The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-12-31 00:00:00

SA.TURD \79, 'DEC. 81, 1981

RETROSPECT

OF THE

YEAR 1881.
As the passing years are replete with history, it is
Well, at the termination of each, to cast a retrospec-
tive glance behind, and to gather up the memories of
the successive occurrences before the events of the New
Year follow in their train, and supersede them in inte-
rest and in importance. The year which is hastening to
a close has in some ways not been marked, so far as
foreign wars are concerned, by such contributions to
nietorical facts as some which can be easily called to
remembrance; yet many startling and unlooked-
for incidents have characterised its progress; and a
brief review of these will well repay attention. It is
in such circumstances that we have no hesitation in
asking our readers to accompany us over the short
record of the past twelve months, in the full belief that
innch of what has happened can now with advantage
be recalled and reviewed before it is finally dismissed
to the land of shadowy recollections and faded
Memories.

Parliament was opened unusually early. It assembled
Ott the 6th of January—a date when the festivities
consequent upon Christmas and the New Year
are ix the full tide of their activity all over the land.
The reason for bringing Lords and Commons from
their country seats up to London at such a time was
the condition of Ireland, where, throughout the
autumn, a rising agrarian agitation had compelled the
Executive Government to demand additional powers
for the maintenance of the law. The winter was one
of the bitterest experienced in the metropolis for many
p8—so bitter, indeed, that the members of Parlia-
Ment of more advanced years were at times unable to
face the cutting nieht winds which blew in icy blasts
°'ver the towers of the Palace of Westminster. The
Prime Minister himself was amongst this number.
The opening ceremony, which took place on the after-
noon of Twelfth Day, was performed by Royal Com-
Mission, her Majesty's gracious Message being largely
Occupied by references to Irish affairs. The debate
on the Address in reply to the Queen's Speech was
the longest that had been known for many
Ira. Several amendments were moved, but that of
Parnell took precedence, declaring that the peace
and tranquillity of Ireland could not be promoted by
.„_,lrtustoending any of the constitutional rights of the
"-ne-r la People. This was rejected on the 14th of
utnnary by 435 to 57 ' • and on the night of the 20th,
non the streets of London were piled high wish
n_uaaseea of snow, the debate on the Address on the
Mu's Speech was closed in the Commons, after
having extended over eleven sittings. The division
Was one in which Mr. Gladstone was unable to take
Part owing to the terrible severity of the weather.
The debate on the Address which usually occupies
single night, had thus extended over a fortnight.
•Zour days after its close the Protection of Person and
the Coercion
(Ireland) Bill, more popularly known as
Coercion Bill, was introduced by Mr. Forster.
'nen ensued a contest that will hereafter be
ta, emorable in our Constitutional history, and the
ncidents of which are not likely to be forgotten by
those who noted its progress. The Irish Home Rule
.s__`"enlbers offered the most determined resistance to the
Vtufiress of the measure. On the night of the 31st of
"anuazy a struggle of endurance began, which went
....cc' continuously for forty-one hours, and ended in a
"3-Misterial victory. The Speaker, interposing, put
an end to the debate, and the Coercion Bill was
tead a first time. On the 3rd of February an un-
karalleled scene was witnessed in the House of
.I.;;cnirnons. At the beginning of the sitting Mr.
"rnell asked the Home Secretary whether it
Was true that Michael Davitt (who had been,
°°nvicted of treason-felony in 1870, and liberated on a
ticket-of-leave in 1877) had been re-aarested for seditious
conduct in Ireland; and Sir William Harcourt, amid
a wild tempest of cheering from the Ministerial
benches, replied that it was perfectly true. The
aPecial business set down for the night's consideration
Was an alteration of the rules so as to secure a more
exPeditions despatch of the public business; and this
the Irish members were resolutely bent upon pre-
INllting. Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon were promptly
ccePended, and closely following came the suspensio,
of nearly forty other Home Rule members, after
Which the work of the evening was allowed to proceed.
The second reading of the Coercion Bill was carried, •
a week later, by 359 to 56. The progress of the
Measure through Committee, and that of a companion
Bill for disarming the population of Ireland, occupied
the House of Commons up to the time of the Easter
Recess, on the eve of which Mr. Gladstone introduced
the Land Bill.
This was on the evening of the 7th of April, the
Prime Minister having, in his capacity of Chancellor
Of the Exchequer, explained the details of his Budget
th, ree nights before. The debate on the second read-
lug of the Land Bill began in the House of Commons
