The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-09 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL WARR MARKETS.

UTztroot. Aroc,r 3,—Sales to-day : Great Tasters, m
1 U-Great Western, 421 3—lanhlre and Yorkshire,
I—Lodlem, liriAteie, and South Coact, 50, an. ditto new las.
43 Ms., 213 p.—Lendon and North Western, 11211.1.11=1
13 1 /X I e—Munehestar, shentetd, and 411
te 1-31ett.peolltan, UM 4 1 151 5 1 I—Midland, 117 111 1 1.
17 111 1 1 11Itliat I—douth Eastene, 6tl 1 5 41 I—Great
Easters. Ewa 0 per cent. 13,1001—Lancaster and Carlisle.
206—Doe Pedro .'Leerth del Rey, 11 le—United States L2O, ler4
7341—dIttee. 1605. 721—Dutch Rhenish, new, j p.—Great Luxem-
bourg shares, 101 1— Liverpool United Gas, 205.

NEW HuN. —The first pocket of 1867 growth,
weighing Iced. 2qrs. 2111 i., was this morning sent
into the market, consigned to Messrs. Austen and
Sweet, hop-faetors, Borough, and meld by them to
Messrs. %VI/Swarth, Crafhaui, and Co., hop merchants,
Borough, at 30 guineas per cwt., by whom it has been
resold to Messrs. John Jones and Co., Oswestry.
Thu grower is Mr. J. H. Thomson, jun., of
lloatlands, Breechley, Kent (from whose plants-
don the first pocket of Kentish boos was produced
last year). Taking into consideration the early period of
its arrival, this year's pocket is allowed to be a very fair
sample, and is from the stook of Mr. T. Gnat's now well-
known early prolific,.
FALMOUTU, AUGUST B.—The New York and
Havre Company's steamer Fulton, Captain Townsend,
arrived here at 3p.m. to-day. She embarked 100 passengers,
racks of mails, end proceeded for New York at 4 p.m.
" TEMPORARY UNIONS " IN PEssia. Among
the Persians, the principle of "temporary unions" has
been organised into religion, and the °erosional is per-
formed by t!..J Mohammedan priests. Merchants, who
come from a distant city—suppose to Ispahfai —often reside
there for two or three months, while waiting for goods.
Finding it rather tedious, they beguile the time by marry-
ing a wife for a number of months specified in the marriage
contact. The process is straightforward and business-
like. The merchant calls in the priest, and tells what he
wants. The priest examines his book, and finds therein
registered thy names of women who are willing, for a con-
ration, to enter into temporary marriage ; and ascer-
tains how many of them are disengaged. What further is
dose we do not know, but, we believe, he ensembles them
veiled, and 1.4 a the merchant pick out one ; however, it
ends with his drawing out a regular marriage certificate,
and pocketing his fee. An estimable Scotch military offi-
cer, who had for some years the charge of the Persian
arsenal at Tabrees, under the treaty of the East India
Company with the King of Persia, assured the writer of
these lines that he hail seen and read such marring° con.
tracts, ail avoid testify as eye-witness that a sinole day
was not too short a duration of marriage to receive the
priest's blessing and license ! Of emir's those who first
authorised this wonderful system, had no foresight of the
monstrosity into which it would run. They must have
believed that they would lessen existing evil, and act
seisiest the loathsome system of prostitution. But when
once the fatal idea is admitted that • union which is In-
tended to last some time shorter than life is marriage at
all, and de...Rives honourable recognition ; instead of
curing the evil which 'exists. it does but degrade and
pollute the miuisters of the new system.—?rowers
Alaprine for August.