The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONW)N, FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 2; 1869.

circumstances, but in the tone and manner of it firm,
_ _

yet impartial, at the dame time that it as thoroughly

manly and energetic. Mr. W. H. SMITH, as now one
• _

of the most conspicuously placed of all the metropo-
litan members, deprecated the notion of the House
being understood in any way to pledge itself to the
acceptance of the details of the measure by assenting
to the second reading of the bill without a divisioit wasn. If
by passing thebill through that additional stage
dearly recognised that members weresimply accepting
the principle of a commonbasis of rating, he considered,
he said, that there would be no objection on the
part of the House to postpone the consideration of the
details
caught
uunpt i l
by theyth eu
Right
tuld lion. come Gen
Gentleman
loe
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the
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daenndt
discussed minutely in committee. The suggestion
thus opportunely thrown out by the hon. member
was readily, and even, it might be said, eagerly
of the Poor-law Board, who intimated at once, in the
clearest way possible, his recognition of the fact that,
by assenting to the second reading of the measure,
the house was in no particular whatever committing
itself to any single one of the Bill's provisions. It
would merely, he said, be understood that what the
House had agreed to was the general principle
that equalization of assessment was most desirable in
the metropolis. Of course he added, there would be
considerable difference as to the best mode of arriving
at the result which all desired. Mr. GOSCHEN ex-
rressed his belief, however, that there was a general
feeling that it was most important to , bring the
question to a satisfactory settlement, and that
whatever might be the difficulties in the way of
a perfect measure, at all events the present
state of things was so unsatisfactory that it was the
duty of Parliament to put an end to it. About this,
there can hardly in point of fact two opinions. The
anomaly of the present system, or rather no-system,
is a thing flagrant and notorious. Something like
an approximation at least to an equitable assessment
in the metropolis is what every one is naturally
I aiming at. how it is to be secured, is a muter
simply for discussion, and for very s:rious
consideration. The taxation in the metropolis is at
one and the same time so enormous in its aggregate
amount, and so monstrously unequal, and therefore
unfair, in the manner of its distribution, that one and
allmust be only desirous to aid the Government, as far as
possible, in dealing with the question practically this
year, and in passing the bill in some shape before the
present session has been brought to a close. What
shape it will have to assume is obviously fur con-
sideration in the Committee. Meanwhile the Govern-
ment, according to Mr. GOSCHEN'S very distinct and
most satisfactory assurance yesterday, will cheerfully
entertain all suggestions for amending the bill as long
the general principle was maintained—namely, that
there shall be uniformity of assessment.

Among the most charming and, at the same time,
among the most benign of the many charitable insti-
tutions adorning the metropolis, are those which have
the most recently sprung into existenc3. There
is that tenderly-thought-of Creche introduced

among us within these last few months
by a noble Catholic lady, who finds her benevolent
suggestion caught up in no way as that of an alien,
by her large-hearted Protestant fellow-country-
men and fellow-countrywomen. Then, too, there is
that Hospital for Sick Children, the mere thought of

which, the mere name of which, goes straight to
the hearts of us all. CIIMILES DICKENS brought it

home to us very exquisitely in the last of his great
serial fictions, " Our Mutual Friend," where, under
the shadow of the toys, ranged along the shelves over
the tiny beds in the sleeping-room—looking for all the
world, as he said, " like the dreams of the children"—

little JOIINNY dies in the dead of the night, sending
a kiss to the Boofer lady. Yet more recently, in one
of his Uncommercial Papers in All the Year
Round, the same great writer took U 3 with
him in imagination into a kindred scene,
into a humbler place of shelter for little ones,
somewhere down at the East End of the metropo-
lis. And now another distinguished and generous-
hearted writer, worthy son of a worthy sire, not less
,n tender spmpathies than in humorous conceits
—Tom Hoop—has taken US back again to
the Elder Institution in Great Ormoud-street,
Bloomsbury, has induced us to observe with
him, or to cut it in other words, has enabled us to
see through his eyes and hear through his ears, the
sights and sounds, greeting any one who, any day, may
visit the Hospital for Sick Children, and there examine
fur himself what Tom HOOD prettily calls " Lilliput
Lodgas." Whoever, by happy accident, may light
upon the eight pages of the tiny brochure or lirraison
daintily embellished with woodcuts, in which the
author last named recounts his experiences as an eye-
witness in regard to " Life in Lodgings," will surely
have his heart turned towards that tender Charity, his
feet incited to a pilgrimage thither, his hand con-
strained to extend itself with some kindly offering
of benevolence.

