The Sun.
London, England, 1868-10-02 00:00:00

SOCIAL SCIENCE CONG.RES,S.

BIIIIIIINGHAM, WEDNESDAY.
The National Association for the Promotion of Social
Science has returned to its old love. In the town in which
it held its first, it has to-day commenced its twelfth annual
congress, under the presidency of the Earl of Carnarvon.
Opinions may differ as to the desirableness of Birmingham
as a place of residence, but no dispute can arise as to its
qualifications for such a gathering as the present;
and if the Congress be not a success it will be from

I.io fault of its locale. The headquarters of the
Association are at the Exchange, a building erected in
1865, at a cost of £25,000. Here is the reception-room,
which is almost perfect in its appliances and adjuncts, and
is in close proximity to the principal street, hotels. and
railway stations. The Library of Queen's College, the
Midland Institute Lecture-Theatre, the Guardians' Board-
room, the Reference Library in Eatcliff-place, and the
Friends' Meeting-house and school-room are the other
public LuEding,s devoted to the business purposes of the
meeting.

The programme this year is a good and varied one, and in
addition to the ordinary work of the sections, a meeting is
contemplated of working men in the Town Hall, and an
address by Miss Carpenter, on " Education in India," on
Friday. It seems odd that the committee should have
fixed on the same night for the meeting and address, but
possibly they thought a counter attraction to the eloquence
of the lady orator would be well, to prevent her having an
audience inconveniently large for the building in which
she will hold forth. To-morrow night the Mayor
receives the visitors in the Town Hall, in which
place also the Soiree will take place on Monday. The
only excursion is to Dudley, on Saturday, when the
caverns will be illuminated. The dinner of members and
associates is fixed for Tuesday evening. One of the most
eagerly anticipated papers is that for which a prize of £25,
given by Mr. W. B. Lloyd, has been awarded by the
council. This essay is on the best and most feasible plan
for the temporary employment of operatives and workmen

in casual distress. It will be read in the section of
Economy and Trade, when the author's name will be
made public.
The proceedings of the Congress were opened with

divine service this afternoon in St. Philip's Church, the
preacher being the Bishop of Worcester. At eight o'clock

the members and associates met in the Town Hall to hear

the President's address. I believe that this, the chief
building in the town, will accommodate more than 3,000
persons sitting, and that at great political meetings it has
contained an audience of 7,000 standing. It is very taste•
fully decorated, and altogether will bear favourable com-
parison with any other room of the kind in the kingdom.
After the usual preliminary business the Earl of CARNAR
VON rose to deliver the inaugural address. His lordship
took up those subjects of public interest which have so long
occupied the public mind. He first referred to the two
grave questions, whether private property at sea should
be exempt from capture during war, and under what
circumstances a change of nationality ought to be
authorised. On these points he would express no
opinion, especially as the latter question was soon to be

answered by the commission, of which Lord Clarendon
was the chairman. Passing then to the subject of sanitary
science, he remarked that our ancestors had, up to a certain
point, shewn great regard for the preservation of health.
The drains of mediwval monasteries and houses were
so large that they were often mistaken for sub-
terranean passages. But it had remained for modern
civilisation to organise rules governing these
matters. Medical science had taken sanitary science
as a part of itself, and the latter had connected itself with
the highest questions of politics, of administration, of
trade, of physiology. As to the scanty legislation of the
last session on this subject, his lordship called attention
to the Pharmacy Act, the Vaccination Act, the Act for
the Improvement of the Dwellings of Artisans and
Labourers, and the Poor Relief Act. With regard to
artisans' dwellings, the subject could hardly be over-rated.
In the agricultural districts the accommodation for the
labourer was very poor indeed, but there were not the
dangers of overcrowding which existed in towns. In these
this evil was severely felt. Even public improvements in
the opening of new streets and the construction of fine
buildings diminished an already too scanty accommodation,
raised rents, increased overcrowding, and aggravated the
distress. In Paris the evil had been recognised, and an
attempt had been made to remedy it by suburban villages
and cheap trains. In England but little had
been done towards its removal ; and the Act of last
session could not be considered final. Strong objections were
entertained, and not without reason, to State intervention
in these matters; and it would doubtless be best if the
desired end could be secured by the joint action of the
private owners of property and of the local authorities ;
but, failing this, the evil was so great, and went so deeply
down into the roots of society, that larger and bolder
measures might become necessary. The water supply of
the metropolis next engaged attention. His lordship
spoke very strongly on its " discreditable deficiencies,"
and declared it inferior to that of ancient Rome, to the
modern Marseilles and Lyons, and to that of nearly all
our great towns. Parliament, he hoped, would soon move
in this matter.