On the evening of the 25th of April, and engrossed the
attention of that assembly throughout the remainder
Of the session. The Premier himself took charge of it.
On the 19th of May it was read a second time by 352
to 176, but it was not until the 23rd of July that it
was through Committee. On being sent to the House
of Lords it was lead a second time without a division;
but the Peers made such alterations as rendered
necessary its reconsideration by the Commons. On
the 15th of August, the Government having made
some concessions, returned the Bill to the Peers' and
on the following night the Lords agreed to accept the
Measure, which was then passed; and on the 22nd,
five days before the prorogation of Parliament, it re-
oeived the Royal assent.
The House of Lords, not having Irish questions
before it so early in the session as had the Commons,
devoted itself, in considerable degree, to debates on
foreign policy. The session was only four days old
When Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India under the late
- Administration, delivered an address in their lord-
ithiPa' House in defence of the policy of Lord Beacons-
Government in Afghanistan, one of which he
had intimate and peculiar opportunities of judging.
~,,s
e noble earl soon afterwards gave notice of a reso-
Lion condemning the course which had been pursued by
M. Gladstone's Ministry in withdrawing the British
forces from Candahar. Lord Beaconsfield delivered a
Powerful speech in support of this motion, which was
Carried by a majority of 89. A counter-resolution was
scbeequently passed in the Commons by a majority of
120. On the 23rd of February their lordships debated
the Sunday opening of Museiims and Art Galleries,
deciding by a majority of 41 to 34 votes that it was
nexPedient to do so. On the 7th •of March this
!klustrions assembly, upon the motion of the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, agreed to an address praying the
Queen to appoint a Commission to inquire into the
2,enltitntion and working of the Ecclesiastical Courts.
tint after all, the session being chiefly an Irish one,
and the Commons being thoroughly absorbed in con-
eidering the Coercion and Land Bills, the Lords could
do little besides watch the progress of events in the
Other House, where many important ministerial mea-
littreB had to be withdrawn. Time was, however,
found to dispose of the Army Discipline Bill, abolish-
ng the lull as a punishment for soldiers.
Next to Irish questions the case of Mr. Bradlaugh
demanded the most attention in Parliament. The
decision of the law courts having been adverse to his
claim to vote in Parliament without having taken the
customary oath, Mr. Bradlaugh resigned his seat for
'Northampton, and presenting himself for re-election,
Was on the 9th April again returned ter a majority of
132 votes. On the 26th he went to th table of the
House of Commons for the purpose of taking the oath;
but upon the motion of Sir Stafford Northcote, a reso-
lution was passed by which it was decided that he
should not be permitted to do so. On the 10th May,
on again presenting himself at the bar, it was ordered
that he should be prevented from entering the House,
Which however he unsuccessfully attempted to do on
the 3rd of August following. The disposal of this
long-standing controversy is one of the first matters
Claiming attention at the beginning of next session.
During the year a remarkable figure has disappeared
from English political life. In the spring it is often
the case that the sun may be shining brightly over
these islands, and that at the same time a bitterly
cold east wind is passing across the land, striking
down the aged and infirm and swiftly carrying them
into newly-made graves. ft was on one of those days at
the end of March that the Earl of Beaconsfield, who
bad taken up his residence in Curzon-street, Mayfair,
took a turn in Piccadilly and round the Green Park,
nnoonsciously taking a last look at that busy world of
London in which for more than half a century he had
Played so prominent a part. In a day or two it was
announced that Lord Beaconsfield was unwell and
under medical attendance, and as the days went on
the noble patient himself seemed to be convinced
that his hours upon earth were numbered. Amid
'varying fluctuations, watched with intense interest by
all classes in our public life, his lordship gradually grew
Worse; and as the Westminster quarters were sending
out the hour of half-past four in the morning of
Easter-Tuesday, the 19th of April, the noble earl
Passed quietly from earth. His 'remains were
interred in a vault at the east end of
Rughenden church on the 26th of the same month, in
the presence of an illustrious gathering which in.
Chided three of the Queen's sons and representatives
of all political parties in the State. Four days after-
Wards Her Majesty paid a special visit to Lord
Beaconsfield's last resting-place; and on the 9th May
,a vote praying the sovereign to give directions for the
Construction of a monument to his memory in
Westminster Abbey was adopted in both Houses of
Parliament.

