The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-07 00:00:00

THE MANCHESTER ST. ALBANS.

At Chatwood, in the diocese of Manchester, there is a
church whose patron saint is St. Alban, where Ritual of a
pronounced character prevails. At the annual gathering
of the members of the congregation, held on Tues-
day, on the table in the schoolroom there was a
display of chasubles, dalmatics, copes, stoles, sze.,
of amber, maroon, or white satin, all gorgeously
embroidered and otherwise embellished. Cards were
placed on these vestments announcing that they were
such as were now legal and ordered to be worn during
the celebration of Holy Communion in the Church of
England. The display attracted great attention, and it
was confidently circulated among the congregation that
those particular vestments, and none other, were autho-
rised to be worn by the recent decision of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.—ln the course of the
evening, the Rev. J. E. Sedgwick addressed his congre-
gation at considerable length. He said that a great crisis
in their history had arrived; but, whatever might be the
result as far as he was personally concerned, he was quite
sure that it would conduce to the advancement of Catholic
truth in the Church of England and of Catholic practices
therein likewise, at any rate in the North of England.
Ho believed that would be the result, though it might be
purchased at the sacrifice of himself and hie 4111141144 i
from the dloceses

•N

THE REFORM LEAGUE AND THE

BALLOT.

At the meeting of the Reform League, held on Wednes
day night, under the presidency of Mr. Edmund Beales
the following resolutions were moved :-1. "That th,
recent elections having proved the utter uselessness o.
attempting to render the House of Commons neon
truly representative of the people by returning to
any considerable number of men connected with the
artisan class or of advanced Liberal opinion, so long as the
present lavish system of expenditure of money, bribery,
treating, and coercion exists, and as the Ballot (one of the
fundamental principles of the League) is the most direct
and surest remedy for those abuses, it is the bounden duty
of the League to use its entire influence in aid of Si:
Henry Bulwer's motion, in' order that a purer and more
free system of voting by. means of the ballot
may speedily become the law of the land." 2nd.
"That it is not desirable just at present to hole
outdoor demonstrations to make the foregoing resolu-
tion effective ; but the whole country should be called
upon to take the question up ; and we suggest that public
meetings should be held in each of the metropolitan
constituencies, with the view of inducing each locality to
get up a pkition in favour of the ballot, to be presented to
Parliament as early in the coming session as possible."
Mr. Holyoake seconded the adoption of the resolutions.
and read a copy of a memorial, which he proposed should
be submitted to Parliament. In this document the fol-
lowing passages occurred :—" If the vote be a trust, every
man has a right to call his neighbour to account for the
manner in which he discharges that trust ; and after an
election the returning officer should be ordered to supply to
every elector a copy of the names and addresses of all voters
and of the candidates for whom they voted, that steps may be
taken to keep alive the sense of the responsibility of every man
to his neighbour for the vote he gives, which is the principle
of open voting. That since an election is not a deliberation
in which public opinion can silently shape the conclusion,
but a battle inwhich excited, interested, venal, and bellige-
rent partisans invoke public opinion to openly decide the
contest. public opinion can only respond, and experience
shews that it generally does respond, by becoming organised,
active, aggressive, menacing, corrupting, or intimidating,
but that At ovary olortinn a number of fair-minded, peace-
ably-disposed electors of both of the great political parties in
the State, acting under an impression that the choice of a
member is an individual and honest political preference
to be quietly, independently, and deliberatelygiven, refuse
to take part in treating, bribing, or coercing any one, or
abstain altogether from approaching the poll, in order to
protect themselves from annoyance, danger, retaliation,
and personal loss, thus repressing the manly element in
themselves and discouraging it in others. This enervating
decency—this deplorable propriety—is felt to deprive
open voting of its most salutary influences, and therefore
your memorialist prays that steps be taken to enforce
among electors recklessness of personal sacrifices and a
manly spirit of fighting and fearlessness, and that in a
general election the manly principle being honestly and
universally acted upon by a demonstrative and determined
population, it may be seen to what extent national man-
liness, decorum, and good feeling will be developed, and
this being ascertained the comparative merits of voting by
ballot can be better judged. Your memorialist therefore
prays that since voting openly is made compulsory, it
should he made compulsory upon everyone to vote—that
the virtues of open voting be equally exercised, and its
perils be impartially shared, and that the Parliamentary
theory of the vote being a public trust be enforced by the
establishment of internecine responsibility." The resolu-
tions and the memorial were adopted by the meeting.