In answer •to the question, "Should Reformatory
Treatment be extended to Adults ?" his lordship gave the
affirmative. In connection with this subject, be made
some interesting remarks :—"I personally have long enter-
tained and expressed my opinion, that repeated re-con-
victions, even for minor offences, ought to' e treated with
far greater severity than is now the case, and that for the
sake of the offender, of society, and of .the economical
adminsttation of the law, the withdrawal for any
lengthened periods of the criminal from his companions
and the . opportunities of crime, would be both the most
effective and the most humane treatment." From
the prison the noble lord passed to the workhouse, and
the casual ward received his severe condemnation. On the
whole subject, he admitted that as, yet long sentences
were the only means of getting rid entirely of the lowest
grades of society. But certainly some uniformity in the
administration of the poor law might be looked for. Here
the guardians were lax, and their accommodation of the
best ; there they were severe, the police were employed,
the keenest scrutiny was made, and their accommodation
was comfortless. After some remarks on prison discipline,
the important alteration in the execution of prisoners was
touched upon. His lordship delighted in the change. He
thought- that death being more impressive, would be
more feared by the class whom it was intended to awe.
At the same time he would have strenuously opposed it
had he regarded it as a step towards the total abolition of
capital punishment. He thought capital punishment
necessary, holding it as a theory. But apart from abstract
theories, the preponderating weight of evidence given by
those who might be reasonably presumed to understand
best the criminal classes and the motives that influence
them, was distinctly favourable to the retention of
the penalty of death in certain cases of murder. The
question of education was next discussed at great length.
The old idea as to the ignorance of the lower class being
necessary to the safety of the other classes had exploded,
and we were now casting around us for a system of educa-
tion to apply to England. The "common school" of
America had been pointed out as the proper model. There
were many. objections to it, however. Hitherto, volun-
taryism, self-government, denominational and, con-
sequently, religious instruction, with a certain amount
of State aid and inspection, have been the
accepted principles of English primary education.
Speaking cautiously, but looking to the circumstances
and feeling, as well as the wants of the country, he hardly
saw how they could altogether dispense with any one of
these principles. They might perhaps add to them,
recombine them, but the uniform conversion of a voluntary
into a compulsory, of a religious into a secular system, was
neither necessary nor desired. The concurrence of a per-
missive and compulsory power, in which some persons
had sought for a compromise, was open to obvious objec-
tions, and presented difficulties, doubtless, of many kinds ;
but extreme logical precision would probably not be
required, and the State should, in carrying out whatever
changes were necessary, do as little violence as might be
to existing agencies. With regard to technical educa-
tion, his lordship admitted its importance, its neces-
sity : only remarking, of all technical education—
whether of the higher grades of professional life, or of
those lower paths with which the manual labour of the
individual artisan was concerned—that its basis must be
laid in sound principles of elementary instruction ; and
that the later teaching was dependent upon the earlier.
Trades unions were next criticised. His lordship
declared a benefit and a trade society to be impossible in
existence together in one organisation. Arbitration he
advocated for trades disputes if the present state of things
existed. But co-operation was swiftly replacing the
status quo. ' To co-operation we must look for a settlement
of, the capital and labour question.
'The legislation of last session the noble lord described as
"a wilderness of legiglative failures." Nevertheless, some
measures were passed worth notice. There was the Act relat-
ing to railways, which was valuable as far as it went. But
they saw looming in the distance larger questions,
in which vast public interests were involved, and
they could already hear voices raised in favour of the
State becoming the owner of the gigantic and anomalous
railway system which covers the face of this country.
That there were analogies to be found in other countries,
and that there might be sound arguments of efficiency, of
economy, of civil and military policy for a State control
of the railways, was as certain as that there were very
brave objections to the purchase by the State of
etween £4,000,000 and £5,000,000 worth of such property.
Whenever the question was ripe for discussion, he hoped
that it would be decided with the care and impartiality
which it deserved, and that neither sensational considera-
tions, nor personal inconveniences, nor private interests,
nor—last, but worst of all—party or political objects,
would be allowed to influence the final conclusion. With
a reference to the pm-chase of the telegraphs,
arising out •or the last subject, his lordship went on to
speak of international coinage. The various schemes for
equalising the coins of different countries he discussed at
length, and admitted, in conclusion, that many prejudices
must be thrown aside if the matter was to be finally and
satisfactorily treated. Meteorology was the only remain-
ing subject, and the discoveries in this science were treated
and commented upon. It now only remained to pay a
tribute to Lord 'Brougham, whose death had deprived
the society of its founder, its .president, and its
constaiii • "'

