The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-02 00:00:00

The British Aminological Institute,

WAIMIM, Monday.
The congress assembled again to-day at the Court-house
here, under the presidency of Lord Neaves, for the reading
of the following papers :
"On the Early Mints of Warwick," by E. Hawkins,
Esq. ; a paper of little general interest.
"On Recent Discoveries at St. Alban's," by Mr S.
Sharpe. Mr Sharpe, in his paper, said he was led to this
inquiry by coming upon the Beech Bottom, in the neigh-
bourhood of St. Alban's, a very remarkable ditch about a
mile long, which might be compared to a deep railway cut-
ting, the depth varying from 20 to 30 feet. The banks are
covered with wood, and it is so obviously an ancient mili-
tary work that he (Mr Sharpe) was led to search for traces
of its continuation, and he came to the conclusion that the
fortification was about 24 miles long by l miles broad, em-
bracing the town of St. Alban's. Ca33ar describes the city
of Cassivelaunus in the sth Book of the Gallic War as being
fortified by woods and marshes, and then holding a large
number of men and cattle who had come together there as
a place of safety; and he says that when the Britons had
fortified with bank and ditch woods which were nearly im •
passable, so that they might take refuge there from the in-
cursions of their enemies, they called the place a town.
Ca3sar did not give any name to the town, but it was pro-
bably called Verulam, the name given by the Romans to
their fortified camp in the neighbourhood. The name of
the tribe, the Cassii, and of their leader, Cassivelaunus, may
yet be traced in Cassiobury, the name of the hundred
in which St. Alban's stands. The British fortified area
was about twelve times the size of the well-walled
Roman camp on the other side of the ruin; a good deal
of it has been filled up, and the space reclaimed by
agricultural operations; but sufficient remained of signs
of art to trace it on the map. The whole town of St.
Alban's, a common, and several farms are enclosed in it.
In conclusion, Mr Sharpe recorded his opinion that if
the boundaries of the town of Cassivelaunus was cor-
rectly traced there was no work of art in the British isles
that could boast of greater antiquity than the ditch called
the Beech Bottom. It was the only fortification that could
be shown to have been made before Caesar landed on our
shores.

"On the Black Book of Warwick," by G. Robinson,
Esq. The interest in this paper was a good deal local. It
recorded Warwickshire events as far back as the reign of
William and Mary, and among the entries is a record of the
visit of Queen Elizabeth to Kenilworth Castle, on which
occasion her 'Majesty is represented as having " laid at
Kenilworth days" (the blank is not filled up in the record)
her household lying at Warwick at the same time.
" Oa the Portraits, Bust, and Cast of Shakespere," by
Mr Craig. This was a paper taking a phrenological view
of the bust and portraits of Shakspere. The writer cbirfly
extended his notice to the bust on the monument in Strat-
ford Church, the Chandos portrait, the Jansen portrait,
and the cast said to be from the face and forehead of Shaks -
pore, taken after death. Mr Craig doubted the statement,
believing the cast had been taken during the poet's life.
Although the Chandos portrait was the most attractive, he
did not think it could be relied on as a genuine portrait of
the bard. Of the Jansen portrait, he said that Jansen lived
in England a few years before the death of Shakspere ; that
he painted portraits for Lord Southampton and others dur-
ing the last five or six years of the poet's life, and he con-
sidered that his picture had the best claim to the considera-
tion of the students of Shakspere as a veritable semblance
of his outward form.

