The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-16 00:00:00

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MILK VERSUS BEER.'

4ln the North of England, in Scotland, and also in Ire-
land, a cow is an almost indispensable necessary of life to
the? labourer and his' family ; and where the keep of
thel cow is not expressly, stipulated for in the agree-
ment between master and servant, the latter will
try? every plan to get keep for his cow somewhere in
the neighbourhood. The want of a cow in such cases is
jemtly considered a great hardship, and although some
enixloyers do not allow their people to keep cows, it is not
fe;wtheir advantage ultimately that. they decline to do so.
In; the case of villages where the inhabitants are not,
perhaps, regularly employed by farmers, a field in the
is rented, and the cows are pastured thereon
during summer and autumn, the owners finding suitable
keep for their cows during the winter and spring months.
Something of this sort we should like to see common in
England, and we feel convinced that it would be a
most advantageous arrangement to all parties. A
valuable and nutritious article of food would be-
come familiar to the people as part of their every-
day meals, and they would not only be personally
benefited thereby, but led, perhaps, to set less value on
the small, the very small, beer or the thin cider which is
so frequently dealt out in farmhouse kitchens to the men.
A. jug of milk would also be a much more substantial
uldition to the dinner of the labourer's wife and
children than the " hap'orth o' beer " which is too
often the common allowance for that meal. We are
convinced that the substitution of milk for beer would be
a saving to farmers, while the labourers would be in
better condition for their work than it is possible for them
to be under the influence of such beer as that which is
usually Liven to them.—The Farmer.

TIM FATAL ACCIDENT TO AN UNDER-

GRADUATE.

An inquest has been held on the body of Mr. Jones
Watson Bartle, commoner of Exeter College, Oxford, who
died from s, pistol-shot wound on the previous day. Tho
deceased, accompanied by Mr. A. M. Gordon, of the
same college, an intimate friend, were in a punt on the
Cherwell, at the rear of Magdalen College, amusing
themselves by shooting at birds. They had changed places
once or twice, the one shooting and the other propelling
the boat, and at length commenced throwing small things
at each other. When the deceased resumed the work of
propelling the boat, Mr. Gordon took' up the pistol, which
was a breech-loader, and, not knowing the deceased had
put a 'bullet in the barrel, pointed it at him in fun.
The trigger was without a guard, the pistol exploded,
and deceased fell, shot in the bieast. Mr. Gordon imme.
diately threw the pistol into the river, called for assist-
ance, and had deceased removed ashore: The unfortunate
young man only ejaculated one or two sentences on being
shot, and died shortly after being removed ashore. Mr.
Gordon gave his evidence in a manner which excited the
commiseration of all who were present.
At the conclusion of the case the jury returned the fol-
towing verdict:—" That the death of the dece.ased James
Watson Barrie was the result of a wound from the
accidental discharge of a pistol." They added the following
remonstrance :—" We wish to express our strong dis-
approval of the prevailing indiscriminate use of saloon
pistols by the undergraduate members of the university%
and desire to call the attention of the authorities of the
university and the colleges to the dangerous practice."
The Rev. H. Barre, vicar of Faringdon, and uncle of
the deceased, said he desired to express his entire con-
viction as to the purely accidental character of the
manner in which deceased had lost his life, and, amid the
deep grief of himself and his family, his true sympathy
with Mr. Gordon under the very distressing circumstances
of this most sad catastrophe. The tragic event, coupled
with the calamity at Christ Church, has cast a. gloom
throughout the university, and most of the cricket matches.
and other sports which would have been going on have
been postponed.

The advantages of steam ploughing become more appa-
rent year after year, as the land continues to improve
under the discipline of deep cultivation. On clay lands
the treading of horses in the furrows makes an
impervious subsoil, which causes the land to remain
wet in winter and to become rapidly dry in
summer. Land under steam cultivation can often be
worked shortly after rain when other lands cannot be
touched. In the summer the moisture which has pene-
trated to a great depth returns to the surface, and make
the crop flourish in time of drought. The presence of ridges
.nd of spots and patches, which often give an uneven ap-
pearance to the crops at this season of the year, are not found
on steam•cultivated lands. At the model farm of the
Meisrs.' Howard, of Bedford, the difference between steam
and horse cultivation is strikingly apparent. There are
upwards of 400 farMs under steam•cultivation in this
county, and it is estimated that the labour of 2,500 horses
is saved. Thus not only is
.more food grown, but its
consumption is economised, and more corn or beef wilt
fall to the lot of the working classes.

