The Sun. — London, England, 1868-12-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Times, in examining the views of Mr. Mill on the treatment of professional criminals, observes that it is agreed on all sides that some measures should be adopted for the more effectual protection of society against them. There are men, as is per fectly notorious, who live by crime, who commit one crime after another till they are detected and imprisoned, and who, as soon as they are released from custody, 'take to crime again. Malefactors of this class are usually well known to all concerned in the administration of justice, and no doubt or mystery exists about their habits or practices. It has been therefore pro posed that these declared enemies of society should be t) a certain extent outlawed. Every man, according to English law, is held to be innocent till he is found guilty, but with regard to these habitual offenders, it is recommended that they should be held guilty till they prove themselves innocent ; that they should be compelled to give an account of themselves and how they are living when called upon to do so. If they cannot give satisfactory answers, they are to be kept at work under surveillance, on the presumption that otherwise he would live by crime. The police assert that with this power they could sweep out the nests of crime. Mr. Mill holds that such a measure would be wrong in prin ciple and would not work well in practice. He says that one man might be getting an honest living by odd jobs, and yet be unable to prove it. Another might be seriously injured if his previous history were betrayed by the police to his fellow-workmen. But he must be living without visible means of subsistence before the police interfere with him, and that could not be the case if he were one of a regular body of workmen. The man who had casual employment could easily refer to those who have employed him ; and after all, it must be remembered, whatever hardships might be incidental to the course suggested, the sufferers would be only those who had exposed themselves to the visitation by their own malpractices. As things go, it is reasonable to presume that a man who has been not only twice tried, but twice convicted of crime, must have been living for some con siderable time by depredations on society, and such a man could hardly complain if society in self-defence put him at some exceptional. disadvantage. He would, beyond doubt, forfeit certain privileges, but would not the forfeit have been deserved ? It is certainly not impossible that the power thus lodged in the hands of the police might be occasion ally abused, but the risk, according to Mr. Mill's own measure, is:very limited. On the point of a man's character, the word of a policeman would have no authority what ever, for the previous convictions must be established by the records of a court. There is no room, therefore, for false or mistaken evidence ; while, as to the second point, the burden of proof thrown on the suspected person can hardly be very heavy. If the man is not following an honest livelihood, he deserves to be detained ; if he is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the proof must be easy. In the hundredth case it may be just possible to imagine injustice resulting ; but is that risk sufficient to outweigh the recommendations of the measure and the claims of society at large? The Morning Post says that the question of who shall succeed Sir Richard Mayne seems to be resolving itself into a discussion as to whether the Chief Commissioner should be a lawyer or a soldier, but it appears to us that it should rest chiefly on personal qualifications. Sir Richard Mayne was a barrister, and the complaint made is that he rendered the force too military. Possibly the converse might now result if a soldier were elected. A police magistrate, as being thoroughly versed in criminal law and the ways of criminals, would probably make "a capital Commissioner, and there could be no difficulty in making the selection. A military officer, too, who has had extensive experience of convicts—and we have several such—or who has been governor of a prison, would also, in all likelihood, suit the post. But what is wanted, more than any special knowledge, is tact, firmness, activity, and common sense. These qualities, no matter what his pro fession, would render the selected Commissioner fit for his trying position. The Standard thinks that we have a foretaste of the blessings which are to follow on Mr. Bright's accession to office in the threatened abolition of the corps of marines, but these are the days of advance, and we must not grumble. It is only consistent with the doctrines of the Peace-at-any price Party that they should begin with the force which is most useful as our instrument of war. It is a high compliment to the marines that they should be selected as the first victims to the doctrine that peace is promoted by defencelessness. Of all the various kinds of force which are employed by this country there is none which more admirably fulfil its duties than the marines. It is our finest, keenest, most useful weapon of war. It can give the best reason for its existence. It is peculiarly the branch of the defensive service which is best fitted to the genius of the country. It is good by sea and good by land. It can go anywhere and do anything. It is as useful on board ship as in the field ; as much at home in the dusty plains of India as in the snows of the Crimea or the swampy valleys of New Zealand. The roll of the services of the marines is an epitome of the military glories of England. They baffled the ambition of Napoleon ; they avenged the death of Nelson ; they carried succour to Lucknow. They have been foremost in every service for which they have been used. For some years past they have done nearly all the fighting which England has had to do. They are our real National Guard—the true representative soldiers of the country. Railway travelling, says the Daily News, is fast super seding omnibus travelling in London, and it is high time that it should do so. Quicker and more convenient methods of intercommunication have become necessary in consequence of the enormous extension of the metropolis. It is astonishing that Englishmen will put up for so long with very defective arrangements in the matter of loco motion. London bad no coaches until the reign of Eliza beth, and one wonders how the London public could have got on without omnibuses until 1830. The younger genera tion has, however, long been impressed with the conviction that the omnibus service of the metropolis is obsolete to a great extent. The Metropolitan Railway system is super seding it, and every addition to that system removes a trouble from the minds of many Londoners. The under ground line from Paddington to the City has for the last six years proved an immense boon to the inhabitants of the northern and north-western parts of the town. Brompton, Kensington, Notting-hill, and Bays water were joined to this system in October ; and on Christmas Eve the first portion of the " inner circle," extending from Gloucester-road, Brompton, to Westminster, and continuing the line from Moorgate street, was opened to the public. By these lines, when completed, the inhabitants of the western suburbs will be able to travel expeditiously, either to Moorgate-street by a northerly route, or to the Mansion House by a southerly route. Even in the present incomplete state of the system the gain to a large number of travellers will be very great. You may wait a quarter of an hour for an omnibus in the mud and rain, to find it full when at length it arrives. Your omnibus, moreover, is often a terrible dawdler. On the Metropolitan Railway, however, the trains run every ten minutes, and the stop pages at the stations are of the briefest. Certainty, regu larity, and expedition are the three strong points of the London railway system. The travelling through a long series of tunnels, with only occasional breaks of light and air, is doubtless not the most cheerful mode of transit ; yet there is something that appeals to the imagination in whizzing under streets and houses through the darkness of subterranean London, and finding that, after a brief interval of time, you have been transported from a quiet suburb to the thick of the City, without, in appearance, passing through any of the intermediate neighbourhoods. And it is to be remembered that it is the multiplication of means of getting over long town distances rapidly that makes the continued rapid growth of this immense city possible. The Daily