone about the incident which very pro bably produces a wholly untrue impression of what really took place. The " startled look" has rather the appearance of being an artistic touch. And how does Mr Fullom know that the lady had come to confession ? She might be the priest's sister, or his aunt, or his mother; at all events, it would only have been consistent with the charity which hopeth all things to give them the benefit of the doubt. This scene recalled to the author another incident of the confessional which he saw at St. Peter's : The penitent there was standing with her lips at the auricle, and pouring her soul into the priest's ear, She spoke low, but with passionate 'vehemence, and her voice was broken by sobs which could be heard around. The fall of her bonnet looped, and I caught a glimpse oT her face, which was wet with tears, while the burning cheek told a story of shame. This was in the glare of St. Peter's, and how might it be with the lady in the sequestered church, stripped in the same and protected by no observer ? " After such manifestations," Mr Fullom deci• sively concludes, "I believed the shocking stories afloat." That is to say, he visits a Roman Catholic country, sees a woman sobbing in the confessional, and another woman, whom he knows nothing about, in a church talking to a priest, and thinks these two facts sufficient reason for believing all the dreadful stories which make the capital of polemical divines, fanatical newspapers, and itinerant lee tutees. What did he expect to find, in the very centre of the Roman Catholic religion except the Roman Catholic discipline ? The followers of that religion hold the necessity of confes sion to a priest as a fundamental doctrine of their belief, and yet Mr Futlom seems quite horrified be cause he saw one woman at confession, and thought he saw another. One need have no sort of admiration for the particular institution to see how laughable the author's argument is. Suppose an Italian traveller in England were to write in the same style, anybody would detect the absurdity. The traveller might describe with pious or prurient horror how, on being ushered into a drawing , room, he found the curate and the daugh ter of the house sitting together, and that, on the door being opened, they "turned with a startled look." To him this freedom would be an incom prehensible abomination, and, if he were like Mr Fullom, he would rush home and declare in his book that all the shocking stories of the Haymarket and the Divorce Court fail to give any idea of the gross immorality which pervades English life. Yet we know that after all, the curate and his beloved were only engaged in the mildest lovemaking. Then, again, one cannot imagine anything more childish than to wind up a very fairly written ac count of a great illumination of St, Peter's and the Vatican by the complacent e x clamation, " Yet all was darkness ! These pious ejaculations are simply impertinent when the business in hand is descrip tion, not piety. Neither can we admire the taste of the stupid generalization that, among foreigners, " politeness is seen to be gained at the coat of sin cerity, and a want of good feeling is apparent through the show of kindness." Has Mr. Fullom passed so many years abroad as will justify him in this calm assumption ? From the whole tone of his work we should suspect that ho has had pecu liarly slender means of forming any judgment in the matter, and that here, as throughout his book, he has simply made it his business to echo the igno rant national prejudices of which all sensible Eng lishmen are thoroughly ashamed. It is quite possible distinctly to prefer an Englishman to a Frenchman and Protestantism to Popery, without calling all foreigners hypocrites, and denouncing all Roman Catholics as poor benighted idolators. HORSE EREEDING.—The annual show of the Wigton Agricultural Society, the first of the more impor tant of the autumnal shows in Cumberland—was held at Wigton on Wednesday. At the dinner held in the evening the Hon. P. Wyndham, M.P., was one of the spoakers. In responding to the toast of his health, he referred to the sub ject of breeding horses as one in whifth he took great inte- rest, and urged the farmers of Cumberland to pay more al tention to it. In breeding horses,as in many other matters one success brought another. The:county of York and other counties had gained a name for horses, and the farmers of Cumberland might depend upon it that if they produced three or four very high-class horses and sold them, they would not only get a very great deal for them, but the fame of their horses would go abroad, and before many years they would have the London dealers coming and buying good horses at an age when it was most advantageous to part with them—when they were two or three years old. Many parts of that county were extremely well fitted for the purpose. True, it was very wet, but that was counter balanced by warmth of climate. The farmers had been blamed fel not sending their mares to the best horses. No doubt they had not the command of good stallions at a price at which they ought to have them. They could get their stock served by the best short-horn bulls for two or three guineas, but if they wished to employ really a first-class stallion they had to pay £lO 10s. The reason was that they were employed for racing. That had been the means of tak ing out of the way of farmers the services