The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-22 00:00:00

ELECTIONS 1N PARIS.

A Deputy to the Legislative Body is about to
be elected in the Department of the Gard, a va-
cancy having occurred by the promotion of the late
member, M. Fabre, to a high post as Judge. Three
candidates present themselves. The first is M.
Dumas, not the author of "Monte Christo," nor
his son of the Dame aux Camelias, as was some-
what spitefully said at first, but the son of the cele-
brated chemist who was Minister of Agriculture'
and Commerce for two months and nine days-31st
of October, 1850, to the tat of January, 1851—and
who after the Coup d' Etat was ynade Senator.
The second is the Baron de Lucy, Deputy under
the Orleans Government, where he sat and voted
on the extreme Right, with Berryer as his
leader, and was one of the five Deputies who, in
1843, paid the famous visit to Belgrave-square. He
was also representative of the people in the two As-
semblies, Constitutional and Legislative. He con-
stantly voted with the majority ; and though he
supported the motion for the revision of the Con-
stitution of 1848, he refused to adopt what was then
called the policy of the Elysee—that is, of the Pre-
sident Louis Napoleon. On the 2d of December,
1851, he joined his colleagues at the famous meeting
in the 10th arrondissement, to protest with them
against the Coup d'Etat. In 1852 he retired into
private life till thA general election five years ago,
when he came forward as a candidate of the Oppo -
sition, and was defeated, in the same district of the
department of the Gard from wbich Al. Fabre, the
newly-made Julge, now retires. M. de Larcy is by
all accounts an able and honest politician. The
Presse says :

" He recommends himself to the suffrages of the
electors and to the sympathies of all impartial men
by the purity of his long political career, his noble-
ness of character, his extensive acquirements, and
his brilliant talents."

The third candidate is M. Teulon, who was also
a Deputy in the time of the Orleans Government
and voted with the extreme Left. He was named
one of the Judges of the Court of Appeal of Li-
moges. At the Revolution of .February he was
appointed by the Provisional Government Commis-
sioner for the Department of the Gard, of which be
is a native; and was elected representative to the
Constituent Assembly. After the election of Prince

Louis Bonaparte as President of the Republic, M.
Teulon took his place among the adversaries of the
Napoleonic policy. Defeated in the election for the
Legislative Assembly, he resumed his functions as
First President of the Cour d'Appel of Nimei, and
retired from the Bench in 1863.

Of these three candidates the offlcial one is, of
course, the son of a Senator. He is absolutely un-
known ; he may have excellent gifts and merits,
but they have as yet to be displayed; but his great
recommendation is derived from the scientific and
political services of his father, which have been
handsomely acknowledged by promotion to the
Senate and divers public functions. If successful
through the influence of his patrons, he will become
another unit added to the compact band of Depu-
ties who vote silently and unanimously for all Go-
vernment measures. M. de Larcy in the Chamber
would speak eloquently, as he has before done,
against centralization, against laviiih expenditure
on public works, in favour of the extension of mu-
nicipal franchises, and for the liberty of the press:
The prefects have a std time of it whenever new
deputies have to be returned, for the defeat of an
official candidate is a mask set down against them.
M. llenri Itochfort, is the present number of the
Lanterns, gives a humorous and not very exagge-
rated account of what is done on occasions like the
present :

"It is at this solemn moment that those luckless
functionaries, whose embroidered coats are for so
many the object of ambition and of envy, really
earn their pay and allowances. I fancy lam pre-
sent at a conference between the candidate and the
prefect.

'‘ Monsieur le Candidate,—Be pleased to give
me a few hints for the circulars which I have to ad-
dress to my dear subordinates, to whom I am going
to recommend you. Let me see—have you got any
pictures at home ?'

" Yes, three ; one of them an engraving of
Mazeppa. I have also an engraving of Ivanhoe,
but it has been transferred to the housemaid's bed-
room.'

" ' Capital ! t shall then say that the fine arts
and artists have always found in you an enlightened
protector. Are you a graduate of the University ?'
" No ; but in 1833 I had some intention of pre-
senting myself for admission to the Polytechnic
School.'

" ' That's something. I shall write that your
special studies in the exact sciences give the cer-
tainty that not one farthing of money will be spent
in France without being strictly controlled by you.
Between ourselves—do you give much to the poor?

" ' One day I sent 25 francs to a tamer of wild
beasts who had his arm mangled by his panther.'
" I shall put down—compassionate and generous
—no misfortune has ever found him
.indifferent.
His purse and his heart are alike open. The indi-
gent know it well, and when they see him pass cry
out' There goes our father.'
" Such are pretty nearly the mysteries which the
Government hides from us with such jealous care.
What particularly astonishes me in its conduct is
that while so rigorously respecting the secret of the
elections, it has such little respect for the secrecy
of letters."