Telegraph observes that in all cases of alleged murder three questions suggest themselves. Has a mur der been committed at all ? If so, by whose hand has the crime been perpetrated, and what motive has led to its perpetration? Of late too many cases of murder have been sent up for trial before the agents for the prosecution have fully prepared the evidence on which the jury must give a verdict of life or death. Such are the peculiarities of our criminal system, that no missing link in a case can readily be supplied after trial has begun ; and since the jury often form their judgment on insufficient data, we have at times discreditable miscarriages of justice. The Herald, in giving its hearty support to the new Workshops Regulation Act, observes that no one can doubt the need of such an enactment. The enormous mis chief perpetrated among the milliners and dressmakers alone by excessive hours of toil is notorious, and has often been denounced. Thousands of lives have been sacrificed in this cruel slavery ; the only excuse being the " pressure of orders." If the sick never left our large towns, but stopped and died near the scene of their work, we should know better than we do what is the waste of life going on in our great hives of commercial and trading industry. The sick girls go home to die, and the village register is burdened with their deaths. So it is that London draws pure blood from the provinces, and sends it leek poisoned. But the sin of overwork does not rest with London alone, though there it attains its most gigantic growth. In the little villages of distant counties 41,b.ere are places where chil.lren are made to work to an `eAtent which the law has long prohibited in factories. It' is thus that the law inevitably extends itself. If the large employer is compelled to give his workpeople the benefit of certain hours per week for rest, why should he be placed at a disadvantage as compared with the smaller class? The Factories Acts apply where fifty or more persons are employed. B u t th e aggrega t e number employed in lesser groups is immense, and if Parliament really means to protect the workers, why should the smaller groups ne passed by? The leisure is good for all, and air and exercise are as needful f or health as pure water and efficient drainage. The Workshops Regulation Act is a sanitary measure, if nothing else, but we beligye it to beAgaixtslealDmh., ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO POISON A TEA PARTY. About 1,400 or 1,500 men, women, and children assem. bled in a ball on Monday evening, at Wolverhampton, at a farewell tea meeting to Fiddler Joss and his wife, on the conclusion of nine weeks' Revival services which they have been holding in that ball. Ample preparations were made for satisfying the demands of the keenest appe tites ; but no sooner had the tea been poured out, and milk added, than it was evident that something more than usually entering into the composition of a cup of tea was there. On tasting, it produced, though in a stronger degree, the sensation upon the tongue which is felt upon tasting alum-water. The greatest excitement pre vailed, and at once the cry arose that the water had been poisoned. In the midst of the excitement Mr. Cooper came upon the platform and announced that some one acquainted with chemistry had tasted the tea, and was of opinion that the alarming characteristics it presented were due to a lump of green copperas having been thrown into the water. There is, however, another theory which perhaps more satisfactorily accounts for the occurrence. Immediately adjoining the ball are the extensive works of Mr. E. Davies for galvanising iron, in which a large quantity of diluted vitriol is used, and the infusion flows away over the ground. Now, as the water was drawn from a well, it is probable that some of this liquor has in process of time percolated into the well, and hence the state of the water and the alarming condition in which the tea was found. The people had to content themselves with edibles and go away without partaking of potables. But this was not a result with which all were content. A small minority complained that they had paid for tea, and tea they meant to have. Mr. Poole, on coming on to the platform, after the tables bad been cleared, alluded to this, and said he understood that some discon tented young men were within the hall with stones in their pockets, and those stones they intended to throw at the speakers on the platform. He advised them not to do so. At this moment a young fellow was seized in the body of the hall, with the cry of " Here's one, M. Poole." Many strong hands were laid about the neck of ,The young man, and an attempt was made to force him to the platform. He stoutly resisted ; a struggle ensued ; in which forms were overturned and sitters scattered ; children cried, women shrieked, the platform swayed with the weight of its excited occupants, and hundreds, in panic, rushed to the doors, and a threatened disaster was averted Ey the police, who rescued the young fellow, and removed him from the hall. Mr. Poole exhorted the meeting to quietude, and assured them that God would punish the person who had tampered with the water. Mr. Raybould, of Birmingham, spoke of the success which had attended the services which had been held by Mr. and Mrs. Poole in Birmingham and other parts of the district. He asked those present who had been converted by the services held in Wolverhampton to hold up their hands. A large number of hands were held up ; but we are assured that the number is much greater, as during the services 800 signed the pledge, and 500 professed to be converted. During the course of the evening Mr. and Mrs. Poole were presented with upwards of £l2, the collection of working men in the room. THE SECOND COLLIERY EXPLOSION NEAR WIGAN No more additions have yet been made to the number A persons who have lost their lives by the explosion of fire damp at the Norley Colliery, Pemberton, near Wigan, on the 21st inst„ but two of the injure,' men are so seriously hurt that it is more than probable in a day or two they also will be numbered among the dead. These are Taylor and Sharrock, who, as already recorded, were working in the tunnel at the time of the explosion. On th Gumption of the inquest on the seven deceased whose names have already been published, at the Red Lion, Pemberton, by Mr. Driffield, district coroner, the Government inspector, Mr. Higson, was present, as well as Mr. Pickard, miners' agent, and several of the proprietors of the colliery, who were represented by Mr. Maskell Peace, town clerk of Wigan. Evidence in identification of the bodies disco vered since the inquest opened was first given, and then several of the officials of the colliery were called. The evidence of the manager is given below. Mr. Joseph Thompson, manager of the colliery, said The district in which the explosion occurred was reached by two tunnels, which were worked pretty equally, and had between them a communication for ventilating pur poses only. The explosion appeared to have occurred at the further end of the workings along the direct level from the pit. He was met on his way to the works about a quarter to nine by a man who told him that something had occurred at the pits. He found it impossible to descend the No. 3 pit, where the casualty appeared to have occurred, and consequently vent down the No. 2 shaA to the yard coal, which be traversed as far as the No. 3 shaft. From there he was able to shout to persons at a mouthing below, and they nformed him that an explosion bad occurred in the lower tunnel, that the cage was fast in the shaft, and that the signalling apparatus was out of order. The latter having been got right, a capstan was put down, and a batch of injured men was sent up. He subsequently went down, and remained until late in the evening, in company with several gentlemen from neighbouring collieries. In conse quence of the after damp, the whole of the bodies could not be rec •vered until the 24th inst. By Mr. Higson : Had the pit been in full work, about fourteen men, including officers, would have been in the district where the explosion occurred, and about 6,000 cubic feet of air per minute would have been entering the workings. The only places actually in working were along the straight level. He had only had one report of gas being found, and that was about the middle of Sep tember last, when some bratticing was deranged by the fall of a stone from the roof. Ile was down these workings a tew weeks before the explosion, and everything was then going on in a satisfactory