BIRMINGHAM, MunnAt,
In the matter of general arrangements the committee
of the Social Science Congress might very well take a
lesson from their brethren of the British Association. It
is somewhat invidious to institute comparisons, but to
anyone who has been in the habit of attending the meet-
ing of the two bodies, the superior administration of the
latter is strikingly apparent. One doesn't like
to grumble when there appears to be every
disposition to conciliate and oblige, or a hundred little
things might be mentioned to show that detail is not the
forte of the authorities of the Social Science Congress.
Many an omission might be pointed out which, if rectified,
would materially conduce to the comfort of the visitors.
The address of the President has not given rise to much
criticism to-day, probably because it contained no very
salient points, and was innocent of anything like origi-
nality. To tell the truth, it fell rather flat on the
audience, which, though imp to the average, looked compa-
ratively small in the huge Town Hall, notwithstanding
the addition of a number of the working classes, who, to
the credit of the committee he it said, were admitted free
to the large gallery at the end of the room. At no one
passage, except that referring to Lord Brougham, was the
cheering great; a fact due in some measure to the wretched
elocution of the earl, who read in the monotonous tone
which, unfortunately, one too oftenhears in church. Had
a little more life been thrown into it thermould have been
less complaint of the length of the address, which after
all was its greatest fault.
Ten o'clock this morning found the major portion of the
members and associates assembled in the Friends' Meeting-
house to hear the opening address of the President of the
Educational Ikepartment. What the feelings of the general
audience may have been as they rose to-day, I am unable
to say, but I do know that the reporters here put in an
appearance at the breakfast-table, animated with senti-
ments not altogether charitable as they thought of the task
that was before them. Somehow or other the Right Hon.
Lord Lyttelton won't report. According to his lordship's
own statement the man has yet to be born who shall faith-
fully reproduce him. To which it may be replied, that
the coming man will certainly have to enter into a contract
with nature for special acoustic arrangements. Of Lord
Lyttelton it may with all confidence be said, " When the
ear heareth it blesseth him ;" but the mischief is, that in nine
cases out of ten it is a moral impossibility for the ear of
the reporter, keen as it is by practice, to make a pretence
of following his lordship—and then he is not blessed. After
the address, which is given below, an--,adjournment took
place to time various sections of the four departments of
Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law, Education,
Health, and Economy and Trade—the arrangement of the
council being that a series of special subjects should be
dealt with first in each section, to be followed
by brief voluntary papers as far as time permitted.
Amongst the former subjects brought forward to-day were, ,
in the section devoted to International Law, Mr. Vernon
Harcourt, Q.C., president, " Under what circumstances
ought change of nationality to be authorised?''—in the
Municipal Law section, " Is it desirable to reorganise our
courts, superior and local, and, if so, on what system ?"
and in the section treating of the repression of crime, Sir
Walter Crofton, C. 8., chairman, "Ought the principles
of the reformatory system, including voluntary manage-
ment, to be extended to adults ?" The old question of the
desirableness of an international coinage was discussed in the
section of Economy and Trade ; while the questions, " What
ought to be the functions and authority of medical officers
of health?" "What measures are required for the further
improvement of the Universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge ? " and " To what classes and on what conditions
should outdoor relief be administered ?" severally occupied
the attention of those attending, and they were many, the
Health, Education, and Economy and Trade Depart-
ments. To-morrow the Right Hon. W. N. Massey will
deliver an address, which is anticipated with much interest,
in the department of Jurisprudence, over which he
-presides.