- THE elections which took place on Tuesday sug-
gest a few remarks. In two instances the unseated
members have been succeeded by men of the
the same political views. The inference which we

draw from this fact is different from that drawn by

the Times. Our contemporary infers that a con-
stituency does not like to have its members peti-
tioned against, and marks its resentment by return-
ing men as nearly as possible of the same opinions as

the victims'. This is a by no means necessary
inference. It is but natural that the circumstances
which led to the election of two Liberals or two
Tories in November should lead to the election of

two Liberals or two Tories in March. No new poli.

tical question has arisen in the interval. The Irish
Church was the prominent topic in the autumn ; it

is the prominent topic in the spring. Coercion and
intimidation may perhaps be less open at Blackburn
now than it was then, but there is little doubt that it
has been equally oppressive. It is by no means
creditable to the borough that one of the
gentlemen who signed the famous circular
to the masters of cotton mills at the general
election should now be chosen as the representative

of that borough. At Hereford the case was widely
different. In that city the two sitting members
were unseated because an over-eager supporter had
given a 'dinner to certain electors long before the
election, and, as he declares, without the smallest
intention of influencing the election. There has been
no other.instance of members unseated for so small
a cause as this ; and remembering that Messrs.
CAWLEY and CHARLEY still retain their seats for
Salford, although cabs ad libitum were employed for
the conveyance of voters, we can only wonder
at the glorious uncertainty of the law, even when
that law is newly-framed and is administered an.:
interpreted by some of the acutest lawyers in the
kingdom. But the net result is that in Blackburn
two young Conservative gentlemen have been chosen
instead of their Conservative fathers ; and that in
Hereford a junior CLIVE has taken the place of a
senior CLIVE, and that Mr. CIIANDOS WREN Hos-
KYNS, a very able agriculturist, has succeeded Mr.
WYLLIE, a very able Anglo-Indian. The political
balance, if such a term can be applied to the present
inequality of parties, is undisturbed by these elec-
tions. _ _ . .

It is otherwise when we come to Dumfriesshire.
There the Conservatives have gained a very material
triumph, which must be to them a source of immense
gratification. There was scarcely any defeat which
caused them more mortification at the general elec-
tion than this of the great Duke of BUCCLEUCH by
a London tradesman. Political and social prejudices
were alike wounded to.the quick,.and.keen was the
satisfaction when a technical error was discovered at

the victor's expense. There is no doubt that Sir
SYDNEY WATEELOW took the Duke and his friends
somewhat by surprise. They could not believe that
any' serious opposition was meant to the ducal
nominee, and they failed to work as hard as they
would otherwise have done. The result skewed that
they had fallen into the always perilous mistake of
unduly despising their adversary. The Duke was van-
quished, the tradesman was victor. It is not often
that an opportunity for retrieving an error is given
so speedily as it was in this case. Sir SYDNEY'S
excess of caution—his desire to retain his busi-
ness if he did not win the seat—had led
him into a false position ; sitting between
two stools he came to the ground, and found himself
out of his business and out of Parliament at the
same time. His endeavour to retrieve his blunder
has not been successful. The fight was a very severe
one. The Conservatives, no longer underrating
their antagonists' strength, brought up sixty-one more
electors than they did in November, and Sir SYDNEY
for some reason brought up nineteen less, and thus his
majority of 44 was converted into a minority
of 36. What the reason was it will not be difficult
for anyone who has read the Scotch newspapers to
explain. It may be told in one word, " Maynooth."
Sir SYDNEY was beaten, and ducal influence and
religious bigotry prevailed. Mr. GLADSTONE will no
doubt seriously consider this incident, He will
have to weigh well if, in attempting to do bare
justice, he is strong enough to despise one of the
most paltry and miserable political cries ever
raised.