MR• MARKHAM ON THE ABYSSINIAN

EXPEDITION:

Mr. Markham, the geographer who accompanied Lora
Napier's forces, has delivered an interesting lecture on
Abyssinia to the members of the Leeds Philosophical and
Literary Society. The lecturer began his address by
remarking that when the expedition was undertaken Abys-
sinia was almost an unknown land, and in fact geographi-
cal discovery formed part of the work of the expeditionary
force, as well as the gallant rescue. Mr. Markham then
proceeded to summarise his impressions of Abyssinia and
'its people. Owing to the mountainous character of the coun-
try the climate was more like that of Southern Europe than
tropical Africa, and in some places the scenery resembled
the interior of the Orkney Islands more than any other
place. On the slopes of the highest mountains the vege-
tation was temperate and English in its character; on
the lower slopes were trees and shrubs common to warm
climates. The birds are numerous, the largest being the
Larnon,yezer, one of which measured eight feet across the
wings. The mammalia were less numerous. Lions and
leopards were not met with on the line of march, being
chiefly found in the deep valleys ; but hymnas swarmed
everywhere, carrying off all they could get ; jackals were
also common, and small hares were plentiful on the
Lill-sides. Among the people, the man who could
boast that he had killed five men was entitled to a silver
armlet, while a more precious badge was given to him who
had slain ten ; and we may suppose that the Abyssinians
find 1;1 wild beasts troublesome, since the slayer of a lion
is credited with four lives, of an elephant with six. Speak-
ing of the religion of the people, Mr. Markham observed
that most of the priests could read and write, notwith-
standing their superstitions. Theodore, he thought, was
the most remarkable man that had appeared in Africa for
some centuries, and great allowance should be made for
his ignorance and for the low level from which he had
risen. From the time of his forlorn march to Magdala his
career might be said to have come to an end, hut at the last
many of his great qualities returned to him. He displayed
in his march over the mountains indomitable energy,
military skill, and a fertility of resource that made his
march one of the most remarkable on record. After a
lucid account of the siege of Magdala, the release of the
captives, and the death and burial of Theodore, Mr.
Markham spoke highly on the future of Abyssinia. The
great want of the country was the means of communica-
tion with the rest of Christendom, and he thought that if
the British had taken the opportunity of unlocking
the gates of the country the result would have
been a blessing to a large portion of Africa.
The lecture, which was listened to with the deepest
attention throughout, lasted for two hours, and at its
close a vote of thanks to Mr. Markham was carried with
enthusiasm.