To Mr. Phipson Beale will probably be accorded the
distinction of bringing forward the subject exciting most
curiosity, that gentleman having prepared a paper on the
position of the public as against a railway company which
desires to increase its fares. It has been suggested, and
not altogether without reason, that the directors of the
various lines of railway should Have been invited to hear
the arguments and to answer them if possible.
This is, I suppose, the first time that so many ladies
have taken part in the proceedings of the association. I
do not mean as visitors and associates—they always
master strong in those capacities—but as the authors of
papers. This year nine at least will introduce subjects
for d scussion, one or two of that number having a couple
of evenings. The Birmingham will, I suspect, be hereafter
known as " the ladies' meeting."
The visitors to the Congress have been invited by the
authorities to attend the ceremony of unveiling a very
handsome statue of Watt—not the "Busy Bee" man,
but the engineer—on Friday. The statue stands in a
capital position close to the Town Hall, and will add
another to the several really fine specimens of the
sculptor's art with which the streets of the town are
enriched.

The Jurisprudence and Amendment of Law
.Depart-
ment was occupied to-day with hearing a parer by. Sir
Walter Crofton, on the best means of repressing crime.
The lecturer dilated upon the great danger to society
from the criminal class. Criminal vagrants formed a
powerful class, kept when "out of work" by the autho-
rities, at the casual ward. They were irresponsible, and
without supervision, and wandered whither they might,
and did what they would, without any cognisance being
taken of their actions. This ought not to be so. If there
were better police supervision, more systematic organisa-
tion, it woad not be so. What was wanted was a central
authority to guide the police establishments throughout
the country. From each locality thorough commu-
nication should be had with the head office.
In each district there should be kept a register,
containing the names and descriptions of all " commits on
license." - Those who were known by repute to be thieves
or vagabonds should not be allowed to roam here and
there without any watch being kept on them. It should
not be held that a man, having expiated his crime by
imprisonment, no longer required any supervision.
That was carrying the doctrine too far. It was
because of looseness in this particular that crime was
comparatively so easy. Supervision was required, and
should he strictly, though judiciously, exercised. Thus crime
inl contemplation would be discovered, and prevented.
The criminal, finding it hard to steal, would seek
some other means of livelihood. These means should
certainly be provided for him. Now, if a man of bad
character sought employment, determining to lead
a reformed life, he sought in vain, and was thus driven for
usteuance back again into his evil courses. But if work
were ready to hand he could have no such excuse. For
discharged convicts especially it was necessary to make
provision, that they might perchance be led to become
honest and industrious.
In the Educational Department Lord Lyttelton
delivered an address, in which lie presented an exhaus-
tive view of the education question. He commenced by
striking at the idea that education was meant to make
children wiser. More than this should be aimed at.
They should be taught at school to be obedient, per-
severing, prudent. In a word, the real object
of the schoolmaster should be to form the character of his
pupils. To do this effectually he must teach them religion,
must instruct them to be Christian, and must lead them
to apprehend the duties which Christianity required of
them. Unless lie did this, his work would be very
defective indeed. At the same time there was
a great difference between the education given at
different establishments. A day-school, for instance, was
merely a machine for teaching, where the children were
turned out to be educated as their parents or guardians
thought fit at home. But a boarding-school was not so.
There the teaching and the education must go together.
The principles inculcated must come forth in action, and
it was the duty of the master to see that it did so. To the
day-school the Conscience Clause might be applied ; to
the boarding-school it could not possibly be applied. His
lordship then went on to the subject of university education.
Speaking of the reforms which have recently taken place
at Oxford, he approved of the system of non-residence
lately introduced. At the same time there were advantages
connected with colleges, and the old system, which
could not be expected to be found in the new. But the
theory of a university—open to all—should be carried out.
Though the university should not be closed against any
one, the same rule did not apply to colleges. As a basis
of university education, he believed and strongly recom-
mended the old regime—classics and mathematics.
But these should not stand alone. Other studies were
required, and should be encouraged by every possible
means. Passing to the subject of endowed schools, his
lordship insisted very emphatically on the
-necessity which
existed for reform. They should the consolidated and
re-organised. Bad trustees, who did not un.lerstand their
position, or used their influence wrongfully, should be
removed, and new ones who could be depended upon ap-
pointed. Funds, too, mismanaged and wasted in one
place or schools, might be transferred to other and more
efficient schools. Passing to the relations between the
Church and education, his lordship was thoroughly in
favour of compulsory education, which he regarded as
necessity. He agreed with the views of the royal commissior
on technical education. As to female education, he
would not accept as proved the proposition that the
minds of boys and girls were equal and capable of the
same culture. Yet at the same time he thought that the
female sex might well complain of the injustice of being
excluded from the advantages of most of the great endow-
ments. The address was enthusiastically received by a
crowded audience.

In the section of Health, the report of the joint corn
mittee of the British Medical and Social Science Associa-
tions on the state of medicine was read. The document says
that the joint committee met on the Ist May, their work
being to decide what steps should be taken to prevent the
introduction of further complications by fresh legislation.
The committee desire to see such an amendment of the
present system of the registration of the causes of death as
will make the registrar's certificate a reality, instead
of being, as is too often, merely an illusion. They enter-
tain the belief that the facts to be elicited by the inquiry
will go far to settle the questions in regard to which
doubt exists, whether the functions of superintending
registrar and medical assessor can be combined in
the hands of the officer of health, and whether
the • duties of officer of health are compatible
with private practice. The views of the committee were
embodied in a memorial, and an interview was had with
the Lord President of the Council, the Secretary of State,
and Poor-law President, the result of which interview they
believe will be the issue of the royal commission.
The document then refers to the bill for the
the improvement of the dwellings of artisans, and depre-
cates some of its provisions. It concludes by expressing
a strong conviction that ere long they will witness the
triumph of the great principles which have long corn.
14mActtlii cpt_42 went of the two AapciatOpot

THE CHURCH CONGRESS.