THE WIGAN COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

Again has the danger attending the working of collieries
been illustrated by a fearful example, and the neighbour-
hood of Wigan is again the scene of the disaster. In the
Park-lane or Highbrooks Colliery, belonging to Messrs.
Mercer and Evans, twenty-eight men have lost tbeir lives,
and more names are likely to be- added to the list of
killed ere it is closed. The colliery is already
noted for its danger. A more unfortunate one we
are told does not exist. It is situatedat Ashton, in Meeker-
field, about four miles from Wigan, a mile from the high
road from Ashton to Wigan, and at the top of a single
line of railway. It was here that in 1865 over 100 colliers
were imprisoned several days by the breakage of the machi-
nery, and here also in 1866 an explosion occurredby which
thirty persons lost their lives. An adjacent colliery
belonging to the firm was on fire for many months, so that
Messrs. Mercer and Evans have of recent years been very
considerable sufferers. The Highbrooks Colliery consists
of two shafts, an upcast and a downcast, both originally
sunk to work the Orrell five-feet seam, which is found in
the upcast at a distance of 230 yards from the surface. In
the downcast, however, it was found that a fault occurred
which had the effect of throwing the Orrell four-feet, or
Arley Mine, and which should lie 60 yards below the five
feet, to a point 60 yards above it, or at least 120 feet out
of its ordinary position. The winning of this four-feet
seam has been a matter of no ordinary difficulty, for, as
the work has advanced, fault after fault has obstructed
the progress of the work. The seam, too, so notably a
gaseous one, has had to be got with the greatest caution, and
every means has been adopted which could be suggested to
secure the safety of the workmen. All the lamps were locked
and examined by the fireman; no collier was allowed to
fire a shot unless the fireman had first examined his place
and given him permission, and care was taken to secure
the services of the most competent men as underlookers
and their assistants. The pit is divided into three dis-
tricts, in which the ventilation is distinct, and an explosion
occurring in one would be thus localised. The district in
which the explosion on Thursday occurred is the south
district, where there are fourteen working places.
The Manchester Courier, telling the story of the
disaster, says that Thursday was what is kriown among
the colliers as "making-up day "—the last day of the
fortnight's reckoning—consequently all the hands employed
at the colliery were at work. Nearly 100 men and boys
went down at six o'clock ; the ventilation was then
reported by the fireman, Richard GOllOll, as in excellent
condition, and the clay's operations commenced. Several
of the miners had drilled shot-holes the previous evening,
and, in compliance with the rules and observances of the
mine, Gorton was consulted respecting the firing of one
of these in a place worked by a collier named Leyland,
situate about 560 yards from the shaft in a downward
direction, and 360 yards on the dip side of the pit. It is
generally believed by the miners who have since made an
examination of the locality, that Gorton, who was seen
going in the direction of this place some time before the
disaster, had fired the shot ; that it. had been what is
known as a " fast shot ;" had failed to bring away
the coal, and firing either a sudden emission of
gas, or—as some of the men aver—communicating the
flame to the coal dust circulating in the mine, created a
blast which, passing with deadly effect through the
various workings in that part of the mine, scorched those
who failed to make their escape. This was about seven in
the morning. The first intimation received at the
bank of the pit of what had occurred below
was the usual sudden and dense blast from the shaft
mouth. Knowing instantly what had taken place, those
at hand at once took steps for the rescue of
such as might be alive in the pit. Happily the ventilation,
although it had become reversed, speedily restored itself,
and an exploring party were descending the shaft in a
very brief space of time after the occurrence. In the
pit itself what bad happened was not generally known
at first ; and some men who were working within fifty
yards of the shaft were unaware of what had happened.
Others, however, were attracted by the noise, and
the news soon spread. At the mouth all was
soon commotion and excitement ; the excitement
common to such occasions, which has been so often de-
icribed, produced by the anxiety of friends and relatives.
It was not long before those who intended to work came
forward, declared their intention, and the exploring party
was soon organised.
The exploring party which first went down was under
the command of Mr. Sharrock, the underlooker. The
only difficulty experienced was to have the party suffici-
ently small to utilise the air that was in the pit. It was
found that the stoppings and doors had been blown out,
and much of the roof loosened, but by means of bratticing,
which the party put up as they went along, a current of
air was established. The morning was very far advanced.
The first thing to be done was to get the uninjured work-
men, and those in the other part of the colliery being
apprised of what had happened were soon on the surface.
It was then ascertained that about forty remained in the
dip side of the workings, and, under the direction of Mr.
Mercer, a search was made in this part of the mine. In a
slow and often interrupted passage through the workings,
owing to the fallen fitoppings, portions of roof and other,
debris, the exploring party found many who had been,
burned or were suffering from the effects of choke-damp.
As they went on they discovered that a large number of
lives had been lost. 'Very many dead.bodies were found
in the district where the fireman, Gorton, had gone in the
performance of his duty, and upon the dip side of the
workings. Though the effects of the explosion were not
universally felt in the pit, two persons, Peter Lowe, aged
20, a datelcr, and John Ashcroft, aged 12, a pony driver,
who belonged to other districts, but happened to be upon
the " jig brow" at the time of the explosion, lost their
lives from choke-damp. Their bodies were brought to
the bank early in the forenoon. The work of exploration
proceeds slowly, as the bodies (which were all
more or less charred,
and some dreadfully disfigured)
had to be carried singly for a distance of about 200 yards
along the workings, which were rough with debris, to a
spot where they could be placed upon waggons, and so
conveyed to the pit's eye, a further distance of 500 yards.
Gorton's was amongst the first of the bodies recovered.
About six o'clock in the evening, by which time all the
bodies had been collected at the pit's eye, the bringing
of them to the bank was proceeded with. They were
brought up, except in the case of the boys, singly, and
removed upon stretchers (each body being covered with a
white cloth) to the adjacent carpenter's shop. Some
hundreds of persons, chiefly operatives and friends of the
deceased, were congregated around the pit's bank as this
operation was proceeding.
Within an hour the last of
the bodies, which numbered, as already stated, twenty
I eight, was brought up.
•