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.—This Da7.

HUNTINGDON RACES—This DAY.
HANDICAP PLATE.
The Peel Plate of 100 sovs (handicap) ; winners of any
handicap after July 16 (at ten a.m.) 51b extra; three-
quarters of a mile.
Cornet 1
Master Willie ..
Miss Hayes 3
Six ran.
CORPORATION STAKES.
The Corporation Stakes of 5 SON'S each, with 100 added ;
two year olds Ist, three 9st ; fillies and geldings allowed
31b; maidens at the time of starting, if they have run
once, allowed 31b, twice 51b; winners once in 1868 31b,
twice 51b extra ; the winner to be sold for 200 sovs ; if
entered for 150 sovs allowed 31b, 100 51b. Three-
quarters of a mile.
Lymington
Expansion
Lavinia

Eight ran.
MILTON STAKES.
The Milton Stakes of 5 sovs each, with 50 added, for two
year olds; colts Bst 101 b, fillies Bst 71b; any winner of a
stake of the value of 100 sovs 31b, 200 or two of 100 51b,
300 71b extra; mtidons allowed 31b. T.Y.C. (half a
mile, straight). 33 subs.
Chanoinesso
Belle of Warwick
HUNTINGDON CUP.
The Huntingdon Cup, value 200 sovs, by subscription of
10 sovs each, and 100 added; three year olds 7st 21b,
four Bst 71b, five Bst 131 b, six and aged 9st 11b. Two
miles.
Strathconan
Chippeuham
SELLING PLATE.
The Oakley Selling Plate of 50 sovs, added to a Sweep-
stakes cf 5 sovs each; two year olds 7st 31b, three
9st 1113, four 9st 121 b, five, six, and aged 10st 121 b ;
mares and geldings allowed 31b ; the winner to be sold
for 150 sovs; if entered for 100 sovs allowed 71b, 75101 b,
50 141 b. T.Y.C. Half a mile.
Grand Turk • . 1
Louisa 2
Primula
Eight ran.
SCURRY HANDICAP.
The Apethorpe Scurry Handicap of 10 soya e ch, 2ft
with 100 added ; winners after July 16 (at ten a.m.) 71b,
extra. Three quarters of a mile. 31 subs.
Seringapatain 1
Massderwen '
Cornet
Four ran.
NURSERY HANDICAP.
The Ramsey Abbey Nursery Handicap of 10 sovs each, 3
ft, with 100 added for two year olds; winners of any
race after July 16 (at ton a.m.) of the value of 100 soya
31b, of two stakes of 100 each, or ono of 200 51b, 300 71b
extra (extreme penalty); the second to save his stake.
Three-quarters of a mile. 33 subs.
Acaster
Maggie
Pompeii

Twelve ran.
LATEST BETTING ON THE COURSE.
GOODWOOD STAKES. •
6 to 1 agst T. Dawson's lot (taken)
100 to 8 agst Ecarte (taken)

Foreign Mail racket List.

MAILS DUE.

Australia and New Zealand, via Bouthaluptou......July 18.
Ditto, via Marseilles l3.
Ditto, via P.m:ma ....... .......... ........ ...July 23.
Bruit, Buenos Ayres, and Ilunte Video Aug. 4.
Ditto, by lerenoh paskat . ... July 22
Cape Verde, by Brazil packet
Cape of Good Hope. Ascensioa. and St. lielena....Aug. 12
China, Penang, and Sing %pure, via Bo u z amp ton.. J uly
Ilbraltar, via Southampton.. July 18.
India, via Southampton ...... . • •• • •• • -July IS
unto, via Marseilles
Malta, blgypt, & ............. July 18.
Ditto, Marseilles... July 17.
Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal, via

Southampton

Ditto, Marseilles , . July 13
Newfoundland ...... ..... ..... .•..i• •-•.• •• • •••hily 23
Portugal .... ... ... Aug. 1.
United States, t anada, California, &0., by British
packet ... July 18

Ditto. by Canadian packet 17.
Ditto. by 1. Lited States packet
Ditto ditt( (Baltimore) ..
West Indies and Pacific (except Mexico and Baha-

mas)
West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe July 17.
Faitland Islands

A letter from Antwerp says that several f4rni
labourers have fallen ill in the fields and in the village s
in consequence of the insupportable heat which has pre-
vailed during the last few days, and adds that two pea-
sants have been found dead in the conniry.

EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL OF WAIL—The recent
proposal of the Russian Government for restricting the
employment of explosive balls in war has received an at-
tention from the Prussian authorities, which it will pro-
bably obtain among other European powers. It appears
that the Government of Berlin contemplates the appoint-
ment of an International Commission, with the view of
determining how far, with a due regard to the laws of
humanity, explosive projectiles should in any form be em-
ployed. It ssems likely that the commission in question
will commence its sittings in the course of the ensuing
autumn.

The total number of visitors to the Crystal
Palace yesterday was as follows:—Admissions by season
tickets, 821; on payment, 3,313—t0ta1, 4,134.
ENDOWED SCHOOLS OF THE METROPOLIS---The
recent Schools Inquiry Commission ascertained that the
net income of the trusts for educational purposes in the
metropolitan district, includtug £42,000, the endowment
of„ Christ' googital, mod§ £IQO,OOO year.

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Nearly; all the"morning papers give us articles on the
subject of the Electric Telegraphs Bill.

The Times admits that much of the original opposition
to the bill was actuated by motives of party warfare.
There is no man whose mind is free from prejudice but
must acknowledge that the bill was obstructed in great
measure because it was promoted by the present Adminis-
tration, and because the patronage consequent on the
purchase of the telegraphs might fall into Tory hands.
The cost of buying up the telegraph companies has increased
from 20 to 50 per cent., and the taxpayer will have to
pay for the ingenuity of the Opposition. The principal
reasons against the assumption of the telegraphs by the
Executive Government have crumbled away when put to
the test of inquiry. It was thought that a Government
monopoly might be tyrannical. It was proved that the
monopoly of telegraph companies has outdone all that
could be feared from a Government working under the
censure of public opinion. Evidence was produced, to
which no answer was attempted, which shewed that
the provincial press had suffered from the caprice
and wilfulness of the present telegraphic management.
It is certain that if any Postmaster-General ventured on
such a course either he or the Ministry which supported
him would suffer for it. The committee could come to no

other conclusion than that the transfer of telegraphs to the
Post Office, if unaccompanied with any legal monopoly
of telegraphic usage, would liberate the public from the
danger of arbitrary management rather than expose them
to any such oppression. With regard to the financial part
of the question, Parliament will act wisely in accepting
the proposal of the Government. Delay in such a matter
would be very dangerous, and the scheme should be
accepted now, lest worse should follow.

The Standard does not doubt that the telegraph corn-
panics have made a very good bargain. They have, of
course, obtained payment for prospective advantages, but
Mr. Gosehen ought to know that when individuals or
companies are " expropriated " in this country or in any
other in which the despotism of an individual or of a mob
does not override law, they will always claim, and in nine
cases out of ten will get, very liberal compensation for the
property taken from them. It is sufficiently clear, how-
ever, from the original proposals of the Government, that
nothing extravagant has been given to the companies.
They hal, had liberal terms offered them, which they
have accepted ; and if apparently a year's more profits
have been given them than an arbitrator imbued with
Mr. Goschen's notions might have allowed them, the
Government gets full value for its extra expenditure in
the information and other help which the contented com-
panies are now willing to afford it.

The Telegraph thinks that in one or two respects a more
advantageous bargain might have been made in the into.
rests of the nation than that which has been so criticised.
At the same time, out contemporary opines that the public
will be no losers by the transaction, should it ultimately be
completed on the terms foreshadowed by the bill. Mr.
Goschen's objection to pay four millions sterling for the
goodwill of a business which only cost two was acute,
but, unintentionally, of course, misleading. The " cost"
of such undertakings as the telegraphs is most
imperfectly represented by the mere outlay on
plant ; we must add the long years of effort, anxiety, and
risk which were required to raise them from the rank of
hazardous speculation to that of secure sources of profit.
Like most City men, the critic would have hesitated to
invest his money at the outset in an enterprise that stood
every chance of turning out a ruinous loss ; but he would
not have had the same feeling when the partners were
dividing 10 per cent. annually, and laying up an enormous
reserve against a rainy day. Now, the nation is buying
up a property which has for years paid 10 per cent., which
is annually getting more valuable, and the basis of whose
gains is ascertained.