manner. He thought the ventilation at the time quite sufficient. The furnace was stopped for clearing a short time on the Sunday, but the air ought to have been quite right by the time the men descended on Monday morning. Cheetham was fireman in the district, and appeared to have fired a shot in the warrant. All the men were . required to provide them selves with safety lamps, which were alone used in the mine, and these were locked by the firemen in the pit. Blasting was allowed, but the shots were fired by firemen only. By Mr. Pickard : The return air had to traverse a distance of about 4,100 yards, and along that distance the average superficial area would, he believed, be about twenty-five feet. About 280 yards of bratticing were in use. The inquiry was adjourned until the Government :vector has completed his examination.. Booth, the tragedian, had a broken nose. A lady once remarked to him, "I like your acting, Mr. Booth, but, to be frank with you, I can't get over your nose." "No wonder, madam," replied the tragedian, " the bridge is gone." HER MAJESTY'S NEW YEAR'S GIFTS. —Early on Friday morning her Majesty's New Year's gifts to the poor of the parishes of St. John, Windsor, Holy Trinity, And Clewer will be distributed, in the presence of the mayor and clergy, to the numerous recipients. These gifts, amounting in value to nearly £200., consist of prime pieces of beef, the weight being in proportion to the num ber of each family, and coals. The meat will be distri buted to the holders of tickets in the Butchers' Market, at the rear of the town hall, while the coals will be de livered at the homes of the recipients. THE ST. ALBAN'S RITUAL CASE.—In this case no formal notice has been served on Mr. Mackonochie, or the procter, Mr. Brooks, and no legal contumacy, it is stated, has been committed in continuing the use of lighted candles in the administration of the Holy Communion. The judgment of the Judicial Committee must be con firmed by the Queen in Council, after which Messrs. Moore and Currey will issue a monition to be served on the respondent, admonishing him ti abstain for the future from the practice condemned by the Judicial Committee. It may take some weeks to perfect the judgment, and until the monition is served no notice need be taken of the decision, and consequently no legal contumacy will be incurred by the defendants. MATRIMONY AND ITS VICISSITUDES. The Nottingham Guardian has the following :—" There 12 now living, not a hundred miles from Shelford, a man who, at the age of twenty-five, was engaged and about to be married to a woman of the name of Walker, but she was taken away by death. Having mourned her for some time, he married a woman named Voce. After a few years she died. His next wife was a widow named Vickerstaff. After a few years she also died. He next married the sister of his last wife's first husband. In a few weeks she died. Feeling almost discouraged by past experience he waited awhile, but being lonely, he again entered into matrimony with a woman named Webster. After having enjoyed each other's company for se eral years, she also was taken away by death. it is a remarkable fact that all the * deaths were from decline. The widower then commenced a courtship with a woman named Holland, whose husband had emigrated, and nothing having been heard of him for a number of years, and thinking he was dead, they a length became man and wife. They lived together in perfect harmony for two years, when, to their great consternation, her former husband, after the lapse of seventeen years, returned and claimed her as his lawful wife. They are now living together. So we see that this man has had as good as five wives stolen AWAY by death. and the sixth by § livintt Mir SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. RACING FIXTURES FOR 1869. JANUARY, Manchester 1, 2 FEBRUARY. Streatham 11, 12 I Nottingham Spring... 23, 24 Lincoln Harrow lB, 19 I Derby Spring 25, 26 Mansfield 18 j MARCH. Liverpool Spring 2,3, 4 Shrewsbury Spring 5, 6 Warwick 9, 10, 11 Kingsbury l2, 13 Northampton l6, 17 AP. Bromley 1 2 Aldershot l, 2 Catterick Bridge... l, 2 T birsk 6 West Drayton lB, 19 West Somerset 18, 19 Margate 29 Durham 29, 30 Epsom 30, 31 UL. Newmarket Craven 12, &c. Eastbourne l9 Lewes 20 21 Croydon... 22 23 Saeatham 8 9 Noviunarket Ist Spring 26, &c. Chester • •4, 5,6, 7 Winchester ll, 12 York 11, 12 St Albans S:ilisbury 1 3, 14 Doncaster 13, 14 West Drayton l7, 18 I Bath 18, 19 IManchester l9, 20, 21 Croydon 20, 21 Harpenden oi 1 Epsom Summer .....`25, &c. NE. Croydon 2, 3, 4 Newton 2 3, 4 A scot ...8, 9, 10, 11 Liverpool Summer ...15, 16 Windsor 15, 16 Hampton ...17, 18 Newcastle 22, 23, 24 22 .t O Si l b d u h r a y m Club 23 Stockbridge 24, 25, 26 Chelmsford Sutton Park LY. Worcester l, 2 Newmarket July 6, &c. Kingsbury . 9, 10 Pontefract 12, 13 Nottingham 13, 14 1 Reading 15, 16 Huntingdon 2O, 21 Southampton 22 23 Stamford 22, 23 I Goodwood 27, 28, 29, 30 UST. 1 Oxford l9, 20 Canterbury .. ... . -. 24, 25 York 24, 25, 26 IPly.mouth -.26 Windsor August l2, 13 Derby Summer ..31, Sep. 1 I Weymouth 31, Sep. 1 Brighton 3, 4 Brighton Club 5 Lewes 6, 7 Eosin lO, 11 Wolverhampton lO, 11 Windsor 12, 13 St. Albans Stockton lB, 19, 20 SEPT Warwick. Abingdon 9, 10 Doncaster 14, 15, 16, 17 Richmond 21, 22 Lichfield iMBER. Western (Ayr) 22, 23 Kingsbury... 23, 24 Monmouth... • .23, 24 Newmarket st Oct 28, &c. OCTOBER. Bedford 5, 6 Cheltenham l9, 20 I Edinburgh 6 7, 8 West Drayton 2l, 22 Leicester 7, 8 1 Hereford -21, 22 Newmarket 2d 0ct...11, & c. 1 Monmouth 23, 24 Chelmsford l9, 20 1 Newmarket H'ton —25, Ste. NOVEMBER. Worcester 2,3, 4 I Shrewsbury 15, &c Liverpool 9, 10, 11. 12 I Leamington hunt ....23, &c IRISH. MARCH. Baldnyle First Spring MAY. -18, 19 Baldoyle Second Spring _ll, 12 STEEPLECHASE FIXTURES. JANUARY. Hopgrove 1 l Coverdale 6 Manchester l, 2 I St. Albans l9 FEBRUARY. Birmingham w, 9 I Harrow , Lincoln l6, 17 Derby.... ~.18, 19 MARCH. Liverpool 3 I Cambridgeshire M 18 Rugby (Grand Mil.) 8, 9 West Drayton lB, 19 Kingsbury 12, 13 Crewkerne lB, 19 ____ APRIL. Aldershot 1, 2 I Croydon 22, 23 Bromley 1, 2 M AY. St. Albans . 13 I West Drayt0n......., 17 JULY. Kingsbury AUGUST. St. Albans West Drayton.. OCTOBER. 21,22 WATERLOO MEETING—FEB.I7. (Over Altcar:) Patron'—Right Hon. the Earl of Sefton. The Waterloo Cup, value £1,600 in specie, by subscription of £25 each ; 64 subs; the winner to receive £5OO, and 9ie second £2OO. 1. Mr C. F. Allison 33. Mr J. Ingleby 2. Mr J. F. Armistead 34. Mr R. Jardine 3. Mr J. Bake 35. Mr F. Johnston 4. Mr W. J. Barden 36. Mr J. Johnston 5. Mr F. Bartholomew 37. Mr 11. B. Jones 6. Lord Binning 38. Mr W. J. Legh 7. Mr J. Blackstock 39. Mr S. C. Lister 8. Mr J. S. Bland 40. Mr J. Lousdale 9. Mr G. Blanshard 41. Lord Lurgan 10. Mr W. G. Borron 42. Mr S. Mallabey 11. Mr T. Broeklebank 43. Mr C. EYMarfieet 12. Mr J. Brundrit 44. Mr W. H. Massey 13. Mr R. B. Carruthers 45. Sir C. Molyneux 14. Mr C. J. Chesshyre 46. non. C. C. Molyneux 15. Mr W. H. Clark 47. Mr T. Neville 16. Mr E. Croft 48. Mr R. Paterson 17. Mr J. Cunningham 49. Mr T. L. Reed Ig. Mr W. D. Deighton 50. Dr Richardson 19. Mr James Dunlop 51. Mr J. Savage 20. Mr J. Evans 52. Mr N. Saxton 21. Lord Garlies 53. Lord Sefton 22. Mr J. Gibson 54. Mr T. Smith 23. Mr W. M. Gilmour 55. Mr J. Spinks 24. Col. Goodlake 56. Lord Stair 25. Mr A. Graham 57. Mr E. W. Stocker 2'i. Mr T. Green 58. Mr S. Swinburne 27. Me C. A. Halley 59. Mr G. A. Thompson `2B. Capt. Hathorn 60. Mr R. Todd 29. Mr J. Haywood 61. Mr B. W. Trinder 30. Mr J. Hodson 62. Mr R. C. Vyner 31. Mr J. Hole 63. Mr R. H. Williams 32. Mr J. Hyslop €4. Capt. Wyndham The Waterloo Purse, value £260, in specie, taken from the Cup Stake, for the 32 beaten dogs in the first round for the Cup; the winner to receive £lOO. The Waterloo Plate, value £lOO in specie, taken from the Cup Stakes, for the 16 beaten dogs in tho first ties for the Waterloo Cup. The Great Waterloo Cup, 64 subscribers, at £25 each - the money £1,600-to be divided as under :- 1. Winner to receive ... 1. Second ditto 2. Dogs to receive £5O each... 4. Ditto ditto 30 ditto... 8. Ditto ditto 20 ditto-, 16. Ditto ditto 10 ditto.. ...£5OO ... 200 ... 100 ... 120 ... 160 ... 160 1,240 The Waterloo Purse and Waterloo Plato 360 £1,600 The Waterloo Purse, for the 32 dogs beaten in the firs course for the Waterloo Cup, amounting to £260, to be divided as under:- 1. Winner to receive 1. Second ditto 2. Dogs to receive £l5 each... 4. Ditto ditto 10 ditto... 8. Ditto ditto 5 ditto... ...£lOO ... 30 ... 40 16 £260 The Waterloo Plate for the 16 dogs beaten in tho second ties for the Cup, amounting to £lOO, to be divided as under: 1. Winner o receive ... 