THE JOCKEY CLUE.—The annual general meeting
of the Jockey Club will be held at Newmarket after the
races on Wednesday in the Craven Meeting. The fol-
lowing notice of motion has been given by Admiral Rom :
"That a committee be appointed at the annual meeting
of the Jockey Club each year, consisting of the three
stewards and four other members 'selected by the club ;
that all proposals for alterations in or additions
to the `rules concerning horseracing in general'
shall be referred to the said committee, who
aro to give public notice of such proposals, and
may, if they think fit, appoint a day on which they would
be prepared to hear and consider ally
objection made to
them by owners of horses not members of the Jockey
Club, or by other persons interested ; that in the Second
October Meeting in each year (due notice being given) the
committee shall report to the club the proposals made
during the year, the evidence they have taken, and the
opinion of the committee on each proposal, which would
then be submitted separately to the club for adoption or
rejection, and the rules so altered and amended by the
Jockey Club w9uld come into. operation from the let of
January of the folloiing year',"

THE EAST LONDON RAILWAY

...-.-....--...,,....-.--

The Thames Tunnel—a pilgrimage to which haa been
made by most country cousins who have visited London—
is at last to bo converted into a practical undertaking.
Thanks to the East London Railway Company this
gigantic failure—one of the most gigantic of even Bruners
failures--is to be taken.possession of by the steam-engine,
instead of being allowed to rot in obscurity and darkness.
In the course of a few weeks a new line of railway will
be opened from Broad-street to the London Docks, which
will connect the busy haunts of the East-end with the
classic regions of Wapping and Rotherhithe. The line
runs from Broad-street through the crowded thorough.
fares of Bishopsgate, ile-end, Whitechapel-road, and
Commercial-road, on to Ratcliff-highway. Lower, from a
moral point of view, it could hardly ever sink. Physically,
however, it has still to descend, passing now under the
eastern basin of the London Docks, from whence
it passes by the back of the St. George's Workhouse
to the Thames Tunnel, and so beneath the bed of
the river southwards towards its final destination.
Wapping Station—the present northern terminus of the line
—enjoys probably the distinction of being the most deeply
"underground" station in the world. Except, indeed,
for a direct route to Hades, it is slifficult to suppose that
a more deeply-Luried station can ever be required, sunk
as it is fifty-five feet below ground, the roof of the
station being no less than ten feet below—not high-
water mark—but the actual Led of the river. This
singular station is no less than a hundred yards in
length by forty feet wide, half of the width being
occupied by the roadway, and half by a 10ft. platform on
either side. The booking-office is of course on the surface,
and from thence, as at present advised, the unfortunate
passenger is supposed to descend to his train by means of
a staircase of some seventy or eighty steps, the process
being, of course, inverted on his return. In the matter of
ventilation this subterreneanest of stations is to stand
comparison with any. At each end of the station is a
large open shaft, up which, as up a gigantic chimney,
escapes all the foul air driven out before the engine as it
rushes through the tunnel, and down which, when the
train moves on, rushes a fresh supply of such pure air as
the upper atmosphere of London can afford to fill up the
vacuum it leaves behind. From Rotherhithe to Deptford
Lower-road Station the line is covered in with
gigantic roof of glass and iron, the Surrey Dock
Company being afraid lest sparks from the engines
might set on fire the floating timber in their ponds !
Here we have a striking instance of what an inch may
sometimes be worth., There is an old saying, " between
the devil and the deep sea," and the Deptford Lower-
road Station is an exemplification of it. Eight more inches
'of headway were imperatively required for the passage of
a train, and eight more inches were accordingly obtained
by the simple process of cutting off the nine-inch brick
roofing of the sewer and replacing it by an iron cover one
inch only in thickness. A " simple process," which cost
about £3,000, or about £375 per inch ! A short open
cutting through about the most unredeemably dreary wil-
lerness to be found even east of London carries the line to
the New-road, Rotherhithe, about GOO yards beyond which
the line divides itto two branches, one turning off towards
the Old Kent-road, the South London Railway, and New
Cross ; and the other clutinuing up to the surface level,
on which it passes at an angle right through the venerable
arches of the old Greenwich line. From this point the
line makes a sudden shoot upwards at a gradient of 1 in
GO over the Grand Surrey Canal, which it crosses on a
wrought-iron girder bridge, and thence upon a bank to
New-cross, where it terminatesin a handsome independent
station. The engineer is Mr. Hawkshaw. When the line
is complete, it will form one of the most important links
that have yet been added to the yearly lengthening chain
,f metropolitan railway communication.

THE STRIKE AT PRESTON.

The card-room operatives, who occupy a vastly
:important position at Preston, inasmuch as the work of
s large number of the other hands in. a great measure
lepends upon their operations, and who form no inconsi-
derable section of the discontented factory operative
body—numbering as they do over 2,000—all of whom will
immediately strike work on the Bth inst., unless some
arrangement be come to in the meantime, have just issued
their first declaration. After some prefatory remarks,
it goes on to say : We assert, and, when necessary, can
prove, that the card-room hands of Preston are paid
greatly lower than the operatives of other districts, and
that, in addition to this, our work is a more laborious kind
of work than that executed in other districts. If it can
be shewn that we are getting more wages than other dis-
tricts, then are we willing to be reduced to their level, but
if the comparison holds out that we are paid less than
those other districts, we are willing to continue being
paid at the ordinary rate of wages until either trade
revives or the twisters think proper to increase it. Under
no circumstances shall we submit unconditionally to any
reduction other than that of the rate paid in other places.
Why a reduction at all should be proposed at the present
time by the Preston masters is mere than we can say.
We admit that the cotton trade is bad, but we are per-
suaded that the true remedy of resuscitating the present
condition of the cotton trade does not lie either in a
better supply of cotton, or in full time and reduced wages,
but in a general adoption of short time, and a continuance
of the present state of renumeration." An important
interview has been held between representatives of
the masters and the operative spinners and minders.
During the interview it was stated that the masters could
see no reason for changing their preposition to reduce
the wages of those spinning counts of fifty and under,
but that they were willing to make a compromise with
those spinning finer counts, and would be satisfied if they
would accept a 5 per cent. reduction. This proposition
was rejected. The representatives of the masters then
'?sked if the operatives would accept a 5 per cent. reduc-
tion all round. The reply given to the second proposition
Was that there must first be a consultation with the opera-
tives themselves. The deputies of the spinners and
minders then proceeded to an immense meeting of their
body, held at the Institute, Church-street, and reported
thereto what had passed. The operatives decided unani-
mously to resist the proposition tor a 5 per cent. reduction,
the resolution to that effect being subject to the approval
or otherwise of a general delegate meeting shortly to be
•