Two other conspicuous figures, who in their life-
Mines ruled over nationalities numbering 130 millions
of human beings, have been removed by the hands of
assassins. On the afternoon of Sunday the 13th
Mareh, the Emperor Alexander 11. of Russia, whose
life had been repeatedly threatened by the Nihilists,
Was driving towards the Winter Palace, when a bomb,
charged with a highly-explosive material, shattered
his carriage. Stepping out with the view of render-
ing assistance to the wounded, another shell was
thrown, which inflicted mortal injuries upon his
Imperial Majesty, who died in less than three hours.
• This crime had scarcely ceased to elicit the repro-
bation of the civilized world, when it was followed
by another of a similar chara,zter, quite as dastardly
and less excusable. The scene changes from
St. Petersburg to Washington, from an after-
looon in winter, when the Neva was locked
in ice, and snow lay thickly in the streets and squares,
to a fine summer morning. It was on Saturday the
2nd of July that President Garfield, who only a few
months previously had been elected to the chief
Place in the llnitea States by the votes of an enormous
Majority of his fellow-citizens, was passing through
(Ina of the streets of Washington arm-in-arm with Mr.
Blaine, one of the members of his Cabinet. There
had not in his case, as in that of the Czar, been
menaces or conspiracies; he was surrounded by no
Imperial Guards- ; and there was no thought of
Precaution against a danger which was never believed
to be in existence. The President was on his way
to one of the railway stations for the purpose of
Proceeding to Longbranch, a seaside summer me-
sort i where his wife was sojourning. He was
laresl at by a disappointed office-seeker, Charles
Guiteau by name; and as one of the bullets took
effect, the President fell, dangerously wounded. He
taken back to the White Rouse, which he had only

a few minutes before left in all the pride and strength
of his manhood. It was hoped that the vigour of a
good constitution, aided by the purity of a blameless
life, would enable him to successfully combat the
effects of the wound; ar.d week after week the world
watched with intense interest and absorbing anxiety
the fluctuations of the struggle between life and
death. Early in September
.the President was
removed to Elberon, in New Jersey, so as to
obtain the benefit of the invigorating sea breezes
that are denied to Washington; and for some
days it was hoped that the change of air would result
in ultimate recovery. But although all the skill of
American medical science had been brought to bear
upon the case, it was found impossible to extract the
bullet: and obviously so long as it remained in the
body, it could not fail to be a disturbing influence and
a s yurce of peril. That this was so unhappily proved
true. On the night of Monday, the 19th. September,
General Garfield was taken suddenly worse, and after
a brief period of unconsciousness, passed to his rest.
The heroic manner in which, for eleven weeks, he had
borne his protracted sufferings, won the admiration of
observers in all civilised lands, and drew forth an
amount of sympathy in this country which has been
keenly appreciated in the United States, and has done
much to strengthen the bonds of amity which should
always exist between the two great English-speaking
nations on either side of the Atlantic.

While such tragic incidents as these have been dis-
turbing the even course of those who hold high places
in other nations, there is no change to record in the
personnel of our own Royal Family. On the 20th
June last the Queen entered the 45th year of her
reign, and has now swayed the sceptre for a longer
period, with three exceptions, than any English
Sovereign since the Conquest. Her Majesty has now
exceeded the period of the rule exercised by the
imperious Elizabeth, and bids fair to celebrate her
jubilee. She has sumnloned ten Parliaments to her
councils, and the members who took the oath of elle-
geiance to the Queen when she ascended the throne can
now be counted upon the fingers of one hand. Amongst
these is the Prime Minister himself, who in 1882 will
have seen half a century of Parliamentary life pass
over his head. As in the days of Lord Melbourne,
when her Majesty declared that she would govern
according to the constitution of the realm, so now, she
invariably relies upon the wisdom of her Parliament,
and is secure in the loyalty and affection of her people.
At b 2 years of age, and in the eventide of her life, the
Sovereign can look back upon duties conscientiously
performed and days well spent. The Prince of
Wales, who completed his fortieth year on the 9th
of November last, continues with his amiable Con-
sort to reflect the popularity which is so uni-
versally enjoyed by the members of the Royal family.
Leading a busy life, and ever ready to fulfil
the numerous engagements which appertain to his
high station, those which claim especial attention are
associated with works of benevolence and charity, and
they are at all times discharged with the utmost
fidelity. The Dukes of Edinburgh and Connaught. in
the fulfilment of their naval and military functions,
are representatives of the importance of the great ser-
vices to which they respectively belong. The
announcement of the approaching marriage of her
Majesty's youngest son, Prince Leopold, with the
Princess Helena of Waldeck has been received
with an expression of the public interest which
must be gratifying to her Majesty, as showing the
satisfaction felt by her subjects in an event
contributing, however indirectly, to her own hap-
piness. Early in the year on the 28th of February
the wedding of the second of the Queen's grandchildren
took place at Berlin, when Prince William of Prussia,
eldest son of the Crown Prince and of our own
Princess-Royal, was married to the Princess Augusta
Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Three months later
another Royal Wedding was solemnized in Vienna,
where the Crown Prince of Austria was united to
the Princess i3tephanie, a daughter of the King of
the Belgians, whose intimate relationship to our own
Royal family so often brings him to this country.

The year opened with indications of serious troubles
in South Africa. The Boers had taken up arms against
the authority of the Crown, which had taken over the
Transvaal in 1877; and although comparatively small
in numbers, their skill as marksmen, perfected as it
was by the habits of their lives, their vigour, energy,
and determination made them for a while formidable
opponents of the small force which at the time the
Government of Natal was able to send against theta.
Strangely enough negotiationswere going on with a view
to the settlement of the dispute while actual hostilities
were being continued; and in the engagements which
took place the advantage was on the side of the
Boers, owing to the limited number of British
soldiers which could at once be put into the field. On
the 26th January the British troops were defeated by
the Boers at Laing's Nek ; on the 9th February there
was a battle between Sir George Colley's force and the
Boers near Newcastle, in which we lost 150 men. But
the most disastrous of these encounters took place on
Sunday, the 27th of February. Although negotiations
were in progress with a view to the settlement of
the diTute, Sir George Colley, under cover of the
darkness, led a considerable body of men up the pre-
cipitous sides of the Majuba Mountain, and when
the morning light dawned upon the scene, the
Boers found their camp commanded by the British
tcoops. It was necessary, in the interests of their
own preservation, to dislodge our little army, and
accordingly the Boers charged up the sides of the
mountain time after time, and were repulsed. At
length they obtained possession of the height, the
British force retreated, and in the slaughter Sir
George Colley was killed. On the sth March Sir F.
Roberts left London to take the chief command of the
troops in the Transvaal, as successor to Sir George
Colley. Meanwhile Sir Evelyn Wood had concluded
an armistice with Joubert, the Boer leader; and on
the 18th of the same month peace was concluded,
which, rendering the services of Sir F. Roberts at the
Cape unnecessary, he was recalled immediately on his
arrival in that colony. The details of the final adjust
ment have yet to be worked cat; but all well-wisher
to the peace and prosperity of South Africa will re-
joice that the wars which have been such a conspicuous