of the best horses, because the value of their produce wes fictitious, from being employed in a purely fictitious and gambling pursuit. What was felt was that the turf, with its income of £200,000 a year,did not want the small subsidy of £5,000 given in the shape of Queen's plates, which was given originally for the improvement of the breed of horses, not to help the amuse lf - of the people, although that was a good object. that sum were given into the hands of proper persons, who were ready to take it, to create a branch establish ment so the Royal stud at Hampton Court, where the soundest and stoutest mares should breed stallions to be sent through the country, covering mares at not more than 405., it would give a great stimulus to horse-breeding in the country. If they produced a good horse and he got to be known• he would be bought up at once ; and if this county got the start of the rest of England in horse-breed ing it would be very much to its benefit in every point of view. Mr W. Lawson, M.P., said he had not been able to pay as much attention to this subject:of horse-breeding as ho ought to have done, but he was sure, from the remarks his hon. friend (Mr Wyndham) had made, that it was in very good hands. And it was in other hands besides his. Some time ago he went one evening into the House of Lords, and took his stand in the position allotted to mem bers of the House of Commons. The house was uncom monly full, and he heard a very interesting and lively de bate upon this very question—whether it is desirable that the system of light weights should be encouraged by Go vernment. He observed upon that occasion that the bench of bishops was crowded. Therefore he was quite content to leave the light weights in the hands of the bishop and his friend Mr Percy Wyndham. " SEE THE CONQUERING HERO COMES:'—At the late annual meeting of the Ohio State Medical Society Pro fessor Webber offered the following ream 'ution, which was adopted amid tremendous applause :—" Resolved, that the thanks of this society, as well as the good wishes of all the good citizens in the land, are eminently due to our venerable fellow member, J. G. Rogers, M.D., of New Richmond, Ohio, for the skilful manner in which, on the morning of the 2d of April, 1822, he assisted into this world Ulysses Simpson Grant, the commander of the American armies, the hero of Vicksburg, and the predestined destroyer.of the great rebeiliou.".. Qtfq plant terrible I—Lancet. A Literary Roasting. A Roasting so scientifically conducted that Mr Fullom may be said to have been just delightfully done to a turn by a very chef among the Saturday Reviewers : and so " done to a T " in the manner *ollowing—the criticism here quoted being apropos ;o the novelist's new book about "Rome under Pius IX," Whenever, says the " Saturday Itgviewer," a writer begins his book with a statement that " ; it is a Maxim with an Englishman to respec' religious convictions, however they may differ from his own," we are at once ready for a roaring tirade either against some particular creed or against creeds in general. If a man in private life opens his attack by assuring you that he is not angry, you know that it is only the prelude to a display of excep tional fury, and, in the same way, a disclaimer of bigotry is the unmistakeable sign of a ferocious outburst of narrowmindedness. Mr Fullom begins his book, in the ordinary way, by a brief account of his sensations on first arriving at Rome. He tells us how his memory teemed with associations of a " stirring and varied" kind—among others, with the slightly original idea that " here freedom was born," which is about as absurd as if his memory had teemed with the reflection that "here original sin" or " here human nature was born." Then, besides the gratification of being in the birthplace of freedom, he felt a glow of satisfac tion on remembering that Rome had been the sub- ect of " the first romance from his pen," and in finding the romance still circulating both in Eng lish and French. But Mr. Fullom soon comes to business, His indignation is first aroused at finding that he meets a shrine of the Virgin at every corner, until at length he is "forced to Great is Mary of the Romans' "—an ex clamation that is followed by some Spurgeonic attempts to be funny, " The winking Virgins have done the Church some service—is there nothing to be done by a black one ?" There is nothing under the sun out of which a traveller with the true Cockney spirit, especially if it be spiced with a strong religious antipathy, will not complacently extract his joke. A shower of potato parings falls on Mr, Fullom's head from an attic window, and, remembering that he is in the city of miracles and prodigies, he is quite disappointed to find that " the downpour is artificial." The Pope's carriage passes him, and yet "the road stands firm as if it had not been traversed by Heaven's vicegerent." A patrol of the Papal army goes by, and he reflects —" the Church is now militant indeed, and has abandoned bulls for balls." The Swiss guard make a fine appearance, " though it is in the style of the soldiers in ' Henry the Fourth' at Drury Lane." Even a funeral only makes Mr Fullom remark how the howl of the Capuchins " would horrify Mark Tapley." Bat trumpery witticisms of this sort are more amusing than the author's efforts when he is serious. At first he seems to have been rather astounded that the Roman