A full-length bronze statue of the late Sir Peter
Fairbairn, erected to his memory by his fellow-townsmen,
was lately inaugurated with becoming ceremony at Leeds.
The statue, Which is by Mr. Noble, the well-known
sculptor, is an excellent likeness, and it has been erected
Dn an appropriate site in Woodhouse-square, Clarendon-
road. Alderman Nussey, the chairman of the memorial
committee, unveiled the statue in the presence of the
mayor (Mr. A. Fairbairn, the son of Sir Peter), several
other members of the Leeds corporation, andother inhabi-
'Ants of the borough. •
The petition in favour of women's suffrage, which
has just been presented to the House, received 21,757
signatures. These signatures included some notable
names. At the head of the list stood Mrs. Somerville and
Miss Florence Nightingale. The other names included
those of Lord and Lady Amberley, Professor Bain, Sir
R. Anstruther, Bart., M.P., the Rev. S. Bache,
Sir 'John Bowring, Madame Bodichon, Miss Frances
Power Cobbe, Miss Courtauld, the Archdeacon
of Coventry, Dr. Farr, Mr. and Mrs. Grote, Mr. Com-
missioner Hill, William and Mary Howitt, Professor
Huxley, the Rev. Charles Kingsley, the Hon. Auberon
Herbert, Miss Martineau, Professor Leslie, the Hon. Mrs.
Thorna-; Liddell, Professor Masson, Mr. John Morley,
Professor Newman, Professor .Nicholl, Mr. J. T. Pal-
grave, Mrs. Paulton, Dr. Lyon Playfair, Professor Robert.
son, Lord P.omilly, Mr. Shaen, Miss Helen Taylor, and
many others.

THE 'CuLLIEDS' STRIKE IN SOUTH WALL'S',--
Matters connected with the dispute between employers and
employed in some parts of the South Wales coalfield have
assumed a very different position from that anticipated a
few days ago, all the steam-coal miners in Monmouth.
shire having consented to resume work on the masters'
terms.

At the South Wales Colliezy the men are
going in on the reduction, and it is understood
that the colliers and bank-women recently brought
down from Bilston are to be paid a sum of
money to return to their old quarters. At Abertillery the
turn-outs have expressed their willingness to go in on the
reduction, but it is understood that the loss sustained by
the proprietors is so serious that they have come to the
determination to engage an entirely new lot of colliers.
A mass meeting of the house colliers has been held at
Blackwood, at which great dissension prevailed, but it was
ultimately agreed to resume work at a reduction of Id.
per ton, which, it is scarcely necessary to acid, the
masters refuse to accept ; consequently, the men still con-
tinue on strike.

PROPOSED GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF THE
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS.—A reply has been prepared by
Mr. Frank Ives Scudamore to a pamphlet recently
published, and professing to be " A Statement of the
Case of the Electric and International Telegraph Com-
pany against the Government Bill for acquiring the
Telegraphs." The author of the reply does not assume
that the pamphlet is an official statement of the company's
case, or that it proceeds from the chairman of the com-
pany, Mr. Grimston, who met the representatives of
the Post Office in a friendly and conciliatory spirit. The
complaint put forward was that the company had not
received fair notice of the bill, or had sufficiently early
opportunity of becoming acquainted with its contents. To
this allegation Mr. Scudamore's answer is, in substance, ips
that at the time the directors of the company applied for
a copy of the bill it had not been completed, but that the
Post Office volunteered to give all the information in
their :power ; and, further, that on the Gth March,
before the provisions of the measure Aver° fully arranged,
its leading features were explained to Mr. Grimston by
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Postmaster-
General. Accordingly, he contends that the complaint of
being taken by surprise is unfounded. The reply. further
points out that as the bill gives all the companies power
to compel the Postmaster-General to purchase the property
of all, in twelve months from the time at which he pur-
chases the property of one, it is futile to allege that the
Post Office can use the property of-one company:far:Ake
Purpose of competition with the others, The Government *%.6:.
desires to purchase all the lines as speedily as possible.
Mr. Scudamoro maintains at great length the following
' propositions, in which chambers of commerce and public
writers have concurred, namely, that the existing charges
for telegraphic messages are too high ; that frequent
delays occur-in the transmission ; that many impcirtant
districts are unprovided With telegraphic communication ;
that under the existing system the development- of tele-
grapkicccO•emondence has been retarded ; and, finally,
that.the-sarne.good results would follow the annexation of
:the telegraph to the Post Office as have followed in S
' • 1,11 -
lierland agd,kogium,