The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-06 00:00:00

THE MASONS' STElKE.—Deputations from the
Masons' Strike Committee have been occupied from Mon-
day until yesterday in waiting upon those London firms
who pay by the hour, with the object of ascertaining if there
were any possibility of coming to some amicable settlement
of the dispute now existing, previous to the enforcement of
the resolution of the society to withdraw the men from the
country jobs belonging to those masters. The firms thus
waited upon have been those of Kelk, Lucas, Smith, Trol-
lope, Bird, Brown and Robinson, Myers, I'Anson, Holland
and Hannen, Mansfield, Dove, Cubitt, and Freaks. In the
majority of cases the heads of the firms positively refused
to see the deputation, and the only two employers who
gave them a courteous reception were Messrs. Trollope
and Dove, with whom the deputation conferred at great
length, and who expressed their willingness to consider
the proposals of the men if the other employers would also
do so. In one instance an indictment for conspiracy
was threatened, and in another, the deputations were
grossly insulted, and ordered off ,the premises. The de-
putations having reported the non-success of their mission,
instructions have been forwarded to all the men working at
the country jobs of the above firms to cease work at once.
It has been reported to the committee that in many in.•
stances this has been done by the men without waiting for
instructions. The whole of the jobs will be struck by Sa-
turday.

A TOURIST MISSING ON BEN NEVIS.—On Mon-
day last, a party consisting of seven gentlemen left the
Mountaineer steamer at Fort William, and started for the
summit of Ben Nevis, a little before 3 o'clock p.m., under
the care of Duncan M•Millan as guile. The afternoon was
fair, and the mist had nearly cleared away from the summit
as they approached it. One of the party, however, a young
gentleman from London, had found the labour of ascending
much greater than he anticipated, and began to lag behind
when the ascent became more difficult. The guide en-
couraged him to proceed for about a mile after he thought
of turning, but at length he declared that he could not
ascend a step further. He was then about 1,000 feet below
the summit, and lower than the region of mist. It was
then agreed that he should be left beside the spring Nevis
till the party returned. The party reached the summit in
safety under the excellent management of M'Millan, the
guide, whom they all agreed was a most trustworthy guide :
but on their return the gentleman left behind was nowhere
to be found. They searched and shouted all the way down,
but in vain. They expected at last to find him at the Cale-
donian Hotel, at Fort William, where he had previously
engaged a bed for the night, but to their dismay he had not
arrived on their retura. Next morning several guides went
in search of him, but when our informant left on the after-
noon of Tuesday he had not been heard of. The only safety
of travellers on ascending these mountains is to abide by
their guide. We believe that the search for the missing
gentleman is still being prosecuted.—North British Mail.
THE YELVERTON MARRIAGE CASE.--A Commis-
sion has been opened in Dublin from the Court of Session
by the commissioner, Mr. Crichton, of the Scotch bar, to
take proof in the action of declarator of marriage in the
Scotch courts by Mrs. Yelverton against Major Yelverton.
Mr. Frazer, of the Scotch bar, and Mr. Somerville, solici-
tor, Edinburgh, appeared for Mrs. Yelverton, and Mr. Mil-
lar, of the Scotch bar, and Mr. P. Adam, solicitor, Edin-
burgh, appeared for Major Yelverton. Proof was adduced
by Major Yelverton to establish that he had been a Protes-
tant, or had professed to be a Protestant, 12 months before
I the marriage ceremony by Father Mooney at Rostrevor,

which, if proved, would render the Irish marriage null.

Four witnesses were examined—viz., Archdeacon Knox, of
Lorrha ; the Hon. Letitia Yelverton, sister of the major ;

Mrs. Colonel Lloyd, and Mr. Dyer, residing at Ballyquirk
Castle, who gave evidence that the major, when residing
with his family at Belle Isle, sometimes went with them to
the parish church. The commission will next be proceeded
with at Newry and at Rostrevor. It was objected (on be-
half of Mrs. Yelverton) in the course of the proof taken on
Tuesday, that the question " whether the mojor was a Pro-
testant," could not and ought not to be put to the witnesses
without first defining what a " Protestant" is, and a defini-
tion of the word " Protestant" was given by Archdeacon
Knox to the effect that it meant every person who protested
against Popery. The evidence in this case is all taken down
in writing, because there is an appeal upon the facts from
the Court of Session to the House o f Lords, where the case
may ultimately terminate. The proceedings of the com-
mission were private.—lrish Times.

PARROT TORIES.—One of the most astonishing

things in connection with the parrot, a green Amazon,
happened at a dinner party. ORe of the guests was a
gentleman who stammered very much, and it was observed

that whenever the latter spoke the parrot was particularly
attentive. After dinner the stammering gentleman saun-
tered up to the parro 's cage, and said, " Well, p—p—
p—poll, what's o'clock ?" upon which the parrot imme-
diately replied, "r—p—p—past four 1" imitating the
stammer so capitally that its possessor could not forbear
laughing as heartily as the rest. Opposite the parrot's
residence there were some buildings in course of erection,
and the men at the top of the scaffold were in the habit
of calling to those below for such materials as they wanted
—" More bricks," " More mortar," and so on. In a very
short time Poll had these terms by heart, as well as the
gruff tones in which they were uttered. No sooner did the
labourer (an Irishman) relieve himself of a load, than the
everlasting cry, " More mortar," assailed his ears. He
bore it with exemplary patience, till the mortar-board on
the top of the scaffold was piled up ; but, again, the order
for " Mortar, more mortar 1" was given, and then the
Irishman flung down his hod, and, making a speaking
trumpet of his hands, bawled to the bricklayer above,
" Tare an'ounds 1 is it mor-r-tar mad that ye are ? Shure
a man nade have as many legs as a centrepig (centipede)
to wait on the likes of ye's,—Zome Pets : The 46 Parrot
Tribe."