The sessions of the Church Congress were resumed on
Wednesday. At the opening of the meeting the Arch•
bishop rose and said he wished to speak in reference to some-
thing he had said the previous afternoon. Perhaps he asked
too much of human nature when ho asked them, if, by chance,
they should dissent from, or disapprove of, any word which
was spoken, that they should express that dissent merely by
their silence. He apologised at the same time for the "bull,""ex-
pressing dissent by silence," which, however, being himself
born in this city, ho had a good right to make. What he
now wanted to ask of them was something a little different
from that. It was this: It was told him that there
were some faint sounds heard which it would be
as well not to be heard within these walls. He
now asked of them, if they disapproved of any-
thing, they would simply say "No, no." A "No, no"
simply expressed dissent from the thing spoken, but
another sound expressed dislike of the person speaking.
He would ask of them not to give expression to a sound
that would tend to show dislike to the person speaking.
Hissing was not a human utterance. It would, therefore,
be best that it should be altogether abstainer] from by thorn.—
The Dean of Cashel then read a paper on Church Work and
Life in lrelanl. He contended very strongly for more
unity. The cathedrals should be centres around which
the clergy must rally, and the bishop should occupy
the position of father of his flock in "the centres of
church life." The Rev. Alexander Irwin con-
tinued on the same subject. Ile enlarged on the
laborious character of the parochial work in Ireland—and
taking up the subject of the education of the young, showed
the difference between the two systems of Sunday-school
teaching. "In our Sunday-school classes rich and
poor, the children of the employers and the em-
ployed, of the farmers and the farm labourers,
aro combined together. And, further, at the time
of Divine service, instead of the scholars being all placed
togetl'er in seats set apart for them, thus preserving the
character and appearance of a school in the house of
God, our Sunday schools break up before the service
begins, and the young people sit with their parents,
and are not ranged under a schoolmaster or mistress.
He concluded as follows:—" Those who really know
what the Irish Church has done and is doing in the coun-
try, its exertions to elevate the standard of morals, to check
the growth of superstition, to ameliorate the condition
of the people, and to save the souls of men by making
known the Gospel of Christ, will, I am sure, join with one
voice in saying Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it.'"
A discussion followed in which Dean M'Neille taking part
raised his favourite topic, tho wickedness of Rome. The
Church in Ireland, he said, was surrounded by special
dangers ; she was exposed to political conspiracies. The
system of the Church of Rome was not simply to attack
what she considered erroneous doctrine—it was not a mere
divergence from her that they had to meet, but a politi-
cal conspiracy against the political liberties of man•
kind Agaiust her they protested. They had the cry of re-
ligious equality, but the Church of Rome repudiated equality
and claimed unconditional submission. Justice should be the
cry—the common standard between Rome and England. Eng-
land's standard was equal liberty to all -Rome's standard was
dominion over all. There could be no equality with Rome—
Protestantism and Romanism should be always in antagon-
ism until one party or the other was subdued. They must
have a victory before they could have peace. They must
overcome or they must submit to Rome. Ergland must
either retain the supremacy of her sovereign, or she must
yield to the supremacy of a foreign sovereign.—The
Bishop of Oxford, in closing the meeting, ventured to say
that be could not believe it possible that a Church contain-
ing men capable of speaking and acting as that morning had
shown - peech and action based upon the highest Christian
principles and understanding— guided by the knowledge
end application of all the rules which the Church of Chilit