ECONOMY AT GREENWICH HOSPITAL —An Admi-
ralty order has been received for the closing of two of the
three gates at which visitors and the inmates have hitherto
~been admitted to Greenwich Hospital. This is calcu-
lated to effect a saving of about £6OO per annum, in re-
ducing the number of metropolitan police employed from

seventeen to seven.
MOTHER IRISH MURDER. —A telegram from
Tipperary says that another murder has he n committed in
Tipperary. The victim is a farmer, named Topham, who
was found on Thursday morning lying dead near his own
house, about ten miles from the town of Clonmel. He
was shot through the head. No further particulars have
yet been received.
The Northern Post, the organ of the Russian
Minister of the Interior, says that the consumption of
alcoholic drinks in the empire has increased since 1863 by
101 per cent. The number of persons who died from
drunkenness in Russia last year was 2,748, being at the
rate of seven a day. In a single government—that of
Riazan—the deaths from this cause have risen from 17 in
1854 to 117 in 1864. At Moscow, according to statistics
furnished by the director of police, the number of persons
arrested for drunkenness (including women) was 7,224 in
(.842, and 21,794 in 1863.
Miss BURDETT COCTTS.—In the list of persons
nominated to serve. as guardians of the poor for the parish
ef Bethnal Green, which has just been affixed to the doors
of the workhouse, there appears, as one of the candidates
for the West Ward, the name of "Angelina Georgians
Burdett Coutts, of 1, Stratton street, Westminster,
and Holly-lodge, Highgate." Miss Coutts is the I
owner of a large amount of property in the
parish, the model lodging-houses in Columbia-
square, and the handsome and spacious new Columbia-
Market having been erected by that benevolent lady. The
:atter edifice has been recently inspected by the various
district wards and vestries and the Metropolitan Board of
Works, and will be opened on the Ist of May next. It
would be a fortunate thing for the poor in Bethnal Green
if Miss Burdett Coutts had a seat upon a board whose
same has been somewhat frequently before the public in
reference to the peculiar tone of the proceedings at some
of their meetings.—Express.
LYNCH LAW IN PORTLAND PRISON.-011 Mon..
day one of the convicts at Portland prison, having been
punished, threatened "to do" for the warder (named
Burns) who had reported him, if he should meet with an
opportunity. Accordingly, at the breakfast time, when the
prisoners were mustered in one of the halls, the convict made
an attack from behind on the warder with the candlestick
belonging to his cell, of which he had managed to obtain
possession. Ile dealt him some severe blows on the head,
and before the other officers could interfere the ruffian en-
deavoured to thrust the extinguisher into the warder's eye,
probably intending to gouge it out. He was, however, pre.
vented from doing his victim any furtherharm by those who
witnessed the outrage. He also received a very wholesome
lesson in "Lynch law" in the shape of a severe thrashing
from the justly indignant warders, who, remembering the
dastardly murder of their unfortunate comrade Treviss,
were resolved to prevent the recurrence of a similar
catastrophe. We understand that Burns is not very
greatly injured by the cowardly attack made upon
him ; it may be hoped, however, that the convict
obtained such castigation as _will cause him to remem-
ber his brutal conduct for some time to D • t
,couae.— c. 7 se
OM* Chronicle,

