The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-29 00:00:00

Blundell be the honorary secretary and treasurer." A
letter was read from the Earl of Derby approving of the
formation of the association, cautioning the promoters
against encouraging rifle-shooting to the neglect of rifle
drill, and recommending the formation of ranges at long
distances for shooting practice. The appointment of a
working committee, suggesting that the prizes should be
moderate, and giving sound advice on the subject.

*4* Our French letter, dated the 27th, and
geveral articles of importance, are postponed, on
account of the crowded stßte of our colurrtns,

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.
(nom OUR 'OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, 26th bee.; ROO;
The statri6 4,;d Het*ebit the l'retieli Goverti:
ment aridthe .liEtPtii. Wirt N ritill utaintainedJ
and it is still doubtful whether the fe6biii 414-:
copal appointmeni; Emade the Emperor will
be ratified or not in the next Cousistory. The
auditor who supplies at present in Paris the
place of the Papal Nuncio on 'being officially
inforriteti; deddrding td ditstodi, of the names cif
the Persons nominated td the l'acant Sees and
ref nested to hive every information on the still'
jet that he.might cOnsider,necessary on the part
of the holy See; iipiied that he had no, power
and no instructions whatever from Ronie regards
ing the matter,—although it is well krioiizi
be the invariable custom for the Holy See to
make known its approval of all episcopal appoint-
thetits betote dation idtti instittitionz

A lie* fee is.yacant, that g Petvueux,
Was filled by M. deafg.6; the nephew of the
much esteemed Cardinal of Cheverus. lie iffici
the youngest of the French Bishops under the
reign of Louis Philippe. He published a mande-
iiaent charaCteiisedby extreme violence of lan guagei
PebrtiarT, 11348 brokd,
out, but he hastened to withdraW it after fe
copies had been circulated. His clergy had a
great deal to put up with in consequence of his
haughty and despotic bearing. He was, however,
a Prelate whose conduet in private life was most
otediplakyi butj it 18 alnlost needless td add; dile
infra at all illtiithetitane French
ecclesiastics.

In consequence of the extremely delicate :state
of the present relations with' Rome, it becomes
somewhat interesting to know what sort of men
the Emperor has selected for the episcopal vacan-
cies, and lidt ate tile gfoitos on which his.ehoice
in each case is' justified. I therefore giVe you the
following account of them :—The translation of
M. Forcade to the See of Nevers is due to the
interest which the Emperor takes in those Bishops
who exercise their functions in the broiling cli-
thate of the Vrench toloules; and the act has no
ijOlitig4l
vinet, Vicar-Gefiel:dl a Paris,
and t'o~merly Vicar-
General of M. Affre, hae been specie,* geleae4
in order to perpetuate at Troyes the labours and
traditions of M. Coeur, one of the most merito-
rious men in the French Episcopate. AL Coeur
had just before his death been named Tutor to
the Prince Imperial, a Prebendary of Saint Denis,
and a Senators Apartments had been got ready
fir him in Paris ; and on the day of his
funeral, the Archbishop of Sens read from his
throne the Mandement, in. which the defunct
prelate took his fareltell Or his diocese: There is
no doiibt he suffered Very mitcharinoYanedfluring
the whole fAiida of his +karat froth ttie ;quarrel-
some conduct of the thtfaidoiiiaiik It is St
mite, However, that M. Ravinet was witli
the late Archbishop of Paris when the latter met
his death at the barricades in 1848 ; he only went
with the archbishop to the entrance of the fauborg
in which the barricades were erected, and im-
mediately afterwards went home—in point of
facts he did not hear that the archbishop had been
killed till the day following. The selection of M.
Ravinet is in every reSpedt an 'Unexceptionable
one, and is extremely well received by the public:
He is a man of a very gentle nature, and of mild
and conciliatory disposition, and one who will never
permit himself to join in or countenance the vio-
lent line of conduct which the great body of the
French clergy is pursuing at the present moment.
The choice of the Abbe Christophe, cure of
"La ChaPellel' for the bishopric of Soissons is
due to the personal preference of the Emperor
alone. M. Lebas, a Member of the Institute,
and former tutor of Napoleon 111., when on his
deathbed charged the Abbe Christophe to trans,
mit to the Emperor immediately after that eVent
the numerous letters which he had received front
him ; and the cure acquitted himself of his trust
so much to the satisfaction of his Majesty that
he forthwith nominated him an officer of the
Legion of Honour; and he now givei him an
additional proof of his esteem by conferring upon
him this vacant see.

