The Express.
London, England, 1867-01-14 00:00:00

LIFEBOAT SERVICES.

PORTHDINLLAEN, NORTH WALE% Jt.N. 12.

During a heavy gale from N.N.E. this morning
(reports the Rev. John Hughes) the smack C►therine, of
liermouth, bound to that port from Liverpool, with •
general cargo, anchored too far to leeward in Porth-
dinllaen Bay, and at low water struck the ground, on
which she for sonic time beat heavily. On seeing the
dangerous position of the vessel, the Cotton Sheppard
lifeboat of the National Lifeboat Institution was ►t once
launched. On reaching the smack, which had parted one
of her anchors, the master availed himself of the
assistance of the lifeboat, and some of the men from the
boat were put on board, and ultimately the vessel and her
crew were brought safely into harbour. But for this
timely aid the vessel must have become • total wreck in a
very short time; and this is • fresh instance of the great
advantage of having • lifeboat stationed here.
SWANSEA, JAL 12.

During very rough weather, on the morning of
the 9th instant (says Alfred Sterry, Esq.) the
lifeboat Wolverhampton, belonging to the National
Lifeboat Institution, was launched in reply to
bignabs of distress shown by • vessel in the bay.
Alter speaking several ships in the outer roadsteads
the lifeboat ultimately
.found • French_ schooner
with her ensign in the rigging. She had lost two anchors
and had her sails split. Some of the crew of the lifeboat
were put on board the vessel, and the lifeboat also secured
the servioes of a steamer to tow the disabled vessel into
Swansea. She was the Jean d'Arc, of Nantes, bound
from Swansea to that place with coal, and she would
doubtless have been lost but for the assistance rendered
by the lifeboat.

The Emperor Napoleon has twice visited the
Thfatre Francais to witness the same play, Madlle. de la
Trig/lire, a drama which treat, of the legitimists' depre-
ciation of Napoleon I. with satirical power.
A Vienna letter says :—" The Austrian notions
of club life are rather curious ; but there are one or two
clubs in Vienna which are not so unlike a sixth-rate Lon-
don club, e.g., the Casino, the Commercial Club—which,
by the way, is all card, billiard, and supper rooms, with a
furtive little chamber to read in—and the Union, a really
comfortable, roomy, even luxurious club, with a facade of
splendid windows overlooking the Freyung, liveliest but
one of all open spaces in Vienna. The reading-room,
drawing-room, and billiard-room of the Union are models
of convenience and elegance. An English clubsman would,
however, be rather surprised to see, in a corner of the
last-named apartment, a huge grand piano !"

Major O'Reilly, M.P., has delivered a lecture at
Dundalk on the subject, " Is catholicism an impediment
to material prosperity V' The lecturer pointed out that
England attained " almost unexampled prosperity " under
the guidance of Cardinal Wob,ey, while, " with the
Reformation it declined in freedom, wealth, and power ;"
that Spain attained the zenith of her prosperity when most
catholic ; that the foremost amongst Roman catholic
countries is Trance, the " eldest daughter of the church."
He therefore held that catholicism was not an impediment
to the welfare of any nation. Any superiority of the **-
called protestant North of Ireland, he declared in conclu-
sion, was due not to its protestantism, but to the fact that
for nearly 100 years, and up to the close of the first quarter
of the present century, she was specially favoured by the
laws and her industry fostered.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
(THIS DAY.)

COURT OF CHANCERY.
(Before the Chief Clerk.)
THE DINING HALLE COMPANY (LIMITED).
In the winding-up matter of the Dining Halls Company
(Limited), under which premises were opened in Fleet,
street and Market-street, Oxford-street, to supply the
working classes and others with dinners on " reasonable
terms," an application was made on the part of a creditor
for payment of his debt.
On the part of the liquidator it was stated there were
funds, but not available. The property in Fleet-street
bad been realised, and a call was to he made on the
16th inst., when it would be seen what debts were to be
paid, and the amount of call required to be made to
wind up the matter.
The Chief Clerk (Mr. Church) ordered the matter to
to stand over until after the call. A lady shareholder
forwarded a letter to the Chief Clerk to know whether she
should have any more to pay, and the solicitors in the case
were directed to forward the required information. .