One of the most interesting papers read during the
sitting of the congress was, perhaps, that of Dr. Hook,
Dean of Chichester, " On the Life and Times of John
De ,Stratford." The very reverend compiler of this
paper observed that Stratford-on-Avon was, towards
the close of the thirteenth century the birth-place of
two brothers, both of whom were bishops, one of
whom was Archbishop of Canterbury, and both of them
High Chancellors of England. The parents of Archbishop
John De Stratford were Robert and Isabel, who were nearly
related to another Stratford celebrity, Ralph Halton De
Stratford, Bishop of London. John became Fellow of Mer.
ton College, Oxford ; in 1314 he was Archdeacon of Lincoln
and shortly after a canon of York. In 1320 he became
Judge of the Court of Arches, Between 1321 and 1323 he
was engaged in frequent embassies to the Papal Court of
Avignon, In 1323 the Bishop of Winchester died suddenly
at Avignon, and the death of a prelate us curia whilst in
attendance at the Papal Court gave the Pope the right o
nominating his successor. The Archbishop of Canterbury
solicited the appointment of John De Stratford, and the
King, Edward 11., was as urgent for the appointment of
Robert de Baldock, a creature of the Spencers. The Pope
nominated John De Stratford, which excited the indigna-

tion of the King, and John Ds Stratford was accordingly
subjected to bitter persecution. He was recalled from the
embassy and deprived of his bishopric, and the vengeance
of the whole faction was directed against him. At last, how-
ever, a reconciliation was effected, and on the 28th of June,
1324, the temporalities of the see were restored to him, but

for the recognition of his authority he was sentenced to pay
a fine of £lO,OOO to the King—a payment which, however,
was not enforced. The state of the King came under the
consideration of Parliament, and it being decided that the
King should cease to reigns to John De Stratford was as •
signed the delicate and difficult task of drawing up the rea-
sons to be constitution.ny —•-•...r0d0 extreme.
Atter a touching sketch of the manner in which the King
received the announcement, and a graphic account of the
formalities observed when the official decision was made
known by the commission, when Edward, after swooning
away, with tears coursing down his cheeks, acknowledged
ho had governed badly, and agreed to abdicate, the very
rev. dean proceeded to say that John De Stratford was ap-
pointed one of the 12 regents of the young king. This
arrangement, he observed, was not likely to be satisfactory
to Queen Isabella and Mortimer, and therefore the destruc-
tion of John De Stratford was determined upon. The first

step taken by his enemies was to call on him to pay the
£lO,OOO which he had incurred for the King's recognition
of his appointment to the bishopric of Winchester. He
accordingly took refuge in various places, but found means
of communicating with the young King, and on the 28th of
November, 1330, he was restored to honour, and received
the Great Seal of the kingdom, and was released from per-
secution. The King and John Da Stratford then went
over to France, and visited the various shrines to which
they had vowed pilgrimages during the struggle with Mor-
timer. John Da Stratford retained the office of Chancellor
four years, and as Edward described it in the " Sibellas
Jamosas"—" He was to the King as a father, and was, next
to him, the admired of all men." He was, therefore, justly
entitled to bo ranked with the greatest statesmen this country
had produced. On the death of At chbishop Leatham ho
was translated to the see of Canterbury, and afterwards
resigned the Great Seal. In January, 1335, however, ho
was again appointed Chancellor, and in 1339 he again re-
signed the office. Again, on 30th April, 1340, he was re-
appointed, only, however, to resign the office in the following
June. Although no breach had arisen between him and the
King a new set of councillors had risen up around Edward,
and John Do Stratford was not listened to with the defer-
ence once paid to him, The very rev. dean then gave a
lengthy account of the conflict between the archbishop
and his enemies—of his determination to attend parliament
when summoned, without answering to any other tribunal
than one composed of his peers, and of the attempt by
armed force to prevent him gaining access to the Hoare
of Parliament until he had first answered to the charges
ebffroeuctghtthaatgabiensbad con
against himinnsethlleedCtole uirt of Exchequer, to the
Kin;
to enter upon
war, and after pledging his credit fur the money borrowed
of the merchants of Flanders, had neglected and refused to
fulfil his bond, and that in consequence of his neglect in
supplying the King with money the war had been pro-
tracted. To these John De Stratford published a complete

tional clergy and upwards of 30 aiddaittitohneayr
had
reason agents. He thought that that was as much Emcees' s
as they could have anticipated, and th
reason to thank God and take courage for that
amount of success which had attended their efforts.
It would be remembered that at the first meeting
which was held at London House there was Some
hesitation as to the amount of money which should,
be asked for. They thought to ask for £lOO,OOO i
ten years, but providentially that was overruled.
He feared that if they had made that fatal mistake
people would hare been satisfied with that, and
would have given nothing more. It was, however,
suggested at that meeting that £lOO,OOO would be
asked for each of the ten years, amounting to a
million for the whole period. Now, in little more
than the first year £75,000 had been actually paid
to the fund out of the £lOO,OOO asked for, leaving
a deficiency of £25,000. It was, of course, imros.
sible for him to say whether their friends would be
more generous and charitable next year and in future
yvaerairosu. s
pTahy had
rpeosesuproade x3l,g9r6aoa,tasnodf pi t
hcaeyhtaal mdspuleds forged
themselves to three societies for lay agents—clergy
and Scripture readers—to the extent of £5,000 for
ten years, makilig £50,000. They had given guam.
rantees also for lay agents for this year, in addition.,
of £8,320, which they hoped to continue in future
years. In the other case they had given a pledge
to continue them. If the latter cums were ma_

tinued for the ten years they would amount to
£83,200. These sums added together would slit iw
them the nature of the work they had to do ; but
looking to the probability that in future years they
would receive a great deal more than they had yet
received, they had no reason to be afraid that what
they had done would lead to any evil results. The
balance sheet then stood as follows .—Received and
promised, £151,000, of which £75,000 had been,
actually paid ; £31,960 had been given in capit4l
sums for sites of various kinds and for missionary
chapels and churches ; £50,000 actually promised,
and grants of £8,320, which, if renewed for tcn
years, would make £83,200. He thought that state
of things could not be looked upon as discouraging,
although it was a state of things which obvioubly
called for great exertions from all friends of the
cause.

Mr T. BODLEY, the secretary, read the report,
which entered into details on the points raised in
the bishop's speech.
The EAri of HARROWBY, in moving the adoptir on
of the report, said he thought the observations ,of
the bishop on the present condition of things ,0? as
the truest possible representation of their sum ;Bs.
They ought not to bo puffed up, and they certai ❑ly
ought not to be discouraged. Thu had not reached
the tenth part of what they required, at Roast n of to
be operated upon, but, considering the great, diffi-
culty there was in putting in motion so large a me.
chine, it was nit so much amiss that they had made
a fresh demand successfully to that extent. He could,
not but hope that, when they had been a litt'Ae
longer under weigh, their work would speak mare
eloquently to the hearts of the people than any
papers or statistics. He was much inclined to hope
that they would progressively get into new strata
of society, for there were ample resources if they
could but reach them. He placed much reliance
upon the system of the offertory, which at one time
had a bad sound, but which had now lost its party
character. He thought they should have local come
mittees and constant appeals to the congregations
of the church. By these two means he trusted they
would be able to reach all classes of society.

Earl GROSVENOR, M.P., in seconding the motion,
said that there was something very satisfactory in

he working of local committees. He might men•

tion as an instance in the local committee of his own,
district that a bailder residing at Brompton had at
once offered a site for a church.

The motion was unanimously adopted.
Some discussion on the rules for the future
guidance of the committee, in which Lord Sandon,
Prebendary Burgess, Sir T. W. Waller, and other
gentlemen took part having finished,
Mr. F. S. POWELL, M.P„ moved a vote of thanks
to the bishop, to whom he said the diocese and the
Church generally ought to be deeply grateful.
Sir E. PEARSON seconded the motion, which was
carried by acclamation.
The Bishop of LONDON briefly acknowledged the
compliment, repeating his thanks to the gentlemen
who bad so energetically acted on the committee.
The board then proceeded to make grants in aid
of the most spiritually destitute districts in the
metropolitan diocese.