BIIIKENITEAD.—A Working Men's Liberal Association
for the borough of Birkenhead was inaugurated on Wednes-
day night at a numerously attended meeting, held in the
Workmen's Hall. The speakers included Captain Sherard
Osborn and Mr. Henry Mather Jackson, two gentlemen
well known as unsuccessful candidates for the representa-
tion of the borough, and who expressed their opinions
upon the leading political questions which are at present
attracting attention.
MID-CHESHIRE.— The Conservatives of Mid-Cheshire
have established a Constitutional Association, the inaugu-
ration of which, and the celebration at the same time of
the Conservative victory in Mid-Cheshire in the last
election was attended with considerable festivity, at
Winsford, on Tuesday last. The new association was
formed last Monday evening, and at a meeting of the
members which was then held Lord Delamere was
appointed the president.
STAFFORDSHIRE.—On Wednesday a public dinner was
held at Burslem, to celebrate the opening of the reading.
room in connection with the Staffordshire Potteries Con.
aticutional Association. Sir Smith Child presided.
Viscount Sandon proposed the toast of "Church and State."
He did not think that the game was up because there was
a parliamentary majority against them. He desired that
the bill for the disestablishment of the Irish Church should
be opposed " tooth and nail," for it was impossible to
impose worse terms on the Church. Mr. Adderley, in
responding to the toast of the " Housesof Parliament,"
said that all honour was due to the House of Lords, and
we had to look to it just now as the support of our
national institutions. He believed that its treatment
of the Irish Church Bill would unravel many mys-
tifications, and shew how Mr. Gladstone had
been made the tool of the enemies of the Church. He
did not fear an open enemy so much as a smooth-tongued
person, who dared not assail an institution from without,
but, standing within, opened its doors, and said to its
enemies " Pray come in."
SALFORD.—On Wednesday evening a "monster consti-
tutional tea meeting," as it was termed on the tickets,
was held at Salford, to commemorate the return of Mr.
Cawley and Mr. Charley as members for the borough.
The room was crowded, a great proportion of the audience
being ladies, who displayed a profusion of blue favours.
The room was decorated with evergreens, mottoes, and
the names and portraits of Conservative leaders.
Mr. Cawley, M.P., was unable to attend the
meeting in consequence of the state of his health.
Referring to the question of the Irish Church,
Mr. Charley said he would do all he could to
oppose the object Mr. Gladstone desired to obtain, because
Mr. Gladstone sought to destroy his Church, which was
dearer to him than life. It was a question between Mr.
Gladstone and Lancashire, and between Mr. Gladstone
and the working men of Salford, and Mr. Glad-
stone must succeed in conquering their convictions
before he could succeed with this great question. He
felt far more strongly upon the question of disestablish-
ment than on the question of disendowment. On that
question he entirely agreed with Sir Roundell Palmer,
who defined disendowment as making the State put into
the Exchequer property which was not previously there.
Mr. Charley went on to say that Mr. Gladstone was
playing into the hands of the Fenians. Mr. Gladstone had
released the Fenian prisoners, and much good might they
do him.
EAST WORCESTER.—On Wednesday night a great
demonstration was made on the part of the Conservatives
of the county of Worcester to celebrate the return of Mr.
R. P. Amphlett in the place of a Liberal member for the
East Division of Worcestershire. A grand banquet, to
which upwards of 500 noblemen and gentlemen sat down,
was given in the Shire Hall of the county town. The Earl
of Coventry presided. In responding to the toast of
the " House of Lords," Earl Shrewsbury spoke of the
passing of the Reform Bill, and thought we had gone a
little too far. We were told at the time it was a leap in
the dark,
and, as a Conservative, looking at the general
result of the last election, be thought we had jumped a
little too far. He deprecated the policy of Mr. Disraeli