The Herald is very indignant with the style of oppo-
sition offered to the Cattle Market Bill. The Opposition
is not merely irregular, not merely virulent ; it is against
all parliamentary procedure. Here is a scheme of legisla-
tion, on a subject of deep interest to the community,
which, according to the sheaving of its most inveterate
opponents, the House of Commons has minutely dis-
cussed, deciding in favour of it, and yet division after
division is taken to hinder its progress upon simple ques-
tions of form. Mr. Disraeli gave a sufficient answer to
those who insinuated that the large and constant majori-
ties supporting the bill resulted from passion. Those
majorities were furnished from both sides of the House.
But if there be passion, it must be, unequivocally, among
those who declare that they will go on dividing from night-
fall until dawn rather than allow even the preamble to pass.
Mr. Crawford and others affect to think that it is of little
consequence whether the measure passes this year or the
next. We beg to tell them that it is a matter of the
utmost importance to the inhabitants of London. It raises
the issue between cheap and dear, wholesome and diseased
meat for a population of nearly three millions. Nothing
could be worse for the agriculturist, for the importer, for
the dealer, or for the consumer, than to have this topic
hanging, as Mr. Henley put it, between heaven and earth.
If the Opposition succeed, as it only can succeed, by
talking against time, a full season is lost, and the public
will have to pay for the benefit of Mr. Milner Gitmon'Y
clients, the confederated butchers.

The Standard, on the same subject, declares it is high
time this child's play were brought to a conclusion. The
whole sense of the House of Commons is stultified by the
opposition of a minority. The proper functions of Parlia-
ment are at an end if such a procedure is to be allowed.
It might have been thought that the ravages of the cattle
plague would have disarmed the rancour of the bitterest
partisan. But the real merits of the question are utterly
ignored in order that the Government may be worried
into a surrender of the bill which they have in charge. It
is scandalous that any Administration should be compelled
to see the public time wasted, and the proceedings of the
House of Commons reduced to the level of a farce.

The Daily News says however triumphant the agricul-
tural party may be in the House of Commons, it is impos-
sible that the bill can be forced through the House of
Lords at this late period in the session. Not, indeed, that
the peers are in any way disposed to stand up for a sound
economical policy, or are specially solicitous to defend the
food supply of the masses from the tampering of the
squires. But it is understood, and the speech of the
Premier on Monday night distinctly pointed to this
result, that the standing orders of the Upper House will
place an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the imme-
diate enactment of that protective scheme for which
the agricultural interest clamours. The bill seriously
affects not only the general public, but still more nearly a
number of private interests, those of the metropolitan
butchers, the wholesale cattle salesmen, the wharfingers,
and others, which will all claim as of right to be heard
and to give evidence against the bill before the House of
Lords can pass it. Of course, this being the case, and the
butchers being determined in their hostility to the bill, the
contest may be, and if necessary will be, prolonged for
months. Ultimately, therefore, the Government, having
the meral election in view, will be compelled to drop the.
measure.

Commenting on the reception of Lord Napier of Mag•
data in the City, the Star confesses that it is more
inclined to sympathise with the spirit of the civic and
popular honours paid to the Abyssinian victor than with
those which the State bestows. To convert a brave
soldier and a great engineer into an ennobled
law - maker with a small pension a poor noble-
man in a houseful of wealthy peers seems
an odd way of rewarding such services. It looks
a little like the gratitude of the French king whose life
was saved by a chevalier not over rich, and who paid the
chevalier a formal State visit, entailed on him thereby an
almost ruinous expense, and then on taking his leave told
his host he was happy to have thus requited his faithful
service. Still, as we seem to have no other idea of reward.
ing a great soldier than that of making him a peer, it is
right the honour should be conferred on so worthy a
recipient as the man who was the other day Sir Robert
Napier.

THE WEATHER IN THE HOLY CITY.--We read
in a letter from Rome :—" The prayers for the cessation
of rain, ordered more than six weeks back, and since
daily repeated by the priests, have been stopped by direc-
tion of the cardinal-vicar. During the last three or
four days heat has returned, and with it an end of
that deplorable period of bad weather which had
become a real scourge to the country. The peasantry
are on all sides busy in reaping and thrashing
the corn, which has suffered much from the continued
rainsi."

THE 11 ARVEST ON THE CONTINENT. The
harvest in the South of France is terminated. The fears
'which had generally prevailed have baen dissipated,
and the result is better than was expected. The crop,
which in certain localities of the Var was sup-
posed to be in great jeopardy, will be abundant.
At Angers reaping is going on everywhere, and
farmers seem to be well satisfied. The yield will be
large, although the quality leaves something to be
desired. Letters from Normandy give the greatest I. opes,
and on several points the product will be above an average.
Similar accounts are received from the Fast of France. In
Hungary the harvest is advancing rapidly ; great plenty
is united to excellent quality. The country has still in its
granaries wheat of last year's crop, and prices are conse-
quently falling. Throughout Germany also there is a great
abundance of grain. In Belgium wheat is almost ready
everywhere for cutting, and the crop is fine in every
••----
V .0-#PIO4 • - • -

THE SEIZURE OF ARMS IN CORK.

The Dublin correspondent of the Times gives the follow-
ing particulars of the Outrage committed in Cork on
Monday :

"At half-past nine o'clock in the morning four men
dressed as artisans, and without any attempt at disguise,
entered the shop of Mr. Morton, gunsmith, 50, Old
George-street. They had crossed from the opposite side
of the street, and their movements attracted no particular
notice, as at that hour they were supposed to be work-
men on their way to or from breakfast. John O'Rorke,
the shopman in charge, who was in another apartment at
breakfast, went into the shop on hearing their footsteps,
to see what they wanted. They closed the door quietly,
and advancing to the counter, two of them presented
revolvers at him, and commanded him to observe
silence, assuring him that they did not mean to do him
any harm. He readily obeyed, being, in fact, stunned by
the suddenness and coolness of the proceeding. While the
two kept guard with revolvers pointed at him, the other
two produced a sack which they had brought with them, and,
opening a glass case near the door with a facility which!
seemed to indicate familiar acquaintance with the arrange-
ments of the establishment, they deliberately filled it
with the contents. These consisted of a number of single
and double barrelled guns and a rifle. Having taken as
much as the sack could hold, they removed it into the
street, leaving their companions still on duty as
sentinels, and after emptying it returned and refilled it
again. The whole party then left the shop, and
passing up the street rapidly turned a corner and disap-
peared. They left several other cases of arms untouched,
and it is supposed that they hastily withdrew, lest
the police, whose movements they no doubt had been
watching, should come up. It is thought extra-
ordinary that such a robbery could have been
committed in a street which is a continuation of Tuckey-
street, where the chief police-station lies, and almost
within view of another station in Caroline-street. It is
still more strange that, after the repeated warnings which
they have received, the Cork gunmakers still leave their
establishments in an unprotected state, and the authorities
have made no special provision for their security, or rather
for the security of the public. No trace of the robbers has
beer discovered.

mac,
LAW AND POLICE.

CLAIMS TO PEERAGES.—The House of Lords has decided
that the claim put forward by the Duke of Buckingham
to be placed on the roll of Scottish peers as Lord Kinloss
was a good one. With regard to the Burley and Kilwin-
ning peerages, their lordships agreed to a resolution
declaring that the claimant, Mr. Bruce, had made out his
descent from the last Lord Blirley, but that owing to the
attainder of Robert, Lord Burley, in 1715, he had failed
to establish his claim to the Balfour peerage, and that
he had failed to establish his claim to the Kilwinning
peerage.

THE AFFAIRS OF THE LATE ADMIRAL KELLY.-11l the
Lord Justices' Court, the case of Braund v. the Earl of
Devon was heard. The suit was instituted to administer
the estate of the late Admiral Marwood Kelly, who
bequeathed the residue of his property to trustees for
the purpose of founding a charity to he called the
" Kelly College," and to be situate in Devonshire. The
lineal descendants of the testator's paternal grandfather
were to have a preference, and then the sons of deceased
officers in the royal navy. The bill was demurred to
by the trustees on the ground, first, that as the suit
was to establish a charity it ought to have been com-
menced by the Attorney-General by way of information ;
and secondly, that the consent of the Charity Commissioners
ought to have been obtained before the institution of the
suit. Vice-Chancellor Stuart overruled the demurrer,
and the defendants, the trustees, appealed. Their lord-
ships, on the second ground, allowed the demurrer, but
gave leave to amend the bill.