Church did not base its pretensions on the episcopate of St Paul rather than upon that of St. Peter, which, as he very truly says, is quite unsupported and apocryphal. But some friend, we presume, pointed out to him that 1113 foundation of a church " upon this rock" could scarcely be transferred to St. Paul. He then sees that "the design is to give Rome the primacy of Christendom." "We know," he con tinues, " what use is made of the address to St. Peter, when his confession of faith is styled 'this rock,' and the term could not be twisted to apply thus to St. Paul, who was not present; hence Peter, takes the higher place with Rome, as affording more capabilities." And then follows an extraordinary piece of Scriptural exigesis :—" In fact, none of the Apostles less resembled a rock, and the term would never be applied to Peter by his Master, who cons tinually a pproved his unsteadfastness." This coin cided with Mr. Fullom's remark about Rome being the birthplace of freedom to convince us that, like Mr. Spurgeon, he thinks all the worse of a man for knowing Greek. There is no reason why ignorance of Greek s hould have prevented him from writing a good book upon Rome or the Papacy, but, under these delicate circumstances, not even the e xample of a celebrated Landon divine should have tempted him into the discussion of matters turn ing entirety on the meaning of Greek words, He only quotes Latin on one occasion, and then not with such success as to justify a seco nd attem p t. Tasso is made to " murmur a l ine from Seneca," which, as reproduced by Mr Fu llom, runs thus : " Magnifica verba more propo admotu axcutit. ' Even in ordinary English it is not alwa y s easy to see what Mr Fullom means. When he saw a car dinal for the first time he tells us he looked at him with interest, but " a few days in Rome takes away the strangeness, and cardinals become caviare." In another place he says the Italian flunkey is " c i v il as an orange," and we humbly recognise the inscrus tability of proverbial expressions. But when car dinals are said to be caviare, surely the author has ingeniously stated the exact reverse of what he meant. Caviare is a p roverbial em blem of all rare i d n eli w ea h c i i e e h s ; he a began to hold cardinals by lik en i ng ndtherefore to express th e c h ea p ness them to caviare is about as silly as to say of par tridges that, on the Ist of September, you "looked at them with interest," but " a few days takes away the strangeness," and partridges become pearls. Mr Fullom's knowledge of English history would seem to be as imperfect as his know letge of the nature of caviare. He performs a sort of pardonable war - dance over the tomb of the prince whom he unpardonably calls "the last of the Stuarts," meaning Charles Edward. He talks after wards about the Cardinal York, but apparently has no suspicion that this was the surviving brother of "the last of the Stuarts." But Mr Fullom has a very curious theory of history which may, perhaps. explain any trifling eccentricities in his statements of fact_ After becoming tremendously excited at seeing " the low wall that divides the camps of the two brothers, and Remus take the leap which gave the chiefdom to his brother," and imagining the Rape of the Sabine women, and various other incl• dents of the same sort, he suddenly seems to have remembered hearing something about Niebuhr. But the chill upon his teeming associations only lasts for a moment. It is true that " the early Roman chronicles are pronounced fables, but the voice of our nature speaks in the record and attests its truth ; we read in it of heroism and devotedness, but not of more than is credible, and they are linked with wee k• ness, the taint of humanity." Ia other words, t: e truth of history is to be tested simply by our feel lings. A story like that of Tarpeia Jr Manlius "is its own voucher, because in some way or other we feel the probability of it. Manlius did really save the Capitol, because Mr. Fullom, standing on the So on the same principle, we Grinning through Horse Collars. While theatrical managers, says the London _Review, weakly shut up their houses rather than face the dull season, music-hall proprietors are more daring, and one of them, Mr Weston, has even discovered a means of filling his building, and raising the enthusiasm of his audience to the highest pitch. The sporting tradesmen, prize-fighters, and publicans who form so largo a proportion of the visitors at Weston's I\lusic Hall were just the people to be aroused by a "great singing match," and the leading comic singer of the establishment, who likes to be known as the "funny little man," was, therefore, pushed on to issue Lie following challenge : "A CHALLENGE FOR £5O. " Mr J. Taylor, ' The Funny Little Man' (now engaged at Weston'e), challenges all comic singers in the United Kingdom to sing six songs, each competitor to sing the same or his own songs, and the judges (to be selected from our best comedians), to decide as to which is the most origi nal, truest to nature, and the most comical," This challenge, issuing from a place of entertainment so near Drury-lane, was at once taken up by another comic singer at the Middlesex Music Hall, who pubiished the fol lowing reply : " In answer to Mr J. Taylor's challenge, I, John Blan chard, will sing six comic songs against him for £5O a-side, and will be at the Middlesex Music Hall on Wednesday next, July 20, to