1. cowl ditto ... 2. Dogs to receive £7 lOs each 4. Ditto ditto 5 ditto ... £4O ... 25 ... 15 ... 20 £lOO COURSING FIXTURES. JANUARY. Border Union (Longtown) .. 5, &c. Kenilworth (Warwickshire) 5, 6. Neptune Open (Lytham) Lancashire 6, &c. Coola (Cork), Ireland Annan, Dumfriesshire B, 9. Wigtownshire Club 12, &c. Third South Lancashire Altcar Club, Lancashire.. 13, &c. Mere Down, Wilts .. Baldock Club, Herts 20, 21. Spelthorne Club (Ashdown Park) ...21, &c. Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire 25. Ridgway Club (Lytham), Lancashire 27, &c. Creagh Open, Ireland 27. FEBRUARY. Powderham Everleigh Club, Wilts._ Rufford Open, Lancashire Cardington, Beds Wenvoo Castle .. 3, 4- Ludham, Norfolk ll, 12. Brampton, Cumberland ll, 12. Waterloo (Altcar), Lancashire l7, &c. MARCH. . 2, 3. Ashdown Park, Harts ____ 2, &c. Fourth S. Lancashire (Champion) County Louth (Champion) , Ireland 18, &c• Scottish National Open, Lanark 3O, &c. OCTOBER. Ancaster and Willoughby, Lincolnshire 5, 6. Ormebby Huntingdon Club.. ' 26, 27. NOVEMBER. Sundorne, Salop Cothan and Eston •4 Y, 3. 9, &c. DusviLLE and Co., Belfast, are the largest holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky N re commended by the medical profession in preference to French Brandy. Supplied in casks and cases for home use or exports tion. Quotations on application to Messrs. Dunville and Co., Belfast; or 4, Beaufort , buildings, Strand, London W.O —[Ad vertisem ent.] THE MANUFACTURE OF WATCHES AND CLOCKS.-- A most intereEting and instructive little work, describing briefly but with great clearness, the rise and progress of watch and clock makin , has just been published by Mr J. W. Benson, of 25, Old Bond-street, 99, Westbourne-grove, and the City Steam Factory, 58 and GO, Ludgate-hill. The book, which is profusely illustrated, gives a full description of the various kinds of watches and clocks, with their prices, and no one should make a purchase without visiting the above establishments or consulting this truly valuable work. By its aid persons residing in any part of the United Kingdom, India, or the Colonies, are enabled to select for themselves the watch best adapted for their use, and have it sent to them with perfect safety. Mr. Benson, who holds the appoint.. ment to the Prince of Wales, sends this pamphlet to any address on receipt of two postage etamps, and we cannot too strongly recemraead it to the notice 91 the intending purchaser AUG MISCELLANEOUS NEWS. LORD MAYO AND THE MINISTRY. A correspondent of the Daily - News considers it fortunate for all parties that the report of Lord Mayo's recall has proved to be entirely without foundation. Ile reminds us that there have been only two cases of such a recall in the present century, with the exception of Lord Ellenborough's removal, which was the exclusive work of the directors. In • 1812 the Prince Regent insisted upon the post of Governor-General being conferred on his friend Lord Moira, and Lord Minto was recalled eighteen months before the time fixed for his return. Again : Lord Ileytesbury was appointed Governor-General by the Tories, and was preparing his outfit, when the sudden accession of the Whigs to office stopped his voyage altogether. They dis placed him on the ground that they must be respon sible for the policy of the Governor-General. Neither of these precedents found favour with the public, and Mr. Gladstone has done well to avoid following them. If Lord Mayo had been recalled, the case would have been worse than Lord Heytes bury's, because he would have landed in India, and his immediate recall could not have failed to impair the authority of Government, and might indeed have led the natives to confound the Court of England with. Courts like Gwalior or Ifydrabad, where a palace intrigue may at any time displace a Minister, how ever able. One of the objections to Lord Mayo's appointment is, that he has never had any training for the post ; but Lord Cornwallis, Lord llast:ngs, Lord Dalhousie, and Lord Canning were under the same disadvantage. Another objection has been that he has as yet given no signs of a high degree of statesmanship ; but neither had Lord Wellesley nor Lord Dalhousie when they first undertook to govern India. Lord Mayo has had experience in the affairs of Ireland, which are no bad preparation for the government of another country in which there exists some repug nance to the present rulers and a desire for a native Government. In both there is the same absence of self-reliance, and an undue dependence on the State for every improvement. The domestic policy of the Indian Government is always left to the local authorities, while the foreign policy must be decided by the home Government, whose instructions can now reach Calcutta or Simla in twenty-four hours. It is not, therefore, indispensable that the personal politics of the Viceroy should be in all respects in accord with those of the Cabinet which directs him. Such is the argument of a writer in a Liberal journal, who evidently considers that English party politics ought to be intruded as little as possible into the government of India. THE SOUTH DERBYSHIRE ELECTION. Colonel Wilmot has issued his address to the elec tors of South Derbyshire, who have to elect a repre sentative in the place of the late Sir Thomas Gresley. Colonel Wilmot has adopted the Liberal programme so far as regards economy, the reorganisation of the army and the navy, and education. He is very hopeful about the Irish Church. True, the Conservatives are in a minority, but he " foresees, from what has already taken place, that Mr. Gladstone will find the subject beset by such complications and difficulties as will prevent his scheme from being carried out in its entirety." Colonel Wilmot is very careful not to commit himself to detail; he has evidently received instructions from headquarters to confine himself to generals, and not to descend to particulars. The object of the Conser vative party is now not to save the Irish Church, but to turn out the Liberal Government. There is plenty of room for "dishing" here. Colonel Wilmot at first refused to stand on account of the expense, but the local Conservatives have guaranteed to defray the cost, and four of them, including the Earl of Harring ton, have subscribed £5OO each. ELECTION AGREEMENTS. There were no contests at the general election which afforded more amusement than those in which a member of a divided constituency coalesced with a man of his own party, and then got beaten himself. Such a contest took place in Cambridgeshire. The old member (Mr. Young) took down Mr. Brand, the retired ." whip," hoping to beat either Lord George Manners or Lord Royston. Both those noble lords, however, " went in," and Mr. Young, to his extreme surprise and disgust, found himself, and nit Mr. Brand, at the bottom of the poll. A case similar, in some respects, was the election for the county of Denbigh. Here Colonel Biddulph was the sitting member. Mr. Morgan was, against the Colonel's will, accepted as the second Liberal candidate. He declared that he did not intend to oppose Colonel Biddulph. But the gallant officer would have nothing to do with him, and ordered his canvassers to obtain plumpers for him. This, how ever, he soon found would bring about his rejection. But he still refused to coalesce. The result was that he, and not . Mr. Morgan, was defeated. Thereupon he turned on the successful candidate and charged him with breaking his pledge—of not opposing the " old Liberal member. Mr. Morgan has written . an explanation of the ,matter, which seems to be a satisfactory one. He declares that at the outset of the contest he was prepared not only to give precedence to Colonel Biddulph, but to defray his election expenses, but that the Colonel refused to coalesce with him. It was found necessary to request the Liberal :voters to plump for Mr. Morgan, because Colonel Biddulph's supporters were making common cause with Sir W. Wynn, the Conservative candidate, against hini. 