for going a little too far in the matter of that Reform Bill,
and he deprecated Mr. Gladstone for going in for entire
destruction. He deprecated any Prime Minister, whether
Conservative or Liberal, or Whig or Tory, who,
in bidding for power, failed to manifest any distinct
policy. Sir John Pakington responded to the
toast of "The Health of the Conservative leaders."
Statesmen of all parties (he said) through a long
series of years had been agreed that Ireland should
be governed with liberality, with firmness, and with
justice. Under the late Government Ireland was
governed wish liberality, firmness, and justice. It
devolved upon the late Government to deal with the
Fenian conspiracy, which originated with that section
of the Irish people which had never yet been, and he
feared never would be, contented. That conspiracy was
subdued, both in England and Ireland, with firmness and
moderation, and without exceeding the bounds of .justice
or transgressing the powers given by law. Under the late
Government the general prosperity of Ireland was unin-
terrupted and increasing. The only liberality shewn by
the present Government in dealing with Ireland was
liberality with other people's money. Instead of firmness,
they had been guilty of one of the most culpable acts of
weakness that ever disgraced a Government—in dismiss.
ing the Fenian prisoners— an indiscretion which, by
creating a false and mischievous impression in . Ireland,
might lead to future outbreaks. For justice, the present
Government substituted the spoliation and plunder
of the Protestant Church. The statesman who formerly
published a book in which he said he considered it a
" high and glorious duty" to be called to the defence of
the Protestant Church in Ireland, now said that Church
was a noxious plant, poisoning the ground upon which
it stood. He who in that book declared that the
party who then desired the separation of Church and State
were influenced by " the most wretcl.el infatuation," was
the man who had exercised all his power to sever the con-
nection between Church and State, and destrc y the sup:e-
macy of the Crown in Ireland. The two main principles
of the bill were utterly inconsistent with sound policy and
true religion. He would never be a party to the adoption
of the voluntary principle in religious matters. It esta-
blished a false and dangerous relation between the poor
man and the pastor who was to instruct him. The
pastor ought to be independent of the charitable feelings
of those to whom he ministered. There was not
throughout Europe a single instance in which a nation
entrusted the religious instruction of the people to the
voluntary principle. Put there were two examples of the
kind—one was presented by the Roman Catholics in Ire-
land, and the other by the United States. He submitted
that in neither case were the results such as to make it
desirable for this country to follow the example. With
regard to the secularisation of Church property, it was
utterly unjustifiable, and would be a disgrace to Par-
liament and the country. If financial equality was
desirable, it might be worth while to consider, having
regard to the present crisis, whether it might not be better
to make grants to the Roman Catholics to enable them
to conduct their religious duties properly and respectably,
rather than despoil the Protestant Church, and throw the
whole into one mass of confusion. Every statesman of
eminence from the time of Pitt, and every writer of
ability at present, proposed this as the mode of overcoming
the difficulties of the question. He feared the proposal of
Mr. Gladstone would irritate and alienate the Irish Pro-
testants ; while, with regard to the Roman Catholics, the
year since the proposal was made had been marked
by a revival of the Fenian conspiracy, and a return to
those dreadful agrarian murders which had long been the
disgrace of the Irish people and the greatest stain upon
them and the religion they professed. lie hoped that if
the councils of the Conservative party were guided by
wisdom and prudence, it was still possible to avert the
national disgrace of adopting the sacrilegious proposal of
the Government.