feature of the history of that dependency for some
years past, are at length at an end.
Other incidents of the experience of our colonies and
dependencies during the year have been of a more
satisfactory character. First, to take the vast empire
of India, it is seen that there have been no disturb-
ances on its frontiers ; and the Marquis of Ripon,
having recovered from an illness which was once
regarded as serious, has been enabled to devote
all his strength to the discharge of his weighty
and responsible duties. It is a long way from the
glowing skies of Hindostan to the snows which
eternally descend upon the hills of Canada ; but both
countries are under the dominion of the Queen,
and Her Majesty's subjects have an equal interest in
their prosperity. The Marquis of Lorne, in the tour
which he made through the enormous territories
under British rule in North America, saw for himself
the immense extent of our possessions, and was
enabled to judge of their capacity for progress and
development. Lord Lorne's recent presence in Eng-
land has elicited his views respecting the land of the
people over which he rules—a people that, three
years ago welcomed the Queen's daughter with enthu-
siastic demonstrations, it is earnestly to be hoped
that the health of the Princess Louise will be suffi-
ciently restored by the spring to enable her Royal
Highness to return to a country from which her
absence is so much regretted, and where the loyalty of
the inhabitants teaches them to appreciate the pre-
sence of a member of the Royal family of England.
The catastrophesof the year, although not so numer-
ous as in some of its predecessors, have been more
calamitous in their character. In the tale of disaster
the mysterious and awful agency of the earthquake
has played a terrible part. On the sth March one of.
these appalling visitations descended upon Ischia, in
Greece, with a consequent destruction of property and
life. On the 3rd April an earthquake rent the isle of
Chios, destroying its capital, and burying multitudes
in the ruins. Agram, in Austria, has been repeatedly
visited by earthquakes this year. On March the 23rd
the Opera house at Nice was consumed by fire,
and more than one hundred lives were lost.
This calamity was, however, eclipsed in magnitude
by that which took place in Vienna on the night
of December 8, when the Ring Theatre, just
before the commencement of the performance, took
fire, and in the darkness, confusion, and-spread of the
flames, hundreds of people lost then lives. The year
has not passed without two serious shipping disasters.
On the 26th April H.M.S. Doterel blew up at Sandy
Point, in the Straits of Magellan, and of 156 officers
and men on board only eleven were saved. Exceeding
this in loss of life was the wreck of the mail steamer
Teuton on the 30th August, when the ship struck off
Quoin Point, Cape Town, and more than 200 persons
Perished. On the 19th December, by a colliery explo-
iion at Wigan, 48 lives were lost.
The meteorology of the year has been of a remark-
able character. The winter was one of extreme
severity; our great navigable rivers were filled with
masses of floating ice ; and the carcase of a sheep was
roasted whole upon the frozen Thames. On the
18th January a snowstorm, unparalleled in violence
within living memory, swept over the land, and from
the remotest point in the Shetlands to the far west of
Cornwall the eye encountered nothing but snowdrifts
of varying depths, some running to forty feet. In
London and the great towns locomotion was para-
lysed, and in the sparsely-populated country districts
the sufferings of the inhabitants were intense. The
railways upon even the great trunk lines were blocked,
the telegraphic wires were in all directions broken
down, and the descriptions of the scenes of misery in
isolated hamlet, where the people, in danger of
starvation, could 'scarcely be reached by means of
ordinary communication, carried the mind back to the
middle ages when steam and electricity were alike
unknown, said man was helpless at a more than ordi-
naTy ebullition of the forces of 'Nature. The spring
was dry, with a protracted run of easterly winds; and
in July England was visited with a burst of heat ex-
ceeding the ordinary temperature at the equator. On
the 15th of that month the thermometer in London
registered 97 degrees in the shade—a temperature
never before recorded in this country. Then came
August-, with its unseasonable, chilly atmosphere, and
its heavy rains, whieh seriously interfered with the
success of the harvest. Next followed the equinoctial
gales, the storms of October and November leaving
behind them a more than usually destructive chronicle
of devastation and death.
Ireland, always a difficulty with British statesmen,
has become increasingly so during the year. As already
shown, Parliament devoted nearly the whole of the
long session, eight months in duration, to Irish affairs;
but, the remedial legislation notwithstanding, the
Government has been compelled to make extensive
use of the extraordinary powers conferred upon it.
On the 2nd May, while the Land Bill was under dis-
cussion in the House of Commons, Mr. Dillon, M.P.,
was arrested under the provisions of the Coercion Act.
He was lodged in Kilaaainham Prison, where ha re-
mained until the 7th of August, when he was
released on account of the impaired state of
his health. On the 15th of October, however,
Ire was re-arrested, and again incarcerated in KR-
mainham. It was not until Parliament had been pro-
rogued, on the 27th of August, that the agrarian
egitation in Ireland was renewed by Mr. Parnell with
redoubled vigour, first in the Tyrone election cam-
paign, and afterwards in the south and west of the
island. On the Bth of October' Mr. Gladstone, speak-
ing at Leeds, warned Mr. Parnell respecting the
danger of the course he was pursuing, to which the
member for Cork replied in a ;defiant speech at
, Wexford on the 10th. Two days afterwards the

first Cabinet Council of the recess - was held, and
as a result Mr. Parnell was arrested on the 13th.
The Land League, of which he is the president, re-
plied by a manifesto, telling the people of Ireland
to pay no rent, to which the Lord Lieutenant re-
sponded by issuing a proclamation suppressing the
League as an illegal organization. Two or three
other members of Parliament were arrested in addition
to Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon ' • and warrants for the
arrest of others were in the hands of the police, but
these were never executed, as the gentlemen referred
to went without delay to the United States.
In the course of the year twenty-four Parlia-
mentary elections have taken place on average of two
for every month. The new members are in the propor-
tion of twelve Liberals eleven Conservatives and one
Home Ruler. The Conservatives have gained seats
at Coventry, St. Ives, Knaresborough, North Linboln-
shire, North Durham, and Stafford, while the Liberals
gained a seat in East Cumberland. The net balance
of advantage to the Conservatives on the contests of
the twelve months is therefore five seats, equivalent
to ten votes on a division.