'When the Colonel's friends discovered that his chances of re-election were doubtful, they requested Mr. Morgan's committee not to " forget Colonel Biddulph, e 'but to return the two Liberal candidates if possible. In compliance with this request Mr. Morgan's committee at once " sent direc tions that the plumpers for Morgan" should be altered into " splits" for Morgan and Biddulph, but at the same time no " express understanding" was come to. Mr. Morgan thinks that he may fearlessly leave the question raised by Colonel Bid dulph to the decision of his own constituency. That question is whether he should as a " point of honour" have retired unless faith was kept with Colonel Biddulph. THE MEMBERS FOR SALFORD. A complimentary dinner has been given to the members for Salford, Mr. Cawley and Mr. Charley, at the licrsal-moor Hotel. Mr. Cawley was pre vented from attending by indisposition, but Mr. Charley was present, and among the guests was the minority member for Manchester, Mr. Hugh Birley. This gentleman spoke at some length upon the con stitution of the new House of Commons. He said that if the country at large had not fol lowed the example of Lancashire, they lust remember that it had checked a gooa deal of the revolutionary element which was shewing itself. Even such men as Mr. Mill and those who specially advocated him had had no chance in their constituencies. The new House will, in Mr. Birley's opinion, be a very steady one, and he believes that even the Liberals are glad of it. Mr. Charley, the guest of the evening, dwelt chiefly upon the great local victory of the Conservatives, which he said nd Liberal could understand. The verdict in their favour had been given by working men, and he thought the reason of their success in Salford was that the question had been fairly put before the con stituency. Mr. Charley appeared blissfully ignorant of the fact that he and his colleague have been petitioned against, and that perhaps another cause may be discovered for the Constitutional victory in Salford than that which he assigned. YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM. Mr. Charley is one of the 200 and odd new M.P.'s returned at the general election, and one of the 100 against whom a petition has been presented. He remembers the first fact, not the second, and is full of that enthusiasm which is such a delightful characteristic of young M.P.'s. Coming fresh from " the last of a series of enthusiastic demonstrations in celebration of the Constitutional victory in Salford," he takes up the Standard, and finds the following sentence in one of the leaders of that Constitutional organ : " The Conservatives cannot prevent dis establishment." To read this after listening to the fervid eloquence of Salford orators was like a sudden blast of winter on May-clay. "Is it for this, I thought (says Mr. Charley), with some bitter ness, that we have laboured night and day, and sacrificed health and comfort to form Constitutional Associations—to bind them in a powerful national union'—to leaven the minds of the people with sound Constitutional principles; for this, that after all, the Conservatives cannot prevent disestablish ment ?" Mr. Charley will not believe it. " The question is only in its infancy." " The repudiation of Christianity by the nation, qud nation, which is the true meaning of disestablishment, is a far more wicked scheme than disendowment ;" and the House of Lords must do its duty, if the House of Commons does not, by throwing out " the Bright-Gladstone bill." Mr. Gladstone would not dare to swamp the Upper House with Cavenclishes. His majority is derived from Republican and Presbyterian Scotland, and-Independent-Baptist-WesleyanWale,s; and "we," i.e., Messrs. Charley, Cawley, and the other twenty Lancashire Conservatives, mean to " educate" the people of Scotland an d the English towns " up to the level "of the Palatine county. Mr. Charley is, as we said, an enthusiast, and he mistakes the sound of Salford cheers for the voice of England—not an uncommon mistake in young politicians. THE SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY. Mr. Alexander Redgrave, an inspector of factories, writes to several of the morning papers pointing out that in the new year " the Saturday half-holiday will' be compulsory as regards children, young persons, and women in all factories, workshops, and places in which any manual labour is performed, with the exception of a very few trades ; and of those cases in which the Secretary of State has authorised either the substitution of another half holiday instead of Saturday, or that the hours of work may be taken between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or bqtyzeeil 8 a,m, and 8 u.m t ,...tki . r labour must cease on naturaays at z mis is anotner move In the direction of the compulsory regulation of trade. DR. STALLAItD ON THE ABLE-BODIED POOR. Dr Stallard has written to the Daily News on the subject of the employment of the able-bodied poor, and offers some propositions for consideration in anti cipation of the renewed discussion of the question of pauperism. The chief point upon which he insists is, that society cannot permit an able-bodied man to live upon his neighbour's goods without making any adequate return. When society wishes to give the deserving man relief, the best method is to find him employment, for by this means the principle of independence will not be destroyed. Dr. Stallard considers that there is no " unerring test" by which the degree of destitution can be ascertained, and therefore he advises that society should take upon itself the responsibility of giving and refusing relief, as the case may be. In consider ing the qqestion of employment for the poor, he observes that care should be taken not to interfere with the duty of capital, and also that the con dition of the destitute labourer should not be made more eligible than that of the independent man in a similar sphere of life. Dr. Stallard thinks that starvation, as a stimulus to work, must not be depended upon exclusively. The really idle must be made amenable to law, and a system of detention and compulsion must be employed to coerce them. " MERRY CHRISTMAS." We certainly do take our pleasures sadly. The " octave " of Christmas is still in progress, and the papers for one day only give us the following specimens of Christmassing :—" Execution of the Stickney Murderess ;" " Alleged Wife Murder at Lancaster ;" " Attempt to Murder a Brother at Northampton : a Policeman Shot ;" " Attempted Wife Murder at Barnsley ;" " Poaching Affray in Berkshire ;" " The Alleged Murder in Barnsbury ;" 4' Atrocious Murder in Salford ;" " The Wells Murder —Respite of Sweet ;" " Singular Charge of Larceny;" " Numerous Assaults upon Constables ;" " Assault and Attempted' Highway Robbery ;" " Daring Attempt at Highway Robbery." All these are taken from one page of one journal. We are too sick at heart to seek for further evidence as to the reality of that reign of peace and goodwill heralded by angels nearly nineteen centuries back. BONA FIDE TRAVELLERS. That very old and vexatious question, " What is a bond fide traveller 9" is again being discussed in the metropolis. Is a man walking from one part of London to another a traveller, and is he entitled to a glass of beer as such ? Several of our metropoli tan contemporaries have discussed the question, some arguing for a liberal interpretation of the Act. But the objection to such an interpretation is very neatly stated -by the Telegraph. Our contem porary asks, if a man going from one part of London to another may drink during the pro hibited hours, what is to prevent the toper from regularly making a journey in order that be may get drunk without hindrance ? But how is the publican to know a traveller? Is there a smell about him which marks him. Otherwise—if the word of the would-be drinker is all he has to rely on—many a man would tell a lie to. get a pot of beer, and think that at such a time he got it cheap. DEATHS OF NOTABILITIES. Durin g the last few days of the. aning year, death has added two names of some distinction to the obituary of 1868. No habitue of our picture galleries is unfamiliar with the works of Abraham Cooper, one of our Royal Academicians. Mr. Cooper was one of those who have achieved reputation for themselves, independently of adventitious aids. He was born in Red Lion-street, Holborn, in 1787, in a humble condition of life. In his early years he passed much of his time among horses, and to this circumstance may be attributed the peculiar direction of his talent. He is considered the chief battle painter of the English school, and in the representa tion of battle-pieces horses necessarily play an important part. Mr. Cooper's first picture was A portrait of a horse, an old favourite belonging to the late Sir Henry Meux. The baronet had the discern ment to estimate the talent of the young artist, and wisely recommended him to study. The only studio and the only instructors to which the painter looked for assistance were the stable, the grass-field, and the Sporting Magazine. In this old periodical were some portraits of horses, drawn