As for M. Magnin, the Superior of the Semi-
nary of Annecy, the Government was anxious to
nominate a Savoyard to the first vacant appoint-
ment that should occur in the French depart-
ments of Savoy, and the first vacant one being
the office of bishop, M. Magnin was at oiled
selected accordingly.

Should the Pope decline to ratify the fore-
going selections, it is hard to say what will be
the result, for public opinion approves the choice
which has been made by the Emperor in every
single instance.
I may mention that a rumour has been circu-
lated by some of the more violent of the partisans
of Rome, to the effect that a certain ecclesiastic,
high in rank, and entirely in the favour and con-
fidence of the government, has been sent to an
archbishop in the centre of France, to sound him
as to the feasibility of a project for constituting a
National Church, of which this archbishop was to
be patriarch. This report had acquired so much
ooncifizteney, that tho 000leoinn4io rcrerrca tCI
thought it right to write to the archbishop, who
replied at once that no overtures of the kind had
ever been made to him. The report was subse-
quently traced to a well-known writer, who has
been obliged publicly to disavow it ; and there
the matter rests in the meantime. That the story
is not altogether destitute of foundation, however,
I feel quite convinced.

The utmost possible indignation seems every-
where to be expressed on the subject of the deli-
vering up of Count Trelek,i a Hungarian noble-
man, by the Saxon Government to the Government
of Vienna. It is, moreover, most positively stated
that the illustrious exile, who had been compelled
to return for a time to Germany, by purely pri-
vate reasons, was not in the slightest degree
mixed up with any proceedings hostile to the
Austrian Government.

SUSPECTED MURDER IN DERBYSHIRE.—On Christ,
mas Day morning, Samuel White, the horse-keeper to
Mr. Greaves, of the Rutland Arms Inn, Bakeweil,
Derbyshire, on going to his stable, found a female dead
in one of the stalls, six horses being in the place. She
could not have been frozen to death there, though the
night was severe. Information was given to the police,
and a surgeon called in by Superintendent Rust. The
body was removed to the union, and the coroner sent
for. A strict investigation will take place, as no do/abt
remains but that this female has been violated and died

from foul usage. Two navvies have been detained at.
the Bakewell lock-up, and a clue has been obtained
which it is hoped will bring this painful case to light..
Great sensation has been caused in the town through
this sad affair, many persons thinking this female has
been brutally used and murdered. The inquest before
the coroner will unravel the affair, and set the many
rumours floating about at rest.
THE SPIDER'S INDUSTRY.—A room in a house of one
of the principal ecclesiastics in Oporto was set apart for
the reception of a quantity of maize, or Indian corn,
which had been thrashed out. It is well known that
each of these grains of wheat must be at least as heavy
as three or four grains of our common wheat. On
visiting this room one day its owner perceived a grain
of the maize suspended from the ceiling of the room by
a single thread thrown out by a spider, and which was,
from time to time, gradually but slowly drawn upwards.
Surprised at this very unusual sight, he invited several
persons to witness it, and amongst others my three in-
formants. What the motive of the spider was, in
endeavouring to secure this heavy grain of wheat, and
draw it up to its nest on the ceiling, I will not attempt
to account for, as it is so contrary to the usual habits of
these interesting insects; but it is a curious fact that a
single thread thrown out from the body of a spider
should be able to bear the weight it did.—E. Jesse, ig•
Once a Week.

DESPERATE STRAGGLE WITH A THIEF.—For some
time past numerous depredations—some of them of a
rather serious character —have been committed in the
neighbourhood of Warrington; and on Monday last a.
desperate-looking Irishman, named Michael Clancy, was
brought before the borough magistrates in that town,
charged with stealing a large quantity of potatoes, the
property of Mr. Fory, a farmer. As an. officer of the
county constabulary was going his usual rounds about
midnight he saw a man (who proved to be the prisoner)
coming along the road with a bag across his shoulders.
The officer secreted himself by the roadside until the
man got opposite to him, when he sprang upon him,
and a desperate struggle ensued. The prisoner had
with him an iron crow-bar, about two an.d a half feet
in length—a most formidable weapon --with which he
aimed three separate blows at the policeman's head ;
but, fortunately, the policeman was able to ward them
off with his stick. The fellow took to his heels; the
officer sounded his whistle, and being joined by another
policeman they, gave chase, and, after a hard run for a
mile and a half, succeeded in taking him into custody.
The prisoner was sentended to
meat with hard labour. four months' imprison-