There have been several changes in the personnel of
the Administration. In January the Earl of Fife re-
signed the office of Captain of the Honourable Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms, which was given to the Marquis
of Huntly. His lordship did not long retain it, and
was succeeded by the Earl of Dalhousie. In April,
consequent upon differences with his colleagues,
respecting the principles upon which the Irish Land
Bill was constructed, the Duke of Argyll resigned the
post of Lord Privy Seal, which was taken by Lord
Carlingford. Three months later Mr. Grant-Duff was
appointed Governor of Madras in succession to the
late Mr. Adam, and Mr. Leonard Courtney was moved
from the Home to the Colonial Office, the Earl of
Rosebery taking the place of Under-Secretary of State
for the Home Department, with especial charge of
Scotch affairs. In August Lord-Advocate McLasen
was raised to the judicial bench in Scotland, and was
succeelen by Mr. J. B. Balfour, Mr. Alexander Asher
replacing him as Solicitor-General. In November,
on the retirement of Lord O'Hagan from the Irish
Chancellorship, Mr. Law, the Attorney-General,
became his successor, Mr. Johnson taking the post of
first law officer, and Mr. Porter, Q.C.,i becoming
Solicitor-General, and securing election for the
county Londonderry.
It is satisfactory to note that the cloud of commer-
cial gloom which has hung over the land so many
years at length show signs of clearing away. The
disastrous season of 1879 seemed to be the climax of
a monotonous succession of bad years; and the
tide of adversity having reached its height began
to recede. In 1880 both in trade and in agri-
culture things were a little better; and in 1881,
despiteothe bad harvest weather of August, better
again. The Revenue Returns, week by week, show an
improvement over those of last year; the Board of
Trade returns too, are satisfactory in their monthly
periodical issues. The country is gradually recovering
from the commercial paralysis which so long shackled
the arms of industry, and has seen the rising dawn of
a brighter and more prosperous day.
Foreign affairs have occupied much less attention
than in some previous years. The Eastern Question
has presented fewer of ft', phases for discussion; and
the dispute between Turkey and Greece, as to the
cession of territory, claimed by the Greeks from the
Porte, was terminated on the 14th of June by the
ratification of a Treaty at Constantinople. The various
European Powers had mainly devoted their energies to
the consolidation of their own interest. Both in
France and in Germany general elections have taken
place. In the first-mentioned country the mis-
management of the Tunis expedition created such an
amount of popular dissatisfaction that the Ministry
responsible for it, presided over by M. Jules Ferry,
resigned, and M. Gambetta was entrusted with
the reins of Government. In Germany the results
of the elections were, as a whole, unfavourable
to Prince Bismarck, whose policy has so long domi-
nated in that great Empire. _ _

The members of the House of Commons who have
been removed by death during the year are Major
Cartwright, Sir Richard Musgrave, Sir Heirry Jack-
aon, Sir Charles Reed, Sir Philip Egerton, Mr. Ed-
ward Hermon, Col. Joicey, Mr. Laycock, the Right
Hon. W. N. Massey, Mr. Alexander Macdonald,
and Viscount Helmsley. In other walks of life
the year's obituary includes the names of Mr.
Edward Askew Sothern, actor; Mrs. S. C. Hall,
authoress ; Mr. Thomas Carlyle, author; Lord
John Thynne, Sub-dean of Westminster; the Rev.
William Morley Punshon' late President of the
Wesleyan Conference ; Dr. William Hardwicke,
coroner for Central Middlesex ; Mr. Edward Miall,
editor of the Nonconformist ; Dr. Hamphry sand
with, chief of the army medical staff during the
siege of Kars; the Right Hon. W. P. Adam,
Governor of Madras; the Right Hon. Sir W. M.
James, Lord Justice of Appeal; Sir W. A. Rose,
late Lord Mayor of London • Sir Josiah Mason,
the Birmingham philanthropist; Dr. John Cum-
ming, late Minister of the Scotch Church in
Crown-court, Drury-lane; Lord Hatherley, late Lord
Chancellor of England ; Dr. Arthur Peurhyn
Stanley, Dean of Westminster; Mr. Winter Jones,
late Principal Librarian of the British Museum ;
Lord Airey, late Qutertnaster-General in the army ;
Sir John Burgess Karslake, late Attorney-General;
Dr. Leighton, Canon of Westminster and Warden
of All Soul's, Oxford; Sir Antonio Brady, late
Superintendent of the Purchase and Contract Depart-
ment of the Admiralty; and Mr. G. E. Street, the
architect of the Royal Courts of Justice.