by Marshall, a well-known animal painter of the day. These were sufficient guides for the young student; and his first exhibited picture. " Tam-o'-Shanter," which was sent to the British Institution, was bought by the Duke of Marlborough. Since then Mr. Cooper has been a constant exhibitor both at the Royal Academy and the British Institu tion. He was selected an associate of the Academy in 1817, three years after' the appearance of " Tam-o'-Sh-mter,' and he became an R.A. in 1820. Many of his pictures have been engraved, and one of them, "Hawking in the Olden Time," is familiar to all of us in the print-shops. The other death to which we have alluded is that of Sir William Mackenzie, Bart., who died at Coul House, licss-shire, in his Mrd year. The family of Mackenzie is an ancient and distinguished one in the Highlands. Sir Alexander, the penultimate baronet, served in the Bengal army without interruption during a period of twenty-six years, and took part in most of the campaigns of the eventful years between 1825 and 1851, when he retired from the service. He died in 185 G, when his brother the just deceased baronet, succeeded to the title: He leaves no children, and, having succeeded one brother, is succeeded by another. The new .baronet for some years held an important post in the colony of Queens land. DEATH OF ANOTHER INVENTOR. Few inventors are so fortunate as .Sir William Armstrong and Major Palliser. Few live to see their inventions adopted and themselves rewarded. Poor Mr. Snider died just a few weeks before his rifle was accepted for the British army, after weary years of deferred hope and heart-sickness ; and now Mr. Chalmers is dead, having for something like eight years vainly fought against the adverse influence of the Ordnance Select Committee—probably the most obstructive body that ever existed—in the effort to get his shield fairly tested. The public and the press know well enough that Mr. Chrlmers's system of defence for ships and forts was by far the best, but the Committee was more powerful than either, and so for years we have b een building vessels that would be unable to fight, and constructing forts which, like that at Plymouth Breakwater and the Gibraltar Shields, are simply a delusion and a snare. Mr. Chalmers died on Saturday, just as his second target ordered by the authorities was on the eve of completion, for further experiments. He leaves, we regret to learn, a widow and family in very straitened circumstances. He was also the projector of the Channel Railway. DR. PUSEY ON THE RITUAL JUDGMENT. Dr. Pusey writes to the Times criticising the recent judgment of the Privy Council in the case of Martin v. Mackonochie. He says that, while it is quite true the recent judgment does not affect the consciences of Churchmen, but simply declares the law under which, in the opinion of the committee, we live, those who, like himself, " believe in the Real objective Presence, are bound in all honesty to let the Church know what we do believe." This belief was shewn in their way of celebrating without adopting any of the acts condemned, and it will still be shewn. Mr. Keble was no Ritualist, and yet no one who saw him celebrate could doubt his belief. " The loss of modes of outward expression of belief (if so be) only drives pious souls more inward, and the inward devotion shines the more through." Dr. Pusey then goes on to .urge that the recent judgment is opposed in spirit to other decisions of the same tri bunal. The essence of the judgment, so far as prostration was concerned, was made to consist in the fact that the words " all meekly kneeling" apply only to the act of reception. " But," argues Dr. Pusey, "if this clause, all meekly kneeling,' applied at all to the celebrant, it would grammatically involve the direction that he should kneel while administering to others. A direction which occurs after the mention of two acts of a person cannot (if it appliesto him at all) belimited to the first of those two acts, to the exclusion of that the mention of which immediately precedes that direction. If this, as it would, involves an absurdity, then the whole construction is faulty, and it follows that the direction can apply to neither." Apart from this construction, it could not have been contended that any offence had been committed. Supposing even that the construction were doubtful, the Privy Council ought, it is contended, to have followed the dictum laid down by Dr. Lushington in the "Essays and Reviews" case—" that the suit being a criminal cause, the doubt is in each to be given in favour of the respondent." This principle has certainly not been adopted in the present case. There was laxity then ; there is stringency now. " The world," adds Dr. Pusey, " will call this playing fast and loose '— ' loose' whenever it is the question of allowing any matter of faith_ to be disbelieved fast' when it is the question of not allowing any thing to be believed which popular prejudice disbe lieves. If the union of Church and State involves this ultimate laxity and more than rigidness in the construction of our formularies, involving the denial of true doctrine and the prohibition of practice which represents doctrine, it certainly will be the earnest desire and prayer of Churchmen that the precedent now being set as to the Irish Establishment may be speedily followed-=:s to the English." SPAIN. The Independance Beige publishes a Berlin telegram affirming that the Spanish envoy at London will be officially received by Queen Victoria. La Esperanza of Madrid says that the members of the Provisional Government have determined to give up the candidature of Espartero and to rally finally and unani mously round the Duke of Montpensier. A meeting of military officers has just taken place. The project of pro 914iming the Orleans prince witbcut further ceremony was seriously discussed and strongly advocated ay several influential generals. Better counsels, it appears, pre vailed. After all that Spain has undergone since' Queen Isabella and her attendant heroes crossed the Pyrenees, it would be a discreditable failure of the Revolution to solve the difficulty by way of pronunciamento. Further, the Duke of Montpensier, in his recent manifesto, dis claims any intention to act otherwise than in accordance with the vote of the nation. The present delay is, undoubtedly, dangerous, but a tardy settlement of the succession problem is better than a violent one. The letter of Don Henri de Bourbon, brother of the ex-King of Spain, is partly a violent denunciation of the Duke's candidature, partly advocacy of a Republic. Can didates for vacant thrones will doubtless generally prepare to hear tolerably hard things said of them ; but of the many unkind cuts at the Duke of Montpensier none can be compared to Don Henri's. His letter is remarkable for the amount of Billingsgate which it manages to compress into one stupendous period of fifty-six lines. Beyond this it is remarkable for nothing. The Libero, which publishes the letter, thinks it noteworthy—in fact, a victory to the Republican cause—that a Bourbon, a descendant of Louis XIV., should consider Washington the type of political integrity. But the opinion of a dis graced and proscribed prince, when years of adversity have not taught the value of moderation, is not worth having on any subject whatever. The journals which immediately after the Cadiz affair generally abused the Duke of Montpensier, are rapidly converting themselves. The process has not, however, been sufficiently rapid to save the Monarchist cause at the recent elections. The Republicans have gained a most unexpected victory. THE INSURRECTION IN CUBA. The telegraphic advices notifying the success of the insurgents in Cuba are confirmed by all the more detailed reports. The fighting has advanced within 150 miles of Havanna. The British Consul has advised all British subjects to register immediately. The Spanish troops have suffered greatly from recent encounters, and are in pressing need of reinforcements. Sancto Espiritu, an important inland town of 13,000 inhabitants, has joined the Creoles. The Government has betaken itself to that infallible mode of advertising ill-success-- " doctoring " the telegraph. Great alarm was caused at Madrid on the day preceding Christmas by a telegram, circulated at the Bourse, stating that " the situation had grown no worse : 2,000 troops have arrived, but 15,000 are required in order to succeed." The Madrilenes, on receipt of this message, began to entertain the opirion that landed property which is running so low in the market had better be put 1113 to