The petition against the return of Mr. Meyrick for
Pembroke was appointed to be tried on Thursday before
Baron Martin, who had announced his intention to sit at 10
o'clock. Notice of an intention to withdraw the petition had
been given ; but as it was expected the application would le
made in court the public attended at the appointed hour.
The mayor, however, after waiting an hour, withdrew.

The parish church at Pontefract, after undergoing
alteration and repair, was reopened on Wednesday by the
Archbishop of York. There was luncheon afterwards at the
Town Hall. In replying for "the House of Lords," Lord
Wharncliffe adverted to the Irish Church question, and sug-
gested that whatever the vote came to in the Upper House
this year it must not be supposed to have been influenced by
that of last year. Mr. Childers acknowledged the toast of
the "Army and Navy."

On Thursday the Act of last session requiring that a
means of communication should be provided between the pas-
senger and guard of railway trains came into force. Hence-
forth, every train travelling more than 20 miles without stop-
ping is to be provided with an efficient means of communi-
cation between the passengers and the servants of the com-
pany in charge of the train. Any company omitting to pro-
vide such communication is liable to a penalty of £lO, and
" any passenger who makes use of the said means of com-
munication without reasonable and sufficient cause, shall bo
liable to a penalty not exceeding £5."
A meeting of the Irish Railway Committee, peers
and members, has just taken place at the Marquis of Clanri-
carde's, when it was resolved to solicit the signatures of the
peers connected by property with Ireland, and the Irish
M.P.'s to the document, impressing upon her Majesty's Govern-
ment the importance of intro( using a measure on the basis
of the Second Report of the Irish Railway Commission, with
a view to obtaining in the case of Irish railways sulstantial
reductipn of fares, increased accommodation, and unity of
. .
management. Eighty members 9trarliatnentjlate. already
aloud the memorial.

LGENCE
(REL7ER'S TELEGRAMS.)

30MEWARD BOMBAY (HEAVY) MAIL.
GIBRALTAR, March 30.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
the Massilia left this morning for Southampton,
where she may be looked for about the night of
the 3d April. Experienced strong head winds.
All well.