Appropriately enough the record of mortality's roll
closes the review of another year. As one after
another is gathered by Time into his garner, there to
remain with the thousands that have preceded them,
and never to return to those who remain upon the
earth, the man who possesses any reflective faculties
might well pause for a moment as the year speeds past
him. Has he seized all the opportunities which it
has presented, realised the hopes that flashed across
his mind in its early hours, and from the time of its
infancy to the hour of its old age carried out the good
resolves formed on the day of its first dawn? A year
differs from a geason, a quarter, a month, or a day in
an essential respect. Summer and winter, Michael-
mas and Christmas, June
.and December, Saturday
and Sunday, are repeated through long ages, and are
the same to the fleeting peoples who stand upon this
solid globe in succeeding centuries. Seedtime and
harvest will come again in one eternal round;
Christmas will reappear to gladden the hearts of
old and young; and from ten thousand temples
the Sabbath bells will long ring out their
nvitations to prayer and praise irrespective of
the march of Time or of the changes wrought in
the history of nations. All these, so long as the earth
remaineth, are as certain as the rising and setting of
the sun, or the ebb and flow of the tides. But a year,
marking as it does a distinct epoch in the lifetime of
man, can never come back again. The seasons, the
months, and the days of which it has been made up,
will have an existence long after the year has fled
away; but the year itself, as a cleatly-defined era, has
left us for ever. Hence the solemnity which steals
over the mind at its departure. To some, when its
hour of departure has come, those booming strokes of
midnight tell many a varied story. They bring back the
memories of olden times, and speak of the days before
the wintry hour of man's maturer age had crept upon
the listener. Irresistibly they bring back recollections
of the unbroken family circle, and of the period when
there was no vacant chair. The vanished hand, the

hushed voice, the long-loved image removed for ever
from lost view, are all remembered then. Yet the
very earnestness of life is full of lessons to man not to
dwell upon the past, which can never be recalled, but
to do his best in the living present in the ever-shifting
circumstances which combine to make up his career
No sooner have the expiring embers of the dying year
flickered and gone out, no .sooner has the stroke of
twelve rung out its death-knell upon the wintry wind
than the New Year is instantly upon the scene. The
wail for the departed one is without delay changed into
a song of welcome to its young and vigorous successor.
The bells immediately alter their tones, and ring out
a merry peal of joy. Commingled with their inspirit-
ing clangour are good wishes on every hand, and in
these we hasten heartily to join by expressing a fervent
hope that all our readers may enjoy
"A HAPPY NEW YEAR."

TERRIBLE FATALITY AT BRIG FITON.
Writing on Tueaday night the Brighton correspondent of
the Daily Telegraph says :

There was a frightful accident to-night (Tuesday)
at the Oxford Theatre of Varieties, New-road. A
Chinaman, named Ling Look, who is described as "The
Lord of Fire, Cannon, and Sword," had almost closed
his performance, his final feat being to balasice a cannon
i
on a sword which he holds n his mouth. In this posi-
tion the cannon, which is a yard long, with a three-
inch bore, is fired, of course only having a small,
charge. To-night he requested the audience in
the gallery to be seated prior to getting his gun into
position, and the chairman further explained his re-
quest. The Chinaman then placed the point of his
sword in a hole in the cannon, and passed it down his
throat, so that the cannon rested across his face ; his
wife, who takes part in the entertainment, then ap-
plied a red hot iron to the touch-hole. The report
followed. Just at that moment a lad of fifteen, named
Smythe, who was sitting on the front row of the left
side of the gallery, unfortunately projected his head,
and was struck with a large pellet of paper which
had been in some inexplicable manner placed in
the cannon. The pellet was about the size of a
small orange. This completely scattered the poor
lad's brains in all directions. The scene in the hall
was most horrible. The blood bespattered a number
of people sitting round the lad, and a scene of con-
fusion followed. Shouts were heard to proceed from
the gallery and some cries of Fire," and a rush was
made to the doors, fully half the audience leaving.
At one time it looked as if a panic would occur with
serious results. The chairman, with either great
presence of mind or perhaps not knowing the extent
of the disaster, announced the next artiste, and this
to some degree restored something approaching
order. Before any appearance could be made, how-
ever, an intimation as to the nature of the occurrence
was conveyed to the chairman, and he promptly closed
the performance. Medical aid was at once prccured,
but it was of no avail, the poor lad having been instan,
taneously killed. His remains were taken to the
mortuary at the Town Hall to await an inquest.