the hiv.hest bidder. THE ALABAMA DIFFICULTY. It appears that President Johnson hesitated considerably about that portion of his Message which related to the Alabama claims, and altered its statements a day or two before sending it to Congress. According to the Times correspondent, however, the President's anticipations regarding this difficulty are worth as little as his scheme of repudiation. The majority of the Senate have resolved not to accept any settlement of the Alabama claims by the present Administration. A new President and a new Minister to England are to settle the controversy, and they only will be approved by the Senate NEW SOUTH WALES. The Bishop of Lichfield has visited Sydney, on his way to England. His arrival caused considerable excitement among the Protestant portion of the community, and quite a bevy of bishops was assembled to meet him. Amongst these, Bishop. Perry, of Melbourne, is generally recognised, says the Times correspondent, as the man of the time. In some letters of his that have recently been published he has entered at length into the condition of the Church of England in Victoria, shewing that though the contributions by the laity are much larger than corresponding averages in England, they are yet wholly inadequate to meet the wants of the Church in Victoria. Bishop Perry endea •vours to account for this disproportion between the con tributions of members of the Church and their wealth. " The members of our Church, not having been accustomed in England to maintain the Church for themselves, require time to recognise this necessity, and consent to fulfil their novel obligation. This is certainly true, and will, partly at least, explain a fact which has often greatly pained me, viz., that while members of the Church of England, not devoid of religious principle, give as liberally as those of other Churches to charitable, they give comparatively little to religious objects." This, the Times correspondent thinks, hits the case exactly. Being accustomed to see the Church independent in England, time is required for the difference to be realised in the colonies. ITALY. A reactionary demonstration has taken place at Palermo during the visit of Prince Humbert and the Princess Mar guerite. Circulars, hostile both to the Italian Govern ment and to the Royal visitors, were distributed in the theatre at the moment when the Prince and his wife entered their box. This ungraceful act met with the reception it deserved. The audience loudly applauded the Prince and Princess. (From the Anglo-American Times.) NEW YORK, Dcc. 12. Among the stories of corruption which have lately excited much attention in this city is the alleged dis tribution of some two millions of dollars in bribery to carry through the bill for the purchase of Alaska. The sum voted was $7,200,000 in gold, of which Russia obtained only $5,090,000 (in gold). Of course there were expenses, but certainly not equalling £440,000 sterling, and a general inquiry has been made, and all sorts of guesses hazarded how the sum was distributed. The outside ring, the Worcester Spy asserts, got $300,000, and after the debate closed Mr. Riggs, a Washington banker, ob tained that amount from the Secretary of the Trea sury for distribution. The correspondent of that jour nal says--" Among the sums specified in these reports are such items as New York Tribune, $20,000 ; manager of its Washington Bureau, $5,000 ; pub lisher of Washington Chronicle, $25,000. The cor respondents of the Tzmes, World, Boston Journal, Philadelphia Press, Chicago Tribune, Boston Adver tiser, Evening Post, and others, are all set down as each having been paid sums varying from $2,500, upwards. Some of them are anxiously inquiring what has become of the money, as it has never been paid to them." Af ter alluding to the daughters of a member from Ohio, who received but returned $lO,OOO each, he adds, " However, Robert J. Walker got $25,000 in gold. 'I he certificates for this amount were, I believe, stolen from him in Boston or New York He makes no secret of his having received a large sum, but says it was a professional retainer from the Russian Government. He appears also to have been acting professionally for his own Go vernment, as some part of the Riggs' $300,000 ap pears to have passed into his hands. Now comes another chapter, to which it is declared the threat ened exposure is due. • As b t efore stated the $300,000 referred to was in greenbacks. The lob byists, &c., were paid therein, they having been urgent for such payment as soon as the Alaska bill had passed. But it is now reported that Mr. Riggs received from the high contracting parties' the amount in gold, with which he paid back to the Treasury Mr. M'Culloch's loan, and netted to him self the nice little per cent. of $70,000, being the difference of thirty-five per cent. between gold and legal tenders. This commission is said to be out side of what he was paid for services rendered. The harpies,' vexed at being sold, are now talking about the matter. Some say that the difference has been, or is to be, divided among the clamorous in order to hush matters up. Among other transactions, it is declared that the Perkins claim,' which at one time threatened to be an estopel to the consummation of the purchase, was bought off, not by settling it, but by getting those in charge to stop proceedings." The Round Table maintains the chief seat of cor ruption to be at Washington, and not in New York city as the Radical press assert. It is said that the whisky ring, the result of Congressional legislation, steals more in one year than is stolen in New York in five, but a large portion of what the whisky ring steals I imagine to be in New York itself. Another statement made by that paper has attracted much attention and caused some indigna tion, which is to the following effect : "That Sena tors of the United States grow rich in their places is notorious; 2f this no one seems ashamed, for this no one denounces them. We in this metropolis are at least of higher tone than the rest of the country in this, that we are ashamed of our muni cipal misgovernment, and that such city officials as are charged with growing rich in their places arc soundly denounced for it. When a Senator who goes to Washington poor, and in six years comes to be rated at half a million, shall be refused recogni tion everywhere among gentlemen, the vital forces of society will have begu n t o th row o ff th e di sease ." Mr. Ashbury's challenge, as the owner of the English yacht Cambria, has excited much interest. Atten i tion is called `to the . terms on which the America won the Queen's Cup. That schooner contended against the entire British yacht squadron of all rigs, and carried off the prize, and it is necessary for the vessel which again wins it, in like manner to beat the American squadron, not a single selected yacht. Two letters have been despatched to Mr. Ashbury, one from the younger Bennett, who as vice-commo dore, takes up the challenge on his sensitive point, an ocean race. He agrees to sail the Dauntless against the Canibria, either from Cowes to New York, or from Cowes to the Azores and back, or any other distant point which gives 3,000 miles of ocean, which he prefers to inland waters, as it affords truer and better tests of the vessel's speed and qualities, and of the sailor's science and sagacity. The Dauntless is much larger than the Cambria, which would tell more to its advantage in winter than in summer. Mr. Stebbins, owner of the Phantom, writes in a pleasant and cordial tone, assuring Mr. Ashbury of a hospitable reception in Ambric t if he comes, congratulates him on the Cambria's victory over the Sappho, and states his willingness on the arrival of the English yacht iu American waters to test the Phantom against her. Rumours continue to be circulated as to Grant's Cabinet, and the General is watched as a eat watches a mouse. He can pay no visit without the object being discussed in leaders and by correspondents. Ile visited General M'Clellan twice during the week, and people begin to guess what post is in store for him. Grant certainly travels and sees an he can, men and things, and he is not the man to waste his opportunities. He never loses a chance of seeing and pumping prominent men to ascertain how far they will, suit his book. Mt. Boutwell is likely to be his Secretary to the Treasury ; Rollins, Attorney-General, if his health permits ;if not, 'Wilson, of lowa. It is denied that the Navy Department will be given to a naval offi cer, though Admiral Porter is mentioned. Some hint that Marshal 0. Roberts will be