had received and embodied—he could not believe it possible
that such a body could really be approaching any great
destruction to her usefulness or any lasting diminution of
her fame. —The observations of the right rev. prelate were
applauded to the echo.
At two o'clock the Congress again met, the Bishop of
Meath occupying the chair. The subject for discussion
was, How the Church can best secure and retain the
attachment of her younger members." A paper was
read by the Rev. Edward Jackson recommending a
judicious system of association as the best pacific.
The Rev. F. W. Farrar, in another paper, laid down
some principles which, if carried out, would, in his
opinion, effect the desired object. The first and
chief was, " that neither the congregation, nor
the bishops, priests, and deacons, were the Church of
Christ." The second was the appointment of teachers
who would have sympathy with the spirit of the age.
The third and last principle was toleration. He thought
toleration was the best preservative from that worship of
opinion which was the fruitful source of all the indif-
ference towards the Church now prevalent. The Rev. H.
H. Dickinson expressed an opinion that the teaching in
Sundarschools was excessive in quantity and deficient
in quality, and that excessive religious learning had the
effect of estranging the young from the church. He gave
the follon ing case in point to illustrate his argument :
During the Social Science Congress a Geneva baron,
who was staying at the house of one of his parishioners, was
asked to go to church on Sunday, but refused, saying: "You
see, sare, I had a mother who was one very pious woman.
She made me go to church one, two, three times a day, and
I have made a calculation that I have gone to church once
every Sunday until I be SO years of age; so when I am SO
years of age I will begin to go to church again." Mr.
Dickinson offered some suggestions as to the mode of
instructing children so as to give them a greater interest
in the church, and attach them to their pastor. The Rev.
Dr. Hannay, of Belfast, mentioned, among other causes
which detached children from the church, the unsuitability
of the services, and the fact that the Sunday-school was
often regarded as a substitute for the church. The Dean
of Cork expressed dissent from some of the views which
had been enunciated. He thought it was a fallacy to speak
of the Church sympathising with the spirit of the age. It
was the part of the Church, he said, to ascertain what the
spirit of the age meant, not to listen too much to the
craving desires and earnest cries of the rising generation.
He held also that there was an important distinction
between toleration of opinions and charity towards
persons. He had no toleration for opinions, while he had
every toleration for persons. The Rev. J. Nicholson, of
Dundee, put a pertinent inquiry to the Congress. He
said there were 30,000 members of the Irish Established
Church in Glasgow and its neighbourhood, and 2,000
in Edinburgh, and he wished to know what had the
United Church of England and Ireland done for
them. They should not lose sight of the fact that
there were 35,000 or 40,000 of these children
in Scotland. The Rev. Mr. Bardsley, of Lancashire,
also spoke on the subject. He thought the best plan for
retaining the attachment of the young was to have their
minds well stored with the Word of God in the Sunday-
school. Mr. Henry Clarke, of Liverpool, admitted the
value of the Sunday-school, but argued that the present
plan of retaining their attachment after they left the
Sunday-school had signally failed. He attributed the
failure to the pew system. The Rev. Dr. Trinder
suggested that there should be a distinctive service in
the church suited to the young. The discussion was con-
tinued by the Rev. Henry Rowley, the Rev. Edmund
Lee, of Brighton, and the Rev. Dr. Webster, of Cork. The
latter mentioned that he had announced a plan of ca!e-
chising the young in presence of the congregation, and
repeating their answers aloud. He was at first opposed,
but the people were now pleased with it. He recom-
mended that clergymen should sympathise with the young.
This closed the session for the day.

Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer
the vacant ribbons of St. Patrick upon the Marquis of
Waterford and the Earl of Erne.

At the last meeting of the Chester board of
guardians, one of the members, in calling attention to
the increase of tramps, said as many as seventy people
were lodged in a space only appointed to accommodate
twenty-two.

A notice of death in a North Wales contem-
porary contains the following addendum :—" He was a
moral young man, and a devoted member of the Church of
England ; and though he had been brought up in a public-
house, he never tasted a drop of ale during his whole life."
—Osu;estry Advertiser.

A NEW PHASE OF AN OLD NUISANCE.—Mrs.
Murphy, the wife of the " Protestant Electoral Union
lecturer," gave the first of a series of Anti-Popery lectures
on Wednesday evening, at Hulme. No attempt was made
by the authorities to prevent the building being used for
the purpose, although this was the place where Murphy
was forbidden, upon recognisances to keep the peace, to
hold a meeting about a month ago. A large force of police
was held in readiness, and Captain Palin, the chief con-
stable, was in the neighbourhood of the lecture-room, hitt
nothing occurred to render their intervention necessary.

STRANGE CASE OF ROBBERY.—At the Bow-
street Police-court, a young man named Charles Faiifield
has been charged with stealing coins, worth £250, from the
United Service Institution, of which he was a member. It
seemed that another member of the Institution bought a
coin at a money-changer's, and shewed a " rubbing " of
it to the secretary, who at once recognised it as an impres-
sion of a coin that belonged to the Institution. The police
were employed, and soon ascertained that the accused had
sold a badge and a number of coins, all of which had be n
stolen. At the prisoner's house no fewer than three
hundred coins were found, which he acknowledged having
purloined The case was remanded,