M. Camille Godard, a rich merchant of the Gironde,
has just died at Bordeaux after bequeathing the greater
part of his fortune to that city. The legacy is valued at
6,000,000 f.
A panic occurred in Stansfield Music Hall, Leeds,
late on Tuesday evening. The decorations of the gas
pendants took Ore, and the audience rushed tumultuously
to the door, which opens inwardly, and they were unable to
get out. Many ladies fainted, and were trampled upon.
The police smashed in the doors, and rescued the injured,
who were removed in cabs. Fortunately, all were more
frightened than hurt.

THE TRIAL OF GTJITEAU.

Writing on the 27th, the Philadelphia Correspondent of
The Times says :

The seventh week of the trial began to-day before a
crowded Court. Guiteau, on his arrival, looked
round smilingly, saying :—" I had a nice Christmas
dinner and hope that everybody else did. I had
lots of fruit, flowers, and lady visitors—a good time
generally."
Dr. Macdonald, superintendent of Ward's Island of
New York Insane Hospital, testified that insane
inspiration always overrides all fear of pain or injury,
rendering those acting under such hallucination wholly
oblivious to such considerations. The witness, being
asked if such persons planned with deliberation,
replied that their acts were sudden in concep-
tion and execution. They seldom attempted to
avoid the consequences. Guiteauinterrupted, saying,—
"There are two kinds of insanity, doctor; 'crank'
insanity and 'Abraham' insanity. The latter is the
school I belong to. Tell us what you think of Abraham."
The witness described temporary insanity as where a
man commits an act which is the only evidence of his
insanity, he being otherwise sane. Guiteau: "That
is just my case exactly." The witness: "I do not be.
lieve in such insanity. In all my experience I have
never seen it." The witness thought that a person acting
under an inspiration to commit a certain act would
not be deterred through consideration of possible
harm to others. Guiteau said,—" You are talking
about 'cranks' now. Ido not belong to that school."
The witness, at great length described his interviews
with the prisoner in gaol, wherein the prisoner had
said that while he did not consider himself insane he
had studied the subject of insanity. He believed
that he would be found by the jury legally insane
at the time of committing the act, and that he
would be Acquitted and sent to an insane asylum.
He found under the law that he could after a
few months have a lunacy commission pass upon the
case, which, finding him sane, he would be discharged.
The witness believed the prisoner to be perfectly
sane, giving reasons for this opinion. He had noticed
the prisoner's most violent interruptions in the court
to have been made when the weight of evidence was
against him. This testimony made a great impression
in the court. The witness continued :—"The pri-
soner has been playing a part, and has been feigning
insanity throughout the trial." "Guiteau, who had
behaved pretty well through this testimony, finally
shouted :—" You are making a great ado about nothing.
Ide not claim to be insane now. Tell us about
Abraham.' Then get your money, and go home."
Mr. Macdonald analyzed the prisoner's conduct
during the trial, stating that he had been playing
a part. At the outset the prisoner directed all
.his
abuse against one counsel, but afterwards against
all.

Judge Cox, in an interview, says that he is aware
his course in the Guiteau case is severely criticiz,d ;
but he feels it not to be proper to say anything in
reply. He admits that Guiteau has been allowed to have
his way too much. He describes it as the most remark-
able case he ever heard of ; but it will not be right for him
to seek a vindication through the newspapers. Judge
Cox thinks that in the end every one will be satis-
fied that it has been a most difficult case to manage.
He intimates that, while aware of the popular dis-
content at his treatment of Guiteau, the end of the
trial must furnish his vindication.

Judge Cox, at the request of Mr. Scoville, has issued
an order prohibiting reporters from visiting Guiteau
in gaol.