The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-04 00:00:00

THE ODD FELLOWS.

On Wednesday, the Annual Moveable Committee of
the Manchester -Unity of Odd Fellows, which is in session
at Cheltenham, gave a very important decision with
respect to the age at which members shall be received into
the order. A proposition from the Aberdare district
was introduced by the Rev. Dr. Price, and its purport
was' to give districts power to receive members of the
age of 16, but such members were not to be allowed to
enter lodges during lodge hours, or receive signs or pass-
words, or be entitled to cards of clearance until they
attained the age of 18—the minimum age at which mem.
bers have hitherto been received. The subject has been
discussed at intervals by the A.M.C. for the last ten
years, and at Plymouth it was decided by a majority of
two votes to reduce the age at which members may be
received from 18 to 16. A demand was made for the
names and votes of the delegates to be recorded,
and on that being done the small majority in favour of
the change was converted into a majority of three against
it. This year the matter again gave rise to a long and
animated discussion, in which nearly forty delegates took
part. An effort was made to defer the question for
another year, on the ground that the change proposed
would be inconsistent with rules that would remain un-
altered, and that there were not tables of rates of con.
tribution for members of 18 years of age. Tho
amendment was rejected by a decisive majority, and
amidst considerable excitement the original proposition
was carried by 109 to 95 votes, and in accordance with a
demand made to that effect, the names and addresses of
the delegates who voted on the question were recorded.
The result, therefore, of the decision of the A.M.C. is,
that in future youths of 16 may become members of the
order, subject to the restrictions as to their rights and
privileges already indimted.

SUPPOSED SUICIDE THROUGH BETTING,

An inquiry was held yesterday by Mr. W. Payne,
coroner, in Waterloo-road, respecting the death of Mr.
Thomas Whitehead, aged 60 years. The deceased was
a cutter at a clothier's in Cloth-fair, and his son
deposed that he was aware of the fact that his
father was given to betting, but as he was a very " close
man "he never told whether he had won or lost. Mr.
Jones Milet, of the European Coffee House, in the West-
minster-road, said that on Friday night, at eleven o'clock,
the deceased came to his house and took a bed. He was
so sad that he could hardly speak. He said that a friend
of his had told him to back Pace, one of the horses that
was to run for the Derby. He had done so and lost. He
went to bed in the top room. Witness heard him place
the washhand - stand and a chair against the door:
On Saturday he did not come downstairs, and
witness then forced open the door, He found the de-
ceased seated on the floor at the end of the bedstead. He
had tied a rope round his neck, and then fastened it to the
pole of the bedstead. He had then sat down upon the
floor and pressed his body forward. He was quite dead.
Several papers relating to betting and racing were found
upon the deceased. He had lost money on the Derby and
Oaks. The jury returned a verdict of Temporary In-
sanity.

THE NEW LAW ON CAPITAL PIINISHMENT.—This
statute, whose operation extends to the whole of the
United Kingdom, has been printed. There are certain
modifications as regards Scotland and Ireland. The
sheriff is to see the law carried out ; the surgeon is to sign
a certificate, and a coroner's inquest is to be held. The
certificate of death is to be exhibited for twenty-four
hours near to the principal entrance of the prison. The
Home Secretary is empowered to make rules for carrying
Lie new law into effect.

SEIZURES or Tosscco.—Extensive seizures of
adulterated tobacco have been made recently in the city of
Waterford. No less than seventy rolls of " twist " were
taken from one manufacturer, thirty from another, and
smaller quantities from several others. The tobacco was
forwarded to Dublin for analysis, and, should it prove to
be adulterated, the parties will be prosecuted. An Irish
paper suggests that the revenue officer who made the
seizure should turn his attention to the sale of adulterated
liquors, observing that the stuff now sold to the poorer
classes as whisky is often little short of rank poison.

NARROW ESCAPE. —A day or two ago an accident,
which might have had more serious consequences, hap-
pened to the Earl and Countess of Dunmore. It appears
that a cab ran into their brougham, breaking the shafts and
sending the horses at a furious gallop down Grosvenor.
place. The carriage came into collision with a lamp-post,
and threw the footman and coachman, the legs of the
latter getting entangled in one of the wheels. The horses
fell and the brougham was smashed, but fortunately neither
the earl nor countess were injured. The coachman was
conveyed to the hospital. The footman's injuries were slight.

AN UNNATURAL MOTLIER.—About a fortnight
ago, Jenifer Gill, a married woman residing in Penryn,
gave birth to a male child, since which she has been con-,
tinually intoxicates. On Saturday she left the infant in
bed, a little sister being in the room below. After a short
time the girl went into a neighbour's house, and said she
had tried to wake the baby, but could not. A woman went
in, and found that the child was dead. The wretched
mother was at the same time in a public-house helplessly
drunk. The registrar has refused a certificate for the%
burial, and requires that an inquest shall be held ; but it
is feared that no punishment can The awarded the wornazoi
heartless crime.— Ircstern Morning News.

PBTCE OF MILK.—A correspondent of the
Manchester Courier, thus descants upon the present high
price of milk :—" Some time ago our milk-vendors took
advantage of the exaggerated rumours of cattle plague
to add a penny the quart to this most important neces-
sary of life. Never were cattle more healthy, or their
food more abundant, than at the present time, yet milk
still stands at the rinderpest prices of 1866, and out of
the reach of the poor, but in the smallest quantities.
And as for nutrition and health, especially to children,
no fluid can ever be found to take the place of milk. May
not its dearth be.one of the causes of the degeneracy of our
children, and the high death-rate in our city? And, at
the same time, I am told that some of onr dairymen aro
making fortunes quite disproportionate to their positio;

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