draw up an agreement to that effect, at 12 o'clock noon." That everything might be in proper sporting form, the following articles of agreement were drawn up : "Articles of " London, July 20, 1864. "We, James Taylor and John Blanchard, agree to sing six songs each, for the sum of £5O a-side. "Each party to sing what songs he may think proper, either in or out of character, and the songs to be sang alternately, " Each party to name two judges, and agree upon a third person, who shall be referee, and his decision to be final, " The competition to take place on Wednesday, August 24th, 1864, at Weston's Music Hall. "The judges and referee to decide which competitor is the most original the most truthful to nature, and the most comical. "We hereby deposit £lO each, and the entire sum 0f.L50 a-side to be in the hands of the stakeholder seven days pre vious to the 17th of August, 1864. Either party failing, to forfeit the money down, The Editor of the Era to be the stakeholder. (Signed) ' JAS. TAYLOR. " JOHN BLANCHARD " Witnesses— " G. H. George. " Geo. Ware. " N.B.— It is particularly requested that the audience on this occasion will not applaud or show their disapprobation on either side, but leave it entirely to the judges." At the time and place appointed the two singing cham pions appeared, confident in all the tricks of "mugging, wearing hats stuck on the side of the head, and pulling down the hair over the face, which distinguish the comic singer. The hall was crowded in every part at double the usual prices of admission, the utmost quantity of drink of all kinds was consumed, the bets ran high, on pretty equal terms, upon both singers, and the audience, disobeying the injunctions of the chairman, were uproarious in their ap plause. Mr Taylor started first with a " patter song," called " The Seven Ages of Man ;" Mr Blanchard followed with an English version of " Largo al Factotum ;" and then each competitor represented in turn an old woman, a love-sick youth, an idiot, a costermonger, a Greenwich pen sioner, a chilly man, ajolly man, a traveller by a Calais boat, and Macbeth travestie. Each singer—to use a sporting phrase—" came up smiling," perhaps a little too smiling; but although a few good points were made by each, and Mr Taylor showed some little capacity as an actor, their art belonged to a very low level. The songs were old—defi cient, as usual, in humour and observation of life—and the style of singing was of the very ancient grimacing kind, clowning without the paint. In originality the real quiet fun both singers wero far inferior to Mr Macknoy, Mr Unsworth, and Mr J. G. Forde, though probably they suit their market even better than those gentlemen. The judges —Messrs E. L. Blanchard, Ledger, Nelson Lee, C. J. Collins, Elliot, and Nimmo, awarded the prize to Mr Taylor, who was evidently the favourite in the betting. The decision, being on a matter of taste and not a matter of fact, of course proves nothing, except that a " singing con test" is as popular with a certain class as an Eisteddfod in Wales. Mr. Justice Williams and the Banting System. (From the Law limes of 10-day,) We are happy to state that Mr Justice Williams is at last pronounced out of danger. For weeks he has been hover ing between life and death, and the decision in his favour will be hailed with delight by the public, as well as by his private friends. It is to be hoped that those of our readers who are tempted to try the effect of the Banting system to reduce that obesity which nature has given them, will think a little of Mr Justice Williams before adopting it, for it is said that the serious illness of the learned judge was thought to have been occasioned by the use of that famous system, FALL OF A SUSPENSION BRIDGE.—The suspen. aim-bridge over the Oise, at Verberie,gave way two days ago, and a loaded waggon with five horses and the driver were precipitated into the river. Two of the animals saved themselves by swimming ashore, and, what is some what singular one of them was the shaft horse, which in the fall had become released from the vehicle by the break ing of the harness. The driver, named*Bocquet, was i carr ed some distance down the current, where he met with one of the other horses, which, although wounded, was endeavour ing to reach the bank, and he caught hold of its mane. Bocquet's shoulder being however dislooated, his strength soon failed him. He let go his hold, and would have been drowned had not some boatmen came to his assistance. The horse to which the man had held cm perished with the other two. The bridge had been built 28 years, and must have been in a very bad condition, as the weight of the waggon under which it gave way was only from 5,000 to 6,000 kilogs., which is much less than the limit of weight fixed by the engineers. FRANCS, SURELY —NOT POUNDS l--Alexander Dumas, pere, calculates his literary earnings up to this point at only £738,544. The greater part of the statues, bassi-rilievi, and detached frescoes, remains of the Farnese Collection, has been purchased from the ex-King of Naples for the British Museum for £4,000. VICTOR HUGO has gracefully remarked in his new work about " Shakspere " that in many of the Great Poet's dramas a minor plot of the same kind, like a secondary rainbow, faintly reflects the main action. Laertes, like Hamlet, has a tether's death to revenge. Gloucester, as well as Lear, is the victim of parricidal cruelty,