selected. That gentleman gave a grand entertainment to General Grant, estimated to have cost $15,000. Not only was everybody known to Mr. Roberts asked, but everybody that his friends knew. Senator Sherman, who has generally been named for the Secretary' ship of the Treasury, has informed his friends that there is no truth in the report, as a resignation of his seat in the Senate would insure the vacancy to Vallandigham, the Ohio Legislature being at pre sent in the hands of the Democrats. He felt sure that General Grant would select a good Cabinet, and the Treasury portfolio, he was certain, would be placed in charge of a thorough business man, with, good financial qualities. Some one has weighe d Grant, and records the General to turn 1501bs. Pl d any one weigh bur Minister to your Court befor e and after his series of dinners, if he hasgot throng! them yet. Grant, too, is going through a somewh at similar ordeal, but whether he will fatten on it 0r not remains to be seen. My impression is th at before half his term has expired he will not 00 5 0 be a wiser and a sadder, but a thinner man. I' managed to get about while here without an1 1 0:1 ance, as his plain, unpretending attire disguiT e him to those accustomed to see him in uniform. .11°' put up at the St. Nicholas Hotel. After the fuss made aboutthe English girl, Iles t ..A ° Vaughan, who killed her baby, it was discove r ' that Governor Geary did not intend to hang t he young woman. All sorts of wild statements 11 been made at public meetings till people imagi ee that she was the illegal victim of heartless Ph il , 6 ; delphian cruelty, and it is even asserted that sub had been betrayed by her fee'd counsel, all of wh ie is shown to be untrue. •A deputation of ladies visited the Governor at Harrisburg, when the re al , facts transpired, a good deal to the confusion of the over-zealous females. The trial of Jeff. D avisl shows that the end of that farce is near. It vica lo ' , be impossible to convict at Richmond without pa t h ; ing a jury, which it would scarcely become t. ri United States to do ; but if the United State s d a l : not the country where Davis so long ruled wou l and therefore he could not be convicted. The 1 0 ; Lion lately made was to quash the indictment , 5 the 14th Constitutional Amendment disfrane hiseci _ all who having held office under the Federal Guis vernment committed treason against it, and th. f and no other is the punishment decreed. ° lle Justice Chase sustained the point ; Judge wood dissented, the appeal being to the SuPre nje Court, but even on the subject of the appeal tb e3 " n two judges differ. Under The latest Cabinet arrangement credits Clor ie : Francis Adams with the State Department, John Shei ° : t , with the Treasury, and Horace Greeley with the r ° ; ) office. Stanton is to go to England, E. B. Washburn° 5, France, Rawlings to Spain, Ben Wade to Russia, 31°tl i e r3 1 to Austria, ani Bancroft to remain in Prussia. A dni Porter to be Secretary of the Navy, James Hughes Se"",o, tary of War, and James Wilson, of lowa, Attorney-Glo Professor Delessier, of Kingston, Jamaica, to a long time in advance announced the days on wh ich n - rr earthquakes would visit St. Thomas, Chili, and Pe ru ' r 0 dieted (by news from Cuba, Dec. 9) that there would 1344. earthquake in California about the 9th or the 11th of cember. T.- to b° _..e American Free-Trade League were dressed on the evening of Dec. 10th by the Bev. 1 1 11. Blanchard, of Brooklyn. The subject chosen by 31re°' ' Blanchard was " Theßeligion of Free Trade." Lucia Gilbert Calhoun will have a brilliant il bo r Vale on Edwin Booth in the January Galaxy. It in am accompanied by a portrait of the tragedian the 8 0 ratter of Hamlet. In the same number will be a P ° , ll o by William Cullen Bryant, and the commencement new story of Mrs. Edwards. r [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Pills.— L oo k ' to Health.—Any abrupt change in the weather alway s at e! much disordered action in the human body. It is s ho tit •s of primary importance to rectifyevery irregularity! vr i o o g delay, which it is in the power of everyone to do by set Holloway's pills. These pills are the best prevestilied• of indigestion, and the mildest aperients ever prs sr e plir" 'They purify and cool the blood, and equalise the c' r i s of tion through the system, even to the minutest vesl oe yP the skin. They act admirably on the liver and lo u pa By these salutary effects many ailments are avert s d , ;o p4 more serious illness prevented. Persons subject to I ), o pt attacks, flatulency, gout, rheumatism, and rheum atic will be benefited by this treatment. [ADVERTISEMENT J— Consumption, and alt nervous, oste;, stomach,and liver complaints in every stage are only aggr,.fectu and accelerated by drugs of every description, but Pe'yoocj curable by Du Barry's health-restoring Revalenta Arabi c ' s lo o as proved by thousands of cases which had been cons:, ooe hopeless; such as indigestion (dyspepsia), cough, ast11,0000: sumption, habitual constipation, diarrhoea, all gastric „"asoe.eo, ments, haemorrhoids, liver complaints, flatulency, ce• biliousness, fevers, sore throats, diphtheria, catarrhs, c'-; 01), fluenza, noises in the head and ears, rheumatism , g rities, eruptions, hysteria, neuralgia, irritability, sle eP c iroP 9 ';s acidity, palpitation, heartburn, headache, debili tY, or t cramps, spasms, nausea and sickness, even in pregesn'-',; she sea, sinking fits, bronchitis, scrofula, tightness o f tit pains a the pit of the stomach, and between the shoula'rurd4 We quote a few.—The Pope's health restored by Dc,,,01t it Food. Cure No 63,413.—"R0me, July 21 , 1866 . — Th e u 8 rs the Holy Father is excellent, especially since, abandslprrY4 other temedies, he has confined himself entirely to Du v iatett Revalenta Arabica Food, of which he consumes 9 Voo l3c "io at every meal. It has pro luced a surprisingly LA? 0 tll,, effect on his health, and his Holiness cannot Pro' ls 6fitl i e excellent food too highly." From the " Gazette do 1 . te e July 25. Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, tirub i e 10 06"'„ chant, of Frimley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseas e , s u m ess r o f spitting of blood, liver derangement, and partial cle'„,ol,d Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord Li ecte, Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,83 2 . , sus ue,l years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, t wirl! .oo ~ asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sichniv,o"oP,s vomiting.-MariaJoly." Important Caution.—Be ware of 4;00 unsavoury and more than sloppy imitations to which, attach 1>; authority, Baron Liebig's name is most au dacious ly stti° In tins, at Is. 14d. • 1 lb. 2s. 9d. ; 2 lbs ß . y 4 A s. L 6 E d ic . l s A lb ß s A ,l o l [o S ,, ,•Loo fo o ;i: 225.; 24 lbs., 40s.—Also Du BARRY'S R LATE POWDER is packed in tin canisters ; for 12 cups at 41 ;i6 cups at 3s. 6d., for 48 cups at Os., for 288 cups at 305., for 650 ~,t ic s at 55s.—being about one penny p er cu p. The 30 s. an st Le are sent free of carriage in England on receipt oftti t trder.—BAßßY_ DU BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-strv. don; and all Grocers and Chemists. —,Oll Births. o/11'bo CAMPBELL—On the 28th in s t., at Woodseat, Mrs. Colin Minton Campb e ll, of a daughter. 00 11 1 /' OATHCA RT —0 n the 27th inst. at a t Scarborough, ti l° tess Cathcart, of a daughter. ) 3 / WILLETT —On the 26th i ns t ., a t 36, Wi mpo le-stree" Alfred Willett, of a daughter. Marriages. J O V '8 A, FREEMAN S ANDEAS —On the 24th inst., at SI On Hackney, F re d er i c B. Freeman, of Homertos, IctriclP eldest daughter of Mr. Amos Sanders, of C 4131 Death. PEIRSON—Davis—On the 19th inst., a t St. Joldt,,Ao diugton, James Peirson, Esq., of Furnival's-jo i37 widow of H. B. Davis, Esq. , .. . Deaths. C r of BURLAND—On the 29th inst., James Borland, a 9, lane, Lower Thames-street, city, aged 50. ,-.." a 13 O S' CREED—On the 26th inst., at Twickenham, ki . e i Esq., aged 51. Ric h' FERRIER—On the 27th inst., at Great Yarmoutb, Ferrier, Esq., aged 73. Oll FORGE -On the 27th inst., at Hampstead, sir• 13 ' it' Esq., aged .59. e i),_ ° HARCOURT—On the 27th inst., at 47, Cadogan-1,13,,c,P" don, Marcia, wife of Admiral F. E. Vernon 3.- j A -mr— - - ; ; --------- ° London : Printed and Pablished by WILLItaI . 4,4 E.to Ili; :. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Twt SUN 001 ,1, „00 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in tbe v - Iliddlecez,—Wedneeday, December 39, 180. t( ' .il , at OT tr St f f'