ACTION AGAINST A CHURCHWARDEN.—In the Arches
Court a suit was instituted by the Rev. F. Richings, the
incumbent of Atherstone, Warwick, against Mr.
Edward Cordingley, one of the churchwardens, for vio-
lently entering the church and removing the super altar,
the altar cloth, &c., on the ground that at a meeting of
the vestry a resolution was passed that such decorations
were unlawfully introduced into the church. An immense
number of witnesses have to be examined, and the hearing
will most likely last for some time. During the hearing
of the case the Dean of Arches took occasion to remark
that much litigation would be avoided in ecclesiastical
matters if persons first obtained a faculty or permission to
introduce things in the services, or proceeded in a proper
manner to remove the same without taking the law into
their own hands.
STOPPING UP AN ARCIINVAT.—In the same court a suit
was brought by a gentleman named Crawley, the lay
impropriator of Luton, Bedfordshire, against the Rev.
James O'Neill for plastering up an archway leading to
the chancel. The defendant objected to the jurisdiction
of the court, but this was overruled. The church had
been restored, and since tile institution of the present suit
defendant had commenced to remove the obstruction. At
the suggestion of his lordship, the affair was amicably
settled.
STRANGE CAREER OF A CLERGYMAN.—At the Middlesex
Sessions a clergyman was convicted of fraudulently
obtaining certain sums of money on behalf of the male
Lock Hospital, and appropriating them to his own use.
Before sentence was passed, the accused put in a state-
ment, in which he attributed his fall to an unconquerable
love of drink. He had been engaged to be married to a
lady of great wealth, and everything was prepared for the
ceremony, when, yielding to temptation, he became
intoxicated, and " failed to be there as appointed." The
match was consequently broken off, and from that hour he
"rushed headlong into drink and gay company until
he was quite mad." He had been in prison on charges
of stealing toddy ladles, and of disappearing with his land-
lord's coat and watch ; then he was nine months in Beth-
lehem ; next, curate of a parish in Surrey ; afterwards he
underwent eighteen months' imprisonment for forgery;
and then became secretary to the male Lock; Hospital,
Dean-street, Soho. For the offence with which he was
now charged he was sentenced to five years' penal servi-
tude.

ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO MURDER A WIFE.-At the Mary-
lebone Police-court J. Crummins was chargedwith throwing
his wife out of the window with intent to murder her. A
policeman gave evidence to chew that he found the pri-
soner's wife lying on the leaden flat of an outhouse.
As Mrs. Crummins was in a too precarious state to attend
the court, the magistrate visited her at the hospital, and
took down her deposition. She stated that on the night
in question she was intoxicated, but denied that the
prisoner had ill-used her. The accused was remanded.
SHEEF• STEALING NEAR THE METROPOLIS.-At the Mid-
dlesex Sessions, Thomas Daly, 19, pleaded guilty to, and
Edwin Winder and James Burns were indicted for, steal-
ing eighteen sheep, the property of Mr. J. C. Hartwell,
farmer, Chingford, Essex. On the 17th of June
the sheep were all safe, and the two first-named
prisoners were seen on the same day in the neigh-
bourhood of Chingford, and subsequently Daly was
seen driving some sheep, and was followed to a yard
belonging to his mother, where every preparation had been
made for slaughtering the animals. The prisoners were
found guilty, and it was stated that Winder had engaged
premises near King's-cross for the purpose of receiving
stolen sheep, and, in fact, had been the prime instigator
of most of the sheep robberies that have lately taken place.
Winder was sentenced to fourteen years' penal servitude,
and the other prisoners to five years each.

FATAL COLLIERY ExrLosroN.--An explosion of
firedamp has taken place in the coalpit of Sainte-Bartle,
near Rive-de-Gier, France. Twelve workmen are said to
have lost their lives, and seven to be wounded.

FATAL CHASE AFTER A BUTTERFLY.—A lad, 7
years of age, named Binns Booth, was, a day or two ago,
chasing a butterfly on the banks of the River Aire, at
Shipley, and not being conscious of his near Proximity to
the stream, he fell in and was drowned.

THE CATASTROPHE TO THE BRIDAL PARTY AT
BATTERSEA.—Since Sunday evening last the Thames police
and several watermen have been engaged in dragging the
river with the view of recovering the bodies of the bride,
bridegroom, and bridesmaid drowned at Battersea. Their
efforts were without avail until Tuesday afternoon. At
that time the bodies of Mrs. Betsworth and her sister,
Ann Chads, were found, not far from one another, on the
Middlesex side of the river, opposite Chelsea. They were
at once conveyed on shore to the parish dead-house. At
three o'clock the body of the unfortunate bridegroom,
John Betsworth, was recovered off Pimlico.

MORT: SUPERSTITION IN CORNWALL—A fisher-
man of Alevagissey lately became impressed with the idea
that he was " ill-wished " by a poor widow, whose son had
been dismissed from a mackerel seine. To avert the evil
consequences which he apprehended might ensue, he
procured a large bone, and, after filling the hollow with
pins, proceeded to place it in the chimney. During this
interesting ceremony he read portions of the Bible,
especially the 100th Psalm. This incantation was in-
tended to cast a spell on the " witch," but hitherto it has
failed in effecting the proposed result. As might have
been expected, a full measure of ridicule has been showered
upon the luckless victim of the machinations of the
" witch." But the hard-working, quiet woman, who
possesses an untarnished character, has been subjected to
great annoyance. It is an acknowledged fact that many
in Cornwall superstitiously Attach importance to such
ocaieleta allr,ationz of witaortil—Wed(on Ast. rnbes
Ytwi,

ANO7IIER PRONUNCIAiIIENTO IN SPAIN.

Nothing is so restless as the Revolution,
it is as untiring in its efforts as the spirit of
evil. Where it is powerful, as in Italy and
Austria, it speaks aloud and declares its aims
in the face of the world. Where it is weak, as
in Spain, it whispers in secret and plots in the
dark. One of these conspiracies in the dark has
just been discovered in Spain and nipped in
the bud, by the arrest of its leaders. The
Revolution is a very chameleon, taking every
colour as suits its purpose ; it is now republi-
can, now constitutional, now despotic, but un-
der every shape and colour alike it is the
deadly enemy of the Christian State. Spain
under Isabella is true, as a nation, to its Catholic
character, therefore, the Revolution has de-
creed the overthrow of the reigning dynasty.
The aim of the conspiracy which has just been
crushed, was to force Queen Isabella to abdi-
cate, and if the conspirators failed to induce
the Duchess of Montpensier to take her sister's
throne, to proclaim as King the Queen's son,
the Prince of Asturias, under a Regency,
formed of the Duke and Duchess of Montpen-
sier, Marshal Serrano, and it is said of Espar-
tero. The leaders of the conspiracy belonged
to the Liberal Union, the party of the late
Marshal O'Donnell, who had often plotted to
place the Duchess of Montpensier on Queen
Isabella's throne. The failure of General Prim's
conspiracy, and of the plot to create a Masonic
" Iberian Kingdom" by the union of Portu-
gal and Spain, under the Kinc, of Portugal,
forced the Revolution to try its hand at a less
daring game. But the Spanish Government,
well informed and prompt, arrested Marshal
Serrano and five or six other Generals impli-
cated in the plot, and shipped them off forth-
with to the Canaries, and at the same time in-
timated to the Duke of Montpensier the neces-
sity of his at once leaving the country. By
such prompt measures the plot, deprived of
military leaders, and of the countenance of
the Queen's brother-in-law, was speedily at
an end. The Duke of Montpensier had long
treated the reigning family with studied cold-
ness, and cultivated friendly relations with
disappointed Liberals. The House of Orleans,
it must be remembered, is not famous for its
family loyalty. The Queen, who by her Catholic
and Conservative policy, and by her loyalty
to the Pope, has conciliated the Spanish Car-
lists, and drawn to her throne the supporters
of order and religion, and in the same measure
exasperated the revolutionary and irreligious
party. Hence her name has become a byeword
in the mouth of Europeon Liberalism, that
vast conspiracy against justice and religion,
and her rule, under which Spain is gradually,
recovering moral strength and material pro-
sperity, is the object of unceasing vitupera-
tion and slander in the Liberal Press. The
recent marriage of the Infanta with the brother
of the King of Naples has also given offence
to the revolutionary party, between whom in
every country a singular solidarity exists.
The suddenness, without warning of any
kind to betoken their approach, of these peri-
odical outbreaks in Spain has often been the
subject of remark, but this suddenness arises
from the fact that they are not popular com-
motions, but simply military plots. Their
cause is personal ambition, not popular dis-
content. People in Spain do not trouble
themselves about politics ; it is no affair of
theirs. They love peace and quiet; they want
a Government that will uphold order and re-
spect religion. Politics in their eyes is a game
at which conspirators and speculators play for
their own private advantage. Respectable
men abstain from soiling their fingers by coni
tact with politicians by profession, who are
too often, indeed, in the Peninsula mere sedi-
tion-mongers. Were it not for ambitious and
disappointed soldiers, encouraged by foreign
intrigue and by that revolutionary Liberalism,
which, even in Spain, is to be found in some
of the commercial towns, Europe would not
every now and again be startled by the an-
nouncement of the discovery and suppression
of a new plot in Spain, to re move a Govern-
ment or upset a dynasty.-IYestminster Gazette.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST.

The directors have issued their report for the half
year ending the 30th of June, which is to be sub-
mitted to the meeting of the proprietors to be held
at the International Hotel, Southwark, on the 30th
instant. They state that the liabilities when the
directors took office a year ago amounted, accord-
ing to the estimate of Messrs. Price, Holyland, and
Waterhouse, to £2,323,177, in addition to
£876,870 for lines which the company was under
Parliamentary obligation to construct. Authority
has now been obtained to abandon these lines, and
the remaining liabilities are reduced, according to
the latest estimate, to £293,611, of admitted lia-
bility, and about £175,000 contingent on the re-
sult of the reference to the Duke of Richmond in
the Surrey and Sussex and Chichester and Mid-
hurst cases. To meet these liabilities the company
has unexercised debenture power under the Act of
the present Session for upwards of £500,000 ;
so that, as far as they can see at present, the direc-
tors do not anticipate any necessity for issuing any
part of the £1,000,000 of ordinary stock authorised
by this act. The total amount expended on capital
account during the past half yearhas been £178,800,
consisting entirely of expenditure upon new lines in
progress, or abandoned, or in winding up the ac-
counts of lines recently opened, every shilling ex-
pended on old lines or plant having been charged
to revenue. The comparison of revenue receipts
and expenses for the current and past half year and
for the corresponding half year of 1867 shows the
total traffic receipts to have been, on the 30th June,
1867, £534,559 ; on the 31st of December, 1867,
£700,793 ; and on the 30th June, 1868, £575,358 ;
and the total working expenses and renewals on the
30th of June, 1867, £442,537 ; on the 31st of De-
cember, 1867, £406,933 ; and on the 30th of June,
1868,i341,263. This result the directors consider
very satisfactory. The receipts have increased by
£40,799 over the corresponding half year, while the
expenses have diminished by no less than £101,301,
so that the increase of net profit amounts to £142,100.
It is true that the expenses of the half year of 1867
were increased by arrears of revenue charges which
had been allowed to accumulate, but a close ex-
amination of the accounts of three half-years will
show that there has been a large and progressive
reduction under every considerable head of ex-
penditure, which may fairly be attributed to the
exertions of the officers, the greater efficiency of the
line and stock, and the rigid economy which has
been everywhere enforced. According to the rate
at which receipts and expenses are now going on,
the expense of the whole of the year 1868 will have
been reduced in comparison with those of the year
before the present directors took office from about
75 to 55 per cent of the receipts, and from about
4s. 4d. to 3s. 4d. per train mile. The sum included
in the revenue charges of the present half-year for
repairs and improvements of old lines and stations,
which would formerly have been charged to capital,
amounts to £21,369, which represents the cost of
working with a closed capital account. The ac-
counts for the half-year show a balance of revenue
over expenditure of £243,578 15s. 10d., to which
must be added the balance from last half-year,
£l,OOB 17s. 4d. ; making a total of £244,587
13s. 2d. Of this the payment of debenture and
other interest requires £94,908 ss. 9d., leaving
available towards payment of the preference in-
terest £149,679 7s. sd. This will suffice to pay the
full half-year's interest on all the preference
stocks up to the issue of £1,661,335 5 per cent.
stock, No. 6, 1866, on which half the half-year's
interest can be paid, amounting in all to £149,679
7s. sd. As the gross revenue of the second half-
year always exceeds that of the first by about
£150,000, while the expenses are not above £30,000
or £40,000 in excess, it is morally certain that
there will be enough net income at the end of next
half-year to pay the full year's interest on the en-
tire preference stocks of the company for the year
1868, with a small surplus. The directors feel,
therefore, that as the result of their labours for the
year they have been in office they may fairly con-

gratulate the shareholder; on seeing their property
rescued from insolvency, and restored . to a pofition
of perfect soundness, with a closed capital account
and all preference charges provided for, so ter sat any
increase of receipts from the development of traffic
cannot fail to accrue to the ordinary sha rebolders.
The company had two bills before Parliair lent, one to
authorise the working union with the So nth-Eastern
and Chatham companies ; the other fo r a slight in-
crease of tolls, abandonment of useless lines, defini-
tion of debenture power, and increase of capital.
The principle of the working unit n was unani-
mously sanctioned, after full inquiry, by committees
of both houses; but a clause was introduced by
the committee of the House of Lords limiting the
tolls over the whole system to the: maximum tariff
sanctioned for the Brighton Corer any. The South-
Eastern Company were of opinio a that this would
involve a serious sacrific.3 of their pres ant receipts,
and accordingly the bill was wi didra wn with the
concurrence of the three companies in terested. The
directors regret the loss of a measure which would
have been attended with so much ad iantage both
to the shareholders and the public, hut they will
endeavour to mitigate it as far as possible by
taking advantage of the :amicable relations
which now so happily prev.til with neigh-
bouring companies to make equitable arrange-
ments respecting the traffic at all competing points.
The other bill, which has been passed, gives the com-
pany important advantages, and enables he direc-
tors to say with confidence that all the urgent dif-
ficulties of the company are now surmounted, and
that its restoration to a position of prosperity is
merely a question of time. The directors propose
to take advantage of this bill to create debenture
stock, for the balance of their authorised powers,
and also to convert the whole of the terminable de-
bentures into an uniform consolidated °ill per cent.
debenture stock, and resolutions to this effect will
be proposed to the meeting.