A WORKING MEN'S MEMBER IN THE
HOUSE OF COMMONS

At the annual meetingof the Leeds branch of the Reform
League, Mr. Carter, M.P., who is its president, and was
the especial favourite of the working classes at the recent
election, addressed those present on the difficulties
now standing in the way of really radical reforms. He
said : "We have an immense work to do yet. We must not
dissolve our association, nor must we be slack or careless in
perfecting our organisation. The first great question to be
fought is that of the Irish Church—a much more difficult
question than many of us imagine. You cannot have a
better example of the difficulties Mr. Gladstone will have
to contend with than in the fact that Mr. S. Morley,
who has been a member of the Liberation Society from,
I may say, time immemorial, has withdrawn to a certain
extent from that society, because he cannot agree with
the views entertained by the leading members as to the dis-
posal of the funds of the Irish Church. He does not think
tha. any of these funds ought to be secularised, and if you
Ond Radicals holding such views, how great must be the
obstacles which the Liberal leader will have to encounter,
send how much will he stand in need of all the assistance
Which the Reform League and all other Liberal Associations
can give him ?" After mentioning the more important
questions likely to come before Parliament, and the neces-
sity there was for earnest Reformers to be always prepared
Jo do battle for them, Mr. Carter, to chew the necessity
for a spirit of energy and determination outside, said
that now, although there were Radical constituencies to
a great extent in the House of Commons, there were forty-
five eldest sons of peers learning to be legislators, when
they went up to the Upper House, and in addition to
these there were sixty-five younger sons of peers, so that
the peers of the realm had in the present Parliament
110 men who were their own sons, and they would assist to
a great 'extent to damp the energies of the Radical
Reformers. There were also 94 brothers, cousins, sons-
n-law and brothers-in-law of peers, so that in the present
House of Commons there were 204 men who were directly
related to peers of the realm. These 204 made a very
.arge slice to take off 658. Their influence was to be con-
:ended with. They were principally sent by the counties;
and in addition to 63 baronets and sons of baronet;
there were also 50 professional men, besides 100 naval
and military men, who would all go against Mr. Card-
well in his reforms in the War Department. All such
influences had to be contended against and overcome
before earnest reforms could be carried in the House. The
hon. gentleman concluded by deploring that there were
not more good, earnest, working-men representatives in
Parliament, and he said it was quite possible and easy for
the working men to have elected more if they had baC
their wits about them. They ought to have fifty or a
hundred representatives of their own, and then they would
have more influence in the proceedings and divisions c-f
the House.

The Liverpool Liberal Association Las neen consi.
dering the necessity of such an amendment of the registra-
tion laws as.would not only meet I,lm difficulties arising from
the extended trZfichise, but would put a stop t 4 the system
of issuing frivolous objections. The associationruissketch,e4
out a plan by which the evils complained of could be mate-
rially lessened, and has submitted it to the Premier in the
term of a letter.

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Criihrt
I'S if nti,4

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Jan. G.
The Queen, accompanied by Princess
.Beatrice
ad Prince Leopold, drove out yesterday after.

oon.

Her Majesty walked and drove in the grounds
his morning, accompanied by Princess Beatrice.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Tait,
trid the Dean of Westminster, had the honour of
lining with the Queen and the Royal Family yes•
erelay.

