The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-11 00:00:00

ACCIDENT AT RUGBY STATION,

Last evening as Mr. Mitchell, the manager of the re-
freshment-rooms at the railway station at Rugby, was
about to cross from the up to the down side, the 8.3 up
train, which was just coming alongside the platform,
knocked him down and carried him with it some thirty
yards. His body was found literally cut to pieces.

THE, WRECK OF THE BLUE JACKET.
Particulars have been received of the wreck of the
barque Blue Jacket. On her voyage from Kobe to
Falmouth lately, she struck on a reef off the Jaspar
Island. The vessel soon filled. The crew took to their
boats, and attempted to land, but a number of savage
Malays, armed with knives, prevented them from doing
so. Savages from a neighbouring island got to the wreck,
and took possession of the Blue Jacket. Fortunately a
Liverpool ship bore in sight, and rescued the unhappy
sailors from their awkward dilemma.

ACCIDENT TO THE SCREW-STEAMER AVON.
The screw-steamer Avon, Young master, 1,230
tons, was brought into Guernsey Roads yesterday by a
steam tug. Her machinery was damaged yesterday in a
gale. She was laden with provisions and ammunition for
the French army at Bordeaux from Liverpool.

A GIANTESS AND HER HUSBAND CHARGED

WITH BIGAMY.

At Hanley (Staffordshire) yesterday, Thomas Stevens,
the owner of a menagerie, was charged with intermarry-
ing with Ellen Reader, at Manchester, in May last, his
wife, who is a travelling "giantess," being alive. The
evidence shewed that after having lived together for a
number of years, Stevens gave his wife her exhibition
van £2OO, and left her. Subsequently he
supplied her with a further sum of £5O, she
undertaking not to niolest him in any way,
and in May last he married Ellen Reader, she being
acquainted with all the facts of the case. Stevens was
committed for trial, and a warrant was granted against
the " giantess " for bigamy, a witness stating that he was
present when she was married to a person named -William
Day.

ASSAULT ON ORANGEMEN.
Yesterday Patrick Lee and John Lee were found guilty,
and John Flynn pleaded guilty, at the Newton Batler
Sessions, to having maliciously waylaid and assaulted
three men, named Robert Humphreys, Francis
Humphreys, and Alexander Veitch, while returning
from Ballyconnel Fair in October last. The persons
assaulted were Orangemen, the prisoners being Catholics.
The latter were sentenced to imprisonment for two
months, one month, and a fortnight respectively.

THE NEW POSTMASTER-GENERAL.
Mr. Issac Butt, Q. C., is mentioned as the candidate
whom the Home Government Association in Dublin will
bring forward in opposition to Mr. Mousell, who through
his appointment as Postmaster-General has to seek a re-
newal of the suffrages of the electors of the county of
Limerick.

MR. ELLICE, M.P., AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.
Mr. Ellice, M.P., addressing a meeting of his consti-
tuents at Cupar, Fifeshire, last night, took a retrospect of
the legislation of the past session, speaking in favour of
undenominational and unsectarian educational measures,
with compulsion in large towns. Mr. Ellice expressed a
doubt as to the wisdom of the course the Government had
taken in releasing the Fenian prisoners.

THE GOVERNMENT LICENSING BILL.
The Rev. Canon Payne Smith, D.D., Regius Professor,
presided last night over a large meeting held in Oxford,
at which resolutions were. passed in favour of the Permis-
sive Prohibitory Liquor Traffic Bill, and of urging the
Government to insert such clauses in the licensing bill
which it has promised to introduce as shall make it illegal
to force the liquor traffic into any district in opposition to
the will of the inhabitants.

BISHOP WILBERFORCE ON EDUCATION.
The Bishop of Winchester, speaking at Southampton
yesterday, urged that if it were possible to avoid the ap.
pointment of a school board it would be better to do
so. The education of children, his ordship went on to
say, must be a uniform progress of body, soul, and
mind. If one of these were developed to the injury of

the others, the result would be, not an
elevation, but a depraving of the child. The
education of the mind at the expense of the soul was as
disastrous in its effects, though perhaps not so patent to
the eye, as the development of the mind at the expense
of the body. If the whole duty of educating the nation
were observed, every person would be provided with a
Christian education ; for how could the country flourish
if the next generation were one of men who, mentally
speaking, were distorted

THE MINERS' CONFERENCE AT MAN.

CHESTER.

The conference in connection with the Miners' National
Association was opened at Manchester yesterday after-
noon. The meeting was attended by delegates from
nearly every important colliery in the United Kingdom,
and, according to a statement by the secretary, directly
represented a constituency of 112,000 grown miners, mem-
bers of the Union. The president of the meeting, Mr.
Macdonald, criticised the provisions of the Home Secre-
tary's Mines Regulations Bill. He expressed great regret
that, upon the untenable plea that the Education Act
had made it necessary, Mr. Bruce had thought fit to de-
cline dealing specially in his measure with the education of
miners' children. Mr. iMacdonald urged the conference
to memorialise the Home Office upon this omission. Then
the bill was defective in other respects. The limitation of
the hours of labour for youths to fourteen per day was
quite insufficient; eight hours work in a mine was quite
enough for a youth in any one day. The miners, more.
over, required every safeguard that the provisions of the
bill shall be carried out after they become law. The ex-
tension of the system of inspection by the appointment of
a large corps of sub-inspectors who would see every mine in
the kingdom daily, was a benefit which should be be-
stowed. The managers should also be made more respon-
sible by the imposition of fines of £5O or £lOO
for every defect in the ventilation of their mines.
They should also be made liable for loss of life or personal
injury traceable to the neglect of their servants. Resolu-
tions were adopted by the Conference to the effect that
inspection should be extended to all mines in the United
Kingdom; that the present system of mine inspection
being wholly unsatisfactory, unsound in theory, and im-
perfect in practice, demands improvement ; that no
effectual improvement can be made without a great in-
crease of the inspectors or sub-inspectors ; and that every
working place in every mine should be thoroughly in-
spected every three months, I and a record kept of the date
of each visit.