Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1869-12-24 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

OUR TRADE WITH INDIA.—The Board of Trade annual statement, recently issued, give the items of our trade with British India last year. The declared value of the British and Irish produce ex. ported to that country in 1848 scarcely exceeded 15,000,000, and in 1868 reached £21,251,773, an amount utipreceilent d except in 1867, alien an extraordinary demand for iron and copper raised the total to £21,805,127. No country in the world took so large an amount ut our merchandise in 1869 as India. The United States apparently stands first in the list, but only because the above figures do not include the transit trade to India through Egypt. The amount of that part of the trade of 1868 is not yet stated, but in 1867 India received merchandise from Egypt amounting in value to £2,756,843.  The John Bull states that the University of Cambridge have just obtained, through the trustees of the Fitzwilliain Museum, a very fine work ot It is a large picture representing St. John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. The Baptist is a Spanish peasant (as might be assumed in a picture of Murillo), but more nobly idealised than is always the ease wi h this painter's Scriptural works. The other three figures are delineated with great power, and the colouring is magnificent. The pedigree af the p:cture is interesting and well traced. Au Engleh gentleman was in Spain while the French were pillaging the convents and churches of their art-treasures. He bought this picture and two more from the frightened inmates of a nunnery, and had only just time to get safely away with them when'the French marauders arrived and made a clean sweep of all that remained. The painting has ever since remained in the put chaser's private collet:thin at Newcastle, from which, through the good offices of a neighbouring connoisseur, it has been obtained as above stated.  MELANCHOLY SUICIDE OF A SCHOOLBOY AT Oxroan:LAn inquest was held at Oxford on Thursday last on the body of John Arthur Home, aged 16, son of the Rev. Frederick Joh,' Home, of Bradley. near Reilditch, Worcester,hire, who drowned himself in the Cherwell, near the Cce-cent, Oxford, on the preceding dly. D.-ceased was a pupil of the Rev. Frederick Wilton Fry. sehohlmaster. of New lon, Hall-street, in that city. No motive was assigned for the commission of the rash act, but a letter, of which the following is a copy, was found OD the deceased, addressed to his brother:—" Darling Brother,-1 feel that my life will only be a burden to me and my parents to live any longer. It is all right. I hope soon to be happy in heaven. Do not trouble about me. I will see you ail and your bright, happy faces again w;th the angels in heaven. I quietly commit myself to God by taking away my life, with the sure hope that I wi!l soon be with Him.—l remain, your dear brother, JonN." The jury returned a verdict that the deceased drowned himself, being at the time of unsound mind.  EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCE OF SELF SACRIFiCE.—We take a remarkable instance of resolute selfsacrifice from Mr Hayward's account of the Turki rebellion against the Chinese dominion in 186$ :—The Chinese garrison was ',hut op in the fort of Yarkand, and for forty days' beseiged by the Turki army—the only terms offered were that all should embrace Islam. The old Amban—the Chinese Viceroy of Turkestan— sninmoned his officers to a council, held in an upper room: the lower sorra was piled with barrels of gunpowder, with a train leading from beneath the chair of state. The officers assembled, wrangling about the probable ransom that would be taken. The Amban's sons moved among them, offering tea and sweetmeats, his daughters knelt weeping by his aide, be himself calmly smoking his long pipe. Suddenly cannon shots were heard, and the shouts of Allah Akhba announced the advance of the enemy to storm. A hrat of the Amban's resolution spread among the assembly: amidst the confusion he spoke a short farewell, and calmly turning his pipe-bowl shed the embers en the train— and all was over.—. Nature.