tfILI7ARY AND NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

Prince Louis of Batteuberg, son of Prince Ales•
tnder of Hesse, who has been studying with the
Rev. Edward Burney, at Gosport, having passed $
special examination at the Royal Naval College,
Portsmouth, has been appointed naval cadet to
ler Majesty's ship Ariadne, Captain Colin A.
-2ampbell, now on service as a yacht to their Royal
:lighneeses the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The Crocodile, Indian relief screw troopshiPt
.vent into harbour yesterday morning with the
roops she has brought home from Alevandria, $
letailed list of whom was given in 71ce Sun of
esterday. A portion of the troops were disembarked
tt the dockyard yesterday, and the remainder will
10 so to-day. The captain of the foretop of the
Crocodile fell overboard from the ship's fore rig'
sing at Spithead on Tuesday in the height of the
;ale, and was unfortunately drowned. The Croco.
file sailed from Alexandria on the 17th December,
.Malta on the 23d, and passed Gibraltar on the
29th. About 90 miles off Lisbon the Crocodile fell
n with the screw steamer Syrian, of Liverpool, be-
onging to Bibby, Sons, and Co., disabled, and with
Arater above the fireplaces in the boiler-room stoke'
pole. The Crocodile took her in tow twice, but,
'ailing to do much with her, lay by her for 24 hours
:nd afterwards left her for Lisbon to seek assist-
:rice, but meeting with her Majesty's ship Warrior
he communicated to her the Syrian's state and
•osition, when the Warrior proceeded to her sac'
tour and the Crocodile resumed her voyage to Eng'
Ind. She sighted her Majesty's ship Ring love,
vith a dismasted American brig in tow, and after'
yards two English steamers, each with a dismasted
Ship in tow. After passing S. Vincent the Croco-
file experienced southerly winds, with very heavl
ea, causing the ship to roll excessively, sornetimee
as much as 40 degrees. No deaths occurred during
he voyage.
The following vessels have been ordered home
ram the stations named for the purpose of being
out out of commission :—Octavia, 35, 3,161 tone,
;00 horse power, Commodor._! Sir L. G. Heath,
:.C.8., flagship in. the East Indies, where she will he
rdieved by the Forte, 29, 400 horse power, Capt. J.
1. J. Alexander, C. 8.; the Liffey, 81, 2,654 tone,
300-horse power, Captain J. 0. Johnson, frogs
North America;. the Scout, 21, 1,462 tons, 400'
horse power, Captain J. P. Price ; the Mutine, 111
382 tons, 200-horse power, Commander 11. ?ML
Alexander; and the Malacca, 13, 1,034 tons, 200'
Morse power, Captain R. B. Oklfield, from the
Pacific; the Perseus, 15, 955 tons, 200-horse
power, Commander C. S. Stevens ; the Basilisk,
3, 1,031 tons, 400-horse power, Captain W. N. "r•
Elewitt, V.C. ; and the Serpent, 4, 695 tons, 200':,
'orse power, Commander C. A. Bullock, from Chinsi :
Ind the Brisk, 16, 1,087 tons, 250-horse posirerf'
Captain C. W. Hope, from Australia.
The whole of the officers of the crew of the 1,
Formidable, late the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sit l,
Baldwin W. Walker, Commander-in-Chief at the !
Nore, has been turned over from the Royal Naval
Barracks to the Agincourt, 26, 6,621 tons, 1,350'

horse power (nominal), which has been commis'
iioned as the new flagship. Vice-Admiral Sir 13'

Walker is still unable to discharge the active dutito
of the Naval Commander-in-Chief in consequence
J f his recent severe illness, and it is understood that
will shortly proceed on leave until the period of
his commission expires. The Formidable has beell

!ntirely dismantled, and has only her lower mast°
standing. As soon as the officials connected with
-he master shipwrights' department have reported
is to her condition the Admiralty will decide as 0
.vhether she shall be retained for harbour service of
passed into the shipbreakers' hands.

The appointment of Master-Attendant and
Queen's Harbour-master at Chatham bec >lnes va'
cant to-day, on the completion by Capt. R. Stokes
of the prescribed period of five years' service. Aft
official notification has been received at Chathael
lockyard that it is not the intention of the Lords
)f the Admiralty to fill up the vacancy, the duti'
connected with which will be discharged under the
lirection of the superintendent of the establish'
went. The salary of the Master-Attendant 01
Chatham was £6OO per annum, and he had, in ad'
lition a residence in the dockyard.
The following naval commands will shortly be'
come vacant, on the completion by the flag-otficere
)f the regulated period of three years' service :-""
.kdmirol Sir Thomas S. Pasley, Commander-ie'
Chief at Portsmouth (March 1, 1866) ; Admiral
Sir Wm. F. Martin, K.C.8., Commander-in-Chief
Devonport (October 26, 1866) ; Vice-Admiral
sir Baldwin W. Walker, K.C.8., Commander-ill'
Chief at the Nore (April 5, 1866) ; Vice-Admiral
Lord Clarence E. Paget, C. 8., Commander-hr
Chief in the Mediterranean (April 28, 1866);
Rear-Admiral George Ramsay, C. 8., Commander'
in-Chief on the south-east of America (May 1,
1866) ; and Commodore R. A. Powell, C. 8., coal'
toanding the southern division of the Pacific squad'
ron (May 23, 1866).
We understand that General the Hon. Sir Chao;
Gore, G.C.8., K.H., Colonel of the 6th Foot, will
succeed to the post of Lieutenant-Governor of
Chelsea Hospital, vacant by the death of Field'
Marshal Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross.