Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031430139 arW9804 C ° me " ""'"■""I' Llbrar y v.2 The annals of our time; on n J 1924 031 430 139 THE ANNALS OF. OUR TIME. THE ANNALS OF OUR TIME A DIURNAL OF EVENTS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL, HOME AND FOREIGN FROM FEBRUARY 24, 1871, to the JUBILEE, JUNE 20, 1887 JOSEPH IRVING MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1889 TABLE OF ADMINISTRATIONS, 1874 TO 1886. TABLE OF ADMINIS- First Lord of the Treasury . Lord Chancellor . .... Lord President of Council Lord Privy Seal . Chancellor of Exchequer Home Secretary Foreign Secretary Colonial Secretary . . War Secretary Indian Secretary Board of Trade Duchy of Lancaster . . Postmaster-General First Lord of Admiralty . Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland . Chief Secretary for Ireland Secretary for Scotland Woods and Forests (Public Works) . Attorney-General . Solicitor-General . . . . Lord Advocate (Scotland) . . . Earl Beaconsfleld. 1874. Earl Beaconsfield. Earl Cairns. Duke of Richmond. Du. of Northumberland, Sir S. Northcote. R. A. Cross. /Earl Derby. 1 (Marquis of Salisbury. J Sir M. Hicks-Beach. Colonel F. A. Stanley. /Marquis of Salisbury. (Viscount Cranbrook. Viscount Sandon. Colonel T. E. Taylor. Lord J. Manners. W. H. Smith. Duke of Marlborough. 'Sir M. E. H. -Beach. James Low&her. G. J. Noel. Sir J. Holker. Sir H. S. Giffard. Wm. Watson, W. E. Gladstone. 1880. W. E. Gladstone. Lord Selborne. Earl Spencer. Duke of Argyll. E. Gladstone. H. C. E. Childers. {£ SirW. Harcourt. Earl Granville. /Earl of Kimberley. \EarI Derby. I"H. C. E. Childers. \Lord Harrington. Lord Hartington. Earl of Kimberley. J. "Chamberlain. (J. Bright. [J. J. Dodson. (G. O. Trevelyan. H. Fawcett. Earl Northbrook. /Earl Cowper. 1 \Earl Spencer. f. E. Forster. >rd F. Cavendish. O. Trevelyan. impbell- Bannerman. /Sir W. P. Adam. {G. J. Shaw-Lefevre. l,Earl Rosebery. Sir H. James. Sir F. Herschell. /T. M'Laren. \J. B. Balfour. Resigned Duration As result of General Election (see p. 6 years 67 days. Defeated on Budget proposals by 264 to 252 votes (see p. 1471).. 5 years 57 days. TRATIONS— 1874 to 1886. Marquis of Salisbury. 1885. W. E. Gladstone. 1886. Marquis of Salisbury. ' 1886. Lord Iddesleigh. Earl Cairns. Viscount Cranbrook. Earl of Harrowby. Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach. Sir R. A. Cross. Marquis of Salisbury. Sir F. A. Stanley. W. H. Smith. Viscount Cranbrook. Lord R. Churchill. Duke of Richmond. H. Chaplin. Lord J. Manners. Lord G. F. Hamilton. Earl Carnarvon. Sir W. Hart-Dyke. W. H. Smith. Duke of Richmond. D. R. Plunkett. Sir R. E. Webster. Sir J. E. Gorst. J. H. A. Macdonald. W. E. Gladstone. Lord Herschell. Earl Spencer. W. E. Gladstone. Sir W. V. Harcourt. H. C. E. Childers. Earl Rosebery, Earl Granville. H. Campbell- Bannerman. Earl of Kimberley. A. J. Mundella. / E. Heneage. Sir U. J. Kay-Shuttleworth.J Lord Wolverton. Marquis of Ripon. Earl of Aberdeen. John Morley. Earl of Dalhousie. Earl of Morley Sir C. Russell. Sir H. Davey. J. B. Balfour. Marquis op Salisbury. W. H. Smith. Lord Halsbury. Viscount Cranbrook. Earl Cadogan. Lord R. Churchill. G. J. Goschen. H. Matthews. Lord Iddesleigh. Marquis of Salisbury. E. Stanhope. Lord Knutsford. W. H. Smith. Ed. Stanhope. Lord Cross. Lord Stanley. Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach. Duke of Rutland. H. C. Raikes. Lord G. F. Hamilton. Lord Londonderry. f Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach. 1 A. . J. Balfour. f A. J. Balfour. \ Marquis of Lothian. D. R. Plunkett. Sir R. E. Webster. Sir E. Clarke. f J. H. A. Macdonald. I J. P. B. Robertson. Defeated on Allotments amendment by 329 to 230 (see p. 1510). 227 days. As result of General Election (seep. 1554)- 178 days. ANNALS OF OUR TIME. Feb. 24. — Earl Granville, on the part of her Majesty's Government, endeavours to obtain some modification in favour of France of the war indemnity of six milliards of francs said to be demanded by Prussia. Government, he wrote, felt the difficulties which arise from their ignorance of the offers made on the side of France, and they bear in mind that this country is one only among the neutral powers, all bound by the obligations of friendship to both parties. " But her Majesty's Government are willing, in consideration of the extreme pressure of time, to make representations to Germany on the amount of this indemnity, and to tender their good offices in the spirit of friendship to both parties, under the conviction that it is the interest of Germany, as well as of France, that the amount of the indemnity should not be greater than that which it is reasonable to expect could be paid." — Invasions of Looshai tribes into the tea districts of Cachar and Sylhet, North-east India, leading to the despatch of a combined party of British and native troops to recover a young girl named Winchester, who had been carried off after the murder of her father. 26. — Some remarks in the way of censure having been made in Parliament regarding the manner of the withdrawal of the British am- bassador from Paris in September last, Lord Lyons writes to-day from Bordeaux : — " I con- ceived at the time that it was my duty neither to reject the advice of the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, nor to separate myself from my principal colleagues, and I thought it would be on all accounts inexpedient for me to allow myself to be shut up in Paris and to be de- prived of all speedy and satisfactory means of communicating with your lordship. My sub- sequent experience has, I confess, confirmed me in these opinions. On the day after I left Paris, all communication by road with that place was intercepted, and on the following day the last telegraphic wire was cut. The diplomatists who were left in the besieged city were refused by the German authorities posi- tively all facilities for corresponding with their Governments otherwise than by letters left open for the inspection of those authorities. My having resided at the seat of the Delegation of the Government at Tours, and having followed them to Bordeaux, have been accepted by the French as manifest proofs of the desire of her Majesty's Government to maintain intimate and friendly relations with them, while my doing so has afforded her Majesty's Government the readiest and most effectual means of maintain- ing such relations in fact. " 587 26. — A person understood to be a police spy, engaged in watching the National Guards de- filing in front of the Column of July, seized by a mob of infuriated Republicans, and, after being -subjected for hours to a series of gross outrages, is at last bound hand and foot and thrown into the Seine. 27. — Proclamation signed by Thiers and Picard posted in Paris, urging the inhabitants to accept even the hard terms of peace im- posed by the Germans as the only means of saving France. During six days, it was said, the negotiators fought foot by foot, and did what was humanly possible to obtain the most favourable conditions. " If the Convention be not respected the armistice will be broken, and the enemy, already masters of the forts, will occupy in strong force the entire city. Private property, the works of art, and the public monuments are guaranteed to-day ; but should the Convention cease to be in force misfortune will await the whole of France. The fearful ravages of war, which hitherto have not ex- tended beyond the Loire, will then extend to the Pyrenees. It is absolutely true to say that the safety of Paris affects the whole of France. Do not imitate the fault of those who did not wish us to believe, eight months ago, that the war would be so fatal. The French army, which defended Paris with so much courage, will occupy the left of the Seine and ensure tne loyal execution of the new armistice. The National Guard will undertake to maintain order in the rest of the city, as good and honoured citizens, who have shown themselves to be brave in the face of the enemy, and this cruel situation will end in peace and the return of public prosperity. " 28. — Treaty of Commerce between Spain and Sweden and Norway signed. — The American House of Representatives pass a bill repealing the duty on coal. — News from Paris indicate great uneasi- ness regarding the entry of the German troops and some necessary precautions were taken for avoiding a street conflict. In the afternoon the statues in the Place de la Concorde were veiled with thick crape, though ' ' Strasburg " was still permitted to retain the flags and im- mortelles with which it had been bedizened for months past. By midnight the streets were reported to be unusually clear, a result partially accomplished by the closing of the theatres and cafis. — The first Act of the Session, authorising an annuity of 6,000/. to her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, receives the Royal absent. A" MARCH 1871. MARCH March 1. — This (Wednesday) lorenoon the German army, to the number of 30,000, com- mence to enter Paris. The first Uhlan made his appearance at the Arc de Triomphe about nine o clock. He was soon followed by other Uhlans, and then by the main body of the occupying troops, the 6th and nth Prussian Corps, with about 11,000 Bavarians, which had previously been reviewed by the Emperor at Longchamps. Not being able to pass under the arch, they turned down the Avenue des Champs Elysees, and proceeded in the direction of the Place de la Concorde, their bands meanwhile sounding out the ever-popu- lar "Wacht am Rhein." The Duke of Coburg, General Blumenthal, and their respec- tive staffs, rode in at the head of the troops, followed by a squadron of Bavarian Hussars, with bright pennons of blue and white silk. Following these, and evidently in honour of Bavaria, came two batteries of Bavarian artil- lery, and then rifles and infantry. There (writes the Times correspondent) was the "Leib Regiment," with its shattered companies only a quarter of their original strength, and their flag hanging in ribbons from the stump of a broken staff. As they marched past the closed arch an officer's horse slipped and fell, and a crowd pressed round the dismounted rider. Instantly a comrade rode to his assist- ance amid the hisses of on-lookers ; one man was ridden over, and two or three horsemen charged along the pavement. This had the effect of scattering the mob, and from that moment they looked on in profound and re- spectful silence. For an hour and a half did the incessant stream of Bavarians continue, with here and there an interval occupied by some general and his staff. Then came the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg. Bismarck him- self, smoking a cigar, rode suddenly up, looked on the scene for a few minutes without going beyond the crest of the hill, and then turned away in the direction of Versailles, whither the Emperor and Crown Prince had retired after the review in the morning. — Lord Lurgan's famous greyhound, Master M'Grath, shown to the Queen at Windsor, and afterwards to various members of the Court circle. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court before the Recorder, the trial of Martha Tor- pey, aged 28, described as a married woman, charged as an accomplice in the robbery of jewels belonging to W. H. Ryder (see Jan. 13, 1871, p. 973). The shopman, Parkes, de- tailed his experience within the house in Upper Berkeley Street, into which he was admitted by a man describing himself as Tyrell, but now known to be Torpey. He took, he said, some of the jewellery out of a bag, and stated the prices of the different articles. He there saw the prisoner sitting at the fire. Witness stood at one side of the table, and the man on the o'hcr. When some of the articles were exa- 9S8 mined, the man suggested that the prisoner should go and call her sister. She went out of the room. When she returned she placed a handkerchief over his face, and the man im- mediately rushed at him and held his arms. He struggled, but the man continued holding him, and the prisoner pressing the hand- kerchief over his face. This lasted some minutes. He was then forced backwards on to a sofa. When he came to himself he found himself tightly strapped. The man Tyrell was standing over him, and said, " If you move I will murder you. " Witness asked him to loosen the strap over his breast, and he did so. Witness attempted to get up to a "sit- ting position and look at the table, but Tyiell forced him down, and put a handkerchief over his eyes. He afterwards heard the front door slam. He succeeded in loosening the straps on his wrist, and broke a pane of glass in the window, and gave an alarm. All the jewellery on the table was gone, with the exception of a small gold chain. The jury acquitted the pri- soner on the charge of robbery with violence, and also on a second charge for assault, on the ground that she had acted under her husband's coercion. 1. — Died at Edinburgh, John Carmichael, M.A. , Senior Classical Master in the High School. — The Burials Bill, permitting Dissenters to bury in parish churchyards with their own rites, or no rites, read a second time in the Commons by 2£I to 149 votes. — The London School Board, by a majo- rity of 41 to 3, reject a proposal for teaching the Bible without religious note or comment in schools under their management. Lord San- don protested against the startling notions and new religion Professor Huxley had formerly brought before the Board, to which the Pro- fessor replied by reminding his lordship that as Keats was reported to have been justly killed by an article, so " any faith which can be killed by human effort ought to be so killed." — Died at Bordeaux, M. Kuss, Mayor of Strasburg and Deputy for the Bas-Rhin. 2. — Bank of England rate of discount raised from 24 to 3 per cent. The comparative quiet prevailing at Paris combined with the accept- ance by the Assembly of the preliminaries of peace, caused the Stock Market to maintain a firm appearance, and even before business hours the French loan had been run up over I per cent. — Describing the desolate condition of Paris, the Journal Officiel records: "The Bourse and all the shops are closed. Paris has volun- tarily suspended her life, and feels the respon- sibility weighing upon her in such a painful moment, that it becomes her not to add to the misfortunes she has already to bear others more terrible that might be irreparable. After having heroically endured famine and miseries, Paris is MARCH i8;i. MARCH capable of a still greater courage.'' Other jour- nals appeared with black borders. To-day the German soldiers, in large numbers, visited the Louvre, Carrousel and other places of public resort, the populace, as a rule, looking on with sorrow and resignation. The " Red " leaders still maintained their cannon and barricades in the Belleville, St. Martin, and Temple districts. 2. — Writing to Cardinal Patrizi, Dean of the College of Jesuits and Vicar-General of the Holy See, the Pope explains the nature of his connection with the Jesuits, and defends the order against attacks made on it by " the in- vaders of our secular dominions." "We often apply to the Fathers of the Company of Jesus and entrust them with various interests, more especially those appertaining to the holy ministry ; and they have continually shown more and more of that laudable affection and zeal in their fulfilment, for which our prede- cessors often had occasion to praise them largely. But this most just attachment and esteem which we entertain for this order — so well-merited from the Church of Christ, the Holy See, and the Christian community in general — is far from the abject servility attri- buted to us by the scoffers, whose calumny we disdainfully reject from us, as well as from the humble devotion of the Fathers." — Explosion in the Victoria Pit, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, causing the death of 19 out of 30 persons in the works at the time. — In the Commons to-day the sitting was chiefly occupied with a debate on the Govern- ment proposal for a Select Committee to inquire into the present disturbed condition of West- meath, Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Osborne, and others, taunting ministers for seeking to obstruct free inquiry. On a division the Committee was carried by 256 to 1 75 votes. — Explosion of the powder arsenal at Morges, causing the death of twenty soldiers engaged at the time in withdrawing bullets from the French cartridges. 3. — The German soldiers begin to leave Paris on their march homeward, Count Bis- marck having obtained from Jules Favre, in the forenoon, official intimation of the Treaty being ratified by the Bordeaux Assembly. The Em- peror telegraphed from Versailles to Berlin : — • ' ' I have just ratified the conclusion of peace, it having been accepted yesterday by the Na- tional Assembly in Bordeaux. Thus far is the great work complete, which by seven months' victorious battles has been achieved, thanks to the valour, devotion, and endurance of our incomparable army in all its parts, and the willing sacrifices of the whole Fatherland. The Lord of Hosts has everywhere visibly blessed < ur enterprises, and therefore by His mercy has permitted this honourable peace to be achieved. To Him be the honour ; to the army and the Fatherland I render thanks from a heart deeply moved." This telegram was publicly read at Berlin amid salvoes of artillery 989 and peals from the church bells. The city was illuminated and an enthusiastic reception given to the Empress and Princesses. 3. — Acting under the advice of his medical adviser, Mr. Childers retires from the Admi- ralty and is succeeded by Mr. Goschen. Mr. Stansfeld afterwards succeeded to the Poor Law Board, and Mr. Baxter became Secretary to the Treasury. — Destructive earthquake at Tanglandang Island, one of the Sanguir group in the Malay Archipelago, the sea rising to a great height and sweeping hundreds of the inhabitants off the streets and plantations on the coast. 4. — Commenced in the Commons, a debate on the proposal for a second reading of the Army Regulation Bill, Col. Lindsay moving that the expenditure necessary for the National Defences did not at present justify any vote of public money for the extinction of purchase. — Died at Haverstock Hill, aged 98, Lewis Doxat, connected with the Morning Chronicle in the early part of this century, and for fifty years editor of the Observer. 6. — The Pope congratulates the Emperor of Germany on the assumption of the Imperial dignity as an -event likely to be beneficial to all Europe. " We return your Majesty, however, special thanks for the expression of your friend- ship for us, as we may hope that it will not in- considerably contribute to the protection of the liberty and the rights of the Catholic religion. On the other hand, we request your Majesty to be convinced that we shall neglect nothing by which, when the opportunity presents itself, we may be useful to your Majesty." — The ex-Emperor writes from Wilhelms- hohe, protesting against the deposition of his dynasty as unjust and illegal — " Unjust, be- cause, when war was declared, the feeling of the nation, roused by causes independent of my wish, produced a general and irresistible enthusiasm ; illegal, because the Assembly, elected for the sole object of concluding a peace, has exceeded its powers in dealing with questions beyond its competence, and because, even were it a Constituent Assembly, it would have no power to substitute its own will for that of the nation. The example of the past confirms this. The opposition of the Consti- tuent Assembly, in 1848, yielded to the elec- tions of the 10th of December, and in 185 1 the nation, by upwards of seven millions of votes, supported me against the Legislative Assembly. Political feeling cannot overcome right, and in France the basis of all legitimate government is the plebiscite. Beyond it there is only usur- pation by some for the oppression of the rest. I am ready, therefore, to submit to the free expression of the national will, but to it only. In the presence of lamentable events, which impose on everyone self-denial and disinterest- edness, I could have desired to remain silent, B 7 MARCH 1871. MARCH but the declarations of the Assembly compel me to protest in the name of truth disregarded and national rights despised." 6. — First bankruptcy trial by jury under the new Act — Emanuel, jewellers, v. Talbot. Verdict for plaintiff by consent. — The Marquis of Salisbury introduces, but withdraws, after debate, a motion regarding the foreign guarantees of the British Govern- ment, and the deficiency of the naval and mili- tary forces of the country. What other people thought of us, he said, was shown by the con- duct of Russia, Prussia, and the United States, the first of whom tore up a treaty in our face, the second concluded a peace on indefensible terms and in contempt of our views, while the third openly received and honoured those whom we had cast out as rebels. To "maintain guaran- tees extending over Europe and even into other hemispheres, we had only a small army and a fleet, which, since the Declaration of Paris, was valueless except for the defence of our own shores. — Earl Granville maintained that our armaments were sufficient to support our policy, and that at no time had the influence of this country in Continental politics been greater. — Public intimation given of the sale to Government, for 70,000/., of Sir Robert Peel's fine collection of paintings by old masters, in- cluding the well-known " Chapeau de Paille," and the finest Holbein in existence. They were soon afterwards arranged- and hung upon the walls of the National Gallery. — Died, aged 45, Henry Blackett, head of the publishing firm of Hurst and Blackett. 7. — In reply to Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone states that Government had not been informed of any treaty negotiated last year between Prussia and Russia regarding the late war, and consequently Mr. Odo Russell had received no instructions on the point when sent to Versailles. Replying in similar terms to Lord Carnarvon on the 9th, Earl Granville ventured to ask, in return, if her Majesty's Opposition had any knowledge of the treaty in question. — The freehold of White's Club House, St. James's Street, sold at the Auction Mart for 46,000/. 8.- — The condition of Paris reported to be uneasy and threatening, the streets crowded with men in uniform, and the heights of Mont- martre still in possession of the disaffected portion of the National Guard, with guns dis- posed so that they commanded the whole city. " The insurgents may at any moment drop a shell in the Tuileries, the Hotel de Ville, the Palais Royal, or any of the crowded boulevards. The respectable portion of the press and the ■people begin to cry aloud for the subversion of the Government of Montmartre. Troops of the line are pouring into Paris ; but the party of order does not trust them — the party of disorder does not fear them. Some soldiers are already to be seen at Montmartre fraternizing." 990 8. — A report on the elections in Algeria sub- mitted to the National Assembly. Gambetta, Andrien, and Colas were declared duly elected ; but with respect to the fourth, General Gari- baldi, the reporter proposed that, as he had al- ready given in his resignation, a fresh election should take place. • Suddenly a member rose and exclaimed that Garibaldi had no right to sit in a French Assembly, a declaration which brought M. Victor Hugo to his feet, exclaiming 'that when all Europe had abandoned France, one man came forward ;" but he was a power in himself. He came and fought, and was the only general who was not conquered." THs speech encountered the loudest interruptions, and the tumult was such that Victor Hugo in vain endeavoured to obtain a further hearing. At length he exclaimed : " Three weeks ago you refused to listen to Garibaldi ; you now refuse to listen to me. I give in my resigna- tion." Frantic applause on the Left followed this declaration, and Victor Hugo proceeded to confirm his words in writing. — The monitor ship Glatton, commenced in 186S, from designs by Mr. Reed, undocked at Chatham, Miss Scott, daughter of the Dean of Rochester, performing the christening. 9. — Russian Five per Cent. Loan of 12,000,000/. issued at about 8oj net. It was attempted to raise a popular feeling against this loan, but much more than the amount re- quired was subscribed. A protest circulated on the Stock Exchange gave the following reasons for objecting to the loan: — I. The Conference is now sitting in London to consider the con- duct of Russia in the matter of the Treaty of 1856. 2. The question raised by Prince Gor- tschakoff was, in the opinion of her Majesty's envoy, Mr. Odo Russell, of a nature in its present state to compel us, with or without allies, to go to war with Russia. 3. Under these circumstances, as good citizens and loyal subjects of our Queen, we consider that to supply Russia with means which might be used for aggressive purposes is most unpatriotic, and until the Conference has concluded its sittings in every way to be condemned. — A party of French sailors excite a dis- turbance at the Column of July by fastening a tri-coloured flag round the statue of Liberty on the top. — Riotous proceedings at Zurich, origi- nating in a meeting held by Germans in the Town-hall to celebrate the restoration ol peace. IO. — The National Assembly, by a majority of 461 to 104 votes, resolve to remove from Bordeaux to Versailles. Speaking of the situa- tion of Paris in the debate which preceded the division, M. Thiers said the action of a certain part of the population did not originally amount to anything culpable, because it vas directed against the Prussians. It had, how MARCH 1871. MARCH ever, degenerated into a culpable and factious attitude, but the Government hoped to be able to bring back the deluded people, and to avoid civil war. " As regards myself and my col- leagues," said M. Thiers, "we are all of one mind. If the peace should be disturbed, you may count on our patriotism to repress disturb- ances with the utmost energy. We shall never fail in this, but let us hope that this extremity, which has been momentarily feared in France, will be finally avoided. If we can avoid the shedding of blood, we shall consider it an honour to have done so." IO.— Gustave Flourens and M. Duvorne sentenced to death by a council of war for taking part in the riots of Oct. 31. 11. — The Sun newspaper, established in 1792, discontinued. — Holker Hall, near Ulverstone, a seat of the Duke of Devonshire, nearly destroyed by fire. — The American Senate confirms the re- moval of Mr. Sumner from the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee. — Fire at Tooting, causing the death of an aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Binfield, who were found suffocated in their room. 13. — Died, aged 70, Madame Bonaparte- Wyse, widow of Sir Thomas Wyse, and caughter of Lucien Bonaparte. — The Black Sea Conference terminates its labours by agreeing to a treaty abrogating the restrictions imposed in 1856, and permitting the Porte to receive ships of war of friendly and allied Powers, in case the Porte should deem it necessary to do so in order to ensure the execution of the stipulation of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty also provided for the pro- longation of the European Commission of the Danube for twelve years, for the continual neutrality of the works already created or to be created by the Commission, and reserved the right of the Porte as a territorial Power to send ships of war into the Danube. 14. — Trades Union Bill read a. second time. 16. — Died, at St. Andrew's, aged 38, Dr. M 'Gill, Professor of Hebrew in the University of St. Andrew's, and a member of the Bible Revision Committee. 17. — After a debate extending over five nights, the Army Regulation Bill is read a second time. — The Emperor William arrives at Berlin, and is received with great rejoicings. — Mr. J. A. Froude, the new Rector of St. Andrew's University, addresses the students on the subject of " Calvinism." — Died, at St. Andrew's, aged 69, Robert Chambers, LL.D., author and publisher. 17. — Earthquake shocks experienced in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Durham. 18. — Revolutionary outbreak in Paris. Early this morning a Government proclama- tion was issued, announcing that, after having given to the disturbers of public tranquillity time to return to duty and obedience, seeing that no attention was paid to counsels and injunctions, they were now determined to act in the interests of the city and of France. " Those culpable individuals who have pre- tended to institute a Government of their own are about to be given up to justice. Your cannons are about to be returned to the arsenals, and to execute this urgent act of justice and reason the Government counts on your assist- ance." To carry out this determination strong detachments of troops, under the command of Generals -Vinoy and Lecomte, were marched in the direction of Montmartre. The artillery- men of the troops mounted the bill, armed with their muskets, and engaged in parley with the officers in command, who made no opposition to the cannon being taken away. Mean- time, the rapfel sounded through the neigh- bourhood, and brought out great numbers of disaffected National Guards. Rushing upon the cannon, they were received with shots, when some of the Guards and a woman and child fell. After this words were exchanged between the National Guards and the sol- diers, the ranks broke up, and they went off to fraternise and drink together. The 88th regiment joining the insurgents, seduced other troops of the line, and all together made an attack on the gendarmerie posted on the Place Pigal. The officer in command here drew his sword, and ordered his men to fire, but he was shot down, and his detachment thereupon with- drew. In a state of wild agitation the insur- gents, now complete masters of the butte Mont- martre, rushed upon General Lecomte, whom Vinoy, Military Governor of Paris, had placed in command of the faithless 88th regiment. He was led, amid circumstances of gross indig- nity, to the Rue des Rosiers, where he was joined, later in the day, by General Clement Thomas, who had ventured there, in plain clothes, to look after his comrade. These two generals were shot in a small garden adjoining the place of detention without trial, not, so far as could be learned, by the National Guard, but by infuriated soldiers, aided by some Mobiles who bore a grudge against General Thomas on account of the severity of his dis- cipline during the siege. It was afterwards said that at the last moment General Lecomte, till then dignified and resolute, felt his courage fail. He tried to struggle, to fly, he ran several steps in the garden; then, instantly retaken, shaken, dragged, hustled, he fell on his knees and spoke of his chi'.dren. "I have five!" said he, sobbing. The father's heart burst through the soldier's tunic. There were fathers in that crowd, and some voices replied with emotion to this heart-stirring appeal ; but the implacable linesmen would not hear a word. 99' MARCH 187T. MARCH " If we do not shoot him to-day, he will have us shot to-morrow." He was pushed against the wall. A sergeant of the line almost immedi- ately advanced towards him. " General," said he, " if you will promise " Suddenly changinghis mind, he stepped two paces back and discharged his Chassepot full in the Gene- ral's chest. The others had only to finish the deed. Clement Thomas never showed a mo- ment's weakness. His back against the same wall as Lecomte, but two paces from his corpse, he made head against death to the end, and spoke very harshly. When the guns were lowered, he by an instinctive gesture placed his left arm before his face; and this old Re- publican died in the attitude of Csesar. Later in the day the insurgents took possession of the II6tel de Ville, the Ministere de Justice, and the military head-quarters in the Place Ven- dfime. Barricades also began to appear in all directions. A proclamation signed by " The Central Committee of the National Guards " was posted up in the afternoon : — " Citizens, The French people, ' until the attempt was made to impose upon it by force an impossible calm, has awaited without fear and without provocation the shameful fools who desired to touch the Republic. This time our brothers of the army would not raise their hands against the arch of our liberties. Thank* to all, and that you and France have proclaimed the Re- public, with all its consequences, the only Government which can close for ever the era of invasions and civil wars. The state of siege is raised. The people of Paris are convoked in their comitia for the communal elections. The security of all citizens is assured by the co-operation of ^the National Guard." At ten o'clock at night an eye-witness writes : — " The rebels are gaining upon the town point by point. They have come down from Mont- martre and taken possession of the Prince Eugene barracks ; they have planted the red flag on the column of the Bastille ; -we are ex- pecting them on the boulevards every hour; half Paris is in their hands ; andwhen we wake in the morning we expect that the town will be under the Government of the Red Republic. Private persons are in consternation, and the Govern- ment offices are in the greatest anxiety. On the exterior boulevards hardly any civilians are ,*o be seen — none but armed men ; and those lew civilians who venture out in this quarter are immediately followed and suspected of being police spies. With the help of lanterns, the insurgents (it is now ten o'clock at night) are busily engaged in erecting barricades. The barricade at the top of the Rue Rochechouart is becoming quite formidable. The makers of the barricades encourage themselves with solemn oaths that they will die rather than sur- render." 18. — Dr. Payne Smith installed as Bean of Canterbury, in succession to Br. Alford. — The Paris elections were to have taken place to-day, but the Mayors put aside the 992 action of the Committee till the consent of the National Assembly could be obtained. The Paris press also published a joint declaration coun- elling the electors not to vote. The Com- mittee thereupon deferred their election scheme till the 22nd, seizing in the interim such of the mairies as were not already in their power. 18 Died, aged 64, Professor Augustus De Morgan, an eminent authority in mathematical science. — The Queen of the Thames steamer lost near Cape Agulhas, on her homeward voyage, after making a trip of only 58 days to Sydney, the shortest known. 20. — The " Central Committee " issue an official organ, with a manifesto declaring that it is the offspring of the free expression of the suffrage on the part of 215 battalions of the National Guard. It repels the accusation brought against the Committee of being the promoter of disorder, for it says the National Guard which directs it has shown itself im- posing and strong by the wisdom and modera- tion of its conduct. The manifesto further accuses the Government of having calumniated Paris, and of having incited the provinces against the capital. It adds : — " The Govern- ment has endeavoured to impose a commander- in-chief upon you, it has sought by nocturnal attempts to deprive us of our cannon, and has finally intended to take from Paris her crown of capital of France." A second proclama- tion fixed the election to " The Communal Council of Paris " for the 22nd (afterwards de- ferred to the 26th), and a third intimated that the Committee would, after the elections, lay down its provisional power in the hands of fhe people. — The Emperor Napoleon arrives at Dover from Ostend, and receives a hearty reception as he passed up the quay with the Empress to the Lord Warden Hotel. They proceeded to Chislehurst .in the afternoon. ■ — ■ The French Assembly meets at Versailles for the first time. — M. Rouher, ex-Minister of the Empire, mobbed at Boulogne, and afterwards placed in arrest at the H6tel de Ville. — Died, at Heidelberg, aged 66, Pro- fessor George Gottfried Gervinus, historian, and Liberal politician. 21.— The German Reichstag opened by the Emperor in person. He described its first duty to be the healing as much as possible of the wounds inflicted by war, and the commence- ment of those works by which the representa- tives of the German people sought to fulfil the mission entrusted to them by the Constitution. — Marriage of the Marquis of Lome and the Princess Louise in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. — Sir Henry Bu'lwer gazetted Baron Dalling, and Sir William Mansfield, Baron Sandhurst. MARCH 1871. MARCH 21. — The Government of Versailles issue a circular to prefects declaring the news from all parts of France to be entirely reassuring. " Disorder is nowhere triumphant. In Paris the citizens are organising the suppression of the insurrection. At Versailles the National Assembly and the Government have collected an army of 45,000 trustworthy troops around them, and are masters of the situation to-day. The National Assembly yesterday held its first sitting, showing itself calm, united, and resolute. Jointly with the Executive power, it formed a committee upon the measures demanded by the circumstances. A proclamation will be shortly published to the people. Lille, Lyons, Mar- seilles, and Bordeaux are tranquil. You may publish this news to the people. It is strictly true, for the Government which communicates it is a truthful Government. Let it be well understood that every Government agent who tries to make terms with disorder will be prose- cuted, and will forfeit his position. — Thiers." — The insurgent Journal Officiel demands that Paris shall not be separated from the pro- vinces, nor the provinces from her. " Paris has been, is still, and must definitely remain the capital of France, the head and heart of the Democratic Republic one and indivisible. Paris has, therefore, an unquestionable right to pro- ceed with the elections of the Communal Coun- cil, to govern herself as becomes every demo- cratic city, and to protect herself, supported by the National Guards, composed of all citizens electing their own chiefs by universal suffrage. 'l~\e Central Committee of the National Guard, in taking the necessary measures for the estab- lishment of a Paris Communal Council and the elections of all the chiefs of the National Guards, has, therefore, taken very wise and most indis- pensable measures. It is now the duty of the electors and of the National Guard to support the decisions of the Government to assure the safety of France and the future of the Republic, in returning by their votes proved and devoted Republicans. To-morrow they will hold their fate in their own hands, and we are already convinced they will make a proper use of their rights. Let Paris deliver France and save the Republic. (Signed) The Delegates of the ' Official Journal.' " 22. — The Party of Order in Paris muster in large numbers and march to the Place Vend6me, where an interview is held with insurgent lead- ers, ending in the latter causing the National Guards to fire on the defenceless people. Ten were said to be killed. The " Central Com- mittee " officially explained this outrage as hav- ing its origin in an attack made upon the Guards after the Party of Order had been asked to retire. — The Emperor William's 75th birth- day celebrated at Berlin with unusual splendour, Count Bismarck, on the occasion, being created a Prince, and Count Moltke presented with the Order of the Iron Cross, 22. — M. Jules Favre reads in the Assembly a letter from Count Bismarck, complaining that the telegraph which the Germans want to use has been cut at Pantin, and requiring its restoration in twenty-four hours. Count Bismarck stated, moreover, that the condition of things in Paris offers scarcely any chance of the engagements entered into with Germany being kept, and that if the emeute be not put down forthwith Paris will be bombarded. M. Jules Favre said he had begged for time, in order that innocent people might not suffer, and had told General Fabrice that the emeute was a surprise, and that all France was faithful, but he gave it to be under- stood that if Paris did not submit he would con- cert with the Prussians in subduing it. The reading of the letter gave rise to great excite- ment. 23. — Found dead in his bed, Dr. Karl Schultzensteim, aged 73, German botanist and physiologist. — Garibaldi elected General-in-Chief of France by the " Central Committee.' 1 At Versailles the Mayors of Paris appear in the Assembly, wearing their scarfs of office, to demand that permanent communication be opened up with the capital, but the tumult was so great that nothing could be settled. Two days later a communication to the same effect was laid on the table of the Assembly. 24. — Commenting, in the Lords, on the Tien-tsin Massacre, Lord Carnarvon attributed the outbreak to ill-feeling against foreigners generally, countenanced and encouraged by the local authorities. Earl Granville admitted that the massacre was wholly unjustifiable, but pointed out that the conduct of the Catholic missionaries was apt to excite misapprehensions among a jealous and irritable people like the Chinese. There could be no doubt about the prejudice of the people against foreigners, but the moral he drew from thaf was the necessity of avoiding hostile language as far as possible, and of showing toleration for habits and cus- toms handed down from generation to genera- tion, which must necessarily take much time and patience to eradicate. 25. — Vice- Chancellor Stuart retires from the Court of Chancery. . He was succeeded by Mr. Wickens. 26. — Fire in a house in Pavilion Road, Chelsea, causing the death of Mrs. Winsor and four of her children. — At Blackburn, a few hours earlier, Mrs. Kilner and two assistant female confectioners were burnt to death. — Paris elections take place, about 140,000 voting for the men on the lists of the Central Committee, and 60,000 for their opponents. Flourens, Blajiquj, Felix Pyat, and Gambon, were among the elected. In abdicating its func- tions, to-day, the Committee advised the people to avoid those whom fortune has too greatly favoured, for it but seldom happens that he who possesses fortune is willing to look upon the working-man as a brother. " Seek men with 993 MARCH 1871. MARCH sincere convictions; men of the people, resolute and active, who are well known for their sense of justice and honesty. Give your preference to those who do not canvass for your suffrages ; the only true merit is modesty; it is for the electors to know their men, not for the candi- dates themselves to come forward. We are convinced that you will take note of these observations, and you will at last have inaugu- rated a truly popular representation ; you: will thus have found representatives who will never consider themselves your masters. " A few of the more active members of the " Central Com- mittee" now formed themselves into a " Sub- Committee," ultimately the real body in which the power of the Communal Assembly centred. 27. — The House of Lords reject the Mar- riage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill by 97 to 71 votes. — Mr. Goschen introduces the Navy Esti- mates; the sum required for the year being 9.756,356/., an increase, as compared with last year, of 385,000/. — The Emperor Napoleon visits the Queen at Windsor Castle. Her Majesty returned the visit by proceeding to Chislehurst on the 3rd April. — At a meeting in the Mansion House the Lord Mayor announces that the Captain Relief Fund now amounted to 54,000/. 28. — The Commune proclaimed in Paris in front of the Hotel de Ville. The members of the Communal Council assembled on a plat- form fronting the great entrance of Henry IV., over which was placed a bust representing the Republic, wearing a Cap of Liberty, orna- mented with red ribbons and flags. Numerous speeches were delivered, but amidst the hum of the crowd of National Guards who filled the square they were not much heard. Salvoes of artillery were also fired from a battery on the quay. The Journal Officiel had previously announced that Paris, " federated with the Communes of France already enfranchised, ought in her own name and in the names of Lyons and Marseilles, and soon, perhaps, of the other large towns, to study the clauses of the contract which ought to bind them to the nation, and to lay down an ultimatum to the treaty which they intend to sign. The ulti- matum ought to contain a guarantee for their autonomy and reconquered municipal sove- reignty, should secure free play for the connec- tion existing between the Commune ; and the representatives of the national unity should impose upon the Assembly, if it accepts the treaty, the promulgation of an Electoral law by which the representatives of the town shall not for the future be absorbed, and, as it were, drowned by the representatives of the country districts. " Direct incitement was at the same time given to assassinate the Duke (i'Aumale. " Society (writes Citizen Vaillant) has but one duty towards these Princes — Death I But one formality is required — the proof of identity. 094 The D'Orleans are in France ; the Bonapartes desire to return. Let good citizens think of it." The red flag was now hoisted on all public buildings. 28. — Declining the offer made to command the National Guard of the Commune, Garibaldi writes from Caprera : — " Choose a single trust- worthy citizen — and you are not without them — Victor Hugo, Louis Blanc, Felix Pyat, as well as Edgar Quinet and the other veterans of radical democracy can serve you. Generals Cremer and Billot, who, I perceive, have your confidence, may count among the number. Remember well, however, that one single trustworthy man ought to be entrusted with the supreme position with full powers. This man will choose other honourable men to aid in the rough task of saving the country. And, if you have the good fortune to find a Wash- ington, France will rise from her shipwreck in a little time greater than ever." 29. — Died, aged 52, Louise, Queen of Sweden. — The London School Board discuss a motion submitted by Professor Huxley for restricting Bible-reading in elementary schools to selections submitted to and approved by the Board. An amendment was proposed by the Rev. Prebendary Thorold directing the Com- mittee on the Scheme of Education to select for approval a course of Bible readings, and giving instructions to the teachers to choose spe- cial passages as occasion might arise. The motion and also the amendment were rejected. — Died, aged 74, Imam Schamyl, the active opponent of Russia in the Caucasus. — The Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences opened by the Queen, who was re- ceived, on entering, by the Prince of Wales as President of the Provisional Committee. A Biblical Cantata, composed for the occasion by Sir M. Costa, was afterwards given with great effect. Eight thousand people were said to be within the building on this occasion. 30. — Mr. Dilke's motion expressing regret that Government assented to a conference on the Black Sea question under the circumstances disclosed in Prince Gortschakoff's note, nega- tived, after debate, without a division. . — The official organ of the Commune pub- lishes a decree abolishing the conscription, and declaring that no central force, with the excep- tion of the National Guard, can be created or introduced into Paris. All able-bodied citizens to form part of the National Guard. Another decree grants a general remission of rent to lodgers from October 1870 until April 1871. The amounts paid during those seven months will be reckoned on for the months to come. The sale of all articles deposited at the Mont de Piete' is suspended. Another decree directs all officials in the public offices to regard from henceforth as null and void all orders or com- munications emanating from the Governmeni APRIL I87I. APRIL at Versailles. Every official not conforming to this decree will be immediately dismissed. Another of the many decrees now being issued almost hourly prohibited chaplains from cele- brating mass in the prisons to which they were attached. The Gaulois afterwards mentioned that the Governor of one of the prisons, yield- ing to the importunities of a dying prisoner, made an exception, and gave a priest a pass thus worded : — " These presents are to autho- rise the Governor to allow the visit to prisoner A of the Citizen B , who says he is the servant of somebody called God \le nomml Diat]." 30. — Tried at Kingston Assizes, before the Lord Chief Justice, thecaseof Goldschmidtw. the printer of Public Opinion, in which journal had been inserted a libellous paragraph from a New York paper, imputing wasteful extravagance and domestic infelicity to the plaintiff, the husband of Jenny Lind. Verdict for the plain- tiff, damages 750/., the foreman of the jury adding that they felt that no amount of damages could compensate for so iniquitous a libel. 31. — The gates on the western side of Paris closed, in consequence, it was said, of the Assembly's troops mustering in great force at Neuilly and St. Cloud. — M. Felix Pyat, in the Vengeur, to-day, rejoices that Paris has not returned a single moderate, temperate, or conciliatory man to the Commune, and no old men, with the exception of himself and two others. He then banters the National Assembly in language unfit for translation, adding they dare not attack Paris, but they isolate it, starve it, and cut off its work and provisions ; they annul the elections and empty the Bank and the Treasury ; they arm the peasants, and call to their aid the Bretons of Trochu, the Vendeans of Charette, and the Chouans of Cathelineau to aid the Prussians. Citizen Pyat recommended a visit to Versailles. April 1. — University Boat-race won by Cam- bridge by a length. — Engagement between the troops of Ver- sailles and the Commune at Courbevoie, from which place the latter were ultimately shelled out by field pieces on Mont Valerien. In the evening M. Thiers issued a manifesto declaring that France — Paris excepted — was entirely pacified. In Paris the Commune, already divided, endeavours to spread everywhere false news, and pillages the public purse. It is in a doubtful position and a horror to the Parisians, who wait with impatience the moment of their deliverance. The National Assembly, rallying round the Government, is sitting peaceably at Versailles, where it is organising one of the finest armies which France has ever possessed. Good citizens, then, may reassure themselves, and hope for the approaching end of a crisis which has been sad, but short. They may be certain that they will not be leit ignorant of passing events, and that when the Government is silent, it is only because it has nothing grave or interesting to communicate. 3. — Noisy meeting in St. James's Hall, pre- sided over by Mr. Chambers, M.P., to protest against the unconstitutional policy of the House of Lords in rejecting bills repeatedly passed by the Commons, and to demand the removal of the Bishops from Parliament. — More fighting before Paris, again to the advantage of the Versailles troops. They were observed to treat the captured Communists with marked severity. Gustave Flourens was among the killed, and Duval taken prisoner and shot. Wild with rage at the defeat and slaughter of their leaders, the Communist part? now set about schemes for making reprisals, and placed many in prison to await their plea- sure in this respect. — Died, at Postford House, Surrey, aged 74, Sir William Magnay, Bart. , who filled the office of Lord Mayor in 1844, when the Queen opened the Royal Exchange. — Mr. Secretary Bruce introduces a Licens- ing Bill, carrying out, as he described, two broad principles: — 1. That the public have a right to a sufficient number of respectably con- ducted houses ; and 2. That all vested interests should be fairly considered. — Mr. Goschen introduces two bills on the subject of local taxation, designed to provide a uniform system of local government throughout England and Wales (the metropolis excepted), and to secure uniformity of rating. The three main features of his scheme were to popularise the character and increase the efficiency of rural institutions by the establishment of parochial boards, presided over by an elective chairman, and furnishing representative members, to be associated with the magistrates in the adminis- tration of county affairs ; to give a measure of relief to tenants by a division of rates between owners and occupiers ; to give a boon, especi- ally to urban ratepayers, by the surrender of the house-tax to local authorities in aid of local taxation. There were also provisions for subjecting to rates certain kinds of local pro- perty,, such as mines, woods, and game ; for the assessment on a higher scale of country gentlemen's residences ; for the collection of all rates as one consolidated rate ; and for the simplification of the areas of local taxation. Local expenditure was said to amount to 36,000,000/. per annum. — In opening the Spanish Cortes, King Amadeo said : — " We shall afford an oppor- tunity for your patriotism to remove the diffi- culties which are surrounding the management of our finances, and to dissipate the appre- hensions of the future. In coming to Spain, I intended to identify on the same soil the in- terests of the realm which has been entrusted to me with that which is dearest to me in thtr 995 APRIL 1871. APRIL world — my wife and son. The mission en- trusted to me is difficult, but glorious ; perhaps beyond my strength, but not above my will : and with the help of God I hope to succeed. God knows my intention, and with the co- operation of the Cortes and all good men, which will not fail me, I hope that my efforts will be crowned with the reward of achieving the happiness of the Spanish people." 3. — Eighth decennial census of the people taken throughout the kingdom. 4. — The Economic Museum, Penryn House, Twickenham, destroyed by fire. 5. — The Commune issue a proclamation to the Parisians regarding the recent engage- ments : — " Every day the banditti of Versailles slaughter or shoot our prisoners, and every hour we learn that another murder has been committed. Those who are guilty of such crimes — you know them ; those are the Gen- darmes of the Empire, the Royalists of Charette and Cathelineau, who are marching on Paris, in shouting ' Vive le Roi ! ' and with a white flag at their head. The Government of Ver- sailles is acting against the laws of warfare and humanity, and we shall be compelled to make 1 reprisals should they continue to disregard the usual conditions of warfare between civilised peoples. If our enemies murder a single one of our soldiers we shall reply by ordering the execution of an equal number or double the number of prisoners. The people, even in its anger, detests bloodshed as it detests civil war, but it is its duty to protect itself against the savage attempts of its enemies, and what- ever it may cost, it shall be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." 6. — The Princess of Wales gives birth to a son (Alexander John Charles Albert), who died the following day. — Decree issued by the Commune setting forth that, as the Government of Versailles had trampled all the laws of humanity under foot, anyone convicted of complicity with it would be imprisoned as hostages of the people of Paris ; and, upon the execution of any prisoner of war or any partisan of the Commune of Paris by the Versailles Government, three of . the hostages retained by the people of Paris would be shot. On the day the decree appeared the Archbishop of Paris, the Cure of the Madeleine, and a crowd of other ecclesiastics, were lodged in the Conciergerie. The plate and other valuables found in the churches to which the Commune had been were also seized. 7. — General Cluseret, who had now come to the front as directing the military move- ments of the Commune, reports : — " With regard to the conduct of our troops, the soldiers are excellent, the officers of a mixed character — some good, some bad. There is much dash, but rather a want of firmness. When the war companies shall have been formed and sepa- rated from the sedentary element, we shall have an army corps a ''elite, whose effective 996 strength will exceed 100,000 men. I cannot too strongly recommend the Guards to give the utmost attention to the question of the choice of officers. At present the respective positions of the two armies may be summed up thus : The Prussians of Versailles occupy the posi- tions which were held by their allies from beyond the Rhine. We occupy the trenches of Les Mouhr.eaux and the station of Clamart. In fine, our position is that of men who, strong in their good right, await with firmness the attack of the enemy, being satisfied with acting on the defensive In conclusion, if our troops retain their sangfroid, and do not waste their ammunition, the enemy will be tired out be- fore us." 7. — Good Friday news from Paris describe the fighting continued between Neuilly and Courbevoie. At 6.30, p.m., the advantage is reported as slightly resting with the Versailles troops, "who have carried the barricade on the Paris side of Neuilly Bridge, and are also masters of the upper part of the Avenue, but the Communists are still fighting with remark- able courage and tenacity, and have just been sending down the Porte Maillot reinforcements of men and artillery strong enough possibly to turn the fortunes of the day. The excitement in Paris near the quarter in which the fighting is going on is intense. Crowds are assembled round the Arc de Triomphe, and especially at the head of the Avenue de la Grande Armee, from which much of the fighting can be dis- tinctly seen, and which has itself received numerous shells to-day, chiefly from Mont Valerien. A few have fallen in the Avenue Uhrich, and as no house in the neighbourhood is considered safe, the consternation of the in- habitants is very great. On the other hand, in those parts of Paris which are not exposed to the bombardment the prevailing tranquillity is, under the circumstances, extraordinary. People are lounging and promenading in the Champs Elysees, and, but for the incessant marching backwards and forwards of battalions, the boulevards and principal streets would have much the same aspect that they had before the attack on Neuilly began ; yet it is believed generally that the Versailles corps are bent oe taking Paris by storm, and not a few expect the assault to be made to-night, possibly with success." — Died, Vice- Admiral Tegethoff, the Aus- trian officer who defeated the Italian navy off Lissa. 8. — Monument to Ernest Jones, democrat, unveiled in Ardwick cemetery, Manchester. — The Republican League declare that Paris has no wish to destroy the work of the great French Revolution. She wishes, it was said, to continue it. "But Paris, during the last twenty years, has been more oppressed than the rest of the country. She wishes now to reconquer her privileges and to affirm hei rights. The recent movement is not an insur- rection, but a revolution. It is necessary that APRIL 1871. APRIL the Government should bind itself to abandon all investigations into the facts which have been accomplished since the 18th of March last. It is necessary, on the other hand, in order to assure the free expression of universal suffrage, to proceed with the general elections of the Commune of Paris. We require a great and powerful manifestation of public opinion to put an end to the struggle. Let the whole of Paris work with us to-day as she did during the siege, for the salvation of the Republic and of France is at stake. Should the Government of Versailles remain dumb to those legitimate re- vindications, let it be well aware that Paris shall rise as one man to defend them." 8. — M. Thiers, by a threat of resignation, induces the Assembly to rescind a resolution that Mayors should be elected by the Municipal Councils. 9. — General Dorobrowski appointed Com- mandant of the Commune of Paris, in place of General Bergeret, IO. — M. Jules Favre protests in the Versailles Assembly against the calumnies brought for- ward " by those who pretend that an under- standing exists between us and the Germans. The documents which will be laid before you will be a proof of our sincerity, and will testify on the contrary that we constantly declined the assistance which was offered to us by the Ger- mans. It was also no less important that the position of the German authorities towards the insurrection should be clearly determined. They have always considered, as did all the other Powers, that the Government issued from uni- versal suffrage was alone legitimate and pre- senting serious guarantees." M. Favre after- wards announced that the insurgents had taken away all the plate at the Foreign Office. " As to ourselves," he concluded, " we shall do our duty, and re-establish order in Paris. Our brave army can rely on our devotion as we can rely on its courage." — Marshal MacMahon assumes command of the Versailles army. 11. — The Marquis of Normanby gazetted Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Queens- land. — Replying to a remonstrance requesting the Bishops to abstain from voting on the de- cision of the Privy Council in the Purchas case, the Archbishop of Canterbury writes : — " The chief pastors of our Church are of all men the very last who ought to be requested to set to this nation the example of refusing obedience to the highest tribunals. Such obedience I feel sure you consider to be the duty of all good citizens, and to be especially incumbent on all ministers of Christ, not only in our own Church, but among Nonconformists. And here I will remark that Roman Catholics, and all bodies of Dissenters, are liable to be continually called upon, like ourselves, to submit the terms of their contracts in matters most intimately affect- ing their doctrine and discipline, to the decision of the courts of law. This is an obligation from which no section of the community can escape under a well-ordered Government. . . . The rubrics, interpreted by the Supreme Court, form the lawful rule of Divine service to which the clergy are bound to yield a loyal obedience ; but certainly, as a matter of fact, not all the clergy are expected by their parishioners, or required by their bishops, rigidly to observe every point in the rubrics at all times and under all circumstances. " In conclusion, his grace exhorts his brethren not to be disquieted by any strifes respecting matters affecting the vest- ments or posture of the clergy. ' ' Such things, " he says, "cannot touch your teaching of the Gospel of Christ, or affect the validity of His sacraments. In days when every effort is re- quired to resist ungodliness and infidelity, all our zeal and energy ought to be directed to the promotion of real religion among our people." 11. — Another ineffectual sortie on the south- ern forts of Paris by Versailles troops. It had been anticipated for some time, and was made in such force as furnished ground for believing it would close the protracted strife. Fifteen thousand men, consisting of gendarmes and Pontifical Zouaves, collected during the day in the Meudon woods. The movement was de- tected, and 80,000 Federals drawn up within the line of the forts. General Eudes, who was in command, permitted the enemy to approach to the glacis of the Fort of Issy, when he poured a cross fire from Issy and Montrouge, repulsing the Versailles troops with slaughter. Only four men were killed within the two forts. — Earthquake at Bathang, a village in the Chinese province of Szechuen, causing the destruction of two large temples, the offices of the collector of grain tax, the local magistrates' offices, the colonels' offices, the Ting-lin temple, with nearly 700 fathoms of wall around it, and 351 rooms in all, inside; six smaller temples, numbering 221 rooms, besides 1,849 rooms and houses of the common people. The number of people killed by the crash, including the soldiers, was 2, 298, among whom were the local magistrate and his second in office. The earthquake ex- tended from Bathang eastward to Pang-Chahe- muth, westward to Nan-Tun, on the south to Lintsah-shih, and on the north to the salt wells of Atimtoz, a circuit of over 400 miles. — The trustees of Rugby School having had their attention directed to certain com- plaints of want of discipline, adopt a resolution expressive of their opinion that the irregularities referred to were not such as to call for any special interference on their part, or to cause alarm to parents. " In justice," they said, " to the head-master, they desired to impress on the under-masters generally the necessity of giving, not only a nominal, but a cordial co-operation." 12. — M. Guizot writes to the Times that the faults of France cause him more sorrow than 997 APRIL 187I. APRIL her misfortunes ; but he never loses faith in her good qualities, although they may seem to be obliterated by her faults, and he feels sure that the good which is in her will open up infi- nite resources, even when her prospects are darkest. "On the whole," he wrote, "the National Assembly and its Executive have acted with intelligence, prudence, and justice. And now, driven to the last extremity by the folly, crime, and attacks of the insurgents, it opposes them with energy, and has resolved to put an end to the revolution which oppresses Paris, and to render the guilty authors of it powerless. A new and loyal army has gathered round the representatives chosen by France, and gallantly obeys their orders and those of the generals in command. The first efforts of this army have already been crowned with success. " 12. — M.Thiers informs the Prefects that "the army awaits the moment of victory, which will be gained without bloodshed. The insurrection is weary. Delegates have arrived at Versailles. If sent by the Commune they would not have been received, but they were received because they were sincere Republicans of Paris. My answer to them was invariably, ' No one menaces the Republic except assassins. The lives of the insurgents shall be spared. The unfortunate workmen shall temporarily continue to be subsidized. Paris must return into the common municipal law. All secession will be suppressed in France, as was done in America.' This was my answer." — In Buenos Ayres 380 persons are re- ported to have died of yellow fever. The deaths during the week were put down at 4,000. — Died at Grantchester, Cambridge, aged 82, Rev. Edward Pote, M. A. , one of the oldest members of the University, having taken his E.A. degree in 1814 with the late Vice-Chan- cellor Kindersley and Mr. Justice Cresswell. 13. — Died at Dublin, aged 75, Sir Maguire Brady, Bart, three times Lord Chancellor of Ireland. — M. Rochefort, writing in the Mot cPOrdre, defends the "requisition" made by the Commune in Notre Dame : — " We do not hesitate to declare them national property, for the single reason that they proceed from the generosity of those to whom the Church has promised Paradise ; and the promise of ima- ginary returns made to obtain any property is qualified as swindling by every code. . . . ' Your purse or hell ! ' Such is, in the present day, the only programme of the Catholic clergy; and as the French nation no longer believes in hell, it is natural that, in case of need, it should take back the purse." 14. — Michael Torpey apprehended in a house in Marylebone Road (where he was living with his wife) on the charge of stealing diamonds and jewellery from Messrs. London and Ryder. A portion of the stolen property was found in his possession. 14.— Died at Jarrow-on-the-Tyne, aged 87, Mrs. Minns, maid and confidante to Lady Byron before and after her marriage, and whose name came up recently in connection with the con- troversy as to the causes which led to the break- ing up of that ill-assorted union. 15.— Mr. J. R. Davidson, M.P. for Durham city, and Judge- Advocate-General, found dead in his bed at the residence of Mr. St. George Burke, where he had been staying for a few days. This was Mr. Davidson's 45th birth- day. At the election which subsequently took place, Government lost the seat, Mr. Wharton, Conservative, polling 814 votes to Mr. Thomp- son's 776. 16. — The Westmeath Committee report that, owing to the prevalence of Ribbon Societies in that district, murder and other crimes of the most serious nature have been perpetrated ; and that by reason partly of sympathy with the perpetrators of such crimes, and still more by the terror created by the existence and action of the Societies, it has been found to be almost impossible to obtain evidence on which to bring offenders to justice. — Sunday Republican demonstration in Hyde Park to express sympathy with the Parisian Communists. Large numbers — many from curiosity — turned out on the occasion, but the gathering was generally admitted to be a failure. — Died at Bray, aged 77, Lord Plunkett, second son of the famous Irish orator. — Died at Bydews, near Maidstone, Rev. Beal Poste, LL.B., archaeologist 17. — Captain Chalmers, the senior officer of the Ryde and Portsmouth Steam Service, com- mits suicide by leaping from the deck of his vessel as she was leaving Ryde Pier. — Billiard match in St. James's Hall be- tween Cook, jun., and Roberts, sen., the latter receiving a start of 200 in 2,000. Cook won with an unfinished break of 268, including no less than 78 spot strokes, which his opponent had been the chief means of introducing and popularizing. — The Versailles army capture the Chateau de Brem after a sharp engagement — M. Louis Blanc writes in the Soir that the solution which he judged and declared " the fittest to save us from the horrors of civil war is that which would consist in the bold proclamation of the Republic by the National Assembly, and in the adoption of a law putting Paris in full and entire possession of her muni- cipal liberties." 18. — At the first meeting of the House, to- day, after the Easter recess, a motion submitted by Lord Henry Lennox for a Select Committee to inquire into the causes of the dismissal of Sir Spencer Robinson from the Admiralty was rejected by 153 to 104 votes. APRIL 1871. APRIL 18. — Still refusing assent to the Papal In- fallibility dogma, Dr. Dollinger is formally excommunicated by the Archbishop of Munich. He asked the Archbishop to meet his disobe- dience, not by condemnation, but by admitting him to a conference, either at Fulda, where the German bishops were about to assemble, or before a body of theologians to be selected by the Archbishop. If in this conference he was convinced of his errors, he was ready both to accept the dogma and to withdraw everything he had written against it. If, however, this conference were allowed him, he expected to prove that the doctrine was contrary to Scrip- ture, and based upon a misconception of the history of the Church and of her traditions. The late Council, Dr. Dollinger further main- tained, enjoyed no freedom of discussion, and no pains were taken to examine authorities. " As a student of history," he said, " I cannot accept it, for as such I know that the persistent endeavour to realize this theory of universal dominion has cost Europe rivers of blood, has disordered whole countries and brought them to ruin, has shattered the beautiful structure of the earlier Church, and in the Church of modern times has generated, nurtured, and maintained the worst abuses. As a citizen I must reject it, because by its pretensions to the subjection of States and monarchs, and of the whole political system to the Papal power, it leads to endless destructive conflict between Church and State, between clergy and laity." The re- solution of Dr. Dollinger was approved of in an autograph letter by the King of Bavaria, and many eminent professors in the Roman College. — The Emperor of Germany declines the preferred resignation of General Von Steinmetz, and confers upon him the highest dignity in the army. — Meeting of London clergy held at Sion College to secure the observance of Ascension Day by the laity as a holiday like Christmas. — Died, aged 65, Omer Pasha, Com- mander-in-Chief of the Turkish army. — Died at Montrose, aged 93, Rev. Dr. Paterson, who had acted as tutor to Lord Byron in his Aberdeen days. 19. — The Vengeur, conducted by Felix Pyat, publishes a decree of the Commune for destroying the Vend6me Column, its demo- lition to be solemnly performed by military engineers in the presence of the assembled people, the National Guard, and the members of the Commune. It was also suggested that the " History of the Empire " should on the occasion be burned at the foot of the Column by a "Mere de famille." — Last night the Versailles troops took the church of Neuilly, and drove the Com- munists back some 150 yards. This morning Dombrowski attempted to rally his men and retake the position. Reinforcements, how- ever, arrived of gendarmes and marines, who drove Dombrowski's men still farther back with considerable slaughter, causing them to occupy their most remote barricade at the junction of the Rue Peronnet with the Boule- vard Inkerman. Many of the Communists were killed, being fired at in their flight through the holes in garden walls which they themselves had made in their advance. There was great loss among the officers. The Am- bulance head-quarters at Neuilly was shelled, and the surgeons and waggons compelled to decamp in haste. 19. — The Communists issue another procla- mation, declaring that their enemies deceive themselves or the country " when they accuse Paris of desirmg to impose its will and supre- macy upon the rest of the nation, and to aspire to a Dictatorship, which would be a veritable attempt to overthrow the independence and sovereignty of other Communes. They deceive themselves when they accuse Paris of seeking the destruction of French unity, established by the Revolution. The unity which has been imposed upon us up to the present by the Empire, the Monarchy, and the Parliamentary Government, is nothing but centralization, despotic, unintelligent, arbitrary, and onerous. The political unity, as desired by Paris, is a voluntary association of all local initiative, the free and spontaneous co-operation of all indi- vidual energies with the common object of the well-being, liberty, and security of all. The Communal revolution, initiated by the people on March 18, inaugurated a new era in politics, experimental, positive, and scientific. It was the end of the old official and clerical world of military supremacy and bureaucracy, of jobbing in monopolies and privileges, to which the pro- letariat owed its slavery, and the country its misfortunes and disasters. The strife between Paris and Versailles is one of those that cannot be ended by an illusory compromise ; the issue should not be doubtful. ... As for ourselves, citizens of Paris, we have a mission to accom- plish, a modern revolution the greatest and the most fruitful of all those which have illumi- nated history. It is our duty to fight and conquer." SO. — Mr. Lowe introduces the Budget, showing the estimated expenditure for 1871-72 to be 72, 308, 800/. , and the revenue 69, 595, 000/. Among the items of expenditure was 16,452,000/. for the army, including abolition of purchase, as against 12,965,000/. for 1870-71. He maintained that it was in the power of this nation, "if we were so minded, to take such measures as will enable us to have a force which is demonstrably sufficient, considering the con- ditions of the problem of landing a force in an enemy's country, to crush any enemy before he could possibly accumulate sufficient strength to invade us. And if that can be done, I can hardly imagine any sacrifice that it would not be worth while to make from a purely financial consideration, because if you can satisfy people 999 APRIL r87i. APRIL that this is the one spot in the world that is safe, and that will in all probability be free from the ravages of war, think how our credit will rise, how the value of our property will increase, what a predominance it gives us over other nations." What we were now doing was virtually imposing taxes, which were in the nature of war taxes, at a time when we were not going to war, and when there was no pro- bability of our doing so. To make up the deficiency of 2,713, oooZ., the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to rate all personal pro- perty liable as intestate on the principle of 2 per cent, duty, and where a man paid legacy duty he should be liable to probate duty. He also proposed to increase succession duties both on real and personal property, by raising them, for the first lineal descendant, from 1 to 2 per cent. He would raise brothers to 34, then for olhers 5, and upwards to 10 per cent. He also proposed a tax on matches, bearing the box-label, " Ex luce lucellum," from which he expected 550,000/. ; and also proposed to convert a penny in the pound on the income- tax into a rate of 100 pence, or 8s. 40'. in the 100/. The effect of his proposals would be, that the legacy, probate, and succession duties would yield an addition of 350,000/., matches 550,000/., and the additional income tax about 1,800,000/. He concluded by proposing the resolution relating to lucifer matches, which, after some adverse discussion, was agreed to. 21. —Mr. Bentinck introduces, but withdraws after debate, a resolution on the Declaration of Paris, asserting that " the maintenance of British maritime rights being essential to the power, prosperity, and independence of the Empire, this House is of opinion that her Majesty's Government should forthwith with- draw from the articles of ' The Declaration of Paris, 1856,' which are numbered respectively I and 2, and which are expressed in the terms following: — I. Privateering is and remains abolished. 2. The neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the exception of contraband of war. " 22. — Married according to the form of a Communal certificate, " The citizen Anet, son of Jean-Louis Anet, and the Maria Saint. She engaged to follow the said citizen everywhere, and to love him always. — Anet, Maria Saint. Witnessed by the undermentioned citizen and citizenness — Fuiherar, Laroche." — Monument set up in York Minster to the memory of Frederick Vyner, one of the party slain a year since at Skimatari by Greek brigands. — A Communist organ, the Montagne, writes: — "Our dogs that used only to growl when a bishop passed, will bite him now, and not a voice will be raised to curse the day which dawns for the sacrifice of the Archbishop of Paris. We owe it to ourselves — we owe it to the world. The Commune has promised us an eye for an eye, and has given us Monseigneur Darboy as a hostage. The justice of the tribu- 1000 nals shall commence, said Danton, when the wrath of the people is appeased — and he was right. Darboy ! tremble in your cell, for your day is past, your end is close at hand ! " 23. — Collision near the Newarp lightship between the Rotterdam steamer Kestral and the screw collier Frankland, of Newcastle. The former sank, but her crew and passengers were taken off and landed at Grimsby. 24. — Most of the newspapers this morning contain articles and letters directed against the recently-introduced Budget, the proposed match- tax in particular giving rise to hostile criticism. Bryant and May, makers of the ' 'Safety Match, " calculated that the duty which it was proposed to levy would vary from 100 to 400 per cent., and even more on the wholesale price. ' ' On the wholesale price of 625/. worth of the com- monest matches the duty will be 3,000/., or nearly 500 per cent. The effect of this impo- sition will be almost entirely to extinguish two important branches of the business, throwing vast numbers of workpeople out of employment, and consequently on the rates, which in the locality where the trade is principally carried on — the East-end of London — are at present almost unbearable. A great portion of the home trade will, no doubt, drift into the hands of foreigners, as the demand will be for the lowest qualities, which are principally manu- factured abroad." Regarding the Terminable Annuity Sinking Fund, Mr. Hubbard sup- ported a proposal made by the Times to sus- pend its operation for one year. — Michael Campbell executed at Spring- field gaol, Essex, for the murder of Mr. Gal- loway at Stratford. The prisoner had gone out with two other men on the evening of the 9th of February for the purpose of entering houses by climbing up the porticoes in front, and then plundering the upper rooms. They had made two or three unsuccessful attempts, and at length, while in the act of entering the house of the deceased gentleman, they were disturbed, and one of the prisoner's companions seized by the deceased. The prisoner then came up and stabbed the unfortunate gentleman in the eye, inflicting a wound of which he died a very few days afterwards. — Mr. White's Budget resolution — " That the additional taxation proposed will entail bur- dens upon the people which are not justified by existing circumstances," rejected by 257 to 230 votes, after a discussion in which Mr. Lowe and Mr. Gladstone were found to be the only speakers who seemed inclined to support the Budget as a whole. — The matchmakers muster in large num- bers at the East-end of London, and in various sections march through the City to Westminster to present petitions against the imposition of the new tax. Some tumult naturally prevailed along the line of march, and in Palace Yard for a time members could not readily obtain en- trance to the House ; but it was not till return- ing by way of the Thames Embankment, where APRIL 1871. APRIL the police were stationed in large numbers, that any serious breach of the peace occurred. Here some stones were thrown and a few boards torn down, but even these offences were alleged to have been committed by parties who, from in- terested motives, had mixed themselves up with the processionists. 24. — In obtaining the sanction of the German Parliament to a proposal for a loan of 120 million thalers, Prince Bismarck remarked that their country had been forced into great financial sacrifices to maintain a force in France to meet all contingencies. " If the French Govern- ment," he said, " do not pay the amount agreed upon for the maintenance of the German troops it will be necessary again to have recourse to requisitions of food and forage'. The German authorities will not interfere in the internal affairs of France, though it is hardly possible to promise complete forbearance under all circum- stances. Should German rights and German interests be imperilled, it will become our duty to defend them." 25. — Mr. Lowe announces that the match- tax would be abandoned on account of the dis- satisfaction it had excited. Mr. Wren Hoskyns' resolution pointing out the necessity of remov- ing certain restrictions in the laws regulating the sale and transfer of land rejected by 79 to 39 votes. — Came on before the Lords Justices, the case of Hawksworth v. Hawksworth, in- volving the question whether a daughter (aged eight and a half years) of a deceased Roman Catholic father named Hawksworth should be brought up as a Roman Catholic or as a mem- ber of the Church of England. The father died intestate about eight years ago, and the daughter had since been under the care of her mother, a member of the Church of England. The case was originally adjudicated upon by the Chancery Court of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Vice-Chancellor (Mr. Wickens), after having had an interview with the child in court, held that she should be brought up in the re- ligion of her father — that is to say, as a Roman Catholic. The mother appealed from that de- cision. Lord Justice James now confirmed the finding of the Vice-Chancellor, declaring it to be a rule of the Court, a rule of the highest morality, that any person who had the conduct as guardian of a child on the father's death should have regard to the religion of the father in dealing with the child ; and, unless under very special circumstances indeed, it was the duty of any guardian of a child, and it was the duty of this Court in controlling the conduct of that guardian, to see that the child was brought up in the religious faith of the father, whatever that religious faith might be. He (the Lord Justice) would not give the slightest encourage- ment to mothers or others who had access to young children to attempt to proselytize them. This appeal must therefore be dismissed with costs. Lord Justice Mellish concurred. 26. — The case of Mr. Purchas for a re- hearing of his appeal taken up by the Judici.il Committee of the Privy Council. Petition dis- missed with costs. — The Paris forts of Issy and Vanves bombarded by batteries opened at Bas Meudon and Moulineaux. Skirmishing also took place on the north side between troops at Clichy and those massed on the plain of Gennevillers. — Mr. Hughes' Sunday Trading Bill, supported by the Home Secretary, rejected by 80 votes to 47. — Jane Maria Clousen, aged 17, found early this morning in Kidbrooke-lane, Eltham, dying from injuries inflicted by some person during the night. She was removed to Guy's Hospital, and afterwards identified by her friends as having lived in the capacity of a domestic servant with Mr. Pook., printer, Greenwich. On the evening of the 25th she was heard to say that she then intended to meet her "young man," known to be the son of her master, and afterwards apprehended on the charge of causing the death of Clousen. She was next found in the lane about four o'clock by Police-constable Gun. Seeing she was very much injured, and blood about her head and face, he asked her who had injured her, and she said faintly, " Oh, my poor head ! oh, my poor head!" She afterwards lifted her left hand and said, ' ' Take hold of my hand," at the same time turning her head to the left. On giving her his hand she fell on her face on the ground, and said, " Let me die." The officer again asked her what was the matter, but she made no further reply. On turning round he saw blood on the ground near Clousen, her gloves being also there, and her hat within two feet. There were foot- marks, but not of recent occurrence. He looked round to see if he could see anyone, but nobody was near. He then obtained assistance, when she was taken to the surgery of Dr. King, and thence to Guy's Hospital. At a quarter to two the same morning this officer passed through the lane, but on the opposite side to that where he found the deceased lying, and did not notice her. 27. — Anticipating the probable result of a hostile resolution to be proposed by Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone announces that the increase of the legacy and succession duties would be aban- doned, and also the proposal for computing income-tax by a percentage, the deficiency to be made up by raising the income-tax from fyi. to 6d. per I/. The Prime Minister insisted that provision for the expenditure voted by the Housemust still be made, as originallyintended, out of taxation, without disturbing the duties on articles of consumption. Mr. Disraeli protested against the admission of the principle that be- cause they had agreed to votes in Supply they were bound to approve of the Ways and Means. 1001 APRIL 1871. APRIL 27. — Earl Kimberley lays on the table of the House of Lords a Bill to repress illegal combinations in Westmeath, by providing that in certain circumstances the districts named in the Bill are to be proclaimed, and this being done, the Lord Lieutenant is empowered to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act for two years, and arrests may be effected by Viceregal war- rants in any portion of the United Kingdom. — Speaking in the Assembly on the plea for clemency put forward, M. Thiers said : — " Our rigour will vanish when the insurgents lay down their arms, excepting against those persons who have been guilty of crime, and they are not numerous. When I give orders, not cruel ones, but orders such as would be dictated by a state of war, I feel under the necessity of asking myself, of asking you, whether right is on my side. (M. Thiers was here interrupted by various exclamations, but be appealed to the Assembly to listen to him, and continued) : I give these orders with sor- row ; but was there ever a time when right was more evident than at the present ? Everyone knows the truth of what I say. In Paris the abstentions from voting at the recent elections show the isolation of the insurgents, while, on the other hand, the whole of France is with us, and with you, who are the free expression of her suffrages." — The marriage of the Infante Alphonse Maria of Spain, grandson of Don Carlos, with the Princess Maria des Neves of Braganza, eldest daughter of Dom Miguel, celebrated in the castle of Prince Lowenstein, at Klein Leu- bach. The bridegroom was born in 1849, tne bride in 1852. — Died at Naples, aged 59, M. Sigismund Thalberg, pianist and composer. 28- — Came on in the Court of Queen's Bench, the case of Tomline v. Lowe, raised to test the question whether the Queen's subjects are not entitled to have gold and silver bullion converted into coin of the realm, on applica- tion at the Mint. The matter came before the Court on demurrer to the plaintiff's declaration, and the substantial question was, whether the old common law of the realm had been set aside by a Royal proclamation. On the part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Solicitor- General conceded the right to have gold bullion coined. TheAct of l870containedthisclause: — " That where any person brings to the Mint any gold bullion such bullion shall be coined and delivered out to such person without any charge for the coining." That was clear and specific, and therefore the right as to gold could not be disputed. But as to silver, the Act of Charles II. was expressly repealed by the Act of George III., which required a proclamation. The contention on the part of Mr. Tomline was that a procla- mation issued in 1817 was still in force, and that under it the same right exists with respect to stiver as with respect to gold. This was now decided against the plaintiff, and so the IC02 judgment affirmed that the public had a right to take gold to the Mint and have it coined for nothing, but that they had no such right in the case of silver. 28. — Mr. Cowper Temple submitsaresolution in the Commons to secure the preservation of the unenclosed parts of Epping Forest as an open space for the enjoyment of the people of the metropolis. Mr. Lowe and Mr. Gladstone op- posed the motion, on the ground that the land was the property of the Crown. The Premier stated that the Government had secured I,CXX) acres of the forest as a recreation ground for the people ; but the House was not satisfied, and the resolution was carried by a large majority. — M. Thiers telegraphs to the Prefects from Versailles: — " Our troops are proceeding with the works of approach towards Issy. The batteries on the left have been worked with powerful effect against the Pare d'Issy, which is no longer habitable by those who dwelt there. Fort Issy fires no longer. On the right our cavalry, scouring the country, came upon a band of insurgents. The iclaireurs of the 70th Regiment, commanded by Captain Santolini, routed this band, and brought in prisoners the captain, lieutenant, quartermaster, and ten men. Thirty or forty men were killed or wounded. The remaining insurgents were pursued almost to Hautes Bruyeres. Notwithstanding the heavy fusillade, we have no losses to deplore." — Virulent outbreak of small-pox in Hamp- stead district ; the report presented to the Vestry to-da_, showing 92 births against 210 deaths, 171 of which were attributable to the disease named. — The Commune distinguishes itself by two decrees — one "requisitioning" 80,000/. from five railway companies within forty-eight hours ; another directing that the church erected on the spot where General Brea was murdered in 1848 shall be destroyed, "as it is a permanent insult to the vanquished of June." (See June 23, 1848, p. 254.) 29. — The Freemasons of Paris muster in force in the Louvre, and march first to the Column of the Bastille and then along the boule- vards towards Versailles, where they intended to seek an audience of M. Thiers to ask his mediation in favour of the Commune. Shells falling heavily at the moment in the Champs Elysees the procession got broken up, and only a few reached Versailles. They were there told that France could not yield to in- surgents. 29. — Party riot at Whitehaven, the lecturer Murphy, announced to speak on the " Con- fessional," being attacked by Catholic miners, and seriously injured. — Died at Edinburgh, Samuel Halkett, a linguist of acknowledged reputation, and librarian to the Faculty of Advocates. MAY 187I. MAY 30. — General Cluseret arrested by order of the Commune on the charge of mismanaging the supply of arms and ammunition along the line of the forts. May 1. — After a debate protracted till near 2 A.M., Mr. Smith's motion, " That it is inex- pedient that the income-tax should be increased to the extent contemplated in the financial pro- posals of the Government," was negatived by 335 votes to 250. In pleading against inter- ference with the " ancestral system " of reduc- ing debts by " terminable annuities," Mr. Glad- stone warned the House that Government had reached the end of their concessions. Mr. Disraeli described the income-tax as a third line of defence to the country in case of war, and said it should not be lightly meddled with, especially as it pressed severely on particular classes. — The new International Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, opened by the Prince of Wales as representing the Queen. — Michael Torpey convicted of the diamond robbery in Berkeley Street, and sentenced to eight years' penal servitude. — Versailles troops attack and carry the insurgent position embraced within the railway station at Clamart, dominating the Fort of Issy. This was amongst the sharpest encounters which had yet taken place, as many, it was said, as 300 being bayonetted in the enclosure. 2. — The Westmeath Peace Preservation Bill read a second time in the House of Lords, Lord Salisbury describing the main error of the Ex- ecutive Government as the application of a system of judicature formed for a civilized nation to a Celtic nation, part of which was in the depths of barbarism. He would invest the Viceroy with adequate powers to deal with this population as if he had to deal with Indians. — Speaking in the German Parliament on the Bill for the incorporation of Alsace and Lorraine, Prince Bismarck said that on the 6th of August, 1866, "the French Ambas- sador handed me an ultimatum demanding the cession of Mayeace to France, and tell- ing us, in the alternative, to expect an imme- diate declaration of war. It was only the illness of the Emperor Napoleon which then prevented the outbreak of war. During the late war neutral Powers, made mediatory proposals. In the first instance we were asked to content our- selves with the costs of the war and the razing of a fortress. This did not satisfy us. It was necessary that the bulwark from which France could sally forth for attack should be farther pushed back. Another proposal was to neutral- ize Alsace and Lorraine. But that neutral State would have possessed neither the power nor the will to preserve its neutrality in case of war. We were obliged to incorporate Alsace with the territory of Germany in order to ensure the peace of Europe. It is true the aversion of IO^J the population of Alsace and Lorraine is an obstacle to such a measure. Still, the popula- tion is thoroughly German, forming a sort of aristocracy in France by virtue of its noble and Teutonic qualities. We shall strive to win back to us this population by means of Teutonic patience and love." 3. — Mr. Jacob Blight's Women's Disabilities Bill rejected, on the proposal for a second read- ing, by 220 to 157 votes. — A telegram from Bombay stales that news had been received from Zanzibar describing Dr. Livingstone as alive and well at Manakozo, but destitute. — Five youths drowned in Hartlepool Bay by the upsetting of a pleasure-boat in a sudden squall. — Versailles troops under General Lacretelle carry the redoubt of Moulin Saquet in the even- ing, killing 150 Communists and making over 300 prisoners. 4. — A motion submitted in the Commons by Mr. Torrens to fix the income-tax at $d. instead of 6d. rejected by 294 to 248 votes. 5. — Died at his residence, Devonshire-place, aged 86, George Thomas John Nugent, Mar- quis of Westmeath, an Irish representative peer, and the last survivor, it was thought, of the expedition to Egypt against Napoleon I. 6. — Vice-Chancellor Malins gives judgment in the case of Macbryde v. Eykyn, a suit heard torecoverfrom the defendant, Mr. Roger Eykyn, M.P. for Windsor, 10,200/. Spanish Passive Bonds, and two sums of 490/, and 500/. , which, according to the defendant's statement, had been lost in the course of transactions with the plaintiff's husband, Mr. C. Wilson Macbryde, in speculations on the Stock Exchange. Bill dismissed with costs. — Collision off Tynemouth between the steamer David Burn, out on a trial trip, and the Earl Percy. The former sank soon after- wards. — Herat reported to have fallen to-day, Futteh Khan, the Governor, killed, and his son wounded. — The High Joint Commissioners at New York, having met thirty-seven times, conclude their labours by signing a treaty providing for the establishment of two boards of arbitration — one to consider the Alabama and similar claims which will be recognised as national, and be settled on the principle of respon- sibility for depredations where Government has not exercised the utmost possible dili- gence and precaution to prevent the fitting out of privateers ; the other will consider miscellaneous claims of both sides, confined principally to those arising out of the civil war. No claims arising out of the Fenian invasion of Canada will be admitted. All legitimate cotton claims will be considered, except those of lirilish subjects domiciled in the South, The MAY 1871. MAY San Juan boundary question to be arbitrated upon by the Emperor of Brazil. American vessels to navigate the St. Lawrence free, and the Canadian canals on payment of the regular tolls. 6. — On the motion for going into committee on the Army Regulation Bill, Colonel Anson submits a resolution — " That in any scheme for the abolition of purchase in the army, the State, as well as the officers, must forego the advantages hitherto derived from that system ; and in order to give the State that unrestricted power over the officers of the army which it is desirable it should possess, and also in justice to the officers of the army themselves, the re- gulation value of their commissions shall be at once returned to them." 8. — M. Thiers entreats the Parisians to aid the troops outside the walls. " The Govern- ment," he declared, "will not bombard Paris, as the Commune tells you. A bombardment threatens the entire city and renders it uninha- bitable, and has for its object to intimidate citizens and to force them to surrender. The Government will only use cannon to force in one of your gates, and will endeavour to limit to one point of attack the ravages of a war of which it is not the author. As soon as the soldiers shall have passed the enceinte you will rally round the national flag to aid our valiant army in destroying this sanguinary and cruel tyranny. It depends upon you to prevent those disasters which are inseparable from an assault. You are a hundred times more nume- rous than the partisans of the Commune. Be united, and open the gates which they close to law and order, and to your prosperity, as well as to that of France. When once those gates are open the sound of the cannons will cease, tranquillity, order, abundance, and peace will reappear within your walls. The Germans will evacuate our territory, and the traces of our misfortune will rapidly disappear. But if you do not act, the Government will be obliged to take the most energetic and certain means to deliver you." — In Committee on the University Tests Bill, the Marquis of Salisbury carries by a majority of five votes, a new test in the form of a resolution: — "That no person shall be appointed to the office of tutor, assistant tutor, dean, censor, or lecturer in divinity, in any college now subsisting in the said universities, until he shall have made and subscribed the following declaration in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor, or in the University of Dur- ham of the Warden — that is to say : ' I, A. B. , do solemnly declare that while holding the office of [here name the office] I will not teach anything contrary to the teaching or Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. ' " — The Count de Chambord writes to a friend that he only asked to be allowed to devote every' moment of his life to the security and 1004 happiness of France, and to share her distresses before sharing her honours: — "It is asserted that the independence of the Papacy is dear to me, and that I am determined to obtain effi- cacious guarantees for it. That is true. The liberty of the Church is the first condition of spiritual peace and of order in the State. To protect the Holy See was ever the honourable duty of our country, and the most indisputable cause of its greatness among nations. Only in the periods of its greatest misfortunes has France abandoned this glorious protectorate. Rest assured if I am called it will be, not only because I represent right, but because I am order, reform — because I am the essential bass of that authority which is required to restore that which has perished, and to govern justly and according to law with the view of remedy- ing the evils of the past, and of paving the way for the future. I shall be told that I hold the ancient sword of France in my hand, and in my breast the heart of a king and a father which recognizes no party. I am of no party, and I do not desire to return or to reign by means 'of party. I have no injury to avenge, no enemy to exile, no fortune to retrieve, except that of France. It is in my .power to select from every quarter the men who are anxious to associate themselves with this grand undertaking. I only bring back religion, concord, and peace. I desire to exercise no dictatorship but that of clemency, because in my hands, and in my hands alone, clemency is still justice. Thus it is, my dear friend, that I despair not of my country, and that I do not shrink from the magnitude of the task. ' La parole est a la France et l'heure a Dieu.' " 8. — Mr. Gladstone announces that Govern- ment proposed to abandon for this session Mr. Goschen's Local Rating and Local Government Bills, and also the licensing clause of the Home Secretary's Licensing Bill. It was still their intention, he said, to press forward the police clauses of that measure. 9. — Came on for trial in the Court of Queen's Bench, Westminster, before the Lord Chief Justice and a special jury, the case of the Queen v. Boulton, Park, and others, charged with conspiring to induce others to commit felony. The examination of witnesses and speeches of counsel protracted the case to the 15th, when a verdict of Not Guilty was entered for all the defendants. In summing up, the Lord Chief Justice expressed his disapprobation of the form in which the case had been brought before the Court. " We are trying the defendants," he said, " for conspiring to commit felonious crime, and the proof of it, if it amounts to anything, amounts to proof of the actual commission of crime ; and I am clearly of opinion that where the proof intended to be submitted to a jury is proof of the actual commission of crime, it is not the proper course to charge the parties with con- spiring to commit it. Coming to the actual facts of the case, the learned judge remarked MAY 1871. MAY that what had been proved against the defen- dants Boulton and Park was sufficient to stamp them with the deepest disgrace, although they might not have had any felonious intention. Their going, for example, to the ladies' rooms at theatres and other public places was an offence which the Legislature might justly visit with corporal punishment. His lordship sub- sequently remarked that Hurt and Fiske should have been tried in Scotland, if at all. " It is easy, however," he continued, " to see how all this happened. The police had taken up the case, and the whole course and conduct of it confirm the opinion I have always entertained as to the necessity for a public prosecutor to control and to conduct criminal prosecutions. The police seized the prisoners' letters, and found those of Hurt and Fiske ; they then went to Edinburgh, and, without any authority, searched their lodgings, arrested them and put them on their trial here along with Park and Boulton, without taking them before a magistrate at all; and thus they are tried with the two other defendants for an alleged offence having no connection whatever with their conduct. " A second indictment against the defendants for outraging decency by going about dressed as women was allowed to stand over, and in the meantime they were liberated on their own recognizances. 9. — Mr. Miall's motion, "That it is expe- dient, at the earliest practicable period, to apply the policy initiated by the disestablish- ment of the Irish Church,- by the Act of 1869, to the other Churches established by law in the United Kingdom," rejected by 374 to 89 votes. In the course of the discussion, Mr. Disraeli admitted thatthe disestablishment of the Church in Ireland involved the disestablishment of the Church in Scotland and in England. But, fortunately, the country was not governed by logic. It was governed by rhetoric, and not by logic, or otherwise it would have been erased long ago from the list of leading communities. No form of religion represented more fully the national sentiment than the Established Church. For his own part, he had always believed that, organically, the English were a religious people. We had partially educated them, we were now going to educate them completely. And when they were educated they would not fly to the conventicle ; they would appreciate a learned clergy, a refined ritual, and the consolation of the beautiful offices of the Church. If the Church conducted itself with wisdom and dis- cretion, he believed that every year this motion, if it were made, would be made under worse auspices and with less prospect of success. Let the Church remain tolerant, temperate, and comprehensive, and it would then be truly national. In conclusion, he expressed a strong conviction that the time had come when, in matters of great change, the country required repose, and appealed . to the Government to remove the impression created by the Home Secretary, that they opposed the motion only because they did not yet see their way to carry- 1005 ing it. — In closing the debate, Mr. Gladstone assured the, House that the Government, in opposing the motion, did not limit that oppo- sition to the present moment or base it on merely temporary grounds. If the movement represented by the Liberation Society had re- ceived any recent impulse, it was partly from embittered controversies in the Church, and partly also from the unfortunate error of those who insisted upon treating the case of the Church of Ireland entirely with reference to the theory of establishments, and not with reference to the broad, substantial arguments and facts upon which the Church of England was so strong. The Church of England was not a foreign Church — it was not a Church which, like the Church of Ireland, was imposed upon Ireland and maintained there by extrinsic power, but it was, whatever else it might be, the growth of the history and traditions of the country ; it had existed from a period shortly after the Christian era, and for 1,300 years had never ceased to be the Church of the country; it had been in every age, as it was still, deeply rooted in the heart of the people, and inter- twined with the local habits and feelings. 9. — The cases of small-pox in London during the past week rose to 288, the highest weekly number during the present epidemic, and almost three times as high as in any of the preceding epidemics during thirty-one years. — Fort Issy captured by Versailles troops after a. bombardment continued over eight days. A large quantity of ammunition and artillery were found within the fortress. — Eliza Jane Cook, a young married woman in straitened circumstances, throws two of her children and herself into the Lea at Clapton. A little girl was rescued, but the mother and boy were drowned. IO. — Dissension among the Communist leaders, the first Committee of Public Safety being dismissed to-day, and another appointed in its place. Commander Rossel, charged with the provisional title of Delegate of War, wrote that he felt himself incapable of con- tinuing the responsibility of a commandant where everyone wished to deliberate, and no one to obey. Delescluze succeeded to the post of Delegate of War. — Professor Huxley carries a motion at the London School Board, " That measures be taken to ascertain whether any, and if so, what charitable or other endowments in the London school district ought to be applied, wholly or in part, to the augmentation of the school fund." The Professor took occasion to censure the management of Christ's Hospital in having so far departed from the wishes of those who founded the charity as to make it an educational institution for children belonging to the middle classes and neglecting the children of the poor. — Found dead in his bed, Major-Ge-«ral Sir John Douglas, C.B., commanding the C x MAY • 1871. MAY Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot, and who had seen much service in the Crimea. 11— Came on in the Court of Common Pleas, before Lord Chief Justice Bovill and a jury, the gigantic case of Tichborne v. Lushington, oc- cupying under one form or another the Courts at Westminster for the greater part of two years. Involving estates said to be worth 24,000/. a year, with a baronetcy attached, and depending mainly on evidence brought forward to identify the Claimant with the long-lost heir, the case excited the keenest public interest, and for a lime in social circles put aside events of even national importance. The declaration stated that the plaintiff sued Franklin Lushington, as tenant of the trustees of the infant Alfred Joseph, to recover possession of the mansion known as Tichborne House, in the county of Southampton. He claimed to be the son of Sir James- Doughty Tichborne, the youngest of trrree brothers, of whom the first died, the second took the estates and died, leaving a daughter, Miss Kate Doughty. The property was settled on the male line, and on the death of the second brother, without male issue, passed to the youngest brother James, who in August 1827, married Harriette Felicite Sey- mour, a French lady and a Roman Catholic, mother of Sir Roger Tichborne, born on the . 5th of January, 1829. On the 4th of Septem- ber, 1839, another son was born— James, who subsequently died, leaving a posthumous child, Alfred Joseph, who was the infant in possession of the estates. Sir Roger was brought up for several years in Paris, and received instruction principally from a tutor named Chatillon. Ir» 1845 he went to Stonyhurstj was there for three years, and in October 1849, obtained a commission in the Carbineers, at that time in Ireland, and remained with his regiment three years and a half. At this time Sir Roger was fight and' slim in form, and extremely narrow in the chest ; his pleasures, manners, and pursuits were those of a gentleman ; he was tbnd of music ; he was- connected with the Seymours and the Townleys, and he visited at Sir Clifford Constable's, at Lord Camoys', and Lord Arundel of Wardour's ; he was acquainted with the Radcliffes and some of the best families in the kingdom. In 1850 and 1851 he was a good deal at Tichborne, visiting his unde Sir Edward, who had taken the name of Doughty, and whose daughter, Kate, was about Rogers age. Roger became very much attached to his cousin, and during a visit at Christmas 1 851 the attachment was discovered. It was disapproved by Sir Edward, and an angry scene ensued, which led to Roger suddenly leaving Tichborne, with a resolve to 50 abroad. In January 1852 he made his will, and deposited a sealed packet with a gentleman named Gosford, an intimate and confidential friend, containing certain private wishes and intentions to be carried out if he lived. Roger then went to Paris to visit his parents, and at their earnest entreaty postponed the carrying 1006 out of his design. But in December 1852 he had made up his mind to go to South America tar a year and a half, and wrote to his parents to that effect. He also wrote to his cousin Kate that he hoped in three years to be united to her, and to another cousin, Mrs. Greenwood (who lived near Tichborne), that he hoped she would write to him, and that he should be always happy to answer her letters. With these intentions Roger sailed for South America, having one Moore as his valet. He arrived at Valparaiso in June 1853, and spent some months in travelling about the country. Here he heard of the death of his uncle, Sir Edward ; but being desirous of further travel he communicated with his mother and friends at Tichborne, and sent home two like- nesses of himself, produced in evidence. About the 20th of April, 1854, he embarked at Rio in the Bella ; on the 26th a part of the wreck of the vessel was picked up, and the ship was never heard of again, nor any of the crew. The agents of Messrs. Glyns, Roger's bankers at Rio, heard of the loss of the vessel, and wrote to his family that he had embarked on board of her. For thirteen years nothing more was heard of Roger Tichborne. The will was proved by Mr. Gosford, his executor, the sealed packet was opened and destroyed, and a suit was instituted in which legal proof was given of his loss and death. The underwriters paid a heavy insurance on the vessel, and the owner never heard anything of the crew. The story of the Claimant was that/ he was picked up, with eight of the crew, about the 26th of April, and ■carried to Melbourne, where, he said, they were landed on the 24th of July, 1854 ; that on the day he landed he went with the captain to the Custom-house, and that the next day, leaving the wrecked sailors on board the ship, he went into the interior, where he resided for thirteen years under the name of Castro, this being, it was contended in defence, an alias for Arthur Orton, a butcher belonging to Wapp- ing, who was known to have been at Wagga Wagga at this time. Unwilling to believe in the loss of her son, the Dowager Lady Tich- borne advertised rewards for his discovery in various quarters, and one of them coming under the notice of one Cubitt, at Sydney, a friend of Gibbs, an attorney at Wagga Wagga, then act- ing in the bankruptcy of Castro, word was sent home to the Dowager, in December 1866, that her son was alive and well, at a place 600 miles from Sydney. Through-the intervention of Gibbs and Cubitt the Claimant raised funds , to proceed to England at the close of the year. He went, however, not direct, but by way of New York, and not to Paris, ■where the Dowager was awaiting him,' but to England. He arrived on Christmas Day 1866, and the first visit he made was to Wapping, for the purpose of making inquiry regarding the Orton family. He afterwards visited Tich- borne secretly, and was taken over the house and grounds. At Paris the Dowager made affidavit, that she recognized the Claimant as MAY 1871. MAY her son Sir Roger ; but her death deprived the defendants of any opportunity lor cross-exami- nation. She had, however, arranged to allow him 1,000/. per annum till his claim could be established. In an interview with Gosford, the Claimant made no allusion to the sealed packet, though they conversed about the will previously seen at Doctors' Commons. During a residence of some months at Croydon the Dowager was again with him, and also many old servants and friends of the family, as well as troopers in the Carbineers, — the latter now the first witnesses produced to establish the identity of the claimant. 11. — Final Treaty of Peace signed between France and Germany. — Died at Collingwood, near Hawkhurst, aged 79 years, Sir John F. W. Herschel, the most distinguished of modem astronomers. The funeral took place on the 18th in West- minster Abbey, in presence of a great company of mourners. The place selected for the interment was near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton. — The property of M. Thiers seized by the Commune. . A decree issued this morning set forth that " The Committee of Public Safety, considering that the proclamation of M. Thiers declares that the army will not bombard Paris, while every day women and children fall vic- tims to the fratricidal projectiles of Versailles, and that it makes an appeal to treason in order to enter Paris, feeling it to be impossible to vanquish its heroic population by force of arms, orders that the goods and property of M. Thiers be seized by the Administration of the Domains, and his house in the Place St. Georges be razed to the ground. Citizens Fontaine, De- legate of the Domains, and Andrien, Delegate of the Public Service, are charged with the immediate execution of the present decree." In the Assembly to-day M. Thiers demanded a vote of confidence from the Assembly, granted by 495 to 10 votes. (See Feb. 9th, 1871). 12.— Died at Paris, aged 89, M. Auber, composer of "Masaniello," and forty othei operas. 13. — The Court of Session reverse a formei decision in what was known as the " Para- guayan Case," and find Dr. Stewart liable in payment of the b 11, chiefly on the ground that, although it had been got from him through fear and force, yet he had acknow- ledged his liability by eighteen months after- wards writing a letter asking his brother to pay the amount of the bill from funds he had lodged in the Bank of Scotland. Madame Lynch was in the witness-box for five hours. 14. — In consequence of a revolt in tht garrison, the Communists withdraw from For* Vanvres, leaving it to be occupied by a portion of the investing force, who also retain the adjacent village after fighting through it house by house. 15. — Mr. Muntz's amendment on the Army Bill, designed to limit its operation to regula- tion prices, and to leave over-regulation and the bonus system untouched, rejected by 260 to 195 votes. — The Pope issues a Brief directed against the professors in the Roman University who had presented an address to Dr. Dbllinger ' ' overflowing with errors, blasphemy, and un- belief." His Holiness urged upon parochial priests the necessity of restraining the young from attending the lectures of such professors, and of opposing, at the same time, the torrent of unbelief into which they were likely to be driven. 16. — Destruction by the Commune of the VendSme Column, erected by Napoleon I., principally of cannon taken at Ulm, to com- memorate the victory of Austerlitz in 1805. It was covered with 425 bronze plaques, moulded in bas-relief to display the chief inci- dents in the Austrian campaign of that year. They were each 3 feet 8 inches high, and formed a continuous band, enclosing the column twenty-two limes as it circled to the top, the entire length of the spiral being 840 feet. Instead of Charlemagne, as at first in- tended, it was surmounted by a statue of the First Napoleon in a Roman costume and crowned with laurel. After several postponements it was brought to the ground this afternoon in the presence of many thousands who had waited for hours to witness the spectacle. Owing to some engineering difficulties in cutting through the column at the base, it could not be brought down at the time originally fixed. The mem- bers of the Commune were installed in all their state in the balconies of the Etat Major of the National Guard and of the Minister of Justice, on the Place Vendome, to witness the affair. Sentinels were posted about half way down the Rue de la Paix to prevent the crowd from ap- proaching too close, as up to the last moment accidents were feared. After a good deal of intermittent drumming and trumpeting, and caracoling backwards and forwards of officers on horseback, and the continual ascent and descent of workmen— now of the column, now of its pedestal simply — and sundry flourishes of red flags, at about half-past five the ropes were tightened, and it was evident the end was at hand. Suddenly the column was observed to lean forward towards the Rue de la Paix, then finally to fall, with a dull heavy thud, raising, as it did so, an immense cloud of dust. Before it touched the ground it separated into three parts by its own weight, and on reaching the bed of dung and faggots spread to receive it, broke into at least thirty pieces. The statue of Napoleon, on reaching the ground, broke off from its pedestal at the ankles, then at the knees, the waist, and the neck, while the iron railings which surrounded the summit of the monument were shivered to pieces. Shortly after the column had fallen, spectators were permitted to traverse the Place to witness th* 1007 MAY 1871. MAY wreck, but were not permitted to take away any of the fragments. 17. — Sir Wilfred Lawson's Permissive Bill thrown out on the proposal for a second read- ing by 196 to 124 votes. — Explosion of a cartridge factory in the Avenue Repp, Paris, causing the death of over fifty people employed in the works. In the present disordered condition of the city, this calamity was at once attributed to treachery, and various citizens were arrested on sus- picion. — The Commune threaten the lives of the Archbishop of Paris, and other hostages, Urbain, formerly a schoolmaster, who had in- stalled himself, with his mistress, in the Mairie of The Seventh Arrondissement, demanding that ten of the number should be shot within twenty-four hours, in retaliation for the alleged murder of a woman attached to one of the Commune ambulances. 18. — In an unusually crowded house, Mr. Disraeli calls attention to the "general con- duct" of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Reviewing the various changes in the Budget, and the irregularities as regards the house-tax and tea duties with which it had been accom- panied, he complained that the Government had vouchsafed no explanation of the reasons why they abandoned their first proposals, and threw the whole burden of the year on direct taxation, and especially on that particular tax which the highest authority had declared to be a most unpopular tax, and one which most severely pinched the poor middle classes. Mr. Lowe briefly replied, complaining that Mr. Disraeli had played off a practical joke upon him by threatening a general indictment of his financial policy, and sinking into a criticism of a few small isolated points, which he described as the " veriest pedantries of finance." — In Committee on the Army Regulation Bill, Colonel Anson moved an amendment on Clause 2 with the object of permitting the purchase of Exchanges. Mr. Cardwell, in opposing it, explained that it was not intended to prevent exchanges, but merely to prohibit money passing in such transactions, except the payment of travelling expenses. To make an exception in favour of ' ' exchanges " would be to strike at the abolition of purchase. After considerable debate the amendment was nega- tived by 183 to 146. 19. — Prince Arthur falls through a window, imperfectly fastened, in the billiard-room of Marlborough House, and is slightly injured in the head and foot. — The Commune issues a decree suppress sing additional newspapers, and declaring that all adverse criticism on its proceedings will be treated with the rigour of martial law. — M. Rochefort arrested at Meaux and taken to Versailles. 1008 19.— The Dutch iron steamship William III. , intended to open up a new trade between Holland and Java, burnt in the Channel. 20. — Fire at Woolwich Barracks, the whole of the block forming the offices of the Quarter- master-General, the Brigade-Major, the Bar- rack Control Department Clerk's offices and stores being destroyed. 21. — After a siege extending over nine weeks, the Versailles troops this (Sunday) afternoon succeed in entering Paris by the St. Cloud gate at Point du Jour, and by the gate of Montrouge. Captain Treves, an officer of the navy, crept up quietly from the trenches to the rampart at the Point du Jour. To his astonishment he found the insurgents had re- tired. He immediately called up 300 sailors, who took possession of the gate. Other troops followed up, and before anyone really felt that the affair had commenced, it was all over. Not a rifle was fired at this point, nor was there a single man wounded. The insurgents at once run up a white flag over the Auteuil gate, but took occasion to strengthen a position of some importance they had taken up on the Arc de Triomphe. The division of General Douay entered by the gate of St. Cloud, and occupied . the salient between the ramparts and the via- duct. Here there was a second bastion of con- siderable solidity. The soldiers entered the half-ruined barracks and casemates, and made prisoners of a number of insurgents whom they found concealed there. Immediate preparations were then made for the advance right and left, but as the enemy was still keeping up a fire from 7-pounders and mitrailleurs, along the bastions between Vaugirard and Montrouge, a regular assault of these positions by the division under General Cissey was determined upon. On the left General Ladmirault took the gates of Passy and Auteuil, and then still keeping to the left seized the Arc de Triomphe. General Vinoy, entering by the Point du Jour, passed the Seine, and opened the gate of Sevres to General Cissey. By two o'clock General Cissey was master of the Faubourg St. Germain as far as Mont Parnasse, and General Clinchant was at the New Opera House. In the Assembly M. Thiers said: — "The slight resistance we have met with warrants us in hoping that Paris will soon be restored to its true sovereign — to France. We are honest men. We will visit with the rigour of the law those men who have been guilty of crime against France, and have not shrunk from assassination or the destruction of national monuments. The laws will be rigorously enforced. The expiation shall be complete. " 23.— M. Thiers reports to the Prefects tha' the Assembly has now 80,000 soldiers within Paris. " General Cissey," he said, " has taker up his position from the railway station at Mont Pamasse to the Ecole Militaire, and is proceeding along the left bank towards the Tuileries. Generals Douay and Vinoy are en. closing the Tuileries, the Louvre, and the MAY 1S71. MAY Place Vendome, in order subsequently to ad- vance upon the H6tel de Ville. General Clinchant, having made himself master of the Opera, the St. Lazare Railway Station, and the Batignolles, has carried the barricades at Clichy. General Ladmirault is approaching the foot of Montmartre with two divisions. General Montaudan, following the movement of General Ladmirault, has taken Neuilly, Le Vallois, Perrey, and Cliehy, and is attacking St. Ouen. He has taken 105 guns and crowds of prisoners. The resistance of the insurgents is gradually declining, and there is every ground for hoping that, if the struggle is not finished to-day, it will be over by to-morrow at the very latest, and for a long time. With respect to the killed and wounded it is impos- sible to fix the numbers, but they are conside- rable. The army, on the contrary, has suffered but very slight loss." About 6 P.M., a second circular gave intimation that the tricolour flag was then waving over the Buttes Montmartre and the Northern Railway Station. These decisive points were carried by the troops of Generals Ladmirault and Clinchant, who cap- tured between 2,000 and 3,000 prisoners. General Douay took the Church of the Trinity, and marched upon the Mairie in the Rue Dronot Generals Cissey and Vinoy advanced towards the Hotel de Ville and the Tuileries. The losses of the insurgents up to this time were put down at 12,000 killed and wounded, and 25,000 prisoners. 24. — The morning news from Paris "was that the Communists still held out at the barricades of the Place Vendome, and the Place de la Concorde. Later in the day the startling in- telligence was spread abroad that the Louvre and Tuileries had been' set on fire by the insurgents. The Commune, it appeared, de- termined to keep its promise of perishing in a sea of blood, and under a canopy of flame, fired the greater number of the public buildings in that part of the city through which they were now being driven by the Versailles troops. The glories of Paris, the Times correspondent wrote, are rapidly passing away in smoke and flame, such as have never been witnessed since the burning of Moscow, and amid a roar of cannon, a screaming of mitrailleurs, a bursting of pro- jectiles, and a horrid rattle of musketry from different quarters which are appalling. " A more lovely day it would be impossible to imagine, a. sky of unusual brightness, blue as the clearest ever seen, a sun of surpassing bril- liancy, even for Paris, scarcely a breath of wind to ruffle the Seine. Such of the great buildings as the spreading conflagration has not reached stand in the clearest relief as they are seen for probably the last time ; but in a dozen spots, on both sides of the bridges, sheets of flame and awful volumes of smoke rise to the sky and positively obscure the light of the sun. As well as we can make out through the flame and smoke rushing across the gardens of the Tuile- ries, the fire has reached the Palais Royal, Everyone is now crying out, 'lhc Paiais Royal burns ! ' and we ascertain that it does. We cannot see Notre Dame or the H6tel Dieu. It is probable that both are fast becoming ashes. Not an instant passes without an ex- plosion. Stones and timber and iron are flying high into the air, and falling to the earth with horrible crashes. The very trees are on fire. They are crackling, and their leaves and branches are like tinder. The buildings in the Place de la Concorde reflect the flames, ana every stone in them is like bright gold. Mont- martre is still outside the circle of the flame ; but the little wind that is blowing carries the smoke up to it, and in the clear heavens it rises black as Milton's Pandemonium. The new Opera House is as yet uninjured ; but the smoke encircles it, and it will be next to a miracle if it escapes. We see clearly now that the Palais de Justice, the Sainte Chapelle, the Prefecture of Police, and the Hotel de Ville are all blazing without a possibility existing of any portion of any one of them being saved from the general wreck and ruin." Exaspera- ted at the success of the Versailles troops, the Commune in the afternoon seemed fully deter- mined to fire, with petroleum, as much of the capital as they had in their possession. One order found on a National Guard, set forth that " The citizen delegate commanding the bar- racks of the Chateau d'Eau, is invited to give the bearer the cans of mineral oil necessary for the chief of barricades of the Faubourg du Temple. Signed, Brunei, Chpf de Legion." In the evening, about nine o'c. jck, and when they had possession of only a small part of the city in the east, the Commune posted up the last of its long series of decrees, No. 398 — "Destroy immediately every house from the windows of which there has been firing on the National Guard, and shoot all the inhabitants if they do not give up and execute the authors of the crime." As many, it was said, as 12,000 were taken prisoners before midnight, and in some quarters, where the resistance was especially stubborn, piles of corpses were built up near the barricades. 24. — Massacre of the hostages in the prison yard of La Roquette, principally at the instiga- tion of Raoul Rigault, a ferocious profligate, whom the Commune had named Procureur- General, and his subordinate, Ferre, who had arrived at the prison after firing the Prefecture of Police with the design of burning the prisoners alive. About half-past seven in the evening, the Director of the prison ascended at the head of fifty Federals to the gallery, where the principal prisoners were confined. An officer went round to each cell, summoning first the Archbishop, and then in succession M. Bonjean, the Abbe AUard, Fathers Ducoudray and Clair, and the Abbe Deguerry, Cure of the Madeleine. As the prisoners appeared, they were marched down to the road running round the prison, on each side of which were arranged N ational Guards, who received the cap 1009 maV 1871. MAY tivcs with insults and injurious epithets. They were next taken into the courtyard facing the infirmary, where they found a firing party awaiting them. Monseigneur Darboy stepped forward, and, addressing his assassins, uttered a few words of pardon. "Do not," he said, ' profane the word liberty ; it is to us alone it Delongs, for we shall die for liberty and faith." Two of these men approached the Archbishop, and, in face of their comrades, knelt before him, beseeching his forgiveness. The other Federals at once rushed upon them, drove them back with insulting reproaches, and then, turning towards the prisoners, gave vent to most violent expressions. The commander of the detach- ment appeared ashamed of this, and, ordering silence, uttered a frightful oath, telling his men that they were there " to shoot those people, and not to bully them." The Federals were silenced, and, upon the order of their lieu- tenant, loaded their weapons. Father Allard was placed against the wall and was the first shot down. Then M. Darboy, in his turn, fell. The whole six prisoners were thus shot, all evincing the utmost calmness and courage. M. Deguerry alone exhibited a momentary weakness, attributable, however, rather to his state of health than to fear. After this tragical execution, carried out without any formal wit. nesses and in the presence only of a number of bandits, the bodies of the unfortunate victims were placed in a cart belonging to a railway company, which had been requisitioned for the purpose, and taken to Pere-la-Chaise, where they were placed in the last trench of the " fosse commune " side by side, without even an attempt to cover them with earth. The body of the Archbishop was afterwards re- covered, embalmed, and laid in state. His funeral, together with that of Monseigneur Surat, Grand Vicar of the diocese, Father Deguerry, Cure of the Madeleine, and the Rev. MM. Becourt and Sabatier, the Incumbents of Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle and Notre Dame de Lorette, was celebrated, on the 7th of June, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, by the Papal Nuncio and four of the French Bishops, in the presence of the ministers of State, generals of the army, and members of the National Assembly. The two immediate predecessors of Archbishop Darboy met with violent deaths— M. Sibour, assassinated by SL piiest in the Church of St. Etienne du Mont, and M. Aiffe, shot on a barricade in Tune 1848. J ' 25.— The American Senate ratify the Treaty of Washington by 50 votes against 12. — Inquiry at Marlborough Street Police Court, into the charge brought against Flora Davy, or Newington, of having stabbed Frede- rick Moon within her residence, Newton Road. Westbonrne Grove. Her own account of the transaction was: — "We were sitting after dinner at table, and Fred made an observation to me about my daughter which annoyed me excessively. I begged him not to repeat it, tojo for I could not stand it. Mr. Moon said, ' I will say it again, and if you are not silent I will fling the bottle at your head.' " She stated that she then jumped up with a knife in her hand. They struggled and fell, and she saw the blood pouring out but she could not tell how. 25. — Thesummary execution of many women, in Paris, on the charge of poisoning and fire- raising by petroleum, caused much comment on the desperate measures found to be neces- sary for suppressing the Commune. A cor- respondent of the Times witnessed one such scene : — " I took a walk," he writes, " down the Rue Rivoli towards the H6tel de Ville, to judge of the amount of damage done, and at the: comer of the Rue Castiglione became aware of the approach of a great crowd of people yelling and shaking their fists. The cortege was headed by a company of mounted gen- darmes, behind whom came two artillerymen, dragging between them a soiled bundle of rags that tottered and struggled, and fell down under the blows showered upon it by all who were within reach. It was a woman, who had been caught in the act of spreading petroleum. Her face was bleeding and her hair streaming down her back, from which her clothing had been torn. On they dragged her, followed by a hooting mob, till they reached the corner of the Louvre, and there they prop- ped her up against a wall, already half dead from the treatment she had received. The ' crowd ranged itself in a circle, and I have never seen a picture more perfect and complete in its details than was presented by that scene. The gasping, shrinking figure in the centre, surrounded by a crowd who could scarce be kept from tearing her in pieces, who waved their arms crying 'A 1'eau, a 1'eau ! ' on one side a barricade, still strewn with broken gun3 and hats— a dead National Guard lying in the fosse — behind a group of mounted gendarmes, and then a perspective of ruined streets and blackened houses, culminating in the extreme distance in the still burning Hotel de Ville. Presently two revolvers were discharged, and the bundle of rags fell forward in a pool of blood. The popular thirst for vengeance was satisfied, and the crowd dispersed in search of further excitement elsewhere." 26.— Miss Burdett Coutts gazetted Baroness of Highgate and Brookfield in the county of Middlesex. — TheinsurgentpositionatBellevillestormed and taken after a sharp struggle. One extra- ordinary feature in the street fights at this time, was that many of them were carried on with a crowd of non-combatants, men, women, and chil- dren, asclose to them 011 both sides as if the whole affair were a theatrical representation of a sen- national melodramatic kind, where a good deaf of powder and blue lights would be burnt, but no bullets or lives would be spent. * ' In streets in which fighting actually occurs no one of course shows except Combatants, and the** MAY 1871. MAY show as little as possible, lying down or shelter- ing behind extempore barricades and windows. The people indoors, as may be supposed, do not keep near them, as the bullets fired down the sides of the streets under cover of doorways or comer houses glance and ricochet about in the wildest way. Scarcely a window escapes if the fight lasts long, but adjoining streets, run- ning at right angles to the fighting ground, are for the moment comparatively safe, and the people crowd about the doorways in these, the more venturesome getting close to street cor- ners, and every now and then cautiously craning their necks round to see, if possible, whether shots tell." 27. — The Newcastle engineers strike in favour of the nine hours' movement, about 9,000 leaving the works in Newcastle and Gateshead. 28. — In Paris to-day, the Commune is de- scribed as "dying hard," the fighting being unusually desperate in and around Belleville, Menilmontant, and Pere-la-Chaise. Even the women fought savagely. " No quarter was given to any man, woman, or child found in arms. Numerous arrests are taking place in the streets of Paris, and military law is being applied with the utmost rigour in all cases. All prisoners are immediately sent up for judg- ment to the Provost-Marshal's court at the Ch&telet. The executions now take place at three fixed points — the Champ de Mars, the Pare Monceaux, and near the H6tel de Ville. Batches of as many as 50 and 100 at a time are shot. No person whatever is allowed to leave Paris on any pretext, unless bearing a special permit signed either by Marshal MacMahon or the chief of his staff. There is less difficulty in entering Paris, but all strangers are subjected to rigorous examination, and, if their papers are not satisfactory, to arrest. Great dread of incendiaries still prevails ; all cellar gratings, and area openings, through which combustible matter might be introduced, hermetically sealed." — A proclamation, signed by Marshal MacMahon, announces the delivery of Paris. " Inhabitants of Paris ! " he wrote, " The army of B'rance has come to save you. Paris is delivered. Our soldiers at four o'clock cap- tured the last positions occupied by the in- surgents. To-day the struggle is over, and order, labour, and security revive." The fighting appears to have ceased about 3 P.M. A few shots were fired from the windows at Belleville, where frightful scenes were said to aave been enacted. The more desperate characters, felons and escaped formats of the worst description, turned at the last moment on their own comrades because they refused to continue the fight. Some women murdered, with knives, two young men for the same •reason. In consequence of the firing fromthe ' windows an immense number of executions occurred. The park of the Buttes Chaumont was strewn with corpses. The soldiers were so furious that the officers found it necessary to warn strangers of the danger of incurring suspicion. Dombrowski died in the H6tel de Ville, from wounds received at a barricade in the Rue d'Omano ; and Delescluze fell fighting at the Chateau d'Eau. Bisson and Tavernier were captured and shot. 29. — M. Thiers orders the disarmament of Paris, and the dissolution of the National Guard of the Department of the Seine. — Whit Monday kept, for the first time, as a Bank Holiday, under Sir J. Lubbock's Bill, recently passed. — On a petition being brought up in the National Assembly to-day relative to the capi- tulation of Metz, General Changarnier made a speech in which he detailed the facts that pre- ceded the retreat of the Army of the Rhine into that fortress, and said he must reproach the Commander-in-Chief with indecision and loss of time on that occasion, faults which led to the fortress being completely invested by the Germans. Famine alone had been the cause of the army in Metz being reduced to power- lessness. Marshal Bazaine had not been fortu- nate ; but the cession of Metz was neither preconcerted nor voluntary. General Chan- garnier concluded by urging the Assembly not to allow an odious suspicion to rest upon gene- rals who were brave soldiers and honourable men. M. Thiers said he was happy to see General Changarnier undertake the defence of one of the most valiant soldiers of France. He assented to the proposal for an inquiry ; which, indeed, had been demanded by Marshal Ba- zaine himself ; but he left the decision upon this question to the Sovereign Assembly. General Le Flo, the Minister for War, then ascended the tribune and said: — "The law upon this subject is most formal. Every Commander who surrenders a fortress to the enemy must be tried before a Council of War. I shall do my duty with regard to all the capi- tulations— those of Metz and Sedan as well as the others which occurred during the war. " — Victor Hugo expelled from Belgium for offering his home as an asylum to refugee Communists. — • Pere Hyacinthe, writing to the Gaulois, declares that in the recent calamities which had overthrown France the Church had not done its duty. " Instead of the promises and teach- ings of the Gospel to the disinherited of this world, the Church in the noisy echoes of the press, and sometimes even by the mouth of its bishops, treated of matters of bitter controversy about the Pope-King, the dogmatisation of in- tolerance, and the canonisation of the Inqui- sition. I do not calumniate the political and religious regime that we have submitted to for more than twenty years, and which is summed up in these two words — ' Scepticism at Paris j fanaticism at Rome.' " ion JUNE 1871. JUNE 30.— "Paris," writes the 7i7iut, "the Paris of civilization, is no more. It pitted itself against France, and rather than be beaten has destroyed itself. We may look for it, but we s'lall find its place alone. They who have found (hemselves scores of times at Paris, just for a week's change, or on their way to and fro between this and mountain or classic lands, have lost the fairest vision of their lives. They can no longer interpret and unfold its glories to younger minds. AH they have to make up fur it, is the sorry boast that they have seen what the eye of man will never see again, for twenty Haussmanns would only make a new Paris — Paris revived, but not real or the saine." June 1. — The morning papers publish a letter from Prince Napoleon to Jules Favre, charging the Republican Minister and his col- leagues with the responsibility of almost all the evils from which France is suffering, and point- ing out how much better things were managed under the Empire. "The Empire," the Prince observed, "had committed great faults; our defeats were great, but our disasters date from you. Let each bear his part. Without doubt it was a grievous error to count too much upon the forces of France, and to commit in 1870 the fault which Prussia committed in 1806 : to look too much to our victories under the great Republic and the First Empire ; to think too little of the powerful enemy we had to combat ; to contemplate the Crimea in 1854 and Italy in 1859, instead of calmly looking in the face the German forces in 1870, headed by x - emarkable men . . . For a new society a new symbol is required. It requires — and modern right wills it — the abdication of all before the will of the people freely and directly expressed. Besides this, once more I repeat, there is no- thing but chaos. Faith in monarchy cannot be imposed. The only base upon which a Govern- ment in France can affirm its principle, the only source from which it can draw legitimacy and force,- is by an appeal to the people, which we claim, and on which France ought to insist." 5. — In the Tichborne trial to-day the cross- examination of the Solicitor-General pressed hvrd upon the Claimant as to his intimacy with Miss Kate Doughty. He answered with great apparent reluctance, and professed for- getfulness. The Solicitor-General persisted, and directed his questions to the subject of the lealed packet left by Roger Tichborne in the hands of Vincent Gosford before he left Eng- land: — The Solicitor-General — In your affidavit made on the 14th of February, 1868, you say you gave Gosford " special instructions to hold, and not to open the same, except on two events, one of which I know has not happened, and the other I hope has not happened." What was the event you knew had not happened ? — My returning before Miss Doughty's marriage. Do you swear that ? — I can't swear. I don't know what I alluded to when I swore the affi- 1012 davit. Do you mean to tell the jury that you did not know which of those events had not happened? — It must have been my return before Miss Doughty's marriage. Is that what you swear? — I may have meant my death, which has not happened. (Laughter.) What was the event which you hoped had not hap- pened ? — If I am called upon to state by the Solicitor-General, it must be on his own head. I have written the object of the sealed packet in a paper which I have handed down. What was the event which you hoped had not happened? — Will you look at that document? I ask you what was the event which you hoped had not happened ? The witness said the ques- tion ought not to be put to him, and that it was not for his own sake that he objected to answer ; but upon the question being again repeated he answered, "The confinement of Miss Doughty. " Do you mean to swear before the Judge and jury that you had seduced Katherine Doughty ? — I most solemnly to my God swear that I had. [This answer caused great sensation in court.] Your cousin — this lady (pointing to Mrs. Rad- cliffe, who sat behind the learned counsel) ?— Yes. The Solicitor-General — Let it be distinctly " understood that Mrs. Radcliffe is here by her own wish. After some hours' cross-exami- nation, the Claimant said he was exhausted, and the Court adjourned. The Times, in reporting the case, wrote — " Nothing but a literal report of every question and every answer given, every letter put in, including the contents of the re- turns (the one to Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania alone occupied 232 large, closely printed pages) to the Commissioners sent out, and the documents commented on, would give anything like a fair notion of this extraordinary trial. We might, if we adopted this course, fill at least one sheet of the Times every day, and even then it is impossible to convey to our readers a faint idea of the manner of the wit- ness, the withering sarcasm of the Solicitor- General, the tone of his voice, the sensation in court, and the general effect of the proceedings. " During the proceedings of Tuesday the 6th, the Lord Chief Justice, not being able to catch a word, asked the witness to repeat it, which he seemed unable to do, and finally said, "You have been awfully sharp upon me, my lord. You are determined I shall not have justice. The other side has not wanted a counsel at all." The Lord Chief Justice— " I must re- quest you to be more respectful." TheClaimanl pleaded illness this afternoon, and the case was adjourned over a day. Next day the cross- examination was met by a general disavowal of being able to remember details. 6. — Died suddenly at his seat, Ogleworth Park, Gloucestershire, Sir John Rolt, Q.C., Attorney-General in Earl Derby's third Govern- ment, — Died, aged 87, the Hon. Frederick Byng, a popular member of fashionable society from the days of the Regency. ~ JUNE 1871. JUNE 6. — The slave vessel Don Juan takes fire sixty miles south of Hong-Kong, when the captain and crew leave the ship with 500 coolies to be suffocated and consumed in the hold, where they were battened down. — The University of Oxford confer the degree of D.C.L. on Professor Dollinger of Munich. The proposal, advocated by Professor Liddon, was opposed by Mr. Rogers, of Mag- dalen Hall, and the Principal of St. Mary's Hall, who thought the present time inopportune. Professor Bernard received a similar honour on the 15th. 7.— In Committee on the Burials Bill, a proposal that the service, when not according to a published ritual, should consist of nothing bat prayers and passages of Scripture, rejected by 146 to 144 votes. — Funeral of the Archbishop of Paris, and the other murdered hostages. S. — The National Assembly declares the prescriptive laws abolished, and that the Or- leans Princes had been duly elected. On the other hand, the Princes were understood to have pledged themselves to resign their seats and refrain from taking part in politics at pre- sent. In the debate on the occasion, M. Thiers professed great friendship for the family of Orleans, but declared that his friendship for his country was superior to all others — a declara- tion which was loudly cheered by the Assembly ; and he added : " We have won a material victory ; we shall gain a moral triumph by our prudence. " IS.— In moving an address to the Crown on the subject of the Alabama claims, Earl Russell defended the course he had pursued as Foreign Secretary, and censured the Commissioners for giving a retrospective effect in the recent treaty to certain rules of international law. The action of the Government was defended by Lord Granville, Lord de Grey, and the Duke of Argyll, and the motion negatived without a division. — In the Commons Mr. Cardwell announces an intention on the part of Government to abandon part of the Army Regulation Bill, and persevere only with those clauses referring to the abolition of purchase, a course described by Mr. Disraeli as a breach of faith with the House, seeing that large sums had already been voted for purposes of the bill. After a brief debate the House went, for the ninth time, into Committee, and Clause 3 was agreed to. — Examined by the Solicitor-General as to the details of school life at Stonyhurst, the following questions were put to the Claimant. — Did you learn the Hebrew alphabet ? — -I do not recollect. You learned Greek?— Some portion of it. Did you go as far as the Greek alphabet? — I don't remember. Did you ever read a verse of the Bible in Greek ? — Probably a part of it. Does any single Greek word linger in your memory? — Not a word. I don't think I ever thought of it. Did you get as far as the article ? Could not you give me "an" in Greek? — No ; I have lost it entirely. Did you get better on in Latin ? — I believe I got further in Latin. Did you learn the Latin alphabet ? — Of course I did. Could you read Latin ? — Yes. Could you read a line now ?— No ; I could not. Did you do any Virgil, any Csesar? — I don't recollect. Do you know whether Csesar is written in prose or verse ? — ■ I don't recollect. (A laugh.) Is Cassas Latin or Greek? — I should think it was Greek. (Laughter.) What is Virgil — a general or a statesman, or what? — I have no recollection. Was he a Greek or a Latin writer ? — I don't recollect. Did he write verse or prose ? — I don't recollect. Did you ever see it before (handing a Delphin edition of Virgil to the witness) ? — I don't want to look at it at all. (A laugh.) Is it Greek or Latin? — It looks to me like Greek. (Laughter. ) You learned mathe- matics, you say ? — Yes. Is it the same thing as chemistry? — My memory does not serve me. Chemistry is a science by itself. Then what is mathematics ? — I have no recollection. What book have you ever read in mathematics? — My memory does not serve me. What is it — written in Greek, or Latin, or what ?— I don't recollect. Did you ever read Euclid? Has that anything to do with mathematics? — I don't recollect. I think not. (A laugh.) Has algebra anything to do with mathematics ? — I have no recollection. Have you read Euclid ? — I believe I did, but don't recollect. Did you ever hear of the Asses' Bridge ? — I don't recollect. Did you ever try to get over it ? . (Laughter. ) —I don't recollect. Did you ever try to cross the Asses' Bridge? — I have no recollection of it. Did anybody try his best to help you over the Asses' Bridge? Did you make gallant efforts, as many of us have done, to get over it ? — i have no recollection. Do you remember whereabouts it is — how far from Stonyhurst ? (Laughter.) — It is only insulting me. Do you know it better by its Latin name, "pons asinorum " ? — No. Have you forgotten that A. M. D. G. stands at the head of every exercise, and is printed at the head of every book, at Stonyhurst ? — Will you vouch that as a fact? Is it so? — I don't recollect. Does A.M.D.G. mean "Admajorem Deigloriam?" — I have no doubt it does. What does it mean in English? — There is God and glory — the last two words. What does L. D. S. mean? — I don't know. Do they mean Laus Deo semper? — (No answer.) Is that Lalin or French? — (No answer.) What is the mean- ing of the words? — It would be "laws of God forever." (Great laughter. ) The Judge — It is difficult to restrain so large an assembly, but I hope people will not laugh or make any sign to interrupt the proceedings. 12 Questioned by Sir Roundel! Palmei regarding the second rule in the sixth article of the Treaty of Washington, defining the duty of neutrals towards belligerents, Mr. Gladstone 1013 JUNE' 1871. JUNE said the new rule would prevent the fitting out or arming in British ports of vessels in- tended to act against belligerent powers with which this country was at peace, but it would not interfere with the exportation of arms and munitions of war in the ordinary course of commerce. 13. — The House of Lords, by a majority of 1 29 to 89 votes, agree not to insist on the Salis- bury or new Test Clause introduced into the University Bill, and which had been rejected by the Commons. 14. — The German Catholics circulate an appeal, signed by Dbllinger, Huber, Reinkens and others, declaring :— " I. We persist in the rejection of the Vaticanian infallibility and dogmas, which concede to the Pope personal infallibility and absolute power in the Church notwithstanding the opposition of the bishops. 2. We persist in the firmly-grounded convic- tions that the Vaticanian decrees constitute a serious danger for the State and society, and - are irreconcilable with the laws and institutions of existing States, and that their acceptance would involve us in an insoluble contradiction with our political duties and oaths. 3. The German bishops show by their differing and contradictory interpretations of the Vaticanian dogmas that they know full well their novelty and are ashamed of them. We deplore such a use of the episcopal office.'' — Fourteen people drowned at Avoch, on the Moray Firth, by the upsetting of a fishing-boat. 15 Celebration of the Tercentenary of the foundation of Harrow School, a former masler, Dr. Vaughan, proposing at luncheon the toast of " Prosperity to the institution." — The Paris Internationalists issue a manifesto to working-men, declaring that their society alone could lead them to emancipation, and drag into daylight capital and priestcraft. "At the present moment the International Society is denounced as grandly criminal ; all those who capitulated, all the incapable per- sons of the capital, lay at its door the misfor- tunes of France and 'the fires of Paris. On the Jules Favres, on the Trochus, and on the rest, we hurl back the misfortunes of France. We accept the responsibility of the conflagra- tion of Paris. The old social system must perish, and it shall perish. A gigantic effort has already shaken it to its foundations. A final effort must uproot it entirely." 16. — The German troops engaged in the late war enter Berlin in triumph. All business was suspended, and as many as 200,000 strangers were reported to have arrived in the city. The body . of troops which entered numbered about 42,000, consisting of the Prussian Royal Guards, and picked deputa- tions from all the regiments of the German Federal and Allied armies, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which took three hours and a 1014 half to march past. They were led by Marshal von Wrangel, whose great age for- bade him to take part in the late French war. He was accompanied by other generals of the army superannuated from active service. Then came the Staff-officers of the commanders engaged in the late war ; General Blumenthal, Chief of the Staff to the Crown Prince, being the most distinguished. After these, and the general officers who had served, like Falken- stein, as civil governors in the conquered territories, rode the commanders of different army corps, and the illustrious men who com- manded whole armies, — the Duke of Mecklen- burg-Schwerin, the Crown Prince of Saxony, and Field-Marshal Steinmetz ; Generals Man- teuffel, Werder, Von der Tann, and Goeben, who had also commanded armies, were among the party of general officers preceding. The arrival of Bismarck, Moltke, and Roon, fol- lowed by the Emperor, was greeted with enthusiastic cheering. His Majesty appeared in his field uniform and on his war-horse, a dark bay. Behind him rode the Field Marshals of the royal house — the Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and of Germany, on a chestnut horse, and Prince Frederick Charles, on a bright bay charger. Following these, the central figures of the pageant, cam ; a bevy of princes, guests of the Emperor, with their personal staff, glittering in varie I uniforms and making a gallant show. Behind these came the under officers, of various German nationalities, bearing the spoils of war— the eagles and the colours. The unveil- ing of a statue of Friderick William III.- formed a portion of the ceremonial. 17. — Giant and giantess (Captain Buren and Anna Swann) married at St. Martin's-in- the-Fields. — H.M.S. Megara, after being in a leaky condition for nine days, is run ashore on St. Paul's Island. She was an iron screw troop- ship, carrying six guns, of 1,395 tons, and 350 horse-power. When she sailed a series of questions respecting her were put in the House of Commons, and from the official answers it appeared that the Megara was employed to take out to Svdney 33 officers and 350 men. Complaint had been made that the ship was overcrowded, and that she was unseaworthy, and it was said that her crew had twice pro- tested against going to sea in her. On behalf of the Admiralty those allegations were denied, and occasions were cited in which the Megara had taken to the Cape more than 500 souls, and to Cape Coast Castle 450, besides her crew, while she had frequently carried 400 tons of cargo. Official despaf ches stated that the leak was reported on the 8th ; on the 14th it became more serious, and gained on the pumps. " Steam was then used, and by the aid of the main steam pumps the water was kept in check. It was determined to steer for St. Paul's Island in order to examine the ship, where she arrived and anchored on Saturday, June 17th. A JVNE I87I. yuNE survey was then held, and a diver sent down to examine the leak. A hole was discovered worn through the centre of a plate, about 12 ft. abaft the mainmast and about 8 ft. from the keel, port side, besides other serious injuries in the immediate vicinity of the leak." The pumps were frequently choked with loose pieces 6f iron scaling off the bottom of the ship. Under these circumstances the chief engineer advised that it would be most unsafe to proceed on the voyage to Australia, the nearest port of which lay 1,800 miles distant. The vessel was run ashore on the 17th, but not abandoned till the 19th. The men who first landed, with their^ bags and hammocks, were sheltered by tents made from the ship's sails, but some sheds or huts already existing were used for store-houses, and barracks were afterwards put up. Rice was got on the island, and a little rain-water, but to avoid all risk of famine, the troops and crew were at once put on short allowance. They were first discovered by a vessel passing to Batavia, which took off an officer with mails and despatches. The whole were afterwards relieved by the steamship Malacca, and landed at Melbourne September 28th. Captain Thrupp returned to England, and at once reported himself at the Admiralty. 18. — Died at his residence, Savile Row, aged 77 years, George Grote, the philosophical historian of ancient Greece, Trustee of the British Museum, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. He was interred in Westminster Abbey on the 24th. 19. — The Commons negative after a debate the clause proposed by Mr. Torrens to be intro- duced into the Army Regulation Bill, provid- ing that no soldier of the line be called upon to serve out of the United Kingdom until he shall have attained the age of twenty years. — Died from small-pox, aged 21 years, Numa Edward Hartog, Senior Wrangler, Cambridge, 1870, and B.A., to which degree, being a Jew, he was admitted by a special grace, dispensing with part of the oath. — Celebration of the twenty-fifth anni- versary of the election of Pope Pius IX. Replying to an address presented by French Catholics, his Holiness described the Catholic Liberalism prevailing in that country as more formidable than even the Commune with its men who had fired Paris. — Commencement of the sixth triennial Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace. The attendance at each of the great musical gather- ings was : 1857. — Rehearsal, 5,844 ; first day, 8,629; second day, 9,149; third day, 14,792 —total, 38,414. 1859.— Rehearsal, 19,680 ; first day, 17,109; second day, 17,703; third day, 26,827— total, 81,319. 1862. — Rehearsal, 19,63; first day, 15,694; second day, 14,143; third day, 18,567— total, 67,567. 1865.— Rehearsal, 15,420; first day, 13,677; second riav, 14,915; third day, 15,422— total, 59,434. 1568.— Rehearsal, 18,597; first day, 19,217; second day, 21,550 ; third day, 23,101 — total, 82,465. 1871. — Rehearsal, 18,676; first day, 21,946; second day, 21,330; third day, 23,016 — total, 84,968. 21.— The new Hospital of St. Thomas (designed by Currey, the foundation-stone of which had been laid by the Queen in May 1868) opened by her Majesty, who arrived at Paddington from Windsor in the forenoon, and drove across the Parks to Westminster and Lambeth, accompanied by several mem- bers of the royal family. The treasurer, Mr. Hicks, received the honour of knighthood on the occasion. 23. — Garden party at Buckingham Palace, the Queen, in the language of the official accounts, giving a breakfast from half-past four to half-past seven P.M. — Closing of the subscription lists for the French loan of 80,000,000/. The amount was subscribed for twice over. 24. — The decennial representation of the Passion Play commenced at Oberammergau. Two thousand spectators were present, a large number being English and American. — Cobden Club Dinner,, presided over by Earl Granville, who defined the policy of the deceased statesman as liberty in things political, in things religious,, and in things material, 26. — Came on before Mr. Justice Lush and a common jury, the case of Pantaleoni v. Vaughan, an action for libel brought by the head of the religious hospital S. Speiito, at Rome, against the proprietor of the Tablet. The libel complained of was published in a letter in the Tablet on the 19th of November, 1870. It stated that Dr. Pantaleoni turned out all the religious in the hospital after he became director. He was banished from Rome in 1862 for complicity in the Fauste conspiracy, which had for its object the assas- sination of the King and Queen of Naples, the officers of the Zouaves, and the Prince Torlonia, the destruction of the Alliberta and other Pontifical theatres. On seeing the letter the plaintiff, Dr. Pantaleoni, wrote to the defendant, with whom he was personally acquainted, explaining that he was exiled from Rome at the time referred to, and that he knew nothing of the conspiracy. The paper, in again referring to the matter, stated that the correspondent in Rome justified what he had written, and the editor in a footnote said they had the evidence of their correspondent against the plaintiffs assertion, and the public could draw their own conclusions. Mr. Day this morning said that Dr. Vaughan, as soon as he became aware of the publication, expressed his sorrow, and used every means in his power to retract the statements contained in the libel, and he then took the opportunity of doing so in the fullest manner. The defendant entertained every respect for the plaintiff, and 1015 JULY 1871. JULY believed there was no ground whatever for the charge. A verdict was then taken for the plaintiff by consent — damages 250/., to cover costs. 29. — The Emperor and Empress of Brazil arrive in London, in the course of an extended tour through Europe. The Queen took an early opportunity of conferring the Order of the Garter on her illustrious visitor, who manifested unwearied activity during his sojourn in Britain. In London the royal party occupied apartments in Claridge's Hotel. — The Ballot Bill passes into Committee by 326 votes to 232 given in support of an amendment, that the order be read that day six months. 30. — Lord Salisbury moves an address to the Crown against the scheme of the Endowed School Commissioners, for the management of Emanuel Hospital. The plan, he maintained, was part of a centralizing scheme, intended to break up the local administration, and to place the power in London in a body appointed by the Government, influenced by the particular philosophic project of the day, and out of sympathy with rural populations. The differ- ence between old-fashioned Christian en- thusiasm and the philosophic enthusiasm of the present day was that the Christian was content to give of his own money for what he desired to support, while the philosopher always tried to do it by getting hold of some- body else's. Lord Halifax maintained that the Commissioners had faithfully observed the intentions of the Legislature, and Lord Law- rence, as Chairman of the London School Board, thought the scheme of the Commis- sioners would give a great impulse to the primary education of the country. On a division, Lord Salisbury's motion was earned by 64 to 56 votes. — The Household Brigade reviewed be- fore the Queen in Bushey Park. July 2. — King Victor Emmanuel enters Rome as the new capital of his dominions. A grand banquet was held in the afternoon, and in the evening, when the king passed to the Apollo Theatre, the greater part of the city was illu- minated. He returned to Florence next day. — Between 80 and 90 supporters of M. Thiers returned out of the 113 supplementary elections which take place in France. Bona- partists and Legitimists were beaten in most places. 3. — The Army Regulation Bill read a third time in the House of Commons, the final discussion taking place on a motion submitted by Mr. Graves : — " That the bill for the better regulation of the army having been narrowed to an object which will entail on the country an ascertained expenditure of several millions, besides a large permanent charge of which no estimate has been submitted, this House is nn- 1016 willing thus to add to the pressuie of existing taxation by entering on a course of unknown expenditure, and, declining to commit itself to premature action, awaits from her Majesty's Government a mature and comprehensive scheme of army reform calculated to place the •military system of the country on a sound and economical basis." The motion was rejected by 239 to 231 votes, the majority being made up of 204 English, 44 Irish, and 41 Scotch mem- bers ; and the minority of 199 English, 25 Irish, and seven Scotch. The number of absent English members was 89, of Irish 33, and cf Scotch 12. The only Conservatives who voted with the Government on this occasion were Colonel Napier Sturt, and Colonel Vandeleur. Seven Liberals joined with the minority. 3. — The Emperor of Brazil attends the Common Pleas to hear the continued cross- examination of the Claimant in the Tichborne case. At this time questions were being asked in Parliament in reference to the ad- journment of the case till November. The Judge said he had received a letter from Lady Doughty, imploring that the trial might not be postponed. The Solicitor-General and the attorney of the defendants disclaimed any previous knowledge of the letter. The Judge spoke of it as reprehensible, but excusable. Lady Doughty said — " I take the liberty of imploring your lordship to take into considera- tion my advanced age — seventy-six next August — and my failing health, so increased from the intense suffering caused by the cruel charges brought against my now only child. I am also deputed, by the guardians of the infant, and every member of the Tichbome and Arundel families, to pray your lordship not to oppose the efforts we are making for no delay in the hearing of this cause. I trust that your lord- ship will not consider this communicaiion in any other light than the outpouring of a mother's heart." During the day the Claimant was questioned respecting the titles of some of the books which Roger had left with Mr. Gosford. He knew nothing of either Gustave de Beaumont, Attila, or the Practice of Elocu- tion: — The Solicitor-General — Who was Crom- well? — He was the Commonwealth man. Who did you say?— I say he was the Common- wealth. Well, not exactly. Now, here is a Life of John Bunyan. Who was he ? — John Bunyan ! I've read the book, I know ; but I forget now who he was. What sort of a fellow was John Bunyan? — Quite the reverse of what you are. But I don't recollect who he was : Was he a sportsman ? — You can ask me as many foolish questions as you like. I say I don't know who he was. — Was he a General, Bishop, or master of foxhounds?-— I tell you I can't say. — What is a misanthrope — it is a word used by you frequently in letters? — I don't know that I made use of it. I cannot say what it is. Is it a bird, beast, or fish ?— Well, I think I used it in regard to some books. Cross-examination closed to-day JULY 1871. JULY with information relative to the Tichborne Bonds, on which it was alleged 35,000/. had been raised. 5.— rThe Count de Chambord issues a pro- clamation, in which he promises not to attempt any disturbance of the existing order of things, but tells his countrymen that he holds himself in readiness to take the crown whenever they shall think fit to offer it to him, and to establish a regime combining monarchy with universal suffrage, and a parliament of two Chambers. " I will not," he concluded, "be silent because ignorant or credulous people have spoken of Privileges, of Absolutism, of Intolerance, and of I know not what besides — of tithes, of feudal rights, phantoms which the most auda- cious bad faith seeks to conjure up before your eyes. I will not allow the standard of Henry IV., of Francis I., and Joan of Arc to be torn from my hands. It is with that flag that our national unity was made, it was with that flag that your forefathers, led by mine, conquered that Alsace and Lorraine whose fidelity will be our consolation in our misfortunes. It con- quered barbarism on that African soil, which witnessed the first deeds of valour of the princes of my family ; it is it which will conquer the new barbarism with which the world is now threatened. I shall confide it without fear to the valour of our army ; it has never, as that army knows well, been found but in the path of honour. I received it as a sacred deposit from the aged King, my grandfather, as he was dying in exile ; it has always been for me in- separable from the memory of my absent country ; it floated above my cradle, I wish it to droop over my grave. In the glorious folds of that stainless banner, I shall bring you order and liberty. Frenchmen, Henry V. cannot desert the white flag of Henry IV." 6. — Double murder in France, department of Indre-et-Loire. A man named Delalande, known for his dissipated habits, killed M. de Vonne, the Mayor of Sache, and as the curate, an old man of seventy-eight years, was bringing the holy oil to anoint the body of the deceased, the assassin fired again, and the curate fell mortally wounded. The terror caused by these murders was so great among the inhabitants that the body of the curate was suffered to remain three hours in the public road. — Meeting of Liberal members at the resi- dence of Mr. Gladstone, to devise measures for hastening the progress of the Ballot Bill through the House. — In committee on the Ballot Bill, Mr. G. Bentinck, resenting what he called the curt and not very courteous remarks of the leader of the Opposition on gentlemen below the gangway, said a long career of political tergiversation and apostasy had placed the right hon. gentleman in a position which subjected him to observa- tions. (" Order, order ! ") Many years ago the right hon. gentleman spoke of the Govern- ment, of the .day as an "organized hypocrisy," and that suggested that the proper description of the late Government would be that it was a disorganized hypocrisy. The chairman ruled that the hon. member was out of order in alluding to past events. Next, turning to the Prime Minister, Mr. Bentinck said he had complained of time being wasted, but no one had for years delayed business by speeches sc much as he himself had done. In a long, didactic oration the right hon. gentleman com- mented upon the bad habit of imputing motives ; but he was guilty of that offence when he said that speeches were made solely for the purpose of creating delay. As soon as Mr. Newdegnte rose a great many members on the Liberal side (in accordance with the tactics resolved upon at the meeting in the afternoon) immediately quitted the House, and the whole of the benches were soon empty. Only two or three Ministers on the Treasury bench, and three independent members behind them, were left to represent the party on the Speaker's right hand. In order to maintain the equilibrium of the assembly a number of the Conservatives, amid general laughter, crossed to the deserted seats and delivered strong denunciations of the Ballot from the places usually occupied by advanced Radicals. The speaking was carried on exclusively by Conservatives, and provoked no reply. About ten o'clock a division was taken, and Mr. Newdegate's motion for adjourn- ment defeated by 154 to 63. 6. — Waverley costume ball at Willis's Rooms in aid of fund to complete the Scott Monument at Edinburgh. 7 — Adjournment of the Tichborne case after a trial of forty days — a course opposed by Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, and insisted on by Mr. Hawkins, who stated that the observations he had addressed to the court were made under * sense of responsibility to his clients, and he cared nothing for the observations of Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, knowing the quarter whence they came. The Lord Chief Justice — "I regret very much that such an observa- tion should have fallen from any learned counsel. The observation of the learned counsel requires an apology upon the spot." (The learned counsel having made no response, his lordship proceeded, turning to the jury) — " Gentlemen, I regret that it is not made." Before the case was suspended, however, Mr. Hawkins, at the suggestion of the Judge, withdrew the expression. (See January 15, 1872.) 8. — Treaty agreed to by the Second Chamber at the Hague, transferring the Dutch settlement on the West Coast of Africa from Holland to Britain. — Complimentary breakfast at the Crystal Palace to members of the company of the " Comedie Francaise," whose perfoimanci-s were brought to a close this evening, Lord Dufferin presided. e 1017 JULY 1871. JULY 9. — Died, aged 76, Dr. Alexander Keith Johnstone, F.R.S., among the most eminent of modern geographers. IO. — At a meeting of Conservative Peers, it is resolved that the Duke of Richmond should give notice of an amendment expressing the un- willingness of the House to read the Army Bill a second time until a complete and comprehen- sive scheme of army reorganisation shall have been laid before it. 11. — The Ecclesiastical Titles Repeal Bill passes through committee in the Lords, and the Burial Bill is read a third time and passed. To meet the case of children working in brick- fields, in whose behalf Lord Shaftesbury moved an address to the Crown, Lord Morley promised to introduce a clause into the P'accory Act Amendment Bill, presently before the House. — The Saxon troops engaged in the late war make a triumphal entry into Dresden. The Bavarian troops entered Munich on the 1 6th. — Collision early this morning, in the Channel, off the Eddystone lighthouse, between the ship Madagascar, 1,311 tons, Captain Brunswick, belonging to South Shields, bound from London to Quebec, and the screw-steamer Widgeon, of Cork, proceeding from Liverpool, with a general cargo and passengers for Rotterdam. The bow of the Madagascar cut into the Widgeon midway between the funnel and the wheel, crushing the sailor at the wheel so severely that he was taken to the hospital. The water rushed into the stoke-hole and extinguished the fires. The steamer sank at 2.30 A.M., and the ship at 5 A.M. All hands of both vessels, sixty-one persons, were picked up by a trawling sloop, and brought into Plymouth. — Died at Milan, the Princess Christina Belgiojoso, an enthusiastic worker for the unity of Italy. 12. — Commenced at the Central Criminal Court, before Lord Chief Justice Bovill, the trial of Edmund W. Pook, for the murder of Jane Maria Clousen, in Kidbrooke Lane, Eltham. The case was protracted to the evening of the 16th, when the jury, amid a tempest of applause, returned a verdict of Not Guilty. In his charge the Chief Justice com- mented in strong terms on the conduct of the police, who appeared, he said, to have from the first assumed the guilt of the prisoner, and strained every piece of evidence so as to ensure a conviction against him. The acquittal of Pook led to disorderly gatherings before his father's house at Greenwich, and to legal pro- ceedings against parties for printing and selling accounts of his supposed connection with the murder. — Serious Orange riots in New York, the military firing upon the disturbers of the peace, killing, it was reported, over thirty and wound- ing 170. Lieutenant James Fisk was among the latter. . ioi8 14._ William Frank Goshey, a lad of 20, sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to fifteen years' penal servitude for attempting to murder Dr. De Meschin, of the Middle Temple, whose room had been taken possession of, and books stolen by the prisoner during the Doctor's temporary absence abroad. 16.— In the case of Harriet Newington or Davy, indicted for the manslaughter of Frederick Moon, the jury return a verdict of guilty, and Baron Channell, expressing his entire concurrence in its justice, sentenced her to eight years' penal servitude. The prisoner again declared her innocence. "We lived together," she said, "most happily. The whole of his consideration had been to promote my happiness, and I have studied his. I could not have done him any injury. It was in the struggle. He was going to throw a bottle, and I jumped up quickly. He tried to take the knife from me. I am not sure whether he got it or not. We struggled and fell. I thought at first I must be the one injured. _ I found blood on me — warm blood. I said, 'Oh, Fred ! what have you done ? ' Then I found, of course, it was him, not myself. I tried all I could to do something to stop it. First of all I applied cold water ; then I remembered that cold water produced blood instead of stopping it. Then I sent for ice and tried that. Then the doctors came." The prisoner fainted on hearing her sentence. 17. — The Army Bill thrown out in the House of Lords on the proposal for a second reading by 155 to 130 votes. 'Lord Salisbury interposed a pungent speech between those of the Duke of Argyll and the Foreign Secretary, declaring that though the Government talked of seniority tempered by selection, the more correct formula would be stagnation tempered by jobbery. By rejecting the bill, the Times thought, the Lords had adopted an ill-advised course, and made the abolition of purchase the question of the day. 19. — Lorraine Museum, formerly a ducal palace, destroyed by fire, the ancient tapisserie of Charles le Temeraire being the only portion saved. — Signor Mario makes his farewell ap- pearance at Covent Garden as Fernando in Donizetti's opera, "La Favorita." 20. — Marshal Serrano announces in the Cortes the resignation of the Spanish Ministry. Zorilla afterwards accepted the d'™etion 01 affairs. — In a crowded and anxious House, Mr. Gladstone announces the intentions of the Government regarding the rejection of the purchase part of the Army Bill by the Lords. Replying to Sir George Grey, he said that by statute there was no purchase but what was permitted by the Queen's Regulations. The House of Commons having condemned pur chase, and a Royal Commission having declared that those regulation prices could, not be put an yui. y i8;i. AUGUST end to except by the extinction of purchase as a system, the Government had resolved to ad- vise her Majesty to take the decisive step of cancelling the Royal Warrant under which pur- chase was legal. That advice had been accepted and acted on by her Majesty. The new war- rant had been framed in terms conformable with the law, and from the 1st of November next purchase in the army would no longer exist. The Government had no other object in view but simplicity, despatch, and the ob- servance of constitutional usage. (Cries of "Oh!" from .the Opposition, answered by Ministerial cheers.) Amid many disorderly interruptions, Mr. Disraeli and several other members taunted Government with having appealed to the prerogative of the Crown for the purpose of relieving them from a difficulty of their own devising. A bitter discussion broke out again in committee on the Ballot Bill, when Mr. Forster said it was necessary to pass the measure, in order to throw the responsibility of its rejection on the House of Lords, a proceeding described by the leader of the Opposition as an avowed and shameful conspiracy. On the Chairman calling attention to these words, they were at once withdrawn, and the discussion proceeded. SO. — Royal Warrant issued declaring that "On and after the 1st day of November in this present year, all regulations made by Us or any of Our Royal predecessors, or any Officers acting under Our authority, regulating or fixing the prices at which any Commissions in Our Forces may be purchased, sold, or exchanged, or in any way authorizing the purchase or sale or exchange for money of any such Commis- sions, shall be cancelled and determined. " 21. — In the Willoughby Peerage case (in- volving also the dignity of Lord Great Cham- berlain), the House of Lords decide that the Dowager Lady Aveland had made out her claim as the nearest co-heiress. — The Grand Duke Constantine of Russia arrives in London. 25. — Tried at Stafford Assizes, before Mr. Baron Pigott and a special jury, the case of Hatherlyz/. Odham, an action for libel against the registered publisher of the Guardian news- paper. The alleged libel was in the form of letters criticizing the plaintiff's attempt, as a member of the Greek Church, to create a schism in the Church at Wolverhampton by the help, it was said, of "silver weapons." The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff, with 40J. damages and costs. 26. — Commencement of court-martial on board the Royal Adelaide flag-ship to try Capt. Beamish, Lieut. Bell, and Staff-Commander Knight, for negligently stranding the Agincourt on the Pearl Rock, Gibraltar, on 1st February, Admiral Codrington presiding. The hearing of evidence and speeches in defence was con- tinued till the 8th August, when the Court delivered judgment, finding the charge proved, 1019 and severely admonished Capt. Beamish and Staff-Commander Knight. Lieut. Bell was simply admonished. 26.— Died at Cowes, aged 78, the Hon. J. Slidell, one of the Southern States Commis- sioners, seized on board the Trent in 1863. 27. — M. Jules Favre resigns his position as French Minister of Foreign Affairs. 29. —Professor Dbllinger elected Rector of the University of Munich by 54 votes against 6. 31. — Died suddenly, from the bursting of a blood-vessel, the Very Rev. Dr. Mansel, Dean of St. Paul's, in his 51st year. — After a sharp debate in the Lords, the Duke of Richmond carries, by 162 to 82 votes, the resolution he had submitted in connection with the second reading of the Army Bill : — " That this House, in assenting to the second reading of this bill, desires to express its opinion that the interposition of the Executive during the progress of a measure submitted to Parlia- ment by her Majesty's Government, in order to attain, by the exercise of the prerogative, and without the aid of Parliament, the principal object included in that measure, is calculated to depreciate and neutralize the independent action of the Legislature, and is strongly to be condemned ; and this House assents to the second reading of this bill only in order to secure the officers of her Majesty's army the compensation to which they are entitled conse- quent on the abolition of purchase in the army. " — The Ministerial proposal for an annuity of 15,000/. to Prince Arthur carried by 289 votes to 51 against a proposal to reduce the amount to 10,000/. ■ — In Committee on the Ballot Bill, the Commons reject the Ministerial proposal to throw election expenses on the public rates by 253 to 162 votes. ■ — The Prince of Wales, accompanied by Prince Arthur, the Princess Louise, and the Marquis of Lome, arrive in Dublin on a visit to the Lord-Lieutenant. August 1. — Memorandum agreed to con. cerning a new social movement originated by Mr. Scott Russell to improve the condition of the working classes by an alliance of workmen with Conservative statesmen. "We appre- ciate," they said, " the confidence thus showr to be placed in us ; we fully recognize the national necessity of a hearty good feeling between the different classes of society ; we believe that this good feeling can and ou^'lit to be secured where both parties are in earnest on the subject. Awaiting communications from the Council, we readily engage . to give an attentive consideration to the measures which may be hereafter submitted by them to our judgment. At the same time we do not con- ceal from ourselves that the task which we have been requested to undertake is not free from difficulty. We cannot become parties to anj D* AUGUST l87I. AUGUST legislation which we do not believe to be con- sistent with the real interests of all classes. We must reserve to ourselves the most unfet- tered discretion in the selection of objects, and in the modification or rejection of measures proposed to us for consideration ; and we must hold ourselves free, either collectively or indi- vidually, to retire from the task to which we have been invited whenever we may be of opinion that our assistance is not likely to be for the advantage of the public or satisfactory to ourselves. — Salisbury, Carnarvon, Lichfield, Sandon, John Manners, John S. Pakington, Stafford Northcote, Gathorne Hardy." 1. — In consequence of the defeat of his Go- vernment on the Decentralization Bill, M. Thiers announces in the Salle des Conferences that the factious conduct of the Right left him no alternative but to resign. He retired from the hall with four of his Ministers, declaring that he would call for a vote of confidence on the following day. — The M'Fadden family — husband, wife, and two children — attacked in their residence at Errandsey, Londonderry, and all but mur- dered by the brothers M 'Callog, who had been concerned in litigation with their victims. — The Army Bill, introduced first as a Reorganization Bill, then an Abolition of Purchase Bill, and finally a Compensation Bill, passes the House of Lords. 2. — In the course of his opening address to the British Association, the chairman for the year, Sir W. Thompson, made reference to the origin of life on the globe in terms which gave rise to considerable controversy. "I confess," he said", " to being deeply impressed by the evidence put before us by Professor Huxley, and I am ready to adopt, as an article of scien- Sfic faith, true through all space and through all time, that life proceeds from life, and from nothing but life. How, then, did life originate on the earth ? " Remarking that we have no right to assume an abnormal creative act in order to answer this question, if it can be answered otherwise, the president suggested that the first germs of life were brought to this world by fragments of matter detached from other worlds in which life had previously existed, just as islands springing up in the ocean are covered with vegetation by the seeds which float in the water and the air. ' ' Hence, and because we all confidently believe that there are at present, and have been from time immemorial, many worlds of life besides our own, we must regard it as probable in the highest degree that there are countless and seed-bearing, meteoric stones moving about through space. If at the present instant no life existed upon this earth, one such stone falling upon it might, by what we blindly call natural causes, lead to its becoming covered (pith vegetation. I am fully conscious of the many scientific objections which may be urged against this hypothesis, but I believe them to 1020 be all answerable. The hypothesis that life originated on this earth through moss-grown fragments from the ruins of another world may seem wild and visionary ; all I maintain is thai it is not unscientific." 3. — James Nimmo, Glasgow, poisons three of his children with prussic acid, and then com- mits suicide by swallowing a portion of the same drug. 4. — The Ballot Bill passed through Com- mittee in the Commons. 5.— Cooper's Hill College, founded by thj Secretary of State and Council of India fur training civil engineers in the Indian service, opened by the Duke of Argyll. — Colonel Hogg, as Chairman of the Metro- politan Board of Works, lays the foundation stone of the Chelsea section of the Thames Embankment, extending along the river front of the Hospital to Battersea Bridge. 6. — Riot in the Phcenix Park, Dublin, arising out of the interference of the police with a Fenian amnesty meeting, called to neutralize the loyal demonstration made in favour of the royal visitors presently residing with the Lord- Lieutenant. About sixty were injured, several of whom were policemen, struck by stones, apparently carried to the place of meeting fot purposes of attack. — Dedication services in the English Church at Zermatt, built partly as a memorial of the disastrous ascent of the Matterhorn by English travellers in July, 1865. 7.— Trial of the Communist prisoners com- inenced at Versailles. The indictment gave an account of the proceedings of the International prior to the insurrection, and of the various crimes which followed the revolt of the 18th March. Charges then followed, first against Assi, who was accused of incitement to ci\il war, of usurpation of civil and military powers, of having assumed Government functions, and assisted in issuing orders, the consequence of which were devastation, massacre, pillage, arson, and assassination. All the accused weie further charged with conspiring for the over- throw of the Government, with incitement to civil war, and usurpation of office and power. Courbet was specially accused of complicity in the destruction of the Vendome Column ; Lullier of attempts to carry destruction, mas- sacre and pillage into Paris, of taking posses- sion of city property appertaining to the State, and of inciting soldiers to join the ranks of the rebels. Grousset stood charged with active participation in the revolt, with public incite- ment to contempt of existing laws and of the National Assembly. Verdure, Billioray, and Ferre were arraigned for arbitrary confiscations, wanton destruction uf private dwelling-houses and public monuments, sacrilegious pillage of churches, and assassination, they having voted for the execution of the hostages. Jourde was further charged with financial transactions AUGUST 1871. AUGUST involving the violation of the seals of the public chests and the squandering of public charities. All the members of the Commune were made responsible for the destruction of property by fire. The number of prisoners was said to be 33,000. S. — The Ballot Bill read a third time in the House of Commons. 9 — The centenary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott celebrated in various towns in Scotland by festive gatherings. At Edinburgh, where the highest interest was naturally mani- fested, there was an exhibition of Scott relics — books, pictures, and manuscripts — and the day observed in the city as a holiday. The banquet there was presided over by the Earl of Dalkeith (in the absence of his father, the Duke ot Buccleuch) ; and the toast of the evening, "The Memory of Sir Walter Scott," proposed by Sir Wm. Stirling Maxwell. Dean Stanley attended at Edinburgh, and Professor Jowett at Glas- gow, where also was present Sheriff H. G. Bell, one of the few survivors of those who took part in the memorable Theatrical Fund Dinner in Edinburgh, Feb., 1827, when Sir Walter acknowledged himself to be the sole and undivided author of the Waverley Novels. IO Lord Shaftesbury's motion to reject the Ballot Bill, on the ground of the late period at which it was sent up to the House, carried after a brief debate by 97 to 48 votes. — Died suddenly at Lochearnhead Hotel, Perthshire, in his 48th year, Charles Buxton, M. P. for East Surrey. — Meeting of a council of skilled workmen to consider a report prepared by Mr. Scott Russell, detailing the result of his three months' negotiations to secure the support of Conserva- tive leaders to his scheme for a union of work- men and noblemen. The party was reported to be thoroughly and successfully united in a representative council of peers and legislators. 11. — Explosion in Prentice's gun-cotton factory at Stowmarket, Suffolk, causing the death of twenty-four people, injury to seventy, and a great destruction of property in the neighbourhood. Two members of the firm were among the killed. During the last few weeks, experiments had been carried on by Government officials, tending to show that, under the regulations observed at Stowmarket, the cartridges made there would not explode. A dense column of smoke was observed to rise high into the air, spread itself out gradually into a fan-like shape, and then came a terrific roar, heard, it was said, at distances varying from twelve to fourteen miles. As the result of a lengthened inquiry before the coroner, a jury found— "That the explosion causing the deaths of persons on whom this inquest was held was produced by some person or persons unknown adding sulphuric acid to the gun- cotton subsequent to its passing the tests re- quired by Government. At the same time we consider, from the evidence adduced, that there is no danger in the manufacture of gun-cotton in the wet process, but that the drying and storing of gun-cotton should not be allowed near a town. Also, we consider that gun-cotton works should be subject to constant Govern- ment inspection." Another explosion, but less disastrous, took place at this time in the powder- works of the Schultze Company, situated in the heart of the New Forest. 12 — The Emperors of Germany and Austria have an interview at Ischl. — Proposals submitted to the French As- sembly for prolonging the power of M. Thiers. The first, brought forward by the Left Centre. gave M. Thiers the title of President of the Republic, continued his power for three yeais unless in the meantime the Assembly should dissolve itself, and made the Ministers (to be appointed by the President) responsible to the Assembly. The proposition of the Right simply declared the confidence of the Assemb!y in the wisdom and patriotism of M. Thiers, and confirmed and continued the powers con- ferred upon him at Bordeaux. 15. — The Commons agree to the Lords' amendments on the Army Bill, after a discus- sion, having reference chiefly to the Ministerial expedient of resorting to the Royal prerogat ve for the abolition of purchase. IS. — Fire in Burlington Arcade, resulting i'i the destruction of several shops. 17. — Unveiling of the statue erected on the Thames Embankment to commemorate the services of Lieut. -Gen. Sir James Outram, G.C.B. In the absence of the Secretary lot India, Lord Halifax made a short speech on the occasion. 18 — Replying to some criticism made in the House on the view he privately maintained on the Army Bill, Sir Roundell Palmer writes to Mr. Cardwell : — " I have always thought and said that the issuing of such a warrant was within the undoubted power of the Crown ; though to do so without having a sufficient assurance that Parliament would provide the necessary compensation for the officers, who would otherwise suffer by such an exercise of Royal power, would not be just, and therefore would not be consistent with the spirit of the Constitution, which vests all such powers in the Crown, in the confidence, and for the purpose, that right, not wrong, shall be done. I should have been glad if it had been generally and clearly understood from the beginning that, subject to the sense of Parliament being ascer- tained with reference to the point of compen- sation, the form of procedure would be that which was eventually adopted, because it is certainly an evil that the adoption of one con- stitutional mode of procedure, rather than another, should appear to arise from an adverse vote of the House of Lords." — The screw-steamer Compeer, laden wilh flax, stranded on the coast, near Berwick, anr 1 D 2 1021 AUGUST 1871. SEPTEMBER Dreaks up early next month during a severe easterly gale. 19. — Admiralty minute in the case of the Agincourt issued. "Their lordships are of opinion that the primary cause of the disaster was clearly the unsafe course steered by the squadron in obedience to signals from the flag- ship. It appears that Vice-Admiral Wellesley, on leaving Gibraltar, conducted the squadron under his command so close to the western shore of the bay that, with the weather fine , and clear, and the wind light, the leading ship of the in-shore division struck on the Pearl Rock, and was in imminent danger of being wrecked. Their lordships cannot but feel that due care was not exercised by the Vice- Admiral in command to insure that a safe course should be steered by his squadron ; and they greatly regret that, with such large and valuable ships in his charge, he did not satisfy himself, by ex- amination of the course proposed, and by seeing them laid off on the chart, that the squadron would be taken a safe distance from a well- known and dangerous shoal." As the result of their deliberations, their lordships superseded Vice-Admiral Wellesley and Rear-Admiral Wilmot, and placed Staff-Commander Kiddle on half-pay. BO. — Celebration of the Beethoven centenary, commenced at Bonn, under the direction of Franz Liszt. 21. — An insane woman at Stow Bedon, named Hamer, wife of a labourer, murders one of her own children by cutting its throat, and also a deaf and dumb idiot, 18 years of age, the daughter of her husband by a former marriage. — Parliament prorogued by Commission, the Royal Speech read on the occasion, making special reference to the Treaty of Washington, as embodying certain rules for the guidance 01 neutrals, ' ' which may, I trust, ere long obtain general recognition, and form a valuable addition to the code of International Law." — Hurricane and earthquake at St. Thomas causing the loss of much property, and the injury or death of over 100 people. 23. — Festivities at Inverary in connection with the arrival of the young Marquis, and Princess Louise, at the castle. The rejoicings extended over three days. — Renforth, a famous Tyne oarsman, seized with fatal attack of apoplexy while rowing in the Anglo-Canadian boat-race at St. John's, New Brunswick. It was at fir.-t thought that some dn,g had been maliciously administered to the champion puller, but a post- mortem examination made it clear that death resulted from causes which could be otherwise accounted for. 24. — West Surrey, vacant through the death of Mr. C. Buxton, carried by Mr. Watney, Con- servative, again it Mr. Leveson Gower, Liberal, the numbers being 3,912 to 2,749. 1022 24. — Stormy debate in the French Assembly on a proposal made for the immediate dis- solution of the National Guard. A compromise proposed by General Ducrot was adopted, which provided for such gradual dissolution as might be permitted by the reorganization of the army. 27. — Illness of the Queen at Balmoral. Vari- ous recent rumours as to her Majesty's health received some confirmation from the announce- ment in the Court Circular : — "The Queen has been suffering from severe sore-throat, head- ache, and grave general illness. Although greatly better, her Majesty was not sufficiently recovered to attend Divine service. " 28. — The freedom of Glasgow presented to Lord Shaftesbury. —Died, aged 78, Paul de Kock, French novelist. 29. — It is announced from Vienna that a " League of Peace " has been formed at Gastein, to be directed against any power seek- ing to disturb the peace of Europe. Not only Austria and Germany, but Italy also, and per- haps even Russia, were described as likely to join the League. September 1. — Walter Montgomery, late manager of the Gaiety Theatre, and who had been married only two days since, committed suicide by discharging a pistol through his head in a bedroom adjoining an apartment occupied by his young wife. Deceased was interred in Brompton cemetery on the 5th, when Mrs. Montgomery dropped on the coffin the wreath of orange blossom she had worn so recently at the altar. 2 - — The Court at Versailles pronounced judgment on the first group of Communist prisoners. Ferre and Lullier were condemned to death ; Urbain and Trinquet to imprisonment for life with hard labour ; Assi, Billioray, Champy, Regere, Paschal Grousset, Verdure, and Ferrat to transportation to a fortress ; Jourde and Rastoul to simple transportation ; Courbet to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 5oof. ; and Clement to three months' im- prisonment. Descainps and Parent were ac- quitted. The Court afterwards engaged in the trial of forty women, charged with being con- cerned in firing Paris with petroleum. 3.— Another riot in Dublin, a disorderly mob returning from an amnesty meeting attacking the police, and injuring about a score of them severely. — Accident on the French Northern Railway at Seclin, near Lille, a Paris expiess running into an ordinary train from Douai. Ten pas- sengers were killed. — The Bishop of Winchester, presently the guest of Mr. Ellice, M.P., Invergarry, preached in the parish church, Glengarry, observing the usual Presbyterian form. The Archbishop of SEPTEMBER 1871. SEPTEMBER York officiated in the same place the following Sunday. 6. — Explosion in the Moss Colliery, Wigan, causing the death of sixty-nine men and boys employed in what was known as the nine-feet seam. As soon as the surface damage could be repaired, a band of explorers descended one of the shafts and found that the men working in another part of the mine were safe. They were drawn up, along with some who were nearest the shaft in the part where the explosion had occurred. Another explosion took place while the explorers were below ; and although they came up uninjured the sides of the pit were reported to be on fire. It then became necessary to close the shaft, so that all hope was given up of saving any other of the large body of work- men known to be in the pit. — ■ Meeting at Salzburg between the Em- perors of Germany and Austria, to complete, it was given out, certain details of the League of Peace. 7. — Died unexpectedly, of puerperal fever, in her 22nd year, Sybil Grey, Duchess of St. Albans. — Brighton poisoning case, the magistrates to-day committing Miss Christina Edmunds for trial on the charge of attempting to poison a lady named Boyes by sending her a cake with arsenic in it. A charge of murder in reference to the sudden death, with symptoms of strych- nia poisoning, of the little boy Sidney Albert Barker was next gone into. The theory of the prosecution in this case was, that the prisoner had conceived a guilty passion for Dr. Beard, with whose family she was on visiting terms ; that she had attempted to poison his wife with a chocolate cream ; and that then, Dr. Beard suspecting her, she had procured a number of such sweetmeats, put strychnia upon them, and returned them to the shop of Mr. Maynard, a confectioner from whom they were pro- cured, in order that other persons might be made ill, or even killed, and suspicion diverted from her in respect of the attempt to poison Mrs. Beard. After the inquest on the boy his father received three anonymous letters to the effect that there was a general feeling of indignation in the town at the pro- ceedings at the inquest, blaming Mr. Maynard strongly for having sold the chocolate creams after having been warned, urging Mr. Barker to take further proceedings ; and stating that if he did not prosecute Mr. Maynard other parties would, and that, having made three persons ill, he ought to be prosecuted. An expert who had examined the letters believed them to have been written by the same hand as others known to have come from the prisoner. On being committed on this capital charge she exhibited no signs of emotion or regret. 8. — The appointment of the Rev. R. W. Church to the Deanery of St. Paul's g;azetted. IO.— Died, aged 77 years, Richard Bentley, publisher, founder, in conjunction with Charles Dickens, of the periodical known as "Bentley's Miscellany." 11. — Foundation-stone of a new Seaman's Orphan Institution laid at Newsham Park, Liverpool. 13. — Opening of the Mont Cenis Tunnel, the first "train, with the engineer, Grattoni, and some friends, passing through to the northern outlet in 40 minutes. The maximum temperature inside the carriages was 25 deg. centigrade. Two hours later the train returned to the Italian side, the journey occupying 55 minutes. The tunnel was then found entirely clear of the steam discharged during the pre- vious journey. The formal opening of the tunnel took place on the 18th, when a banquet was held to celebrate this great achievement of engineering skill, and a statue of Poleocapa, Minister of Public Works for Sardinia, was unveiled by the King at Turin. — The Doncaster St. Leger won by Baron Rothschild's Hannah, which had before carried off the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks. To make the Baron's triumph unpre* cedented in turf annals, he had also carried off the Derby with Favonius, — The King of Spain enters Barcelona in the course of a tour through the eastern portion of his dominions. 14. — Continued anxiety being still mani- fested regarding the health of the Queen, the British Medical Journal announces that her Majesty has passed through a trying and severe illness, from which she is now happily re- covering. 16. — First mimic battle of the campaign undertaken by three divisions of regular troops, militia, and volunteers, in the district round Aldershott fixed in the ' ' Military Manoeuvres Act " of last Session. The first division, com- prising the Guards, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Hope Grant, repre- senting the British army in defence of the road to London, was engaged at the same time in repelling the attacks of the second division, under Major-General Carey, and of the third division, under Major-General Sir Charles Staveley. 18. — Explaining his position as mediator in the strike still pending among the engineers, the Mayor of Newcastle writes : — •" I was asked by Sir William Armstrong whether I was authorized by the representatives of the men to make such a proposition. I replied that, for obvious reasons, I was not, but that, neverthe- less, I believed that if I, as a neutral party, proposed it equally to both parties, they would accede to it. Some further conversation en- sued, on which I retired. I believe that the unwillingness of the masters to agree to this proposition arose from the hard and fast line adopted by the men as to the nine hours, and 1023 SEPTEMBER I87 1. SEPTEMBER from their great haste in commencing the struggle, as evinced by their indisposition to lengthen their notices — a great mistake, in my view, on their part. But I was then and am still of opinion that, even with both parties equally resolute in their own views, a conference of explanation, undertaken, at the request, through myself, of influential inhabitants of the town, might have ended in some modification on one or both sides, and have so brought this conflict, sad in every respect, to an end, and it was, with this view I proposed it." Mr. Burnett also wrote on the part of the men, blaming the employers for continuing the strike. 18. — Died, aged 69, G. A. Hamilton, for many years Permanent Secretary of the Trea- sury, and latterly a member of the Irish Church Temporalities Commission. 19. — Died, aged 73, Rev. Richard William Jelf, D.D., Canon of Christ Church, and for- merly Principal of King's College, London. BO. — Chief Justice Norman stabbed at Calcutta by a fanatical Wahabee named Ab- doola, a native of Upper Bengal. The assassination took place as Mr. Norman was entering the Calcutta High Court, when his assailant suddenly rushed upon him in the vestibule and inflicted a deep wound in the abdomen with a dagger. As there was no one at hand except a native solicitor and a court servant, Mr. Norman ran back, but was fol- lowed by the assassin brandishing his dagger, and again stabbed in the back close to the spine. After this, Mr. Norman kept off his assailant for a few seconds by picking up stones and throwing them at him, till a punkawalla connected with the court, attracted by the cries, ran up to the Mussulman and knocked him down with a piece of wood. The assassin struggled violently, but was soon disarmed and prevented from doing further injury. The stabs he had already inflicted, however, caused mortal wounds, and Mr. Norman only lingered dll shortly after one o'clock next morning. The murderer, who at first pretended insanity, was quickly tried and executed, and his body burnt. — Mr. Butt, a Home Rale candidate, returned for Limerick unopposed. — Dr. Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, murdered by natives of Santa Cruz, in revenge it was thought for gross outrages recently committed by Europeans engaged in the slave or "labour" trade. Mr. Brooke, with another clergyman, the Rev. J. Atkin, an alumnus of St. John's College, Auckland, and one or two native Christians, had been left for a few months, in pursuance of the regular plan of the Mission, at Florida, a small member of the Solomon Islands group, some distance to the north-west of Santa Cruz. At the end of August, the Bishop called for them in the Southern Cross, and took them aboard. After visiting several islands on the way, they made foi Santa Cmz, and on the 20th of September, 1024 reached, not the large island which, gives its name to the group, but one of its small out- liers, Nupaka, at which the Mission schooner had been accustomed to call first, in order to procure an interpreter for Santa Cruz itself, where the language had not yet been mastered. On this occasion no boats put off to meet them. This was an unusual circumstance, which in itself gave an indication of danger. But four canoes hovered near the reef, and the Bishop, taking with him Mr. Atkin and three natives, put off in a boat to join them. The boat could not cross the reef, and the Bishop, leaving the rest of the crew in charge, went ashore in a canoe belonging to two chiefs whom he knew, Taula and Motu. The boal remained near the reef at about ten yards distance from the canoes. Suddenly, with- out any warning, a volley of eight arrows was poured from them into the boat's crew. Every shot at that short distance took effect. Mr. Atkin was shot in the left shoulder, one of his companions in the right, and Stephen Taroaniara was trussed with six arrows in his shoulders and chest. The boat immediately pulled off to the ship. The wounded crew were replaced by a fresh one, with the exception of Mr. Atkin, who, in spite of his wound, was obliged to act as pilot ; and they started again, with sad presentiments, to ascertain what was become of the Bishop, who had been left ashore. The tide had risen and the boat pulled over the reef. What followed maybe told in Mr. Brooke's own words: — "No canoes approached — but a tenantless one, with something like a bundle heaped up in the middle, was floating alone in the lagoon. The boat pulled up to this, and took the heap or bundle out of it and brought it away, a yell of triumph rising from the beach. As they pulled alongside, they murmured but one word — ' The body.' " That was indeed their melan- choly freight ; but it had been strangely and carefully prepared for them. It was no murder or deed of blind vengeance executed in the sudden fury of the moment. It wore the aspect of a deliberate judicial act, and suggested the idea of a sacrificial victim sent forth as a ghastly herald to announce its solemn completion to the foe. There lay the body, not mutilated or insulted, but wrapped care- fully in native matting, and tied at the neck and ancles. Into the breast was thrust a palm frond on which were tied five thick knots! When the covering was removed, the manner of his death became apparent. He had pro- bably been first shot by a volley of arrows, and then despatched by the blow of a tomahawk. The right side of the skull was found to be completely shattered, the top of the head was cloven by some sharp weapon, and there were numerous arrow-wounds about the body. Yet amidst all this havoc and ruin, says the narrator of the sad spectacle, "the sweet face still smiled, the eyes closed, as if the patient martyr had had time to breathe a prayer for these his murderers. There was no sign of SEPTEMBER 1871. SEPTEMBER agony or terror. Peace reigned supreme in that sweet smile, which will live in our remem- brance as the last silent blessing of our revered Bishop and our beloved friend." So fell at his post the first Bishop of Melanesia, happier in one respect by his immediate death than his '.wo companions in martyrdom. Atkin died of his wounds on the 27th, and Stephen on the 28th. Bishop Patleson, the eldest son of the iate Mr. Justice Patteson, was born on the 1st of April, 1827, went out to New Zealand with tiishop Selwyn in 1854, and was consecrated Bishop of Melanesia by Bishops Selwyn, Abra- ham, and Hobhouse in St. Paul's Church, Auckland, on St. Matthias's Day, 1861. 21. — M. Rochefort sentenced by the Ver- sailles tribunal to imprisonment for life in a fortified place. — The Chief Justice of Utah territory instructs the grand jury, that bigamy there was a crime as elsewhere in the United States, and ordered his officers of Court, if they knew of anyone practising polygamy, to bring indict- ments against them as criminals. — Inquiry commenced into the charges brought against the management of Hampstead Small Pox Hospital. — Murder and suicide in a railway carriage on the Manchester and Liverpool line, a. man named Wanlen first shooting his wife, from whom he had been separated lately, and then himself. 22. — Placing the case of the Newcastle masters before the country fn the Times, to-day, Sir William Armstrong points out the loss which would come to the employer by the shortened working of his plant. " As a mere arithmetical question, a reduction from 59 to 54 hours a week represents a money gain to the workman of about 8£ per cent, on the price of his labour. To the employer the direct loss is of course the same ; but the indi- rect loss must be matter of estimate, varying in each particular instance. In my own case, I should certainly regard it as equal to the direct loss on wages, and I believe that en- gineers in general would concur in the sub- stantial accuracy of this estimate. Upon this view the reduction of time claimed by our men would be attended with a gain to them of 8J per cent, on the amount of their wages, and of a loss to us equal to 17 per cent, on the same amount. To suppose that the average profits of the trade have of late years been such as to admit of a deduction to that extent is absurd." — Opening of the Old Catholic Congress at Munich, presided over by Herr Wolf. A report read declared that they recognized the Roman Primate only so far as the same is recognized in accordance with the writings of the Fathers of the Church and the decisions of Councils. A hope was expressed that the re- union of the Catholic Church with the Greek and Eastern Russian Churches may be accom- plished, as well as that a gradual understand- ing with Protestantism and the Episcopal English and American Church may be arrived at. Dr. Dbllinger delivered an historical dis- sertation on the Church of Utrecht. 22. — The Hampshire military manoeuvres brought to a close with an inspection by the Commander-in-Chief at Aldershott. The force on the ground comprised a grand total of 30,233 men, 5,701 horses, and 90 guns. — Died, aged 52, Irwin Lewis Willis, the " Argus " of the Post's sporting columns. — Transatlantic Company's ship Lafayette burnt at Havre. 24. — Died, aged 85, Louis I. Papineau, a leader in the Canadian revolt of 1837. — Died, aged 66, Samuel Solly, F.R.S., surgeon, 26. — Acknowledging the compliment of the freedom of the city of Aberdeen conferred upon him to-day, Mr. Gladstone said, if the doctrine of Home Rule were to be established in Ire- land, they would be just as well entitled to it in Scotland ; " and, moreover, I protest on behalf of Wales, in which I have lived a good deal, and where there are 800,000 people, who to this day, such is their sentiment of nationality, speak hardly anything but their own Celtic tongue — a larger number than speak the Celtic tongue, I apprehend, in Scotland, and a larger number than speak it, I apprehend, in Ireland" — I protest on behalf of Wales that they are entitled to Home Rule there. Can any sensible man, can any rational man suppose that at this time of day, in this condition of the world, we are going to disintegrate the great capital insti- tutions of this country for the purpose of making ourselves ridiculous in the sight of all mankind, and crippling any power we possess for bestow- ing benefits through legislation on the country to which we belong?" The Prime Minister admitted one grievance^" a grievance with regard to university education, which is not so entirely free in Ireland as it has now been made in England ; but that is an exceptional subject, and it is a subject on which I am bound to say Ireland has made no united demand upon England; still, 1 regard it as a subject that calls for legislation ; but there is no demand which Ireland has made and which England has refused, and I shall be very glad to see such a demand put into a practical shape in which we may make it the subject of candid and rational discussion." — Mr. Disraeli presides at the annual dinnei of the Hughenden Horticultural Society. In proposing the health of the Queen, the right hon. gentleman spoke of the state of her Majesty's health, which, he said, had for several years been the subject of anxiety to those about her; but it was only this year that the country generally had become ac- quainted with the gravity of her condition. He believed there was some improvement 1025 OCTOBER .1871. OCTOBER in her Majesty's health, but he feared that a Lng time must elapse before her Majesty would be able to resume the performance of 'hose public and active duties which it was jnce her pride and pleasure to fulfil, because they brought her in constant and immediate contact with her peopje. "The fact is," he added, "we cannot conceal from ourselves that her Majesty is physically and morally incapa- citated from performing those duties ; but it is some consolation to her Majesty's advisers to know thaf n ith regard to those much higher duties which her Majesty is called upon to perform, she still performs them wiih a punctu- ality and a precision which have certainly never been surpassed, i "\d rarely equalled by any monarch of these realms." 27. — Writing from Balmoral to Mr. Whalley, the Prime Minister replies to a question which the member for Peterborough had put, on the part, he said, of his consti- tuents: — "I quite agree with those of your constituents, on whose behalf you address me, in thinking that the question ' Whether the Prime Minister of this country is a mem- ber of the Church of Rome,' and being such not only declines to avow it, but gives through a long life all the external signs of belonging to a different communion, is a ' question of great political importance,' and this not only ' in the present, ' but in any possible ' condition of the Liberal,' or any other 'party.' For it involves the question whether he is the basest creature in the kingdom, which he has a share in ruling ; and instant ejectment from his office would be the smallest of the punishments he would deserve. If I have said this much upon the present subject, it has been out of personal respect to you. For I am entirely convinced that, while the question you have put to me is in truth an insulting one, you have put it only from having failed to notice its true character ; since I have observed, during an experience of many years, that even when you undertake the most startling duties, you perform them in the gentlest and most considerate manner." — Emancipation Bill passed in the Brazilian Senate by 33 to 4 votes. 30. — Exhibition at South Kensington closed, having been visited during the season by 1,142, 1 54 persons. October 1. — The King of Spain returns to Madrid after a tour of thirty days in the provinces, where he met with an enthusiastic reception. — Brigham Young arrested by the United 'itates authorities, on a charge of lewdly ".ohabiting with sixteen young women. Troops were also despatched at this time to Salt Lake City. — Rev. C. Voysey, deprived of the vicar- lge of Healaugh by the Judicial Committee of 1026 the Privy Council, opens regular services in St. George's Hall, Langham Place. 2. — The Spanish Cortes abandon the pro- posed liquor tax, but impose a duty of II per cent, on travellers and merchandize conveyed by railways. Another duty was imposed on snares and bonds. — Mechanics' Institute at Bradford, erected at a cost of 32,500/., opened by Mr. Forster, M.P., with an address, in which he reviewed the recent action of Parliament on the subject of education. — Insurrectionary movements in the city of Mexico. The bulk of the garrison proved true to their allegiance, and shot, it was said, 150 of the insurgents. — Died at Dublin, aged 79, Sir Thomas Deane, architect, formerly President of the Royal Hibernian Academy. 4. — Triple explosion in the premises of an oil and colourman in Manor Street, King's Road, Chelsea. — Died, aged 77, John Scott, of Malton, the trainer of sixteen St. Leger and four Derby winners. — Mayor Hall, of New York, attends the Nashville Police-court to offer bail for his appearance to answer the charges of appro- priating and misusing the public funds of the city. . 6.— Newcastle strike closed after lasting nineteen weeks. The conditions of agreement conceded fifty-four hours per week, the men to work overtime when and to what extent might be required by the employers. Wages, both as to ordinary wages and as to overtime, to remain the same in the different factories as existed prior to the strike; and to be paid weekly at 12.15 F-M. on Saturday. The agree- ment to be for twelve months, with permission to either party to terminate it at the end of six months, by giving one month's previous notice. The men to go to work on the arrangement now existing in the shops (fifty-seven hours), and the new terms (fifty-four) to take date from January 1, 1872. 7.— Died, aged 89, Field Marshal Sir Tohn Burgoyne, a Peninsular veteran, and command, ing engineer at the siege of New Orleans. 8.— Murder of Mrs. Watson, Stockwell Crescent, by her husband, the Rev. J. Selby Watson, for twenty-five years head-master of Stockwell Grammar School, and well known in the literary world as the biographer of Warburton and Porson. This (Sunday) even- ing tne servant left the house, and did not return to it until nearly ten o'clock. When she returned, Mr. Watson told her that her mistress had left for the country, and would be absent five or six days. On Monday morning, Mr. Watson called at the shop of Mr. Turner a packing-case maker, carrying on business at No. 219, Clapham Road, and requested to OCTOBER 1871. OCTOBER see the proprietor. The rev. gentleman was then very cool and collected, and upon Mr. Turner making his appearance he said to him : " I want you to make a large chest for me, and I want it done sharp ; and it must be air and water tight, for I want to send it by rail." The box was afterwards countermanded, but a measurement of the crouched body of Mrs. Watson, showed that it would have gone into such a one as was ordered. On Tuesday he went to a chemist's shop, where he was well known, and asked for some prussic acid. This was refused him, but he must have ob- tained some kind of mixture, for on his return home he told the girl that if anything happened to him in the night she was to send at once to Dr. Rugg. On the morning of the nth he rose as usual, and wrote some letters, which he left upon the dressing-table, one of them being addressed " To the Surgeon. " He then went to bed again, and about eleven o'clock the servant heard him making a moaning noise, and she immediately went to Dr. Rugg, stating that her master was in a fit of apoplexy. Dr. Rugg went to the house, where the servant put the following letter into his hand : — " In a fit of fury I have killed my wife. Often and often have I endeavoured to restrain myself, but my rage overcame me, and I struck her down. Her body will be found in the little room off the library. I hope that she will be buried as becomes a lady of birth and position. She is an Irish lady, and her name is Anne. The key is in a letter on the table." Dr. Rugg immediately went upstairs to Mr. Watson, whom he found very weak and speechless, apparently suffering from some violent poison. As the result of medical treatment he recovered, and was removed to the police station. The body of Mrs. Watson had in the meantime been found. Both temples were beaten in, and there was a deep v-ound in the forehead. A document in the prisoner's handwriting explained his wishes in the event of his death, but gave no clue to a motive for the crime. " I know not," he wrote, "whose business it will be to look to property left, as my little possessions will be my books and furniture. My only brother was living when I last heard of him five or six years ago in America, at 82, Grand Street, Williamsburgh, and a niece with him. He is my heir if he is still alive. I know not if I have any other surviving relatives. One quarter's wages will soon be due to my servant, and I should wish the sum to be more than doubled for her on account of the trouble which she will have at the present time, and the patience with which she has borne other troubles. In my purse will be found 5/. I or. I leave a number of letters, many of them very old, with which I hope that those who handle them will deal tenderly." 8. — Burning of the city of Chicago, founded in 1832, and having now a population of over 300,000. This overwhelming disaster was at first reported to have been caused by a cow kick- ing over a kerosene oil lamp in a stable, andso setting fire to the straw litter gathered there ; but the official report of the Fire Commissioners appointed to investigate its origin did not favour this surmise as to the cause of the calamity. All that could be established by evidence was that a drayman named Sullivan observed the fire after it had made some pro- gress in a two-storey frame barn, in the rear of premises No. 137, Dekoren Street, owned by Patrick Leary. This was about half-past nine P.M., when the whole of the inmates were in bed and asleep. Witnesses living near the site of the outbreak, thought that from ten to fifteen minutes elapsed between the alarm and the arrival of the first engine. On reaching the fire, three or four buildings in the block were burning fiercely, favoured by a strong breeze from the south-west, which spread the flames rapidly among the old wooden buildings in that part of the city. Early in the evening, indeed, it was seen that the entire Fire Department, though working with the ut- most energy, could do little to counteract the progress of the flames. A little after ten o'clock a sudden gust carried the fire across the river, between Van Buren and Adams Streets, by means of flying brands, and set fire to Powell's roofing establishment, adjoining the gasworks. Before this time, the watchman in the Court House cupola had twice extin- guished the fire caught from brands carried by the wind into the Court House balcony from the west side, a distance of a mile. At n o'clock the keeper of the crib of the lake tunnel, two miles from the shore and three miles from the fire, found the sky full of sparks and burning brands, and from 11.30 till morn- ing, he testified, wrought with all his might to prevent the wooden roof of the crib from burn- ing up and destroying himself and wife. From Powell's roofing establishment the progress oi the fire was rapid and terrific, sweeping every- thing in its course. The engines had all been working on the west side, and they could not reel 600 feet of hose each, cross the river and get to work soon enough to prevent its spreading, literally, on the wings of the wind. Blowing up buildings in the face of the breeze was tried, and without any benefit. The Court House and waterworks, though a mile apart, were burning at the same time. Gun- powder, however, was used for blowing up buildings next day, with good effect, in cutting off the fire at the extreme south end. After the waterworks fell, the fire- men could do little good with their engines, except on the banks of the river. It ap- peared at one time as if the flames no sooner reached a wall than they passed quite through it. A few minutes sufficed to destroy the most elaborately built structure ; the walls melted, and the very bricks were consumed. The wooden pavement took fire, making a con- tinuous sheet of flame two miles long by a mile wide. No human being could possibly survive 1027 OCTOBER 1871. OCTOBER many minutes. Block after block fell, and the red-hot coals shot higher and higher and spread further and further, to the north side of Lake Street. It was a vast mountain of flame from the river to the lake. At one time so hemmed in were the people that it was expected thou- sands must perish. Sherman, Tremont, and other hotels were emptied of their guests, and a remarkable sight presented itself in the hurry- ing throngs with trucks, sacks, or bags on their shoulders, fleeing amid flames for their lives. Thousands of persons and horses inextricably commingled ; poor people of all colours and shades and of every nationality, from Europe, China, and Africa, in the excitement, struggled with each other to get away. Hundreds were trampled under foot. Men and women loaded with bundles and household goods, and to whose skirts hung tender infants, haif-dressed and barefooted, all rushed to a place of safety. Hours afterwards these might have been seen in vacant lots, or in the streets far out in the suburbs, stretched in the dust. The area over which the fire swept was put down at 2,050 acres, divided thus among the three divisions of the city : — About 160 acres in the west division, 500 acres in the south, and 1,400 acres in the north. The total loss of property, 200,000,000 dollars ; number of buildings burned, between 17,000 and 18,000 ; and lives lost about 200, although not more than 117 were reported to the coroner. A calamity like this, unparalleled in magnitude, and demanding instant relief, naturally excited sympathy in every country to which the intelli- gence was wafted, and relief in clothing, food and money commenced to flow towards the 100,000 homeless and destitute sufferers on a most gigantic scale, the United States, Canada, and Great Britain rivalling each other in the work of benevolence. Before the flames had been subdued in several quarters, the work of rebuilding was begun. 11. — Rumours published of an alleged new " social alliance " between a body described as a " council of skilled workmen " and certain Conservative statesmen, the most of whom at once repudiated all connection with the movement. (See Aug. 1st). — Fenian raid into Canada under General O'Neill, who seized the Custom House at Manitoba and the Hudson's Bay Port. He was seized by American troops, and his follow- ers scattered. 12. — Free Library at Derby opened by the Mayor and Corporation. — Convention signed by Prince Bismarck, Count Arnim, and M. Pouyer-Quertier, con- cerning the annexation of the French Depart- ments, and the position to be occupied by Alsace and Lorraine in regard to import and export duties. 13. — In the height of the consternation caused by the Chicago fire, additional calamities of the same kind continue to be reported from IJ>28 America. " The forest fires," it was given out, " have desolated the St. Clair, Huron, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties of Michigan. Huron City, Forestville, Whiterock, and many other villages have been destroyed. Many persons have perished in the flames, and great losses in cattle, horses, and winter stores have been sustained. News comes from Toronto that a large portion of the flourishing Canadian town of Windsor, opposite Detroit, was burned down yesterday morning." Another telegram, a few hours later, made public the startling news :— • " The entire town of Mainstre, in Michigan, has been destroyed by fire. Two hundred houses and six mills have been burned, and the loss is estimated at 1,250,000 dols. In Wis- consin also four villages on the Green Bay River have been burned, with a fearful loss of life. The inhabitants were surrounded by the flames and 150 fugitives burnt alive in a barn. Hundreds of persons were driven into the river, and altogether 500 people are said to have perished. " The worst of all was at Pesh- tego, a place of 2,000 inhabitants, which was reached by the fire soon after the people re- turned from the evening service at church. An ominous roaring sound was first heard ; then flakes of fire like meteors fell in different parts of the town, igniting whatever they touched. A fierce wind arose, and everything beca.ue enveloped in fire, smoke, hot sand, and cinders. Numbers who fled in affright were suffo- cated and burned before they could advance many steps. The storm lasted only half an hour, but the buildings and the woods burned all night. The forest surrounding the village was in a blaze ; and the flames being driven into the village, it presented one mass of fire. The people living close to the river reached it and walked in up to their necks. They re- mained in the water from two to four houis, and endured the heat only by wetting their heads. Many who lived one or two streets from the river were overtaken by the flames and burned to death. Whole families were thus destroyed. Next morning the streets were strewn with burned bodies ; in one case eighty or ninety being found together. 13.— M. Leon Say, Prefect of the Seine, and M. Vautrein, President of the Municipal Council of Paris, attend a meeting of the Com- mon Council at Guildhall to present an address expressive of the thankfulness of the citizens of Paris for the sympathy and material aid sent from London on the raising of the siege. — Died, aged 75, Sir Francis Graham Moon, Bart, fine art publisher, and Lord Mayor of London in 1855. 14- — Public funeral of the escape-conductor, Joseph Ford, who died from injuries received at a fire in Gray's Inn Road, after rescuing six of the inmates. 15.— Collision in Shields harbour, the Providence of Sunderland sinking with five of her crew. OCTOBER 1871. OCTOBER 16. —The brigantine Ruth blown up off Erith. She had on board 2,000 barrels of petroleum and 100 barrels of resin. — In opening the German Parliament, the Emperor William explained at some length the recent friendly negotiations with Austria. " The German Empire," he said, " and the Austro-Hungarian Imperial State are, by their geographical position and their historical de- velopment, so forcibly and in so manifold a manner called upon to entertain friendly and neighbourly relations with each other, that the fact of these relations having ceased to be troubled by the reminiscence of conflicts which were the undesirable inheritance of the last thousand years, will be received by the entire German nation with sincere satisfaction. The hearty reception which I, as representative of this Empire, received in every part of the great Fatherland, and which has filled me with joyful satisfaction, but, above all, with thanks to God for the blessings which will in future not fail to our constant and honest en- deavours, is a pledge that such satisfaction will, in view of the complete development of the German Empire, be felt by the great majority of the nation. " — Dr. Livingstone arrives at Ujiji. 17. — Unveiling of the statue erected to the memory of Dean Alford in a niche of the west front of Canterbury Cathedral. — Archbishop Sumner's Memorial Schools at Lambeth opened by the Archbishop of Can- terbury. 18. — Died at his residence, Manchester Square, aged 79, Charles Babbage, F.R.S., mathematician, and inventor of the " calcu- lating machine." — Total destruction by fire of Ashton Brothers' cotton mill at Hayfield, Derbyshire. A few hours later a similar building in Glasgow, Delonging to Houston and Co., was also de- stroyed. 19. — Reform banquet in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, presided over by Earl Granville. Regarding the new social move- ment, the Foreign Secretary said it was per- fectly clear "there is a mistake and inaccuracy with regard to certain peers and distinguished commoners having signed in private certain resolutions ; but we are in the dark, on the other hand, as to what was the character of those negotiations which Lord Salisbury in- formed the public through the press had been confidentially communicated to him. All I can say is, that whatever their character may be, I feel no alarm. I shall, on the contrary, rejoice if those who hitherto have shown too much opposition until the very last moment to the Parliamentary rights of the working classes — those who offered a consistent opposition to those great principles of freedom of trade vi hich nowhere come so alive to one's under- standing as sitting in this magnificent hall — I shall rejoice if, acting upon sound principles, they come forward and give hands to the working classes, and thereby greatly facilitate the work which, not only her Majesty's present Government, but, I am sure, all successive Governments will have to undertake, which is the solution of many of the most pressing social questions of the day." 19. — Various pretended biographies of Mr. Disraeli making reference to his early connec- tion with the press, he causes his solicitors tc make intimation that he had never at any time edited any newspaper, review, magazine, or other periodical publication, and rarely contributed to any, nor has he at any time received or required any remuneration for any- thing he has ever written, except for those works which bear his name." 21. — A jury sitting in Salt Lake City, Utah, return a verdict of guilty against a Mormon named Hawkins charged with poly- gamy. The announcement created much excitement. Counsel for the plaintiff moved that the defendant be taken into custody, and the motion was resisted by the defendant's attorney. The prosecution, however, were firm in their demand that the case should take the ordinary course, and the United States marshal was accordingly directed to hold Hawkins a prisoner. Time was allowed U prepare a motion for a new trial and arrest of judgment. The penalty prescribed by the Utah statute for the crime of adultery is im- prisonment for not over twenty years nor less than three years, or a fine of not over 1,000 dols., or both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. 22. — Died in his 80th year, Sir Roderick Murchison, for many years the esteemed President of the Geological and Geographical Societies. 23. — Mr. Gladstone writes to Sir George Pollock that, if it was agreeable to him to accept the office of Constable of the Tower, vacant by the death of Sir John Burgoyne : — "I shall be very happy to submit your name for her Majesty's approval. And I beg that you will consider the proposal I now make as one due solely to your public services and dis- tinction. I have not yet forgotten the descrip tion given of those services by Sir Robert Peel when head of the Government, at the climax of your military career, after the catastrophe in Affghanistan had been covered, through your exertions, with a merited and conspicuous success. But it is a great pleasure to me to have an opportunity, after the lapse of so many years, of again tendering to you a mark ol honour which I feel confident will have, if accepted by you, the gracious sanction of her Majesty, and the cordial approbation of the country." The appointment was acceDted, and gazetted Nov. 14. 1029 NOVEMBER 1871. NOVEMBER 24. — Newcastle College of Physical Science, in connection with the University of Durham, opened by the Dean of Durham. 25. — The Mansion House Fund for the relief of the Chicago sufferers reported to have reached 41, 189/. — Colliery explosion at Seaham, Durham, causing the death of thirty men. 28. — Mr. Gladstone addresses his consti- tuents in an open-air meeting at Blackheath, dwelling chiefly on the important measures of the past session — abolition of purchase, education, and the ballot. In criticizing the new social movement the Prime Minister ad- mitted that much still remained to be done, though he was of opinion that law could not do all that was promised. " Let the Government labour to its utmost ; let the Legislature labour days and nights in your service ; but, after the very best has been attained and achieved, the question whether the English father is to be the father of a happy family and the centre of a united home is a question which must depend mainly upon himself. And those who propose to you — whoever they may be — schemes like those seven points of which I have spoken ; those who promise to the dwellers in towns that every one of them shall have a house and garden in free air, with ample space ; those who tell you that there shall be markets for selling at wholesale prices retail quantities — I won't say are impostors, because I have no doubt they are sincere ; but I will say they are quacks." 30. — The Prince and Princess of Wales arrive at Scarborough, on a visit to Lord Londesborough. — Unveiling of a memorial in Berlin erected to the memory of the Riflemen of the Guard who fell in France. The Emperor William urged the soldiers present to gain military knowledge in time of peace, so that they might be found ready to defend their country again if called on. 31. — Royal Warrant issued embodying the new regulations respecting promotion and appointments in the army, rendered necessary by the abolition of purchase. November 1. — The P. and O. steamer Rangoon, with passengers and mails for Aus- tralia, wrecked in Galle harbour. 3. — Columbia Market formally transferred by Lady Burdett Coutts to the Corporation of London. 4. — Died, aged 78, Rev. Philip Wynter, D.D., President of St. John's College, Oxford. 6. — Sir James Colville and Sir Montague Smith take their seats as paid members of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. — Sir Charles Dilke, selected to second last year's Address, delivered a lecture at Newcastle lo^o on the expense of Royalty, in which he severely criticized the expenditure of the Royal household, and declared that the Queen, in spite of a promise given to Parlia- ment, had not been in the habit of paying Income-tax. This statement was afterwards disproved by Mr. Lowe. A few days later Sir Charles, in a speech at Bristol, declared him- self a Republican. 6. — The Master of the Rolls delivers judgment in the suit Peek v. Gurney and others, in which the plaintiff sought to render the surviving directors of that company and the executors of a deceased director jointly and severally liable for the amount of the loss sustained by him through his purchase of shares to the amount of about 100,000/. in the company. After an elaborate summing up his Lordship dismissed the bill, but with- out costs, owing to the gross misconduct of the directors in issuing a false prospectus as to the state of the bank. 7. — Legal changes. Sir Robert Collier gazetted a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, preparatory to his removal to the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. He was succeeded as Attorney-General by Sir John Coleridge, Mr. Jessel stepping into the office thus vacant of Solicitor-General. — Monument at Vienna erected to the memory of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico unveiled in presence of the Emperor Francis Joseph, the Archdukes, Ministers, and a large body of spectators. — Lord Dufferin gazetted a peer of the United Kingdom, by the title of Viscount Clandeboye, of Clandeboye, in the county of Down, and Earl of Dufferin, in the county of Down. 8.— The "fall" elections in the United States announced to have resulted in large Republican gains. The Tammany candidates in New York were defeated by large majorities. — Count Beust resigns his position as Chancellor of Austria, and accepts the London Embassy. Other changes took place in the Austrian Cabinet at this time, chiefly in con- nection with the refusal of the Emperor to concede the demands made by the Czechs of Bohemia, for a separate Parliament on the Hungarian model. Count Hohenwart, who favoured the Bohemian claim, resigned his position as Prime Minister in favour of Prince Udolf Auersperg, a leader of the old Liberal party. Count Beust was succeeded by Count Andrassy, and Count Lonyay became Prime Minister of Hungary. 9. — Commenced at Portsmouth, on board the Duke of Wellington, a court-martial on Captain Thrupp and officers of the Megara. The inquiry was continued till the 17th, when the Court found the captain was "fully justified in beaching the ship, and that he would not NOVEMBER 1871. NOVEMBER l;ave been justified in continuing his course to Australia, and doth therefore acquit him of all blame in respect to it. The Court is further of opinion that no blame whatever is attributable to her officers and men under trial, hereinbefore named, for the stranding and loss of her Majesty's ship Megara, and doth therefore acquit them of all blame, and the said captain and other officers and men are hereby acquitted accordingly." IO. — After a trial extending over eleven days Robert Kelly is acquitted by the jury of the murder of Head-Constable Talbot in the open street, and after a threat that he intended to take the life of his victim, in retaliation for having acted the part of an informer against the Fenians. An elaborate attempt was made to show that death did not result directly from the wound, but from unskilful surgical treat- ment. — Lord Chief Justice Cockburn remon- strates, in the name of the Bench and Bar, with Mr. Gladstone on the contemplated removal of the Attorney- General first to the Common Pleas and then to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, as a subterfuge and evasion of the Act of Parliament passed last August, regulating the appointment. Disowning any desire to disparage the personal merits of Sir R. Collier, the Lord Chief Justice described the obvious meaning of the Act in question, and pointed out that no exception was made therein in favour of any law officer of the Crown. " I cannot help thinking," he wrote, " what would have been the language in which the Court of Queen's Bench would have expressed its opinion if such an evasion of a statute had been attempted for the purpose of qualifying an in- dividual for a municipal office, and the case had been brought before it on an information in the nature of quo warranto. In the present instance, the Legislature having settled the qualification for the newly-created office, mo- mentarily to invest a party, otherwise not quali- fied, with a qualifying office, not that he shall hold the latter, but that he may be immediately transferred to the former, appears to me, I am bound to say, to be nothing less than the manu- facture of a qualification, not very dissimilar in character to the manufacture of qualifications such as we have known practised in other in- stances in order to evade the law. . . . From every member of the legal profession with whom I have been brought into contact in the course of the last few days, I have met with but one expression of opinion as to the proposed step — an opinion, to use the mildest term I can select, of strong and unqualified condemnation. Such I can take upon myself to say is the unanimous opinion of the profession. I have never in my ttme known of so strong or universal an expres- sion, I had almost said explosion, of opinion." Mr. Gladstone replied that as the transaction was a joint one, and the completed part of it the act of the Lord Chancellor, the letter had been sent to him. The Lord Chief Justice then wrote : — " My objection to the present appoint- ment of Sir Robert Collier is not an objection to the appointment in se, but as being intended to create a factitious qualification for a seat on the Judicial Committee. It was because its ulterior object was to be your act that I took the liberty of addressing myself to you. Had I objected to the part of the transaction already completed, I should have addressed my obser- vations to the Lord Chancellor." The Lord Chancellor in reply defended the appointment as made with a full knowledge on his part of Mr. Gladstone's intention to promote the At- torney-General to the Judicial Committee. " I have thus acted advisedly, and with the convic- tion that the arrangement was justified as regards both its fitness and its legality. I take upon myself the responsibility of thus concur- ring with Mr. Gladstone, and am prepared to vindicate the course pursued. Yon will not, I trust, think that I am wanting in respect if I reserve my explanation for a more suitable op- portunity than could be afforded by a corre- spondence with yourself, either directry or through the medium of Mr. Gladstone." The Lord Chief Justice closed the correspondence ■with the remark that while he freely admitted he was "not entitled to any explanation of the course you have determined to adopt, I must in candour say that I think I might have ex- pected that grave objections to a proceeding connected with the administration ef justice, coming from one holding the office I have the honour to fill, would have received somewhat more consideration, and would not have been dismissed in quite so summary a manner. Under the circumstances, while you reserve your explanation till a fitting opportunity f 'iall arise, so I, on my part, must reserve to myself the right to make public, when I may deem it proper, the fact of my protest and the grounds on which it is founded, as stated in my letter to Mr. Gladstone." IO. — Henry M. Stanley, a travelling corre- spondent, sent out by the proprietor of the New York Herald, discovers Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji. . As the procession of native guides and assistants entered the town, Mr. Stanley ob- served a group of Arabs on the right, in the centre of which was a pale-looking, grey- bearded, white man, whose fair skin contrasted with the sun-burnt visages of those by whom he was surrounded. Passing from the rear of the procession to the front, the American traveller noticed that the white man was clad in a red woollen jacket, and wore upon his head a naval cap, with a faded gilt band. In an instant he recognised the European as none other than Dr. Livingstone himself; but a dignified Arab chieftain, standing by, confirmed Mr. Stanley in a resolution to show no symptom of rejoicing or excitement. Slowly advancing towards the great traveller, he bowed, and said, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" to which address the latter, who was fully equal to the occasion, simply smiled and replied, "Yes." IO^I NOVEMBER 1871. NOVEMBER tt was not till some hours afterwards, when alone together, seated on a goatskin, that the two white men exchanged those congratulations which both were eager to express, and recounted their respective difficulties and adventures. On the 20th they left Ujiji, and explored the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, confirming by a second inspection the observations which Dr. Livingstone had previously made; and after twenty-eight days thus pleasantly spent, they re- turned to Ujiji, and there passed Christmas Day together. On the 26th of December, they left for Unyanyembe, and, arriving there, stayed to- gether till March 14, when Mr. Stanley, en- trusted with letters from Dr. Livingstone, started for the coast, leaving the explorer to trace out the sources of the Lualaba. Mr. Stanley handed over to him 2, 788 yards of various kinds of cloths, 992 lbs. 'of beads, 350 lbs. of brass wire, a waterproof tent, an air-bed. a canvas boat, a bag of carpenter's tools, arms and ammu- nition, cooking utensils, a medicine chest, and a sextant; forming altogether about forty loads. Dr. Livingstone also found thirty-three loads of his own stores, and Mr. Stanley calculated that the- Doctor was thus supplied with sufficient to last him four years. He required a few ad- ditional articles from Zanzibar, especially a good watch and other instruments, and fifty trust- worthy men as carriers. These Mr. Stanley undertook to send up from Zanzibar, and set out for the coast with Livingstone's journal and letters on the 13th of March. He performed the march of 535 miles, wading through swamps, across loiicnts, and wearily tramping through dense jungle, in thirty-five days, and reached Bagamozyo on the 6th of May. Thus was this great work completed, a service for the performance of which Mr. Stanley earned and received the most cordial recognition from the Queen and people of England, and especially from the President and Fellows Of the Royal Geographical Society. 11. — Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh University, by a majority of 92 votes over Sir Roundell Palmer. 13. — Mr. Pigott, an Irish newspaper pro- prietor, sentenced to four months' imprison- ment for publishing comments in the Irishman, tending to bring the law officers of the Crown into contempt, and insinuating that Kelly, even if he was guilty, had not gone beyond his duty in shooting Head-constable Talbot. 15. — Mr. Disraeli elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University by a majority of 134 votes over Mr. Ruskin. 16. — Earl Russell, writing from Cannes, ex- presses his approval of the object of the Educa- tion League in so far as it contended for the unsectarian character of rate-aided schools. He was not of opinion thai :he Bible, when read, should be read without note or comment ; " but I think this is a point of so much difficulty, and there is so much danger of slipping into sec- tarian comments on the part of teachers, that I 1032 do not wonder at the opinion expressed by the League. My wish and hope is that the rising youth of England may be taught to adopt, not the Church of Rome or the Church of England, but the Church of Christ. The teaching of Christ, whether dogmatic or not, is to be found in the Bible, and those who in their infancy read the Bible may, at their r th choice, when they reach the age of fifteen or sixteen years, follow the teaching of the Church of Rome or of any Protestant community they may prefer. In this manner Christianity may be purged of the corruptions wh'ch, in the course of time, and amid the conflicts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, have stained its purity, and perverted its spirit of love and charity." On this the Church Herald re- marked : "There can be no importance at- tached to anything that so perverse and vicious an old Whig as Lord Russell can say on religious teaching." 17. — Speaking at Lenzie, near Glasgow, on ths subject of her Majesty's health, the state of which had lately caused considerable anxiety, Dr. Norman Macleod, lately returned from Balmoral, said he had never seen the remotest trace of any moral or mental weakness, but in every instance remarkable evidence of moral and mental strength and capacity. " Her Majesty has just passed through a severe attack of rheumatic gout, which so affected her hands that for a time she was utterly unable to sign her name, and from a severe neuralgia from which she has entirely recovered, and I have never seen her better in spirits or better in health or stronger in mind than she is at the present moment. At the same time, I am far from saying that she has recovered her strength so as to be able to do more than she is doing ; for I make bold to say that none of us have tlie slightest conception of the unceasing demand that is made upon a person in her high position of attending to innumerable details and carrying burdens upon her mind without the possibility of one moment's rest. . . . No one who knows the Queen but knows she would do all that it is possible for her to do, and no one who knows her but is amazed at her extraordinary conside- rateness for every one, how she occupies her thought upon every subject, and how she at- tends to such minute details of duty. I will take it upon me to say that the case of the poorest subject in her kingdom, if made known to her, would receive her immediate attention." — The Spanish Minister, Zorrilla, having been defeated in the Cortes, tenders his resigna- tion, which the King refuses to accept, and suspends the sittings of the Cortes. — Died at Bournemouth, aged 77, Sir Joshua Walmsley, formerly M.P. for Bolton and Leicester. 20. — Mr. Chilborn, manager of the Arran Quay Branch of the Royal Bank of Ireland, commits suicide by shooting himself in a cemetery, under distress of mind produced by NOVEMBER 1871. DECEMBER untoward speculations in the Wicklow Copper Mine Company. 22. — Illness of the Prince of Wales, a telegram from Sandringham intimating that he had been prevented paying a visit to the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, by a chill resulting in a febrile attack which confined him to his room. Next day it was announced that the symptoms were not severe, but indicated an attack of typhoid fever. — Mr. Bates, a Conservative candidate, re- turned for Plymouth by 1, 753 votes against 1,511 given to Mr. Rooker, Liberal. 24. — J,oool. reported to have been collected in London in aid of the starving inhabitants of Bushire, Yezd, and other Persian towns. So terrible was this calamity that in some districts it was calculated one-third of the population had died from starvation, and two-thirds of the . cattle aud beasts of burden. 25. — Riotous proceedings at Dover, arising out of the election carried by the Solicitor- General, Mr. Jessel, against Mr. Barnett, a Conservative candidate. — Disorderly meeting at Bolton, called to hear Sir C. Dilke, M. P., criticise the functions and expense of Royalty. Similar disgraceful gatherings took place at Derby and Birmingham. 26. — The Count of Girgenti, brother of the ex-King of Naples, commits suicide by shooting himself in a room in the Hotel du Cygne, Lucerne. 28. — Execution of Communist Generals. Rossel, Ferre, and Bourgeois were shot this morning at a quarter past seven, in front of the Artillery Butts at Satory, in the presence of 3,000 men belonging to the regular army. The intention having been kept perfectly secret, there were scarcely any other spectators present. All three behaved with great courage. Rossel and Bourgeois had their eyes bandaged, but Ferre refused to be blindfolded. Rossel was killed instantly, but Ferre and Bourgeois received the coup de grdce after the volley. After the execution the troops defiled past the three corpses. The execution of Rossel, known to be a brave soldier, enthusiastic and intelligent in his profession, gave rise to much severe criticism against the Versailles Government. — Died, aged 67, Marshal Benedek, an Austrian General of experience in Italian campaigns, and commander of the forces at Sadowa. — Eight Spanish medical students, vary- ing in age from 14 to 20 years, shot at Havanna, a few hours after a hurried and in- formal trial, for alleged desecration of San Lazaro cemetery. About forty others, less prominently concerned in what appeared to be a juvenile freak, were sentenced to various terms ol penal servitude. 28. — Came on before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the appeal of the Church Association against the sentence delivered by Sir Robert Phillimore on the 23rd of July, 1870, acquitting the Rev. W. J. E. Bennett, Vicar of Frome, of the charge of erroneous doctrine on the subject of the Real Presence, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and Adoration. 29. — The Queen proceeds to Sandringham on a visit to the Prince of Wales. An afte r- noon bulletin reported that his Royal Highness had passed a quiet day, the symptoms con- tinuing without alteration. The Times mentions to-day that his illness dated from the recent visit to Lord Londesborough, and was likely to have arisen from poison generated by sewage. Others of the party had since been attacked by typhoid symptoms, one of them — Lord Chesterfield — with unusual severity. The Prince's case was thought likely to run for twenty-four days. 30. — -Explosion of a cartridge factory within the Fort of Agra, causing the death of Conductor Ware, his son, Sergeant Upton, and twenty-three native workmen. December 1. — Died at Bretby Hall, Bur- ton-on-Trent, aged 40, George Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield. He was one of the visitors at Scarborough in October, and had been suffering for some days from typhoid fever. — Mr. W. R. Grove, Q.C., gazetted to be a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas. 3. — Fire at Warwick Castle. The flames, first noticed in Lady Warwick's apartments, early in the morning, Speedily extended over the whole east wing, between the grand en- trance hall and the domestic offices adjoining Csesar and Guy's Towers. This portion of the castle was completely gutted, and only the outer walls with charred and smouldering rubbish left. The fire then spread across the grand staircase, and reached the great hall, of which only the bare walls remained. At four o'clock the fire was burning so fiercely that it was feared the red drawing-room would also be destroyed. Preparations were therefore made for the worst by stripping this and the adjoin- ing apartments of their rare treasures. The tapestry round the state bedroom, made in Brussels in 1694, was wrenched from the wall and carried to a place of security, together with the portraits of "Queen Anne," by Kneller, the " Earl of Essex," by Zucchero, and other rare paintings. The pictures by Rembrandt, Holbein, Rubens, Vandyke, Titiens, Salvator Rosa, Sir Peter Lely, and Carracci's " Dead Christ" were also taken down. The costly tables and treasures in the cabinets were carried to the remotest corner of the Castle, ready to be again moved in case of necessity. Fortu- nately, the efforts of the firemen practically arrested the fire at the end of the great hall, though the red drawing-room was slightly damaged about the roof and by water. Th& l°33 DECEMBER 1871. DECEMBER flames were not subdued until nearly ten o'clock in the morning. Most of the family were abroad. 3. — About 800 yards of the west pier of Leith destroyed by a fire originating in the up- setting of a vessel of boiling pitch, used for saturating the structure. 4. — United States Congress opened by President Grant with a Message congratu- lating the country on its increasing prosperity, the reduction of the debt by 17,000,000/. in one year, and the approaching settlement of all differences with Great Britain. " This year," said President Grant, " has witnessed two great nations, having one language and lineage, settling by peaceful arbitration dis- putes of long standing, which were liable at any time to bring nations to a bloody conflict. The example thus set, if successful in its final issue, will be followed by other civilized nations, and finally be the means of returning to pursuits of industry millions of men now maintained to settle disputes of nations by the sword." Regarding Cuba, the President re- gretted that the disturbed condition of the island continued to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. ' ' The existence of a protracted struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without any apparent prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other Powers, naturally desire to see every country enjoying peace, liberty, and free insti- tutions. The American naval commanders in Cuban waters have been instructed, in case it should become necessary, to spare no effort to protect the lives and property of bond fide American citizens, and to maintain the dignity of the flag. It is hoped that all pending ques- tions with Spain, growing out of the state of Affairs in Cuba, may be adjusted in the spirit 6f peace and conciliation which has hitherto guided the two Powers in their treatment of such questions." — Judgment delivered in the Irish Court of Common Pleas in the case of "Wallace v. Seymour," known as the Hertford Estates case, md involving the ownership of property in the county of Antrim giving an income of about 60,000/. a year. The question turned on the effect of certain words in a codicil executed in June 1850 by the late Marquis of Hertford to his will, made in 1838. This codicil purported to give to the plaintiff absolutely "the residue of the real and personal estate" of the late Marquis in Ireland, while by the will under which the defendant claimed, the real estate in Ireland was given to trustees in the first instance, to make up any deficiency in the personal estate, and afterwards to the testator's brother for life, and thereafter to the defendant. The court held unanimously that the words in the codicil revoking the bequest of the real estate in the will were not sufficiently clear and explicit, and that the testator in inserting the 1034 word "real" in the codicil either forgot the exact words of the residuary clause in the will or did not comprehend their meaning. Judg- ment was accordingly given for the defendant. 6. — Conference at Birmingham called to consider how the House of Lords could be best reformed and brought into greater harmony with the wishes of the country. One resolution declared — " That in a free country, the ultimate decision upon all questions of government or of the policy of the State must rest with representatives elected by the majority of the people ; and that some plan should be adopted in this nation to give constitutional effect to that decision." Another : — " That no right to legislate on the affairs of the nation ought to be conferred in consequence of the profession of any theological opinions, or of connection with any ecclesiastical establishment, and there* fore the legislative power of the Bishops of the English Church should be abolished." - — Disorderly republican meeting at Read- ing, resulting in the severe handling of Odger by a mob at the railway station. — Died, at Bank Hall, Burnley, Lanca. shire, aged 72, General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, commander of the British cavalry in the Crimea. 7. — M. Thiers delivers his first Presidential Message to the National Assembly. The policy of France, he said, must be henceforth a policy of dignified and enduring peace. " If, contrary to all probability, events should disturb that peace, the deed will not be that of France. France must become once more what she has a right to be in the interest of all States. France will be true to her solemnly pledged word. Moreover, the States which took part in the war are fatigued ; and those that had been witnesses have become seriously alarmed. " The Message then entered into details of the rela- tions between France and the other Powers of Europe : — " Our relations with Spain continue amicable. We likewise maintain a good under- standing with Italy. The independence of the Holy See must be rigorously upheld. As re- gards Rome we offer no counsels, for we give no advice to anyone, and least of all to an aged man who enjoys all our respect and sympathy. With regard to Austria, we sincerely wish her prosperity. As regards Russia, the most cordial relations exist between that country and France. They are the result of an elevated and reciprocal appreciation of the interests of both countries." — A jury in the Court of Queen's Bench decide that Sir Joshua Reynolds's fine portrait of Francis George Hare, known as " Infancy," belonged to the defendant, who claimed under his uncle Julius Hare, and not to his sister. — Prince Bismarck addresses Count Arnim, the German Ambassador in Paris, concerning the acquittal of criminals in the French courts charged with the murder of German soldiers. He declares that in future, should the French DECEMBER 1871. 'DECEMBER authorities refuse to give up assassins, the Ger- mans will be compelled to seize French host- ages, and in extreme cases even have recourse to more stringent measures, in order to enforce their demands. The Imperial Chancellor points out that recent events in Paris and Melun have proved the exasperation of the French to be 30 great that in the still pending negotiations with France, not only must the fulfilment of the con- ditions of peace be secured, but the necessary strength of the German position within the occupied' Departments must also be kept in view. 8. — Contrasting somewhat with the assu- rance put forward by M. Thiers, the Emperor of Russia, in proposing the health of the Emperor of Germany, at a banquet given by the military order of St. George, said, " We desire and hope that the intimate friend- ship which unites us and the brotherhood' of arms will be perpetuated in future genera- tions. In this friendship existing between our two armies; which dates from a memorable epoch, I see the best guarantee for the main- tenance of peace and loyal' order in Europe." — The Kithert'o favourable bulletins issued regarding the illness of the Prince of Wales were disagreeablyvaried to-day by the announce- ment made at 8 a.m., that his Royal Highness " has passed a very unquiet night. There is' considerable increase in the febrile symptoms." At 1 p.m. it was announced that " there is no abatement of the graver symptoms." These, like the other bulletins with which the public were now getting familiar,- were signed by the physicians in attendance, Drs. Jenner, Gull, and Lowe. The Queen left for Sandringham in the afternoon, along, with other members of the Royal family. &. — Chief Justice Bovill, as the head of the Court* which "had been made use of," ex- presses his concurrence with Sir Alexander Cocliburn as to the impropriety of the Collier appointment. IO. — The Prince of Wales prayed for in' most of the churches throughout the kingdom. A special form was prepared- late last night by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and circulated as widely as the limited time permitted. Ea'rly in the morning the Princess of Wales caused a touching'request to'be conveyed to the Vicar of Sandringham. " My husband," she wrote, "being, thank God, somewhat better, I am coming to church. I must leave, I fear, before the service is concluded', that I may watch by his bedside. Can you not say a' few words in the early part of the service that I may join with you in prayer for my husband before I return to- him'?" The Princess attended service, reaching the'churcli by the private path from Sandringham grounds. To meet the wishes of her Royal Highness, the Rev. Vicar, before reading the Collect, speaking in a voice trembling with emotion, which he vainly sought to suppress, said, "The prayers 1035 of the congregation are earnestly sought for his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who is now most seriously ill." The bulletins, four of which were now being issued each day, still indicated great anxiety on the part of the medical attendants. At 5.30 this (Sunday) afternoon the report was that his Royal Highness "had passed an unquiet afternoon, with a return of the more urgent symptoms." Another, anxiously looked for, issued at 8.15 next morning, indicated still more the gravity of the situation. " Restless night, with a further recurrence of the graver symptoms." Two hours before this the Royal Family were reported in an unofficial telegram to have been summoned to the bedside in anticipation of the worst results. 12. —Total eclipse of the sun, carefully ob- served by English astronomers in southern India and Ceylon. 13. — Public anxiety regarding the condition of the Prince of Wales may be siid to have reached its climax to-day, the morning bulletin announ-dng -that his Royal Highness had "passed another very restless- night. The conditions da not improve. " With the excep- tion, perhaps,, of certain periods of the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny, public feeling had never been so deeply- touched- in- the present generation ; arid the' anxiety to obtain the latest' news of the condition of the Royal sufferer Was most intense among all classes of the community. Bulletins forwarded from Sandringham, and, in sone cases, from the Home Office, were posted up in all- places of resort ; newspapers were eagerly bought up, edition after edition, as they were hourly brought out ; and whenever two or three friends met, the condition of the Prince was- not only the first but the single topic of discussion. In every town crowds waited anxiously for the latest news; and Government found it' ex- pedient to forward thi medical bulletihs to all the telegraph offices in the United Kingdom. Throughout India, in'the colonies, and' even in the United States, the daily progress of the disease was recorded and watched 5 ; while prayer- were offered up by Hindoos, Parsees; Mussul- • mans;andfews. This afternoon's bulletin, issued at five o'clock, was thought to indicate matters as in an almost' hopeless state. His-Royal High ness, if was reported, "has passed a very un- ; quiet afternoon. There is no'abatenrent in the gravity of the symptoms." A slight turn for ( the better came a 1 few Hours later, "iop.m His Royal Highness has passed a less unquie': evening." The Prince was said to have recog- nized the Queen this evening. Though still giving cause for much anxiety, the fever may be said to have weakened its hold of the system after this date. The bulletins, how- ever, still continue;! to be expressed with the greatest caution, though the physicians were known by all about them to be honourably willing to afford competent interpreters of technical fact such material for illus'.r.i'ing the E*- DECEMBER 1871. DECEMBER case as might enlighten the public mind, and thus relisve unnecessary anxiety. 13. — Intimation given of the probable re- tirement of Mr. Denison, Speaker of the House of Commons. — Tried at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Grove, William Anthony, blacksmith, charged with five cases of wilful fire-raising for the sake of the reward of 2s. 6d. paid for giving first notice. Found guilty, and sentenced to twelve years' penal servitude. 14r. — Anniversary of the death of the Prince Consort celebrated at Sandringham under cir- cumstances of mournful anxiety to the Royal family. — Died at his residence, Churton Street, Belgrave Road, aged 70 years, George Hudson, all-powerful in commercial circles, thirty years since, as the Railway King. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer in- forms the Treasury Board that her Majesty's Government had agreed to the following reso- lutions respecting the terms upon which the law officers of the Crown (except Sir John Duke Coleridge, in whose case no change is to be made) shall in future be remunerated for their services, that is to say : — " I. Except as aforesaid, the Attorney-.General shall receive 7,000/. a year for non-contentious business, and the Solicitor-General 6,000/. a year. 2. All fees payable for non-contentious business shall be paid into the Exchequer. 3. The law officers shall receive fees for contentious business, and for opinions connected with it, according to the ordinary professional scale. 4. All complimentary briefs and payments for services not intended to be given shall be abolished. 5. The salaries above mentioned shall be voted by the House of Commons." 16. — Dean Goulbum, Norwich, protests against the appointment of Bishop Temple as one of the Select Preachers of Oxford. " It seems to me," he wrote to the Vice-Chancellor, '■' a miserable apostacy from the principles which once animated the University of Oxford, thfct she should deliberately commit the reli- gious instruction of her youth (a sacred trust, % any trust can be sacred) to a prelate who labours under grave suspicions of heterodoxy, whose theology is at best hazy, and who will not purge himself from complicity with the attempts of avowed Rationalists to throw doubt upo» ' those things which are most surely be- lTeve$ amongst us.' " 18. — The Prince of Wales reported to have passed a quiet night, and making satisfactory progress. A boy named Blegg, attached to the stables at Sandringham, and who had been stricken dowro with typhoid feyer about the same time as the Prince,, dies to-day,, to the grief of members of the Royal Family, who,, as was natural in the circumstances,, had. bestowed on him a large measure of attention. 1036 18. — The Alabama Committee hold a formal meeting at Geneva for the ratification of powers and exchange of papers. — Forbes' oil manufactory at Port Dundas, Glasgow, destroyed by fire. 10. — The Queen leaves Sandringham for Windsor. The Duke d'Aumale and Prince Joinville take their seats in the National Assembly. 21. — The steamer Delaware, trading from Liverpool to Calcutta, wrecked in a gale off the Scilly Islands, and forty-eight of her crew drowned. 22.— Died, aged 81, the Earl of Ellen- borough, President of the Board of Control in Sir Robert Peel's Ministry of 1841, and Governor-General of India 1842-44. The measures he sanctioned led to the rescue of the captives and close of the Affghan War. 23. — Field-Marshal Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., installed as Constable of the Tower. The ceremony was performed by torch-light, owing to the dense fog which prevailed. — New market for the slaughter of foreign cattle at Deptford opened in presence of the Lord Mayor and other officials of the Corpora- tion. — In his rectorial address at Munich, Dr. Dollinger explained the natural influence which Germany and France had always exercised upon one another. "France," he said, "preserves even now, for the future, her importance as in- terpreter and carrier of scientific ideas. She owes her defeat chiefly to the absence of veracity in her literature, especially in the historical por- tion of it, which has prevailed for generations past. The 18th of July, 1870, brought to Germany a second war through the Roman declaration of war against German science. The decrees of the Vatican were launched only against German science, and had been prepared for twenty years by a systematic falsification of the theological text-books. Once before Rome carried on war against science. It was against the natural sciences, and she succumbed. Now she combats historical science." — In opening the Reichsrath, the Emperor of Austria said the Crown, by permitting the different provinces to seek the remedy for their claims by such means as the Constitution offers to them, not only had in view the right of the whole empire, but also the real interests and protection of the separate kingdoms. "The first task of the Government, which is composed of men belonging to the representa- tion of the whole country, is to strengthen the constitutional and legal basis, and to ensure everywhere absolute obedience to the laws. The Government, on its part, will accede to the wishes of Galicia so far as they are confined 1 3 that province, and are compatible with ths conditions of the unity and the power of the whole empire. The complete independence DECEMBER 1872. JANUARY of the Reichsrath must be assured by the un- biassed selection of the representatives of the empire." 26. — Concluded in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, the case of Asher, widow, o. Rennie, a claim for 1,000/. for breach of pro- mise by a Glasgow merchant. This was the second trial of the case, a verdict having been returned, in the beginning of November last, for the defendant. That verdict was set aside by the Court as being contrary to evidence, and a new trial granted, which now ended in the jury unanimously returning a verdict for the plaintiff, with 750/. damages. — In a letter dated from Windsor Castle, the Queen acknowledges the sympathy mani- fested by aU classes of her subjects on the occasion of the alarming illness of the Prince of Wales. "The universal feeling," writes her Majesty, "shown by her people during those painful, terrible days, and the sympathy evinced by them with herself and her beloved daughter, the Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy at the improvement in the Prince of Wales's state, have made a deep and lasting impression on her heart which can never be effaced. It was, indeed, nothing new to her; for the Queen had met with the same sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness re- moved from her side the mainstay of her life, the best, wisest, and kindest of husbands. The Queen wishes to express at the same time, on the part of the Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude ; for she has been as deeply touched as the Queen by the great and universal manifestation of loyalty and sym- pathy. The Queen cannot conclude without expressing her hope that her faithful subjects will continue their prayers to God for the com- plete recovery of her dear son to health and strength." — Replying to a request for his opinion on the subject of a Church Defence Institu- tion, the Archbishop of Canterbury writes : — ' There seems little doubt that vigorous and persistent efforts are being made by those who desire to destroy that connection between the Church and the State which I regard as equally beneficial to both. I can therefore have no hesitation in saying that some systematic organization, to meet these efforts and keep the public informed on the subject, is much to be desired ; and I think that the clergy and laity of our Church will do well to aid in the work which the Committee of the Church Defence Institution has undertaken." 27. — Renewed anxiety regarding the Prince of Wales, the single bulletin now issued daily at noon recording that his Royal Highness had passed the night quietly, " but convalescence is retarded by a painful affection above the left hip, attended with some feverishness. " 28. — In accordance with an application madeonher behalf, Christina Edmunds, charged with wholesale poisoning at Brighton, was 1037 removed to-day from Lewes gaol to Newgate, previous to being tried, under " Palmer's Act," at the Central Criminal Court. On entering her new place of confinement, she made peremptory demands to be permitted to wear her bonnet and velvet dresses. 29. — George Cruikshank, who had illus- trated Mr. Dickens' novel, " Oliver Twist," writes to the Times, claiming to have originated that work, and been the author of most of the characters. — Senator Tweed arrested in the New York Metropolitan Hotel by Sheriff Brennan on a charge of felony connected with the misappro- priation of City funds by the gang known as the " Tammany Ring." 30. — Boiler explosion in Glasgow, a road steam-traveller described as " Yuille's Traction Engine, " bursting in Paisley Road, killing five and injuring about thirty others, chiefly chil- dren, who had gathered round the locomotive during a temporary halt. 3 1 . — Died at Richmond, Yorkshire, Matthew Greathead, aged 102, supposed to be the oldest Freemason in the world, having entered the Lennox Lodge, No. 123, in 1797. 1872. January 1. — Died, aged 71, William Edwardes, third Lord Kensington, one of the survivors of the battle of Navarino. — Addressing the "Druids" at Oxford, Mr. Cardwell remarked: — "We are not a Continental Power. We are not a Transat- lantic Power. We are an insular Power, with the largest foreign dominions and the most scattered dominions of any Power in the world. The natural consequence is that our first arm is afloat, and it is the navy. The next is that we desire to have at hand an army like our navy, first-rate in quality, but not large in quantity. If we were a Transatlantic nation, we should have no relations requiring an armed force with regard to Continental nations. If we were a Continental nation, we should re- quire a larger armed force than we now possess. Being an insular country we have Continental obligations to which we may be called upon to. do justice, and for that purpose we ought to be prepared." His brother member, Mr- Vcnon Harcourt, spoke on the annual increase of the national expenditure. — At the annual New-Year reception, the Emperor of Germany said that the endeavours of all ought now to be directed towards utiliz- ing the peace, which, as he hoped, was now secured for a long time, in order to strengthen the foundations on which their present greatness had been established, and for the development and culture of all intellectual as well as material possessions. JANUAR Y 1872. JANUARY 1 Subscription invited for a 5 per cent. Hungarian loan of 3,000,000?. at 81. — The Bishop of Orleans resigns his place in the French Academy, in consequence of the election of M. Littre\ whom he described as a materialist and a socialist. 2. — Died, aged 84, General Sir James Jack- son, Colonel of the 6th Dragoon Guards, a veteran of the Peninsula and Waterloo, and one of the oldest officers in the British army. From his firmness with a mob at Carlow, in 184.1, the General was known as " Juslice-to-Ireland Jackson." 3 A lion-tamer named M'Carthy torn to pieces at Bolton, while exhibiting his power over the animals in Manders' menagerie. 5. — Died, aged 54, Sir Francis Crossley, M.P. for the Northern Division of the West Riding. — Died, at Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, aged 72, Joseph Gillott, the first manufacturer of steel pens by machinery. 6. — James Fisk, jun.., of Erie Railway noto- riety, assassinated in the corridor of the Grand Central Hotel, New York, by Edward Stokes, who fired three shots, one of which inflicted a mortal wound in the abdomen. Fisk, who retained consciousness to the last, was closely attended by Gould and Tweed. There had been a long and scandalous litigation between the assassin and his victim, originating in the arrest of Stokes for taking away a woman named Mansfield, with whom Fisk had illicit relations. Stokes gave evidence against Fisk in a libel suit in which this woman was con- cerned, and moreover threatened to publish letters from Fisk to.her, revealing various secrets connected with the Erie Railway. Fisk had just obtained an injunction forbidding the pub- lication of these letters, and also induced the grand jury to indict Stokes for conspiracy. 7. — M>. Vautrain returned for Paris by 121,158 votes, against 93,423 given to M. Victor Hugo. 8. — Trades Union Congress at Nottingham, attended by seventy delegates, representing 255,710 constituents. 9. — Count Arnim presents his credentials as German Ambassador to M. Thiers. — Royal' Commission gazetted "to inquire into the property and income belonging to, administered, or enjoyed by, the universities of Oxford' and' Cambridge, and the colleges and halls therein (whether held or received for their corporate use, or in trust, or in what- soever other manner), including the prospects of increase or decrease in such property and income ; and also to report the uses to which such property and income are applied, together with all matters of fact tending to exhibit the state and circumstances of the same, a-id the condition, management, and custody 01. the said property and income." 1038 9.— Speaking at Liverpool to the members of a Working Man's Conservative Association, Lord Derby, who presided, explained the nature of the work before his party, and the means by which it could be best accom- plished. The Conservative party ought not, he thought, to grow slack and indifferent about public affairs because they were in a minority of 100 in the House of Commons. If political life were what many people consider it — " a soaped pole," with 5,000/. a year and lots of patronage at the top — if the end and object of all party efforts were the holding of office for a longer or shorter time, he might agree with them; but the holding of office was only a means. Power was the end, power over the legislative and administrative conduct of affairs ; and a party which at the lowest estimate in- cludes two-fifths of the House of Commons, may exercise very great power when those who sit opposite to it are notoriously divided into sections which have hardly an idea in common. "Don't let us spoil our own game," his lord- ship said. "Don't let us lose power in run- ning after place. If we become the majority it is our duty to accept the responsibilities of that position. But for myself I tell you frankly, though I should rejoice to see a strong Con- servative Government in power, I had infinitely rather, in the public interest and that of your party, see the Conservatives forming a strong and compact Opposition, than have them, for the fourth time in twenty years, holding office without a tolerably assured majority." Lord Derby contended that recent Irish policy naturally strengthened the position of those who assailed the Church in- England, advo- cated a reduction of the national debt in times of prosperity like the present, and expressed his strong opposition to all Ultramontane and Home Rule demands. IO. — HomeRule demonstration at Limerick, in favour of their new member; Mr. Butt, who admitted that the Church Act and Land Act had done much good, but that they had been grudgingly given. "There had been other legis- lation in a contrary direction — the last Coercion- . Bill, for instance, which, had it been enacted in England, would have driven it into rebellion. Another thing was the persistent refusal to re- lease the political prisoners, the men who had led the forlorn hope of the Irish nation." He concluded by calling on the people to receive all classes and all creeds into their union. — Explosion at Oakwood Colliery, Maes- teg, South Wales, causing the instantaneous death of eleven men employed in the works. — Manifesto in regard to the use of alcohol for medicinal purposes circulated among the leading members of the medical profession. Those signing it expressed an opinion that no medical practitioner should prescribe it without a- sense of grave respon- sibility. "They believe that alcohol, in whatever form, should be prescribed with as much care as any powerful drug, and that the JANUARY 187s JANUARY directions for its use should be so flamed as not to be interpreted as a sanction for excess, Jr necessarily for the continuance of its use when the occasion is past. They are also of opinion that many people immensely exagge- rate the value of alcohol as an article of diet, and since no class of men see so much of its ill-effects, and possess such power to restrain its abuse, as members of their own profession, they hold that every medical practitioner is bound to exert his utmost influence to inculcate habits of great moderation in the use of alcoholic liquids." 12. — Rev. John Selby Watson found guilty at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of his wife, and sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Byles. Regarding the plea of insanity urged on his behalf, the prisoner, before sentence was passed, said, " I only wish to say that the de- fence which has been maintained in my favour is a just and honest one." The Crown after- wards gave effect tothe jury's recommendation to mercy, and commuted the extreme penalty to confinement for life. — Vice-Chancellor Malins makes an order for the compulsory winding up of the European Assurance Society. — Died at Nice, in his 64th year, the Due de Persigny, formerly French Ambassador in London of the Emperor Napoleon III. — Died at Cannes, aged 67, M. Jean Barthelemy Arles-Dufour, an eminent French free-trader. 13. — The Metropolitan Board of Works take formal possession of Hampstead Heath on behalf of the public. 14. — Last bulletin issued regarding the Prince of Wales, who was reported to be making satisfactory progress, and daily gaining strength. 15. — Tried at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Baron Martin, Christina Edmunds, charged with murder and various attempts at murder by poisoning. It was sought through medical witnesses to give effect to a plea of insanity set up on her behalf, but it was re- jected by the jury, who on the 16th returned a verdict of guilty, and the prisoner was sentenced to death. She thereupon made a statement which led to the empanelling of a jury of matrons, who received the assistance of some medical gentlemen in court, and finally decided that there existed no ground for arrest of judg- ment It was stated that there had been no occa- sion before for empanelling a jury of matrons at the Central Criminal Court for about fifteen years. The extreme sentence in this case was also commuted to imprisonment for life. — Celebrated in the parish church of Chantilly, the marriage of the Princess Margaret of Orleans, eldest daughter of the Due de Nemours, with Prince Ladislas Czartoryski, son of the famous Polish leader in the great insur- rection agains': Russia. 15. — The hearing of the Tichborne case resumed, the Attorney-General commencing his speech for the defence. 16. — Mary Crawford, or Deuchars, 22 years of age, the wife of a pattern designer, drowned her three children in the Clyde, at Glasgow, the eldest being three years of age, the others two years and three months respec- tively. She then committed suicide by throw- ing herself into the river. She had been married about five years, her husband being a widower with four young children. — The Rev. J. S. Drew, rector of Oving- ton, Hants, writes regarding the case of Mr. Watson, who, along with his wife, had been members of his congregation when at St. Bar- nabas, South Lambeth : — " She was always fretful and often violent in temper. She always sat with him in his study while he was at work, he hardly ever walked out without her, and in all their intercourse he bore himself towards her with the most admirable patience until that fatal moment when, through some outrageous provocation on her part as I cannot doubt, he gave way to literally ungovernable rage. I hoped until the last day of the trial that I should have had an opportunity to make this statement in court, and thus show the nature of an influence which was ever so dangerously near and ready to work on the morbid suscep- tibility of the unhappy man. Now, having also forwarded this testimony to the Home Secretary, I take the only course which remains open to help in rescuing my unfortunate friend from his melancholy doom, and to clear from infamy the name of one of the most conside- rate, kindly, and honourable men I have ever known. " — The first railway train connecting Turkey with Europe enters Stamboul. — Uproarious meeting at Chelsea on occa- sion of Sir C. Dilke advocating Repub- lican views to his constituents. 17. — Roman Catholic demonstration in Dublin in favour of denominational education. "Nothing," said Cardinal Cullen, who pre- sided, "but the old spirit of ascendency would think of subjecting seventy or eighty Catholic children — about the average in each school — > to religious restrictions in favour of a small fraction of Protestants." In such cases he claimed the fulness of religious teaching for Catholic children. On account of the Catho- licity of the population, he went on to say, mixed schools do not and cannot exist. He further declared that proselytism was carried on in national schools, negatively, by keeping Catholic children from any knowledge oi religious doctrine and positively by teaching anti-Catholic doctrines. Thousands, he stated, of Catholic children received religious instruc- tion " from Presbyterian or other heterodox teachers, recite anti-Catholic prayers, and read in the schools the Protestant version of the Bible." 103a JANUARY I872. JANUARY 17. — Statue of Benjamin Franklin, a gift from the printers of the city, unveiled in New York on this the 1 66th anniversary of the philosopher's birth. Mr. Horace Greeley said on the occasion : "I love and revere him as a journeyman printer who was frugal and didn't drink ; a parvenu who rose from want to competence, from obscurity to fame, without losing his head ; a statesman who did not crucify mankind with long-winded documents or speeches ; a diplomatist who did not intrigue ; a philosopher who never lied ; and an office-holder who didn't steal." — News of a rebellion in Loodiana arrives in London. 18. — The Emperor of Germany, proposing a toast at a. meeting of the Chapter of the Order of the Black Eagle, said: — "We cele- brate to-day a double anniversary of the most important events of Prussian history. On this day, 171 years ago, the first King of Prussia was crowned. This day last year my accept- ance of the German Imperial Crown, unani- mously offered me by all the princes and free towns of Germany, was proclaimed. Conscious of the obligations I have assumed, I, on the first anniversary of this great event, again ex- press to the illustrious presenters of my new position, in presence of their representatives, my deeply-felt thanks, hoping that by our united efforts we shall succeed in fulfilling the lust hopes of Germany. " The Bavarian Minis- ter then, in the name of the King of Bavaria and the illustrious federate allies in the Empire, proposed ' ' The health of the German Emperor, William the Victorious." — It is decided at a Cabinet Council that Great Britain would not consent to have the American indirect claims submitted for arbitra- tion. — Explosion in Gladstone's cartridge factory, Greenwich, injuring about thirty girls employed there. 19. — M. Rouher addresses the electors of Corsica, insisting that the country could no longer support the internal dissension pre- vailing. ' ' The supreme duty of parties is to immolate to it their resistances and ambitions, to respectfully solicit the high manifestations of the national will, and then to dissolve them- selves or to become reconciled under the salutary authority of the definitive Govern- ment created by the country. Order, the liberty of all, cannot henceforward have any other basis." — The French National Assembly, by 377 to 207 votes, adopt a, proposal for appoint- ing a Commission to inquire whether it is possible to adjust the Budget without taxing raw material, M. Thiers thereupon threatened to resign. SO.— Died, aged 73, the Rev. Canon Moseley, Bristol, one of tht earliest school inspectors under the old Education Act. 1040 20. — Rumour being busy during the Kerry election with the name of Mr. Bright as an advocate for Home Rule, he now writes to The O'Donoghue: "To have two representative legislative assemblies of Parliament in the United Kingdom would be, in my opinion, an intolerable mischief, and I think no sensible man can wish for two within the limits of the present United Kingdom who does not wish the United Kingdom to become two or more nations entirely separated from each other." — Died, aged 87, General Sir Alexander Lindsay, one of the oldest generals of the Bengal Artillery. 22. — The Versailles tribunal pronounce sentence on the murderers of the hostages in the prison of La Roquette. One, Gerson, was sentenced to death, and fourteen others to various terms of imprisonment. 23. — Sir Wm. Jenner gazetted a K.C.B., and Dr. W. W. Gull a baronet. 24. — Nonconformist Conference at Man- chester, called to insist upon " united literary education by the State, and separate religious education by parents, or the voluntary agency of religious committees." In a paper on the political relation of the Nonconformists to the Liberal party, Mr. Richard,. M. P., said: — "Our quarrel with those in power is one purely of principle. We have no intention to withdraw our confi- dence and support from Mr. Gladstone. He is the Minister of our predilection, and we are proud of his transcendent abilities. But if it comes to be a question between allegiance to a party and loyalty to principle, we cannot hesi- tate. We are willing to exercise patience, to make concessions ; but to adopt a course which will involve the sacrifice, or the surrender, or the serious compromise of these vital principles for the sake of any man or party is what we cannot, what we ought not, what we must not, what we dare not, and, by God's help, what we will not do. " Several members of Parliament took occasion when addressing their constituents at this time to censure in strong terms this " Nonconformist revolt." — Severe gale in London ; one of the lesser towers of the new Palace of Westminster blown down. 25.— For the first time since his illness the Prince of Wales walks for a short time in the open air. Active preparations now commence to be made for a special thanksgiving service at St. Paul's. — Decree dissolving the Spanish Cortes read in the Chamber amid great excitement. 28.— Died, aged 81, Admiral Robert Gambier, who aided in the reduction of the Cape, Buenos Ayres, and Maldonado. 29.— The Court of Queen's Bench decide that they have power to issue a mandamus against the Treasury respecting the disallow, ance of the costs of criminal prosecutions. FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY 30. — The Bishop of Bath and Wells inhibits Archdeacon Denison from continuing certain ceremonial observances in East Brent Church, and signifies his intention of revoking the licences of two assistant curates. The Archdeacon replied that the inhibition had not been complied with, nor would it be so long as he remained Vicar of East Brent. — Meeting at the Mansion House in aid of the fund being raised for the relief of Dr. Livingstone. — Died, aged 82, General Francis Rawdon Chesney, Royal Artillery, head of the Euphrates Exploring Expedition, 1836-8. February 2. — Closing a series of letters on "Invasion Panics," Mr. Vernon Harcourt writes in the Times to-day: "I confess I am much more afraid of being run over by a hansom than I am of being slaughtered by a German. If I felt as certain that Lord Elcho would protect me against the one, as I am sure he will preserve me from the other, I should feel quite happy. But when we are asked to insure against risks, which ex hypo- thesi it is impossible to calculate, because they depend upon events which cannot be antici- pated, and, therefore, cannot be measured — • which defy the test of past experience or existing conditions — we are utterly helpless. It is this unintelligible system of political arith- metic which has brought us to the too intelli- gible sum of our public expenditure. It is a very good thing to have a large margin — but a margin presupposes some limited and known dimension which it circumscribes. I have always understood that an unknown infinity was superior to a margin." — In the libel case of Pook v, Crosland, arising out of a pamphlet on the Eltham murder, the jury gave a -verdict for the plaintiff — damages ,£50. In a similar action against the proprietor of the Kentish Mercury, a verdict was taken for the plaintiff by agree- ment. — The National Assembly, by 366 to 310 votes, reject a motion in favour of returning to Paris. A bill authorizing the Govern- ment to "denounce" the commercial treaty with England was approved of by a large majority. 3.— Earl Granville informs Mr. Fish that the British Government do not consider it to be within the province of the Geneva tribunal to decide upon the "indirect claims." The British case now made public sought to show that the claims to be referred to the tribunal were claims "growing out of the acts" of certain vessels in respect of which the Govern- ment of the United States alleges that Great Britain has failed to fulfil some international duty. " If in the judgment of the tribunal there has been such a failure in respect of any specified vessel or vessels, the tribunal may adopt at its discretion either of two courses. It may award such a gross sum as the arbi- trators may deem just, to be paid by Great Britain in full satisfaction of all well-founded claims on the part of the United States, ' growing out of the acts ' of the vessel 01 vessels in respect of which there has been a failure of duty ; or, on the other hand, il may content itself with deciding as to each or any vessel in respect of which there has been a failure of duty, the measure or extent of the liability which on general principles may justly be deemed to have been incurred by such failure. In the event of the second course being chosen, the office of examining and adjudicating on the validity of particular claims 'growing out of the acts' of the specified vessel or vessels is remitted to a board of assessors." 3. — Died at Hammersmith, Miss Julia Tre- lawney Leigh Hunt, daughter of the poet Leigh Hunt. 5. — It is officially announced that M. Casimir- Perier, French Minister of the Interior, and M Leon Say, Prefect of Paris, had resigned. — Another explosion in the "mixing-house'' of Hall's powder works, Faversham. Two men were killed on the spot, and two injured. — Sir William Stirling Maxwell installed as Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh. — Died at Montreux, Switzerland, Pere Gratry, » popular preacher of the Galilean Church. 6. — Mr. F. S. Powell, Conservative, elected for the North-West Riding by 6,961 votes, against 6,917 given to his Liberal opponent, Isaac Holden. — Captain Nolan, a Home Rule candidate, elected for Gal way by a majority of 2,165 over Mr. Trench. — Parliament opened by Royal Commission. The Royal Speech made reference to the de- liverance of the Prince of Wales from imminent danger. "I purpose," it was said, "that on Tuesday, the 27th inst., cohfoimably to the good and becoming usage of former days, the blessings thus received shall be acknowledged ' on behalf of the nation by a thanksgiving in the Metropolitan Cathedral. At this celebra- tion it is my desire and hope to be present. . . . The slave trade, and practices scarcely to be distinguished from slave-trading, still pursued in more than one quarter of the world, continue to attract the attention of my Govern- ment. In the South Sea Islands, the name of the British Empire is even now dishonoured by the connection of some of my subjects with these nefarious practices ; and in one of them the murder of an exemplary prelate has cast fresh light upon some of their baleful conse- quences. A bill will be presented to you, for the purpose of facilitating the trial of offences of this class in Australasia." In connection with the Treaty of Washington, cases had been laid before the arbitrators on behalf of each 1041 FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY party. " In the case so 3libmitted on behalf of the United States, large claims have been included, which are uikI ;rstood on my part not to be within the province of the arbitrators. On this subject I have caused a friendly com- munication to be made to the Government of the United States. The Emperor of Germany .las undertaken to arbitrate on the San Juan -.vater boundary ; and the cases of the two Governments have been presented to his Im- perial Majesty." Bills were promised in con- nection with education in Scotland, regulation of mines, licensing system, secret voting, and corrupt practices at elections. The Address was agreed to in each House without a divi- sion, Mr. Disraeli criticising with some severity the misunderstanding which had been permitted lo grow out of the Washington Treaty. Her Majesty's Ministers had adopted a new sys.tem of vindicating their policy during the recess, and might be said for the last six months to have lived in a blaze of apology. 6. — Died, General W. F. Beatson, chief of the Bashi-Bazouk force during the Crimean War. 7. — The Speaker, Mr. Denison, announces his intention of resigning, as the labour of the House had increased of late to an extent which greatly overtaxed his strength. Mr. Gladstone thereupon "gave notice of his intention to move a vote of thanks for bis fifteen years' distin- guished services in the chajr, and for an address to her Majesty that she would be graciously pleased to bestow sonre signal mark of her Royal favour upon the Speaker. On the sub- ject of the pension usually given to retiring Speakers, Mr. Denison had previously written to the Prime Minister : — " Though without any pretensions to wealth, I have a private fortune which will suffice, and for the few years of life that remain to me I should be happier in feel- ing that I am nof a tmrdeji to my fellqw- tountrymen." — Came on before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the case of the Rev. John Purchas, of Brighton, charged with not having obeyed the monitions as to the discontinuance of certain vestments in the Holy Communion service, and the performance of ceremonies he had practised in the services ; as also in the use of lighted candles, incense, and mixing water with the communion wine, and likewise as to wafer bread. Mr. Purchas was further cited for not paying the taxed costs of 2,096/. 14J. \od. incurred in the former proceedings. Mr. Pur- chas did not appear. The Lord Chancellor said their lordsjiips were clearly of opinion that several acfs of contempt had been proved against Mr. Purchas, and ifee order they would pronounce would be that Mr. Purphas be susr pended ab officio for one year frorn the time of service of the order. As to the costs, their lordships would direct that Mr. Purchas be pronounced in contempt, and a sequestration be issued on his lay property. 1042 7. — Convocation meets for the despatch of business, the Bishop of Winchester presenting a memorial from the Church Union to the Upper House, praying that any alterations made in the Prayer-book may be based rather upon the first Prayer-book of Edward VI. than upon any subsequent revision of that book, and that such alterations may only be made afrer mature deliberation by the Convocation of the two Provinces " ratified by the full authority of the whole Sacred Synod of the nation, as was done on December 20, 1661, after the last revision of the book." — Died, at Notting Hill, aged 77, the Right Rev. S. Hinds, formerly Bishop of Norwich. — Died at Baltimore, aged 62 years, the Most Rev. John Spalding. D.D., Roman Catholic Primate of the United States. 8. — Lord Redesdale gives notice of his in- tention to ask the Foreign Minister a hypothe- tical question on the subject of the Alabama claims. — Died, aged 72, Joseph Pease, a leading member of the Society of Friends in Darling- ton, and connected by marriage with the Gurney and Fry families. — Assassination of Lord Mayo, Governor- General of India. The Viceroy left Moulmein on the 6th, . and reached Andaman Island this morning. After inspecting the public institu- tions in all the dangerous parts of the convict colony, he ascended Mount Harriet, for the view, accompanied by a superintendent, a staff of seven, and an armed police guard. They reached the top near sunset, stayed ten minutes, and walked down with Count Waldstein and Captain Lockwood in advance, the rest close together, with the Viceroy's guard on both sides and in the rear. About 300 yards from the hill darkness came on and torches were lit. No convicts were near, except on barrow.--, with overseers, on a line off the road. About a quarter to seven they reached the pier, a narrow erection with steep stone sides. When about twenty-five yards from the boat, the superintendent, with the Viceroy's permission, dropped a little behind to give an order. It was now quite dark. The armed escort was clcse to the Viceroy on both sides, the police and his body servant in the rear, and Major Burne a few paces to the left. The Viceroy advanced a few paces along the pier, when a person unseen sprang in a moment out of the darkness, and stabbed him twice, on the top of the left shoulder and under the right shoulder- blade. The assassin was immediately seized. The Viceroy ran a few paces forward and fell oyer the pier into shallow water on the left, but got up himself, and was helped out, his shoulder bleeding copiously. Lord Mayo walked firmly, felt his shoulder, and said, "I don't think I am much hurt." He was laid on a cart, the blood now flowing rapidly. When being carried to the boat after hia FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY wounds were bound up, the Viceroy said twice, " Lift up my head." He spoke no more, but expired shortly afterwards on his way to the ship. The assassin, who was seized on the spot, turned out to be a convict named Shere Ali, sentenced to penal servitude for a murder com- mitted in Feshawur in 1867. Intelligence of the calamity reached London on the afternoon of the I2th, and in the evening appropriate tributes were paid to Lord Mayo's great merits in both Houses of Parliament. He was born in 1822, sat in the House of Commons as Chief Secretary for Ireland in Lord Derby's Adminis- tration, and was sent out to India by Mr. Dis- raeli as Viceroy in 1868. The body was taken in the first instance to Calcutta, where the utmost excitement prevailed for a time, and then conveyed by way of Suez to England. 8. — Died, aged 87, John Poole, dramatist, author of the once popular " Paul Pry." 9. — Mr. Brand elected Speaker in room cf Mr. Denison, hjs proposer being Sir Roundell Palmer, and seconder' Mr. Locke-King. IO. — Departure of the Livingstone Search Expedition, consisting of L'eut. Dawson, R.N., Lieut. Henn, R.N., and Mr. Oswald Living- stone, son of the traveller. — The Prince and Princess of Wales leave Sandringham for Windsor and Osborne. 12. — M. Rouher elected to sit for Corsica in the National Assembly. — M ines Regulation Bill introduced by Mr. Bruce, and the Scotch Education Bill by the Lord Advocate. 13. — The late Speaker of the House of Commons takes his seat in the Lords as Viscount Ossington. — Lord Redesdale asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether, if A and B in partnership sue C in a court of law for injury done to their firm by fraud or otherwise, and C pleads and proves that B was acting with him in all the matters complained of, such plea would not be a. complete answer to the suit, and render any recovery of damages impossible? Why a plea which is good law and which com- mon sense pronounces to be just has not been considered by her Majesty's Government ap- plicable to a new case in international law, a: d urged against the Alabama claims made on this country by the United States of America, in which the North and South are now partners, inasmuch as all the acts for which this country is charged with being culpably responsible were done by the South, and that partner now joins in the application to be paid for having done them? Lord Granville de- clined to answer hypothetical questions on English law, and stated that it would be undesirable to discuss the Alabama claims at the present stage of the negotiations. — In answer to a question put by Mr. Mowbray, Mr. Gladstone explains some. cir- cumstances connected with the recent appoint- ment to the Rectory of Ewelme. He said that the Act severing the rectory from the Regius Professorship of Divinity at Oxford did not at all limit the area over which the Crown could exercise its patronage, except that the Crown was entitled to present only a member of the University of Oxford. He admitted that il was he who had recommended Mr. Harvey, of King's College, Cambridge, to become pn formd a member of the University of Oxford and that it was no part of his duty to ascertain by inspection of original documents whether he was possessed of the various qualifications which Mr. Mowbray had enumerated. He would, however, make inquiries, and inform the House of the result. 15. — Earl Stanhope moves the sense of the House regarding the eleyation of Sir Robert Collier to the Bench of Common Pleas, strongly condemning the course which the Government had taken. After explanation by Lord Granville the motion was negatived by 89 to 88 votes. In the course of the debate the Duke of Argyll declared that the letter of the Lord Chief Justice was only the letter of Sir Alexander Cockburn ; and throughout it he indulged in railing — he might almost say in rjbald — accusation against the Government. When such was the case he denitd that their lordships were bound to attach any more weight to the obiter dicta of Sir Alexander Cockburn than to those of anyone else. Sir Alexander's vocabulary was so rich and spicy, or so " sen- sational," as Mr. Justice Wilies called it — and that meant claptrap rubbi.-h — (a laugh)— that he hardly knew how to deal with it. "Evasion," "impropriety," "subterfuge," were some of the pretty terms that were used ; and he (the noble duke) took leave to tell him that their lordships were quite as able as he was to judge of the applicability of such phrases. The letter, then, was simply the letter of Sir Alexander Cockburn, written, too, in a state of great irritation, and even of effervescence. And why ? Because this Government, which was so addicted to jobbery, had actually kept a judgeship in the Queen's Bench vacant for two years. — Lord Westbury described this attack as unjust and indecent ; and acting on the suggestion of mutual friends, his grace tuok an early opportunity of expressing his regret "for any words which may have justly seemed personally offensive to the Lord Chief Justice." The Post thereupon remarked, ' ' With respect to the apology made by the Duke of Argyll in the House of Lords yesterday afternoon it, is enough to state, as we are in a position to state, that had such an apology not been made, either by the Duke of Argyll or some other member of the Cabinet, it would have been impossible for Sir Alexander Cockburn to continue to represent the Government on the Alabama arbitration." In the Commons a vote of censure on the Collier case was rejected by 268 to 241 votes. 1043 FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY 15. — In the Commons the second reading of the Ealiot Bill is carried by 109 to 51 votes. — Meeting in St. James' Hall, to promote reform in the Church of England, as opposed to disestablishment ; presided over by Lord Xyttelton. Resolutions were proposed having reference to increased liberty in the use of Prayer-book services, the discontinuance of the Athanasian Creed, and lay representation for parochial work. 16. — Died, in his 90th year, the Right Rev. Dr. Daly, Protestant Bishop of Waterford and Cashel. — Despatches from Melbourne announce •thatBishop Patteson'sdeath had been "avenged" by shelling the village where the murder was committed. 17. — Murder in Lambeth. While George Merritt, a stoker, was proceeding to his work at the Lion Brewery about three o'clock A. M., he was met by a man who at once fired a pistol at him. The first shot missed ; then a second was fired, which also missed. Merritt now began to run, when a third shot was fired, which struck him in the neck. The assassin fhen came up, and, attacking him in a fearful manner, with a dagger, stabbed him several times, and then ran away. He was met at the top of Tennison Street by a constable, who stopped him, and took him back to the spot whence the reports of the pistol proceeded. The body of the victim was then found. On the policeman turning his lantern on the unfortunate man, the assassin said, " Why, that is not the man I wanted. " The wounded man soon afterwards expired, and the assassin was taken into custody. He gave his name or names as William Chester Minor, and it was afterwards ascertained that he had at one time been a surgeon in the American army, serving with distinction during the late war. At his trial at Kingston assizes, before Chief Justice Bovill, the jury gave effect to a plea of insanity set up on the prisoner's behalf, and he was ordered to be confined during her Majesty's pleasure. 18.— Died at Jersey, aged 86 years, General Charles Richard William Lane, C. B., of the Bengal Infantry, a veteran of the Mahratta and Burmese wars. 19. — Lord Shaftesbury's Ecclesiastical Pro- cedure Bill thrown out in the Lords by 24 votes to 14, the principal speech against the mea- sure being made by the Bishop of Peterborough. Of all men, he said, the clergy from the very nature of their profession stand most in need of protection. A clergyman is a person brought into collision — sometimes violent collision — with the prejudices, passions, and party-spirit of the people, and yet it is proposed that he shall be liable to prosecution by these people. The squire of the parish whose wife may not have received a return visit from the clergy- man's wife, may, with his gardener and bailiff, form the prosecuting trio. Or the trio may 1044 consist of the publican, who has been offended by the vicar's last sermon against drunkenness, and two of his best customers. He admitted that some years ago there might be a necessity for Church associations, but these vigilance committees were rapidly becoming a dangerous ruling power in the Church instead of the Bishops. " The Church Association is not the only association of this kind — there is also the Church Union. I admit that the object of that society is not to undertake prosecutions — (cheers) — but after a time, when persecution has gone on incessantly upon one side, there is that in human nature, and in clerical human nature, to turn upon the other side, and what will then be the peace and harmony of the Church when it is divided between these rival persecutors, when each diocese is turned into a happy hunting ground for these rival societies — these theological Communists and Versail. lists — and when each in its turn proceeds tc mark out its respective hostages for ecclesiasti- cal execution ? (Cheers.) A nice state of things for the clergy — the Church Association swoop- ing down upon them from above, the Church Union rushing on them from below, while every now and then they find themselves hooked by a neat turn of the Episcopal wrist." ( Laughter. ) " Make the clergy, " concluded the Bishop, " the slaves of a faction, or the victims of a party ; destroy their self-respect and independence ; and it will not be so much the clergy in the end as the laity who will suffer. Whatever degrades the clergy injures the laity of the Church, and therefore it is not mainly in the interests of the clergy, but quite as much in the interests of the laity, that I do most earnestly entreat your lordships not to vote for the second reading of this bill." 19.— Lady Charles Innes Kerr seriously injured in the hunting-field, her horse rolling over her when taking a fence near Langley Park. She was conveyed to Rowley Farm, and passed fully a month in a state exciting wide commiseration among all classes, from the Queen downwards. 21. — Mr. William Longman writes to the Times urging the propriety of following pre- cedents observed in 1664 and 1678, by opening on the Thanksgiving day "a Book of Sub- scriptions for the completion of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, made in the year 1872, as a Perpetual Memorial of Thanksgiving for the recovery of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales from a dangerous sickness," and to keep this book, like its two predecessors, in the library of St. Paul's, as a permanent record of the year in which a crowning effort was made for the completion of the Cathedral. " In this book it is intended that the names of all those who may make contributions for this especial object shall be inscribed, and it is hoped that all who may be able to do so will, as was done by our forefathers, sign their names in it, as the interest and value of the book to future generations will thereby be greatly increased." FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY 21. — Died, aged 80 years, Colonel W. Nicol Burns, late of the Indian Army, last surviving sou of the poet. — Lord Northbrook announced as the new Governor- General of India. The duties of Acting- Viceroy were, in the meantime, per- formed by Lord Napier of Magdala. — Mr. Chambers' Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill read a second time in the Commons by 186 to 138 votes. — Funeral service at Calcutta, in front of Government House, over the remains of Lord Mayo, afterwards conveyed with befitting cere- mony on board her Majesty's ship JOaphtie. — Sir John Coleridge concludes his speech for the defence in the Ticliborne case, having spoken for twenty-six days. 22. — The Army Estimates moved by Mr. Cardwell— total amount, 14,824,500/. ; net decrease as compared with 1871, 1,027,000/. ; number of men 133,460, against 135,047 in 1871. One object specially kept in view under the Reconstruction Act of last year, was the localization of forces — identification with a locality for the purposes of recruiting, of train- ing, of connecting regulars with auxiliaries, and of connecting the reserves with those who are actually under the standards. He believed that the principles of localization, wisely carried into effect, "will attract to the standards classes which do not now join them, will spread abroad a knowledge of the advantages which are offered by service in the army, and will associate the army with ties of family and kindred. It will induce men from the militia to join the army, and it will destroy competi- tion in recruiting between the army and the militia." It was proposed to divide the country into territorial districts, in each of which there would be a battalion of the line and two militia regiments, and with them would be brigaded the volunteers of the district under the com- mand of a lieutenant-colonel of the regulars, acting as brigadier. Each district would have a local central depot, at which the recruiting and training would be carried on not only of the militia, but of the reserves and of the recruits for the line battalions. — Execution at Satory of Lagrange and others, as the murderers of Generals Lecomte and Thomas. 23. — Mr. Fish answers Lord Granville's " friendly communication " regarding the in- direct claims, by affirming that they are covered by the protocol and treaty. The American Government, therefore, cannot withdraw from the case which they have presented for arbitra- tion. The abrogation of the Treaty, it was also mentioned, was left to England. — Mr. Monckton carries for the Conser- vatives the seat of North Notts, vacant by the elevation of the Speaker ; the numbers being, Monckton 2,580, Laycock 1,524. 23. — Demonstration at Antwerp in favour of the Count de Chambord. 24. — Navy Estimates issued. Total sum required for the year, 9,508,149/., being a decrease of 281,807/. as compared with last year. 27. — The Queen, with the Prince and Prin- cess of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family, accompanied by all the high officers of the Crown, proceed in state to St. Paul's Cathedral, to join in a Thanksgiving Service for the recovery of the Prince of Wales. The feeling of loyalty excited by the long and severe illness, joined to the elaborate preparations known to have been made for this ceremonial, combined to make it one of the most enthusi- astic displays seen in her Majesty's reign. If the crowds were not at all points equally large, or single decorations quite so gorgeous as on the occasion of the Princess Alexandra's arrival, there was on the other hand an equality of rich- ness, a continued and unvarying appearance of wealth, magnificence, and taste, from Pall Mall to Fleet Street, from St. Paul's to Holborn, from Oxford Street back again to Buckingham Palace, such as had never been seen before. This was in great part owing to the provident arrangements of the citizens, by which, instead of decorations made according to the taste of each separate individual, a complete design was in most places followed out in every particular by a careful combination of means and minds beforehand, while the emulation in rich hang- ings, banners, lamp.=, and devices, which on former occasions caused a certain prodigality and waste of resource, was this year shared be- tween whole parishes or streets, so that the loss of picturesqueness on one side was more than compensated by a sustained and long drawn out uniformity of magnificence, such as had been hitherto unknown in London. The weather had been for some days raw and gusty, and as it was known that this was the only circum- stance likely to interfere with the Prince's attendance, the opening of the morning was looked forward to with some concern. The day turned out to be exceptionally dry and mild for the season, and by ten o'clock myriads had taken up their station wilhin the barricades in the streets, at the windows overlooking the route of the procession, or on the endless plat- forms with which it was lined. A few minutes past twelve o'clock the procession set out from Buckingham Palace, and proceeded slowly to St. Paul's by way of the Green Park, Pall Mall, the Strand, Fleet Street, and Ludgate Hill. First came the carriages of the Speaker, the Lord Chancellor, and the Commander-in-Chief, fol- lowed by nine Royal carriages, six of them filled with ladies and gentlemen of the Court, the seventh with the younger brothers of the Prince, another by the Master of the Horse, and the last by the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Albert Victor, and the Princess Beatrice. In the Park the Royal party were first saluted by a band of 30,000 io-!5 FEBRUARY 1872. FEBRUARY children, who sung the National Anthem as the procession parsed. At Temble Bar they were received by the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen, and the Queen presented with the City sword, graciously re- turning it to its bearer. While the Court party were passing along the decorated streets, amid deafening welcomes, a vast company of 13,000 had assembled in St. Paul's, composed largely of members of both Houses of Parliament, representatives of the army and navy, the heads of the great City Companies, and civic digni- taries from all parts of the kingdom. Within the Cathedral nothing could be more complete than the arrangements, and nothing more perfect than their execution. The doors having been opened early in the morning, every- body got in without delay, and found places without confusion. At one o'clock the pro- cession arrived at the great western entrance to the Cathedral, and streamed in through a ves- tibule erected on the steps, bearing the inscrip- tion, " I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the House of the Lord." The Queen was received by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and conducted with stately reverence to the Royal pew set apart for her household. She was dressed, it was noticed, in black velvet, broadly trimmed with white ermine, and the Princess in blue covered with a black lace mantle. The Prince of Wales wore the uniform of a general officer with the collars of the Orders of the Garter and Bath. Her Majesty, leaning on the Prince, led one of her grandchildren by the hand, the Princess of Wales another. The service began with the " Te Deum," followed by a few responses from the Liturgy and Lord's Prayer ; then the ordi- nary prayers for the Queen and Royal Family, with a special form of thanksgiving. The Arch- bishop of Canterbury pronounced the benedic- tion, and afterwards preached a short sermon from the text, Rom. xii. 5, "Members one of another." This was succeeded by a Thanks- giving Hymn specially prepared for the occa- sion, which brought the service to a close a few minutes before two o'clock. The pro- cession then re-formed at the Cathedral door, and set out on the return journey by way of Ludgate Hill, Old Bailey, Holborn Viaduct, Oxford Street, to the Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, and Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace, all converging thoroughfares on the way being decorated as profusely and crowded with people cheering as lustily as the route traversed before. In the evening the illuminations were on a scale commensurate with the splendour of the reception accorded to her Majesty and family during the day. 27. — Although careful inspection was made of most of the platforms lining the route of the Royal procession to-day, a general regret was felt towards evening that several spectators had been hurt at different parts of the city by the falling of scaffolding and the excited crush in the streets. 1046 27.— Collision in the Mersey between the Cunard steamer rarthia, bound for Boston, and the screw steamer Emiliano, inward bound from Singapore and Manilla. The lalter had to be beached near Tranmere, and her cargo, consisting of tobacco and sugar, was almost destroyed. The Parthia afterwards ran into the Nina, from Vigo, and did her considerable damage. — Died, Rev. John McLeod Campbell, D.D., author of various religious treatises and sermons, some of which led to his being sus- pended from a charge in the Scotch Church at Row for heresy in 1831. 29. — The Queen writes from Buckingham Palace to Mr. Gladstone that she was anxious as on a previous occasion " to express publicly her own personal very deep sense of the recep- tion she and her dear children met with on Tuesday, the 27th of February, from millions of her subjects on her way to and frorn St. Paul's. Words are too weak for the Queen to say how very deeply touched and gratified she has been by the immense enthusiasm and affec- tion exhibited towards her dear son and her- self from the highest down to the lowest, in the long progress through the capital, and she would earnestly wish to convey her warmest and most heartfelt thanks to the whole nation for this great demonstration of loyalty. The Queen, as well as her son and dear daughter- in-law, felt that the whole nation joined with them in thanking God for sparing the beloved Prince of Wales's life. The remembrance of this day, and of the remarkable order main- tained throughout, will for ever be affectionately cherished by the Queen and her family. " — Assault on the Queen. About half- past five o'clock, as her Majesty was entering Buckingham Palace after a drive, a lad sud- denly presented himself at the side of the car- riage, holding a paper in one hand and a pistol in the other. He tried at first, it was said, to attract the attention of Lady Churchill, mis- taking her probably for the Queen, by whose side she sat, and then appeared to be about to address himself to her Majesty, going round the back of the carriage, when the equerries and the Queen's personal attendant, John Brown, followed him and gave him into the custody of the police sergeant on duty at the time. The Queen showed no sign whatever of fear. The lad was immediately disarmed of the pistol, which proved to be unloaded. It was an old- fashioned weapon, with a flint and steel lock, which was broken, and in the barrel a piece of greasy red rag was found. He had also a knife in his possession, and the paper to which refe- rence has been made was found on examination to be a petition, written on parchment, for the release of the Fenian prisoners. He was taken forthwith to the King Street police-station, Westminster, where he gave the name Arthur O'Connor, and stated his age to be seventeen. Her Majesty at once caused a message to be FEBRUARY 1872 MARCH sent to both Houses of Parliament informing members of the circumstance with a view to prevent unnecessary alarm. 29. — Intimation made to the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London that it was the intention of her Majesty to confer a baronetcy upon the former and knighthood upon the latter in con- nection with the recent Thanksgiving Service, " than which," wrote Mr. Gladstone, " the City of London has perhaps never witnessed a cele- bration more solemn or more satisfactory." The Deputy-Recorder, Mr. Chambers, also at this time received the honour of knighthood. — Commenced to be heard at the South- wark Police Court the charge of libel with intent to extort money, preferred against Alexander Chaffers, solicitor, Lambeth, by Sir Travers Twiss, her Majesty's Advocate-General, and Lady Twiss. It appeared that soon after their marriage at Dresden in 1862, the defendant, who had acted for Lady Twiss in business transactions, made a demand upon her' for 1 50/. Sir Travers's solicitor paid him 50/., and Chaffers gave a receipt in full of all demands. He sent other letters, and brought sham actions against Lady Twiss for alleged slanders. In 1S6S Lady Twiss was presented at St. James's by Lady Rutherford Alcock, and in 1869 was again at her Majesty's Drawing Room. On the 29th of April of that year the defendant wrote to the Lord Chamberlain complaining of Lady Twiss, stating that she had misconducted herself in London previous to her marriage with Sir Travers Twiss. The Lord Chamber- Iain made inquiries, as he was bound to do under the circumstances, the result of which was satisfactory to himself and Sir Travers and Lady Twiss. On the 4th of April, last year, the defendant, determined to carry on his mali- cious persecutions, made a statutory declaration at Bow Street Police Court, in which he accused Lady Twiss of the grossest immoralities ; de- clared that her name before marriage was Marie Gelas; that she lived in London for several years at various addresses named, and was a person of notoriously immoral character; that the defendant met her in Regent Street in 1859, and accompanied her to her lodgings in Upper Berkeley Street, where he stayed some time, and eventually gave her a sovereign ; that he subsequently passed whole nights in her company many times ; that her conduct was notoriously bad even for the class to which she belonged, and that she was in consequence called to order at the Holborn Casino ; finally, that Sir Travers Twiss had immoral relations With her before her marriage. The case was continued from time to time till the 13th March, the defendant subjecting Lady Twiss to a severe and insulting examination for several days. On that date Mr. Poland, the prosecuting counsel, announced, to the surprise of the Court, that Lady Twiss was determined not to appear again, and had left London. Mr. Benson, the presiding magistrate, thereupon dismissed Chaffers on his own recognizances to appear to answer a second charge, with the remark, " With regard to what you have alleged touch- ing the conduct of this unfortunate woman,, who, after braving the ■ Court for a few days, has shrunk from meeting the frightful charges you have brought against her, I assure you that your conduct in' this case, which rendered it necessary for her to take steps against you, will cling to you as a> reproach to the end of your days, and you will live an object of contempt to all honest men." (Loud- applause.)' March 1. — Sir Roundell Palmer's resolution for the establishment of a School" of Law nega- tived in the Commons by ir6 to 103 votes. — Fifteen persons accidentally poisoned by arsenic after attending^ a funeral at Saxby, Lin- colnshire. 2.— Died, in his 81st year, Admiral Sir James Scott, K.C.B., an officer who had served with distinction in, French, American, and Chinese wars. 3>. — Sunday "demonstration" in Hyde Park against the Parks- Regulation Bill. — Died, Mr. Angus M'Pherson, Secretary to the Highland Society, and translator of the Queen's Diary in the Highland's" into Gaelic. 4. — Sudden termination of the huge Tieh- borne case, the- jury to-day submitting to the Lord Chief Justice the following brief state- ment : — " We have now heard the evidence regarding the tattoo marks, and, subject to your lordship's directions, and to the hearing of any further evidence that the learned counsel may desire to place before us, I am authorized to state that the jury do not require further evidence." An adjournment was therefore made to the 6th, the 103rd day of trial, when Mr. Serjeant Ballantine sought to gain further time by alleging that the plaintiff had been taken by surprise so far as the tattoo marks were concerned. Finding, however, that the decision of the jury was based upon the entire evidence as well as the tattoo marks, he ultimately advised his client to submit to a non- suit. After some discussion a nonsuit was entered, and his lordship ordered the plaintiff to be committed to the next session at the Central Criminal Court, upon a charge of wilful and corrupt perjury, and ordered him to remain in custody until then, unless he should find bail himself in 5,000/. and two sureties in 2,500/. or four in 1,250/. each. He also expressed his opinion that the Government should undertake the prosecution, and he bound over Mr. Inspector Dunning as prosecutor. The Attorney-General said that the Govern- ment would undertake the prosecution, and on his application a Bench warrant was issued for the apprehension of the plaintiff, who was soon after conveyed to Newgate. His lordship thanked the jury for the unwearied attention they had bestowed on the case, and expressed a hope that in the new Jury Act a clause would 1047 MARCH 1872. MARCH be introduced exempting them from further service so long as they wished to be exemDted. The Claimant's case had been supported by the oaths of eighty-five witnesses, comprising the baronet's mother, the family solicitor, one baronet, six magistrates, one general, three colonels, one major, two captains, thirty-two non-commissioned officers and privates, four clergymen, seven tenants of the estate, sixteen servants of the family, and twelve general witnesses, who all swore to his identity. His clairh was denied by the oaths of seventeen witnesses. 4. — Died at his residence, Carlton House Terrace, William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale, ?ged 85 years. 5. — An imperial Order in Council issued at Berlin, decreeing the foundation of a Naval Academy at Kiel. 6. — The Queen, who had contemplated in- stituting a medal as a reward for long or faithful service among her domestic servants, inaugu- rates the institution by conferring on Mr. John Brown, her Majesty's personal attend- ant, a medal in gold, with an annuity of 25/. attached to it, as a mark of her appreciation of his presence of mind and of his devotion on the occasion of the attack made upon her in Buckingham Palace Gardens on the 29th of February. — Died at his residence, St. George's Square, Primrose Hill, Dr. Goldstiicker, Professor of Sanskrit in University College, London. 7.— Report of the Megara Commission laid on the table of the House of Commons. Sir Spencer Robinson was held to be "mainly re- sponsible for the misfortune which befell the vessel," on the ground that he was answerable for the defective organisation of his department, for the imperfect scrutiny of dockyard reports, for the perfunctory inspection exercised by the dockyard officials, and specially for neglecting to have the Meg/era examined during the five months when she lay idle at Sheerness before being re-commissioned for Australia. This conclusion the Commissioners stated they had come to with regret ; for there can be no ques- tion of the zeal and ability of Sir Spencer Robinson, and it is difficult, they think, to have taken part in this inquiry without forming "a high appreciation of his merits as a devoted public servant." Mr. Reed and Mr. Barnaby were blamed for the incomplete inspection made at Woolwich in 1866. — The Scotch Education Bill read a second time, Mr. Auberon Herbert's amendment against applying rates to religious teaching being negatived by 238 to 6 votes. 8. — Mr. Mowbray raises the question of the Ewelme Rectory appointment, Mr. Gladstone defending the proceeding on the ground that it was not a colourable qualification which the incumbent had acquired, but one solid, sub- stantial, and perfect. Nevertheless, he admitted that primd facie the natural course would have 104-4 been to look for an Oxford man in the absence of reasons to the contrary, and these reasons Mr. Gladstone explained were the recommend- ations he had received as to the incumbent's eminence as a divine, and his ill-health, which made his immediate removal to a. more salu- brious neighbourhood desirable. 8. — Died at St. Petersburg, Prince Paul Gagarine, President of the Council of Min- isters. — Prince Bismarck carries the School In- spection Bill in the Prussian Upper House by 125 votes against 76. He cautioned the Con- servatives against the machinations of the Ultramontanes, who were endeavouring to get upapopularagitationagainstthe Government by accusing it of attempting to make Prussia " a godless state." Such manoeuvres were totally at variance with the character of a Conservative opposition, and the Government could not believe that the Conservatives would give any countenance to them. The Prince then pointed out that since the defeat of Catholic Austria and France by Protestant Prussia, the German Ultramontanes had entered upon the field of foreign political intrigue, and he quoted on this subject a despatch which he had just received from "one of the most prominent German ambassadors at one of the most important posts in Europe." This despatch says that "the re- venge which France desires is connected with the arousing of religious dissensions in Ger- many. The power and unity of Germany are to be paralysed by such dissensions, and the clergy of both countries, acting under direc- tions from Rome, are to assist by their means in restoring the temporal power of the Pope." 9. — Meeting in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, presided over by Bishop Mackarness, to direct increased attention to the claim of the Melanesian Mission as the most fitting manner of honouring the martyred Bishop Patteson. A former labourer in that field, the Bishop of Lichfield, addressed the meeting at some length, explaining the nature of mission work in that part of the world, and the self-denying labours of the late prelate. A resolution was also proposed declaring that the new slave trade in the Pacific calls for the prompt and effective interference of the Government. — The Ewelme Rectory appointment being discussed in a manner tending to bring discredit on the Prime Minister's character for fairness, the Dean of Canterbury (Payne-Smith), who held the living before it was separated from the Divinity chair by the appointment of Dr. Mozley to the latter, writes : "Long after the arrangements between myself and Dr. Mozley were made, Mr. Gladstone offered the rectory to a distinguished member of the Con- vocation of Oxford ; and it was only on his declining it that Mr. Harvey was appointed. Personally, I should have liked an Oxford man for my successor. The associations connected with the place would have made it doubl MARCH 1872. MARCH valuable to an Oxford man. The memories of Van Mildert and Howley, of Lloyd and Burton and Hampden, must be dearer to us than they can be to a member of the sister University. But ii a Cambridge man was to be appointed, Mr. Harvey is a ripe scholar and a good parish priest, and I rejoice that a place very dear to me should have fallen into such good hands." 9. — Banquet given by the Mayor of Win- chester to Lord Northbrook, as a public ex- pression of the respect and admiration which Hampshire men entertain for his lordship's character as a countryman, and of congratula- tion on his appointment as Viceroy of India. Sir John Kaye and Mr. Grant Duff attended from the India Office. — The Prince and Princess of Wales leave London for Paris, on their way to Geneva, thence to the Mediterranean and south of France. IO. — Died at Pisa, aged about 70, Joseph Mazzini, an Italian patriot fertile in desperate stratagems, and possessed of high political and literary qualities. His funeral took place at Genoa on the 19th, when the remains were followed to the grave by a body of about 80,000 admirers. — Died, Rev. James Wells, 40 years Baptist pastor of the Surrey Tabernacle. 11. — Mr. Holms's proposal to reduce the land forces by 20,000, negatived by 234 to 63 ; and Mr. Muntz's proposal to reduce them by 30,000, rejected by 216 to 67. — Reported breaking up of the Erie Ring, General Dix being elected chairman, and General M'Clellan superintendent. — Shere Ali, the assassin of Lord Mayo, executed. He stated before being led out that he had resolved to murder both the Viceroy and General Stewart, and when he heard the guns announcing the Viceroy's arrival he sharpened his knife in the jungle. It was now surmised that he was not hiding at the pier, but quietly joined the party, and in the dark crept close to Lord Mayo. No clue to anything like a con- spiracy was discovered. Shere Ali made no other confession than that he could not resist the impulse to kill the Viceroy. 12.— Lord Romilly gives judgment in the case raised by Lord Ferrers against the receiver of the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway. His lordship sold fifty acres of land to the company for 8,887/., the P rice bein S s ettled b y arbitra- tion, and the company were ordered to pay 400/., the taxed costs incident to the taking of the land by them. The railway is in the hands of a receiver, and no arrangement had been effected with the creditors. Earl Ferrers asked that he might be entitled to the lien and rights of an unpaid vendor ; but Lord Romilly, cha- racterising this as a new experiment on the part of a creditor of a railway company to get priority over all the other creditors declined to make such a precedent, and dismissed the bill with costs. 13.— Mr. Salt's Public Worship Facilities Bill read a second time by 122 votes to 93, the object as explained by the proposer being to give greater elasticity and freedom to the paro- chial system by allowing the bishop of the diocese in certain cases to license clergymen to perform divine service in places of worship, in* eluding chapels in private houses, other than the parish church. 14. — A proposal, made in connection with the progress of the Ballot Bill through the Commons, to throw the election expenses upon the Consolidated Fund, rejected by 206 to 144 votes. 15. — Mr. Dodson submits to the House his scheme for the amendment of the system of private business and legislation, the main pro- posal being to transfer the preliminary investi- gations from Select Committees to a permanent tribunal of a judicial character, before which promoters and opponents could be heard" in open court. — Lord Northbrook gazetted Governor- General of India. 16.— Stranding of H.M.S. Lord Clyde on the isle of Pantelleria. 17. — Announcement made that the Secre- tary of State for India had resolved, " That having regard to the eminent services rendered by the late Earl of Mayo as Viceroy and Go- vernor-General of India, to the munificence with which he maintained in that office the dignity of the Crown, and to his death by a deed of violence to which he was exposed in the discharge of his public duty, a life annuity of 1,000/. be conferred on the Countess of Mayo, to be paid out of the revenues of India ; and, further, that there be paid out of the same revenues the sum of 20,000/. for the benefit of the younger children of her ladyship and of the late Earl of Mayo." 18. — Vice-Chancellor Wickens gives judg- ment in the case of the Attorney-General v. Batley Corporation — a suit brought to restrain the Town Council from providing out of the local rates a gold chain for the mayor, at a cost of 200/. His Honour held that the proposed expenditure was not within the scope of the Municipal Corporations' Reform Act, and that a chain was not a necessary adjunct of the magisterial position, and granted the injunction asked for. 19. — The first "free election" of a bishop for the disestablished Church of Ireland takes, place at Clonmel, when the Dean of Limerr.k was elected to the vacant see. — Sir Charles Dilke's motion for an inquiry into the Civil List rejected after a disorderly scene at the division of the House, by 276 to 2 votes. 1049 MARCH 1872. APRIL SO. — Announcement made that Sir Travers Twiss had resigned his ecclesiastical appoint- ments under the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of London, as also the office of Queen's Advocate. He was succeeded in the office of Chancellor of the Diocese of London by Dr. Tristram, and as Vicar-General of Canterbury by Dr. Deane, Q.C. The office of Queen's Advocate was not filled up. , — The motion for the second reading of Mr. Fawcett's bill for the abolition of tests in Dublin University "talked out." On the 26th the proposal for a second reading was- carried by 94 to 21 votes. — Lord Granville replies to- Mr. Fish's answer to a former " friendly communication, " that the British Government had never recog- nized the indirect claims. — Fire at Dusseldnrf, destroyingfhe Academy with its rich art treasures, and much other property, 22. — The Gazette contains the long- threat- ened " denunciation " of the French Com- mercial Treaty in the form of a communication from the Due de Brpglie to- Earl Granville. This treaty, it was said, was the first of some others which had arrived at a term when it could Be regularly annulled. " We can no longer even reckon with any certainty on the possibility of modifications which would be necessary to us. We are, therefore, obliged to prepare for its cessation by denouncing it now. Confident in our intentions, resolved to use only with great moderation the freedom which will be restored to us, either by negotiation of new conventions, or rather by our own legislation on our commercial regime, we have- taken this s'ep under the pressure of a public interest which cannot be misunderstood. " — Bach's "St. John" Passion music per- formed for the first time in England in Han- over Square Rooms. 23. — The Queen leaves Windsor Castle for Gosport on her way to Baden. — University Boat-race, Cambridge winning by half a length, amid a heavy snow-storm. 25. — Bust of Mr. Grote, historian, unveiled in Westminster Abbey. — The agricultural labourers of Warwick- shire commence an agitation for increase of wages. — Replying to an intimation that one of her Majesty's inspectors intended visiting East Brent school, Archdeacon Denison writes : — "I am sole manager of the East Brent paro- chial school, and I do not admit a government inspector inside the school. I have no ' con- science clause ' of any kind, nor ever shall have. I have nothing to do with the ' Elementary Education Act,' except to denounce it as irre- ligious. If I am called upon to pay a ' school rate,' I shall refuse to pay it ; and the amount will have to be levied on my property under a 1050 distress warrant. If you think it worth your while to inspect the school from outside, that is for yourself to decide upon. If you decide so to inspect the school, I shall be happy t« give you luncheon, provided that no word i| said to me about the school. . I can make nt answer to the queries contained in the paper inclosed, and return it. Nor can I answer any other letter on the subject of the school, and request that none other be written to me. " 25. — Mr. Lowe introduces the annual Bud- get. The revenue for the current year, estimated at 72,315,000/. had realized 74,535,000/., being an excess of 2, 220,000/. On the estimated ex- penditure there had been- a saving' of 1,016,000/. For the ensuing year Mr. Lowe estimates the revenue at 74,915,000/. and the expenditure at 71, 31-3,000; With the surplus at his disposal- he proposed extending, the present- exemptions from the inhabited house-tax to shops, offices, or warehouses, which would cost 5,0,000/. a year ; to reduce the duty on coffee and chicory to about one half at a cost of 230,000/. ; to ex- tend the principle of abatement in respect of incomes chargeable with income-tax from 200Z. a year to 300/. a year, and to increase the amount to be deducted from the assessment from 60/. to 80/. Lastly, and most important of alt, he would take off the extra twopence of income-tax imposed last year, reducing this tax from sixpence to fourpence at a cost to the revenue- of 2,700,000/. The Budget was generally thought to be simple and felicitous, showing judicious finance, a sound fiscal system, and a just regard for the interests of the people. 27. — Fire in Glasgow, destroying the exten- sive range of warehouses and shops occupied by Messrs. Fraser and M 'Laren in Argyll and Buchanan Streets and McGeoch's ironmongery stores in the courts adjoining. — Two days later the Lancefield Spinning Company's mill in the same city was destroyed by fire. — William Rodway sentenced at Kingston assizes to twenty years' penal servitude for stab- bing Ellen Carrington, Farnhairij a woman with whom he had at one time lived and been en- gaged in business with. 30. — -Eight young girls suffocatedina fuzee factory near Camborne, West' Cornwall, by the unexpected ignition of a heap of recently-spun fuze. April 1. — Died, at the" house of his nieces, the Misses Sterling, Bolton Row, London, aged 70 years, the Rev. Frederick Denison Maurice, M. A., Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge, and author of many popular volumes on theology and morals. His remains were interred in Highgate cemetery on the 5th, in the presence of a large number of his friends of all opinions. — The 300th anniversary of the capture of Briel celebrated in Holland APRIL 185 APRIL 1. — Easter review at Brighton ; the move- ments executed in the presence of many thousands of spectators, but amid showery, ungenial weather. About 20,000 volunteers took part in the display. 2. — Died at Ventnor, aged 30, Robert Morton, M. A. , a promising Cambridge scholar, Senior Wrangler and first Smith's Prizeman in 1866. — M. Villemessant and M. Vitre convicted of insulting General Trochu in the Figaro, and sentenced each to a fine of 3,ooof. and a month's imprisonment. 3. — Mr. Disraeli, on a visit to Lancashire, addresses a large audience in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester. He spoke of the Con- stitution, which it was the special object of the Conservative party to maintain, of the House of Lords, Church and State, and, slightly, on contemporary politics. On foreign politics Mr. Disraeli remarked that although persons were apt to put them aside, yet the most vital consequences have been occasioned by mere inadvertence. He illustrated this point by two anecdotes. Since he had been in public life there had been for this country a great calamity and there was a great danger, and both might have been avoided. The calamity was the Crimean War. On that subject Mr. Disraeli observed : "I.speak of what I know, not of what I believe, but of what I have evidence in my possession to prove — that the Crimean War would never have happened if Lord Derby had remained in office. How had the present Government treated the demand of Russia for the modification of the Treaty of Paris? Having first threatened war, they threw over their plenipotentiary, and agreed to arrangements by which the violation of that treaty should be sanctioned by England, and, in the f orm of a Congress, they showed them- selves guaranteeing their own humiliation." Regarding the future policy of the Conservative party, Mr. Disraeli remarked : "If I may venture to give such a hint, let us take care not to allow ourselves to be made to any extent the tools of the ambition or of the dis- content of extreme politicians on the other side. I tell you what I mean. It may very likely be the game of the Kadical party to try and turn out the present Ministry if they can and to put a Conservative Government in its place, that Conservative Government being in a minority, hoping that by so doing they shall be able to reconstruct their own party upon a new platform, pledged to more extreme and more violent measures, and then to have a Cabinet formed of the most thoroughgoing Radicals. These may be their tactics. But just because it is their game it ought not to be ours." — Antioch destroyed by an earthquake, and as many as I, 600 persons reported to be killed. A. — Replying to a deputation representing Ihe National Association for Freedom of Worship, Mr. Disraeli said : " I look forward 1051 to the Church as I look to churchmen, as the maintainers and upholders of the institutions of the land ; but I wish as much as possible to divest that natural connection of mere party feeling, and I am prepared upon all occasions to act with churchmen heartily and cordially for the great ends which they propose, without any reference to the immediate necessities of the political connection of which I am proud to be a member." To another deputation representing a Church Defence Association, the leader of the Opposition expressed a hope of being able to defeat the Burials Bill if active exertions were at once made to petition against it. " That is the practical counsel I give you, and if we succeed in defeating that measure I think the tide will have turned, and that we shall have arrested the progress of these in- vasions which have been successful in too many instances, as much from the negligence of churchmen as really from the enmity of the assailants of the Church." 4. — Mr. Vernon Harcourt's motion for re- ducing the national expenditure rejected by 78 to 35 votes. 6. — At Bristol Assizes the Mayor of Exeter recovers ten guineas in name of damages against the Times, for publishing a letter insinuating that he had used official influence to obstruct inquiry regarding a disorderly Per- missive Bill meeting, where Bishop Tenipie was rudely treated. 7. — Regarding the Constitution, Mr. Bright writes to a correspondent : " A s to opinions on the question of monarchy or republicanism, [ hope and believe it will be a long time before we are asked to give our opinion ; our ancestors decided the matter a good while since, and I would suggest that you and I should leave any further decision to our posterity. Now, from your letter I conclude you are willing to do this; and I can assure you lam not less willing. " 8. — Mr. Dodson retires from the Chairman- ship of Committees, and is succeeded by Mr. Bonham Carter. The House afterwards went into Committee on the Ballot Bill, a stormy discussion arising on clause 2, fixing the manner in which the poll should be taken. A proposition for marking the ballot paper with a view to detect personation, was rejected by 168 to 128 votes. — Opening of the German Parliament, Prince Bismarck reading a message from the Emperor, declaring that the power acquired hy Germany through becoming united in one empire "is not only a safe bulwark for the Fatherland, but likewise affords a strong guarantee for the peace of Europe." — Madame Riel found murdered in her residence, 13, Park Lane. Her daughter, a member of the French Company performing at the St. James's Theatre, arrived from Paris early this morning, and on presenting herse t at Park Lane was informed that her mother APRIL 1872. APRIL was absent. It was soon discovered that certain doors were locked, that the keys were missing, and that the cook could not be found. This led to an examination of the house, when the dead body of Madame Riel was found in the pantry, opened with duplicate keys in possession of the young lady. Her death appeared to have been caused by strangulation, as the tightened rope was still round her neck, though there were marks of extreme violence on other parts of the body. An examination of the safe showed that the murder had been accompanied by the robbery of gold, bank- notes, French bonds, and railway shares. Suspicion at once fixed upon the cook, Marguerite Dixblanc, a Belgian by birth, but some time resident in Verdun, and in Paris for a short period during the reign of the Commune. She was known to have been in the house alone with her mistress on the forenoon of Sunday the 7th, left it stealthily in the even- ing, and was traced as a passenger to Paris by the Continental mail train. A further clue to her movements there was soon obtained by a letter written a day before the murder, wherein Dixblanc indicated to the Sieur Dubois that she expected to be in Paris soon. It had been misdirected to Rue Saint Denis instead of Rue du Port St. Denis, and was in ordinary course opened by the post-office authorities, for the purpose of being returned to the writer. On the detectives presenting themselves at the house of Dubois, Dixblanc was found engaged in the task of. measuring out charcoal, and talking at the same time, it was said, of the horrors of the Park Lane murder. She sought to evade apprehension for a brief period, but in the end confessed having committed the crime, and even gave an account of the manner in which it was accomplished. "I first tried," she said s ' ' to conceal' the body in the dustbin, but I could not. I then took it by the feet, but being unable to drag it, I got a cord and passed it round her waist. Finding the body bent double, I put it round her neck. At this moment the housemaid, who was out on an errand, knocked at the door. I sent her away for beer. Then I tried to drag the body up- stairs, but could not, and hid it in the cellar." Dixblanc described the robbery as an after- thought, suggested, she said, by the keys falling {form ■ Madame Riei's pocket. Extradition treaties having been complied with, she was brought over in custody to London, and after various examinations committed for trial. S. — The Bishop of Lincoln having written to the Archbishop of Canterbury requesting an explanation of the remark made by his Grace in Convocation, to the effect that nobody be- lieves in the damnatory clauses of the Atha- nasian Creed, the Archbishop writes : "I am confident that it is only in a modified sense, with such modifications as you allude to, that these clauses of the Creed' are retained by the Church, and though I see no inconsistency in subscribing the words with such acknowledged 1052 qualifications, I still feel that it is in itself an evil to use words which require such explana- tion. If these clauses remain they will always be used with such qualifications as you have alluded to, whether an explanatory rubric dis- tinctly stating the qualification be adopted by the Church or no." 8 The Queen arrives at Windsor from the Continent. 9 — Mr. Fowler's motion condemning the entail and strict settlement of land, rejected by 103 votes to 81. IO. — Petitions presented to the House of Commons, and ordered to lie on the table, praying that means might be provided from the public funds for defending the Claimant in the event of Government carrying out their in- tention of prosecuting him for perjury. To a charge upon two indictments— first, that he was the eldest son of Sir James Doughty Tich- borne ; second, that he was not Arthur Orton — the Claimant, at the Central Criminal Court to-day, pleaded "I am not guilty." He was then removed in custody till b'ail could be arranged pending the issue of the trial, now re- moved by writ of certiorari to the Court of Queen's Bench. 11. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court, the trial of Arthur O'Connor, charged with un- lawfully pointing a pistol at her Majesty, in- tending to alarm and cause a breach of the peace. The prisoner pleaded guilty on being first brought up on the 8th, but it was now stated his friends were anxious to establish a plea of insanity. This, however, was over- ruled, and O'Connor was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and 20 strokes from a birch-rod. — The steamer Oceanus blown up on the Mississippi above Cairo, the wreck afterwards taking fire and burning to the water edge. Out of one hundred on board, sixty were reported to have lost their lives. 12.— In reply to Earl Stanhope, Earl Gran- ville said that Government had determined to present a case excluding the indirect claims, and accompanied by a declaration to the Geneva tribunal, abiding by the position taken up by her Majesty's Government in their corre- spondence with the United States, and ex- pressly reserving the right of Great Britain to withdraw from the arbitration should the present difference with the United States not be removed by the 15th of June. A similar statement was made by Mr.. Gladstone in the Commons in reply to Mr. Disraeli. 13 — Died at Manchester, aged 84, Samuel Bamford, author of " Passages in the Life of a Radical." IS — Proposed' new Court of Appeal. In- the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor moves a resolution— "That it is expedient that one Imperial Supreme Court of Appeal le estab- lished which shall sit continuously for the APRIL 1872. APRIL hearing of all matters now heard by way of appeal before this House or before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and that the appellate jurisdiction of this House be trans- ferred to such Supreme Court of Appeal." It was intended that the new Court should con- stitute one tribunal sitting in two divisions — one representing the House of Lords, and the other the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the members of either division being able to sit in the other. The first division would consist of all peers who had filled the office of Lord Chancellor or any high judicial office for a specified time either in Great Britain or Ireland, and would also include all peers who had actually practised at the bar, and Privy Coun- cillors now capable of being appointed upon the Judicial Committee. In each division there would be no fewer than three nor more than five judges, who would be paid 6,000/. a year ; and peers who had filled the office of Lord Chancellor and who accepted the obligation to attend, would have their pensions augmented from 5,000/. to 6,000/. a year. The Lord Chancellor would be at the head of both divi- sions of the Supreme Court, and among the members of the second division would be the Lord Chief Justices of the Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, and the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The Lord Chancellor con- cluded by proposing that the motion be the order of the day in immediate priority to the second reading of the Bill constituting the Supreme Court of Appeal. 15. — James Nicholls, shoemaker, Maida Hill, murders four of his children and then commits suicide. In the afternoon a boy who lived in the house called the attention of one of the neighbours to a stream of blood running from under the door of one of the rooms occu- pied' by Nicholls. A policeman was called, and on bursting open the door of the front room he fourfd three of the children — Louisa, aged three ; Rosina, aged five, and James Henry, aged 'fourteen months — with their throats cut. The back room, which had been nsed as a workshop, was in great confusion, every article of furniture being out of its place. In it were discovered the body of the eldest daughter, Eliza Nicholls, aged nine, who had also had her throat cut, and the body of Nicholls himself, who appeared, after murder- ing his children, to have sat down at his bench and cut his own throat in a desperate manner. The coroner's jury found that Nicholls was of unsound mind. — Mr. Harcourt's amendment to omit the word "wilfully" from Mr. Leatham's proposal to make the exhibition of a voting paper by a voter penal, carried against the Government by 167 to 1 66. Government was again in a minority the following evening, Sir Massey Lopes carrying his resolution on the subject of local taxation by 259 to 1 59. — The English and American counter-cases presented to the tribunal at Geneva. '°53 16. — Lord Kimberley introduces the Govern- ment Licensing Bill into the House of Lords. In explanation of some of the clauses it was stated that licences granted by county magis- trates would not be valid until confirmed by .1 special committee to be appointed yearly by the court of quarter sessions. In boroughs where there were not more than nine magis- trates the jurisdiction would remain with them as a body, and where there were more than nine a committee would be appointed to grant licences, which, however, would not be valid until confirmed by the whole body of justices and the Secretary of State. The bill also dealt with the adulteration of liquor, and provided for closing public-houses in the metropolis from twelve at night to seven in the morning ; in towns under 10,000 inhabitants from ten to seven ; and in towns with larger populations from eleven to seven. On Sunday licensed houses would not be opened until one o'clock ; and the hours of closing on that day would, in the three cases mentioned, be eleven, nine, and ten o'clock respectively. After a few words from the Duke of Richmond and Lord Redes- dale, the bill was read a first time. — Died at Oxford, aged j6, the Rev. Dr. Norris, President of Corpus Christi College. — Celebrated with great pomp at the Oratory, Brompton, the marriage of the Marquis of Bute to the Hon. Gwendoline Mary Anne Howaid, eldest daughter of Lord Howard of Glossop. — Japanese Ambassadors arrive- in Liver- pool from New York. — Derry Castle, situated on the shores of Lough Dergh, near Killaloe, destroyed by fire. — The remains of Alexandre Dumas, detained at Pays since December 1870, in con- sequence of the Prussian occupation of the Seine Inferieure, were laid to-day, in accordance with the novelist's last wishes, in the little cemetery of Villers-Cotterets, near which he was born in 1802. 18. — Edward Mitchell, sculptor, while labouring under mental irritation^ commits suicide by first stabbing himself with a sharp- pointed graving tool, and afterwards throwing himself from the upper story of his house. — Persian famine increases in intensity, the news from Teheran to-day being that bread had risen to 6d. per pound. 19. — -Christie and Manson commence to dispose of the famous Gillott collection of paintings. The sale continued till May 4th, when the total amount realised was found to be 180,000 guineas. Twelve drawings by Turner brought 16,430 guineas. — Died, aged 74 years, Richard West- macott, R\A., sculptor. — The Gazette contains a notice from the Lord Chamberlain's office, announcing that the presentation at Court of Lady Twiss had been cancelled. F 2 APRIL 1872. APRIL . 23. — Mr. Candlish's proposal to repeal in tl.e interest of the Nonconformists the 25th clause of the Elementary Education Act, re- jected after a debate by 316 to 115 votes. — The Court of Probate pronounce for the will of Miss Cordelia Angelica Read, known as the "eccentric old lady" of Stamford Street, the owner of ruinous houses in that street, and in other parts of London. By her will, executed in 1858, she bequeathed the whole of her personal estate, amounting to about 100,000/., to the Brompton Hospital. — A miner named Lease, living at Charter- house, on the slope of the Mendip Hills, beats his wife to death in a fit of passion excited by jealousy, several of the neighbours witnessing the savage attack through the windows, but too terror-stricken to interfere. 24. — Another group of Communist prisoners tried for being concerned in the murder of the hostages in May last. The woman Guyart was condemned to death ; the girl Cailleux and Leopold Viel to transportation to a fortress ; Victor Charton to penal servitude for life ; Feltesse to ten years' penal servitude ; four others to various terms of imprisonment; and twenty to imprisonment for two years. — Discussion in the Lower House of Con- vocation on the Athanasian Creed. The variety of opinions expressed was fully indicated by petitions previously sent in and thus arranged : — For retention of the Creed in an unaltered form, 35,271 ; for investigating the text and a new translation, 561 ; for the removal of the use of the Creed, 10; for the omission of the Creed from the Prayer-book, 6 ; for delay in the removal of the Creed, 25 ; for omission of the damnatory clauses, 30 ; for making the use of the Creed optional, ;?3 ; for the retention of the three Greeds, 96." After a learned and animated debate extending over four days, divisions were taken on the various proposals.. The first was on an amend- ment by Mr. Kempe, of St. James's, to confine its recitation to the shortened and occasional services provided by the Bill now before Parlia- ment : this was rejected by 60 to 10. Dean Stanley then proposed to make its recitation permissive by inserting a rubric after the Apostles' Creed, allowing it as an alternative for that Creed on the appointed days : this was rejected by 60 to 12. The Dean's next pro- posal, placing its use at the discretion of the Ordinary, was rejected by 54 to 13 : after which Lord Alwyne Compton's motion, that the Creed should continue to be used in its in- tegrity, was carried by 62 to 7. A proposal by Canon Blakesley, that it should be treated as a Hymn or Canticle, met with somewhat more favour — being negatived by 42 to 19. Arch- deacon Denison then carried a rider by 42 to 12, that the Creed should be said on no fewer days than at present — The Spanish Cortes opened by King - Aniadeo, who expressed a hope for a prompt '054 termination of the insurrection, praised the dis- cipline and services of the army and the Civic Guard, and concluded by stating that he would seek in the deliberations of the Cortes a guide for his conduct and a way to identify his feel- ings with those of the Spanish people. " I will never (he said) impose myself on the Spanish people ; but neither will I allow my- self to be accused of deserting the post which I occupy by its will, nor of forgetting the duties which the Constitution places upon me, and which I shall fulfil with the loyalty and con- stancy which I owe to the honour of my name." 24 Mr. Fawcett's proposal for throwing the expense of elections upon public funds re- jected in the Commons by 263 to 171 votes. 25. — The Marquis of Lansdowne appointed Under-Secretary for War in room of Lord Northbrook, now Viceroy of India. — Funeral obsequies over the body of Lord Mayo celebrated with great splendour in Dublin. The remains of the deceased Viceroy were afterwards interred within the ruins of the ancient church at Johnstown. — Carlist rising in Spain, a proclamation being issued to-day by General Diaz de Rudo, who formerly held rank under Isabella II., and was lately appointed by the Pretender Commander-in-Chief of the Basque Provinces and Navarre. — Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, attended with the loss of several lives. 26. — The little girl, Mary Winchester, res- cued by the Looshai expedition, arrives in Glasgow from Liverpool on her way to Elgin, where a permanent home had been found for her among relations. — The domestic servants of Dundee form themselves into a Protection Association for the purpose of securing shorter hours of work, higher pay, more holidays, and better feeding. — Madame Dubourg dies in the hospital of La Pitie, Paris, from wounds inflicted by her husband in a fit of jealousy, caused by the discovery of an intrigue in which she was concerned. 27. — The Duke of Edinburgh presides at a meeting in Willis's Rooms, called to consider the propriety of raising a memorial to the late Lord Mayo. Mr. Disraeli was present, and spoke highly of the many merits centred in the Viceroy, "whose noble presence, cordial manner, the magnificence of his life, his active accomplishments, his extraordinary power of physical endurance, combined with an intuitive knowledge of mankind, inexorable love of jus- tice, which was only tempered by the abounding generosity of his heart, produced such an effect upon those whom he ruled that all at once willingly acknowledged that he was born to command." — Opening of the International Exhibition of 1872 at South Kensington. MAY 1872. MAY B9. — Proclamation ol Don Carlos circulated at Madrid, thanking God for permitting him to kiss the soil of Spain, and calling upon the people to rise in arms. 30. — Bied.aged 53, Horace Mayhew, author, one of the earliest contributors to Punch. — The Lord Chancellor's Bill for the forma- tion of a new Court of Appeal withdrawn after a debate, and Lord Cairns' resolution for a committee on-the subject adopted. — A band of predatory Carlists, led chiefly by priests, attack the house of the Governor of Burgos, Old Castile, but are driven back by reinforcements from the garrison, and many made prisoners. — The Government of India resolve to dis- miss Mr. Cowan and reprimand Mr. Forsyth for their summary proceedings with the rebels of Kooka, where forty-nine men were sentenced to be blown away from the guns. — Close of the litigation between the Duke of Buccleuch and the Metropolitan Board of Works. The Duke had been awarded by an arbitrator 8,325/. as compensation for the con- struction of the Thames Embankment between Montagu House and the river. The Board of Works disputed the grounds on which the arbitrator had made his award, but on the case being taken to the Court of Exchequer, the Court decided in favour of the Duke. The Court of Exchequer Chamber reversed this decision, and the case was then referred on appeal to the House of Lords, which now reversed the judgment of the Exchequer Chamber, and affirmed that of the Court of Exchequer upholding the award of the arbi- tiator. May 1. — Mr. Jacob Bright's Women's Dis- abilities Bill rejected by 222 to 143 votes. — In the Lower House of Convocation, Archdeacon Denison, by a majority of 21 to 1 7, carries an amendment declaring that there was "no room for an explanatory note on the Athanasian Creed." — Festival at the Crystal Palace in celebra- tion of the recovery of the Prince of Wales, and performance of Te Deum by Sullivan. — Telegram received describing the Abydos as returning from Zanzibar bringing news that Livingstone was safe with Stanley. — Strasburg University opened with a cere- mony combining courtly and academical dignity. — Cyclone at Madras, destroying a large amount of shipping property, and also a portion of the city and suburbs. 2. — The Empress of Germany arrives at Windsor on a visit to the Queen. — The French Government announce their intention of bringing Marshal Bazaine before a court-martial. 2. — The ' Licensing Bill read a second time in the Lords. 3. — Lord Northbrook, the new Viceroy of India, arrives at Calcutta, and is at once sworn into office. — Discussion in the Upper House of Con- vocation on a motion submitted by the Bishop of Gloucester that it was not expedient to invite legislation on the fourth report of the Ritual Commissioners in reference to the Athanasian Creed. The Bishop of Winchester moved an amendment, expressing agreement with the resolutions transmitted by the Lower House in favour of the retention of the Creed. This was lost by the casting vote of the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, and in a subsequent division the original resolution was also nega- tived. — The Liberal Republican Convention at Cincinnati select Mr. Horace Greeley as their candidate for the Presidency. 4. — Enthusiastic reception given by the National Assembly to the Due d'Audriffet- Pasquier on the occasion of his presenting a report on Military Administration. He re- commended the army as the best and only school in which the young generation could have a nobler and better training than that which produced such lamentable examples of want of patriotism and want of probity. The army gave an example of silent, conscientious fulfilment of duty. " Our children must all serve in it." M. Rouher took occasion some days later to answer this speech, by defending the Emperor. He called upon the Assembly to name a committee to inquire what had been done with the enormous sum voted annually for the war budget during the Empire, how the denuded state of the arsenal was to be accounted for, and what was the real sum absorbed by the Mexican Expedition. — A court-martial at Malta dismisses from the ship and reprimands Lieuts. Wallace and Hailstone for carelessness in connection with the stranding of the Lord Clyde. 5. — Died, aged 64 years, G. R. Gray, ornithologist, and Assistant Keeper of the Zoological Department in the British Museum. — The Carlist insurgents under Don Carlos defeated at Oroquieta. 6. — At the pressing request of Earl Gran- ville, Earl Russell consents to postpone his motion regarding the Geneva arbitration till the Government were in a position to submit papers to the House or make an explanation on the 13th. — On the proposal for going into committee on the Education (Scotland) Bill, Mr. Gordon, by a majority of 216 to 209 votes, carries a resolution — "That having regard to the prin- ciples and history of the past educational legisla- tion and practice of Scotland; which pr6- vided for instruction in the Holy Scriptures in the public schools as an essential part of educa- i°55 MAY I872. MAY tion, this House, while desirous of passing a measure during the present session for the improvement of education in Scotland, is of opinion that the law and practice of Scotland in this respect should be continued by provisions in the bill now before the House." 6. — Niblo's Theatre, New York, destroyed by fire. 7. — Sir Colman O'Loghlen submits a resolu- tion in the Commons : — "That this House has heard with great regret that a gentleman has been appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Clare who has never resided in that county, who is a stranger to its magistrates, and who does not possess that local knowledge of the county and its residents essential to the proper discharge of the important duties of a lieutenant of a county, and that this House is of opinion that such an appointment is of evil example, and ought not to have been made." Rejected after debate by 257 to 41 votes. 8. — Literary Fund dinner presided over by the King of the Belgians, presently on a visit to England, and whose health was proposed in courtly terms by Mr. Disraeli. 9. — Rainham Church, Kent, set on fire, by lightning. — Died, aged 73 years, General Sir John Lysaght Pennefather, G.C.B., of Indian and Crimean fame, Governor of Chelsea Hospital. 12. — The surrender of Sedan being severely criticised in the National Assembly, the Emperor writes from Chislehurst : — "The honour of the army having been saved by the bravery which had been displayed, I then exercised my sovereign right, and gave orders to unfurl a flag of truce. I claim the entire responsibility of that act. The immolation of 60,000 men could not have saved France, and the sublime devotion of her chiefs and soldiers would have been uselessly sacrificed. We obeyed a cruel but inexorable necessity. My heart was broken, but my conscience was tranquil." 13. — Explanations made in both Houses regarding recent negotiations with Washington, and forbearance solicited for a few days till Government had obtained an answer to the last draught note suggesting a supplementary treaty now being considered by the Senate in Secret Executive Session. — Earl Granville replies to Mr. Fish's argument on the indirect claims, declaring that they formed no part of the negotiations between the two countries, and were never even alluded to by the British Government. There was not a word in any letter preceding the treaty to suggest any indirect or constructive claims, and the only intimation the British Government had had of those claims was from the speech of Mr. Sumner ; but they never learned that his views had been adopted by the American Government. Earl Granville then urged that the indirect claims were never admitted by the 1056 British Commissioners, and all that were ad- mitted were strictly denned and limited. The indirect claims were only mentioned once to the Commissioners, whereas the Fenian raids were repeatedly urged ; and the withdrawal of the claims for them was only on condition that all constructive damages were abandoned by the American Government. 13. — Died at Vienna, aged 5 X > Moritz Hartmann, poet and journalist, but more cele- brated as one of Blum's revolutionary com- patriots. 14. — Marshal Bazaine constitutes himself a prisoner at Versailles. 17. — The Cunard steamer Tripoli wrecked near the Tuskar rocks. 20. — The Foreign Committee of the United States Senate report in favour of the Supple- mentary Treaty providing for the withdrawal of the indirect claims. 21. — The new Southern Hospital at Liver- pool opened by Prince Arthur. — Boat accident on the Thames, near Twickenham, and loss of four lives. 22 Collision in the Channel off Hastings, between the North German Lloyd's steamer Baltimore and the Spanish steamer Lorenzo Semprun. Both vessels were seriously da- maged, and the former run ashore. 23. — Died at Athens, aged] 68, Lord Calling and Bulwer, diplomatist. — Explosion in Roslin powder mills, near Edinburgh, causing the loss of several lives and the destruction of much property. 26. — Died, at the family residence, Belgravc Square, William Russell, eighth Duke of Bedford, aged 63 years. — Died suddenly, aged 65 years, Alfred Henry Forrester, known in art and literature under the nom deplume of " Alfred Crowquill." 27. — Mr. Justice Keogh gives a decision on the Galway election, unseating Captain Nolan, and reporting the Archbishop of Tuam, the Bishops of Galway and Clonfert, and a numbei of priests, as guilty of intimidation. After care- fully examining the whole evidence, the judge was convinced that it presented the most asto- nishing attempts at ecclesiastical tyranny which the whole history of priestly intolerance afforded. Both Catholics and Protestants had been intimi- dated from voting. Shots had been fired into some houses. Lord Dunsandle's tenants, who had promised to vote for Trench, had been prevented, and Lord Gough's tenants likewise. Lord Delvin had been obliged to absent himself from chapel, in order that he might not hear himself defamed from the altar. The gentry were hunted through the fields by the fellows who followed that obscene monster Pat Barrett. Sir Arthur Guinness had been hounded, fight- ing his way at the head of twenty-seven men to vote at the booths, and several of his men were also injured. Three years ago, said MAY 1872. JUNE Judge Keogh when giving judgment in the Galway borough election petition, he had ex- pressed a hope that, as Parliament was then about to strike down one ascendency, the Roman Catholics of Ireland would prevent a more galling one from being set up. The attempt had now been made, but it had been met by a spirit of independence and intelligence by the Roman Catholic gentry of this great country, and he could not say that he felt other- wise than proud of his countrymen for having had the spirit and the courage and independence to do it. This judgment, which excited the keenest feeling throughout Ireland, occupied nine hours in delivery. 27.- — At the reassembling of the Commons to-day, after the Whitsuntide recess, Mr. Glad- stone announces that the United States Senate had made ( ( modifications " in the Supplemen- tary Treaty. Earl Granville informed the American Minister next day that these " modi- fications " could not be accepted by the British Government. 28. — The Burmese ambassadors make a private visit to Windsor. — Prof. Montague Bernard, one of the Commissioners for framing the Treaty of Wash- ington, delivers a lecture on that subject to a large audience at Oxford University Museum. 29.— The long-continued and animated debate on the French Army Bill closes amid a stormy scene arising out of personal alterca- tions between General Changarnier and Colonel Denfert, and an attack by M. du Temple on M. Gambetta. The principal speech of the day was delivered by Monsignor Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans. He described Prussia as the first barrack in the world, but not the first nation ; and demanded guarantees for the liberty of conscience in the army and proper regulations and facilities for enabling soldiers to attend divine service. " Since you have thought it necessary," he said, " to call upon all youthful France to undertake active service, we require, at least, that the freedom of con- science should.^iot be restricted in the army, and that soldiers should not be prevented from being Christians." 30. — A requisition, signed by about thirty subscribers to the fund for the completion of St. Paul's, having been presented to the Dean, requesting him to call a general meeting of the subscribers, with a view to expressing an opinion regarding the appointment of Mr. Burges as architect, the Dean now writes to the Lord Mayor : — " The responsibility at this stage of the business rests with the Executive Committee, and I do not think that it is right to take it out of their hands and transfer it to any meeting of subscribers, necessarily collected in a chance way. I am fully aware that we are all of us on our trial — Mr. Burges, those of us who have confidence in him, and those also who have raised an opposition against him. But Mr. Burges can do nothing in St. Paul's till his designs — after a criticism which is not likely to be lenient— shall have been finally approved. It will be time enough to protest against him when we and the public are able to judge of what he proposes to do. Regret- ting extremely to find myself differing from your lordship and the subscribers who have signed the requisition, I am unable to comply with it. " 30.— Third reading of the Ballot Bill carried by 274 to 216 votes. — Died at Mossul, C. A. Rassam, British Vice-Consul. — Explosion in the powder magazine of the Porthywain Lime Rocks, near Oswestry, causing the death of six men. 31. — Wreck of the Halcyon on the Tuskar rocks. — Private Donohue stabbed in the Citadel Barracks, Devon, by another soldier, named Bradford, who was threatened with being re- ported for disorderly conduct. June 1. — The Prince and Princess of Wales arrive at Marlborough House from their con- tinental tour. — Died at Trieste, where he discharged the duties of British Consul, Charles Lever, novelist and critic, aged 63 years. 2. — Died, aged 72, James Gordon Bennett, editor and proprietor of the New York Herald. 3. — Died, aged 76, Johann Rudolf Thor- becke, Prime Minister of Holland. 4. — Debate commenced in the House of Lords on the oft-deferred motion of Earl Rus- sell for an address to the Crown praying that all proceedings on behalf of this country before the arbitrators appointed to meet at Geneva, pursuant to the Treaty of Washington, be suspended until the claims included in the caie submitted on behalf of the United States, and understood on the part of her Majesty not 1o be within the province of the arbitrators, have been withdrawn. The discussion, conducted mainly in a spirit designed to caution the Government against dangers before them, was brought to a premature close on the evening of the 6th, when Earl Granville produced a letter from the American Minister, General Schenck, affirming the sufficiency of the Supplemental Article for closing indirect claims. — Mr. Gordon's amendment to the Scotch Education Bill, substantially retaining the ex- isting system of parochial schqols, rejected in Committee by 222 to 167 votes. — Flooding of the Po near Ferrara ; as many as 40,000 people said to be rendered houseless. 5. — Dublin Exhibition opened by the Duke of Edinburgh. 1057 JUNE 1872. JUNE 8. — The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council give judgment in the case of Sheppard v. Bennett, vicar of Frome Selwood, charged with maintaining the following heresies — " l. The actual presence of our Lord in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 2. The visible presence of our Lord upon the altar or table at the Holy Communion. 3. That there is a sacrifice at the time of the celebration of the Eucharist. 4. That adoration or worship is due to the consecrated elements in the Lord's Supper." '1 he alleged heresies were contained in publi- cations by Mr. Bennett, in an essay on " Some Results of the Tractarian Movement of 1833," and in "Letters to Dr. Pusey," of which there had been three editions, and hi which altera- tions had been made. The Dean of Arches gave a judgment in July 1870, and, admitting a retractation in a corrected edition of the pamphlet as to the visible presence in the Sacrament and the adoration of the consecrated elements, he arrived at the conclusion that to describe the mode of presence as objective, real, actual, and spiritual, was not contrary to the law of the Church of England. From that judgment the promoter appealed to their lord- ships, and the case was argued before a com- mittee of ten members. Their lordships had had six conferences in private to consider the question. Their lordships now dismissed the appeal, but made no order as to costs, seeing the respondent had not appeared. 9. — Died at Hoddesden, aged 77, the Rev. Wm. Ellis, widely known from his missionary labours in the South Sea Islands and Mada- gascar. 10. — The United States Congress adjourn without coming to any decision respecting the Supplementary Article. — The Anglo-American four-oared race between the London and Atlantic contested on the Thames from Mortlake with ebb tide, and won easily by the former. — The Ballot Bill read a second time in the House of Lords by 86 to 56 votes. 11. — The Daily News publishes a despatch from Earl Granville to Mr. Fish, proposing that on the meeting of arbitrators on the 15th v. joint application should be made for an adjournment of eight months. The despatch was accompanied by a declaration that it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to cancel the appointment of the British arbitrator and withdraw from the arbitration at the close of the term fixed for the adjournment, "unless the difference which has arisen between the two Governments as to the claims for indirect losses referred to in the note which he had the honour to address to Count Sclopis on the 15th of April shall have been removed." Mr. Fish refused to unite in this arrangement, believing that the time could only be extended by a new treaty ; ' ' but if the arbitrators consented to adjourn on the request of Great Britain, the United States Government would not object." ' 1058 Explanations were made in both Houses of Parliament in the evening. Earl Granville admitted that an adjournment had been pro- posed, but Mr. Gladstone omitting to do so drew down strong condemnation from Mr. Disraeli, who complained of the Premier's want of frankness. 11. — The Dublin Court of Common Pleas decide that Captain Trench was entitled to the seat which Captain Nolan had been deprived of at Galway. The sitting judges were Chief Justice Monahan, and Justices Keogh, Morris, and Lawson. The three latter concurred in the judgment by which Captain Trench obtained the seat, and the Chief Justice, in stating the grounds of his dissent, took occasion to say he had no doubt as to the truth of the allegations of undue influence and intimidation by Captain Nolan and his agents. When a motion was made by Mr. Gladstone to substitute the name of Captain Trench for Nolan, in conformity with Justice Keogh's report to the Speaker, an attempt was made to raise a discussion on tht point ; but it was found that by the Act 01 1867 the House had parted with all jurisdiction in election matters, and had no choice but to direct the amendment of the return. 12. — The bicentenary of the birth of Petei the Great celebrated with great enthusiasm throughout Russia. At St. Petersburg the Emperor, with his brother the Grand Duke Nicholas, took part in the proceedings, while at Moscow the Imperial family were repre- sented by the Grand Duke Constantine. — Resignation of the Serrano Ministry in Spain, and election of Zorrilla. Carlist dis- turbances still continue to agitate the country. — Opening of the first railway constructed in Japan, between Yokohama and Shinagawa. 13. — Died, aged 80, John Forrester, a well- known member of the Mansion House police force. 14. — After a trial extending over three days Marguerite Dixblanc is found guilty of the murder of Madame Riel, Park Lane, and sentenced to death by Baron Channell, who presided at the Old Bailey. Under a belief that there had been a quarrel between the mis- tress and her servant, the jury recommended the prisoner to the mercy of the Court. The Crown afterwards gave effect to the recommen- dation by commuting the extreme penalty to imprisonment for life. 15.— The Irish Nation, lashed into fury by the deliverance of Judge Keogh on the Galway case, declares "The man who sold them as Judas sold his God ; the man who gave them the kiss, with the thirty pieces in his pocket i the man whose treason blasted the hopes of a confiding people, and sent thousands into exile, pauperism, or the grave, is the same who dares to come forward now in the role of moral cen- sor and political headsman ! . . . Our rulers will discover ere long that a hundred ' Fenian JUNE 1872. JUNE conspirators ' could not do as much in ten years as Mr. Keogh has done in one day to fill this land with hatred of the law and rule that has its representative in him ; and with resentment of the humiliation, the ignominy, the outrage of setting over us on the justice-seat, to revile our faith and destroy our liberties, a political traitor false to his country and forsworn to his oath ! " 15. — The arbitrators under the Treaty of Washington hold a private conference at Geneva. — Owing to the death of Mr. Blenkiron, a sale of yearlings takes place at Middle Park, sixty lots bringing 1 7,coo guineas, or an average of nearly 300 guineas. A colt by General Peel out of Danae sold for 1,750 guineas; a bay colt by Blair Athol out of Coimbra, 1 ,550/. ; and a colt by Blair Athol out of Margery Daw, 1,150 guineas. Mr. Tattersall announced that Mr. Blenkiron's executors had received an offer from the Prussian Government for the whole of the stud, but declined it on the ground that they thought it right this country should have the opportunity of participating in its advan- tages. — The old Cockhedge Factory at War- rington destroyed by a fire which broke out in the spinning department. 16. — Died, aged 82, Colonel W. H. Sykes, F.R.S., M.P. for Aberdeen since 1857, and engaged in active .Indian duty as far back as 1S04, when he served with Lord Lake before Bhurtpore. Colonel Sykes was twice elected a Director of the East India Company. — Died at Glasgow, aged 60 years, Rev. Norman McLeod, D.D., a popular Scotch preacher, one of her Majesty's chaplains in Scotland, and editor of Good Words, to which he contributed many graphic tales and sketches of foreign travel. 17.— The Ballot Bill passes through com- mittee in the Lords with two amendments, moved by the Duke of Richmond, designed to trace the voter, by marking on the counterfoil his number on the voting register, and to make secresy only optional. 19. — Count Sclopis, President of the Geneva Arbitrators, states that after the most careful perusal- of all that had been urged by the United States on the subject of the indirect claims, they had arrived, "individuallyandcollectively, at the conclusion that these claims do not con- stitute, upon the principles of international law applicable to such cases, good foundation for an award of compensation, or computation of damages between nations, and should upon such principles be wholly excluded from the consideration of the Tribunal in making up its award, even if there were no disagreement as to the competency of the Tribunal to decide thereon, with a view to the settlement of the other claims to the consideration of which by the Tribunal no exception has been taken on the part of her Britannic Majesty's Govern- ment." On the 25th, Mr. Bancroft Davis stated that "the declaration by the Tribunal was accepted by the President of the United States as determinative of the judgment on the important question of public law involved ; and that he, as agent of the United States, was authorized to say that consequently the above- mentioned claims will not be further insisted upon before the Tribunal by the United States, and may be excluded from all consideration in any award that may be made." On the 28th the Tribunal adjourned until the 15th of July. 19. — A bill for the expulsion of the Jesuits passing the German Reichstag by 131 votes to 93 ; and another anti-clerical proposal making civil marriage and registration thereof compul- sory, was approved of by 151 votes to 100. — Strike in the London building trade for increased pay and shorter hours. 20. — The Synod of the French Reformed Church adopt M. Guizot's proposal in favour of the establishment of a definite creed to avoid the scandal of high Calvinists and Rationalists sitting together. 21. — The Burmese Embassy received by the Queen at Windsor. — Compromise in the Thwaites will case ; the jury, under instructions from Lord Pen- zance, finding against the sanity of the deceased, but discharged on the plea referring to undue influence. (See page 639.) 22.- In the Treasury case of Edmunds v. Gladstone and others, Justice Mellor finds that the evidence had failed to prove the pub- lication of the minute complained of, and a nonsuit was entered accordingly. 23. — Father Conway, one of the Galway priests censured by Judge Keogh, having died suddenly, Mr. Sullivan of the Nation declared at a meeting of Roman Catholics that he had never raised his head since the day he was made the butt of public ridicule. " He went but once since to the altar where his consecrated hands so often offered the august sacrifice to the Most High. He was consigned to a bed of fever, in his delirium repeating the sentences of contumely that had broken his noble heart, and sent him to-day a murdered priest into his grave. (Sensation.) Father Conway has gone to appeal from Judge Keogh's judgment to the judgment of One who would not deny him justice, and before whose high throne and judgment seat on the eternal day Judge Keogh would find his sentence reversed." (Sensation.) 24. — Bethnal Green Museum opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. 25. — Addressing the Constitutional Associ- ation at the Crystal Palace, Mr. Disraeli said : " I have always been of opinion that the Torj party has three great objects. The first is to maintain the institutions of the country— not 1059 JUNE 1872. JULY from any sentiment of political superstition, but because we believe that the principles upon which a community like England can alone safely rest — the principles of liberty, of order, of law, and of religion — ought not to be en- trusted to individual opinion or to the caprice and passion of multitudes, but should be embo- died in a form of permanence and powej:. We associate with the monarchy the ideas which it represents — the majesty of the law, the adminis- tration of justice, the fountain of mercy and of honour. We know that the estates of the realm, by the privileges they enjoy, are the best security for public liberty and good government. We believe that a national profession of faith can only be attained by maintaining an Esta- blished Church, and that no society is safe un- less there is a public recognition of the Provi- dential government of the world, and of the future responsibility of man." The Reform Act of 1807-8 was founded, he said, in a con- fidence that the great body of the people of this country were conservative. " I use the word in its purest and loftiest sense. I mean that the people of England, and especially the working classes of England, are proud of belonging to a great country, and wish to maintain its greatness — that they are proud of belonging to an Imperial country, and are re- solved to maintain, if they can, the empire of England — that they believe, on the whole, that the greatness and the empire of England are to be attributed to the ancient institutions of the land." Mr. Disraeli exhorted his hearers to do their best to secure the triumph of their principles. The time was at hand — at least it could not be long distant — when England would have to decide between national and cosmopolitan principles. This observation was received with loud and long-continued cheering, as was also the prophecy with which the speaker concluded, on the assumption that the Conservative party would put forth its united strength : — " You will maintain your country in its present position. But you will do more than that — you will deliver to your posterity a land of liberty, of prosperity, of power, and of glory." 25. — Mr. Cowper-Temple's Occasional Ser- mons Bill rejected by 177 to 116 votes. — Mr. M 'Arthur's motion, "That a humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to take into consideration the propriety of establishing a Protectorate at Fiji, or of annexing those islands, provided that this may be effected with the consent of the inhabitants," rejected by 135 to 84 votes. — The Burials Bill defeated on the motion to go into committee, by ioo to 78 votes. 26. — Unveiling of a stained-glass window in Berkhampstead church as a memorial to the poet Cowper, son of the rector of the parish, and born there November 15, 1731. — The Ballot Bill read a third time in the House of Lords and passed. 1060 27. — Miss Fox, adopted daughter of Lady Holland, married to Prince Liechtenstein at the Pro-Cathedral, Kensington. — Announcement made in both Houses of Parliament that America had accepted the de- claration of the Geneva arbitrators excluding the indirect claims. 28. — The Lords' amendments to the Ballot Bill considered in the Commons. The optional ballot rejected by 302 to 234 ; the scrutiny ac- cepted by 382 to 137 ; the extension of the hours of polling rejected by 227 to 190. 30. — William Edward Taylor, dealer in old iron, Bermondsey, murders a woman with whom he lived, named Hebden, their daughter Frances, aged five years, fractures the skull of his son James, and then attempts to commit suicide. A few hours after being conveyed to the hospital the maniac jumped out of bed, evaded the constable and the nurse who were in charge of him, rushed into another ward, seized the tongs and menaced tie nurse, who escaped by springing from the second-floor window to the ground, fortunately without being injured. Taylor then dashed about the ward and the corridors, and wrote in blood on the wall, " Poison me. Kill me. Let me die. Put me out of my misery." He ultimately ran to a window on the first floor and jumped out of it into the grounds beneath. The window, however, was only six feet from the ground, and he was not injured by his leap. July 1. — The Commons reject the Lords' amendment to the Ballot Bill limiting the duration of the Act to eight years, by 246 to 165 votes. After a conference with the Upper House the Commons accepted this clause, and the Lords withdrew the power of optional secresy proposed to be given to the voter. • — Disorderly scene in the French National Assembly between M. Thiers and M. Rouher regarding the tax on raw materials. 2.— Mr. Miall's motion for a Royal Com- mission to inquire into the origin, nature, amount, and application of the property and revenues of the Church of England rejected by 295 to 94 votes. Mr. T. Hughes's amendment directing the inquiry to ecclesiastical purposes generally was also rejected by 270 to 41 votes. — Inauguration of the memorial edifice at Newcastle, erected to the memory of Nicholas Wood, engineer, and coadjutor of George Stephenson in the early days of railway enter- prise. 3. — The International Prison Congress assemble in the Middle Temple Hall, under the presidency of Lord Carnarvon. — Died, aged 59, Jonathan Bagster, bible publisher. 4. — Commencement of a series of riots near Antwerp, between the military and the populace. JULY 1872. JULY 4. — The Acrobats Bill, framed to protect young people from engaging in entertainments dangerous to their lives or injurious to health, read a second time in the House of Lords. — " Independence Day " celebrated by the arbitrators at Geneva, Mr. Adams responding at the banquet to the toast " The Day we celebrate." — After a debate protracted over six days the Upper House of Convocation resolves to refer the subject of the Athanasian Creed to a committee of both Houses. 5. — Experimental firing into the Glatton in Portland Roads, with results favourable to turret-built ships of her strength. The gun used was the Hotspur's 25-ton. — The Queen reviews the troops at Alder- shot. 6. — The church of St. Mary Magdalen, Paddington, destroyed by fire. — Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wigan take leave of the stage at Drury Lane. — Judge Keogh having been appointed to take the Irish north-west circuit, the Dublin Nation writes : — " And so, guarded by special constables, watched over by spies, and pro- tected by detectives, with gall on his tongue and venom in his heart, he returns to the land of his birth. Deeply as we may regret this issue, it leaves us some little grounds for con- solation, like the shining jewel in the forehead of the toad of adversity. The spectacle afforded by Judge Keogh and his political surroundings may not be without its uses in Ireland, and the lesson which his presence in Ireland will incul- cate is not wholly devoid of advantages. Others besides temperance lecturers have found the benefit of having a 'dreadful example' to point to, and Mr. Justice Keogh will serve as a living memento to tell the aspirants to public favour in Ireland the way they should not go." 8. — Convalescent Home at Highgate opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. — A vote of 4,133^. for the legal expenses of Governor Eyre's defence against criminal prosecutions, carried by 243 to 130 votes. — At the Central Criminal Court, Henry Benson pleaded guilty to obtaining 1,000/. fiom the late Lord Mayor on the false pretence of relieving the destitute inhabitants of Chateau- dun at the close of the war, and was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment with such hard labour as he was able to perform. 9. — Explosion in Tradeston Flour Mills, Glasgow, causing the destruction of an exten- sive range of buildings, the deaths of fourteen people, and serious injury to twelve others employed in the building at the time. The calamity was at first attributed to an escape of gas, but scientific and practical evidence sub- mitted to a court of inquiry held immediat-'ly afterwards, made it more likely to have been caused by an accumulation of explosive dust generated in the process of grinding. 9. — The Democratic Convention at Balti- more nominate Mr. Horace Greeley as their candidate for the Presidency, and Mr. Gretz Brown for the Vice-Presidency. — Justice Keogh and Justice Lawson set out from Dublin for the purpose of opening the assizes at Longford. The train by which they travelled was preceded by a pilot engine and two carriages containing a number of soldiers. At intermediate stations policemen were under arms, but there was no demonstration whatever. A large force of cavalry, infantry, and con- stabulary awaited the arrival of the train at Longford, where the judges were received by the high sheriff. Their lordships proceeded to their lodgings under a strong escort. IO. — The greater part of the masons on strike in London resume work. — Mrs. Squires and her daughter Christiana, newsvendors in Hoxton, beaten to death in their shop and the premises robbed by some person unknown. 11. — Heavy floods and thunderstorm over the kingdom. — The Royal Botanic Society of London give a. fete in their gardens at the Regent's Park. — The Prince of Wales lays the founda tion-stone of the new Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street. — A cabinet of Staffordshire ware presented to Mr. Bright by workers in the Potteries district. In acknowledging the gift he took occasion to refer to the subject of Parliamentary Reform, mentioning that within the last few days they had seen how much progress had been made. " The House of Lords — which seems to be almost the last refuge of politi-al ignorance and passion — the House of Lord* has consented to the establishment of vote by ballot, by which perfect security and inde pendence will be given to every elector. They have, unfortunately, insisted on u. reservation which shows how little they know of the signs of the times, which must infallibly create embarrassment, and contest, and party strife. This might have been avoided, for they, of all persons, have the greatest interest in dispersing with it. " 1 5 . — The Free Church Presbytery of Dundee engage in the consideration of a charge brought against the Rev. Mr. Knight, a member of their body, of having preached in the chapel of the Rev. James Martineau, London. After a long discussion, a motion was adopted, setting forth that Mr. Knight's conduct was highly censurable, but that in view of the offence being the first of the kind with which the Church had had to deal, Mr. Knight should simply be admonished, required to'repudiate the Unitarian body as forming part of the Church of Christ 1061 JULY 1872. JULY and enjoined not to repeat the same act under the pain of exposing himself to the highest censure of the Church. 16.— Meeting of the English Roman Catho- clic, in Willis's Rooms, to protest against the suppression of religious houses in Italy and ll.e expulsion of the Jesuits from Germany. 17. — Debate on Sir R. Blennerhassett's bill Sir the purchase of Irish railways by the State, Lord Hartington promising on the part of the Government that careful consideration would be given to the question. 18.— The Ballot Bill receives the Royal assent. — Freedom of the City of London presented to the Baroness Burdett Coutts, the first lady honoured with such a distinction. — The Marland Spinning Mill, near Roch- lale, occupied by the Castleton Co-operative Spinning Company, destroyed by fire. — Attempt made to assassinate the King and Queen of Spain in the Calle Arenal, Madrid. One of the party of five who fired was killed on the spot by attendants, and two others captured. — National festival in Norway in celebra- tion of the thousandth anniversary of the estab- lishment of the kingdom. At Christiana Prince Oscar, attended by the Prime Minister, Stang, unveiled the national monument in the presence of deputations from the Storthing, the Univer- sity, and the Supreme Court. 19.— Mr. Arthur Helps gazetted K.C.B. — Came on at the Dorset Assizes, before Mr. Justice Mellor, a right of common case, in which the nominal litigants were Davis v. Thorne, but the real parties in the dispute the Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Normanton, Lady Bingham, and other freeholders, on the one hand, and Mr. Fryer, lord of the manor of Verwood, in Dorset, on the other. The plaintiff Davis was a tenant of Lord Normanton, and before certain enclosures were made — now' the subject of litigation — he could drive his cattle at once from his homestead on to the common. But by these enclosures — made by ti.e defendant — he had been shut out, and compelled to go on to the turnpike road in order to get to a portion of his farm, thus putting him to a very great inconvenience. A great number of witnesses came forward, it being argued from the evidence that by the making of the enclosures the lord of the manor had enriched himself, while the rights of the freeholders had been destroyed. Verdict for the plaintiff, with nominal damages of 40J. 20. — The Edinburgh Court of Session give judgment in the Belhaven peerage case, finding that Mr. James Hamilton, North Leith, had established his claim, and remitted to the sheriff of Chancery to serve him heir to the Earldom. 1062 21. — In view of the difliculty of procuring praiseworthy competitive dramas for the "T. P. Cooke National Prize," the Master of the Rolls transfers the 3,000/. bequest from that purpose to the general fund of the Royal Dramatic College. 22.— Lord Granard states in the House of Lords that, having read the papers relating to Mr. Justice Keogh's judgment on the Galway Election Petition, he was unable either to modify or retract any expressions contained in his published letter on the subject. Under these circumstances he had placed his resig- nation of the lord-lieutenancy of Leitrim in the hands of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and his resignation had been accepted. In the Commons Mr. Gladstone announces that Government intended to prosecute the Bishop of Clonfert and nineteen priests for illegal prac- tices at the Galway election. — A proposal to grant a pension of 1,000/. (in addition to an equal sum paid out of the Indian revenue) to Lady Mayo agreed to by both Houses. — Replying to a memorial signed by 7,000 lay members of the Church of England on the subject of the Athanasian Creed, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York write to Lord Shaftes- bury : — "While we think it right to pay due attention to the legitimate scruples of those who, through their zeal to maintain the truth as it has ever been taught by the Church of Christ, feel great anxiety respecting any change, we fully anticipate that, in conjunction with our brethren, we shall be able to devise some plan which will meet the wishes of that other large body of persons who object to the solemn use of words which they regard as un- authorised, in their most obvious sense, either by the letter or the spirit of Holy Scripture." — Died, aged 60 years, General Don Benito Juarez, President of the Republic of Mexico, and the successful rival of the Emperor Maxi- milian, whom he put to death. 23. — Died, aged 75 years, W. Bridges Adams, mechanician. — Henry M. Stanley, the discoverer of Dr. Livingstone, arrives at Marseilles with nume- rous letters and reports from the great traveller. — Severe thunderstorm accompanied by a heavy fall of rain experienced in London and neighbourhood. 24. — Commenting on the Keogh ju Igment, the Freeman's Journal attacks the Prime Minister :— " Unhappy Ireland ! Ill-fated peo- ple ! The serpent whom the nation warmed into vitality and power, ' the people's William,' is the first among the foremost to curl his viper tail and strike his envenomed fang into the national heart, not only prosecuting the bishops and priests for being true to their people, but seeking, by a deep-laid plot, to stifle their defence." On the attention of the House being called to the words, the Irish Attorney. JULY 1872. AUGUST General said it was not his intention to insti- tute a prosecution in regard to that article, and hs was surprised that Colonel Knox, being an Irishman himself, should not have known that such things were customary in that country. 24. — Mr. Gilpin's bill for the abolition of capital punishment rejected by 167 votes to 54. — Meeting of the Church Association to promote the presentation of a lay memorial to the Bishops, and a protest on the subject of the Bennett judgment. 25. — Edward E. Stokes tried for the murder of James Fisk at New York, but the jury declare themselves unable to agree upon a verdict. 26. — Mr. Vernon Harcourt's motion, " That the administration of the law under the ex- isting system is costly, dilatory, ar.d inefficient ; that a competent commission having reported that the judicial organisation is defective in all its branches, it is desirable that her Majesty's Government should, in the next session of Par- liament, present to this House a measure for its reform and reconstruction, which, without increasing the public charge, shall provide for the more effectual, speedy, and economical administration of justice," rejected after debate by 60 votes to 45. 27. — Mdlle. Christine Nilssoh married to M. Rouzaud at Westminster Abbey. 28. — Subscriptions received for the French loan of 120,000,000/. issued at 84f. 50c. Total amount subscribed 1,720,000,000/. 29. — Earl Derby calls the attention of the House of Lords to the treatment experienced by Dr. Hooker, director of Kew Gardens, at the hands of Mr. Ayrton, First Commissioner of Works. After tracing the history of Kew Gardens, and the distinguished scientific career, fast of Sir W. Hooker and then of his son, he stated from the blue book the acts of which Dr. Hooker complained, and charged the First Commissioner of Works with systematic arro- gance and disregard of the courtesies of official life. 31. — Died, aged 67, Augustus Smith, the lessee (under the Duchy of Cornwall) or king of the Scilly Isles, with no neighbouring pro- prietor nearer than the Land's End on one side and Newfoundland on the other. — Enormous rise in the price of coals — in the metropolis to the extent of 100 per cent., and in the colliery districts to 300 per cent, on last winter's prices. — Celebration of the 400th anniversary of the foundation of Munich University. Herr Von Lutz, the Minister of Public Instruction, was the bearer of the King's congratulations, and announced the foundation by his Majesty of a scholarship for students in history. Pro- fessor Sybel on the part of various German associations, Professor Max Miiller on the part uf foreign universities, and Professor Ernst Curtius on behalf of the learned societies, ds- livered congratulatory addresses. The Rector, Dr. Dollinger, in reply to Professor Max Miiller, remarked that the many good sides of the English Universities were not unknown in Germany, and Oxford especially was venerated as a model and an elder sister. 31 . — At a meeting of th e Suez Canal Compan 7 the estimated revenue for the year was stated \o\ e 22,ooo,ooof., leaving a profit of 6,65o,ooof. , in consequence of the new mode of applying the tariffs. Eight hundred and eighty-seven vessels passed through the canal during the first six months of 1872, producing 7,244,ooof., or an increase of 45 per cent, on the preceding half- year. The calculation of the tariff on the basis of the gross tonnage instead of the net tonnage produced since the 1st of July an increase of 50 per cent, in the receipts. — Died, aged 19 years, Francois Louis Marie Philippe, Due de Guise, only surviving child of the Due d'Aumale, by his late con- sort Marie Caroline Auguste, daughter of he Prince of Salerno. August 1. — Experiment with gun-cotton in the neighbourhood of the Treasury, White- hall, resulting in an explosion which shattered the windows of several public offices. — General Schenck, the American Minister, General Sherman, and the admiral and captains of the United States quadron at anchor in Southampton water, received by the Queen at Osborne. — The return from the bankers' clearing house, for the week ending to-day, shows a total of 147,553,000/. In the corresponding week of last year it was 116,642,000/. The largest return ever known previously to the present one was for the week ending the 3rd ult., when it amounted to 142,045,000/. 2. — The Select Committee appointed to report upon the whole subject of railway com- munication between the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Persian Gulf, issue their report. The committee state that the evidence which they have taken has satisfied them that there is no insuperable obstacle in the way of the construction of a railway from some suitable port in the Mediterranean to some other suitable port at or near the head of the Persian Gulf; that there is more than one port which might be selected at either end of the line ; that theie are several practicable routes ; that there would be no difficulty in procuring the neces- sary supply of labour and of materials for con- structing a railway ; and that there need be no apprehension of its being exposed to injury by natives, either during the process of its con- struction or after it shall have been completed. The committee think that 10,000,000/. would cover the expenses of the shortest route pro- posed. In conclusion, the report says : — ' Speaking generally, your committee are of AUGUST 1872. AUGUST opinion that the two routes, by the Red Sea and by the Persian Gulf, might be maintained and used simultaneously ; that at certain seasons and for certain purposes the advantage would lie with the one, and at other seasons and for other purposes it would lie with the other ; that it may fairly be expected that in process of time traffic enough for the support of both would develop itself, but that this result must not be expected too soon ; that the political and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would at any time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be exceedingly great ; and that it would be worth the while of the English Government to make an effort to secure them, considering the moderate pecuniary risk which they would incur." 3. — Collision at Clifton Junction, on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, between an express and a goods train. Five persons killed and several seriously injured. — Melkshott Court, Romsey, the seat of Lady Ashburton, burnt, but the greater part of the valuable works of art with which it was crowded saved. 4. — Died, aged 81 years, General Julius George Griffith, of the Royal Artillery, an old Deccan campaigner under Colonel Lionel Smith. — Murder and suicide at Gerson near Lucerne, an American shooting a young lady walking with her mother and sister, and dis- charging a pistol through his own head. 5. — Publication in the Gazette of the official despatches from Dr. Livingstone, brought home by Mr. Stanley, who had arrived in London on the 2nd inst. , after a short stay at Paris. They comprised six letters, the first addressed to Lord Stanley, being dated the 15th of November, 1870, and the last to Earl Gran- ville, dated Unyanyembe, near the Kazeh of Sheke, February 20, 1872. In 1866 Dr. Livingstone had entered Africa from Zanzibar, but far south of the Nile system. The great valley of the Zambezi, with its tributary, Lake Nyassa, already familiar to him, was the scene of his first labours. Thence he worked north- wards over the watershed in search of streams that might feed the infant Nile, and at last, deserted by his guides and worn out by toil, but rewarded by the discovery of the great river Chambezi, he reached Ujiji, the Arab trade depfit on Lake Tanganyika, in 1869. There he rested for a while, and then started again on the same quest. Again he was rewarded by the sight of a great river called Lualaba, which he succeeded in tracing back till it was identified with the Chambezi of his former discovery. But he was worn down by illness and exhaustion. His feet were sore with ulcers, his followers had mutinied, his s'ores were exhausted, and he had no resource but to fall back once more on Ujiji, which he reached for the second time, utterly dispirited ic6|. and forlorn, and, in his own expressive phrase, "a mere ruckle of bones," in the middle of October 1871. But he had not long to wait for help and comfort. On the 10th of Novem- ber the discharge of many muskets announced the arrival of some distinguished party, and the old traveller's eyes and ears were soon glad- dened by the sight of a white face, and the sound of the familiar English tongue. Mr. Stanley had found him out, and brought health and plenty in his company. (See Nov. 10, 1871.) Dr. Livingstone sent home his journal to his daughter Agnes. " It is," he writes, "one of Letts's large folio diaries, and is full except a few (five) pages reserved for altitudes which I cannot at present copy. It contains a few private memoranda for my family alone, and I adopt this course in order to secure it from risk in my concluding trip." Letters continued to be received from Livingstone till July of this year. 5. — Mr. Grant-Duff introduces the Indian Budget. For the regular estimate year 1871-72 the revenue was 50,013,686/. and the expendi- ture 47,282,356/., and the Budget estimate for the coming year put the revenue at 48, 771,000/. and the expenditure at 48,534,000/., leaving a surplus of about a quarter of a million. The decrease in the revenue was due chiefly to opium and assessed taxes. Since the year 1861, the income drawn from India amounted to 569,000,000/., and we had spent there 576,500,000/. But for this excess of expendi- ture over income of seven millions, India had obtained over thirty-seven millions of pro- perly, namely, seven millions and a half in public roads, eight millions in canals and a million and a half in harbours, six and a half millions in civil buildings, eleven millions in military buildings, and two millions and three- quarters in state railways. An amendment moved by Mr. Fawcett, condemning the income-tax, was withdrawn after discussion. 6. — Royal assent given to the Scotch Educa- tion Bill. 7. — Earl Russell, writing to the Times, sug- gests a change in the termination of the financial year. If it were to close, he said, on the 30th June, instead of the 31st March, the following advantages would be secured : — 1. The months of February, March, and April might be de- voted to the consideration of bills by the House of Commons, these bills being sent to the House of Lords before the end of April. The House of Commons would not then be required to give up June and July to the business of legislation. 2. The House of Commons, not having its attention occupied by the passing of bills through Committee, would be able at the beginning of May to give its attention to Esti- mates and to any financial measures which the Government or individual members might place before them. 3. The Estimates being voted before the 30th of June, the expenditure of the year would begin with the closing of the Committee of Supply. AUGUST 1872. AUGUST 7. — At Guildford Assizes, before Baron Martin, the jury again return a verdict for the defendants in the action raised by Leonard Edmunds against several newspaper proprietors to recover damages for alleged libels contained in a Treasury minute published by them. — The Countess Waldegrave presented with a portrait of her husband, Mr. Chichester Fortescue, M.P., recently retired from the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland . 8. — Mr. Fawcett calls the attention of the Commons to the dispute between Mr. Ayrton and Dr. Hooker. At the same sitting Mr. Butt's motion concerning Judge Keogh was rejected by 126 votes to 23. — Died, aged 70, George Godolphin Osborne, Duke of Leeds. — Died, aged 89, Colonel Thomas S. Begbie, late of the 44th Regiment, a Penin- sular veteran, who had entered the army as early as 1807. — Died at Berlin, Dr. Abeken, the Gentz of modern Germany, familiarly known as " Bismarck's pen," and described by the Em- - peror as ' ' one of my most trusty counsellors, who stood by me in the most decisive moments of my life, and whose loss is to me irreparable." 9. — Mr. Childers sworn in as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. IO. — Parliament prorogued by Commission ; the Royal Speech, in addition to a brief notice of the more important measures passed, making reference to the satisfactory result of the con- troversy raised by the Treaty of Washington and the termination of the commercial treaty with France. It was also intimated that " my Government has taken steps intended to pre- pare the way for dealing more effectually with the slave trade on the east coast of Africa." Previous to the formality of reading the Speech the Royal assent was given by commission to the Licensing Bill, the Mines Regulation Bill, the Public Health Bill, the Military Forces Localization (Expenses), and other bills. — The Prince of Wales places the finish- ing stone of the Breakwater at Weymouth, the first stone of which was laid by the Prince Consort, July 25, 1849. The structure is a great sea-wall 100 feet high from the bottom of the sea, and 300 feet thick at the base, but naiTower above, and stretches with a bend towards Weymouth, a mile and five-eighths from the east side of the island of Portland, and shelters from every wind an area of 6, 745 acres of water — namely, the space for anchorage or coaling of men-of-war, 1,290 acres outside the five-fathom line, 1,590 acres between three and five fathoms, 1,758 acres between 12 feet and 19 feet, and 2,107 acres up to low- water level. The entire structure consists of an inner breakwater, 1,900 feet in length, divided from an outer or isolated breakwater, 6,200 feet in length, by an opening 400 feet wide. The whole is built in nine to ten fathoms of water, the material used being rough blocks of Port- land stone, quarried by convicts from the neigh" bouring shore. IO. — Marine Aquarium at Brighton opened by the Mayor of the borough. At the luncheon given afterwards in the Pavilion, Dr. Carpenter urged that the aquarium should be made a marine observatory in the interest of science. It was, he said, what naturalists had long wanted, and if properly managed would do much to advance the study of marine zoology. 11. — Died, aged 78 years, Prince Gholam Mahomed, K.C.S.I., last surviving son of Tippoo Sultan. — Died, aged 75 years, Sir Andrew Smith, K.C.B., Director-General of the Army Medical Department, 1851-58. 12. — The Japanese Envoy presented to the Queen at Windsor. — Died, Rev. Dr. Walsh, Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory, defendant in the case of O'Keefe v. Walsh. — Disorderly gathering of women at Low Green, Workington, Cumberland, to protest against the price of butcher's meat. — James Flynn, sentenced to death at the last Manchester Assizes for the murder of Johanna Nairn at Oldham, commits suicide in the county prison by starving himself. — Charles Holmes, a labourer at Broms- grove, executed at Worcester- for the murder of his wife, whom, during their four years of married life, he had treated with systematic brutality. 13. — Triple execution within the walls of Maidstone gaol : viz., Francis Bradford, who murdered one of his comrades at Dover ; Thomas Moore, who murdered his wife at Ashford ; and James Tooth, the murderer of a drummer boy at the Marine Barracks, Chat- ham. The three men were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by Mr. Baron Bram- well at the recent summer assizes at Maidstone. Tooth and Moore died instantly, but Bradford, being lighter, struggled for nearly ten minutes. Christopher Edwards was also executed within Stafford prison for the murder of his wife at Willenhall. — Mr. G. Gilbert Scott, architect, gazetted a knight. — A woman named Venables, living in Roman Road, Islington, with a cabman named Chatterton, murders her daughter, apparently under a fit of terror at apprehended ill-usage. She was tried on the 21st, and found guilty of murder, but recommended to mercy. 14. — Inauguration of the fountain erected in the West-end Park, Glasgow, to commemorate the introduction of the Loch Katrine water supply and the services rendered in connection with that great work by the late Lord Provost Stewart. 1065 AUGUST 1872. AUGUST 14. — The Queen arrives in Edinburgh for a stay of three days. — The British Association met at Brighton under the presidency of Dr. Carpenter, who delivered an address having reference chiefly to the mental processes by which are formed the fundamental conceptions of matter and force, of cause and effect, of law and order, the basis of all exact scientific reasoning. To set up those sequences, he said, which we call laws as self-acting, either excluding or rendering unnecessary the power which alone could give them effect, appeared to him as arrogant as it was uflphilosophical. Modem science, fixing its attention exclusively on the order of nature, had separated itself wholly from theology, whose function it was to seek after its cause, and herein science was justified ; but when science assumed to set up its own conception of the order of nature as a sufficient account of its cause, it was invading a province of thought to which it had no claim. 15.— Died, aged 73, Dr. F. C. Skey, Demonstrator, Lecturer, and latterly Professor of Anatomy, and President for a time of the Royal College of Surgeons. — • The first Parliamentary contest under the Ballot Act takes place at Pontefract, Mr. Childers, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, receiving 658 voles against 578 given to Lord Pollington, presently professing Con- servative principles, but in 1868 said to have sought an alliance with his present opponent on Liberal views. 16. — Commencement of a week's rioting between the Orangemen and Catholics of Bel- fast Public-houses were sacked, workpeople mobbed, and Protestants in considerable num- bers driven forcibly out of Catholic districts. On the 21st a policeman named Moore was shot, and several Catholic schools sacked. — Mr. Stanley details to a crowded and enthusiastic meeting at Brighton his travels in search of Dr. Livingstone, and their happy termination in the discovery, at Ujiji, of the pale, careworn, grey-headed old man "dressed in a red shirt and crimson jo-ho, with a gold band round his cap, an old tweed pair of pants, and his shoes looking the worse for wear." The ex-Emperor Napoleon was among the audience, composed for the most part of mem- bers of the British Association. 19. — In the course of a missionary speech at Carlisle the Archbishop of Canterbury re- ferred to the many natives of heathen lands to be seen in London, at the Queen's levees, at the Temple, and at the Eastern Homes, insist- ing tbat unless steps were taken for converting them the likelihood was that these heathen would be converting us. " I am almost," said his Grace, "afraid to say it, but I cannot help thinking that this great proximity of the East to ourselves has somehow or other infected the t'hilosophy on which the young men feed in our great seminaries of learning, and that men 1066 of learning, from rubbing shoulders with men who altogether disbelieve in Christianity, have more toleration for that denial than they had in the olden times ; and that systems which have existed for centuries in the extreme lands of heathenism are finding some sort of echo even among the literature and philosophy of this Christian country." 20. — Died in Glasgow, advanced in years, William Miller, known in Scotland as the "Nursery Poet." 21. — Murder and attempted suicide in a house of ill- fame in Langton Street, Chelsea, by two young Germans named May and Nagel, natives of Berlin, the latter, by mutual arrange- ment it was presumed, shooting himself through the heart after seriously wounding his friend. 22.— Prince Milan Obrenovitch IV. ascends the throne of Servia in succession to Prince Michel assassinated four years since. — The failure announced of the old firm of Gledstanes and Co., East India merchants, Austinfriars, with liabilities set down ?t 1,722,235/. 23. — Mary Ann Cotton, "the poisoner," committed for trial by the Bishop-Auckland magistrates on the charge of murdering her stepson with intent to defraud a burial society. 24. — Attempt by J. B. Johnson to swim from Dover to Calais ; failed after two experi- ments, when the circulation was so low as to compel his friends to lift him into the steam- tender. — The Pacific Mail Company's steamer America destroyed by fire in the harbour of Yokohama ; between sixty and seventy passen- gers, mostly Chinese labourers, were killed, and a valuable cargo from San Francisco destroyed. — The Prince of Wales visits M. Thiers at his marine residence at Trouville, where the President had been staying since the breaking up of the Assembly. — Died, aged 65 years, Nathaniel Beard- more, civil engineer. 27. — Following up the remarks of the Arch- bishop of Canterbury on "the heathen" in Lon- don, S. B. Thakur, a Hindoo student, writes to the Times : — " It is possible that the fears of the Primate were groundless ; but there is every reason to believe that Eastern philosophy and literature will exercise a very great and bene- ficial influence on English thought, because Arabic and Sanskrit— two out of the three most important languages of Asia — are being studied at the Universities of this country— the former by the students of theology as being indispen- sable to a critical acquaintance with Hebrew; the latter^ by classical scholars, as being abso- lutely necessary to a sound scholarship in Greek, Latin, and philological lore. Thus a day will come when our philosophers and logicians will be eagerly studied by the English youth, justaa Aristotle and Plato are." SEPTEMBER 187; SEPTEMBER 27. — The Queen presents Mr. Stanley with a snuff-box and a letter thanking him for his services in connection with the discovery of Dr; Livingstone. The young traveller afterwards visited the Queen at Dunrobin. — Fire at Kentish Town railway station, destroying the upper part of the premises and some adjoining properties. — The Spanish steamer Perseveranza wrecked near Oporto, and thirty of those on v>ard drowned. 28. — The residence of Mr. Panizzi, at Sydenham, attacked by burglars, and one of the servants of the family injured in * fight which ensued. 29. — Termination of the strike of London carpenters. — The Archbishop of York preaches a ser- mon in connection with the 6oolh anniversary of the hospital at Greatham, near Stockton- on-Tees. 31.— Mr. Speaker Brand, addressing his tenants on the estate of Glynde, proposes to give labourers a share in farming profits pro- portionate to the amount of capital they were able to invest. " If you have got 5/.," he said, "in the savings bank, a"nd you would like to lend it to my fanning business, I will engage to give you, as the savings-bank does, 2 \ per cent, for the money ; and I will do more than that. I will — supposing the profits of the farm exceed 2j per cent, for the money I have invested — give yon precisely the same interest upon the capital you lend me. That is to say, supposing I get 10 per cent, as profit on the capital I have invested, you shall have 10 per cent, on your 5/. instead of 24. So, you see, you will be in this position — that you will never get less than the 24 per cent, you receive now, and if the farm yields more you will have the benefit of it. I am quite sure of this, that we shall never come to a satisfactory settlement of the relation between employer and employed until the latter, according to the amount of capital and labour he has invested, has an interest in the good conduct of the concern. My sole object is to give you a personal pecuniary interest in the conduct of the farm, and to endeavour to raise you a little above the position you now occupy as labourers." September 2. — Consulted on the disputes between the Rugby masters, the Attorney- General writes that " it seems to him equally strange and deplorable that a head master should gravely put forward such matters as had been submitted to justify the virtual dismissal and possible ruin of a gentleman of ability and education engaged with him in teaching. The evidence is of the vaguest sort. There is abso- lutely nothing to connect Mr. Scott with Mr. Kynnersley's expressions, except the inferences of. Dr. Hayman and Mr. B. Mr. Scott, I understand denies that. his letters were hostile IC67 to Dr. Hayman ; and it is in my judgment in- tolerable that a gentleman should be brought to book and threatened with dismissal because he has written to his relation as to what is going oh at his school, and that relation has made strong comments on the head master. If this were permitted by the governing body to affect their minds, I cannot but observe that the posi- tion of an assistant-master at Rugby School, under such conditions, is not one which they can expect a gentleman with the feelings of a gentleman to undertake." 2. — International Congress of workmen opened at the Hague. 3. — Fire in Canterbury Cathedral, origi- nating, it was thought, in the carelessness of workmen engaged in repairing the lead roof of the fabric. Owing to the scarcity of water, about 150 feet of the roof was consumed before the flames could be got under. The shrine of Thomas a Becket, together with the interest- ing portion of the edifice known as Becket's Corner and the tomb of the Black Prince, were in imminent danger; telegrams, indeed, at one period giving little hope of saving any portion of the magnificent fabric. — Father Hyacinthe married at the Mary, lebone Registrar's office to Mrs. Merriman. 4. — The Hungarian Diet opened by the emperor. — A company of Mormons, numbering five hundred and ninety, leave Liverpool in the Minnesota for New York on their way to Utah. — Heavy thunderstorm in the northern and western counties, with loss of several lives. At Liskeard the telegraph office was destroyed by lightning. 5. — Alice Blanche Oswald, an American governess, aged twenty years, commits suicide by throwing herself off Waterloo Bridge into the Thames. She rose more than once scream- ing frantically, and seemed to be swimming, . but sank twice before the Thames police-boat could reach her. She was well dressed. In her pocket was found a purse containing a half- penny, a duplicate for a shawl pledged for 2J., a wedding ring, a small box key, a dress ring with white stones, a pair of gilt ear- rings, small brooch, and a locket containing the miniature of a gentleman ; also several papers, and addresses of the American Minis- ter, Consul, and others. At the inquest a letter written by deceased was read explaining the motives compelling her to self-destruc- tion : — " Alone in London, not a penny or a friend to advise or lend a helping hand, tired and weary with looking for something to do, failing in every way, footsore and heart-weary, I prefer death to the dawning of another wretched morning. I have only been in Britain nine weeks . . . Oh, God of heaven, have mercy on a poor helpless sinner ; Thou knowest how I have striven against this, but fate is against me. . I cannot tread the path of sin, SEPTEMBER 1872. SEPTEMBER for my dead mother will be watching me. Fatherless, motherless, home I have none. Oh for the rarity of Christian hearts. I am now mad ; for days I have foreseen that this would be the end. May all who hear of my death forgive me, and may God Almighty do so, before whose bar I must soon appear. Fare- well to all, to this beautiful, and yet wretched world.— Alice Blanche Oswald. I am twenty years of age the 14th of this month." The jury returned a verdict of " Suicide while in a state of temporary insanity." 5. — Foundation-stone laid of new harbour works at St. Helier's, Jersey. 6. — The Queen arrives at Dunrobin on a visit to the Duke of Suthettand; and during her stay lays the foundation-stone of a monument in honour of the late Duchess. — Explosion in the mixing-house of Curtis and Harvey's Hounslow powder works, causing serious damage to the works and the death of five people employed therein. 7. — Conference at ^Berlin (between the Emperors of Austria, (Germany, and Russia, attended with great military display, and torchlight "tattoo" lintthe evening. — Commencement of the Autumn Military Manoeuvres at Wimborne and Blandford Downs, under the command of Generals Sir John'Michel and Sir Robert Walpole. 8. — Died, aged 80, Rev. Dr. Bisset, minister of Bourtie, formerly Moderator of the •General Assembly, and in early life teacher at Udny Grammar School, where he had for pupils lads so well known afterwards as Sir James Gutram, Dr. Joseph Robertson, and Dr. Hill Burton. 9.-^The State elections in Maine carried by the Republicans. 11. — Social Science Congress opened at Plymouth by the President for the year, Lord Napier and Ettrick. 10. — Replying to an address from English Protestants expressive of sympathy in his strug- gle with the Ultramontanes, Prince Bismarck writes 1 — " I am gl*d that I agree with you in the principle that, in a well-regulated commu- nity, every person, to whatever profession of faith he may belong, should enjoy that amount of freedom which is compatible with the liberty and security of others and the inde- pendence of the country. In the battle for this principle God will protect the German Empire from opponents who take His name as a mask for their enmity aga inst our peace at home." — The Autumn manoeuvres closed by a " march past " at Beacon Hill, near Amesbury. 13 A sermon on St. Bartholomew's Day, preached by Dean Stanley in Mr. Boyd's church, St. Andrew's, having recalled attention to the controversv regarding the approval said to have been expressed by Pope Gregory XIII., 1068 Dr. Newman now writes to the Times : — " Craft and cruelty, and whatever is base and wicked, have a sure Nemesis, and eventually strike the heads of those who are guilty of them. Whether in matter of fact Pope Ore-' gory XIII. had a share in the guilt of the St. Bartholomew Massacre must be proved to me before I believe it. It is commonly said in his defence that he had an untrue, one-sided account of the matter presented to bim, and acted on misinformation. This involves a question of fact, which historians must decide. But, even if they decide against the Pope, his Infallibility is in no respect compromised. Infallibility is not Impeccability. Even Caia- phas prophesied, and Gregory XIII. was not quite a Caiaphas." 13.— Replying to a criticism by Mr. Capes, Dr. Newman writes : — " He assumes that I did not hold or profess the' doctrine of the Pope's Infallibility till the time of the Vatican Council, whereas I have committed myself to it in print again and again, from 1845 to 1867. And, on the . other hand, as it so happens — though I hold it as I ever have done — I have had no occasion to profess it, whether in print or other- wise, since that date. Anyone who knows my writings will recollect that in so saying I state the simple fact. The surprise and distress I felt at the definition was no personal matter, but was founded on serious reasons of which I feel the force still." In another letter to the Guardian Dr. Newman writes : " It is true I was deeply, though not personally, pained both by the fact and by the circumstances of the definition ; and, when it was in contemplation, I wrote a most confidential letter, which was surreptitiously gained and published, but of which I have not a word to retract. The feel- ings of surprise and concern expressed in that letter have nothing to do with a screwing one's conscience to profess what one does not believe, which is Mr. Capes's pleasant account of me. He ought to know better." — Two sisters, Alice and Jane M'Culloch, drowned off Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, by the upsetting of a pleasure-boat in a squall. — Paris papers contain the text of a judg- ment delivered in the Brest scandal case, con- cerning the Jesuit Father Dufour and the Vis- comtesse de Vielmont. The judgment pointed out that the case for the prosecution rested entirely on the evidence of the guard of the train, and that his statements were inconsistent with each other, and, in some particulars specified, not conceivably true. The accused were therefore entirely acquitted of the charge of indecency. At the same time, the judgment observed that the defendants had admitted familiarities which were " very reprehensible." 14. — Frederick Clappison, late secretary of the London and County Bank, examined at the Mansion House on a charge of forging transfer shares, and committed for trial. On the 25th he was sentenced to five years' penal mtude. SEPTEMBER 1872. SEPTEMBER 14. — The Geneva Court of Arbitration issue an award unanimously finding Great Britain liable for the acts committed by the Alabama ; by a majority of the Italian, Swiss, Brazilian, and United States arbitrators against the arbi- trator appointed by Great Britain, they find Great Britain liable for the acts committed by the Florida ; and by a majority of the Italian, Swiss, and United States arbitrators against the arbitrators appointed by Great Britain and Brazil, they find Great Britain liable for the acts committed by the Shenandoah after leaving Melbourne. They unanimously decided that, in the cases in which Great Britain was held responsible, the acts of the tenders should be considered to follow the judgment given in regard to the cruisers to which they were attached. They decided that Great Britain was not responsible for the acts committed by the Georgia, or by any of the other Confede- rate cruisers except the three above named. They rejected altogether the claim of the United States Government for expenditure incurred in pursuit and capture of the cruisers. They decided that interest should be allowed, and have awarded a gross sum of 15,500,000 dollars in gold (about 3,229,166/. 13J. 4a".) in satisfaction and final settlement of all claims, including interest. The amount of the claims preferred before the Tribunal, as appears from the Revised Statement of Claims presented on the part of the United States in April last, was 19,739,095 dollars in gold, to which was added a claim for expenses of pursuit and capture to the amount of 7,080,478 dollars, with interest at 7 per cent, on the whole amount for about ten years, or, in all, 45,500,000 dollars in gold (or about 9,479,166/. 13J. 4a 7 .) This award was signed by all the arbitrators except Sir A. Cockbum. — Disturbance at Oxford in connection with the carrying out of the early closing clauses of the Licensing Act. — Died at Nuremberg, aged 69, Lud- wig Fenerbach, author of "Das Wesen der Religion," and numerous other philosophical works. — M. Edmond About arrested by Germans at his private residence, Saverne, the alleged offence being seditious speakjng and writing. He was liberated in a few days, 15. — In opening the Cortes, King Victor Amadeus described the Carlist insurrection as almost at an, end* and premised to despatch to, Cuba all. the mild tar, y strength necessary to sup- press the insurrection ; "and when thai end is attained bills would be introduced, specially intended fop that dependency, relative to finances, justice,, commerce, the army,, and public instruction."' — Died, aged 73,. Rev. Wm. Anderson, LL.D„. a well-known Glasgow preacher. — Ghent /$fef attended by a number qf English volunteer commanders, 1069 17. — Died, aged 81, Joseph Johnson, fifty years, since an active associate of Hunt, Cob- bett, and Bamford,, and who had undergone two years' imprisonment as. one qf the leaders at Peterloo. 18. — Died at Ma%S» 3g e( M6, Charles XV. King of Sweden and Norway. Prince Regent Oscar was proclaimed as Oscar II. 19. — Roui.dhay Park, Leeds, opened by Prince Arthur. Next day he laid the founda- tion stone of the New Exchange. — M. Thiers sets out for Paris from Trouville, where he had been honoured by the presence of French and English war ships. SO. — Captain Burton, formerly of Damascus, gazetted to be her Majesty's Consul at Trieste. — Old Catholic Congress at Cologne opened. One motion submitted expressed a desire that the Governments of Germany, Aus- tria, and Switzerland will : — 1, Regard the Catholics adhering to the Old Catholic Church, and who reject the Vatican decrees as innova- tions, as members of the Church recognized by the State, and protect them as such ; 2, Deem the bishops recognizing the Vatican innovations and their organs as having no. right of jurisdic- tion over the Old Catholics, who, moreover, are declared in the Vatican decrees not to be- long to the New Catholic sect. 22. — Liberal gathering af Antwerp known as the "Banquet des Gueux," or Beggars' League, a name assumed in honour of an an- cient confederation of noblemen, who in the middle of the sixteenth century received this contemptuous designation frgm, Margaret of Parma. They vowed that they would make the name respected, and the " Beggars " soon afterwards revolted and drove the Spaniards from the Netherlands- — Preparations for a banquet to M. Gam- betta at Chambery suddenly stopped. 2$. — Died, aged 66, her Serene High- ness, the Princess Hohenlohe-Langenburg, daughter of the Duchess of Kent, (by her first marriage with Emich Charles, reigning Prince of Leiningen), and half-sister of Queen Victoria. — Partial strike of London bakers. 24. — A supplement to the Gazette sets forth the judgment and award of the Geneva Tribunal of Arbitration, the reasons of Lord Chief Jus- tice Cockbum for dissenting from it, and the " opinions " presented during the progress of i the case by Count Sclopis, the Viscpiint Itajuba, M. Staempfli, and Mr. Adams. Sir Alexander Cockbum s judgment was of a most elaborate character, 3-nd filled 250 pages. Writing of the alleged unfriendly feeling said to have been shown by Great Britain to the United States,, Sir Alexander explained that a strong impres- sion couid not fail to be produced on the public mind by the energy, determination, and courage displayed by the South, and the generous ardoui with which its population risked life and fortune (7 2 SEPTEMBER- I?72. OCTOBER in the desperate straggle for national independ- ence, so resolutely maintained to the last against infinitely superior force. " Whatever the cause in which they are exhibited, devotion and cou- rage will ever command respect ; and they did so in this instance. Men could not see in the united people of these vast provinces, thus risk- ingall in the cause of nationality and independ- ence, the cortvmon case of rebels, disturbing peace and order on account of imaginary griev- ances, or actuated by the desire of overthrowing a Government in order to rise upon its ruins. They gave credit to the statesmen and war- riors of the South — their cause might be right or wrong — for the higher motives which ennoble political action ; and all the opprobrious terms which might be heaped upon the cause in which he fell, could not persuade the world that the earth beneath which Stonewall Jackson rests does not cover the remains of a patriot and a hero." Again, defending Earl Russell: — ' ' When the history of Great Britain during the nineteenth century shall be written, not only will there be none among the statesmen who have adorned it whose name will be associated with greater works in the onward path of poli- t'cal progress than that of Earl Russell, but there will be none to whom, personally, an admiring posterity will look back with greater veneration and respect. That this distinguished man should feel deeply aggrieved by the un- worthy attack thus made on the Government of which he was a leading member, and on himself personally, it is easy to understand ; hut there are attacks which recoil upon those who make them ; and of this nature are asper- sions on the honesty and sincerity of Earl Russell." Sir Alexander concurred with his colleagues as to the Alabama, though not for the same reasons, but protested against the allowance of interest and the amount of it. He concluded by expressing an earnest hope that the decision will be accepted by the British people " with the submission and respect which is due to the decision of a tribunal by whose award it has freely consented to abide." 26. — Acknowledging the gift of the freedom oj" the city of Glasgow, Mr. Lowe censures Sir Alexander Cockbum for publishing his "reasons" for differing with the other arbi- trators. " I very much regret," he said, "that my learned friend the Lord Chief Justice did not take the course of simply signing the award with the other arbitrators, it being perfectly well known that he differed from them in certain respects which would appear by the transaction or the award. When the thing is decided, and when we are bound to act upon it, and when we are not really justified in any feeling, I think, of honour or good faith, in making any reclamation or quarrel at all with what has been done in such circumstances, I think it is a great pity that he should have have thought it his duty to stir up and renew the strong arguments and contes's, on which the arbitrators had decided. At any rats, I think 1070 if it was his opinion that we ought to acquiesce quietly and without murmur in the award, he had better not have published his arguments. If he had thought it right to publish his argu- ments he had better have retrenched his advice." 26. — M. Gambetta delivers a speech at Grenoble, in which he demands the dissolu- tion of the Assembly, and expresses his distrust of " Republicans of the eleventh hour." Let us, he said, have no renegades in our rsnks, and nothing to do with chiefs who now come over to us. 28. — Sir Sydney Waterlow elected Lord Mayor of London. 29. — Rev. Wm. Brock, D.D., retires from the Baptist Chapel, Bloomsbury, where he had ministered for twenty-five years. 30. — Close of the "option" in Alsace- Lorraine, when 88,000 emigrants are reported to have passed through Nancy. October I. — Disestablishment Conference at Birmingham, called to induce Liberal leaders to adopt a new creed demanding immediate action against the National Churches of England and Scotland. Mr. Miall argued that Noncon- formists should move every stone in order that the principle may be thoroughly well repre- sented in the next Parliament, but he did not think that in every place, and especially in county constituencies, they should lay it down as a general rule that if they could not have a man purely avowing the principle of disestab- lishment^ they should let the next general elec- tion go in favour of the Conservative party. They must not separate themselves altogether from the Liberal party on this question until they were prepared" to do far more than they could do now. — Lord Hatherley having resolved upon retiring from the woolsack, the Attorney- General, Sir Roundell Palmer, is generally mentioned as his probable successor. — Died, aged 63, the Right Rev. Dr. Gray, Bishop of Capetown and Metropolitan of South Africa. 2.— The Escurial, built by Philip II. of Spain in honour of St. Lawrence, struck by lightning, and partly consumed. — Eleven persons killed and many injured. by the Scotch express from London running into a mineral train while some waggons were being shunted at the Kirtlebridge station of the Caledonian Railway. The first passenger car- riage was not much injured, but the next three ■ were broken up,, and most of the killed found among the fragments. The stationmaster Currie was arresfed pending an inquiry as to the position and Working of the signals, and afterwards committed for trial on the double charge of culpable homicide and wilful viola- tion of duty. An official report described foui OCTOBER 1872. OCTOBER causes as contributing to the accident : the forgetfulness of the stationmaster ; the want of interlocked points and signals, worked from a properly placed cabin ; the absence not only of a telegraphic block system, but even of any telegraphic warning of the approach of the delayed train ; and the unpunctuality of the passenger train. Captain Tyler said there was no blame to be attributed to the railway ser- vants with the passenger train. The whole onus of the accident rested with the stationmaster^ who was represented to be a very careful and hard-worked man; but if the particular points, the moving of which was the cause of the acci- dent, had been interlocked with signals, it ■ would have been impossible for the station- mister or anyone else to cause the accident. Tnis, and neither the block system nor notice "by telegraph, was, Captain Tyler asserted, the precaution which was really required to pre- vent the accident. During the year 1871, out of 159 accidents, 53 were caused by the want of locking or other defective signal arrangements, and during the year 1870, out of 122 accidents, • 60 were caused by the same means. 2. — Mr. Justice Willes commits suicide by shooting himself in his bedroom, at Otterspool, ■ near Watford, where he was spending the vaca- . tion. On the afternoon of the 1st, his clerk .noticed the Judge looking miserable and de- pressed, and complaining of want of sleep. This morning about two o'clock he heard a fall and a scream in the direction of the Judge's room, and on entering found him lying wounded on the floor slightly conscious. He survived only a few minutes. Other evidence given at the coroner's inquest showed that the deceased had long been suffering from ailments demand- ing rest and relaxation. Mr. Justice Willes ■ was born in 1814, called to the bar of the Inner Temple in 1840, when he went the Home Circuit ; in 1850 he was appointed a member of the Common Law Commission, and raised to the bench as puisne judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1853. — Mr. Butt addresses his constituents at Limerick on Home Rule, pressing it as the duty of the Irish people to present to England the offer of a federal union under which they should have the full right of managing all Irish affairs, while they were willing to join with England on equal terms in the management of Imperial affairs. As to how he expected to obtain Home Rule, Mr. Butt said the next general election would, if Irishmen were true, give them from seventy to eighty members pledged to Home Rule. He thought in his conscience that if they returned eighty mem- bers pledged to Home Rule, the cause was won. He believed, he said, the great majo- rity of the Irish people would be perfectly satisfied with a form of government that would give them the perfect and free management of their own affairs ; and that if the people of Ireland demanded separation, it was because they thought that was the only way of gaining independence. — Died at Walmer, aged 86, Field-Marshal Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., Constable of the Tower, and engaged in important services in Nepaul in 1817, and Afghanistan in 1842-3, when he forced the Khyber Pass, and relieved the garrison at Jellalabad. He routed the Afghans, released the prisoners, and carried the English flag in triumph to Cabul. (See p. 119.) For these services Sir George received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and was made first a. member of the Supreme Council of India, and then a Crown member of the Court of Directors. Sir George was buried with honour in Westminster Abbey on the 1 6th. — Died, aged 65, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Wylie, late Military Secretary to the Govern- ment of India. 6. — Religious ceremony at Lourdes, in honour of the appearance of the Virgin, at- tended by 40,000 "pilgrims" from all parts of France. 7. — Explosion in the Deep Pit of Marley Colliery, near Dewsbury, causing the death of thirty-four workmen out of forty-five employed in the seam where the accident occurred. The origin of the calamity was ascribed to the incautious use of matches by several of the miners to light their pipes. 8. — The State elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Nebraska carried by Re- publicans, — The twelfth Church Congress opened at Leeds, under the presidency of the Bishop of Ripon. A stormy discussion took place on the 10th, on " The just principle of the Church's comprehensiveness in matters of doctrine and ritual," when a member present, who described himself as belonging to the Protestant Reformed Church of England, mentioned other speakers as talking like Roman Catholics. Scores of clergymen bawled and gesticulated, and the President for some time could neither direct nor check the disorder. . II. — Republican rising at Ferrol, in Spain. — Died, aged 66, his Excellency Baron de Beaulieu, Belgian Minister at ths Court of St. James's. — Bonds and coupons to the amount of 40,000/. stolen from the house of John Allan, Derby Terrace, Glasgow, during the absence of the family. The theft was afterwards traced to a man named Fraser, and the boi-ds re- covered in a quarry on the Gareloch. 12. — On the subject of Home Rule for Ireland Earl Russell writes : — "I fear, if an Irish Parliament is set up in Ireland, all her •energies will be wasted in political contention . I therefore wish to divert the forces which might give heat and comfort instead of con- centrating them in a manner to produce a conflagration. This is the more necessary, as the Irish nature is so very inflammable Out it 1071 OCTOBER I872. OCTOBER prefers a bonfire to the warmth of a moderate fire. I fear, however, that wisdom will be wanting both in England and Ireland." 12. — Died, aged 70, Vladimir Dahl, com- piler of a " Dictionary of the Living Russian Tongue," and historian of Muscovite folk-lore. — Prince Napoleon expelled from France by order of M. Thiers. He arrived at Geneva under an escort next day. 13. — Died at Kilmoran Castle, aged 79, Sir David Baxter, a generous Dundee mer- chant. — Died, aged 77, Albany William Fon- blanque, formerly, proprietor and editor of the Examiner, and latterly head of the Statis- tical Department of the Board of Trade. 14. — Mr. J. S. Mill, writing from Ayignon, explains to a Nottingham association his views on their programme described in "The Law of the Revolution." "There is no real thing called 'the revolution,' nor any 'principles of the revolution.' There are maxims which your association, in my opinion, rightly considers to be essential to just government ; and there is a tendency, increasing as mankind advances in intelligence and education, towards the adoption of the doctrines of just government. These are all the facts there are in the .case, and the more clearly and unambiguously these, and nothing but these, are stated, the better people will understand one another, and the more dis- tinctly they will see what they are disputing about and what they are avowed to prove. . . . I cannot conclude without expressing the great pleasure with which I have seen the full and thoroughgoing recognition by your body of the claim of women to equal rights in every respect with men, and of minorities proportionately to their numbers with majorities, and its advocacy ■ of the federal principle for the security of this last." — Opening of the new Japan railway from Jeddo to Yokohama. 15. — In the course of an audience at Balmoral, Lord Hatherley formally surrenders the Great Seal, and is succeeded by Sir R. Palmer, now Lord Selbome. In taking leave of his constituents at Richmond, the latter wrote: — "In the high office to which her Majesty has been pleased to call me I trust I may be enabled, by God's blessing, so to act as not to forfeit your good opinion, nor give you any cause to regret that my name has been so long associated with the borough of Richmond." — Died, aged 49, Rev. John Purc'ias, of St. James's Chapel, Brighton, a ritualist leader whose case had repeatedly occupied the atten- tion of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. — Died, somewhat unexpectedly, the Countess of Shaftesbury, eldest daughter of the late Viscountess Palmerston, by her first marriage with Earl Cowper. 1072 15. — Unveiling of a statue erected to the memory of Sir Humphrey Davy at Penzance, where the great natural philosopher was born in 1778. — The Count de Chambord writes to La Rochette from Ebenzweyer : — "As a whole France is Catholic and Monarchical ; it is for us to caution it against errors, to point out the rocks, and to direct it towards the port. I trust that I have never failed in that sacred duty, and no one will ever be able to seduce me from my path. I have not one word to retract, not an act to regret, for they have all been inspired by love of my country ; and I insist upon ray share of responsibility in the advice which I give to my friends. The day of triumph is still one of God's secrets, but have confidence in the mission of France. Europe has need of it, the Papacy has need of it, and therefore the old Christian nation cannot perish." — Mr. J. A. Froude, presently lecturing to American audiences on the political relations between England and Ireland, entertained at a banquet in Delmonico's, New York, by literary men and publishers. 16. — Foreign Office circular issued to Chambers of Commerce explanatory of the negotiations with France relative to the new Commercial Treaty. — Died at Boston, aged $1, Mrs. Parton, sister of N. P. Willis, and widely known in literary circles under the nom de plume of " Fanny Fern." — The Emperor of China married at Pekin. There was no public ceremony outside the palace, beyond the procession to bring the bride, the Lady Aluto, daughter of Chungchi, a doctor of the Imperial Academy. 17, — Correspondence with Russia regarding the disputed Afghan boundaries. Earl Gran- ville writes to-day that her Majesty's Govern- ment considers as fully belonging to the Ameer of Cabul (1) Badakshan, with its dependent district of Wakhan from the Sarikol (Woods Lake) on the east to the junction of the Kokcha Riyer with the Oxus (or Penjah), forming the northern boundary of this Afghan province throughout its entire extent, (2) Afghan Tur- kestan, comprising the districts of Kunduz, Khulm, and Balkh, the northern boundary of which would be the line of the Oxus from the junction of the Kokcha River to the post of the Khoja Saleh, inclusive, on the high road from Bokhara to Balkh. Nothing to be claimed by the Afghan Ameer on the left bank of the Osttts below Khoja Saleh. (3) The internal districts of Aksha, Seripool, Maimenat, Shib- berjan, and Andkoi, the latter of which would be the extreme Afghan frontier possession to the north-west, the desert beyond belonging to independent tribes of Turcomans. (4) The western Afghan frontier between the dependen- cies of Herat and those of the Persian province of Khorassan is well known, and need not here OCTOBER I872. OCTOBER be defined. Prince Gortscnakoffs reply to this despatch, of date St. Petersburg, December 7, stated that General Kaufmann, owing to various difficulties, had been unable to carry out his investigation as speedily as the Russian no less than the British Government desired. The conclusions drawn by the Russian Govern- ment did not much differ substantially from those of the British Government, but Russia was unable to find any traces of sovereignty exercised by the Ameer of Cabul over Badak- shan and Wakhan ; "on the contrary, all our information upon the subject goes to prove that these districts should be regarded as independ- ent." 17. — Mr. Justice Denman sworn into the vacant judgeship in the Court of Common Pleas. — The Prince of Wales, now on a visit to the Earl of Tankerville, engages in a wild bull hunt in Chillingham Forest, and brings down with his rifle the king of the herd, about seven years old and weighing upwards of sixty stone. — Lord Northbrook holds a public durbar at Umballa. In a brief address the Viceroy referred to the loss which the native princes had sustained by the death of Lord Mayo, and thanked them for their prompt action on the' occasion of the Kooka outbreak. — A Great Eastern express train runs off the line at a cutting near Kelvedon r lulling one person, injuring twenty others, and destroying' several carriages. — Died suddenly at Campbeltown, Dr. Finlayson, Scotch clergyman. 18. — Died at Auburn, aged 70, W. H. Seward, late Foreign Secretary for the United States. — Collision between two mineral trains at Woodhouse Junction, near Sheffield, causing the death of an engine driver and stoker, with great damage to rolling stock. 19. — A man and woman", names unknown, found dead in their lodgings in Golden Square. A phial labelled strychnine was on the table. There was also, in a man's handwriting, a note in English to the following effect : — "Our last will. We wish the trunk and the contents to be giren to Mrs-. Cunningham in return for the trouble given her. The rest may serve to pay the expenses of the funeral. Nobody is to blame, as we both took strychnine, and we wish to remain unknown. We have done no wrong to anybody. O Lord, forgive us all, and pardon us, for Thine infinite mercies. We leave 5/., ll. to be given to Mrs. Cunningham for one week's rent. The rest for the burial. 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou art with me : Thy rod and Thy staff they com- fort me.' " No papers of any description which could lead to the identity of the persons were found, but from the appearance of the grate in the room a number of papers were destroved before suicide was committed. A rumour was afterwards circulated that the bodies were those of Captain and Mrs. Douglas, Richmond. 19. — The Batavier steamer, the largest of the vessels of the Netherlands Steam Packet Company, run into in Barking Reach by the Turkish screw man-of-war Charkec, and sank in a few minutes. — New chapel at Rugby School conse- crated by the Bishop of Worcester. 20. — Found dead in his bed at Geneva, Dr. Merle d'Aubigne, the historian of the Reformation. The venerable divine was in his 79th year. — Died in his lodgings near Tottenham Court Road, Dr. Frederick Welwitsch, a high authority on the flora of Africa. 21. — Telegraphic communication between London and Adelaide completed. — Panic in Hengler's Circus, Sheffield, caused by the falling of a gallery during an acrobatic performance. — The council of the Royal Geographical Society, with some officers of the late Abyssinian Expedition, entertain Mr. Henry M. Stanley at a banquet in Willis's Rooms. It was announced by the chairman, Sir H. Raw- linson, that the Society had that day decreed to Mr. Stanley the Victoria Medal of 1872. — The Emperor of Germany, as arbitrator in the San Juan difficulty, gives an award that the claims of the Umaited States fully accord with the true interpretation of the treaty of the 15th of June, 1846, and that the boundary line has, therefore, to run through the Haro Channel. 22. — Died, aged54, George Mason, A.R.A., a prominent English kndscape-painter. — Died, aged 82, Simon Thomas Scrope, of Danby Hall, York, the representative of a house which during the last 300 years produced two earls, twenty barons, one Chancellor, four Treasurers, two Chief Justices of England, five Knights of the Garter, and numerous baronets. 23. — Died at Paris, aged 6l, M. Theophile Gautier, dramatist and journalist. 24. — Addressing his constituents at Exeter, Sir John Coleridge said that no Ministry in the world ever fulfilled the expectations that were raised about it, and no man that ever lived, not Pitt, nor Peel, nor Palmerston, ever maintained the power with which he began. It therefore would not surprise him, Sir John Coleridge said, if after four years of administration the foes of the Government were found to be more active and its friends somewhat more disunited than in the winter of 1868. The Tories were always united. There are five hundred ways of going forward, but one way of standing still. To stand still and observe the Government seemed to be their best idea of a policy. To 1054 OCTOBER 1872. NOVEMBER tell the persons who listen to them that the Government has alienated the colonies and humiliated the country is about the limit of their topics. Now, neither of those charges was true. The colonies are not alienated, and he could see no trace anywhere of the waning influence of England in her attitude toward foreign Powers. " I see none, for instance," he said, "in the eagerness of the French Government to conclude the new French Treaty. I can see none at all even in the Treaty of Washington, or in the Geneva award. I admit there is a good deal in the caustic lan- guage of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I admit that there is still more in the splendid specimen of reason and eloquence which we owe to the matured vigour and extraordinary powers of the Lord Chief Justice of England. I admit that there is a good deal in this and other things to make an Englishman's face hot and his blood to tingle. I admit that when one reads some of the American arguments, though I am a man of peace, my fingers itch. I admit that it is not a matter for great pride, but it is a matter for acquiescence. I cannot help feeling that on the whole we are well out of a bad business." 26. — Lord Westbury, as arbitrator in the liquidation of the European Insurance Com- ■ pany, decides that shareholders who under the deed of settlement had a portion of the divi- dends accredited to them, as an addition to the amount paid by them on uncalled capital, are entitled to have that amount deducted from the amount of uncalled capital for which they are liable. — John Dorrington, described as Master of Ripley College, Derbyshire, sentenced at Marl- borough Street Police Court to two months' imprisonment with hard labour for fraudulently obtaining charitable subscriptions. 27. — Died, aged 61, Sir Alexander- Duff Gordon, Commissioner of Inland Revenue. 28. — Died, aged 80, Miss Jeffrey, a grand- daughter of Flora Macdonald, companion for a time of Prince Charles Stuart in his High- land wanderings after Culloden. — Two Roman Catholic Bishops consecrated with great ceremony at Salford. 30. — Died, aged 57, John Chubb, inventor and maker of the well-known locks which bear his name. — Died at Oxford suddenly, Thomas Combe, M.A., printer to the University of Oxford, and founder of St Barnabas' Church and the Chapel of the Radcliffe Infirmary. — Died at Hartrigge, Lord Kinloch, Senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh. — The Suez Canal Company erect a monu- ment at Suez to the memory of Lieutenant Waghom, the enterprising pioneer of the Over- land and Red Sea Route to India and China. 31. — Sixty thousand persons reported to be rendered homeless in Italy by floods. 1074 31 — The Prussian House of Peers, by 145 to 18 votes, reject a County Electoral Reform Bill, designed to establish local representative institutions in the rural districts. Count Eulen- berg afterwards announced that the King was resolved to pass the measure, and would immediately close the session. — At a luncheon given by the Lord Provost" of Edinburgh, Mr. H. M. Stanley charges Dr. Kirk with speaking harshly of Dr. Livingstone. — Died, aged 57, John Francis Maguire, M. P. for Cork, and editor of the Cork Ex- November 1. — The Oxford Music Hall destroyed by fire. — Field-Marshal Sir William M. Gomm, G.C.B., gazetted Constable of the Tower and Custos Rotulorum of the Tower Hamlets. — Dinner in Willis's Rooms, presided over by Earl Stanhope, to Mr. W. J. Thorns on the occasion of his retirement from the editor- ship of Notes and Queries, which he had held since its commencement in November 1849. On the same evening a dinner was given in the same place by the Royal Geographical Society to Sir Bartle Frere, previous to setting out on his special mission to Zanzibar. — The trial of Mayor Hall at New York for participation in the Tammany frauds ends in the discharge of the jury on account of their not being able to agree upon a verdict. They were locked up from 9.30 p.m. on the 31st of October till 11 A. M. on the following day, and it was reported in court that they had spent the night in political discussion. 2. — The Morning Post announces that it enters this day on the 101st year of its existence, its principles having been during that time uniformly "loyal and national." — Launch of the Hansa, the first German ironclad built in a German dockyard. — Unveiling of the statue erected to the memory of Sir Walter Scott in the Mall of the Central Park, New York. 3. — Sunday meeting in Hyde Park to de- mand the release of Fenian prisoners. — Rev. C. Voysey celebrates in St. George's Hall, Langham Place, for the first time, the service of "dedication and benediction of children," a substitute for the ancient ceremony of baptism. — Correspondence between the Duke of Marlborough and the Attorney-General regard- ing the eviction of certain labourers from the Blenheim 'estate. "The Duke" writes Sir John, "denies that his estates have ever been granted by the State. It is hardly worth con- troversy ; but I was under the impression that they were granted and inalienably settled by Act of Parliament soon after the battle of Blen- heim. If I am v, rong in this I ■shall be happy NOVEMBER 1872. NOVEMBER to apologize. The Duke says I am ' pleased to style him a Tory duke,' and seems annoyed that I have done so. I meant no more offence than he would mean if he called me a Liberal Attorney-General. I have heard the great leader in whose Cabinet he served speak of himself as ' the leader of the Tory party in the House of Commons ; ' but, as the Duke objects to the epithet, I regret that I used it, and should I have occasion to allude to him again in public I will take care to avoid it." To this the Duke made answer : — ' ' What I denied was that the ' vast estates ' to which he alluded in his speech in connection with my cottage pro- perty had ever been so granted. I beg to refer him to 3 and 4 Anne, cap. 6, an Act to enable the Queen, by letters patent, to grant to the Duke of Marlborough the honour and manor of Woodstock and Hundred of Wootton. He will there see the identical lands granted, with their names and admeasurements, and will be able to form his own opinion what proportion they bear to the total acreage of my landed property. For the information of the public I may say that they are almost exclusively park, pleasure-grounds, and woods, and comprise little over 500 acres outside and adjoining the park itself; and, with the exception of lodges and keepers' houses, there are no cottages what- ever upon the lands in question. The Attorney- General, if he cares to peruse this Act, will perhaps be candid enough to admit that he has been indulging in the same strain of rhetoric to which in his letter of to-day he has already pleaded guilty." 4. — Anti-slavery meeting at the Mansion House, called to strengthen the mission about to be undertaken by Sir Bartle Frere to suppress the slave trade on the East Coast of Africa. — Discovery of human remains at Cropton, near Pickering, Yorkshire, supposed to be those of Joseph Wood and his son James, tenants of the farm, who had been missing since May last, and whose residence was now occupied by a person named Charter, pretending to have authority to act for the Woods. 5. — Dr. Cookson, Master of St. Peter's College, elected Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University by 40 votes against 26 tendered for Dr. Atkinson, Master of Clare College. — The new Library and Museum erected by the Corporation of the City of London opened by the Lord Chancellor in the presence of nearly 2,000 guests. Lord Selbome, in a brief address, dwelt on the zeal for education which the City of London had uniformly manifested, even as far back as what were sometimes called " the dark ages," and said that in building this beautiful library the City was only adding the finishing touch to a work which had been going on consistently for ages. The speech of the Lord Chancellor was received throughout with much enthusiasm, and, at its close, his lordship was conducted through the building, and in- spected the works of art and objects of anti- quarian interest there displayed. The Crypt and the Guildhall itself, both brilliantly lighted, were also thrown open to visitors. 5. — Electors for the Presidential contest in America chosen for the different States, the number being equal to the Senators and Repre- sentatives sent by each. Large majorities found to vote for Grant and Wilson, the former carrying thirty States with 278 votes against Mr. Greeley's seven States with 74 votes. — A young hippopotamus, afterwards known as "Guy Fawkes," bp-n in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. 6. — Died, aged 80, Thomas Keightley, author of "Fairy Mythology" and various histories. — M. Rochefort granted a temporary re- lease from prison for the purpose of marrying the mother of his illegitimate children, under- stood to be dying at Versailles. 7. — Mr. E. J. Reed, replying to criticisms on his recent letters on the Navy, writes : — ■ ''In spite of our recent and even present strength, so many powerful ships are springing up abroad that we are falling astern in the chase, and by our total inaction, extending now over years, are losing even the chance of com- peting. I have not sought to excite apprehen- sion of imminent danger. My forecasts neces- sarily go into the future, and I maintain that, looking to the future, our recent policy has been involving us in very serious risks and dis- advantages." 8. — In his closing visitation at Tonbridge, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his gratification that the Church of England had worthy and prominent representatives at the recent meeting of the Old Catholics at Cologne ; and while sympathizing with the endeavours that have been made and are still making to promote a better understanding among the Episcopal Churches, he looked back with pleasure to what he did ten years ago as Bishop of London towards giving a kindly welcome to pastors from Germany, from France, from Switzerland, and from the Waldensian valleys. He recognized the fact that, both historically and doctrinally, the Church of England has affinities to very different forms of Christian thought and organization, and contended that these varied affinities give the Church a parti- cular fitness for attempting the work of recon- ciliation. The Archbishop also took occasion to speak of the comprehensiveness of the Church of England as combining the perfection of civil and ecclesiastical society : " There are certain names which occur to us of famous ministers of the Church of England — Archbishop Whately, Thomas Arnold, Frederick Denison Maurice, Frederick Robertson — to name only those who have gone to their rest. These are not the names of the clergy who are the most popular throughout England ; but I am bold to main- tain that they are the names of men who have done a good work in their day and generation, for their very presence among us has been a 1075 NOVEMBER 1872. NOVEMBER standing protest against any notion that inquiry and a fearless love of truth can be inconsistent with the Gospel which we preach. If these men had lived under another system and in another age, it might have been very difficult to say what would have become of them. They certainly could not have joined the Church of Rome without crushing their convictions, as many have done in past ages under the weight of overwhelming tyranny, or seeking relief from their doubts and scruples by a silence akin to death. But, also, I say that these men could not well have found a home in any of the ordi- nary sects which exist among us. It is then, I am bold to say, no blame to the Church of England, but rather it may be its pride, that it is able to inclose within its fold the most active and inquiring intellects, and that it has no fear lest a bold examination of truth should destroy those truths of God in which it teaches men to hope for their salvation." 8. — Chalons evacuated by the Germans. — The Gazette sets forth the details of the new Commercial Treaty with France, Article 2 stating that the President of the French Re- public having represented to her Majesty that the financial necessities of France imperatively require the imposition of new taxes in that country, and the modification for that purpose of the tariff stipulations previously in force, her Majesty, in "a spirit of friendship towards France," consents to such modification. The contracting parties guarantee to each other the treatment of the most favoured nation. The provisions with regard to tariffs are to remain in force until the 1st of January, 1877, and those with regard to navigation until the 1st of July, 1879. — Vice-chancellor Bacon gives judgement in the case of the assignees of the Countess d'Alteyrac against the estate of the late Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. Under the award of Mr. Vernon Harcourt, the Countess was to receive a capital sum of 5,000/. in respect of her action, and Lord Willoughby d'Eresby to settle upon her an annuity of 1,200/. within a certain time, and in the event of his failing to legally secure it to her, an additional payment of 100/. a month was awarded until the annuity was purchased by his lordship. The annuity not having been purchased, the payment of 100/. a month was made until the death of his lordship in August 1870. In i860 the Countess was adjudicated a bankrupt, and her assignees made the present claim. It was contended that the assignees were only entitled to the value of the annuity as if it had been purchased on the clay of his lordship's death, and also that the Countess was not entitled to the additional pay- ments of 100/. a month, as they were in the nature of penalties, and therefore void. The ! Vice-Chancellor held that the assignees were entitled to have an annuity of 1,200/. purchased, and that until the day of payment the annuity of > 100/. was payable in pursuance of the award. 1076 ' 9. — Commencement off a fire in Boston, U.S., laying waste a large portion of the business part of the city, and causing gigantic loss to those engaged in commerce. It broke out in the evening at the corner of Summer Street and Kingston Street, ran along Summer Street botn ways to the north-west and to the south-east, increased greatly in intensity by a violent north- westerly gale. Block after block of substantial granite buildings crumbled before its fury. By four o'clock on Sunday morning (10th) twe.lty- two squares were destroyed, the burnt district at that time covering about sixty acres, bounded by Summer Street «n the south-west, ■ Big Broad Street on the south-east, Pearl Street on the north-east, Milk Street on the north, and Washington Street on the north-west. The Boston Fire Department was crippled by the epidemic among the horses, this also preventing to a great extent the removal of the goods. Aid summoned from Worcester, Providence, New York, Fall River, Lowell, Lynn, and other towns, was promptly sent. All the railways coming into Boston ran fast trains, bringing firemen from the neighbouring cities, many companies arriving before three in the morning. The police being unable to maintain order, the United States troops and marines stationed there were ordered on duty. Extensive plundering went on during the confusion ; and 200 thieves, some of them women, were arrested. The loss of life was heavy, but it was impossible to tell the number accurately. The old South Church, the most interestini; monument in Boston, where Warren defied the Royal authority, delivered his oration on the Boston massacre, where resistance to the tea- tax was organized, and for a century and a half the election sermons were preached to the Governors of Massachusetts, was among the buildings destroyed. Latterly the progress of the fife could only be arrested by blowing up blocks of valuable property. At noon on Sunday it was believed the fire was under control, after lasting for twenty hours and de- stroying seventy acres of buildings. Shortly after midnight, however, flames broke out again, owing to explosions of gas, and destroyed six more large stores with the Exchange and Post Office. In all it was reported that 959 buildings were destroyed, 125 being private buildings; 35 persons were reported killed, 2,043 firms and individuals suffered pecuniary loss. The insurances were estimated at 48,000,000 dols., half the policies being in Massachusetts com- panies. — Mr. H. M. Stanley, the discoverer of Dr. Livingstone, leaves Liverpool for America. — At the Lord Mayor's banquet to-night, Earl Granville, in the absence of Mr. Gladstone through indisposition, devoted the greater part of his speech to the new commercial treaty, declaring his belief that its principle and sub- stance are strictly in accordance with free trade. On the subject of their general policy and pro- cedure, Lord Granville claimed for the Govern- NOVEMBER 1872. NOVEMBER merit that they might be considered the most hard-worked set of public men he had ever known ; and he had 110 doubt they would maintain that character till they reached what he trusted would be an honourable death. 9. — Bank rate raised from 6 per cent., at which it was fixed on the 10th October, to 7 per cent. IO.— Hadley's City Flour Mills in Upper Thames Street, near Blackfriars Bridge, de- stroyed by fire. The building, towering high above all its neighbours, and pierced it was said witb.400 windows, was built in accordance with a plan by which it was thought that a fire if it broke out might be strictly confined to that part in which it originated. The floors sprang chiefly from massive pillars of stone resting on foundations of the utmost solidity, and each story was supported by iron girders of great strength. The fire was observed about 7 A.M., and after this the floors one by one gradually gave way from the top, falling on eaeh other, and so bursting out the walls. One fireman was killed. — The golden wedding of the King and Queen of Saxony celebrated at Dresden in presence of a great gathering of princes and dis- tinguished persons, including the Emperor and Empress of Germany. Bishop Forwork pro- nounced the benediction, concluding by asking the King and Queen, " Do you promise, in the sight of God, to remain true till the end of your days to the indissoluble tie entered into fifty years ago, and, with conjugal unity and mutual help, to serve God until God you do part ? " The King and Queen answered in a loud voice, "Yes." Thereupon the priestly blessing was bestowed. The whole party proceeded to tie Court Church, where Te I)eum was sung amid rifle firing and salvoes of artillery. 11. — Sir James Hannen, one of the justices of the Court of Queen's Bench, appointed to the Probate and Divorce Court, in room of Lord Penzance, resigned. 13. — M. Thiers delivers his Presidential Message to the National Assembly at Versailles, consisting mainly of a commercial and financial retrospect describing the condition of France in most favourable terms. Respecting finance he anticipated a defieit of about 130 millions for the current year, but thought a surplus of about 80 millions of francs might be calculated on for 1873. Regarding the Treaty of Com- merce he said that England had consented to put off uhtil the year 1876 her being placed on an equality with other countries under the most favoured nation clause. The duty on raw materials was to be enforced in March next, and other duties to come into operation on the 1st of December in the present year. M. Thiers concluded by saying : " We draw near to a decisive moment. The form of this Re- public has been only an incidental form, given by events and reposing upon your wisdom and your union with the power which you have temporarily chosen. But the public mind >s awaiting your action. All are asking what day and what form you will select in order to give to the Republic that conservative strength with which she cannot dispense. It is for you to choose both the day and the form. The country, in delegating to you its powers, has evidently laid upon you the task of saving it, by procuring for it, first, peace, after peace order, and with order the restoration of its power ; and, lastly, a regular Government." 14. — Twenty-two lives lost by the flooding of the Kelsall Hall Colliery, Walsall. At the time of the accident thirty men and boys were in the mine in various parts of the workings. These had gone to their work, as usual, at half- past six in the morning, and at nine had the customary interval of half an hour for breakfast. During this brief interval an immense volume of water suddenly burst into the mine and poured with great force through the workings. Two men named Stanley and Starkey were the first to perceive the inundation and gave the signal to be drawn up. On reaching the bank they announced that the pit was flooded. The cage was at ones let down with an exploring party, who found that the water was already ascending the shaft, and on the surface of the flood nine men and boys were with extreme difficulty keeping themselves afloat. They clutched with great eagerness at the cage as it neared the water, and all of them were rescued. The others still remained scattered in thevarious workings of the mine. Notwithstanding the apparent impossibility of reaching any of these, the cage was let down a second time. But the explorers found to their dismay that the water in the shaft had risen to such a height as to render approach to the men possible by no other means than the prodigiously -difficult task of pumping the whole volume of water out of the mine. This went on for several days, as much as 1, 000 gallons per minute being raised at one time by the pumping apparatus ; but even this did not permit the rescue of any of the workmen left in the pit. About five o'clock on the morning of the 20th, three w-orkmen forced their way about 160 yards from the bottom, and found eighteen of the missing miners. Ten lay upon the floor of the mine, seven others were crowded together in a sitting posture on two tubs, and the eighteenth, an old man named Starkey, was just beyond. Their clothes were dry, and the appearance of the place showed that water had never reached their level, and that death must therefore have resulted from choke-damp. 15. — A recent case of "tunding" at Win- chester leading to a controversy on the subject of "fagging " at public schools, the " Victim " writes in defence of the system : " The punish- ment I received is universally allowed (and readily by the Prefect himself) to have been excessive ; at the same time I firmly believe, as everyone else here does, that theie was no tyranny or brutality in the matter. On the contrary, it was done in an honest though mis- 1077 NOVEMBER 1872. NOVEMBER taken impression that serious insubordination vi as intended by my refusal to obey him. That being the case, I consider that though his action may in some degree deserve condemnation, he himself and his motives deserve respect. I may add that this letter is written entirely of my own motion and under no compulsion what- ever. " IS. — In the case of Earl Beauchamp v. the Overseers of Madresfield, the Court of Common Pleas decide against the right of Peers to vote for members of the House of Commons. — - The feast of St. Eugenie celebrated at Chi-ielhurst by a great gathering of friends of the Empire. 16. — Mutiny among the metropolitan police owing to the dismissal of Goodchild, secre- tary to their movement for increase of pay. Four days later an order was issued dismissing 109 constables and reducing others in rank and pay. Inquiry into grievances had previously been promised. — Public funeral of the fireman Guernsey, who lost his life at the burning of the City Flour Mills. The route to Abney Park Cemetery was lined with spectators. 18.— Died, aged 83, James Capel, the oldest member of the Stock Exchange, and formerly chairman of the Board of Managers. — Questioned by General Changarnier as to his comments on M. Gambettas Grenoble speech, M. Thiers declares that for forty years he had fought against Socialism and Demagogy; for the last -two years he had shown no lack of energy. " I was not undecided under the walls of Paris." (Noise.) "I have not been un- decided in repressing the'strikes' — (" Bravo, " from the Left Centre) ; — but I cannot admit that I ought to be called upon to rise here to make a profession of faith which is rendered useless by my whole career. Let us be frank. It is not the Grenoble banquet which is the real question ; it is something higher. Everybody knows what it is that makes you uneasy. Well, since you complain of a Provisional Government, make a definitive one. (Shouts of applause from the Left and Left Centre.) For my own part, I declare that I will not reply. If you would have a strong Government, say-'that it is strong, but not that it is undecided. No, I will not reply. Since you exhibit this distrust of me, I beg of you to lose no more time. Proceed at once to a vote. I call for a vote of confidence. I demand it instantly. I am not even afraid to take the country as a judge between you and me." (Prolonged applause.) . A vote of confidence in the Government was ultimately carried by 267 to 117 votes. 21. — Statue of Queen Victoria unveiled at Montreal in presence of the Governor- General, Lord Dufferin. — Paul Julius May, the survivor of what was known as the "Chelsea Tragedy," acquitted at 1078 the Central Criminal Court of complicity in the murder of his friend Nagel ; Mr. Justice Grove ruling that the jury in order to convict must be satisfied that the suicide was a joint act in which each assisted or encouraged the other. The prisoner, now restored to health, was after- wards committed on a charge of forgery. 21. — Died, aged 73, Richard James Lane, A.R.A., one of the two associate engravers of the " old class " in the Academy. — Sir Bartle Frere leaves England on his mission to Zanzibar to negotiate for the sup- pression of the East African slave trade. 23. — Died at Claremont, Exeter, aged 80, Sir John Bowring, first editor of the West- minster Review, and for many years representa- tive of British interests in China. —Fifty-six betting-men brought before the Lord Mayor ; one was fined 50/., another 5/., and the rest dismissed with a caution. 25. — The Royal Adelaide, bound from Lon- don to Sydney, wrecked on the Chesil bank, Portland. 26. — M. Batbie presents to the Assembly the report of the Kerdrel Commission ap- pointed to consider M. Thiers' Message, declaring that " Freedom of deliberation, concord between the Assembly and the Execu- tive, and the dignity of the President of the Republic — all these things are motives for or- ganizing Ministerial responsibility, and for doing so without delay. Moreover, unity be-, tween the public powers cannot any longer be postponed. Although the observations we have made touched upon the position and person of M. Thiers, we have not feared to wound him by communicating them to him. We were sure that the great historian would not be surprised to see the representatives of his country seek; means of assuring the value of their votes." — Came on for trial at Westminster before Mr. Justice Brett and a full special jury, an action raised by Mr. Hepworth Dixon against the proprietors of the Pall Mall Gazette for libellous criticism contained in an article on "Free Russia," and on the plaintiffs appear- ance as president of a meeting called in St. George's Hall to hear Elder Evans. In the latter he was described as the " Shaker's friend," and in the former it was said — "We have received from Mr. Hepworth Dixon another of those insolent ingenious letters with which he contrives to puff his books — obscene, inaccurate, or both — as soon as they appear." The plain- tiff was severely cross-examined regarding the accuracy of some of his books of travel, and on the propriety of certain views on social subjects set forth in his " Spiritual Wives ; " Sir John Karslake on the third day of trial concluding a speech of over five hours' length with the words : " As you say you are a member of a high and honourable guild or calling, I say you have prostituted that calling, that you have palmed off as being works of philosophy things DECEMBER 1372. DECEMBER which you knew were works of filth. You have injured that high calling to which you belong, and you are a writer of obscene and vamped- up books." Verdict for the plaintiff — farthing damages. 28.— Sir Donald M'Leod killed on the Metropolitan Railway when attempting to enter a train in motion at Gloucester Road station. 29. — Died, aged 61, Horace Greeley, an enterprising American journalist, recently » candidate for the Presidency. — Died at Naples, aged 93, Mrs. Mary Somerville, authoress of ' ' The Connection of the Physical Sciences," an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society, and to the closing weeks of her life a devoted enthusiast in the higher departments of mathematical science. Her last important work on Molecular and Microscopic science, was published in her ninetieth year, forty-three years after her first publication. 30. — The American Sergeant Bates enters London after his walk from the Scottish border with his national flag. December 1. — Royal decree issued ap- pointing twenty-five new Prussian peers to Secure the passing of the new County Election Bill. — An effort being made to reject Dean Stanley as one of the Select Preachers at Oxford, Dean Goulburn, of Norwich, writes to-day (Sunday) that his reason for joining in the protest was, that you (Stanley) " are in the habit of throwing the whole weight of your high character^ your brilliant abilities, and your eminent position into the support of the Rationalistic school — a school which seeks to eliminate from Christianity hoth its doctrinal and its supernatural element, and to reduce it to a system of moral truth, illustrated by a bright example, and which, in regard of the written Word of God, claims the right of ac- cepting only such parts of it as approve them- selves to the natural reason and conscience of man. I hold it to be the paramount duty of every Churchman and every Christian to take every opportunity of entering his protest against the views of this school, which I honestly believe to be undermining the faith of many young men, and paving the way for the total rejection of revealed religion. ... I am by no means insensible to your amiability and integrity, nor to sentiments of ' Auld lang syne.' Our convictions as to truth and right differ very widely ; but I can sincerely say that I wish I were habitually as true to my convic- tions as I well know you have always been to yours. " 2. — The Archbishop of Canterbury receives at Lambeth Palace a memorial from the clergy of the Northern and Southern Provinces, praying for some change either in the compulsory rubric or in the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed. Of the 3,000 clergymen who signed, 2,159 did s0 without any reserve, thus signify- ing their desire to leave entirely to the discretion of the authorities to determine whether the rubric, or the clauses, or both, shall be altered ; 421 desired especially the alteration of the rubric only — 218 were for optional use of the Athanasian Creed, and 203 for its entire disuse in public worship ; 292 desired only to touch the damnatory clauses — 208 asked for their re- moval, and 84 for their alteration. 2. — Strike of 2,400 men employed in the London gas-works, the immediately inciting cause being the discharge of a " Union " stoker ' from the Fulham retort house. — Discussion at Rugby School, the Govern- ing Body desiring to express their conviction .. that the course taken throughout by Dr. Hay- man in dealing with Mr. Scott has not been marked by that spirit of justice which the cir- cumstances of the case required. 3. — A paper upon a cuneiform inscription setting forth the Chaldean account of the ' Deluge read before the Society of Biblical Archseology, by Mr. George Smith, British Museum. — The strike of the 2,400 stokers limits the supply of gas to only a few streets in the City. As night closed in the aspect of the West end was dismal in the extreme. In many streets it was difficult to move along. From the after- noon no lights could be had at many of the underground railway stations, and at seven o'clock no little consternation was occasioned among the railway passengers at Ludgate Hill by the sudden disappearance of all the lights. The panic which would almost certainly have occurred was prevented by the fact that Messrs. Spiers and Pond's lights were just sufficient to . make the darkness visible. The St. James's, Theatre had to be closed, another had to use candles in "front," and a third was in a state of considerable dimness. The letter-carriers went about carrying " bull's-eye " lamps in one hand and their bundles of letters in the other. On the Surrey side of the river the gas was burning as usual. — Judgment given by Lord Gifford in the Edinburgh Court of Session in the Murthly marriage case, wherein the plaintiff, Mrs. Margaret Robertson (formerly Wilson) sought to have it declared that she had been married to and had a son by Major Steuart, only son of the late Sir William Steuart, of Murthly and Grandtully, Perthshire. The defen- dants were Sir Archibald Douglas Steuart, who is heir to Sir William, and Mr. Franc Nichols Steuart, who had been butler to the deceased baronet for a long period, and who has come into possession, by will, of one o the estates. Lord Gifford, in a long and elaborate decision, held that the plaintiff's marriage with Major Steuart had been clearly established. 1079 DECEMBER 1872. DECEMBER A. — Meeting at Willis's Rooms for the purpose of taking steps, Parliamentary or other- wise, to prevent the encroachment upon legiti- mate trading interests by the so-called Civil Service Co-operative Societies. 5. — The Japanese Embassy received by the Queen at Windsor. — Died at Kensington, aged 72, Francis Charles Massingberd, D.D., Chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln, and author of a history of the Reformation. — The French Government defeated in the election of the Dufaure Committee ; nineteen members of the Right and eleven of the Left chosen. — The Directors of the Chartered Gas Company resolve "That the men who. at the various stations of the Gas Light and Coke Company without notice deserted their duties and imperilled the safety of the metropolis, are unworthy of confidence, and that none of them be hereafter employed by the company. " This involved the dismissal of no fewer than 1,400 hands. The issue of summonses against the 500 stokers who turned out at the Beckton Gas-works commenced to-day, about a dozen constables being specially appointed to assist the summoning officer in the duty, and each being accompanied by a foreman, or one of the workmen acquainted with the defendants and their residences. Constables were also, in- structed to procure labourers where they could be got and send them in to the worts to replace the men on strike — a proceeding protested against by the stokers as illegal. 8. — J. H. Gordon, formerly of the British Indian Civil Service, shoots Ada Schiani, to whom he had been paying his addresses, while walking in the garden of the Villa Nazionale, Naples, and then commits suicide by shooting himself. — Severe hurricane experienced generally over England. It was stated that, allowing the number 12 to represent the strongest wind ever experienced in these latitudes, the extreme force recorded at Scilly, Plymouth, and Portis- head was 1 1 ; London, Liverpool, Holyhead, Portsmouth, and Yarmouth, 10 ; while on the Continent the gale rose to 10 at Brussels, and to 9 at Helder, Cape Gris-Nez, and L'Orient. The gale was most severe over the southern half of England and Wales. In the Midland Counties and the North there was less wind, but more rain. 9. — Four gas-stokers formerly in the service of the Commercial Gas Company at Stepney, appear at the Thames Police Court, to answer summonses which stated that "they, being under a certain contract of service not yet expired, did, on the 3rd of December, unlaw- fully neglect and refuse, and have ever since neglected and refused, to fulfil the said con- tract, without just or lawful excuse, for the non-performance of which contract by you no 1080 compensation or damage can be assessed, and that pecuniary compensation will not meet the circumstances of the case." After hearing evidence, the magistrate, Mr. Lushington, gave it as his opinion that no pecuniary compensation, which would probably be paid out of the funds of the men's Union, would meet such a case, and he felt it his duty to sentence each of the defendants to six weeks' imprisonment, with hard labour. 9. — The Prussian Counties Reform Bill passes its final reading in the' House of Lords by 116 votes to 91. 11.— The Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, burnt, and twenty-two of the female servants suffocated at the top of the building. — Died, aged 77, Edwin Norris, formerly secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society, and Translator to the Foreign Office, a distinguished philologist, and Assyrian scholar. — The appointment of Dean Stanley as one of the Select Preachers at Oxford confirmed by 349 votes to 287. Dean Goulburn thereupon resigned a similar office to which he was ap- pointed last year, ' ' as the most forcible protest he can give against (what he must consider to be) the unfaithfulness to God's truth which the University manifested by its vote in favour of Dean Stanley." Dr. Goulburn goes on to say that he has no desire to circumscribe too closely the limits of the Church of England, and if he must err would rather err on the side of latitude than of exclusiveness. But "the line must be drawn somewhere," and his complaint against the Dean of Westminster is that he seems to draw it nowhere. 12. — President Grant officially recognizes a coloured man appointed by the Legislature of Louisiana to replace Governor Warmouth, as lawfully holding' the executive power of the State of Louisiana. — Died, at Tichborne House, the Dowager Lady Doughty Tichborne, alleged to have identified the Claimant as her son. 13. — Came on for trial in the Irish Court of Queen's Bench the case of Father O'Keefe against the Rev. Mr. Walshe, one of his curates — an action for slander in calling plaintiff a liar before his own congregation. The case had been tried before, when the plaintiff ob- tained 100/. damages. The verdict was set aside and a new trial directed. The defendant did not now appear, and the jury, after a brief deliberation, found a verdict for the plaintiff— damages, 250/. and costs, 14. — Animated debate in the French As- sembly on the petition for a dissolution, ulti- mately set aside by 490. to 201 votes. — Meeting of Liberal members at Swindon, the Chancellor of the Exchequer criticizing recent speeches made by Lord Salisbury and Mr. Disraeli ; the latter of whom, he said,: " never having in his life done anything that DECEMBER \2,72. DECEMBER I am aware of, or asked anybody to do any- thing, in the way of public health, or taken up the subject, thinking it a harmless thing, and being hard pressed, and having a necessity to say something, says health is the great matter that the Tory party propose to deal with. They do not propose to do anything else for us, but they are going to give us all good con- stitutions. I can only say, coming as it did, ' Sanitas sanitatum omnia sanitas.' I propose to restore the original reading, ' Vamitas vani- tatum omnia vanitas ' — vanity of vanity, all is vanity." Mr. Lowe finished with a retrospect of the doings of the Tory party when in office, with a view to show, as he said, that they had two policies — one when they are in office, and the other when they are out of it. "When they are out of it their policy is. to say nothing and do nothing — not to commit themselves, as far as they can help ; when they are in, it is their policy to take the policy of their prede- cessors, which they had opposed, and pass it." 15. — Died, aged 61, Henry G. Blagrove, violinist. — Died at Hughenden, aged 83, after a brief illness, Mary Ann Disraeli, Countess of Beaconsfield, wife of the Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, M.P. Lady Beaconsfield was the daughter of Mr. John Evans, of Bampford Speke, Devon, and married first in 1815, Mr. Wyndham Lewis, Mr. Disraeli's predecessor in the representation of Maidstone. Mr. Lewis died in 183S, and in the following year his widow became the wife of Mr. Disraeli. 16. — The Japanese Embassy leave England for Paris. 17. — Four men sentenced to death at Dur- ham for kicking a man to death outside his own house at Spennymoor. Two were after- wards respited. 19. — Came o» at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Brett, the trial of five gas stokers concerned in the late strike, and npw indicted for conspiracy to intimidate the manager of the Beckton gas-works, by refusing to engage in their ordinary duties till certain dismissed servants of the company were reinstated. The trial lasted till the close of the day, when the jury found them all guilty, but strongly recommended them to mercy on account of their great ignorance, of their having been misled, and of their previous good charac- ter. In addressing the prisoners, Mr. Justice Brett said that so far from agreeing with the jury that they were misled, it seemed to him that from the course they took during the whole of these proceedings they were not the men misled, but the men misleading, and that it was they who misled the others, and most of the 500 obeyed what they had suggested. A serious punishment must be inflicted — a punish- ment that would teach men in their position that although without offence they might be members of a trade union, or might agree to go into an employment or to leave it without committing any offence, yet they must take care when they agreed together that they did not agree to do anything by illegal means. If they did that they were guilty of conspiracy. The sentence he had to pass was that they be kept in prison for twelve calendar months. SO. — News from New York announce that Jay Gould has settled the claims of the Erie Railway Company against him by making restitution to the amount of 1,945,000/. — Died suddenly, aged 59, George Pea- body Putnam, American publisher. 21. — Addressing the students of Liverpool College, Mr. Gladstone pointed out that so far as religion was concerned, the conflict was not now between different forms of Christianity, but between Christians and men who (like Dr. Strauss, from whom Mr. Gladstone quoted at some length) reject belief in a personal God and individual immortality. He did not object to. "free thought;" on the contrary, he held with Homer that the man who does not value the freedom of his thoughts deserves to be described as but half a man. St. Paul was a preacher of free thought ; he urged men to "prove ail things," but he also advised them to "hold fast that which is good." The free thought of the present day ' ' seems too often to mean thought roving and vagrant more than free, like Delos drifting on the seas of Greece without a root, a direction, or a home." Mr. Gladstone went on to urge his hearers not to fall in too readily with the prevalent notion that this age is vastly superior to all that have gone before it. He admitted! the material triumphs which it had seen accomplished, as well as the mental activity which characterized it, but it was by no means an age abounding in minds of the first order, in great immortal teachers. " It has tapped, as it were, and made disposable for man, vast natural forces ; but the mental power employed is not to be measured by the size of the results. To perfect that marvel of travel, the locomotive, has perhaps not required the expenditure of more mental strength and application than to perfect that marvel of music, the violin. In the material sphere the achievements of the age are splendid and unmixed. In the social sphere they are great and noble, but seem ever to be confronted by a succession of new problems which almost defy solution. In the sphere of pure intellect I doubt whether posterity will rate us as highly as we rate our- selves. But what I most wish to observe is this, that it is an insufferable arrogance in the men of any age to assume what I may call airs of unmeasured superiority over former ages. God, who cares for us, cared for them also. In the goods of this world we may advance by strides ; but it is by steps only and not strides, and by slow and not always steady steps, that all desirable improvement of man in the higher ranges of his being is effected." — Prince Bismarck's resignation of the Prussian Ministry of State accepted by tlie 10S1 DECEMBER 1872. DECEMBER Emperor. He was succeeded by Count Von Roon. 21. — The screw-steamer Germany, one of the Allan company's line of vessels running between the Mersey and Canada, Baltimore and New Orleans, wrecked on a sandbank at the entrance of the Gironde, and thirty of those on board drowned. — The Challenger scientific expedition sails on its voyage of discovery. (See May 4, 1876. ) 23. — At a Consistory attended by twenty- two Cardinals, the Pope complained bitterly of the oppression exercised on the Church by the . Italian Government. " Above all things," he said, " the law presented to Parliament on the subject of religious corporations deeply wounds the rights of possession of the Universal Church, and violates the right of our apostolic mission. In face of the presentation of this law we raise our voice before you and the entire Church, and condemn any law which diminishes or sup- presses religious families in Rome or the neigh- bouring provinces." 24. — Died, aged 52, W. J. Macquorn Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics in the University of Glasgow. — The Rev. Dr. Wallace, of Old Grey- friars, Edinburgh, presented by the Queen to the Chair of Church History in the University of Edinburgh, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Stevenson. 25.— Sir Sydney Waterlow, Lord Mayor, entertains 186 of his relations at the Mansion House. His Lordship's father, eighty-two years old, had the gratification of dining at the same table with his 13 children, 49 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. The Lord Mayor was supported by his 4 sons and 4 daughters, 4 brothers and 6 sisters, 17 nephews, 22 nieces, 29 cousins, and 1 grandson ; and Lady Water- low by her stepmother, 4 brothers, 3 sisters, 12 nephews, 12 nieces, and 41 cousins. — A young woman named Harriet Bus- v?ell found murdered in her house, Great Coram- s reet ; the criminal not discovered, but sup- posed to be a German who accompanied her home, and robbed his victim of some trifling trinkets she had borowed for use as a member of the corps de ballet. — Collision between the Northumberland and Hercules ironclads at Funchal, while riding out a heavy westerly gale. 27. — Availing himself of the opportunity of handing over the prizes at the Art and Science School at Newton Abbot, Devonshire^ the Duke of Somerset contrasted the real progress which had been made by Natural Science with the talk about progress in which politicians indulged. "Just look," he said, "at what the steam-engine has done and what it has added to the power and civilization of England. By sea and by land, in the depth of the mine and in the manufactory, everywhere it has added ioS2 to England's prosperity and wealth. I saw, to my great surprise, when I read the speech of the Prime Minister on education, that he said he would balance for the proof of intellect the invention of the violin against the locomo- tive engine. Now, I thought that was very strange. I should like to know what the violin has done for the civilization of mankind. Men have been scraping on these squeaking strings for the last 300 years, and what good has the world gained by it ? But he says the violin is a marvel of music, and therefore is equal to the locomotive engine. Now, I remember that some years ago, when Paganini, the great fiddler, died, a newspaper, published in Italy, contained an article which commenced in this style : — ' Genoa has produced two great men — Paganini and Columbus.' (Laughter.) I con- fess that it seemed to me, when I read of Mr. Gladstone comparing the violin with the loco- motive engine, that it was very much like com- paring Paganini with Columbus. (Laughter.) But is that all ? Why, the locomotive engine is altering the civilization of the world. The railroad and the locomotive are going not only through Europe, but they have gone into Japan. . Do you think they go there without advancing civilization? I should like to know what fiddle has ever done the same? (Laughter.) We hear a great deal, about the science of government, but there is no such science. It is a few desultory principles people have scrambled hold of, and they are trying to apply them. The statesman who applies them in one way corrects the blunders of former states- men, but he generally substitutes some blunders of his own. (Laughter.) Down in Plymouth there was what they call a Social Science meet- ing. How can they call that science ! I read the papers, and I confess I was quite surprised that they called that science. Science ought to proceed on some carefully ascertained data leading to actual conclusions. What data have they got? I read nothing 'but crotchets and crudities, which poured out according to the fancy of the speaker. No doubt many of those things may eventually be of use to science, but it is not yet come to science — it is not ma- tured sufficiently to be called science. The science of government and what they call social science are yet in their infancy, and they have notyet come to years of discretion." (Laughter. ) 27. — Meetings held to memorialise the Home Secretary for a commutation of the sentence passed upon the gas stokers. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 80, the Very Rev. Dean Ramsay, a popular preacher and author of ' ' Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character. '' — A young woman named Britton, serving in a house at Ealing Green, severely beaten by her sweetheart, Walter Trinder, who after- wards committed suicide by cutting his throat. 28. — M. de Bourgoing, the French Ministel at the'Vatican, leaves Rome. . DECEMBER 1873- JANUARY 48. — In a case of libel raised by the' Lord Provost of Glasgow against the North British Daily Mail, in which the plaintiff had been charged with "corruptly making use of his position as a trustee under the City of Glasgow Improvement Trust," the jury return a verdict in his favour, damages 575/. — On the same day Mr. Stannus, agent for the Hertford estates, obtained 100/. damages in an action for libel against the Belfast Northern Whig. 29. — The Due de Gramont explains to Count Daru, as President of the Commission of Inquiry, that on the 20th July, 1870, Austria had distinctly promised to make the cause of France her own, and contribute to the success of her armies as far as she possibly could. 30. — Addressing his constituents at Oxford, Mr. Vernon Harcourt objected to the use of the word Liberty by Permissive Bill advocates. "Liberty (he said) does not consist in making others do what you think right. The difference between a free Government and a Government which is not free is principally this — that a Government which is not free interferes with everything it can, and a free Government inter- feres with nothing except what it must. A despotic Government tries to make everybody do what it wishes ; a Liberal Government tries, as far as the safety of society will permit, to allow everybody to do as he wishes. It has been the tradition of the Liberal party consis- tently to maintain the doctrine of individual liberty. It is because they have done so that England is the place where people can do more what they please than in any other country in the world — more so than in Russia, far more so, I believe, than they can do in America." Regarding the Church, Mr. Harcourt asked, "But why is it safe? Because the Liberal party have dealt with the Church as they have dealt with the Throne and with the aristocracy. The Church of England is no longer the Church of Laud, nor the Church of the Non-jurors. The Church which was once a dominant hier- archy is now the servant, as it is the creature, of the State. Its doctrine and its discipline are defined by statute ; its dignities are in the gift of a parliamentary Minister. From being the stronghold of intolerance it has become — we have seen it lately in Oxford — the city of refuge for freedom of opinion. Its national latitude and its tolerant creed offer a liberal shelter against the persecuting dogmatism of sects. Its communion is free to all, without money and without price. It is compulsory on none ; no one now gains anything by being a Churchman or loses anything through being a Dissenter. The Church is safe. But do you think that it would have been safe if the Tory party had had their way; if the Catholicshad not been emanci- pated ; if the disabilities of Dissenters had still remained; if Parliament, the public service, the universities had not been opened to men of every creed ; if the Church had not been com- pelled to exchange a persecuting prieslhood for 10S3 a missionary clergy? The Reformed State Church of England, too, such as we know it, is the work of the Liberal party." January 1. — The Emperor William confers upon Prince Bismarck the Order of the Black Eagle in brilliants on the Chancellor's retire- ment from the Prussian Premiership. An ac- companying letter testified to the extreme sorrow with which the Emperor acceded to the wish of the Prince to be relieved from the Presidency of the Prussian Cabinet, but added that, after the strain of body and mind involved in its duties during the last ten years, the Emperor could no longer refrain from granting the relief asked for. The letter emphatically acknowledged how the Imperial Chancellor's counsel and assistance during the last ten years, so pregnant with important events, had enabled the Emperor to develop the power of Prussia and to lead Germany towards unity. The name of Prince Bismarck, said the Emperor, is in- delibly engraved on the history of Prussia and of Germany, and the highest recognition is justly his due. 2. — The operation of lithotrity performed upon the ex-Emperor Napoleon by Sir H. Thompson. The bulletin next morning an- nounced that his Majesty had passed a fair night, and was free from any unfavourable symptom. 4. — Suspension announced of Pawson and Company, warehousemen, St. Paul's Church- yard, with liabilities estimated at over 600,000/. A limited company was afterwards formed to take over the business. Another large failure announced at this time was that of Anselmo Vivanti, silk merchant, St. Mary Axe, with liabilities estimated also at 600,000/. — Declining to receive a deputation on be- half of the imprisoned gas stokers, Mr. Bruce causes intimation to be made from the Home Office that the Home Secretary is not a court of appeal from the decisions of her Majesty's judges oh questions of law, and has no autho- rity to overrule them. The Court for the Con- sideration of Crown Cases Reserved is the proper tribunal to decide such questions ; and if the correctness of the law laid down by the judge at the trial had been doubted, it was open to the counsel engaged to have asked to have a case reserved for the opinion of that court ; but such a course was not adopted by them. The Secretary of State, therefore, must decline to have any such question raised before him, or to give any opinion upon it. 6. — The Daily News publishes a letter sent by Mr. Bright, but written some years since by Mr. Cobden, on the subject of small holdings and peasant proprietors, in which the writer contended that the result of a general study of all the best authorities is to show that there II* JANUARY 1S73. JANUARY is a unanimity of opinion in favour of the French system, on moral grounds, as tending to elevate the character, promote the intelligence, and stimulate the industry of the peasantry. — In the case of Stokes, tried for the murder of Fisk a twelvemonth since in the Great Central Hotel, New York, the jury return a verdict of wilful murder. 7. — Seventy thousand colliers and iron- workers on strike in South Wales, in resistance to a threatened reduction in wages of 10 per cent. At Dowlais works alone io, 000 men were out. — Count Schouvaloff arrives in England on a special mission from the Czar, regarding the disputed Central Asian boundary. 8, — The Duke of Somerset, speaking at Nowton Abbott, takes exception to Mr. Cob- den's recently published opinion on the land laws. "In France," he said, "the land has now for fifty years or more been subdivided. There is no entail there. Well, have they improved in agriculture so much as we have? The French have a better climate than we have ; they have done away with entail, and they have got subdivision of property to their hearts' content, and have they improved their agriculture as we have ? Certainly not. That, at least, is the report made to the Government by the agricultural returns which they them- selves called for. I want to know what are the peculiar reasons why this question of the investment of capital in land is being discussed. It strikes me that it is not capital in land that these speakers want so much as to make a little capital for themselves. " — Earl Granville writes to Lord A. Loftus that Count Schouvaloff had explained the Khivan expedition as intended to punish acts of brigandage, to recover fifty Russian prisoners, and to teach the Khan that such conduct on his part could not be continued with the im- punity which the moderation of Russia had led him to believe. Not only was it far from the intention of the Emperor to take possession of Khiva, but positive orders had been issued to prevent it, and directions given thafthe con- ditions imposed should- be such as could not in any way lead to a prolonged occupancy of Khiva. " Count Schouvaloff repeated the sur- prise which the Emperor, entertaining such sentiments, felt 1 at the uneasiness which it was said existed in England on the subject, and he gave me to understand that I might give positive assurances to Parliament on this matter." — Bulletins issued describing the precarious condition of the ex-Emperor of France. 9. — Died in exile at Chiselhurst, this fore- noon, Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, ex- Emperor of France. He was the third son of Louis King of Holland, third brother of Napoleon I., and was born at the Tuileries 20th April, 1808, his mother being Hortense Eugenie Beauharnais, daughter of the Empress 1084 Josephine, the great Napoleon's first wife, by her first husband, the Vicomte de Beau- harnais. 9. — Died, at Barcelona, where he discharged the' duty of British Consul, James Hannay, journalist and critic, aged 46. IO. ■ — Despatches from Paris announce that no excitement was visible consequent on the Emperor's death. " Small notice is taken of the event, and the few evening papers whose latest news announce the Emperor's death speak of it as doubtful. The Bonapartist journals — the Pays and the Ordre — say that the Em- peror's state is quite satisfactory. They con- tinue to treat as Republican calumnies the story that he is in danger, and allege particularly that in a few days he will be able to sit on horseback without suffering as he did at Sedan. It was announced to-day as the result tola, post- mortem examination that death had taken place by failure of the circulation, and was attri- butable to the general constitutional state of the patient. The disease of the kidneys, of which this state was the expression, was of such a nature and so advanced that it would in any case have shortly determined a fatal result. — Disturbance on board H.M.S. Aurora off Plymouth, leading to a disrating of various petty officers and able seamen. 11. — Mr. Baron Pollock takes his seat in the Court of Exchequer. 12. — The death of the Emperor Napoleon, it is reported from Berlin, excites comparatively little attention. "The press notices are brief, and as a rule without bitterness. They chiefly turn upon the future prospects of the Imperial party. It seems to be generally thought in political circles that there will soon be two Bonapartist factions, one led by Prince Napo- leon, and the other by the Empress Eugenie and the Prince Imperial. It is also thought that the death of Napoleon III. will improve the prospects of the Imperial dynasty." — Replying to a deputation on the Tem- poral Power, M. Thiers said, "There is on foot at present in Europe a crusade against the Papacy. The man who has placed himself at the head of this campaign against the Holy See is indefatigable. He is one of the greatest men of this century — one of those who have made the grandeur of Germany and over- whelmed our country. I refer, of course, to M. de Bismarck. He is now bestowing his favours with profusion on Italy, which is -his natural ally in the great struggle on which he has entered. It is evident that nothing is neg- lected by this profound politician which can induce Italy to enter into alliance with Prussia. Do you wish to promote the alliance? We respect the rights of the Holy See ; we desire that it should be fully and completely inde- pendent ; but we accept accomplished facts, and we shall do nothing which will separate us from a King and his Ministers with whom we can only express satisfaction " JANUARY 1873. JANUARY 12. — Sir Bartle Frere arrives at Zanzibar. 13. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer inti- mates to Sir Henry Rawlinson on the part of Mr. Goschen and himself that they saw no pressing reason why an Arctic expedition should be sent out this year. " We give no opinion as to the expediency of such an expedition at a future time, but we are clearly of opinion that it would not be right to send out a second scien- tific expedition precisely at the moment when the public revenue has to bear the main burden of the expenses of the operations intrusted to the Challenger. I believe it has been erro- neously stated that the Challenger expedition involves very little expense. That is not so. The cost has already been considerable, and nothing has (been spared to ensure success. There will further be an additional annual outlay for three years. — Japanese Seven per Cent. Loan of 2,400,000/. put on the market at 924. — News from St. Petersburg announce that an expedition to Khiva had been resolved upon by a Council of Ministers. — Currie, station-master, and Ramsay, pointsman, at Kirtlebridge, on 2nd October last, tried for manslaughter before the High Court of Justiciary and acquitted. — A Papal Allocution establishes an Apos- tolic Vicariat for the Swiss Canton of Geneva. It was read in the Catholic Churches on the 2nd February without the sanction of the Government. 14. — Seven persons burnt to death at Lich- field, in a house occupied by Mr. Corfield, watchmaker, adjoining that in which Dr. Johnson was bom. — Apologizing for inability to address his constituents at this time, Mr. Bright writes to a friend : — " There are two questions to which you refer that are probably too -large to be undertaken with any degree of completeness in the last years of a Parliament. I allude to the state of the county representation and to the land question. They seem to me the great questions of the immediate future, and the more they are discussed by the public the more will Parliament be prepared to deal with them. The question of expenditure is one which de- mands resolute handling. If the present Govern- ment is unable to grapple with it, it should only show us how great are the interests which oppose themselves to economy, and how much an earnest public opinion is wanted to arrest the extravagant and scandalous expenditure .which every statesman in turn condemns, and which not one of them seems able to diminish." 15. — Funeral of the Emperor Napoleon at Chiselhurst. Between 2000 and 3000 of the most prominent Frenchmen in all walks of life under the Empire took part in the procession, and upwards of 50,000 English people congre- gated to witness the passing of the corttge from Camden House to the little Roman Catholic ioS? Chapel dedicated to St. Mary. The distance between these two places by the carriage road is about a quarter' of a mile, and along both sides of the common there was a dense mass of peopl^, while carriages ' were ranged three and four deep on one' side of the" way. The chief mourners wete the' Prirlce Imperial, Prince Napoleon (Jeroirie), Princess Joachim and Achille Murat, and M. Rouher. A deputation was also present from the army of Italy. The Prince Imperial met the friends of the Empire in the afternoon, and 1 was saluted as Napoleon IV. 15. — Died, suddenly, J. B. Bergne, for many years head of ''the Treaty Department of the Foreign Office; which he entered in 181 7. — The Commission of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland resolve, by a majority of 55 votes against 38, to forward a protest to Government regarding the appointment of the Rev. Dr. R. "Wallace, of Old Greyfriars Church, to the chair' of divinity and church history in the University pf Edinburgh, as being likely to be prejudicial to the interests of religion in Scotland. 17. — A number of applications having been made by officers of the French army to attend the funeral of the Emperor Napoleon, the War Minister writes to Marshal McMahon : — "The Government understands and respects the feel- ings of gratitude and affection winch a certain number of officers' continue to entertain for the Imperial family. It will 1 certainly 'attribute no blame to those of them who; on the occasion of the death of the 'Eiriperor, considered it their duty to address letters' to the Eiripress indivi- dually in testimony of their respectful sympathy. Such a course only does honour t6 those who write them, and I am"suf e 'that it is consistent with the obligations imposed upon them by their duty towards the legal Government recog- nized by Fiance, for men of feeling are always men faithful to their duty: But you will also understand that, if I may permit some individual and isolated expressions of feeling, I cannot at the same time allow the army to desert its purely military duties and mingle in an agita- tion full of danger to discipline and the peace of the. country. " — The widow of Marshal Lauriston, a de- scendant of the famous Law of the South Sea Bubble Scheme, died in Paris, aged over 100 years. — A column of United States triops de- feated by Modoc Indians, intrenched in caves at Kalmath, Oregon. 18. — Died at Torquay, aged 67, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Lord Lytton, novelist, poet, and critic, and Secretary of State for the Colo- nies from May 1858 to June 1859. Interred in Westminster Abbey on the 25th. " With the exception," the Times wrote, "of Scott, wtio, like Shakespeare, wrote for all men and all times, it would be hard to find a novelist who contributed more largely to popular enjoyment. JANUARY 1873. JANUARY To Lord Lytton belongs the credit of first popularising what, in the modem sense of the word, may be termed the political novel. His novels, while invariably providing the reader with entertainment and diversion, invited him as invariably to turn his faculties to account by study, observation, and reflection." 18. — Died, suddenly, at Euston Hotel, Mr. S. R. Graves, M. f. for Liverpool. — Sir Bartle Frere entertained at a banquet by the Sultan of Zanzibar. — Dr. Gottfried Hessel, a Germac clergy- man, arrested at Ramsgate on the charge of being the murderer of Harriet Buswell, Great Coram Street. After being repeatedly before the magistrate, he was freely acquitted of all suspicion on the 30th. 19. — Died at Ockham Park, aged 91, the Right Hon. Stephen Lushington, engaged with Brougham and Denman in the defence of Queen Caroline, and judge for thirty years of the Court of Admiralty. 20. — Died at Stanmore, aged 74, the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, an 'Evangelical clergy- man who had seceded from the Church of England to the Baptist body. — Mr. Guildford Onslow, M.P., and Mr. Whalley, M.P., fined 100/. for contempt of court in speeches made at Tichborne defence meetings. — The Pope receives a deputation from the British section of the League of St. Sebastian, recently organized to maintain the temporal powers of the Holy See. 21. — -Defending Roman Catholic loyalty at Sheffield, Archbishop Manning asks : How could Catholics, who believed that the Church was one, identify themselves very closely with a State which admitted all creeds and all forms of worship on the same level ? How could they be in sympathy with a State which encouraged secular education ? Was there any wonder that under such circumstances as these Catholics should isolate themselves? But who was in fault? Catholics remained true to the prin- ciples which had united the Christian world, and they could not compromise those principles. But outside that circle, and in all things that did not hinge upon their duty to God, they were the staunchest and the most loyal of Englishmen. Lord Denbigh some years ago defined the position clearly when he declared that he was a Catholic first and an Englishman afterwards. Dr. Manning then went on to remark that it was said that Ultramontanism was opposed to progress, but he could not pretend to understand this assertion. The Christian world was created by Christianity. Christianity was the Church ; the Popes were the head of the Church. The Papacy was Ultramontanism, and Ultramontanism, there- fore, had brought about the advancement made up to the sixteenth century. 1086 21.— The masses at Paris for the Emperor Napoleon attended by large numbers of friends of the Empire. 22.— A crime of unusual magnitude and inhumanity was committed this evening near midnight about two miles off Dungeness, by the Spanish steamer Murttlo running down the emigrant ship Northfleet, and heartlessly leaving over three hundred people to perish without the slightest offer of assistance. The ship Northfleet, Captain Knowles, 895 tons register, bound from London to Hobart Town, with a cargo of railway iron and emigrants, was at anchor or at the tress at eleven o'clock, with mast-head light burning, when she was run into and sunk about three-quarters of an hour afterwards. The panic on board was described as. terrible. The screams of the women and children were heard for miles, but the foreign steamer took no notice, nor could she be iden- tified for several weeks. The pilot on duty said that when he was sitting in the saloon he heard the anchor watch cry out, " Pilot, pilot, come out ! " He immediately rushed on deck, and was just able to see a steamer backing out from amidships. He saw that the riding light was burning properly. He instructed the cap- tain to give orders to set the pumps to work, and then conferred with the captain as to what should be done next. The latter instructed that signals of distress should be burned. All the rockets that were on board the ship were sent up in succession. During the time there was great confusion among the passengers, and signs of distress among the women when they saw the ship was sinking. The quarter- boats were loweied, and the captain, who retained perfect self-possession, ordered that the women and children should at once be got . into them. There was a great rush of male passengers towards the boats, and, as far as witness could see, a boat, full of men, was cut away from the ship's davits. Two boats put away full of people. The ship was then rapidly set tling down, and witness went into the rigging. He saw a number of persons struggling in the water. On recovering himself he was just able to see the mizzentop crosstree out of the water, and swam towards it. He clung to it till he was taken off. Out of the 412 passengeis and crew only 85 persons were saved, and brought in a steamer and a lugger to the Sailors' Home at Dover. The wife of the captain was among the survivors. One man was shot in the leg by the captain, while endeavouring to prevent the passengers from crowding into the boats ; the unfortunate commander, who displayed great heroism, went down with his vessel. Besides Mrs. Knowles, a woman with her baby and a little girl were saved. — What was announced as the last execution of Communist prisoners, three in number, takes place at Satory. — The case of Baily (appellant) v. Wil- liamson (respondent), raising the question of the right of public meeting in the Royal parks JANUARY 1873. FEBRUARY in the metropolis, argued in the Court of Queen's Bench, and the conviction of the police magistrate affirmed, thus establishing the validity of the new rule. 23.— Establishment of a parcel post between England and India. — Prince Arthur of England received by the Pope at a special audience at Rome. ■ 24. — The St. Petersburg Official Gazette announces that the recent "exchange of ideas" l>etween the English and Russian Governments has been friendly, and shows " no divergence of views." — A deputation from the National Edu- cation Union wait upon Mr. Gladstone to urge "that compulsory education should be made general, but that in districts where no school boards have been elected, and where, owing to there being sufficient school accommodation, it is not desirable that any should be elected, the compulsory provisions should be carried out by the boards of guardians ; and, lastly and chiefly, that the right of parents to select the school to which their children shall be sent, as em- bodied in the 25th section of the Education Act, shall be maintained." Mr. Gladstone thanked the deputation, and promised con- sideration of their requests. \. 2S. — Died, at Lisbon, the Dowager Empress Amelia of Brazil, widow of Pedro I. — Died, at Florence, Miss Jane Blagden, authoress, the faithful companion and nurse of Mrs. Browning. 27.— Died, at Trinity College, Cambridge, aged 87, Adam Sedgwick, LL.D., an eminent geologist and Woodwardian Professor, who had graduated at Trinity as far back as 1808, when he was fifth Wrangler, the late Lord Langdale being senior, and the late Bishop of London, Dr. Blomfield, third. Professor Sedgwick was senior of his college at death. — Sir George Honyman takes his seat in the Court of Common Pleas. 28. — ■ The French Commission of Thirty adopt the principle of a Second Chamber, but without deciding on the way in which it is to be elected or what are to be its functions. 29. — Mr. Skipworth, barrister, sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 50x3/. for contempt of court in his speeches at various towns on the Tichborne case. The Claimant was also ordered to find bail for three months. — Died, aged 86, the Dowager Lady Brid- port, Duchess of Bronte, niece of Lord Nelson. — A deputation complaining of the Civil Service Stores to-day waiting upon Mr. Lowe ; he said the Clubs themselves were co-operating, "and I am told that persons find they save 30 ' per cent, by co-operation. I say you should meet this state of things in the only way you ; can meet it — by competing with the stores. If i you have not enough capital, let several of you J combine, and unless you meet these circum- stances by competition, you must make up your mind you will be driven out of the market. If people want credit, they will go to a respectable tradesman ; but when people go with ready money, they will go to the cheapest market, and no agitation you can enter upon will keep the public from doing the best with ready money." 31. — In the case of the gas stokers sentenced by Mr. Justice Brett to twelve months' imprison- ment, her Majesty gives effect to a recommend- ation made by the Home Secretary for a re- mission of eight months of the punishment. — Meeting in St. James's Hall to resist the proposals for removing the Athanasian Creed from the Prayer Book, • or rendering its use optional. February 1. — General Von Kaufmann leaves St. Petersburg for Tashkend to organize the Khivan expedition. — The Duke of Cambridge issues a circular disapproving of officers petitioning Parliament for redress of grievances. — Died aged 67, Commodore Maury, for- merly of the United States Navy, and author of ' ' The Physical Geography of the Sea. " 2. — Heavy snow-storm in London, leading to an almost entire stoppage of street traffic. 3. — New Naval College at Greenwich opened. — Intimation made that Government would be prepared, under the exceptional circum- stances of the apprehension and examination of Dr. Hessel, to defray the reasonable costs in- curred in his defence, and also to provide the necessary funds for the passage fares to Brazil of Dr. and Mrs. Hessel. " I am further," writes Mr. Cavendish, of the Treasury, "desired by Mr. Gladstone to request you to express to Dr, Hessel his sympathy for the painful position in which he has been placed." The doctor was afterwards presented with a public testimonial of over 1000/. as a mark of sympathy under the unmerited indignities to which he had been subjected. A. — The London coal merchants advance the price of coals from 37.?. to 45.1. per ton. — Mrs. Knowles, widow of the captain of the Northfteet, awarded a pension of 50/. per annum from the Civil List. 5. — Robert C. M. Bowles, banker, acquitted at the Central Criminal Court of the charge of unlawfully pledging and converting to his own use and that of his firm 200 Lombardo-Venetian Railway Bonds which had been deposited with the firm for a particular purpose. — The Hawaiian Legislature proclaim Prince Lunalilo as King of the Sandwich Is- lands. — ■ Extradition Treaty concluded between Great Britain and Italy. 1087 FEBRUARY 1873- FEBRUARY 5. — The Burmese mission take leave pffher > Majesty at Osborne. 6. — Parliament opened by Commission, the Royal Speech making reference to J3ir Barfle Frere's mission to Zanzibar, the decision of the German Emperor on the San Juan reference, the Genera arbitration, and the: French Com- mercial Treaty. On the Central Asian question it was said : — "It has been for some years felt by the Governments of Russia and the United Kingdom respectively, that it would be con- ducive to the tranquillity of Central Asia if the two Governments should arrive at an identity of view regarding the line which describes the northern frontier of the dominions of Afghan- istan. Accordingly a correspondence has passed, of which this is the main subject. Its tenor, no less than its object, will, I trust, be approved by the public opinion of both nations; " Biljs were promised for settling |t,he question pf s University Education ki Ireland, and for the promotion, of a Supreme Court of i Judicature, including pro- vision for the triai of appeals. Address agreed to without a division. — Payment of I5.o,opo,000fr., the .second on the fourth,, milliard, made j by the French Government to Germany. — "Hoax" attempted.ppon Dr. c Curjimjng at Brighton, ,a , telegram intimating that the Pope had died, this,, morning' being put into his hand as he was. stepping on the platform to deliver a lecture on "The Pope and his work in England." 8. — The Count de Chambord writes tp Bishop Dupanloup :— " Believe me, notwith- standing all its failings, France has not so far lost the sentiment of honour. It no more under- stands the head of. the House of Bourbon denying the standard of Algiers than it would have understood , the Bishop of O r l ean s con- senting to occupy a seat in the French Academy in company of sceptics and atheists. I have not learned v y?ith less pleasure than the true friends of the . country the presence of the Princes, my cousjns, at the Chapelle Expiatoire on January 20 ; for, in appearing there to pray publicly in that mpnument consecrated to the memory of the Mar{yr (King, they must have felt the full influence of a place so propitious to great teaching and generous inspirations. I have, then, neither sacrifices to make nor con- ditions to receive. I expect little from the ability of man, and much from the jusfice of God. When I am too bitterly tried, a glance at the Vatican re-animates .my courage ,and strengthens my hopes. It is at this school pf the illustrious captive that one acquires the spirit of firmness, resignation, and peace — of that peace which is assured to everyone who takes his conscience as his guide, and Pius IX. as his model." — Kew bridge opened free of toll, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs marching across at the head of a procession. 1088 8. —The French Committee of Thirty appoint the Due de Broglie as their reporter. 8. — Died, at Vienna, aged 83, the Dowager Empress Caroline Augusta, widow of the Emperor Francis. IO. — Mr. Charles Reade obtains 2or7. damages- in.an action against the Morning Ad- vertiser for a criticism judged to be libellous on the plaintiff's dramatic piece " Shilly Shally." — The Home Secretary submits to the Commons the new rules Vftamed under the Parks Regulation Act, superseding those pre- viously put in force by Mr. Ayrton. The new regulatiqns provided that no public address of an unlawful character, or for an unlawful pur- pose, could be delivered in the Park, nor any assembly of persons permitted unless conducted in a decent and orderly manner. 11. — King Amadeus , of .Spain announces to the Cortes his intention t;o abdicate. It was a great honour, he said, tp preside over the destinies of a country, ho,wever profoundly dis- turbed it might be, and he had resolved to keep his oath and respect the , Constitution, believing that his- loyalty would compensate for the enprsdue. tohistinexperience. "Mygood wishes," adds theiKing, "have deceived me, for Spain lives, in the midst of a perpetual con- flict. If my enemies had been foreigners, I would not abandon the task, but they are Spaniards. I wish neither to be the King of a party nor to act illegally ; but believing all my efforts to be sterile, I renounce the Crown for myself, my sons, and heirs." The President then proposed that the King's message should be .sent to the Senate, and that both Chambers should unite and assume the sovereignty. The abdication of the King was unanimously ac- cepted, and the Cprtes appointed a commission to dr^w .up a reply to his Majesty's message. It was therein declared that "if any human forces could restrain the inevitable course of events, .your Majesty, by your constitutional education and your respect for constituted right, would have completely and absolutely averted them. Penetrated with this truth, the Cortes, if it had been in their power, would have made the utmost sacrifice to persuade your Majesty to desist from your resolution and withdraw your abdication. But the knowledge they have of the unbending character of your Majesty, the justice they jlo to the maturity of your ideas and to your .perseverance in your resolutions, impede t]be Cortes from asking your Majesty to recpnsider your determination, and bind them to .notify you that they have assumed to them- selves the supreme power and sovereignty oi the nation, in prder, under circumstances so critical, to provide, with the rapidity counselled by the gravity of the danger and the supreme crisis for the salvation of the democracy, the basis of our politics ; of liberty, the soul of our rights ; and of the nation, which is our mother, immortal and beloved." FEBRUARY 1873- FEBRUAR Y II- — Convocation of the Province of Can- terbury meet in the Jerusalem Chamber, West- minster, the Upper House engaging in a debate on an increase of the Episcopate, and the Lower on the Rubrics, the Burial Service, and Athanasian Creed. On the latter question, a Synodal Declaration was agreed upon after a long debate. 12. — Suspension announced Of Peter' Lawson and Sons, seedsmen, established in Edinburgh over a century. — Sir T. Chambers' Marriage with a De- ceased Wife's Sister. Bill read a second time in the Commons by 126 to 87 votes. — The Spanish Assembly elect a govern- ment of Republicans and Radicals under the presidency of Senor Figueras. — King Amadeus and the Queen with their children leave Madrid for Lisbon, .escorted; by a guard of honour as far as the frontier. f 13. — The :Lord Chancellor introduces a measure for the establishment of a Supreme Court of Judicature and a Court of Appeal. The Lord Chief Justice, he explained, was to preside over the High Court, composed of four divisions, representing respectively the Court of Queen's Bench, the Court of Chancery,! the Court of Common Pleas, and: the Court of .Ex- chequer. Each of these subordinate . Courts was to have, in a general way, Jurisdiction in all cases ; and there would, therefore, be com- menced a fusion of Law and Equity. The House of Lords was to cease from its judicial functions in English appeals, which were to be transferred to the Court of Appeal, consisting exclusively of Judges under the presidency of the Lord Chancellor. But the existing pro- cedure was still to apply to appeals from Scot- land and Ireland ; and Lord Selbome abstained from touching the subject of ecclesiastical juris- diction, this being, as he observed, sui generis, and interfering with it at present would only diminish the prospect of passing any measure whatever. — Mr. Gladstone submits to the Commons his scheme for dealing with Irish University Education. He proposed to separate Trinity College, Dublin, from the Dublin University, and the Theological Faculty from Trinity Col- lege, Dublin. The precedent of England was to be followed in drawing a distinction, not merely theoretical, between the University and the College or Colleges in union with it ; and the Theological Faculty was to be handed over ,to the Representative Body of the disestablished Irish Church, with a fund to be administered in trust to the purposes for which the Faculty had hitherto existed. The newly constituted Dublin University was to be a teaching as well as an examining body, though, on account of the unduly sensitive state of the Irish mind, neither theology, modem history, nor moral and metaphysical philosophy were to have a recognized place in the curriculum. The Governing Body of the University would con- tain twenty-eight ordinary members, to be nominated in the first place by Parliament ; but it was hoped that in ten years' time the University itself would be in a fit state to take its share in appointing its own governors. The University funds were to come in different pro- , portions, from the revenues of Trinity College, Dublin,' from the Consolidated Fund, from the fees of students, and from the surplus of Irish ecclesiastical property. Trinity College, the Colleges at Cork and Belfast, and, if the rulers of those voluntary bodies thought fit, Magee College, and the so-called Roman Catholic University, would at once become members of the new University, which might hereafter be made still more comprehensive. The scheme was favourably received at first, but latterly gave rise to much hostile criticism both in and out of the House. '14.. — Senor Figueras receives General Sickles, the United States Minister at Madrid, who officially recognizes the Spanish Republic. — Five young women burned to death at Liverpool in a fire on the premises of Rushton, Cooper, andDunderdale, spice and rice mer- chants. 15. — A partial settlement of the South Wales .strike effected, 4,000 men now resuming work ; the wages paid for the first fortnight to be 5 per cent, lower than in December 1872, during March to be the same as December 1872, and from March to July 5 per cent, higher than at the close of last year. 17. — Monsignor Mermillod expelled . from Swiss territory by the Federal. Council. He afterwards explained that' the"' Holy See* had ap- pointed him to the office of Apostolic Vicariat because the Catholics had no longer a spiritual head, and because the form was one always used by the 'Holy See whenever there was a conflict • of .jurisdiction and it was desired to pave the way to an agreement. Monsignor Mermillod further declared that the Apostolic Vicariat was in no way identical with the erection of a diocesan see. Secondly, that the measure was temporary and provisional. Thirdly, that it attempted nothing against the rights of the State. Fourthly, that far from closing the pending negotiations between Church and State in Switzerland, it left the door open to every attempt at a treatment of the matters in dispute. The Bishop further added, that there were only three practical solu- tions of the, problem of the relations of Church and State — viz., complete liberty, as in England and America.; an agreementiu the nature of a Concordat; or oppression. M. Mermillod was afterwards arrested and removed to Ferney. 18. — Joseph Xavier de Lizardi, of Lancaster Gate, examined at the Mansion House on a charge of obtaining 12,000/. by false pretences from Messrs. Glyu, Mills, Currie and Co. , in so far as he had handed over as part security a bill of lading for 1,300 quarters of wheat sold soma 1089 FEBRUARY 1873- FEBRUARY days previously to another firm. Lizardi after- wards absconded. 18. — Explosion at Talke Colliery, causing the death of twenty workmen, all engaged in the seam where the accident occurred. 19. — Dr. Duggan, Bishop of Clonfert, ac- quitted on the charge of inciting certain Gal- way electors to attack Captain Trench. This being the third acquittal in connection with the Galway election, the remaining prosecutions were abandoned. — Army Estimates for the current year issued, showing the net charge to be 13,231,400/., and the total number of men 128,968. — The four hundredth anniversary of the birthday of Copernicus celebrated at Thorn in Prussia. 20. — The Earl of Rosebery moves, but withdraws after debate, a motion for the ap- pointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the alleged scarcity and deterioration of English horses. Earl Granville suggested a Select Committee as the proper tribunal for making the necessary inquiries, a suggestion afterwards carried into effect. — On the subject of the Athanasian Creed, the Lower House of Convocation of the North- ern Province, agree ' ' That inasmuch as Holy Scriptures, in divers places, doth promise life to them that believe, and declare the condemna- tion of them that belieye not, so doth the Church, in sundry clauses of this confession, declare the necessity of holding fast the Christian faith, and the great peril of rejecting the same. Nevertheless, the Church doth not therein pronounce judgment upon particular persons, the Great Judge of all being alone able to discern who they are who in this matter are guilty before Him. Moreover, the warnings contained in this creed are not otherwise to be understood than as the like warnings set forth in Holy Scripture." 20. — Her Majesty visits the Empress Eugenie at Chiselhurst for the first time since the death of the Emperor. 21. — The Due de Broglie reads to the As- sembly the report of the Committee of Thirty. The document described the labours of the Commission, its relations with the Government, and the principal alternatives which have ex- cited discussions. It dealt successively with the relations of the existing powers, Ministerial responsibility, the Second Chamber, electoral reforms, and the transmission of powers, and explained the patriotic reasons which induced the vote of the Commission. The report con- cluded with the projet de loi, and article 4, adopted at the last sitting of the Commission, in the following terms: — " 1. The National Assembly will not separate until it has made provision resp-cting the organization and the mode of transmission of Legislative and Execu- tive powers. 2. Respecting the creation and 1090 the functions of a Second Chamber, which is not to come into operative existence until after the separation of the present Assembly. 3. Respecting the electoral law. The Govern- ment will submit to the Assembly bills upon the subjects above-mentioned." 22. — In the case of the appeal of Mr. Edwin James to be reinstated as a member of the Eng- lish bar, the judges decide that no adequate cause had been shown for reversing the decision of the benchers of the Inner Temple, and he could not therefore be re-admitted to practice at the bar. — The report of the Emma Silver Mining Company (Limited) states that there have been paid to the shareholders thirteen monthly divi- dends, amounting to 193,532/., while, on finally making up the accounts to the end of Decem- ber, it turns out that the funds available amounted only to 185,658/., leaving a de- ficiency of 7,874?. This result was attributed chiefly to the disastrous flooding of the mine in June, and the litigation consequent on the hostile action of the Illinois Tunnel Com- pany. 23.— Died, aged 81, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Barclay, Principal of the University of Glas- gow. He was succeeded by Dr. John Caird. 24. — Mr. Cardwell introduces the Army Estimates for 1873-4. — ■ The Japanese Government annuls the edict against the Christian religion, and libe- rates all Christians imprisoned under it since 1870. — Died at St. , Leonards-on-the-Sea, aged 70, the Rev. Thomas Guthrie, D.D., Free Church clergyman, and editor of the "Sunday Magazine." — Discussing the new frontier line to the north of Afghanistan at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Societv, Sir Henry Rawlinson and Lord Lawrence highly approved of fixing the line of the Oxus, and were agreed that, although invasion from the Attrak valley by way of Persia might be possible enough, on tlie side of Badakshan it was quite impracticable. Lord Lawrence said it would be "insanity" on the part of Russia to think of the attempt. Sir Henry explained how the doubt had arisen as to whether Badakshan, geographically and politically, had always in reality been subject to Affghanistan. Russia had always believed, or professed to believe, in maps whose falsity has been proved to demonstration. They were based partly on forgeries by a German klap- roth, who described, and circumstantially mapped out, a country he had never travelled, partly on charts done in squares by a Chinese expedition ; and, as it happened, the particular squares comprising the country in dispute had been turned sideways in fitting them together. Thus a mountain range that actually runs from east to west had been represented as running from north to south. FEBRUARY 187;. MARCH 25.— Opposition to Mr. Gladstone's Irish University Bill. At a meeting of the Senate of Dublin University, Sir Joseph Napier ex- pressed an opinion that the governing scheme was one of the most astounding academic con- stitutions which it could ever have entered into the head of a man to devise. Mr. Gladstone's description of the University, as in a state of absolute servitude and bondage, from which he was anxious to deliver it, was rather a carica- ture to excite a laugh than a statement to form the basis of legislation. Dr. Hart proposed the adoption of a petition complaining that the proposal to substitute for the two existing Universities a single central body with a monopoly of granting degrees would lower the standard of Academic attainments, and declar- ; ng that the evil would be aggravated by the affiliation of small provincial schools or colleges. The Roman Catholic prelates also' held meet- ings to oppose the scheme, joining in a decla- ration : — "That, viewing with alarm the wide- spread ruin caused by godless systems of educa- tion, and adhering to the declarations of the Holy See, we reiterate the condemnation of mixed education as fraught with danger to that divine faith which is to be prized above all earthly tilings That the distinguished proposer of this measure, proclaiming as he does in his opening speech that the condition of Roman Catholics in Ireland in regard to university education is 'miserably bad,' 'scan- dalously bad,' and professing to redress this admitted grievance, brings forward a measure singularly inconsistent with his professions, because, instead of redressing, it perpetuates that grievance, upholding two out of three of the Queen's Colleges, and planting in the metropolis two other great teaching institu- tions the same in principle with the Queen's Colleges. . . . That, as the legal owners of the Catholic University, and at the same time acting on behalf of the Catholic people of Ireland, for whose advantage and by whose generosity it has been established, in the exer- cise of that right of ownership, we will not consent to the affiliation of the Catholic Univer- sity to the new University, unless the proposed ■ scheme be largely modified ; and we have the " same objection to the affiliation of other Catholic Colleges in Ireland." — Died, aged 81, Henry Lester Horn, the oldest midshipman in the Navy, having been present with the fleet at Corumiain 1809, and again on a perilous service in Quiberon Bay. His father, Lieutenant James Horn, when stationed at Gravesend, in charge of the pressgang, during the Mutiny at the Nore, per- formed the hazardous service of carrying a des- patch from the Lords of the Admiralty to the admiral, which resulted in the termination of the mutiny, and the re-opening of the naviga- tion of the Thames. For this he received a silver salver from the merchants of the City of London. 20. — Died, aged 69, Sir William Fry Channell, formerly a Baron of the Court of Exchequer. 27. — The House of Lords reject the Chelsea Waterworks Bill by 70 votes against 29, thus seeking to preserve the beauLy of the Thames between Hampton Court and Ditton. 28. — The first contested School Board elec- tion in Scotland takes place in the parish of Eastwood. — Died, aged 74, Robert Graves, the last member of the Associate Engravers of the old class of the Royal Academy. Mr. Graves was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1836, at which election (the only time in one hundred years) a ballot was not necessary, the candidate having obtained the whole of the votes of the academicians present. March 1. — Collision in the Irish Channel soon after midnight between the sailing vessel Chacabuco from San Franc'sco to Liverpool, and the steamer Torch from Liverpool to Dublin. The captain, pilot, and twenty-two of the crew went down with the sailing ship. — Discovery of extensive forgeries of bills on City houses, discounted by the Bank of England ; and a reward issued for the appre- hension of Frederick Albert Warren, one of the Bid well gang. 3. — Mr. Gladstone's motion for the second reading of the Irish University Bill met with an amendment by Mr. Bourke, expressing regret that the Government had not stated the names of the twenty-eight members of the governing body. In anticipation of this objec- tion, the Prime Minister remarked that it would be the wish of the Government to select men of the greatest weight to serve on the governing body without reference to their political opinions or to the course they might have taken with regard to the bill, but it would be impossible to ask such men to under- take the duty until the bill had made some way in Committee. If, indeed, they were willing to serve before they knew what shape the bill would take, they would not be fit for the posi- tion. That the refusal of the Government to take this course should be made the subject of a vote of censure was a fact worthy of com- memoration in parliamentary history. Debate adjourned. — -.Died, Dr. Robert Buchanan, M.A., late Professor of Logic in Glasgow University. 4. — Mr. Plimsoll moves for a Royal Com- mission to inquire into the condition of, and certain practices connected with, the com- mercial marine of the United Kingdom, men- tioning in connection with his proposal thatthere had perished at sea in 1868, 2,488 men ; 1869, 2,821 ; 1870, 3,411 ; 1871, 2,205 ; making a total of 11,016, or an average of 2, 754 lives per annum. Mr. Fortescue, on the part of the Government, assented to the appointmen I of a 1091 MARCH 1873. MARCff Royal Commission, but suggested such a change in the language of the motion as would point the attention of the Commission to the various causes of shipwreck, with the view of suggesting remedies. 4. — After a two hours' speech from M. Thiers, the Assembly votes the preamble of the Due de Broglie's bill by 475 to 199 votes. " I am," said M. Thiers, " the President of the Republic, and I promised you to restore intact the powers entrusted to me. ( Bravos from the Left). I shall not allow it to be interfered with by any interest ; but it is an incontestable and undeniable fact that what has been en- trusted to me was the Conservative Republic. There are very respectable men who prefer the monarchy to the Republic, but if we speak as honest men, it must be confessed that it would be very difficult at present to establish a monarchy. (A cry from the Right of ' diffi- cult, thanks to you ! ') Gentlemen, let us have political as we have religious toleration. Poli- tical toleration does not mean the abandon- ment of Faith, just as religious toleration is not apostasy. It is a respect for the opinion of others ; it is admitting that a man may serve another form of government to ours without being a bad citizen. Monarchy, is impossible, and the definitive and immediate Republic is wanted." — President Grant enters on his second term of office with a message to Congress, declaring that his efforts ' ' will be directed to the re- establishment of good feeling between the different sections of our common country, the restoration of the currency to a fixed value com- pared with the standard value of gold, possibly to a par with it ; the construction of cheap routes, the maintenance of friendly relations with all our neighbours, as well as with distant nations, the re-establishment of our commerce, and the recovery of our share of the carrying trade on the ocean, the encouragement of manufacturing industries, the elevation of labour, and the civilization of the aborigines under the benign influence of education — either this, or war to extermination. Our superiority in strength and the advantages we derive from civilization should make us lenient towards the Indian ; the wrong already inflicted leaves a balance to his credit, and the question to be considered is, ' Cannot the Indian be made a useful member of society by proper teaching and treatment ! ' For the future, while I hold office, the subject of the acquisition of territory must have the support of the American people before I recommend it. I do not share the apprehension that there is a danger of governments becoming weakened or destroyed by extension. As commerce, educa- tion, and the rapid transit of thought and matter by telegraph and steam have changed everything ; I rather think that the Great Maker is preparing the world to become one nation, speaking one language — a consumma- tion which will render armies and navies no 1092 longer necessary. I will encourage and sup- port any recommendations of Congress tending towards such ends." 4. — Sir James Fergusson, Bart., gazetted to be Governor and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand and its dependencies. — In his evidence before the Select Com- mittee on Endowed Schools, Lord Lytteltun said he held that no man ought after his death to be able to direct the application of his pro- perty ; ":It should be left to the common- wealth to deal with it after a certain time, and so all restrictions in section 19 should be re- moved. Nothing is more sacred than a trust, but it ought not to be perpetual. The time will come when it will be held to be a super- stition that a dying man may direct what is to be done with his. property." — Replying to remonstrances forwarded to him from the Mess of the Northern Circuit, regarding a supposed slight on the Attorney- General of the County Palatine, who had been passed over in the case of the Queen v. Cotton, Sir John Coleridge writes : — " There either is a right in Mr. Aspinall or there is not ; and although it .is for the Treasury and not for me to decide, I certainly think that the Treasury have decided rightly in the negative. If then, as I think, there is no right, I am unable to perceive upon what ground the Mess of the Northern Circuit should apply to the Attorney- General that any particular gentleman should represent him in any particular case. It would be highly inconvenient if in any instance where the choice of the Attorney-General was dis- approved of by the Mess he should be applied to by resolution to alter his choice, and direct a gentleman indicated. to him by such resolu- tion to be instructed to represent him. With a very earnest wish to avoid offence, I must decline to be a party to any such proceeding." «. — Speaking at, Croydon on the occasion <-.{ presenting a portrait to Mr. Locke King, M. P. for East Surrey, Mr. Gladstone praised the guest of the evening as combining political in- dependence with that regard to party ties withoutwhich political progress was impossible. " We are in the middle," he said, "of an ad- journed debate, and that adjourned debate is upon a vote of censure. What is it about ? It may seem strange to some that all this row should exist about an Irish University Bill; but somehow or other an Irish question is very commonly found to be a. suitable and con- venient subject for a row, and as to this Irth question in particular, it seems to have acquired a peculiar aptitude for this purpose, arising out of the joint operation of two circumstances — firstly, that it is rooted in a real necessity for legislation ; and, secondly, that this legislation ha< been pressed upon the Government for, I think, three, if not four, of the successive years of its existence with such eagerness and urgency, and our plea that we were otherwise occupied has been so scornfully rejected by some, that it MARCH 1873- MARCII has only been by an appeal to the confidence of the House of Commons — by what is called . staking our existence on the issue — that we have been able to secure for fiurselves the opportunity of dealing with it at all, and pre- senting to that House the views which we might conscientiously entertain. Well, we have done that, and in the midst of the din of the battle I am not going to anticipate the issue. To-day a measure may , be upon the cr est ,of thewave, and to-morrow it may be in the trough ; but the same measure which was one day on the crest of the wave and the next day in the trough, may on the third day be on the crest of the wave again." In subsequent observations the right hon. gentleman said that "when the hour of dissolution — pot of Parliament, but of the Cabinet — should come, it would find him and his colleagues not unwilling victims. But we will not," he added, " abandon our positions unnecessarily." 5. — Died, at Glasgow, aged I03,years, Miss Ann Wallace, a lineal descendant of the Scottish patriot, registered in, the Barony parish as born in July, 1770. 6. — Debate resumed on Irish University Bill, Mr. Horsman, Mr. Hardy, and Dr. Playfair objecting to the measure, the latter also protesting against the exclusion of mental science and modern history as a .sacrifice ^of free inquiry to ecclesiastical dictation, which could only end in making the students bigots or infidels. Mr. Fortescue and Mr. Lowe replied, the latter creating some amusement by declaring that the "gagging clauses" were " not of the essence of tne bill," and might be amended or removed in Committee. — A deputation of Irish members wait uppn Mr. Gladstone to inform him that they felt bound by every sense of honour to support denominational and religious education as against secularisation. They added that the Roman Catholic body, though .vastly in the majority, did not demand endowments, but that if any class were to be endowed they claimed a proportionate endowment. If, there- fore, the Government did not see their way, to making such alterations in the University Edu- cation Bill as would meet the objections of their constituents, the Irish members belonging to the Liberal party would be bound to vote against the bill. This would pain them much, but they were inflexible in their determination. Mr. Gladstone replied that the Government must be considered as much masters of their own position as the Irish members were of their own actions, but that if they would put their views into writing he would submit them to his colleagues in the Cabinet. — The National Assembly pass the second clause of the Due de Broglie's bill relating to the promulgation of "urgent" bills by the President, and to the President's right of veto. — Died, aged 70, the Right Hon. F. L. Corry, M.P. for Tyrone, formerly First Lord of the Admiralty. 6. — The Lord Chamberlain prohibits the performance of the "Happy Land" at the Court Theatre on the alleged ground of the piece making free with various members of the Cabinet. 7. — Died, at Ossington Hall, Notts, aged 73, 'John Evelyn Denison, Viscount Ossington, late Speaker of the House of Commons. — Mid-Cheshire election, the first English county contest under the ballot, results in the return of a Conservative, Mr. Egerton Leigh, who polled 3,508 against 2,118 tendered for Mr. Latham, Liberal. — Mary Ann Cotton charged with whole- sale poisoning at Bishop Auckland, tried at Durham, .found guilty, and sentenced to death. j It was thought this wretched criminal had caused the death of no fewer than eighteen people — husbands, children, step-children, and lodgers. 8. — Died, aged 72, Sir Frederick Madden, F.R.S., K.H., for many years keeper of the MSS. at the British Museum, and a high authority in historical and antiquarian litera- ture. — Died, aged 5°> Robert W. Thomson, C.E., inventor of locomotive traction steam- engines. 9. — Pastoral by Cardinal Cullen read in Irish Roman Catholic churches, in which Mr. Gladstone's bill was described as richly en- dowing "non-Catholic and godless colleges to those who for centuries have enjoyed the great public endowments for higher education in Ireland, and then, without giving one farthing to Catholics, it invites them to com- pete in their poverty, produced by penal laws and confiscations, with others who, as the Prime Minister states, are left in possession of enormous wealth. The New University scheme only increases the number of Queen's Cplleges, .so often and so solemnly condemned by the Catholic Church and by all Ireland, and gives a new impulse to that sort of teaching which separates education from religion and its holy influences, and banishes God, the author of all good, from our schools. " — Died, at Addlestone, Surrey, aged 8r, .Charles Knight, an early labourer in the field of cheap literature, and a writer of various historical works of standard excellence. IO. — An application having been made to the Exchequer by Earl Stanhope on behalf of the Society of Antiquaries, that examination should be made at the public cost of the tumuli on the plains of Troy, Mr. Lowe replies : — " The question is, are excavations undertaken for the purpose of illustrating the 'Iliad' a proper object for the expenditure of public money? I am sorry to say that in my judg- ment they are not. It is a new head of ex- pense. It has no practical object, but aims at satisfying the curiosity of those who believe that the narative of Homer was a true history, 1093 ■ MARCH IS73- MARCH and not the creation of a poet's imagination. But while I regret to be unable to accede to your lordship's suggestion, I submit that there is a way open by which the money may be provided. It is said that the schoolboy en- thusiasm of Europe liberated Greece from Turkey. Is not the literary enthusiasm of wealthy England equal to the enterprise of ex- ploring scenes which are ever recurring to the imagination of everyone who has received a classical education? The Daily Telegraph, with my hearty approbation, is exploring with- out any assistance from the public purse the secrets. that lie buried under the mounds of Mesopotamia. Shall it be said that a large number of wealthy English noblemen and gentlemen can find no better expedient for the gratification of a liberal curiosity than to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to employ for its satisfaction money wrung from the earn- ings of the poorest of the community ? I sin- cerely regret that the spirit of Herodes Atticits has not descended to modern times, and feel convinced that if one-half the energy which is devoted in attempts to obtain aid from Govern- ment were given to create a spirit of private munificence, this and many similar objects might be attained with the utmost facility and com- pleteness. " lO. — Adjourned debate on the Irish Uni- versity bill resumed by Mr. Vernon Harcourt, who declared his intention of supporting the bill, although he admitted that it was not a • successful specimen of legislating according to Irish ideas, and that it had been received in Ireland with a unanimity of disapprobation. Mr. Bernal Osborne also spoke against the bill to-night, and Mr. Cardwell in its support. 11.. — Defeat of Mr. Gladstone's Government on the Irish University Bill, a division taking place about 2 a.m. on the morning of the 12th, on the motion that the bill be read a second time, when 287 voted against and 284 in favour. The announcement of a majority of 3 against the Ministers was the signal for a tumultuous burst of cheering. Besides the Prime Minister and Mr. Disraeli the principal speakers to-night were Col. Wilson Patten, Mr. Dodson, and- Mr. Bouverie, the latter denouncing the bill as scandalously inadequate, pleasing nobody in Ireland, and yet likely within twenty years to hand over the University to priests. Mr. Disraeli rose at half-past ten to comment on the bewildering character of the debate. "Here is the hon. member for Surrey," he said, "Mr. Locke King, who, after recent proceedings, could scarcely refuse to propose a vote of confidence. (Laughter.) But this I can say for myself, and many gentlemen on this side, we have no wish to oppose it. If her Majesty's Government have not the con- fidence of the House of Commons, I want to know what have they the confidence of? It is a House returned under their auspices. (Loud cries of ' No, no,' from the Ministerial benches.) Well, e'ected under the exciting eloquence 1094 of the right hon. gentleman. (Cheers and laughter.) When I remember that campaign of rhetoric, I must say I think this House was formally as well as spiritually its creation. (Laughter. ) . . . This is essentially a material age ; the opinions which are now afloat, which have often been afloat before, and which have died away as I have no doubt these will die in due time, are opposed in my opinion to all those sound convictions which the proper study of moral and mental philosophy has long estab- lished. But that such a proposition should be made in the laud of the Unive'rsity which has produced Berkeley and Hutchinson makes it still more surprising. We live in an age when young men prattle about Protoplasm, and when young ladies in gilded saloons unconsciously talk Atheism. (Laughter.) And this is the moment when a Minister, called upon to fulfil one of the noblest duties which can fall upon the most ambitious statesman — namely, the formation, of a great University, formally comes forward and proposes the omission from public study of moral and mental philosophy." (Cheers.) Mr. Disraeli next amused the House by his reference to the proposed Council of twenty-eight persons. " They are all to be distinguished men. They are all to be — and I thought the expression was a happy one — they are all to be ' eminent men of moderate opinions.' (Laughter.) The House is pretty well aware how twenty-eight gentle* men would be obtained under the circum- stances. I suppose that Cardinal Cullen would be one of them, and his Eminence would be paired off with the Primate of the Protestant Church. (Laughter.) Then, under the circumstances in which we are placed, the Provost of Trinity College would be a most admirable councillor, and Monsignor Wood- lock would be another. Then would come Lord Chancellor O'Hagan, who would prob- ably pair off with the right hon. gentleman who filled the same office for us. (Laughter. ) And you would have in your council very much what you have in this House — two parties organized and arrayed against each other, with two or three trimmers thrown in on each side." (Cheers and laughter.) Describing the com- mencement of Mr. Gladstone's policy of con- fiscation when he mistook the clamour of the Nonconformists for the voice of the nation — "You have now," continued Mr. Disraeli, "had four years of it. You have despoiled churches. You have threatened every cor- poration and endowment in the country. (Cheers.) You have examined ir.to every- body's affairs. You have criticised every pro- fession and vexed every trade. (A laugh.) No one is certain of his property, and nobody knows what duties he may have to perform to-morrow. I believe that the people of this country have had enough of the policy of confiscation. From what I can see, the House of Commons elected to carry out that policy are beginning to experience some of the inconvenience of satiety, and if I am not MARCH I873. MARCH mistaken, they will give some intimation to the Government to-night that that is their opinion also." (Cheers.) Mr. Disraeli con- cluded : — "Although I have not wished to make this a party question, although I have no wish to disturb the right hon. gentleman in his seat, although I have no communication with any section or with any party in this House, I may say with any individual of my own immediate colleagues, I must do my duty when I am asked, ' Do you or do you not approve this measure?' (Cheers.) I must vote against a measure which I believe to be monstrous in its general principles, pernicious in many of its details, and utterly futile as a measure of practical legislation." (Continued cheers.) Mr. Gladstone woundup the debate by defending all the essential details of the measure, declaring that "where we have earnestly sought and toiled for peace we find only contention ; if our tenders of relief are thrust aside with scorn, let us still remember that there is a voice which is not heard in the crackling of the fire or in the roaring of the whirlwind or the storm, the still, small voice of justice, which is heard after they have passed away. To mete out justice to Ireland, accord- ing to the best view that with human infirmity we could form, has been the work, I will almost say the sacred work, of this Parliament. ('No, no,' and cheers.) Having put our hand to the plough, let us not turn back. Let not what we think the fault or perverseness of those whom we are attempting to assist have the slightest effect in turning us from the path on which we have entered. As we have begun, so let us go through, and with firm and resolute hand let us efface from the law and the practice of the country the last — I believe it is the last — of the religious and social grievances of Ireland." (Loud and prolonged cheering.) On the result of the division being made known, Mr. Gladstone said : — "I think, Sir, after the division that has just taken place, the House will expect to hear a word from me. 1 appre- hend that the effect of the vote is to lay the bill aside for the moment. It is capable of revival, but it requires a motion for the purpose of reviving the order. The vote of the House has been a vote of a grave character, I need hardly say ; and as the House never wishes to enter into deliberations upon secondary matters while the question of the existence of the Govern- ment is in doubt, probably the best thing I can do is to move that we now adjourn, and that we adjourn until Thursday." (Cheers.) The house accordingly adjourned at twenty-five minutes past two o'clock till Thursday the 13th. Thirty-six Irish Liberals voted against the bill, and fifteen Irish members in its favour. 11. — The Supreme Court of Judicature Bill read a second time in the Lords. — Died, aged 85, Reginald George Mac- donald, captain and chief of Clanranald. 13. — In the Commons this, afternoon Mr. Gladstone, amid much cheering, announces, that in consequence of the vote on the Irish University Bill, her Majesty's Ministers had tendered their resignation ; and to permit of the necessary new arrangements being made, he begged to move that the House at its rising should adjourn till Monday the 17th. 13. — On entering the House this afternoon a Royal Messenger waits on Mr. Disraeli com- manding his presence at Buckingham Palace. " Her Majesty (the right hon. gentleman ex- plained) did me the honour of consulting me upon the subject of the ministerial difficulty. She inquired of me whether I was prepared to form a Government and carry on her affairs. I then informed her Majesty distinctly that I was quite prepared to form an administration which I believed would conduct her Majesty's affairs efficiently and in a manner entitled to her confidence, but that I could not undertake to conduct the government of the country in the present House of Commons. That was the information I gave distinctly and clearly to her Majesty, and from that position I have never for a moment faltered." — Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill rejected in the House of Lords by 74 to 49 votes. — Died, at the Cloisters, aged 72, the Rev. Evan Nepean, canon of Westminster and chaplain in ordinary to the Queen. 14. — Letters from Zanzibar describe Sir. Bartle Frere's mission as a failure ; the Sultan maintaining that he and his Arab chiefs must reject the treaty, not only for the financial reasons which he had previously put forward as his main objection, but also on the ground that slavery was a time-honoured institution, sanc- tioned alike by the Mohammedan religion and ancient custom, and its abolition would lead to insurrection and disaster ; and that, moreover, no confidence could be placed in any new treaties. 15. — Died, aged 68, Rev. Henry Wall, M.A., professor of logic in the University of Oxford. — Treaty signed at Berlin for the speedy evacuation of French territory by the Germans. — Dispute between the Greek and Latin Christians at Bethlehem concerning the cur- tains in the Grotto of the Nativity, burned in 1871, and which the Ottoman Government were to have replaced in order to end the tra- ditional jealousy of the two bodies. To-day the Greek Patriarch formally protested "against the violations committed by the Latin clergy, who rely upon the right of the stronger, and tread under foot the secular rights of the Greek nation to the Grotto of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, at Bethlehem. We ask the Supreme Government not to allow this outrage against the nation." 17. — Mr. Gladstone announces in the Com- mons that, while passing Sunday (yesterday) in the country, he received a communication I°95 MARCH 1873- MARCH from her Majesty to an effect which led him finally to abandon any expectation that upon the present occasion the party in opposition would construct a Government to carry on the affairs of the country. At the same time, in reply to an inquiry from her Majesty, he at once stated that he placed any services he could render at her Majesty's disposal, and that he would take. steps forthwith to proceed to consider, together with those who had been his colleagues in the Cabinet, how far they were disposed to resume their offices, and at the same time to consider the state of public affairs and the business of this House after the events of last week. In conformity with Mr. Gladstone's desire the House, at its rising, ad- journed to Thursday the 20th. 18. — Mr. Mill presides at a meeting of the Land Tenure Reform Association held in Exeter Hall, and explains its two main prin- ciples — first, no more land, under any pretext, to become the private property of individuals ; secondly, taxation on the land, in order to give the benefit of its natural increase of value to the whole community, instead of to the pro- prietors, these being allowed the option of re* linquishing the land at its present money value. — Close of the strike in South Wales, the remaining workmen agreeing to-day to re- sume work on what were known as the "Dowlais terms." 19. — Testimonial of the value of 5,8oo£ presented to the Rev. Dr. Moffatt in recogni- tion of his services as a missionary in Africa. — The Committee appointed to report on the column of the Place Vend6me decide to re erect the monument as it stood, and to re- cord by two inscriptions the date of its demoli- tion and of its reconstruction. 20. — Intimation made in both Houses of Parliament that Mr. Gladstone and his col- leagues were now in a position to carry on the Government as formerly. Quoting from a "Memorandum" submitted to the Queen, Mr. Gladstone said he " will not and does not sup- pose that the efforts of the Opposition to defea: the Government on Wednesday morning were jnade with a previously formed intention on their part to refuse any aid to your Majesty, if the need should arise, in providing for the government of the country ; and the summary refusal, which is the only fact before him, he takes to be not in full correspondence, either ■b ith the exigencies of the case, or, as he has shown, with Parliamentary usage." To this charge Mr. Disraeli replied in another " Me- morandum :" — "The charge against the leader of the Opposition personally that by 'his summary refusal ' to undertake your Majesty's Government he was failing in his duty to your Majesty and the country is founded altogether on a gratuitous assumption by Mr. Gladstone, which pervades his letter, that the means of Mr. Disraeli to carry on the Government were IC96 not ' exhausted. ' A brief statement of facts will at once dispose of this charge. Before Mr. Disraeli, with due deference, offered his decision to your Majesty, he had the oppor- tunity of consulting those gentlemen with whom he acts in public life, and they were unanimously of opinion that it would be preju- dicial to the interests of the country for a Con- servative Administration to attempt to conduct your Majesty's affairs in the present House of Commons. What other means were at Mr. Disraeli's disposal ? Was he to open negotia- tions with a section of the late Ministry, and waste days in barren interviews, vain applica- tions and the device of impossible combina- tions ? Was he to make overtures to the con- siderable section of the Liberal party who had voted against the Government — namely, the Irish Roman Catholic gentlemen ? Surely Mr. Gladstone could not seriously contemplate this ? Impressed from experience, obtained in the very instances to which Mr. Gladstone refers, of the detrimental influence upon Government of a crisis unnecessarily prolonged by hollow negotiations, Mr. Disraeli humbly conceived that he was taking a course at once advantageous to the public interests, and tending to spare your Majesty unnecessary anxiety by at once laying before your Majesty the real position of affairs." Mr. Disraeli now assured the House that " the Tory party at the present time occu- pies the most satisfactory position which it has held since the days of its greatest statesmen, Mr. Pitt and Lord Grenville. It has divested itself of those excrescences which are not indi- genous to its native growth, but which in a time of long prosperity were the consequence some- times of negligence, and sometimes, perhaps, in a certain degree, of ignorance. (Laughter from the Ministerial side.) We are now emerging from a fiscal period in which almost all' the public men of this generation have been brought up. All the questions of trade and navigation, of the incidence of taxation and of public economy, are settled. But there were other questions not less important, and of deeper and higher reach and range, which must engage the attention of a Constitutional Minis- ter. There is the question whether the aris- tocratic principle should be recognised in our Constitution, and if so in what form ; whether the Commons of England shall remain an estate of the realm, numerous but privileged and qualified, or whether they should degene- rate into an indiscriminate multitude — (a laugh, and ' Hear, hear') — whether a National Church shall be maintained, and if so, what shall be its rights and duties ; the functions of corporations, the sacredness of endowments — (cheers) — the tenure- of landed property, the free disposal and even the existence of any kind of property. (Cheers and laughter.) All these institutions and all these principles, which have made this country free and famous, and conspicuous for its union of order with liberty, are now impugned, and in due time will be- come great and 'burning' questions. (Cheers.) MARCH 1373- MARCH I think it of the utmost importance that when that time — which maybe nearer at hand than we imagine— arrives, there shall be in this country a great constitutional party, distinguished for its intelligence as well as for its organization, which shall lead and direct the public mind of the people. And, sir, when that time arrives, and when they enter upon a career which must be noble, and which I hope and believe will be triumphant, I think they may perhaps re- member, and not, I trust, with unkindness, that I at least prevented one obstacle from being placed in their way, and that I, as the trustee of their honour and interests, declined to form a. weak and discredited Administration." SO. — Died at Westfield, Ross-shire, William Brydon, C.B., late surgeon-major Bengal army and Highland Rifle Militia ; 3 name re- markable in Indian history as that of the one solitary individual of the 13,000 soldiers and camp-followers of the British army at Cabul who was neither killed nor taken prisoner in the memorable retreat from Cabul in January 1842. Dr. Brydon, after some hair-breadth escapes from the Affghans, reached Jelalabad alive, though wounded and exhausted, all the other persons composing the British force having being either killed or taken prisoners Dr. Brydon went through the rest of the siege of Jelalabad with the garrison under the com- mand of Sir Robert Sale. It was his sin- gular fate to be again shut up with Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow, and to pass uninjured through that long and trying siege. — Died at Athens, aged 88, Sir Richard Church, GiC.H., one of the heroes of the Greek War of Independence. — France declares a protectorate over the empire of Anam. 21. — Mr. Gathome Hardy moves for an address to the Crown praying that the Queen in communicating the "Three New Rules " of the Treaty of Washington to Foreign Powers will declare to them her dissent from the prin- ciples set forth by the Geneva Tribunal as the basis of their award. The motion was with- drawn after debate, on Mr. Gladstone under- taking that when these rules were presented to foreign powers they should be accompanied by an expression of the dissent of the British Government from the recital of the award. — Died at Croydon, aged 68, Henry Dorling, who had for many years been engaged in promoting the success of the Epsom race meetings. 22. — Came on at York Assizes, before Chief Justice Bovill, the trial of the Rev. Vyvyan Moyle, late Vicar of Eston, near Middlesbrough, charged with forging and uttering certain scrip certificates and an impres- sion of a seal, purporting to be of the firm of Jackson, GilL and Co., Limited; also forging a certain deed, purporting to be a transfer of 220 shares of and in the firm of Jackson, Gill, and Co. ; also forging the signature of Edward Stickley White ; and also forging a certain letter, dated 16th December, 1872, purporting to be written by the said E. S. White, with in- tent to defraud, at the township of Norman by, in the North Riding. On the indictment being read over, the prisoner, who appeared to feel his position very keenly, pleaded guilty to each of the counts. The Court at the time was densely crowded, many clergymen being pre- sent. Mr. Digby Seymour pleaded in mitiga- tion of punishment the many charitable labours in which the prisoner had been engaged and the extreme temptation to which he had been subjected. In an evil hour, he said, his client had his eye attracted to the announcement of a society in London known as the Mutual Society, the dealings of the prisoner with which the learned counsel proceeded to state. He said that Mr. Moyle nattered himself that he might be able to increase his own means and the means of doing good to others. He took a large number of shares with this object in view, and borrowed the large sum of about 11,000/., expecting to be able to pay this sum back again. He showed how in this he had been disappointed, and becoming involved, he had vainly sought to extricate himself by the commission of the offence with which he was charged. Mr. Seymour referred to the prisoner's connection with the firm of Jackson, Gill, and Co., and his belief that in about a year they would have issued their scrip to the general public, and that then he would have tangible scrip to offer to the secretary. In a fatal moment it occurred to him that if he anti- cipated that ' future which must shortly arise, and if he himself issued the scrip of Jackson, Gill, and Co. to the Mutual Society, he might, when the real scrip was issued, replace it, and substitute it for the other, which proceed- ing would have enabled him to realize large profits. Thus he fondly reasoned with himself j and this led to the commission of the offence to which he had pleaded guilty. Next day the prisoner was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. 22. — Meeting in Exeter Hall, presided over by the Earl of Shaftesbury, to support the "appeal" made by Mr. Himsoll on behalf of British merchant seamen. — The seventy-sixth birthday of the Em- peror William celebrated with great rejoicings throughout the chief cities of Germany. ZA. — The prisoner Mary Ann Cotton exe- cuted within the precincts of Durham jail. She slept well during the night, walked to the drop with a firm step, and spent several minutes there in earnest prayer. The prisoner had previously made a statement admitting having used poison, but with no evil intention. The Under-sheriff fainted when the drop fell, and had to be supported by two warders. — Under the title of "Notes on Khiva," Sir H. Rawlinson read a paper on Central Asia to the Royal Geographical Society. Sir Henry contended that great political difficulties would 1097 MARCH 1873. APRIL. begin with Russia when she began to occupy the country. " She would be committed to an enormous expenditure without any commensu- rate results. Considering the peculiar position of Khiva, the impoverished state of the country, and the difficulty of sustaining positions against the Turkomans, and constructing forts and wells to keep a good connection with the Caspian, he could not expect that Russia could occupy Khiva at a less cost than that involved by her occupation of Turkestan. Those who wished Russia ill would desire that she should pursue her present course. In the interests of peace, perhaps it would have been better had Russia not entered into the line of the Jaxartes; but as yet he saw nothing to cause us to ap- prehend danger. Our position was quiescent, while hers was progressive ; we must go on our way conscious that, if real dangers approached us from any quarter, we were strong enough to resist them." — The Navy Estimates introduced by Mr. Goschen, the gross amount being 9,633,000/., an excess of 134,000/. over the vote of 1872. 25. — Lord Romilly retires from the office of Master of the Rolls, Sir Richard Baggallay, Q.C., a senior member of the bar of that court, expressing the respect and esteem entertained for his lordship's unvarying courtesy during the twenty-two years he had held that post. — Died, aged 69, Professor Partridge, F.R.S., surgeon. — Died, aged 76, Amedee Thierry, French historian. 26. — The Burial Bill read a second time in the Commons by 283 to 217 votes. " The bill," said Mr. Disraeli, in opposing the mea- sure, " assumed that the sacred fabric and its consecrated precincts were national property. But this was the exact reverse of what the Nonconformists contended for when they suc- ceeded in getting rid of church-rates on the ground that they had no concern in the main- tenance of the church and the churchyard. That controversy was settled on the footing that the church and the churchyard were the property of Churchmen, and if Dissenters used them, it must be on the same conditions as Churchmen." The Nonconformists, Mr. Dis- raeli thought, had committed an error of late ' years in making war against the Church. The Reform Act of 1832 gave them an electoral power out of proportion to their numbers and wealth, which they must be conscious that at the next general election they could not retain. He earnestly desired a cessation of the war between Church and Dissent, and that they should join together in combating the common enemy to all Churches and all religious bodies which was abroad, and which, if it succeeded, would de- grade the country and destroy all religion. — Mr. Gladstone and other ministers at- tend a banquet given at the Mansion House to SOO provincial mayors. IC98 26 — Died, aged 64, Arthur, Count von Bernstorff, formerly Prussian minister to this country, and latterly ambassador of the German Empire. — The Dutch East India Company declare war against the Atchinese of Sumatra, a native race in the north of the island, with whom differences had arisen regarding the right of possession and the power to erect lighthouses at different points. 28. — -Mr. Fortescue announces the appoint- ment of a Royal Commission to inquire into and suggest remedies with regard to the alleged unseaworthiness of British shipping, whether arising from overloading or deck-loading, from defective construction or equipment, &c. ; also to inquire into the system of marine insurance, the liability of shipowners to those whom they employ, and the practice of undermanning. The commissioners to be — the Duke of Somer- set, chairman ; the Duke of Edinburgh, Mr. Milner Gibson, Admiral Hope, Mr. Liddell, M.P., Mr. T. Brassey, M.P., Mr. Rothery, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Denny, Mr. Duncan^ Captain Edgell of Lloyd's, and Mr. Merrifield of the Royal Naval School of Architecture. Com- mission to inquire and suggest. 29. — Oxford and Cambridge boat-race, the latter again coming in first by three lengths. — The French National Assembly depart from the consideration of Prince Napoleon's petition against his expulsion by 334 to 278 votes. 31. — Extradition treaty concluded between the British and Danish Governments. April 1. — Died, aged 84, General Sir William Bell, K.C.B., a Peninsular and. Waterloo officer, whose commission of second lieutenant dated as far back as Nov. 1804. — The steamer Atlantic of the White Star line wrecked off Halifax, into which port she was running, short of coal, and about 560 of her passengers drowned or frozen to death. The night was dark and the sea rough, and it was thought the watch on duty had mistaken Peggy's Point light for Sambro. So sudden was the catastrophe that most of the persons on board — and there were nearly 1,000 — went down in their berths ; and many pro- bably did not awake until they found them- selves drowning through the ship having struck. The surviving passengers were crowded on the bows, and clinging to the rigging. Some uf the more adventurous made their way to the rock by a line, but the situation there was one of great peril, as the tide was rising. The fisher- men, however, came to the rescue, and by noon all the survivors were got ashore at Cape Pros- pect. The official inquiry at Halifax into the cause of the disaster resulted in a verdict com- mending the conduct of the officers after the ship struck, but condemning her management from the time her course was changed, and APRIL 1373- APRIL especially the captain's conduct in leaving the deck at midnight. His certificate might have been cancelled, but, considering the efforts he made to save life, it was only revoked for two years. The fourth officer was suspended for three months. The court was also of opinion that the Atlantic had been permitted to start on her voyage with a dangerously small supply of coal. 2. — The Queen visits Victoria Park, and receives an enthusiastic reception from the in- habitants of the eastern part of London. — M. Grevy resigns the presidency of the French Assembly, and is succeeded by M. Buffet. 3. — Mr. Munster withdraws, after debate, a complaint of breach of privilege submitted to the House in so far as an article in the Pall Mall Gazette declared that " it was not sur- prising that the Irish Ultramontane members snould resort to every quibble discoverable in the technicalities of the law of parliament to delay or defeat a measure like Mr. Fawcett's, which cuts the ground from under their venal agitations and their traffic in noisy disloyalty." — The Due d'Aumale received into the Frence Academy, and pronounces an eloquent eulogium upon his predecessor, the Count de Montalembert. 4. — Edwin Noyes and a man supposed to be George Bidwell, but who refused to give his name, examined before the Lord Mayor on the charge of forging and uttering bills of exchange for upwards of 100,000/. Bidwell had been captured in Edinburgh by detective M'Kelvie. The others known to be concerned in this gigantic fraud were Warren alias Horton, and Macdonnell alias Swift. From the evidence now submitted it appeared that on the 4th of May last, an account was opened at the West End Branch of the Bank of England by Austin Bidwell in the name of " F. A. Warren," and it was evident that through this account the forged bills were to be discounted. From the 4th of May up to January last the account was kept alive, and on the 17th of January a genuine bill of Messrs. Rothschild was paid in. The account at the Continental Bank was opened in December for the purpose, it was alleged, of having Warren's cheques paid in there, and then drawn out again by drafts signed by Horton — the money being eventually expended in the systematic purchase of American bonds. It had been proved beyond all question that Austin Bidwell was both Warren and Horton. It was necessary, in order to carry out the gigantic fraud which was to follow, that there should be a division of labour, and persons were accordingly engaged to concoct the fictitious bills, to present the cheques, and to change bank-notes into gold. After the first genuine bill had been pre- sented, the forged bills came up regularly to the West End Branch in letters dated from Bir- mingham and signed by Warren. The scheme 1099 evidently was that all the persons who could be identified in the matter should be absent in the latter part of the proceedings ; and so they found that in February Warren (or Horton) left London, and was not seen again by any of the Bank authorities. Macdonnell and George Bidwell, who had not been seen by them, remained in London and transacted the re- quisite business for Warren, he leaving with them a number of cheques on the Bank of England and the Continental Bank signed in blank. After he left, Noyes paid in and drew out the money at Horton's account. 4. — Japanese Embassy received by the Czar at St. Petersburg. The Grand Duke Alexis left Shanghai a few days later on a visit to Japan. — Sir George Jenkinson's motion calling upon Government to adopt the recommendation of the Select Committee regarding the construc- tion of a railway to connect the head of the Persian Gulf with the Mediterranean negatived by 103 to 29 votes. 6. — Anniversary of the day of the birth and death of Raphael Sanzio celebrated at Urbino. 7. — Mr. Lowe introduces the Budget, esti- mating the revenue for the ensuing year at 76,617,000/. ; the expenditure at 71,871,000/. With the surplus of 4,746,000/. he proposed to meet the Geneva award claim of 3,200,000/. due at Washington 1st Oct., to reduce the sugir duty one-half, and take one penny off the income-tax. Mr. Lowe's statement was favour- ably received. — The Prince of Wales installed as Grand Master of the Knights Templars at a conclave of the order held in Willis's Rooms. 9.— Salt Lake news mentions Brigham Young as on the eve of surrendering his trustee- ship over the Mormon community preparatory to forming a new settlement in Arizona among the Apaches. — Henry Pearson, described as a phy- sician, sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 50/. for a libel upon his niece, Miss Roper, in that he had industriously circulated reports that she led an immoral life. — Died, aged 46, Charles Allston Collins, artist and novelist. 11. — Mary and Charlotte Rea tried at Downpatrick on the charge of murdering Isabella Kerr at Holywood, in December last. Chiefly on the ground that the deceased was known to be a person of violent temper, the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter, and Mr. Justice Keogh sentenced each of the prisoners to penal servitude for life. — Came on before the High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, the trial of Henry Reid, a strolling piper, charged with murder- ing a young man named M 'Galium, an engineer belonging to Glasgow, on an Ayr race-night in I * APRIL IS73- APRIL September last. After inflicting the wound Reid made his escape through woods and by- ways to Perthshire, and remained concealed there several weeks. The principal witness against the prisoner was a woman named Townsby, who had lived with him as his wife, and his counsel objected to her evidence on the ground that a marriage, although irregular, had taken place. To decide this point the woman was put into the witness-box and questioned. She stated that she had agreed before a number of their friends to take the prisoner for her husband only so long as he would treat her well, but as he had not done so she did not now consider herself to be his wife. The objection not being admitted, the woman's evidence against the prisoner was taken, when the jury unanimously found the prisoner guilty of murder, and he was sen- tenced to death. 11. — Died, Major-General Dwight and Major-General Goodwyn, formerly of the Bengal Army, each having served w.ith distinc- tion in the Affghan, campaign of lS43 t — General Canby, the. American Peace Commissioner to the Modoc Indians, killed, by "Captain Jack" and his followers. 14. — Died, aged 77, General Charles Richard Fox, son of the third Lord Holland, and grand-nephew to Charles James Fox. — Official advices from Atchin, announce the repulse of the Dutch troops, and the death of their commander, General Koller. 15. — The Spencer Docks at Dublin formally opened by the Lord-Lieutenant. — Workmen's demonstration at Maidstone to welcome the gas-stokers, now liberated from prison there. — Mr. Arch, Mr. Cox, and others, re- presenting agricultural labourers at present on strike, tried before the Faringdon magistrates on a charge of obstructing the highway by holding a meeting in the. market-place at Faringdon. Mr. Fitzjames Stephen, argued that thede/endants.hadalegal right to do what they had done. The Act never contemplated such an obstruction as that under which, the defendants were charged, and it was mon- strous to call it one. Before the charge could be proved against them it must be shown that they had committed some wrong and improper act in the nature of a trespass. The market- place was the only place' where such men could hold their meetings. If they were con- victed they would be prevented meeting at all, as they could not obtain rooms and were not allowed tc go into fields. The summons was ultimately dismissed, amid the applause of many present to hear the case. 16. — Fight at Grant Parish, Louisiana, between the whites and negroes, the latter de r ending the Court-house, which had been set on fire. It was reported that as many as 100 1 100 were shot down when escaping from the burning building. 17.— The Times gives currency to a rumour that a serious calamity had befallen Sir Samuel Baker's expedition, the leader himself, with Lady Baker and a few survivors having, it was said, been murdered by a savage tribe to whom they had previously been forced to surrender. — Her Majesty presents new colours to the 79th Cameron Highlanders, at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight. "It gives Jie great pleasure," said her Majesty, " to present these new colours -to you. ■ In thus intrusting you with this honourable charge, I have the fullest con- fidence that you will, with the true loyalty and the well-known devotion of Highlanders, pre- serve the honour and reputation of your regi- ment, which have been so brilliantly earned and so nobly maintained." A gift of the old colours having been made to her Majesty, she Said : — " I accept these colours with much pleasure, and shall ever value them in remem- brance of the gallant services of the 79th Cameron Highlanders. I will take them to Scotland, and place them in my dear High- land home at Balmoral." l|i. — Died at Munich, aged 70, Baron Justus von Liebig, a high authority in chemical scienqe. 19. — The marriage of Prince Albrecht of Prussia, with the Princess Mary of Saxe Alten- burg, solemnized at Berlin. — Died, aged 47, Augustus Harris, stage director of the Royal Italian Opera. — The Shah leaves Teheran on a visit to the Courts of Europe. His Majesty arrived at Moscow on the 19th, St. Petersburg on the 22nd, Berlin on the 31st, and London on the 1 8th June. 20. — Marriage of Prince Leopold of Bavaria to the Princess Gisela, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. ■ — Died at Torquay, aged 72, Sir Wm. Tite, M.P. for Bath, and architect of the Royal Exchange. — Died, aged 60, Dr. H. Bence Jones, F. R.S.. consulting physican at St. George's Hospital, and secretary to the Royal Institu- tion. — The Duke of Edinburgh has an audience of the Pope, and congratulates his Holiness on recoVery from recent illness. 21. — Tn his annual report as deputy-keeper of the Public Records, Sir T. Duffus Hardy writes that he had been asked by the Master of the Rolls to prepare a report on a photograph of the MS. known as the "Utrecht Psalter," containing a copy of the Athanasian Creed, and had come to the following conclusions :- That the date of the manuscript may he assigned to the close of the sixth century : that APRIL 1873. MAY there are no sufficiently valid objections against this-date ; and that as the Utrecht Psalter is a Gallican, and not a Roman, Psalter, objec- tions to it based upon the Roman usage are of no force. 21. — Mr. Fawcett's Dublin University Tests Bill read a second time in the Commons. — Rule nisi granted in the Court of Queen's Bench to file a criminal information against Mr. Plimsoll, M. P. , for imputing cruel and criminal practices to Mr. Norwood, M.P., in so far as the latter was alleged to have sent vessels to sea in an unseaworthy condition. 22. — Debate in the Commons on the Central Asian question raised by Mr. Eastwick on a motion, afterwards withdrawn, for the pro- duction of papers. — Rev. E. C. Wickham, fellow and tutor of New College, Oxford, elected head-master of Wellington College, in succession to Dr Benson, appointed chancellor of Linco..i cathedral. — Earl Delawarr commits suicide by drown- ing himself at Cambridge while suffering from mental affliction, apparently induced by the death of a young woman living under his protection. 23. — Came on in the Court of Queen's Bench, before Lord Chief-Justice Cockburn, Justice Mellor, and Justice Lush, the trial at bar of the Tichbome Claimant, charged with perjury, for having sworn that he was Roger Charles Tichbome, supposed to have been drowned ; that he had seduced his uncle's daughter, his own cousin ; and that he was not Arthur Orton, son of a Wauping butcher. Mr. Hawkins opened the case for the Crown; the Claimant being defended by Dr. Kenealy. — Despatches from Khartoum announce that Sir Samuel Baker and his party were well it Fatookra. — Fancy dress ball at the Mansion House, the Lord Mayor and Lady Waterlow appearing in dresses of the Louis Quatorze period. — Disturbances at Madrid caused by an attempt of the " Permanent Committee" to overthrow the Government. The Committee was dissolved next day. — Died, aged 65, H. W. Wilberforce, formerly vicar of East Farleigh, but a member for about twenty years of the Romish com- munion. 24. — Riotous proceedings atFrankfort, aris- ing out of advances recently made by brewers ! in the price of beer. ! 26.— Two hundred United States soldiers fall into ao ambuscade prepared by Modoc ( Indians, and suffer a loss of nineteen killed ( and twenty-two wounded. IIUI 27. — The Emperor of Germany arrives at St. Petersburg 011 a visit to the Czar. — Carriage works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire l< ailway Company at Miles Platting, Manchester, destroyed by fire. — The Hon. Beatrice Mary Catherine, third daughter of Lord Clifford of Ugbrooke, Chudleigh, dies from injuries received by fire. — M. Barodet elected member for Paris by a majority of 40,000 over M. de Remusat. Four Republicans returned at provincial elec- tions. — Died, at Cheltenham, aged 80, William C. Macready, an English tragedian of rare merit, and a theatrical lessee who elevated a national amusement into a means of public education and permanent good. 28. — Accident, presumed to be from an overcharge of powder, in the Wynnstay Col- liery, Ruabon, causing the death of seven work- men, all who were employed iu the pit at the time. — Discussion in the Commons on Mr. Smith's motion that, before deciding further on the reduction of indirect taxation, the Govern- ment ought to put the Hou.-e in possession of its views on the maintenance and adjustment of direct taxation, local and imperial. — The Prince of Wales and Prince Arthur arrive at Vienna to take part in the ceremonies attending the opening of the Exhibition. 29. — The Lord Chancellor introduces a bill for the amendment of the law relating to the title and transfer of land. — Lord Claud Hamilton's mo'i n for the purchase of Irish railways negatived in the Commons by 197 to 65 votes. — The Grosvenor Club for workmen opened by the Marquis of Westminster. — Died, aged 60, J. R. Hope Scott, Q.C., possessor of Abbotsford in virtue of his first wife, daughter of J. Gibson Lockhart, and granddaughter of Sir Walter Scott. 30. — The Women's Disabilities Bill rejected in the Commons by 222 to 155 votes. May 1. — The Vienna Exhibition opened by the Emperor. Though the weather was un- favourable and the building known to be far from finished, great crowds assembled to cheer the imperial family and the royal visitors pre- sent from most of the European Courts. — The Italian Ministry resign, in conse- quence of a defeat on a vote involving military expenditure. 4.— Closing days of Dr. Livingstone. On arriving at Ulala, the capital of the district, where Kitambo the Sultan lived, the party were refused permission to stay, and Livingstone had to be carried three hours' march back towards Ukabende, where they erected for him 1 2 MAY 1873. MAY a rude hut and fence. He would not allow any one to approach him for the remaining days of his life except Majwara and Susi, although they all called daily at his door to say "Good morning." During these days the traveller was in great pain, and could keep nothing, even for a moment, on his stomach. He so far lost his sight as hardly to be able to distinguish when a light was Kindled, and gradually sank during the night of the 4th of May. Only Majwara was present when the Doctor died, and he was unable to say when breathing ceased. Susi, hearing that he was dead, told Jacob Wainwright to make a note in the Doctor's diary of the things found by him. Wainwright was not quite cer- tain as to the day of the month, and as Susi told him the Doctor had last written the day before, and he found this entry to be dated 27th April, he wrote 28th ; but on comparing his own diary on arrival at Unyanyembe, he found it to be the 4th of May: and this was con- firmed by Majwara, who said Livingstone was unable to write for the last four or five days of his life. The closing entry in the traveller's diary was a touching reference to the loss of his servants : — ' ' Very weak to-day. The good boys have carried me to the vil" (village). The spot where Livingstone breathed his last was put down at 11° 25" S. and 27° E. S. — International Commission appointed at Constantinople to determine on matters relat- ing to Suez Canal shipping dues. — The Greek Government abolishes all its foreign legations except one at Constantinople. — Fall of a bridge at Dixon, Illinois, crowded with people witnessing' a baptism; fifty person*, mostly women, reported to be drowned. — Anti-Ritualist memorial presented to the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace, praying the Bishops—" I. To exercise all the authority vested in your lordships for the entire suppres- sion of ceremonies and practices adjudged to be illegal, and in the event of that authority proving insufficient, to afford all other needful facilities for the due enforcement of the law. 2. To take especial care that in the consecration of new and in the restoration of old churches, no form of architectural arrangements and no ornaments be allowed that may facilitate the introduction of the superstitious practices and erroneous doctrines which the Church at the Reformation did disown and reject. 3. And, lastly, in the admission of candidates to Holy Orders, in the licensing of curates, and also in the distribution of patronage, to protect us and our families from teaching which — though it may not subject the individual offender to judicial condemnation — is, when taken in its plain and obvious meaning, subversive of those truths to which our Protestant Church, as Keeper and Witness of Holy Writ, has ever jjv.'.ie its faithful testimony." 1 102 S. — On the proposal to read the new Judica- ture Bill a third time, the Marquis of Salisbury moved an amendment intended to transfer ecclesiastical appeals to the new Court of Ap- peal constituted by the bill, and thus put an end to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. The Marquis objected to the present constitution of the com- mittee when dealing with ecclesiastical appeals, on the ground that among its members were bishops, who, though unlearned in the law, were called on to decide legal questions, and who were also, for the most part, pledged be- forehand to a particular view on the subjects which came before them as Judges. The argu- ments of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in reply, tended to show that in a Court of Eccle- siastical Appeal bishops should be present as Assessors rather than as Judges ; while the Bishop of Winchester expressed a wish for the removal of the Episcopal element from the Judicial Committee, as likely to cause the decisions of the committee to be received more impartially by the great body of the clergy — an opinion shared by Lord Cairns and Earl Carnarvon. Ultimately, the Marquis of Salis- bury assenting to the objection of the Lord Chancellor that the subject was too large .for discussion at that late stage, withdrew his motion, and the bill passed. — Mr. Fawcett's University Bill passed by the Commons. 6. — Sir Charles Dilke's motion calling for redress in the inequalities of the distribution of electoral power over the kingdom rejected by 268 to 77 votes ; and Mr. Trevelyan's resolution against honorary colonelcies Rejected by 80 to 40 votes. — A train on the Austrian States Railway thrown off the line not far from Pesth, smash- ing six of the carriages. Twenty-one persons were killed and forty wounded, the victims in most instances belonging to the working classes. 7. — Died, aged 65, Simon Portland Chase, Chief-Justice of the United States. — The Irish Court of Queen's Bench pro- nounces judgment in the O'Keeffe demurrer case. The Roman Catholic Judges Barry, Fitzgerald, and O'Brien, held that the rescript of the Pope under which Cardinal Cullen acted in suspending Father O'Keeffe was illegal, but that Father O'Keeffe under his contract with the Church had submitted beforehand to the Car- dinal's authority, and that, therefore, he could not allege that in publishing in Callan the sus- pension pronounced upon him, although under an illegal rescript, the Cardinal had libelled him. Judge Fitzgerald contended that an agreement to refrain from having recourse to the public tribunals is not against the public interest or any contravention of the law, and is a very wholesome rule of practice and discipline. — Chief-Justice Whiteside, on the contrary, in- sisted that the communication was not pvivi' MAY 1873- MAY leged, and that the object— one which the Courts could not sanction — was to exempt a numerous clergy from " intercourse with the civil magis- trate." He also said it was "apparently thought that the present was a favourable time and Ire- land a favourable country" for reasserting the foreign authority, which many ancient and modern statutes had repudiated and forbidden. His lordship also held that a priest could not be suspended even for criminal conduct without regular proceedings, except in time of visitation, and never after induction could the priest be removed at the mere discretion of the bishop. — ■ As the other three Judges were of the opposite opinion, the case was unaffected by the Chief- Justice's view. 7.— Sir W. Lawson's Permissive Bill thrown out in the Commons by 321 to 81 votes. — The Marquis of Lome proposes to the Archbishop of Canterbury to raise amongst the laity a central fund large enough to make it certain that no incumbent of any living belong- ing to the Church of England should have less than 200/. a year. "Should your grace approve the estalishment of such a fund, the Princess and I would be anxious to assist in raising a subscription. " His grace promised to co-operate in the scheme, and secure also the countenance of the episcopal bench generally. — The Upper House of Convocation adopt a "declaration" for the removal of doubts and to prevent disquietude in the use of the Athan- asian Creed, solemnly declaring ' ' that the Confession of our Christian faith, commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius, is not to be understood as making any addition to the faith as contained in Holy Scripture, but as a warn- ing against errors which from time to time have arisen in the Church of Christ ; secondly, in- asmuch as Holy Scripture in divers places doth promise life to them that believe, and declares condemnation of them that believe not, so doth the Church in this Confession declare the necessity for all who would be in a state of salvation of holding fast the Christian faith, and the great peril of rejecting the same. So that the warnings in this Confession of faith are to be understood in no otherwise than like warnings in Holy Scripture. Moreover, as all judgments belong to God alone, we are not required or allowed to pronounce judgment upon any particular person or persons. Further- more, we are to receive God's threatenings, even as his promises, as they are set forth in Holy Scripture." The Bishops of Norwich and Exeter opposed the Declaration, being desirous to abolish the use of the Creed in public worship. 8. — Died, at Avignon, from erysipelas, aged 67, John Stuart Mill, author of many valuable Works on logic and political economy. — William Alexander Roberts, stock- broker, sentenced at the Old Bailey to twelve years' penal servitude for attempting to pass a forged cheque for li,jjoo/. 9. — The Upper House of Convocation dis- cusses a petition signed by 4^0 members of the Church of England, praying for the ap- pointment of "duly qualified confessors." — Panic on the Vienna Bourse, leading to the fall of over 200 firms, and the suspension of the Bank Act. 12. —Apologizing to Mr. Cubitt, M.P., fot his inability to attend a Lambeth Conservative banquet, Mr. Disraeli writes : — " You will have an opportunity of impressing on the me- tropolitan constituencies that at the impending general election the country will have to decide whether they will maintain the integrity of the kingdom, as well as ol the empire, and whether they will uphold and cherish that great body of laws and customs and traditions which have converted a small island into one of the mighty Powers of the world. There is no part of the Queen's dominions in which Conservative ele- ments are more rife than in her capital city. But as happens frequently, when the area and population are alike vast, there is a want of leaders and organization. But without leaders and organization nothing can be done ; and the metropolitan constituencies must show themselves equal to the occasion, and rise to the emergency. " — Mr. Stansfeld carries a motion in the Commons for the appointment of a Select Com- mittee to inquire and report whether the exist- ing area-s and boundaries of parishes, unions, and Gounties may be so altered as to prevent the inconveniences which now arise from their subdivision. — At the meeting of the Royal Geo- graphical Society, Mr. N. Elias, the gold medalist of the year, and the first European who had travelled through Western Mongolia, reads an interesting paper on that remote region. 13. — The Dublin University Bill read a second time in the Lords. — Mr. Crawford's motion for an address to the Queen condemning the scheme of the En- dowed Schools Commissioners for dealing wi. li Emanuel Hospital, Westminster, rejected by 286 to 238 votes. Anne, Lady Dacre, widow of Gregory, the last Lord Dacre of the South, and sister of Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst and Earl of Dorset, the poet, in pursuance of whose will the Hospital in Tothill Street was erected, died on the 14th of May 1595, having survived her husband only a few months. — Died, in the hospital of the Prussian Deaconesses, Alexandria, aged 42, Emanuel Oscar Deutsch, an accomplished authority in Rabbinical and general oriental literature. 14. — One quarter of a King's share in the New River Company sold in four lots for 12,240/., the income for the last year having been on this quarter-share 448/. In 1858 a Share sold in the open market at the rate of I9,oooZ. Twelve years after the share was sold 1 103 MA Y I8 73 . MAY in lots at 38,000/., and the result of this last sale shows the price of a share to be now nearly 49,000/. 14. — New Guildhall at Winchester opened by the Lord Chancellor. — • Mr. Cowper's Occasional Sermons Bill re- jected by 199 to 53 votes. — The Times announces the approaching marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh with 'the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. — Intimation given of a concession granted by the Shah to Baron Reuter, and to any com- pany which he may establish, of the exclusive right to construct railways, tramways, and other public works throughout his dominions, to- gether with the exclusive right of working fhe mines and utilizing the forests of the country. By the second article of the concession, Baron Reuter's company obtained the exclusive right of making, and of working for seventy years, railways throughout the country. The lands necessary for the purpose to be given by the State, so far as possible ; and in case lands which are private property should be re- quired, the Persian Government undertook to use its influence to prevent 'exorbitant prices being charged, and would, if necessary, compel the owners to consent to a forced sale. All materials to be free from import duties, and all persons engaged in the works to be 'exempt from taxation. The company to pay to the Government 20 per cent, on the net profits of the working of the line. 15. — The Australian Colonies (Customs Duties) Bill, designed to repeal the Act for- bidding the colonial legislatures to enforce dif- ferential duties as toetween the colonies and 'the rest of the world, read a second time. — Lord Hartington's motion for a Select Committee to inquire into the case of the Irish National Board of Education, Mr. O'Keeffe, and the Callan School, carried by 159 to 131 votes ; Mr. Bouverie protesting against the proposal, as contrary to all precedent, seeing the House was or would soon be in possession of all papers bearing on the case. — The German State Council unanimously determines to expel tlte monastic orders of Redemptorists and Lazarists, and the Con- gregations of the Holy Ghost and the Most Holy Heart, as coming under the law against the Jesuits. — Died, at Heidelberg, aged 53, Prince Couza, formerly Hospodar of Routr.ania. 16. — Mr. Miall's Disestablishment motion rejected by 356 to 61 votes. 18. — The Daily Telegraph prints a despatch dated Tiflis, yesterday, announcing that Khiva was taken, and the Khan a prisoner in the hands of the Russians. 1 104 18. — Reconstruction of the French Ministry announced. M. Casimir-Perier, Minister of the Interior, and M. Waddington, Minister of Public Instruction. 19. — Lord Salisbury's motion for an address condemning the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners respecting King Ed- ward's Grammar School, Birmingham, carried by 'K>6 'to (so votes. — Mr. George Smith, of the British Museum, at present engaged in Assyrian researches on behalf of the Daily Telegraph, writes from Mosul: — "I am excavating the site of the King's Library, at Nineveh, which I found without much difficulty. Many fresh objects of high importance have rewarded my search. Since my last message I have come upon numerous valuable inscriptions and fragments of all classes, including vdiy cu-rious syllabaries and bilingual records. Awiong them is a remarkable table of the p< nalties for neglect or infraction of the laws. But my most fortunate discovery is that of a broken tablet containing \the very portion of the text which was missing from the Deluge tablet. Immense masses of earth and debris overlie whatever remains to be brought to light in this part of the great Mound." 21. — Mr. W. Fowler's bill for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Art rejected by 25 1 to 128 votes. — The Chipping Norton bench of magis- trates commit sixteen women to prison for several days on a charge of intimidating la- bourers employed in the room of others on strike. 22 — Died, aged 58, the Right Rev. Alex- ander Ewing, D.C.L., Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. 23. — Died, aged 90, Alessandro Manzoni, Italian novelist and poet. — The Land Titles and Transfer BilUnd Real Property Limitation Bill read a second time in the Lords. 24. — The new Alexandra Palace on Muswell Hill opened. — By a majority of 360 to 344 the French Assembly adopt a vote of want uf confidence in the new Ministry. M. Theirs thereupon re- signed, and Marshal MacMahon was elected President. In accepting office, the latter wrote : — "I obey the will of the Assembly, the de- positary of the national Sovereignty, and accept the functions of President of the Republic. A heavy responsibility is thrust upon my patriot- ism ; but with the aid of God and the devotion of the army, which will always be an army of the law and the supporter of all honest men, we will continue together the work of liberating the territory, and restoring moral order through- out the country; we will maintain internal peace, and the principles upon which society rests. That this shall be the case I pledge mv word as an honest man and a soldier." MAY 1873- JUNE 24. — The Dutch Chamber vote supplies for the expedition against Atchin. 26. — President MacMahon submits his first message to the Assembly, expressing a desire for the maintenance of peace, and the reorgan- ization of the army, which "we shall actively persevere in effecting, animated only by a legiti- mate desire to repair the strength and retain the rank which belong to France. The home policy of the Government will be imbued with a character of social Conservatism. All the laws you have voted possess that characteristic. The Government is resolutely Conservative. We have numerous laws to enact. The bills on the reorganization of the army and munici- palities and educational reform ate drawn up, and I believe I have selected Ministers who are competent to discuss them. You will discuss the bills which you instructed our predecessor to submit to you and those already before you, and the Government will examine them and give you the result of thier careful consideration. But previously to that the Government must act, and introduce into and impress upon the Ad- ministration the spirit of Conservatism, and cause the laws to be respected by appointing agents who will make them respected and them- selves respect them. The Government will not fail in this duty, and will defend society against all factions. The post in which you have placed me is that of a sentinel who has to watch over the integrity of your sovereign power. " — M. Thiers resumes his place as a mem- ber of the French National Assembly. 27. — The Italian Chamberof Deputies passes the Religious Corporations Bill by 196 to 46 votes. — The trial of the libel case of O'Keeffe «/. Cullen terminates in a verdict for the plaintiff — damages one farthing. — Fire in Grosvenor Mews, Berkeley Square, causing the death of six persons, and serious injury to several others in attempting to escape from the building. — New railway .project submitted by M. de Lesseps, the maia feature being to connect the lines of Russia with those of India, the first section extending from the north-east of the Caspian Sea to Samarkand, and the second from Samarkand to Peshawur. 28. — Austin Byron Bidwell, captured at Havana, examined at the Mansion House oft the charge of being concerned with others now in custody in the recent forgeries on the Bank of England. — Died, aged 81, Alderman Sir James Duke, Lord Mayor of London in 1848. 29.— The General Assembly of the Church «>f Scotland carry a resolution disapproving of the "course taken by the Commission on 15th of January last in regard to the appointment of the chair of Church History in the University American sculptor, whose ' ' Greek Slave " ex cited much interest in the Exhibition of 1851. — Lord Stanhope's motion for an address to the Queen, praying her Majesty to take into consideration the institution of an Order of Merit to be bestowed by her Majesty as a sign of her royal approbation upon men who have deserved well of their country in science, lite- rature, and art, negatived after a brief dis- cussion. 29. — The Deerhound, detained some days at Plymouth, on suspicion of being laden with arms for the Carlists, permitted to sail. — Reception of the foreign ambassadors in audience for the first time by the Emperor of China at Pekin. 30.— Mr. Gladstone announces amendments to the Judicature Bill, with the view of establish- ing one final Court of Appeal fi* the United Kingdom. — Intelligence received of the safe arrival of Sir Samuel Baker at Khartoum. The country, he reported, as far as the equator, had been annexed to the Egyptian dominion, and the slave trade completely put down. Sir Samuel, I.ady Baker, and parly had sailed from Gon- dokoro in one of the steamers which had been taken up country for the navigation of the lakes, occupying about thirty-two days on the journey. — The Chief Secretary for Ireland sug- gests to the Commissioners of National Educa- tion an addition to their rules to meet such cases as Mr.O'Keeffe's : — "The Commissioners also reserve to themselves the power of with- drawing the recognition of a patron or local manager, if he shall fail to observe the rules of the Board, or if it shall appear to them that the educational interest of the district require it ; but such recognition will not be withdrawn without an investigation into the above matters, held after due notice to the patron or local manager, and to all parties concerned." The Commissioners unanimously agree to accept the new rule. — Anti-Confessional meeting in Exeter Hall presided over by the Earl of Shaftesbury, who spoke of the decision of the bishops as ' ' mealy- mouthed " and " contemptible," and after speaking of the confessional in strong lan- guage, concluded by saying : — " There was one test he would ajiply to those who were labour- ing to introduce the confessional into the Church. Would they ^ appoint female con- fessors? (Prolonged cheering followed this question. ) That was a test by which it would fall to the winds, because, if female confessors were appointed every confessional-box in Eng- land would be broken up for firewood in six weeks. Who was to blame for all the scandal in the Church ? (Here there were cries which JULY 1873- JULY lasted some time, ' The bishops, the bishops.') If the Church of England wavered in allegiance to her principles, then let her go. (This was received with loud cheers, and cries of ' All the bishops with her,' renewed vociferous cheering, which lasted for some time. )" 30. — Public reception df his Majesty the Shah at the Crystal Palace. — Died, aged 82, Matthew Marshall, for nearly thirty years chief cashier of the Bank of England. — Sir Charles Wheatstone elected an Asso- ciate of the French Academy of Sciences in room of the late Baron Liebig. July 1. — Came on before the House of Lords the appeal ■case of Moi'daunt v. Mon- crieffe, guardian, t"he pleadings ending in a reference to the Judges, suggested by Lord Chelmsford, " Whether, under the Act 20 and 21 Vict., proceedings for the dissoluiion of a marriage can be instituted or proceeded with, either on behalf of or against a husband or wife who, before the proceedings were insti- tuted, has become incurably lunatic?" The learned Judges having requested time to con- sider their answer, the further consideration was adjourned. — Meeting of the Education League and Nonconformists at the Westminster Palace Hotel, for the purpose of considering proposed amendments in the Education Act. Mr. Bright remarked, that while he thought the Act of 1870 was the very worst Act which had ever been passed by any Liberal Government since the Reform Act wf 1832, still it was now a question of what amendment was practicable^ and there was no doubt that it was not pos- sible to pass such a measure as the meeting wanted. He warned them against an impul- sive breaking away from the Liberal party. It was easier to smash up than to restore, and they might possibly find, when they had shat- tered the party, as some of the speakers had threatened to do, they would be in a worse and weaker position than they were before. — Resolutions were passed condemning the bill, and respectfully urging upoti Liberal members of the House of Commons the desirability of offering it the most strenuous opposition. — Isle of Man Railway opened by the Duke of Sutherland. — Died at Paris, aged 75, the Marquis de St. Simon, descendant of the author of the celebrated " Memoires." 2. — The Shah proceeds again to Windsor to pay a second visit to her Majesty. 3. — In Committee on the Judicature Bill, Mr. Disraeli referred to the anomalies to which the measure must give rise, and advised the Government to withdraw it this year for the purpose of re-introducing it next session in a raore perfect form. Mr. Gladstone described these objections as going to the root of the bill, and were inseparable from the constitution of a Court of Appeal. He anticipated great ad- vantage from the mixture of judges, and de- rided the , notion that the ablest men could not be obtained from the Scotch and Irish bars. As to the intermediate appeal, he did not admit the necessity for its abolition, but it was a point about which no decision had yet been arrived at. There would be ample opportunity for discussing the whole question when the bill was recommitted, and there was no necessity, therefore, for postponement. 3. — Discovery of a comet by M. Temple, from the Observatory, Milan. — -New Atlantic Telegraph cable success- fully laid. — Died, suddenly, aged 57, Prince Ponia towski, a distinguished musical amateur. — New Spanish Constitution promulgated. The president to be elected for four years, and not to be eligible for re-election. Deputies not to hold office as Ministers. The army, navy, railways, telegraphs, customs, and finances to be under the control of the Central Govern- ment. A national militia, with compulsory service, to be established. Two sessions of the Cortes every year, and the members to be paid. 4. — Lord Redesdale introduces, but with- draws after discussion, a motion for an address to the Crown, praying her Majesty to attach official peerages to the offices of Lord Chan- cellor, of the two Chief Justices, and of the Chief Baron of Exchequer. 5. — The Shah leaves London, and embarks at Dover for Cherbourg, arriving at Paris next day. — The French National Assembly decide that a' bill for instituting a parliamentary in- quiry into the condition of the French collieries, and the best means of augmenting their pro- ductive capacity in accordance with the re- quirements of commerce, should be treated as "urgent." — The Inman steamer City of Washington wrecked in a fog on the Gull Rock Bar, Nova Scotia ; crew and passengers saved. 7. — Mr. Gladstone announces the abandon- ment of various Government measures for the present session. — Duel at Essanges, on the border of the Luxembourg territory, between M. Ranc and M. Paul Cassagnac, each receiving a slight sword-cut in the arm. — Replying to an appeal on behalf of the National (Education) Society, Earl Russell writes that he was "aware it was founded in 181 1 with the view of superseding the British and Foreign Society in the work of education, and excluding the children of all parents who embrace the Christian faith without belonging to the Church from the benefits of education. I am aware, also, that many of the parochial clergy of the present day are friendly to the 1 109 JULY 1873- JULY restoration of those practices which lea to gross abuses, and to the reformation of the Church. I fear that if encouragement to the practice of confession be fostered, the desire to subvert the principles of the Reformation -will gain ground. I therefore remain steadfast in the conviction that the daily reading of a por- tion of the Bible is a necessary condition of any sound education for the general mass of the people." 8. — Lord Cairns states in the House of Lords that the changes proposed by the Go- vernment in the Judicature Bill were violations of the privileges of the Upper House, in so far as the extension of the new court to Scot- land and Ireland was a palpable infringement of the rule that any enactment affecting the jurisdiction of their lordships must commence in their own House, and could not be altered elsewhere. It was afterwards intimated by Mr. Gladstone that, to avoid a conflict between the two Houses, Government would propose that it be left to the Lords voluntarily to sur- render their appellate jurisdiction in England and Scotland. This proposal was afterwards abandoned. — Mr. Richards carries a resolution in the Commons in favour of international arbitration as a means of preventing wars, by 98 to 88 votes. — In the case of Farrell and Harting v. Gordon, in which it was sought to set aside the will of the late Baroness Weld on the ground of undue influence, the Court of Probate pro- nounces in favour of the will and codicils, with costs against the defendants. — The brothers Goldsmith and their sister Rebecca sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to various terms of penal servitude for obtaining jewellery under false pretences, and uttering various forged bills of exchange. — Lord Gifford delivers judgment at Edin- burgh in the action for separation and aliment by Lady Pollok of Pollok against her hus- band, Sir Hew Crawfurd Pollok, which had been before the Scotch courts for some time. His lordship found that the defender acted cruelly to his wife, and granted the separation asked for, with 500/. per annum aliment. The aliment claimed was 1,000/. a year. — The Spanish Government issues a mani- festo declaring that the most pressing and im- portant task before it is " to put an end to the civil war now devastating Catalonia, Navarre, and the Basque Provinces. We are preparing to make a supreme effort for that purpose by the application of the extraordinary powers granted by the Cortes. " The manifesto stated, that in order to achieve liberty the Government had resolved to exact the inexorable execution of the law, and to compel soldiers to remain with their colours until the complete pacifica- tion of the country shall be accomplished. The Government asked the support of all volun- iito teer corps already organized, and urged them " to display against the partisans of Absolutism the warlike spirit of which they have already given so many proofs." 8. — Died at Frankfort, aged 68, Herr Winter- halter, German painter. — Died at Oxford, aged 83, Rev. John Wilson, D.D., formerly. President of Trinity. Dr. Wilson took a first-class in classics in 1809 (the late Dean Gaisford being one of his examiners), the year after Sir Robert Peel had obtained a double-first, while Mr. Keble took his degree in the subsequent year. He was appointed president of his college in 1850, but resigned the office in 1866. 9. — Diplomatic reception in uniform, in honour of the Shah, held in Paris for the first time since the fall of the Empire. IO. — Prince Bismarck ceases to be amembei of the Prussian cabinet, and is succeeded by Herr von Balan as Foreign Secretary. — A Communist rising at Alcoy, in Spain, where the mayor, with other officers, were murdered, and several public buildings set on fire. A new Ministry was soon afterwards formed. 11. — Mr. Mitchell Henry calls attention in the Commons to the presence of "strangers," which leads to the reporters being turned out of their gallery, and a complaint by himself and Mr. Whalley as to the imperfect manner in which their speeches were reported — a result which the hon. member for Peterborough attributed to the circumstance that many of the reporters were Roman Catholics. — The Duke of Edinburgh betrothed to the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, at Ingen- heim. 12. — Loss of the steamer Singapore off Cape Guardafui, East Africa. 14-. — In Committee on the Judicature Bill, the Attorney- General, by 174 to 129 votes, carries a clause providing that no Lord Chan- cellor hereafter shall receive a pension who has not sat ten years on the woolsack, or served fifteen years as an ordinary judge, unless lie give his consent in writing' to serve as an additional judge of the Court of Appeal. — Mr. Ward Hunt objected to this limitation, con- tending that it would prevent the Government from obtaining the best men. — The Attorney- General replied that the ex-Chancellors would be relieved from the legal duties which they had hitherto performed, and pointed to the engagement of Lord Westbury and Lord Cairns in arbitration cases as grounds for depriving Lord Chancellors of their pensions. — Mr. Gathbrne Hardy reminded the Attorney- General that these duties had been imposed on Lord Westbury and Lord Cairns by Acts of Parliament. — Mr. Boitverle was of opinion that this circumstance had nothing to do with the question.^ The proposed, arrangement JULY 1873- JULY would degrade the office of Lord Chancellor by reducing the holder of it to the position of an ordinary judge. — Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Lowe denied that this limitation would deter the very foremost men at the bar from accept- ing the Great Seal, and defended the justice of it now that the law lords were relieved from their legal duties. 14. — The Uhland monument at TUbingen unveiled. — The Marquis of Bute lectures in a Roman Catholic schoolroom, Tower Hill, on "The Shrines of the Holy Land." 16. — Baronetcy conferred on Lord Mayor Waterlow, in connection with the visit of the Shah to the city, and for having (wrote Mr. Gladstone) " deserved so well of the people of this great metropolis for his intelligent and indefatigable philanthropy." Each of the sheriffs received the honour of knighthood. — Don Carlos re-enters Spain, and issues a proclamation to the volunteers fighting in his name deploring the blindness of the army, "forgetful of fifteen centuries of glory under the monarchical flag." Leaving the French village of Ustaritz early in the morning, Don Carlos and his party travelled for three hours through the hills and forests of St. Pe and Sare. At a small inn just on the other side of the frontier, and close to the foot of Pena de la Plata, the Marquis Valdespina and Generaf Lizarraga were waiting by appointment with their staff and an escort. These officers having saluted Don Carlos as their king and kissed his hand, he proceeded to change his travelling costume for a brilliant uniform that had been brought over beforehand, and then, attended by those already named, continued his journey till he reached the village of Zugarramurdy, where a hearty reception awaited him. 17. — In moving the second reading of the Education Act Amendment Bill, Mr. Forster explained the course which Ministers con- templated in the face of the objections raised in various quarters against some of its pro- visions, and particularly to the third clause. The object of the clause was twofold— first, to Secure education for all the children of out- door paupers ; and, secondly, to transfer to poor-law guardians, upon certain conditions, the onus of paying, wholly or in part, school fees for the children of indigent parents. It was to the latter proposal that objection had been raised by boards of guardians, school boards, and certain religious denominations, and the Government was not prepared to persist in opposition to these bodies. He proposed, therefore, to take out of the clause all that portion relating to the transfer of the powers tinder the 25th section of the Education Act so the boards of guardians. It was also pro- posed to extend the provisions of Denison's Act, arid make education compulsory in the case of pauper children. The proposal for a Second reading was carried by 343 to 72 votes. 17. — Promulgation of the new Spanish constitution, declaring Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines, and Fernando Po as two terri- tories. — Her Majesty in Council signifies her assent to the marriage between the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. 18. — Died, aged 76, Alderman Sir David Salomons, Bart., M. P., the first Jew permitted to take his seat in the House of Commons. — Coronation of King Oscar and Queen Sophia at the cathedral of Drontheim, Norway. — Resignation of Pi-y-Margall's Ministry at Madrid ; a new Ministry formed by Salmeron. 19. — Died, through the effects of a fall from his horse, the Right Rev. Samuel Wilberforce, D.D., Bishop of Winchester. Accompanied by Lord Granville the Bishop left London to- day (Saturday) by the South- Western Railway, with the intention of paying a short visit to the Hon. Edward Frederick Leveson-Gower, of Holmbury; near Dorking, where Mr. Gladstone had arrived to meet them. At Leatherhead they were met by a groom with horses. The Bishop mounted one which, on account of its quietness, was a special favourite with Lord Granville. , After passing Burford Bridge Hotel they went off the high road, and, leaving Dorking in the valley, made their way over Ranmove Common. From this point they pursued the bridle-road towards Leith-hill. Beyond Ackhurst Downs Lord Granville, being very familiar with this part of the country, led the way down the hill towards Abinger, and arrived on a piece of moorland locally known as "Eversheds rough." The waggon road here being full of ruts, they left it for the turf, which was light and springy, but not good galloping ground. The Bishop and Lord Granville were in conversation when the Bishop's horse stumbled, it was believed over a stone, and threw its rider forward. Death appeared to have been instantaneous, as the Bishop fell on his head, and, turning completely over, dislocated his neck. The body was con- veyed to Abinger Hall, the seat of Mr. Farrer, Secretary of the Board of Trade. The Bishop, who was born on the 7th September, 1805, was third son of William Wilberforce, celebrated for the part he took in the abolition of the slave trade. Dr. Wilberforce was consecrated Bishop of Oxford in 1845 and translated to Winchester in 1869. His last public utterance was in the House of Lords on the 1 5th inst. , when, in reply to Lord Oranmore's accusation of complicity with the Ritualists, he closed with the words, " I hate and abhor the attempt to Romanize the Church of England ; and I will never hear any one make such a charge without telling him to his face that he is guilty of gross misrepre- sentation." — Died at Venice, aged 75, M. Philarete Chasles, French essayist and critic. I II I JULY 1873- JULY 19. — The Shah leaves Paris for Vienna by way of Geneva. 20. — Died at his residence, Lancaster Gate, aged 73, Richard Bethell, Lord Westbury, Loid Chancellor 1861-65, one °f 'he most distinguished of modem lawyers, and a zealous advocate of reform in his profession. His lordship was busily engaged during the past twelve months as arbitrator under the Euro- pean Assurance Society Arbitration Act of 1872, and had in that short time heard and decided many of the principal points brought before him. His decisions gave great satis- faction to the policyholders, especially his interpretation of the novation question, and the decisive way in which he dealt with attempted fraudulent transfers of shares. At the last sitting his lordship was so unwell as to require to be supported on his couch by pillows, and since that time he suffered acutely from inflam- mation of the upper vertebrae, and latterly from a cerebral disease. 21. — Most of the newspapers comment this (Monday) morning on the death of Dr. Wil- berforce and Lord Westbury, the Times re- marking that it was seldom that within one day England suffered such an intellectual loss. In the House of Lords the Duke of Richmond described the latter as attaining to the highest rank which it was possible for a layman in this country to occupy by his overwhelming talents and his great eloquence, while the former he had for many years the privilege and gratifica- tion of claiming as a most intimate personal friend, whose genial social qualities would leave a great gap among a wide circle of sorrowing acquaintances. Next evening Lord Granville said that, sometimes in the House and sometimes out of it, their lordships were apt to depreciate themselves ; but he thought it remarkable that two such losses should have occurred to that assembly within twenty four hours, and yet should have left the House not entirely bare. — Writing to the Times on the subject of the Zanzibar Mail Contract, not with reference to its philanthropic or political aspect, but as regards the utility of the East African line as a postal service, Sir Bartle Frere says that he found on the East African coast during his late mission an amount of commerce far exceed- ing what he had been led to expect. All this commerce was increasing, and was capable of great and rapid development The greatest obstacle to its increase was the want of regular postal communication. — The Duke of Richmond's motion for a Royal Commission to inquire into the griev- ances which the officers of the army allege they suffer from the abolition of purchase, carried against Government by 129 to 46 votes. His Grace afterwards commented on a speech at- tributed to the Duke of St. Albans at Notting- ham, where he was said to have affirmed that the Queen's earliest views of government were puided by the Liberal leader of the day, Lord III2 Melbourne, and that "she is supposed never to have forgotten the principles and party of her teacher;" his Grace declaring that he had "never heard anything more irregular, more unconstitutional, or more uncommon " than the remarks attributed to the Duke of St. Albans, and "without desiring to make too much of them," he protested that they were an insult to the Queen. The Duke of St. Albans defended his speech at Nottingham, but disclaimed any wish to make his observations personal. 22. — Mr. Candlish's proposal to repeal the 25th clause of the Educational Act rejected in the Commons by 200 to 98 votes. 23. — Mr. Trevelyan's Household Suffrage in Counties Bill "talked out," but not before Mr. Fonter, and through him Mr. Gladstone, confined to his room by illness, had expressed their approval of the measure. — Died, aged 77, George Carr Glyn, Lord Wolverton, leading to the elevation to the Upper House of the Liberal " whipper-in," the Hon. G. G. Glyn, M.P. for Shaftesbury. (See Aug. 30.) — A Committee of the Upper House of Convocation submit a report describing the position of the Church with reference to con- fession and the exceptional cases in which she permitted its use. Such special provisions, however, it was said, "do not authorize the ministers of the Church to require from any who may repair to them to open their grief in a particular or detailed examination of all their sins, or to require private confession as a con- dition previous to receiving the Holy Com- munion, or to enjoin or even encourage any practice of habitual confession to a priest, or to teach that such practice or habitual confes- sion, or the being subject to what has been termed the direction of a priest, is a condition of attaining to the highest spiritual life." — Treaty of Commerce between England and France, signedat Versailles. 24. — The Zanzibar Mail Contracts Com- mittee report that they are of opinion that the contracts of the 8th of May should not be con- firmed ; "but, seeing that the Union Steamship Company has incurred expenses, and has for six months carried out a service, the terms of which they only accepted in consideration of other advantages, consider that before offering the service to a rival company or putting it up to public tender, the Government should afford the Union Steamship Company the opportunity of electing to retain the service on fair and reasonable terms." — The Shah arrives at Turin, and is received by the King, Princes, Ministers, and municipal authorities. 25.— The Rating (Liability and Value) Bill rejected in the Lords by 59 to 43 votes. — The Education Act Amendment Bill read a third time in the Commons. JULY I873-- JULY 2S. — Fighting at Malaga, in Spain, between General Solier, military governor of the city, and Carbajal, chief of the insurgents, in which the former is victorious. Cadiz bombarded next day. — Fire at Baltimore, destroying property in the centre of the city estimated to be worth one million dollars. — The late Bishop of Winchester buried at Woolavington, near Petworth, Sussex, of which manor he was lord, in virtue of his wife, Miss Sargent. The Queen and Royal Family were represented on the occasion, and most of the "Winchester and Oxford clergy were present. 28. — The forthcoming marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh announced in both Houses of Parliament, and a day fixed to make additional provision for his Royal Highness. — Message brought down from the Crown in answer to the recent address of the House of Lords relative to discontent in the army. The message concluded with a statement that certain cases which have appeared to fall within the principle of the Army Regulation Act, though they were not formally included within its words, would be submitted in annual votes to the favourable conside ation of Parliament, and that her Majesty has also directed that the allegations contained in the memorials of the officers of the army should be carefully examined by a Royal Commission, in order to ascertain whether any of them fall within the principle of, and may be properly dealt with by, the same form of proceedings. — - After three trials Sub-Inspector Mont- gomery is found guilty of the murder of Mr. Glass, bank cashier, Newtonstewart, and sen- tenced to be executed on the 26th of August. On the verdict being announced the prisoner made a long statement, confessing the murder, and saying that he had been a drunken man for twelve months previously. The weapon, he afterwards explained, was lying on the bank table, unconcealed. Mr. Glass saw it and asked him what he was going to do with it. The prisoner replied that he was dangerous, and commenced brandishing it about his head, but the deceased only laughed. Mr. Glass then turned round to look at a map on the wall, and the prisoner struck him a heavy blow on the head. He turned round and looked, but he was powerless to do anything. Afterwards he fel] on the floor. Montgomery sat down and began to read the Bdfist Newsletter till Mr. Glass was dead. He hid the weapon and money in his sleeve in the exact way shown by Sergeant Armstrong. He was splashed all over with blood with the exception of his boots, and the notes were also stained. He washed the marks out the next morning with a sponge and water. One of the bundles of notes had not been recovered, and he did not know what had become of it. He hid the notes in Grange Wood immediately after the murder, but he did not place either the sovereigns or the weapon in the place where they were found. 29. — The French Assembly prorogued. President MacMahon causing a Message to be read, intimating that before they met again foreign occupation would have ceased. — Mr. Cross's motion of censure on the Post-Office administration rejected by 161 to in, and Sir John Lubbock's amendment ex- pressing regret at the appropriation of money without the consent of Parliament agreed to. 30. — Discussion raised by Mr. Bouverie in the Commons on Ministerial responsibility, arising out of differences in the departments presided over by Mr. Ayrton and Mr. Lowe. — Archbishop Manning expresses approval of a desire manifested among the Catholic laity to enter upon a pilgrimage to Paray-le Monial, a small village some distance from Paris, which acquired its reputation as a centre for pilgrim- ages from the fact that, according to the Roman Catholic belief, just 200 years ago the Saviour appeared there to the "blessed " Mary Margaret Alacoque, and intrusted to her a message to propagate the worship of the Sacred Heart. "It is," wrote the Archbishop, "an act of faith in the sight of the world, which seems every day becoming more and more uncon- scious of the presence and power of God. The defiance and derision with which the world has treated the pilgrimages in Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France is an explicit reason for the Catholics of England to claim their share also in their inheritance of our common cause. Moreover, it will be a witness to the power of prayer, which has, of late, like all other super- natural facts, been tossed to and fro in the hands of our men of culture. Lastly, it will not fail to has*en the day when the reign of wrong shall cease. The present state of Europe cannot last long ; and men will find that they will have to pay dear for the dishonour they have heaped upon the Vicar of Jesus Christ. " The pilgrimage was advertised to start from London on Tuesday, September 2 : the pil- grims to reach Paray-le-Monial next day, and having performed their devotions at the shrine on the 4th, might, if so disposed, find themselves back in London by the Friday night or Saturday morning. — The Shah arrives at Vienna. 31. — The second reading of the bill for-add- ing 10,000/. to the Duke of Edinburgh's an- nuity of 15,000/. carried by 162 to 18 votes. — The House of Lords affirm the decision of the Master of the Rolls in the case of Peek v. Gurney. — The Indian Budget introduced by Mr. Grant-Duff. Taking the actual year ending March 1872, the regular estimate for the year just ended, and the budget estimate for the year ending next March, he showed, with regard to the first period, that there had been a surplus of over three millions — the largest known since the China trade was thrown open. The second period showed a surplus of nearly a million and 1:13 AUGUST 1873- AUGUST a half, and for the coming year it was estimated that there would be a virtual equilibrium, the revenue being 48,286,000?., against an ex- penditure of 48,066,000/. The disappearance of the surplus Mr. Grant-Duff attributed to the cessation of the income tax. August 1. — Died at Kensington Palace, aged 84, Cacilia Letitia, Duchess of Inverness, formerly Lady Buggin, and afterwards privately married to the late Duke of Sussex. 2. — Early this morning a serious accident happened to the express known as the tourist train from London to Scotland, consisting of twenty-five carriages, one of the heaviest of the season. As it was approaching Wigan at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour, seven carriages at the end of the train were, through some cause never ascertained, wrenched from the others at a pair of facing points, and rushed up a siding at the London and North Western station at Wigan. Four carriages were de- stroyed, one bounded on to the platform and tamed bottom uppermost, two others followed and heeled over, and a portion of one was thrown over a high wall into a foundry yard, a fpmale passenger dropping with it. Ten per- sons were killed and thirty injured. — Constantinople news makes mention of the proposed canalization of the Isthmus of Corinth The Greek Government granted to the con- cessionaires, Lubini and Xenos, 30,000,000 square yards of building land for the construc- tion of the new town and docks, the mines, woods, forests near the canal, the mineral waters of Lutraki, the railways and tramways, the Lake of Stymphalia, for the irrigation, monopoly of shipping, and numerous other privileges. — Mr. Boord, Conservative, elected M.P. for Greenwich by a majority of 745 over all the other five candidates put together. — Died, Lady Trevelyan, sister of Lord Macaulay, and his literary executor. - The Germans withdraw from Belfort. 3. — Pastoral issued by Cardinal Cullen, directing the performance of a "Novena," pre- paratory to the Feast of the Assumption. 4. — Collision between the State liner Alabama and the steamer Abeona, off In- strahull, Ireland, the latter sinking with all on board excepting three picked up by the boats of the Alabama. A Board of Trade inquiry resulted in a verdict that Flint, master of the Alabama, merited the severest censure for the lack of judgment he displayed in this calamity after the collision, and he was accord- ingly severely reprimanded. Further, that George Hutchings, second officer of the Ala- bama, was guilty of a grave default in the per- formance of his duty as officer of the watch on the night of the collision, and therefore his certificate as master was suspended for eighteen months. The court intima'ed th't it would 1 1 14 call the attention of the Board of Trade to the practice of passenger ships carrying the whole of their boats turned in on the chocks and covered. The court recommended that such boats be turned outwards. 5. — Parliament prorogued by Commission, the Royal Speech making reference to the Zanzibar, French, and Brazilian treaties, and to the Supreme Court of Judicature and Education Amendment Act, among the useful measures passed during the session. The Standard de- scribed the speech as fitly closing the record of a barren session, and reflecting the exhaustion of an expiring Ministry. ' ' In this empty catalogue of feeble achievements, these long-drawn-out platitudes, these sounding commonplaces, these disjointed conclusions and inarticulate congratulations, we may trace the spirit of an Administration which, after living as long as it can on the faith of a few energetic acts at the beginning of its career, is consciously ap- proaching 1 its dissolution." " The army," wrote the Pall Mall Gazette, " the police, the civil service, the diplomatic service, the public spirit, the public conscience, the independence of the Legislature, even the judicial bench have every one of them been wounded and dispirited by Mr. Gladstone's Government ; and that is something far more serious than passing a bad bill, or neglecting to pass a good one, or failing to advance some 'fundamental principle.' " — Mr. Baxter resigns his office of Secretary to the Treasury, on the ground that Mr. Lowe had not consulted him with reference to recent contracts, and declined to follow his advice. — The Comte de Paris visits the Comte de Chambord at Frohsdorf, and acknowledges him as the head of the royal house. — Mr. James Baird, of Auchmeddan, a member of the Scotch firm of ironmasters, passes over to a body described as the " Baird Trust " the sum of 500,000/. " to assist in pro- viding the means of meeting, or at least as far as possible promoting, the mitigation of spiritual destitution among the population of Scotland through eiforts for securing the godly upbringing of the young, the establishing of parochial pas- toral work, and the stimulating of ministers and all agencies of the Church of Scotland to sustained devotedness in the work of carrying the Gospel to the homes and hearts of all." 5. — The Pope writes to the Emperor of Germany that the measures recently adopted by his Majesty's Government aimed at nothing short of the destruction of Catholicism, and could have no other effect than that of under- mining his Majesty's throne. " I speak," said his Holiness, "with frankness, for my banner is truth ; I speak in order to fulfil one of my duties, which consists in telling the truth to all, even to those who are not Catholics ; for every one who has been baptized belongs in some way or other, which to define more precisely would be here out of place — belongs, I say, to the Pope. . I cherish the conviction that youi -AUGUST 1.873- -AUGUST Majesty will receive my observations with your usual goodness, and will adopt the measures necessary in the present case. While offering to your most gracious Majesty tl expression of my devotion and esteem, I pray vs> God that He may enfold your Majesty and myself in one and the same bond of mercy." On the 3rd of September the Emperor replied that Catholic prie.sts in Italy sought by intrigue to disturb the peace which had existed for centuries. " I willingly entertain the hope that your Holiness, upon being informed of the true position of affairs, will use your authority to put an end to the agitation carried on amid deplorable distor- tion of the truth and abuse of priestly authority. The religion of Jesus Christ has, as I attest to your Holiness before God, nothing to do with these intrigues, any more than has truth, to whose banner invoked by your Holiness I unreservedly subscribe. There is one more expression in the letter of your Holiness which I cannot pass over without contradiction, air though it is not based upon the previous infor- mation, but upon the belief of your Holiness — namely, the expression that every one that has received baptism belongs to the Pope. The Evangelical creed, which, as must be known to your Holiness, I, like my ancestors and the majority of my subjects, profess, does not per- mit us to accept in our relations to God any other mediator than our Lord Jesus Christ. The difference of belief does not prevent me living in peace with those who do not share mine, and offering your Holiness the expression of my personal devotion and esteem." 6. — Duel at Creteil between M. About and M. Herve, arising out of comments, said to be disrespectful, made by the former regarding the Comte de Paris. M. About was wounded in the hand, and declared unable to continue the contest — Mr. Allsopp, Conservative, elected M. P. for East Staffordshire by 3,630 votes to 2,693 given in favour of Mr. Jaffray, Liberal. — Died, aged 82, M. Odillon Barrot, French statesman. 7. — Application having been made by the minister and churchwardens of St. Barnabas, Pimlico, to be allowed to erect a baldacchino in the church, the Bishop of London writes :— " The question of the legality of a baldacchino as an ornament of a church has never, I under- stand, been raised ; and it is the more import- ant that it should be decided once for all, because a structure of this kind was proposed by Dean Milman to be erected over the com- munion table in St. Paul's Cathedral, in accord- ance, as it is stated, with the design of Sir Christopher Wren, and has not, I believe, been abandoned by the present Restoration Com- mittee." 8. — Increasing dissensions in the Ministry lead to a re-arrangement of offices, the Times making the announcement to-day that Lord Ripon and Mr. Childers would retire. " Mr. '"5 Bruce," it was said, "will receive a peerage, and succeed Lord Ripon as Lord President of the Council. Mr. Bright will succeed Mr. Childers in the Duchy of Lancaster. Mr. Lowe, who will leave the Exchequer, will succeed Mr. Brace in the office of Home Secretary. The Chancellorship of the Exchequer will be held by Mr. Gladstone together with the office of First Lord of the Treasury." In a few day< Mr. Ayrton was made Judge-Advocate, and Mr. Adam First Commissioner of Public Works. 8. — The Shah leaves Vienna for Brindisi, on his way to Constantinople. 9. — The Potomac river steamer Wawasstt destroyed by fire, and over forty of the passen- gers suffocated, burnt, or drowned. 10. — The clipper-ship Dunmail, belonging to the White Star Line, wrecked at the mouth of the Mersey, having become unmanageable In a heavy sea. II. — -Professor Reinkens consecrated Old Catholic Bishop at Rotterdam by Bishop Hey- kamp of Deventer, and two assistants. 12. — Sir George Jessel appointed to the Mastership of the Rolls. — Died, aged 58, Mr. Chisholm Anstey, who represented Youghal for several years in the House of Commons, where he made him- self conspicuous by persistent attacks on the policy of Lord Palmerston. 13. — The English yacht Deerhound seized by a Spanish gunboat off Fuentarrabia, laden with arms and ammunition for the Carlists. 14, — An African West Coast naval expe- dition, while exploring the river Prah, fall into an ambuseade and suffer great loss at the hands of the Ashantee tribe. Commodore Commerell was severely wounded. — The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland turns the first sod of a new graving dock at Waterford. — Sudden prorogation of the Parliament of Canada, the Governor-General announcing the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the Pacific Railway scandal. IS.— The Right Rev. Dr. Edward Harold Browne, Bishop of Ely, recommended to be elected to the see of Winchester, in room of the late Dr. Wilberforce. — Imperialist flte at Chiselhurst, about 1, 000 Bonapartists being received at Camden House by the Empress and Prince Imperial, the latter of whom affirmed the principle of national sovereignty. 16. — The London Carlist Committee issue a despatch that " the Royal forces of Tristany and Saballs, under the command of his Royal Highness the Infante Don Alfonso, and num- bering 2,400 men, after evacuating Berga, en- gaged and completely routed three columns of the enemy, numbering 7,000 men, between Caserras, Gironella, and Berga. We have. AUGUST 1873. 'AUGUST taken one cannon and a large quantity of rifles and munitions. The loss of the enemy is esti- mated at more than 200 killed and a large number wounded." 16. — Five lives lost on Windermere by the upsetting of a sailing skiff hired out for a day's pleasure by Mr. Cooper and party. — The equestrian statue of Meh'emet Ali Pasha, erected in the Grand Square at Alexan- dria, is unveiled, and the new Imperial Firman is publicly read. 17. — Walter Howard, formerly page to an elderly lady named Miss Warren, charged with obtaining sums of money from his mistress under the false pretence of consulting Dr. Gull and others, is dismissed at the Middlesex Ses- sions, the jury not being able to agree upon a verdict. 18. — The British Iron and Steel Institute commence sitting at Liege. — The Shah arrives at Constantinople. His Majesty left for Teheran on the 25th. — Died at Geneva, aged 69, Charles, ex- Duke of Brunswick. He left the greater part of his large fortune to the city in which he died, subject only to the charge of a princely funeral and the erection of a magnificent mauso- leum in which his remains were to be entombed amidst statues of bronze and marble. Among the gems discovered in his treasure-chest' was the famous onyx vase of Mantua. ■ — Commenced at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Archibald, the trial of Austin Biron Bidwell, aged 27, no occupa- tion ; George Macdonnell, 28, clerk ; George Bidwell, 34, merchant ; and Edward Noyes, 29, clerk, who were placed at the bar to take their trial upon several indictments charging them with forging foreign bills of exchange, and thereby defrauding the Bank of England of over 100,000/. The trial lasted till the 26th, when the whole of the prisoners were found guilty, and sentenced to transportation for life. The chief evidence was given by bank officials who had transacted business for the prisoners, engravers who had prepared plates under their inspection, hotel-keepers where they had re- sided, and a young woman named Ellen Vernon, who had lived some time with George Bidwell. 19. — Mr. Gladstone presides at the Welsh National Eisteddfod opened at Mold, com- plimenting his hearers on the fact that 800,000 people still clung to their native tongue in spite of all the pressure which had been put upon them. Such was the loyalty of Welsh people, however, that their heart never had been alien- ated from the throne and the laws of the country. The Welsh were a people of deep and strong religious sympathies, but on those sympathies they had been deeply, most un- justly, and even madly thwarted. To their own great honour they had made provision themselves for their own religious wants. 1116 What a lesson that was upon the false policy that had been pursued ! We had endeavoured to hector them into the abandonment of their language ; they had clung to it with unexampled fidelity. In conclusion, Mr. Gladstone said there was no greater folly circulating upon the earth at the present moment than the disposi- tion to undervalue the relics of the past, and to break those links which unite human beings of the present day with the generations that had passed away. 19. — Sir Garnet Wolseley appointed to the chief command of stations on the Gold Coast, and Commander Glover, R.N., gazetted " Special Commissioner to the Friendly Native Chiefs in the Eastern District of the Protected Territories near or adjacent to her Majesty's Settlement on the Gold Coast. " — Formal opening of the harbour of refuge at Holyhead by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. 20. — Narrow escape of Prince Arthur from drowning at Trouville, in Normandy. 21. — Died, aged 95, Charles Bridgman, for eighty-one years organist of All Saints' Church, Hertford. — Dr. Kenealy concludes his opening speech for the defence in the Tichborne case, having spoken for twenty-one days. 22. — Mr. Bruce gazetted to the peerage as Lord Aberdare. 23. — Opening of Albert Bridge, crossing the Thames from Chelsea to Battersea. — Collision near Retford, on the Great Northern line, between an excursion train run- ning from Sheffield to Cleethorpe and a fish train leaving Doncaster at "J. 20 A. M . Three persons were killed and over twenty injured. — Inquest at Wood Green respecting the deaths of Mrs. Maria Constable, aged 55, and her sister, Mrs. Sarah Everett, aged 47, who disappeared from their homes on the 25th of Tune, and were found on the 21st instant buried in the ruins of the Alexandra Palace. The jury returned a verdict that death had resulted by suffocation caused from a brick wall falling upon them. How they got into the ruins there was no evidence to show. 25. — Archdeacon Denison calls attention to the fact that certain bishops propose to exter- minate the Catholic element in the Church. "Well," he writes, "if the Bishop of Glou- cester and Bristol, or any other bishop or 1 liishops, will have open war, let it come. If i they like to 'snub' every Catholic and 'pat on the back ' every ultra-Protestant, let them follow their inclination. If they elect to stimulate popular ignorance and passion by calling us \ 'dishonest,' 'disloyal,' 'plotters,' 'traitors,' so let it be. If they prefer to administer their , dioceses inequitably, let them so administer, as ' some are doing now. I f they propose to repeat j the policy which drove out Wesley a century SEPTEMBER 1873. SEPTEMBER ago, let them try its effect upon us. If they think it will promote God's truth and the good of souls to see what can be done towards pro- curing persecuting Acts of Parliament, let them try their hand. We are quite ready, and we should fear nothing if they should succeed. But they will not succeed. " 25. — Sefior Castelar elected President of the Spanish Cortes. — Details published of an attempt to rescue the American bank forgerspresentlyon theirtrial by bribing three of the warders in Newgate. 26. - — Inspector Montgomery execute 1 in Omagh Gaol for the murder of Andrew Glass, bank cashier, at Newtonstewart. — At Posen, Monsignor Ledochowski is condemned to a fine of 200 thalers, or four months' imprisonment, for making illegal cle- rical appointments. The public prosecutor had asked that the bishop should be fined 500 thalers, in consequence of his obstinate and hostile attitude towards the State. At Fulda, Bishop Koel was fined 400 thalers for appoint- ing clergymen without the sanction of the State. — Died, Carl Wilhelm, composer of the famous German war-song " Wacht am Rhein. " 27. — The citadel of Estella taken by Don Carlos, who commanded in person. — Opening of the new pier at Heme Bay by Lord Mayor Waterlow. 29. — Blockade proclamation issued by Col. Harley at the Gold Coast: — "Whereas, hos- tile forces of Ashantees and other tribes are encamped and are waging war against her Majesty the Queen in and about the western portion of the protected territories on the Gold Coast ; and whereas warlike munitions, pro- visions, and articles useful to the enemy in the carrying on of their hostile purposes have been supplied to them from vessels trading on the coast : Now know ye that we hereby proclaim and declare that from and after the date hereof until our pleasure herein shall be further known, the entire blockade of the coast between Cape Coast Castle and the River Assinee, and of all the ports thereon with the exception of the port of Cape Coast, is and shall be in force. " 30. — The Conservatives carry Shaftesbury, Mr. Benet-Stanford polling 603 votes against 534 tendered for Mr. Danby Seymour, Liberal. September I. — The captured insurgent frigates towed away from Carthagena by Ad- miral Yelverton, in defiance of the threats of the insurgents. The vessels were afterwards given up to the Madrid Government. 2. — Six hundred pilgrims leave London for Paray-le-Monial, to visit the shrine of the Sacred Heart. Before starting many of them attended mass celebrated for their convenience in various churches as early as four and five 1117 o'clock. The general appearance of the pil- grims presented no difference whatever from that of an ordinary excursion party, and would have been in no way distinguishable but for the great number of priests who thronged the railway platform, and from the badge of the Sacred Heart worn by almost all present. The demeanour of the pilgrims, notwith* standing their errand, was quite in keeping with nineteenth-century customs, and though they were all armed with the special manual of devotion for use by the way, many of them were careful to provide themselves with the morning papers. The pilgrims crossed the channel to Dieppe in two boats, over which floated the English Union Jack, the Papal flag, and the flag of the Sacred Heart. Mass was celebrated during the passage by Monsignor Capel. At Paray-le-Monial the pilgrims were met by the whole population of the town, bearing torches. The procession — a mile in length — was headed by the fla-j of the Sacred Heart, and closed by the Union Jack borne by Admiral Jerningham. The banner of Eng- land was borne by the Duke of Norfolk, that of Scotland by Lord Walter Kerr. The Bishops of Salford and Oran conducted the pilgrims to the parish church from the railway station, where benediction was said, followed by con- fessions. Masses and communions were after- wards celebrated every half-hour from mid- night. 2. — The anniversary of the battle of Sedan celebrated at Berlin by unveiling the monu- ment of " Victory " in presence of the Emperor, the Imperial Prince, and military deputations from various German States. 3. — Sir George Jessel takes his seat for the first time as Master of the Rolls. Though not disqualified to sit in the House of Commons, Sir George, as he explained, having regard to the spirit of the Judicature Act, thought it best not to solicit the suffrages of the Dover electors again. — News received of the wreck of the Ethiopia off Negrais, on her voyage from Calcutta to Rangoon. Mails lost ; passengers saved. — The proposal made in the Spanish Cortes by Senor Olave that death sentences of military tribunals should be referred to the Cortes before execution, rejected by 88 votes to 82. 4. — Defending Government at a Sheffield Cutlers' Feast, Mr. Lowe said that during the Liberal tenure of office the finances of the country had been so prosperous as to permit of 3,600,000/. of special claims being paid off without borrowing a sixpence or imposing a tax at all. "That is the answer which I have to give to those who have been so liberal m criticizing. Can it be said in exercising this strict economy in your public service that any- thing has been shirked, or that anything which ought to have been done has been neglected ? Look at the army. In 1859 the army num- bered 84,000 men. Now it numbers 98,000, K 2 SEPTEMBER I»73- SEPTEMBER being an increase of 14,000, and this amend- ment with this great reduction in the expendi- ture. If you look at the fine arts, I have spent 8,000/. in buying Sir Robert Peel's pictures, and 50,000/. in splendid collections of antiquity for the British Museum ; so far from my having been stingy, I consider that these payments have been liberal in the extreme. . . ." We are not tenacious of office. We are wearied with the labour of anxious- and eventful years. It is a. small matter for us whether we retain power or not. It is for you to consider whether it is a small matter for you. On. that I offer no opinion. But this I will venture to say, that, if the deci- sion of the country should be against us, we shall then carry into private life the applause of our own consciences, as having done in our judg- ment the best we could for our country, and the consciousness that we have left on the statute-book and in the history of this country records which calumny cannot permanently distort, and which envy, with all her efforts, can never obliterate. " S. — The mutilated remains of a female found in different parts of the Thames between Bat- tersea and Limehouse. A reward of 200/. was afterwards offered by Government for the dis- covery of the murderer, and a free pardon to any accomplice not the actual perpetrator of the presumed crime. — Apologising for his inability to be present at the opening of the Roman Catholic cathedral, Armagh, Archbishop' Manning expresses an opinion that Ireland is in a happier condition in regard to religion than any other country, and also maintains that the country was never in so good a condition materially, and was never so influential in the British Empire and in the world as at present. But " when I look upon foreign nations, and I may say also upon England, I see cause for grave foreboding." Regarding Home Rule, the Archbishop thought the Parliament of the future will be broader, and more in sympathy with the constituencies of the three kingdoms. ' ' England and Scotland will not claim to. legislate for Ireland according to English and Scotch interests and prejudices ; and Ireland, when it is justly treated, will have no more will then than it has now to make or meddle in the local affairs of England or Scot- land. The three peoples are distinct in blood, in religion, in character, and in local interests. They will soon learn to 'live and let live,' when the vanquishing reliquise of the Tudor tyranny shall have died out, unless the insane example of Germany shall for a time inflame the heads of certain violent politicians, to try their hand at what they call an Imperial policy." — Died, at Coolavin, aged 75, Charles J. Macdermot, "Prince- of Coolavin," a fellow- lobourer with O'Connell in the cause of Catholic emancipation. S. — New docks at Flushing opened by the King of Holland. 9. — The Alabama indemnity paid at Wash- ington. 111S 9. — Senor Salmeron, now elected President of the Executive Power, submits the names cf a new Ministry to the Cortes. — Colossal statue of Nelson unveiled at Plr ; s Llanfair, the marine seat of Lord Clarence Paget. — Three persons killed and twelve injured through an accident to a Sortth-Western train near Guildford, caused by » bullock straying on the line. IO. — The Conservatives win Renfrewshire, vacant by the elevation of the late Home Secre- tary to the peerage, the numbers being, Camp- bell, 1,885 J Mure, 1,677. 12. — Sir Garnet Wolseley and his staff sail from Liverpool for the Gold Coast. — Free library, museum, and picture gallery opened at Brighton. — Old Catholic Congress opened at Con- stance. 13. — Died, aged 63, the Duke de Rianzares, husband of the ex-Queen of Spain, formerly a soldier in her guard. 15. — Brief official despatch received an- nouncing disaster to the exploring expedition on the Prah in August. 16. — The last of the German troops cross the French frontier between nine and ten o'clock this morning. 17. — The King of Italy arrives at Vienna on a visit to the Emperor, and afterwards pro- ceeds to Berlin. ■ — Another fire at Chicago, laying waste a line of property nearly a mile in extent. — The British Association commences its sittings at Bradford, Professor Williamson (in room of Dr. Joule, absent through illness) de- livering the opening address as President. 18. — Commercial panic in America leading to the suspension of Jay, Cooke, and Company, of New York,, and of the First National Bank at Washington. The English Funds in conse- quence opened at a decline of \, and United States Government Bonds were generally de- pressed to the extent of ^ per cent. , the Funded Loan falling to. gof and gof, but subsequently recovering to 90J to 91$, while Erie Shares fell 2 per cent., to 44 to 44^ ex div., and Illi- nois Railway Shares 1 doL — Died, aged 70, Sidi Muley Mohammed, Emperor of Morocco. 19. — Died, at Florence, from an attack of, cholera, Professor Donati, astronomer. — The Comte de Chambord writes from Frohsdorf to a friend advising him to appeal to all honest people on the footing of the social reconstruction. " You know that I am not a party, and that I will not come back to reign by means of a party. I need the co-operation of all, and all have need of me. As for the reconciliation which has been so loyally accom- SEPTEMBER 18/3. OCTOBER plished in the House of France, tell those who are trying to distort that great event that every- thing done on the- 5th of August was really done for the sole purpose uf giving France its proper rank in the dearest interests alike of her prosperity, her glory, and her greatness." 21. — Burning of the Black Lion Inn, Exeter, leading to the death of three out of five people sleeping in the premises at the time. — Died, at Paris, aged 66, M. J. J. Coste, French naturalist. — Died, aged 66, Dr. Auguste Nelaton, surgeon to the Emperor Napoleon III. 22. — The Spanish Government release the Deerhound and her crew. — The Shah of Persia arrives at his palace at Teheran on his return from Europe. — The steamer Murillo seized at Dover at the instance of the owner and shippers of the Norlhfieet. — Henry James Cochrane, proprietor of the Cheltenham Chronicle, fined 150/. for con- tempt of court in publishing an article designed to influence the jury in favour of the Tichborne claimant. 24. — Manchester Athenaeum Library de- stroyed by fire. 25. — Banquet given at York by provincial Mayors to the Lord Mayor of London. — The Challenger exploring expedition ar- rives at Bahia. Having thoroughly explored the rocky desolate islands of St. Vincent and San Jago, belonging to Portugal, a long stretch across the Atlantic ensued, through depths averaging 2,000 fathoms, to the vicinity of the African shores. With a view to investigate the currents the course was shaped for St. Paul's Rocks, a lonely cluster in mid-ocean, one square mile in area, and sixty feet above the sea level. Thence the vessel sailed (Aug. 30) for another cluster, 300 miles distant, known as Fernando de Noronha. On arrival, great disappointment was experienced by refusal of permission to land, the islands being used as a penal settlement by Brazil. America was then made for, and Pernambuco reached on Sep- tember 14. 26. — Mr. Henry James announced as the new Solicitor-General. — Opening of Wandsworth Bridge, con- necting Wandsworth with Chelsea. — Died, aged 70, Salustiano de Olozaga, Spanish statesman and diplomatist. — Died, aged 59, Mrs. Clara Mundt (Louisa Muhlbach), German authoress. , 28.— Alicante bombarded for five hours by the Carthagena insurgent frigates. — Mr. Bright receives the seals as Chan- cellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. 29. — M. Thiers writes to the Municipal Council of Nancy: — "Very soon we shall be called upon to defend, not alone the Republic which, in my opinion, is the only Government capable of rallying in the name of the common interest parties now so profoundly divided, which alone can speak to democracy with suffi- cient authority, and which now, far from troub- ling France, has appeared only to restore order, the army, finance, credit; to redeem the terri- tory, and, in a word, to heal with one excep- tion all the wounds of the war — we shall have, I say, to defend not only the Republic, but all the rights of France, her civil, political, and religious liberties, her social state, and her principles, which, after being proclaimed in 1789, have become those of the whole world ; and, lastly, her flag, under which she is known to the whole universe, under which her soldiers, conquerors or conquered, have covered them- selves with glory, and which, however, dear as it is to our hearts, will not suffice if all the things of which it is the emblem are to be taken away from us ; for of these sacred things it is not the image alone, but the reality itself that we must have ; and the tricolored flag, if remaining only to mask the counter-revolu- tion, would be the most odious and revolting of lies." 30. — Died at Fox How, near Ambleside, aged 82, Mary Penrose-, widow of Dr. Arnold. — The Royal Commission appointed at the instance of Mr. Plimsoll to inquire into the alleged unseaworthiness of British registered ships, issue a preliminary report, recapitulating the schemes suggested for a compulsory survey and classification of merchant shipping under Lloyd's or Government, with counter evidence throwing doubt upon all such proposals, and tending to show that Government inter- ference would only make matters worse, and "Amid these conflicting opinions, it is impos- sible, in the present state of our knowledge, to offer with any confidence any recommendation on" this subject. We have referred to it here in the hope of directing public attention to a ques- tion which has often been treated as if it were of easy solution ; it involves, however, a great principle of public policy, which should not be adopted or rejected without comprehensive and searching examination." The commissioners drew attention to the material change in the law which had occurred since their appoint- ment, giving the Board of Trade full power to detain unseaworthy ships. Before recom- mending further legislation, they thought it would be well to observe the effect of the new enactment. The commissioners stated that, in their opinion, "there is no ground for the imputation made by Mr. Plimsoll that the Board of Trade desired to screen the ship- owners. " October 1. — The Social Science Congress opens at Norwich with Lord Houghton as President. III9 OCTOBER 1873- OCTOBER 1. — Died, aged 71, Sir "Edwin Landseer, painter. He was admitted as a student to the Royal Academy in 1816, when fourteen years of age, and in the following year exhibited " Brutus — a Portrait of a Mastiff," at the Aca- demy. He was elected an A.R.A. in 1826, an R.A. in 1831, and received the honour of knighthood in 1850. When Sir Charles East- lake died in 1866 Landseer was chosen to suc- ceed him as President of the Royal Academy, but he refused to accept the honour. Sir Edwin was buried in St. Paul's cathedral on the nth. 2. — Died, aged 92, Cornelius Varley, one of the original members of the Water Colour Society. 3.— Mr. Disraeli writes to Lord Grey de Wilton regarding the Bath election contested by Mr. Forsyth, Q.C., in the Conservative in- terest : "My dear Grey, — I am much obliged to you for your Bath news. It is mos.t inte- resting. It is rare a constituency has the opportunity of not only leading, but sustaining, public opinion at a critical period. That has been the high fortune of the people of Bath, and they have proved themselves worthy of it by the spirit and constancy they have shown. I cannot doubt they will continue their patriotic course by supporting Mr. Forsyth, an able and accomplished man, who will do honour to those who send him to Parliament. For nearly five years the present Ministers have harassed every trade, worried every profession, and assailed or menaced every class, institution, and species of property in the country. Occa- sionally they have varied this state of civil war- fare by perpetrating some job which outraged public opinion, or by stumbling into mistakes which have been always discreditable, and sometimes ruinous. All this they call a policy, and seem quite proud of it ; but the country has, I think, made up its mind to close this career of plundering and blundering." — Execution of "Captain" Jack and three other Modoc Indians at Fort Kalomath, Ore- gon, for the murder of General Canby. 4. — Sir Garnet Wolseley addresses the native chiefs of the Gold Coast, stating .tha,t her Majesty having been informed of the injuries inflicted on her allies in that part of the vrQfld by the Ashantees, " who, without any just cause, have invaded your country, and, having learnt that you were unable to repulse your enemies without assistance, has sent me to unite in one person the chief military and civil administrations, so that, as a general officer, I may be able to help you. It was not an English war, but a Fantee war. The English forts were so strong ithat we oursejves had nothing to fear from the Ashantees ; but, as it had become evident that a merely defensive policy would result in the destruction of the Fantees, the Queen was willing to assist them. The only interest she had in the Gold Coast was the promotion of their welfare bv spreading 1 120 among them the arts and blessings of civiliza- tion." 4. — Died, aged 64, Mrs. Alfred Gatty, authoress of various stories suited for young people. 6. — Died, aged 77, the Count de Strzelecki, an early Australian explorer. — The Danish Rigsdag opened at Copen- hagen, and the colossal statue of King Frede- rick VII. unveiled in connection with the ceremony. — Commencement of the trial of Marshal Bazaine at the Trianon Palace, Versailles, under the Presidency of the Due d'Aumale. The charges against the Marshal were, that after urging Marshal MacMahon to march to his relief, he did not create a serious diversion, and was therefore answerable in a measure for the disaster of Sedan ; that he did not do every- thing prescribed by duty and honour to save Metz and the army of 150,000 men he com- maivled ; that he accepted conditions without any example in history ; that he did not destroy his materiel ; that he accepted a clause per- mitting officers to return home on giving their parole not to serve against Germany during the war ; that he did not obtain proper conditions for the sick and wounded, and that he neglected to destroy his flags. — Mr. Bright issues an address to his con- stituents, a re-election being necessary through his acceptance of the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster. " The office," he wrote, " I have accepted is not one of heavy depart- mental duty, or I could not have ventured upon it, but it will enable me to take part in the deliberations of the Cabinet and to render services to principles which I have often ex- pounded in your hearing, and which you have generally approved, more important, I believe, than any I could render in the House of Com- mons unconnected with the Government. I do not write to you a long address, for I am not a stranger to you. I hold the principles when in office that I have constantly professed since you gave me your confidence sixteen years ago. When I find myself unable to advance those principles, and to serve you honestly as a Minister, I shall abandon a position which demands, of me sacrifices which I cannot make." Mr. Bright was re-elected without opposition. 7. — Bishop Reinkens, the Old Catholic Bishop, of Germany, takes the oaths required by the Constitution at Berlin. "I promise," he said, "to observe all this all the more inviolate as I am certain that my episcopal office requires me to do nothing which can be in contradiction to the oath of fidelity and allegiance to his Majesty the King, or to the obedience due to the laws of the country." 8. — Speaking at the Bath Congress on the present position of the Church, Archdeacon Denison said he had come to the conclusion that it is almost honeless to continue the struggle OCTOBER I373> OCTOBER against disestablishment. " I have no doubt as to the duty of a nation to have a national church, but looking at the peculiar circumstances of these times, and the present constitution of the House of Commons, I am convinced that unless church-people make a different fight for their church, I do not see how it is possible for any- thing to happen but disestablishment." 8. — Bath election carried by Captain Hayter, Liberal, the numbers being— Hayter, 2,210; Forsyth, 2,071. — Captain James Brown examined in the Tichborne trial, this witness swearing to having accompanied the Claimant on board the Bella, a': Rio. 9. — Sir Samuel and Lady Baker arrive in London from Egypt. — Discussion in the Edinburgh Presbytery on the case of Dr. Wallace, charged with ex- pressing opinions in his sermons and writings calculated ' ' to unsettle the minds of ordinary hearers on the truth and importance of essen- tial doctrines of Christianity, as the Trinity, the union of the Divine and human natures in the person of Jesus Christ — His incarnation, miracles, and resurrection, the Ascension, and the Second Advent." Dr. Wallace, in his answers, gave such explanations that the Pres- bytery agreed to a. resolution in which they stated that they considered it unnecessary 'to take further steps in the matter. — Died, aged 74, Lieutenant-General Lord Howden, formerly Ambassador at Madrid. — Died, aged 64, John Evan Thomas, F.S.A., sculptor, Brecon. IO. — The Education Department issue new regulations for the election of borough and parish school-boards, providing that all board elections, as well as the poll taken on the reso- lution to apply for a board made by the rate- payers of a parish, shall in future be by ballot. 11. — The Intransigente war-ships defeated off Carthagena, in an action with Admiral Lobo's fleet. Two days later the admiral withdrew his force in the direction of Gib- raltar. — First stage of the Bazaine trial concluded by the reading of General de Riviere's report, closing with a brief account of the chief accu- sations against the incriminated officer. 12. — Died, aged 87, George Ormerod, author of the " History of Cheshire." 13. — The Solicitor-General, Mr. James, elected for Taunton by 899 votes against 812 tendered for Sir Alfred Slade. 14. — This, the 115th day of the Tichborne trial, is signalized by the production of what was looked upon as the missing link in the case, Jean Luie, a Dane, one of the crew of the Osprey, said to have picked up the de- fendant at sea. He was examined by Dr. Kenealy, and gave his evidence in good Eng. lish, but with a foreign accent. " We crossed the line," he said, "some part of April, and got into the trade winds. When we were off the coast' of the Brazils something attracted my attention. Early in the morning our attention was directed to a boat. We had had a very rough night, with squalls and rain. We noticed a boat on our port bow, and hauled to the wind as near as we could ; but we could not get to her on that tack. We were too much to the wind. We made another tack, and then had the boat on our quarter. At that time the boat put up a spar with a red signal. A red shirt it turned out to be. The boat, when we first saw her, was about two miles to windward. We had left her astern about the same distance when we saw the signal. Our ship must have been about 400 or 500 miles from the Brazilian coast, and eighteen or twenty south latitude. We went about again and got up to the boat, and found six men in her. They were all in a delirious condition except two, who were pad- dling towards us. . . . My attention was at- tracted to one of the men in particular. He was not a sailor. He was one of the four. When we got the men on board, we washed them all and supplied them with food. Captain Bennett — that was the name of our captain — directed me to take the young man who was not a sailor into the cabin andiplace >him on'a sofa, but instead of doing that I. put him in my own berth, and there I kept him all 'the time until our arrival in Melbourne. It took 'us 'three months to get to Melbourne, where we arrived in the early part of July. I noticed a good deal about him. I had to wash him nearly every day during the whole voyage. He was a small-made man, and not very bony. He had small hands, and dark-brown hair and big eyebrows. He had a habit of raising his forehead and eyes. His conversation with me was generally in Spanish. I speak that lan- guage. Sometimes he talked with me in broken French. . . . We picked them up in April. I asked the young man several times for his name, and hejgave me the same answer. Once he told me 'that his name was Roger. He told .■me he -had been .in the Brazils, and went .011 Aboard a vessel of the name of Bella, in Rio, and that ithey were bound for some part of America with a 'cargo of coffee. I asked him if he had been Staying in the Brazils for any length of time, and he said only a short time. ... In London, in consequence of what I heard on the 5th of July, I :put myself in com- munication with the man whom it was said had been saved from the Bella. On the 7th I "went c to a house and asked if a gentileman was living there who went by the name of the Claimant. The -servant, after going inside, said I could not see him, and I was told to go 'to Poet's •Corner. I met Mr, Hendriks and Mr. O'JBrien, •and ithey took down my statement about 'the Osprey. Mr. Whalley came in, and ihe took me and O'Brien in 1 cab to No. 34'in a street. We were shown into a room, and I saw the defendant sitting at the window. He said, Jl-21 OCTOBER 1873. OCTOBER 1 How do you do, Luie ? ' in Spanish. I had not given my name except to Hendriks; but he knew me at once. I recognized his voice immediately. " 14. — Father Hyacinthe and M. Chavard, the newly-elected Old Catholic cures at Geneva, take the oaths before the Council of State. The ceremony was performed at the St. Ger- main Church, which had been placed at their disposal. There was some excitement in the neighbourhood, but no disturbance. — Publication at Berlin of the correspond- ence between the Pope and the Emperor of Germany. 15. — The Congregational Union at Ipswich discuss a letter from Lord Shaftesbury's Vigi- lance Committee, in which the aid of Congre- gationalists was requested in an endeavour to rouse the country to some common action in regard to the advance of Ritualism and the practice of the Confessional in the Church of England. A series of resolutions was proposed, expressing the grave concern with which the Union regarded the Romanizing efforts of some of the clergy and other members of the Church of England, but stating that it could not, con- sistently with its views of the rightful relation of the Legislature to the Church of Christ, unite with the Vigilance Committee in any poli- tical action which contemplated the strength- ening of the discipline of the Church of England by means of new Jaws, or which assumed that the Church should continue as a national esta- blishment ; further, that the Union regarded the defection of so large a portion of the clergy as a natural result of the retention in the formu- laries of the Church of some of the cardinal errors of the Church of Rome. — The first Budget ever published in Egypt issued by authority of the Khedive. It gave details of the estimated revenue and expendi- ture for the twelve months from the 10th of Sep- tember, 1873, to the 10th of September, 1874, and showed revenue equal to 10,166,000/., and expenditure equal to 9,046,000/., leaving a surplus of 1, 120,000/. — The castle of Ardverikie, formerly the residence of the Duke of Abercorn, and in which her Majesty and the Prince Consort passed the autumn of 1847, almost totally de- stroyed by fire. Sir Edwin Landseer, when a guest at the castle, decorated three sides of the walls of the drawing-room with sketches, all the subjects being connected with the chase. — The right bank of the Amou-Daria, in Khiva, with the delta from the Sea of Aral to the extreme western arm of the river, incor- porated with Russia by order of the Czar. — Inundation at St. Petersburg, the waters of the Neva rising ten feet above their usual level. — Dismissal of Admiral Lobo by the Madrid Government. 16. — Speaking at a banquet in Liverpool, 1 122 Earl Derby described the Ashantee war as a doctor's war and an engineer's war quite as much as a soldier's war. He doubted whether it was wise to take over the Dutch forts, "and I greatly doubt whether any man in or out of the Colonial Office exactly knows, or could define, the limits of our authority and of our responsibility in regard to tribes included within the protected territory. No doubt pledges must be kept, but the narrower the limits within which we contract our relations with those tribes the better, I believe, it will be. I have no great faith in that kind of moral influence which you acquire by burning a man's house over his head, and telling him he is to be your subject, whether he likes it or not, I believe, as a matter of fact, that trade is found to grow quite as fast, if not rather faster, in places where we do not exercise political power as in those where we do ; and while I firmly believe in the value to the empire of colonies to which our own people can go out, and where they can work, I think, to put the thing plainly, that we have got quite black men enough, and that we had better not go in for more." 17. — Celebration of the 1200th anniversary of the foundation of Ely Cathedral, the city of Queen Etheldreda. — Commission gazetted for inquiring into grievances alleged to be suffered by officers in the army. — The Emperor of Germany again visits the Emperor of Austria at Vienna. — Speaking at a Conservative banquet at Hertfotd, the Marquis of Salisbury criticized at some length the action of Mr. Gladstone's Ministry, which he said had this peculiarity, that it had been, in contrast to all English Minis- tries of many generations past — a Ministry of heroic measures. ' ' Far be it from me" (the noble lord said) ' ' to accuse them of heroism. They keep their heroism to the Home Office. They don't let it transgress the threshold of the Foreign Office. They offer to us a remark- able instance of Christian meekness and humi- lity ; but I am afraid it is that kind of Christian meekness which turns the left cheek to Russia and America, and demands the uttermost far- thing of Ashantee. This, however, is to be said for their heroism, that outside these islands there is no doubt it has been heroism approach- ing to sternness towards every interest that happened to belong to the minority defeated at the poll. . . . There may be some doubt as to what the result of the next election upon the composition of Ministries may be. I confess I do not regard that question as one of the first importance. If it may be that we are to have a strong Government, I wish that it may be a Conservative Government; but if we are to have a weak Government, I wish that it may be a Liberal one. It may not be in your power to drive this Ministry from placed— you may not be able to terminate its official life ; but you will be able to. draw its teeth and clip ■OCTOBER 1873. OCTOBER its claws ; and after all, though there are better tilings that we can imagine — after all, govern- ment by a toothless Liberal Ministry is not so bad a thing as many others, because it does this : it ensures that Parliament shall be too divided to give its attention to projects of revolutionary innovation, and it binds over the Liberal leaders in heavy security not to agitate." 17. — Died, aged 66, Vice- Admiral Sir Robert J. Le M'Clure, the dauntless explorer of the North- West passage. 18. — The insurgent ship Fernando el Cato- lica accidentally run into and sunk by the Numancia, off Alicante, and the greater part of the crew drowned. — The Comte de Chambord reported to have made concessions of a nature to give satisfac- tion to all the exigencies of the Liberal party. . — Died, Dr. Thomas Smethurst, tried in 1859 for the murder of Isabella Banks, and sentenced to death but afterwards reprieved (seep. 555.) 19.— Died, aged 68, the Rev. R. S. Cand- lish, D. D. , a Free Church theologian of great prominence in the Disruption controversy, and -since that time the trusted guide of its general policy. His mother was the Miss Smith im- mortalized by Burns as one of the " six proper young belles " of Mauchline. 20. — -The first Scientific Congress held in modern Rome assembles in the Great Hall of 'the Horatii and the Curatii on the Capitol. Count Mamiani presided on the occasion, and delivered the opening address. — At Warrington, Mr. Butt declares that what the Home Rulers wanted was an Irish Parliament, which should have the right of legislating and regulating all matters relating to the internal affairs of Ireland, and have con- trol over Irish resources and revenues, subject to the obligation of contributing their just pro- portion of Imperial taxes. By internal affairs ;they did not mean the management of railways or gasworks, but the higher life of the nation — their own system of education, passing their •own university laws and grand jury laws. \ — The Italian Government takes possession x)f six convents at Rome. 21. — Marshal MacMahon declares that he -will not separate himself from the Conser- vative party which placed him in power in ,France. 22. — News from Calcutta indicates a famine •as threatening Bengal. — The Conservatives carry Hull, 6,873 .votes being given to Colonel Pease, against ,6,594 to E. J. Reed. r ~— Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ;Oxford University Union. — Mr. Bright addresses his constituents on • re-election,' reviewing the' chief measures passed ,by the present Government, and condemning the Education Act on the ground that it ex- tended and confirmed the system which it ought to have superseded. It really encouraged de- nominational education, and it established Boards only where that system did not exist, whereas it should have attempted to establish Boards everywhere, and to bring the denomi- national schools under their control. The denominational system, Mr. Bright said, in consequence of the parochial organization of the Church, must be said to be a Church system ; hence the Nonconformists were ag- grieved, and justly aggrieved. Speaking of policy, " What, asked Mr. Bright, is the policy of the Opposition? Why, we were told the other day that the leader of the Opposition was 'in a state of strict seclusion.' And but for that strange and.unfortunate epistolary outburst we should have had no idea of the desperate state of mind in which he has been. But still; if we ask for the policy of the Opposition, all is dark, dark, impenetrably dark, and all that we know is, that nothing can be known. I beg pardon, though ; I am wrong in that. We know that, according to the Opposition, all the work of the past five years, and if you like, of .the past forty years, is evil ; but as to the future, you will see it when it comes. Now, let me tell you this, that that great statesmanship which consists in silence and secrecy is not original, it is a mere copy of thirty or forty years ago." The .history, Mr. Bright con- cluded, " of the last forty years of this country — judge it fairly — speaks of its legislation, .which is mainly a history of the conquests of freedom. It will be a grand volume that tells the story, and your name and mine, if I mistake not, will be found on some of its pages. For me the final chapter is now writing. It may be already written. But for you, this great constituency, there is a perpetual youth and a perpetual future. I pray Heaven that in the years to come, and when my voice is hushed, you may be granted strength and moderation and wisdom to influence the coun- cils of your country by righteous means to none other than to noble and to righteous ends." Mr. Bright was said to have spoken with much -of his old animation for one liour and ten minutes to an audience thought to have num- bered over 15,000. 23.— Died, aged 58, Vice-Chancellor Wick- ens, who had taken his Bachelor's degree at Oxford in 1836 as a Double First Class. — The Carthagena Intransigentes bring four steamers as prizes into harbour, and leave two sailing vessels, outside after ransacking them. _ — At the opening of the Canadian. Par- liament the Governor-General announces that the Pacific Railway Company had surrendered their charter. — Attempted murder and suicide by t> man named • Peacock, a cooper, in Walworth, thought to be amongst the oldest of those con- tinuing to bejieve in the pretensions ,of Joanna Southcote, . ■. ; 1 123 OCTORER 1873. NOVEMBER 25. — ; Seven men drowned in the Thames, by the upsetting of a boat in a fog while crossing from Woolwich. 26. — Died, on the Pacific Railway, J. C. Heenan, the antagonist of Sayers in the memo- rable international fight at Farnborough, in April, i860. — Five hundred British troops sent from Aden to Lahadj, in consequence of a threatened occupation by the Turks. 27. — The evidence for the defence in the Tichborne case closes on this the 124th day of trial. — A force of Ashantees defeated by Sir Garnet Wolseley, and several .villages de- stroyed. — The monarchial scheming in France suddenly checked by a letter from the Comte de Chambord to M. Chesnelong, declining to make any concession on the subject of the flag. "For forty-three years," he wrote, "I have preserved intact the sacred deposit of our traditions and our liberties. I have, therefore, a right to reckon upon equal confidence, and I ought to inspire the same sense of security. My personality is nothing; my principle is everything. France will see the end of her trials when she is willing to understand this. I am a necessary pilot, the only one capable of guiding the ship to port, because I have for that a mission of authority. You, sir, are able to do much to remove misunderstandings and prevent weaknesses in the hour of struggle. Your consoling words on leaving Salzburg are ever present to my mind. France cannot perish, for Christ -still loves His Franks ; and when God has resolved to save a people, He takes care that the sceptre of justice is only, put into hands strong enough to hold it." 28. — Died, through the effects of a cold caught in returning from Paris, in the 85th iyear of his age, Sir Henry Holland, appointed Physician in Ordinary to the Queen in 1852, a traveller of wide reputation and unwearied activity. — The old Opera House in the Rue Lepel- letier, Paris, destroyed by fire. 29.— Died, aged 72, John, King of Saxony. He was succeeded by King Albert. 30. — Stokes, who shot Colonel Fisk of the Erie Railway, found guilty of manslaughter in the third degree, and sentenced to four years' imprisonment. — The French Minister of War issues an order announcing that General Bellemare bas been placed on the retired list for having -written a letter the spirit -of which was op- posed to national sovereignty. An order of the day to the army was also issued by Marshal MacMahon, in which he stated : — " A single act of insubordination has been committed in the army, but the President of the Republic is firmly convinced it will not be repeated. He 1124 is aware of the spirit of devotion which ani- mates you : you know how to maintain in the army that union and discipline of which you have always set an example, and which, while constituting its strength, alone can assure the tranquillity and independence of the country. As soldiers, our duty is clearly laid down for us, and is indisputable. Under all circum- stances we are to maintain order and cause legal decisions to be respected." 30. — Choral festival in St. Paul's Cathedral. — Died, aged 52, M. Ernest Aime Feydeau, French novelist. 31. — The filibustering steamer Virginius, with a crew of 135 men, captured near Jamaica by the Spanish gunboat Tornado, and taken to St. Jago de Cuba. November 1. — Died, aged 60, the Right Hon. Sir William Bovill, Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. 2. — The Vienna Exhibition closes, having been visited since its opening in May by 7,254,687 people. — Died, at Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, aged 78, Mrs. Janet Hamilton, the daughter of a shoe- maker, without education, mother of a large ifamily, and for many years totally blind, yet who, by patient effort in the way of self-culture, produced poems and stories of high merit. — Completion of the International Bridge of the Grand Trunk Railway between Canada and the United States. — Replying to a correspondent as to the use of the term " free land," Mr. Bright writes that it means "the abolition of the law of primogenitune and the limitation of the system of entails and settlements, so that ' life interests ' may be for the most part got rid of, and a real ownership substituted for them. It means also that it shall be as easy to buy or sell land as to buy or sell a ship, or, at least, as easy as it is in Australia and in many or in all the states of the American Union. It means that no legal encouragement shall be given to great estates and great farms, and that the natural forces of accumulation and dispersion shall have free play, as they have with regard to ships and shares, and machinery, and stock-in-trade, and money. It means, too, that while the lawyer shall be well paid for his work, unnecessary work shall not be made for him, involving an enormous tax on all transactions in connection with ithe purchase and sale of lands and houses. A thorough reform in this matter would com- plete, with regard to land, the great work accomplished by tihe Anti-Corn Law League in 1846. It would give an endless renown to the Minister who made it, and would bless to an incalculable extent all classes connected with and dependent on honest industry." 3. — The Pope writes to Ledochowski that he sees with sorrow the professors of the Church NOVEMBER 1873. NOVEMBER designated as rebels; "its bishops are con- demned by lay courts as agitators, persecuted with fines, deprived of their offices and expelled the country, the spiritual orders are prohibited, the clergy is gagged, and, by arbitrary measures, prevented from exercising its office ; education of the youth in the spirit of the Church is for- bidden, in order that, on the one hand, the population may not be confirmed in the prin- ciples of religion, and that, on the other, the hope may vanish of able and faithful servants of the altar being trained up. In order to undermine the glory of God, the property dedi- cated to God is robbed ; even the chief helms- man of the Church is kept in bondage in order that, though utterly despoiled, he may not govern the Church with freedom, according to his powers." 3. — Died, Rios Rosas, ex-Minister and Pre- sident of the Spanish Cortes. — Died, at Mecca, Abd-el-Kader, formerly Chief of Oran, Northern Africa, and a for- midable foe to French rule in that country. — Seven British seamen drowned at San- tander by the upsetting of a life-boat which they had manned to save the shipwrecked orew of the Spanish schooner Union. 4. — Came on for hearing in the Court of Admiralty the case of the Murillo, two actions for 24,000/. by the owners of the Northfleet and the owners of the cargo, for the loss of both by the collision in January last. No one repre- sented the owners of the Murillo. In giving judgment, Sir R. Phillimore said : — " I grant the prayer of the motion, but I don't think I ought to content myself with that single part of my judicial duty. I find it difficult to express in adequate terms the indignation which :the brutality and meanness of conduct of those who had the charge of the Murillo must excite in the bosom of every man not void of the ordi- nary feelings of humanity. This case, indeed, represents all the cruelty without any of the courage of the pirate. " — Explosion in the premises of a firework maker, Broad Street, Lambeth, causing the death of eight people, being the whole of the occupants at the time the calamity occurred. 5. — The Democrats carry the New York and Virginia State elections with heavy gains over previous majorities, while in Massachusetts the -Republicans were successful, but with a reduced majority. Tbe Republican candidates were successful in New Jersey, Arkansas, and Minnesota. Democratic candidates carried Maryland. In Wisconsin the Fusionist party were successful. Generally the returns up to this date showed heavy losses to the Republican party. — At the opening of the French Assembly, a message is read from Marshal MacMahon, stating for a sure guarantee of peace " the pre- sent Government lacks two essential conditions which could not be longer overlooked without danger. It has neither sufficient vitality nor authority. Whoever the holder of powermay be, that power can do nothing durable if its right to govern is daily called into question, if it has not before it the guarantee of a sufficiently long existence to spare the country the per- spective of incessantly recurring agitation. With a power that might be changed at any moment, it is possible to secure peace to-day, but not safety for the morrow. Every great undertaking is thus rendered impossible, and industry languishes." A proposal for pro- longing the President's power for ten years was thereupon carried by 360 to 348 votes. — Opening of the Austrian Reichsrath, the Emperor speaking of the Exhibition as having drawn together sovereigns of distant states, and so increased the pledges of peace and strengthened the influence of Austria. His Majesty further exhorted the Reichsrath to work with united energy at the solution of the great task of uniting the people of Austria, so that she might become a powerful state, strong in ideas of justice and liberty. — The Ashantees attack the British position at Abrakrampa, but are repulsed and finally retreated. — The strong feeling in ithe Dominion re- garding the Pacific Railway contract, and the expenditure of the funds obtained under the Allan concession, leads to the resignation of the Prime Minister, Sir John Maclonald. Mr. Mackenzie undertodk the task of forming anew Ministry. 6. — The Irish National Board of Education, by 9 votes to 7, finally refuse to recognize Mr. O'Keeffe as manager of the Callan schools. 7. — The Bank rate of discount raised from 8 to 9 per cent. — ■ Fifty-three of the crew of the Virgiiiius, including sixteen British subjects, shot at San- tiago. — The Diet at Munich resolves to extend the jurisdiction of the German Empire over the whole civil legislation of Bavaria. — Earl Grey details in the Times a policy which he thinks ought to have been pursued by the British Government in Western Africa, and might, in his opinion, have avoided the Ashantee war. S. — Monument to Count Cavour unveiled at Turin, in presence of King Victor Emmanuel, the Princes of the Royal Family, members of the Cabinet, deputations from the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the members of the Diplomatic Body, the civil and military authorities at Turin, and deputations from the Municipal Councils. The weather was ex- tremely unfavourable, and the illuminations had to be postponed. At the banquet given in the evening by the municipality to 500 guests, the British Minister, Sir Augustus Paget, assured the Italians of the sympathy of England with 1 125 NOVEMBER 1873- NOVEMBER the Italian cause, and its high admiration of the great statesman who insured its success. 8. — Died, at Paris, aged 77, Auguste de Metz, founder of the Reformatory at Mettray. 9. — Burning of the ship Nagpore in Kings- town harbour, attended with serious damage to other vessels in port. — Royal order issued, relieving Count von Roon from the presidency of the Prussian Ministry, and appointing Prince Bismarck his successor. IO. — At the Lord Mayor's banquet this evening, Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Lowe de- fended the policy of Ministers, the latter, in addition, expressing himself as confident that the dissolution of Parliament would not neces- sarily be the dissolution of Government. — Died, aged 73, Robert Vernon Smith, Lord Lyveden, M. P. for Northampton from 1831 till his elevation to the peerage in 1859. 12. — Mr. Knight, of Dundee, having with- drawn with his congregation from all connec- tion with the Free Church, the Presbytery now formally declare that he has ceased to belong to their body. — Prussian Diet opened. 13. — Mr. Charles Hall takes his seat in court as successor to Vice-Chancellor Wickens. — Died, aged 76, John Gough Nichols, F. S.A., one of the founders of the Camden Society, the editor of many of its volumes, and a prolific contributor to genealogical and topo- graphical literature. . 14. — In consequence of the excitement mani- fested throughout the States at the Virginius executions, Mr. Fish urges the American Min- ister at Madrid to protest against them as an outrage to humanity, and an insult to the American Government. The Spanish Govern- ment in reply admitted its responsibility, and reiterated assurances of its friendly feeling to- wards the United States. It disapproved the executions, and promised to shape its course accordingly. Sections of the New York press urged that a declaration of war should be issued at once, and possession taken of Cuba. 13. — More changes announced in the Min- istry, Sir John Coleridge accepting the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. James the post of Attorney- General, and Mr. Vernon Harcourt that of Solicitor-General. Dr. Lyon Playfair became Postmaster-General. — M. Laboulaye presents to the Assembly the report of the Committee of Fifteen pro- posing to prolong Marshal MacMahon's power ibr five years. The President rejected this proposal, and on the 19th the Assembly by 383 to 317 votes confirmed his power for seven years. — Opening of the Italian Parliament, the King declaring in his Speech from the Throne t'lat Italy and Germany have both constituted ,- 11 it themselves in the name of the principle of nationality; "they have both been able to establish Liberal Constitutions based upon a monarchy associated for centuries with the national sorrows as 'well as the national glories. The relations between the two Governments are in conformity with the sympathies existing between the two peoples, and are a guarantee for the maintenance of peace. It is our desire to live in harmony with all nations. Never- theless, I shall firmly guard the rights and dignity of the nation." 18. — Home-Rule Conference in London, called to discuss and adopt a series of resolu- tions. The first declared the prosperity of Ireland to be only possible under self-govern- ment ; the second asserted a right to self- government; the third claimed a Parliament in Ireland composed of the Sovereign, Lords, and Commons of Ireland ; the fourth affirmed the principle of a federal arrangement for in- ternal affairs, leaving to the Imperial Crown and Parliament legislation respecting the colo- nies and other dependencies of the Crown, the relations of the Empire with foreign Powers, and all matters appertaining to the defence and stability of the Empire at large, as well as the power of granting and providing the supplies necessary for Imperial purposes ; the fifth de- clared that such a change effects no change in the Constitution or disturbance of the prero- gatives of the Crown ; the sixth stated that it would be necessary to have in Ireland an administration for Irish purposes, conducted by Ministers constitutionally responsible to the Irish Parliament. — The President of the Board of Trade addresses a circular to railway companies, calling attention to the opinion expressed in Colonel Tyler's report that the great propor- tion of accidents during the past year arose from causes entirely within their own control. 19. — Sir John Coleridge sworn in as Lord Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas. To his constituents he wrote : — "I will not affect to deny that I quit political life reluctantly, and resign the seat for Exeter with great regret. It has been the pride and honour of my life to represent the capital of my county, and my political principles are as strong and my poli- tical sympathies as keen as ever, though hence- forward I can allow them, as a judge, neither influence nor expression." — Mr. Disraeli installed as Lord Rector of Glasgow University, delivering thereafter to an immense audience assembled in the conserva- tory of the Botanic Gardens an address ex- planatory chiefly of principles to be observed by the students for attaining success in life. Self-knowledge, he said, was the first con- dition. Bitter disappointment and per-^»--s failure followed the revelation of the harsh reality which belied the golden promise of yomh as to our own powers. Acquaintance with the spirit of the age was the second con. •NOVEMBER 1873- NOVEMBER dition of success — not obedience to it, for it might be an evil spirit, but acquaintance with It— an acquaintance necessary to all. What was the spirit of the age ? The spirit of equality. He believed in political equality. He held that equality before the law was the only true foun- dation of a commonwealth. It had long pre- vailed in Britain, and to it more than to geo- graphical distinctions, of which we have heard so much lately, the patriotism of the people was due. He did not believe in social equality. France had tried social equality for eighty years, with what result they knew. The ex- periment made there .showed that social equality was not a safe principle upon which to rely in the hour of trial or of danger. But social equality did not satisfy the latest philosophers. They wanted material equality. They believed only in material happiness ; they would destroy private property, and acknowledge only the rights of labour. "The insurmountable ob- stacle," he concluded, "to the establishment of the new opinions will be furnished by the essential elements of the human mind. Our idiosyncrasy is not bounded by the planet which we inhabit. We can investigate space, and we can comprehend eternity. No con- siderations limited to this sphere have hitherto furnished the excitement which man requires, or the sanction for his conduct which his nature imperatively demands. The spiritual nature of man is stronger than codes or constitutions. No government can endure which does not recognize that for its foundation, and no legis- lation last which does not flow from that foun- tain. The principle may develop itself in manifest forms, shape of many creeds and many churches, but the principle is Divine- As time is divided into day and night, so reli- gion rests upon the providence of God and the responsibility of man. (Loud cheers. ) One is manifest, the others mysterious, but both are facts. Nor is there, as some would teach you, anything in these convictions that tends to con- tract our intelligence or our sympathies. On the contrary, religion invigorates the intellect and expands the heart. He who has a due sense of" his relations to God is best qualified to fulfil his duties to man." Speaking at a ban- quet given in his honour by the city in the evening, Mr. Disraeli said : " It has been my fortune to be the leader in the House of Com- mons of one of the great political parties in the State for five-and-twenty years, and there is no -ecord, I believe, in the parliamentary history of this country of a duration of a leadership eqaal to it. There have been in my time two illustrious instances of the great parties being led by most eminent men. One was the in- stance of Sir Robert Peel, who led the Tory party for eighteen years, though unfortunately it twice broke asunder. There was also the instance of one who is still spared to us, and who, I hope, may be long spared to us, for he is the pride of this country, as he was the honour of the House of Commons, — Dord John Russell. Be led one of the great parties of the State in the House of Commons for seven- teen years, though at last it slipped out of his hands. Do not suppose for a moment that 1 am making these observations as any boast The reason that I have been able to lead a party for so long a period, and under circum- stances of some difficulty and discouragement, is, that the party I lead is really the most generous and most indulgent party that ever existed. I cannot help smiling sometimes when I hear the constant intimations that are given by those who are in the secrets of the political world of the extreme anxiety of the Conserva- tive party to get rid of my services. The fact is, the Conservative party can get rid of my services whenever they give me the intimation that they wish it. Whenever I have desired to leave the leadership of the party they have too kindly requested me to remain where I was, and if I make a mistake, the only difference in their conduct to me is that they are more in- dulgent and more kind." Mr. Disraeli went on to speak at length on the subject of the present commercial perturbation and the high value of money, which he attributed almost wholly to the great changes which various countries in Europe and various Governments in Europe are making with reference to their standard of value. Mr. Disraeli was presented next day with the freedom of the city. 21. — The Washington Cabinet grant the extension of time asked for by Spain to inquire into the details of the Virginius executions, and at the same time admit that consideration should be shown for the impossibility in which Spain has been placed of ascertaining the facts of the outrage in time to make satisfactory reparation. 22. — Addressing the Glasgow Conservative Association, Mr. Disraeli defended the Bath letter as a correct description of the conduct of the Government, well weighed, and in support of which ample testimony could be adduced. " There was only one characteristic," he said — "it was not original, for six months before in the House of Commons I had used the same expressions and made the same statement — not in a hole or corner, but on the most memorable night of the session, when there were 600 members of the House of Commons present, when on the debate that took place avowedly the fate of the Miuistry depended. It was at midnight that I rose to speak, and made the statement almost similar in expression, though perhaps stronger and more lengthened than the one which has become the cause of recent con- troversy. The Prime Minister followed me in that debate. The House of Commons knew what was depending upon the verdict about to be taken, and with all that knowledge they came to a division, and by a majority termi- nated the existence of the Government There was an illustrious writer, one of the greatest masters of our language, who wrote the history of the last four years of the reign of Queen Anne, which was the duration of an 1127 NOVEMBER 1S73. NOVEMBER illustrious Ministry. I have written the history of a Ministry that has lasted five years, and I have immortalized the spirit of their policy in five lines." Mr. Disraeli spoke of Mr. Lowe as having attacked the Government of the day for imprudence in interfering in the affairs of Abyssinia. " He laughed at the honour of the country ; he laughed at the interests of a few enslaved subjects of the Queen of England, compared, as he said, with the certain destruc- tion and disaster which must attend any inter- ference on our part. He described the horrors of the country and the terrors of the clime. He said that there was no possibility, by any means, by which success could be obtained, and that the people of England must prepare themselves for the most horrible catastrophe. He described not merely the fatal influence of the climate, but I remember that he described one pink fly alone — (laughter) — which, he said, would eat up the whole British Army. (Great laughter.) He was as vituperative of the in- sects of Abyssinia as if they had been British workmen." In closing his address, Mr. Dis- raeli drew attention to the contest commencing in Europe between the spiritual and temporal power. "And here," he said, "I must say that if we have before us the prospect of strug- gles — perhaps of wars and anarchy, ultimately — caused by the great question that is now rising in Europe, it will not easily be in the power of England entirely to withhold itself from such circumstances. Our connection with Ireland will then be brought painfully to our consciousness, and I should not be at all sur- prised if the visor of Home-Rule should fall oft some day, and you beheld a very different countenance. Now I think we ought to be prepared for those circumstances. The posi- tion of England is one which is indicated, it dangers arise, of holding a middle course upon those matters. It may be open to England again to take a stand upon the Reformation which 300 years ago was the source of her greatness and her glory, and it may be her proud destiny to guard civilization alike from the withering blast of atheism and from the simoom of sacerdotal usurpation. These things may be far off, but we live in a rapid age, and my apprehension is that they are nearer than some suppose. If that struggle comes, we must look to Scotland to aid us. It was once, and I hope is still, a land of liberty, of patriotism, and of religion. I think the time has come when it really should leave off mumbling the dry bones of political economy and munching the remainder biscuit of an effete Liberalism. . . . We all know that a general election is at hand. I do not ask you to consider, on such an occasion, the fate of parties or of Ministries ; but I ask you to consider this — that it is very l.robable the future of Europe depends greatly on the character of the next Parliament of England. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And I ask you, when the occasion comes, to act as becomes an ancient and famous nation, and give all your energies to the cause of faith and freedom." 1 128 22. — Boiler explosion at Cameron's engi- neering works, Glasgow, causing the death of four men. — W. M. Tweed sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment and a fine of 127,500 dollars for the New York municipal frauds. — Disastrous collision between the Trans- atlantic steamer Ville du Havre, from New York for Brest, and the English ship Lochearn. The steamer was struck amidships, and as she showed signs of sinking almost immediately, two of her boats were hurriedly let down, but, even with the aid of the Lochearn s crew, only 87 out of a total of 313 on board could be saved. The Ville du Havre sunk within twelve minutes after being struck. Fifty-three of the crew were rescued, including the captain. Among the passengers saved were ten ladies. All the survivors were on the same day tran- shipped on board the American ship Tremoun- tain, bound to Bristol, where they were landed on the 1st December. 23. — Died, at sea, from fever contracted in his services against the Ashantees, Lieutenant the Hon. A. W. Charteris, eldest surviving son of Lord Elcho. 25. — Availing himself of the opportunity afforded in laying the first stone of the first school erected by the Liverpool School Board, Mr. Forster defends the principles of the Elementary Education Act, and the way in which it was carried out. — Mr. Justice Blackbum gives judgment in the case of Bolton v. Maddox, involving the question whether a promise to give votes for a charitable institution was a good consideration, so as to make a corresponding promise enforce- able at law. Two subscribers to a charitable institution mutually agreed to support each other's candidates for admission. At the first ensuing election the plaintiff gave his votes to the defendant's candidates ; but as at the next election the defendant declined to support the plaintiff's candidate, the latter subscribed seven guineas to the institution, and was thus under its rules entitled to the requisite number of votes. For the seven guineas he brought an action against the defendant. For the latlei it was contended that such a promise could not be enforced, as there was a duty on the sub- scriber to give his votes to the best qualified candidates for admission. If, then, the best qualified were the ones for whom he was re- quired to vote, there was no consideration ; but if they were not, the promise was against public policy, and, therefore, not enforceable at law. While some members of the Court desired to express their disapprobation of this traffic in votes, there was no principle of law which made such a promise other than a good con- sideration for a corresponding promise. Judg- ment for the plaintiff. — Archbishop Ledochowski again fined foi the unlawful institution of priests. -DECEMBER 1873- DECEMBER 26. — Bombardment of Carthagena com- mences. — The French Cabinet reconstituted. 27. — Came on in the Court of Common Pleas, before Mr. Justice Brett and a special jury, the case of Gilbert v. Enoch, an action raised by Mr. Gilbert, dramatist, against the publisher of the Pall Mall Gazette, in so far as a correspondent had therein described "The Wicked World " as a play too indecent to be represented in any theatre. Verdict for the defendant. — The hearing of the Tichborne case re- sumed. — Died, aged 70, the Rev. John Dymoke, hereditary "Queen's Champion." — The second London School Board elected. 29. — Duel in the Grunewald, near Berlin, between Generals Manteuffel and Von Grbben, arising out of misunderstandings between the two officers during the late war. Count Groben was seriously wounded by a shot in the stomach. — General Ducrot resigns his seat in the French Assembly, with the view of devoting himself entirely to the duties of his military position. December 1. — The Duke of Northumber- land elected President of the Royal Institution in succession to the late Sir Henry Holland. — Witnesses examined in the Tichborne case to prove the identity of Jean Luie with a person convicted of fraud under the name of Sorensen and Lundgren, and in prison at the date of the alleged rescue from the Bella. — The Emperor of Austria celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession. An amnesty was granted to all persons under sen- tence for offences against his Majesty's person, and a speedy report was at the same time ordered to be made respecting other condemned persons whose conduct warranted leniency being shown them. — The Gazette contains Sir Gamet Wolse- ley's despatches from the Gold Coast. The prin- cipal points dwelt upon were the gallantry of the officers engaged, the miserable behaviour of the native auxiliaries, and the urgent neces- sity for reinforcements of English troops. Both Sir Garnet Wolseley and Colonel Fes- ting spoke in high terms of Lieutenant Eardley- Wilmot. In his despatch to Mr. Card well, Sir Garnet said: "I regret that one young officer has lost his life. Lieutenant Eardley- Wilmot, a fine promising soldier. He was badly hit early in the skirmish, but, like an English gentleman, continued in the field at his post, until subsequently shot through the heart, when he died almost immediately." 2. — Dr. Kenealy commences his speech in defence of the Claimant. — Fall of a clothing and outfitting establish- ment in Fargate, Sheffield. — Meeting in Willis's Rooms to take steps for carrying out the proposal that Bishop Wil- berforce's memory should be perpetuated by the raising of a fund for the maintenance of a body of missionary clergymen in South London. The Bishop of Chichester was in the chair, and Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Gathorne Hardy among the speakers. — In his Message to Congress, President Grant said that the present involvement with Spain through the capture of the Virginias was now in the way of being adjusted on conditions equally honourable to both nations. The Spanish Government, it was said, had recog- nized the justice of the demand made by the United States, and arranged for the immediate delivery of the vessel and the surrender of the survivors. In addition to this, the American flag was to be saluted, the guilty persons pun- ished, and those entitled to be indemnified. — Ancrum House, near Jedburgh, the seat of Sir William Scott, Bart., destroyed by fire. 3. — Day of Intercession for foreign missions, Professor Max Muller delivering a lecture on the subject in Westminster Abbey in the evening. — Died, at Brighton, aged 92, Sir George Rose, among the last survivors of the " Old Westminsters " of the last century. 4. — Earl Russell writes to Sir George Bowyer : — "lam very sorry to differ from you in the step which I have taken of consenting to preside at a meeting at which it will be proposed to express our sympathy with the Emperor of Germany in the declaration he has made in his letter to the Pope. I conceive that the time has come, foreseen by Sir Robert Peel, when the Roman Catholic Church dis- claims equality and will be satisfied with nothing but ascendency. To this ascendency, openly asserted to extend to all baptized per- sons, and therefore including our Queen, the Prince of Wales, our bishops and clergy, I refuse to submit. The autonomy of Ireland is asserted at Rome. I decline the Pope's tem- poral rule over Ireland." — The Yarkund Embassy reach Kashgar, and are cordially received by the Atalikh Ghazee. The Queen's letter with presents from the Governor-General of India was presented on the I ith. 5.— The new Solicitor-General, Mr. Vernon Harcourt, re-elected for Oxford without oppo- sition. 6. — The Governor-General of India informs the Secretary for India that supplies of rice were now being pushed forward to the districts affected by the scarcity. 1 129 DECEMBER 1873; DECEMBER 8. — Sir Samuel Baker gives an account of his expedition into Central Africa to the mem- bers of the Royal Geographical Society. — Fire at Yeddo, destroying buildings extending over two miles and a half of the city. 9. — Mr. Mills, Conservative, elected M.P. for Exeter by 2,34.6 votes, against 2,055 given to Sir Edward Watkin, Liberal. — Dense fog in London, seriously inter- fering with traffic, and affecting to an appre- ciable extent the health of the prize cattle on show at Islington. As many as fourteen people were reported to have been drowned in the docks during its continuance. The death-rate for the week was sixty above the usual average. — Mr. Bright denies that he had ever applied the word "residuum" to the working classes. "I do not," he writes to a corre- spondent, "remember the time when, or the speech in which, I used the word 'residuum,' or I would refer you to the passage. You would at once see how utterly unjust and false is the construction which Mr. Read has put upon it. I do not know what Mr. Read is in his pulpit, but I would advise him to stay there, where he cannot be contradicted. On the plat- form, he is, what is not uncommon in the hot partisan priest, ignorant and scurrilous, and a guide whom no sensible man would wish to follow. His congregation should pray for him." The speech in which the objectionable phrase occurred was understood to be one delivered in the House during the discussion on the Reform Bill of 1867. "At this moment," said Mr. Bright, "in all or nearly all boroughs, as many of us know, sometimes to our sorrow, there is a small class which it would be much better for themselves if they were not enfranchised, be- cause they have no independence whatever, and it would be much better for the constituency also that they should be excluded, and there is no class so much interested in having that small class excluded as the intelligent and honest working man. I call this class the residuum, which there is in almost every constituency, of almost hopeless poverty and dependence." IO. — Marshal Bazaine found guilty, and sentenced to death. At half-past four o'clock Mattre Lachaud concluded his speech in de- fence. The Due d'Aumale then rose and asked the Marshal if he had anything more to add. In the midst of profound silence, the Marshal rose. He said : " I bear on my breast two words, ' Honour ' and ' Country. ' They have been my motto for the forty years during which I have served France, alike at Metz and elsewhere. I swear it before Christ." The Marshal was pale, and he appeared deeply moved. The Court having spent some hours in deliberation, the President, on returning, said :— " In the name of the French people, the Council of War, &c. , delivers the following judgment : — Francois Achille Bazaine, Marshal of France, is he guilty, firstly, of having capitu- 1130 lated before the enemy in the open field? — Unanimously, Yes. Secondly, had this capitu- lation the effect of making those under his command lay down their arms ?— Unanimously, Yes. Thirdly, is he guilty of having nego- tiated with the enemy before having done everything prescribed by duty and honour? — Unanimously, Yes. Fourthly, is he guilty of having surrendered a fortified place, the pro- tection of which had been intrusted to him? — Unanimously, Yes. In consequence of this, Marshal Bazaine is condemned to the penalty of death, with military degradation, and ceases to belong to the Legion of Honour, and, besides, is condemned to pay the expense of the trial as regards the State. The Council orders that the sentence shall be read to the Marshal in the prison, in presence of the assembled guard under arms." This sentence was in two days commuted by President Mac- Mahon on the recommendation of the Court into twenty years of seclusion on the Isle St. Marguerite. Marshal Bazaine thereupon wrote to the President : — " You have remembered the days in which we served our country together, and I fear that the impulse of your heart over- mastered State considerations. I should have died without regret, since the recommendation to mercy made to you by my judges vindicates my honour. " II. — The Claimant's witness, Jean Luie, committed for trial on the charge of perjury. Pending further proceedings against him, the prisoner was sent back to undergo the re- mainder of his sentence as a convict. — Died, aged 57, William de Courcy O'Grady, known in Ireland as "TheO'Grady," head of an ancient Milesian family. — Charles Dawson sentenced to death at Durham Assizes for the murder of his wife by beating her with a champagne bottle, and then dancing upon the body of his unhappy victim. — Meeting in London to establish a National Federation of Employers of Labour. 13.— Died, at Rome, aged 36, H. S. P. Winterbotham, M.P., Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department 14. — Died, aged 73, the Queen Dowager Elizabeth of Prussia, widow of the late King Frederick William IV. — The Pope's last Encyclical on the pre- sent persecution of the Catholic Church read in the Roman Catholic Churches in London by order of Archbishop Manning. By desire of the Archbishop, the "faithful" were at the same time formally warned, in their several congregations, that those who dispute or deny the definition of the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, or impugn the decrees and dogmatical constitutions of the late Vatican Council, incur the penalties attaching to the sin of heresy, and are in danger of being excommunicated from the unity of the Church and from the fold of Christ. DECEMBER 1873. DECEMBER 35. — Dr. Tristram, Chancellor of the Diocese Ot London, gives judgment against the erection of a baldacchino over the communion-table of St. Barnabas Church, Pimlico. After much consideration, he said he had come to the conclusion that the proposed ornament did not come within the rubrics, and that it was not necessary or subsidiary to the services of the Church. It was not in the province of this court to sanction the erection of an ornament that was not sanctioned, and as the law did not provide for such an ornament to the com- mnnion-table, it was not for, this court to issue a faculty to give greater dignity and honour to the holy fable than the simple dignity pre- scribed by the law. He should, therefore, refuse the application for a faculty, and grant Mr. Bowron his costs. As he had decided the question on the legal ground, it was not neces- sary to go into the question of discretion. 16. — The surreuder of the Virginius and the surviving prisoners to American officers at Bahia Honda. — Disastrous storm at Sheffield, a lofty tower in Trippet-lane falling through a portion of the works with which it was connected, and burying about a score of workmen in its ruins. A high chimney in Milton Street was also blown down, and in other parts of the town various workshops were unroofed. — A Committee of Ministers of the Church of Scotland, concerned at the insufficient number of qualified probationers presently available, issue a circular announcing an in- tention to adopt energetic means for main- taining her efficiency. "They contemplate aiding and encouraging, by pecuniary grants, young men of ability and character, who desire to study for the ministry. They consider it of vital importance that every 'such student should, throughout his university curriculum, be a regular worshipper in some particular congre- gation, from the minister, elders, and members of which he should experience friendship and attention. With a view to all this (writes the Secretary), I have to beg that you will kindly inform me, on or before the 8th proximo, whether you know of any youth in your parish or congregation who is inclined to become a minister, and whom you believe to be fitted for the office' by his talents and dispositions." 18. — The Tichborne case adjourned onjthis the 145th day of trial until after Christmas. — The first stone of the National Training School for Music laid by the Duke of Edin. burgh at South Kensington. — Sir James Colquhoun, Bart., of Luss, with two of his gamekeepers and a boy, drowned in Lochlomond when returning to his mansion at Rossdhu, after a day's shooting with his brother on Inchloanig. — A paper in London Society forming one of a series known as "The Chesterfield Letters of 1873," being considered injurious to the "31 character of Colonel Charles White, Lord Desairt acknowledges responsibility by signing a document denying that Colonel White or his family were referred to in the article. ' ' Had it been so, I freely admit that that article would have been defamatoiy, unwarranted, unwarran- table, blackguard, infamous, and utterly un- worthy of a gentleman's pen. I hope that Colonel White will give the utmost publicity to this statement." 19 — The Governing Body of Rugby School resolve to remove Dr. Hayman from the Head Mastership. 20. — The Civil Marriages Bill read a second time in the Prussian Lower House. — Eight men drowned in the Thames at West Moulsey, by the sinking of a boat en- gaged to convey them across the river from the works of the Lambeth Water Company. 21. — Died, at Lambeth, aged 89, Major George Rawlihson, who had obtained an en- sign's commission in 1805, and been on the half-pay list since 1816. 22. — Announcement made of the creation of four new peers— Mr. Monsell, Lord Emly, of Tervpe>,in the county of Limerick ; Sir James Welwood Moncrelff, Lord Moncreiff, of Tullie- bole, : Kinross-shire ; Admiral the Hon. Edward George Granville Howard, heir presumptive to the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Lamerton, of Lamer- ton, in the county of Cumberland; and Sir John Duke Coleridge, Baron Coleridge, of Ottery St. Mary. — Died, at Dublin, aged 77, Lord Chief Baron Pigott. — The Pope holds a Consistory, at which he creates twelve new Cardinals. — The Attorney-General for the United States pronounces an opinion that the Virginius was not entitled to carry the American flag, her papers having been obtained by perjury. The American Government accepted the conse- quences in accordance with the stipulations of the protocol upon the subject signed by Spain and the United States. ' — A jury in the Court of Exchequer gives a verdict carrying 350/. damages against the pro prietor of-the Gloucester Mercury, for publishing a libel against Mr. Edmunds, solicitor, Newenty charged last year with the murder of his wife, and, as appeared to the Lord Chief Baron, the victim of a species of persecution under cir- cumstances which, but that they appeared in evidence, he should have thought impossible to have existed in this country. 23. — Archbishop Manning reads a paper before a Society known as the " Academia of the Catholic Religion," on Csesarism and Ultra- montanism, to prove that the antagonist of the Church has always been Caesarism, or the supremacy of the civil over the spiritual. " If the Church," said the Archbishop, "be Anti- christ, every Ca:sar from Nero to this day L DECEMBER l3 74 . JANUARY justified. If it be Christ, it is the Supreme Power among men ; that is to say : (1) it holds its commission and authority from God ; (2) it holds in custody the faith and the law of Jesus Christ ; (3) it is the sole interpreter of that faith and the sole expositor of that law. It has within the sphere of that commission a power to legislate with authority ; to bind the con- sciences of all men born again in the baptism of Jesus Christ ; it alone can fix the limits of the faith and law entrusted to it, and there- fore the sphere of its own jurisdiction ; it alone can decide in questions where its power is in contact with the civil power — that is, in mixed questions ; for it alone can determine how far its own Divine office, or its own Divine trust, enler into and are implicated in such questions ; and it is precisely that element in any mixed question of disputed jurisdiction which belongs to a higher order and to a higher tribunal." 24-. — The Supreme Court of the Brazilian Empire finds the Bishop of Pernambuco guilty of attempting to set aside an Article of the Constitution, an offence punishable by im- prisonment, and orders him to surrender to the court to receive judgment. — Charles Edward Butt, a young farmer I ving at Arlington, sentenced to death at Gloucester Assizes for shooting a young woman named Phipps, whpm he had courted for some time, and who appeared to have aroused his jealousy by attentions shown to other young men at. Longney Feast. — Died suddenly, aged 47, Dr. F. C. Webb, editor of the Medical Times and Gazette. 26. — Twenty men drowned in the Tyne, through the sinking of the steam-tug Gipsy Queen, after striking upon the wreck of a sunken lighter near Northumberland Dock. — The. liberated vessel Virginius founders in a gale off Cape Fear. 27. — Naval Brigade, 200 strong, land on the Gold Coast and proceed to Prahsu. Sir Garnet Wolseley and his staff proceed to the front. — Mr. Caleb Cushing appointed American Minister to Spain in succession to General Sickles. 28. — Popular demonstration in Paris, at the funeral of M. Francois Victor Hugo, son of Victor Hugo. — New Bourse at Brussels opened with a ball attended by the royal household and mem- bers of the diplomatic ciicle. 30. — A Berlin telegram to the Times re- ports that the Chapter of the Civil Class of the Prussian Royal Order "For Merit" has been presented to Mr. Thomas Carlyle, the vacancy ha\ ing been created by the death of Alesandro Manzoni. ■— The Duke of Edinburgh leaves London or St. Petersburg. 1 132 31. — Treaty between Russia and Bokhara published at St. Petersburg. One Article pro- vided for Russian merchants having the right to construct harbours on the banks of the Amou Daria, in the territory of Bokhara, the Govern- ment of Bokhara to be responsible for the security of such harbours, and the sites chosen for them to be approved by the Russian autho- rities ; another that Russian merchants shall be permitted to establish factories and commercial agencies in any part of Bokhara, and the mer- chants of the latter shall be entitled to possess such establishments in Turkestan territory. Both Governments engaged to consider all commercial treaties as sacred, and faithfully to fulfil them. — The French National Assembly, after voting 8o,ooo,ooof. new taxes, adjourns for the recess. — Telegram received from Hong Kong, announcing that the Portuguese Government had abolished the Macao coolie trade. 1874. January 1. — Died, aged 53, David Morier Evans, journalist, for over thirty years con- nected with the City department of the Times and Standard newspapers. 2. — Parliament of Portugal opened by the King, who thanked the British and German Governments for the supply of arms furnished to his country in the course of last year to complete her military armament. — The Spanish Cortes opened with a mes- sage from Senor Castelar, describing the insur- gents at Carthagena as engaged in a criminal insurrection tending to break up the unity of the Fatherland, the marvellous work of so many centuries, "seizing upon one of our strongest places, the best provided of our arse- nals, and our most formidable war vessels, maintaining its accursed flag under the protec- tion of impregnable fortresses, and thereby en- couraging the revival of demagogic passions. The want of troops and resources delays the capture of the place, but, considering the energy and activity of the besiegers and the prostration and penury of the besieged, it must soon fall at the ieet of the Assembly." Papers were promised relating to the Virginius difficulty, settled, it was siid, according to the first principles of international law. 3.— Died, aged 61, William Telbin, scene painter. — A new Revolution in Spain, Senor Cas- telar, twice defeated in the Cortes, being suc- ceeded by a military Dictatorship. Castelar thereupon wrote :— " I protest with all the energy of my soul against the brutal act of violence committed against the Constitutional Cortes by the Captain-General of Madrid. My conscience will not permit me to associate my- JANUARY I8 74 . JANUAR Y self with demagogues ; but, on the other hand, my conscience and my honour keep me aloof from the state of things which has just been created by the force of bayonets." 5. — Dawson, Gough, and Thompson exe- cuted at Durham. 6. — The Conservatives gain a seat at Stroud, the poll showing 2,817 f° r Dorrington, against 2,426 for Havelock, Liberal. — The Duke of Cambridge assaulted in Pall Mall by a retired captain named Maunsell, whose mind had become affected through what he considered a denial of justice by officials at the Horse Guards. 7. — Addressing his constituents at Elgin, Mr. Grant Duff expresses an opinion that for a Conservative Cabinet to be possible not as a mere stop-gap, but to live with its own life, he held "that not one or two men like Lord Derby are necessary, but half a dozen, and I do not see the men, nor any of them, an asser- tion which I make without forgetting the merits of politicians like Mr. Cave or Sir Charles Adderley." After some remarks on Mr. Dis- raeli's speech at Glasgow, Mr. Grant Duff dis- cussed the possibility of a middle party in English politics, and contended that there were not men enough to form such a party. Just at present he did not think the country wanted a coalition, much less a Conservative Govern- ment. — Died, aged 69, Henry Glassford Bell, Sheriff of Lanarkshire, and author of a volume of graceful verses. Sheriff Bell's illness gave rise to a disagreeable controversy regarding a somewhat brusque request made to him by the Home Secretary to resign, which was thought to have even damaged the closing days of the Liberal Ministry. — The Glasgow Presbytery appoint a com- mittee to inquire into the relations in which that body stood to Principal Caird, preparatory to dealing with him on a charge of heresy on the subject of responsi ility for belief. — The Prussian Judicial Tribunal for the trial of ecclesiastical causes sit for the first time, the case for decision being the complaint of a chaplain who had been removed from his office by the Bishop of Paderborn. The court de- cided that the act of the bishop was null and void. — Explosion in Carthagena of a powder magazine, fired by the besieging batteries. 8. — President MacMahon delivers the Car- dinals' hats to the new Cardinals in the chapel of the Palace of Versailles. The recipients were Monsignor Chigi, Papal Nuncio, and the Archbishops of Paris and Cambrai. "The Pope," said the Marshal, "knows our filial attachment and our admiration at the manner in which he supports his trials. His sympathy did not fail us in our misfortunes, and his good wishes are with us now in the work of pacific regeneration which my Government pursues." I '33 9. — The Prince rf Wales unveils the statue of his father the Prince Consort, set up at Holborn Circus by a private person and pre- sented to the Corporation of the City. — Died, aged 51, George Colwall Oke, chief clerk at the Mansion House police court, and author of various legal works. IO. — The Prince and Princess of Wales, with Prince Arthur and a numerous suite, leave London for St. Petersburg to attend the mar- riage cf the Duke of Edinburgh. ■ — The Bishop of Troyes having, forbidden the clergy of his dioi ese to celebrate masses for the soul of the EmperorNapoleon, the Empress writes that she can hardly believe it, "because the Church has never refused a prayer for the dead. Tbe spirit of charity and brotherly love form one long chain which binds us the one to the other — the rich or the poor, those in prosperity or those in adveisity, the'living and the dead ! No, it is impossible that you can have refused a prayer for him who founded the institution of almoners for saying the prayers after death. No, it is impossible, when-you protest against those civil burials which deprive a Christian of the prayers of the Church, that you can have refused those same prayeis when asked for. Moreover, it is impossible that you can have forgotten the' oath which you took 1 in the pre- sence of him who is no more. " 11. — Carthagena' surrenders to' the troops of the Madrid Government. The town had suffered severely, though not so much as was supposed, except near the Madrid Gate, where the damage was very great. There scarcely one house escaped untouched, and some were riddled with shell; two houses had been thrown down, and the street pavement ploughed up. Immense damage was found 10 have been done by the recent explosion of the powder maga- zine, where over 200 persons were said to have been killed. The walls near the Madrid Gate suffered much, but there was nothing ap- proaching to a breach. The Numencia, with the insurgent Junta on board, escaped to Oran, and surrendered to French authorities. 12. — Three convicts, Butt, Bailey, and Barry, executed within the precincts of Glou- cester gaol. — A vote of confidence in Ministers carried in the French Assembly by a majority of 58 in a house of 700 members. 13. — Mr. Justice Grove, the judge appointed to inquire into the petition against the return of Sir Henry James, Attorney-General, opens proceedings in the Nisi Prius Court of Taunton Shire-hall. 14. — Iwokura, the second President of the Japanese Council of State, attacked in Yeddo and slightly wounded. Dr. Kenealy concludes his speech in de- fence of the Tichborne Claimant, having spoken twenty-four days. Mr. Hawkins commenced; JANUARY 1874. JANUARY his reply next day, and in the afternoon, when proceeding homeward, narrowly escaped from the attentions of an excited mob pretending sympathy with the Claimant. 14. — The French Assembly express ap- proval of the Government bill relative to the nomination of mayors. — The Rev. George Richardson Mack- arness elected Bishop of Argyll by an absolute majority in both Chambers. The candidature of Provost Cazenove was withdrawn. 15. — The Baroness Burdett-Coutts presented with the freedom of the city of Edinburgh, "in recognition of her ladyship's devoted zeal and patriotism in the promotion and munificent ' ^ppport of useful and charitable institutions, and also in consideration of her ladyship's association with Edinburgh as the honoured descendant of one of its chief magistrates." 1 6. — The allegations against Prince Bismarck in a book recently issued by General Delia Mar- mora, lead to a scene in the Prussian Lower House. In (he course of a debate on educa- tion, Herr von Malinckrodt declared that the Ultramontanes were as faithful patriots as Prince Bismarck, and he asked, amid con- siderable uproar, " Were they present at the conference between Prince Bismarck and M. Govone when a cession of territory on the left bank of the Rhine was discussed?" adding, " I myself was not present, but I met with this statement of the interview in a reliable quarter. " After a reply from Herr Kleoppel, the motion was allowed to drop, and the debate on the Civil Marriage Bill resumed. Prince Bis- marck shortly afterwards entered the House, and obtained leave to speak on a matter of privilege. He characterized the statement of Herr von Malinckrodt as an audacious and lying invention, made in a malignant and calumniatory manner. The Imperial Chan- cellor added : — " I never uttered a syllable of the sort. I have never spoken of ceding a village or a meadow of German territory. The whole accusation is throughout an audaciously invented falsehood concocted to blacken my character. (Loud cheers. ) I ask for no special consideration from my opponents, but I am entitled to ask that they shall behave more decently in the sight of fo.eign countries and our own Sovereign." Later in the discussion Prince Bismarck said : — " It is remarkable that Herr Malinckrodt attaches greater value to the • testimony of a foreigner than to mine. It would require a man's lifetime to contradict all that my enemies write against me. I may safely say, and I am proud to be able to say it, that I am the most strongly and the best hated man of any country in Europe Has not Herr Malinckrodt sought to keep you and the country in the belief that Delia Marmora's book tells the truth? I do not wish to convince him, but I ask you, could I not have obtained the most immense, results if I had been willing to cede a portion of German territory to France ? "34 Did I do so? You have no right to ask the leader of the Government to justify himself against calumny in the open tribune. That is a proceeding to characterize which no parlia- mentary expression can be found. The public press will, no doubt, find one to supply the deficiency." 16. — Died, at Bonn, Dr. Max Schultze, anatomist. 17. — Narrow escape of the De Broglie Government on the Nomination of Mayors Bill: An amendment by M. Ducarre, or the Left, enacting that the mayors should not be selected except from the members of the muni- cipal councils, was lost by only fourteen votes, the numbers being 343 and 329. A subsequent amendment, proposed by M. Feray, of the Left Centre, that the mayors should be selected from the municipal councils in communes having a population of less than 3,000, was rejected by 341 against 336, showing a majority for the Government of five only. — The German Emperor writes to the Old Catholic Bishop, Dr. Reinkens :— " I thank you for the hearty congratulations which you have offered to me on the occasion of the renewing of the year. May God's blessing advance the work begun by you in His name, also in the new year. May continually widen- ing circles be penetrated by the unquestionably right conviction, shared by you, that in ray States respect for the law is reconcilable with the exercise of the religion of every community which pursues no worldly purposes, but only the one purpose — to seek man's peace with God." 18. — Died, aged 78, James Matthew Cope, for over fifty years connected with the London press. — Died, in North Carolina, aged 63, the Siamese twins; Chang and Eng. 19. — The Swedish Parliament opened by the King in person. — Died, Dr. George E. Biber, for many years incumbent of Roehampton, and a prolific controversialist. — The Corporation of Brighton entertain Sit Samuel Baker at a banquet in the hall of the Royal Pavilion. Addressing the assembly after dinner, Sir Samuel said there was now a fair prospect for the development of the country of the White Nile, but the future would of course depend upon the energy and intelligence of the Governor, who should be perfectly un- fettered by Egypt, and should be furnished with supreme power. He much feared that the Viceroy was rather too impatient for quick returns from his new territories ; but as he had now intrusted his (Sir Samuel's) late command to an English officer of high reputation Colonel Gordon— he felt sure all would be done that was possible with the means fur- nished by the Viceroy. The good work had been begun and must be continued by English- JANUARY 1874. JANUARY men. Should that element be withdrawn, the slave trade would reappear like a cancer that has been vainly extirpated. 19. — Apologising for his inability through ill health to attend the meeting in St. James's Hall, called to express sympathy with the Emperor of Germany, in his conflict with the Pope, Earl Russell writes: — "The very same principles which bound me to ask for equal freedom for the Roman Catholic, the Pro- testant Dissenter, and the Jew, bind me to protest against a conspiracy which aims at confining the German Empire in chains never, it is hoped, to be shaken off. I hasten to declare, with all friends of freedom, and, I trust, with the great majority of the English nation, that I could no longer call myself a lover of civil and religious liberty were I not to proclaim my sympathy with the Emperor of Germany in the noble struggle in which he is engaged. We have nothing to do with the details of the German laws ; they may be just, they may be harsh ; we can only leave it to the German people to decide for themselves, as we have decided for ourselves. At all events, we are able to see that the cause of the German Emperor is the cause of liberty, and the cause of the Pope is the cause of slavery." — Circular, signed by Mr. Disraeli, sent to the Conservative members of the House, in- timating that "Her Majesty having' been pleased to direct that Parliament should re- assemble on the 5th of February, I trust that you may find it convenient to be in your place on that day." — The French Government suspend the Univers two months for publishing in its last number a pastoral letter from the Bishop of Perigueux, and for the publication of certain leading articles commenting upon the recent circular of the Minister of Public Worship to the French bishops. — Died of fever in the camp at Prahsu, Captain Huyshe of the Rifle Brigade, a volun- teer for service in the field against the Ashan- tees. 21. — Replying to a deputation in favour of conceding household suffrage to cpunties, Mr. Gladstone said the question should not be lightly taken up by any Government, and should be undertaken only when a Government is determined and reasonably believes it can carry it to a successful and satisfactory | result. Mr. Gladstone concluded by saying he should be glad when the period was reached to give effect to those views which he had from time to time expressed, impressed as he was with the conscientious opinion that the object sought for by the deputation would form an additional strength to the throne and to the laws, and add to the general happiness of the country. — Manifesto issued by the Nonconformist Liberation Society, insisting that testing-ques- tions be applied to candidates for Parliament regarding Religious Equality, the Education Act, and Disestablishment. 21. — A body of Chinese labourers employed on the Costa Rica railway works, resisting an attempt made to force them to work during a fog, are fired upon by the military at night, and six killed. 22. — In the course of the inquiry regarding the Claimant's witness Luie at Bow Street to- day, a certificate signed by Mr. Whalley and Mr. Onslow is read, certifying on their part ' ' and on the part of all who have known J ean Luie in relation to the Tichborne case, that he has shown himself to be a man of thorough honesty and great intelligence, and that he has borne himself through all his life as a man entitled to confidence and respect. He has been exposed to great difficulties, harassment, and temptation through this affair, and has remained staunch and true, and rendered very great service to Sir Roger Tichborne." 23.— Married, at the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna. The Orthodox ceremony was performed by Greek ecclesiastics, and the Anglican by Dean Stanley. — The first division of the Court of Session sit in the case of Padwick v. Stewart, an action raised to test the validity of the entail executed over the estates of Murthly and Grandtully. In 1871 an agreement was entered into between Mr. Padwick and Sir William Stewart, who was then proprietor of Murthly, to sell the estates at Sir William's death to Mr. Padwick for the sum of 350,000/, Sir William died in April 1871, and Mr. Padwick brought this action to have it found that the agreement for the sale of the estates was an effectual one. Sir Archibald Douglas, Sir William's brother, who was the next heir of entail, maintained that the entail of the estates was a valid one, and barred any sale. The court decided against Mr. Padwick. — Mr. Albert Grant intimates to the Metro- politanBoard of Workshisintentionof presenting Leicester Square as a place of public recreation. "I further," he wrote, " intend to erect at the four comers granite pedestals, on which busts in marble of a suitable size will be placed of the following celebrated men, all known to have been locally connected with the traditions of Leicester Square :— These will be Hogarth and Sir Joshua Reynolds, both of whom lived and died in houses in the square; Dr. Samuel Johnson; the friend and constant visitor of Sir Joshua Reynolds; and Sir Isaac Newton, who lived in Leicester Place adjoining the square for many years after he became President of the Royal Society ; men who, it will be admitted, are worthy of being illustrated by the sculptor s art, but who have not, that I am aware of, yet received anv recognition of their greatness in that form in' anv public open space m London. JANUAR Y 1874. JANUARY 24. — To the surprise of all except a few familiar with the determination come to at a Cabinet meeting held yesterday, Mr. Gladstone announces the dissolution of Parliament in a long address to the electors of Greenwich. "Thit authority," he said, "which was in 1868 amply confided by the nation to the Liberal party and its leaders, if it has now sunk below the point necessary for the due defence and prosecution of the public interests, qan in no way be so legitimately and effectually restored as by an appeal to the people, who, by their reply to such an appeal, may place beyond all challenge two great questions — the first, what they think of the manner. in which the commission granted in 1868 has been (exe- cuted ; the second, what further commission they now think fit to give to their representa- tives, and to what hands its fulfilment and the administration of the Government are to be entrusted." On the Education Act, Mr. Glad- stone did not doubt with regard to. ", one or . two points, calculated to create an amount of uneasiness out of proportion to their real im- portance or difficulty," that "the wisdom of. the renovated legislature will discover the means of their accommodation." Expressing his satisfaction at the rise of wages in the agricultural districts, which he regarded as. "a new guarantee for the stability of the throne and institutions of the country," Mr. Gladstone passed to the consideration of the county fran- chise. " I have never concealed my opinion that those institutions will be further strength- ened by granting to the counties generally that extended franchise which has 'been conceded with general satisfaction to the towns, and to the populations of a number of rural districts with a central village, which may perhaps be called peasant-boroughs:" In estimating the revenue for the current year, the Prime Minister did not fear to anticipate as the probable balance a surplus exceeding rather than falling short of 5,000,000/. ; and, with this sum in hand, he suggested the possibility of .abolishing -the in- come-tax. The proceeds of that tax, he said, for the present year, " are expected to be be- tween 5,000,000/. and 6,000,000/., and at a sacrifice for the financial year of something less than 4,500,000/., the country may enjoy the advantage and relief of its total repeal. I do not hesitate to affirm that an effort should now be made to attain this advantage, nor to declare that, according to my judgment, it is in present circumstances practicable." — Since the general election in 1868 the party losses and gains had been — Liberal seats lost 32, Conservative seats lost 9. The Liberal majority was thought to have fallen from 116 to about 70. — News from A'tchin announce the capttrre of Kraton by the Dutch, after a "successful attack on its western side. When eHteretJ, the place was found to be abandoned. This result was considered as deciding the war against the Atchinese. 1 136 24.— Died, aged 90, Adam Black, publisher, Edinburgh, for which city he sat in Parliament from 1856 to 1865. 26. — Mr. Disraeli issues his address to the electors of Buckinghamshire. He did not think it necessary at present to consider whether Mr. Gladstone has advised the Queen to dissolve Parliament as a means of avoiding the humbling confession that he has, in a fresh violation of constitutional law, persisted in retaining for several months a seat to which he was no longer entitled, or to postpone or evade the day of reckoning for a war carried on with- out communication with Parliament, and the expenditure for which Parliament has not sanctioned. It is sufficient to point out that if under any circumstances the course — altogether unprecedented — of calling together Parliament by-special summons for the dispatch of business, and then dissolving it before its meeting, could be justified, there is in the present case no •reason whatever suggested why this was not done six weeks ago, and why the period of the year usually devoted to business before Easter, which must now be wasted, should not thus have been saved. The right hon. gcutleman found in Mr. Gladstone's "prolix narrative," nothing definite -as to the policy he would pursue except this — that, having the prospect of a large surplus, he will, if retained in power, devote that surplus to the remission of tax- ation, which would be the course of any party pr any Ministry. " If returned to Parliament, I shall, whether, in or out of office, continue the endeavour, to propose or support all measures calculated to improve the condition, of the people of this kingdom. But I do not think thjs great end is advanced by incessant and harassing legislation. The English people are governed by their customs as much as by their laws, and there is nothing they more dislike than unnecessary restraint and meddling inter- ference in their affairs. Generally speaking, I should siy of the Administration of the last five years that it would have been better for us a-llif-there had beanalittle more energy in our foreign policy and a little less in our domestic legislation. . . . By an act of folly or of ignorance rarely equalled, the present Ministry relinquished a treaty which secured us the freedom of the Straits of Malacca for our trade with Chifia and Japan, and they at the same tinie entering .on the West Coast of Africa, into those 'equivocal and entangling engage- ments' which the Prime Minister now depre- cates, involved us in the Ashantee war. The Conservative-party (he said) viewed the county franchise question without prejudice. They have.prpved that they are not afraid of popular rights. But the late Reform Act was a large measure, which, in conjunction with the Ballot, has scarcely been tested by experience, and they will hesitate before they sanction further legislation, which will inevitably involve, among other considerable changes, the disfranchise- ment of at least all boroughs in the kingdom comprising less than 40,000 inhabitants. JANUARY 1874. JANUARY Writing of the proposed disestablishment of the Church and divorcing religion from the work of education, as solemn issues which the impending election must decide, "their solu- tion (he went on) must be arrived at when Europe is more deeply stirred than at any period since the Reformation, and when the cause of civil liberty and religious freedom mainly depends upon the strength and stability of England. I ask you to return me to the House of Commons to resist every proposal which may impair that strength, and to support hy every means her imperial sway. " 36. — Proclamation issued for the dissolution of Parliament, writs for new elections to be returnable, 5th March. — Grand parade of troops at St. Petersburg in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales. — Announcement made of the death of Dr. Livingstone, while journeying in the direc- tion of Unyanyemba. He was born at Blantyre, near Glasgow, in 1817. — Mr. Disraeli, writes Mr. Lowe to his constituents, tells us -that he does not think -the condition of the United Kingdom is im- proved by incessant and harassing legislation. "This means that it is best not to legislate at all, or, if you do legislate, to take care to offend no one. Compare the state of England with her state forty years ago. To what do we owe the change? To laws which harassed the owners of boroughs, the corrupt corpora- tions, the protected trades and industries, and the universities — in short, all persons and institutkns which held privileges adverse to the general welfare. The man who prefers custom to law announces a. principle which would stereotype every abuse, and substitute the blind guesses of barbarism for the clear and well-considered conclusions of a civilized age." Mr. Lowe puts his trust in a university " which is itself a product of harassing legis- lation," and concluded with the remark, "The night comes upon all, but we will not draw the curtain while it is yet day. " — In the matter of the Taunton election petition, Mr. Justice Grove decides that the Attorney-General was duly elected, and that the cost of proceedings must be paid by petitioners. — Fire at the British Embassy, Lisbon, Sir Charles and Lady Murray making a narrow escape from suffocation. 27. — Meeting in St. James's Hall to express sympathy with the German Emperor in his struggle with the Pope. Sir John Murray, Bart, (of Philiphaugh), presided, and the speakers were the Dean of Canterbury, Sir Robert Peel, Bart., Sir Thomas Chambers, Q.C., the Rev. Dr. Jobson (an ex-president of the Wesleyan Conference), Mr. Newdegite, Mr. J. Lowry Whittle, Colonel Macdonald., and Dr. Joseph P. Thompson, an American clergyman A letter had been received from the Archbishop of York stat : ng that while he declined to commit himself to the objects of the meeting, no one was more opposed to Ultramontanism than himself. A similar letter was received from the Archbishop of Canter- bury. 27. — Accident at Manuel Junction on the North British line, the 6.35 London express from Edinburgh to Glasgow running into a mineral train shunting there, and killingfourteen passengers. The engine driver was wounded, and the stoker and another man killed. The collision was disastrous in the extreme, the carriages of tl e passenger train being piled up to a great height above the. engine, and many of the. passengers killed on the spot. A large number were injured, while others escaped almost miraculously, though buried in the debris. A staff of doctors and assistants was procured from Edinburgh. — Nonconformist manifesto issued describing Mr. Gladstone's views on religious equality as vague and unsatisfactory. The Committee urged on the metropolitan constituencies the propriety of eliciting from candidates a promise to support those alterations in the Education Act, which, in the judgment of this Committee, are necessary — viz. the abolition of the 25th clause, the universal establishment of school boards, with a board school in earn district, and compulsory attendance. " It is also de- sirable that the opinions of candidates should be ascertained on questions of religious equality. They recommend that, should the answers not be satisfactory, the advisability of securing candidates favourable to the principles of this Committee be carefully considered, and that the suddenness of the demand which has been made on the electors should not be allowed to interfere with the performance of this important and paramount duty." Another appeal to electors proceeded at this time from the Labour Representation League, asking working-class voters to vote for labour-candidates, " that you may practically assert the principle of direct labour representation. We ask you also to vote for labour candidates that you may remove from yourselves the degrading stigma of class exclusion." 28. — Marshal Gablenz, formerly Austrian commander in the Sleswick-Holstein war com- mits suicide at Zurich. — Mr. Gladstone addresses his Greenwich constituents at Blackheath. A large number gathered to welcome him, although the day was somewhat unfavourable. He defended the home and foreign policy of his government against the criticism of Mr. Disraeli, and under- took to show that the Dutch treaty regarding -the Straits of Malacca had been carried through when that statesman was in office in 1858. On the subject of finance the Prime Minister was careful to have it understood that by repeal of the income-tax he meant its total and absolute repeal. His statement was received with loud "37 JANUARY I8 74 . JANUARY and long-continued cheering. Any. attempt ; (he said) to tamper with this or that schedule ' of the income-tax I am convinced would fail, and would likewise impair the general stability and credit of the finances of the cpuntry. Mr. Gladstone concluded by declaring — "I will not lead one section of the Liberal party — in what I think an unnatural and fratricidal war against some other section of it. I have too much respect for them all to enter upon such a course, and I am perfectly persuaded that there is plenty of work to be done upon which you are united and agreed, and for the doing of which you will give effect to your union of sentiment at this dissolution by a corresponding union of votes. If you do that — if again you march to the poll with one heart and with one soul, as you have done upon former occasions, in view of continued application and of further triumph of those principles to which you have so long and so energetically and so successfully been . devoted — then I say with.the utmost confidence "that, in spite of Conservative reaction, and in spite of the seductions o£ foreign, policy' — aye, and in spite of the Straits of Malacca — once more, and not for the last time, victory will crown your cause." 29.— The Lord Chief Justice commences ' his summing up to the Jury on the Tichbome case, on this the 169th day of trial. — First members returned to the new Parlia- ment, the elections in Cirencester, Harwich and Marlborough being made without opposition. Numerous nominations take place on this' and following day. 30. — Died aged 92, Admiral Thomas Gill, who entered the navy in 1794, and Was present at the capture of Port-au-Prince, St. Domingo. 31. — Election speeches made by Mr. Glad- stone at Woolwich, Mr. Disraeli at Aylesbury, and Mr. Bright at Birmingham. In explanation of his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer the Prime Minister said, when he found that a ■ question was raised as to his vacation of the •seat, he obtained the best legal advice he could, and the present Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the Lord Chancellor, and the law officers of the Crown, had all advised him that he ought not to certify that his seat was vacant. He therefore reserved the question for the decision of the House of Cbmmons. Mr. • Gladstone afterwards urged upon the Liberal party the necessity for united action, and cautioned them to be moderate in their views, and not to strive after things which were, for the present at least, unattainable.— Mr. Disraeli amused his hearers by describing the Prime Minister's reason for dissolving — " as far as his meaning could be gathered from a document of remarkable length — that it was because the Government only enjoyed a majority of 66. Now, if the Conservative Government enjoyed a majority of 66 he be- iievedjt would be able to carry on the business 01 the> country with satisfaction and benefit to the nation. He compared the position of the 1138 cpuntry to that of a sick patient who really suffered nothing except from the nerves. Her Majesty's Government were evidently a nervous Ministry, for," in the midst of apparent prosperity and with a lafge^majority in Parliament, they suddenly dissolved it." Concerning recent domestic legislation Mr. Disraeli reiterated his opinion that, for the last five years the policy of the Government had been to make every- body uncomfortable. Turning to foreign affairs, he urged that the consequences of inattention to thes£ matters were costly wars, ignominious treaties, and sham arbitrations got up as a cloak in order to pay hush-money for blunders or insults committed. With regard tothe Crimean war, he said — If we had declared that the moment the Russians crossed the Pruth hosti- lities would be declared, no war would ever have taken place ; and if the country were indebted to any one more than another for the costly result of this indecision it was to Mr. Gladstone, the then Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. Mr. Gladstone evidently forgot now that foreign affairs were simply the affairs of this country, in foreign parts ; and, seeing that his policy had entailed on this country such an immense loss of treasure, it was the height of folly for him to pride himself on. cutting down the dockyard establishments and paring the income of- a few hard- worked clerks. • Touching upon the Abyssinian war, he justified the con- duct of the Conservatives Xor undertaking that war, and said that the cost exceeded the original estimate because it was found- absolutely essen- tial to conclude it at once without involving a second campaign. .The appointment of Lord Napier of Magdala to the command of the army in Abyssinia was ridiculed by the Liberals because he was only an engineer officer, but so, indeed, was the appointment of Lord Mayo as Viceroy of India, the present Government going so far as to advise her Majesty to recall that noble lord from his post. — Mr. Bright re- marked, " They say that we — that is the Liberal party — have disturbed classes and interests un- necessarily, that we have harassed almost all sorts of people, and have made ourselves very unpopular thereby. Why, if they had been in the wilderness, no doubt they would have condemned the ten commandments as a harass- ing piece of legislation. " He pleaded guilty to the charge that they had disturbed a good many classes and a good many interests, and in doing so he offered as the justification the fact that in no single case had they injured a class or interest, and in every case they had greatly. benefited the country. , - — Died at Pau, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, the Right Hon. Duncan McNeill, Lord Colonsay, aged 80 years. — Sir John Byles takes his seat as a member of the Judicial Committee. ,. — 1 Engagement at Amoaful between the , troops . under Sir Garnet Wolseley and the Ashantees. The latter fought despemtely and FEBRUARY I8 74 . FEBRUARY suffered severely. The casualties on the British side were — Royal Engineers, Captain Huckle, killed ; Major Home, wounded in two places ; Lieutenant Hare, wounded in two places; two Sappers and thirty six labourers killed. The Naval Brigade, 145 strong, had three officers wounded — namely, Captain Grubbe, Lieutenant Mundy, and Lieutenant Rawson, and twenty-six men killed and wounded. The 23rd, about ninety strong, had one officer and five men wounded. The 42nd lost nine officers and 105 men in killed and wounded, including Major Macpherson wounded in two places. One bullet passed through his leg, but he led his men the whole way. Major Baird was badly wounded in both legs and in the chest, and carried to the rear unable to . move, where he afterwards fell a victim to the fury of the natives. Operations com- menced at 6 a.m. and continued with little intermission in the fighting till 3 p.m. The 42nd Regiment led the advance, and stormed the village of Amoaful. The Rifle Brigade, the Naval Brigade, and a company of the 23rd Regiment, with Wood's and Russell's native regiments, were all hotly engaged throughout ihe day. The Ashantees also besieged, with- out success, the village of Quarman, which had been occupied as a post; and attacked a convoy between Insarfu and Quarman. February 1. — The Rev. Charles Walde- grave Sandford consecrated Bishop of Gibraltar, in the Cathedral at Christ Church, Oxford. 2. — Mr. Gladstone delivers a third address to the Greenwich electors at New Cross. — Calcutta telegrams convey the welcome news that rain had at last begun to fall in various parts of Bengal. The maximum at Rungpore was reported to be three inches. — Died, aged 85, Admiral Thomas Wren Carter, who had entered the navy when only eleven years of age, and been present at the battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in the Wal- cheren expedition, and at Flushing. — Correspondence between the Duke of Argyll and Mr. Disraeli regarding an expression used by the latter, that the Liberal party had advised her Majesty to recall Lord Mayo from Irs post. "Perhaps," wrote his gracq, "you will allow me to ask you upon what authority or information you have gone in expressing this belief? and to inform you that it is altogether unfounded in fact." Mr. Disraeli replied that his authority was " a communication from Lord Mayq, himself appealing to me to make some demonstration in the House of Commons, if possible, to prevent it. I consulted my friends at the time accordingly. I accept unequivocally your denial of the statement, but my own im- pression is that Lord Mayo died with the con- viction that the step in question was contem- plated by the Ministry. " The Duke closed the correspondence by repeating his remark that no such advice was given to, the Crown, nor was it even " contemplated " by trie Government. 3. — The election returns up to this date show the Conservatives to have gained 29 seats and the Liberals 10. Mr. Gladstone was returned for Greenwich to-day second on 'the pjll, Mr. Boord, Conservative, being at the itop with 6, 193 votes against 5,968 given to the Premier. At Cambridge two new Conservative members, Smollett and Marten, replaced, two Liberals. At Wigan the Conservatives also gained two seats. Considerable disorder prevailed at Shef- field, Peterborough,, Lincoln, and Dudley. Mr. Lowe, returned unopposed for London Univer- sity, again criticized Mr. Disraeli as a most uncomfortable person to have as a governor of the country, , having a harum-scarum, slap- dash, inconsiderate, careless way of dealing with , things, and as possessing a slatternly, inaccurate mind. — In the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Signor Visconti-Venosta, in reply to a question, declined on the part of the Ministry all respon- sibility for the publication of the dispatches printed in General Delia Marmora's book. " The Government disapprove and deplore the publication of these documents, especially as it furnished a pretext for making against a friendly Power accusations which can only be based on a misunderstanding, inasmuch as they fall to the ground' when tested by the evidence of results. " — The election returns of Alsace-Lorraine show large majorities in favour of Ultramontane and French candidates. — Archbishop Ledochowski arrested and conveyed under police escort to Frankfort-on- the-Oder. 4. — Addressing the electors, at Newport Pagnell, Mr. Disraeli said M r - Gladstone ought not to have involved us in entangling engage- ments as he admitted had been done. " If you employ a person in your business as a traveller, or if any of the farmers in this room sent a person to act for him in some distant market to buy stock, we will say in Scotland, and he came back and told you, ' I bought the stock, but I have bought it with equivocal and entangling engagements, ' what would you say ? ' This will never do ; ' and when you began to rate your agent for getting you into equivocal, and entangling engagements, would it be any answer, if he said, ' Oh, I am sorry for this, and it will be a lesson to me in the future ; but I assure you I have been most economical in my personal expenses. I have always, travelled by a second-class train, and as for any refreshments on the road, I have taken the temperance pledge.' Now, gentlemen, that is the economy of which Mr. Gladstone is so proud. " Mr. Lowe was described as an ungrateful , man, who would not likely have been in Parliament but for Mr. Disraeli. " Were it not for me the London University would not have had a member. Everyboay was opposed to it. My colleagues did not much }ike it; the Conservative party did. not 1139 FEBRUARY 1874. FEBRUARY much like it ; but, more strange than anything else, the whole Liberal party were ready to oppose it. But I, with characteristic magna- nimity said to myself, ' Unless I give a member to the London University Mr. Lowe cannot have a seat. 1 It was then impossible for him, and probably still is, to show himself upon any hustings with safety to his life. I said to myself, ' There is so much ability lost to England,' and I pique myself always on up- holding and supporting ability in every party and wherever I meet it ; and I also said to myself, 'One must have an eye to the main chance. If I keep Mr. Lowe in public life — »nd this is his only chance — I make sure that no Cabinet, even if it be brought into power by .« overwhelming majority, can long enfiure and long flourish if he be a member of it ; and, gentlemen, I think what took place perfectly justified my prescience." 5. — News published of the submission of King Koffee, and his consent to pay a ransom of 200,000/. — Died, .aged 83, Captain Tweedie, formerly of the Royal Artillery, and one-of the few sur- vivors, of the Peninsular campaign. — The first session of the newlyelected '.German Reichstag opened by Commission, Prince Bismarck reading the Imperial Speech. "The foreign .relations of the empire," it was said, ' ' strengthen our conviction that all foreign Governments, like our own, are resolved to use their endeavours to preserve the benefits of peace, and will not be diverted from this object or allow their mutual confidence to be affected by any party efforts to disturb peace. The repeated interviews of powerful, peace-loving, and personally intimate monarchs, and the cordial relations of Germany with peoples whose friendship with her is based upon his- torical tradition, render the Emperor firmly confident of the continuance 0? peace .being assured." — The .vacant Jansenist archiepiscopal see of Utrecht filled by the election of Monsignor Cornelius Diependaal. This: appointment was afterwards declined. — The army under Sir Garnet Wolseley enters Coomassie after five days' hard fighting. The killed and wounded among his men were stated to be under 300. In the naval brigade seven officers were wounded, two men killed, and 36 wounded. In a general order issued to the soldiers, seamen, and rharines of the ex- peditionary force, Sir Garnet thanked them in her Majesty's name for their gallantry and good conduct throughout all -the operations. "In the first phase of this war the Ashantee army was driven back from the Fantee country into its own territory. Since then you have penetrated far through a dense forest, defended at many points with the greatest obstinacy. You have repeatedly defeated a very numerous and most courageous enemy, fighing on his own ground, in well selected positions. British pluck 1 140 an'd the discipline common to her Majesty's land and sea forces have enabled you thus to overcome all difficulties and to seize upon the enemy's capital, which now lies at our mercy. All the people, both European and native, Unjustly held captive by the King of Ashantee, are now at liberty, and you have proved to this cruel and barbarous people that England is able to punish her enemies, no matter what their strength in numbers or position. " 7. — The result of the elections up to this date put all doubt about a Conservative success beyond question. The administration of Mr. Gladstone, wrote .the Daily News, was prac- tically at an end, while the Telegraph observed that no one was needed to instruct the Prime Minister as to the course which his duty and dignity prescribed. The Conservatives had now gained 42 seats, and the Liberals only 27. In the city of London 3 Conservatives were returned in room of 3 Liberals, and Mr. Goschen only got in as "minority member." In the Tower Hamlets Mr. Ayrton was thrown out, and a Conservative headed the poll. They also gained 1 seat at Chelsea and Westminster, and 2 at Brighton and Nottingham. At Kil- marnock Mr. Bouverie was thrown out by a more aAvanced Liberal, and Renfrewshire was restored to that party by the unexpected victory of Colonel Mure over Colonel Campbell, who thus was never afforded an opportunity o taking his seat in the House. — " Teh Days' Mission " services commence in London, the first preacher being the Bishop of the Diocese. — Died, aged 96 John Christian Schetky, marine painter, a fellow pupil at Edinburgh High School with Scott, Brougham, and Horner. — Sir Garnet Wolseley forwards a dispatch to the Colonial Office announcing that the main ob- ject of the expedition had been perfectly, secured, and that the troops, now on their homeward march, would embark immediately at Cape Coast Castle for England. " The whole scheme," wrote Sir Garnet, "of Ashantee politics is so based upon treachery that the King does not either understand, 'any other form of negotiation, or believe it possible that others can have honest intentions. Under these circumstances, my Lord, it became clear that a treaty would be as valueless to us as it was difficult to obtain. Nothing remained but to leave such a mark of our power to punish as should deter from future aggression a nation whom treaties do not bind. I had done all I could to avoid the necessity, but it was forced upon me. I gave orders for the destruction of the palace and the burning of the city. I had at one time also contemplated the destruction of the Bantoma, where the sacred ashes of former kings are entombed, but this would have involved a delay of some hours. Very heavy rain had fallen. I feared the streams might have risen in my rear sufficiently lo FEBRUARY 1874. FEBRUAR Y seriously delay my march. I considered it better, therefore, not to risk further the health of the troops, the wet weather having already threatened seriously to affect it. The demoli- tion of the place was complete. From all that T can gather I believe that the result will be such a diminution in the prestige and military power of the Ashantee monarch as may result in the break up of the kingdom altogether." S. — Died, aged 67, Herman Merivale, C.E., Under-Secretary of State for India. 9. — Came on for trial in the Court of Queen's Bench, the case of Poles v. Goodlake, an action for libel against the publisher of the Times, .in which newspaper the plaintiff, a Pole. by birth, had been accused of obtaining by false repre- sentations certain papers from the house of M. Thiers when in the hands of the Commune, and endeavouring thereafter to extort money by threatening to publish the same. Plaintiff ad- mitted in examination that he had along with Mr. Dallas obtained access to the house of M. Thiers, and saved certain writings and bronzes specially desired by the family, but the whole had been faithfully given up to their owners. On the 10th a verdict was returned for the plaintiff with 50/. damages. Died, aged 66, Dr. David Frederick Strauss, chief of the German Rational School, and author of " Leben Jesu:" — Died, aged 76, M. Michelet, Frendi historian. IO. — Election returns show the Liberal gains at 27, and the Conservatives 78. In South Essex 2 seats were won by the latter, in West Glou- cestershire 1, and in Edinburghshire 1. — Addressing his constituents at Bucking- ham, Mr. Disraeli expressed sympathy with the difficulties experienced by Government in miti- gating the distress in India. "There was nothing," he said, "in politics so difficult as for a Government to undertake to feed "a people. Philosophers, indeed, who decide upon all sub- jects upon abstract principles, have.laid it down that, under no circumstances, should sucn an office be undertaken by a Government. It is said that the moment a Government enters the market as a purchaser, with a view of feeding a nation, all private dealers disappear, because it is impossible for private dealers to compete with a purchaser who does not seek a profit. It is said, on the other hand, that if all private dealers retire, the Government has a monopoly, and, being the on!y purchaser, must necessarily obtain very great means; but we must re- member this, that the moment a Government undertakes to feed a people, although the Government may have no competitor in the market, the Government is obliged to give any price for food that is demanded. The Govern- ment has no option the moment it publicly undertakes that duty. Commerce is by no means an affair of gross purchase. It is an affair also of traditionary skill and of esta- blished connection, and the Government that undertakes to feed a people by going into the market merely to purchase will often find that its resources are extremely limited, that with boundless capital it can only obtain, compara- tively speaking, scanty supplies, and that in the distribution of them it will encounter diffi- culties unknown to the private trader." In concluding'his address, Mr. Disraeli asked the electors of Bucks to repose their "confidence in "him for the tenth time. The county of Bucks had always been a political county, and he hoped would maintain its reputation in that respect. Since the accession of the House of Hanover there had been thirty Prime Ministers in England, and five of them had been supplied by the county Of Buckingham. Surely then, he said, there must be something in the air of Buckinghamshire that was favourable to the growth of Prime Ministers. 12. — Despatch received at the Foreign Office making mention of the .rumours at Zanzibar of ; the death of Dr. Livingstone in the interior, and -the removal, of his body in the direction of the ;Coast. — Died, aged 66, Sir Francis Pettit Smith, to whom was generally-conceded the merit of first applying the screw for the propulsion of vessels. — ■ The Sioux Indians again rising against the United States troops, General Sherman instructs the officer in command :— " You will be justified in collecting, the most effective force possible, even if you draw cavalry from Fort Riley b,y rail to Cheyenne, to march to the Red Cloud Agency, striking every party of Indians ■that opppses. Every Indian wno has marauded south of the North Platte should'be demanded and held as accomplices in the murder of Lieu- .tentant Robinson. Their ponies must be very poor now, and the game must be scarce, so the occasion to give the Sioux a lesson long merited seems to me favourable. My own opinion is that the Sioux should never again have an agency away from the Missouri river." 13. — The Emperor of Austria arrives at St. Petersburg on a visit to the Czar. — Treaty of Fommarah entered into with the King of Ashantee, providing for the pay- ment of an indemnity, the renunciation of supe- •riority over certain districts, and the keeping up of a road from CoOmassie to the coait for purposes of trade. The Pantechnicon, in Motcomb Street, Belgrave Square, a large building occupying about two acres of ground, and used as a re- pository for furniture and all kinds of goods, destroyed by "fire, 'together with its valuable cohtents. The 'fire broke out about 4.30 p.m., and spread so rapidly that in a very short time all hope was lost of saving any large portion of the property. The pictures of Sir Richard Wallace, M.P., deposited in the building, were supposed to be worth 150,000/. ; those of Mr. Winn Ellis, 200,000/. ; Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, M.P., 200,000/., many being portraits painted ' 1141 FEBRUARY 1874. FEBRUARY fay Sir Joshua Reynolds. Several well-known valuable paintings by Turner and other masters were among those destroyed. People flocked from all parts of London to the scene of the fire, and at one time it was thought as many as 100,000 were present in the surrounding streets. Touching the origin of the fire, nothing was ever exactly ascertained. All that the pro- prietors knew was that there was a strong smell of burning in the afternoon, traced to a ware- house on the second floor in the northern ex- tremity of the building, where some goods were found to be on fire close to the wall. The foreman and the workpeople, twenty or thirty in number, at once got out their manual engine and tried to extinguish the flames ; but they had difficulty in getting water, and were unable to make any visible effect. With the exception of the offices at the main entrance (uninjured), there was not a gaslight on the premises. The building was, as a rule, closed at dusk, and'the only lights allowed afterwards were safety- lamps carried by the men, and lighted in a room set apart for that purpose alone. There was a water tank of great size on the roof, While there were smaller tanks on the various ■floors, and hose ready for use, and a manual fire-engine all kept on the premises. 14. — Mr. Bouverie writes to his old con- stituents that he had valued their confidence greatly, "and should have been proud to retain it, but I should never have been -willing to purchase it, at the cost of my self-respect, by silence at priestly oppression, by subservience to an unscrupulous local faction, or by stimu- lated approbation in Parliament of acts and methods of administration which, in spite of the prevalence of Liberal opinions, have alien- ated the country, have disorganized the Liberal ",-tarty, and have at last destroyed a once power- ful Government." 15. — The Dutch troops make another suc- cessful attack on the Atchinese, and secure, it was thought, the submission of the district west of the Atchin river. — In the course of a discussion in the German Parliament on the new Military Bill, Field-Marshal von Moltke pointed out how necessary it was for every great State, and. especially for Germany, to have a numerous and powerful army. "What we acquired in the space of six months we shall have to pro- tect by force of arms for half a century. .France is imitating all the German army arrangements. How, then, can we give up what our opponents are adopting? Germany is opposed to any kind of offensive action; it is her duty to act on the defensive." Count von Moltke pro- ceeded to enumerate the measures taken by France for increasing her armament, notwith- standing the fact that the majority of the French people were convinced of the necessity of peace. Me concluded by snying : — " We have become A powerful nation, but we remain a peaceable people. We require an army, but not for pur- 1142 poses of conquest. " The bill was referred to a committee of twenty-eight members. 16.— The result of the elections placing the Government in a hopeless minority, a Cabinet Council was called to-day, and a resolution concurred in to resign at once without waiting for the meeting of Parliament. — Sir Garnet Wolseley writes that King Koffee had sent a thousand ounces of gold to his camp as a first instalment of indemnity with a request for peace. — Dr. Beke reports from the Gulf of Akaba that he has found the true Mount Sinai one day's journey north-east of Akaba. On the summit the traveller found the remains of sacrificed animals, and lower down some Sinaitic inscriptions, which he copied. 17.— Mr.Gladstone waits upon her Majesty at Windsor Castle, and tenders the resignation of himself and colleagues, which her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept. Mr. Disraeli left town soon after eleven o'clock this morning for Windsor Castle, in obedience to the Queen's commands received last evening. The right hon. gentleman arrived at Windsor at noon, and at once proceeded to the Castle. He was much cheered both on his arrival and de- parture. — The London "Mission" closed by a thanksgiving service in St. Paul's. — More favourable news received of a rain- fall over various parts of the starving districts in Bengal. ; — Advices from Havannah announce that a battle lasting seven hours had been fought at Narango, in the central department, between General Bascones, at the head of 3,000 Spanish troops, and 5,000 insurgents under the com- mand of the Marquis Santalucia. The Cuban insurgents were defeated. The Spaniards lost 50 killed and 180 wounded. — Information received by way of Calcutta that the Yarkund mission had been favourably received at Kashgar. 18. — The elections being over, parties were found to be divided thus : — England and Wales, 296 Conservatives, 193 Liberals ; Scotland, 19 Conservatives, 41 Liberals; Ireland, 36 Con- servatives, 68 Liberals (including a double return from Athlone, and counting all Home Rulers as Liberals). Total Conservative majo« rity, 51. In the general contest they had won 98 seats against 38 by the Liberals. Election petitions were lodged in the case of 21 returns. Of the old members 215 failed to secure re- election. Among the Ministerial candidates recently rejected were Mr. Chichester Fortescue at Louth, and Lord Advocate Young at Wig- town, the latter by a mistake in reckoning up the votes. It was noticed that for the first time since 1829 no Roman Catholic was returned by any English or Scotch constituency. Assuming Louth and Galway as vacant, 49 of the 101 FEBRUARY I8 74 . FEBRUARY Irish seats were filled by Catholics, and 20 of these entered the House for the first time. 18. — The Emperor of Germany writes to Earl Russell : — "It is incumbent on me to be the leader of my people in a struggle maintained through centuries past by German emperors of earlier days, against a power the domination of which has in no country of the world been found compatible with the freedom and welfare of nations — a power which, if victorious in our days, would imperil, not in Germany alone, the blessings of the Reformation, liberty of conscience, and the authority of the law. I accept the battle thus imposed upon me in ful- filment of my kingly duties and in firm reliance on God, to whose help we look for victory, but also in the spirit of regard for the creed of others and of evangelical forbearance which has been stamped by my forefathers on the laws and administration of my States I was sure, and I rejoice at the proof afforded me by your letter, that the sympathies of the people of England would not fail me in this struggle — the people of England, to whom my people and my Royal House are bound by the remem- brance of many a past and honourable struggle maintained in common since the days of William of Orange." — The Deputies from Alsace-Lorraine pro- test before the German Parliament against the annexation of that territory to Germany without consulting the inhabitants. 19. — At a Home Rule meeting in Dublin, Mr. Butt announces that 59 members pledged to that principle had been returned for Ireland, and 24 by England. — Mr. Young, late Lord Advocate, an- nounced to have accepted a Scotch judgeship in succession to Lord Cowan, retired. 20. — Mr. Disraeli submits, his Cabinet to her Majesty, showing himself as First Lord of the Treasury, his colleagues (confined to twelve high officials) being — Lord Chancellor, Lord Cairns ; Lord President of the Council, Duke of Richmond ; Lord Privy Seal, Lord Mahnes- bury ; Foreign Affaire, Loid Derby ; India* Lord Salisbury; the Colonies, Lord Carnarvon ; War,, Mi. Gathorne Hardy ; Home, Mr. R. A. Cross; Admiralty, Mr. Ward Hunt; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir S. Northcote ; Postmaster- General, Lord John Manners. The following appointments afterwards received the royal sanction :— Attorney-General, Sir John Kars- lake; Solicitor-General, Sir Richard Baggallay; Vice-President of the Council, Lord Sandon ; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Duke of Abercom ; Chief Secretary for Ireland, Sir Michael H. Beach; Lord Advocate, Mr. E. S. Gordon; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Colonel Taylor ; First Commissioner of Works, Lord Henry Lennox ; President of Board of Trade, Sir Charles Adderley ; President of Local Government Board, Mr, Sclater-Booth ; Secre- tary of Local Government Board, Mr. Clare S. Read ; Judge- Advocate and Paymaster-General, Mr. Cave; Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Robert Bourke ; Under Home Secretary, Sir H. Selwin-Ibbetson ; Under-Secretary, India Office, Lord George Hamilton ; Under- Secretary, Colonial Office, Mr. James Lowther; Secretary of Admiralty, Hon. Algernon Eger- ton ; Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Massey Lopes ; Secretaries to the Treasury, Mr. W. H. Smith and Mr. Hart Dyke. The Royal Household : — Mistress of the Robes, Duchesf of Wellington ; Lord Chamberlain, Marquis* Bath ; Master of the Horse, Earl of Bradford, — The French. Minister of the Interior issues a circular designed to counteract the proceedings of Imperial pirtizans engaged in inviting friends to proceed to England to render homage to the Prince Imperial on coming of age. "Henceforth you will not permit any canvassing in public places to obtain adhesions to the proposed journey to England, or any passionate discussions which might result there- from, and, perhaps, cause regrettable disorder. Our duty is to avert anything that might dis- turb the tranquillity so necessary to all interests, and, above all, those of the working classes in the present commercial and industrial crisis pre- vailing in the country." 20. — The Prussian House of Lords pass the Civil Marriage Bill by a majority of 89 to 51. — Blockade on the northern coast of Spain suspended till 5th March. — Died, aged 82, Sir Sydney Cotton, G.C.B., Governor of Chelsea Hospital, a survivor of the Mahratta war of 1817. — Collision early this morning near Wigari between the Scotch limited mail and a broken- down coal train, causing the death of the engine-driver and fireman, and a severe shaking to many passengers. 21. — Legal proceedings instituted by the Prussian Government against the Moravian Bishop of Olmiitz for transgressing the new ecclesiastical laws in the Silesian parishes belonging to his diocese. — At a meeting of the London and North- western Railway Company, the Chairman states that the directors had adopted the block system up to June 1872, on 266 miles of their main line, and up to December 1873, they had extended the block system to 732 miles of their main line, to 78 miles of junction lines, and 135 miles of branch lines ; and they could now boast of having altogether r,2CO miles of their railways worked on the block system. The company ran last year 600,000 passenger trains, and there were ihirtv- five accidents. This year they were running 700,000 passenger trains. Out of the thirty- five accidents, twenty-eight had been attributed to the negligence or mistakes of servants. The Chairman contended that on the whole people were safer travelling on the London and North- western Railway system than they were travel- ling in their own carriages through the streets, walking through 4he streets, or staying in theif "43 FEBRUARY I8 74 . FEBRUARY own houses. At the Great Northern meeting the same day, intimation was made that the claims for personal injury, damages, and loss of goods during the year amounted to 24,905/. — Severe fighting between the Carlists and Republicans on the heights of Sommorostro. 22. — Intelligence received of Sir Garnet Wolseley's entry into Coomassie, and the sign- ing of a treaty of peace with the Ashantees. The European prisoners, it was also said, had been released and sent off to Cape Coast. 23. — Intimation given by circular that Par- liament, will meet for the election of Speaker and the swearing in of members on the 5th March. — Died, aged 60, Shirley Brooks, editor of Punch since 1870, » popular novelist, and writer of many pleasing verses. 24.-"— The new Ministers officially gazetted. It was also announced that the Marquis of Westminster had been created Duke of West- minster. Other elevations at this time were Mr. Chichester Fortescue to be Lord Carling- ford, Mr. Cardwell to be Lord Cardwell of Ellerbeck, and Sir John Pakington to be Lord Hampton. — By a majority of 9 to 4 the First Division of the Court of Session affirm Lord Gifford's judgment in the Murthly succession case, find- ing that a marriage had been contracted be- tween the prisoner, Miss Robertson, and the late Major Stewart. — Died, aged 76, Rev. Thomas Binney, a popular Nonconformist divine, called to the congregation meeting in the King's Weigh- hou-e, near the Monument, in 1829. 25. — The Mansion House Indian Famine Relief Fund stated to have reached 25,000/. Most of the other large towns in the kingdom a Iso commence to forward money for the reiief of the starving natives. — Died, Major Charles Adams, Professor of Military History at the Staff College, Sand- hurst. — Decided in the Sheriff Court of Lanark- shire the case of Hopps. v. Long, involving the question as to the relations now existing be- tween alleged blasphemy and statute law. The defender, a Unitarian clergyman, had put forth a "Life of Jesus for Young Disciples," which he republished in its entirety with notes and comments at half the cost of the original. The defender alleged that the pursuer could not claim the protection of the law for the book, as it was blasphemous and heretical, denying, tacitly or expressly, the d'vinity of Christ. To this the pursuer replied that, apart from the fact that it was written by a Unitarian, and set forth the Unitarian view of the Saviour's life, a more unobjectionable book did not exist. Mr. Sheriff Buntine de- clared the interim interdict, which Hopps had obtained, perpetual, and ordered Long to pay "44 the costs. He held that the doctrine of Jesus Christ being the second person of the Trinity was statute law, yet the public were entitled to criticise and controvert any part of the statute law, provided they did it in such a way as not to endanger the public peace, safety, or morality. 26. — Dr. Beke writes to the Times that the mountain which he identified with the Sinai of the Pentateuch was Mount Barghir, one of the principal masses of the chain of mountains bounding the valley of the Arabah on the East, which are marked on our maps as the Moun- tains of Shera, but of which the correct desig- nation is the Mountains of Shafeh ; those of Shera being a chain extending from that of Shafeh in a direction from north-west to south- east. " My astonishment and gratification may be better imagined than described when I learnt that this Mount Barghir is the same as a mys- terious Jebel-e'-Nur, or ' Mountain of Light, ' of which I had heard vaguely in Egypt as being that whereon the Almighty spoke with Moses, and which, from its position and other circum- stances, is without doubt the Sinai of Scrip- ture ; although, from its manifest physical character, it appears that my favourite hypo- thesis of Mount Sinai being a volcano must be abandoned as untenable." 27.- — Lord Cairns sworn in as the new Lord Chancellor. — Professor Huxley delivers his address as Lord Rector of Aberdeen University, selecting for his subject "University Education," and earnestly advocating the introduction of physical science in the University curriculum. — The Court of Appeal at Paris give judg- ment in the case of Naundorff against the Comte de Chambord, the claimant in this case seeking to have it declared that her son was entitled to all the position and rights which belonged to his father and her husband the Dauphin, son of Louis XVI., generally believed to have died in the Temple, June 8th 1795, but now alleged to have e-caped by a twofold substitution. Satis- fied with the proof of death produced, the Court confirmed the judgment appealed against, and fined the Naundorff heir accordingly. 28. — End of the Tichborne trial, the Lord Chief Justice concluding his charge to the jury on this the 1 88th day of investigation. The law, said his lordship, required the unanimous verdict of twelve men before a verdict of guilty or not guilty is pronounced, and if a single juryman is satisfied, after having given every attention to the case that he cannot find the verdict of the rest, he does right to stand by his conviction. "Then we must recollect that it is his duty to give the case every possible consideration, and he may start with a fair presumption that one individual is more likely to be wrong than the eleven fiom whom he differs, and think of his own judgment with humility and diffidence." The jury retired at twelve o'clock, and after less than half an MARCH 1374- MARCH Hour's absence, returned with a verdict of guilty. The main allegations against the defendant were — I. That he did falsely swear that he was Roger Charles Tichborne ; 2. That he did falsely swear that he had in July or August 1851, seduced Catherine Mary Elizabeth Doughty, onlydaughter of Sir Edward Doughty, deceased ; 3. That he did falsely swear j that he was not Arthur Orton, the son of George Orton, of Wapping, deceased. The jury found him guilty on all these three allegations. As a special finding, the jury further desired to "express their opinion that the charges of bribery, conspiracy, and undue influence brought against the prosecution in this case are entirely devoid of foundation, and they regret exceed- ingly the violent language and demeanour of the leading counsel for the defendant in his attacks upon the conduct of the prosecution and upon several of the witnesses produced in the case." The Lord Chief Justice thereupon sen- tenced the Claimant to fourteen years' penal servitude, and pending the charge of perjury against the witness Luie, authoiised his removal in the meantime to Newgate. March 1. — Bombardment of Bilbao by the Carlists, as many as 200 shells daily being now reported as thrown into the town. 2.— The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh receive an enthusiastic reception at Berlin on their homeward journey from St. Petersburg to London. — Boiler explosion at Alderman Thomson' 5 Mills, Blackburn, causing the death of twelve workpeople, and serious injury to about twenty. — Died, aged 86, Dr. Neil Arnott, F.R.S., Physician Extraordinary to the Queen, and in- ventor of the useful stove and ventilator bearing his name. — Died, aged 86, Rev. T. W. Bellamy, B.D., Vicar of Sellinge, Hythe, formerly Head Master of Merchant Taylors' School. 3. a proposal being made in the German Parliament to repeal the clause of the Alsace- Lorraine Administrative Law, giving the Governor powei to institute a state of siege, Trince Bismarck said :— "We never expected that the Alsatians would greet our institutions with applause. People have to accustom them- selves to foreign institutions, and when you have been with Germany for 200 years, the results of your comparisons will be in Ger- many's favour. From the acquaintance I have made of the gentlemen here, I believe I should seriously endanger my responsibility if I were tr. diminish the power of the Governor of the Imperial Province. In France there are twenty-eight Departments in a state of siege. Remember how we came to annex Alsace- Lorraine. What we required was a bulwark to defend our rights. The Alsatians are cer- tainly not free from blame for what has occurred. They participated in the restless- ness which led to the war that broke out against us." 3. — The Duke of Abercorn sworn in as Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland at Dublin Castle. — Ex-Lord Advocate Young takes his seat in the Scotch Outer House, and formally hears two cases as Lord Probationer. — Official announcement of the new peer- ages, Mr. Cardwell as Viscount Cardwell of Ellerbeck ; Mr. Chichester Fortescue as Baron Carlingford of Carlingford ; Sir T. Freemantle as Baron Cottesloe of Swanboum ; and Mr. E. Hammond as Baron Hammond of Kirkella. Viscount Sydney was also advanced to the dig- nity of an Earl in recognition of his services as Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's House- hold. — Died at Brighton, aged 64, Dr. Forbes Winslow, among the first authorities on brain disease, and for many years editor of the " Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Mental Pathology." — The Dutch troops reported to have been so successful at Atchin as to lead most of the Sultan's allies to withdraw their aid. 4. — The "reception' - of M. Ollivier sic 1 to be indefinitely postponed by the French Academy on the ground of the eulogistic tri- bute he intended offering to the memory of the late Emperor. "Had Laraartine," he wrote, "known him better, had he had experience of his great heart, of the charm and justness of his mind, of the gentleness of his cha- racter ; if he had become the confidant of his thoughts solely directed to the public good and to the relief of those who suffer ; if he had been witness to the loyalty with which he put in practice the freest institutions our country had yet known ; if he had beheld him modest in prosperity and august after misfortune, he would have done more than render him justice, he would have loved him. " — The steamer Bothnia, 4,500 tons burthen, the largest of the Cunard fleet, launched from the yard of Messrs. Thomson, at Dalmuir, on the Clyde. — Under the signature "E.P.B.," the late member for the Kilmarnock burghs contribute to the Times a "Chapter of Contemporarj History," in which a parallel or contrast was drawn between the recent Liberal defeat and the result of several former general elections. The writer thought there had been " no Liberal defeat like this since 1710, when Dr. Sacheverell was rashly impeached, at the instance of some angry Whig Ministers, and in spite of the prudent counsels of Lord Somers, and when the Tory Ministry, who then replaced them, unexpectedly dissolved the Parliament, in order to catch the ball of popularity at its bound. That election resulted in a decisive Tory vic- tory " Having referred to the elections of 1784, 1841, and 1865, he proceeded to accuse Mr. Gladstone of having " at one blow (the dissolution) destroyed both his Administration and his party, and they are both wiped out of H4i MARCH 1874. MARCH existence;" He next endeavoured to account for the failure of the Government: "I say nothing of its minor ' delinquencies, of its fail- ures in administration — these, though- remark- able in men of conspicuous talent, do not tell very widely or deeply on general national opinion ; but I set down the failure to the wounds' which it has inflicted on the great characteristic attributes of the English people ■ — their pride, their jealous reverence for esta- blished institutions, their singular love of mode- ration." On this last head "E. P. B." wrote, "If in the daily conduct of ordinary public business a Prime Minister should fail to create confidence in his steady good sense and mode- ration by a constant exhibition of those gifts, the occasion will surely be seized by them, as it has been just now, to show that they no longer trust him, but that they wish for some other Minister, who can better appreciate their peculiar national instincts and represent their national character." 4. — Canon Gregory's motion to prohibit the London School Board from erecting new schools near denominational ones presently in existence rejected by 24 votes to 21. 5. — The new Parliament opened by Com- mission, and Mr. Brand unanimously elected Speaker on the motion of Mr. Chaplin, seconded by Lord George Cavendish. Mr. Gladstone was also present, and spoke strongly in favour of the nomination. Next day Mr. Brand pre- sented himself in the House of Lords for formal acceptance by her Majesty, and in name of the Commons laid claim to the exercise of their undoubted rights and privileges, "I humbly," he said, "petition her Majesty that she will be graciously pleased to .allow us freedom of speech, in debate, freedom from arrest for our persons and servants, and, above all, freedom of access to her Majesty's royal person when- ever occasion may require ; and that the best construction may be put upon all our pro- ceedings. For myself, ■ my lords, I desire that the most favourable construction may be put upon my acts, and that whatever I may do in error may be attributed to my- self alone, and not to her Majesty's faithful Commons." The Lord Chancellor rejoined : " Mr. Speaker, we have it further in command to inform you that her Majesty doth most readily confirm all the rights andprivileges which have ever been granted to her Majesty's Commons by any of her Royal predecessors. With re- spect to yourself, sir, though her Majesty is sensible that you stand in no need of such assurance, her Majesty will ever put the most favourable . construction on your words and actions." The Speaker retired, and the Lord Chancellor then took his seat on the woolsack. New members were thereafter sworn in, and writs authorized to be issued for vacancies occasioned by acceptance of office . — The Claimant's witness Luie or Lund- gren again 'examined at Bow Street; and com- J146 mitted on a charge of perjury extending ovei his entire evidence in the Tichbome case. 6. — The two Houses of Convocation of Can- terbury attend Divine service in St. Paul's, and afterwards hold a brief sederunt for the trans- action of business. In the Lower House, Arch - deacon Bickersteth, re-elected Prolocutor foi the fourth time, reviewed the work of Convo- cation during the last five years, and expressed satisfaction that the English Church condemned both the way in which the sd-called (Ecumenical Council was called together and'the conclusions at which it arrived. The Athanasian Creed, by means of the Synodical Declaration, he regarded as set at rest for at least a generation, and he then passed on to speak of the great work set on foot at the last Convocation — the revision of the English version of the Holy Scriptures — and said that labour of deep anxiety and responsibility, unless the existence of this Convocation were cut prematurely short by some convulsion, would by it be presented to the critical judgment of Biblical students. — Stewart's cotton mill, Musselburgh; de- stroyed by fire, with much valuable machinery. 7. — News received of the burning of Coo- massie, and flight of King Koffee. - — The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arrive at Gravesend from Antwerp, and pro- ceed to Windsor amid great manifestations of public enthusiasm. — In a letter to the Emperor Francis Joseph, the Pope protests against the Church in Austria being handed over to dishonourable servitude, and his Catholic subjects visited with deep affliction. His Holiness in another letter con- demned the new ecclesiastical laws as designed to bring the Church into most ruinous sub- jection to the arbitrary power of the State. He admitted that the Austrian laws appeared moderate as compared with those enacted by Prussia, but they were of the same spirit and character, and paved the way for the destruc- tion of the Church in Austria as well as in Prussia. The Pope renewed his protest against the rupture of the Concordat, and' described the assertion that a change was brought about in the Church by the promulgation of the dogma of Infallibility as a pernicious pretext. 9. — The French National Assembly, by a majority of 41 votes, agree to impose a tax of five per cent, on all goods conveyed by luggage trains. — M. Ledru-Rollin took his seat in the Assembly to-day. — Henderson's jute-works, Dundee, de- stroyed by fire. IO. — The German Federal Council gives its sanction to the Ecclesiastical Bill proposed by Government pjpviding for the punishment of refractory bishops. — MM. de Lesseps and Baranowski submit to the Russian Government a definite scheme for the construction of a Russian and Central MARCH I8 74 . MARCH Asian railway. They proposed that the line should go by Saratov and Kieff rather than by Orenburg and Katharinenburg. 10. — The Parliament of Victoria dissolved, the Ministry appealing to the colony on the one issue of constitutional reform. They desired, it was said, to bring both Chambers of the Legislature in harmony, and proposed the Nor- wegian plan — that on the rejection of bills by ei'.her House, both Houses should sit together to consider such bills. 11. — Died at Washington, aged 63, Charles Sumner, an eminent American politician. — The Record announces (mistakenly) the intended resignation' of the Archbishop df Canterbury. King Koffee's state umbrella, taken from the Royal Palace at Cooma*sie, presented to the Queen at Windsor by Lieutenant Wood, ■who had been commissioned by Sir Garnet Wolseley to bring the trophy to this country "as a humble tribute of the dutiful respect and affection borne to her Majesty by the military and naval forces engaged in the war." 12. — To modify various disquieting rumours regarding the leadership of the Liberal party, Mr. Gladstone writes to Earl Granville : — ' ' For a variety of reasons personal to myself I could not contemplate any unlimited extension of active political service ; and I am anxious that it should be clearly understood by those friends with whom I have acted in the direction •_ of affairs that at my age I must reserve my entire freedom to divest myself of all the responsi- bilities of leadership at no distant time. The need of rest will prevent me from giving more than occasional attendance in the' House of Commons during the present session. I should be desirous, shortly before the commencement of the session of 1875, to consider whether there would be advantage in my placing my services for a time at the disposal of the Liberal party, or whether I should then claim exemption from the duties I have hitherto discharged; If, how- ever, there should be reasonable ground for believing that, instead of the course which I have sketched, it would be preferable in the view of the party generally, for me to assume at once the place of an independent member, I should willingly adopt the latter alternative." Replying to an address from the Liberals of Tunstall, Mr. Gladstone wrote : — " I do not disguise from myself the importance of the verdict given at the late election, either as regards myself personally or in other and more important respects, but I neither can repent having confided in the people nor cease to confide in them similarly with reference to the contingencies of the future." — The Queen, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess Beatrice, makes a state journey through London from Paddington to Buckingham Palace, by way of Edgware Road, Oxford and Regent Streets, Waterloo Place, Charing Cross, White- 1147 hall, through the Horse Guards, and along the Mall. The decorations were abundant and elaborate, and the enthusiasm of the countless thousands through which the royal cortege passed apparently unchecked by the chilling frost or drifting snow showers. In the evening the City was brilliantly illuminated. 13. — Came on before Vice-Chancellor Malms the case of Dr. Hayman, of Rugby, in the form of a notice of motion that the Governing Body of the school might be restrained by an order of court for removing or dismissing the plaintiff from his office, and from electing any person in his place, or from taking any proceeding at law or otherwise for ejecting the plaintiff from his office and residence. That was demurred to, and it lay with the defendants to support their demurrer. The case continued before the court till the 2 1 st. — Soliciting the honour of re-election from his Buckinghamshire constituents, Mr. Disraeli writes from Downing Street, that in forming a new Administration he had recommended to the Queen " a body of gentlemen who will uphold the institutions of the country and defend the rights of every class of her Majesty's subjects. My acceptance of the office of First Lord of the Treasury vacates my seat ; but as I cannot believe that the favour of our Sovereign can be any bar to the renewed confidence of a con- stituency which 1 have served more than a quarter of a century, I again solicit the high and honourable trust-'of being your member in the House of Commons." 14s — James Brownj eating-house keeper, Shadwell, known in the Tichborne case as "Captain" Brown, examined by Sir T. Henry on the charge of perjury. He was afterwards committed for trial. 15. — Sunday demonstration in Hyde Park in favour of the release of Fenian prisoners, and resolutions passed calling upon Mr. Dis- raeli to use his- influence with her Majesty for that purpose. 16. — Bonapartist demonstration at Chisel- hurst on occasion of the Prmce Imperial com- pleting his eighteenth year, the age fixed by French law for his majority, and when he for- mally assumed the position of head and chief of his dynasty. The multitude which flocked out of London had its strength recruited from every department throughout France, and its members were furnished by no one special class of society, but from all ranks and orders in the social scale, from the working man in his blouse to the senator and officer of the Legion of Honour. For' days past they ha.t been coming across the Channel, undeterred b) the inconvenience of the passage, and train after train, as it arrived at Charing Cross, had been loaded far beyond its powers by crowds of French visitors. Of eighty-seven Prefects under the Empire, sixty-five were described as present at the fete. The proceedings com- menced with a service in the small church ot Af * MARCH 1874. MARCH St. Marie, followed by the presentation of an address to the Prince Imperial, who replied to the same, and a reception of deputations, who in some instances had travelled from the ex- treme parts of France to offer their gifts and congratulations. The Prince was interrupted by loud acclamations when he spoke of the President of the French Republic as the "former companion of the glories and mis- fortunes of my father." Still louder cheers interrupted him when he claimed a plebiscite in order to settle the foundations of Govern- ment in France, and spoke of the plebiscite as at once the "safety" and the "right" of France. The audience again broke out into shouts when he declared that if the name of Napoleon should issue for the eighth time from the voting urns, he was ready to accept the responsibility imposed upon him by will of the nation. 16. — Several Government elections to-day, in all cases without opposition. At Oxford a Conservative candidate was carried in room of Viscount Cardwell, Mr. Hall polling 2,554 votes against 2,092 given to Mr. Lewis, Liberal. — Carlist victory rear Olot, Saballs cap- turing General Nouvilas with his column of 2,500 men, 104 guns, and 130 horses. 17. — The ship Princess 7'uytawatty run down and sunk in Gravesend Reach by the steamer Indus, from Southampton. — Increasing distress reported from the famine-stricken districts of Bengal. At Tn- koot the number of persons applying at the relief works had risen from 20,000 to 100,000 hi ten days. — Died at Cannes, whither he had retired for the benefit of his health, John Candlish, a {ending Nonconformist, and M. P. for Sunder- land in the last Parliament, 19. — The Corporation of the City of London present an address of congratulation to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Numerous other addresses were received at this time by the Queen and their Royal Highnesses from Universities, Corporations, and other public bodies. — Marshal Macmahon thanks the Due de Broglie for a speech in the Assembly, in which he had so well described ' ' the rights conferred and the duties imposed upon me by the con- fidence of the Assembly during the seven years." Following this letter the Official Journal re- printed the Marshal's speech to the Tribunal of Commerce : — " The Assembly on the 19th of January entrusted power to me for seven years. My first duty is to look to the execution of this sovereign decision. Be not uneasy, therefore. 1 148 During the seven years I shall be able to make the order of things legally established respected by all." 19. — Dr. Pusey writes to the Times in de- preciation of the legislative action which he supposes is intended by the bishops against Ritualists. He defined his own position as that of "no Ritualist, although bound to many Ritualists by affection and by their labour for souls," and begged the bishops to be slow in entering Vupon a line of action which, once entered upon, would be irrevocable. "The J udicial Committee has included in its censures too many to be trodden out. As things are, they who would extirpate us would be obliged to leave their work undone. Endurance is stronger than infliction. There are too many, even for a summary process to sever from their flocks. Yet where there is one common offence, the judge who spares any condemns himself for not having spared all. " — Parliament opened by Commission, the Lord Chancellor reading a Royal Message having reference to the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, the termination of the war in Africa, and the steps taken for relieving the intensity of the famine in Bengal. Legislation was promised regarding the transfer of land, a re-arrangement of the judicature in Scotland and Ireland, improvement of the Master and Servants Act of 1871, (so far as the law of con- spiracy was concerned), and the Act of last year regulating the sale of intoxicating drinks. In the Lords the Address was moved by Lord Lothian and seconded by Lord Cadogan, and in the Commons by Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell and Mr. R. Callender. Replying to an obser- vation that the recent dissolution was an elabo- rate surprise — "a pit dug for the Conservatives into which the Liberals had fallen " — Mr. Glad- stone said the justification of the dissolution was its result, showing a larger transfer of seats from one party to the other than had ever occurred since 1831. Though he could not but think the decision of the constituencies wrong, he ad- mitted that it was emphatic. The present Government had acceded to power by the act of the country, and it had every title, therefore, to be fairly tried, without any factious oppo- sition, and to have the opportunity of placing its policy and its principles before the country. — Mr. Disraeli replied, that although he thought Mr. Gladstone's reasons for not having called Parliament together before commencing the Ashantee expedition fallacious, he preferred not to enter into any captious controversy on a war which must be regarded as concluded, and in which the skill and energy of our commander and the admirable qualities of our soldiers had been so signally displayed. Neither did he think it incumbent on him to enter into Mr. Gladstone's defence of the dissolution. With its results Mr. Disraeli said he was quite satisfied. MARCH I8 74 . MARCH 20. — To mitigate the distress caused by famine in the province of Upper Bengal, the Marquis of Salisbury announces, in the Upper House, the necessity for a Bill being introduced authorising a loan of from three to ten millions sterling, part to be expended in chartering steamers to convey food to the starving districts, and in creating such new means of communication and works of irriga- tion as might help to prevent a recurrence of such calamities. A loan bill of the nature suggested was introduced into the Commons by Lord George Hamilton, the new Under Secre- tary for In-lia. In the course of debates which took place prior to the passing of the bill, Ministers gave a hearty support to the policy pursued by the Viceroy, Lord Northbrook, especially in so far as he had refused to inter- fere with the ordinary trade exportations of rice from the famine-stricken districts, a determination in which he was opposed by some of his own Indian officials as well as by a portion of the native and home press. — Lord Rossinore of the 1st Life Guards thrown from his horse at the Windsor Steeple- chases, receiving injuries from which he died on the 28th. The Queen, who witnessed the accident from her carriage in the King's Road, caused repeated inquiries to be made at the barracks, and on the following day at Her Majesty's special request none of the military races were run. — A high tide in the Thames causes much damage and annoyance in the Westminster and Lambeth districts, fears being at one time felt for the safety of portions of the Houses of Parliament. At London Bridge the flood reached the almost unprecedented height of four feet three and a half inches above Trinity high water mark. — The Ashantee troops begin to arrive at Portsmouth, the first ship reaching home this morning being the Tamar, with the 23rd Fusiliers. The Manitoban followed next day with General Sir Garnet Wolseley and Staff. On the 24th the Sarmatian with the 42nd Highlanders arrived ; and in the course of the week the Himalaya brought the second battalion Rifle Brigade, a detachment of the Royal Engineers and Royal Marine Light Infantry, with a few invalids. On each occa- sion the troops received a warm welcome, and on the 22nd (Sunday) Sir Gamet had a lengthy interview with the Queen at Windsor. King Koffee's umbrella taken at Coomassie and brought to England by Lieut. Wood, 10th Hussars, was graciously accepted by Her Majesty. 21. — Vice-Chancellor Malins gives judg- ment in the action raised by Dr. Hayman, late Head Master, against the governing body of Rugby School. He was extremely sorry, he said, for the grievous hardship of Dr. Hayman's case, but was satisfied that a pro- 1149 longation of the painful disputes which would be the result of overruling the demurrer in court would be of no benefit to him. Believ- ing that events had made Dr. Hayman's reten- tion of the office impossible, he would allow the demurrer, but without costs. Dr. Jex- Blake, of Cheltenham College, succeeded Dr. Hayman as Head Master of Rugby. 22. — Died at Cannes, aged 69, Albert Way, F.S. A., founder of the Archaeological Insti- tute of Great Britain and Ireland. 23. — The twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of King Victor Emmanuel, celebrated with rejoicings throughout the kingdom of Italy. 25. — Sir C. Dilke's bill for extending polling hours at elections to 8 p.m., rejected by a majority of 75 votes. 26. — Hurricane at Mauritius continuing over five days, and destroying much property in the harbour and town of Port Louis. — Died, aged 83, Sir W. H. Bodkin, late Assistant Judge at the Middlesex Sessions. 30. — Votes of thanks passed in both Houses of Parliament to the officers and men engaged in the Ashantee Expedition. The whole of the troops returned, numbering about 1,600, were also reviewed by the Queen to-day in Windsor Great Park. To Sir Garnet Wolseley, Her Majesty presented the insignia of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and of a K.C.B. Lord Gifford was then called to the front, and received the Victoria Cross for personal valour, Her Majesty fastening the honourable distinction with her own hand to the breast of the young Lieutenant A similar honour was conferred on Captain Sartorius and Sergeant McGaw of the 42nd Highlanders ; Captain Glover was made a Knight of St. Michael and St. George. The cost of the war to the British government was estimated at 900,000/. To Sir Garnet Wolseley, who declined titular honours, a sum of 25,000/. was voted in recognition of his services. 31.— Mr. Walpole brings up the report of the Select Committee on Privileges arising out of the committal of Mr. Whalley for contempt of Court in the Tichborne case. — The Lord Mayor entertains Sir Garnet Wolseley and officers of the Ashantee force to a state banquet at the Mansion House. The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge, and other members of the Royal family also attended as guests. — The Caspian, a Sunderland brig, wrecked off the island of Colonsay, and all on board— Captain Chambers, his wife, and crew of eighl men, with the exception of one of the latter- drowned, Mrs. Chambers after hanging for an hour on to a traffrail. M 2 APRIL 1874. A PHIL 31. — Intelligence received of the escape of Rocl' 'fort and other French prisoners from New Caledonia to Sydney. Aj iil 3. — Mr. Rumbold, British minister in Chili, demands the release of Captain Hyde, and a indemnity of 25,000/. for wrongous imprisonment on the charge of wilfully causing the death of Chilian subjects in the wreck of the steamer Tacua off Valparaiso. Captain Hyde was afterwards permitted to leave the country and an indemnity promised. 5. — Died, aged 80, Commander R. J. Morrison, astrologer and. editor- of "Zadkiel's Almanac." 6. — Outbreak in Portland prison, a gang of twelve convicts falling upon two warders and severely maltreating them. The former were ultimately beaten off by officials and driven to their cells. 8. — Re-opening of Worcester Cathedral after undergoing restoration at the hands of Sir Gilbert Scott. The work, on which 100,000/." was said' to have been expended, was carried on over a period of twenty years. 9. — Jean Luie, or Lundgren, pretended mate of the Osprey, and the so-called "Captain" Brown, sentenced at the Central' Criminal Court, the former to seven and the latter to five years' penal servitude for perjury, in connection with the Tichborne case. 10. — Died, aged .72,. Marquis of Clanricarde, K. P., Lord Lieutenant. of Galway, Postmaster- General, 1846, and Lord Privy Seal for a short time in the first ministry of Lord Palmerston. (See p. 506.) 14 — Explosion in the Astley Deep Colliery, Dukinfield,: near Manchester, causing the death of fifty-one men and boys out of 151 employed in the pit at the- time, about 7. 30 p.m. The part of the workings where the explosion took place was 700 yards long, and known as the' engine brow. Here sixty men were impri- soned by the fallen roof, and though efforts were repeatedly made to break through and reach them, only ten were rescued alive, and of these one died afterwards. The. pit was known to be one of the. deepest in England, but noted for its freedom from gas. — Inquest held at Payhembury, Honiton, on the body of a young married woman named Miffin, who had drowned herself in a pond near the Vicarage while labouring under the delusion that she had been " overlooked " by a witchwoman in the neighbourhood. Verdict, temporary insanity. 15. — Died, aged 65, Owen Jones, an eminent authority in decorative art, and author of the "Grammar of Ornament" and other cognate treatises. — The Malwa, brings the remains of Dr. Livingstone to Southampton where they are 1 150 carried ashore amid many mournful tokens of respect. The body was afterwards conveyed by special train to London, accompanied by rela- tives and friends, and placed in the rooms of the Royal Geographical Society. The identifica- tion of the remains was placed beyond doubt by. Sir William Ferguson, who found the left arm still showing traces of a fracture caused by the bite of a lion over thirty years since. 16.— Riel expelled from the Canadian Parliament as a fugitive from justice. — Message from the Queen asking a grant of 25,000/. to Sir Garnet Wolseley read in both Houses. Vote agreed to on the 20th. — Annual Budget introduced by the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer. The total expendi- ture for 1873-4 has reached 76,466,500/., including the American Award and Ashantee war. Last year's revenue was estimated at 73,762,000/. but the gross receipts had increased '° 77>335>°57/. On the same basis the revenue for 1874-5 was calculated at 77,995,000/. and the expenditure at 72, 503,000/. With the sur- plus of nearly 5J millions, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed, not to abolish the Income Tax altogether as Mr. Gladstone had suggested, but to reduce it by one penny, thus preserving the system with its collecting machinery for future use. He also proposed to abolish the remaining sugar duties and the House Tax. The Budget was well received. 18. — The Duke of Abercorn, the new Lord Lieutenant, makes a formal entry into Dublin. — Reredos in Exeter Cathedral pronounced illegal by the Bishop, on the advice of Mr. Justice Keating, who acted as his assessor. The plea of the Dean and Chapter, that they were independent of the Bishop in these matters, was refuted by demonstration that the bishopric and cathedral had co-existed for twocenturies before the deanery. Regarding the reredos itself, it was decided that the figures it contained were images, although only in alto-relievo, and the erection was therefore held to be illegal. — Funeral of Dr. Livingstone in West- minster Abbey, the Queen among others sending a beautiful wreath of azaleas as a tribute of respect and admiration for the great traveller and missionary of civilization. The coffin bore the simple inscription :— " David Livingstone. Bom at Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland, March 19, 1813. Died at llala, Central Africa, May 4, 1873." The route of procession from the Royal Geographical Society's rooms was by way of Pall Mall, Charing Cross, and Parliament Street to Broad Sanctuary, the crowds on each side reverently uncovering as the remains were borne along. The following (Sunday) afternoon Dean Stanley preached a funeral sermon in the Abbey to APRIL 1874. MAY d large congregation, among whom were the traveller's aged father-in-law, Dr. Moffat, and Mr. H. M. Stanley. Special sermons were also preached in several other of the London churches. 18.— "Mad Lucas," the Hermit of Redcoots Green, near Stevenage, and the hero of ] Hekens' " Tom Tiddler's Ground, " found dead among the ashes of his neglected cottage. SO. — The Archbishop of Canterbury caHs attention to the present state of Public Worship in the Church of England. His grace entered into a lengthened description of existing evils and anomalies, and concluded by moving the first reading of a " Bill for the better adminis- tration of the law respecting Public Worship. As introduced at this time, the bill provided that the Bishop should have the sole power in directing worship, as was evidently designed in I lie constitution of the Church, guided, however, by a Board of Assessors, lay and clerical. In the event of the Bishop thinking that a com- plaint against an incumbent demanded inquiry he was to call his Assessors together, and if they 'condemned the acts in question an Episcopal monition was to issue forthwith. An appeal was also provided for to the Arch- bishop and his Assessors, their decision to be final. After detailing various Romanizing practices observed by Anglican clergymen, the Archbishop concluded : — " I call upon all those who glory in the name of members of the Church of England, who have no feelings of Puritanism in any form, but who have often fought the battles of the Church of England against the Church of Rome on the one hand and against Puritanism on the other, who style themselves Anglicans and regard the Church as one of our great institutions, I call upon them to come forward and declare themselves man- fully against such a desecration of the Holy Communion as a thing which all Churchmen should unite in condemning." In the discussion which preceded the first reading of the bill, Lords Nelson, Shaftesbury, and Selbome took part. (See May 11). — The DHke of Edinburgh lays the foun- dation stone of new buildings for the Royal Seamen and Marines' Orphan School at Portsmouth. — In introducing the Navy Estimates, for which 10,179,485/. was asked, Mr. Ward Hunt describes the late government as having left the navy in a state far from satisfactory. Of our forty-one sea-going ironclads (of which five are building) only eighteen could be con- sidered effective at present, and of the fourteen available for coast and harbour defence — among which he included the Devastation till further trials were made of her, only nine were good for anything at all. The naval administration of the late Government was defended by Mr. Uoschen, and later in the session by Mr. Childers, in the course of a renewed discussion regarding estimates. 21. — The Bishop of Peterborough draws attention in the House of Lords to the evils arising from the present condition of the law of Patronage in the Church of England. A Select Committee was afterwards appointed to inquire into the subject. 23.— Inspection at Gosport by her Majesty of that portion of the Naval Brigade which had taken .part in the Ashantee war. 24.— Died from the effects of a fall down the staircase at All Souls' College, John Phillips, F.R.S., Professor of Geology in the University of Oxford. Professor Phillips was born in 1801. 27. — Discussion raised by the Home Secre- tary regarding a Bill relating to the Sale and Consumption of Intoxicating Liquors. He proposed among other changes that the hours for opening and closing public-houses should be fixed by statute and not by local magistrates, and that the adulteration clauses in the Act of 1872 should be repealed. 28.— The tariff adopted by the Inter- national Tonnage Commission comes into force on the Suez Canal. 29. — Ball at Mansion House in honour of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. — Count Arnim, German Ambassador; presents his letters of retail to Marshai MacMahon. 30. — Fighting in Arkansas between rival political factions, accompanied with loss of life. May 2. — At the annual dinner of the Royal Academy the Prince of Wales makes specia. mention of the meritorious picture sent in by Miss Thomson, entitled "Calling the Roll after an engagement in the Crimea." — Entry of the relieving army under Marshal Concha into Bilboa, being the anniver- sary of the day when the war of Independence broke out. Four days later Marshal Serrano received an enthusiastic welcome on returning to Madrid from the city he had helped so much to prevent falling into the hands of besieging Carlists. 4. — Earl Russell's motion for papers regard- ing the maintenance of peace in Europe re- jected after a speech by Earl Derby, in which he affirmed that while certain feelings excited at present in foreign courts gave rise to anxiety and apprehension, there was, so far as imme- diate results were concerned, no cause for anticipating any disturbance of the peace. 7. — Died, aged 71, Lieut. Gen. Sir Archdale Wilson, Bart, G.C.B., conqueror of Delhi. (Seep. 497.) MAY I8 74 . MAY 9. The Chelsea section of the Thames Embankment opened by the Duke and Duchess oJ Edinburgh on behalf of the Queen. — The Queen visits the Empress Eugenie at Chiselhurst, and inspects the tomb of the Emperor Napoleon. IO. — Drowned in the Regent's Canal, Edward A. Foley, sculptor, aged 39. 11. — Died, aged 70, Baron Henry de Triqueti, French sculptor. 12. — Explaining the position of the Govern- ment with reference to English possessions on the Gold Coast, the Earl of Carnarvon remarked that motives connected with trade would not afford a sufficient reason for remaining in such a locality ; but there were moral obligations, and a great empire like England must be pre- pared to accept the duties and burdens resulting from its greatness. By a long system of protection we had taught the natives to depend on us, and by abandoning them we should probably hand them over to the Ashantees, and then within a year after our departure all the barbarous practices we had induced them to give up would be revived. With reference to the existing system of domestic slavery, Lord Carnarvon observed that though it was a difficult subject to deal with, he would be glad to pave the way for its ultimate extinction, and as far as territorial jurisdiction was concerned he said that Government, while inclined to maintain the protectorate, thought it undesir- able to enlarge the actual extent of the terri- torial power. It was proposed to constitute Lagos and the Gold Coast one single colony, very much on the principle of the Straits Settlements, with an executive and legislative council, composed of a very small number of persons — The University of London resolve to admit women to degrees. 13. — The Emperor of Russia arrives at Dover, and afterwards proceeds to Windsor on a visit to the Queen. A state banquet was given at the castle next day, and on the 15th the Emperor received the Diplomatic Body at Buckingham Palace. On the 16th, after visit- ing the Empress Eugenie at Chiselhurst, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the Emperor, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and a numerous suite, visited the Crystal Palace, where an enthusiastic reception was experienced from a vast assembly drawn together by the interesting spectacle. In cele- bration of the Imperial visit the Corporation of London presented him with an address on the 18th, and in the evening a full dress concert took place in the Albert Hall. On the 19th a review was held at Aldershot, and a ball given at Buckingham Palace. On the 20th Woolwich Arsenal was visited, and the 21st the Emperor left by way of Gravesend. 1152 13.— Mr. Trevelyan's Bill for assimilating the County and Borough Franchise rejected after a debate by a majority of 287 to 173 votes. Mr. Disraeli protested against the doctrine that the distribution of political power was an affair of abstract right, and not of expediency and con- venience. With regard to the class affected by the Bill he admitted to the full that they were as competent to exercise the franchise as town householders. Mr. Disraeli's main objection to the Bill was that while it extended the franchise, it did not deal with the redistribution of seats. If the Bill were passed the county votes would exceed the borough by half a million, and yet they would only return 187 members, while the boroughs would return 300. IS. — Judgment of the House of Lords on appeal in the Mordaunt divorce case, a majority of the judges being in favour of continuing the proceedings. — Defeat and resignation of the De Broglie ministry at Paris. 16. — Distribution of medals to officers and men engaged in the Ashantee expedition by her Majesty, at Windsor. — Bursting of a reservoir near Haydenville, Massachussets, causing the partial destruction of four neighbouring villages. As many as 200 lives were reported to have been lost, and property damaged to the extent of 1,500,000 dollars. 17.— Public Worship Regulation Bill read a. second time, the Marquis of Salisbury ex- plaining that while Government approved of the measure generally they were not responsible for details nor for the time selected to raise the question. " We are told (said the Bishop of Peterborough) that we should govern the Church by fatherliness. Now I must be allowed to say there is something very one- sided in this cry for fatherliness from the bishops when they meet with no filialness, and I should like to have some reciprocity. When a monition is to be flung back in my face, and I am to be told that I am ' neither a gentleman nor a divine,' and that 'my conversion is to be prayed for,' I must say that I should like to see a little filialness on the part of those who are demanding this fatherliness. I honestly desire, as far as I can, to be fatherly towards these men, but when I hear this advice given to us I am reminded of the solitary instance in which a ruler attempted to govern in this fatherly fashion, and that his name was Eli, while his sons were Hophni and Phinehas." 18. — While in a state of madness from drink a bricklayer named Blair, residing at Bow Common, East London, murders his wife and four children, first stunning them to all appear- ance by striking them with some blunt weapon, then cutting their throats, and afterwards committed suicide by cutting his own throat JUNE 1874. JUNE 18 — The Duke of Richmond introduces a bill to abolish lay patronage in the Established Church of Scotland. — Navy estimates passed after a sharp dis- cussion between Sir E. Watkin and Mr. E. J. Reed, late Chief Constructor, regarding alleged deficiencies in vessels designed by him for the Admiralty. 19. — Dr. Parker's temple on Holborn Via- duct opened for public worship. 20. Sir R. Anstruther's Licensing Bill for Scotland read a second time. This measure was afterwards withdrawn. 23. — Prince Hohenlohe, the new German ambassador at Paris, formally received by Marshal MacMahon. — Unveiling of the equestrian statue of Sir James Outram at Calcutta. — H. M. S. Niohe, 5-gun sloop, lost in a fog on Cape Blane, Miquelon. — Completion of the submarine telegraph between Constantinople and Odessa. — Died, aged 72, the accomplished Sylvain Van de Weyer, formerly Belgian Minister in London. — The Liverpool and Australian iron steamer British Admiral lost on King's Island, Bass's Strait, with about 50 passengers and most of her crew. 25. — Whit-Monday enjoyments around Lon- don greatly interfered with by a heavy rain- fall, accompanied by thunder and lightning, the latter fatal in at least one case at Hackney. June 2. — The Church Patronage (Scotland) Bill read a second time in the Lords, the Duke of Argyll giving his assent generally to the measure, but objecting first that the compensa- tion of one year's stipend to be allowed to patrons was excessive, and second, that the choice of a minister should be left in the hands of congregations as a whole and not of communicants only. The Bill appeared to him to have been conscientiously framed on the ancient principles of the Church of Scotland. It had been accepted by an immense majority in the Church, and was calculated to be of great benefit to that part of the kingdom. 3. — Provincial Mayors entertained by the Lord Mayor to a banquet in the Mansion House. 5. — In Committee on the Licensing Bill it was resolved to fix 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. (after- wards altered to 6 p.m. in and around London) as close hpurs on Sundays. The clause relating to bond-fide travellers was settled by defining him as a person who had lodged on the preceding night at least three miles from the place where he demanded refreshments. 7. — Died at Simla, Surgeon-Geiieral Beat- son, C.B., Principal Medical Officer to Her Majesty's Forces in India. 8. — Prince Arthur takes his seat in the House of Lords as Duke of Connaught. 9. — Fire in the Tannery of Mr. Ellis, Bermondsey, a large portion of the premises being destroyed and much adjoining property placed in extreme peril. 10. — Unveiling of the statue of John Bunyan at Bedford by Lady Augusta Stanley. An address was delivered in the afternoon by Dean Stanley, who selected as his text the opening sentence of "Pilgrim's Progress:" "As I walked through the wilderness of this world I lighted on a certain place where there was a den," the "certain place" being Bedford town, and the " den " Bedford jail. — The Lord Mayor again extends hospi- tality at the Mansion House, this time to the Judges, Magistrates, and Benchers. 13.—" Grand Day" at the Middle Temple, the Prince of Wales dining with the Benchers. 14. — Died, aged 64, Sir Charles Fox, civil engineer. 15. — A motion by M. Casimir Perier, in favour of a formal recognition of the Republic, carried in the French Assembly by 345 to 34 1 votes. 16.— Honorary degrees conferred at Cam- bridge on Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, Sir Bartle Frere, Dr. Stokes, Mr. Freeman, M.- Leverrier, and other distinguished writers. On the 17th Oxford paid similar honours to General Wolseley, Sir T. E. May, Clerk of the House of Commons, and Professor Carus of Leipsic. — M. Rochefort, arrives at Queenstown and experiences a hostile reception. 17. — Congress opened in London to devise measures for more effectually preventing cruelty to animals. At the jubilee meeting the Chair- man, Lord Harrowby, read a communication from her Majesty expressing the horrors with which she read of sufferings endured by dumb animals from the thoughtlessness of the ignorant, and sometimes, she feared, from experiments in pursuit of science. For curing the former her Majesty trusted to the progress of education, while so far as science was concerned she trusted the advantage of anaesthetic discoveries, so beneficial to man, would be extended to the lower animals. The Queen rejoiced that the Society awakened the interest of the young by the production of essays connected with its objects, and had heard with gratification that her son and daughter-in-law were to distribute the prizes. This was accordingly done by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh. 19.— Died, aged 56, J. C. M. Bellew, elocutionist. — Died, aged 69, Jules Gabriel Janin, a famous French journalist and critic. "S3 JUNE I874. JULY 20.— Died, aged 75, Thomas Banting, celebrated for having so successfully practised the curative system known by his name. 22. — Telegraphic communication established between Europe and Brazil. — Died aged 64, Howard • Staunton, emi- nent in the history of chess as a player and writer, but widely known also as a cultivated Shakespearian scholar. — The new Licensing Bill read a third time in the Commons. Instead of bond fide travel- lers being defined by three miles measured in a straight line, on the map, it was agreed to measure such distance by the nearest public thoroughfare. 24. — Mr.Plimsoll's Merchant Shipping sBill, framed to prevent evils arising from overload- ing, rejected by the narrow majority of 3, the r.tvmbers being 173 to 170. — Freedom of the Merchant Taylors' Company conferred on Mr. Disraeli, the Earl of Derby, and Marquis of Salisbury. 25. — Public Worship Regulation Bill read a third time in the Lords. — Supreme Court of Judicature Bill passed in House of Lords. 28. — Died, aged 56, Major-General Arm- strong, Commander of " Armstrong's Horse" in many Kaffir engagements. — Marshal Concha killed in an attack on the Carlist entrenchments near Estella .and his troops repulsed with the loss of 4,000 men. General Zaballa succeeded to the command. 29. — Frances Stewart executed at Newgate for the murder of her grandson. — Miss Richards, a young professional pedestrian, accomplished at Stapleton, near Bristol, the extraordinary feat of walking one thousand miles in one thousand consecutive hours. An endeavour was made when she began her task on May 18th to obtain a magisterial interference, but this was unsuccess- ful! on the ground that Miss Richards was a free agent, although she undertook the task in order that her father might win a wager of 30/. 30. — Mr. Butt introduces his motion regard- ing Home Rule in Ireland, his main object as explained, being to get a Committee of the House to declare the expediency and justice of restoring to Ireland the right and power of managing all exclusively Irish affairs in an Irish Parliament. Dr. Ball on the part of Govern- ment met the motirn by a direct negative. Debate adjourned. (See July 2. ) — Died, aged 79, Henry Grinnell, first President of American Geographical Society, and zealous promoter of Arctic Discovery. "54 July 1. — Mr. J. L. Toole, comedian, entertained to dinner prior to his departure for America. 2. — Died, aged 78, Lieut. -Col. Packe, Chairman, Great Northern Railway. — Demolition of Northumberland House commenced by taking down the lion placed over the entrance gate 125 years since by Algernon Duke of Somerset and the Countess of Northumberland. The house and site were purchased by the Metropolitan Board of Works at a cost of 500,000/. for the purpose of making a new thoroughfare from Charing Cross to the Victoria Thames Embankment. The lion was -u'bsequently set up at the Duke's residence, Sion House, Brentford. ■ — In the course of adjourned debate on Mr. Butt's Home Rule motion, Mr. Disraeli denied that the Irish had any more right to claim the exclusive management of their affairs than the English or the Scotch ; but whether we hal one Imperial and one local Parliament, or one Imperial and three local, he foresaw the same muddle — " co-ordinate and competing autho- rities and officers of State acting on policies totally distinct, and bringing about a course qf affairs hostile to each other." From an amusing sketch of members hurrying from one capital to another, and by telegraph trying to keep pace with their Imperial duties at Westminster and their Irish duties at Dublin, Mr. Disraeli passed to the grievances to be remedied. The Lord Lieu- tenant was not an Irishman — well, but he is at all events an Irish duke. The high offices in Ireland are not held by Irishmen — but the Lord Chancellor of England is an Irishman. There are coercive bills complained of, but the protest against them when passed must have been in "the local Parliament ; " they were not heard in the Imperial. But the grand point of the speech — made peculiarly telling by the animation of the speaker, excited by the almost unanimous sympathetic cheering of a crowded house— was liis allusion to "the conquered race." He declared there was to him " nothing more extraordinary than, the determination of the Irish people to proclaim to the world that they are a subjugated people ! " "I have been always surprised," he said, "that a people gifted with so much genius, so much sentiment, such winning qualities, should be — I am sure they will pardon me saying it, my remark is an abstract, not a personal one — should be so deficient in self-respect." The remark caused great laughter. " I deny," said the right hon. gentleman, raising his voice, "that the Irish people are conquered : they are proud of it ^ I deny that they have any ground for that pride." The laughter here became uproarious. He went on to deny that Ireland had been pre-eminently conquered. "England had been subjugated quite as much, but never boasted of it. The JULY 1874. JULY Normans conquered Ireland, but it was after they had conquered England. Cromwell con- quered Ireland but it wasafter he had conquered England." A happier piece of pleasantry and shrewd description of an Irish weakness was never listened to ; and the right hon. gentle- man concluded in words which literally brought down the house, "I am opposed therefore to this motion because I think involved in it are the highest and dearest interests of our country. I am opposed to it for the sake of the Irish people as much as for the sake of the English or for the Scotch. I am opposed to it because X wish to see at the important crisis of the wqrld — that perhaps is nearer arriving than scmie of us suppose — a united people welded in one great nationality ; and "because I feel that if we sanction this policy, if we do not cleanse the Parlimentary bosom of this perilous stuff, we shall bring about the disintegration of the king- dom and the destruction of the empire." In the course of debate the Irish Chief Secretary con- tended that Home Rule was desired only by a minority of the people. On a division Mr. Butt's motion was thrown out by an over- whelming majority— 458 to 61 votes. 3, — Leicester Square, restored and decorated by Mr. Albert Grant, M.P., formally handed over. to the Metropolitan Board .of Works. Fontana's statue of Shakspeare, and the corner statues of Hogarth, Reynolds, Newton, and Hunter were unveiled -at the same time. 5. — Died, aged 79, Henry Stephens, author of the " Book of the Farm." 6. — Died, aged 73, the Right Hon. Fox- Maule Ramsay, eleventh Earl of Dalhousie, formerly Lord Panmure, and member of various Liberal governments, between 1835, when he entered the Home department as Under Secretary, and 1855, when he became Secretary for War in Lord Aberdeen's Cabinet. — In the Commons the Lord Advocate moves the second reading of the Abolition of Patronage (Scotland) Bill, contending that .the only opposition offered to the measure was on the part of those who opposed Church establishments. Mr. Baxter moved an amend- ment, declaring it inexpedient to -legislate on the subject without further inquiry and in- formation. Mr. Gladstone's unexpected re-appearance in the House was greeted with hearty cheers when he stood up to oppose the measure. This opposition he based on three grounds — the exclusion of heritors from all share as such in the elections of ministers ; the omission of every provision calculated to meet the case of Highland parishes ; and the injustice likely to be inflicted by the manner of abolition on the Free Church. He wanted to know among other things, what had been done by the Established General Assembly towards re-uniting itself to bodies which it had turned out for holding views which formed the basis of the present bill. The amendment which he supported might be interpreted as meaning that oilier steps of justice, prudence, and propriety — he might even say of decency — ought previously to be taken towards other non-established bodies. Mr. Disraeli denied that the measure was one for the abolition of patronage ; it was merely an alteration in the mode of selecting ministers, and in what they had done Government had actedon precedent. He defended the selection of the congregration as the constituency, as well as the amount of compensation to be pa'd to patrons, and pointed out that to substitute the Civil for Ecclesiastical Courts would be fatal to holding out the olive branch to either the United Presbyterian or Free Church bodies. The debate stood adjourned till the 13th, when the second reading was carried by 307 to 109 votes. 7. — Died, aged 59, John Heneage Jesse, author of many historical works. 8. — The Queen reviews the Aldershot troops at Chobham Common. 9. — A Belgian, Vincent de Groof, known as "The Flying Man," while attempting to de- scend by a newly inven'ed parachute from a Cremorne balloon, falls suddenly to the ground from a height of 80 feet and dies within a few minutes after being found, bleeding and insen- sible, in Robert Street, Chelsea. The porter of Chelsea Infirmary, who watched the balloon and parachute, heard, or fancied he heard, a voice in the air twice exclaiming in English, "Drop into the churchyard, look out." The aeronaut, Simmons, with de Groof in his machine below, were then drifting near St. Luke's Church and much iatiove the height of the tower. De Groof appeared to have over- balanced himself after detaching his machine, and fell forward clinging to the ropes. To the horror of the spectators the apparatus, instead of inflating with the pressure of the air, collapsed, and turning round in its descent, fell with great violence to the street a few yards from the kerbstone. Madame de Groof, who witnessed her husband's fall, fainted at the sight. The balloon rose and went on, crossing London in a north-easterly direction. Mr. Simmons swooned in the car, and did not recover consciousness till he was over Victoria Park. He travelled into Essex and came down with his balloon on the railway. In de Groof s case the coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure, but expressed an opinion that such exhibitions should be stopped by legislative interference. — Discussion in the Commons on the second raading of the Public Worship Regula- tion bill, introduced by Mr,, Russell Gurney. Mr. Gladstone declared that he had never ap- proached any question with more embarrass- ment than this, and he had been constrained to quit his retirement, to point out the false issue which had been laid before Parliament, "55 yuiY 1874. JULY and to dispel the illusions and the ignorance which prevailed throughout the country in regard to this Bill. The difficulty in which Parliament was placed was increased by the unfortunate history of the Bill, which he traced from the first announcement of it by some ' ' clever fellow " in the columns of a daily paper, and also by the departure from the usual practice that the heads of the Church and of the State should concur in any legisla- tion for the Church. Mr. Gladstone concluded by hoping the house would not deem him presumptuous if he put into the form of resolu- tions what he thought were the principles on which legislation on this subject ought to be guided ; and in case the Bill proceeded, he gave notice that on the motion that the Speaker leave the chair for the House to go into Committee, he would distinctly raise the issue on the grounds he had endeavoured to explain. The right hon. gentlemen then submitted his resolutions, six in number, relating largely to the position occupied by the Church to the State on the one hand, and to the people on the other, and by the clergy to both. • Sir William Vernon Harcourt opposed his old chief by supporting the bill in a trenchant speech. On the 13th Mr. Disraeli made a statement to the effect that, having considered most carefully the resolutions propounded by the ex-premier, "with the light of the inter- pretation which was candidly and even pro- fusely offered by the right hon. gentleman," he could "only arrive at one conclusion, namely, that they point to the abolition of that religious settlement which has prevailed in this country for more than two centuries, and on which depends much of our civil liberty." He thought it would be a great danger to the country if such propositions were not at once brought under discussion. There- fore, should the second reading of the Bill before the House be voted after the conclusion of the pending debate, he would give the right hon. gentleman an opportunity of bringing forward his six resolutions on the motion for Committee. On the 15th the adjourned debate was resumed, and the Bill read a second time without a division, several Liberal members supporting its pro- visions. On the 16th Mr. Gladstone withdrew his resolutions in deference to appeals from Liberal members, and in the hope that amend- ments would be made in Committee. 10. — The Queen confers an Albert medal of the second class on David Webster, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, late second mate of the brig Arracan of Greenock, for having made a successful struggle, extending over thirty-one days, to save from loss through self- destruction a portion of the crew entrusted to his care, in a small boat, when the vessel took fire in mid-ocean. They were discovered drifting about by the City of Manchester and conveyed to Calcutta. The ship's boy Horner was 1156 several times on the eve of being murdered by his delirious companions, and only saved by the watchfulness of Webster. 11. — Mr. Disraeli unveils the statue of the late Earl Derby (by Noble) set up in New Palace Yard, adjacent to St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. 13. — Died, aged 68, Miss Agnes Strickland, joint historian with her sister Elizabeth, of the Queens and Princesses of England. — Attempted assassination of Prince Bismarck, at Kissingen, Bavaria, by a youth named Kullmann, incited to the deed it was alleged by regardless members of the Ultra- montane party. The ball passed through the carriage, but only injured the Prince's hand, which he had raised at the moment to return a military salute given by a person in the garb of a priest. Kullmann was sentenced to four- teen years imprisonment. 14. — Another great fire at Chicago, sixty acres of building being reported as laid waste on this occasion. — Lord Sandon moves the second reading of the Endowed School Acts Amendment Bill, providing for the transference of the duties of the Commission to the Charity Commissioners, appointed by the Act of 1869, powers which at the close of the session of 1873 it had been agreed to prolong for another twelve months, the original term of three years having expired. It also proposed to alter the former Act so far as to restore to the Church of England the administration of numerous schools in cases where the founder had recognised the autho- rity of a bishop, or had directed attendance in the service of the Church, or had required that the masters should be in holy orders. Mr. Forster protested against the Bill, as did also Mr. Gladstone, the latter denouncing it as in- equitable, unusual, and unwise. Mr. Hardy defended the measure, and eventually the second reading was carried by 291 to 209 votes. The Bill was afterwards modified in committee, and three new commissioners ap- pointed under its provisions. IS. — Fire at the Galata quarter, Constanti- nople, destroying 200 houses and causing damage estimated at 200,000/. 16. — Sir Bartle Frere presented with the freedom of the City of London. 17. — Bicentenary of the birth of Dr. Isaac Watts, celebrated by Nonconformists in his native town of Southampton. 18. — Petrarch festival at Avignon. — Colliery accident in the Wigan Six- Feet mine, causing the death of fourteen of the workmen engaged in the pit when the explosion took place. — Opening of Shaftesbury Park, a new township in Battersea, intended 'o afford JULY 1874. AUGUST accommodation to about 8,000 people, and to be equally free from public-houses and pawn- shops. Mr. Disraeli, Earl Shaftesbury, and Earl Granville were present and addressed the company on the advantages conferred on working people by such undertakings. 19. — Spain declared in a state of siege, and a levy of 120,000 men ordered. 20. — Her Majesty's message read in the Commons desiring that provision might be made for her youngest son, Prince Leopold. On the 23rd a vote was passed and agreed to for 15,000/, per annum. 21. — Coggia's comet attains its nearest point to the earth after being visible to the naked eye soon after twilight for the greater part of the month. Fancy dress ball at Maryborough House, the entertainment opening with the Venetian Quadrille engaged in by the Princess of Wales and Marquis of Hartington, the Duchess of Sutherland and Prince of Wales, the latter in cavalier costume after Vandyke, with flowing curls. — The Lord Mayor entertained a com- pany of 300 ladies and gentlemen, English and foreign, and identified in some way with literature or art, as singers, painters, novelists, editors, or special correspondents. Adelina Patti (with her husband, the Marquis de Caux), sat on the right of the Lord Mayor; Lord Houghton and Sir Francis Grant on the left. Next evening a banquet was given in the same hall to Her Majesty's ministers. 27. — The steamer Milbanke, homeward bound from Cartagena, run down in the night off Dungeness by the steamer Hankow, outward bound to China' Fourteen out of the Milbanke crew of twenty-eight were lost, including the captain and mate, with their wives. — The new Judicature Bill abandoned in the House of Commons. — Floods in Pennsylvania attended with great loss of life. — Died, aged 64, William Dougal Christie, diplomatist and author, and member of Council of University College, London. 28 —The Liverpool landing stage, 2,000 feet in length, and joined by seven bridges, almost wholly destroyed by a fire, originating, it was thought, in a gas explosion below the structure, SI.— Died, aged 74, Dr. Charles Tilstone Beke, traveller and Oriental scholar. — Charles E. Emery, artist, drowned in the Thames while endeavouring to save the life of a boy who had fallen over the Embank- ment. August 1. — Right Hon. Andrew Lusk, Lord Mayor of London, gazetted a Baronet. 3. — Public Worship Bill read a third time in the House of Commons. 4. — Conflict of authority between the Lords and Commons concerning an amendment made by the latter in the Public Worship Regula- tion Bill providing for an appeal being made to the Archbishop. The Archbishops were in favour of it, but nine bishops voted against the clause. The Bishop of Winchester said he would trample his episcopal robes under foot if he did not believe episcopacy to be of Divine institution ; and if it was of Divine institution, then every bishop ruled by Divine right in his own diocese. The Bishop of Lincoln objected to the clause as over-riding episcopal discretion, and tending to set up a Pope at Canterbury and an anti-Pope at York. The Marquis of Salisbury spoke of the " bluster " which generally prevailed when the Commons took any course opposed to the Upper House, and on the present occasion repudiated the majority as a "bugbear." In the course of the debate to which this conflict of authority gave rise in the Commons, Mr. Disraeli repeated his earlier description of the Bill, that it was intended to put down Ritualism, meaning by Ritualism the practices of a certain portion of the clergy, symbolical, according to their own admission, of doctrines which they were solemnly bound to renounce. Of all the false pretences put forward there was none, Mr. Disraeli remarked, more glaring than the pretence that this small pernicious sect was a part of the High Church party, among which he had found some of the most strenuous opponents of Rome. The Bill, he believed, would be found efficacious for its purpose, and it would be with the utmost hesitation that he would take any steps to put it in peril. He had supported the amendment as a wise and salutary provision, and he regretted its defeat, but for the sake of it he was not prepared to forfeit the Bill. "As to Lord Salisbury's language, let us not for a moment (said Mr. Disraeli) be diverted from the course which we think, as wise and grave men, we ought to follow, by any allusions to the spirit of any speech which may have been made in the course of the debates in the other House of Parliament. My noble friend, who has just been referred to by the right hon. gentleman who has just addressed us with so much ability, was long a member of this House, and is well known to many of the members even of this Parliament. He is not a man who measures his phrases. He is one who is a great master of gibes and flouts and jeers, but I don't suppose there is any one who is prejudiced against a member of Parliament on account of such qualifications. My noble friend knows the House of Commons well, and he is not perhaps superior to the consideration that by making a speech of that kind, and taunting "57 AUGUST 1874. AUGUST respectable men like ourselves as being a ' blustering majority ' he probably might stimu- late the amour propre of some individuals to take the course which he wants, and to defeat the bill. Now I hope we shall not fall into that trap. I hope we shall show my noble friend that we remember some of his ma- noeuvres when he was a simple member of this 1 1 ouse, and that we are not to be taunted into taking a very indiscreet step, a step ruinous to all our own wishes and expectations, merely to show that we resent the contemptuous phrases of one of my colleagues." The Bill was ulti- mately accepted as sent from the Lords without a division, Mr. Disraeli intimating that Lord Penzance had agreed to accept the post of new Ecclesiastical Judge at a salary of 3,000/. per annum — not 4,000/. as originally intended. A. Ministerial Whitebait Dinner at Green- wich. 5. — The House of Lords hold a special Wednesday sitting to pass the Endowed Schools and certain other Bills. — After a sharp debate,™ which person- alities were freely indulged in, the Commons agree to the Lords' amendments on the Public Worship Bill. §. — Sir Robert Phillimore, Dean of Arches, pronounces judgment reversing the decision of the Bishop for removal of the Reredos in Exeter Cathedral. Taking up the points which had been urged, he held that the dean and chapter of a cathedral did not require a faculty to erect a reredos, that the bishop had no power to order its removal, and that if he had the power it ought not to be exercised, because the images were no more objectionable than was the crucifix placed over the choir. An appeal was made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. (See 25th Feb. 1875). 7. — Thousandth anniversary of the coloniza- tion of Iceland, celebrated at Reikiajvik. — Parliament prorogued, the Queen's speech being read by the Lord Chancellor. Allusion was made to the Brussels' conference, the Reciprocity Treaty between Canada and the United States, disturbances in Spain, sup- pression of slavery at Zanzibar, famine in India, state of affairs on the Gold Coast, and generally to the legislative measures passed during the session. IO. — Marshal Bazaine escapes from his prison in the Isle St. Marguerite by means of a rope ladder and a boat cleverly rowed by his wife and his wife's nephew. The version subsequently given of the affair by the Marshal himself and Madame Bazaine wos dramatic in the extreme, but people could not readily bring themselves to believe that circumstances had been so favourable as they made out, or that a corpulent man of sixty-five had really in the dead of night let himself down a perpendicular 1158 cliff of nearly 100 feet, renting when half way by an iron hook attached to his girdle, then and there striking a lucifer match as a signal to the faithful friends rowing over the stormy waters to his rescue, had thereafter plunged into the waves and battled his way till, almost dead from cold and exhaustion, he was dragged into the boat. It was more probable that his escape had been facilitated by negligence on the part of some of the officials, and connivance on that of others ; and the judicial inquiry which was instituted into the matter on Septem- ber 1 6th at Grasse resulted in such a conclusion. That inquiry had to deal with the fate of eight persons who were arrested on the charge of complicity, and who received sentences of im- prisonment varying from six months to one, 12. — Accident at the Bargoed station of the Rhymney Railway, South Wales, caused by the want of brake-power on slippery rails, and causingimuch damage to the rolling stock and permanent way. Driver and fireman killed. 13. — New Guildhall at Plymouth opened amid great local rejoicing by the Prince of Wales. !*■ — A young man named Hubert commits suicide by throwing himself from the tower of Notre Dame, Paris. 15 — Died, aged 84, Right Rev. Charles Richard Sumner, D.D., Bishop of Winchester, 1827-69. — Grand Cross of the Abyssinian Order of Solomon's Seal and the Holy Cross, sent by King John of Ethiopia (Prince Kassai of Tigre) to the Prince of Wales. 16.— Fire at Market Harborough, Leicester- shire, destroying a tanyard in which it originated and nine buildings in different parts of the town over which the burning embers had been carried. 18.— Died, aged 86, Sir William Fairbairn, Bart., eminent for his triumphs in the science of engineering. — The King of Denmark visits Leith and Edinburgh on returning from the Iceland festivities. 20.— Died, aged 81, Kenny Meadows, artist. ^ 22.— Died, aged 50, Sydney T. Dobell, known as a poet under the nom-de-plume of " Sydney Yendys." 24,— Died, aged 83, William Henry West Betty, famous in the beginning of the century as the " Infant Roscius." 25.— Tragedy at Princes' Club, Manchester, Hubert Barge shooting Alexander M'Lean dead in the writing-room, and then committed suicide by shooting himself, while in a state of insanity. 27.— Died, aged 56, John Henry Folev. sculptor, R.A. ' ** SEPTEMBER I8 74 . SEPTEMBER 27. — Died, age! 81, Michael Banim, an Irish poet well known among his countrymen. 28. — Marriage of the Grand Duke Vladimir with the Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg solemnised at St. Petersburg. 29. — The Comte de Jarnac gazetted as French Ambassador at the Court of St. James's. 31. — M. Durouf and his wife wishing to satisfy a disappointed crowd at Calais, ascend in a balloon from that place and are carried in a direction north-east across the Channel, and after many narrow escapes in the darkness of night are picked up near the Doggerbank, almost dead, by a fishing-smack and landed at Grimsby. September 1. — A company of Roman Catholics set out from London- as pilgrims to the shrine of St. Edmund of Pontigny, France. 2. — Having recently passed over to the Romish Communion, the Marquis of Ripon resigns the Grand Mastership of Freemasons in England. The government of the craft thereafter devolved upon the Prince of Wales, and at a subsequent meeting of the grand Lodge his Royal Highness was formally elected to the Grand Master's chair. — The Germans celebrate the victory of. Sedan with great enthusiasm at Berlin; 3. — Died, aged 82, Sir John Rennie, F.R.S., a civil engineer of wide reputation, including, as his labours did, works so well known as London Bridge, Plymouth Breakwater (in conjunction with his father), and the drainage of Lincolnshire fens. 7. — Extensive fire at Meiningen, Germany, one-half of the town being reduced to ashes, 3,000 people rendered houseless. 8. — Fire at Amsterdam, an extensive sugar refinery, insured for 1,500,000 florins, being destroyed. X o . — Terrible rail way accident near Norwich. A train carrying mails to Norwich left Great Yarmouth as usual at 8.46 p.m. and was joined at Redham, twelve miles from Norwich, by another train from Lowestoft* This junction being effected in the ordinary course, the combined train proceeded to Brundall, three stations farther on. The line here became single, and the united train required to halt until the arrval of the express train from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, or until per- mission was given to the engine driver to proceed. A mistaken order from the night- inspector at Norwich station allowed the down express to leave Norwich while the Great Yarmouth train was suffered to come on from Brundall. The consequence was that the doomed trains met at Thorpe, nearly two miles from Norwich and ran headlong into each other. The rails were slippery from rain ; there was a slight curve in the line at the fatal spot, so that the lights of neither train could be seen, and there was no time to apply the brakes. The express train consisted of fourteen carriages, and the mail train of thirteen, so that the opposing forces were nearly equ.il in weight. It was thought that the speed of the up'mail could not have been less than from thirty to thirty-five miles an hour, while the rate at which the express was travelling would be from twenty to twenty-five miles. The two engines and tenders weighed, one forty and the other forty-five tons. Exclusive of dead weight in the train behind, this made over eighty tons of metal hurled almost through the- air from opposite points. People living in the neighbourhood described the noise of the collision as something of the nature of a thunderbolt. In the crash which followed the funnel of one engine was carried away and the other rushed over it with several carriages until a pyramid was formed of the locomotives and shattered carriages, among which lay the wounded, dead, or dying passengers. Besides the four drivers-and firemen, sixteen passengers were killed on the-- spot or died before the night was over, and about fifty were seriously injured, of whom five died in the course of a few days. The error as to the telegram being discovered early, although not before the answer was returned " Mail train gone," a few minutes- of dreadful suspense was ex- perienced at Norwich, but during which it was found possible to make some preparations for meeting'the inevitable catastrophe. Finding their train stopped, but unaware of the calamity, two of the passengers were reported as having stepped out to walk to their destination, close at hand, and heard nothing of the disaster till next day. 11. — Captain Strahan sworn in as Governor of the Gold Coast Settlement, and the new Charter read. 12. — Captain John Dent Bird, 20th Hussars, shot at Aldershot by Private T Smith of the same regiment, while engaged with his company in musketry practice, and in revenge, it was thought, for a seven days' confinement in bar- racks, to which he had been sentenced hy his captain. Smith confessed to firing the shot and surrendered himself on the ground. The ball had entered at the right shoulder-blade, passed through the body, and out at the breast. Cap- tain Bird became instantly unconscious, and expired in a few minutes, ignorant as to who had fired the shot Smith was tried for the offence at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Lush, Oct, 28th, found guilty, and condemned to death. — Died at his residence, Val Richer, Normandy, aged 87, Francois Pierre Guil- laume Guizot, French statesman and historian, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1840 till the 1 159 OCTOBER 1874. OCTOBER downfall of Louis Philippe in the revolution of 1S48. 14. — First meeting of the Congress of Orientalists at the Royal Institution under the presidency of Dr. Birch, of the British Museum. Members were entertained at the Mansion House on the 19th. 15. — Died aged 79, Hercules J. Robertson, Lord Benholm, Senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh. 20. — Died, Victor Sejour, French dramatic writer. 21.— The balloon "Duke of Edinburgh," started in conjunction with "La Continent," from the Crystal Palace, with Messrs. Spencer arid Lithgoe in the car, travels a distance of seventy miles in one hour and twenty minutes. 22. — Died, aged 71, Charles Swain, awriter of many pleasing verses. 23. — Typhoon at Hong Kong, causing great loss of life and destruction to shipping. 25. — Statue of the composer Balfe unveiled in Drury Lane. 26 International Rifle match between England and America, contested at New York and won by America. 28. — Duke of Edinburgh visits Liverpool for the threefold purpose of attending the Musical Festival, opening the new Seamen's Orphanage, and laying the foundation-stone of an Art Gallery to be erected by Mr. Walker, at a cost of 20,000/. 30. — The King of the Fiji Islands cedes his country to the British Government, represented by Sir Hercules Robinson, commanding the Dido. — Murder and suicide at Plymouth, a retired builder, named Thomas, first cutting his wife's throat and then his own, while waiting in a solicitor's office to settle details of a deed of separation. — A labourer named Poirier executed at Chartres for a series of crimes known as the Limours murders, the victims in this case to the cunning and ferocity of one person amounting to at least ten in number. October 2. — Explosion on the Regent's Canal, the fly-barge Tilbury, laden with four tons of blasting powder and six barrels of petroleum, being blown up about five o'clock this morning at the North Lodge Bridge, Zoological Gardens, and the three men in charge killed. Serious damage was done to property within a radius of a mile from the seat of the explosion, the bridge being blown to pieces, while Venetian blinds were torn 1 160 from their sashes and furniture smashed in many cases. Many people residing in the neighbourhood rushed into the streets in their night-dresses screaming for help, and it was some hours before quiet and order was restored. Among those who suffered more severely were Mr. Ochse, of North House, Mr. Alma Tadema, artist, St. John's Wood, and Mrs. Howard Paul. The coroner's jury found that the Canal Company were guilty of gross negli- gence in permitting fires to be lighted on such barges as the Tilbury, and that the existing laws were inadequate to secure public safety. 4. — Arrest and imprisonment of Count Arnim, late German Ambassador at Paris, on a charge of retaining State documents in his possession when he had been officially dismissed from the service of the State. Count Arnim was afterwards sentenced to two months imprisonment. — Died, aged 86, Bryan Waller Procter, a poet who had obtained a wide popularity under the pseudonym of " Barry Cornwall." Mr. Procter was at Harrow in Byron's time, and one of the last who knew Charles Lamb intimately in the latter years of his life. — Died, aged 75, Mr. Webster Fisher, Professor of Medicine in the University of Cambridge. 7. — The Duke of Edinburgh lays the foundation-stone of the new wing of the Royal British Female Orphan Asylum at Plymouth. IO. — By her own desire, and in the furnace of Herr Siemens at Dresden, the body of Lady Dilke is subjected to the process of cremation in the presence of relatives. After the com- pany had complied with a request to offer up a mental prayer, the coffin was placed in the chamber of the fumace ; six minutes later the coffin burst ; five minutes more and the flesh began to melt away ; ten minutes more and the skeleton was laid bare ; another ten minutes and the bones began to crumble. Seventy-five minutes after the introduction of the coffin into the furnace all that remained of Lady Dilke and the coffin were six pounds of dust placed in an urn. 12. — William Abbott, a member of the Stock Exchange, bound over to keep the peace towards Mr. Labouchere, of The World newspaper, who had been assaulted and threat- ened in connection with articles written on certain city speculations. — Opening of new railway to Plymouth by way of Tavistock, Okehampton, and Dartmoor. 14. — Collision in the Channel between the iron-built ships Canduhar and Kingsbridgt, the latter sinking in three minutes with the master, his wife and daughter, and eight of the crew. The Canduhar brought into .Falmouth much damaged. NOVEMBER I8 74 . NOVEMBER 15. — The Duchess of Edinburgh gives birth to a son at Buckingham Palace, Alfred Alex- ander William Ernest Albert. The Empress of Russia arrived at the Palace in the course of the afternoon. 17. — "Hospital Saturday ;" about 4,000?. collected at stalls and boxes in the streets in aid of the metropolitan charities. — Died, aged 62, Sir John Benson, archi- tect of the Dublin Great Exhibition building. 20. — The Chusan, from Glasgow to Shang- hai, but more recently from Waterford, where she had put in for repairs, wrecked in a storm off Ardrossan, in presence of hundreds of spectators. Captain Johnstone, with his wife and sister-in-law, were lashed to a line thrown from a tug, but finding it impossible for all three to be hauled on board, the master cut himself adrift, arid was drowned, with sixteen of his crew. The storm was also severely felt in Lon- don and generally along the east and west coasts. 22. — Freedom of the City of London and a sword valued at 100 guineas presented in the Guildhall to Major-General Sir Garnet Wolseley, K. C.B., for ability and gallantry shown in the Gold Coast expedition. 23. — Cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, 2,000 lives being reported as lost at Midnapore. 24.— Died, aged 66, Thomas Miller, author of " Gideon Giles " and other writings in prose and verse, who had, by great application and industry, raised himself from a humble position as a Nottingham basket-maker. 26. — The Queen confers the Victoria Cross on Major Sartorius for personal bravery shown in presence of the enemy at Abogoo during the Ashantee War. — Trinity Church, the first English Pro- testant place of worship erected within the walls of Rome, opened for public worship, on a site near the Corso. — Destruction by fire of Messrs. Haigh's cotton mill at Over, Cheshire ; eleven of the work-people burned. 28. — The Home Secretary receives a depu- tation from the Metropolitan Municipal Asso- ciation, organised to secure a new municipality for London. 30. — Died, aged 80, Sir Denis Le Marchant, Bart, formerly Chief Clerk of the House of Commons. — Died, aged 60, Dr. Edwin Lankester, coroner for Middlesex, and a prolific contributor to the literature of scientific societies. November 3. — The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Birmingham, and are entertained by the Mayor, Mr. Chamberlain. Coventry was visited on the 5th. 3. — Explosion in composition or mixing- house of Hounslow Powder Mills, causing the death of four workmen, and serious injury to two others. 4. — The ancient Scottish festival of Hallow- een celebrated on a great scale by Her Majesty and the royal household at Balmoral. IO. — Captain Bumaby, of the Royal Horse Guards, and Lord Manners, of the Grenadier Guards, ascend in balloon from the Crystal Palace, and make a successful trial of a machine devised by the former for ascertaining the course of the wind above clouds when the earth is concealed. — The Carlists are defeated and compelled to raise the siege of Iruu, the disordered troops taking refuge for the most part in Vera. 14. — Died, aged 69, Rev. Wm. Sewell, D.D. , Senior Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. 15. — Died, aged 70, Heinrich Brockhaus, Leipsic, publisher. — Fire at Howick Hall, Northumberland, the residence of Earl Grey. Flames subdued without serious damage to the more stately rooms of the mansion. 16. — Mr. Disraeli re-elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University, his opponent being Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lord Derby ha-' been elected for Edinburgh University on the 14th. — Died, aged 92, Admiral Sir Henry Prescott, G.C.B. 17. — The Midland Railway abolish second class carriages on their system, and make a considerable reduction in first-class fares. — Sinking of the steamship Empire at Philadelphia, through overloading, thirty lives lost. — Official intimation given that Government had resolved upon sending an expedition to the North Pole. 19. — A twelve-oared cutter belonging to H.M.S. Aurora run down on the Clyde off Greenock by the Dublin steamer Duke of Leinster. A little after six o'clock, and when about half way between Princess pier and the guardship, the men in the cutter discovered their danger and held up a lamp as a signal for the steamer to lessen speed. The orders " Stop her" and "Full speed astern " were instantly given, but the speed on was so great that she could not be brought to a stand. A lamentable collision occurred, the small boat being com- pletely cut in two, and the whole of the men and boys, twenty-seven in number, thrown into the water. Seventeen were drowned or killed in the collision, and ten saved more or less injured. 1161 NOVEMBER 1S74. DECEMBER 19. — The Cospatrick, an emigrant shin with 434 passengers on board for Auckland, and a crew of forty-three, burnt in 37° 15' S. Lat., I2°2S'E. Long., about 400 miles from the Cape. The alarm of fire was first raised soon after midnight on the 1 7th, and it continued, defying all efforts to check it, till the after- noon of the 19th, when the mainmast fell, killing many, and the ship's stern blew out under the poop deck. One survivor of that scene described Captain Elmslie as then throwing his wife overboard and leaping after her himself, to be followed by the surgeon with the captain's son in his arms. The vessel had been burning for at least thirty-six hours before she went down, but amid the agony and confusion prevailing on board only two boats managed to get clear of the blazing wreck. Arranging to keep together and in the way of vessels as much as possible, they yet got separated in a breeze on the night of the 21st, and of the port b^at in charge of the chief mate with its twenty-five occupants, men and women, and one baby eleven days old, nothing was ever afterwards known. In the star&oai d boat, to which the second mate, Macdonald, had transferred his services by way of lighten- ing the other, there were originally, thirty, all males, twenty-three being passengers. Desti- tute of food and raiment, the poor survivors became gradually reduced in number as hunger and madness wrought on their systems. Some fell overboard asleep, others, mad with thirst and hunger, sickened to -death in the boat. On the 26th, when very bad, they commenced sucking the blood of those whom they were too weak to throw overboard. By next day, the 27th, the company was reduced to five, and some of these began to get callous as to what fate overtook them. They were happily then discovered by the ship British Sceptre of Liverpool, from Calcutta to Dundee, taken on board, and treated with the utmost kindness. Two, a passenger and a seaman, died on board, the other three, Macdonald, Lewis, and the youth Cottar, all seamen, and the sole survivors of the Cospatrick were landed at St. Helena to await a steamer home. — (See Dec. 25.) 20. — Colliery explosion at Rawmarsh, Rotherham, causing the death of twenty-three workmen and serious injury to four others, being all who were in the pit at the time. — Died, aged 39, Tom Hood, humorist and editor of Fun, son of the still greater humorist, who sang " The Song of the Shirt." 21. — Died, aged 74, Sir William Jardine, Bart., of Applegirth, naturalist. — Dense fog over the country, leading to numerous railway accidents. 23. — Christening of the infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at Bucking- 1162 ham Palaci-. in presence ot the Queen, the Empress of Russia, and many members of the Royal and Imperial Households. 27. — Died, Sir James Ranald Martin, F.R.C.S., an eminent Physician, and Inspector- General of Army Hospitals. 29. — -Died, aged 59, Constantine von Tischendorf, LL.D., philologist and Biblical critic. — The La Plata steamer, laden with telegraph cable for South America, founders in a severe gale off Ushant. Though much was done to lighten the vessel as well as to get boats and rafts in order, the La Plata shot down stern first with a loud explosion, carrying to the deep at least sixty of her passengers and crew, some of the former trained electricians. Among the lost were Captain Duddtr, Mr. Hughes, surgeon, the three officers, one of the four engineers, seven of the ten stewards and cooks, both the boatswains, the carpenter, all the eleven stokers, fourteen of the twentv- one seamen, and the whole of the cable staff, sixteen in number, with Mr. Ricketts and the six electricians accompanying him. A boat which had managed to clear the vessel, with fifteen survivors, was picked up by the emigrant ship Gareloch, and the passengers transferred afterwards to the Antenor, which landed them at Gravesend. 30. — Day of intercession for Foreign Missions, Dean Stanley preaching a special sermon on the occasion at Westminster, and Principal Caird, of Glasgow University, officiat- ing from the lectern in the nave during the afternoon. — Captain Mark Sever Bell, R.E., receives the distinction of the Victoria Cross for distinguished bravery at Ordahsu during the Ashantee Expedition. The Victoria Cross, first instituted as a reward for valour in Feb 1856, is now in the possession of 106 officers of Her Majesty's Army, seven officers of the Royal Navy, one officer of the Royal Marines, and two Bengal civilians. Sixty of these crosses were conferred f >r acts of bravery during the Indian Mutiny, thirty-seven were won by officers during the war with Russia, six' were conferred for gallantry during the war with New Zealand, three were won during the China war in i860, three have been dis- tributed for valour during the late Ashantee campaign, two for the Umbeyla campaign, two for Bhootan, one for Persia, one for the Looshai expedition, and one for an act of gallantry in rescuing some soldiers from drowning in the Indian Ocean, the only Victoria cross not earned under fire. December 2. — Died, aged 45, Watts Phillips, dramatist. — The Prince of Wales proclaimed Grand Master of the Freemasons of England by Garter King of Anns. DECEMBER I8 74 . DECEMBER 2. — Dr. Kenealy disbarred by the benchers of Gray's Inn. 3. — The Duke of Abercorn nominated Grand Master of the Freemasons of Ireland. — Medals distributed by the Queen at Windsor to nine seamen and marines for conspicuous gallantry during the Ashantee War. — An address from the French people, con- tained within four large and handsome volumes, presented to the Queen at Windsor, in acknow- ledgment of aid rendered by English people to the sick and wounded in the war of 1870-71. Her Majesty graciously accepted the address, and made a courteous acknowledgment in French. The volumes were subsequently placed in the British Museum. 4. — Following up a series of noisy debates which had occurred in the German Imperial Parliament with the Ultramontrane or Centre- party, Prince Bismarck said he would tell the House a story which had long been kept secret, but ought now to be made public. " In 1869, when the Wurtemburg Government had occa- sion to complain of the action of the Papacy, the Wurtemburg envoy at Munich was in- structed to make representations, and in a conversation which passed between the envoy and the Nuncio, the latter said that the Roman Church was free only in America, and perhaps also in England and in Belgium. In all other countries she had to look to revolution as the sole means of securing her rightful position. This then was the view of the priestly diplo- matist stationed at Munich in 1 869, and formerly representing the Vatican at Paris. Well, the revolution so ardently desired by the Vatican did not come to pass, but we had the war of 1870 instead. Gentlemen, I am in possession of conclusive evidence proving that the war of 1870 was the combined work of Kome and France ; that the CEcumenical Council was cut short on account of the war ; and that very different votes would have been taken by the council had the French been victorious. I know from the very best sources that the Emperor Napoleon was dragged into the war very much against his will by the Jesuitical influences rampant at his court, that he strove very hard to resist those influences, ' that in the eleventh hour he determined to maintain peace, that he stuck to this deter- mination for half-an-hour, and that he was ultimately overpowered by persons representing Rome." 7. — Sir Robert Phillimore gives judgment, suspending Mr. Mackonochie, of Alban's, six weeks, for ritualistic practices. 8— Aspinal, Fry, and Knocker, three directors of the Eupion Gas Company, com- mitted for trial on the charge of fraud on the 1 163 Stock Exchange, in so far as they had con- spired to establish a " comer " in shares of a company which had no more than a nomi- nal existence, thus violating the provision ot the Companies' Act, and defrauding Mr. Hankey, who by their schemes found himself under obligations to deliver 2,800 shares with- out being able to obtain any at quoted prices. "The House," on this occasion, had suspended the rule, making delivery compulsory, on evidence submitted to them showing that Mr. Hankey had been made the tool of a con- spiracy. — H.M.S. Basilisk returns to England after a commission of four years, chiefly spent in exploring the coast, harbours, rivers, and islands of Torres Straits and Eastern New Guinea. 9. — Died, aged 68, Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell's University, New "York. — The astronomical event known as the "Transit of Venus," looked forward to with interest by scientific men, and prepared for by several expeditions sent out by various nations of Europe and the United States ot America to those parts of the globe from which it could be best observed, took place to-day. Telegrams were received in the course of the next few days briefly mentioning the results obtained. In Egypt, India, China, and Persia, the weather was reported as fine and the observations successful. In Tasmania and some other regions the reverse was the case. 11. — Died, John Mitchell, librarian, of Old Bond Street, and theatrical manager. 12. — Robbery at the Paddington Terminus this evening by which Lady Dudley lost jewels valued in the first instance at 50,000/. but latterly much reduced in amount The case appeared to have been picked up from the platform when set down for a moment by a female servant in charge, while she assisted a companion out of the cab. A reward of 1,000/. was offered, but the jewels were never recovered. 13. — Bishop Colenso inhibited by the Bishop of London from preaching in St. James's Chapel. 15. — The Shaker community at New Forest Lodge, Lymington, presided over by Mother Girling, ejected from their residence by the Sheriff, acting for the mortgagee, twenty men, and in women and children being turned out with all their furniture. Shelter was offered them but refused, and they stayed in the road all night singing and praying through a heavy fall of rain and snow driven along by a cold east wind. Mother Girling, mentioned above, was apprehended in the expectation that a certificate of insanity might be obtained against her, but this could not be proved, and the poor woman was thereupon restored to her flock, who ultimately found temporary shelter in the neighbourhood. DECEMBER 1874. DECEMBER 16. — Fire in Collins' carriage factory, Oxford, destroying most of the works with valuable finished stock, and placing the neighbouring well-known Randolph Hotel in great peril. 17. — Prince Bismarck's resignation refused by the Emperor of Germany. 22.— Died, at the age of 78, "Tita" Falcieri, a servant of Lord Byron's in Venice. He accompanied the remains of the poet to England, and afterwards passed into the service first of Byron's friend, Sir J. C. Hob- house (Lord Broughton), and next of Isaac Disraeli. Later in life " Tita " was appointed a messenger in the India Office. 23. — Died, aged 73, Rt. Hon. Sir John Romilly, a Master of the Rolls distinguished for his ability in the House of Commons and on the Bench, but still more for the interest he took in the publication of the Memorials and Calendars illustrating the history of Great Britain. 2*. — With the close of this year there falls to be recorded one of the most appalling occurrences which has taken place in the history of our home railway system. The Great Western express from Paddington, unusually crowded with Christmas visitors, had" proceeded on its journey north from Oxford as far as the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell, about a mile and a half from the Woodstock Road Station, when the tire of one of the wheels of a front carriage gave way with the most disastrous re- sults. The coupling-chain snapped;, while- the carriages in the rear were thrown off the rails, some falling on one side and some on the other of an embankment about twenty feet high at this part of the line. At the time of the accident the train was travelling at the rate of forty miles an hour. One carriage carried away a stone abutment of a bridge over the canal and fell in splinters into the water ; two others, wheels up, were spread like matchwood along the embankment ; while a third was hurled across the up-line on to the bank. In these the deaths were many, and the injuries severe, the bodies in some cases affording no clue to identity. The first shock and alarm over, residents near the place vied with surviv- ing passengers to render what assistance was possible under the circumstances, and by the afternoon, when the sad news got known at Oxford, numerous medical men. well furnished with appliances were hastening, to Shipton. The dead were laid out in rows for identifica- tion,, and the injured, where it was possble, removed in most instances to the RadclifFe infirmary, Oxford. The deaths amounted to thirty-four, and the seriously injured numbered seventy. With her customary solicitude for all classes of her subjects, Her Majesty made inquiry from time to time, through Dr. Jenner, as to the condition of the patients. — Colliery explosion at Bignall Hill, Staf- 11 64 fordshire, causing the death of seventeen out of nineteen workmen engaged in the ' ' thick coal " at the time of the calamity. None of the men employed in the other workings were affected by the accident. 25. — News received in London of the burn- ing of the emigrant ship Cospairick (see ante, Nov. 19). The few survivors were taken off St. Helena by the steamer Nyanza and landed at Plymouth on the last night of the year. The nature- and- extent of the calamity excited public sympathy to an unusual degree, and news- papers, provincial as well as metropolitan, made supreme efforts to give early information by reaching the survivors in the steamer when coming up the English Channel. 26. — Died, aged 74, Rev. John Moultrie, rector of Rugby, a poet of some celebrity, but even more widely known as the friend of Arnold, Praed, and Derwent Coleridge. 30. — Prince Alfonso, son of the ex-Queen Isabella, proclaimed King of Spain by the troops at Madrid and the armies of the North and Centre. — Died, Benjamin Attwood, an anonymous but munificent donor to many charities. — Died; at Caen, where he had repaired in failing health, James Graham, fourth Duke and seventh Marquis of Montrose, a member of various Conservative Governments between 1852-68, aged 75. 31.— News received of more disasters at sea. The steamer Delfina was reported as having struck on a rock off the west coast of South America. Twenty of her passengers and crew reported as lost. Six others escaped in a boat, and about as many more were taken alive off the rigging. — The Calcutta, of London, was burnt at sea on her voyage from Newcastle to Aden, and Captain Patchet, his son, the mate, and nine seamen reported as lost, after taking to a boat. The crews of two boats were picked up and landed at St. Helena. — The Euxine of North Shields destroyed by fire in the South Atlantic in August, and a portion of her crew subjected to extreme suf- fering from hunger and thirst. One Italian sailor was said to have been slain and cut up for food- a few hours before the party were relieved by a Dutch ship. — Died, aged 67, Alexandre Auguste Ledru Rollin, a French political refugee, pro- minency concerned in the Revolution of 1848. — Died, aged 74, F. Kieman, F.R.S., an anatomist and physiologist, celebrated for his researches into the history of the liver, for which he was awarded the Copley Medal. — In the case of Frederick v. Attorney-Gene- ral, known as the Frederick legitimacy case, a jury in the Divorce and Matrimonial Court return a verdict that Col. Frederick and Martha Rigden were lawfully married in March, 1773, as alleged by the petitioner, Captain C. E, Frederick. JANUAR Y 1875. JANUARY 1875. January 2. — -Pied, aged 84, Sir Samuel Bignold, founder of the Norwich Union Fire and Life Offices and intimately associated during his long lihley to explain certain remarks made out of the Mouse on the use made of the witness Luie in the Tichborne case, but it was ruled that no notice could be taken of what was said by hon. members except in their parliamentary capacity. — Died, aged 73> John Tiinbs, an inde- fatigable compiler and author of many books of antiquarian gossip. 7.— Died, aged 58, SirArthurHelps.K.C.B., Clerk to the Privy Council, author of " Friends in Council," and many historical works, showing an enlightened and cultivated mind. — Died, aged 67, General Sir James Hope Grant, G.C. B., conqueror of Pekin, and latterly commanding the forces at Alders-hot. Buried at Edinburgh on the 13th with military and civic honours. — Died, aged 75, Dr. John Edward Gray, F.R.S., Keeper of Zoology in the British Museum. 8. — Sir John Shaw Lefevre resigns hjs office of Clerk of the Parliament. 9. — Commenced in the Agricultural Hall, Islington, a series of metropolitan meetings, known as "Revival gatherings," conducted by the two American evangelists, Messrs. Moody and Sankey, who for some months before this date had been holding meetings almost daily in different towns in England and Scotland. — Marble bust of Mazzini unveiled at Rome. 11. — Sir Charles Mordaunt obtains a decree nisi for the dissolution of his marriage with Ladv Mordaunt. " 1 168 13.— The first of a long series of com- mercial failures made public to-day by the announcement that Messrs. J. C. im Thurin & Co., Merchants of Leadenhall Street, had suspended . payment, with liabilities estimated at over ^3,000,000 sterling. Messrs. Siordet & Co., Mincing Lane, and the General South American Company fo. lowed on the 17th, each with liabilities of about ^400,000. 15. — Died, aged over 90, Field Marshal Sir W. M. Gomm, G.C.B.,D.C.L.,&c, Constable of the Tower, who had carried the colours of the 9th Foot through the campaign in Holland, under the Dnke of York, in 1794, and in addition -to much other active service in the interim, was present at Waterloo as Quarter- master General to Sir Thomas Picton's "fighting divison." The remains of General Gomm were interred in Christ Church, Rother- hithe, on the 24th. — The ex-King and Queen of Naples visit Her Majesty at Windsor. — The Pope creates six new Cardinals, Archbishop Manning being among the number. The new Cardinal assumed possession of his titular throne in the church of San Gregorio, Rome, on the 28th. — End of the Shipwrights' strike on the Tyne, having lasted six weeks. — The Due d'Audiffret Pasquier elected President of the French Assembly, in room of M. Buffet, who had become Prime Minister. 16. — Third reading of the Increase of Epis- copate Bill, .carried in the House of Lords. 17. — The Commons appoint a Select Com- mittee to consider the Law of Bankers autho- rised to make and issue notes in the United Kingdom. — The Marquis of Lome swom as a Privy Councillor. 18. — Regimental Exchanges Bill read a third time in the Commons, its design, as explained by Mr. Gathorne Hardy, being to allow an officer on half pay to exchange with an officer on full pay, such exchanges, however, to be on purely military grounds. 19. — Fire at Eugene Rimmel's perfumery manufactory, Beaufort Buildings, Strand, de- stroying the greater part of the fabric in which it originated. 20. — Double parricide in Essex, Thomas Johnson, residing near Colchester, murdering his father and mother. — Died, aged 60, John Mitchel, the re- turned convict who had recently been elected M.P. for Tipperary county. APRIL 1S7S. APRIL 21. — Frederick Hunt, residing at Dulwich Road, Penge, murders his wife by cutting her throat, poisons one of his children, and nearly succeeds with other two, attempting to com- plete the tragedy by laying himself along the rails of the adjoining railway, where he was found by the signalman and apprehended. At his trial Hunt's insanity was established in evidence, and sentence passed for confine- ment in a lunatic asylum. — Baptist Chapel opened at Rome. 22. — Statue of Daniel Manin unveiled in Venice. — Died, aged 54, the Comte de Jarnac, French ambassador at the English Court. 23. — The Peace Preservation (Ireland) Bill read a second time in the Commons by a majority of 195. 24-. — The Aihenaum cast in damages to the extent of 1,275/., for a libel on Messrs. W. and A. K. Johnston, geographical publishers, Edinburgh. 27. — Died, aged 72, Edgar M. Quinet, French historian and philosopher. 29. — Died, aged 63, John Martin, M.P. for Meath county. 31. — Dean Stanley installed as Lord Rector of the University of St. Andrews. April I. — The King of Denmark confers Grand Cross of the Dannebrog on Hans Christian Andersen, the popular novelist, on attaining his seventieth year. 3. — The Tower of London opened free to the public. 5. — Captain Paul Boyton exhibits his life- preserving dress in Cowes harbour before the Queen and Princess Beatrice. A series of successful experiments had previously been made in the Thames. 6. — The Prince and Princess of Wales take part in the installation ceremonies connected wilh the removal of Merchant Taylors' School to new buildings at the Charterhouse. — Meeting of King Victor Emmanuel and the Emperor of Austria at Venice. 7. — Alfred Cooper, railway inspector, whose overlook led to the Thorpe accident, found guilty of neglect of duty and sentenced to eight months imprisonment. 9. — The Lord Chancellor explains that in proceeding with the Judicature Amendment Act he would propose the repeal of the clauses providing for a Court of Final Appeal, and recommend a Court of Intermediate Appeal instead. The sections of the Act of 1873 abolishing the jurisdiction of the House of Lords were to be suspended until the 1st Nov. 1876, and it was provided that until that date " an appeal may be brought to the House of Lords from any judgment or order of the court of appeal," constituted by the present bill, " in any case in which any appeal or error might now be brought to the House of Lords or to Her Majesty in council, from a similar judg- ment, deoree, or order of any court or judge whose jurisdiction is by the principal act transferred to the High Court of Justice or the Court of Appeal." The jurisdiction of the House of Lords as a Supreme Court.of Appeal for the United Kingdom was thus retained for another year IO. — Captain Boyton attemptsto swim across the Channel from Calais in his life-saving dre^s, but is compelled from rough weather to abandon his design, after being in the water about fifteen hours, and accomplishing a distance of nearly fifty miles. 11. — Died, aged 81, Count Philip Brunnow, formerly Russian Ambassador at the Court of St. James's. 13. — Messrs. N. M. Rothschild and Sons issue the prospectus of a new Russian loan, bearing interest at four-and-a-half per cent. 14.— Died, aged 86, Thomas Wright, prison philanthropist. IS. — Budget introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the revenue for the current year being estimated at 75,685,000/. and the expenditure at 75,268,000/. Sir Stafford North cote had to reckon among the disappoint- ments in last year's income the deficient returns of the Telegraphic Service since it had been taken in hand by the late Government, also a falling off in excise and stamps. The ' only alteration in taxation proposed related to brewers' lioences. The most prominent feature of the budget, and which gave rise to consider- able discussion in the House, was his proposal for gradually reducing the National Debt by a new kind of Sinking Fund involving an annual charge in every budget for 28,000,000/. This would only come into full operation in 1877. Sir Stafford calculated that by 1885, 6,800,000/. of debt would be paid off, and in thirty years as much as 213,000,000/. — Messrs. Moody and Sankey, the Ameri- can "revivalists," commence a series of meet- ings for the convenience of fashionable residents in the west end, in Haymarket Theatre. The afternoon gathering to-day was attended by the Princess of Wales and many of the aristocracy. 16. — The Commons having resolved that a breach of privilege had been committed by the printers of the Times and Daily News in pub- lishing a letter from M. Herran, Honduras 1 169 APRIL I87S- MAY Minister at Paris, addressed to Mr. Lowe as Chairman of the Foreign Loans Committee, reflecting on the conduct of Captain Bedford Pim, M. P. , in connection with that inquiry, the printers of these newspapers now attend the House and express their readiness to appear at the bar. Mr. Disraeli had, in the first instance, given his assent to this resolution, but on the matter coming up again for discus- sion in the afternoon, he moved that the order commanding the attendance of the printers should be read and discharged, and, further, that application should be made to the Foreign Loans Committee to give the House such information in regard to the matter as it desired. Agreed to, ■ — In connection with the above privilege case Mr. Sullivan proposed a revival of the Standing Order of the House with a view to relieve the public press from the hazards at which it now discharged important and useful functions towards that House and towards the country. Mr. Disraeli declining to interfere, Lord Hartington moved resolutions to secure proper recognition to reporters by giving the power of excluding strangers to a majority of the House instead of letting it rest, as at present it technically did, on the objection of any single member. Lord Harrington's reso- lutions were rejected by Government on the ground of their giving opportunity for debate when the question should be raised ; but ultimately Mr. Disraeli, though professing reluctance to take action in the matter at all, was induced to move a resolution by which proposals to exclude strangers were to be put to the vote without debate, the Speaker still retaining the power of closing the House when he should think necessary. 19. — Centenary of the battle of Lexington celebrated with rejoicing in various parts of the United States. 20. — Mutiny and murder at sea on board the American ship Jefferson Borden. Two mates killed and thrown overboard. The prisoners concerned in the murders and mutiny were committed from Bow Street for trial in America, in terms of the Extradition Treaty. — Funeral of MM. Croce-Spinelli and Sivel, two French aeronauts who perished in the higher atmospheric regions while directing the balloon " Zenith." About 10,000 people reported as present at Pere-la-Chaise. — Died, aged 61, Sir Joseph Henry Hawley, Bart., a well-known patron of the turf. 21. — Died, aged 93, Henry Wilton Pickers- gill, retired Royal Academician. — M. Chevalier, the eminent French political economist, entertained at a banquet by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. 1 170 — Burials Bill rejected by the Commons on the proposal for a second reading. 23. — Pressed on both sides of the House to bring forward his long-threatened vote of censure on the judges concerned in the Tich- borne case, Dr. Kenealy now moves for the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the conduct at the trial at bar. After a debate joined in by Sir Henry James, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Bright, and in which full justice was done to the able and upright bearing of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Lord Coleridge, the member for Stoke found on a division that, besides Mr. Whalley and himself as tellers, he had only one supporter — Major O'Gorman — against 433 on the opposite side. 24. — Died, aged 69, Rev. (Canon) William Selwyn, B.D., Margaret Professor of Divi- nity in the University of Cambridge. — Died, aged 36, Winwood Reade, author and journalist. 26. — Lord Coleridge in the House of Lords makes a personal explanation in reference to the statement of Dr. Kenealy in the Commons to the effect that he had, when Attorney- General, put before the jury documents which he knew to be forged in relation to the Tich- borne case. In the Commons Sir Robert Peel indignantly denied having ever affirmed that he heard the Chief Justice say the jury had made up their minds to convict the Claimant. 27.— Died, aged 62, Hon. Sir Gillery Pigott, Baron of the Court of Exchequer. 28. —The Prince of Wales installed as Grand Master of the Freemasons at the Albert Hall amid great ceremonial splendour. 30. — Explosion at Bunker's Hill Colliery, North Staffordshire, causing the death of forty- two men and boys, the entire company of workmen employed in the workings at the time. May 1. — The Lord Mayor proceeds in state through the City to open the Alexandra Palace on Muswell Hill ; destroyed by fire in 1873. — Died, aged 58, Alfred George Stevens, sculptor and decorative artist. 4.-— Unveiling of a monument erected in Bunhill Fields to the Rev. Joshua Hughes, first Secretary to the Bible and Religious Tract Societies. 5. — The Prince of Wales installed at Free- masons' Hall as First Principal of the Royal Arch of England. — Died, aged 72, Professor Henry G. A< Ewland, of Gbttingen, a celebrated oriental scholar. MAY 1875. MAY 6. — Foundation-stone of a Memorial Hall to Dr. Isaac Watts laid by Mr. Morley, M.P., at Southampton. — Died, aged 53, Rear-Admiral Sherard Osborne, C.B., F.R.S., Arctic navigator. — Died at Rome, Rev. Robert Buchanan, D.D., a prominent member of the Scottish Free Church body, and author of " The Ten Years' Conflict." Buried in Glasgow May 18th. 7. — Trial trip of the Bessemer saloon steamer, in the course of which she damaged the southern pier-head of Calais harbour. — The German iron-screw mail-steamer Schiller, running from New York to Hamburg, but calling at Plymouth and Cherbourg, wrecked on the Retarrier Ledges near the Bishop Lighthouse, Scilly, and over 300 lives lost as well as the entire cargo. The Schiller left New York on the 27th of April, having on board fifty-nine first-class passengers, seventy- five second class, 120 in the steerage, and a crew of 101 officers and men all told, making a total of 355 persons. She also brought the Australian and New Zealand mails, in all 250 bags; specie to the value of 300,000 dols. for Cherbourg ; and a full general cargo. For three days before the catastrophe heavy weather had been experienced, and on that night, the fog becoming denser, sails were taken in, the engines reduced to half speed, and the look- out increased. Almost immediately after these precautions had been taken the Schiller struck heavily on the Retarrier Ledges. She made four lurches and then settled on the rock, the sea washing over her as she lay on her broad- side. Captain Thomas, with the officers and crew, succeeded with difficulty in launching two gigs, which were instantly filled by men, who thrust back women and children in the eager- ness of self-preservation. The starboard life- boat was then launched, but capsized, and a great many people having crowded into the remaining boats, it was found impossible to clear them, though the captain fired his pistol over the occupants to compel better order. About midnight the funnel fell, smashing two boats, and other two were swept away. At two o'clock, A.M., a heavy sea, which ran up to the top of the mainmast, carried away the deck- house, containing nearly 200 persons, mostly women and children, whose shrieks and cries were for a few seconds heard above the tem- pest. The officers and some people on the bridge were next swept overboard, and the survivors crowded the rigging, the deck being swept fore and aft by the sea. At about six the masts fell, and those not killed by the fall or entangled in the rigging floated about supported by life-belts, spars, and parts of the cargo. Some of these were picked up by fish- ing-boats. Two of the ship's boats, containing 26 persons, reached Tresco. In all 43 persons were saved alive ; of these only one was a woman, Mrs. Jones, whose husband had ob- tained a place for her in one of the boats. Sir Cloudesley Shovel, with a number of his officers and crew, and a portion of his fleet, was lost on the Retarrier Ledges, Oct. 22, 1707. 8. — Wrecked in the same fog which led to the loss of the Schiller, the ship Cadiz from Lisbon to London with a general cargo, on the Wizard Rock, off Brest. There were thirty- five passengers on board and a crew of thirty- one. Of these only one English seaman and three Portuguese were saved. 9. — Fenian demonstration in Dublin at the funeral of Mullens, an Irish- American member of the brotherhood. — Died, aged83, Rev. John WilliamKing, of The Hall, Ashby-de-la-Launde, an enthusiastic sportsman and successful breeder of horses, one of them being "Apology," the winner of the One Thousand Guineas, The Oaks, and St. Leger last year. IO.— Arrival of the Emperor of Russia at Berlin on a visit to the Emperor of Germany. His Imperial Majesty remained three days. 11. — A magnificent service of plate, of the value of 3,000 guineas, voted with acclamation by the Corporation of the City of London to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in honour of their marriage, presented to their Royal Highnesses at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor. — The Queen gives a party to her grand- children at Windsor. The Princess of Wales and her family on returning to town make a narrow escape from a stone discharged by a catapult near Eaton Wick. 13.— The Duke of Edinburgh opens the Yorkshire Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures at Leeds. 19.— Garibaldi arrives at Velletri to cele- brate the battle fought there in 1849. Next day the Italian Senate voted him a pension of 50,000 francs per annum. 20. Died, aged 48, Dudley Baxter, author of various works on national taxation and statistics. — Banquet at Portsmouth to Captain Nares and other officers of the Arctic expedition. 22.— Memorial-stone of Glasgow new Pub- lic Halls laid with masonic honours. 25.— The Supreme Court of New York appoint President Jewett receiver of the Erie Railway on account of the company's in- solvency. 26.— The Dublin Court of Common Pleas award the seat for Tipperary to Captain Stephen Moor, the minority candidate in the second contest with the late John Mitchel. 1171 yUNE 1875. JUNE £8. — Burning of the Theatre Royal, Leeds, the flames being discovered soon after a crowded audience had broken up. Damage estimated at 35,000/. — Captain Boyton starts from Cape Grisnez in his life-saving dress at 3 a.m. to cross the Channel, and walks ashore at Faro Bay, Kent, little the worse, at 2 A.M. on the following morning, having on this occasion successfully battled with the waves for 23 hours, supported only by three meals of strong green tea and beef sandwiches. Captain Boyton was con- veyed by steamer to Folkstone, where he was enthusiastically received. — Burning of the Roman Catholic Church at Iialyoke, Massachusetts, and loss of about 100 lives. 29. — Official celebration of the Queen's birthday. The Prince of Wales, Marquis of Tweeddale, and Sk John Fitzgerald created Field-Marshals. — The Alert, under the command of Captain Nares, and the Discovery, commanded by Cap- tain Stephenson, leave Portsmouth harbour for the Arctic regions. The crews of each vessel were made up of picked men, commanded by officers of tried energy and experience. 31. — Failure of the Aberdeen and Plymouth Iron Companies, followed by several other London firms with which the parent company was connected. — New channel of the Danube opened for navigation. June 1. — Portrait of Lord Lawrence, first chairman of the London Schaol-Board, pre- sented to the Board by officers and teachers. — The steamer Smthport, from Preston to Sicily, lost in a fog off Corunna, and ten of the crew drowned. A. — Died, aged 41, Edward Welby Pugin, architect, an enthusiastic advocate for the revival of Gothic art, which had been set on foot by his father. — Foundering of the steamer Vicksburg, from Quebec to Liverpool, and loss of forty lives. 6. — Died, aged 78, Count Charles Frederick de Remusat, French author and politician. 7. — Three new peers gazetted — the Earl of Home, by the title of Baron Douglas ; Earl Dalhousie as Baron Ramsay ; and Viscount Grey de Wilton, Baron Grey de Radcliffe. 8. — Mr. Gladstone's amendment to the Government proposition for reducing the National Debt rejected after debate by 189 to 122 votes. 1172 9. — The Sultan of Zanzibar arrives at London preparatory to a tour through England, and is formally received at Westminster landing by Sir Bartle Frere, with several officials from the Foreign Office. — Severe thunderstorm over North Hant. and West Berks. 15. — Died from injuries received by fire, in his office in Fleet Street, Michael Henry, editor of the Jewish Chronicle. — Dr. Kenealy submits a fruitless motion in favour of Triennial Parliaments. 17. — A fashionable company attended the gardens of Stafford House this afternoon to inspect the new wicker coffins designed by Mr. Seymour Haden. — The Attorney-General obtains the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the corrupt practices prevailing during the last election at Norwich. 18. — Fire in a bonded warehouse within the " Liberties " of Dublin, destroying a very large quantity of whisky and leading to the serious injury of many people who attempted to satisfy their craving for the burning spirit as it flowed through the streets . — Came on for hearing before the Guildford magistrates, the charge made against Colonel Valentine Baker, 10th Hussars, and the staff, Aldershot, of having on the previous day criminally assaulted Miss Rebecca Kate Dickin- son in a first-class railway carriage when travelling on the South-western line near Woking. According to her own statement, never disputed, she was travelling alone when a gentleman got in at Liphook, sat opposite to her, and engaged in a general conversation. At Woking he suddenly shut up the window, asked her name, and solicited permission to write, both of which she refused. He then sat beside her, put his arm round her waist, attempted to kiss her, and also to lift her dress. Finding the alarm bell broken, she screamed violently, burst' open the carriage-door, and swung herself on to the footboard, where she was at length seen by some of the pas- sengers, and the train brought to a halt, after Miss Dickinson had travelled five miles in this perilous position. Being mow fully committed for trial, Colonel Baker was subsequently brought before Mr. Justice Brett at Croydon Assizes, and sentenced to one year's imprison- ment. He was also removed from the army, " Her Majesty having no further occasion for his services." 22. — Messrs. Moody and Sankey engage in " revival " services at Eton. — Died, aged 77, SirW. E. Logan, LL.D.» F.R.S., late Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. JULY I8 7 5. JULY 23. — The Pandora leaves Southampton for the Arctic regions. 24. — Mr. Disraeli moves the second reading of the Agricultural Holdings Bill, which, after a long debate, is agreed to. — The Berlin Court of Appeal sentence Count Arnim to imprisonment for nine months. — Great floods at Toulouse, much pro- perty destroyed, and as many as 3,000 people reported to be drowned. Buda was also seriously injured by floods at this time. 26. — Mr. J. A. Froude entertained at a public dinner at Capetown. 28. — Meeting of the Emperors of Russia and Austria at Eger, Bohemia. 29. — Died, aged 82, Ferdinand, ex-Emperor of Austria. July 1. — Insurrectionary movement in Herzegovina, leading by slow but well-defined steps to embroilment with the Ottoman Government at Constantinople, and finally to the opening up of the entire Eastern Question for settlement by the Courts of Europe. The disturbance arose from common-place inci- dents in the life of a people Herzegovinese, and was made a rebellion by force of circum- stances. Although the harvest of 1874 had been a failure, the farmers of the taxes in the district of Neveslnje tried to collect the tithes with more than usual rigour and arbi- trary power, but met with an unexpected resistance. The people were then beaten, imprisoned, and depriyed of all they had. When the village chiefs complained to the authorities they were insulted, threatened with arrest, and forced to take refuge in Montenegro, Meanwhile the tithe-farmers sent for the armed police and proceeded with the work of pil- lage. This made the peasantry more stubborn than ever, until at last they refused to work for their Mahommedan landlords, and some of them took refuge with their cattle in the mountains, while others sent their goods and their property to Montenegro. 5. — After a distinct existence of six hundred years, the Court of Queen's Bench, under pro- visions contained in the New Judicature Act, sits for the last time as a separate Court. There would, however, still remain a Queen's Bench Division of the Supreme Court, presided over as heretofore by the Lord Chief Justice of England. 7.— The Household Counties Franchise Kill lost in the Commons by a majority of 102. 8.— Died, aged 51, John Elliott Cairnes, A.M., Emeritus Professor of Political Economy in University College, London. — Proposing a vote in the Commons to meet the estimated expenditure of the contem- plated visit of the Prince of Wales to India, Mr. Disraeli, while expressing disapproval of the very general system of exchanging gifts once prevalent, said his Royal Highness must be placed in a position to exercise those spon- taneous feelings characteristic of his nature for generosity and splendour, which his own character and the character of the country likewise requires to be gratified. Mr. Disraeli divided the estimated expense of the Prince's visit into three portions : the first being that involved in the conveyance of the Prince and his suite to India, estimated by the Admiralty at 52,000/., four-fifths of which would fall on the present financial year. Another portion, to be borne by the Indian Government, in discharge of the duty which the Viceroy would fulfil of entertaining ,the Prince, was estimated at 30,000/. There remained the sum neces- sary for the Prince's personal expenses in India, including the presents which might be suitable to his position. For this .purpose Mr. Disraeli proposed a vote of only 60,000/. In the discussion which ensued a few days later, the Premier's proposals were accepted by an almost unanimous vote. ll.-^Fall of the entablature surmounting the colonnade on the north side of Drury Lane Theatre and extending nearly the entire length of Little Russell Street. 12. — Messrs. Moody and Sankey hold a final "revival" conference in Mildmay Park Hall, London, intended only for clergymen who had assisted them in their labours. About 700 were present, of whom it was said 188 belonged to the -Church of England. From a balance sheet subsequently published by the treasurer of the mission, it appeared that the expenses incurred jn the metropolis amounted to 28,396/., while the contributions from the public did not exceed 28, 238/. IS. — The Sultan of Zanzibar leaves Eng- land, having visited since his arrival, Birming- ham, Liverpool, and Manchester, besides the metropolis. — The Friendly Societies Bill passes through Committee in the Lords, Government having been defeated in an amendment pro- posed by Lord Aberdare, by 41 to 37 votes. 16.-r-This day, being the fifty-first anniver- sary of Lord Byron's funeral, a meeting, presided over by Mr. Disraeli, was held in Willis's Rooms in furtherance of a scheme for raising funds to erect a national monument to the poet. 18. — Died, aged 70, Lady Jane Franklin, the devoted wife of Sir John, Arctic navigator. 19. — Last sitting of the International Tele- graph Conference at St. Petersburg. 20. — Captain Webb swims from Dover to Ramsgate (20 miles) in eight-and-a-half hours. 1 173 JULY 1875. JULY 20. — Died, aged 82, Right Hon. Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., K.C.H., formerly Lieu- tenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and author of various pleasant volumes of travel and sketches of social life. — Died, aged 87, Peter Mere Latham,M,D., Physician Extraordinary to the Queen. 22. — Scene in the House of Commons with Mr. Plimsoll, Member for Derby. Intimation having been made by Mr. Disraeli that it was not the intention of Government to proceed further this year with their Merchant Shipping Bill, Mr. Plimsoll, whose mind appeared to be unhinged for the moment by recent ex- hausting work to which his benevolent enthu- siasm impelled him, commenced to address the Prime Minister, and entreated him not to send thousands of men to certain death by with- drawing the measure. Then walking up the floor to the table of the House, the hon. member gave notice that he would on Tuesday next put the questions to the President of the Board of Trade with reference to certain ships which had been lost last year, with a sacrifice of many lives ; and whether the owner was not Mr. Edward Bates, M.P. for Plymouth, or some other person of the same name. Loud cries of "Order" followed, and Mr. Plimsoll, raising his hand and pointing to the benches of the Opposition side of the House, exclaimed, "Yes, I will name some on this side of the House. I will unmask the villains who have sent brave men to death." The Speaker here interrupted again, and asked whether the word "villains" was intended to be applied to members of the House. Mr. Plimsoll said, "Yes, I do mean so to apply it, and I don't mean to withdraw it," and walking up the floor of the House, he threw a paper on the table, remarking, ' ' that is my protest against the withdrawal of the Bill." The member for Derby then remained standing in the middle of the chamber, waving his arms and pushing aside the friends who crowded round him and pressed him to withdraw his language. The Speaker more than once asked whether he still persisted in applying the term "villains" to any members of the House, and Mr. Plimsoll as often repeated his determination to abide by his words. Ultimately the Speaker said he must leave the hon. member's conduct to the judgment of the House, and Mr, Disraeli declared that, painful as it was, he had no option; after the unparalleled violence and offensiveness of Mr. Plimsoll's conduct, he must do his. duty in upholding the dignity of the Chair and the House. He therefore moved "that the Speaker do reprimand Mr. Plimsoll for his disorderly behaviour." Mr. Sullivan said that Mr. Plimsoll was seriously ill from mental excitement acting upon an over- worked system, and he asked on his behalf that the House would take the most generous view of his case. He had no doubt that if a week were given him, his hon. friend would be "74 in a position to express his regret for having transgressed the orders of the House. On the motion that the Merchant Shipping Bill be withdrawn, Mr. Bates took the opportunity of vindicating himself from the charges made against him by Mr. Plimsoll early in the evening. A week later Mr. Plimsoll appeared in the House and apologised in handsome terms to the Speaker and the House for the ebullition to which he had allowed himself to give way. He declared that he did so in no grudging spirit, but frankly and sincerely. — Baroness Burdett-Coutts lays the founda- tion-stone of a new institution for the deaf and dumb, at Leeds. — A flock of carrier-pigeons started on a Continental race from the Alexandra Palace. The swiftest bird reached Brussels in five hours and ten minutes. 23. — Died, aged 76, Sir Charles Locock, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., Physician Accoucheur to the Queen. 26. — Intimation made of the death of Mr. Rarey's horse " Cruiser," which seventeen years since enjoyed ^ unique reputation for intractability and even ferocity (see June 28, 1858). — In view of the compulsory closing of the Brighton Aquarium on Sundays, permission is given in the Commons for the introduction of a Bill to amend an Act of George III. cap. 49, "for preventing certain abuses and profane shows on the Lord's Day, called Sunday." 27. — Died, aged 78, Rt. Rev. Connop Thirlwall, Bishop of St. David's 1840-74, one of the most esteemed and accomplished' occu- pants of the episcopal bench. 28. — Died, aged 70, Hans Christian Ander- sen, a Danish poet and novelist, widely known as a genial writer for young readers. Buried with great solemnity at Copenhagen, nth August. — As recognising to some extent the strong public sympathy manifested in favour of Mr. Plimsoll, Sir C. Adderley now moves to introduce a temporary measure giving further powers to the Board of Trade for stopping un- seawol'thy ships leaving British ports. The Bill was read a third time, Aug. 6th, and passed the Lords a few days thereafter. 31. — Unveiling of the monument to Sir John Franklin in Westminster Abbey. — Died, aged 67, Andrew Johnson, successor to Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. — Judgment given in the Court of Arches concerning the right of clergymen other than those of the5 Church of England to use the title JULY 1875. AUGUST ' ' Reverend " before their names. In May, 1874, Mr. Keet, a Wesleyan minister, proposed to put up in the churchyard of Ouston Ferry, Lincolnshire, a tombstone to the memory of a daughter just deceased, the inscription on which was to describe her as "daughter of the Rev. H. Keet, Wesleyan Minister." The vicar refused to allow him to erect a tombstone bearing.such an inscription, on the ground that it included the words " Reverend " and " Wes- leyan minister." The Bishop of Lincoln, on being appealed to, replied that it was the duty of the. incumbent to examine the epitaphs which it might be proposed to inscribe on gravestones in the churchyard of his parish, and that he was empowered by law to make objections to anything in them which, in his judgment, was liable to exception. The Archbishop of Can- terbury, to whom application was next made, presuming that the petitioner was a regularly appointed permanent minister of the Wesleyan denomination, did not feel called upon to give a legal opinion as to the action of the incum- bent, but certainly considered that the objec- tions urged by him should not be made. His Grace's letter was addressed to " The Rev. Henry Keet." The case was brought before the Chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln, Dr. Walter Phillimore, who, in his judgment, gave elaborate reasons against the title of " Reverend " being given to any but regularly ordained clergymen of the Church of England, and refused the petitioner's application. An appeal was brought before the Dean of Arches, Sir Robert Phillimore. Dr. Stephens, Q.C., and Mr. Bayford argued on behalf of the appellant, that there was no statute, common- law, custom, or ordinary usage which gave the clergy of the Established Church any such exclusive right to the title of "Reverend" as made its use by any other denomination un- lawful, and contended that this was the first time that such a claim had been made. The title " Reverend " was applicable to all persons worthy of reverence, and it was so used by Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, and others. It had even been applied to women — such as prioresses and abbesses — and to judges. In the fifteenth century it was used as a prefix to the names of persons of consideration, male or female. For instance, in the Paston Letters Margaret Paston addressed John Paston as " Right Reverend and Worshipful Husband," and those volumes were replete with similar expressions. It was curious to note that the title was then only used towards the laity and never towards the clergy. From 1583 to 1706 it was invariably applied to the judges and sages of the law. Sir Robert Phillimore declined to overrule, as he said, " not only the direct dissent of incumbent, but also the deliberate judgment and authority of the Bishop in a matter not of strict law, applicable to all cases, but of discretionary permission applicable to this particular case ; " and the appeal was accordingly again refused. The case came before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 21st Jan. 1876, when Lord Chancellor Cairns pronounced final judgment, the other judges present being Lord Hatherley, Lord Penzance, Lord Justice James, Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Sir Barnes Peacock, and Mr. Justice Hannen. Lord Cairns said the inscrip- tion in substance states that, although there is the prefix of "Reverend "to the name, Mr. Keet does not thereby claim to be * person in holy orders, and that his claim is nothing more than that of being a minister of the Wesleyan body. " Their Lordships, therefore, dealing with this, I repeat, as the only objection, are compelled to say, and they say it without any reservation, that in their judgment it does not operate as a reason for refusing the erection of the tombstone, and they are therefore of opinion that a faculty should issue for the erection of a tombstone." — Slave Circular agitation, the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty making sundry additions to the " General Slave Trade Instruc- tions," intended for the guidance of officers of the Navy The tendency of this circular appeared to be to neutralise, if not to reverse, the policy of this country — a policy zealously, and almost religiously professed — in respect to fugitives from slavery claiming the protection of British ships. Officers were instructed, indeed, that should a slave, escaping from his owner, reach a British ship or boat on the high seas, he was to be retained on board, on the ground that on the high seas the British vessel is a part of the dominions of the Queen. "But," added the Lords of the Admiralty, ' ' when the vessel returns within the territorial limits of the country from a vessel of which the slave has escaped, he will be liable to be sur- rendered on demand being made supported by necessary proofs. " The circular, for which the Foreign Office was perhaps as responsible, or more so, than the Admiralty, was said to be sanctioned by the highest legal authorities. But it produced at once a cry of indignation from the British public. The Government wisely resolved to bend before the storm it had provoked ; and at the beginning of October an announcement was made that the obnoxious circular was suspended ; an announcement which was followed a month later by that of its withdrawal. Just before the close of the year another circular was issued. The in- structions, if not altogether what the country demanded, either as a guarantee that slavery should not be countenanced, or as a security that the rights of maritime powers should be protected against encroachment, were more satisfactory than those which had been with- drawn. August 5. — O'Connell Centenary celebra- tions commenced in Dublin with a religious ceremonial in the Marlborough Street Cathe- dral. A large number of Roman Calholic 1175 A [/GUST IS75. AUGUST bishops, four archbishops, and 500 priests took part in the service. In the evening and next day, numerous processions and ban- quets took place in honour of " The Liberator," the festive gatherings being, however, marred to some extent by the conflicting views advo- cated among Ultramontanes and Nationalists. At Glasgow the celebration was marked by considerable disturbance. 6. — In the Commons to-day,, on the order for the second reading of the Appropriation Bill, the Marquis of Harrington took occasion to review the work of the session, intimating that little had been done beyond carrying out the legacy of measures bequeathed by the pro- ceeding Government. Mr. Disraeli replied, and entered into a defence and general expla- nation of the policy and work of his adminis- tration during the session, detailing each measure. — Lord Oranmore having called the atten- tion of the Lord President of the Council to a report that Her Majesty had recently shown precedence to Cardinal Manning at a garden party given by the Prince of Wales at Chiswick, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon disputed the accuracy of the rumour. 9. — The Commons agree to the Lords' amendments on the Judicature Bill. — Absconding of Alexander Collie, on bail, charged with fraud. On the 2isf of last month, the above Alexander, of No. 12, Kensington Palace Gardens, and his brother, William Collie, of No. 8, Aytoun Street, Manchester, carrying on business as merchants in London and Manchester, were brought up on a warrant before Sir Thomas- White at Guildhall, charged with obtaining large sums of money from the London and Westminster Bank by means of false pretences. In the information the amount was said to be 200,000/. and upwards. It was alleged on the part of the prosecution that they conspired together to draw bills, which were nothing but accommodation bills, but which they represented were trade bills given for goods »old, and bearing on their face certain marks and runibers purporting to refer to the bales of goods and the accounts in the ledger. In May, or June last the prisoners failed, and their liabilities were about 3,000,000/ , but of that sum there were from 1,500,000/. to 1,750,000/. worth of those bills in circulation; The London and Westminster Bank had about 500,000/. of such value, and after giving credit for all they could get from the estate, they would lose between 200,000/. and 300,000/. The defendants were remanded for examina- tion but admitted to bail, themselves in 4000/. each, and sureties for 4000/. The case was investigated at the Guildhall, on Aug. 4th, and adjourned till to-day, when Mr William Collie appeared to answer for 1176 himself, but his brother, Mr. Alexander Collie, was found to have absconded. The case was again adjourned, Mr William Collie being released on bail. 10. Novel regatta in the Thames, twelve aquatic proficients undertaking a paddling match in Captain Boyton's li f e-preservir.g dress, between Putney and Hammersmith. Whalley, the winner, accomplished the dis- tance in 32 min. 2 sec, a speed considered equal to good swimming. 11. — Last sitting of the Geographical Congress at Paris. 12. —The Old Catholic Conference at Rome opened by Dr. Dollinger. 13, — Parliament prorogued by commission, the Royal Speech as usual making reference to the chief measures passed during the session. 14.— The Royal Mail Steam Packet Com- pany's ship Boyne, from Brazil, wrecked on the French coast near Brest. At the time of the disaster the vessel was running at a high rate of speed, in a dense fog, and struck the rocks off the isle of Molene. The passengers, numbering 108, and the crew, 113, were all saved in boats, though their baggage and clothing were lost. The Boyne was a very large steamer, valued at 80,000/., and carried 20,682/. in specie, besides a valuable cargo of coffee, tapioca, and hides. 1©; — The Hermann monument at Detmold unveiled in presence of the Emperor of Germany and about 40,000 people. — The Prince and Princess of Wales proceed to Sheffield for the purpose of opening the new Park presented to the com- munis by Mr. Mark Firth. Much enthusi- astic hospitality was manifested on the occasion, and several of the great industrial works for which Sheffield is famous were visited the following day. 18.. — An accident giving rise to much dis- cussion occurred to-day while the Queen was crossing from Osborne to Gosport, on her journey to the North. Her Majesty left the Isle of Wight in the royal yacht Alberta with the Prince of Leiningen on board shortly before 6 P.M., and under ordinary circum- stances the trip across would have been per- formed in about forty minutes. While how- ever between Stokes Bay and the Mother Bank, just opposite Stokes Bay Pier, and there- fore soon after the Queen had started, a yacht was seen close at hand and running across the Albertds bows. This was a schooner called the Mistletoe, of 120 tons, belonging to Mr. Heywood of Manchester. As soon as the position of the schooner was observed, the helm of the Alberta was at once put about, with the intention of running under the stern AUGUST 187$. A UGUST of the Mistletoe ; but the latter vessel at the same moment altered her course, and the two came into contact. The Mistletoe was struck violently amidships, and almost immediately turned over and sank. Miss Annie Peel, Mr. Heywcod's sister-in-law, and the mate were drowned on the spot. The master was picked up unconscious, having been struck by a spar, and died shortly after. On being dragged on board the Alberta, one man was found to have the small bone of one of his arms fractured, and was sent to Haslar Hospital. Mr. Heywood the owner was picked up in a dangerous condition. Several of the blue-jackets also had narrow escape', one of them actually going down with the sinking vessel. Her Majesty was sitting on deck as the two ves- sels approached, and therefore saw the whole of the distressing scene. When the schooner was struck Samuel Stokes, one of the seamen, caught hold of Miss A. Peel in order to save her, but the rigging carried her out of his- arms, and Stokes succeeded, not without difficulty, in climbing up the Alberta. The master, Thomas Stokes, was at the helm of the unfortunate schooner when the collision took place. He was carried In- an unconscious state on board the Alberta, and the Queen assisted personally in the endeavour to restore animation to the old man, who was about seventy-five years of age. At the inquests held at Gosport upon the victims of the catastrophe, a most rigorous inquiry was made into the conduct of the officers of Her Majesty's yacht, especially the captain, Prince Leiningen, and the acting captain, Staff-commander Welch, by whose orders the vessel was steered. Great excite- ment was manifested by the public during the inquests, the general impression being that these officers had acted with negligence or indiscretion. On the first inquest, that held on the bodies of Thomas Stokes and Miss Peel, the jury separated without coming to an agreement. A second inquest was- held on Nathaniel Turner, the mate, whose body was not found till some time after the disaster, and in the verdict, the jury,, while stating their unanimous opinion* that the collision was accidental, added as a rider, that the navi- gating officer of the Alberta had committed an error of judgment, and they reccommended a slower rate of speed on the part of. the Alberta during the yachting season, and that there should be a more efficient look-out kept. 19.— Memorial statue to the late Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India,. unveiled at Cocker- mouth, by Lord Napier and Ettrick. SO. — The Duke of Edinburgh arrives at Novgorod, on his tour through 1 Russia. — Commodore Goodenough, of H.M.S. Pearl, and several of his crew, shot with poisoned arrows by natives of Santa Cruz Island, Melanesia, after a conference ashore undertaken to moderate hostilities against white visitors, arising out of the practice of kidnapping for the ' ' labour " market. Bishop Patteson fell after being engaged in a similat mission at the adjacent island of Nukupa (see Sept. 20, 1871.) The body of Commodore Goodenough was taken to Sydney, and buried there on the 24th. 22. — Died, aged 81, the Right Hon. Sir Edward Ryan, First Civil Service Commis sioner. 24. — Captain Webb, on a second trial, accom- plished the extraordinary feat of swimming across the Channel to Calais. This undaunted swimmer left Dover from the end of the A i- miralty Pier" a few minutes before 1 P. M. He was- attended by a lugger and two rowing boats. No doubt every precaution was taken to meet the perilous contingency of cramp or failure of the swimmer's strength. But how- ever perfect such arrangements, the life of the adventurer depended mainly on his own muscular strength and capacity of using it. He held on his course without a sign of weakness during the evening, and the night, and landed on the west side of Calais Harbour a little after half-past ten in the morning, "in goad spirits and' condition," having remained in the water, without even touching a boat on his way, no less than twenty-one and three- quarter hours. The swimmer was supplied from time to time with refreshments from fie boats that accompanied him — brandy, be?f- tea, and coffee — but no solid food passed his lips. The sea was calm till the French co tst came almost within reach, when the flood-tile set in and drifted him eastward' towards Calais. A breeze springing up, the sea ran so high that it even Broke over the little Boats which had accompanied him throughout the voyage. He persevered, however, and at last touched groun 1 too weak to stand. A couple of men instantly, went to his assistance, and he was able to walk slowly ashore ; and after a refreshing sleep was none the worse for his unparalleled exploit, 27. — Suspension of the Bank of California, and financial crisis at San Francisco. — Railway collision at Kildwick, Midland line, the Scottish express dashing into an excursion train detained there for the purpose of lighting the tail-lamps. Five persons were taken out of the dibris dead, two died soon after, and the wounded numbered over forty. — Seo d'Urgel surrendered by Carlists to Alfonsist troops. 29. — The screw frigate Valorous, which had accompanied the Arctic discovery ships with stores to Disco, returns to Plymouth with the news that the crews of both vessels had- been left in good health and spirits. 31. — Hungarian Diet at Pesth opened by the Emperor, King Francis Joseph. 1177 SEPTEMBER I8 75 . SEPTEMBER September 1. — H. M. ironclad Vanguard sunk by the Iron Duke in a fog off the coast of Wicklow, when proceeding with other vessels of the Channel Fleet from Kingston to Queens- town. The ships at starting made * speed of about fourteen knots, but when the fog came on they slackened to between six and seven knots an hour. The commodore of the Iron Duke, Captain Hickley, who was on deck at the time, saw the figure of the Vanguard appearing through the fog. He instantly ordered the engines to be reversed, but this direction went forth too late. The ram of the Iron Duke struck the Vanguard some four feet below the armour plates on the port quarter, abreast of the engine-room. The rent made was very large, and the water poured into the hold. An artificer, at the imminent risk of his life, ran down into the engine-room and let off the steam. But for this a terrible explosion would have occurred, and destroyed probably the lives of all on board. The after portion filled first, and the water rushed into the engine-room, extinguishing the fires, and the machinery was stopped. Captain Dawkins then called out to his men that if they preserved order all would be saved, but if there was confusion all would be lost. The men stood along the deck in order, and not a man moved until ordered to do so. There was many a voluntary delay as individual sailors petitioned to make one more effort to secure chattel or keepsake hidden away below. But the orders, "Boys, come instantly ! " were not only frequent, but stern. As the bells on the Iron Duke were striking two, the last man of the Vanguard having been received on board, the disabled vessel whirled round two or three times and then suddenly sank in deep water. The discipline and courage of the service were never more admirably proved. Captain Dawkins was the last person to leave his sinking ship, having remained on the bridge all the time, 2. — Foundation-stone of a great Historical Museum laid at Moscow by the Emperor of Russia, the Duke of Edinburgh laying the second. 7. — Mdlle. Titiens lays the first brick of the new National Opera House on the Thames Embankment. 9.— Died, aged 74, Admiral Sir Charles Elliot, K.C.B., British Plenipotentiary to China during the first Chinese war. , IO. — The fourth centenary of the birth of Michael Angelo celebrated throughout Italy. — Died, aged 76, Sir Frederick Currje, Bart., Member of the Council of India. 11. — Eleven colliers, all employed in the seam, poisoned by noxious gas in Dennington Wood colliery, Shropshire. The bodies were all discovered after great risk by workmen, vho opened a passage from another shaft than 1178 the one used in the morning, and as they lay all close together, it was presumed they had never got into the workings, but were overcome by the poison while waiting for the fireman to make his round of inspection. — A secret tragedy, afterwards known as " The Whitechapel Murder," brought to light. Henry Wainwright, accompanied by a woman named Alice Day, being discovered removing the remains of a dead body, supposed to be Harriet Lane, who had disappeared about a year since. In the course of a lengthy inquiry at the police-court, and subsequently at the coroner's inquest, it appeared that Wainwright was a brush-maker, formerly carrying on business at 215, Whitechapel Road, but for the last nine months working at 78, New Road, Whitechapel. To-day (nth Sept.) he asked a fellow-workman, named Stokes, to go along with him to his former premises for the purpose of lifting a parcel lying there. Stokes went up-stairs, and found two very heavy parcels, weighing three-quarters cwt. and half cwt., wrapped in American cloth with a rope tied round them. There was also a chopper, a shovel, and a hammer, which Wainwright desired him to sell as his own. Stokes com- plained of the weight of the bundle, and set it down to rest till Wainwright had brought a vehicle ; but while he was away, impelled, as he says, by a voice, to look into the parcel, he did so, and found a human head. Wainwright returned with a cab, and took the two bundles in beside him, bidding Stokes good-night. The cab drove off, but Stokes, again urged by the voice, as he says, to follow the cab, ran after it, with the object of raising an alarm. Wainwright was then coolly smoking a cigar ; and having observed a female friend named Alice Day, a dancer in one of the theatres, wished her to come in beside him. She com- plied, and they were soon at the Hen and Chickens, where the parcels were intended to be deposited. One of the bundles had actually been carried inside, when Stokes, having suc- ceeded in arresting the attention of the police, arrived. Wainwright and Day were appre- hended and taken to the Police Office. Wain- wright attempted to bribe the police to let him off, but his offers, of course, only made them more eager to explore the mystery of the bundles. In a few hours it was surmised that an atrocious murder had been committed, and that the body had been hacked into pieces only recently ; and on further investigation the grave of Harriet Lane was discovered, some portions of her dress, hair-pins, the chopper, and other proofs of the foul deed. The body, though much decomposed, was ascertained to be that of a woman who had borne children, about 25 years of age, five feet in height ; and Harriet Lane's relatives, with some little diffi- culty, identified it, her father putting the matter beyond doubt by describing a scar from a burn, and a scar exactly corresponding SEPTEMBER I875- OCTOBER was found by the examining surgeons on a subsequent investigation. There was little difficulty after this in tracing the history of the crime. Wainwright's relations with Harriet Lane were gradually unravelled, the Frieake incident was cleared up, and Thomas Wain- wright was apprehended on a charge of com- plicity with the murder before and after the fact. 13. — Considerable discussion was raised by the publication of the following letter addressed by Colonel Ponsonbyjo Lord Exeter, Commo- dore of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, regard- ing the late unfortunate collision in the Solent: — "It has appeared in the course of the recent inquiry at Gosport that it is a common practice for private yachts to approach the royal yacht when Her Majesty is on board, from motives of loyalty or curiosity. It is evident that such a proceeding must at all times be attended with considerable risk, and in summer, when the Solent is crowded with vessels, such manoeuvres are extremely dan- gerous. The Queen has, therefore, commanded me to request that you will kindly assist Her Majesty in making it known to all owners of yachts how earnestly the Queen hopes that this practice, which may lead to lamentable results, should be discontinued." This letter appearing immediately after the verdict of the Gosport jury, which attributed the disaster partly to error on the part of the officers of the royal yacht, was interpreted as an expression of the- Queen's opinion that the master of the Mistletoe was to blame. This impression Her Majesty has- tened to remove, and an explanation appeared in the daily papers, that Colonel Ponsonby's letter was written three weeks before the verdict had been pronounced, and was not in any way intended to anticipate that verdict by laying the blame on either party. 18. — Special thanksgiving service held at the Great Synagogue, Aldgate, for the safe return of Sir Moses Montefiore (now over 90 years of age), from Jerusalem, whither he had gine three months since to inquire into the con- dition of the Jews residing in that ancient city. 21. — Her Majesty visits Inverary Castle as the guest of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, and remains till the 29th inst. 27. — The fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first constructed, celebrated at Darlington. The Lord Mayors of London and York, with the Mayors of Berwick, Ripon, and many other northern towns, took part in the proceedings. The celebration commenced by the Duke of Cleveland unveiling a statue erected to the memory of Joseph Pease, was continued by a banquet, and closed with an illumination and fireworks. 29. — Concluded at Devonport, after a sitting protracted over three weeks, the court-martial on Captain Dawkins and the other officers of 1 179 the Vanguard. In the sentence passed the disaster was attributed principally to the high rate of speed at which the squadron was pro- ceeding during the fog ; Captain Dawkins was also pronounced not to have taken the right steps for saving the vessel, and was ac- cordingly reprimanded and dismissed the ship ; and the other superior officers were repri- manded. The Lords of the Admiralty, in a minute subsequently published, expressed their opinion that the accident was not owing to an undue rate of speed, and that Vice-Admiral Tarleton was not to blame on that point ; their Lordships approved of the sentences passed on Captain Dawkins and the other officers, and also dismissed Lieutenant Evans, by whose orders the Iron Duke had sheered out of line. October 6. — Sir Stafford Northcote lays the memorial stone of Normanby Graving Dock at Middlesbrough. 7. — General von Kaufmann proclaims the annexation by Russia of the northern half of the Khanate of Khokand. 8. — Died, aged 58, the Rt. Rev. Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.D., Bishop of Brechin, Scottish Episcopal Church. 11. — The Prince of Wales leaves Charing Cross en route for his Indian tour. A hearty farewell was offered at the station, and also at Dover and Calais, whither he was accompanied by the Princess. Paris was reached early next morning. His Royal Highness arrived at Brindisi on the 16th, and was accompanied to the Serapis, elegantly fitted up for the voyage, by the Duke of Sutherland, Lord Charles Beresford, Sir Bartle Frere, Dr. Russell, and other friends, companions throughout the trip. A public entry was made into Athens on the 18th, and Cairo on the 23rd, where an investi- ture was held of the Star of India. 12. — Overthrow of the Panama Government by the Columbian troops, under General Cennargo. 14.. — Ceremonial visit by the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen, and Common Council to Epping Forest in celebration of the victory obtained last year preserving certain ancient public rights in the Forest. 17. — Marriage of Prince Milan of Servia with Natalie von Keczko solemnised at Bel- grade. • — ■ Speaking at Arcachon, Gironde, M. Thiers described France as one of the most conservative countries in Europe, whose periodical outbursts of revolution did harm only to herself. " Time (he says) marches on with its flaming torch in its hand, dispelling the illusions which in the past prompted one nation to interfere in the affairs of another. Destiny — that is to say, a long chain of events in which faults are to be found that must not 0* OCTOBER I8 7 S. NOVEMBER be recalled — destiny has spoken. No one during five years has been able to re-establish Monarchy ; and the National Assembly, though monarchical, has voted the Republic. Let us be consistent, and try to make of that Republic a regular, wise, fruitful Government, and to that end let us ask France for the coming elections to give Government the unity which it indispensably needs. Let us especially beg of this dear and noble France not to allow any one to revile and insult the immortal Revolution of 1789, against which so many efforts are now directed, and which is our purest and most popular glory among the nations, for it is that which has caused justice to penetrate into the legislation of all peoples. " ■ — On the same day M. Rouher gave vent to some virulent utterances against the Govern- ment at Ajaccio, enlarging upon the theme that universal suffrage was emphatically a Bonapartist institution, and sneering at the present Republic as only a Republic in name. This speech was the subject of a special de- liberation on the part of the Council of Ministers, who, however, came to the conclu- sion that it would be better to leave the ex- Premier alone, and contented themselves with dismissing the Mayor of Ajaccio from office. 18. — The Emperor of Germany received in State, at Milan, by King Victor Emmanuel. 19. — Appeal of Count Arnim rejected with costs by the Supreme Court of Berlin. — Died, aged 73, Sir Charles Wheat- stone, F.R.S., to whom, in conjunction with Sir W. F. Cooke, this country is indebted for the introduction of the electric telegraph, and many ingenious inventions by which he sought to perfect this system of communication. Sir Charles invented the stereoscope in 1838. 20. — Died, aged 77, Walter Farquhar Book, D.D., Dean of Chichester, author of " Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury." 23.— Died, aged 83, Sir James HUL Chief Commissioner of Charities. 25. — Twenty-first anniversary of the Light Cavalry charge at Balaklava celebrated by dinners, at the Alexandra Palace and Willis-'s Rooms> 26.— Fire at Glenalmond College, Perth- shire, caused, it was thought, by the accidental dropping of a hand brazier used by a plumber repairing the roof. The extensive pile of build- ings was erected in 1841. — Unveiled at Richmond, U.S., the statue of General Stonewall Jackson, presented by Englishmen to the State of Virginia. 29. — The Duchess of Edinburgh gixes birth to a daughter, Maria Alexandra Victoria. — Died, aged 78, Sir John Gardner Wil- kinson, an accomplished scholar and zealous labourer in the field of Egyptian antiquities. 1 180 31. — The French ironclad Magenta, flag, ship of Admiral Roye, destroyed by fire and blown up at Toulon. Died, aged 76, Mrs. Black, Byron's famous "Maid of Athens." November 1. — The Prince of Wales- reaches Aden arid takes his departure in the Serapis for Bombay. — Destruction by fire of Messrs. Catterall's cotton-mill, Rigby Street, Preston. Damage estimated at 30,000/. 2. — The British Residency at Perak, Straits Settlements, attacked by discontented Malays, and the resident, Mr. Birch, mur- dered. The previous governor, Sir Andrew Clarke, had arbitrated in a dispute between the native Malays and the Chinese immi- grants. On withdrawal and succession by Sir William Jervois, the defeated party disputed his decision. A claimant to the Perak succes- sion, whose pretensions had been rejected by the Government, refused to recognise his rival, to whom the British Resident was accredited. Mr. Birch then issued a proclamation calling on the people to submit to the Sultan Abdallah. . This was torn down by a Malay, and the affray ensued in which Mr. Birch and the interpreter were killed. Sir W. Jervois despatched a force of 180 men to relieve the Residency and attack the stockade of Maharajah Lela, a Perak noble, suspected of complicity. The first part "of the enterprise was successful - T but after driving the enemy from their position it was considered necessary to order a retreat. On the 7th a British force of 200, all the available troops from Singapore and Penang, attacked the Malays, who had intrenched themselves in a stockade on the Perak river, and drove them from that position. The loss on the British side was eight killed and twenty-five wounded, while the Malays left sixty or eighty behind. Another defeat on the 22nd December finished the rebellion. — Died, aged 77, Rt. Hon. Sir E. V. Williams, formerly Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. — Opening of the Session of the new Supreme Court of Judicature and High Court of Justice. Although the distinctions between law and equity.have been abolished, the cus- toms have not been made uniform ; the chief justices and judges of what were formerly known as the Courts of Common Law retain- ing their time-honoured fur robes and collars of state, while the judges of the Chancery Division were still resplendent in black and gold lace embroidery. It was noticed in the Chancery Courts that the word "action," had taken the place of the old equity term " suit," and that the Vice-Chancellors were no longer addressed by counsel as "your honour," but with the courtesy title of "your lordship," which has so long been used towards the Cora, mon Law Judges whilst upon the bench. NOVEMBER 1875. NOVEMBER 3.— Explosion arising out of chemical ex- periments in the house of Mr. George Gardner, optician, High Holborn. Mr. Gardner died in King's College Hospital from the injuries received. 4. — The steamship Pacific from Victoria, Vancouver's Island, for San Francisco, lost off Cape Flattery, on the coast of North America. One sailor was picked up in Fuca Straits nearly dead, who had been floating for thirty-six hours on a piece of wreck. He reported that there were 250 people on board when she was struck. Great confusion prevailed, the passengers crowding each other off the deck and filling the boats against orders. One boat with fifteen women capsized ; another, containing the chief mate with eight seamen, got clear. The Pacific sank rapidly, leaving on the surface a floating mass of human beings, who soon disappeared. — Freedom of the City of London con- ferred upon Sir G. B. Airey, astronomer-royal. 5. — Sir Richard Baggallay, late Attorney- General, sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal under the new Judicature Acts. 6.— Mr. W. E. Forster, M.P., presented with the freedom of the City of Edinburgh, in recognition of his eminent public services. — Mr. George Smith of the British Museum staff leaves London for the East to resume his researches in Assyria. To the re- gret of many far beyond the limited circle of Assyriologists in this and foreign countries, Mr. Smith never returned, the enthusiastic explorer dying at Aleppo on the 19th August, 1876. 8. — The steamship City of Ware from New York burnt off Galveston. — The Prince of Wales arrives at Bombay three weeks after his departure from England. His Royal Highness was received in state by the Governor of Bombay, the Commander-in- Chief of India, the Lord Chief Justice, and upwards of seventy native princes, chiefs, and sirdars in glittering Oriental costume. The utmost enthusiasm was manifested along the whole line of route from the harbour to Go- vernment House, where His Royal Highness commenced that round of festivities and recep- tions which continued over his entire journey. Next day (9th Nov.) the Prince's birthday was kept at Bombay with the most gratifying tokens of personal regard for himself and loyalty to the Queen. Two out of the few days his Royal Highness spent at Bombay were taken up by return visits paid to the Guicowar of Baroda, and the numerous other native princes who had welcomed him on his arrival. After this he laid the foundation stone of the new wet docks. On the 12th the Prince, with a party of 400 lidies and gentlemen, visited the famous caves of Elephanta at Baroda ; the Prince, the Guicowar, and Sir Madhava Rao, occupied the same howdah in a gorgeous procession of elephants, and passing through the native city, reached the old palace, where exciting scenes were engaged in the arena, consisting of wrest- ling and fights between rams, buffaloes, rhinoceros, and elephants. 13.— Died, aged 68, Rev. Wm. Brock, D.D., a leading Baptist clergyman. 17.— Died, aged 8gf" C. B. Vignolles, F.R. S., civil engineer'. — Came on in the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice, before Sir James Hannen, the case of Sugden z/. Lord St. Leonards, involving the validity of a Will and Codicils, not produced, but said to have been executed by the late Lord St. Leonards, ex-Lord Chancellor. The plaintiffs (the Hon. and Rev. Frank Sugden and the Hon. Charlotte Sugden, children of the deceased peer) sought to prove the will of the late Lord St. Leonards, with its eight codicils. The defendants (the present Lord St. Leonards, grandson of the testator, his brothers and sisters, and other relatives) opposed, on the ground that the will was either destroyed or revoked by the testator prior to his death, and they also placed on record a plea denying the due execution of the codicils. Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., on behalf of the plaintiffs, said all who knew the late Lord St. Leonards were aware that he devoted himself to that branch of the law which brought him opulence and fame as Sir Edward Sugden, and in 1852 he was called on to fill the position of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Than him, no man was more conversant with the law of real property, and he revised many works on that subject, and, as perhaps might have been anticipated, he himself became possessed of a good deal of real estate, in addition to a personality of somewhere about 60,000/. Mr. Hawkins referred to those various estates, the principal of which seemed to be Boyle Farm, where his lordship with Miss Sugden, one of the plaintiffs, resided, and it was there that he had his china, pictures, and other articles of value. The date assigned to the will was January 13, 1870, and with reference to it the Hon. Miss Sudgen, who was always with her father, and acted as his amanuensis, would be called, and her evidence would be of great importance. Her father told her that be was busy making his will, and afterwards it was executed in her presence and that of two of the servants. It was written on nineteen sheets of ordinary quarto paper. The learned counsel pointed out how much deceased was attached to his daughter, the plaintiff, who assisted him in all his labours, acted as his amanuensis, and was, in fact devoted to him. Miss Sugden was then examined at some length in support of the learned counsel's statement, and the court adjourned. The case lasted some days. On November 25, Sir James Hannen gave hisdecision. He said upon the trial of this 2 NOVEMBER 1875. NOVEMBER cause he disposed of the issues of fact, and no question of law arose, he having found several issues in favour of the plaintiff. He was now asked, upon the basis of these findings, to pronounce for the will and the codicils propounded. Defendants ap- peared and formally opposed the motion, but. no reason had been suggested why he should not make the decree as prayed for. He had, however, to dispose of the demurrer to the fifth pleo, which his lordship inti- mated was in fact an allegation that without the will the codicils could not stand, and that they, with the will, formed one and the same testamentary document. This demurrer he overruled, and pronounced for the will and codicils. 18. — First trial of the eighty-one ton gun at Woolwich. 20. — Died, aged 85, Wynn Ellis, of Tan- kerton Tower, an accomplish d and judicious patron of the fine arts, aT 1 donor of 400 paintings by old masters to the National Gallery. ■ — Another accident in connection with the ironclad Iron Duke, a deluge of water entering her stoke-hole during her trial of machinery in the Channel, so serious in extent as to lead to the signal " sinking" being made to the flagship in the Sound. The Iron Duke righted before the signal could be replied to, and returned into harbour without assistance. — A new American pastime, known as a " Spelling Bee," introduced at Myddelton Hall, Islington, under the auspices of Sir Andrew Lusk, M.P., and Mr Samuel Waddy, M.P. 22. — Died, Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the United States. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court before Lord. Chief Justice Cockburn, the trial of Henry and Thomas George Wainwright, for the murder of Harriet Lane, the second prisoner being charged as an acces- sory before and after the fact. The Solicitor- General, Sir J- Holker, after stating the relations of the prisoner Henry with Harriet Lane (see Sept. 11), otherwise Mrs. King, remarked that while Mrs. King was living at Sidney Square, a man called upon her who gave the name of Edward Frieake otherwise, it was contended, Thomas Wainwright. The learned counsel next proceeded to mention the purchase on Sept. 10th, by the prisoner Henry, of 1 cwt. of chloride of lime, the statement by Harriet Lane on the nth, that she was going to 215, Whitechapel Road, Henry's house, when she took leave of the children, and the noise of shots heard by workmen next door to the prisoner's house, 215, White- chapel Road. According to the prosecution it was by one of those shots that Harriet Lane was murdered. Subsequently to this it was ,'1182 alleged her body was buried, in a grave pre- viously prepared beneath the floor, and covered with the chloride of lime. Various inquiries were made by Miss Wilmore, in whose care the children of Harriet Lane had been left, as to the whereabouts of Harriet Lane, and she received a letter purporting to be from "E. Frieake," stating that the writer intended to marry " Mrs. King," and that they were about to leave the country. The deceased's father also made inquiries, and discovered that this "E. Frieake" was not Mr. Frieke, an auctioneer, a friend of Henry Wainwright's, as had been supposed, and the latter said it was another person altogether. The Attorney-General then described how Thomas Wainwright had established himself as ironmonger at the "Hen and Chickens," Borough, and had got into difficulties and had been sold up, and how the mortgagee of Henry Wainwright'-s leaseof 215, Whitechapel Road, had put in Mrs. Izzard to occupy the house. Henry, being alarmed lest discovery should be made by any person living in the house on account of the bad smell, then pro- ceeded to make his plans for removing the body. The learned counsel next described the discovery of the contents of the parcels which he was carrying for Henry Wainwright by Stokes, the search of No. 215, the discoveries made by the police, and that on medical examination of the remains, two bullets were found lodged in the brain. For the defence, the purchase of chloride of lime at the date mentioned was disputed, and the remains it was contended, though particularly identified by her father, might not be those of Harriet Lane but of some other person, and possibly a suicide, Chief Justice Cockburn hereupon remarked that he would instruct the jury it was unusual for suicides to bury themselves. In this case, he said, there was not only evidence of death from bullets, but also of an interment. The trial, which excited great public interest, extended over nine days — till Dec. I, — when the Lord Chief Justice addressed the jury for about six hours. After consulting together for nearly an hour, they found Henry Wain- wright guilty of the wilful murder of Harriet Lane, and Thomas Wainwright guilty of being an accessory aftei the fact. Henry Wainwright, on the usual question being put to him, said: — "Standing, as I now do, on the brink of eternity, in the presence of that God before whom I am shortly to appear, I swear I am not the murderer of the remains found in my possession. I swear I have never in my life fired a pistol. I swear also I did not bury those remain;. The proof that I did not exhume or mutilate them has been given by witnesses. I have been guilty of great immorality ; I have been guilty of many indiscretions, but of the crime of which the jury have brought me in guilty I leave this dock with a calm and quiet conscience." The Lord Chief Justice expresstd his regret at the DECEMBER I8 7S . DECEMBER ' ' rash assertion " which the prisoner had made, for he thought that no one who had heard the trial could entertain the shadow of a doubt of the prisoner's guilt. His lordship then pro- nounced sentence of death in the usual form, and warned the prisoner against any expecta- tion of mercy. Thomas Wainwright was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude j and the Lord Chief Justice ordered a reward ol £3° to be given to the witness Stokes. 23. — The Duke of Buckingham assumes the government of Madras. 2*. — The colossal statue of the Prince Consort, forming the central figure of the Albert Memorial, raised to its place on the pedestal of the gorgeous structure. 25. — Public announcement made that the British government had purchased from the Khedive of Egypt for ^4,000,000 the 177,000 shares held by the latter in the Suez Canal Company. — Sir John Holker sworn in as Attorney- General, and Sir Hardinge Stanley Giffard as Solicitor-General. 27 — Prince of Wales lands at Goa, the Portuguese capital of Western India. 28. — Died, Rev. Joseph Ditcher, vicar of South Brent, among the oldest clergymen in the English church, having been fi.ty-seven years in holy orders, and widely known twenty years since for his controversies with Arch- deacon Denison. By Mr. Ditcher's express wish the archdeacon preached his funeral sermon. — Died, aged 76, Thomas Hewitt Kay, head master of University College School, and a high authority in the science of language. 30. — On the invitation of Dean Stanley, the cause of Christian Mission-work is pleaded in Westminster Abbey, by the venerable Dr. Moffat, who spent fifty-nine years, of the eighty-two he has lived, in Africa, as agent of the London Missionary Society. December 1. — Colossal bronze statue of Oliver Cromwell, the gift of Mrs. Abel Heywood, unveiled at Manchester. — Died, aged ,71, Rev. John Wilson of Bombay, missionary and Oriental scholar. — Prince of Wales arrives at Ceylon, visiting Colombo and Kandy, and laying the foundation stone of breakwater at former port. A: — Funeral of Mdlle. Dejazat at Paris. This lady was reckoned among the oldest actresses in the world, having been seventy- two years constantly engaged in her pro- fession. 4. — The eightieth birthday of Thomas Carlyle marktd by the presentation of an address signed by upwards of a hundred men and women eminent in art, science, and gene- ral literature. 6. — The German mail steamer Deutschland^ wrecked on the Kentish Knock Sand near Harwich, and forty-fourpassengers with twenty of the crew drowned or died of exposure during a cold tempestuous night. The steamer struck in the morning at f ve o'clock. The sea was very rough, it was blowing hard from the east-north-east, and thick with snow. The lead was cast every half hour. They found twenty-four fathoms and then seventeen fathoms. Immediately afterwards the ship struck while going dead slow. The engines were turned full speed astern, and the propeller was immediately broken. The ship was then driven further up, two boats were lowered, one in charge of the fourth officer, and containing seven 'or eight persons ; the second with quartermaster Bock, in which it is believed there were only three or four person*. No others were launched the sea being too rough, but the rest were kept in readiness. Ulti- mately the sea stove in and washed overboard the whole of the boats. During the day efforts were made by throwing cargo overboard from the forehold to keep the ship's stern 10 sea, setting her bows inshore, to prevent her getting broadside on, whi'e passengers were sheltered as far as possible in the deck- houses. The pumps were kept going all day till dusk. As the tide rose, and it grew dark, the passengers and the crew were compelled to take to the rigging. Captain Brickenstrin, who had not left the bridge, remained there until swept off by the sea ; and he then took to the rigging like the others. There they remained all night and next morning. Many died. The tug Liverpool arrived about noon and took off about 136 passengers, who were thus brought in safety to Harwich. — Explosion at the Swaithe Colliery near Barnsley, causing the death of 140 workmen engaged in what was known as the half-way seam, about 350 yards from the pit bottom. Other explosions, but less fatal in 'their results took place at this time in the Alexandra pit, Wigan, and in the Duffryn Pit, Tredegar, Newport. 7. — The Alberta and Mistletoe case came on before Mr. Baron Bramwell at the Win- chester Assizes, the coroner's jury having separated without giving a verdict at the inquest on Miss Peel. (See Aug. 18). The learned baron read portions of the evidence taken on that occasion and laid the case once more before the jury, but the result was the same, and on their return into court after an hour's consultation the foreman stated that they were unable to agree upon a verdict. The case was accordingly dismissed. "83 DECEMBER 1875. DECEMBER IO. — Died, aged 84, Sir Houston Stewart, G.C.B., admiral of the Fleet. 11. — By the explosion' this day of a case containing inflammable composition, on board the steamship Mosel, which had just embarked her passengers for New York at Bremerhaven, more than eighty persons were killed and a hundred injured. The case which caused the catastrophe was being carried on board the Mosel. The explosion was the result of a dia- bolical plot to blow the vessel up with dyna- mite on her passage from Southampton to New York, to secure certain insurances previously effected. A naturalised American, named Thomas or Thomson, who twice tried to kill himself after the disaster, made a statement to the effect that he was occupied for a fortnight in filling with explosives a chest in which he had placed clockwork so contrived as to cause an explosion at a given time. This work was carried on in a coach-house situated in the most frequented part of Bremen, Thomson died on the 16th inst. from the re- sults of his self-inflicted injuries. In his con- fession to the authorities he gave his name as ■William King Thomson, professing to be a native of Brooklyn, New York. The explosive material, he asserted, was bought by him in America, and he had it forwarded to his address. The clockwork for igniting the dynamite at a given moment he had had made in Germany. It went ten days, working noiselessly, and at the expiration of that time caused a lever to act which would strike with the force of a hammer weighing thirty pounds. 14. — The Prince arrives at Madras from Ceylon and is received in state by the new governor, the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, surrounded by his official staff, with the legal and municipal authorities. During his visit to Madras the Prince was entertained with the unique spectacle of an illumination of "the surf which breaks in high and pic- turesque lines on the Madras shore. The Maharajah of Travancore, the Rajah of Cochin, the Prince of Arcot, and many other native chiefs paid friendly visits to his Royal Highness. During his stay there the Prince also laid the memorial-stone of the new break- water. 16. — Colliery accident at Mons in Belgium, causing the death of about too workmen. — Foundation-stone of the National Opera House on the Thames Embankment laid by the Duke of Edinburgh. — Lieutenant Cameron, who had not been heard of since quitting Ujiji in May 1874, is announced as having arrived at Loatida, on the West Coast, with fifty-seven followers, having successfully accomplished the journey from sea to sea across the African continent, Dr. Livingstone had up to this time been the only traveller who succeeded in this feat. 1184 SI. — Henry Wainwright executed at Newgate this morning, for the murder of Harriet Lane, the criminal maintaining an appearance of firmness to the end. He was said to have confided a statement to the governor, hardly a confession of the crime, but admitting the justice of his sentence. Such gossip as could be carried beyond the prison, affirmed that he had indicated his brother Thomas as the actual perpetrator of the murder. In his statement the prisoner was said to have expressed his thanks to the many friends known and unknown for sympathy exhibited towards him and his family, and a belief that their prayers for his happiness and peace had been answered by the Almighty. The convict seemed to walk steadily, and placed himself under the rope. After looking for an instant towards the waning moon, which shone out brightly at the time, he slowly closed his eyes with a slight shudder, and did not open them again while the white cap was being drawn over his face. While the noose was being adjusted, he turned his head slightly to the right to aljow of the knot being placed under his left ear. The body quite disappeared behind the partially closed shutters of the kind of shed which contains the scaffold, but the rope, which was twisted for a foot or two, attached to a series of iron rings, swayed and twisted for a very short time, when it became gradually still. Jn addition to the reporters, a large number of other persons were admitted by orders from the sheriffs — a much larger number than at any execution since public hangings were abolished, B2. — The training ship Goliath, burnt in the Thames off Grays, and fifteen of the boys lost. The lamp-room in the forecastle would appear to have been the scene of the outbreak. The lamps used to light the vessel after dark were fed with petroleum oil, and it appears to have been the rule to collect them every morning i n the lamp-room for the purpose of being cleaned and retrimmed. It was said that one of the lamps was accidentally dropped by a lad, when the petroleum ignited and spread in liquid fire all over the deck. The alarm was in- stantly given, but so rapid was the spread of the fire that when Capt. Bourchier, R.E., the officer in command, was called from his cabin the whole deck was in flames. A terrible scene ensued. The horrified children rushed up from below through the various hatchways, and as fast as they got on deck they hurried. to the side of the ship nearest land as the point of escape. Unfortunately it was the most dangerous side, for a strong south-westerly wind Was blowing full upon her broadside, and rolled the smoke and flame over in the direc- tion of the shore. The poor lads, however, climbed over the bulwarks and hung in the chains, or Wherever they could get hold for hand or foot. The boats of the ship being instantly at hand, proceeded to take them off DECEMBER 1876. JANUARY as fast as possible. One or more were swamped, and as many of the lads clinging to the ship were compelled to drop one after another into the water, there was ample occupation for the other boats which came to the rescue to pick up those who were swimming or drowning. The ship lay only about a hundred yards from shore, and a good many leaped overboard and swam to land, amongst whom were two young ladies, the daughters of Capt. Bourchier. . The large number of boys rescued were taken ashore to Grays and well cared for. — Died, aged 72, William Salter, member of the Society of British Artists. 23. — The Prince of Wales arrives at Cal- cutta. His royal highness was received at the landing-stage by the viceroy, the commander- in-chief, the bishop, the chief justice, the mem- bers of the council, the judges, and also by Scindia and Holkar, the Rajahs of Cashmere and Jeypore, and many other chiefs. The chairman of the municipality presented an address. A brilliant procession was then formed, and the prince proceeded to Govern- ment House. The National Anthem was sung by 10,000 school children. His Royal High- ness was waited upon by the Begum of Bhopal, who was introduced by the viceroy. Next day the prince received visits from the Maharajahs Holkar and Scindia, and other princes. On Christmas Day the prince was present at a state dinner given by the viceroy in his honour at Barrackpore, having previously attended service in I he cathedral at Calcutta. — The royal palace of Barcelona destroyed by fire. 24. — Died, aged 71, Philip-Henry, Earl Stanhope, D.C.L., F.R.S., historian of Eng- land, essayist, and President of the Society of Antiquaries. 27. — Accident at Heililsen, Canton of Argau, Switzerland, by ihe giving way of the flooring of a room where Christmas festivities were being celebrated. About eighty young people were killed, and fifty injured. — The Bishop of Colombo, the Rev. Reginald Copleston consecrated in Westminster Abbey by the archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London and Lich- field. — Died, aged 42, Henry Lionel Dymoke of Scrivelsby Court, Lincolnshire, " The Hon. the Queen's Champion," this ancient chivalrous office attached to his baronial estate having passed to the Dymokes by the marri.ige of Sir John Dymoke, knight, with Margaret de Ludlow, grand-daughter of Philip de Marmion. — Died, aged within a year of 100, Edward Lewes Lenthal Swift, keeper of Her Majesty's ! Regalia, father pf the Irish bar, and known in social circles as a scholar, wit, and poet. j 1876. January 1.— The Prince of Wales holds a chapter of the Star of India at Calcutta ; and also unveils a statue of the late Earl of Mayo, Viceroy of India. His Royal High- ness left for the Upper Provinces on the 3rd. 3. — The Marine Society's training-ship Wanpite burnt in the Thames off Woolwich. — Explosion in the Gammage Pits, Talke, North Staffordshire, causing the death of five men employed with eleven others in the seven- feet seam. 4. — Severe depreciation of Egyptian Stocks owing to false reports regarding differences between the Khedive and Mr. Cave, who had been sent over from this country to examine into and re-arrange his finances. — Lord Northbrook's resignation of the Viceroyalty of India accepted, and Lord Lytton appointed to succeed. — Died, aged 76, Jules de Mohl, Oriental scholar. — Died, aged 66, Sir Anthony de Roth- schild Bart., head of the famous banking busi- ness carried on by the Rothschild family. — Mutiny on board the barque Caswell. In the Autumn of last year this vessel left Glasgow for Buenos Ayres, where the crew were discharged with the exception of Peter Macgregor, carpenter, William Griffiths, steward, a man of colour, and two apprentices. At the South American port, John Dunne of Bristol, and James Carrick, a Scotchman, were shipped together with three Greeks, George Penos, Christos and Nicolas Bambos, and two Maltese brothers, Guiseppe, and Jasper Pas- tone. On January 1st, the vessel sailed from Antifogasta for Queenstowu. On the 4th, the foreigners suddenly mutinied and killed Captain Best, the mate William Wilson, and the second mate Allan M'Lean. The Greeks wanted to murder the rest of the crew, but the Maltese insisted on keeping them alive, as they wished to take the ship back to South America. The Greeks on the other hand, had determined to take the vessel to Greece, scuttle her, and then pass themselves off as ship- wrecked mariners. At last the Maltese left in the life-boat for Buenos Ayres, and on March 10th, the Scotchmen rose against the remaining mutineers. Peno and Nicolas were killed, and Christos Bambos put in irons. Carrick who had never learned any navigation beyond what he could pick up in the fore- castle, then made sail for Queenstown, on reaching which, Bambos was handed over to the police. 6. — Statue of Henry Grattan unveiled in Dublin by Viscount Gort. 1185 JANUARY 1 876. JANUARY 6.— Died, aged 75, Right Hon. F. H. S. Solheran Estcourt, M.P. for North Wilts, 1844-64. 7. — The Prince of Wales lays the founda- tion stone of a memorial to be erected in memory of the native soldiers who fell in de- fence of "the Lucknort' Residency, and receives also an address from the Talookdars of Oude. — The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress give a " calico," or fancy ball at the Mansion House to about 400 children dressed in all the costumes that fancy could suggest or art devise. 8. — New peerages gazetted. The Duke of Richmond created Duke of Gordon ; the Earl of Abergavenny, advanced to the dignity of Marquis ; Lord Whamcliffe, to that of Earl ; the Earl of Earne, an Irish peer, created Baron Fermanagh. The o.ther new Peers were Barons Harlech, Allington, Tollemache, and Gerard. 9. — Died, aged 33, Viscount Amberley, son and heir of Earl Russell. 12. — Grand review of 18,000 troops held at Delhi in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales. 13. — Marshal MacMahon issues a .proclama- tion to the Frenuh people announcing a general election. 17." Dilworth's yarn stores, near the Royal Exchange, Manchester, destroyed by fire. — Died, aged 86, Henry Gastineau, oldest member of the Society of Painters in Water Colours. 18. — Defeat of the Turks in Herzegovina by an insurgent force under Peko. — The British Cabinet resolve to giv.e a "general support," to the Note on the Eastern Question prepared at the close of last year by Count Andrassy, Chancellar and Prime Minister of Austria. So far as Turkey was concerned the five leading points af the scheme were : — The establishment of religious liberty, a modification of the system of collecting tithes, the granting of facilities to agriculturists, the application of a portion of the revenues of insurgent provinces to local improvements, and the appointment of a mixed commission of Mussulmans and Christians to watch over the execution of these reforms. 19. — Royal Albert Music Hall, Glasgow, destroyed by fire. — - Died, aged 78, George Eoulett Scrope, F.K.S., F.G.S., author of " The Geology of Central France." 20. — Died, aged 70, Sir George Harvey, President of the Royal Scottish Academy. 1 186 21. — Richard Banner Oakley, mana er and proprietor of the Co-operative Deposit Bank, Queen Victoria Street, charged with fraud at the Mansion House Police Court. About ^40,000 had been paid into the bank as de- posits, but nothing could be found to meet liabilities. — Disastrous double collision in a snow storm at Abbot's Ripton, a single station on the main line of the Great Northern Railway, about six miles north of Huntingdon. In the first instance the Scotch up-express ran into the end of a coal train being shunted to a siding, and then the down Leeds express hav- ing passed Huntingdon without any warning of danger, came rushing through the storm full on the dibris of the two trains, adding to the already frightful confusion and almost paralysing the efforts of those engaged in the work of extrication. Twelve people were killed on the spot, among them being Dion William Boucicault, eldest son of the popu'ar actor, and Herbert Noble, only surviving son of the sculptor. Mr. Muir, a Scottish barrister, died after removal to the County Hospital ; and many were seriously injured. Count Schouval- off, Russian Ambassador, was among those in the train and escaped unhurt. — Died, aged 65, Major-General Margary father of Augustus Raymond Margary, whose barbarous murder in Yunen last year, excited so much public indignation. 22. — Royal Aquarium Winter Garden, Westminster, opened by the Duke of Edin- •burgh. — Rescue of 44 of the passengers and crew of thepasseng'er ship Slrjfthmore, wrecked on the Grozet group of islands, in the Southern region of the Indian Ocean, about 400 miles south-east of the Cape of Good Hope. The Strathmore was an iron clipper-ship which left Gravesend last April for New Zealand, with a crew of 38 hands and 50 passengers. The captain , who was lost in the wreck, would appear to have miscalculated his position, in thick weather, the ship striking early on the morning of July 1, and going -tia pieces soon after. About forty persons were drowned or died from exposure over night in the rigging. The rest, forty-four in number (among them one lady Mrs. Wordsworth, in extremely delicate health) lived for more than six months on a dreary is,land about a mile and a half long, without tree or shrub, and visited only by myriads of sea-fowl. When they first arrived the shipwrecked party slept on the bare rocks, but they soon built huts of stones and turf. They found albatross on the island and a sort of grey bird. They subsisted on these for some time and then they had a flock of molly- hawks. After these came penguins, whose eggs were a great luxury. Their skins were used for fuel, and also to make clothes and boots. The boats had been lost on the third FEBRUARY 1876. FEBRUARY night after their arrival, but before this hap- pened they had taken from the wreck two barrels of gunpowder, one cask of port wine, and two cases of rum, two of gin, one of brandy, and one of provisions, and a case of eight tins of sweets. The liquor lasted four or five weeks, being served out at first, night and morning, and afterwards at night only, till it was reduced to a small quantity, which was reserved for medicinal purposes. The tins in which the sweets were packed were used for pots and lamps. A few matches had been saved from the wreck, and they kept a lamp fed by fat from the birds, burning continually. On September 13, a ship passed within two miles of them, and three other ships were sighted ; but these either failed to see or would not notice them. The American ship Young Phoenix, was cruising for whales when she saw their signals, and took them off on January 22. The captain showed them the greatest kindness, and gave up his own intended voyage, in order to take them to Point de Galle, from whence they were able to proceed in other vessels to England. 25. — The Prince of Wales enters Agra with a grand procession of Rajahs on elephants. 27. — First sitting of the new Divisional Court of Appeal. 28. — Died at Pesth, aged 73, Franz Deak, the most prominent patriot-statesman in modern Hungary, which more than any other single person he had helped to create. On the 3rd of February a funeral procession four miles long followed his honoured remains to the grave, the company of mourners including the Archduke Joseph, the Archduchess Clotilde, Count Andrassy, and the leading generals of the Austrian Empire. 30. — The French Conservative Republicans successful in the Senatorial elections. M. Buffet defeated in the Vosges. 31. — Count Andrassy's note containing the scheme of reforms in Turkey agreed upon by the Northern Powers, communicated to the Porte by the Austrian, Russian, and German Ambassadors. — Died, aged 70, Rev. Jabez Burns, D.D., LL.D., Baptist clergyman. February 1. — Died, aged 64, John Forster, journalist, essayist, historian of "The Grand Remonstrance," biographer of Sir John Eliot, Goldsmith, Landor and Dickens, and the friend and adviser of many authors of eminence. Mr. Forster was engaged on a new life of Swift at the time of his death, one volume having appeared at the close of last year. By a liberal provision in his settlement, Mr. Forster left his valuable library of books, manuscripts, and autographs, with the great bulk of his paintings and drawings to the department of Science and Art, South Kensington. The mere titles of the books filled over 270 closely printed pages of a catalogue, passing through the press at the death of the donor. 2. — Woolner's statue of Lord Palmerston unveiled in Westminster Palace Yard, without any ceremony. — Died, aged 75, General Viscount Melville G.C. B., commander of the Bombay column of the army of the Punjaub at the siege of Moultan, and in 1856 made commander of the forces in Scotland. 3. — Lord Penzance gives judgment against the respondent in the case of Clifton v. Rids- dale, known as the Folkestone ritualist case. — In their verdict on the Abbot's Ripton accident the coroner's jury expressed an opinion that the collision was owing to the block system having failed to act on an emer- gency. They also added an opinion to the effect that the directors of the company were to be blamed for not having a special line on which to work their heavy mineral traffic. 4-. — Colliery explosion at St. Etienne, in France, causing the loss of upwards of 200 lives. S. — Eleven persons killed and thirty injured in a panic caused by a false alarm of fire in Cincinnati Opera House. 6. — The Sultan's government accept the five leading points of Count Andrassy's Note, concerning reforms to the insurgent districts of Herzegovina. 8. — -Parliament opened by the Queen in person. The Royal Speech made reference to the insurrectionary movements in Bosnia, &c. ; to the purchase of shares in the Suez Canal ; the safe return of the Prince of Wales from India ; the S lave Trade, the Colonies, &c. In re- ference to the future measures for legislation, the Shipping Laws, Education, &c, were noticed. On resuming at five o'clock, the newly-created peers were introduced and took the oath. and their seats with the usual formalities. An Ad- dress in reply to the Speech was carried in each House without a division. The ringing of the bells of St. Margaret's and Westminster Abbey, a noticeable feature in the progress of the Royal procession from Buckingham Palace, was omitted at the express desire of the Queen owing to the severe illness of Lady Augusta Stanley, wife of the Dean of Westminster. 9.— Died, aged 83, The Right Hon. Richard Keatinge, formerly Judge of the Prerogative Court and Court of Probate, in Ireland. IO. — Died, at Anapolis, from the effects of a fall down stairs, the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, American Minister in London, 1868, and a party to the rejected Clarendon-Johnson treaty for settling the Alabama claims. 1187 FEBRUARY 1S76. FEBRUARY 11.— Died, aged 86, Rt. Hon. Sir John Taylor Coleridge, father of Lord Coleridge, and formerly one of the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench. 12.— Died, aged 90, Edward Bristow, animal and landscape painter. — Died, aged 73, Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker, K.C.B., engaged in the Turkish service at the Bombardment of St. Jean d'Acre. 13. — The Sultan signs a decree conceding four out of the five reforms proposed in Count Andrassy's Note. 14. — Meeting held in Exeter Hall, presided over by Mr. Fawcett to protest against the second Slave Circular. A Royal Commission of inquiry was gazetted the same day. 15. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer moves a vote for 4,080,000/. to defray the purchase of shares in the Suez Canal. Sir Stafford Northcote examined in detail the finan- cial position of the Suez Canal Company, arriving at the conclusion that, whilst its pro- spects were improving, its assets covered its liabilities, and its profits, " whatever they may be," were available for dividend. He described the circumstances which had led up to this transaction, justified its political importance, and raised a hearty •cheer from the Ministerial- ists by the statement that he proposed to make arrangements by which the shares would "cost us nothing." That was to be managed in the following way : — A loan was to be ob- tained from the Commissioners of the National Debt ; the 200,000/. which is to be received annually from the Khedive in the shape of interest is to be applied to the payment or the interest of this loan, and the balance is to form a sinking fund, which will, the Chancellor of the Exchequer anticipates, extinguish the debt in about thirty-five years. The Marquis oi Hartington appealed to Mr. Disraeli to con- sent to an adjournment of the debate. Mr. Disraeli urged the Committee to proceed with th.: debate, even if they liked to continue it over a week, only to go on with it forthwith. Mr. Gladstone protested that the minority had a right to demand time to consider a policy now for the first time disclosed by the Minister. After some words from Lord Robert Montagu, Mr. Forster, Mr. Dillwyn, and others, urging the immediate adjournment of the debate, the Premier observecf that he had not refused to accede to the request of the Marquis of Har- tington, and now granted it, fixing the 21st inst. for the resumption of the debate. 16. — Mr. Gladstone presented with the freedom of the Turners' Company at the Cannon Street Hotel. — The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council deliver judgment in an appeal from a decision of Sir Robert PhiUimore, whilst Dean 1 188 of the Arches Court, in which Mr. Jenkins, a parishoner of Clifton, had been denied the holy communion by the vicar, Mr. Flavel Cook, because of his disbelief in the personality of Satan, and the etemicy of punishment. The Dean of Arches held that such disbelief con- stituted Mr. Jenkins a "notorious evil liver and a depraver of the book of Common Prayer," according to the Rubrics ; but the Judicial Committee reversed this decision, admonishing the Vicar not to refuse the Sacra- ment to Mr. Jenkins and to pay the costs in both courts. In comequence of this decision, Mr. Cook shortly afterwards resigned his living. 16. — Died, aged 55, Sir George Duncan Gibb, M.D., F.R.G.S., Bart., of Falkland and Carriber. — Died, aged 91, Rev. James Wm. Geldart, LL.D., Professor of Civil Law in Cambridge University, 1813-47. 17. — Mr. Disraeli obtains leave to bring in a Bill enabling her Majesty to make an addition to her style and titles. The right hon. gentle- man did not state the exact form of the addition proposed, observing that this would be left to the discretion of her Majesty. Mr Lowe objected to the proposal. Assuming, first, that the title of Empress was the one contemplated, he contended that the word Emperor, although stated by Blackstone to include no more rights than that of King, was still popularly supposed to be a title obtained and retained by conquest, and, therefore, that it would be injudicious, especially now, when the youths of India were studying the classics, to afford them the oppor- tunity of contrasting the rule of Emperor Sovereigns with the history of the Emperors of Rome. He also urged that this new title would probably create a feeling of jealousy in our other great dependencies — Australia, Canada, and the other British Colonies. See March 9. — The Strathclyde of Glasgow, an iron steamship, bound from London to Bombay, run into in Dover Bay by the Franconia, a German steamer from Hamburg, proceeding from Havre to New York. The Strathclyde sank in a few minutes, about two-and-a-half miles from the shore. There were seventy persons on board, forty-seven officers and crew, and twenty-three passengers, all first class. The captain, John Dodd Eaton, ordered the boats to be got out, but one of them was swamped, and many persons were thrown into the sea. Some were picked up by a Deal lugger called the Early Morn, others by a barque, the Queen of the Nations, or by small boats which were near, while the chief mate and four sailors got on board the Franconia. The captain and twenty-eight other persons, some of whom were ladies, were landed at Deal ; but three passengers, Mr. W. Bussell, Mr. Quinlan, and Miss Young, died of exhaus FEBRUARY 1876.. MARCH. tion either in the boats or on shore, also James Sullivan, the boatswain. The number of lives lost was about thirty-eight. No assistance what- ever was rendered from the Franconia, not even a rope thrown out. At the inquest held at Dover on the bodies of those who were drowned, a verdict of manslaughter was pro- nounced against the officer in charge of the Franconia, 17. — After an inquiry protiacted over thir- teen days before Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, at the Guildhall, the jury in the case of the Directors of the Eupion Gas Company return a verdict of not guilty in the case of all the defendants, on the first charge of conspiracy to defraud the brokers. On the second charge, of obtaining a settlement and quotation on the Stock Exchange, they fuund a verdict of guilty against Aspinall, Whyte,. Muir, and Charles Knocker. Fry and George Knocker were entirely acquitted. Judgment was reserved until the question of law was determined. The verdict was ultimately confirmed by the judges, but judgment was deferred till 1st July, when Aspinall and Charles Knocker were sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment each and Muir and Whyte to two months each, the defendants to be confined in Holloway prison as first-class misdemeanants. 18. — Died, at Boston, where she was born in 1826, Miss Charlotte Cushman, a favourite for thirty years with playgoers in England and America. 19. — Meeting of the Prince of Wales with Sir Jung Bahadoor, the ruler of Nepaul. 20. — Kokhand incorporated with Russia, the Imperial troops entering the capital to-day under General Scobeloff. — Telegraphic communication between Australia and New Zealand completed. 21. — In the adjourned debate on the Suez Canal shares vote, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Glad- stone took occasion to censure the extravagant terms under which the money had been tem- porarily obtained. Mr. Disraeli closed a long debate by stating that it was quite clear that if Mr. Gladstone had been Prime Minister the Suez shares would never have been purchased. Referring to the commission paid to Messrs. Rothschild, he remarked that it would not have been possible to have raised four millions of morey at short notice without converting other securities and incurring some loss. The Government could not have asked the Bank of England, for that would be against the law of the land. He did not recommend the pur- chase as a commercial speculation or as a financial investment ; but, looking at it from a political point of view and as likely to strengthen the empire, he confidently urged it on the acceptance of Parliament. The vote was then put, and carried by acclamation. 21. — Triumphal entry of King Alphonso into Tolosa, his Majesty staying at the house usually occupied by Don Carlos. San Sebas- tian was entered next day amid great rejoicing. — Died, aged 71, Dr. Henry Gauntlett, organist and composer. 23. — Memorial Tablet containing a me- dallion portrait of John Keats placed near the simple tomb of the poet in the English cemetery at Rome. 24. — In the Commons Mr. Whitbread's resolution for the withdrawal of the Slave Circular rejected by 293 to 248 ; Mr. Fawcett's proposal for its suspension rejected by 290 to 245 ; and Mr. Hanbury's motion to await the report of the Commission adopted. 25. — The Duke of Edinburgh commissions the Sultan ironclad. — Died, aged 53, Dr. James Warburton Begbie, an eminent Edinburgh Physician. 26. — Launch of the first steam-ferry boat for the Thames, intended to ply between the Tunnel and Rotherhithe, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress being present and the boat named the Jessie May in honour of their daughter, who performed the christening cere- mony. 27. — Died, aged 70, Sir George Barrow, Bart, C.M.G., formerly of the Colonial Office. 28. — Collapse of the Carlist war in Spain, Don Carlos seeking temporary refuge in France. He arrived in London on the 4th of March. March 1. — Lord Lytton leaves London to assume the duties of Viceroy of India. • — Died, at the Deanery, Westminster, aged 54, Lady Augusta Frederica Elizabeth Stanley, second daughter of Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin, the amiable wife of Dean Stanley. Her social qualities, it was said in the Court Circular, endeared her to the Queen and to the whole Royal family in no ordinary manner, as they did to a very numerous circle of friends of all classes, while her talents were not un- worthy of the distinguished family to which she belonged, of which so many members have been prematurely cut off. 2. — Mr. Gathorne Hardy moves the Army Estimates, theamountsought being 13,989,500/. — General Belknap, the United States Secretary of War, resigns office in consequence of an accusation of official corruption. 3.' — Mr. Osborne Morgan's resolutions on the Burials question, rejected in the Commons by 279 to 248 votes. A. — Died, aged 39, Alfred Holmes, musical composer. 5. —Edward Payson Weston, an American pedestrian, commences the task of walking 500 miles in six consecutive days. Starting within the Agricultural Hall at five minutes after MARCH 1876. At ARCH midnight, on Sunday, he had at the end of the first twenty-four hours covered nearly 96 miles, thus having beaten time by 12 clear miles to the good. By the end of Tuesday this advan- tage had decreased to between 6 and 7 miles, and by Thursday morning the match was practically at an end, for at the close of the third day 243 miles and 120 yards only had been covered, and the walker was thus 6 miles 3 furlongs and 100 yards behind. On Friday morning his arrears had increased to 13 miles and 60 yards, and at I P.M. on Saturday there still remained 86 miles to be got over, a task obviously impossible in the eleven hours still left. None the less gallantly he struggled on to the last, and at twelve minutes to twelve he was stepping briskly along when, at the con- clusion of the 450th mile, a pistol was fired, and he withdrew from his impossible effort. — The Prince of Wales concludes a fort- night's visit to Sir Jung Bahadoor, the actual ruler of Nepaul, and Prime Minister to the youthful Maharajah. A considerable portion of the time was spent in tiger-hunting in the Terai, a forest country at Nepaul. His Royal Highness had previously 'killed his first tiger when visiting the Maharajah of Jeypore. 7. — The Queen, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, proceeds in semi-state to the London Hospital for the purpose of opening the new wing which had been built by the Grocers' Company, at a cost of 20,000/. The weather being fine, the whole route, which was through the Mall, along the Thames Embankment, Queen Victoria Street, Comhill, and Leaden- hall Street, was crowded by spectators, from whom Her Majesty received a cordial welcome. The decorations in that part of the City through which the Queen passed were profuse, and warm expressions of" welcome were frequent on flags and triumphal arches. At the Hos- pital, Her Majesty was received by the Duke of Cambridge, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Home Secretary, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, with the president, treasurer, and governors of the institution, and conducted to a central platform where an address was read and graciously replied to. Her Majesty afterwards visited some of the Hospital Wards, and spoke a few kindly words to the inmates, especially in the chil- dren's ward. 9. — In moving the second reading of the Royal Titles Bill, Mr. Disraeli said he had declined to answer the question put to him the other day by Mr. Samuelson, regarding the precise nature of the proposed new title because he thought it was unfair and improper. With regard to the title of Empress, it had been ob- jected that it was clothed with base associations, and symbolised conquest made and retained by the sword ; but he reminded the House of instances in which there were no such associa- tions. He denied that the Imperial title was 1 190 superior in dignity to that of queen. The amplification of titles was no new thing — it pervaded all ranks of persons by whom dis- tinctive titles were possessed. It had been said that the title of Empress was un-English, but he asked in what sense it could be so termed. Spenser had dedicated his great poem, " The Faerie Queene," to Elizabeth, on whom he bestowed the title of Empress. He was now in a position to inform the House that the title her Majesty would assume if this bill were passed would be that of Empress, and the style of the new title would run thus : — • "Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen Defender of the Faith and Empress of India." He pointed out that the new title would be received with acclamation by the people of India, and he 'earnestly appealed to the House to pass the bill without division so that the Indian population might feel that there was a sympathetic chord in England which they had managed to touch. Mr. Samuelson denied that Dr. Henry Letheby, analyst and Medical Officer of Health for the City of London. 30. — The Duke of Richmond moves thesecond reading of the Royal Titles Bill in the Lords, expressing at the same time a hope that the motion would receive the unanimous approval of their Lordships. The Duke of Someiset considered that no case had been made out for Her Majesty's assumption of a title which had too much of the autocratic flavour to be ac- ceptable to the English people. Lord Napier and Ettrick was satisfied that the assumption of the title of Empress by the Queen would be agreeable to the princes and chiefs of India, 1 192 and would have a salutary effect in that country. Earl Grey was adverse to the pro-' posed new title, because he believed it would overshadow by degrees and cast into oblivion the old historical title of Queen or King of England. The debate was continued for some period longer. Eventually the bill was read the second time. 30. — A murder of an unusually revolting character brought to light at Blackburn by discovery of the mutilated remains of a little girl named Emily Holland, about seven years of age, who had been missing for two days. An examination of the remains left no doubt that before the murder and mutilation a crimi- nal outrage had been committed on the child. Suspicion was naturally excited to the utmost keenness by indignation and excitement The child was last seen to come out of a tobacco- nist's shop, to take a small packet to a man who was standing in the street, and to go away with him ; but attempts to identify this man proved unsatisfactory. The police at length had recourse to a method of detection which revived past times. They called the sagacity of the dog to their aid, and endeavoured to put a bloodhound on the scent. They took the animal in the first instance to the spot where the limbs of the child already recovered had been found, in order, if possible to discover the rest. In this, however, they were unsuc- cessful, and they then resolved to take the dog to two houses, against the occupiers of which suspicion was entertained. In the first of these the dog betrayed no excitement ; but it had no sooner entered the second than it began to give evidence of the detection of some scent. It led the police at length to the fireplace of an upper room, and there, concealed in the chim- ney, were discovered the head and several bones of the child, with portions of clothing. The occupier, a barber named Fish, was at once arrested, and afterwards made a confession of the crime. "I was standing (Fish wrote) at my shop door in Moss Street, when the de- ceased child came past. She was going up Moss Street, and I asked her to bring me half an ounce of tobacco from Cox's shop. She went and brought it me. I asked her to go in my shop ; she did. I asked her to go upstairs, and she did. I abused her, and she was nearly dead. I then cut her throat with a razor in the front room near the fire. I then carried the body downstairs into the shop, and cut off her head, arms, and legs, and wrapped the body up in newspapers, and put those parcels into a box in the kitchen. The arms and head I put into the fire. On Wednesday afternoon I took the parcel containing the legs to Lower Cunliffe. At nine o'clock the same night I took the parcel containing the body to a field at Bastwell and threw it over the wall. On Friday afternoon I burnt part of the cloth- ing, and on Wednesday morning I took part of the head, which was burnt, and put it into the chimney in the front bedroom. - 1 farther APRIL 1876. APRIL wish to say that I did it all myself ; no other person had anything to do with it." (For trial, see 28th July.) 30. — Bursting of the Lyndbrook reservoir at Worcester, Massachusetts causing great damage. Five large mills and dwelling-houses destroyed, the water rushing in a stream 20 feet high and 30 feet wide for nine miles. — Dissolution of the Folkething of Denmark, owing to its rejection of the most urgent measures submitted to it for the military defence of the country. April 2. — Lieutenant Verney Lovett Came- ron, African explorer, arrives at Liverpool on his return from that continent. Leaving England in 1872 under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society in search of Dr. Livingstone, Lieutenant Cameron proved to be the first English or European traveller who has crossed the whole breadth of the African continent in its central latitudes, beyond the western shore of Lake Tanganyika to the Atlantic sea-coast of Lower Guinea. He traversed in performing this feat a distance of nearly 4,000 miles on foot, between the east and west ocean shores ; but the most important part of his journey lay in the central interior, west of the chain of lakes and rivers discovered by Dr. Livingstone, which Lieut. Cameron found to be connected with the great river Congo, issuing to the Atlantic between Loango and Angola. Zanzibar was the explorer's starting point, and he was at first accompanied by Dr. Dillon, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Moffatt ; but two of them died, and the third was left behind, so that Cameron accomplished his arduous undertaking entirely without civilised companions. Leaving Ujiji, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, in May, 1874, he finally arrived at Benguela, a Portuguese settlement on the west coast, in November, 1875. 3. — Inthe presence of an audience unusually brilliant and crowded, Lord Shaftesbury moves an amendment on the Royal Titles Bill, to the effect that an address should be presented to the Queen, praying that Her Majesty might asrume some other title than Empress. After considerable discussion the proposal was re- jected and the motion for going into Committee carried by 137 to 91 votes. In the Commons Mr. Disraeli, in answer to Sir W. Harcourt, explained that on the Royal Titles Bill be- coming law the Imperial title would be used in the transaction of all affairs connected with the Indian empire and all communications with foreign governments ; in other words, it would be used externally, and not in relation to the internal affairs of the country. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer intro- duces the Annual Budget. Its chief feature was a prospective deficiency in the revenue of the coming year of 774,000/.— the total expen- diture being 78,0x5,000/.— to meet which Sir Stafford Northcote proposed an additional penny on the income-tax. At the same time, however, the limit of total exemption was to be raised to 150/., and incomes under 400/. were to be allowed a deduction of 120/. 3. — The Turkish Government announce an intention to postpone payment of the April Coupons of the Ottoman debt. The amount deferred was set down at 1,200,000/. and the bondholders, who were asked to wait for their money till the end of June, were to receive for it interest at the rate of six per cent. This step made it necessary to raise, by some means not yet clear to financial agents, no less a sum than three millions sterling, in order to meet the different obligations due in July. 4.— Mr. Dana's nomination as American ambassador to England, in succession to Gene- ral Schenck), rejected in the Senate by 37 to 16 votes. — The steamer Agrigenti sunk, after col- lision with the Hilton Castle near Cape Malsa, in the Piraeus. Thirty persons drowned. 5. — Mr. Dixon's bill for the establishment of compulsory school boards rejected by 281 to 160 votes, a majority somewhat larger than that which last year voted against the measure for extending education to the agricultural districts. — A deeply distressing boat accident in- volving the loss of at least thirty lives, occurred on the river Dee at Aberdeen this day. The day was the sacramental fast, but prac- tically observed as a holiday, and the weather being exceptionally fine, large numbers went out pleasure-seeking. A favourite resort on fast-days i? the fishing village of Tony, on the opposite side of the Dee from Aberdeen, and large crowds went across, by ferry and bridge. In the early part of the day the overcrowding of the boats was viewed with apprehension ; but, as the afternoon advanced, the people became more unruly and the dan ger increased, more especially as a rapid ebb current was flowing in the river at the time. About half-past three o'clock one of the boats was so overcrowded with passengers that the waterman refused to proceed until a number of them alighted. Notwithstanding the assur- ance that it was dangerous to proceed, certain foolhardy individuals seized the machinery of the boat, which is worked by a wire apparatus, and before anything could be done to prevent it Ihey pulled the boat into the stream. As soon as it reached mid-stream the boat with sixty occupants was swamped, and all were struggling in the rapid current. The scene now became heartrending. Before any boats could be launched, numbers were rapidly disappearing, and the swiftness of the stream rendered the attempts at rescuing the unfor- tunate creatures almost fulile. Out of the sixty in the boat, thirty-two perished. The 1 1 93 APRIL 1876. APRIL greatest consternation and excitement prevailed in the town, and crowds lined the banks of the river until a late hour in the evening. Many bonnets and caps were recovered from the water. These articles of dress were laid out for identification in one of the rooms of the police office. A continual stream of people visited the place during the evening. A more pitiable sight could not be conceived. The melancholy stillness of the room was now and again broken by the wail of a mother as she cried, "Oh, 'tis my laddie's bonnet," or " My darling lassie's hat." — The state of siege in Paris which had now lasted, in theory at least, for nearly five years raised by decree of the Assembly. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court before Mr. Baron Pollock the trial of Ferdinand Keyn, or Khun, captain of the Franconia, for the manslaughter of Hessie Dorcas Young, one of the passengers of the Strathclyde run dcfwn off Dover (see Feb. 17). The Attorney- General opened the case for the prosecution in a brief address. The prisoner, he said, was a German and master of the steamship Franconia, of 2,000 tons, and the substantial charge against him was that on Feb. 1 7 he, by negligently navigating that vessel, came into collision with another vessel, called the Strathclyde ; that by this collision the Strath- clyde was sunk and the deceased who was a passenger on board, lost her life. According to the rule of the road at sea, as stated by the Attorney-General, the Franconia should have been a following vessel to the Strathclyde ; but the case he should have to lay before them was that the Franconia had failed to take the necessary step of starboarding her helm, and the consequence was that the collision took place. He then referred to the law of the case, and proceeded to call evidence. Baron Pollock summed up at considerable length, and after half an hour's consideration, the jury returned a verdict of Guilty. Judgment was reserved pending the decision of a point of law — namely, whether a foreign subject is amenable to the criminal law in respect to the rule of the road at sea. The judgment of the court, for the consideration of Crown cases re erved on this point, came up for review on November 12. The point had been first argued before six judges, one of whom dissenting; ren- dered a reargument necessary, and which was held before fourteen judges. In delivering judgment on the 13th, the Lord Chief Justice said, the prosecution relied on two points, first, that although the occurrence on which the charge was founded took place on the high seas in the sense that the place in which it happened was not within the body of the country, it odour- red within three miles of the English coast, and that by the law of nations, the sea for a space of three miles around the coast, was part of the territory of the country whose shores it washed, and consequently, as the Franconia at the time 1194 the offence was committed was in En'/lish waters, all on board the Franconia at the time of the accident were subject to English law ; and secondly, that although the negligence com- plained of happened on board a foreign vessel the death occasioned by such negligence took place on board a British vessel, and that as a British vessel was in point of law considered British territory, the offence having been com- pleted by the death of the deceased in a British ship, it must be considered as having been committed on British territory. It was an inc "intestable proposition of law, and universally admitted that according to the law of nations, a foreigner could not be held criminally responsible to the laws of a nation, not his own, for acts committed beyond the limits of its territory. There being six judges in favour of the conviction, and seven against it, the conviction was quashed. 7. — Royal Titles Bill passes the House of Lords. — Lord Lytton the new Viceroy of India, lands at Bombay. Sworn in to office at CaJ cutta on the 12th. S. — The Egyptian Government issues a de- cree postponing for three months payment of the floating bonds due in April and May, and proposing interest at the rate of seven per cent. Mr. Cave's report on Egyptian finances gener- ally had been published on the 3rd inst. IO. — Mr. Anderson's motion censuring the Admiralty for its treatment of the Alberta and Mistletoe was rejected after debate by a majority of 157 to 65 votes. Mr. Ward Hunt contended that Mr. Anderson had not stated the facts on which he charged him with disingenuousness, and declared that he had never promised, nor had intended, to produce the report of the court of inquiry. He denied indignantly that there had been any attempt to screen the Prince of Leiningen ; for though Mr. Anderson was theoretically right as to the position of a captain going on board a tender, in the case of the Alberta, the Prince of Lein- ingen being in constant communication with the Queen, it had for masy years been the custom that Captain Welch should command the ship, and, as a matter of fact, he gave all the steering orders. He contradicted unre- servedly Mr. Anderson's statement that Cap- tain Welch had demanded a court-martial. No such demand had been received at the Admiralty, and if it had been received it certainly would have been granted. — Opening of the Hall erected at South- ampton, in memory of Dr. Isaac Watts on the site of his father's garden. 11 — The Duke of Edinburgh presides at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in St. James's Hall to welcome Lieut. Cameron. APRIL 1876. APRIL 11. — Died, aged 65, Mr de Morgan, F.R.S., formerly examiner in surgery at the Royal College of Physicians, and a frequent con- tributor to the " Philosophical Transactions " and medical journals. 13. — A. Good Friday Eve memorable for one of the severest April snow-storms ever re- corded in or around London. Telegraphic com- munication to towns north of Leicester was for some time completely stopped, most of the road wires being reported "down with the snow." The Pullman Car train which left St. Pancras station at midnight, got snowed up near Desborough station, and arrived at Leicester five hours late. The rear-guard, it was reported, was lost in the snow, having gone up the line to protect the train. He was, however, picked up by the newspaper train leaving London at 5.15 A.M., which had been signalled to stop and which did not reach Leicester until 8.50, or about an hour and a half late. The storm extended as far south as Marseilles, where a fall in the temperature of fifteen degrees was reported. During the heavy gales which succeeded this snow-storm, the lifeboats stationed at the harbours on our eastern coasts had many opportunities of doing gallant service in saving human life. 15. — Lord Northbrook embarks at Calcutta in the Tenasserim on his return to England. 17. — The Prince of Wales lays the founda- tion stone of the new 38-ton battery at the head of the Mole, Gibraltar, and also of a public market, with masonic honours. — Died, aged 73, A. T. .Stewart, the famous dry goods warehouseman of New York, a native of Belfast, Ireland, and one of the most successful merchants of modern times, turning over it was said, seventy millions in dollars every year, and leaving a fortune estimated at eighty million dollars. 18. — Commencement of a series of riots in Barbadoes, lasting over four days, and leading to the loss of several native lives. 19. — Lord Lyttelton, while under the care of an attendant, and in the course of severe suffering from mental depression, commits suicide by throwing himself over the staircase railing. Lord Lyttelton, who was born in 1817, was Chancellor's Medallist and Senior Classic at Cambridge in 1838, Under Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1846, and Chief Commissioner of Endowed Schools till 1874. — Died, aged 66, Dr. S. S. Wesley, organist of Gloucester Cathedral and author of the "Twelve Anthems" in common use over England'. 21.— Died, aged 80, Charles Whittingham, printer, "Chiswick Press." 22. — Died, aged 75, Isabella, Princess Re- gent of Portugal. 1826-28. 1 195 22. — Explosion' of gunpowder in a railway tunnel at the Cymner, near Heath, thirteen excavators killed. — The Queen accompanied by Princess Beatrice and attended by the lords and ladies of the suite arrives at Windsor Castle from Germany. At La Villette station, her Majesty was received by Lord Lyons and Marshal MacMahorj, and had a private inter- view, lasting a quarter of an hour with the French President. During her stay in Ger- many, her Majesty spent ten days at Coburg, where she occupied the palace of the Duke of Edinburgh. Here also the Queen received visits from the Emperor William, and the Crown Princess of Germany with some of her children. 24..— Keble College Chapel, Oxford, erected at the expense of the late Mr. Gibbs of Tyntes- field, formally opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 25. — The Prince of Wales arrives at Madrid on his homeward journey, and on the 28th proceeds to the Escurial to visit the tombs of the Kings of Castile. — Close of the first stage of the Bravo inquiry. The coroner's jury to-day returning an open verdict, touching the death of Charles Delauney Turner Bravo, a young barrister who died on the 2 1st inst., in his own house at Balham. Certain friends of the deceased as well as some of the jury being dissatisfied with the way in which the inquiry was held, opinion of counsel was taken as to the circum- stances attending the death, and a petition addressed also to the Home Secretary praying for further inquiry. Charles Bravo, thirty years of age, was married in December 1875 to Mrs. Ricardo, widow of Captain Ricardo who died a few years ago. Mr. Bravo was aware that previously to her second marriage Mrs. Ricardo had contracted an intimacy with Dr. Gully of hydropathic reputation, presently living at Balham, and it was surmised that deceased had reason for being jealous. This intimacy might have been renewed lately. On the other hand it was urged that Mr. Bravo had always continued to manifest a cheerful dis- position, was very fond of his handsome wife, and most unlikely to commit suicide. Deceased it would appear, dined at home the day before his death, and retired to bed about half -past nine o'clock. Some time afterwards he called for assistance, and on Mrs. Bravo's friend, Mrs. Cox, going to his assistance he said he was ill, and. asked for hot water. This was brought, and Dr. Moore sent for, who, on arrival, found the deceased prostrate, and administered an injection of brandy. After an interval Dr. Harrison also arrived, and these two remained with him all night. He rallied considerably, and was enabled to make a will on the day following. Later a relapse set in, and he died soon afterwards. A post- P* MAY 1876. MAY mortem examination of the body took place, and it was proved that the deceased had died from the effects of poisoning by tartar emetic (awtimony). His dinner consisted of a small piece of lamb, with some new potatoes, followed by one egg and a small part of the spinach. He drank, however, three full-sized glasses of Burgundy. The ladies who were present, Mrs. Bravo and Mrs. Cox, both partook of the lamb, and of the eggs and spinach, but neither of them touched the Burgundy. It had been decantered by the butler in the middle of the day, and had stood in the cellarette in the dining-room the whole of the afternoon. The Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice ordered a new inquiry before another jury, in the hope that some additional light on the matter might be obtained. (See July nth.) 27.— The iron-clad Inflexible, the most powerful war-ship in the British navy, launched at Portsmouth, the Princess Louise gracefully carrying through the ceremony of christening this mighty engine of war. May 1. — Proclamation made at the Mansion House, Charing Cross, Brentford, and Edin- burgh, of the Queen's new title of Indue Inrperatrix, or Empress of India. — Consecration at St. Paul's Cathedral, of the Rev. Louis George Mylne, Keble College, Oxford, as Bishop of Bombay. — An insurrection against Turkish oppres- sion breaks out in various Bulgarian villages. 2. — In consequence of a speech which Mr. Lowe had recently delivered at Retford, wherein he hinted that her Majesty had been accessory to the passing of the Royal Titles Bill, Mr. C. Lewis proposes in the Commons that a return should be made showing the form of oath taken by Privy Counsellors. Mr. Disraeli severely censured Mr. Lowe for his alleged breach of faith, and denied on the highest authority the insinuation made regarding her Majesty. Two days afterwards Mr. Lowe formally retracted his statement. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court,, the trial of eight foreign seamen, charged with the murder of Stanley Hatfield and two mates of the Lennie. This was a British ship, belonging to the port of Yarmouth in Nova Scotia, and had lain in the Scheldt in ballast during October last. On the 24th of that month she left with a mixed crew for New Orleans, and at first every thing went smoothly. Captain Hatfield did not appear to have treated them with peculiar harshness, though he was disappointed at discovering their deficiency in seamanship, and vented his disappointment in some rough sailor's language. When the LennU however, had been a week at sea, the crew suddenly rose, butchered the captain and the mates, and compelled the steward, Constant 1 196 von Haydonck, who had, they discovered some knowledge of navigation, to shape the vessels' course towards the Mediterranean. The steward on whose evidence the case may be said to have mainly rested, and to whose activity and ingenuity the detection of the crime is due, was not on deck at the time when the murders were perpetrated, though he was able to testify to the cries and scuffling which he heard. But among the sailors who were present at the butchery two of those least culpable, were produced as witnesses for the prosecution. Their evidence brought home to four of the prisoners direct participation in the murderous act. On the third day of trial four of the mutineers were found guilty and and sentenced to death, and they were all executed at Newgate on the morning of the 23rd. 6. — Mussulman riot at Salonica arising from an attempt to prevent a young Christian girl from embracing the Mohammedan faith, and resulting in the murder of the French and German Consuls. The American Consul appeared to have carried off the young Bul- garian girl from her Mussulman protectors to the consulate in his own carriage, whereupon the excited mob surrounded the consulate, clamouring for the girl's release. The French and German Consuls, who were related by marriage to the American Consul, on hearing of what was taking place, hastened to his aid, and were murdered immediately on their arrival at the mosque. The people invaded the mosque, and, breaking down some iron bars, fell upon the two consuls who were in the building. Six of tbe rioters were condemned and put to death. — Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire, part of the Wynn Ellis collec tion, knocked down at Messrs. Christie's auc tion, to Mr. Agnew for 10,000 guineas. — The Lord Mayor gives a banquet at the Mansion House to "representatives of Literature in its various branches." A few days later a similar compliment was paid to "the representatives of Science." — Wagner's Tannhdwer performed for the first time at the Royal Italian Opera, with Mdlle. Albani as the heroine. ?« — Demonstration in Hyde Park in favour of opening the national museums and picture galleries on Sundays. 9. — In consequence of the excitement at Cons'antinople, Sir Henry Elliot requests that the British Fleet may be sent to Besika Bay. — The armour-plated war-ship Temfraire, built on the barbette principle, launched from Chatham dockyard, Mrs. Ward Hunt per- forming the ceremony of christening. — Monument to Schiller unveiled at Mar- bach, his native town. MAY 1876. MAY — The Bulgarian atrocities reach a climax in the massacre at Batak by Bashi-Bazouks. IO.— Opening of the Centennial Exhibi- tion at Philadelphia, by President Grant, the P^mperor of Brazil being present. 11. — After an absence of fully half » year the Prince of Wales arrives in England, reaching Portsmouth this morning in the Serapis, and Victoria station in the afternoon. An enthu- siastic welcome over, the Prince drove first to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, and then to Marlborough House. The Italian Opera was visited in the evening. — Sir H. James's motion, declaring that the Royal Proclamation did not make adequate provision for restraining and preventing the use of the title of Empress in relation to the internal affairs of her dominions other than India, rejected in the Commons after debate by 334 to 226 votes. — The Emperor of Russia with Prince Gortschakoff, arrives at Berlin to confer with Count Andrassy, the German Emperor, and Prince Bismarck on the Eastern Question. 13. — Loan Collection of Scientific Instru- ments at South Kensington opened by her Majesty. 14. — Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey, for the Prince of Wales's safe return from India, attended by the Prince and Princess. 15. — In the House of Lords Earl Granville submits a resolution:— "That it is desirable that the law relating to the burial of the dead in England should be amended — firstly, by giving facilities for the interment of deceased persons in churchyards where they have a right of interment without the usual burial service of the Church of England, if the relatives or friends having the charge of their funerals shall so desire ; and secondly, by enabling the relatives or friends having charge of the funeral of any deceased person to conduct such funerals, in any churchyard in which the deceased had a right of interment, with such Christian and orderly religious observances as to them may seem fit." A long debate ensued. Eventually the motion was rejected, the numbers being — for 92, against 148. 17. — The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Grand Congratulatory Concert and Reception at the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal party proceeded to the concert in state, riding in carriages emblazoned, with the Royal Arms, and their servants wearing the royal liveries of scarlet. — The National Training School for Music opened by the Dukes of Edinburgh and Connaught. — The Queen confers the Grand Cross of the Bath on Sir Bartle Frere at Windsor Castle. 1 197 18. — The Elementary Education Bill intro- duced by Lord Sandon, and read a first time in the Commons. — Mr. Hubbard's motion condemning the Government scheme of exemptions from the Income Tax, rejected by 241 to 121 votes. — The ex-King and Queen of Hanover, with the Crown Prince and Princess, visit the Queen at Windsor Castle. 19. — Banquet and Ball at the Guildhall in honour of the Prince of Wales's return from India. — The House of Commons fail to "make a House," for the first time since April 4, 1865. — Died, aged 66, Colonel Meadows Taylor, C.S.I., writer of Indian fiction. — Died, aged 34, Miss Julia Matthews, actress. 22. — The Government announce in both Houses, that they had been unable to concur in the memorandum drawn up at the Berlin Conference. — The United States Senate confirm ihe appointment of Mr. Pierrepont as Minister to England. 24. — The British fleet in the Mediterranean ordered to Besika Bay. — The Challenger fitted out by Govern- ment in 1872 at the instance of the Royal Society for a voyage of scientific discovery round the world, returns after an absence of three years and five months. The principal work of the expedition had been deep sea sounding and dredging in the great oceans with valuable results. The most important groups of islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were visited, and the Antarctic Ocean was traversed to within 1,400 miles of the South Pole. The total distance run by the ship amounted to 68,500 miles. The expedition returned to England under the command of Captain Thompson, Captain Nares having been called away to take command of the Arctic Expedition. — Died, aged 46, Henry Kingsley, novelist and journalist. 25. — The Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Senate report a resolution condemning General Schenck for his connec- tion with the Emma mine. — The Reformed Presbyterian or Old Church of the Covenant, consummate a union with the Free Church of Scotland in the Assembly Hall, Edinburgh. 26. — Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire, cut out of the frame and stolen during the night from the picture gallery of Messrs. Agnew, Bond Street, where it was being exhibited. P 2 JUNE 1876, JUNE 27. — The Duke of Edinburgh sails from Spithead in command of the Sultan. — Died, aged 86, the Right Hon. Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart., formerly Chairman of the East India Company. 28. — The Turkish Government announces that the insurrection in Bulgaria has been completely suppressed. 30. — Deposition at Constantinople of the Sultan Abdul Aziz. This event was not brought about by a popular revolution, but by the action of the Ministers, pushed to the extremity by the absolute refusal of the Sultan to advance money from his privy purse for the exhausted war treasury. Upon his refusing to. alter his decision, he was informed that the people were dissatisfied with his government, and that he was deposed. Immediately after- wards he was conducted, with the Sultana Valide, to the Tophana Palace, and confined there under guard. The revolution was effected withoutany public disturbance whatever. The new Sultan was immediately proclaimed as Murad V. — Mr. Trevelyan's motion for an extension of (he County Franchise (opposed by Mr. Lowe and supported by Mr. Bright), rejected by 264 to 165 votes. June 1. — Imperial "Hatt" by the new Sultan Murad V. decreeing that as he had been called to reign "by the grace of God and the will of all," he desired to see a Government which could best guarantee "the liberties of all." He charged Ministers to reform the ad- ministration, of justice and to remove those causes of complaint which had led to disturb- ances in certain provinces. By his own desire a sum of 300,000/. was struck off the Civil List, reducing the monthly allowance to 60,000/. — Concluded at the Old Bailey, before Mr. Justice Mellor, the trial of Win. K. Vance and Ellen Snee, a married woman, aged twenty- nine, charged with conspiring to murder Snee and some other persons unknown. From the letters which passed between the prisoners it would appear that Mrs. Snee had determined to commit suicide, and had' applied to Vance for a poison which would effect her purpose painlessly, and which would defy detection by the usual tests. - The substance supplied was chloral, but she had not had courage to take it. The letter first opened by the post-office authorities . contained what was practically an offer of a sufficient quantity of chloral to cause death, and certain advice, which, if. followed, the writer said, would lead to the verdict of the coroner's jury being " Death from misadven- ture.'" Vance was discovered and arrested, when he handed to the police a letter which he had received, and which had called forth his own note. This letter, signed "M. V.," was a very remarkable one. It is stated that the 1 198 writer, whoever he might be, desired to die in order to benefit by his death some person- not named. He wrote: — "I make.no question you could be of service to me. The question is, will' you? The solatium I offer is 100/. ; the conditions these : — I am tired of my life. I could do a great deal of good to a person I am interested in by leaving the world just now, and, one way or the other, I am resolved to do so ; but, if possible, I should prefer not to wound the feelings of the person who will gain most by my death, by allowing it to be sup- posed voluntary. " The Jury found the prisoners guilty on the second charge, and were sentenced — Vance to eighteen months and Snee to six months imprisonment. 1. — Died, aged 94, Count Antoine Rodolph Apponyi, Austrian diplomatist. 2. — According to official advices from Con- stantinople, military operations in Bulgaria hacf. now terminated, the insurrection was said tit be completely suppressed, the leaders made prisoners and handed over to the civil autho- rities. 3. — Bursting of a store tank on the top of St. George's Hospital, causing serious injury to several patients, whose beds were swept away by the flood of 5,000 gallons of water. — Game of Lacrosse introduced into this country by twelve members, of the Montreal Club who give an exhibition of the national- game of Canada at Hurlinghanc — Fire in the clock tower- of Canterbury Cathedral, causing, considerable damage to the timber work, and the death of one person who had aided in extinguishing the flames. A. — The ex-Sultan of Turkey, Abdul Aziz, commits suicide while in a state of mental de pression, by cutting open a vein with a pair of scissors within the palace of Cheragan to which he had been conveyed at his own request after removal from the throne. 5. — Earldom conferred on Lord North- brook, G.C.S.I., late Governor-General of India. 7. — The remains of the late King Louis Philippe, Queen Marie Amelie, Duchess of Orleans, and other members of the Orleans family, removed from the Roman Catholic chapel at Weybridge, where temporarily in- terred, to the family burying-place at Dreux, in Normandy. The President of the French Republic had given the necessary permission, and the removal was carried out under direction of the Comte de Paris. There were in all ten coffins. 8. — Died, aged 72, Georges Sand (Madame Amantine L. A, Dudevant), French novelist,, dramatist, and social philosopher. , 9. — Replying to the Marquis of- Hartington, Mr. Disraeli states in the Commons that the JUNE 1876. JUNE steps taken by Her Majesty's Government in Turkish affairs were sucli as it was believed would lead to the maintenance of an honourable peace. The Berlin Memorandum would not be presented. 10. — Representatives of Art and friends entertained at a banquet at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor. — The once celebrated "London Tavern" closed, the property having been purchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland for 80,000/. or about 13/. per superficial foot of area space. 13. — Prince Milan of Servia reported to have sent an Envoy to Constantinople for the purpose of representing that he had no hostile intention towards the Porte. — Union of the English Presbyterian Church and the United Presbyterian Church formally completed at Liverpool. — Died, aged 48, George Walter Thorn- bury, author and journalist. 14. — Sir Wilfrid Lawson's Permissive Bill rejected in the Commons by 299 to 81 votes. In the first year of the late Parliament 87 voted for the Bill and 193 against it ; in 1870 the numbers for it rose to 90 and the opponents sank to 121 j in 1871 the supporters were 124, but the opposition increased in still greater proportion, and became 206 ; in 1872, a divi- sion was avoided by a prolongation of the debate ; in 1873 Sir Wilfrid Lawson's ad- herents numbered 81 and his opponents rose t'o 321 ; in 1874 the numbers were 75 and 301 respectively; last year 86 against 371 votes. 15. — The Turkish Ministers of War and 'Foreign Affairs with two attendant officers assassinated in the Council Chamber, Constan- nople, by an officer named Hassan, afterwards executed. — Fire in warehouses at Brooks's wharf, Upper Thames Street, causing damage esti- mated at over 150,000/. — Winslow claimed (with Brent) by the United States Government, under the Extradi- tion Treaty, liberated from custody by a Judge in chambers, the English Government holding that a prisoner whose extradition is applied for upon a certain charge cannot be tried upon any other ; and as the United States declined to pledge themselves to such a course in re- ference to Winslow the prisoner was discharged. The President thereupon sent a strong message to Congress intimating that all extradition be- tween the two countries must in consequence cease, and for a time serious apprehension was felt this undesirable end could not be avoided. For the first time, the President announced in the case of Winslow " it is assumed that, under the Act of Parliament Her Majesty's Government may require a stipulation or agree- ment not provided for by the Treaty as a con- dition to the observance by her Government of its Treaty obligations towards this Govern ment. This I have felt it my duty emphati- cally to repel." The President announced the release of both fugitives, declaring it an ipso facto annulment of the Extradition Treaty. "Under these circumstances," he wrote, "it will not, in my judgment, comport with the dignity or self-respect of this Government to make any demands on that Government for the surrender of fugitive criminals nor to entertain any requisition of that character from that Government under the Treaty. It will be a cause of deep regret if the Treaty, which has been thus beneficial in practical operation, which has worked so efficiently, and which notwithstanding exciting, and at times violent political disturbances, of which both countries have been the scene during its existence, and which has given rise to no complaint on the part of either Government against either its spirit or provisions, should be abruptly ter minated. It has tended to the protection of society and to the general interest of both countries. Its violation or annulment would be a retrograde step in International inter- course." 16. — Destructive fire With loss of life in the carpet manufactory and wool works of Mr. James Templeton, Ayr. The premises com prised four blocks of buildings, and it was in one of the blocks situated at the back of the works that the fire originated. A number of women who were at work ran out screaming from the building, exclaiming that others were within unable to escape. Shortly afterwards the flames shot up through the roof, which fell in with a crash. One man and twenty-seven girls perished in the flames, and a twenty ninth, who leapt out of a window, died soon after of the injuries she received in the fall. Another girl, however, sprang from the same floor, and escaped without much hurt. There was but a scanty supply of water. The works were almost entirely destroyed. — ■ M. Buffet elected a life member of the French Senate by 144 votes, against 141 given to M. Renouaid, the Government candidate. — Died suddenly, aged 69, Sir Thomas Henry, chief magistrate at Bow Street. — Died, aged 78, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, formerly President of Mexico. 19. — Mar Peerage case decided by the Hous e of Lords, the Peers present being the Lord ■Chancellor, Lord Chelmsford, Lord O'Hagan, and Lord Selborne. Last year the claim of Mr. Goodeve Erskine to the earldom of Mar •was adjudicated upon by the Committee of Privileges, who decided that, in the absence of any evidence countervailing the primA facit 1 199 JUNE 1876. JUNE presumption in favour of "heirs male," the peerage in question could not be held des- cendible to Mr. Goodeve Erskine, whose claim rested on his descent through the female line as one of the "heirs general," and that the Earl of Kellie had established his right as the "heir male." The present appeal sought to establish the right of the appellant to the estates of the earldom of Mar against the adverse decision of the Scotch Court of Session. The question in this suit turned on the construction to be given to a certain deed of entail executed in 1 739 by James Erskine, of Grange, and David Erskine, of Dun, which contained a "destination" of the estates of the earldom of Mar (which had been forfeited on the attainder of John, Earl of Mar, in 1 71 5) to " Lady Frances Erskine and the heirs male to be procreat of her body, wh>m failing, to the heir.^ whatsomever descending of her body." The Court of Session held that, properly construed, this meant that the entire class of heirs male must be exhausted before the right of the "heirs whatsoever" to the succession could be entertained. This decision was now affirmed by the House of Lords, by whom the appeal was dismissed with costs. 20. — Died at Cambusdoon, near Ayr, aged 73, James Baird, ironmaster, who recently had given 500,000/. to extend the usefulness of the Church of Scotland and left property valued at 3,000,000/. sterling. Like the other senior members of the Gartsherrie firm, James Baird was the son of a small farmer in the parish of Monkland, near Glasgow. — Debate on the second reading of the Elementary Education Bill was resumed. Mr. Mundella urged that the recommendation of the Committee of the Factory and Workshop Acts should be adopted, to compel the atten- dance of young children at school ; but, on some explanations by Mr. Hardy and Lord Sandon, the amendment was lost by a majority of 146, and eventually the Bill was read a second time, by 356 to 78 votes. 22. — In reply to a question from Mr. Bruce, Mr. Disraeli states that Government appreci ated the sage forbearance and reserve extended to them under circumstances of great difficulty and which had induced the House to refrain from discussing the affairs of Turkey. He undertook, however, before Parliament was prorogued, that an opportunity would be afforded for discussing the subject. — The Spanish Senate vote the new Con- stitution by 127 to II votes. 23. — In the Lords the Duke of Richmond and Gordon rmved the second reading of the Merchant Shipping Bill, the object and pro- visions of which he explained at considerable length. He also stated that, though the mea- sure did not include the consolidation of the shipping laws, the Government had not over- looked that important subject ; and concluded his speech with uttering a hope that the bill would, at any rate, tend to mitigate avoidable dangers, without unnecessarily hampering com- mercial enterprise. Bill read a second time. 23. — Mr. Ripley, M.P., and Sir George Bowyer, M.P., expelled from the Reform Club by a vote of two-thirds at a general meeting. — Startling revelations made concerning atrocities committed by the Turks in suppress- ing the Bulgarian revolt. To-day the Daily News publishes a letter from its correspondent at Constantinople, giving an account of various atrocities committed in Bulgaria by the Moslems. These details at once formed the subject of in- quiry in both Houses of the British Parliament, and great agitat on on the subject followed throughout the country. "In Constantinople," said the Daily News correspondent, " nobody hesitates to believe that many thousands of innocent men, women, and children have been slaughtered ; that at least sixty villages have been utterly destroyed ; that the most terrible scenes of violence have been committed ; and that a district among the most fertile in the empire has been ruined for many years to come." He added that from all sources there came a compact body of testimony showing that crimes had been committed on a scale which Europe had not known for many years. The village of Novo Selo was attacked by Bashi-Bazouks and Circassians. More than four hundred women and children took to flight, and worn out with fatigue, huddled themselves together in the open fields near Kalofer. They sent to the head men of the latter village for food. After some negotiations to obtain the permission of the neighbouring Mussulmans, they got leave to take refuge in the convent of Holy Trinity. During the negotiations, a band of two hundred men burst in upon the poor wretches, took from them everything of value which the Circassian troops had left them, and carried off forty of the young women. These men returning to their village with their captives, were met by the Turkish women, who objected to receive any Giaours. They were therefore driven to a neighbouring farm, and, after a scene not to be described, the unfortunate girls were shut up in a straw loft and burnt. — Died at West Shandon, aged 86, Robert Napier, eminent as an engineer and ship- builder. — Died, aged 48, Matthew Noble, sculptor. 24. — Mr. Disraeli gives a banquet to the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Foreign Office. 25. — General Custer with a body of United States troops, overwhelmed and annihilated by a trail of 2,500 Indians, in a defile of Little Horn. The general killed, with 16 officers and 300 men. JUNE 1876. JULY 26. — The Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench orders the inquisition on the late Mr. bravo to be quashed, and directs the Coroner to hold a fresh inquiry with a fresh jury. — Ministers questioned in the Lords by the Duke of Argyll and in the Commons by Mr. Forster respecting the alleged "atrocities" in Bulgaria. Mr. Disraeli expressed an opinion that the statements which had recently appeared in tbe papers were far too highly coloured. — Questioned on the alleged massacres in Bulgaria, Earl Derby in the Lords expressed his belief that the reports of the cruelties said to have been perpetrated by the Bashi-Bazouks were exaggerated, but admitted that affairs in Servia were in a critical state. In the Com- mons Mr. Disraeli expressed his belief that the statements which had appeared in the news- papers respecting cruelties alleged to have been committed by the Turkish troops in the suppression of the insurrection in Bulgaria were exaggerated. Regarding the particular torture of impalement Mr. Disraeli remarked that in Eastern nations a more expeditious mode of business w r as generally adopted. 27. — Mr. Joseph Chamberlain elected M.P. for Birmingham. — Died at the Knolls, Ambleside, aged 75, Miss Harriet Martineau, for about sixty years an unwearied writer of stories, memoirs, and histories, designed for the instruction and elevation of the people. 28. — Mr. Tilden selected as the Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States. 29. — Sir Salar Jung is presented to the Queen, at Windsor Castle, by the Marquis of Salisbury, Secretary of State for India. — Mr. E.J. Poynter, Sir John Gilbert, and Mr. G. D. Le.4ie elected R.A.'s. — Leaving Belgrade to join his army at the frontier Prince Milan declares to his people and soldiers that since the insurrection broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the situation of Servia has become intolerable. " We have dsne nothing to render the pacification more difficult for the Sublime Porte and the Powers. Still the Porte has surrounded our country with an iron belt from the mouth of the Timok to that of the Drina. Already, for a year, we have, without making war upon the Porte, endured all the sacrifices war could have imposed upon us. We have always listened to the Councils of the guaranteeing Powers, and we have imposed silence on our feelings. Regardless of our attitude, the Porte has con- tinued to send military forces to our frontier. It has sent savage hordes of Bashi-Bazouks, Circassians, Arnauts, and Kurds to bring our country to ruin. To remain longer in modera- tion would be weakness." — Came on in the Common Pleas division of the High Court before Mr. Justice Archibald and a special jury, the action for libel raised by Mr. Robert Buchanan, poet, against Mr. P. A. Taylor, M.P., proprietor of the Examiner, to recover for certain references made to him in the review of a poem, entitled "Jonas Fisher" written by the Earl of Southesk, but mistakingly attributed to the plaintiff, and also in consideration of a letter signed "Thomas Maitland" but admitted to hive been written by Mr. Swinburne. Mr. Hawkins cross-examined the plaintiff at length as to the character of his writings. In the end Mr. Buchanan obtained a verdict with 150/. damages against the Examiner. SO.— Opening of the first railway in China, from Shanghai to Kangwan, 5 miles. — Execution of 14 Fijian cannibals at Curu, for taking part in the insurrection, and committing various acts of cannibalism. — The Montenegrins unite with Servia in taking up arms against Turkey. Their declaration of war contained a summary of grievances against the Sublime Porte, particu- larly in the blockade of the southern frontier, the evidently hostile intentions towards Mon- tenegro, and the impossibility of reforms in Herzegovina. Both the Servian and Mon- tenegrin forces crossed the Turkish frontier on Sunday. July 1. — Volunteers to the number of 30,000 reviewed in Hyde Park by the Prince of Wales. — Riot on Plumstead Common headed by De Morgan who affected to represent the Commons Protection League, which had re- solved to destroy certain fences said to have been illegally set up on Plumstead. — Died, aged 61, Col. Egerton Leigh, M.P. for Mid -Cheshire. 3. — The Hon. H. E. Pierrepont, the new American Minister, arrives in London. — Heard in the Dublin Matrimonial Court before Judge Warren and a special jury, the case of Morgan v. Morgan, a petition by Captain Richard Spread Morgan of Fermoy, Cork, for a divorce from his wife Larly Catherine Louisa Morgan, daughter of tin. Earl of Mountcashel. The parties were married at Kilworth, in 1858, and had issue one son (dead) and three daughters aged respectively, sixteen, fifteen, and eleven. The petition charged that in the year 1866, at Moore Park, the residence of the respondent's father, and also at Glengloss, the respondent committed adultery with William Mangan, a groom. The petition also charged that she committed adultery with James Heming, a dog-boy and fisherman at Ballinatray. Lady Catherine was also charged with being guilty of criminal conduct with one Arthur William Vincent, at Jura, in Scotland. She admitted to the husband that she had been unfaithful to him JULY 1876. JULY in November, 1866. Her husband was confined in Cork goal for having assaulted a gentleman named Hunt, who it was alleged had insulted her. She visited her husband at that time in goal, and it was alleged that she requested her husband to take proceedings against her own brother, the Hon. Moore Smith. Her hus- band declined to do so, and she then as Serjeant Armstrong was instructed, asserted that she had been untrue to him at least a hundred times. Although this lady was highly born and reared in the lap of luxury, it would appear from her conduct that but little control was :■ exercised over her education and moral training. The respondent was a good horse- woman, and fond of hunting. On one occasion when she was enceinte, her hnsband wished to prevent her going out hunting, but she broke the stable door, and went in defiance of him, Evidence was then called in support of the above statement. The case resulted in a verdict for the respondent. 4. — Centenary of the Declaration of Amer- ican independence observed as a day of Thanksgiving throughout the United States. New York was magnificently decorated. There was a torchlight procession, in which upwards of 10,000 people participated ; and at midnight a monster concert took place in Union Square, some hundred thousand spec- tators being present. At the London banquet Dr. Thompson remarked that England and America were inseparable in that grand heritage of liberty and law, freedom and commerce, which marked the Anglo-Saxon race. This it was that made it possible for the sons of men who fought against each other a century ago to feast together that night. A congratulatory poem by Bayard Taylor was also read at banquets in both countries. — Died, aged 76, Henry Maiden, for forty- five years Professor of Greek in University College, London. 6, — Battle between the Turks and Servians at Sienitza, near Nova Bazar, in the south of Bosnia. The latter defeated, with a loss of 1,500 killed. — Opening of renewed inquiry into the death of Mr. Charles Bravo by Mr. Carter, coroner for East Surrey, at Bedford Hotel, Balham. (See April 25.) The inquiry was protracted till August nth, and caused much discussion among all classes of society. On July 14th, a number of interesting details were elicited from Sir William Gull as to the state of mind of the patient immediately before death, and from Professor Redwood as to the action of antimonial poisons, the result of his analysis of the stomach of the deceased, and of other 'matters submitted to chemical tests. Sir William Gull said that on April 20, he received a message, signed " Florence Bravo," to attend the deceased, and went to The Priory in consequence. When in the sick-room he found Mr. Bravo pulseless, but mentally quite 1 202 coherent. After a short examination, witness said, " This is not disease ; you are poisoned ; pray tell us how you came by it." The deceased replied, "I took it myself." To the question, "What did you take?" Mr. Bravo replied, "Laudanum." Sir William said, " You have taken more than laudanum. ,; He urged the deceased as solemnly as he could to state what it was, in order to assist in finding an antidote, but checked himself, and said, ' ' That would not be quite fair, as I fear no antidote will do you any good ; " and added, " It is not for me to press a dying man." The deceased repeated, " I took it myself." Subsequently the deceased sent for witness, and asked if Sir William thought he (deceased) was dying. The reply given was, " I could not doubt it." — The deceased said to witness, " I took it myself ; before God, I only took laudanum." Mr. Redwood found traces of antimony in Mr. Bravo's body in such quantity as led him to the belief that the death was caused by antimonial poisoning. The Court was more than usually crowded on the 27th, when it was understood Mrs. Cox was to be examined. Her father, she said, was an East India Merchant, and after his death it was necessary for her to go out as a governess. She subsequently married, and in 1861 went out to Jamaica. Her husband died in 1867, and left her with three boys. Returning to this country she saw Mrs. Ricardo for the first time in 1871, and Dr. Gully about the same time. About May 1872, Mrs. Ricardo proposed that witness should reside with her as com- panion, and in August sho accepted the proposal. Mrs. Ricardo and witness, who had been to Rome, Naples, and Venice with Dr. Gully, went to Eastbourne in August 1875. From that place Mrs. Ricardo went to Brighton, and there met thedecea?ed, and that meeting led to his visiting her house. Witness learned that he had made proposals of marriage to Mrs. Ricardo. She wrote to Dr. Gully to say that their acquaintance must cease. Witness advised Mrs. Ricardo to tell the deceased of the particulars of her acquaintance with Dr. Gully. Before this marriage witness urged Mr. Charles Bravo to tell his mother about Dr. Gully, but he would not hear of it. When the marriage was arranged witness took back to Dr. Gully the things which he had given to Mrs. Ricardo and brought to The Priory those he had received from her. After their marriage the deceased and his wife went to Brighton, and in consequence of Mrs. Bravo's illness the witness followed in a few days. Mrs. Cox's examination was not com- pleted till the 2nd of August. Mrs. Bravo was called on the 3rd of August, and her evidence lasted three days. On the 4th Sir H. James complained that his client was made nervous by the close gaze of some persons in court who were sketching her. The intimacy with Dr. Gully was made the subject of such a number of questions that the witness broke down more JULY 1876. JULY than once ; and on the 8th, when Mr. Lewis was cross-examining her, she suddenly burst out sobbing, declared that she had been sufficiently humiliated, and appealed to the coroner and jury as gentlemen to protect her. She was willing to answer anything which would tend towards the discovery of the cause of the death of her late husband, but the questions which had been put, had, she thought, nothing to do with the case. The inquiry came to a close on Friday, August nth, when the coroner's jury, after deliberating about two hours and a half, returned the following verdict: — "We find that the de- ceased, Charles Delauney Turner Bravo, did not commit suicide ; that he did not meet with his death by misadventure ; that he was wilfully murdered by the administration of tartar emetic, but there is not sufficient evidence to fix the guilt upon any person or persons." Sixteen jurymen were sworn at the opening of the inquiry, one retired on account of illness, and thirteen agreed to the verdict. As a result of the verdict; Government offered a reward of 250/. for information leading to the conviction of the murderer or murderers of Mr. Bravo ; with an offer of pardon to any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the murder, who should give evidence leading to the same result. — Died,- aged 76, Casimir Perier, French politician. IO. — In reply to Mr. Forster, Mr. Disraeli states that Government has no official informa- tion of the alleged atrocities committed in Bulgaria. 12. — The King of Greece arrives in England and is invested by the Queen with the Order of the Garter. 13. — Concluded after a four days' speech by the defendant, Mr. Albert Grant, the case of Twycross v. Grant, involving the liability of promoters of the Lisbon Tramway Company, Verdict entered for the plaintiff 700/., subject to the decision of a superior Court. 14. — Disastrous explosion on board the turret iron-clad Thunderer. This new ship, une of the most powerful vessels in the navy, had left Portsmouth harbour early in the week for her trials at the measured mile in Stokes Bay. She had been launched at Pembroke in March 1872, and was subsequently brought round to Portsmouth to be completed for sea. Although more than three years elapsed since her arrival at that port, she had never been commissioned for service, nor had her engines ever been tried till now. She was lately ordered to prepare for joining the Meditei ranean Fleet in the East s Captain J. C. Wilson being appointed to command her. This was- the official trial of her machinery. She had eight boilers of the common low- pressure type, with thirty-two furnaces. The ship was in command of Captain Waddilove, captain of the steam reserve at Portsmouth. There were about 130 stokers on board, of whom thirty were actually in the stokehole at work at the furnaces, and a large number of dockyard joiners and other artificers were engaged in all parts of the ship, in completing her outfit and cabin arrangements. Although she was going " slow," the stokehole was crowded with half -naked men actively engaged at the furnace getting up steam before making the first run, the safdty-valves on the boilers being loaded to 30 pounds. She had taken some runs previously, but owing to an injury to one of her tubes, the trial was suspended. Steam was, however, got up again on this day. Shortly before one the anchor was hoisted, and the ship started on the measured mile. She had not been going in the direction of Stokes Bay more than eight minutes when a terrible explosion took place. In a minute or two the officers and men on board were enveloped in steam and smoke, and it was impossible to go below to ascertain the cause of the disaster. By order of Captain Waddilove a signal was run up for assistance, which was at onGe observed in the harbour, arid working parties were told off from the Duke of Wellington, and despatched to Spit- head with a number of naval surgeons. On descending to the engine department, it was found that the whole of the front of the star- board foremost boiler in the after stokehole had been blown out with such force as to carry away everything it struck. The stokehole plates were torn up, and the whole of the stokehole and a portion of the engine-room was a com plete wreck. Lying in all directions were the bodies of the stokers, contractors' men, and workmen from the dockyard. Mr. T. G. Slade, the chief engineer of the ThuncUrer, and Mr. Robert Winfield, engineer; were also discovered quite dead. Many of the unfortunate men were dreadfully mutilated, and some had their clothes torn to shreds. Mr. Winfield's head was found at some distance from his body. No fewer than fifteen were taken out dead, three others expired on the way to the hospital, and several died during the evening. The total number of persons who received injuries was seventy- seven, and the total number of deaths thirty- eight. An inquest was held, and concluded August 30. The verdict of the jury was that the deaths were accidental ; that the accident was due to the sticking of the safety- valves from the contraction of their metal heats, and that the stop -valve being elosedwas contributory to the accident. 14. — Lord Derby, in reply to a deputation on the Eastern Question headed by Mr. Bright, states that the Government will preserve a strict neutrality, and expresses a hope' that the peace of Europe will not be disturbed. 17. — Lord Henry Lennox announces in the 1203 JULY 1876. JULY House of Commons, that he has resigned the post of First Commissioner of Works. Among the statements put forth during the case of Twycross v. Grant, was one to the effect that Lord Henry had received a certain number of shares to qualify him for the directorate in order that the promoters might entrap others by the influence of his name. Speaking to-day from one of the back benches, he asked the indulgence of the House, while he made a personal explanation. Lord Henry stated that he joined the board of directors, at the instance of the late Due de Saldanha, the Portuguese Ambassador, knowing nothing of any pre- liminary contracts or agreements between the contractors and the promoters. He received 100 shares, of which he returned 50 ; while he purchased with his own money 300 more, and was in consequence a large loser by the failure of the undertaking. Under the circum- stances he however felt it his duty to place his resignation in the hands of the Prime Minister, for he would ralher relinquish any official posi- tion than lose the esteem of the House. This explanation was followed by warm and sym- pathetic cheers. — Died, aged 80, the Marquis of Conyng- ham, Lord Lieutenant of Meath County. 18. — An extraordinary commissioner, Edib Effendi, is nominated by Turkey to repress the outrages in Bulgaria. — Victory of the Turks over the Servians at Izvor ; the latter lose 2,000 men. — Died in Edinburgh, where he was born, aged 62, Alexander Russel, who for over thirty years had conducted the Scotsman newspaper with signal ability and success. — Died, aged 80, General Gascoigne, one of the oldest officers in the army, having obtained his commission at the early age of fifteen. 19. — Mr. W. Baring leaves Constantinople to inquire into the alleged outrages in Bul- garia. His official report was not issued till September, but the evidence regarding outrage and massacre was gathered within a few weeks from this time. "During my journey," he wrote, " I have heard the number of kil'ed differently estimated at anything between 200,000 and 1,830, the latter being the Turkish official estimate, and the former the calculation of a liulgarian gentleman whom I happened to meet." Taking all circumstances into con- sideration, he came to the conclusion that "no fewer than 12,000 persons perished in the sandjak of Philippopolis." Coming to the number of Mussulmans killed, he believed that the total number was 163, but the evidence did not perhaps justify so exact a calculation. Passing on '-> the case of Batak, "the n ost fearful tragedy that happened during the whole insurrection," Mr. Baring substantially confirmed the most harrowing 1204 details which the Daily News had previously published. A large number of people, pro- bably about 1,000 or 1,200, took refuge in the church and churchyard, the latter being sur- rounded by a wall. " The church itself is a solid building, and resisted all the attempts of the Bashi-Bazouks to burn it from the outside ; they consequently fired in through the windows, and getting upon the roof, tore off the tiles and threw burning pieces of wood and rags dipped in petroleum among the mass of unhappy human beings inside. At last the door was forced in, the massacre completed, and the inside of the church burnt. Hardly any escaped out of these fatal walls. The only survivor 1 could find was one old woman who alone remained out of a family of seven. I visited this valley of the shadow of death on July 31, more than two months and a half after the massacre, but still the stench was so overpowering that one could hardly force one's way into the churchyard. In the streets at eveiy step lay human remains, rotting and sweltering in the summer sun — here a skull of an old woman, with the grey hair still attached to it ; there the false tress of some unhappy girl, slashed in half by a yataghan, the head which it adorned having been probably carried off to be devoured by some of the dogs, who up to this have been the only scavengers. Just outside the village I counted more than sixty skulls in a little hollow, and it was evident from their appearance that nearly all of them had been severed from the bodies by axes and yataghans. Enough, I think, has been said to show that to Achmet Agha and his men belongs the distinction of having com- mitted, perhaps, the most heinous crime that has stained the history of the present century, Nana Sahib alone, I should say, having rivalled their deeds." Mr. Baring added the all-important fact that "for this exploit Achmet Agha had received the Order of the Medjidie." Mr. Baring was, however, willing to a certain extent to believe that the Turkish authorities were not aware, before he visited Batak, of the horrors that had been committed there. 21. — Came on in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, an action in which Mr. Charles Reade, novelist, was pursuer, and G. Outram & Co., proprietors and publishers of the Glasgow Herald were defenders. Mr. Reade claimed 120/. damages for infringement of the copyright of his story entitled "A Hero and a Martyr," being some account of exploits performed in saving lives from drowning, by an elderly blind man named James Lambert, residing in Glasgow. Reade had consented to the publication of the story in the Pall Mall Gazelle and the New York Tribune in consideration of the proprietors of those papers paying to him respectively 100/. and 200/., but reserved the copyright. With- out !■> consent part of the story was JULY 1876. AUGUST published in the Glasgow Herald on Nov. 28th, and the remainder on Dec. 5th, with the author's name and address. The defenders stated that in publishing the story from the Pall Mall Gazette they acted in conformity with the invariable practice of newspapers throughout the country. The Pall Mall Gazette contained no intimation that the author reserved any right in the story. The jury returned a unanimous verdict for the pursuer, giving 90/. damages. Bl. — Moukhtar Pacha gains another victory in Herzegovina. 24. — Sir Salar Jung receives the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford. Next day Sir Salar was presented with the freedom of the City of London. — Died, aged 63, Sir John William Kaye, K.C.S.I., historian of modern military achieve- ments in India, and for sixteen years secretary in the Political and Secret Department of the Indian Office. 25. — Died, aged 38, Robert Cassar Childers, Professor of Pali and Buddhist Literature, University College, London. 27. — Disaster to the "Flying Dutchman'" express on Great Western Railway, the engine leaving the rails at Bounton cutting, near Bristol ; guard and stoker killed. — Lord Shaftesbury presides at a meeting held in Willis's Rooms to protest against Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria. 28. — Moukhtar Pasha defeated with 5,000 Turks. — Died, aged 49, Mortimer Collins, poet, novelist, and journalist. 29. — The Elementary Education Bill, em- bodying Mr. Pell's clause in a modified form, passes through Committee. — Died, aged 65, Samuel Butcher, D.D., Bishop of Meath, author of various works in the departments of theology and ecclesiastical literature. 30. — In reply to a lengthy speech by Mr. Gladstone, who had been defending the Crimean war, and arguing for the restoration of the European concert in the East, Mr. Disraeli explained that the despatch of the fleet to Besika Bay was first of all to protect the English residents in Constantinople, and it - had been strengthened because it was thought that our power ought to be adequately repre- sented, and our interests in the Mediterranean asserted. There was, he said, no threat to anybody. The fleet was not sent to protect the Turkish Empire, but the British Empire. 31. — Ex-Queen Isabella lands at Santander after an exile from Spain of ehht years. 31. — The Alert commences her return voyage from the Arctic regions, Captain Nares de- claring it impracticable to reach the North Pole. — In the Commons, Mr. Bruce, after refer- ring to papers presented regarding the insur rection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, move*, "That this House is of opinion that Her Majesty's Government, while maintaining the respect due to existing treaties, should exercise all their influence with the view of securing the common welfare and equal treatment of the various races and religions which are under the authority of the Sublime Porte." To this amendments were proposed by Mr. For- syth and Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice ; and Mr. Gladstone again reviewed and defended the policy of the Crimean war, and spoke with satisfaction of the moral and physical results that had followed. Mr. Disraeli denied that the Berlin Memorandum had anything to do with the present war, which was one of aggression, and declared that the policy of the Government was approved by the other Powers. The Marquis of Hartington fol- lowed, and then the motion and amendments were withdrawn. August 1. — Mr. O'Connor Power's motion for the release of the Fenian convicts, supported by Mr. Bright, and negatived by 117 to 5 1 votes. — Mr. Belknap acquitted by the United States Senate of the charge of corruption. 2. — Died, aged 73, Pastor Mellin, Swedish novelist and historian. 3. — On the Commons to-day proceeding to consider the Elementary Education Bill, as amended, the Marquis of Hartington moved, " That, in the opinion of this House, principles have been introduced into this bill since its second reading which were not then either mentioned to or contemplated by the House, which tend to disturb the basis on which elementary education now rests, to impede the formation of new schools, to introduce discord and confusion into the election of school boards, and to place the management of schools in the hands of persons who neither contribute to their support nor are elected by the ratepayers." Lord Sandon, who had charge of the bill, defended the policy of the Government, and on a division the motion was negatived by a majority of 62, the numbers being — ayes, 120 ; noes, 182. The Bill was read a third time on the 5th, by 119 to 46 votes. 4. — Died, aged 66, Louis Francois Michel Raymond Wolowski, French senator and political economist. 5. — The Indian Government publish a re- solution stating that the condition of the finance affords grave cause for anxiety and " that all preventable outlay is to be stopped." 1205 AUGUST I876. A UGUST 6. — Died, aged 83, Professor Harry Rainy, M.D., LL.D., a leading Glasgow physician, and till lately occupant of the chair of Forensic Medicine in the University of that city 7.— Collision about midnight near Rad- stock, on the Somerset and Dorset Railway, between an excursion and a special train re- turning from Bath regatta. Fifteen killed and about 100 injured. 8.— The Wesleyan Conference at Notting- ham, by a majority of 369 to 49, adopt a reso- lution in favour of "lay representation" at the Conference. 9. — In moving the second reading of the Cruelty to Animals' Bill, the Home Secretary traced the history of the question, from the rise of the strong feeling against the practice which led to the appointment of the Royal Commission, to the bill which had been based on the report. The result of the report had been to show a general tendency to humanity among those who practised vivisection ; but there had certainly been cases of cruelty. The great principle of the bill was that no person should be permitted to perform experiments, except under restrictions, and that no unneces- sary pain should be inflicted on animals, fexperiments must only be performed with a view to acquiring new knowledge for the alle- viation of human suffering, in a registered place, and by persons holding a licence. The animals during all the time of the experiments must be kept under the influence of anaesthe- tics, and the experiments were not to be per formed in medical schools or hospitals, nor for the mere attainment of manual skill. After a discussion in which Mr. Lowe and Mr. Forster spoke in favour of vivisection as of material use in the healing art, the bill was read a second time, and passed before the close of the session. — Died, aged 54, Sir Philip Francis, Judge of the Supreme Consular Court at Constan tinople. IO. — Issue of a new Circular, in the form of a Letter from the Foreign Office to the Admiralty, giving instructions regarding the reception of slaves on board British vessels. — Lord G. Hamilton, in bringing forward the Indian Budget, states that last year there had been a deficit of about 1,388,000/., which had since been turned into a surplus of 319,000/. The receipts had been 1,700,000/. better than the estimates. After a long speech describing the state of India and its prospects, the House went into Committee, and passed the resolu tions proposed in the Budget. — Died, aged 75, Edward William Lane, translator of the "Thousand and One Nights," and otherwise known as one of the most gifted Arabic scholars of the time. The sixth 1206 volume of his Arabic-English Lexicon, com- menced in 1842, was passing through the press at this time. IO. — Died Charles Elme Francatelli, a cele brated cook, and author of several works on that favourite art, which he practised at various times in the Royal household, at Crockford's, and at the Reform Club. 11. — Close of Mr. Disraeli's career in the House of Commons. Availing himself of an opportunity afforded by the third reading of the Appropriation Bill, Mr. Evelyn Ashley raises a discussion on the Eastern Question by pronouncing a sweeping censure on the dilatory conduct of Sir Henry Elliot, Ambassador at Constantinople, and also on' Earl Derby. Later in the debate, Sir W. Harcdurt took occasion to denounce the Turks and extol the modera- tion of Russia, in an oration full of that weighty eloquence for which that hon. and learned member is famed. Then the Prime Minister rose. Not one of those present thought for a single instant that it was the last time Benjamin Disraeli would speak in that House. It would be an exaggeration to say that he made one of his' greatest speeches, but as an impromptu reply at the end of a debate, and as exemplifying his special characteristics of felicitous persiflage mingled with declamation, it could hardly be surpassed. Mr. Disraeli commented on the unprecedented nature cf this debate, and twitted Mr. Ashley with having chosen the doubtful privilege of the Appropriation Bill to insinuate an offensive opinion against the Government and a distant Ambassador, instead of moving a direct vote of censure. He denied altogether that the Government had' no knowledge of the atroci ties in Bulgaria until they had learnt them from the newspapers. What he had disclaimed in answer to Mr. Forster was not the existence of atrocities, but certain specific statements which were brought forward, and of which he said that the knowledge in the possession of the Government did not justify them. After bantering Sir W. Harcourt on the " Herodian " or (as a subsequent correction amended it) "Rhodian" eloquence of his speech, and ridiculing the statesmanship of his suggestions for the settlement of the Turkish difficulty, Mr. Disraeli went on to give a flat contradiG tion to the assertion that we were peculiarly responsible for what occurred in Turkey, or that the Turks were our especial proteges. In his peroration the Prime Minister took the high ground of Imperial policy. " What may be the fate of the Eastern part of Europe it would " be arrogant for me to speculate upon, and if I had any thoughts on the subject I trust I should not be so imprudent or so indiscreet as to take this opportunity to express them. But I am sure that as long as England is ruled by English Parties who understand the principles on which our Empire is founded, and who are resolved to maintain that Empire, our influ- AUGUST 1876. AUGUST ence in that part of the world can never be looked upon with indifference. ' The present is a state of affairs which requires the most vigilant examination and the most careful management. But those who suppose that England ever would uphold, or at this moment particularly is upholding, Turkey from blind superstition and from a want of sympathy with the highest aspirations ot humanity, are deceived. What our duty is at this critical moment is to maintain the Empire of England. Nor will we ever agree to any step, though it may obtain for a moment comparative quiet and a false prosperity, that hazards the exist- ence of that Empire." Next morning the well-kept secret was disclosed to the world. Mr. Disraeli was to become Earl of Beacons- field, while his responsible post as leader of the House of Commons was to devolve upon Sir Stafford Northcote. 12. — Came on at the Central Criminal Court, the trial of Richard Banner Oakley, manager and proprietor of the Co-operative Credit Bank, charged with having obtained from the public, by false and fraudulent pre- tences, sums of money amounting in the ag- gregate to about 40,000/. According to his system of lending to one another among them- selves, Oakley stated in his prospectus that he was able to pay to shareholders a dividend of 18 per cent., and though cautioned in time by various influential journals, many unwary people were induced to risk their money in the new bank. (See Jan. 21.) The jury after a very short d eliberation foun d the prisoner guilty, and the Recorder sentenced him to be kept in penal servitude for five years. — In view of his elevation to the Upper House, Mr. Disraeli receives from the Queen the seal of office as Lord Privy Seal, resigned by the Earl of Malmesbury. — French Chamber prorogued after electing M. Dufaure a life senator by a majority of 51 votes over M. Chesnelong. — Home Rule Riot at Glasgow, arising from an accidental injury to a boy by a rifle- shot, in a field at the place of meeting, near Springburn. 13. — Opening of the Wagner Musical Fes- tival at Bayreuth in presence of the German Emperor and Court. 14. — William Fish executed at Kirkdale Gaol for the murder of the little girl Emily Holland at Blackburn. (See March 30.) 15. — Statue of the late Dr. Livingstone (by Mrs. D. O. Hill) unveiled in East Prince's Street Gardens, Edinburgh, in presence of members of the corporation and a large general, company. — Parliament prorogued by Commission. In addition to the usual satisfaction expressed at the passing of various Bills, Her Majesty informed "My LonJs and Gentlemen," that should a favourable opportunity present itself, she would be ready in consort with her allies to offer her good offices for the purpose of medi- ating between the contending parties in the East. " A difference (it was also said) has arisen between my Government and that of the United States as to the proper construction of that article of the treaty of August 9, 1842, which relates to the mutual surrender of persons accused of certain offences. ... I entertain the hope that a new arrangement may soon be arrived at, by which this matter may be placed on a satisfactory footing. I am deeply thankful that my dear son, the Prince of Wales, has returned in good health from his lengthened journey through India. ... In pursuance of the power conferred upon me, I have, by pro- clamation, assumed the title of Empress of India." 15.— Died, aged 58, Right Hon. Henry Earl of Lonsdale, Lord-Lieutenant of Cum- berland and Westmorland. — Died, aged 72, John Frederick Lewis, R.A., a careful student of Spanish art, and frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy and- Gallery of British Artists. 17. — Equestrian Statue of the Prince Consort, known as the Edinburgh Albert Memorial, erected in Charlotte Square, un- veiled in presence of the Queen, various members of the Royal Family, besides a dis- tinguished and numerous private company. The principal part of the work was from the chisel of Mr. Steell, R.A., some aid being given in the subordinate groups by other Scottish artists. After returning to Holyrood through the gaily decorated and crowded streets, Her Majesty was pleased to mark her appro- bation of the work by bestowing on Mr. Steel! (along with Professor Oakley) the honour of knighthood. Lord Provost Falshaw also was made a Baronet on this occasion. — The town of Birmingham receives from the Guardians of the Proof House a gift of the unique Museum of Arms collected to illustrate the history of gunrmanufacture, from the invention of fire-arms in the fifteenth century to the present time. IS. — Lord Lytton, Governor-General of India, notifies his intention to hold an Imperial assemblage at Delhi on the first day of the ensuing year to proclaim the Queen as Empress of India. — The London Gazette of this ' day contains the official announcement that "the Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland granting the dignities of a Viscount and an Earl of the said United Kingdom to the Right Honourable Benjamin Disraeli, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the names, styles,. 1207 AUGUST 1876. SEPTEMBER and titles of Viscount Hughenden, of Hughenden, in the county of Buckingham, and Earl of Beaconsfield, in the said county." The principal tenantry on the Hughenden estate of the Earl of Beaconsfield presented him with an address of congratulation upon his acceptance of a Peerage. While expressing a hope that the country might long retain his services as Prime Minister, they signified their gratification <■' his retirement from the leader- ship of the House of Commons, in the hope that his lordship would be able in future to devote more time to the many charms of his Buckinghamshire residence at Hughenden. At a meeting of the Wycombe Town Council an address was also adopted, congratulating the Premier upon his elevation to the Peerage. (See August 26.) 18. — Died, aged 86, William Linton, land- scape painter. — Died, aged 46, George J. S. Miller, sculptor. 19. — Died at Aleppo, whither he had gone on a third mission of research, George Smith of the British Museum, author of " The Annals of Assurbanipal, " and amongst the most eminent of modern Assyriologists. Mr. Smith was only thirty-six years of age at his death. 20. — Discovered in Pudding Lane, near the Monument, the old inscribed stone known to have been set up shortly after the Great Fire, and attributing the calamity to the "malicious hearts of barbarous Papists." — Alfred Johnson, a Dane, arrives in the Mersey from Massachusetts, having navigated the Atlantic alone in a small decked sailing- boat 16J feet long at bottom, 2.\ feet deep, and 5J feet wide. Time occupied, 66 days. 22. — Lord Beaconsfield issues a farewell nddress signed " B. Disraeli," to the electors of the county of Buckingham. "Throughout my public life (he wrote) I have aimed at two chief results. Not insensible to the principle of -progress, I have endeavoured to reconcile change with that respect for tradition which is one of the main elements of our social strength ; and, in external affairs, I have endeavoured to develop and strengthen our empire, believing that combination of achievement and re- sponsibility elevates the character and condition of a people. It is not without emotion that I terminate a connection endeared to me by many memories and many ties, but I have the con- solation of recollecting that, though I cease to be your member, I shall still have the happi- ness of living among you ; and that, though not your representative, I may yet, in another House of Parliament, have the privilege of guarding over your interests and your honour.'' 23. — Commencement of a new tunnel under the Thames at Woolwich. 1208 24. — Prince Milan requests the mediation of Foreign Consuls at Belgrade to obtain peace. 25. — Christos Bambos, a Greek sailor, executed at Cork, for participation in the mutiny and murders on board the Caswell at sea. 29. — Died, aged 66, Felicien David, musical composer. 31. — Abdul Hamid II. proclaimed Sultan of Turkey in place of his brother Murad V. deposed. — The Marchese Mantegazza sentenced at Bologna to eight years' imprisonment for various forgeries in the name of King Victor Emmanuel and Prince Humbert. September 1. — The Servians sustain a severe defeat at Adrowatz, near Alexinatz. — The British Government instruct Sir H. Elliot to propose to the Turkish Government an armistice of not less than a month's duration. 3. — Tercentenary of the Pacification of Ghent celebrated by unveiling a monument at the Hotel de Ville there. — Fire at St. Hyacinthe, Canada ; 500 buildings destroyed, and 2,000,000 dollars estimated as lost. 4-. — The Spanish Government order all placards and inscriptions to be removed from the Protestant chapels and schools in Madrid. 5. — Viscount Bury, eldest son of the Earl of Albemarle, raised to the Peerage as Baron Ashford, his father's second title. 6. — Mr. Gladstone issues a pamphlet con- cerning the " Bulgarian Horrors," and three days later addresses his constituents assembled at Blackheath on the same subject. — Died, aged 68, William Smith, print seller and art-critic. 7. — Died, aged 71, James Crawford, Lord Ardmillan, senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh. — Died, aged 71, Francis Gibson, F.R.S., physician, and author of various medical works. 8. — William Tweed, the notorious New York "Boss," charged with embezzlement to the extent of 6,000,000 dollars, arrested at Vigo, on board a Spanish vessel. IO. — The body of Mr. William Barnard, (missing since August 14) found near the Pillar Rocks, at Ellerdale. — Died, aged 87, Sir James Campbell, of Stracathro, an eminent Glasgow warehouse- man, and prominent among the Conservative party of that city. 11. — Lord Derby receives a working-class deputation and defends at considerable length the Eastern policy of the Government. SEPTEMBER 1876. SEPTEMBER 11. — The' Emperor Alexander's birthday celebrated at Belgrade. The Russian Consul declares that " Russia and Servia will soon march united against their common foe." — The steamer Dandenong from Melbourne to Sydney founders in a hurricane ; 60 lives lost. — Died, aged 7°> Major-General Sir Thomas Seaton, K.C. B., a distinguished Indian officer, who had served with honour in the Affghan war and also at Delhi during the Mutiny. 12. — The King of the Belgians opens a conference of geographers at Brussels, to consider the propriety of establishing a penitentiary colony in South Africa. — Died, aged 56, Sir John Richard Quain, Judge of the Queen's Bench division. 13. — The premises of Messrs. Wilkinson, lighthouse engineers, Long Acre, destroyed by fire, the loss being estimated at 26,000/. 16. — The Servian Army proclaim Prince Milan King of Servia. — Sir Stafford Northcote announced that Turkey had agreed to a suspension of hostilities for a few days. — Died, aged 90, the Earl of Leven and Melville, Scottish Representative Peer. 17. — Convention between Great Britain and China on the subject of Mr. Margary's murder ratified by the Pekin Government. (See Jan. 21, 1875.) 18. — The Lord Mayor presides at a meeting in the Guildhall, called to condemn the atrocities committed by Turkey in Bulgaria, a subject now brought prominently forward by leading members of the Opposition. Professor Fawcett presided over a similar meeting also held this evening at Exeter Hall. In explana- tion of her non-attendance, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts wrote expressing her reluctance to join in an agitation raised to urge our Government to an interference which might lead to far greater and more Wide-spread calamities than those it was sought to relieve. 19.— The Duke of Argyll attacks the Turkish policy of the Government at a meeting in Glasgow. 20. — Lord Beaconsfield in the course of an address at an agricultural dinner in Aylesbury, makes an interesting personal reference prelim- inary to defending the policy of Government regarding Turkey. He would never, he said, have left the House of Commons but for physical warning that he could no longer do his duty there. The late hours of that House had begun to tell upon one who was no longer so young as when forty-three years ago, he first addressed the electors of Bucks. He there- fore proposed to Her Majesty the Queen that hethould altogether retire from her service. Her Majesty was pleased to suggest, however, that he should retain office and accept a peerage, and, as his colleagues unanimously concurred in the suggestion, he had felt it his duty to concur in it. Passing to the great question of the hour. Lord Beaconsfield frankly admitted that the Ministerial policy was unpopular. He admired the enthusiasm and the sympathy which prompted the cry for vengeance, but he strongly condemned the "designing politicians who take advantage of such sublime sentiments, and apply them for the furtherance of their sinister ends." 21. — Bucks election, arising from the removal of Mr. Disraeli to the Upper House, won by a Conservative candidate, the numbers being, Freemantle, 2,725 votes; Carrington, 2,539. — Lord Derby addressed a despatch to Sir Henry Elliot, ambassador at Constantinople, who is directed to lay the results of Mr. Baring's inquiry into the Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria before the Sultan in the strongest terms of re- prehension, and to demand the punishment of the offenders. Sir Henry was also instructed to propose as a basis for peace negotiations "administrative autonomy" in Herzegovina and Bosnia, and guarantees against maladminis- tration in Bulgaria. — It is announced that William Roupell, who was sentenced to penal servitude for life in 1862 for forgery, has been discharged (See August 18, 1862.) — Died, aged 64, Dr. Thomas Laycock, Professor of Physic in Edinburgh University. 22. — A bust of Canon KingJey (by Woolner), unveiled in Westminster Abbey. — The huge piece of artillery known as the 81-ton gun safely conveyed from Woolwich Gun Factory to Shoeburyness, on a barge specially prepared for its reception. 24.— Explosion of mine at Hell Gate, East River, New York, by dynamite, thus bringing to a successful close seven years' work of opening a navigalle passage for ocean steamers from Long Island Sound into New York Harbour. There were 52,206 lbs. of explosives in the mine, in 4,462 charged holes. Twenty-three batteries, aggregating 960 cells, were used in the explosion, their distance from the mines 650 ft. Guard boats were placed at a similar distance from the mine to prevent vessels approaching. The inhabitants gene- rally left their houses, the doors and windows of which were opened. Vast crowds of spectators lined the New York shore, and also covered East River in all sorts of water craft. The explosion was heard at a distance of ten miles, and a tremor like a slight earthquake was felt in New York city and the localities contiguous to Hell Gate. Contrary to the generally felt apprehensions of the people, and 1209 OCTOBER 1876. OCTOBER the predictions of many eminent engineers, no accidents occurred and no damage was done. 24. — Died, aged 66, Rev. Edward Shilleto> an eminent Greek tutor at Cambridge, and Fellow of St. Peter's College. — Died, aged 48, George Alfred Lawrence, novelist, author of "Sword and Gown." 26. — Died, aged 61, Dr. Edward Francis Rimbault, F.S.A., a learned musical anti- quarian. 30. — Youghal ferry-boat upset in the Black- water during a strong ebb-tide and the bulk of the passengers, twenty-two in number, drowned — most of them farmers and their wives returning from Youghal market. — Died, aged 67, Henry Wilkinson Cook- son, Master of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. October 1. — Unveiling of the statue of Sylvain Van de Weyer, formerly Belgian Minister in London, at Louvain, in presence of the King and Queen of the Belgians. — Freedom of the city of Glasgow presented to Mr. Cross, Home Secretary, who took occasion to congratulate the Improvement Trust on the change they had effected in many overcrowded and unhealthy localities within their jurisdiction. 3. — A meeting of Egyptian bond-holders request Mr. Goschen to proceed to Egypt with full authority to act on their behalf. 5. — Sir Henry Elliot is instructed to inform the Porte that if it refuses to grant an armistice of not less than one month he would leave Constantinople. — Came on before the High Court of Berlin, the process against Count Arnim, for being concerned in the publication "Pro Nihilo, " the result being that the Count was condemned to five years' penal servitude lor treason and for calumniating the Emperor and Prince Bismarck. — Died, Lieut. -General Christie, C.B., of the 80th Regiment, actively engaged in the Burmese war of 1852-3, and commander of the party at Martaban. 6. — Died, aged 69, Rt. Hon. Lord Lisgar, G.C.B., colonial administrator. 7. — Mr. Justice Blackburn and Lord Advocate Gordon, gazetted Lords of Appeal under that clause of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act permit- ting Peers to be created lor life. — Died, Thomas Clark, A.R.S.A., land- scape painter. 8. — Fire at Rotherhithe in the premises fronting the river, used by Woodbridge, Smith and Co., as grain stores, manufactory, work- shop, offices and mill. Damage estimated at at over 80,000/. | IO. — Lord Napier of Magdala sworn in as Governor of Gibraltar. — John Lee, Mormon bishop, sentenced to be shot for participation in the Mountain Meadow massacre, nineteen years ago. — Died, aged 89, Field-Marshal the Mar- quis of Tweeddale, Scottish Representative Peer, and Lord-Lieutenant of Haddington. The Marquis obtained his first commission as ensign in 1804, and was wounded at Vittoria and Busaco. He was for six years Governor of Madras and had been for fifty-six years a Knight of the Thistle. 11. — The Prince and Princess of Wales with their two sons, Robert and George, and Prince John of Glucksburg, visit Glasgow (which was reached from Blythswood House) and lay the foundation stone of new Post-office with full masonic honours and amid many out- ward tokens of local enthusiasm. Referring to his recent Indian experience, the Prince said his expedition to the East was undertaken with feelings of the greatest interest, but high as his expectations were as to what he should witness in that wonderful country, they fell far short of the reality. "I trust (he remarked) that the result of my visit may prove to have been of service to many millions of my fellow-creatures in that distant quarter of the globe, and to have united yet more firmly the ties which bind our Eastern possessions to Great Britain." In wishing success to the undertaking the Prince desired "not to forget the name of the distinguished founder of the penny postage sys'em, Sir Rowland Hill, to whom we are all, rich and poor, so much indebted." 12. — The Porte informs the Western Powers that it is willing to grant an armistice for six months and promulgate at the fame time a general scheme of reform. Russia rejected this proposal and insisted on the original English terms being carried out. 15. — The Cape mail steamer Windsor Castle, wrecked on Dassen Island, half-way between Saldanha and Table Bay. No lives lost. 18. — Panic in foreign stocks on the Stock Exchange. — Died, aged 59, Sir T. D. Archibald, Judge of Common Pieas division. 22. — The Turkish fortress of Medim surrenders to the Montenegrins and the garrison of 400 men become prisoners of war. Next week the Turks captured Djunis after a determined resistance by the Servians. — Died, aged 68, Roger Hennedy, Professor of Botany in Andersonian University, Glasgow. 24-. — The Baron Hudleston makes an order for the winding-up of the Alexandra Palace Company. NOVEMBER 1876. NOVEMBER 24. — Banquet by the Lord Mayor to 300 ladies and gentlemen connected with the thea- trical profession. 26 — Gold chronometer presented to Com- mander Cameron, as a testimonial from officers of the Royal Navy. — Died, Charles Isidore Hemans, arch- jeologist, son of Mrs. Hemans, poetess. — Died, aged 81, Field-Marshal Count Prokesh-Osten of the Austrian army, diplo- matist, author, and archjeologi.- 1. 27.— Sir G. W. Bramwell, Sir W. B. Brett, and Sir R. P. Amphlett are transferred from the High Court of Justice to the Court of Appeal, under the provisions of sec. 15 of "The Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876." — The Alert Arctic discovery vessel reaches Valentia on her return home. 29.— Died, aged 83, Rt. Hon. Sir John Stuart, formerly Vice-Chancellor. 30.— General Ignatieff, the Russian Am bassador, presents an ultimatum to the Sultan of Turkey, demanding an immediate armistice. — German Parliament opened, the Royal Message declaring that German blood would be sacrificed only for the protection of German honour and interests. — French Chambers opened without a Presidential Message. 31. — Dr. Henry Slade, the spiritualist medium, is convicted by Mr. Flowers, the magistrate at Bow-street Police Court, for ob- taining money by false pretences, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. The principal witnesses against Slade were Professor Lankester, Dr. Donkin, who watched his action while something was covertly written on a slate, and Mr. Maskelyne of the Egyptian Hall. Prisoner appealed to the Middlesex Se.'sions. — Lieut -General Sir C. H. Ellice gazetted Adjutant-General of the Forces, in succession to Sir Richard Airey. — Disastrous cyclone in Calcutta; 215,000 people supposed to have perished, the greatest engulphment of man it was thought since the Noachian Deluge. November 1. — Turkey agrees to an armis- tice of eight weeks. — - Opening of a new maritime canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea, cut through the northern isthmus of Holland. — On this, All Saints' Day, the choir of Salisbury Cathedral, after undergoing restor- ation during the past six years, is opened with solemn religious services, three hundred clergymen being present, and as many chorister- singers. Before the entire restoration could be completed, it was calculated that about 60,000/. would be expended. 1211 1. — Abolition of tolls between London and Brighton. 2. — Lord A. Loftus forwards a despatch from Yalta, staring that the Emperor Alexander had given him the most solemn assurances that he had no designs upon Constantinople. — Mr. Manisty and Mr. Hawkins sworn in as judges. — The Alert and Discovery, two vessels ■ despatched on the Arctic expedition in April 1875, under the command of Captain Nares, enter Portsmouth Harbour and are received with hearty cheers. No intelligence having been received from the expedition for some time past, the appearance of the Alert in Valentia Harbour on October 27 was quite unexpected ; the Discovery arrived at Queens- town the following day, and was shortly followed by the Pandora which had gone to look after the two vessels, and sighted them on their way home, but had subse- quently met with disasters from icebergs and a hurricane. Captain Nares and his officers gave an exceedingly interesting account of their seventeen months' exploits, during eleven of which their vessels were stationary. The furthest point reached by the Alert was 82° 27' N. Iat. , the highest latitude ever attained by a ship, and here on an exposed coast she passed the winter months, her consort having found winter quarters in a harbour north of Lady Franklin Sound, in lat. 8l° 44' N. The theory of an "open Polar Sea " was effectually disposed of, for the ice around the vessels was of unusual age and thickness. During the absence of the sledgers, owing to their inability to procure any fre-h game as most former expeditions had done, and alio, it was afterwards said, to their neglecting to take with them the quantity of lime-juice prescribed in their instructions from the Admiralty, amounting to a daily ration of one ounce for each man, an attack of scurvy broke out in each of the extended sledge parties when at their farthest ^distance from any help. The return journeys were therefore a prolonged struggle homewards of gradually weakening men, the available force to pull the sledge constantly decreasing, and the weight to be dragged as steadily increasing, as one after another of the invalids were stricken down and had to be carried by their weakened comrades. A few of Captain Markham's sledge party reached 83 20' 27", the highest it is thought ever attained by man. At Polaris Bay Captain Stephenson hoisted the American ensign and fired a salute, as a brass tablet, which he and Captain Nares had prepared in England, was fixed on the grave of the intrepid American traveller. Hall. The disabled state of their crews, four of whom, however, died before the return, and the hopelessness of achieving further dis- coveries with the limited means at their command, forced the officers of the expedition (2* NOVEMBER i8;6. NOVEMBER to abandon the idea of spending a second winter in the Polar regions, and they turned their vessels southward as soon as the breaking up of the ice enabled them to leave their positions ; but it was not until September 9, the very last of the season, that the mouth of Hayes Sound was crossed, and the expedition again rejoiced in "open water." As soon as the Queen heard of the return of the vessels, Her Majesty commanded the First Lord of the Admiralty to express to Captain Nares and to the officers and men under his command Her Majesty's hearty congratulations on their return. "The Queen highly appreciates," the Royal letter proceeded to say, " the valuable services rendered by them in the late Arctic Expedition, and Her Majesty fully sympathises in the hardships and sufferings they have endured, and laments the loss of life which has occurred. The Queen further directs that her thanks should be conveyed to the gallant men for what they have ac- complished." 2. — In the course of an interview at Lavidia with Lord Augustus Loftus, English Ambas- sador, the Emperor of Russia "pledged his sacred word of honour in the most serious and solemn manner that he had no intention of acquiring Constantinople, and that if necessity should compel him to occupy a portion of Bulgaria, it would only be provisionally, and until the peace and safety of the Christian population were secured." He earnestly requested the ambassador to do his utmost to dispel the cloud of suspicion and distrust of Russia which had gathered in England. Despatch published, November 21. 6. — Died, aged 71, Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, Pontifical Secretary of State, and President of the Council of Ministers. 7. — Mr. H. C. Lopes gazetted a judge. 8. — The St. Lawrence troop-ship wrecked on Paternoster Rocks, ninety miles north of Cape Town. All lives saved. — Died, aged j6, Antonio Tamburini, baritone singer. 9.— Thirtten elephants appear to-day in the Lord Mayor's procession from the City to Westminster. — Died, aged 90, Lady Marian Bell, widow of Sir Charles Bell, the eminent phy:iologist, whom she had survived for thirty-four years. — Speaking at the Lord Mayor's banquet to-night Lord Beaconsfield alluded to the possibility of war and the power of England to sustain such a contingency, — "We have nothing (he said) to gain by war. We are essentially a non-aggressive Power. There are no cities and no provinces that we desire to appropriate. We have built up an empire of which we are proud, and our proudest boast is this — that that empire subsists as much upon sympathy as upon force. But if the struggle comes, it should also be recollected that there is no country so prepared for war as England — (lou''< and renewed cheers) — because there is no coun- try whose resources are so great. In a right- eous cause — and I trust that England will never embark in war except in a righteous cause, a cause that concerns her liberty, her independence, or her empire — England is not a country that will have to inquire whether she can enter into a second or third campaign. In a righteous cause England will commence a fight that will not end until right is done." Speaking on the following day at Moscow, and no doubt having been informed by telegraph of Lord Beaconsfield's speech, the Czar was even more warlike in his utterances. " Should I see that we cannot obtain such guarantees as are necessary for carrying out what we have a right to demand of the Porte, I am firmly de- termined to act independently ; and I am convinced that in this case the whole of Russia will respond to my summons should I consider it necessary, and should the honour of Russia require it. " IO. — The Lord Mayor of Dublin gave a brilliant entertainment to their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, his Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, and about 1,000 other guests. — The Centennial Exhibition of Philadelphia closes. — Inauguration at Vienna of the Schiller monument, erected by private subscription. — Sir Bartle Frere addresses the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce on the opening up of Africa and the extinction of slavery. — The Marquis of Salisbury is nominated the Queen's Special Ambassador to the Con- ference at Constantinople. 13. — The Nelson and Northampton, two twin iron corvettes, launched on the Clyde from Messrs. Elder & Co.'s ship-building yard. — The conviction of Captain Khun of the Franconia, quashed by 7 to 6 of the Judges. 14. — It is announced from St Petersburg that the Emperor has ordered the mobilization of part of the Russian army. — The Khedive accepts Mr. Gsschen!s plan for settling the Egyptian debt. 16. — Came on in the Queen's Bench divi- sion of the High Court, the case of seven Guardians of the Keighley Union, who had been for a long time resisting the execution of the Vaccination Acts, and were now brought up, charged with contempt in disobeying the order directing them to enforce the law. It appeared that after protracted contests and applications to this Court, a Board of Guar NOVEMBER 1876. DECEMBER dians had passed a resolution directing the officers to enforce the law. The defendants, however, being afterwards elected expressly to oppose this, passed a resolution to rescind the order to the officer to carry out the law. Thereupon proceedings were taken against them on a mandamus to obey the law, and on their refusal to do so process issued out of this Court, on which on August 10 they were ar- rested and lodged in York Cattle. They remained imprisoned until September 9, when they were discharged on their recognisances to attend this Court for judgment, and were sub- sequently brought up and admitted to bail, pending their examination on interrogatories by the Master of the Crown Office, Master Mellor. Inclosing his address the Lord Chief Justice now said : — " We proceed simply upon the ground that it is the duty of subjects to obey an Act of Parliament, and that it is the duty of this Court to enforce obedience to it ; and, if obedience is withheld, then this Court must enforce it. There can be no doubt that all the defendants are in contempt. At the same time they had been led into that contempt by a mistaken notion of their duty and a belief that they were benefiting the community by opposing the Jaw. This cannot be allowed. It cannot be allowed that indiyiduals should set up their judgments against ^asX which the Legislature has enacted to be the law of the land. But I am glad that the matter has been brought to this end, and that we are thus re- lieved from the necessity of passing the severe sentence of imprisonment it would otherwise have been our duty to pass upon these defen- dants." The defendants were then discharged, and left the court bound in their own recog- nizances each for 1,000/. to come up for judgment when called upon. 16. — Fryston Hall, near Pontefract, the seat of Lord Houghton, seriously injured by fire. The whole of the front part of the mansion was destroyed, but nearly the whole of the costly furniture and contents, including the paintings, library, and china, were saved. 20. — Lord Salisbury leaves London to at- tend the Conference. He arrived at Constan- tinople on the 5th December, having had interviews on bis way with various members of the Governments of France, Germany, Austria and Italy. — Mr. Secretary Cross entertained to a Conservative banquet in Birmingham Town Hall.' — The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Norwich to support a movement set on foot for aiding one of the local hospitals. — Died, at Carlisle, through injuries re- ceived from a horse which had broken loose, Mr. George Moore, of the firm of Copestake, Moore and Co., a munificent supporter of charities in the North of England, of which he was a native. 1213 21.— Died, aged 86. Field-Marshal the Duke of Saldanha, formerly Portuguese Ambassador in London. 22. — Railway accident, serious so far as the destruction of rolling stock was concerned, but unattended with loss of life, at Heeley Station, about a mile south of Sheffield, on the Midland line. 23. — Mr. Samuelson (Liberal) returned for Frome by 661 votes against 568 given to Sir • James Ferguson (Conservative). — General Sir Richard Airey, G.C.B., gazetted Baron Airey. 24.— Right Hon. W. E. Forster, M.P., installed as Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen. — Died, aged 5°> Maria Francesca Rossette, authoress of "A Shadow of Dante." 25 — The Duchess of Edinburgh gives birth to a daughter at Malta — the Princess Victoria Melita. ■ — Died, aged 70, Right Hon. James Whiteside, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. 27. — A Court-martial held on board the Royal Adelaide for the trial of Captain Pollard of the corvette Tenedos, who was charged with having negligently hazarded his ship off Cape Raper on the coast of South America, on the night of July 29, whereby she was placed in danger of being stranded. He was also charged with making a false statement in a letter to Admiral Sir Thomas Symonds, K.C.B., describing the event. After « trial of three days' duration, the Court acquitted the prisoner on the latter charge, but found him guilty of the former, adjudging him to be dismissed his ship. 28. — The Duke of Marlborough gazetted Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. John Winston Spencer-Churchill was bom in June, 1822, and succeeded his father as sixth Duke, July 1857. 29. — Three men suffocated on board the steamer Garland, at Glasgow. 30. — The third London School Board elected : 31 candidates in favour of the past policy elected, and 19 against. — Archdeacon Johnson consecrated Bishop of Calcutta in St. Paul's Cathedral. ■ — The Mexican insurgent leader, Porfirio Diaz, having defeated the Government troopp and entered the city of Mexico, proclaims himself provisional President. — Died, aged 69, Rt. Hon. Edward Hors- man, M. P. for Liskeard. — Died, aged 55, George Dawson, a well-known preacher and lecturer. December 1. — Departure of the Grand Duke Nicholas from St. Petersburg to assume command of the Russian army, concentrated at Kischenev, on the Roumanian frontier. . Q 2 DECEMBER i8;6. DECEMBER 2. — Rev. A. Tooth, Hatcham, suspended for three months, by Lord Penzance. 4. — Speaking at Birmingham, Mr. Bright, in allusion to Lord Salisbury's mission, said, " I can only hope that he leaves his unwisdom for home consumption, and that when he arrives in Constantinople his liberality, his justice, and his strong intellect will have fair play. I hope he will do his country the • highest service and himself high honour by the duty which he has undertaken. But now the special Ambassador has been to Paris, to Berlin, to Vienna, and to Rome. He has seen the Due Decazes, Prince Bismarck, Count Andrassy, and Signor Melegari. If he has heard what they say, if he has been touting for allies and sympathisers, I expect by this time he knows he has greatly failed to find them. If he will rest upon his own strong sense, he may do great good. If he acts as the subservient representative of his chief — judging his chief by his own language — then T think he may do us a very serious ill." 5. — The Brooklyn theatre destroyed by fire, and about 300 lives lost. 6. — Henri de Tourville committed, at the Bow Street Police Court, for trial in Austria, on the charge of having murdered his wife Madeline, by throwing her over the edge of a ravine in the Stelvio Pass. The prisoner had been discharged at a previous examination in Austria, but fresh evidence coming to light, and the fact of his coming into about 37,000/. by his wife's death, resulted in the committal — The electoral colleges in the United States meet and vote for the new President : Tilden receives 184 undisputed votes, Hayes 163, and 22 votes are disputed. 7. — Greenwich Hospital School destroyed by a fire which broke out in the dormitories, containing nearly 300 boys, but through the prompt orders and skilful management of the superintendent, Captain C. Burney, R.N., no lives were lost. 8. — A National Conference on the Eastern Question held in St. James's Hall. The Duke of Westminster presided at the after- noon, and Lord Shaftesbury at the evening meeting. The meetings were addressed by Mr. Gladstone, Sir George Campbell, Mr. Anthony Trollope, Mr. Evelyn Ashley, Canon Liddon, Sir Henry Havelock, Mr. Trevelyan, Professor Fawcett, Mr. Freeman, and others. Most of the speakers expressed their sym- pathy wi-h the oppressed races in Turkey, and severely attacked the Turkish Govern- ment. " Will you fight for the integrity and independence of the Empire of Sodom ? " exclaimed Mr. Freeman : "Perish the interests of England, perish our dominions in India sooner than we should strike one blow or speak one word on behalf of the wrong against the rijdit." In a characteristic letter 1214 from Mr. Carlyle to the originators of the meeting, the writer expressed his high admi- ration for the Russian national character and policy, and his belief that the expulsion of the Turk from Europe, though a somewhat drastic remedy, was yet the only hopeful one. 8. — The Bulgarians petition the Czar to "command his valorous army to save unfortunate Bulgaria and place it in its appointed position in the great Sclavonic family." — Captain Boyton accomplishes the feat of swimming down the Po from Turin to Ferrara, a distance of over 500 miles. — The first number of a Persian military periodical published at Teheran. 12. — The Duke of Marlborough arrives at Kingston, and takes the usual oaths as Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. — At a special meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, papers were read by Sir G. Nares, K.C.B., Captain Stephenson, and Captain Markham, descriptive of their experiences in the late Arctic expedition. At the close the Prince of Wales, who was present with the Duke of Sutherland and Sir Bartle Frere, expressed his admiration at the courage and daring of the expedition, and moved a vote of thanks to the readers of the papers. The officers had been enter- tained by the Lords of the Admiralty on the 7th, and by the Lord Mayor on the 8th. 14- — Died, aged 90, General the Hon. William Arbuthnott, an old Peninsular officer, who entered the army in 1804. 15. — An Order in Council published in the Gazette, founding the Bishopric of Truro. Dr. Benson, Master of Wellington College and Honorary Chaplain to Her Majesty, was appointed first Bishop. — William Collins, a builder in Pimlico, shot dead in his house, and his wife seriously injured, by a young man, named Treadaway. 18. — Dreadful explosion of fire-damp in a colliery at Abertillery, Monmouthshire. In the headings affected by the explosion thirty- five men were at work, of these twenty were killed at once, and several more dangerously hurt. — Interes'ing historical discoveries at the Tower. WhiLt restoring the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula, coffins containing the re- mains of persons executed for State offences were found, and by examination of contem porary chronicles, one body was identified as that of the Countess of Salisbury, the last of the Plantagenets, executed by Henry VII., and another as Robert Dudley, Earl of Northumberland, the father of Lady Tane Grey. ' J 22.— Died, Lieut. -General George Camp- bell, C.B , one of the heroes of the Indian Mutiny. General Campbell was one of the DECEMBER 1876. DECEMBER first who entered Delhi through the Cashmere Gate when it wsis blowiv up. 22. — Midhat Pasha made Grand Vizier. His accession signified that Turkey, whilst willing to promote reforms of her own will, would allow none to be dictated by foreign States. — A meeting of Scotch Peers held in Holyrood to fill vacancies caused by the deaths of the Marquis of Tweeddale and the Earl of Leven and Melville. The proceedings were much interrupted by Mr. Goodeve Erskine claiming the right to vote as Earl of Mar, notwithstanding the recent decision of the House of Lords (see 19th June, 1876). After voting, the Earl of Mar and Kellie, and Lord Balfour of Burleigh, were declared elected. 23. — First meeting of full Conference at Constantinople. A stringent scheme of reform and guarantees was framed at preliminary meetings, from which the Turkish represen- tatives had been excluded. Safvet Pasha, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, was elected President, anl beean with some account of recent events, including the Bul- garian atrocities. He spoke of the liberal views of the Sublime Porte, which he said was ready to grant its subjects all privileges that were not contrary to the dignity and integrity of the empire. When the proposals of the Powers were being placed in the hands of Turkish members by the French represen- tative, the Comte du Bourgoing, some salvoes of artillery were heard. The President ex- plained that this announced the promulgation of the New Ottoman Constitution. The Con- ference regarded this Constitution as an ingenious manoeuvre intended to hinder their action, and by no means accepted it as a settlement. — Promulgation of the New Ottoman Constitution. The Sultan was to be a constitutional sovereign and reign alike irresponsible and inviolate. The liberty of the subject was guaranteed by law, and all were alike equal in the eye of the law, and eligible for public offices. A Chamber of Deputies, elected by ballot, and a Senate were to be established ; local government was provided for by a system of municipal councils. — Died, aged 76, Lord Neaves, one of the oldest judges of the Scottish Bench. He was called to the bar in 1822, and was Solicitor- General for Scotland from 1852 to 1854. Lord Neaves was much appreciated in social circles for his ripe scholarship and genial wit. — Died, aged 83, Mr. William Cook Stafford, one of the oldest journalists in the kingdom, having been a contributor to the Anti-Jacobin, as early as 1818. 23. — Fatal collision at Arlesey,near Hitchen, on the Great Northern Railway. A luggage train was delayed in getting clear through two trucks having left the metals ; at this time an express came up full speed, although the signals were against it, dashed into the luggage train, cutting its way completely through. Five passengers, three of them ladies, were killed, and about thirty persons badly injured. 25. — The Queen, for the first time since the death of the Prince Consort, celebrates Christmas at Windsor with the customary ancient observance regarding the viands pre- pared for the Royal table. — Mr. Thomas Edwards, of Banff, an obscure hard-working naturalist, receives a pension of $ol. per annum. — Died, aged 66, Major-General Hodson, C.B., who entered the Madras army in 1826, and served in many of the Indian wars. At the fall of Delhi during the Mutiny, the old king was captured and his two sons shot by the then Lieut. Hodson. 28. — Second sitting of the Conference, at which the prolongation of the armistice is agreed to. The proposals of the Powers were then read aloud, article by article, by Comte de Chaudordy, the Turkish representative, accepting or rejecting as they thought tit, and, in spite of all argument iirom the other plenipotentiaries, always maintaining, with firm politeness, their inability to assent without a reference to their Government. Thereupon the articles were reserved. At the third meeting, on the 30th, the Porte announces that it had a counter-proposition to make, which would render further con- sideration of the proposals of the Powers unnecessary. This document was not yet translated, but would be delivered in the evening. Most of the envoys protested, General Ignatieff being peremptory in ask- ing for a reply, "Yes," or "No," to the proposals of the Powers. The Ottoman delegates, nevertheless, persisted in declining any discussion, and the meeting adjourned till the first day of the new year. ■ — Railway accident in a snowstorm at Ashtabula Creek, Ohio ; 100 persons killed and 60 injured. 29.— Died, aged 73, Sir Titus Salt, of Saltaire, the well-known manufacturer and philanthropist. He entered Parliament for Bradford in 1859, and ten years later was made a baronet in acknowledgment of his liberality in providing for the comfort of his numerous work-people by the erection of the model town of Saltaire. 31.— Died, Rev. Thomas Hugo, M.A., rector of West Hackney, a prominent member of the extreme High Church party. 1215 JANUARY I8 77 . JANUARY 1877. January 1. — Her Majesty proclaimed Empress of India at Delhi. The Viceroy, Lord Lytton, presided over a magnificent assemblage, including sixty-three ruling chiefs, and nearly three hundred titular chiefs, Indian nobles, and persons of distinction, from every province of the Empire. Shortly after noon, the Queen's Proclamation was read first in English, then in Urdu, and a salute of 101 guns fired, the bands playing the National Anthem. In his address the Viceroy explained Her Majesty's intentions in assuming the new title, and her grateful and emphatic recognition of the energy, public virtue, and self-devotion of the civil and military officers of the Crown. To the native chiefs, acknowledgments of their continued loyalty and attachment to the Crown were conveyed, and a telegraphic message of royal greeting from Queen and Empress was read to the assemblage. Maharaja Sindia, the Begum of Bophal, Sir Salar Jung, and others expressed their hearty congratulations and assurances of loyalty and satisfaction. The Viceroy gave a State banquet in the evening, and for three succeeding days was employed in receiving and replying to ad- dresses, ceremonial visits, and official business. A review of 14,000 troops concluded the events of the Proclamation. On the 5th, advantage was taken of the general rejoicing to grant many boons and concessions to individuals and to public bodies. Commemorative banners and gold medals were presented to the principal Chiefs, Governors, and Lieutenant-Governors of Provinces, members of the Executive Council and others ; many individuals were also rewarded for past important services, and pensions were granted to ancient native families of unquestioned loyalty. Proclamations simi- lar in style, but accompanied by less outward show, were made at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. Throughout the Empire, food and clothing were given to the poor, liberal grants made toward works of public utility, and de- serving prisoners released. Demonstrations in honour of the event were also made at Zanzi- bar, Muscat, and Bushire. — The German Emperor held a reception commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the commencement of his military career. 2. — Severe storm of wind and rain, causing much destruction of property all over the kingdom. At Dover the Admiralty Pier was damaged to the extent of about 25,000/. On the south coast, and both sides of Irish Sea, piers and fea walls were destroyed, vessels wrecked and houses flooded. — Died, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Ameri- can Railroad King, who left by his will pro- perty estimated at between 16,000,000/. and 20,000,000/. 1216 5. —Died, aged 45, Robert Landells, for many years special artist to the Illustrated London News. 6. — Application made at the Arches Court, that the Rev. Arthur Tooth should be pro- nounced guilty of coutempt of court, for having disobeyed an inhibition of that court. 9. — Opening of the new hall of Balliol College, Oxford. — Died, in the Leeds workhouse, Matthew Booth, said to be the last survivor of the Cato Street conspirators. IO. — The Duke of Marlborough makes his public entry into Dublin as Lord-Lieutenant. 12. — Died at Paris, M. Buloz, founder and editor of the Revue de Deux Mondes. — The Government of India in a despatch, states that famine prevails in Bombay over an area of 54,000 square miles, with a population of 8,000,000, and in Madras over 84,700 square miles, with a population of 10,000,000. The number of persons employed at the relief works were — at Bombay 337,000, and Madras 1,015,000, besides persons receiving gratuitous support ; and the cost to the State was estimated at 6,500,000/. Great interest and sympathy were excited at home for the sufferers, 493,000/. being collected at the Mansion House. 15. — A trader's boat upset in a gale off Queenstown and five men drowned, whilst soliciting orders frorii a ship entering the harbour. SO. — Close of the Conference at Constanti- nople, the Turkish Government having rejected the proposals of the European Powers. At a meeting held on Jan. 1st, the Ottoman dele- gates submitted a series of counter proposals, little differing from those of the Powers, ex- cept as regarded an International Commission, an amnesty to the Bul^rian prisoners, and the question of guarantees for the proposed internal reforms. Turkey maintained that the Constitution jue- against abuses by the clergy, and stigmatizing it as impious and iniquitous. The liberty he was said to enjoy was a fictitious liberty, because he had been deprived of all means of administering the affairs of the Church, and he concluded by protesting that he can never come to a. conciliation with falsehood and error, nor with a Government constituted as the Italian Government is. — Henry and Francis George Tidbury hanged within Reading Gaol for the murder of two police-officers at Hungerford. The crowd outside was very small, and no one was admitted inside except reporters. Both prisoners made statements admitting their guilt, and asserting that William Tidbury and Day were not concerned in the murders. Marwood was the executioner. 13. — Mr. Chamberlain moves a resolution in the Commons recommending the adoption of the Gothenburg system of giving to the local authorities the exclusive right of keeping 1223 MARCH I8 77 . MARCH public-houses. The resolution was opposed by several members, and by Sir H. S. Ibbetson, on the part of the Government, who adduced statistics to prove that drunkenness had in- creased at Gothenburg since the adoption of the system recommended. Ultimately the resolution was rejected by 103 to 51. 13. — Died, at Genoa, aged 90, Charles Cow- den Clarke, a poet himself, and a critic of early English poetry, but still more widely known among a preceding generation as the friend and companion of Keats. 14.— Sir R. Anstruther's bill to limit the number of public-houses and to restrict the sale of intoxicating drinks by grocers in Scot- land discussed in the Commons for several hours, and finally rejected by 253 to 90. — Died at his farm about three miles from Southampton, aged nearly 84, his Excellency Juan Manuel de Rosas, ex governor and dictator of the Argentine Confederation. — General Ignatieff (and his wife) arrive in London from Paris with fresh proposals fo Britain for settling the Eastern Question. He dined in the evening at the Russian Em- bassy, where he met the Marquis of Salisbury. On Saturday the 1 7th the General visited the Prince and Princess of Wales, and dined with Earl Derby at the Foreign Office. Sunday was spent at Lord Salisbury's seat at Hatfield, and on Tuesday he was received by the Queen at Windsor. On Wednesday General Ignatieff dined with the Earl of Beaconsfield, the Prince of Wales being also present. The General left for Paris on the morning of the 22nd. 16. — Dean Stanley as Lord Rector delivers a valedictory address to the students of St. Andrews in the old Parliamentary Hall. The subject of his discourse was the religious difficulties of the day, and the danger arising to religion from the apparently increasing diver- gence between the intelligence and faith of our time, which he designated "the rock a-head." 17. — Meeting in the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster, Dean Stanley presiding, to promote a celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of the introduction of printing into England by William Caxton, who printed his first book in a room in the Almonry adjacent to the Abbey. — The Geologists' Association pay their first visit for the season to the British Museum. Proceeding at once to the North Gallery, the members were there met, according to appoint- ment, by the venerable Professor Owen, C.B., F.R.S., Superintendent of the Natural His- tory Department, who at once began to dis- course to them and the mixed multitude of other listeners, who flocked to the spot from all 1224 parts of the building, on the "Extinct Mar- supials of Australia." 18. — Died, .aged 78, Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, Arctic explorer. 19. — In answer to Lord Stratheden and Campbell, Earl Derby states tha^t Sir Henry Elliot had professed himself ready to return to Constantinople at onqe if his services were required, but he did not conceal that he had come home in much need of rest after the arduous and anxious labours of the last twelve months. Under these circumstances, he (Lord Derby) felt that, putting personal con- siderations aside, it would not be in the interests of the public service to press for Sir Henry's immediate return. He was there- fore making other temporary arrangements for carrying on the work at Constantinople, and Sir Henry Elliot would remain for some time longer in England on leave. — The first Turkish Parliament opened by the Sultan in person. The speech from the throne, which was read by His Majesty's first Secretary, was a very long document. The Sultan expressed a hope that the negotiations with Montenegro would have a favourable issue, and said that the course which he intended pur- suing would be submitted to the deliberations of the Parliament at its first meeting, Speaking of the Conference, His Majesty said: — "The disagreement between my Government and the Powers rests rather in the form and method of application than the substance of the ques- tion. All my efforts will be devoted towards bringing to perfection the progress which has been already realized in the situation of the empire and in the branches of its administra- tion. But I consider it to be one of my mo=t important duties to remove any cause which may be detrimental to the dignity and indepen- dance of my empire. I leave to time the task of proving the sincerity of my intentions of reconciliation." The speech promifed the introduction of a number of legislative measures, including an Electorial Bill, a Provisional Bill, a Bill on Commercial Regu- lations, a Code of Civil Procedure, measures for the reorganization of the tribunals, the promotion and retirement of public func- tionaries, a Press Bill, a Bill for tie Organiza- tion of a Court of Account, and, finally, the Budget Law. 20. — Mr. R. Yorke proposes in the Com- mons the issue of a Royal Commission to inquire into the constitution and customs of the Stock Exchange. Government at first opposed, but ultimately the Chancellor of the Exchequer, deferring to what he believed to be the general wish, assented to the motion, although he was not sanguine of any useful result. MARCH 1877. MARCH 20. — The Lord Mayor presides at a meeting held in the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House to consider the proposal to establish in a central position in London an Imperial Museum for the Colonies and India. 21. — Mr. Butt's Irish Land Bill rejected on a second reading by 323 to 84 votes. — Charing Cross Hospital, after being remodelled and greatly enlarged, is opened to- day by the Prince of Wales accompanied by the Princess. In reply to a formal address his Royal Highness congratulated the governors upon the admirable manner in which the hospital was conducted, and said it afforded the Princess and himself the greatest pleasure to acquiesce in the desire that a ward should be named after himself, and that the ward for children should be named the Alexandra Ward. — The German Parliament decide by 213 to 142 votes, that the seat of the Imperial Court of Justice shall be at Leipsic. 22. — Came on at Middlesex Sessions the trial of Lord Marcus Beresford on the charge of having assaulted H. E. Tidy, a solicitor, of Sackville Street, Piccadilly. The prosecutor underwent a rigid cross-examination respecting certain money-lending transactions between him and the defendant. On the part of Lord Marcus Beresford it was argued that he had acted under great provocation ; and it was pointed out that by taking criminal instead of civil proceedings the defendant had been effectually prevented from giving his version of the dispute. The jury found Lord Marcus guilty of a common assault ; and he was ordered to pay a fine of roo/. to the Queen, to enter into recognizances of 500/. to keep the peace towards Mr. Tidy for twelve months, and to pay the costs of the proecution. — Dr. Schliemann attends a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries, and reads a paper on his discoveries at Mycenae. Mr. Gladstone also attended, and paid a high tribute to the Doctor for his energy and perseverance. 23. — Sir W. T. Knollys gazetted Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod and Groom of the Stole to the Prince of Wales ; General Probyn to be Treasurer of the Prince's Household. — John D. Lee, a Mormon Bishop, shot at Mountain Meadow, for complicity in the masacre of 120 emigrants passing that place on their way to California, in September, 1857. Up to the date of his capture at this time Lee had lived in hiding, indirectly under the pro- tection of Brigham Young, whom the criminal now accused of being the chief instigator of the massacre, in revenge for the inroad of United States troops on Mormon territory to force obedience to Gentile customs. 23. Sir Charles Dilke moves a resolution in the Commons for extending the hours of polling at parliamentary elections in metro- politan boroughs, and also to give to the returning officer of other boroughs the power of fixing any period of not less than eight hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Mr. Gordon seconded the motion. The Chancellor of the Exchequer admitted that experience showed the necessity of some further extension of the hours of polling, and the Government, there- fore, would not object to the principle of the resolution. But he could not assent to all its details, and he suggested that a Select Com- mittee should be appointed to consider what alterations may be made without inconvenience in the hours of polling at parliamentary and municipal elections in the metropolis and other towns. After some discussion, Sir Charles accepted this offer. — Mr. Fawcett's motion affirming the necessity of securing adequate securities for the better government of Turkey disposed of after several divisions by the adjournment of the House. In the course of this debate Sir H. Wolff contended that the Liberal party was in a great measure responsible for the condition of Turkey, and read extracts from speeches by Mr, Gladstone on the results of the Crimean War and on the Cretan Insur- rection, to show that though he now refused the Turks even a twelvemonth's respite, and acknowledged none but humanitarian motives, he then contemplated Turkish reform must be the work of a generation, and that the duty of neutrality is superior to that of humanity. Mr. Gladstone retorted by accusing Sir Henry of using garbled extracts from old speeches. 24. — The University Boat Race results in a dead heat, for the first time since the origin of the contest. — Died, aged 72, Dr. Michell, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford. — Died, aged 48, Mrs. Nassau Senior, inspector of workhouses and district pauper schools. — Died, aged 51, Thomas Walter Bagehot, editor and proprietor of the Economist, and author of various contributions to financial and general literature. — Died, aged 95, Field-Marshal Sir John Forster Fitzgerald, K.C.B., Colonel 18th Foot and senior officer in the army, in which he held a commission over 80 years. He served through the Peninsular campaign and received the gold cross for Badajoz, Sala- manca, Vittoria, and Pyrenees. — Disastrous fire, but unattended with loss of life, at Coldbath Fields House of Cor- rection. The flames were first seen near the back part of the prison proper, in a building 1225 MARCH I8 77 . APRIL known as the mill-house and bakery. As many as two hundred firemen were at one time engaged in preventing the fire spreading to the cells occupied by prisoners. 25. — Accident at Morpeth, on the North Eastern Railway, to the night express from Edinburgh to London. At a very sharp curve the engine left the metals, tearing up sleepers and rails for about sixty yards, and the car- riages and vans were impelled with violence against the back of the tender, the impetus causing them to pile up on the top of each other. A very painful scene ensued, some passengers being jammed between the timbers of carriages, and others shrieking for assistance from underneath the dibris. Altogether five passengers were killed, amongst them being Mr. James Donald, editor of Chambers's Ety- mological Dictionary ; eight or nine others were seriously injured. — Died, aged 67, Mrs. Caroline Chisholm, known as the "Emigrant's Friend." 27. — Lord Chief Justice Cockburn pre- sented with addresses by the Mayor and Corporation, and the Incorporated Law Society of Bristol, on the occasion of his revisiting that city, over which he had formerly been Recorder, after an absence of twenty years. 31. — Protocol signed at the Foreign Office. The Powers reaffirmed their interest in the improvement of the condition of the Christian populations of Turkey, and took cognizance of the conclusion of peace with Servia. As regarded Montenegro, the Powers considered the rectification of the frontiers and free navi- gation of the Boi'ana to be desirable iri the interest of a solid and durable arrangement. The Powers thought the arrangements con- cluded, or to be concluded, between the Porte and the two Principalities, as a step accom- plished towards the pacification which is the object of their common wishes. They invited the Porte to consolidate it, by replacing its armies on a peace footing, excepting the number of troops indispensable for the maintenance of order, and by putting in hand with the least possible delay the reforms necessary for the tranquillity and well-being of the provinces, the condition of which was discussed at the Conference. They recognized that, the Porte has declared itself ready to realize an important portion of them. They also took cognizance of the circular of the Porte of the 13th February, 1876, and of the declarations made by the Ottoman Govern- ment during the Conference and since through its representatives. The Powers proposed to watch carefully, by means of their representa- tives at Constantinople, and their local agents, the manner in which the promises of the Ottoman Government were carried into effect. If their hopes should once more be disap- pointed, and if the condition of the Christian 1226 subjects of the Sultan should not be improved in a manner to prevent the return of the complications which periodically disturb the peace Of the East, they thought it right to de- clare that such a state of affairs would be incompatible with their interests and those of Europe in general. In such case they reserved to themselves to consider in common as to the means which they may deem best fitted to secure the well-being of the Christian popu- lations and the interests of the general peace. Several declarations were attached to the signatures, one by Lord Derby to the effect that the Protocol should be declared null and void in the event of non-attainment of the proposed objects. April 1.— The Chinese ports of Tchang, Wuhu, Wenchow, and Pakhoi opened to foreign trade. 3. — Total destruction by fire of the Queen's Theatre, Edinburgh. 4. — Shipwrights on Clyde, to the number of 3,000, strike for an increase of one penny per hour. 6. — Prince Bismarck had an audience of me Emperor William, who informed the Chan- cellor in complimentary terms that he could not at the present time part with his valuable services. The Chancellor thereupon con- sented to retain office, and to be content for the present with a simple leave of absence. An Imperial order was issued, granting him leave of absence until August. — Died, aged 85, Lieutenant Thomas Laurence Smith, who entered the army in 180S, and passed through the whole of the Peninsular War, and was also at Waterloo. 7. — Great walking match for 1,000/. between Edward Payson Weston, and Daniel O'Leary, concluded at the Agricultural Hall, Islington. Both men had been walking for six days, at the end of which time O'Leary had walked 520 miles and Weston 510. 10.— Flooding of the Tynewydd pit, in the Rhonddha valley near Pontypridd, Glamor- ganshire. The day's work was over and the miners were making their way to the shaft, when each narrow roadway of the pit suddenly became the channel of a rushing stream of water which seemed to pour in on the un- fortunate miners from all sides at once. When as many as had been able to struggle through the water were brought to the surface it was found that fourteen persons were still in the mine. On examination it was found that the shaft was clear, but every roadway leading from it to the remote parts of the pit was full of water to the crown of the arch. Whilst the exploring party were considering the best means of clearing the workings a faint knocking was heard, proving that some men were still APRIL 1877. APRIL alive. These were thought to be behind a wall of coal some thirty feet thick, and vigorous efforts for their release were at once made, seconded by the imprisoned men from within. By the morning a hole was made into the heading, but such was the density of air caused by the pressure of water behind, that a loud explosion followed when the rock was first pierced, and one man, William Morgan, was thrown with such violence against the hole through which he was about to escape, that he died. The other four men in the cavity were speedily rescued and brought to the bank. This incident raised a hope that others might have been preserved in the same man- ner, but it was not till the afternoon of the second day that a faint knocking, evidently at a great distance, was heard. Efforts to release the men by pumping out the mine and by sending divers through the flooded passages having failed, it was resolved to cut a passage, forty yards through the solid. The imprisoned miners were not finally rescued until the after- noon of Friday the 20th. The work of saving them was one of great difficulty, and it was feared that they would be drowned before the rescuing party could reach them. At length, however, a hole was bored through the coal large enough for the explorers to pass through, and the five men who had been entombed for ten days were safely brought to bank. By a happy coincidence, when the last was brought up and while being conveyed on a stretcher covered with blankets into the hospital, the following telegraphic message was received from the Queen : — '•' Biddulph, Osborne, to Mr. Wales, Mine Inspector, Pontypridd. — The Queen is very anxious for the last accounts of the poor men in the mine. Are they saved? Pray telegraph." The other four men missing were not, as was supposed, with their five rescued companions, and the dead bodies of two of them were after- wards found in another part of the mine. One had been crushed to death by a large stone falling on him ; and another stone had fallen on the other, a boy, and held him fast until he was drowned. The interest felt in the im- prisoned men and their rescuers took a practical shape. The Lord Mayor started a fund at the Mansion House for their benefit, which amounted to over 1,300/., including a donation of 50/. from the Queen ; the members of the Stock Exchange sent 100 guineas ; and sepa- rate subscriptions were started by members of the House of Commons and others. The Queen was pleased to express her desire that tne Albert Medal, hitherto only bestowed for gallantry in saving life at sea, should be extended to similar actions on land, and the first medals struck for this purpose were conferred on the heroic rescuers of the Welsh miners. 10. — Reply of the Porte to the Protocol. The Turkish Government said it was not aware how it could have deserved so ill of 1227 justice and civilization as to see itself placed in a humiliating position without example in the world: — "The Treaty of Paris gave an explicit sanction to the principle of non- intervention. This treaty, which binds to- gether the Powers who participate in it as well as Turkey, cannot be abolished by a Protocol in which Turkey has had no share. And, if Turkey appeals to the stipulations of the Treaty of Paris, it is not that that treaty has creates in her favour any rights which she would not possess without it, but rather for the pm-pose of calling attention to the grave reasons which, in the interests of the general peace of Europe, induced the Powers twenty years ago to place the recognition of the in- violabilities of this empire's right to sovereignty under the guarantee of a collective promise." IO. — Archdeacon Denison, speaking at Taun- ton of recent decisions affecting the Church, said that the courts were only secular courts dealing with spiritual cause?, and so were undeniably unconstitutional. As for the court presided over by Lord Penzance, the whole history of it, parliamentary and otherwise,, was a disgrace to our time. In summing up the position, Archdeacon Denison said the shape which the contention assumed in England was that it is not for the civil power and courts created by Parliament, irrespectively of the voice of the Church in her synods, to so much as touch, much less regulate the faith and the worship of the Church. — Died, Andrew Hallid'ay, journalist and dramatist, and a frequent contributor to All the Year Round. 11.— The Prince of Wales leaves London for Paris, afterwards joining the Princess in the south of France, in order to visit the King and Queen of Greece. — Scene in the Commons between Dr, Kenealy and Mr. Sullivan, during the discus- sion of Mr. Waddy's Newspaper Registration Bill. Dr. Kenealy denounced the bill in strong language, protesting at the same time that he had no- sympathy with libellers. This state- ment provoked some ironical cheering ; and Dr. Kenealy went on to say that he had always been outspoken both at the bar and in the press, and it was that which had ruined him. Had he been " a slave, a coward, or a liar," or ready to justify falsehood, he would not be what he was. He added, pointing to the Ministerial gangway, that he could bear with philosophical composure the ironical cheersthat came from that "miserable quarter." Mr. Sullivan (who sat in the quarter indicated by the member for Stoke) said that he had never known but one " slave and coward " in the profession of journalism who had libelled people without avowing his responsibility. After the division Mr. Sullivan informed the Speaker that Dr. Kenealy had come to him in the lobby, and complained that the attack he R* APRIL 1877. APRIL had made on him was uncalled for and un- deserved. To this Mr. Sullivan replied that the charges he had made were deserved ; upon which Dr. Kenealy retorted, "Sir, you are a liar. " Had this occurred out of the House, Mr. Sullivan said amid much cheering, he should have treated it with contempt, but in order to vindicate the independence of debate he thought it right to submit the matter to the House. The Speaker said that if the epithet had been used in the House he should have called Dr. Kenealy to order at once ; but as it had occurred in the lobby it would be for the House to decide what course should be taken. Dr. Kenealy afterwards withdrew the expres- sion and apologised. 11. — Great fire in the Southern Hotel, St. Louis," U.S. Over twenty persons, chiefly women, jumped from the upper windows, and nearly all were killed, while others, tearing their bedding into strips, let themselves down and escaped. The guests in the lower stories mostly escaped uninjured, but the mortality among those who were lodged above was frightful, probably 100 in all having perished. Several were brought out alive, but bereft of reason. In an hour after the fire began the roof and inner walls fell in. The hotel was entirely destroyed, and the loss estimated at 1,000,000 dols. 12. — Transvaal Republic annexed by pro- clamation to the British Empire. — The Danish Chambers having failed to pass the Budget, the King signs a " tempo- rary decree " ordering the Ministry to provide for the expenses of the year. 13. — Lord Hartington in moving for further papers on the affairs of Turkey, observed that he did not desire to make any complaint that the Government had not up to a certain point given the House ample information on which a judgment might be formed on their policy, but held he had a right to complain that so far as the Conference was concerned the papers supplied were extremely limited. Why, he asked, had not the Government made a bold and vigorous effort to settle the question, especially as at one time the Powers of Europe seemed agreed upon the necessity of joint action? Then, with regard to 'the declaration appended to the Protocol, he owned that he could not see any motive for it, because it put it in the power of Russia or Turkey to put aft end to it if they pleased. It had also provoked the counter declaration of Russia, and had left matters in such a state that an outbreak of hostilities was all but inevitable. Mr. Hardy in reply, stated that the Government could not give the draft Protocol of March 11, as it was not their own document. Others would still be produced, but not in response to the present motion. Passing then to the Protocol of March 31, the light hon. gentleman said that the answer of 1228 the Porte would be at once laid upon the table. It certainly had not the ring of peace about it, but still he was enabled to state that the last word had not yet been spoken. 14. — Launched, at Messrs. Samuda's yard at Blackwall, the Japanese iron-clad Foo-So, being the first built for that Government in this country. — Paul de Cassagnac sentenced to two months' imprisonment and a fine of 3,000 fr. for pub- lishing, in the Pays, articles insulting the Chamber of Deputies. — Died, aged 90, General William Wylde, present at the siege of Antwerp, and at Bergen-op-Zoom, having entered the Army in 1803. — Died, Rev. E. A. Daubeny, a justice of peace for Gloucester, wounded at the battle of Copenhagen, 2nd April, 1801. 15. — Discussion in the House of Lords on the Protocol. Lord Granville said that Lord Derby's declaration made it competent for Turkey or Russia to render the whole Protocol null and void, and while he admitted the great responsibility attaching to the Opposition in matters relating to foreign affairs, he maintained that at times it was the duty of the Opposition to state their opinions openly, and endeavour to enlighten the country on the policy which was being pursued. Lord Derby replied that as to the alleged meagreness of information given to Parliament the Government had to consult the wishes and convenience of other Powers. The Russian Ambassador objected to the production of the draft Protocol, and if it had been produced others also might have to >be published. With regard to guarantees, it should be borne in mind that the primary object was to bring about a satisfactory solu- tion, and that they had to accommodate them- selves to the relations then existing between Russia and Turkey. 16. — Convention signed between Russia and Roumania, by which the Roumanian Government agreed to afford the Russian army free passage through the Principality, and to insure the friendly treatment of the troops. The Czar in return pledged himself to guarantee the integrity of Roumanian territory. 17. — Correspondence published which had taken place between the Bishop of Moray and Ross, Primus of the Scotch Episcopal Church, and Bishop Beckles respecting the acceptance of the latter of the appointment of Superin- tending Bishop of certain English Episcopal congregations in Scotland. The Primus wrote : " Of all the Bishops of the Church of England, your Lordship is certainly the very last who could have been expected to listen to an invita- tion from the ' English Episcopalians in Scotland ' to come and reign over them. It APRIL 1877. APRIL is scarcely three years since your lordship was willing and desirous to become a diocesan Bishop in the Episcopal Church of Scotland." Bishop Beckles afterwards explained the reasons which had led him to accept the call to take the oversight of the English Episco- palians in Scotland, the result of which, he hoped, would be to unite them more closely with the Church of England. Referring to his candidature for the office of Bishop of Argyll, Bishop Beckles said that when he gave his consent he was entirely ignorant as to the constitution and government of the Scotch Episcopal Church. 17. — Petition presented by Lord Cochrane praying for the payment to his grandson of the arrears of pay due to the late Lord Dundonald. — Died, at her residence in Sussex, Mrs. Richard Cobden, widow of the eminent apostle of Free Trade. 19. — Died, aged 81, Lieutenant-General Sir Burke Cuppage, K. C.B , one of the few remaining Peninsular and Waterloo officers. 23. — Concluded, at the Central Criminal Court, the trial of the five prisoners concerned in what came to be known as the great Turf Fraud. Most of them were betting men, who entrapped the prosecutrix, Comcesse de Gon- court, into a sham series of turf speculations from which untold wealth was promised. Last August she received a letter accompanied by an English newspaper called the Sport and a circular. The circular contained a French translation of an article in the Sport, and told of the wonderful success achieved by a Mr. Hugh Montgomery, the inventor of a new mode of betting, which had brought him a fortune of 575,000/., and which the Sport stated he was spending in works of charity. Mdme. de Goncourt was induced by these representations to embark in the speculation, and she received in return for the money invested cheques for amounts varying from 1,000/. to 4,000/., drawn on the Royal Bank of London by " George Simpson." Success encouraged her to make fresh remittances, and ultimately she sent sums of money to the amount of 10,000/. to a person named T. Ellerton, "a sworn book-maker." She was- then informed that, in order to retain the sum already won, it was absolutely essential, ac- cording to the laws of England, that she should send a further sum of 1,200/. In order to raise the money, Mdme. de Goncourt found it neces- sary to consult her legal' adviser in Paris. This led to the detection of the fraud. The S/>ort newspaper, it appeared, was a sham publica- tion, one of the prisoners having induced a printer in Edinburgh, whom, he knew, to set up and print 500 copies- of one number ; while the " Royal Bank of London," upon which the cr—ques sent to the prosecutrix were drawn *as also non-existent. Baron 1229 Huddleston, in the course of his summing up, said he had been informed that the Governor of Newgate having reason to suspect that an attempt had been made to corrupt the officials of the gaol, caused one of the prisoners, Ben- son; the chief mover in the fraud, to be searched, and upon him were found documents which disclosed a scheme for an escape as bold and ingenious as could well be conceived. It was painful to think, his lordship said, that in our gaols there were means of cor- rupting subordinates. To do so with the superior officers was perfectly absurd, but when Benson was in custody he found the means of communicating with other prisoners, and that there was some person enabling him to communicate ~with< the outer world was beyond all question. The jury found Benson guilty of forgery ; William Kurr, Frederick Kurr, and Bale guilty on some of the counts ; and Murray an accessary after the fact. It was proved that in 1872 Benson had been convicted of felony at that court in forging a receipt for 1,000/. (See July 8, 1872.) The Comtesse de Goncourt asked that mercy might be shown to the prisoners. His lordship sentenced Benson to be kept in penal servitude for fifteen years ; William Kurr,. Frederick Kurr, and Charles Bale each to undergo ten years' penal servitude ; and Edwin Murray to eighteen months' hard labour. Revelations afterwards made by some of the convicts led to the trial of the Inspector-detectives on> the charge of conspiracy. (See Sept. 22, and Nov. 20, 1877.) 2*. — Declaration of war by Russia. The Imperial manifesto read to the troops at Kkcheneffin presence of the Czar, detailed the reasons for this step on the part of Russia : the refusal of guarantees by the Porte for the proposed reforms, the failure of the Conference and rejection of the Protocol. Prince Gortschakoff addressed an explanatory note to the Powers on the same day, and by night 50,000 troops had entered Roumanian territory. — Count von Moltke speaking in the German Parliament, on the necessity for an increased army vote, said, that he as well as others desired a long period of peace, but the times did not permit of such a hope. On the contrary, the time was not far distant when all governments would be compelled to strain every nerve to secure their own existence. The root' of this was to be found in the regret- able dktrust of the governments towards each other. France had also within the last few years made great strides in the work of her defences. Unusually large masses of troops were at present between Paris and the German frontier. France was doing all in her power for her army, and the furthering of that pur- pose met with the unmixed approval of her people, France was decidedly in advance of A' 2 MAY I8 77 . MA Y Germany in having her orders for war ready in time of peace, and Germany could not avoid adopting a measure to compensate for it. 24.. — Home Rule discussion in the Commons, Mr. Shaw having moved for a Select Com- mittee to inquire into the nature, extent, and grounds of the demand made by a large proportion of the Irish people for the resto- ration to Ireland of an Irish Parliament to control the internal affairs of that country. After considerable discussion the resolution was negatived by 417 to 67. — ■ The German Emperor, now visiting Alsace-Lorraine, arrives at Strasburg, and is received with every manifestation of loyalty and devotion. — Died, aged 79, the very Rev. Thomas Williams, M.A., Dean of Llandaff. 25. — Seizure of Barbosch Bridge and occu- pation of Galatz by a Russian division. 26. — The fortress of Bayazid on the Turkish Asiatic frontier abandoned to the Russians. 27. — Lord Stratheden and Campbell asked how far her Majesty's Government concurred in the statement contained in the Russian Circular, that the Emperor of Russia repre- sented the views and interests of Europe. Lord Derby replied that the Government were in no way bound by the expression of opinions issued by the Russian Government, and as a matter of fact did not accept or adopt either the arguments or conclusions embodied in the document referred to. 28. — Foundation stone laid at Stratford-on- Avon of a Shakespeare Memorial Building, intended to comprise a theatre, library, and picture-gallery. — Died, aged 72, W. G. Brownlow, better known as " Parson Brownlow," remarkable for the vigour with which he advocated the cause of the Union during the civil war in the United States. — Sale of Albert Grant's pictures. Pro- ceeds — 1 06, 202/. 30. — A pension of i£f. P er annum granted • to the three great-great-grand-daughters of Daniel Defoe, who were all unmarried, and over fifty years of age, living in extreme poverty. May 1* — Proclamation issued, in which the Queen enjoined all her subjects to observe strict neutrality in the war pending between Turkey and Russia. Declarations of neutrality were also made by France and Italy. — Despatch from Lord Derby to Lord A. Loftus, containing the reply of her Majesty's Government to the Russian circular announc- ing the commencement of hostilities, and con- 1230 veying disapproval of the war. The despatch in reference to Prince Gortscbakoff s assertion of his belief that the step taken by his Govern- ment was in accordance with the sentiments and the interests of Europe, said : — "It cannot be expected that her Majesty's Government should agree in this view. They have not concealed their feeling that the presence of large Russian forces on the frontiers of Turkey, menac- ing its safety, rendering disarmament impossible, and exciting a feeling of appre- hension and fanaticism among the Mus- sulman population, constituted a material obstacle to internal pacification and reform. They cannot believe that the entrance of those armies on Turkish soil will alleviate the difficulty, or improve the condition of the Christian population throughout the Sultan's dominions." 1 . — Monument to I. K. Brunei erected on the Thames Embankment. 2. — General Porforio Diaz elected president, of Mexico 3. — Meeting of Egyptian bondholders, at which Mr. Goschen explains the arrangements made with the Khedive in reference to the Daira estate. 5. — Died, aged 75, William Coulson, sur- geon, a friend of Lamb and Hazlitt. 7. — Debate in the House of Commons on resolutions by Mr. Gladstone on the Eastern Question — originally five in number, but now reduced to two, after considerable discussion. The ex-premier's speech was an elaborate in- dictment against the inconsistencies of the policy pursued by the Government in the East. He concluded by moving, "That this House finds just cause of dissatisfaction and complaint in the conduct of the Ottoman Porte with regard to the despatch written by the Earl of Derby on the 21st of September, 1876, and relating to the massacres in Bulgaria." Mr. Cross in reply insisted that the two land marks of that policy had been — not to sanction the invasion of Turkey by foreign armies, and not to acquiesce in misgovernment or oppression in Turkey. He vindicated Lord Derby's despatch, and maintained that it was Russia which had scattered the European concert to the winds. Now that war had broken out, absolute neutrality was the rule of the Government, and neither side would have «ither moral or material support from England. The Government would do its best to localise and minimize the war, but he indicated certain points — such as the Suez Canal, Egypt, and Constantinople — where the interests not only of England, but of Europe, would be threat- ened. The debate was continued on the 8th, Mr. Roebuck and Mr. Lowe being the prin- cipal speakers, and concluded on the 14th, by Lord Harrington and Sir Stafford North- cote. Mr. Gladstone thus closed the debate : MAY' I8 77 . MAY "If Russia should fail, her failure will be disastrous to mankind, because it will leave the condition of the Christian people of Turkey on whose behalf you have interested yourself worse than it was before. If Russia should succeed, that Power, notwithstanding all your jealousies, if its conduct be honourable or even prudent, cannot fail to observe a moderation which will secure for her undying renown in consequence of the accomplishment of the work she has taken in hand." The House then divided, 223 being for, and 354 against the resolution. 7. — First of a series of concerts under the direction of Herr Wagner given at the Albert Hall. 9. — Review of 11,000 troops at Aldershot by the Queen. — Earthquake in Peru, causing the destruc- tion of the town of Iquique, and loss of six hundred lives. IO. — Died, aged 76, Thomas, Lord Erskine, grandson of a former Lord Chancellor. 11. — Destruction of the Lufti Djelil, the largest of the Turkish monitors. It had taken up a position behind the island of Ghiacet, whence it bombarded the town of Ibraila. The Russians replied with artillery of small calibre from their batteries on the quay, but without effect, whereupon the Russian masked batteries behind the vineyards on the heights commanding the town opened fire, and kept up an hour's cannonade. Two Russian shells penetrated the boiler of the monitor, causing an explosion. The powder magazine im- mediately afterwards ignited, and blew up the monitor with her crew of 300 men, who were all drowned. — The Pope gives audience to several bands of pilgrims from different countries who had arrived at Rome, with presents, congratulating his Holiness on the jubilee of his consecration. — Translation of Dr. Thomas Leigh Claughton, Bishop of Rochester, to the newly founded bishopric of St. Albans. — Termination of the civil war in Japan, between the Imperial Government and the Prince of Satsuma. In 1868 the Damios, or territorial princes, who had previously exercised despotic powers in their own districts, recog- nised the Mikado as their superior. The Prince of Satsuma, however, refused submis- sion and after an obstinate and desultory resistance was defeated in his own territory about this date. 12. — Decision given by the Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council in the Folkestone Ritual case — Ridsdale v, Clifton and others. Mr. Ridsdale, incumbent of St. Peter's, Folkestone, was prosecuted in the Court of Arches under the Public Worship Regulation Act for twelve alleged illegal practices, upon all of which he was admonished and ordered to discontinue. In this judgment the Dean of Arches followed the ruling of the Judicial Committee in several cases, and especially in that of Hibbert v. Purchas. But inasmuch as in that case the defendant made no ap- pearance, and his view was not argued, Mr. Ridsdale appealed upon four points, which were fully argued before the Committee in January and February last. These points were — the wearing of the alb and chasuble ; the eastward position during the prayer of consecration ; the use of wafer bread ; and the erection of a crucifix upon a screen. The Lord Chancellor now read an elaborate judg- ment, the effect of which was that the surplice was the only legal vestment; that the officiat- ing minister must so stand that the communi- cants can see his manual acts with the sacred elements ; that wafers are illegal, the bread to be used being such as is usually eaten ; and that the crucifix, erected without a faculty, and being calculated to foster superstition, must be removed. As their lordships were not satisfied from the evidence that Mr. Ridsdale so stood at the communion table that what he did was intentionally hidden from the people, nor that he used wafers in the celebration, the decree 01 the Court of Arches against him on those points was reversed. The respondents to pay appellant the costs on the points reversed. No costs allowed on the appeal. 13, — Capture of Sukhum Kaleh, a Russian port on the Black Sea, by a Turkish squadron. The attacking force first succeeded in landing five Circassian chiefs and their follower), who had with them 600 muskets and ammunition. These were speedily distributed among the native population. Hassan Pasha then landed an additional force, composed of other Cir- cassians, Kurds, Lazis, and Turks ; and, while the ironclads opened a vigorous cannonade upon the fortress, the Beys with their volun- teers and auxiliaries attacked the place. After this the insurrection was described as having spread like wildfire. The inhabitants of the surrounding districts gathered by thou- sands with weapons of all sorts to the Turkish standard. — Died, aged 55, M. Ernest Picard, a firm opponent of the Imperial Government, and Minister of the Interior under M. Thiers. 16. — Resignation of the French Ministry. The law of 1875, which fettered the press, having been repealed by the Chamber of Deputies, Marshal MacMahon wrote to M. Simon. "I have seen with surprise that neither you nor the Keeper of the Seals urged from the Tribune all the serious reasons which should have prevented the repeal of a law on the press passed less than two years ago on the proposal of M. Dufaure, and the application of which you yourself quite recently demanded from the tribunals. Yet, at several meetings 1231 MAY I8 77 . JUNE of the Council, and even at yesterday morn- ing's, it had been decided that the President of the Council, as also the Keeper of the Seals, should undertake to combat it." 16. — Died, at Rome, aged 70, the Dowager Marchioness of Lothian, a devoted member of the Roman Catholic Church. — Died, at Naples, aged 72, Sir David Urquhart, an eccentric but able writer, some- time M.P. for Stafford, and the first to intro- duce the Turkish bath into this country. 17. — Capture of Ardahan, Armenia, by the Russians under General Loris Melikoff. 18. — The French Chambers suspended for a month in order that the excitement caused by the late ministerial changes might calm down. 19. — Died, aged 47, the Rt Hon. Charles John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, successful claimant in the memorable peerage case concerning that earldom. (See July 13, I8S7.) 21. — Exhibition at South Kensington of ihe bequest made to the nation by the late John Forster. (See Feb. 1876.) — Died aged 57, Sir Digby Wyatt, architect chosen by Prince Albert to organize the Great Exhibition of 185 1. 24- — Died, at Wentworth near Staines, aged 67, Marshal Cabrera, Carlist general in the war of 1838. 26. — A Turkish turret-ship named the Hifsc Rakman, attacked in open daylight by four small Russian gunboats. She defended herself valiantly with her guns, compelling one boat to run ashore to avoid sinking. In the midst of the fight, however, another launch got alongside,- and succeeded in placing a tor- pedo in position, when the entire flotilla drew off, and shortly afterwards the monitor blew up. Only fifty-two men of her crew were saved, and one hundred lost. No one wounded on the Russian side. — The Due de Broglie issues a circular to the public prosecutors, in which he explains that Marshal MacMahon in entering upon a new political line of conduct made use of his legal constitutional prerogrative. He intervened to arrest the invading progress of Radical theories incompatible with the peace of society - and the greatness of France. 27. — Statue of the late Sir James Y. Simpson, unveiled at Edinburgh by the Countess of Galloway. 38. — General Grant arrives at Liverpool. — Great strike of colliers in Northumber- land against a proposed reduction of wages, pearly 12,000 men leaving work. 1232 28.— Died, aged 74, Sir James P. Kay-Shut- tleworth, a prominent member of the Com- mittee of Council on Education thirty years ago. — Died, aged 71, Henry Weekes, R.A., sculptor. 29. — Died, at the residence of his son-in- law, in Dorsetshire, aged 64, John Lothrop Motley, historian of the Netherlands. — Naval conflict at Ylo between Rear- Ad- miral De Horsey with his unarmoured wooden frigates Shah and Amethyst and the Peruvian iron-clad ram Ifuascar, alleged to have com- mitted various outrages along the coast of Peru. The Huascar in the first instance made her escape in the dark, but had been so seri- ously damaged in the encounter that her rebel commander, Pierola, surrendered her to the Peruvian Government. (See July 31.) 30. — In reply to a despatch from Lord Derby enumerating the British interests which the war might imperil, Prince Gortschakoff writes that the Russian Government will respect the British interests mentioned by Lord Derby as long as England remains neutral. "The Imperial Cabinet will neither blockade, nor in- terrupt, nor in any way menace the navigation of the Suez Canal. They consider the canal as an international work, in which the commerce of the world is interested, and which should be kept free from any attack. Egypt is a part of the Ottoman Empire, and its contingents figure in the Turkish army. Russia might, therefore; consider herself as at war with Egypt. Never- theless, the Imperial Cabinet does not overlook either the European interests engaged in the country or those of England in particular. They u ill not bring Egypt within the radius of their military operations. As far as con- cerns Constantinople, without being able to prejudge the course or issue of the war, the Imperial Cabinet repeats that the acquisition of that capital is excluded from the views of his Majesty the Emperor." — Cardinal Ledochowski, Archbishop, of Posen, who was deposed by the Prussian authorities and took refuge in Rome, is con- demned by default to twelve months' imprison- ment for libelling Prince Bismarck, and fined 3,000 marks or seven months' imprisonment for continuing the use of his title and functions. 3*. — Mr. Gladstone receives an enthusiastic reception at Birmingham. In the evening he addressed a large meeting on the Eastern Ques- tion and the present condition of the Liberal party. June 1. — M. Bonnet-Duverdier, President of the Paris Municipal Council, arrested on the charge of insulting Marshal MacMahon in a speech at St. Denis. Sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment, and a fine of 2,000 francs. JUNE 1877. JUNE H. — The fortress of Kars in-vested by the Russians. 3. — Died, at the Hague, aged 59, Sophia Frederica Mathildi, Queen of the Netherlands — " La Reine Rouge." Her Majesty was an accomplished linguist, speaking with fluency almost every European language. — Celebration of the jubilee of the Pope's consecration. The aggregate value of the offerings received by his Holiness during the month was estimated at 16,500,000 fr., ex- clusive of tho-se in kind. The sixteenth anni- versary of the promulgation of the Italian Constitution fell on the same day. On one side of the Tiber Pius IX. celebrated Mass with his Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, while on the other the King of Italy received the congratulations of his councillors, rejoicing m the fact that Rome had at last become the capital of Italy. 4. — Lady Godiva procession takes place at Coventry after being in abeyance for some years. 5. — Peace concluded between Egypt and Abyssinia. Old frontiers to be restored ; free trade instead of a prohibitory tariff for Abyssinian goods entering by Egyptian frontiers and ports ; free passage for envoys and letters ; an Abyssinian consul at Massowah and an Egyptian consul at Adowa ; the Khedive sanctions the appointment of the head of the Abyssinian Church by the Coptic Patriarch at Cairo. The Abyssinian rebel Michael detained by Egypt. The terms were for the most part arranged by Colonel Gordon. — In the House of Commons, a resolution moved by Mr. O'Connor Power to the effect that the burden of Imperial taxation imposed on Ireland was excessive, is negatived by 152 to 34. 6. — Eight persons killed and forty injured by the fall of a bridge over the Avon, at Wid- combe, near Bath. 7. — Return to London of the Prince and Princess of Wales after visiting Athens and Paris. — Died, aged 67, William Edward Frost, R.A. 11. — Lord de Mauley calls attention to the Russian conquests in Central Asia, and moves an address to the Queen for the appointment of a consul to watch over the commercial and territorial interests of British India. The motion was withdrawn after a speech by Lord Salisbury, in which he deprecated any danger to India from Russia. 12. — The Montenegrins, who, since the war with Russia commenced had also assumed the offensive, defeated at several places by the Ottoman troops, an<* retire to Ostrog. 13. — Bishop Claughton invested with the rights, privileges and appurtenances, of the newly-created Bishopric of St. Albans. — Honorary degree of D. C.L. conferred at Oxford on the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Coleridge, Mr. Cross, Sir Edward Thornton, and Mr. John Evans, F.R.S. 14. — In the House of Lords the Earl of Redesdale calls attention to a book en- titled "The Priest in Absolution," printed and privately circulated under the sanction of an association of clergymen called " The Society of the Holy Cross." The book was strongly condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Gloucester, and the Earl of Horrowby. 15. — In reply to the Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Salisbury states that the Ameer of Afghanistan had refused to receive a British resident at his court, but that the assemblage of troops on the north-west frontier had no reference to the negotiations going on at Pesh- awur, and that our relations with the Ameer had undergone no material change. — Died, aged 71, Miss Mary Carpenter, well known for her exertions on behalf of the poor, and as author of several philanthropic, and educational works. — Died, aged 70, Lady Stirling Max- well (Hon. Mrs. Caroline Norton), novelist and poetess. 16. — The right wing of the Turkish army in Asia defeated at Taghir and retreats to Delilaba. — Message of the Marshal-President read in the French Chambers, requesting an imme- diate dissolution. Agreed to after a debate characterised by extreme turbulence, the votes being 149 to 130. — Died, aged 63, Lord Justice Sir George Mellish, D.C.L., a judge of the Court of Appeal in Chancery. 17. — Concluded before the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice, the will case of Cresswell and others v. Walrond. The plain- tiffs, as executors, propounded the will and codicils of Mr. Bethel Walrond, late of Dulford House, Devonshire, who died in May last year ; and Mr. Henry Walrond, the son and heir-at-law of the deceased, contested the validity of the papers, on the ground that at the date of their execution his father was not of sound mind. After a consultation among the counsel engaged, it was announced that an arrangement had been come to between the parties. Sir James Hannen then pro- nounced against the will, and ordered costs out off the estate. 19. — Died, aged 83, Admiral Rous, for nearly forty years almost supreme as an 1233 JUNE 18 77 : JUNE authority on sporting matters, and whose Work on " The Laws and Practice of Horse-racing " procured for him the title of the "Blackstone of the Turf." 20. — Great fire at St. John's, New Bruns- wick, covering an area of 200 acres, and destroying the Custom House, Victoria and Royal Hotels, the Academy of Music, all the Banks except one, the public schools, Trinity and St. Andrew's Churches, the Methodist Chapel, the City Hall, and all the newspaper and telegraph offices. The entire wholesale, nearly all the retail houses, and several ships were burned. The loss was estimated at from ten to fifteen million dollars. 21. — The Government withdraw the Burials Bill, having suffered a defeat in opposing a motion by Lord Harrowby to the effect that the burial of Dissenters might be celebrated by such Christian and orderly service as their friends think fit. — Concluded in the Queen's Bench Division before the Lord Chief Justice and a special jury, after a hearing of four days, the trial of Charles Bradlaugh and Mrs. Annie Besant, for the publication of a work with an immoral tendency, entitled " The Fruits of Philosophy," purporting to set forth a method or methods for limiting population. The defendants conducted their own case, Mrs. Besant speaking at great length on most days of the trial. The Lord Chief Justice, in summing up, said that a more ill-advised and a more injudicious prosecution had probably never been brought inte a court of justice. Here was a work which had been published for more than forty years, and which appeared never to have got into general circulation until this prosecution was instituted, since when thousands of copies had been sold. As to the character of the book itself, the Lord Chief Justice said there was nothing to sTiow that it was written with the intention of exciting im- proper passions and wantonness. There was not a single word from the beginning to the end of the work, dealing as it did with dry physical technicalities, which could have that effect. The question therefore was whether the checks on over-population advocated in this work were such as -were opposed to morality. The Solicitor-General said that they were contrary to the law of God and man — it was for the jury to say whether they took that view of the matter. A verdict of guilty was returned. (See June 28.) 22. — Passage of the Danube by the Rus- sians at Matchin near Ibraila. In the evening a body of about 3,000 Russians crossed the river on rafts and in boats, from Galatz, a few miles below Ibraila, not without opposition from the Turks, and pushed their way into the interior behind the hills, which afford a fair footing at this part, and then, turning west, attacked and dislodged the Bathi-Bazouks en- 1234 camped on the heights commanding Matchin. The Turks, who numbered about 3,000 or 4,000, defended their position apparently with some obstinacy, but by noon on the 22nd the Russians were masters of the heights, and able therefore to establish a good tHe du pont for an intended bridge from Ibraila to Getschet. 25. — Her Majesty visited at Windsor by General and Mrs. Grant, who were entertained at a banquet in the evening. — The centre of the Russian Army in Asia defeated at Zewin. Mukhtar Pasha having followed up some successes of the pre- vious days attacked the Russians who still occupied the eastern end of the pass of Khali- age, and, after a severe battle, lasting the whole of the day, succeeded in driving the Russians from their positions, with heavy slaughter, pursuing their disordered columns as far as Zeidekan, and thus regaining all the ground lost by the defeat of the 16th inst. The fighting on the two days lasted thirty-three hours, and the Turkish losses were estimated at 2,000 men. 27. — Passage of the Danube by the main body of the Russian army at Simnitza. A despatch from the Commander-in-Chief to St. Petersburg thus described the event — "The difficult and complicated task of crossing the Danube has been achieved. Sistova and the surrounding heights are in our hands. The Division under General Dragumiroff with mountain artillery was the first to cross the river, a Wolhynian regiment forming the van- guard. At present (evening of the 27th) there are on the other side of the Danube the 8th Army Corps and the 4th Rifle Brigade. The 35th Division is now crossing." An unsuc- cessful attempt was made the next day to cross further up at Nicopolis. — The Colorado beetle reported to have been discovered in a field at Mulheim, near Cologne. 28. — Mr. Bradlaugh and Mrs. Besant called up for judgment before the Court of Queen's Bench for the offence of publishing " The Fruits of Philosophy," a book declared by the jury as calculated to deprave public morals. The Lord Chief Justice, after rejecting the plea that the indictment was bad and a demand for a new trial, declared that as the defendants, instead of submitting themselves to the law, had set it at defiance by the continued sale and publication of the book in question, that therefore that which was before a compara- tively light offence now assumed a very grave character, which the Court must punish with adequate severity. He then sentenced the defendants to be imprisoned for six months, to pay a fine of 200/. each to the Queen, and to enter into their own recognizances in 500/. each to be of good behaviour for two years. JULY 18;;, JULY 29. — Mr. Trevelyan's motion for extending the county franchise (supported by Mr. Glad- stone and by Lord Harrington, and opposed by Mr. Goschen) rejected by 276 to 220 votes. In 1872 the minority was larger than on any former occasion. 1872 the motion was rejected by 1 50 to 72 ; in 1873 it was talked out ; in 1874, as already stated, it was rejected by 289 to 175 ; in 1875, by 270 to 168 ; and in 1876, by 266 to 167, including tellers in each case. The majority against the motion, it will be seen, has on one occasion been eleven larger than on this occasion, while the votes given for the motion were more numerous by forty-seven than in any previous division. — • Mr. Cotton, the newly-appointed Lord Justice, takes his seat on the bench of the Court of Appeal at Lincoln's Inn. — Huntingdonshire election carried by the Conservative candidate, Lord Mandeville, who polled 1468 votes, against 1410 given to his Liberal opponent, the Hon. H. Fitzwilliam. 30. — The 400th anniversary of the intro- duction of printing into England. A Caxton Memorial Exhibition at South Kensington was formally opened by Mr. Gladstone. The opening ceremony was brief, the Archbishop of York reading a special dedicatory prayer. Sir Charles Reed gave a short printed state- ment of the history of the Caxton celebra- tion, and Mr. Gladstone then declared the exhibition open. He afterwards presided at a luncheon served in the conservatory of the Royal Horticultural Society. In pro- posing the principal toast, "The memory of William Caxton, the first English printer," Mr. Gladstone spoke at some length on the character and career of Caxton, and on the circumstances under which the art of printing was introduced into England. The exhibition comprised specimens of early printed books, old presses, and other typographical curiosities. The proceeds were handed to the Printers' Pension Corporation. — • Explosion of a floating magazine on the Thames off Gravesend ; three men on board killed. July 1. — Arthur Adderley, third son of Sir Charles, drowned in the Falls of Bruar, near Blair Athol. 2. — The sitting of the Commons to-day (Monday) which began at four o'clock in the afternoon and did not end till a quarter past seven on Tuesday morning was memorable not only for its extraordinary length, but also for the determined opposition offered by a small knot of members (mostly Irish) to the pro- £i e»s of Government business. On the Chair- man submitting the vote of 132,000/. for the Army Reserve force, Mr. O'Connor Power intervened with the first of a long series of motions for reporting progress. There was 8 for and 128 against the motion. In face of the overwhelming majority agaiust this little band of obstructives, they kept on dividing, either that progress might be reported, or that the Chairman should leave the chair. Mr. Whalley, one of the minority, objected to the vote being taken at so late an hour. The Min- isters retired one after another ; and the pro- longed contest was not brought to a close till after the seventeenth division, when, on the motion of Sir Charles Dilke, a count-out took place at a quarter-past seven on Tuesday morning. Replying on Tuesday afternoon to Mr. Fortescue Harrison, who asked whether it would not be advisable to rescind the rule which prevents opposed business being taken after half-past twelve, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was cheered when he stated his opinion that it would be well, "after recent events," to reconsider the whole subject. 3. — Meeting of the Church League to promote the disestablishment of the Church of England held at Freemasons'Tavern. The chair was taken by the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, and Archdeacon Denison moved the first re- solution, "That- the idea of the Christian Church is opposed to its union with the State. — Discussion in the Upper House of Con- vocation regarding the now notorious book, "The Priest in Absolution." The Bishop of London had given notice of a motion on the subject, and before it came on the Arch- bishop of Canterbury gave an account of nego- tiations which had been in progress between himself and certain prominent members of the Society of the Holy Cross. The Bishop of London then moved a resolution requesting the Primate to call the attention of the Lower House to a declaration made by the bishops four years ago on the subject of the teaching of • the Church of England in reference to confes- sion. The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol seconded the motion, uhich was adopted unanimously. The subject was discussed in the Lower House next day, and a resolution expressing concurrence with the declaration of the Upper House was carried by 62 to 6, after several amendments had been rejected. The Ridsdale judgment was the subject of a long discussion in the Lower House on the 5th. 4. — At the annual Mansion House banquet given to the Archbishops and Bishops, the Lord Mayor spoke of Church and State as forming the bulwark of the constitutional freedom of Englishmen. The Archbishop of Canterbury, in responding, said it was very refreshing to hear such a hearty declaration of sentiments — sentiments somewhat unusual in the present day. He was glad to hear the old toast, which in some places was only given with bated breath. — Manchester City Council adopt a pro posal of the Waterworks Committee to purchase Thirlmere, one of the Cumberland lakes, and to convey water from it to Man- 1235 JULY 1877. JULY Chester by an aqueduct 100 miles long. The project required seven years for its completion. The first portion of the work to cost 1, 700,000/., and secure a supply of 50,000,000 gallons of water per day. In the discussion of the subject it was stated that the picturesque scenery of the Thirlmere district would be no more interfered with than was that of Loch Katrine by the Glasgow waterworks. A. — Pan-Presbyterian Council at Edinburgh ! commences a session of seven days duration. ' "The Harmony of Reformed Confessions" yas the first and chief subject considered, and a committee was appointed to procure copies of all the Reformed Confessions of Pres- byterian Churches throughout the world, for the purposes of information, comparison, and unification. — Increase in value of property within the City of London. A house in Lombard-street, the property of the Drapers' Company, was let in 1668 for 25/. a-year. This year the site lets for 2,600/. a-year ground rent, and the lessee having expended 10,000/. on the building covering it, gets a return of 7,000/. a-year rent. — The Russians occupy Bjela. Kars re- lieved by Mukhtar Pasha. 5.— The British India steamer, Cashmere, on her voyage from Zanzibar to Aden, gets ashore in Sandy Bay, Cape Guardufui, and becomes a total wreck. Several lives were lost in reaching the beach, but eighty-nine were saved. The shipwrecked crew and passengers underwent many hardships, five days and riights passing before any assistance came. The steamer Quern Margaret then appeared and conveyed them to Aden. 6. — A Blue-coat boy named William A. Gibbs commits suicide by hanging himself, after affirming that he had been unduly pun- ished for insubordination. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of " Suicide while under temporary insanity." A Royal Commission was afterwards appointed to inquire into the management of Christ's Hospital. (See July 16.) 8. — Capture of Tirnova by General Gourko, — Died, aged 76, Robert Dale Owen, lecturer and writer on social and political questions. — Died, aged 83, John Clark Marshman, C.S.I., missionary agent, Serampore. 9. — The House of Lords was chiefly occupied to-day with the consideration of a claim of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, who sought to have his title called on the roll of Peers of Scotland in accordance with the earlier date of creation established by a resolu- tion of the House on the 26th February, 1875, After some discussion the Duke of Buccleuch, who moved a resolution to this effect, withdrew 1236 it, and the matter was, on the motion of the Lord Chancellor, referred to a Select Com mittee. l'O. — Mr. Layard in a despatch to Lord Derby, writes of the reported Russian atro- cities that many of them are no doubt exag- gerated; but he fears there is too much reason to believe that some of them, at least, are well founded. Sir Arnold Kemball, in one of his despatches, mentions how the women in some of the Mussulman villages near Kars were stripped naked, flogged, and driven into the Turkish lines on the plea that they had given information to the besieged. The accounts of the shocking treatment by the Russian authorities and troops of the inhabit- ants of many villages in Circassia, on the Turkish forces, come from so many indepen- dent sources, that their general truth could scarcely be called in question. A formal report on these Russian atrocities was also drawn up at Schumla and signed by many newspaper correspondents, who had seen and interrogated the victims. — Killed at Foyers, a victim to his search after knowledge, James Bryce, Edinburgh, a well-known geologist. Soon after reaching Foyers Hotel, Mr. Bryce set off alone to examine the rocks in the Bast of Inverfarikaig, and was not seen again alive. About three hours after his departure his body was found by two gamekeepers at the bottom of a precipice, dreadfully crushed. — Died, aged 83, General Sir George Ball, K.C.B., an old officer who had seen much service in the Peninsula, Burmah, Canada, and the Crimea. 12. — Commenced at Bow-street an inquiry into the case of John Meiklejohn, Nathaniel Druscovitch and William Palmer, chief inspec- tors, Scotland-yard, .and Edward Froggatt, solicitor, charged with having conspired to defeat the ends of justice in connection with the turf fraud practised by Benson and others upon Madame de Goncourt. (See April 23rd.) Mr. Poland, who appeared for the Treasury, said that he proposed only to ask in the mean- time for a formal remand of the defendants on the very serious charge which it was his painful duty to make against men who had been known so long and so faithfully trusted. Im- putations were made during the late trial which reflected upon the integrity of the officers, and Mr. Cross, Home Secretary, determined that the matter should be fully investigated. Mr. G. Lewis appeared for Froggatt, and said he had a complete answer to the charge. He applied for bail, and Mr. St. John Wont- ner made a similar appeal for the other de- fendants, in whom he had every confidence as public servants of from fifteen to thirty years' standing. Sir James Ingham allowed bail for Froggatt, but declined to accept bail for the police officers, (See September 22.) JULY I8 77 . JULY 13.— The dismissal of Abdul Kerim Pasha, Commander-in-Chief, and Redif Pasha, Minister of War, announced. — Died, aged 93, David R. Mormer, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Con- federation, and one of the last surviving dip- lomatists of the first Napoleon period. 14. — Osman Pasha enters Plevna. — General Gourko, with an advanced guard, composed of all aims, left Timova on the 1 2th, crossed the Balkans by the Hain Boghaz Pass to-day, and surprised and de- feated a Turkish battalion which guarded the outlet of the pass near the village of Hankoi. — Referring to a letter from the Emperor of China to the Queen, in the official corre- spondence regarding the murder of Mr. Mar- gary, and the new Chefoo Convention, Sir T. Wade writes : ' ' The letter does not set forth that the Mission is to be established in perma- nence. It is none the less true that it is so, and as the first letter of credence issued by the Court of Pekin fo a Minister so conditioned it must be held to mark an era of singular importance in the foreign relations of China. No provision in the agreement' I negotiated has given me sincerer satisfaction than this — almost the first move in any degree spontaneous on the part of China towards a renunciation of her exclusivism." — Statue of Alfred the Great unveiled at Wantage by the Prince (accompanied by the Princess) of Wales. Replying to a loyal address His Royal Highness said : — I feel I cannot visit this town, ever memorable as the birthplace of my illustrious, though remote, ancestor, King Alfred the Great, without calling to mind his eminent virtues, his noble deeds, and his devoted patriotism. The fine statue svhich we inaugurate this day is a splendid gift, and the presentation of it to Wantage redounds to the credit of the generous doner, our callant friend Colonel Lloyd- Lindsay. Let me add that the pleasure I have experienced in unveiling it is enhanced by the knowledge that it has been executed by my cousin, Count Gleichen." — The Select Committee of the House of Commons on the case of the late Lord Dundonald agreed to their report. By a majority they recommended that a pecuniary compensation be granted to the present Lord Dundonald. They also recommended that steps should be taken to vindicate the character of the late admiral. A proposal was sub- mitted to the committee that the arrears of back pay forfeited by Lord Cochrane during the time he remained struck off the Navy List should be awarded to his grandson. Some discussion took place on this proposition, but, lis it was explained that the committee could not recommend any specific sum to the House, the idea was not adopted. 14. — A Parliamentary return jssued to-day, showed the total costs of the Tichborne prosecution to be 60,074/. l 9 s - 4^.. of which 2 3>676/. 17*. went in counsels' fees, 18,712/. 6s. id. to witnesses, agents, &c, 10,268/. $s. Hi/, to law stationers and for printing, 3,637/. I or. $d. for shorthand writers' notes, and 3,780/. to the jury. — News received of the loss of the steam- ship Etin, on the Pacific coast, seventy miles north of Valparaiso. Of 160 people on board 80 perished with the ship, and 20 were thought to have been starved to death on an isolated rocky boulder, where they had taken refuge. — First exhibition of the telephone in London, the wires being laid between the Queen's Theatre and Canterbury Hall. The experiment was considered fairly successful. — The Eton and Harrow cricket match ends in a draw, agreed upon in consequence of an untimely rain. 16. — Ministry defeated in the Commons. On the motion for supply, Mr. John Holms called attention to the appointment of Mr. Pigott as Controller of her Majesty's Stationery Office, and moved a resolution declaring that, having regard to the recommendations made in 1874 by the Select Committee on Public Departments, the appointment was calculated to diminish the usefulness and influence of Select Committees, and to discourage the zeal of officials employed in the public departments of the State, Mr. Holms showed that from his former experience Mr. Pigott could know nothing of the duties to which he was ap- pointed, bis chief recommendation appearing to be that he was the son of a former rector of Hughenden, where the residence of the Prime Minister is situated. The motion having been seconded from the Conservative side by Mr. Mellor, the Chancellor of the Exehequer defended the appointment, on the ground that Mr. Pigott's qualifications had been carefully considered by Lord Beaconsfield, and it had appeared to him that he was a proper person to be Controller of the Stationery Office. On a division, the motion was carried against the Government by a majority of 156 to 152 votes. (See July 19.) — Commission appointed by the Govern- ment to inquire into the affairs of Christ's Hospital opened in the Hospital Library to- day. The Commissioners were Mr. Russell Gurney, M.P., chairman, Mr. Walpole, M.P., Mr. W. E. Forster, M.P., Mr. Walter, M.P., and the Dean of Christchurch. Mr. Allcroft the treasurer, and Mr. Gibbs the father of the deceased, were under examination, but the inquiry was conducted in private. It was stated that the Commissioners declined to allow Mr. Gibbs and several of the school authorities to be represented by counsel. In the course of the day a separate inquiry was 1237 JULY 1877. JULY held by the Governors. In consequence ot this inquiry the authorities of the Hospital decided that "Speech Day," which was fixed for the 18th inst., should not be observed this year. 16. — Nicopolis captured by the Russians. On the 1 2th and 15th the town was severely bombarded by the Roumanian batteries at Islacz and the Russian field artillery posted south and west of the fortress. The fortress was surrounded on the land side by the Russians, and their shells could be plainly seen from the Roumanian lines bursting upon the Turkish fortifications. The fight on the last day was very stubborn, especially upon the storming of the southern forts, the possession of which was vigorously disputed for several hours. The Turks, overwhelmed by superior numbers, were compelled to retire into the fortress. While this column was effecting its retreat, another battalion made a sortie, and attacked the advancing Russians on their Hank. At that moment, however, the Roumanian batteries from Islacz directed their fire upon the Turkish battalion, which was soon com- pelled also to re-enter the fort. The battle lasted till nine at night, when the Russians had occupied all the positions before the city formerly held by the Turks. — Mr. Gladstone attends a meeting at Willis's Rooms, on behalf of the refugees from Bosnia and the Herzegovinia now in Austrian territory, held under the presidency of Lord Shaftesbury. The resolutions adopted expressed sympathy with the refugees, and declared that the efforts of Miss Irby and Miss Johnston in relief of the sufferers were worthy of the admiration and gratitude of Englishmen. — Race from Dover to London between the Continental Mail express train and a carrier pigeon conveying a document of an urgent nature from the French police. When freed at the Admiralty Pier, the pigeon for a minute or two mounted upwards, circling round to an altitude of half a mile and then sailed away towaids London, in the direction between Maidstone and Sittingbourne. The distance, ' ' as the crow flies " between Dover and London is seventy miles ; by rail a little over seventy-six. When the train came into Cannon- street station, the bird had been at its " home " close by twenty minutes, having beaten the mail by a time allowance of eighteen miles. 17. — The Duke of Cambridge gives evi- dence before the Select Committee appointed by the House of Commons to consider the subject of the civil employment of soldiers, sailors, and marines. His Royal Highness said he thought it would be of the greatest possible advantage to the army in every point of view if soldiers were offered the inducement of employment in the civil service when they had completed their term of service. It would '•• an inducement to them to behave well, and 12-58 it would also be of great advantage to the public service generally, as the habits acquired by men in the army would make them valuable - servants in many capacities. The Duke said he did not dislike the idea of taking a small number of men from the army for policemen, if possible, but there would be some difficulty in doing it. He thought that the shortest time soldiers should be allowed to serve was six years, as, in his opinion, a man was not a thoroughly efficient soldier until he had served three years. In some instances, as in the case of a riding-master, it was an advan- tage for a soldier to get a commission, but in a great many cases it was very doubtful. 18. — Inquiry at Bow-street into the charge of conspiring to defraud, made against W. Swindlehurst, late secretary of the Artizans' Dwellings Company (Limited), and E. Saf- fery, agent. The amount involved was said to be upwards of 30,000/. The defendant was brought up in custody, having failed to obtain securities to the increased amount required ; the other surrendered to his bail. Dr. Baxter Langley, late chairman of the com- pany, was also Drought up, and charged with having participated in the profits derived from the alleged fraud. Mr. George Lewis, jun., in opening the case for the prosecution, said that the evidence against Dr. Langley would show that one of the Bank of England notes for 500/. part of the plunder made out of the Queen's Park estate, had passed into his hands and been changed at his bank, instead of being placed to his current account ; and other notes of 200/. and 100/., paid to Saffery, had been traced to him in the same way, although the latter were paid into his account. Dr. Langley and the other directors had resigned. The evidence chiefly related to the tracing of certain bank- notes and cheques, which had passed through the hands of the defendants. 19. — In the Upper House Lord Beaconsfield referred to the resolution of the House of Commons on the appointment of Mr. Pigott as Controller of the Stationery Department (See July 16.) He said that he could not agree that it was expedient to appoint a gentle- man with the technical knowledge of stationery business to the office of controller of that department. A successful stationer would not be tempted by 1,000/. a year, and the appoint- ment of one who had been unsuccessful would scarcely be conducive to the public interest. He would have had to appoint " some person who had retired from business, or some person from whom business had retired." Besides, there was already ample technical knowledge in the three chief branches into which the duties of the department were divided. Mr. Pigott was, he said, selected after a very full inquiry, without any application by that gentle- man or by any friend on his behalf. It was true that thirty years ago Mr. Pigott's father was vicar of Hughenden, but he left JULY I8 77 . JULY for a better living soon after his (Lord Beaconsfield's) connection with the county of Buckingham, and after registering his vote against him. He had no personal acquaint- ance with his son, and his appointment had been made from the purest motives and with the sole desire of serving the public interest. Under these circumstances he should not feel justified in accepting the resignation which Mr. Pigott had placed in his hands. The ^ote of censure was unanimously cancelled by the Commons on the evening of the 23rd. Mr. Holms then produced amidst loud cheers from the Opposition, a copy of the register of the only contested election in Buckingham- shire at which he said the Rev. Mr. Pigott coidd have voted, and which showed that the rev, gentleman had not voted at all. 19. — Schipka Pass occupied by Russians, the Turks having withdrawn southward through the Balkans, after severe fight- ing. General Gourko and General Mirski had agreed to assault, the first the rear, and the second the northern front of the pass simultaneously on the 17th, but General Gourko was unable to keep his appointment, while General Mirski was unable to carry the pass unaided, and sustained heavy loss in the attempt. The left column of his regiment lost eight officers, and was brought out of action by only one. On the 18th General Gourko made his attack from the south, and was executing it when a flag of truce was sent forward. While a conversation was going on, a volley was fired by the Turks upon a mass of Russian soldiers, of whom 142 were killed in a few minutes. The survivors, without waiting to form, rushed upon the Turks, whom they drove before them, occupying their camp. On the same night General Gourko summoned the Turks to surrender and abandon their defence of the Pass. Mehemet Ali Pasha, the Turkish commander, replied favourably, and an hour was appointed for the surrender of the Pass the next day. But when the time came it was found that the Turks had fled. Of all this General Mirski had no knowledge, and on the 18th remained quiet, but on the 19th General Skobeloff, leading a detachment of Mirski's troops into the Pass, was surprised to find no opposition, and ultimately came upon the Turkish camp, which showed signs of hasty abandonment. Passing the crest of the ridge he saw Gourko's soldiers. — Fire in mercantile premises, Leith ; damage estimated at 100,000/. 20. — Fighting before Plevna. According to a telegram from Schumla, the Russians attacked the Turks under Osman Pasha, who were advancing from Widdin, about 4 P.M. The obstinate resistance of the Turks proved too much for them. At nightfall when the contest ended, the Russians had been driven back beyond their original positions. Reinforced during the night, they advanced in the morning once more to the attack, and sustained terrible losses from the Turkish artillery. By mid-day they began to give way, and the Turks, who had till now stood on the defensive, became the assailants, and after twelve hours' fighting the Russians were compelled to retreat. 20. — Riotous proceedings of the railway servants on strike in the United States. The strike by this time extended over four of the great trunk lines. Large bodies of working men took the side of the strikers ; the soldiers and militia were . resisted by the mob ; about 300 were killed or injured, and damage was done to property estimated to the amount of 800,000/. At Baltimore to-night a mob of 5,000 people attacked the militia, and sustained a loss of ten killed and thirty wounded, but succeeded in destroying half of the station, in demolishing the tele- graph office, and in tearing up the rails. On the next night, Saturday, there were still more terrible scenes at Pittsburg, where a mob 3,000 strong, after a sanguinary fight, obtained a victory over the militia and put them to flight, after thirty persons had been killed and many others wounded. The destruction of railway plant included seventy engines, 250 carriages, and the whole range of machine shops, the damage being estimated at 400,000/. During the present week the strike spread wider and wider ; not only the Pennsyl- vania, the Erie, and the Baltimore and Ohio lines being blocked, but also several of the Western communications. The strike extended throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana, and Illi- nois, and even reached San Francisco and the southern border of Canada. Conveyance of goods, produce, and cattle was consequently rendered impossible throughout a great part of the United States, and business was brought to a standstill. 21. — First public sitting in the suit brought by Countess Lambertini against Cardinal Anto- nelli's executors. The court heard Signor Trajani, the plaintiff's counsel, who occupied the greater part of the day. He did not mention the name of the lady " whom the Countess claimed as her mother, but said if it could not be avoided he should, when the time came, be prepared to reveal it, leaving the responsibility to his adversaries. — The small boat, New Bedford, which left America for England on the 2nd of June, having on board only the master, Mr. Craps, and his wife, arrived safely in Mount's Bay to-night. The boat was only twenty feet long. The captain's left hand was rendered almost useless from continuous steering, and Mrs. Craps was so much exhausted that for the last three days the could render her husband no assistance. The boat was hove-to fifteen days out of the forty-nine during which the voyuge 1239 JULY 1877. JULY lasted owing to bad weather. Three gales were encountered. 21. — The new Billingsgate Market thrown open to the public. — Died at Bombay, aged 66, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, C.S.I., son of the first baronet of the same name. 22. — Died suddenly on board the Holyhead mail steamer, while on her passage across St. George's Channel, Sir Coleman O'Loghlen, M.P. for Clare, Judge Advocate General in Mr. Gladstone's ministry. Sir Coleman was in his fifty-eighth year. — It is announced at Constantinople that Mehemet Ali, the new commander-in-chief, had arrived at Schumla, and that Suleiman Pasha had taken command of the army of the Balkans. — A lunatic pauper named Donnelly in course of removal from Glasgow to St. Luke's attacks his keeper with a razor when the train was nearing the Bedford Station and then committed suicide by cutting his throat. 24. — Speaking of the army at a banquet given by the Lord Mayor to the Corporation of the Trinity House, General Sir Garnet Wolseley said that he had taken the trouble to thoroughly investigate the statements recently made about the efficiency of the army, and he had satisfied himself that they were altogether incorrect. Eastern Europe was now disturbed by one of the most fearful and horrible wars ever inflicted upon any people, and although our statesmen might use every possible en- deavour to keep this country out of the strife, and to localise the arena of the present conflict, they must all feel that their interests were at stake, and that it was impossible to say when or how we as a nation might be dragged into the struggle. When a neighbour's house was on fire it was high time for every careful householder to look to his fire-engine. England's fire- engines were her army and navy, and, speaking in the name of his profession, he had no hesitation in saying that at no previous period was the army more efficient, more worthy of the nation it represented, more calculated to vindicate its honour, or defend its interests. 25. — Disorderly debate in the Commons, nominally on the motion for going into com- mittee on the South African Bill, but in reality concerning the obstructive proceedings of Mr. Parnell and a few other Irish members. In the end the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved " that Mr. Parnell having wilfully and persistently obstructed public business is guilty of contempt of this House, and that Mr. Parnell for his said offence be suspended from the service of the House until the 27th inst." (See July 27). — Statue of Richard Cobden unveiled in the Exchange Rooms at Bradford by Mr. Bright. Speaking to a crowded audience 1240 regarding his friend, the Right Hon. member for Birmingham said : — " This statue which you have erected to-day, or which is erected in your midst, is by no means the greatest monu- ment that has been built up to him. There is one far grander and of wider significance. There is not a homestead in the country in which there is not added comfort from his labours, not a house the dwellers in which have not steadier employment, higher wages, and a more solid independence. This is an enduring monument. He worked for these ends, and for these great purposes, and he worked, as it might be said, even almost to the very day when the lamp of life went out. He is gone, but his character, his deeds, his life, his ex- ample, remain a possession to. us his country- men ; and for generations to come, as long as the great men of England are spoken of in the English language, let it be said of him that Richard Cobden gave the labours of a life that he might confer upon his countrymen perfect freedom of industry, and with it not that blessing only,, but its attendant blessings of plenty and of peace." 25. — Jewellery valued at 1,500/. stolen ■from Messrs. Muirhead, Glasgow, by a person representing himself as Viscount Georges de Fontenay, who had requested that various articles selected on their premises might be sent for inspection to his hotel. — Mr. Butt's Irish University Bill rejected in the Commons by 200 to 55 votes. 26. — Died suddenly at Oban, while en- gaged in opening a prayer meeting, William Keddie, Lecturer on Natural Science, Glasgow. — Died, at Amoy, after a few hours' illness from cholera, aged 55, Rev. Carstairs Douglas, LL.D., Oriental scholar and missionary. 27. — To counteract the obstructive policy of a small knot of Irish members the Chancellor of the Exchequer submits two new rules to the House : — (1) When amember has been declared out of order, and is pronounced to be disre- garding the authority of the chair, a motion that he be not heard during the remainder of the debate or the Committee may be put without debate after the member complained of has been heard in explanation. (2) A resolution, assimilating the practice in com- mittees with that of the House, providing that no member shall move that the Chairman report progress or leave the chair twice- in the same Committee. After an animated debate, during which various amendments were submitted, the resolutions were c&vied by large majorities, the last by 250 votes to 7. — The London Court of Aldermen decides by 20 votes to 1 that Sir John Bennett was not a fit and proper person to be an Alderman. Sir John had been elected for the Ward of Cheap by a large majority over his opponent Mr. Waddell. v JULY 1877. JULY 28. — Died, J. Langton Sanford, historian and journalist. 29. — Died, at Homburg, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, the Rt. Hon. Ward Hunt, First Lord of the Admiralty, aged 52. Mr. Ward Hunt was called to the bar of the Inner Temple in 1851, and joined the Oxford Circuit. He entered Parlia- ment at the general election of 1857 as one of the members for the Northern Division of Northamptonshire, which he represented without interruption for twenty years. He acted as Financial Secretary to the Treasury under Lord Derby in 1866-67, an d in the following year, when Mr. Disraeli became Premier, he was appointed to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, which he filled until the resignation of the Ministry in December, 1868. On the return of the Con- servatives to power in 1874 he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. The funeral took place on Tuesday morning at Homburg. Colonel Gardiner represented the Queen. All the English and American residents and visitors attended. — Died, aged 70, Samuel Warren, Q.C., Master in Lunacy, author of "Ten Thou- sand a Year," and other novels, essays, and poems. — Died, at the advanced age of 96, John Frost, the last surviving leader in the New- port Chartist riots of November, 1839, and for his share in which he was sentenced to death. The sentence was afterwards com- muted to transportation for life. Jones, who was a watchmaker, died at Launceston, in Tasmania, in 1873; and Williams, who at the time of the Chartist riots kept a beershop at Coalbrookdale, near Nantyglo, also died at Launceston in 1874. Frost was set at liberty in 1856, and on returning to England he settled down in a cottage at Stapleton, near Bristol, where his wife was living, and where she died a year after his return. 31. — Longest recorded sitting of the House of Commons. Notwithstanding the adoption by the House of Commons, on Friday the 27th ult., of the new rules proposed by Sir Stafford Northcote for the purpose of thwarting the tactics of the Irish obstructives, Monday even- ing was almost entirely wasted in fruitless discus-ions on the South African Bill. This led on the next day to a resolve to conquer the small band of obstructives, if possible, by mere physical endurance, and to the occurrence, unparalleled in modern parliamentary history, of a continuous sitting of the House for twenty- six hours — from four o'clock on this (Tuesday) evening to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Aided by the chiefs of the Opposition, the Government made arrangements to continue the business of the House as long as might be necessary by relays of members, and by appointing a succession of Chairmen to preside over its deliberations ; while the Serjeant-at-Arms and his deputy arranged to relieve one another in the performance of their duties, the door- keepers, messengers, policemen, and other officials being also relieved in a similar manner. It was feared at one time that even these un- usual measures would fail to accomplish the desired end, and the Marquis of Hartington, who was at Goodwood, and other absent members, were telegraphed for on Wednesday morning to come up to town and support a proposal which was contemplated for the sus- pension of the obstructive band of Irishmen from further participation in the debates ; but on a hint of this intention being thrown out by Sir Stafford Northcote, the obstructives, pro- testing that they only yielded to " coercion,' suddenly ceased their opposition ; the remaining clauses of the bill which had been so long under discussion were passed in a very short time, and the rest of Tuesday's orders were disposed of by a few minutes after six o'clock on Wednesday evening. Many of the Home Rulers did not approve of the obstruction policy. 31.— The Russians, under General Krudener, again repulsed in an attack on Plevna, this time, it was reported, with a loss of Si 000 men. The Daily Nczvs correspondent who appeared to have witnessed the battle, tele- graphed that after the Russians had taken the first Turkish position, they attacked the second, consisting of a redoubt and a series of entrenched vineyards, strongly held. The attack began about 4 p.m., and was continued until nearly sundown. The Turkish infantry was in great force in a continuous line of shelter trenches, and in spite of the most stubborn efforts, no impression could be made upon it. Two companies of Russian infantry did work round to the right of the Turkish trenches, and, descending into the valley, entered the town of Plevna, but being between two fires, it was impossible to hold it. The Russian batteries pushed boldly forward into the position first taken to attempt to keep down the Turkish cannonade crashing into the infantry men in the open, but they were soon compelled to evacuate the hazardous spot. About sunset the Turks made a con- tinuous forward movement, and reoccupied the second position, which the Russians had 1 never been able to take entire possession of. The Russian infantry made a succession of desperate stands and died like heroes, but to no avail. The Turks gradually retook every- thing they had lost. The fighting lasted long after nightfall. With the darkness the Bashi- Bazouks were said to have taken possession of the battle-field and slain all the wounded who were too severely injured to effect their own retreat. -- The strike of railway servants in the United States is now reported as nearly over, although the strikers continue to hold the rail- ways at a few points in the West. The daily Cabinet Councils which had been he-' 1 since 1241 AUGUST 1877. AUGUST the commencement of the strike have been discontinued, and the War Department closed on Monday night for the first time since the same period. It is stated that during the riots at Chicago, twenty-one persons were killed and ninety wounded. Many of the strikers in the West were arrested, and the ringleaders sentenced to various terms of im- prisonment. 31. — The lawofficers of the Crown give their opinion on the fight between the Peruvian iron- clad Huascar and her Majesty's ships Shah and Amethyst (May 29, 1877), finding that the Huascar was to all intents and purposes acting as a pirate on the high seas, and that, for the protection of commerce, the attack made upon her was justifiable. August 2. — A temporary bill for con- tinuing the Scottish Board of Education one year beyond its natural statutory period, read a third time in the Commons, and passed. 3. — The Civil Tribunal of the Seine gives judgment in the cross suit for a judicial separa- tion between the Marquis de Caux and his wife Mdme. Adelina Patti. According to the wife the husband was not only hasty in temper but violent, and indulged in fits of anger under the influence of a ridiculous jealousy, for which there was neither motive nor pretext. On the side of the Marquis de Caux it was alleged that after a happy existence due to the affec- tion which he had devoted to his wife, an inexplicable change in her temper took place in 1876. The confidence and kindness she had until then displayed gave place to a marked coolness and an unaccountable iras- cibility, manifested by unmerited reproaches and a series of annoyances of all kinds, prompted by some secret design. The tribunal gave judgment to the effect that the demand of the wife was not in any way justified, and that she did not even offer to prove the charges made by her ; also that, as her conduct had been of a nature to constitute a grave offence against her husband, the court must pronounce the judicial separation applied for by him, and condemn her to pay all the costs. — Lord Mayor White visits Wales for the purpose of distributing the Mansion House awards to the Tynewydd miners. In replying to an address at Swansea his lordship adverted to the course he had taken in the distribution of the Fund. The primary object of the sub- scription was to assist the unfortunate widows and orphans of the men killed in the Tynewydd catastrophe, and he much regretted that there had been dissensions as to his ruling. The subscriptions were not intended for the affluent, but only for the needy. On Saturday the Lord Mayor distributed the awards at Pontypridd, in presence of about 30,000 people. Lord Aberdare, by command of the Queen, gave the Albert Medals to the miners who had 1242 been selected for the honour. Those who received the first-class medal were — Daniel Thomas, colliery proprietor; William Beith, mechanical engineer ; Isaac Pride, collier ; and John William Howell, collier. Those who received the second-class medal were twenty-two in number. (See April 10th.) 4. — It is announced from St. Petersburg that reinforcements, including the greater part of the Imperial Guard, had been ordered to Bulgaria. — The South African Confederation Bill read a third time in the Commons. — Died, aged 68, Admiral Sir Henry John Codrington, who had served in his father's ship at Navarino, and was present also at the attack on St. Jean d'Acre. 6. — Speaking at a meeting of Home Rule Members of Parliament, Mr. Butt described the recent proceedings of the obstructives as "simply revolutionary tactics," and utterly incompatible with the objects of a deliberative body such as the House of Commons. Mr. M'Carthy Downing moved a resolution con- demning the proceedings of the obstructives as reprehensible and likely to prove disastrous to the Home Rule cause. 7. — Mr. W. H. Smith, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, promoted to be First Lord' of the Admiralty in room of the late Mr. Ward Hunt. No opposition was offered to the re-election of Mr. Smith for Westminster. S. — Destructive Insect Bill, designed to prevent the introduction of the Colorado beetle, read a second time in the Lords, on the motion of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. — Died, aged 77, William Lovett, a promi- nent democratic leader, who had in his early days drawn up the famous "Charter," after- wards revised by Mr. Roebuck, and who devoted much of his time latterly to promote co-operative schemes among the working classes. 9. — The Lady Mayoress (Miss Ada White) married to Mr. Price at St. Paul's Cathedral, being the first wedding celebrated within the fabric for 120 years. The Archbishop of Canterbury officiated. — Lord Beaconsfield states in the House of Lords that a discussion at present on the Eastern Question would be inconvenient The policy of the Government, he said, had been clearly expressed and had been con- sistently maintained, for, at the commencement of the war, the Government announced that they would adopt a " strict but conditional " neutrality — the condition being that the* interests of this country should not be imperilled. AUGUST l8 77 . A UGUST 9. — The Duke of Buckingham presides over a meeting in Madras at which it is resolved to appeal for English aid to the famine-stricken population of India. Number now reported r.s destitute, or relieved on public works : Madras, 1,800,000, Bombay and Mysore, 600,000. — Fight between Federal troops and Indians at Helena, Montana. The Federal force, com- manded by General Gibbon, lost twenty-five men, including two officers, and had forty wounded. The Indians, who retreated, were thought to have lost about 100. IO. — H. M. Stanley writes from Emboma, Congo River, West Coast of Africa : — "On the 8th inst I arrived at this place from Zanzibar, with 115 souls, in a fearful condition. We left Nyangwe in Manyema November 5, 1876, travelling overland through Ureggu. Unable to make progress through the dense forests, we crossed Lualaba, and continued our journey along the left bank, through North-East Ukusu. Natives opposed us, harassed us day and night, killed and wounded our people with poisoned arrows. Our struggle through these cannibal regions became almost hopeless Three days later we came to a powerful tribe all armed with muskets, who, as soon as they sighted us, manned fifty-four large canoes, and attacked us. Not until three of my men were killed did I desist from crying out we were friends, and offering clothes. For a distance of twelve miles the greatest and most desperate fight on this terrible river was maintained. This was the last save one of thirty-two battles on the Lualaba, which river, after changing its name scores of times, became known as we approached the Atlantic Ocean as the Kwango and the Zaire." 11. — Sir John Bennett again returned for the ward of Cheap by 217 votes against 99 given to his opponent Deputy Breffit. 12. — Died, aged 61, James Drummond, R.S. A., historical painter, and curator of the National Gallery in Scotland. — Died, William Longman, head of the publishing firm which bears his name. 13. — The seat in North Northamptonshire rendered vacant through the death of Mr. Ward Hunt carried by Lord Burghley, Con- servative, with 2261 votes against 1475 given to his Liberal opponent, Captain Wyatt- Edgell. 1A. — Parliament prorogued by Commission. Regarding the Eastern Question her Majesty was made to observe that on the outbreak of war between the Russians and the Ottoman Empires, "I declared my intention of pre- serving an attitude of neutrality so long as the interests of this country remained unaffected. 1243 The extent and nature of those interests were further defined in a communication which 1 caused to be addressed to the Government of Russia, and which elicited a reply indicating friendly dispositions on the part of that State. I shall not fail to use my best efforts, when a suitable opportunity occurs, for the restora- tion of peace, on terms compatible with the honour of the belligerents, and with the general safety and welfare of other nations. If, in the course of the contest, the rights of my empire should be assailed or endangered, I should confidently rely on your help to vindicate and maintain them." The Royal Speech also made reference to the famine in Southern India, the proclamation of her Majesty's sovereignty in the Transvaal, and the South African Confederation. The only other Acts mentioned as carried were those relating to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Courts of Justice in Ireland, and S.heriff Courts in Scotland. 14. — Publication of the report of the Com- mittee of Inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of William Arthur Gibbs, a scholar in Christ's Hospital, and into the general management of the hospital. The Committee found that the allegations as to the ' conduct of the deceased boy had been sub- stantially proved, and exonerated the autho- rities of the school and the monitor under whom Gibbs was placed. They also found many serious causes of complaint in the general management of the school, but these, they said were due not to the shortcomings of individuals, but to faults inherent in the system. The Committee recommended the removal of the school. "For a thorough reform in* the management and discipline of the school, we think that its removal from London is indispensable." 15. — On taking his seat at the Mansion House to-day, the Lord Mayor called attention to the famine now raging in Southern India, and expressed his willingness to take charge of any sums which might be forwarded to him for relief. The Times wrote ' ' Let not the appeal now at length made to us fall unheeded. Our countrymen at Madras call upon munici- palities at home, and their cry must be heard. We have hitherto been too little concerned with the awful trial that has befallen our fellow- subjects. Let us redeem the past by keeping it before our eyes and in our minds and hearts, until all that we can do is done, in order lhat it may be overcome." Within a week the Mansion House Fund amounted to 24,000/. (See Jan. 1, 1878.) — Fire at the calico works of Messrs. Crum & Co., Thornliebank, near Glasgow. Damage estimated at 30,000/. 16. — Died, aged 75, Ross Donnelly Mangles, formerly a member of the Indian Council, and a well-known Indian civilian. A UGVST I8 77 . AUGUST 16. — Died at Porta, Corsica, aged 74, Dr. Conneau, private physician to the late Emperor Napoleon. — Marshal MacMahon starts on a tour through the north-west provinces of France. — One thousand pilgrims leave Paris to-day for Lourdes, together with 150 sick persons whose expenses had been subscribed for. 17. — Commencement of a series of fetes at Antwerp in celebration of the tercentenary of the birth of Peter Paul Rubens. 21. — Suleiman Pasha commences a deter- mined and protracted struggle for possession of the Schipka Pass, held by 3,000 Russians with forty guns. On the morning of the 23rd he assailed the Russian positions both in front and in flank, and the defenders were imme- diately driven in. Although help came to them in the shape of a brigade of the 9th Division, no advantage was gained. Towards six o* clock a telegram was forwarded to the Czir telling him that they expected momen- tarily to be surrounded, since the Turks were steadily creeping to their rear, and all the reserves engaged. But at the moment when all hope had vanished, a long black column was seen working its way steadily up the road. It proved to be a battalion of the Rifles and a battery of mountain artillery. They were followed by the whole of the brigade, accompanied by Radetzky, the com- mander of the 8th Corps, who at once pushed an attack on the Turkish left flank, and al- though he did not succeed in driving it out from the wood which it occupied, he at all events, for that night at least, staved off the impending disaster. At daybreak on the following morning the fighting was resumed more savagely than ever. To dislodge the Turks from the wooded ridge upon the Russian right was evidently of the first im- portance, and it was therefore against this position that the efforts of the Russians were concentrated. Their numbers had now been increased to 13,000, and after a fight which lasted till three o'clock in the afternoon the ridge was cleared, and all attempts of the Turks to retake it defeated. The fighting was renewed with great vigour on Saturday, the 25th, and down to Tuesday the battle still raged. 22. — Simultaneously with the battles in the Schipka Pass there was dining the week three days' fighting on the river Lom — on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th — the result of which was that the right of the Russian position was turned. Baker Pasha took part in these engagements. — Frederick Cavill repeats Captain Webb's feat of swimming across the Channel from the Calais side to Dover. Time, twelve hours and forty-five minutes. The swimmer ap- peared greatly exhausted on completing his self-imposed task. 1244 23. — Died, aged 95, Miss Stirling Graham of Duntrune, last descendant of Viscount Dun- dee, and a lady much esteemed in Edinburgh society for her remarkable powers of person- ation. 25. — The French Government resolve to prosecute M. Gambetta for words used in a speech at Lille, construed to be offensive to the President and his ministers. Referring to the coming elections, the undaunted Deputy was reported to have expressed a belief that his former estimate of the return of 400 Republicans would be exceeded, and that the elections would free the country from Clericalism and Bonapartism. He repelled the assertion that the Marshal need not bow to the solemnly pronounced will of the nation. " When France has pronounced her sovereign will," he said, "there must either be sub- mission or resignation." The result of the prosecution before the Tribunal of Correctional Police in Paris was a sentence of three months' imprisonment, and a fine of 2,000 francs. — The Turks attack the Russian position near Kuruk Dere in Asia, with no other result than a heavy loss on both sides. Mukhtar Pasha telegraphed : — - " Two hundred guns- were brought into action, and the engagement as- sumed the proportions of a great battle which lasted until six o'clock this evening. The enemy was routed along the whole line, and we remained victorious masters of the battle field. Four thousand Russians were placed hers de combat, and we captured four ammu- nition waggons and gun carriages, as well as an immense quantity of arms and munitions of war. We lost 1,200 killed and wounded, several officers, and my horse was wounded." Telegraphing to the Porte on the 27th inst., Mukhtar Pasha says: — "We have buried 1,064 Russians, whose bodies were picked up on the battle-field of the 25th inst. Besides this loss the enemy carried a number of killed away with them. The Turkish ambulances surmounted by the Red Crescent have been fired upon by the Russians." An official Russian account of the battle was given in the following telegram: — "At day break, on the 25th inst., Mukhtar Pasha, with all his forces, attacked the positions held by General Loris Melikoff, seeking to surround our left wing. The battle lasted until five o'clock in the afternoon. The Turks were repulsed along the whole line, and fell back after experiencing heavy loss to their former poritions at Aladja. Unfor- tunately, in the early morning the Turks gained possession of the height of Kizil Tepe, which was defended by one battalion. Our loss was not inconsiderable." — To-day also the passage of the Danube was made by the main body of the Roumanian army. 28.— Died, at Salt Lake City, aged 77, Brigham Young, chief ruler over the Mormon SEPTEMBER I8; 7 . SEPTEMBER community since the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844. On September nth, his will was read at Salt Lake in presence of his 17 wives and 56 children. The estate, divided nearly in equal shares, was set down as amounting to 2,000,000 dollars in value. 29.— Ex-President General Grant leaves London for a tour in Scotland, where he was presented with the freedom of the cilies of Edinburgh and Glasgow. 31. — Strike of cotton -spinners at Bolton ; 13,000 people thrown out of employment. — Severe repulse of Osman Pasha in a sortie near Plevna. He had taken the offensive about 11 a.m., with 25,000 men between Bulgareni and Loftcha, heading towards Selvi. Osman was opposed by twelve Russian battalions, with proportionate cavalry and guns. After twelve sharp assaults on the Russian force he was driven back with heavy loss, and abandoned the attempt. The Russian loss was consider- able, especially in the open. A despatch from the Russian headquarters said that the total loss on their side was thirty officers, and 1,020 soldiers hors de combat. " The Turkish loss," the despatch adds, "was enormous. Near tie village of Pelischat alone 300 dead bodies were counted." A correspondent of the Daily News who witnessed the fight, said it was one of the most hardly fought battles of the war. He gave full credit to the Turkish soldiery for the valour with which they threw themselves upon positions as strong as those attacked by the English at the Alma. As they attempted the ascent, he said, they were received with a storm of balls, under which they remained for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time a fearful loss of life occurred. Before reaching the trenches they began to wither away, and retreated, carrying off the wounded. No sooner, however, had they withdrawn from the Russian fire than they formed and encoun- tered it again. Their valour cost them dear, for the correspondent saw many bodies of Turks within ten feet of the Russian trenches. — The Turks reported to be withdrawing from the Schipka Pass, having given up hope, for the present at least, of forcing an entry into Bulgaria by that route. September 3. — Died at St. Germains, in his 81st year, Louis Adolphe Thiers, the best known of modern French statesmen, and widely esteemed also as historian of the Revo- lution, Consulate, and Empire. After the capitulation of Paris in January, 1871, the country recognised his many services by electing him to the National Assembly with the votes of about one-third of the entire electorate. In February he was elected head of the Provisional Government with liberty to take part in the proceedings of the Assembly, and next year became first President of the new French Republic. In consequence of a hostile vote he retired in May, 1873, and was 1245 succeeded by Marshal MacMahon, M. Thiers spent Sunday the 2nd with a few friends, and was in excellent spirits. He passed a good night, rose, as usual, early on Monday, was busy writing till 7.30, and then walked out for an hour in the garden and on the terrace, going to look also at his horses. On returning he continued writing till the breakfast hour, noon. He appeared to have his usual appetite, but towards the end of the meal stammered a few Words, his mouth was drawn up, his eyes closed, and there were all the symptoms of an apoplectic fit. He con- tinued prostrate and unconscious and breathed his last in the evening a few minutes past six o'clock. 3. — Fire in New York, commencing in Hales' pianoforte factory, and destroying thirty-eight buildings ; over ioo persons were reported to have been killed. Loss estimated at 310,000/. 6. — Continued fighting on the Lom, result- ing on the whole favourably for the Turks. — Lord Derby opens the art gallery presented to the town of Liverpool" by Mr. Walker, Mayor, at a cost of 40,000/. Speak- ing at a banquet in the evening, the Foreign Minister said, " If I were to describe in one sentence the attitude and feeling of the Govern- ment, I would say that we shall do what we can to pull our neighbour's out of the ditch, but that in doing so, we shall be very careful that they don't pull us in." Lord Derby also referred to the Indian famine, and said that in his opinion, we had, as a nation, in the condition of India a business on hand "graver than the Eastern Question," a difficulty of unspeakable importance ' ' which must be faced." "Many people," Lord Derby said, " are fond of indulging the idea of farther and farther extensions of the British Empire as opportunity may occur. I think that those who hold that language hardly realise the magnitude aud the weight of our present responsibilities. We must bear the burden which the incalculable course of human events has laid upon us, but we need not, and I think we should not, go out of our way to mnke it heavier for ourselves and our successors." 7. — Renewed attack on Plevna, the en- gagement beginning this (Friday) morning with a tremendous cannonade by the Russians, who had got into position the previous night no tess than 300 pieces of artillery, many oi them of very heavy calibre, and the cannonade was continued throughout the following day (Saturday). On that day the Russians, having pushed their heavy batteries nearer to the Turkish positions, brought their troops into action, and after a sharp struggle, which cost them 500 men, succeeded, we are told, in occupying the heights to the south of the town, with a portion of their left and strongest wing. Their losses on the second day, however, were S 2 SEPTEMBER 1877. SEPTEMBER said to have been much heavier than on the first. The Czar, the Grand Duke, and Prince dharles were on the field on both days. The cannonading was continued on Sunday and Monday, on which latter day a Russian official despatch stated that the .left wing, under General Scobeleff, captured another of the neighbouring heights, the possession of which would enable them to bombard the enemy's positions and also the town itself. 8. — The remains of M. Thiers interred in the burying-ground of Pere-la- Chaise after a religious service over the body in the Church of Notre Dame de Lorette. The fears which prevailed lest in the excited state of public feeling some trifling incident might lead to a disturbance happily proved unfounded. Tie behaviour of the populace was admirable, and the day passed over without any disturbance, or even any attempt at demonstration. It rained incessantly until twelve o'clock, and the boulevards were ankle-deep in mud, but the inclemency of the weather did not prevent the people of Paris turning out in immense crowds to assemble along the line of route by which it had been arranged that the procession was to pass. Large numbers o( troops were massed in various parts of the city. In conjunction with his ministers the President Jiad desired in the first instance to bury M. Thiers with national honours, but certain conditions in- sisted upon by Madame Thiers prevented this design being carried out. Addresses were de- livered at the grave by M. Grevy, Admiral Pothuau, M. de Sacy, M. Vintry, and M. Jules Simon. A message of condolence to Madame Thiers was sent by Queen Victoria. — Continued examination at Bow Street into the charges made against the detectives of Scotland Yard. Much ^excitement was caused to-day by the announcement that the Treasury had decided to include Chief Inspec- tor Clarke in the charge, and that the cause of the delay in the opening of the proceedings was that Sir James Ingham had been engaged in hearing the application for the warrant for Clarke's arrest. When this statement was made by Mr. Poland, and Inspector Clarke placed in the dock with the other prisoners, Mciklejohn and Palmer were affected to tears. The whole of the day was occupied by the examination-in-chief of Superintendent Wil- liamson, whose evidence chiefly concerned the reports made to him by the detectives on the Ds Goncourt frauds, and who swore that several leiters and telegrams sent to " Gififard," an alias of Kurr's, at the Bridge of Allan, were in Palmer's handwriting. The case was then adjourned till the 13th, Clarke being admitted to bail in two sureties of 250/. each. On the resumption of the case Mr. Poland proceeded to state the case against Inspector Clarke. He read letters which had passed between Clarke and Benson under assumed names, and narrated a number of facts with regard to their intercourse, which he contended wtre sufficient 1246 evidence that Clarke had a guilty knowledge of the convict's proceedings. 11. — The Russians and Roumanians make a third unsuccessful attack on Plevna and suffer immense loss ; the former it was thought as many as 12,000 and the latter to 3,000 men. 12. — Disastrous collision off Portland, at night, between the ship Avalanche, which left London for New Zealand on the 9th, and the Forest., of Windsor, Nova Scotia, bound for Sandy Hook, both vessels being of over 1,000 tons burden. The Avalanche had on board sixty-three passengers and a crew of thirty- one officers and men. The crew of the Forest numbered twesty-one. The night was dark and stormy, with a strong wind and heavy sea. Both ships were heading down Channel, but on opposite tacks, the Avalanche being on the port tack and the Forest on the starboard. When about a dozen miles off Portland, and without scarcely any warning, the Forest struck the Avalanche between the main and mizen masts. The force of the collision was so great that the Avalanche sank in less than five minutes. The Forest was also found to be sinking, and had to be immediately abandoned, the crew taking to three boats, but it was afterwards found that some of the men had been left behind. Only one boat with twelve people reached the shore. On board the Avalanche there was no time to lower boats, and all the passengers and crew, except the third officer and .two seamen, who managed to get on board the Forest boat, were drowned. Nine of the Forest's crew were saved — among them Captain Lockhart and the chief mate, McKelvie. - — The Turks recover the redoubt at Plevna. The heights on the southern point of the Turkish position, which were captured by General Scobeleff at a heavy cost of life, were only held by the Russians for four-and- twenty hours, as Osman Pasha, seeing the value of the Grivica redoubts, which inter- fered with his line of retreat, made an over- whelming attack on the position, determined to recapture it at any cost. The Turks ad- vanced with great gallantry five times and were repulsed. Both sides lost heavily, but General Scobeleff, perceiving that Osman Pasha was continually sending new troops to replace his fallen men, asked for reinforce- ments. General Levitsky, one of the chiefs of the staff, considered that Scobeleff had sufficient troops for the duty entrusted to him, and acted upon this view. The sixth Turkish advance was therefore successful, and before a regiment much reduced in strength by losses incurred on the previous day, which a subordinate general dispatched on his own responsibility, could arrive to aid them, the troops of Scobeleff had been forced to retire, leaving half their number on the field of battle, and the Turkish flag again waved over the works which had been won at so great a cost. SEPTEMBER l8 77 . SEPTEMBER 13 — The magnificent new Town Hall at Manchester, designed by Mr. Waterhouse, formally opened by the Lord Mayor, Mr. Abraham Heywood. Speaking at the ban- quet which followed in the evening, Mr. John Bright made pointed reference to the Indfan policy of the Government. Almsgiving, he said, is now general on behalf of the Indian suffering. Let every man's purse be open, if his heart be open, and let him give ; but (Mr. Bright added) I tell him this, without the slightest hesitation, that though what he gives will carry its blessing with it now to some poor wretch in that country, still it will do-little for the future. What you want is a new, and a wiser, and a broader policy, and that policy I much fear you will never have from the Govern- ment of Calcutta until the people of England; say that it is their policy and must be adopted^ 14. — International Rifle match at Creedmore won by the American team with a score of 1679 against 1613 for Britain. — Died, Admiral Canaris, the Greek Prime Minister, who had only lately come forth from a well-earned retirement to serve his country at a critical period. 17. — Mr. Lowe presides at the autumnal meeting of the London Bicycle Club, and distributes the prizes for racing. He spoke in favour of bicycles, and claimed credit for having encouraged its predecessor, the "dandy-horse" of the time of George IV. 19. — Marshal MacMahnn issues a manifesto to the French people in which'he states that — "Hostile elections would aggravate the conflict between the public powers, as well as impede the course of business and maintain agitation, while France in the midst of these fresh com- plications, would become for Europe an object of distrust. As for myself, my duty would increase with the danger.- I could not obey the mandates of the demagogues. I could neither become the instrument of Radicalism nor abandon the post in which the Constitution has placed me. I- shall remain to defend Conservative interests with the support of the Senate, and shall energetically protect the faithful public servants who at a difficult moment have not allowed themselves to be intimidated by vain threats. Frenchmen, — I await with full confidence the manifestation of your sentiments. After so many trials France desires stability, order, and peace ; and with God's help we will recure to the country these benefits. You will listen to the words of a i-oldier who serves no party and no revolu- tionary or retrograde passion, and who is guided by nothing but love for his country." — Came on at the Central Criminal Court the trial of Louis and Patrick Staunton, and two sisters, Mrs. Patrick Staunton and Alice Rhodes, charged with the murder of Mrs. Louis Staunton by neglect and' starvation. The evidence disclosed a systematic course of ill-treatment, the deceased being confined in her room receiving very little food and often bodily assaulted, to which she at last suc- cumbed. The case was continued till the 26th, when Mr. Justice Hawkins began summing up, first showing to the jury the distinction between murder and manslaughter, and pointing out the criminal responsibility of neglecting a legally imposed duty. His lordship then reviewed the salient points of the case, referring to Mrs. Staunton's previous good health, the criminal intimacy of Louis Staunton and Alice Rhodes, and the fact of the remainder of the deceased's fortune having been obtained by Louis. It was a quarter to ten at night before he finished his address, and the jury then retired to consider their verdict. On their return, after an absence of an hour and a quarter, they found all the prisoners, Louis Staunton,: Patrick Staunton, Elizabeth Ann Staunton,. and' Alice- Rhodes, guilty of wilful murden Mrs. Staunton was recommended to mercy, and Alice Rhodes strongly recom- mended to mercy. Although it was a cold and foggy night, the streets adjacent to the court were crowded, and when the verdict was made known there was a burst of cheering from the crowd. The judge, in passing sentence in the usual farm, said, "You have been found guilty by a jury of your country of- a crime so black and hideous that I believe in all the records of crime it would be difficult to find its parallel. With a barbarity almost incredible you plotted together, to take by cruel torture fee life of a poor^ innocent, and outraged woman ; and although you do not stand to-day convicted of the crime of having murdered her helpless child, I cannot help feeling satisfied within my own mind that yon are guilty of the crime of contemplating, and plotting, and bringing arbout his death. I will take care that the recommendation of the jury with regard to you,, Alice Rhodes, and to you, Elizabeth Ann Staunton, shall be forwarded to the proper authorities, where the recommendation may be — ana? I am sure it will be — duly and properly considered. It remains only for me to pass on you the sentence of the law, which I am compelled to pass. That law is that for the crime which you have committed you must die." The Clerk of Arraigns then' formally asked the prisoners whether they had anything to say why there should be a stay of execution of the judgment. All the prisoners replied in the negative, and Alice Rhodes said, " No, I am perfectly innocent." The prisoners were then removed from the dock. They were all greatly agitated while the verdict was being taken and the sentence pronounced. 20. — Up to this date the Russians officially acknowledge their total loss in the war to be 47,406. 21. — A sharp engagement occurs to-day be- tween a poTtion of the forces of Mehemet Ali 1247 SEPTEMBER I8 77 . OCTOBER and those of the Czarewitch at the village of Tchercovna, near Biela, on the Banika-Lom. The Russians had here taken up a strong position in considerable force, but the wet weather had for some time prevented opera- tions. Favourable weather setting in to-day enabled Mehemet Ali to carry out a recon- naissance of the Russian position, and his forces thus engaged came into conflict with the enemy about five o'clock in the afternoon. The Turks were compelled to retreat after fighting most stubbornly under a heavy fire. 21. — Six children entombed at Jarrow, on the Tyne, by the falling in of an old pit-heap. — A fire broke out in the large flour mills of Messrs. Brown Brother*, King Street, Cork. A number of workmen were locked in, and had to break open a gate to make their escape. Two were seriously injured. The boiler exploded at about one o'clock and b!cw up the floors. The mills contained a large stock of flour and grain. Damage estimated at 10,000/. — The obelisk ship Cleopatra, in tow of the steamer Olga, sails from Alexandria for London with the monolith on board. 22. — Conclusion of proceedings before the Coroner regarding the bodies recovered from the wreck of the Avalanche and Forest. After three-quarters of an hour's deliberation the jury returned u verdict that the men were found drowned on the Chesil beach, and that they came to their death owing to the collision. A rider was appended, stating how pained the jury hid been to hear of the way in which the deceased were buried, and that if any notice had been given the jury would have followed the remains. — Concluded at Bow-Street, on this the twenty-eighth day of sitting, the inquiry into the charge against Inspectors Meiklejohn, Druscovitch, Palmer and Clarke, and Mr. Froggatt, solicitor. On the conclusion of the evidence, Sir James Ingham, having heard the addresses for the defence, committed all the pri-oners for trial on the charge of con- spiracy to defeat the ends of justice, and as accessories after the fact to forgeries committed by Kurr, Benson, and others. Meiklejohn was also committed as an accessory before the fact. Bail was accepted as before for Froggatt and Inspector Clarke, but was refused for the other three inspectors. — Chefket Pasha's reinforcements and convoy succeed in entering Plevna. — Fire at Millwall in the premises of Messrs. Timothy and Green, jute merchants. — Welcome rains reported as having been ex- perienced in the famine-stricken districts of Madras. — Died, aged 67, M. Le Verrier, an eminent French astronomer and director of the Paris Obseryatpry. 1248 24. — The Clyde shipwrights resume work pending arbitration. During the time it lasted over 76,000/. was said to have been lost in wages. 2 2. — Intimation made that the Mansion House Indian Relief Fund now amounted to 250,000/. The number of per-ons on relief works gratu- itously fed by Government was 2,341,692. The mortality during July was 80,052 above the average. The committee unanimously re- solved to send a further sum of 45,000/. to India, making 200,000/. in all sent out. 27. — Constantine Theodorides, thirty years of age, and Paul Gorlera, forty, sentenced, at the Central Criminal Court, to seven years penal servitude each for having attempted to extort money from Miss Augusta Ernestine Slade, niece of Admiral Slade, and residing with him at 3, Hyde Park Place. There had been an attachment between Miss Slade and the prisoner Theodorides, whose acquaintance she had made when travelling in Turkey, and an engagement to marry resulted ; but this en- gagement was broken off, and subsequently the two prisoners endeavoured to extort money under a representation that Miss Slade's love letters, above a hundred in number, would come into the possession of other persons. — Died, at his palace, Killarney, the Right Rev. David Moriarty, D.D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Kerry. October 3. — Died, aged 44, at her resi- dence in Finchley Koad, after a long illness, Mdlle. Titiens, a celebrated prima donna, one of the greatest artists Germany has produced. 4.— Mehemet Ali removed from the com- mand of the army of the Danube, and suc- ceeded by Suleiman Pasha. — Foundation stone laid of new university buildings at Nottingham by Mr. Gladstone, who delivered an address on the occasion. 6. — Collision in Devonport harbour between the Lords of the Admiralty's steam yacht Enchantress and the Arthur, a vessel laden with materials for the new dock. The Arthur had to be beached. The Enchantress had her bows smashed in and was docked for repairs. The First Lord of the Admiralty, who was on the bridge at the time of the collision, was thrown down, but not much hurt. — A man named William Gale completes the extraordinary feat of walking 1, 500 miles in 1,000 hours at Lillie Bridge. — Celebration, at Jersey, of the ancient and peculiar custom known as the "Cour d'Heritage." 7. — Died, aged 80, Edward Granville Earl of St. Germains, who had filled several important offices of State. OCTOBER 1877. OCTOBER IO. — Died, at Cambridge, the Rev. E. Bushby, one of the oldest members of the University. 11.— Colliery explosion at King's Pit, Pem- berton, near Wigan. Of the forty-three persons working at the time of the accident, only six were rescued. 12. — The Clyde shipwrights' dispute referred to arbitration. Mr. James White, representing the masters, held that the present state of trade did not admit of any increase of wage?, while Mr. Lloyd Jones contended that the men had established their claim. A decision therefore rested with Lord Moncrieff as umpire, who on Nov. 7 pronounced in favour of the masters. The lock-out had lasted six months. — The four convicts under sentence of death for the Penge murder, respited. Alice Rhodes received a free pardon ; the others penal servitude for life. — Destructive fire at Inverary Castle. The occupants were soon aroused and got safely out, including the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, the Princess Louise, the Marquis of Lome, and other members of the ducal family. The centre of the buildings soon became a prey to ihe flames, which, however, were pre- vented from spreading to the rest of the castle by the solid character of the masonry and by the fire-engines. The pictures and other valuable articles were removed in safety. The Duke of Argyll attributed the origin of the fire to lightning. Amount of property d> stroyed estimated at from 15,000/. to 20,000/. 14. — Cleopatra's Needle abandoned in the Bay of Biscay. The Olgii steamer which had it in tow arrived at Falmouth, and the captain reported that he had to leave the Needle in the heavy gale in the Bay on Sunday night. The Cleopatra was thrown upon her beam ends, the ballast broke adrift, and all efforts to secure her were fruitless. A boat's crew from the Olga, consisting of the second mate and five hands who went to the assistance of the Cleopatra, perished. The crew of the Cleopatra were saved. Later a telegram from Ferrol announced that the Fitzmaurice steamer, from Midd] esborough for Valencia, fell in with the obelisk ship at sea, and recovered it ninety miles north of Ferrol, inhere the obelisk was detained pending a claim for salvage by the owners of the Fitz- maurice. — Election of the French Chamber of Deputies, resulting in a defeat of the Govern- ment, 316 Republicans being returned against 199 official candidates. The Due Decazes was defeated at Lillebonne, but found a seat at Puget-Theniers. Prince Napoleon was thrown out at Ajaccio by M. Haussmann. 15. — Great battle at Aladja Dagh, between Kars and Alexandropol, resulting in an over- whelming defeat of the Turkish forces. The official Russian despatch describing the event said: — "In the morning after preparing the way by a very well directed cannonade, we commenced a general attack. In the afternoon General Heimann made a brilliant attack, upon Mount Aliwas, which he succeeded in carrying. By the Russian occupation of this position Ahmed Mukhtar Pasha's army was cut in two. That part of his army which retreated in the direction of Kars was attacked by the troops under General Lazaroff, and subsequently pur- sued by General Heimann. Towards five o'clock in the afternoon it was completely beaten and dispersed, losing an enormous number of killed, several thousand prisoners, and four guns. At the same time the three Turkish divisions which had remained on the Turkish right flank were entirely surrounded and driven out of their positions on the Aladja Dagh with great loss, and at eight o'clock in the evening were compelled to surrender. Among the numerous prisoners taken were seven Pashas. We also captured thirty-two guns and an immense quantity of war material. Ahmed Mukhtar fled to Kars. " 15. — Nine lives lost in a collision in the Channel between the Loch Fyne and steamer Knapton Hall. 17. — Mr. Gladstone visits Ireland, in a private capacity, being the guest of Lord Meath and Earl Fitzwilliam. — Died, at Cannes, aged 42, Colonel the Hon. A. Anson, an officer whose services in the Crimea and India had been rewarded with the Victoria Cross. 18. — The losses in dead, wounded, and missing, on the Russian side up to this date, stated officially at 60, 100. 19. — Died, aged 93, the Hon. Mary Greville Howard, one of the greatest landed proprietors, possessing in all some 20,000 acres. 20. — Double murder at Wymondham, near Norwich. A blacksmith, named March, while engaged in his work quarrelled with a fellow- workman named Bidewell, and knocked him down and beat him about the head with a bar of iron. A maid-servant who witnessed the act went to inform the men's employer, a veterinary surgeon, named Mayes, who was upwards of seventy years of age. On Mr. Mayes coming up and expostulating with him, March immediately knocked him down and battered his head in a fearful manner. 22. — A terrible explosion of fire-damp occurred at Messrs. Dixon's colliery, at High Blantyre, near Glasgow ; and of the 233 miners who were in the pit at the time, only twenty were rescued alive, and several of these died. Most of them were brought up out of the pit soon after the explosion. A, man named Brannigan, the sole survivor of those rescued from the pit alive, died on the 30th. It was calculated that as a consequence of the explosion, 100 widows, and between 1249 OCTOBER 1877. OCTOBER 250 and 300 children were deprived Of the means of subsistence. One body was found, brought to the surface, and identified, so late as August, 1878. With exception of the Oaks explosion, involving the loss of 340 lives (see Dec. 12, 1866), this Blantyre calamity was up to this time among the most serious in the history of mining, and remained so until the Abercairney disaster, Sept. 10, 1878, when 265 lives were sacrificed. 22. — Two youths named Dinham and Hys- lop, sentenced to seven years penal servitude for highway robbery on Blackheath in May last. They were arrested at Portsmouth in July, and in the possession of Dinham there was found a revolver, and a book, " Claude Duval, or the Dashing Highwayman. " 23.— Commenced at the Central Criminal Court, before Baron Pollock, the trial of the four detective police-inspectors Meiklcjohn, Druscovitch, Palmer and Clarke, and of E. Froggatt, solicitor. The Attorney- General in his opening statement said that the charge against the defendants, broadly speaking, was that a gang of swindlers had carried on a betting fraud, and that the defendants bad conspired with them to prevent their being brought to justice. One of the gang in question was William Kurr, a man of great ability and energy, whose early career in the paths of honesty proving irksome, determined to live upon his wits, which enabled him to ob- tain a good deal of njoney. In a betting agency established by him, he pocketed the money entrusted to him. In this fraud Meikle- john rendered great assistance, and for his services received moneys amounting to 100/. Meiklejohn furnished information, and when warrants were issued against them he pre- vented them being arrested. About this time Kurr became acquainted with Benson, a well-educated man of very respectable family, and of great ingenuity. In 1872 Benson per- petrated a fraud upon the Lord Mayor, for which he was convicted and imprisoned. (See p. 1061). Several other instances were men- tioned in which the detectives had connived at the escape of the prisoners Kurr and Benson, and received money from them for so doing. In connection witn the " Great Turf Swindle " when the swindlers went to Scotland in order to change the proceeds of the fraud into Scotch notes, of which it was not the custom to take the numbers, Druscovitch had received the numbers of the notes which had been paid to the conspirators, and he neglected to stop them. Meetings followed between Meiklejohn, Druscovitch, and Kurr, the object of the latter being to inform Benson what notes had been stopped, so that he might not attempt to change those notes until the last moment before he was ready to leave. Then 200/. more was paid to Druscovitch, at least it was left at Meiklejohn's, but as it was in gold it had been impossible to trace it. On Oct. 3, Clarke and Druscovitch learned that some of 1250 the stopped notes had come in from the Clydesdale Bank, Glasgow, and they contented themselves with writing a letter to the Glasgow- police, which of course was not received until after the conspirators had changed all the notes and left Scotland. Benson left on the 4th with sixty 100/. Clydesdale notes, and other notes amounting altogether to 14,500/., and gave Kurr 300/. on his return to London. Next the two leading swindlers met Meikle- john, when the latter made a demand for 2,000/., which was ultimately reduced to 500/., and that sum in Clydesdale notes was handed to him in a Midland train at Kentish Town station. The charge against . Mr. Froggatt was endeavouring to destroy the evidence against Kurr and Benson. (See Nov. 20.) 24. — General Gourko captures a strong Turkish position near Gorny Dubnik on the road between Plevna and Orkanie, and .four days later Teliche the next military station. The loss of these positions to the Turks re- sulted in the complete investment of Plevna. 25. — Inquest respecting the death of the Comte de Lally-Tollendal, aged sixty-five, who was found dead in a coal-cellar at 65, Dean-Street, Soho. Medical evidence showed that death had resulted from disease of the heart and semi-starvation. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. It was stated that the deceased was a descendant of the Lallys, Barons of Tnllenadally or Tolendale, near the city of Tuam, and who, after the Re- volution, emigrated to France, where they won fame and promotion in the well-known Irish Brigade. The great-grandfather of the deceased Count was appointed Governor of Pondicherry, where he suffered some severe military reverses at the hands of the English, and was compelled to surrender the capital of the French settlements in India. 26. — Concluded at the Central CriminalCourt the trial of Dr. Baxter Langley and William Swindlehurst, directors of the Artizans-Dwell- ings' Co., accused of conspiring with Edward Saffery to defraud that company. The fraud consisted in Saffery purchasing estates in collusion with the accused directors for 10,000/. selling them to the Company for 12,000/., and sharing the difference with his confederates. The jury considered the con- spiracy proved, and the defendants, who had in all made 23,000/., were sentenced — Baxter Langley and Swindlehurst to eighteen months, and Saffery to twelve months imprisonment all with hard labour. . 27, — Animated discussion in fheLower House of the Prussian Diet on the question of minis- terial responsibility. Herr Windthorst, late Hanoverian Minister, accused Prince Bismarck of stopping administrative reform, and taunted his colleagues with being mere servants of the sovereign premier. The debate ended with a vote in favour of the Government of 217 to I>2. NOVEMBER I877. NOVEMBER 28. — Died, aged S3, at Nice, Miss Julia Kavanagh, well-known litterateur and novelist. 29. — Concluded, the inquest concerning the death of Superintendent Poole, Mr. Lether- land, and Police-constable Barratt, killed on the 18th inst. by a collision between a Midland goods-train and a North- Western ballast-train, near Northampton. The jury returned a ver- dict of manslaughter against both Gardiner and Gibson, the signalman and inspector whose neglect of duty had caused the accident. November 1.— Died, aged 93, Field- Marshal Von Wrangel, one of the oldest soldiers in Europe, having entered the Prussian army in 1 796, and being present at the battle of Leipsic. 4. — The Deve-Boyun position before Erze- roum stormed by the Russians. After nine hours fighting the Turks fled in complete disorder, abandoning their camp and provisions and losing 42 guns. 6. — Mr. Archibald Forbes, special war correspondent of the Daily News, receives, through the Russian Ambassador in London, the insignia of a Knight of the Order of St. Stanislas, conferred upon him by the Emperor of Russia for his courage and intrepidity at the battle of Plevna on the 30th of July. — Addressing the Liberals of Edinburgh, Lord Hartington said, concerning Disestablish- ment, " If ever Scotch opinion, or even Scotch Liberal opinion, is fully formed upon this subject, I think that I may venture to say on behalf of the party as a whole that it will be prepared to deal with this question on its merits and without reference to any other consideration. No doubt, gentlemen, the fate of one Establishment cannot but exercise some influence upon the fate of another. In the case of the Irish Church our opponents always contended that the fate of the Church of England was inseparably connected with that of the Church of Ireland. We endeavoured to disassociate the two as far as it was possible, and we endeavoured so, in my opinion, wisely. But, gentlemen, I say that as far as I am con- cerned I will be" no party to stimulate agitation in this country upon that subject ; nor, on the other hand, will I be a party to any attempt to repress discussion because of the influence which such discussion may have upon the future of the Church." 7. — The French Chambers opened. The elections for councils-general, on the 4th, had resulted in a gain of about no seats to the Republicans. The Due de Broglie was defeated in the Eure. M. Jules Grevy elected Provisional President. — Lord Hartington addresses the Liberals of Glasgow, declaring in favour of the assimi- lation of the county and burgh franchise, but as regarded the Permissive Bill, the time for that type of social and economic reform had not yet come. 7. — Mr. Gladstone presented with the free- dom of the city of Dublin. — Mr. Bright and Mr. Chamberlain address a meeting at Rochdale on the subject of Liberal organization. 8. — The Danish Rigsdag, after a debate of eleven hours, agrees to a provisional sanction of the budget, in order that the taxes may be collected. The conflict between the Crown and the Folkething had resulted in a financial dead-lock necessitating this course. 9. — The Chinese Envoy, who came here to express the Emperor's regret for -the murder of Mr. Margary (see p. 1 167), accredited in permanence to the Court of St. James's. 12. — In the French Chamber of Deputies, M. Albert Grevy proposes a yote of non- confidence in the De Broglie ministry, whose resignations the Marshal had not accepted. After a debate lasting three days, a Committee of Inquiry was appointed to investigate those acts of the Government which might be supposed to have exercised an illegal pressure on the elections. 13. — Eight persons seriously injured in a collision, at Radcliffe Bridge, between the Scotch mail-train and a eattle-train. 14.— Defeat of the Jowakis, a Punjaub frontier tribe, who had made raids on British territory in October last. 15. — Mr. Gladstone elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University, by 1,153 votes against 609 for Sir Stafford Northcote. 1— Rev. Samuel Smith, Rector of Lan- dulph, bound over to keep the peace for twelve months for threatening to shoot one of his parishioners. 16. — Died, aged 49, M. Lanfrey, French historian, leaving his '' Life of Napoleon I." unfinished. 17. — Gale, pedestrian, completes the task of walking 4,000 quarter miles in 4,000 con- secutive periods of ten minutes. — Mr. Charles Darwin made a Doctor of Laws by the University of Cambridge. 18. — Kars taken by assault. The conflict began at 8 A.M. on the 16th, under direction of General Loris Melikoff, and the position was carried at 8 P.M. on the 18th. The Turks lost 5,000 in killed and wounded. City, fortress, 300 cannon, 10,000 prisoners, and spoils of various kinds fell to the Russians. 19. — The Queen's Bench Division decide that Lord Penzance's court at Lambeth had no jurisdiction in the case of Mr. Tooth, from the fact that it was held in a place outside the diocese of Rochester. , NOVEMBER I8 77 . DECEMBER 20. — Royal Humane Society's medal unani- mously voted to Miss Grace Vernon Bussel, a young lady sixteen years of age, and to her black servant, for having, while on horse- back, rode into the sea and saved several passengers from the wreck of the Georgette., on the voyage from Freemantle to Port Ade- laide in December last. — Resignation of the De Broglie Ministry, the senate having passed a vote of confidence in the Marshal, which did not include the Cabinet. A new ministry under General de Rochebouet was constructed with great diffi- culty of persons outside the chambers, and professing to represent no party inside them. This Cabinet, the Senate, by 323 to 208 votes, declined to recognize, as none of its members possessed a seat in Parliament. — Trial of the Inspector Detectives brought to a conclusion, having last twenty days. Mr. Montagu Williams, in a speech to the jury, intended to di -credit the evidence against Meiklejohn, described Kurr and Benson as excellent in vice and exquisite in fraud. " The one the hero of the ring, betting against any of the runners with other people's money, at night in the bar parlour wallowing in bad champagne. The other, the composer of French chansonettes, with the three men servants, the brougham, the Victoria, shady sea-side, sheltered Shanklin — did they know the spot ? There was no such spot in the world for a nobleman in disguise ; Rose-bank — there was an essence of romance about the very name — the Comte de Montague, Marquis de Montgomery, Prince Murat. What fools the public were ! Look at these men in the witness-box : the cunning of the cat teeming from the eyes of the one; the oily, soft, serpent-like treachery of deceit trickling from the mouth of the other." Baron Pollock, in summing up, recommended the jury to consider the case of each prisoner separately. They found Clarke not guilty, the other prisoners guilty, recommending Druscovitch and Palmer to mercy. His Lordship then sentenced the whole four to two years' imprisonment with hard labour. Clarke was released on his own recognisances in 100/. to appear if called upon on a future occasion. 23. — The Fisheries Commissioners at Halifax award Canada and Newfoundland 5,500,000 dollars, the United States Com- missioners protesting. — Capture of Pravca, and the next day Etropol, by the Russians, and consequent retreat of Mehemet AH from Orkanie to Kamarli. 24. — Statue of King Robert the Bruce unveiled on the esplanade at Stirling Castle. 25. — Her Majesty presents twenty acres of land to the Heywood Local Board for the purposes of a public park. 1252 28.— The Pacific Royal Mail Company's steamer Atacama lost at Caldera on the south-east coast of America. Of 130 on board only 26 were saved. — Lord Derby receives a deputation which urges the Government to depart from a policy of "inaction," and states that the Government has no intention to depart froin opinions ex- pressed at the beginning of the war. 29. — In a despatch relating to the reorgan- ization of the western and north-western frontier of India, Lord Salisbury states to the Governor-General his objections to the proposal of the Indian Government, that the Trans-Indus districts should be constituted a distinct and separate administration, and says he is disposed to think that both the objects in view — the relief of the Lieuten- ant-Governor of the Punjaub and tile more effective control by the Supreme Govern- ment of frontier policy — may be adequately secured by a less extensive change. In lieu, therefore, of the proposals of the Indian Government, he is prepared to sanction the adoption of the following measures : — The Trans-Indus districts of the Punjaub and Scinde to be divided into two divisions, taking the dividing line at the point where the Belooch gives place to the Pathan. A Commissioner to be appointed over each division by the Viceroy, but in respect of all internal affairs to take his orders from the Punjaub Government. The Northern Commissioner to be styled Governor-General's Agent and Frontier Commissioner, to receive the salary of a Chief Commissioner, and upon all external matters — i.e. matters concerning those who are not subjects of her Majesty — to correspond with the Viceroy direct, and be the superior of the Southern Commissioner, who, upon those matters, will correspond with him alone. The frontier forces, for the pre- sent at least, to be under the orders of the Governor-General's agent, not under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. December 2. — A large meeting of Paris merchants and manufacturers resolve to send a deputation to Marshal MacMahon to ask him to put an end to the crisis. 3. — Mount Stuart House, the Marquis of Bute's mansion at Rothesay, destroyed by fire. Only the bare walls of the main building were left, but a large amount of valuable property was saved. — President Hayes delivers his first annual message to Congress, declaring himself in favour of the resumption of specie payments, and civil service reform. 6. — Formal announcement made at a Cabinet Council at Madrid, of the King's engagement to his cousin, the Princess Mercedes. DECEMBER 1877. DECEMBER 6. — Concluded in the Roman Civil Court the case of Countess Lambertini against the heirs of Cardinal Antonelli, and his three brothers. Judgment reserved. 9. — The European from Algoa Bay struck on a rock off Cape Ushant. Though the ship was destroyed, yet by the mainten- ance of good discipline no lives were lost, and greater part of the mails, with a quantity of diamonds, was saved. IO. — Surrender of Osman Pasha with his entire army, and occupation of Plevna by the Russians. The besiegers, more or less informed by spies and deserters, were aware that a great sortie was contemplated, and made every preparation. On the night of the 9th Osman Pasha issued from Plevna with a force of 32,000 men, crossing the Vid followed by the civil inhabitants of the town to the number of 4,000, and at daybreak the fighting began. The Turks steadily advanced, carrying the first Russian lines and two batteries of six guns each in the second lines. For two hours the fight raged in favour of neither side, but the Turkish shells running short, the Rouma- nians were enabled to turn their left flank and gain possession of Fort Opanesk. Otman Pasha, wounded in the leg, had no ehoice but to submit, with his entire army, IO Pashas, 2,128 officers and 97 guns. Plevna had for nearly five months defied the armies of the Czar, and on three occasions hurled them back with great slaughter, but succumbed to a regular investment directed by General Todleben in person. The number of Russian troops set at liberty for offensive purposes through this their greatest success, speedily completed the collapse of the entire Turkish defence in Europe. 11. — Peculiar burglary at Woodfield Lodge, Sussex, the residence of Captain Baynham, a number of paintings, valued at from 1,000/. to 1,500/. being cut from the frames. 12. — The Porte addresses a circular note to the Powers inviting mediation. 13. — Died, Colonel C. Wood, one of the few remaining Waterloo officers. 14. — Died, aged 65, Ralph Nicholson Wornum, keeper and secretary of the National Gallery, and author of several works on painting. — After various fruitless attempts to form a ministry, Marshal MacMahon submits to the will of the nation, and allows M. Dufaure to form a Parliamentary Cabinet. This brought the long crisis which began on May 16th, to a close, the Marshal recognizing the truth of M. Gambetta's famous alternative, " ou sesoumdtre, ou se demetlre.'" — After long preparation, and when their enemy was prostrated by recent reverses, the Servian Government makes a formal declara- tion of war against Turkey, 16. — Visit of her Majesty to Lord Bea- consfield at Hughenden. The Queen arrived at the High Wycombe railway station about a quarter-past one, and was met there by her host and Mr. Montagu Corry. The mayor of High Wycombe with the corporation received the Queen on the platform, and presented an address. Having partaken of luncheon, her Majesty planted a tree in commemoration of her visit, and returned to Windsor in the after- noon. — Resignation of the Italian ministry in consequence of a close division on a question of confidence. Signor Depretis formed a new ministry on the 26th. 17. — Died, General d'Aurelles de Paladine, who, when in command of the army of the Loire, gained the victory of Coulmiers (No- vember 10, 1870), over the Bavarian army, under General Von der Tann, and on the fol- lowing day re- occupied Orleans. — Died, aged 69, James Ballantine, poet, novelist and dramatist. 20. — Dr. Schliemann's relics of Troy publicly exhibited at South Kensington. 21. — Triple consecration of Bishops in Westminster Abbey — the venerable Edward Trollope as suffragan Bishop of Nottingham, Dr. Valpy French to the See of Lahore, and Dr. Titcombe to that of Rangoon. 22. — The Czar returns to St. Petersburg amidst great rejoicing, and gives thanks for recent successes at the shrine of the Holy Virgin of Kazan. 24. — Collision near Leeds between a Mid- land and a North-Eastern train resulting in the death of two persons. — Died, aged 75, Rev. J. B. Mozley, D.D., Canon of Worcester, and Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford. Canon Mozley was Bampton Lecturer in 1865, when he selected " Miracles " for his subject, the published volume afterwards giving rise to considerable discussion in theological and scientific circles. 25. — Died, aged 80, the Venerable Arch- deacon Clarke, one of the oldest members of Oxford University, having graduated at Christ Church in 1 818. 27. — Died at the advanced age of 95, Thomas Hamilton, formerly head of the publishing firm of Hamilton, Adams & Co., Paternoster Row. 31. — Cardinal Manning, along with five others newly elevated, receives his "hat "at a consistory held by the Pope. — President Hayes and Mrs. Hayes cele- brate their silver wedding at the White House, Washington. About 100 guests were present, "S3 JANUARY 1878. JANUARY including some who witnessed the marriage ceremony at Cincinnati twenty-five years ago, intimate personal friends of the President and Mrs. Hayes from Ohio, with members of the Cabinet and their families. 31. — Died from an accident in his own house, aged 54, M. A. Hayes, an Irish artist, at one time secretary to the Royal Hibernian Academy. 1878. January 1. — The Gazette announces the appointment of Sir Henry George Elliot, G.C.B., to be her Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of Austria ; and of the Right Hon. Austen Henry Layard, to be her Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Pleni ■ potentiary to the Sublime Ottoman Porte. — The Indian Famine Fund now being raised at the Mansion House reaches the total of 500,000/. sterling. Amount remitted to India475,ooo/and a further remittance ordered at the next meeting of the committee. In reply to a message from Sir Thomas White, General Sir Thomas Biddulph telegraphed from Osborne: — "The Queen is much gratified at the magnificent result of the Mansion- House collection." — Memorial window in honour of Bishop Pearson, Bishop Walton, and Thomas Fuller, unveiled in the Church of St. Martin, East- cheap, Dr. Hessey, Archdeacon of Middlesex, delivering on the occasion an address having reference to the special merits of these well- known churchmen. — The Turks commence a retreat from Sofia, which is occupied on the 4th by General Gourko, with a loss of twenty-four men. — A correspondent of the Daily News at Merthyr Tydvil, in describing the distress in South Wales, says that the stoppage of one after another of the great ironworks means simply and literally starvation. "It is not," obtained 2,609 votes against 2,155 polled by Sir Francis Lycett, the Liberal candidate. SO. — The Marquis of Salisbury appointed Foreign Minister, in room of Earl Derby, resigned. The place of the Marquis at the India Office was taken by Mr Gathorne Hardy, created Lord Cranbrook. Colonel Stanley became Secretary of State for War. 31. — Died, aged 86, Commander Thomas St.-iling, R.N., who had served in the Wrtlchern expedition, April 1. — Message from theQueen submitted It; the House of Lords by Earl Beaconsfield. ' The present state of public affairs in the T:\ist (it was said) and the necessity in connection (herewith of taking steps for the maintenance of peace and for the protection of the inter- ests of the Empire, having constituted in the opinion of her Majesty, a case of great emergency within the meaning of the Act of Parliament made in that behalf, her Majesty deems it proper to provide additional means for her military service, and therefore in pursuance of those Acts her Majesty has thought it right to communicate to the House of Lords that her Majesty is about forthwith to call up her army reserve forces and her militia reserve forces, or such part of them as her Majesty may think necessary shall be called out for permanent service." The Earl of Beaconsfield said he had intended to propose that on Thursday he would move an address to the Crown thanking her Majesty for her com- munication; but he found that in the other House objection had been made to Thursday, and therefore should defer his motion, on the understanding, however, that the debate should be taken simultaneously in both Houses, what- erer day should hereafter be agreed upon. — : A bulletin issued at Coniston this morning states that the condition of Mr. Ruskin 1:75 causes considerable anxiety. Dr. Pusey also exhibited signs of failing health at this time. 2 — Publication of the Circular to Foreign Courts by the Marquis of Salisbury, the new Foreign Secretary. Justifying the stand made by England against Russia, how far, he wrote, the stipulations of the Treaty of San Stefano would commend themselves as expedient t« the judgment of the European Powers, it is not at present possible to decide. But even if a considerable portion of them were such as were likely to be approved, the reservation of a right, at discretion, to refuse to accept a discussion of them in a Congress of the Powers would not on that account be the less open to the most serious objection. An inspection of the treaty will sufficiently show that her Majesty's Government could not, in a European Congress, accept any partial or fragmentary examination of its provisions. Every material stipulation which it contains involves a depar- ture from the treaty of 1856. Provision is made for an indemnity, of which the amount is obviously beyond the means of Turkey to discharge, even if the fact be left out of account that any surplus of its ^revenues is already hypothecated to other creditors. The mode of payment of this indemnity is left, in vague language, to ulterior negotiations between Russia and the Porte. Payment may be demanded immediately, or it may be left as an unredeemed and unredeemable obligation to weigh down the independence of the Porte for many years. Its discharge may be commuted into a yet larger cession of territory, or it may take the form of special engagements sub- ordinating in all things the policy of Turkey to that of Russia. It is impossible not to recognise in -this prevision an instrument of formidable efficacy for the coercion of the Ottoman Government if the necessity for employing it should arise. A discussion limited to articles selected by one Power in the Congress would be an illusory remedy for the dangers to English interests and to the permanent peace of Europe, which would result from the state of things which the treaty -proposes to establish. Neither the interests which her Majesty's Government are specially bound to guard, nor the well-being of the regions with which the treaty deals, would be consulted by the assembling of a Congress whose deliberations were to be restricted by such reservations fs those which have been laid down by Prince Gortschakoff in his most recent communication." — Lord Leitrim along with his cterk and car-driver shot dead while driving about three miles from Milford, on the shore of Mulroy Bay, and not far from Manor Vaughan, his lordship's residence in Derry county. A post mortem examination showed that there was a fracture on the skull across and transversely. The left side of the head contained leaden pellets and was much battered. The left arm was broken and the elbow-joint fractured by » a* APRIL 1878. APRIL ball. Lord Leitrim's revolver was taken from him, and it was believed, used against him. It was empty when found. Buchanan was struck by a ball in the face, and his chest and heart were riddled with shot. The clerk had two wounds in the head. Lord Leitrim's servant, Kincaid, in his evidence before the coroner at Milford, stated that he saw the struggle with Lord Leitrim at 250 yards' distance. Two shots were fired on the road after Lord Leitrim got off the car. ' ' I could see (the witness said) his white hair as he stood on the road. I could not see whether he had lost hold of the reins before getting off the car.. After I heard the last shots fired I saw a man taking up a weapon to his lordship. There were then two men on the road with him behind the car." He added : " It might be ten minutes before I got up, during which the struggle lasted. Buchanan was lying on the road dead when I got up to where Lord Leitrim was. When I reached Lord Leitrim he was lying partly on his side with his head in the water. He was dead. I saw two men rowing a boat across Mulroy Bay." These, he stated, wore black coats ; but he had previously seen two men in grey coats, which creates a suspicion that there were four assail- ants. The jury found a verdict of wilful murder against some persons unknown. A police cordon was drawn round this district of Donegal and several arrests made. This gross agrarian outrage was several times alluded to in Parliament during the session. a. — Lords Granville and Hartington re- ceived a deputation at the Westminster Palace Hotel from various Liberal associations of the country, with two objects — one, Jo give their leaders assurance of sympathy and confidence, and, secondly, to inform them of the earnest- ness of their desire to save England from the shame and misery of war. Addresses were delivered by the Opposition leaders. 4. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer in- troduces the Budget. On the whole the revenue, estimated at 79.146,000/. had pro- duced 79,763,298/., being an excess of 617,298/. Of this excess, however, he attributed some 300,000/. to the apprehensions of increased taxation, which within the last few weeks had led to the duty being paid on a considerable amount of exciseable articles. Passing to the expenditure for the past year he showed that it amounted in the aggregate to 78,903,495/., leaving a surplus, of 8,59,803/. But 3,500,000/. had been spent within the year out of the vote of credit, which converted the surplus into a deficit on the year of 2,640,000/. To supply the money spent on account of the vote of credit, 750,000/. had been taken from the ordinary surplus of the year, and 2,750,000/. had been raised by Exchequer bonds for one year. He estimated the expenditure for the coming year at 81,019,676/., and the revenue at 79,460,000/. Of the vote of credit, 1276 1,543,000/. has been absorbed by the army services, while 1,916,000/. has been spent by the navy, chiefly in the purchase of ships of war. The total extraordinary expenditure for the purposes contemplated by the vote of credit would amount to 5,000,000/., of which 1,500,000/. belongs to the accounts of 1878-79. It was proposed to increase the dog-tax from 5-r. to Js. 6d. ; to add 21I. to the Income-tax ; and 4 Houses of Parliament intimating marriage of Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret, daughter, of Prince Frederick Cbarles of Prussia. The customary addresses were moved two days afterwards, and provision also made for the royal- pair, after considerable discussion in the Commons. — Died, at the great age of 96, Tibbie Shiels (Mrs. Richardson) famous in the days of Scott, Wilson, and Hogg, and well known since to anglers as the blythesome landlady of St. Mary's Cottage, at" St. Mary's- Loch, Selkirk- shire. ■ — Came on before Vice-Chancellor Malms, the case of the Agar-Ellis infants, involving- the validity of apromise alleged- to have been male by a Protestant prior to his marriage with a Roman Catholic that all the children of the marriage should be brought up in- the Roman Catholic faith. Shortly after the birth of the eldest child; the father retracted the promise, directed- his wife to have the children educated as Protestants; subsequently engaged Pro- testant governesses, and habitually took them to Protestant churches on 'Sunday. The wife, unknown to the husband, took the children on wee'i days to confession and services at Ronan Catholic churches, and imbued their minds with the d : stinctive doctrines of that church, till at last the children, three girls of the re- spective ages of-' twelve, eleven, and nine, refused to accompany their father to Protestant places of worship. The father having expressed his intention to send them away from home to the care of a-Protestant clergyman, the mother presented a petition Tinder the Infants Custody Act, 1873. for an 'order preventing the children' from being deprived of her care and society, and for directions as to their education which would admit of their being brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. Appeal dismissed, with costs. 27. — Congratulatory banquet to Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury in the Riding School at Knightsbridge Barracks, the Duke of A'* JULY 1878 AUGUST Bucclcuch, who presided, speaking of the Prime Minister as "a conqueror who had conquered war and brought back peace." Referring to Mr. Gladstone's description of the Convention of Constantinople as " an insane Convention " the Premier said " that is a strong epithet, but I do not pretend to be as competent a judge of insanity as the right hon. gentleman who used it. I will say not to the right lion, gentleman what I had occasion in say in the House of Lords this year, ' Naviget Anticyram ; ' but I would put this issue to an intelligent English jury — Which do you believe most likely to enter into an insane convention, a body of English gentlemen honoured by the favour of their sovereign and the confidence of their fellow-subjects, managing your affairs for five years, I hope with prudence and not altogether without success, or a sophistical rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity and gifted with an egotistical im- agination that can at all times command an interminable and inconsistent series of argu- ments to malign his opponents and to glorify himself?" In the course of a short corres- pondence which arose out of these remarks, Lord Beaconsfield declined to search through his recent speeches for the purpose of satisfying Mr. Gladstone. 27. — Unveiling of statue erected in honour of Dr. Chalmers, George Street, Edinburgh. 29. — Debate renewed in both Houses con- cerning protocols of Berlin Congress. In the Lord*, the Earl of Rosebery delivered an amusing speech describing the policy of the Go- vernment as a policy of obscurity enlivened by sarcasm. The Schouvaloff agreement reminded him of nothing so much as Bottom's reply in " Midsummer Night's Dream" when Starveling suggests that, after all, the killing must be left out. " Not a whit ; " but a prologue must be written seeming to say "we will do no harm with our swords, and that Pyramus is not killed indeed. This will put them out of fear." — In the Commons, Lord Hartington moved re- solutions expressing regret at the unsatisfactory manner in which the claims of Greece had been met at the Congress, and condemning the un- necessary extension of our military liabilities and the undafined engagements entered into without the previous knowledge or authority of Parliament. In course of debate Mr. Gladstone spoke for two hours and a half, warning the House against a policy, concocted in the dark and as yet only half revealed, for increasing responsibility without increasing strength by laying new burdens on the backs of a too- confiding people. The debate went on till August 2nd, when the resolutions were re- jected by a majority of 143 in a House of 533 members. — The Marquis of Lome announced as Lord Dufferin's successor in the Governor- Generalship of Canada. 1292 August 1. — Ceremonial cutting at Greenock of the first sod of a new wet dock (afterwards named in honour of James Watt) by Provost and Mrs. Lyle. — Died, aged 79, John, Lord Cowan, Senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh. 3. — Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury, " the two heroes of the day," as they came to be called, presented with the freedom of the City of London, and afterwards entertained at a banquet in the Guildhall presided over by the Lord Mayor. The Prime Minister spoke of the Berlin Congress as resulting in an enduring peace by which all the Powers concerned would be benefited. Two days later their Lordships, who for the time being represented, or rather acted for the entire Cabinet, received at the Foreign Office a huge deputation representing the Conservative Associations of England and Wales. — The Austrians proceed to occupy Bosnia, within which territory an Italian consul had a few days previously been murdered by in- surgents. — New bridge in Regent's Park, near Gloucester Gate entrance, opened by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, Ranger of the Park. — Mdlle. Dodu decorated with the Legion of Honour in consideration of dexterous telegraphic service rendered to her country during the war with Germany. 6. — Sir S. Northcote submits a supple- mentary financial statement anticipatory of a vote for an extra sum of ^2,618,000 "in- curred to prevent war," and to be raised in the first instance by Exchequer Bonds. Mr. Gladstone, following Mr. Childers, contended that the Government were sapping all the principles of financial control by concealing expenditure and under-estimating, while the practice of spreading charges over years was not only delusive but contrary to all the precedents of old British finance. In the course of an otherwise somewhat sharp dis- cussion the Speaker was under the necessity of "naming Major O'Gorman, who, how- ever, made a becoming apology next day. 7. — Home-coming of the Earl and Countess of Rosebery celebrated with much heartiness by the tenantry around Dalmeny. 8. — Disastrous railway collision reported from New York, the Great Southern Express, while rounding a curve after crossing the Ohio, being run full into by a freight train, and fourteen passengers killed on the spot. Sur- vivors were rescued with difficulty, the night being dark and the officials in most instances requiring to be assisted themselves. 13. — Undeterred by unfavourable weather, her Majesty leaves Osborne for the purpose of reviewing the Special Service Fleet at Spithead. AUGUST 1878 SEPTEMBER 13. — Died at Brechin, aged 65, the Rev. George GilfiHan of Dundee, a popular preacher in the U. P. body, but still more widely known as an author and critic. 14. — Discussion in the Commons concerning the death of Mr. Ogle, Times correspondent in Thessaly. 16. — Parliament prorogued, the Royal Speech winding up a session of surprises, by referring among other topics to the defensive Convention concluded with the Sultan. "It gives," it was said, "as regards his Asiatic Empire, a more distinct expression to the engagements which in principle I, together with other Powers, accepted in 1856, but of which the form has not been found practically effectual. The Sultan has, on the other hand, bound himself to adopt and carry into effect the measures necessary for securing the good government of these provinces. In order to promote the objects of this agreement, I have undertaken the occupation and administration of the island of Cyprus. " — General de Mezentsoff, chief of the Russian Private Police, assassinated at St. Petersburg, his assailants succeeding for a time in making their escape. 19. — The Khedive makes important pecuni- ary concessions to his creditors through Mr. Rivers Wilson. 21. — Festivities at Liverpool connected with a banquet prepared for certain Cabinet Minis- ters visiting the port, and the opening of a new branch of the Sailors' Home. — Died, aged 72, Ex-Queen Christina of Spain. 22. — Discovery of the money (£8,500) stolen by the cashier Gray from the City of Glasgow Branch Bank, Isle of Man. — Suspension announced of the publishing houses of Virtue & Co., Isbister & Co., and Tinsley Brothers. 23. — Thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy rains in London, and floods experienced in many parts of England and Scotland. 24. — Her Majesty arrives at Dunbar on a visit, extending over three days, to the Duchess of Roxburghe, Broxmouth Park. 26. — Four lives lost in a fire at Birmingham, the entire Dennison family, with the exception of Mr. Dennison himself, who had a narrow escape, being sacrificed through want of energy, it was thought, and decision among fire officials and spectators. 27. — The seat in Argyllshire vacated through the acceptance of Govirnor-Generalship of Canada by Marquis of Lome, won by his younger brother, Lord Colin Campbell, who polled 1462 votes against 1 107 given to J. W. Malcolm. Xz 27. — Earthquake shocks felt in Holland, Belgium, and Germany. 31. — Six persons killed and forty injured in a railway collision at Sittingbourne Station, on the London, Chatham and Dover line, a fast excursion train from Ramsgate, travelling at the rate of forty miles an hour, dashing into certain goods waggons which had inadvertently found their way on to the main line when in process of being shunted to n siding. The guard and under-guard of the gopds train were apprehended on a charge of manslaughter. September 1. — A hurricane of appalling severity sweeps over a great part of Hungary and causes an immense loss of life in the town of Eslau. — Died at Thirlestane Castle, aged 75- Thomas Maitland, G.C.B., eleventh Earl of Lauderdale, Standard Bearer of Scotland, and Marshal of the Royal Household. 2. — Died, aged 75> George Payne, a noted patron of the turf. — Kingholm mills, on the Nith, near Dumfries, destroyed by fire, the damage being estimated at £10,000. 3. — One of the most disastrous river collisions ever recorded occurred this (Tues- day) evening on the Thames at Becton Reach, near Woolwich, the favourite river steamboat Princess Alice with a crowd of between 700 and 800 excursionists on board being run down and cut in two by the Tyne screw collier Bywell Castle passing out to sea. The exact loss of life was never clearly ascertained, but making a large allowance for possibilities it was thought that at least 700, many of them women and children, perished in the rush and confusion of the moment, surrounded by boats and almost within reach of the shore. The Princess Alice, one of the largest saloon steamers of the London Steamboat Company, left London about 1 1 o'clock in the morning for Gravesend and Sheerness, many extra excursionists being induced by the fine weather to go on board for a holiday trip. The vessel left Gravesend on the return journey soon after 6 o'clock in the evening, and arrived within sight of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, at about 8 o'clock. The screw steamer Bywell Castle was then approaching on the opposite course, each vessel being about mid-stream, and so continued till a point was reached a little below North Woolwich Gardens, close by the spot where the collision between the Metis and Wentworth occurred. What happened within a moment or two it was impossible to describe in any general way, but the main fact, seen or experienced by all on board, was that the Princess Alice, struck by the screw steamer on the port side near the sponson, commenced to sink bow first almost before the crash of collision was realised. A very few saved themselves by clambering on to the Bywell 1293 SEPTEMBER i8;8 SEPTEMBER Castle, but most rushed aft, shrieking and struggling in a surging mass, which made any attempt to save life by her own boats or life- buoys hopeless. Small boats instantly put off from other vessels and also from the shore, while the Duke of Teck, another steamer belonging to the same company, also on a homeward trip, did what was possible in the way of picking up poor victims, screaming in anguish of spirit and praying for help, out of the dark river. The dead were hastily secured in numbers severely tasking the utmost power of willing workers, and taken ashore to various buildings turned for the occasion into mortu- aries. One of the stewards said, " I ran to a young lady with whom I was keeping company and took her on my shoulder, being a good swimmer, and jumped overboard, and swam to the shore ; but as I was going my poor girl slipped off my shoulders, or was dragged off, and I lost her although I dived for her. I saw a gentleman (Mr. Talbot, of Forest Hill), who was sinking, and caught hold of him and held him until we were picked up." He saw hundreds in the water drowning, but could not help them. He thought there were about 700 on board. One young woman said that her baby was washed out of her arms, and that she has lost her husband and three little ones. One man reached the north shore with a life- buoy round him. He states that he jumped overboard after telling his wife to throw their children and jump after him ; but he lost them all. Captain Harrison of the Bywell Castle, although his vessel was uninjured, abandoned his northern voyage, cast anchor in the Thames not far from the scene of disaster, and returned to London for the purpose of awaiting such official inquiry as might be ordered. A general impression prevailed that the collision was caused by the Princess Alice starboarding her helm when she ought to have continued her course on the port helm. This point, however, was difficult to establish in evidence, as the captain (Grinstead) and nearly all his navi- gating hands, with the exception of one engineer, went down with the steamer. 3. — Fire broke out this afternoon in the turpentine and oil stores of- Messrs. Price, Castle Baynard Wharf, Blackfriars, and for some hours seriously threatened total destruc- tion to that part of Thames. Street, as well as to much other river-side property, full of valuable stores. The damage was roughly estimated at ;£35,oco. (See also Sept. 16, 1845, p. 182.) — Opening of railway communication be-, tween Sydney and Wagga, New South Wales, a distance of over 300 miles. 6. — Mehemet Ali Pasha, the Turkish Com- missioner sent to pacify Albania, assassinated at Yacova, near Scutari. 8. — Railway accident near Cork ; four persons killed and thirty injured. 1294 9. — Dr. Nobiling, who had attempted to assassinate the Emperor of Germany, June 2nd, (p. 1284,) dies in prison from the self- inflicted wounds under which he had been suffering since he sought the life of his aged sovereign. — Falkland memorial at Newbury, Berks, unveiled by the Earl of Carnarvon. — Foundation-stone laid of a new deep-sea harbour at Boulogne, much less in area than Cherbourg but uniformly deeper at the lowest tides. 11. — Naturally much moved by the Princess Alice calamity, only eight days old, the public mind was still further agitated by the most fatal colliery explosion yet known which occurred shortly after twelve o'clock to-day in the Prince of Wales pit, Abercame, owned by the Ebbw Vale Company, and situated in a charming valley well known to travellers along the western section of the Monmouthshire railway. The first, and indeed, the only signal indicating such a calamity in the first instance to people at the pit-head, and then to the country all around, was the loud rumbling sound, followed by a flash ;of flame up the shaft, and next the dreaded column of dense, black smoke ob- served to 3hoot high up into the air unbroken, but to be scattered in a moment all over the district. Of 262 known to be in the inner workings of the pit not one was saved to tell the story of the explosion— how it happened, at what point, or under what circumstances. The ventilation was understood to be abundant, and the discipline strict, no blasting ever having been allowed in the black-vein seam, while the use of naked lights was- sternly prohibited. When the winding-gear could be put to rights, a venturesome exploring- party sent up eighty- survivors found near the bottom of the shaft, but no progress could be made beyond the stables, or about 400 yards, where the horses were found all dead. Five other workmen found in this neigh- bourhood were sent up alive, but unconscious, and succumbed within an hour or two. Of the 262 who perished in this most disastrous explosion, 134 were married men, 67 single, 6 widowers, and 55 hoys, varying in age from thirteen to eighteen years, the widows. and children depending on them as bread-winners, number- ing 520. Considerable time elapsed before any of the bodies could be recovered, as the water of Cwmcarn Brook required in the first instance to be diverted into the mine for the purpose of purifying the workings from foul air. 12 — In presence of a great crowd, assem- bled to see the final turning of the stone into its upright position, Cleopatra's Needle was this afternoon successfully raised upon its pedestal on the Thames Embankment and completely fixed next day, when it was handed over to public care by its enthusiastic donor, Dr. Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S. SEPTEMBER 1878 OCTOBER '13.— Died, at AsUiam Hall, Penrith, Dr. Jackson, Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, where he succeeded Dr. Thomson on his elevation to the bishopric of Gloucester and Bristol. 14. — A band of 600 Mormons leaves Liver- pool for Utah. 15. — Commencement of a gale which con- tinued over the greater part of two days, and caused much damage to shipping along the coasts of England and Scotland. 18. — The Queen invests the Marquis of Lome, the new Governor-General of Canada with the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. — After waiting three days for a response to his expressed intention of waiting on the Ameer at Cabul, Sir Neville Chamberlain leaves Peshawur with an escort of 1O00 men mostly armed — "too large for a mission," said Lord Carnarvon, " too small for an a'rmy. " On the 22nd, Sheire Ali's commander at the first fort of Ali Musjid, after an interview with Major Cavagnari refused to let the Mission advance further into Affghan territory. Recommending caution and forbearance in our intercourse with the people as well as with the rulers of a country so difficult either to subdue or retain as Affghanis- tan, Lord Lawrence now writes that political, military, and even moral considerations were all against involving ourselves in hostilities with Affghanistan. No doubt, he admitted, Shere Ali had aggravated any offence lie intended by the mode in 'which he resisted our overtures "more particularly in the threat of his Mir Akhor at Ali Musjid to shoot Major Cavagnari if he did not turn back. But we 'should not bear too hardly on the Ameer on this account. I have no doubt that if we promise to give up forcing a mission on him he would make any apology that we-could reasonably Call for. I urge that we were wrong in theoutset in our policy to the Ameer in many instances which could be pointed out, and therefore ought not be over- hard on him in accepting his excuses. I insist that there will be no real dishonour to us in coming t6 terms with him ; whereas by pressing on him our own policy, we may incur most serious difficulties, and even disasters." 20. — Mention made that Mr. Rivers Wilson had been appointed Minister of Finance in Egypt. — Died at Ravensbury, Dartmouth, aged John Penn, principal partner in the famous Greenwich engineering firm, an F.R.S., and one of the earliest mem- bers of the Institution of Civil and Mechanical Engineers. 26.— The Board of Trade decline acceding to a request for reducing the height of the Forth Bridge from 150 to 135 feet. The foundation stone of the structure was laid four days afterwards on Inchgarvie Rock during a sharp storm which swept up the Firth. 28.— Died, aged 69 , Sir T. M. Biddulph, Keeper of H.M. Privy Purse. October 1. — Died, aged 71, the Rt. Hon. William Keogh, an Irish Judge in the Common Pleas Division of the High Court of Justice, prominent in the Irish annals of political dis- cord for his decision concerning the Galway Election Petition of 1872. (See pp. 1058-62.) 2. — Official intimation made this (Wednes- day) morning through the newspapers that the City of Glasgow Bank, established in 1839, and which in July last declared a dividend of 12 per cent., would not open its doors for business or issue any additional notes, but that certain other of the Scottish Banks "with a view to lessen the inconvenience of the stop- page -to the public" would "receive, in the ordinary course of business, the Notes of the said Bank now in circulation." Consternation at the announcement, unexpected beyond a very limited banking circle, was not confined to either shareholders or depositors, but seriously affected every branch of trade, and almost every commercial enterprise, particularly in the west "of Scotland where the Bank had a wide, and, for proper business purposes, a very valuable connection. The resolution of the other Banks to accept " City " notes presently current, in the ordinary way of business, was highly approved of and tended greatly to mitigate the first pres- sure of so disastrous a collapse. Among other firms hanging on to the unfortunate Bank, and deeply responsible for its huge deficit, were Smith, Fleming & Co. , London, Win. Nicol & Co., Bombay, and Fleming & Co., Kurrachee, all trading very much in common with each other, "and announced next day as having "sus- pended " with liabilities roughly estimated at ^3,000,000. A prompt but careful enough investigation carried on night and day till the. 5th justified the accountants, Messrs. Anderson and McGregor in then reporting that the Bank would be unable to continue business. (See October 9th, 18th and 25th.) 4. — First, peal of the new bells suspended in the belfry of St. Paul's, London. 5. — Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges opened to the public free of toll. — Died at his London residence, Eatoii Square, aged 85, Frederick Thesiger, Lord. Chelmsford, formerly Lord Chancellor. . _ — Died at his residence, The Lodge, Melton. Mowbray, Sir Francis Grant, D.C.L., Presi- dent of the Royal Academy. 1295 OCTOBER 1878 OCTOBER 7. — Completion of the Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the loss of Im'-. perial troops up to this date being officially estimated at 4,000. — Died, aged 66, Geo. H. Whalley, M.P. for Peterborough, prominent for his Protestant zeal, and as a supporter of the Tichborne Claimant. — Died at Leeds, aged 75, George Thomp- son, well known in his day as an anti-slavery lecturer, and, later, for advocating the total repeal of corn-laws. 9. — The Scottish Banks complete arrangements for still further mitigating the commercial pressure by taking over " City " deposit accounts in cases where the balances do not exceed £2co, placing one half of the amount to credit on current account, or payable on demand, and, where balances exceed £200, issuing deposit receipts for one half the amount repayable on notice being given. — Among other firms reported about this time as having sus- pended payment were Heugh, Balfour and Co. Manchester, £1,560,000; T. D. Finlay and Co, Glasgow, .£200,000 ; and, later in the month, Matthew Buchanan and Co., £1,350,000; and Henderson and Dimmock (Drumpellier Coal Co.) £80,000. 11. — Panic at the Colosseum Music Hall, Paradise Street, Liverpool, resulting in the death of thirty-seven persons trampled in some cases almost beyond recognition at a barrier near the door towards which the greater part of an audience calculated at about 3,000 were frantically pressing to get out. The panic, thought to have originated with a fight inside, but was more immediately created by a thought- less cry of "Fire." — Died suddenly, aged 76, Monsignor Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, a French controversialist of acknowledged ability, and who had been called when young to the death- bed of Talleyrand. 13. — William O. Stafford, formerly a clerk in the Liverpool Branch of the Bank of ling- land, arrested on board a yacht in Jersey har- bour and charged with stealing £15,000 in notes the property of the Bank. £10,000 was found in possession of Stafford, who confessed to the theft, was conveyed to London, where he was examined before the Lord Mayor, and ultimately committed for trial. 14. — Died, aged 61, Henry Thomas Riley, translator and editor of the " Liber Albus " and other learned works. 16. — The Leaf Wing of the Warehousmen and_Clerks' Schools at Caterham opened by Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lome. 17. — Cyprus placed in telegraphic communi- cation with Great Britain. — Market price of standard silver reported as having fallen to 49irf. per oz. 1296 IS. — Late this (Friday) evening the official investigators into the state of the City of Glasgow Bank issue a report of such a dis- heartening nature as greatly intensified the prevailing commercial gloom. Wild as specu- lation ran, no one expected that the deficiency would be so great or that the maladministration of the directors had been so flagrant. Briefly stated, the report showed the deficiency to be no less than £5,190,983 in. yi., or, when the lost capital of one million was added, a fright- ful total of £6,190,983 iij. 3rf. The report of the Investigation Committee had not been printed for many hours before a warrant was obtained for the apprehension of the Manager, Secretary, and Glasgow Board of Directors, at the instance of the Lord Advocate and the Procurator fiscal for Lanarkshire. The arrests were quietly made in Glasgow and Edinburgh on Saturday evening, October 19 ; and on Monday the whole passed the bar of the Police Court, and were remitted to! the Sheriff on a charge of fraud. Subsequently the prisoners were lodged in Duke Street prison. On the 29th, they were further charged with the theft of bills left for collection to a large amount (£20,000), and formally committed for trial. Subsequently, Mr. John Stewart was released on bail-bond for £15,000. After a full debate before the Court, bail was refused in the case of the other directors and officials. A meet- ing of shareholders took place on the 22nd, in the City Hall, when it was unanimously resolved to wind up the affairs of the Bank by voluntary liquidation. Subsequently, on appeal to the Court of Session by London creditors, (Bright- wen and others,) the liquidation was ordered to proceed under the supervision of the Scotch Court. — Died at Portobello, aged 86, David Laing, I.L.D., Keeper of the Signet Library, Edinburgh, editor of the "Life and Works of John Knox," of several early Scottish poets, of much early Scottish fugitive poetry, and a fellow Worker with Scott in establishing the "Bannatyne Club," of which Dr. Laing was Secretary ovef the entire period of its existence. (F'or Sale of Library, see Dec 1st, 1879, &c.) 19. — Twelve persons killed, and several injured through a collison at Pontypridd Junc- tion of the Taff Valley Railway, two passenger trains meeting at a curve while one was in process of being shunted. — The Metropolitan Board of Works agree to adopt the electric light on the Thames Em- bankment. 21. — The Indian Government having re- ceived a reply of an unsatisfactory nature from Shere AH, abundant help is promptly offered by many Indian princes, towards strengthening such British forces as may be directed against Afghanistan. The Home Government re- solved upon giving the Ameer another oppor- tunity before proceeding to hostilities. NOVEMBER I87S NOVEMBER 21. — Serious inundations reported from the Nile Valley ; 80,030 acres of land and 15 villages said to be submerged. 22, — Address presented to the Prince of Wales by Earl Granville thanking his Royal Highness for exertions in connection with the Paris Exhibition. 23. — Hurricane in Philadelphia, destroying or injuring many churches, factories, and private houses. 24, — Died in Dublin, aged 76, Paul Cullen, CD., Cardinal Archbishop of Ireland, a native of Ballytore, Kildare, and partly educated at the local school famous for having had Edmund Burke as a pupil. 25. — Renewed consternation in connection with Glasgow City Bank affairs, the liquidators to-day (Friday) giving official intimation of a " call " upon the shareholders of £500 P er £100 of stock payable in two equal instalments on 23rd December and 24th February. It was further intimated that "at a conference held with the Committee of shareholders, the liquidators intimated their anxious desire to give every assistance and facility to sharehqlders who might find it difficult to realise their assets on the moment except at serious loss." Ru- mours not altogether unfounded, but still exaggerated, were now prevalent that the gross ultimate liabilities, including winding-up ex- penses and possible litigation, might reach ,£7,000,000 and that it was scarcely likely either depositors or other creditors could be paid in full. — Chalmers's Spinning Mills, Dundee, des- troyed by fire. — An attempt made to shoot King Alphonso of Spain while driving through the Calle Mayor, Madrid, the would-be regicide being a poor cooper named Moncasi, a native of the province of Tarragona, and member of the International Society. 27. — Proceedings commenced against James Nicol Fleming, a former Director of the City of Glasgow Bank, and a debtor to the extent °f £1.250,030, presumed to have "with- drawn " to Spain within the last day or two. 30.— The RtHon.W. H. Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty, visits Cyprus officially. November l.--Maynooth College partly destroyed by fire, originating in a flue of the heating apparatus connected with the library, but which portion of the fabric, and the most valuable of its contents, was fortunately saved through great exertion on the part of students. — Mansion House Relief Fund in aid of sufferers through the sinking of Princess Alice steamer reported to have reached a little- over £37,ooo. — Died, aged 75, M. Gamier Pages, French politician and historian. 2.— Loss of the Russian Imperial yacht Livadia with the Grand Duke Sergius on board ; officers and crew saved. 3.— Died, aged 76, Kenneth McLay, a popu- lar Highland artist, and last surviving original member of the Royal Scottish Academy. 4.— City of Glasgow Bank Relief Fund instituted, Lord Provost Collins presiding at a Meeting in the Merchants Hall on the occasion. Two days later subscriptions were reported to the amount of £90,000. — Lord Penzance, Dean of Arches, pro- nounces judgment in the case of Coombe v. Edwards, a suit instituted for disobedience to a monition pronounced under the Public Wor- ship Regulation Act. Preparatory to entering upon the merits of the case his Lordship said the Court had reserved its judgment "until the rule for a prohibition in the case of Mr. Mackonochie had been decided ; for although the cases are not identical, a prohibition granted in the one would hardly leave room for this court to take compulsory measures in the other. That decision has now been made, and I venture to think that the result has caused a very general surprise. It has been a surprise, I imagine, to the learned members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to learn that the court of her Majesty in Council is an inferior court, and, as such, subjected to the control and supervision of the Common Law Courts; and still more So to find that this supervision, by a sweeping Use of the word 'jurisdiction,' extends to the regulation of their own procedure and practice. Disclaiming all sympathy with certain supposed cases in which law was pictured as triumphant and justice prostrate, Lord Penzance thus conclu- ded hi'! lengthy and careful analysis of this case of disobedience to monition : — "I have dwelt thus at large on the judgment pro- nounced in Mr. Mackonochie's case, because I conceive that the independence of this tri- bunal in matters regarding its own procedure demanded an adequate protest against the invasion thereby made Upon it. But the Queen's writ of prohibition, however unad- visedly issued, must command both obedience and respect. And, as I cannot proceed to punish Mr. Edwards, the defendant in this case, by imprisonment without the chance of running counter to the principles which have been acted upon in the case of Mr. Mackonochie, and possibly, if not probably, inviting another prohibition, I think it best for all parties to hold my hand and decline to proceed to compulsory measures at present." This judgment of Lord Penzance was discussed with considerable asperity in a pamphlet of some sixty pages by Lord Chief Justice Cockburn. 5. — Died, aged 57, William George Clark, a distinguished classical scholar, and joint editor, with Mr. W. Aldis Wright, of the "Cambridge Shakespeare." i-9r NOVEMBER 1878 NOVEMBER 6. — Died, at his country retreat, Anson's Farm, Essex, where he was in the habit of sojourning lately to recruit his somewhat exhausted energies, Samuel Phelps, justly ranked among the foremost actors of an age which included Young, Macready, and Charles Kean. Mr. Phelps was bom at Plymouth in 1806. — Died at Gravesend, aged 78, William Calcott, musician. 9. — Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Guildhall banquet "where there was a chance of hearing the voice of sense and truth," Lord Beacons- field expressed his belief that Russia would carry out with integrity the spirit of the Berlin Treaty, and defended also the proposed "recti- fication of frontier " in Afghanistan. — A Board of Trade return censures the captain of the Princess Alice for the sinking of his vessel and consequent loss of life in the collision of September 3rd. IO. — Close oMhe Paris Exhibition, the total number of admissions having been 16,032 725, or an average of -83,000 since 1st of May, while the drawings had been 2,600,000 francs against nearly -9,000,000 drawn at the Exhibi- tion of 1867. One of the closing incidents was the presentation of a testimonial to Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen. 11. — Died, aged 70, Charles Randolph, an eminent Clyde marine engineer who bequeathed ,£60,000 of his large fortune to the Building Fund of Glasgow University. 12. — Died suddenly, stricken down in the streets of Glasgow, John Matheson junior, of Cordale, a prominent and useful merchant, author of -a -book of Eastern travel " London to Delhi." 13. — Departure of the Marquis. Jand Mar- chioness of Lorne for Canada. — Frederick Leighton elected President of the Royal Academy, ia succession to the late Sir Francis Grant. 14. — Memorial bust of Michael Balfe, musician, unveiled in Dublin. 15. — The Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, refuse bail for City Bank Directors. — Floods throughout Norfolk, and gener- ally along the course of the Ouse, caused by recent heavy rain-falls and the sudden melting of an early winter snow. — Died, aged 35, W. R. Cooper, Egyptolo- gist, author of various works .concerning — Died, aged 89, General Delacombe, senior general on the "list" who had been engaged in active service as far back .as the retreat on Corunna under Moore, 1809. 1298 17. — Attempted -assassination of Humbert, King of Italy, an "International" named Passanente making two desperate attacks with a -dagger concealed in the folds of a small flag as the royal rcarriage was .passing from the Strada Carbonara into the Via San Giovanni. The Prime Minister, Cairoli, one of the party, was injured in the thigh, but not dangerously. 18. — Anticipating .the demand for papers likely to be made in Parliament, Lord Cranhrook obtains permission to publish his despatch of this date to the Governor-General of India, narrating -the events in Afghanistan since the negotiations cf 1873 carried on by Lord Northbrook, and declaring that unless a clear and satisfactory reply was now given by the Ameer his intentions weie to be considered as hostile, and action taken accordingly. 19. — A daring burglar, named Peace, thought to be also the murderer of Mr. DysoD, Sheffield (1876), sentenced at Central Criminal Court to penal servitude for life for robbery and the attempted murder of ■& constable at Blackheath, where as at other places near London the prisoner occupied a well-furnished house, and passed himself off as a gentleman of independent means. ■ — The Prime Minister declines with less than his usual courtesy to receive any depu- tation from the Affghan Committee, and more than hints that Lords Lawrence and North- brook were to blame for the complication, but refused to acknowledge responsibility. — Died, aged 57, Sam Bough, R.S.A., a native of Carlisle, but prominent as a Scottish artist for over thirty years. 21. — Almost simultaneously ivith a warlike resolution on the part of the Cabinet at home General Roberts commences operations which lead to the capture of Ali Musjid, an Affghan fort commanding the Khyber Pass, where Major Cavagnari was rudely stopped last month on his mission to CabuL 25. — Public entry of the Marquis bf Lorne and Princess Louise into Halifax, Nova Scotia. — Collision in the English Channel near Dungeness Point, between the barque Mod E'ilian of Carnarvon, on her first voyage, and the German steamer Pommerania, with over 100 emigrants on board and 125 of a crew ; forty-eight lives lost. — With a view to smooth over many current disquieting rumours the manager of the Caledonian Bank, Inverness, issues a circular to shareholders indicating that only a very moderate " call " was ever likely to be made upon them in respect of business losses. — Died, aged 84, Robert Waltis, engraver, who accomplished much in the highest style of art for Turner, Rogers, and the " Annuals" ] of his day. DECEMBER 1878 DECEMBER — Came on in Exchequer Chambers before Mr. Baron Huddleston and a common jury, the case of Whistler v. Rilskin, the plaintiff in his statement of claim alleging that the defendant had libelled him in a criticism upon one of his pictures exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, called " A Nocturne in Black and Gold." The passage complained of appeared in " Fors Clavigera :" — ' ' For Mr. Whistler's sake no less than for the protection of the purchaser, Sir Coutts Lindsay ought not to have admitted works into the gallery in which the ill-educated conceit of the artist so nearly approached the aspect of wilful imposture. I have seen and heard much of cockney impudence before now, but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." Mr. W. M. Rossetti, and Mr. W. Wills were examined for the plaintiff, while Mr. Burne Jones, Mr. Frith, and Mr. Tom Taylor gave evidence on the opposite side. On explanation having been given by the judge regarding the term "wilful imposture," the jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff, with a farthing damages, and judgment was thereupon given, but without costs. 27. — Order made that the Glasgow City Bank liquidation should proceed under author- ity of the Court of Session. 29. — Died at Folkestone, aged 65, Alfred Sydney Wigan, theatrical lessee, and widely known also as a consummate actor of difficult parts and delicate discrimination. 30. — Mr. Gladstone bids farewell to his Greenwich constituents in the course of a banquet at the Ship Hotel, and later in the day at the Skating Rink, Plumstead, where he spoke against the new Affghan war as unjust and impolitic. — Extradition treaty with Spain announced as having been completed. — Died at his residence, North Bank, Regent's Park, aged 61, George Henry Lewes, a versatile critic, essayist, and "biographer, author of the "Biographical History of Philosophy," "Life of Goethe," and "Phy- siology of Common Life ; " husband also of Miss Evans, author of " Adam Bede," &c. December 1. — General Roberts defeats the Ameer's troops in the Piewar Pass, an ad- vantage leading in the first instance to the evacuation of Jellalabad. — Died at Edinburgh, Mrs. Catherine Tait, the amiable and accomplished wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom she had been united in 1843, when Dr. Tait was Head Master of Rugby. ♦.— Involved to a small but responsible extent as shareholders in the City of Glasgow Bank, the Caledonian Banking Company at Inverness suspend payment for a time, and concur in a petition for liquidation, their capital being put down at ^6oo,ooo> The Court of Session afterwards sanctioned an agreement between the Caledonian and other Scotch banks. — The affairs of James Morton & Co. coming up for consideration in bankruptcy, it is found that of the proved liabilities amounting to nearly ^1,000,000, the City Bank were creditors for ,£722,000. 5 .^Killed in the hunting field by a fall from his horse while riding across a piece of ploughed land, Major John George Whyte- Melville, one of the most finished cross- country riders of his day, equally -at. home in " the shires " or on Exmoor, author of " Digby Grand" and many 'other well-remembered novels ; while he was no less popular in society, standing indeed without a- lival as laureate of the hunt. — Sixth Session of the Ninth Parliament of Queen Victoria opened by Commissionj the Royal Speech explaining that members had been called together at this unusual and probably inconvenient period in consequence of the Ameer of Afghanistan having repulsed a friendly mission in a manner leaving no alternative but to make a peremptory demand for redress. " This demand," it, was said, " having been disregarded, I have directed an expedition to be sent into his territory, and I have taken the earliest opportunity of calling you together, and making the communication required by law." The debate on the address turned naturally on Affghan affairs and par- ticularly on a despatch from Lord Cranbrook, first made public in the |newspapers. Lord Salisbury defending the Indian Secretary, and also Lord Lytton as a Viceroy "who combined the imagination of a poet with the shrewdness of a Scotchman." 8.— Publication of Shere Ali's apparently submissive bvrt really evasive reply to British proposals for a mission to Cabul. "None of the letters received," he wrote, "have been free from harsh expressions and hard words repugnant to courtesy and politeness, and in tone contrary to the ways of friendship. In his afflicted position," the Ameer continued, (his son Abdoolla being just dead), "patience and silence would have been specially be- coming." He finally disclaimed enmity to the British Government, and left the matter in the hands of God. 9. — News received that the Princess Alice of England, Grand Duchess of Hesse, was suffering from diphtheria caught in attendance on her children, the youngest of whom, the Princess Maria, born 1874, had died on the 1 6th of last month. The condition of her Royal Highness was reported in the first instance as on the whole favourable, yet the news caused much public anxiety, the Princess being a special favourite in this country not more from her personal agreeable qualities than from the patient, well-directed care she 1299 DECEMBER I878 DECEMBER had manifested in nursing her father, the Prince Consort, and her brother the Prince of Wales, when laid down by sickness. In the Franco-German war also her services among the wounded brought home were invaluable. Day by day, however, the reports from Hesse became less favourable. On the 13th her Royal Highness was reported to be in a dangerous condition. — The West of England and South Wales District Bank suspends payment, with liabilities estimated at ,£3,500,000. — St. Peter's Church, Bridgewater, de- stroyed by fire. — Debate on Affghan affairs commenced in both Houses of Parliament, Lord Cranbrook moving a resolution in the Lords asking that the revenues of India should be applied to defray the expenses of military operations beyond the frontier, while Mr. Whitbread, member for Bedford, moved that the" House disapprove altogether of the policy which- fed to the war with Affghanistan : Lord Lawrence' spoke against the Government, and Lord Napier and Ettrick in favour. Lord Beacons- field spoke of the debate as rather a wrangle than a discussion concerning a question which involved nothing less than the influence of England in Europe. He thought that con- sciously or unconsciously the opposition was based on the pernicious doctrine of peace at any price — a doctrine, he continued which had occasioned more wars than the most ruthless conquerors. He had never described rectifi- cation of frontier as an object of the war, but as a possible consequence. For defensive purposes there was the greatest possible ad- vantage on the side of a " scientific frontier " as compared with a haphazard frontier. It was necessary to rectify, in despite of the Ameer, a frontier which hides from us all that is passing in Affghanistan. In the Lords, the Government motion was carried by 201 votes to 65, supporting an amendment proposed by Lord Halifax. In the course of the second night's debate in the Commons, Mr. Gladstone complained of the secrecy manifested by Government regarding their Affghan policy, anticipated, with a spirit almost prophetical, the disappearance of the Ameer from a country now being laid waste by war after a season of peace, and trusted that a succession of other such viceroys as Canning, Lawrence, Mayo, and Northbrook might arise to undo the evil work now begun. The debate was continued by Sir W. Harcourt, Mr. Grant-Duff, Lord I lartington and Mr. Goschen on the part of the Opposition, but on a division Government obtained a majority of 101 in a House of 555 members. An amendment, moved by Mr. Fawcett, against applying the revenues of India to war purposes in Affghanistan, was afterwards negatived by a majority of 1 10. 14. — Died amid expressions of universal regret, on the seventeenth anniversary of her 1300 father's death, the Princess Alice of England, Grand Duchess of Hesse Darmstadt. Her Royal Highness, born 25tH April, 1843, was laid in the mausoleum of Rosenhohe on the 18th amid many evidences of sorrow on the part of the people and public bodies here as well as throughout Germany, and even in America. 16. — Instead of proposing a grant under the partially-signed Rhodope Commission, as was promised, Sir S. Northcote intimates to-night that Government had abandoned all intentions of rendering aid under the circumstances brought to light. — William Scott, of the firm of John Innes Wright & Co. examined, and afterwards apprehended on a charge of theft or embezzle- ment of £48,000, proceeds of bills discounted by Messrs. Glen, Walker & Co. — Henry Taylor of the firm of Henry Taylor & Co. was examined in bankruptcy next day. — News received of the murder at Crete of W. R. Anderson, Superintendent of Eastern Telegraph Company. 17. — Addresses of condolence to the Queen on the death of Princess Alice moved in both Houses of Parliament. Similar addresses were forwarded at this time to Her Majesty by many corporate bodies, civil and eccle- siastical. Parliament adjourned to-day to meet again 13th February. — Among bankruptcy examinations about this time and exciting considerable interest as throwing light on City Bank affairs, were those of Henry Taylor & Sons, Henry Inglis of Torsonce, and J. N. Fleming, the latter in absence of the principal. At an adjourned examination Mr. Inglis affirmed his entire ignorance of the credit given by the Bank until within a week or two of the stoppage. 18. — Rumoured consent of Mr. Gladstone to contest Mid-Lothian against the Earl of Dalkeith, sitting member, at next general election. 19. — A deputation of British residents from California wait on Lord Beaconsfield for the purpose of presenting him with a richly orna- mented casket and address expressive of their " high appreciation of the brilliant statesman- ship which had secured an honourable peace to Europe. " 20. — Jellalabad famous for its gallant defence by General Sale 1841-42, entered by General Brown without opposition, his troops advancing gaily with bands playing to encamp on the south side of the town. Although 100 miles east of Cabul rumours were now current at this end of the Pass that the Ameer had fled, although in what direction was not exactly known, but possibly to Balkh, with the Russian Mission, which at the urgent desire of the English Government had withdrawn from CaLuL DECEMBER 1878-79 JANUARY — Various " test cases," as they were called, involving the liability of City Bank share- holders under differing conditions begin to be dealt with by the Court of Session in Edinbugh. The petition of Muir and others for rectifica- tion of the list of contributories was dismissed in the First Division. The petition of Nelson Mitchell, claiming deletion from the list of shareholders on the ground of having sold out before the date of voluntary liquidation was also refused. This decision ruled several others, among them that of Alex. Mitchell who sought to resign his trusteeship on 1 6th October. 21. — Marriage of the Duke of Cumberland and the Princess Thyra solemnised at the Royal Castle of Christiansborg. — A long-continued frost of great severity is followed by such a snow storm as blocks up all railway traffic in the north of Scotland. The frost continued over the greater part of December and into January. — The remains of George Cruickshank removed from their temporary resting-place in Kensal Green Cemetery to St. Paul's (See February 1st. p. 1262.) 23. — John Duncan, Secretary of the Greenock Railway, and otherwise in high esteem for works of benevolence, sentenced by Lord Young at Glasgow Winter Circuit Court to penal servitude for life on charge of fra'ud' and imposition in connection with his- official duties. — Died at Paisley, aged f r',- Da'vid' Semple, F.S.A. Scot., an industrioute and intelligent local antiquary. 24. — The Fund 1 instituted for relief of Glasgow City Bank shareholders stated to have already reached, £342,747, but large sums were still being received through committees and collections in towns all over Scotland and England, as well as from Scotch residents in America, India and the Colonies. — Died, aged 71, Joseph Nash, an artist in watfir-colours famed for such " interiors " as made up the greater part of " Mansions of England in the Olden Time." 26.— The Queen, writing from Osborne expresses herself as anxious to take the earliest opportunity of expressing publicly her heart- felt thanks for the universal and most touching sympathy shown in connection with the death of the Princess Alice. Overwhelmed with grief at the loss of a dear child, who was a bright example of loving tenderness, courageous devotion, and self-sacrifice to duty, it is most soothing to the Queen's feelings to see how entirely her grief is shared by her people. Re- ferring tenderly to the grief of her son-in-law the Grand Duke, and his gratitude for sym- pathy shown by the English people, her I.lajesty concluded : — " Seventeen years ago, at this very time, when a similar bereavement crushed the Queen's happiness, and this be- loved and lamented daughter was her great comfort and support, the nation evinced the same touching sympathy as well as when, in December 1871, the Prince of Wales was at the point of death. Such an exhibition of true and tender feeling will ever remain engraven on the Queen's heart and is the more to be valued at this moment of great distress in the country which no one more deeply deplores than the Queen herself." I879. January 1. — The French Government giv* notice of terminating certain time-Treaties of Commerce with great Britain and Austro- Hungary. — A gigantic scheme for raising £9,000,000 by way of lottery, £3,000,000 to be applied for relief of City Bank Shareholders, quashed in consequence of an unfavourable opinion expressed by Lord Advocate Watson, and other law advisers of the Crown. 2. — A thirty-eight-ton gun burst on board H. M. S. Thunderer at Ismid, killing twelve men and wounding thirty -five. The muzzle was blown overboaVd 1 , and turret disabled, but the ship otherwise rtof much injured. The gun was ascer- tained to have been double loaded at the time of firing. — Died at Bergen, West Friesland, his native place, whither he had retired after realising a handsome fortune, the popular dwarf Haneman, known all over the world as " General Tom Thumb." a name and title thought to have been bestowed by Her Majesty at one of his early exhibitions for the amusement of guests at Windsor Castle. 3. — Several prominent events connected with the United States mark this early day of the year, General Grant being presented with the freedom of the City of Dublin, the States resuming specie payments, and Caleb Cushing, lawyer, statesman, judge, and diplomatist, dying at the age of 79. — The liquidators of the City of Glasgow Bank issue a report stating that they propose to declare a dividend to all admitted creditors of 5*. per £ payable about the middle of February. The total amount of claims lodged on or before 16th December, was about £10,500,000. Up to the close of last year the amount received in cash and obligations to account of the first call, and partly to account of the second instalment, was ,£691,893 3s. Si/. — Midland Railway guards "strike" against a proposed alteration of duty work from sixty to sixty-six hours. 4. — Rumours affecting the stability of Williams's ' Cornish Bank at Truro find confirmation in its stoppage with liabilities 1 301 JANUARY 1879 JANUARY estimated at ^658,000. The bank was established in 1 77 1 with a fixed note issue of about £50,006. — Sir Bartle Frere issues a notification that the enforcement of British demands against Cetewayo, the Zulu king, had been placed in the hands of General Lord Chelmsford. — Moncasi executed at Madrid for attempt- ing to assassinate King Alfonso. 80,000 people were said to have witnessed his garotting in the Campo de Guardias. 5. — The French senatorial elections result in a Republican victory. — Shem Hall, Walthamstow, for many years the residence of the late Cardinal Wiseman, almost totally destroyed by fire. — Died at Turin, Sig. Bartolomeo Gastoldi, Professor of Geology. 7. — Retirement of Sir Anthony Cleasby, a Judge in the High Court of Justice, elevated to the Bench in 1875. — The King of Holland married to Princess Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont. — Died suddenly at Oxford, aged 72, Charles Neate, Senior Fellow of Oriel, and for several years an esteemed Professor oi Political" Economy. — Died at Aran, Siged 80, Dr. Raiichenstein, Swiss philologist. 8. — Issue of Letters Patent confirming a previous Royal Proclamation for taking possession of the Port or Settlement known as Walfisch Bay, and annexing the same to the Cape Colony. — Died John King, formerly of Exeter College, Oxford, an ecclesiastical historian, author of various " Handbooks " to cathedrals, and English Counties. — Died, aged, 87, Marshal Espartero, a Spanish "soldier of fortune," who had in his day served many masters, and occupied occasionally a high position in Peninsular politics. 9-— General Stewart makes a triumphal entry into Candahar, the Affghan troop pre- senting little more than a show of resistance. Gholam Husen, formerly native agent at Cabul, was appointed Civil Governor for administer- ing the affairs of this important commercial centre, according to Affghan law and custom. . — Instructions issued by Prussian Minister of Commerce fof the extension of Trade Guilds. 1Q. — A miscellaneous collection of private property belonging to Pius IX. sold in the Vatican, for the most part to foreign ladies 1302 of distinction. On the same day the Congre- gation of Rites warned the faithful against making merchandise of relics. — Died, aged 65, McCarthy Downing, M.P. for Cork County, a prominent Irish Nationalist, but not wanting in sympathy for landlords. 11. — Lord Chelmsford's army crosses theZulu border in three columns, his plan being that Colonel Pearson should make for the heart of Zululand by the Lower Tugela, and Colonel Glyn by Rorke's Drift, the latter to be joined by Colonel Wood from Utrecht. — The Free Reference Library attached t6 the Birmingham and Midland Institute des- troyed by fire, and several extremely valuable collections of books, especially in priceless Shakespearian literature, consumed. In editions of early folios and quartos of Shakespeare the Birmingham Free Library was rivalled only by the British Museum, while in the tercentenary literature of the poet, in Cervantes books, and generally in local Warwickshire literature, the collection was altogether unrivalled. Great and successful efforts soon began 'to be made in the way of restoration. - — Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, York- shire, the historic mansion of the Favershams, designed by Vanbrugh, and more than once referred to by Macaulay, destroyed by fire, and its precious gathering of paintings by the great masters, single specimens being valued as high as ,£5,000, either burnt wholly or hopelessly injured. The famous " Dog of Alcibiades " reported to be from the chisel "of Myron (442 B. c. ) was among the few sculptured gems saved in the great ■entrance hall, built of late years from designs by Sir C. Barry. 12. — Death announced of M. Auguste Preault, a French sculptor, pupil of David of Angers. 13. — Still another disastrous colliery explo- sion in Rhonda Valley, Glamorganshire, sixty- lives being lost to-day in Dinas Pit, about fifteen miles from Abercarne. — Morton House, Durham, an old mansion of the Lambton family, destroyed by fire. — Died, at Marble Hill, Twickenham, aged 80, Right Hon. General Jonathan Peel, fifth son of the first baronet, Secretary at War in Lord Derby's third administration (1866-67), and well known otherwise in military, parlia- mentary, and sporting circles. — Died, aged 60, Prince Henry of the Netherlands, brother of the King of Holland, and son of King William II, by the Princess Anna Paulowna, daughter of Czar Paul I. 14- — Sir William Harcourt, speaking at Oxford, strongly condemns the foreign policy of the Government. JANUARY 1879 JANUARY — .Died, tit Glencary Lodge, Windsor, by his own hand, aged 62, Edward Matthew Ward, R. A., a careful and spirited historical painter, whose fresco work in the -Houses of Parliament at Westminster.has been universally admired. — Died !vt Lausanne, aged 56, Br. Daks, a Swiss statesman, for many years a member of the Federal Council. 15. — National Requiem Mass for repose of the soul of King Victor Emmanuel celebrated with much solemn pomp in the Pantheon, — Died somewhat suddenly, E. S. Dallas, a London journalist of considerable repute, author of an essay on criticism known as ' ' The Gay Science." 18. — Sustained largely by port- wine, pork- pies, and lobster, Mrs Anderson, an English- woman, successfully completes the task, un dertaken for a. wager, of walking 2,700 quarter miles in as many quarter hours. 19. — The young Jew Mortara reported to be preaching in Vienna. (See 28th April, I859-) 21. — Sir James Stephen gazetted-a Judge. 22. — Disaster to the British troops at Isandlana, recalling memories of the Sikh repulse at Ramnuggar, the infuriated Zulus all but annihilating a British force left to guard the camp, while Lord Chelmsford was fighting at Dartnell to clear the way for further advance, or, for there was no certainty -about native tac- tics, it might be submission of Sirayo, and other chiefs, possibly of the formidable Cetewayo himself. The disaster led to severe reflections at home on Lord Chelmsford, but inquiry made on the spot and at the moment showed the surprise to be of the nature of a military accident, which ordinary prudence could not have foreseen, but might have been provided against by the presence of cavalry, pressingly sought for from the home authorities by the commander, and also by Sir Bartle Frere. The 1st battalion of the 24th Foot was almost destroyed. Five hundred men of the regiment were killed and thirty officers, amongst whom were -Colonel Pulleine, Major White, and Colonel Durnford, R.E. A convoy of supplies — 102 waggons, 1,000 oxen, two guns, 400 shot and shell, 1,000 rifles, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, and 6o,ooolbs of stores— fell into the hands of the Zulus. — Irritated by Isandlana disaster, public feel- ing was soon elated by news from the same field, part, indeed, of the same movements, connected with the gallant defence of Rorke's , Drift by Lieutenant Chard, R.E. and Lieutenant Gon- ville Bromhead, with eighty men of the 24th Regiment. Through some fugitives who had escaped from the slaughter, these officers heard of the disaster at Isandlana. Believing that the victorious Zulus would attempt to cross into Natal, they prepared, if possible, to hold the Drift till, help should come. Defences had to be improvised. They had barely finished a hasty barricade of bags and biscuit tins, when the Zulus, gathering round, began to pour in their fire. They numbered in all about 4,000. The attack lasted the greater part of the night. Six times the enemy got within the barricade, but were driven out at the point of the bayonet. Creeping to the rear they set fire to the hospital. At dawn the assailants withdrew. But the anxieties of the little garrison were not at an end. Looking towards Isandlana they descried a fresh host advancing., Soon they saw it was Lord Chelmsford's jaded men, and those too found' to their relief that Englishmen still held the Drift. A roun . ( i tne entrenchment 351 Zulus lay dead. — The conclusions arrived at in connection with the disaster at Isandlana and the defence at Rorke's Drift were thus summarised : — This (Wednesday) morning the main Zulu army, 25,000 strong, was about five miles from, the camp. It did not- intend to fight that d«y, for the "moon was dead," but it crouched in a huge semicircle, retaining its battle array. Col. Durnford, haying reached the camp, sent out some men to observe. . One party seemed to have come unexpectedly in contact with the Zulus and fired on them. The two horns composed of unmarried regiments rushed away to the attack in disorder, but the .centre, com- posed of the married men, moved steadily on till they outflanked the British position. " Then again," it was written,, "we hear of an indis- criminate flight through the tents,, and of the slaughter of our soldiers by assegais as they fled. We hear, too, of our men forming themselves into squares and little groups and' resisting desperately till their ammunition failed or they were overwhelmed by repeated charges and showers of assegais. We hear of one wounded officer who from a waggon kept crowds of Zulus at bay. And we hear of. others who threw down their arms and begged for mercy. It is certain that one square of sixty fighting men defied the repeated attacks of one horn of the enemy. It is certain, too, that a few mounted officers and others galloped through a part where the ring was as yet not quite formed round them. Many of these were killed by the'pursuing Zulus. A few crossed the Buffalo at a spot which will always be known as Fugitives' Drift, and got safe to Natal. Lieutenants Melville and Coghill escaped to the river with the colours of the regiment, but perished there. — The burglar Peace makes a daring attempt to escape from custody by leaping through the window of a train while being conveyed to Sheffield where inquiries were no -v going on concerning his complicity in the murder of Mr. Dyson. The convict was seriously injured but towards evening had so far recovered as to permit of his removal to Sheffield gaol, his 1303 JANUARY IS 79 FEBRUARY rash dash for liberty being made between Shireoaks and Kiveton Park, a few miles' distant. 26 — The Grand Prize of 125,000 francs in the Paris Exhibition Lottery won by a poor currier named Aubriot, a native of Toul. 28. — Died at Bournemouth, aged 84, the very Rev. Hugh McNeile, D.D., Dean of Ripon, an " Evangelical " leader and populai preacher, especially in Liverpool, where he laboured for over thirty years. 30. — Marshall MacMahon resigns the French Presidency after refusing to sign orders for the removal of certain officers com- manding military districts. M. Gambetta was elected next day as President of the Chamber of Deputies. — Mr. Gladstone, in a letter to Mr. Cowan, Beeslack, intimates his willingness to contest Mid-Lothian. 31. — The Marquis of Hartington installed as Lord Rector of Edinburgh University, his lordship's address on the occasion having reference for the most part to the advantages of a superior education for all classes. February 1. — The jury having returned a verdict of guilty against the City Bank Direc- tors on the charge of uttering false balance- sheets, Lord Justice-Clerk Moncrieff sentences Potter and Stronach to eighteen months, and the other five to eight months imprisonment. The trial, before the High Court of Justiciary, had been protracted day by day from the 20th of last month. 2. — Theatre Royal, Glasgow, destroyed by fire, the Christmas pantomime of "Puss in Boots " having occupied the stage for the last time during the season. 3. — The Union Bank of Helstone, another Cornwall financial undertaking nearly a century old, suspends payment with declared liabilities of £135,000. — Exhibition of Wedgwood-ware opened in Liverpool Fine Art Club. 4 — Publication of a Treaty between Prussia and Austria by which Austria assents to the abrogation of Article 5 of the Treaty of Prague giving the inhabitants of North Schleswig a right whenever consulted of voting for annex- ation to Denmark, the concession, it was understood, being a return for services rendered to Austria by Germany at the Berlin Congress when Bosnian affairs were Under discussion. — Charles Peace, the convicted burglar found guilty at Leeds Assizes of having murdered Mr. Dyson, at Banner Cross, Nov. 29, 1876, and sentenced to be executed within Armley Gaol, on the morning of the 25th. 5. — Dr. Cornthwaite, Roman Catholic Bishop of Beverly, becomes Bishop of Leeds, 1304 the new division into which his see was divided by the Pope. — Military isolation of Astrakhan on account of the plague. 7. — Disorderly conduct, presenting many features of an organised riot in connection with a strike among seamen and dock labourers at Liverpool. A limited strike was proceeding at the same time in the London engineering trade. , — Final orders given by the Government of the Canton of Uri for the removal of Tell's ruined chapel on the Lake of Lucerne ; the old frescoes on the walls to be carefully removed for preservation elsewhere. 8. — Definitive Treaty of Peace between Russia and Turkey signed at Constantinople. A week later Russia recalled her troops from the occupied provinces. — Lord Penzance gives judgment in the Court of Arches against Rev. T. P. Dale of St. Vedast's, City of London, charged with Ritualistic practices. — Death announced at Munich of Michael Echter, an historical painter and pupil of Kaulbach in fresco work. Echter was born in 1812, and blind for some years before his death. 9. — Died, aged 69, the French caricaturist Daumier, widely known for his " Robert Macaire" and other sketches of Parisian society in the " Charivari." 11. — News of the Isandlana disaster received in London are followed by promM orders for the dispatch of 8,000 men to the scene of hostilities in Natal. Troops left on the 19th. 12 — Opening of the German Reichstag, the Emperor William giving strong indications of a return to Protection in trade. 13. — Parliament reassembles after the ad- journment of December 17th, Ministers in both Houses making a statement regarding measures about to be introduced. — A Zulu force repulsed with heavy loss in an attack on Colonel Pearson's entrenched position at Ekowe. 14. — Mr. Meldon's resolution for assimilat- ing the Irish Borough Franchise to that of England rejected by 256 to 181 votes. The motion was supported by Lord Hartington as one of a series of measures designed to pacify Ireland by removing inequalities in her electoral system, but opposed by Sir Stafford Northcote on the part of Government as partial and inopportune. — The Russian Grand-Duke Nicholas, son of Constantine, exiled to Orenburg under an accusation of having revealed a scheme for FEBRUARY I8 79 FEBRUARY constructing a central Asiatic railway between the Ural and Sir Daria. 14. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, in a pastoral issued from Lambeth, invite the earnest attention of Churchmen to the , proposed creation of four additional bishoprics for supplying episcopal ministrations within the bounds of certain populous and extensive dioceses. — The "Marseillaise" officially recog- nised as the French National Anthem in conformity with the decree of 1795, by which the hymn of Rouget de Lisle, composed in a single night at Strasburg, and known up to that time as " Chant de Guerre de l'Armee du Rhin " was sounded over the Republic to rouse Volunteers. — The centenary of Captain Cook's death on the shores of Hawaii celebrated in Paris by the French Geographical Society. • — First cotton-mill established under an Imperial Charter commences work at Shanghai. 16. — Died, aged 69, the Rev. John Sherren Brewer, Rector of Toppesfield, Essex, formerly preacher at the Rolls Chapel, and a scholarly editor of State Papers relating to the reign of Henry VIII. 18. — Died, at Montaigne (Dordogne), aged 73, M. Magne, in early life a humble messen- ger at the Prefecture, but, qualifying himself for the bar, became Minister of Public Works, and next Minister of Finance to the Emperor Napoleon. — Serious military riot at Cairo, incited it was thought, by the Khedive, and leading to the retirement of Nubar Pasha, as also of Mr. Rivers Wilson, with his French colleague, M. de Blignieres. — Pastor Boehringer, of St. Peter's Church, Basle, excommunicated by his more orthodox Protestant brethren. — Concession leading to a settlement made by workmen on strike in Liverpool and London. 19. — Prince Leopold, along with Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Goschen, speaks at the Mansion House in favour of a scheme of Uni- versity extension by means of local committees and centres. — Mr. Balfour's bill for settling the Burials question " talked out " in the Commons. — Suggested by the Duke, of Norfolk, and seconded by the Marquis of Ripon, the Catholic Union adopt a resolution expressive of the profound gratification felt by British Catholics on learning that the Very Rev. John Henry Newman was to be raised to the dignity of a Cardinal. The German Reichsrath refuse permission to imprison or even suspend two Socialist Deputies who had returned to Berlin after being expelled. 20. — Yakoob Khan makes peace overtures to the British Government; Shere Ali was reported as having died next day at Mazar- i-Sherif near Balkh, whither he had with- drawn when the last members of the Russian Embassy left Cabul. — The Lake of Geneva and Neuchatel visited by the most severe hurricane known since 1844, vessels at anchor being wrecked, and trees along the shore torn up in thousands. Generally winter weather was thought to have returned over the greater part of Western Europe. — Telegrams from Rangoon make mention of King Theebaw having executed eighty-six members of the royal family. — Died at Molesey, aged 69, John Parry, a musician and actor, but best known through his later amusing entertainments given mostly in conjunction with Mr. and Mrs. German Reed. 21. — The curious bequest known as the Centennial Safe closed up in the Statuary Hall, Washington, till 1976. - — Died at Wandsworth, aged 69, Peter Le Neve Foster, Secretary of the Society of Arts, and an active agent in promoting the Great Exhibition of 1851. — Died at Luxor, Upper Egypt, aged 37, Dr. Charles Appleton, D.C.L., first editor of the " Academy," and advocate for the "endowment of research.'' 22. — Dinner given to Lord Dufferin at the Reform Club (Earl Granville presiding), on the eve of his departure for St. Petersburg as' Ambassador. — The Empress of Austria arrives at Summerhill, Meath County, to pass the hunt- ing season. — Assassination of Prince Kraptokine, Governor of Kharkoff. — Died, aged 45, Henry Pelham, sixth Duke of Newcastle, much marvelled at in his day for losses on the turf. 23.— Died, aged 62, M. St. Reen Tailland- ier, Academician and Professor at the Sorbonne, known also as a Liberal Catholic contributor to the " Revue des Deux Mondes." — Died, aged 76, the German Field Marshal Count Von Roon, a leading counsellor in the late wars against Denmark, Austria, and France. 24. — The Queen, through the Secretary of State for War, telegraphs to Lord Chelmsford her sympathy with him ' ' in the dreadful loss which has deprived her of so many gallant »305 FEBRUARY I.879 MARCH officers and men," and that her Majesty "places entire confidence in him and in her troops to maintain our honour and our good name." — The 17th Lancers embarked at the Victoria Docks, one detachment on board the France and the other op. the England, for South Africa. Mrs. Butler, better known as Miss Thompson, the, painter of " The Roll Call," &c, was present at the embarkation. 25. — Marshal Campes, who had restored the Bourbon dynasty in Spain and pacified Cuba, receives an enthusiastic welcome on landing at Cadiz. 26. — The Earl of Glasgow appointed Lord Clerk Register, of Scotland, without salary. 27. — Col. Stanley, Secretary of State for War, brings in the new Army Discipline and Regulation Bill, intended to supersede the cum- bersome annual Mutiny Act ; read a first time. — The youthful Prince Louis Napoleon leaves by the Union Steamship Danube for the Cape of Good Hope, to enter service as a Volunteer, with the British army in Natal from which he never returned. — The Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Mackarness) appeared personally in the Court of Queen's Bench lo resist a rule for a mandamus calling upon him to institute legal proceedings against the Rev. T. T. Carter of Clewer, for unlawful ceremonial. 28. — A tablet to the memory of the poet Keats unveiled at Rome, in presence of the English Ambassador (Sir A. Paget), and a large number of spectators. The tablet is placed beside the window of the room in which Keats died, in a house at the foot of the Trinita de' Monti. March 1 — Weston's, attempt to cover 2,000 miles in 1,000 hours, taking the weather and roads as happened, fails by only 22 J miles, an over-enthusiastic reception at Windsor slightly unnerving the highly-strung tempera- ment of this incomparable pedestrian from achieving one of the greatest triumphs of the kind on record at a moment when the prize appeared within his grasp. 3. — Colonel Stanley introduces the Army Estimates — £15,645, 700, being a decrease of ^2,145,600 from last year. — The Royal Chateau of Tervueren, near Brussels, occupied by the afflicted Empress Charlotte, widow of the unfortunate Maximilian of Mexico, destroyed by fire ; no lives were lost, and the Empress was conveyed in safety to Lacken. — Died at Madeira, whither he had betaken himself suffering from a pulmonary affection, and at the age of only 35, William Kingdon Clifford, F. R. S. , Professor of Applied Mathematics in University College, London, 1306 who graduated in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos as Second Wrangler and Second Smith's. Prizeman, 1867. — Died at Rome, aged 84, William Howitt, an attractive writer who wrote much concern- ing Poets, Poetry, and Rural Life in England in his own name, and much also on kindred topics in conjunction with his amiable and accomplished wife, who survives the loss of her partner in life for over fifty years. — Died, age 78, M. Jules Bastide, a French Revolutionist of some prominence in the strug- gle of 1830, and the first, it was said, to plant the tricolour on the summit of the Tuileries. 4. — Mr. Trevelyan's motion in favour of household suffrage in counties and a redistribu- tion of seats rejected by 291 to 226 votes. 5. — Lord A. Loftus takes leave of the Emperor of Russia, and Lord Dufferin arrives at St Petersburg as British Ambassador. — In the official list of new Cardinals issued to-day there appears the name of ' ' Dr Newman, of England." — Mutilated remains of a woman found in the Thames at Barnes, afterwards identified as those of Mrs. Thomas, a lady of means resid- ing at Richmond, murdered by Kate Webster three days since. — Died at his residence in Suffolk, the Rev. Sir John Molyneux, of Castle Dillon, Armagh, an honorary canon of Ely, prominent in his early days as a supporter of Dr. Pusey. 8. —Mandamus granted- in the Queen's Bench ordering the Bishop of Oxford to insti- tute proceedings against Canon Carter, of Clewer, for illegal Ritualistic practices. — An attempt made in. the French Chamber of Deputies to impearh the DaBroglie Cabinet of 1877. A vote of censure was ultimately carried. ■ — Fire at the Royal Polytechnic Institution, Regent Street, confined ultimately to the theatre and adjacent erections, but threatening at one time destruction to the entire fabric. — Died near his birthplace, in Connecticut, aged 69, Elihu Burritt, "the learned black- smith," and widely celebrated also for his efforts in the cause of peace among nations. 9. — Fire in Lord Granville's residence, Carlton House Terrace, but subdued after destruction of the upper story, where it originated. — Died at Newcastle-on-Tyne, aged 64, David Page, L.L.D., Professor of Geology in the College of Physical Science there, and author of various text-books on his favourite study. 10:— Mr. W. H. Smith introduces the Navy Estimates— £10,586,894, a reduction of £457,000. MARCH I8 79 MARCH 11. — The Earl of Dundonald elected a Scotch Representative Peer in room of the late Earl of Lauderdale, and various protests handed in against the Earl of Mar and Kellie voting as being vested by the decision of House of Lords in the ancient earldom' of Mar. — Sir W. Lawson's " local option " resolu- tion rejected in the Commons by 252 to 154 votes. 12. — The Hungarian town of Szegedin, the second great trade emporium in the country, submerged by the conjoined waters of the Theiss and Maros breaking through many strong and ingeniously-constructed lines of defence raised against the calamity, threatened for over a week past. 6,000 houses were reported as destroyed, and 2,000 lives lost. 13. — Marriage of the Duke of Connaught to the Princess Louise Margaret, daughter of the late Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, celebrated with much pomp at Windsor. — A cutter with twelve pilots and eight of a crew on board run down off Dungeness by the Royal Mail Steamship Severn, ai.d fifteen men drowned. — Died in obscurity and poverty, an outcast from society, the notorious William Broadbead, prominent over twenty years since as chief murder agent for the desperate Sheffield Trade Unionists. (See p. 780 &c.) 15. — A Select Committee of the House of Lords on Intemperance issue a report favourable to the local adoption of what was known as the " Gothenburg System," or increase in- licensing duties and earlier closing of licensed houses than at present. 17. — Died at Berlin, Adolph Strodtmann, biographer of Heine, the friend of Kinkel and translator of various English poets. — Died, at Vienna, aged 75, Gotfried Semper, Professor of Architecture' at Dresden till extreme political opinions led to exile in England. 18. — William Habron, convicted of the murder of a policeman at Whalley Range to which Peace confessed, released from prison. — Bleiberg, a village near Villach, in the Austrian Tyrol, overwhelmed in the most stupendous of several avalanches loosened from the mountain side, and over thirty people, including one entire family of eight, buried alive. 19.— Sir M. Hicks-Beach addresses a de- spatch to Sir Bartle Frere stating that the Government were unable to see any urgent necessity for commencing the Zulu War without consulting the Home Government. — Bill for abolishing law of Hypothec in Scotland read a second time in the Commons. — The French ironclad Arroganle sinks in six fathoms of water while making for the 1307 beach among the little islands of Hyeres off Toulon ; 47 were drowned out of a crew of 122. 19. — Statue to the memory of Dr. Living- stone (the work of Mossman, and the gift of Dr. Young, Kelly), unveiled in George's Square, Glasgow. — Died, Dr. Johannes Huber, Professor in the University of Munich, and one of the leaders of the Old Catholic movement. — Died at Florence, Miss Jane Clairmont, a step-daughter of William Godwin,, through his second marriage, and otherwise of note in the Shelley circle. 20. — The Marquis Tseng, new Chinese Ambassador, presents his credentials to the Queen at Windsor, as did also Admiral Pothuau, French Ambassador. 21. — Lord Salisbury explains in the House of Lords that when the works suggested were carried out the harbour of Famagosta, Cyprus, would be more capacious than that of Malta. — Mrs. Theodore Martin (Miss Helen Faucit) gives a series of Shakespearian readings in Glasgow for the benefit of the City Bank sufferers. 22. — By 330 to 131 votes, the French Chamber' affirm the principle of removing the seat of Legislature from Versailles to Paris. — Died at Lake View, Keswick, aged 91, Major-General Sir John Woodford, one of the oldest surviving Waterloo officers. — Prince Bismarck expresses himself as favourable to advancing Alsace and Lorraine from a mere territory to a new state with representation in the Federal Council if the inhabitants generally held opinions similar to those of Herr Schneegans, Deputy, who had expressed the desire, but in the meantime it was necessary for Germany for the sake of self-preservation to subordinate the liberties of Alsace to the safety of the Fatherland. 23. — Died at his seat, Wallingford, North- umberland, Sir Walter C. Trevelyan, antiquaiy and social reformer. The estates passed in life-rent to Sir Charles Trevelyan, but after- wards by entail to his son, Mr. G. O. Trevelyan. 24. — Archdeacon Sweatman, M.A., of Christ's C'lege, Cambridge, elected Bishop of Toronto oy popular nomination, and as the result of a final ballot among the clergy and parishes. 25. — The Queen leaves London for Baveno, Lago Maggiore, where a month's stay was arranged for. — Lord Lansdowne's motion in the House of Lords against the policy of the Zulu war, and regretting that Sir Bartle Frere had not been recalled, rejected by 156 to 95 votes. MARCH 1879 APRIL 25. — Attempt made to shoot General Dren- teln, chief of St. Petersburg Police, while driving through the Summer Garden to attend a Council of Ministers. — Keith's Circus, Princes Street, Derby, destroyed by fire, one watchman being over- whelmed in the ruins, as well as several trained horses and various other performing animals. 26. — Died at Greifswald, aged 85, the distinguished philologist Schomann. — Died at Hurstpierpoint, aged 77, Arch- deacon James Garbett, Bampton Lecturer 1842, and Professor of Poetry at Oxford 1842-52. — Clumber House, the seat of the Duke of Newcastle, almost wholly destroyed by fire, with many valuable pictures by Snyders, Correggio, and other art treasures. 27. — T)ied at Berlin, in his eleventh year, Prince Waldemar of Prussia, third son of the Grown Prince, and grandson of Queen Victoria. — General Garibaldi seeks to dissuade Italian emigrants from the colonization of New Guinea, in the not distant prospect of their services being required in the cause of freedom at home. 28. — The Queen arrives safely at Baveno, having "received" President Grevy yesterday on her way through Paris. 29. — Colonel Wood, who had yesterday attacked Ombelini's mountain stronghold and captured a number of cattle, is in return attacked in camp at Kambula by Zulus, who are repulsed after four hours' fighting, but not without heavy loss on the British side'. More reckless of life than even on former occasions the Zulus fought with desperation for over four hours, and were several times within the camp. Affairs now looked so critical that Colonel Wood's natives began to desert. 30. — Died at Albano, Rome, the Hon. Charles Spencer Cowper, youngest son of the fifth Earl Cowper, by Emily Mary, daughter of Viscount Melbourne, who afterwards married 1 Lord Palmerston, K.G. — Speaking at the Mansion House, Lord Hartington, on behalf of his father, Chancellor of Cambridge University, warmly commends the scheme promoted by Cavendish College, whereby a university education was to be defrayed at the moderate cost of ^84 per annum. 31. — Sir Charles Dilke's motion condemna- tory of the Zulu War negatived in the Commons, after a three nights' debate, by 306 to 246 votes. — Died, within a month of completing his 103rd year, Dr. James Ingram, minister of the Free Church at Unst, Shetland, trained to preach so far back as 1800, and settled in Unst three years afterwards, his son being ordained 1308 assistant and successor in the charge, in 1838. Dr. Ingram's father lived to be 100, and his grandfather 105 years of age. April 1. — Died at Dalquharran Castle, Ayr- shire, aged 90, the Right Hon. Thomas Francis Kennedy of Dunure, a zealous Whig Reformer over sixty years since, and Lord of the Treasury in Earl Grey's Ministry, being also, at the time of his death, one of the oldest members of Brookes's Club. Mrs. Kennedy was Sophia, only daughter of Sir Samuel Romilly. 3. — Sir Stafford Northcote introduces the Annual Budget, no addition to taxation being proposed, and only a small increase in certain trifling duties. From the ,£33,000,000 odd of revenue the Chancellor expected there would be a surplus of nearly ^2,000,000 to meet extra expenses caused by the Zulu War. — Fighting his way through from Gingih- lovo, Lord Chelmsford reaches Ekowe, and relieves Colonel Pearson. — Died by his own hand in Morley^ Hotel, Trafalgar Square, Isaac Fletcher, F.R.S., and M.P. for Cockermoufh. Mr. Fletcher was succeeded in the representation of Cocker- mouth by his brother. 4. — Justin M'Carthy, author of "A History of Our Own Times," and several novels, elected Member for Longford County, without opposition, in Home Rule interest. — Died at Baltimore, aged 94, Madame Paterson Bonaparte, at one time wife of Prince Jerome, King of Westphalia, brother of Napoleon I. — Died at Stanley Place, South Lambeth, Miss Eliza Meteyard, biographer of Josiah Wedgwood, and familiar to magazine readers as "Silverpen." 6. — The Khedive attempts the dismissal of Mr. Rivers Wilson and other Europeans to make way for native advisers. — Parliament adjourns for the. Easter recess. 7. — In the Test Case of Muir and others against the City of Glasgow Bank, the House of Lords decide for the personal liability of Trustees. — Died, after a lingering illness, John Harvey of Ickwellbury, who had done much as a county magistrate to alleviate the condition of pauper lunatics confined in county asylums. 8. — Died at his residence in Bloomsbury Square, aged 82, Sir Anthony Panizzi, K.C.B., formerly Principal Librarian of the British Museum, and designer of the noble Reading Room bearing his name, but of wide repute otherwise in the world of letters, as well as of Italian politics in the early Carbonari days. 9.— Died at Broomfield, aged 67, John Crossley, formerly M.P. for Halifax, the last survivor of the Brothers Crossley concerned APRIL 1879 MAY in carrying on the great carpet works at Deanclough. 12. — Died at New York, aged 53, General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachray Taylor, who commanded under General Stone- wall Jackson in the War of Secession. 13. — Osterley House, Hendon, Hounslow, built by Sir Thomas Gresham, partly destroyed by fire. — Speaking at Cupar-Fife, Mr. W. P. Adam, Liberal " Whip," repudiates Dis- establishment as part of the Liberal pro- grjmme in Scotland. 14. — New Convalescent Home at Hun- stanton opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. — A socialist schoolmaster named Solovieff attempts to shoot the Czar in the streets of St. Petersburg. — Died at Deal, aged 69, Rear-Admiral William Boys, present at Navarino, and afterwards engaged in New Zealand ex- ploration, and in the Crimea. 15. — Addressing his constituents at Bir- mingham, Mr. Bright vehemently condemned the restless foreign policy of the Government, as did also Sir W. Harcourt at Sheffield. 16 — Riotous outbreak among colliers on strike at Lambton pits, Durham. — Died at Nevers, the visionary of Lourdes Grotto, known in convent fife as Sister Marie Bernard. 17. — An Imperial Ukase issued, announcing a series of vigorous repressive measures in Russia, and entrusting the civil administration of several districts to military governors. — Colliery explosion at Mons, Belgium, causing the death of about 200 men and boys employed in the workings. 18. — Interview between Queen Victoria and the King and Queen of Italy at Monza. — Lord Derby withdraws from the Lanca- shire Union of Conservative Associations. He dissented from the foreign policy of the Govern- ment endorsed by the Associations, and desired to be otherwise free from party organizations. — Died, Sir Alex. Taylor, M.D., F.R.S., esteemed as an authority on the use of medical waters in Southern France. 20. — M. Blanqui, presently in prison, and therefore ineligible, elected deputy for Bordeaux. — Died, in Edinburgh, aged 67, Alexander Maclagan, a poetical contributor of some prominence to the Volunteer, Temperance, and Masonic movements. 21. — Convention between Austria and Tur- key resp-cting the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina signed at the Porte. Y 2 21.— Died, aged 81, General John A. Dix, United States officer in the War of Secession, and afterwards Republican Governor of the State of New York. 23. — The Duke of Buccleuch installed as Chancellor of Glasgow University. — The Qfleen leaves Baveno for Milan, Turin, and Paris, on her return to England, which she reaches on the 26th. — Died at Genoa, aged 63, James Henry Robert Innes Ker, sixth Duke of Roxburghe. 24-. ^Celebration of silver wedding of the Emperor of Austria. 25. — Canon Lightfoot consecrated Bishop of Durham in Westminster Abbey. 26. — The new Canal connecting Amster- dam with the North Sea, Dutch vessels for Java now sail from the commercial capital instead of the Helder. 27. — Died at Cheltenham, aged 56, Sir William Henry Doyle, Chief Justice of Gibraltar. 28. — Died, Mrs. Rousby, leading actress for some years in the historical plays produced at the Queen's Theatre. 29. —Opposed by Lord Beaconsfield as a futile proposal, Lord Bateman withdraws his motion In favour of reciprocity. — Prince Alexander of Battenberg elected Prince of Bulgaria in the Assembly at Tirnova by a majority of votes over Prince Waldemar of Denmark, and Prince Reuss. May 3.— Mr. Gladstone adopted as a candi- date for Leeds at the next general election. 4. — Died at the Cape, where he was cruising for his health, William Froude, F.R.S., one of the highest modern authorities in the science of applied mathematics. 5.— Died, aged 67, Isaac Butt, Q.C., M.P. for Limerick, founder of the Home Kule league of 1872 which first identified this Irish demand with a Parliamentary party. — Lord Salisbury makes a statement in the House of Lords respecting the Berlin Treaty, and asserts that all its obligations will be scrupulously performed. — Opposed by Earl Beaconsfield and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Thurlow's resolution in favour of opening Galleries and Museums in London on Sundays is rejected by the Lords, the vote being 67 against 53. 6.— Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, supported by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Bishop of Ripon, and Lord Houghton, rejected in the Lords by 101 to 81 votes. 7. — A Bill, authorising the formation of Volunteer Corps in Ireland, read a second time in the Commons. 1309 MA Y I879 MAY 7, — Died, aged 74, Anthony Francis Nugent, ninth Earl of Westmeath, and Lord Delvin in the peerage of Ireland. — Died, aged 70, Rev. Philip Kelland, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Edinburgh. 8. — The Ameer, Yakoob Khan, arrives in the British Camp at Gundamuk, and is received in state by Major Cavagnari. — Stoppage of Me.ssrs. Swann, Clough & Co.'s Bank at York, with liabilities estimated at ,£200,000-. — Indictment of William Scott (of J. James Wright & Co.) on charges of theft, breach of trust, and embezzlement, found irrevelant, at Glasgow Circuit Court, through want of speci- fication. 9.— W. B. Richmond elected Slade Pro- fessor of Art at Oxford, in succession to Mr. Ruskin, who resigned the chair. — • The remains of Miss Hacker found in coal cellar attached to the house, No. 4, Euston Square, inquiry leading to the apprehension of Hannah Dobbs, afterwards tried for the murder but acquitted. IO. — Eleven thousand persons reported to have been apprehended in Russia since the Reign of Terror commenced, most of them being now under sentence of banishment to Siberia. — Died at Gottingen, aged 65, Professor Grisebach, botanist and geographer. II. — Died, Samuel Gobat, D.D., Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, a See created amid much controversy during the Oxford movement, and which brought Dr. Newman to what he called " the beginning of the end." (See p. 88.) 12. — The Princess Charlotte of Saxe- Meiningen, eldest daughter of the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, gives birth to a daughter, making the Queen a great-grand- mother. — Dr. Newman receives at the residence of Cardinal Howard in the Palazzo della Pigna at Rome a messenger from the Vatican, an- nouncing his elevation to the rank of Cardinal. Congratulatory addresses and handsome offer- ings were afterwards presented to the New Prince of the Church, on whom the Pope , had conferred the Church of San Giorgio, in Pelabro. — Miss M. Shaw Lefevre elected Principal of Somerville Hall, Oxford, one of the two Colleges for Lady- Undergraduates established at that University. 13. — An enormous avalanche, descending from Lhe Jungfrau, swept through the valley of the Stufunstein, carrying away an entire forest. 14. — The German Empress arrives at Windsor on a visit to the Queen. 1310 14. — Serious failures recorded in the North of England iron trade ; the more important firms mentioned as suspending payment being Messrs. Lloyd & Co., Middlesborough ; Hop- kins, Gilkes & Co. .(Limited), and the Skerne Iron Company of Darlington. 16. — In the House of Lords the Duke of Argyll attacks the foreign policy of the Govern- ment, ending by telling them that Time was their great accuser, and that the progress of events was summing up the case against them. Lord Beaconsfield replied that the policy of the present Government in India was the policy of the Opposition when in power, but a policy which they had not the courage to put to the test. 19. — Ministers announce in Parliament that preliminaries of peace had been concluded with Yakoob Khan. — Right of re-establishing capital punish- ment restored to the Swiss cantons. 20. — Mr. Hopwood's motion for omitting flogging from the new Army Discipline Bill rejected by 239 to 56 votes. — The House of Lords affirm decision of Court of Session in seven City of Glasgow Bank appeal cases. — Testimonial of £6,263 presented to Mr. Spurgeon, on the completion of the twenty- fifth year of his pastorate. — Died, aged 81, Dr. Georg Karl Justus Ulrich, Master of the University of Gottingen, and one of the few survivors of the War of Liberation, as a campaigner under General Walmoden. 21. — Naval engagement off Iquique. The Chilian ironclad, Esmeralda, sunk by the Huas- car, and the Peruvian ironclad, Indefendencia, run ashore and wrecked. 23. — Examined before a Parliamentary Com- mittee on Electric Lighting, Professor Sir William Thomson expresses his belief in the ultimate success of electricity as an illuminating power. — Died at Cornwall Road, Bayswater, aged 77, James Grant, author and journalist, editor of the Morning Advertiser from 1850 to 1871. Mr. Grant was a native of Elgin, Morayshire, and his principal books "Random Recollections," "The Great Metropolis," and " A History of the News- paper Press." 24. — Five toll bridges over the Thames opened as free by the Prince of Wales, the consideration paid by the Metropolitan Board of Works being Lambeth, £36,000 ; Vauxhall, £255. 2 3°; Chelsea, £75,000; and Albert with Battersea together £170,000. — The British India Steam Navigation Company's steamer Ava sunk by collision with the ship Brenhilda, in the Bay of Bengal, and seventy lives lost. MAY 1879 JUNE 26.— The Treaty of Gundamuk signed by the Ameer Yakoob Khan and Major Cavagnari, provision being made for the safe and honour- able treatment of a British Resident at Cabul, for the Khyber and Mishni Passes being under British control, and for a subsidy of six lacs of rupees being paid to the Ameer yearly. — Announcement made in Parliament that Sir Garnet Wolseley had been appointed Governer of Natal and the Transvaal. — Died at New York, aged 75> William Lloyd Garrison, a cultivated enthusiast in the cause of Negro Emancipation, and editor of the Anti-Slavery Liberator from its origin, January 8th, 1832, till the close of 1861, when its object was accomplished. 27. — The 100th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Moore celebrated in London by the Home Rule Club. 28. — The centennial race for the Derby Stakes at Epsom won by Mr. Acton's (L. de Rothschild) Sir Bevys. — The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland suspend Professor Robertson Smith for teaching views opposed to the Confession of Faith. — The German Reichstag passes a bill for provisional enforcement of the new Protective Customs duties. 29. — A Panama Canal congress at Paris adopt by a majority a resolution in favour of a level canal from the Gulf of Limon to Panama. — Died, aged 90, Rev. J. Griffith, D.D., Canon of Rochester, who, as accompanying Lord Amherst to China in 1816, had shared in the perils of the famed Alceste shipwreck. — The House of Lords, sitting as a Com- mittee of Privileges, pronounce judgment in the claim made to the Annandale peerage by Mr. Hope Johnstone, of Annandale, the main ques- tion being whether the Scotch titles of Marquis of Annafidale, Karl of Annandale and Hartfell, Viscount Annan, Lord Johnstone of Loch- v/ood, Lochmaben, Moffatdale, and Evandale, were limited to the heirs male of a grantee from King Charles II. in 1661, or whether they descended to heirs general. At the conclusion of the arguments, the Lord Chancellor reviewed at some length the arguments and circum- stances under which the House had decided in 1844 against the claim of the grandfather of the present claimant. The patent of 1661 referred to the earlier patent, and it could not be contended that the earlier patent had been surrendered. The unanimous opinion pro- nounced in 1844, after the case had been argued by the highest legal authorities, ought not to be disturbed upon the further evidence now presented, and he advised the House not to change what was then done. Lords Hather- ley, Blackburn, and Gordon having concurred, the Earl of Kedesdale put the question in the usual form. SO. — The Lord Justices allow the appeals of the Bishop of Oxford and Canon Carter against the decision of the Queen's Bench in the Clewer Ritual case. 31.— Died at Surbiton, aged 80, William Wilberforce, of Workington Grange, York- shire, eldest son of the late distinguished philanthropist. — Died at Hyde Park Gate, aged 86, Sir G. J. Gambier, formerly Chief Justice, Madras. June 1.- — Prince Louis Napoleon killed by Zulus on a reconnaissance near the Ilyotozi river. On leaving Woolwich Royal Military Academy with honours, in 1875, the young Prince was for a time unofficially attached to the staff of the General commanding at Aldershot, but for the most part he lived at Chislehurst, establishing friendships with many distinguished personages of all countries, and following with interest the course of political events every- where, especially in France. The simplicity of his life and manners, a natural gentleness of temper, and a most unblemished character, warmly attached friends, many who, in the first instance, had been drawn to him by the dig- nity with which he supported the reverses of fortune. On the breaking out of the Zulu war the Prince obtained, after much solicitation, per- mission to join the English army, and was at- tached in some vague unsatisfactory way to Lord Chelmsford's personal staff. The precise status never having been accurately defined, no small difficulty was experienced by commanders near whom he found himself in preventing the Prince being exposed to needless danger. At length, finding himself with General Harrison's advance column, he was permitted to join a reconnoitering party with Lieut. Carey. The same indefiniteness which marked the Prince's connection with the army now attached itself to his new relations with Lieut. Carey, who, look- ing upon himself as the Prince's subordinate, allowed the latter to decide the movements of the party. In the course of the afternoon they were surprised whilst resting in a field of maize by a party of Zulus, and the Prince's horse becoming restive, he was unable to mount and escape with the others. On the following day his body was found naked, and pierced with eighteen assegai wounds, but in other respects not mutilated. The body was conveyed to Durban, and thence brought home in H.M.S. Orontes, with every possible testi- mony of respect. The remains of the poor young Prince were interred at Chislehurst, beside his father's, on July 12th, the Royal Princes of England and many other countries attending the ceremony, the Queen herself going to Chislehurst to remain with the sor- rowing ex-Empress during this trying period, so fraught with distress and misfortune to the Napoleon family. 2. — Exhibition opened at the Mansion Honse by the Coachmakers' Company of models and 1311 JUNE 1879 JUNE drawings illustrating the history of their industry. 2. — The Order of Knighthood conferred upon Mr. Henry Bessemer. — The Comedie Francaise Company make their first appearance at the Gaiety, Mdlle. Sarah Bernhardt appearing in various plays. 3. — M. Blanqui's election as deputy annulled by 372 to 33 votes. The President, however, signed a pardon in favour of the revolutionist on the 10th. — General Grant arrives at Pekin, and is received with great ceremony. — Second dividend of 3s. 4d. in the pound declared by City Bank Liquidators. — Died at his residence, Piccadilly, aged 71, Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, head of the great financing house, and the first Jew who sat in the House of Commons under the relief afforded by the compromise of 1858. (See p. 524.) 4. — Three nurses at Westminster Hospital invested with the badge of St. Katherine, a new order founded by the Queen for improving the social position of hospital and other nurses. — Died at the Cape, aged 81, Frederick R. Lee, a favourite landscape painter and ex-R.A. 5. — In a course of visits to European rulers Prince Alexander of Bulgaria arrives in London and leaves immediately to see the Queen at Balmoral. — President Grevy signs a final decree releasing over 200 political prisoners. 6. — Died, aged 80, the Right Rev. Thomas Doyie, "Provost" of Southwark, one of the oldest Catholic clergy upon what was till lately the English Mission. — Died at Turnham Green, Mrs. Howard Paul, a popular actress and singer for nearly twenty-five years. 7. — Solovieff hanged at St. Petersburg for attempting the life of the Czar. — Died at Paris, Dr. Tilbury Fox, an authority of high repute in skin diseases. 9 — Died Dr. Moore, curator of the Botajiic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, a native of Dun- dee, and an accepted authority on the botany of Ireland. — Died suddenly in court, when speaking on a motion for a new trial, the Hon. Edward Butler, Q.C., an Irish Nationalist in youth; in later life leader of the Bar of New South Wales. 11.— Mr. Chamberlain's bill for extending the hours of polling at elections negatived by 190 to 165 votes. — Mr. Justice Mellor formally retires from the Bench, and is succeeded by Charles S. C. Bowen, called to the Bar in 1861. 1312 11. — The golden wedding of the Emperor and Empress celebrated with great enthusiasm throughout Germany. — Died in Paris, after a brief, irregular life, William Prince of Orange, eldest son of William III., King of Holland. 13. — The last portion of Temple Bar re- moved from the line dividing the cities of London and Westminster. — Died, aged 70, Henry Noel Humphreys, naturalist and archaeologist, author of " British Butterflies," &c. 14. — The French Senate adopt in principle the removal of the Chambers from Versailles to Paris. IS. — Died, aged 78, Sir Thomas A. Lar- come, antiquary, and Director in the Irish Survey Department. — Died at Konigsberg, aged 74, Professor Karl Rosenkranz, a learned expounder of the philosophical systems of Kant and Hegel. — Died, Robert Shaw, British Resident at Mandalay, a traveller also through Yarkand. 16. — A succession of disorderly scenes take place in the French Chamber during debates on the University Education Bill ; M. Paul de Cassagnac censured for imputing "falsification" to ministers. — Lord Beaconsfield declines accepting a gold laurel wreath, procured, it was said, through the subscriptions of 50, cop people, acting under instructions from Tracey Tur- nerelli, who had complained from time to time that his services to the Conservative party had never been properly recognized. 17. — Government assent to the proposal for limiting the maximum number of lashes allowed in the army from fifty to twenty-five. — Meeting between deputation of Scottish and Irish bankers representing unlimited banks and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in refer- ence to the Government Banking Bill. 18. — Swarms of butterflies reported as hav- ing appeared of late in various parts of France, Germany, and Switzerland ; and of locusts, with beetles, in Russia. 19. — The French Chambers meet in con- gress to decide on such alterations in the Constitution as will permit of their meeting at Paris in future. — Chiefly on the ground that the present system was in conformity with the wish of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor opposes Lord Coleridge's proposal in com- mittee on the Prosecution of Offences Bill for substituting the Attorney-General for the Home Secretary as director of public prosecutions. — Mr. Alma-Tadema elected R.A., and Messrs. Boughton and Herkomer A.R.A.'s. — British and French representatives in Egypt demand abdication of Khedive. JUNE 1879 JULY 20. — Died at Melbourne, Victoria, aged 86, Sir George Stephen, Q.C., younger brother of Sir James, an early advocate of African emancipation, and, later, an active Colonial barrister. 23. — The death of young Prince Louis Napoleon referred to in the House of Lords by the Duke of Cambridge, who read the letters of introduction and recommendation to Lord Chelmsford and Sir Bartle Frere given by him to the Prince ; by Lord Beaconsfield, who, after alluding to the Prince's career at Woolwich and elsewhere, expressed his opinion that his life had been needlessly sacrificed ; and by Lord Granville, who referred to the sympathy of the English people. 24.. — Publication of Mr. Gladstone's letter to Principal Rainy explaining such views as the ex-Premier presently entertained regarding the Disestablishment question and current Scotch politics. 25. — In the course of debate on the O'Con- nor Don's Irish University Bill Mr. Cross announces that the Government will introduce a measure on the subject. — Died at Farnham, aged 73, Sir William Fothergill Cooke, a discoverer and worker in electrical science, ranked with Wheatstone, Moers, and Bonelli. 26. — Ismail Pasha, the Khedive, noted in his later days by manifesting an imbecile passion for hoarding money, is deposed by the Sultan, and his son Tewfik appointed successor. — Died at Castagnolo, near Florence, Dr. Clement Williams, a trusted English agent at the Court of the King of Burmah. 27. — Centenary of the Friends' Schools at Ackworth, originally a branch of the London Foundling Hospital, celebrated at Wakefield. — Died, aged 68, and laid with befitting ■solemnity in Westminster Abbey, close by the graves of his companions Clyde and Outram, John Laird Moir Lawrence, Lord Lawrence, K. S.I., Viceroy and Governor-General of India 1863—68, succeeding Lord Elgin in that high office, and preceding Lord Mayo. 28. — The Court of Appeal, by a majority, reverse the judgment of. the Queen's Bench, quashing Lord Penzance's order suspending Mr. Mackonochie for three years. — Died at Berobero, aged 33, another gifted victim to the African climate, A. Keith Johnston, discoverer and geographer, son of Alexander Keith Johnston, under whom the young explorer was partly trained. — The Doge's Palace at Vienna reported to be threatened with ruin in consequence of the oxidisation of iron bars inserted in the Istrian stone of the capitals and arches. — The Caledonian Bank resumes b.usiness at Inverness. 30. — Lord Chancellor Cairns introduces the Government Irish University Bill providing in the first instance only for an examining body empowered to confer degrees, but afterwards amplified under pressure to include a scheme of exhibitions, prizes, scholarships, and fellow- ships, for which Parliament would be asked to provide money in the annual votes. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes intimation in the House of Commons that the Privy Council had advised Her Majesty to grant the prayer of a memorial for the esta- blishment of a University in the North of England. July 1. — Died, aged 56, Alexander White- law, M.P., ironmaster, of the Gartshurie firm, the Conservative or minority member for Glasgow. — Lord Beaconsfield presented privately with the freedom of the Grocers' Company. 2. Explosion at High Blantyre Colliery, near Glasgow, causing the death of 28 miners out of 140 employed in the workings. Warned by the serious disaster only two years since in this pit (see October 22, 1877), it was thought that extra precautions were in force all over the mine, but at an official inquiry following this fresh accident it was shown in evidence that men were in the habit of smoking in working hours, and that false keys were used for opening Davy lamps. 3. — M. Paul de Cassagnac acquitted on the charge of inciting to hatred of the Government in his Pays newspaper. 4. — The Zulu army, 20,000 strong, attacked at Ulundi by Lord Chelmsford and completely routed with heavy loss. 5. — Stormy scenes in the House of Com- mons, the Parnellite party attempting to frus- trate a discussion on the Army Discipline Bill, which began to-day (Saturday) at 1.40 p m., and lasted till 12. 15 a.m. on Sunday morning. — Died at her residence, Carlton Gardens, Fiances, Countess Waldegrave (Lady Carling- ford), daughter of John Braham, the famous English tenor, but more prominent in the later years of her life for the abounding and graceful hospitality dispensed at Strawberry Hill, to which she succeeded on the death of her second husband, George Edward, seventh Earl Waldegrave. 6. — Prince Alexander receives the " berot " of investiture as Prince of Bulgaria from the Sultan at Constantinople. — Died at Hampstead, aged 66, Henry Smart, organist, and composer of the oratorio " Jacob," and other pieces. 7. — Hostility shown to the Army Discipline Bill leads to a meeting of Ministerial supporters early in the day, and to a repudiation by Mr. Chamberlain in the House of Lord Hartington's leadership. 1313 JULY 1879 JULY 7. — First day of a fancy f£te at the Albert Hall in aid of French charities in London. About £6,000 collected by stall-holders and in other ways, Mdlle. Bernhardt heading the list with £256. — Rev. W. Walsham How, rector of Whit- tington, Salop, nominated Bishop of Bedford under the Act of Henry VIII., as suffragan to the Bishop of London, with charge of the eastern and northern divisions of the metro- politan diocese. The living of St. Andrew Undershaft (£2,000 per annum) attached to the Bishopric as an endowment. 8. — Concluded at the Central Criminal Court, being the sixth day of inquiry, the trial of Katherine Webster for, the murder of Mrs. Thomas at Richmond. Verdict — Guilty. The prisoner made a statement affirming her inno- cence, but withdrawing certain accusations made against others, excepting the father of her illegitimate child, charged afresh with the crime. The prisoner further pleaded pregnancy in delay of execution, hut a jury of matrons found there was no foundation for the state- ment, and Webster was accordingly executed at Wandsworth on the 29th, having previously made a confession to the Roman Catholic chaplain that she alone had committed the murder when under the influence of drink. — The Government Irish University Bill read a second time in the House of Lords. 9. — The Court of Session decide against Mr. Houldsworth's claim for .£229,000, made against City of Glasgow Bank Liquidators, the ground of decision being that the bank was no longer a "going concern," so.no contract could be rescinded or damages recovered. IO. — Complaint made in the House of Com- mons that a clerk in the gallery was secretly making notes of speeches delivered by Irish members. A motion made by Mr. Parnell next evening calling for censure of the Speaker on this point was negatived by 421 to 29 votes. 14. — Meeting of representatives from City charities at St. Bartholomew's Hospital to protest against the Government proposal for taxing one per cent, on the gross income of all charities for expenses of Charity Commissioners. — Anniversary of the fall of the Bastille celebrated by M. Gambetta's first reception at the Palais Bourbon as President of the Chamber of Deputies. 15.— The Army Discipline Bill, after being discussed in Committee for twenty-one days, is at length ordered to be reported as amended. — Charles Tennant, of the Glen (Liberal), elected M.P. for Glasgow without opposition in room of the late Mr. Whitelaw (Conservative). 16. — The Italian Court of First Instance refusft to grant a decree of nullity of marriage, although sought for by both parties, between General Garibaldi and Signora Raimondi, on the ground of deception by the latter. '3'4 17.— Lord Hartington, on the report of the Army Bill, proposes the abolition of flogging, and is defeated by 289 to 183 votes. Rumours are now current that his lordship had consented to stand for North-east Lancashire at next general election. — Hamburg and Bremen notify to Prince Bismarck their unwillingness to renounce their rights as free poits, and claim the privileges conferred upon them as members of the old Hanseatic League. 19. — At a meeting of Bonapartist senators and deputies held in Paris Prince Jerome was adopted as head of the Napoleon family. — Incendiary plots reported from Moscow and Nijni Novgorod, the Kremlin having a narrow escape from an attempt to fire it during the daytime. 20. — Professor Nb'rdenskjbld's expedition passes Behring's Straits, having successfully accomplished the North-east passage. 21, — Commencement of protracted debates in Committee on Irish Supply votes, the House continuing to sit on this occasion till 3. 45 a.m. on the 22nd. ■ — The Dean of Westminster publishes a memorandum explaining the reasons which had induced him to offer a space in the Abbey for the proposed monament to Prince Louis Napoleon in Henry VII. 's Chapel, where exiles of the Orleans family were interred. — The Army Discipline Bill read a second time in the House of Lords, the Duke of Cam- bridge expressing his belief as to the necessity for maintaining corppral punishment for certain offences. — Died, in St. Gothard Tunnel, on the eve of completing his stupendous undertaking, M. Louis Favre, contractor for the work. 22. — Died in Paris, the Duchess Colonnadi Castiglione, granddaughter of the Comte d'Affry, who commanded the Swiss Guard in the attack on the Tuileries 20th June, 1792. — The new Union Dock at Great Grimsby opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. — Died, aged 80, Charles Landseer, R. A., younger brother of Sir Edwin, and pupil of the late B. R. Haydoa. 23. — Mr. J. L. Ward, solicitor, committed to the custody of Serjeant-at-Arms for com- plicity in seeking to influence a Select Com- mittee on the Tower High Level Bridge Bill. Mr. Ward was soon released on medical certificate after an apology. — News received of the victory of Ulundi, an official telegram being accompanied by the equally welcome intelligence that Sir Garnet Wolseley now considered the war as practically JULY 1879 AUGUST 23. — Mr. Bright presides at a leclure given in Willis's Rooms by Lai Mohun Ghose, and criticises severely our administration of affairs in India. — By a majority of 288 to 29 votes the U. P. Synod, presently sitting in Edinburgh, dismiss the protest and appeal made by Rev. D. Macrae, affirm the findings of the committee appointed to deal with him, and declares that he is no longer a minister of the Church. — Died at Dryburgh, near St. Boswell's, aged 74, Charles Baillie, Lord Jerviswood, a Scottish Lord of Justiciary, who had retired from the Bench in 1874. 24. — The O'Connor Don having withdrawn his bill, the Government Irish University mea- sure is read a second time in the Commons, Mr. Lowther announcing that certain desired alterations would be made in Committee. — Major Cavagnari and other members of the British mission make a public entry into Cabul, where they are received with marks of respect by the Ameer and his followers. Major Cavagnari was gazetted a K.C.B. on the 29th. 25. — Dr. Walsham How, suffragan Bishop of Bedford, Dr. Barclay, the new Bishop of Jerusalem, the Bishops of Caledonia (Colum- bia) and Travancore, consecrated in St. Paul's Cathedral. — Bill enabling the Government to make a loan of ^2,000,000 for Indian purposes with- out interest read n second time ; and Mr. Fawcett's resolution against taxing India for a war undertaken for Imperial purposes negatived by 137 to 125 votes. — The House of Commons agree to address the Crown in favour of a free pardon being granted to Edmund Galley, mistakenly con- victed of murder at Exeter Assizes 1836. 27. — The last of the Russian troops in East Roumelia embark at Bourgas. 28. — Miss Caroline Kirkpatrick, lady pro- bationer at the Middlesex Hospital, saves two young women from drowning at Portrush. 29. — Died a,t Heidelberg, aged 52, Prince William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wounded in the explosion of Laon arsenal, when he entered the city as divisional commander of cavalry, 1870. 30. — Martyrs' Memorial at Stratford-le- Bow unveiled by Lord Shaftesbury. — Statue of M. Thiers unveiled at Nancy in presence of Madame Thiers, but of few official friends. 3 1 . —The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes his statement respecting the war expenses in South Africa, calculated at ^4, 500,000 ; of this sum j£i, 500,000 had been already provided for in the Budget ; the remainder to assume the form of Exchequer Bonds, of which ;£l, 200,000 only would be issued. 31. — A young man named Gerald Mainwar- ing,son of a Somersetshire magistrate, presently on a visit from America, sentenced to death at Derby Assizes for killing one police officer and shooting at another when being locked up on a charge of furious driving. — Convocation of York Province discuss the Athanasian Creed in connection with a motion by the Bishop of Durham that its use should be optional. The suggestion was adopted in the Upper House, but rejected in the Lower. August 2.— French Chambers prorogued, and the last sitting held at Versailles. — Severe thunderstorm and heavy rains experienced over England, particularly at Richmond, Surrey, over most of Cambridge, and at Norwich. — Died at Rome, advanced in years, Joseph Severn, artist, friend and companion of Keats. 4. — Votes of thanks to the Viceroy and the army engaged in the Afghan war adopted in both Houses of Parliament, a motion in the Commons to omit Lord Lytton's name being negatived by 148 to 33 votes. — The King of Prussia raises the son of Djr. Falck, late German Minister of Education, to the rank of a noble. — Field - Marshal Manteuffel appointed Governor- General of the state of Alsace- Lorraine. — Five persons killed, and over a dozen seriously injured, through a train wilfully wrecked by some person unknown, when many extra passengers were being conveyed home from the Thiers' festival at Nancy. — Died, aged 86, Miss Margaret Sinclair, daughter of the eminent Sir John, of Thurso Castle, and friend of Sir Walter Scott. — Died in Park Lane, aged 83, Thomas Nicholas Barnewall, Baron Trimleston, repre- sentative of an ancient Meath family. 5. — Died at New York, aged 56, Charles Fechter, tragedian and theatrical manager. — Died in New Zealand, aged 92, Mrs. Nicoll, mother of Robert, the young Scotch poet, who died in 1837. 6. — Ministerial Banquet at the Guildhall, Lord Beaconsfield defending his foreign policy and restating his views concerning the "three incomes " derived from land in this country. — Rev. Dr. Cumming resigns his charge of the Scotch Church, Crown Court, after a service of full thirty years. — Died at Titchfield, Hants, Mrs. E. T. Sartoris, vocalist, daughter of Charles Kemble and niece of Mrs. Siddons. 7. — Second reading of the Irish Volunteer Bill negatived in the House of Lords by 39 to 16 votes. 1315 A UGUST 1879 AUGUST 7. — Died, aged 79, George Long, a scholarly rival of Macaulay at Cambridge, an accom- plished translator of various Latin classics — Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius among others — and a diligent worker for the Useful Knowledge Society. 8. — Rev. Newman Hall, minister of Surrey Congregational Chapel, obtains a decree nisi for a divorce. 9. — The German Emperor and the Emperor of Austria meet at Gastein. — Burns statue unveiled in the Public Park, Kilmarnock. IO. — Three ecclesiastical chiefs of the old Catholic party — Bishops Herzog, Reinkens, and Hyacinthe — officiate together in a service at Berne. — Died at Orbe, Canton of Vaud, aged 89, Louis Vulliemin, ranked among the most illus- trious men of letters produced by Switzerland. 11. — The Public Works Loan Bill discussed in Committee till 7.10 a.m. next morning. 12. — Serajevo, Bosnia, after being devas : tated by a fire rendering 10,000 people house- less, makes a narrow escape from a combined attack of disorderly Turks and Christians. 13. — The Queen visits Netley Hospital. — Died, aged 83, Hermann Fichte, philo- sopher, and son of the famous Johann Gottlieb Fichte. 14. — Count Andrassy resigns office as Presi- dent of the Austrian Ministry, but continues in favour with the Emperor, who requests his retiring minister to nominate a successor. Baron Haymerle, Ambassador at Rome, was ultimately appointed. — Mr. Grissell, charged with a breach of the privileges of Parliament, in conjunction with Mr. Ward, solicitor, surrenders himself, and is committed to Newgate, but liberated next day when Parliament was prorogued. 15. — Parliament prorogued by Commission, the Royal Speech making allusion to the ter- mination of war in Afghanistan and South Africa, and also to measures passed during the session. A promised Royal Commission for inquiring into the state of agriculture was gazetted next day. — Died at Trelowarren, near Helston, aged 79, Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan, a prominent politician in the stormy days of the Reform Bill agitation, 1831-32, and occasion- ally also heard of in scientific circles as author of a work on " Organised Matter," as also of "The Animal Soul." 16. — Died, aged 56, Sir Thomas Moncrieffe, Bart., of Moncrieffe. 17. — Died at Ciamaltha, Newport, Tippe- rary, aged 77, Lord Bloomfield, British Minister at the Courts of St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna, 1844-71. 1316 17.— Died in London, aged 77, M. Joseph Octave Delapierre, a Belgian statesman of the Disraelian school, an official of the English Philobiblian Society, and a diligent explorer in the byways of literature. 19 — Foundation-stone of the new Eddy- stone Lighthouse laid by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. — Died, aged 82, Sir John Shaw-Lefevre, D. C. L. , Clerk of the Parliaments, and working member of many Royal Commissions. — Lord Chelmsford, General Sir Evelyn Wood, and Colonel Buller, arrive at Plymouth from the Cape. 21. — Died at Brussels, aged 75, Edward Stratheam Gordon, Lord Drum earn, a life-Peer Lord of Appeal, and formerly Lord Advocate for Scotland. — Died at Zurich, aged about 100, Ludwig Vogel, Swiss historical painter. 22. — Lieutenant Carey, sent home from the Cape under sentence of a court-martial for misbehaviour in presence of the enemy when Prince Louis Napoleon lost his life, is now informed that such sentence had been quashed, that he was free from arrest, and at liberty to rejoin his regiment. 23. — Tobacco statistics issued in connection with recent alterations of American duties show that the six producing states — Virginia, Mary- land, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri — supply over 300,000,000 lbs. , or about three-fifths of the annual products of the United States, to the world, the weight, how- ever, being much under that of former years. In 1775 the entire quantity sent out of the country did not exceed 100,000,000 lbs. 24. — Inhibition of the Court of Arches served upon the Rev. S. F. Green, Miles Platting, Manchester, who, however, officiated as usual at the services, and alluded to the prosecution in his evening sermon. 25. — The Maltese Pistoria, or Moschera, hanged in Cork Jail for being concerned in the murder and mutiny on board the British ship Caswell on the high seas. (See January 4, 1876.) Pistoria was apprehended in Buenos Ayres by Carrick, the "able" seaman who navigated the Caswell to Queenstown after overpowering the mutineers with the help of Carrick and one or two others of the crew. 27. — The Vicar of Arundel lodges notice of appeal against a decision of Lord Coleridge, by which the chancel of Arundel Church was handed over to the Duke of Norfolk as family property. — Died, aged 84, and buried with honour in Westminster Abbey, Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., organiser of the Penny Postal system (January 10, 1840), Secretary to the Post Office, and also Postmaster-General in succession to Lord Elgin, 1862, SEPTEMBER I879 SEPTEMBER 28. — KingCetewayo euptured in the Ngome Forest by Major Marter, First Dragoon Guards, this intelligence being the first message c n- veyed by the newly-laid cable between Natal and Mozambique. 30. — Died at Farnborough Hall, aged 75, Thomas Longman, head of the great publishing house in Paternoster Row, and pleasantly associated in business relations with Macaulay, Moore, Sydney Smith, and other distinguished writers. 31. — Disorderly political meeting at Lime- rick, called in the first instance to hear Mr. Parnell denounce landlords with a view to abolish rents, but ending in a Fenian display favourable to extermination by shooting till the land was held by the people of the country. September 1. — Meeting at Ulundi between Sir Garnet Wolseley and Zulu chiefs, when an arrangement was made for parcelling out the country under conditions of chiefship. 8. — Lord Chelmsford receives from the Queen at Balmoral the Grand Cross of the Bath. 3. — Revolt at Cabul, followed by an attack on the British Residency and the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari, with other members of the Mission. The houses assigned to the Mission were in the Bala Hissar, or' citadel of Cabul. They were comfortable quarters, but incapable of being defended. The defences of the citadel itself were ruinous. To-day cer- tain discontented soldiers came to the Ameer's palace, clamouring loudly for pay. They then proceeded to the Residency, whether in pursuance of a plot, or in order to obtain from the Resident the satisfaction the Ameer denied there was no evidence to determine. Nor was it known whether they attacked the soldiers of the escort or were fired upon from within, or whether there was first a demand, then an altercation, then a blow, and then a regular attack with arms. Many stories were told. But it seemed at least probable that the Afghans had no weapons at first save stones. They soon procured guns, from their own homes or by force from the Ameer's arsenal. The Resi- dency was in fact besieged. This being the month of Ramazan, Mussulman fanaticism was at its height. Cholera had played havoc in the town, and the minds of the soldiers were disposed to any desperate enterprise. Soon they were joined by the mob of the city, whom hatred of the stranger or the infidel or hope of plunder incited. The defenders were driven from point to point of their frail fortress. Charge after charge was made by the brave men of the Guides, led by the Englishmen. As the latter fell one by one, the survivors with unabated spirit headed the sallies. The native officers and line alone remained. At last the efforts of the besiegers to set fire to the buildings succeeded. The defenders rushing out, perished fighting to a man. Among mem- bers of the British Mission who fell along with Sir L. Cavagnari were Dr. Kelly, Lieutenant Hamilton, and Mr. Jenkyns. 3. — First train passes over the Severn bridge, built to connect the Forest of Dean cialfield with Sharpness Docks at a cost of £400,000. 4. — An exhibition illustrative of the arts and industrial occupations of the Middle Ages opened at Liibeck in the recently restored Burgkloster. — Meeting of the Emperors of Russia and Germany at Alexandrowa, Poland. — Died, aged go, Edward Blore, D.C.L., F.R. S., &c, a busy, prominent architect in his day, zealous in the cause of Gothic revival. 6. — News reaches London of the revolt of the Afghan troops and murder of the British Mis- sion. Troops were at once ordered to advance on Cabul. — Died at Paris, aged 90, Baron Taylor, fine arts critic and play writer. 8. — Austrian troops enter the ceded territory of Novi-Bazar. IO. — -Statue of Thalberg (by Monteverde) uncovered at Naples, where the great composer died in April, 1871. 11. — Died, Kirkman D. Hodgson, late Governor of the Bank of England and M. P. for Bristol. 12. — Explosion in Leycett Colliery, the pro- perty of the Crewe Coal and Iron Company, whereby five men were killed and three dangerously wounded. — Died at Copenhagen, Paul Heyne, Danish composer, and poet. 14. — Died, aged 85, Thomas L. Holt, journalist and friend of Leigh Hunt. — Died at Vichy, aged 60, Theodore Valerie, artist, a pupil of Chorlet. 16. — Final award in the European Assurance Society issued, the arbitrators having been Lord Westbury, till his death, July, 1873 ; Lord Romilly, till his death, December, 1874 ; Lord Justice James, till July, 1875 ; and finally, under a new Act, Francis S. Reilly. The value of the claims established was £1,810,755 ; the calls and other assets produced £1,035,876; while the expenses in Parliament, Chancery, and arbitration amounted to .£214,124. — Currie's Distillery at Bromley-by-Bow destroyed by fire ; loss estimated at £200,000. ■ — Sydney International Exhibition opened. — Died at Wimbledon, aged 72, Dr. Charles Baring, late Bishop of Durham. 17. — Died at Lausanne, aged 65, Viollet-le- Duc, an architect of high authority in Gothic art, and restorer of many historical edifices throughout France, 1317 SEPTEMBER 1879 OCTOBER 18. — The two sons of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George, em- bark on board her Majesty's steam corvette Bacchante for duty in the Mediterranean and West Indies. — At Aylesbury, Lord Beaconsfield vindi- cates the present land system of this country, while at Southport Lord Derby and Mr. Cross urge emigration and economy as more to be sought after than strikes by working men. — Died, Daniel Drew, United States capi- talist and speculator. 19. — The directors of the West of England Bank at Bristol committed for trial on a charge of issuing false balance-sheets. — Miss Laura Addiscott convicted of neglect and ill-treatment of children at a girls' home at Deptford, and sentenced to eighteen months' hard labour. 21. — Prince Bismarck arrives at Vienna, where he remains three days, engaged, so re- port went, in negotiating a treaty or "under- standing " between Germany and Austria for a general disarmament. 22. — The garden laid out in St. Paul's Churchyard at the expense of the Corporation of London formally opened by the Lord Mayor. — Died, aged 73, Paul Falconer Poole, R.A., famous for weird and gloomy pictorial effects. 24. — Two English Ladies, an Englishman, and a Dane drowned at Boulogne while bathing in rough weather. — First recorded use of carrier-pigeons for conveying intelligence of ships in distress, a pair arriving at Harwich this morning from the Lark lightship in time to be of service to a ship reported as in danger. 26. — Died at Bath, aged 90, Field-Marshal Sir William Rowan, G.C.B., formerly Com- mander of the Forces in Canada. 27. — The Prince of Wales arrives at Copenhagen. — Died, at Chantilly, Thomas Carter, a famous English trainer of French horses ; he had won the French Derby six times. 28. — The Ameer Yakoob Khan arrives in the British camp at Khushi. 29. — Died, Edmund Falconer, Irish drama- tist and actor. 30. —Collision between theironclads/4^z'//« and Alexandra while exercising at Rhodes. . — Sir Evelyn Wood and other officers recently returned from South Africa entertained at a banquet in Fishmongers' Hall. — Died, aged 62, Henry Negretti, optician, and prominent otherwise among Italian resi- dents in London. 1318 October 1. — The Bishop of Manchester (Dr. Fraser) delivers his opening address at the Social Science Congress meeting in that city this year, reference being made by the speaker to many interesting facts connected with the sanitary, social, and moral condition of the people within his diocese. — Five Directors of the City of Glasgow Bank, who had completed their term of eight months' imprisonment, liberated from Ayr Gaol. — The new Supreme Court of Judicature for the German Empire meets for the first time, sixty-eight being the number of judicial mem- bers, made up of President, Vice-President, and Councillors. 4. — Died at Moscow, Sergius Solovieff, Professor of History, and author of a history of Russia in thirty volumes. S. — Bishop Russell, first Missionary Bishop of North China, died at Ningpo after thirty- one years' missionary work in that country. — Died at Pennoyre, Brecknock, aged 75> Sir Anthony Cleasby, late Baron of Exche- quer. 6. — Battle of Charasiab, near Cabul. A reconnoitering party of cavalry sent out this morning found Afghan troops massed in force along all the heights commanding the gorge of the Logare River. A large force of Ghilzais had also assembled in the rear to attack Gen- eral Macpherson, who was escorting a convoy from Zahidabad. General Roberts decided to attack at once. While General Baker advanced on the hills to the north-east, Major White was sent to the right of the gorge. His High- landers, against tremendous odds, stormed the hill. Meanwhile, General- Baker, making a turning movement to the left, drove the enemy from the heights over the Chardeh villages. Then he advanced taking height after height and finally captured the main point of the enemy's position. Major White was thus able to push along the sides of the gorge) capturing many guns, arms, and much ammunition. He was soon joined by General Baker. The rout of the enemy was complete. Their fire had been heavy and their advantage in numbers great ; but they made no very tenacious re- sistance to the bold assault of the Highlanders and Goorkhas. General Macpherson reached the camp in safety. The hosts of Ghilzais and other hillmen who had hung round our rear and flanks for the time dispersed. But, as General Roberts graphically said, "the whole country was seething." — Brigadier-General Pearson, a native of Somersetshire, presented with -a sword of hon- our in the Town Hall, Yeovil. — A fire in Holywell Street destroys a con- siderable part of such vestiges of old London as remained in that quarter. OCTOBER 1879 OCTOBER 6.— Mr. St. Barbe, British Resident, and other British subjects, leave Mandalay in anticipation of a Burmese ' ' rising " against the new successor to the throne, Prince Theebaw. 7. — The retirement of Count Andrassy officially announced, and also the appointment of Baron Haymerle as Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Ministry. 8. — Sir Stafford Northcote entertained at a banquet given in the Mansion House, Dublin, by the Lord Mayor. A freer and fuller con- nection between Ireland and England was spoken of, and hopeful views expressed as to the future. — The Peruvian ironclad Huascar captured by the Chilian fleet off Mejillones after several hours' fightin/. The Peruvian Admiral Grau and most of his crew killed. 9. — Clarkson memorial unveiled near Ware, Dean Merivale, who forty-five years ago stood on the spot with the abolitionist, telling the story of anti-slavery resolution in a simple, unaffected manner. 11. — Waterloo Bridge lighted up with the electric light. — Speaking at Navan, Mr. Parnell advises Irkh farmers to offer their landlords what they considered a fair rent, and if the latter de- clined to accept it, to pay none till they came to their senses. 12. — General Roberts makes a public entry into Cal.'ul. He issued a proclamation slating that the city would be spared, but that a heavy fine will be imposed. — M. Humbert, an amnestied Communist, elected to the Paris Municipal Council for Javal. 14. — Lord Hartington announced as the guest of Earl Derby at Knowsley during his Lancashire visit. — Liberal Conference at Glasgow addressed by Mr. Chamberlain and others. — General Gough occupies Jellalabad. — Brigadier-General Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C., a native of Essex, presented with a sword of honour at Chelmsford. — Mr. Damant, British political agent, killed in a rising of the Nagas, Assam, with most part of his escort ; and an attempt made to extirpate the little garrison at Kohima. 16. — Mr. Labouchere and Mr. Wyman, the proprietor and printer of Truth, charged at the Guildhall with libelling Mr. E. Lawson of the Daily Telegraph. — Hotel de Ville at Stockholm destroyed by fire. 17. — Lord Salisbury, at a Conservative dinner at Manchester, defends the foreign policy of the Government, and speaks of the Austro-German alliance as "glad tidings of great joy." 17.— Died at Orange, Dr. Whittingham., Bishop of Maryland, one of the foremost theo- logians of the Old Catholic party in the United States. — Formal opening of the Severn Bridge at Passage. — Died at the early age of 33, Alfred Henry Garrod, Ful'Ierian Professor of Physiology. — Died, aged 90, John Miers, F.R.S., a. recognized authority on the botany and ento- mology of Brazil. 18. — Conservative demonstration in the Pomona Gardens, Manchester, Lord Salisbury speaking cautiously of the Conservative policy in India as defensive, not aggressive. — The States General of Holland (Second Chamber) vote for abolition of flogging in Dutch navy. 19. — Colonel Money attacks and disperses 10,000 Ghilzais, by whom he had been sur- rounded for three days at the Shutargardan. 20. — Prince Leopold opens the Firth College at Sheffield, erected at a cost of £20,000, and endowed with ,£5,000 by Mr. Mark Firth. — Reading Room and other parts of the British Museum lighted up with electric light. 22. — Proposal made for abolishing slavery in Cuba, subject to five years' labour at a fixed sum per month. — Died, aged 52, C. II. Jeens, steel en- graver. 23. — The Roumanian Senate approves the compromise project on the Jewish question. 25. — Rival political demonstrations, the Conservative party at Birmingham being addressed by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, and liberals in Pomona Gardens, Manchester, by Lord Hartington and Mr. Bright. Recent Conservative policy, Mr. Bright argued, might lend a seeming glory to the Crown, and may give scope for patronage and promotion, and pay a pension to a limited and a favoured class ; " but to you, the people, it brings expen- diture of blood and of treasure, increased debts and taxes, and adds risks of war in every part of the globe. Now look at our position for one moment : you have to meet the competi- tion of other countries. Your own race on the American Continent are your foremost rivals. Nobody hardly denies that statement. I believe they are 50,000,000 now. Happily for them, they have not yet bred a Beaconsfield or a Salisbury to misdirect their policy and waste their resources. Now, if at some distant period — it may be centuries remote — an Englishman, one of that great English nation which is now so rapidly peopling the great American Continent, if such an Englishman 1319 OCTOBER I8 79 NOVEMBER should visit and explore the source of his race, and the decayed and ruined home of his fathers, he may exclaim, ' How are the mighty fallen ! ' and, ' Whence comes this great ruin ? ' and the answer will be, ' In the coun- cils of the England of the past.' I pray that it may not be said in the days of a virtuous Queen that wisdom and justice were scorned, and ignorance, passion, and vain glory directed her policy and wielded her power." 25. — General Kaufmann leaves St. Peters- burg for Tashkend. 27. — The Cyfarthfa Ironworks at Merthyr- Tydvil, belonging to Messrs. Crawshay, re- opened after being closed for five years. — Adolphus Rosenberg, proprietor of Town Talk, sentenced at the Old Bailey to eighteen months' imprisonment for publishing libels on Mrs. Langtry and Mrs. Cornwallis West. — Died, Robert Henry Allan, of Blackwell Hall, Darlington, one of the oldest members of the Society of Antiquaries, author of various antiquarian works, and entitled, it was said by heraldic authorities, to display a coat of arms with sixteen quarterings. 28. — General Roberts issues a proclamation announcing the abdication of Yakoob Khan, and stating that the British Government had undertaken the temporary administration of the country. 29. — The Tranmere "baby-farming case" brought to a close, and the two prisoners, John and Catherine Barnes, charged with the murder of three poor children entrusted to their care, were found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to penal servitude for life. Between twenty and thirty children had, it was shown, died under their charge ; but the difficulty in obtaining evidence, owing to the reluctance of the mothers to appear, obliged the prosecution to limit the charges to three. — Alexander Mbller, a Russian Councillor of State, died, aged 83. Mbller himself, his brother and sister, were all born deaf and dumb. He was educated at the Deaf and Dumb Institution in St. Petersburg, rapidly learnt to read, and showed such ability that he was admitted into the Imperial Chancery, and afterwards into the Council of State. — Opening of new Royal Infirmary, Edin- burgh. — Died at his country residence, Strathty- rum, St. Andrew's, aged 61, John Blackwood, conductor of Blackwood's Magazine for thirty- three years, and head of the important Edin- burgh publishing house founded by his father, William. 30. — Consecration of St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, the largest Protestant church, with the exception of St. Paul's Cathedral, erected within the past 300 years. 1322 30. — Died, aged 80, M. Louis Reyband, a literary member of the Institute, political economist and opponent of Socialism. 31. — Died at Lower Sydenham, aged 72, John B. Buckstone, a comedian who had earned the praise of Edmund Kean, and for half a century stood in high favour with London and provincial audiences. November 1. — Subject to certain indi- vidual dissents, the Royal Commission on Church Patronage recommend that the present varied system of patronage, public and private, and of freedom of sale of advowsons or per- petual right of presentation be maintained ; but that their sale by public auction should be abolished, that the sale of bext presentations should be abolished, and that provision should be made to prevent the evasion of the law by any purchase of the advowson four autre vie or for other limited estate, or by other con- veyancing device ; that as a safeguard against collusive sales, it should not be lawful for the purchasers of an advowson to re-sell it until after the expiration of five years from the date of purchase ; that the term " simony " should be more clearly explained, and that a statutory declaration should be made by each clerk before institution that no illegal act had been com- mitted ; that greater liberty should be allowed to bishops to refuse institution in cases where good reason exists, and that a fund raised by a fee on the sale of each living should be formed to defray the expenses of bishops refus- ing to institute persons whom they considered unfit. — Banquet given to Sir Evelyn WoQd by the Bar of England in the Middle Temple Hall. — Died, aged 72, Charles Louis Gruneisen, journalist and musical critic. 3.— The new building of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, erected in Northumberland Avenue, opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 4. — Mr. Lowe, speaking at Grantham, attacks the foreign and financial policy of the Government. — Died at New York, aged 76, Rev. Jacob Abbott, Professor of Mathematics and a prolific writer of books for the young. 5. — Died at Cambridge, aged 48, James Clerk Maxwell, F.R.S., first occupant of the Chair of Experimental Physics, founded by the Duke of Devonshire, Chancellor of the University, 1871. Professor Clerk Maxwell, descended from the Scottish Middlebie and Pennicuik families, was educated at Edinburgh and at Trinity, Cambridge, where he came out as Second Wrangler and Smith's Prizeman, 1854. He became Professor of Natural Philosophy in Aberdeen, and at King's College, London. Mr. Clerk Maxwell's treatise on NO VEMBEIt 1879 NOVEMBER " Electricity and Magnetism " was justly looked upon as the Principia of the nineteenth cen- tury. The author was esteemed and beloved by students — by all, indeed, with whom he had intercourse. (See Memoir by Professors Campbell and Garnett.) 6. — Musurus Pasha having promised Lord Salisbury that the reforms in Asia Minor in- sisted upon by England shall be duly carried out, the despatch of Admiral Hornby's squad- ron to Vourla is countermanded. 7. — The Guion steamer Arizona comes into collision with an iceberg off the great New- foundland Bank, but is enabled by the strength of her watertight bulkhead compartment to reach St. John's in safety. 9. — Marden House, Surrey, where Evelyn wrote his " Diary," and Louis Napoleon and Macaulay had lived, burned to the ground. IO. — Lord Beaconsfield, speaking at a ban- quet given by the new Lord Mayor (Truscott), praises Lord Lytton in connection with Indian affairs, and expresses hopeful feelings regarding a revival of trade, as evidenced by a passing activity in " chemicals." — At a meeting of the Irish Electoral League in Manchester, Mr. Pamell described the condition of things in Ireland as a great "strike" against the payment of unjust rents. Fair rents, he thought, should be paid for thirty years, after which the land should become the property of the occupant. 14. — Liberal demonstration at Leeds, the foreign policy of the Government being severely censured by the Duke of Argyll and Mr. Forster. — Died at Headingley, Leeds, while resid- ing with Professor Ransome, Prince Alamaga, son of King Theodore of Abyssinia, brought to this country to be educated after the storm- ing of Magdala. 15. — Lord Penzance makes an order for the suspension of Mr. Mackonochie during three years for disobedience to a monition issued in December, 1874, discharging him from using eucharistic vestments, singing the Agnus Dei, making the sign of the cross as a gesture to- wards the co igregation, or kissing of the Gospel book as a ceremony. 16. — St. Leonard's Church, Edinburgh, destroyed by fire. 18. — Edinburgh Town Council grant an annuity of £10 to Mrs. Kemp, widow of architect of Scott monument. 19. — Michael Davitt, a returned Fenian convict, James Daly, of the Connaught Tele- graph, and J. B. Kilien, barrister and anti-rent lecturer, arrested on a charge of delivering seditious speeches at Gurteen, Sligo, on the 2nd inst. 20. — Moirosi's stronghold, an isolated mountain deemed impregnable, stormed by the Cape Colonial Force under Colonel Bayley, and the chief himself killed with seventy fol- lowers. 20. — The ex-Empress of the French sum- moned to Madrid by the critical state of her mother. The Comtesse de Montejo spends this evening in Paris by permission of M. GreVy, obtained through the intervention of Lord Lyons. The Comtesse (Marie Manuela Kirk- patrick) died on the 22nd, aged 85. 22. — Died, at Kingswood, near Tunbridge-, John Remington Mills, formerly M.P. for Wycombe, a wealthy and influential Noncon- formist. — Died, at his residence near Ascot, aged 62, John Thaddeus Delaine, editor of the Times from 1841 till the summer of 1877, when he sought what turned out to be but a brief respite from the daily and nightly toil incident to a responsible position which he filled with unrivalled skill and undisputed supremacy. Mr. Delaine was of Berkshire descent, but born in London. — Died, aged 65, Mrs. Charles Dickens, widow of the novelist, and daughter of George Hogarth, journalist and musical critic. 23. — Died in Edinburgh, aged 82, Mark Napier, advocate, Sheriff of Dumfriesshire and Galloway, author of various Memorials and Biographies of the great Marquis of Montrose and John Graham, Viscount Dundee, or " Claverhouse," as he was familiarly called. 24. — Mr. Gladstone starts on his northern election tour, making short speeches on the journey at Carlisle, Hawick and Galashiels. Received by an immense gathering at Edin- burgh, he was conveyed by torch-light so far on his drive to Dalmeny, where the right hon- ourable gentleman was to be the guest for a time of Lord Rosebery. — Died suddenly at Mill Hill, aged 70, Mr. Serjeant Cox, Deputy- Assistant Judge, Middle- sex Sessions, formerly editor of the Law Times, and proprietor, it was understood, of the Field and Queen newspapers. 26. — Died, Miss Mary Stanley, daughter of the Bishop of Norwich, and sister of Dean Stanley ; a devoted philanthropist, who led out a band of nurses to aid our sick and wounded soldiers in the Crimea. 25. — Mr. Gladstone commences his Midlo- thian "campaign" by addressing his supporters in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, the principal topic handled being the foreign policy of Ministers. Next day his speech at Dalkeith related principally to such Scottish affairs as the abolition of hypothec and entail, increase of representatives in Parliament, disestablish- ment, and cultivation of land. Regarding the disestablishment of the Church, he said this was a question for the determination of the people of Scotland, and it was no part of his 1321 NOVEMBER 1879 DECEMBER duty to press it either forward or backward. On the Temperance Question he declared himself in favour of local option, and, speaking of Home Rule, said he would be glad to see some of the overwhelming business of Parlia- ment transferred to local bodies, provided it was done without weakening or compromising the authority of the national legislature. On the 27th, at West Calder, he dwelt upon agricultural prospects, specially with reference to American competition, the sub-division of land, advis- ability of increased cultivation of garden pro- duce, reciprocity, and abstract principles of foreign policy. On the 30th two speeches were made by Mr. Gladstone in Edinburgh — first, in Corn Exchange, where he indicted the Home and Indian financial policyof the present- Government; second, in Waverley Market, censuring their foreign policy, 27. — The French Chambers meet in Paris for the first time since the fall of the Empire, M. Gambetta, as President, making a few appropriate remarks oiv their return to the capital. — It is resolved at Oxford that the various Halls should be absorbed in Colleges, and therefore so far abolished' as independent academical bodies. — Died in Hill Street, Berkeley Square, aged 51, George Frederick D'Arcy, Earl of Durham, last surviving son of the first earl, prominent in his day as st Parliamentary reformer. 28. — Died at Lodeve, aged 63, M. Michael Chevalier, a leading French political econo- mist, associated with Cobden in settling the Anglo-French Commercial Treaty of i860. 29. — Marriage of King Alfonso of Spain with the Archduchess Marie Christina of Aus- tria celebrated with pomp, but on the whole quietly, at Madrid. — The Master of the Rolls decides that Mr. Labouchere had been wrongfully expelled from the Beefsteak Club, in so far, among other reasons, as he had not been made acquainted with the charges raised against him ; that there had been no real inquiry ; that due notice had not been given ; and that the votes did not represent two-thirds of the members present. — Secocoeni's stronghold at Water Koppie successfully stormed by Sir Garnet Wolseley, the chief himself being captured and sent to Cape Town. Umkana's fortress was also captured at this time. — Died, aged 72, Elizabeth Juliana Lady Sabine, closely associated with the scientific labours of her husband, General Sir E. Sabine, and translator of Humboldt's "Cosmos." 33 — Yakoob Khan removed from Calcutta to Peshawur. 1322 SO,— Died in London, aged 78, the Right Hon. John Arthur Roebuck, M.P. for Sheffield since 1849, an independent politician, known as "Tear 'em," who had passed through various phases of Radicalism till new-found friends could count upon his support as a moderate Conservative. December 1. — Attempt made on the life of the Czar at Moscow, by exploding a mine con- structed under the railway. His Majesty was re- turning from Livadia to St. Petersburg, and had arranged to stay at Moscow on his way through. By accident or design the train conveying his luggage was following instead of preceding the Imperial train. Within the outskirts of the city a terrific explosion occurred as the second train was passing over a portion of the line, which was subsequently discovered to have been mined. Although the greater part of this train was thrown off the line no lives were lost. It appeared that the mine, which was a care- fully-built tunnel under the railway, had been fired by electricity from a house adjoining, and which, on the arrival of the police, was empty. When the Czar resumed his journey to St. Petersburg on the 9th, military posts, consisting of several men grouped round a watchfire, were stationed at intervals of fifty paces along the road, nearly 450 miles in length. On his arrival at St. Petersburg the Emperor's sledge was surrounded by a crowd of officers, con- cealing him from the public gaze. It was remarked that, notwithstanding the peril from which he had recently escaped, his return to the capital was marked by little or no enthu- siasm on the part of the people. — Died, aged 88, Colonel W. Burney, K. H., a Waterloo veteran. 2. — Severe frost experienced over the greater part of Europe, even the sheltered recesses of the Riviera not escaping. 3. — The steamer Borussia founders at sea on her voyage to America, the loss being variuusly reported at from 100 to 1 70 lives. — Died, Hon. Octavius Duncombe, chair- man of the Great Northern, and Mr. Edward Shipley Ellis, of the Midland Railway, both original directors of the small lines out of which these great undertakings subsequentl) grew. 5. — Mr. Gladstone delivers his inaugural address as Lord Rector of Glasgow University, and makes a political speech in the evening. The highest of all studies, in a secular sense, he told the students, was man, in all his various phases ; and history, as the record of man's actions, was the philosophy of human nature. In conclusion, he urged them not too narrowly to confine themselves to one subject of study, which had the effect of making a man dogmati- cally perverse, and to abhor the prevalent spirit of self-sufficient presumption, for "ignorance often may be innocent ; pretension is always DECEMBER I8 79 DECEMBER despicable." Mr. Gladstone returned to Hawar- den on the 8th, receiving addresses as he passed along at Carlisle, Preston, Wigan, Warrington, and Chester. 1 . 6. — The obelisk at Alexandria known as Cleopatra's " Second " Needle taken down, preparatory to being shipped to the United States, to which country it had been presented. — Died in Cavendish Square, aged 79. William John Cavendish Scott Bentinck, fifth Duke of Portland, an excellent but eccentric landlord, who personally superintended the improvements and ingenious contrivances in- troduced over a vast estate, to which his younger brother, Lord George Bentinck, was for years accepted as heir. — Died, aged nearly 80, Sir William Boxall, ex-R.A. and D.C.L., director of the National Gallery when the famous Peel collection was purchased. 7.— The City Road Wesleyan Chapel destroyed by fire. — Died at Copenhagen, aged 68, Ion Sigurdsson, founder of the Icelandic Con- stitution. 8. — Thomas Brennan committed for trial at Castlebar on a charge of using seditious lan- guage at a land agitation meet!ng.held at Balla on the 23rd November. 9. — At Windsor yesterday and to-day the Queen confers various decorations on officers and soldiers engaged in the recent Afghan and Zulu wars. 11. — Serious inundations reported from Hungary, and much property destroyed by the overflowing of the river Koros. 12. — Lord Lytton. fired at when entering Calcutta by a tipsy Eurasian, who had recently been released from confinement as a dangerous lunatic. 13. — Died, aged 79, William Calcraft, many years public executioner, -but specially retained for his somewhat . peculiar duty by the City of London. 14. — Attack made by Afghan tribes upon General Roberts at Cabul. The Bala Hissar and northern parts of the city had to be abandoned, and the troops withdrawn to the Sherpur cantonment. 15. — Differences reported as having arisen between. the Czar and Czarwitch on the sub- ject of Constitutional reform, and in connection with which Count Wahjeff had » few days since been dismissed .in disgrace. — Enthusiastic reception of General Grant at Philadelphia on the completion of 'his tour round the world. 17/ — The annual report of Glasgow City Bank directors shows the amount of assets realised as £4,856^666, and the amount re- 1323 ceived from calls on contributors, ,£4,452,366. The total indebtedness of the bank on its stopping payment was £12,855,560. Besides paying the preferential claims in full, amounting to ,£1,659,947, the liquidators have distributed the following dividend to the creditors : — February 28, 6s. &d. per pound ; June 20, 3-r. 4 the Marquis of Anglesey; Professor David Thomson, of Aberdeen Uni- versity ; aged 73, Granier de Cassagnac, French journalist and novelist. Throughout the month successive fogs of extreme density cause great dislocation of traffic in the metropolis, many accidents being reported. February 1. — D.ied at Tillyfour, Aberdeen- shire, aged 75, William M'Combie, formerly M.P. for West Aberdeenshire, and well known as a breeder of prize cattle. — Died, aged 86, Sir Charles Pressly, K.C.B., late Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. — Died at his residence in Dublin, aged 78, Sir Dominic Carrigan, an eminent Irish physician, the leader indeed of his profession in Ireland, and formerly M.P. for Dublin City. 2. — Died at his residence, Grosvenor Cres- cent, London, aged 83, the Rt. Hon. Sir George Hamilton Seymour, engaged for over fifty years in active diplomatic service at various European Courts. 3. — The series of experiments which had been undertaken at Woolwich to discover the reason of the accidental explosion of the 38-ton gun on board the Thunderer, brought to- a> close, and the sister gun to that to which the accident had occurred burst entirely to the satisfaction of artillerymen and engineers. The preliminary tests had demonstrated that the theories of the shot having slipped or jammed had no foundation in fact, and this expeiiment was to show whether the committee who investigated the case were right in their con- clusion that double loading had burst the first gun. The first charge consisted of no-lb. of pebble powder, a 1 10-lb. Palliser shell, and a papier-mache wad. Charge No. 2 comprised 85 lb. of powder, a common shell, and another wad. The gun, being fired, burst precisely in the same way as its prototype, greatly to the satisfaction of the experts present, who con- gratulated each other on the cause of the Thun- derer explosion having been now conclusively established. — Died in the United States, aged 84, Charles Coudert, thought to be the lajt survivor of the Parisian Samur conspiracy for over- throwing the Bourbons in 1821. 4. — Recognising the necessity of liberal donations to the Irish Relief Fund, the New York Herald opens a subscription of its own, heading the list with the handsome donation of ^20,000. 5. — The last session of the present Parlia- ment opened by the Queen in person with more state ceremonial than had been observed since the death of Prince Albert. Her Majesty was accompanied by the Princess Beatrice, and their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Duke of Cam- bridge ; the great officers of state were also present. The Royal Speech, which was read by the Lord Chancellor, after referring to the satisfactory nature of the relations between this country and Foreign Powers, dealt with the manner in which the Treaty of Berlin had been « carried out, as well as with the fact that the evacuation of Turkey by the Russian troops had been completed. Alluding to the sad massacre of Sir Louis Cavignari and his col- leagues at Cabul, and to the steps taken to punish the authors of that crime, Her Majesty stated that though the military occupation of Afghanistan is still a necessity,.,no desire exists on the part of the Government to annex the territory, or to interfere with the liberties of the inhabitants ; whilst at the same time the pro- visions of the Treaty of Gundamuk will be adhered to as far as possible. The close of the Zulu war was then touched upon, followed by an allusion to the Confederation of the South African States, and by an expression of the hope that they may fairly be expected in the future to defend themselves without aid from Imperial resources. Turning to domestic topics, Her Majesty recorded her deep sympathy with the condition of the population in certain dis- tricts of Ireland, and announced that a grant would be made from the Irish Church funds with the view Qf alleviating the distress. The speech concluded by enumerating the bills to be laid before Parliament, including oile to enlarge the powers of owners of Settled' Estates, another to amend the Bankruptcy Law 1 , a Criminal Code Bill, and a Lunacy Bill. 1327 FEBRUARY l88o FEBRUARY 6. — Election of a member for Liverpool, in room of the late Mr. Torr, results in the return of Mr. Whitley, the Conservative candidate, who polled 26,106 votes as against 23,885 given to his opponent, Lord Ramsay. 8. — Died at Buxton, aged 89, the Rev. Alex. Keith, D.D., author of several exposi- tions of prophecy. 9- — Theatre Royal, Dublin, destroyed by fire. Five lives lost, including the manager, Mr. Egerton. lO- — Conclusion of the debate on the Address, which had been much protracted by the Irish membeis, the last amendment being decisively defeated by 216 to 66. — Execution, at Tiflis, of Tato Tsoolos- lcidze, one of the last of the Circassian chiefs. 12. — The house of Mr. Thomas Palmer, Nottingham, robbed of jewels worth ^3,000. 13. — Election for Southwark, and Mr. Ed- ward Clarke, Q.C., returned, the numbers at the close of the poll being — Clarke (C.) 7,683, Dunn (L.) 6,830, and Shipton (R.) 799. At Barnstaple on the previous day Viscount Lym- ington (L. ) polled 817 votes against 791 recorded for Sir Robert Carden (C). 14. — The Vega, with Professor Norden- skjbld on board, arrived at Naples, and the Professor and his companions were received with every demonstration of official and public enthusiasm. — Died on the Punjaub frontier General John Adam Tytler, V.C., a distinguished Indian officer. 17. — Another attempt on the life of the Czar. About seven o'clock this evening a mine was exploded in the basement of the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg, and though none of the Imperial family were injured, the results of the explosion proved most disastrous, ten of the soldiers on duty in the Palace being killed and forty-eight others injured. The mine, which was loaded with dynamite and gun cotton, had been laid below the guard- room, which is situated immediately under the dining-room. But for a fortunate delay in the dinner hour, caused by the Emperor having gone to meet the Prince of Hesse, the Imperial family would at the time the mine was fired have been assembled in the dining hall, the floor of which was seriously damaged. The soldiers in the guard-room were thus the only victims of the outrage. As soon as the news of the explosion became known in St. Peters- burg, the ambassadors of foreign Powers, along with thousands of loyal citizens, pro- ceeded to the Palace to congratulate the Czar on his escape. In official and diplomatic circles in London the event created great sensation. The Queen immediately tele- graphed a message of condolence and cengratulation to the Czar, her Majesty's example being followed by the Prince of 1328 Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. Mes- sages of a similar character were also re- ceived by the Czar from the Emperor of Germany and the President of the French Republic. 19. — A letter in The Times of to-day, from Mr. A. Storey Maskelyne, announces that Mr. J. Ballantine Hannay, at Glasgow, had re- moved "from the science of chemistry an opprobrium so long adhering to it," by suc- ceeding in crystallising carbon, and so making, in fact, real diamonds. A lively controversy was excited by this letter. — Died, Stewart Brown, an active member of the great New York banking firm of Messrs. Brown Brothers & Co. BO. — Debate in the House of Lords on the Afghan Policy of the Government, initiated by the Duke of Argyll! The debate was con- tinued by Lord Strathnaim, Lord Napier of Magdala, the Lord Chancellor, and Lord Granville. Lord Beaconsfield having replied, the Duke of Argyll withdrew his motion. 21. — Intelligence received from Constanti- nople that Colonel Synge, who had been despatched by Sir Henry Layard to distribute relief to the Mussulman refugees in Eastern Roumelia, had been captured by Greek brigands near Salonica, and that a large ransom had been demanded as the price of his release. Niko, the chief of the brigands, took the opportunity of demanding, in addition to a ransom, an amnesty for himself and the release of some of his relations who were imprisoned in Greece. Ultimately intelligence of Colonel Synge's release, on payment of ;£l2,ooo, reached London from Constanti- nople. — The National Convention of Bolivia ordered the sale, by public auction, of the property of the convents and churches of the Republic, towards the expenses of the war. 24. — Concluded before Mr. Justice Hawkins and a jury the trial of James Lewis Paine, aged 50, charged with the murder of Miss Annie J. F. M'Lean, on the 17th November, 1879. Paine, who was a married man in poor circum- stances, succeeded in getting Miss M'Lean so far under his power as to execute a deed of gift in his favour. Having thus got pos- session of all her property, Paine brought the unfortunate lady to London, and in direct opposition to the doctors he had called in, systematically forced his victim to drink large quantities of spirits ; and thus, according to the theory of the prosecution, wilfully accelerated her death, which took place a fortnight after she had been brought to London. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter, and the prisoner in a lengthy speech protested his innocence of any intention to harm the deceased. Mr. Justice Hawkins declared that he disbelieved the convict's statement, FEBRUARY l88o MARCH described the character of his offence as atro- cious, and passed sentence of penal servitude for life. — The Dean of Westminster refuses per- mission to erect a monument in the Abbey to the late Prince Imperial. 2S. — An Imperial ukase, dated the 24th, published at St. Petersburg, in virtue of which the government of the country is practically handed over to Count Loris Melikoff, as the htad of a newly-organised supreme executive commission. This commission was called into being by the extraordinary alarm and anxiety pervading the Russian capital in expectation of fresh Nihilist outrages. — Debate in the Commons on the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer's resolutions dealing with obstruction, which propose to create a Standing Order to the effect that, when a member shall have been named by the Speaker or Chairman of Committees as having disre- garded the ruling of the chair or obstructed the business, it shall be in the power of the House to suspend him from the service of the House for the remainder of the sitting, and for longer periods in the case of repeated Offences. — The Board of Trade Inquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster resumed at Dundee, the court being constituted as on the occasion of the sittings about two months ago. It was inti- mated at the outset that there was no intention at present to enter upon the scientific branch of the inquiry, but that attention would almost solely be confined to the evidence of witnesses who had volunteered to speak as to the rate at which trains were in the habit of travelling over the bridge, and that of others who were desirous of describing certain features that they had observed while engaged in painting the ironwork. —Died, aged 68, Rt. Rev. Mon. Russell, President of the Roman Catholic College, Maynooth, a learned native of Killough, county Down. — Died the eccentric lady claiming to be ' ' Countess of Derwentwater " and heiress of the vast Dilston estates in virtue of her pretended descent from Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, executed 1716. 28. — Conclusion of debate on the Obstruc- tion Resolutions. Amendments to details of Resolutions were again the subject of much debate, chiefly by Irish members, the main attack being directed against powers which it was proposed to grant to the Chairman of Committees. In the end the first resolution was adopted, with the addition, on the motion of Mr. Forster, of the words — "provided always that nothing in this resolution shall be understood to deprive the House of the power of proceeding according to its ancient usages." The second resolution, making the provisions of the first a Standing Order, was also agreed to, the Chancellor of the Exchequer declining to accept a proposal to make it a Sessional Order, on the ground that it would involve the discussion of the subject year after year. — The piercing of the St. Gothard tunnel completed at nine o'clock this morning. — Died, aged 79, Charles Lees, R. S.A., Treasurer of the Royal Scottish Academy. 29. — Died, aged 69, Dr. Edward Zimmer- man, a distinguished member of the " Progress " party in the German Reichstag. march 2. — In the House of Commons, the case of Mr. Charles Edmund Grissell, in re- ference to the breach of privilege in connection with the Tower High Level Bridge Committee, came on for consideration. An apologetic petition from Mr. Grissell was presented by Mr. Walpole ; but the House agreed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that Mr. Grissell's presence at the Bar was necessary. The Speaker's warrant for his arrest was accordingly at once issued, and in the course of the evening the Sergeant-at-Arms reported that it had been duly executed, and that Mr. Grissell was in his custody. On the following day the prisoner was brought before the House, and personally made submission for his offence. Motion was made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, " That Charles Edmund Grissell, having evaded punishment for his offence against the privileges of this House until the close of last Session, be committed to Her Majesty's gaol of New- gate, and that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant accordingly." This being seconded by Mr. Forster, the question was put and at once agreed to. It was subsequently stated that this decision was a disagreeable surprise to Mr. Grissel, who had expected to be released after making his apology. The dissolution of Par- liament, which shortly followed, released Mr. Grissell. 3. — AttheOld Bailey, Mrs. GeorginaWeldon appeared before the Recorder, to answer an in- dictment for libel preferred by M. Jules Prudence Riviere. The parties, it appeared in evidence, were introduced in 1878, and in October of the following year an arrangement was made, by which the defendant's choir was to sing at M. Riviere's concerts at Covent Garden Theatre. The contract had only lasted a fortnight when the arrangement suddenly collapsed, and cross actions were entered by both of the parties. Mrs. Weldon, having quarrelled with M. Riviere, relieved her feelings by the composi- tion of the letters which constituted the alleged libels, and in November wrote to Mr. Eber- wein and to Mr. Hamilton Clarke, both gentle- men engaged in the musical profession, on the subject of her own wrongs and certain alleged passages in the life of M. Riviere. The trial lasted three days, and resulted in a verdict of Guilty. As there were other proceedings pend- ing between the parties, Mr. Waddy applied to 1329 MARCH 1880 MARCH the Recorder to defer anything further in the case until they were decided. The Recorder agreeing, Mrs. Weldon was liberated on recog- nizances to come up for judgment when called. On May 24th, civil proceedings having been brought to a close, Mrs. Weldon surrendered to her bail, and was sentenced by the Recorder "to four months imprisonment from the date of her conviction. — At the Tay Bridge inquiry, the evidence on behalf of the Railway Company relating to the workmanship of the bridge was brought to a close. The body of David Mitchell, driver of the lost train, was found four miles below the bridge. This was the .thirty-ninth ,bpdy recovered. — Count Loris Melikoff shot at by a Jew named Maladyetsky. A. — Destruction of the village of Nauders, on the Swiss frontier, by fire. 5. — Disastrous boiler explosion at the Glas- gow Iron Works, in the northern district of that city. One of the upright boilers, in con- nection with the puddling furnace;, exploded shortly after seven o'clock p.m., doing great damage to the boiler-shed and buildings adja- cent, killing four men at the moment, and more or less seriously injuring thirty-two others, of whom twenty-one died. 6. — Lieutenant W^'son, of the 1st L.A.V., killed at Irvine by the explosion of a shell, and buried with military honours in Glasgow Necropolis on the 13th. Instructing- Sergeant Kirker was killed by the same unfortunate ex- plosion, and buried also with military honours at Sighthill. 9. — Lord Beaconsfield, in the House of Lords, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons, announced that it was intended to dissolve Parliament as soon' as pos- sible after the Budget had been brought in. — In a letter addressed to the Lord- Lieu- tenant of Ireland, the Prime Minister explains that the adoption by Parliament of the Irish Relief Bills enables Ministers "to advise the Queen to recur to the sense of the people." His Lordship also sets forth at some length the main features of the policy of the Government during the last six years, and states that the immediate dissolution of Parliament will afford an opportunity to the nation "to decide upon a course which will materially influence its future fortune and shape its destiny." 9. — Died, aged 78, Lady Charlotte Bacon (Harley), the " Ianthe " to whom Byron dedi- cated his first Canto of " Childe Harold." — The Empress of Austria visits the Queen at Windsor Castle. 11. — In the House of Commons, the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer introduces his financial statement. He reminded the House that the Budget of last year showed an estimated sur- I330 plus of ,£1,900,000, which, however, had been turned into a deficit by a vote of credit of £3,000,000 taken on account of the South African war. This deficit had been further increased to a sum of £3,355>o°° by tne decrease in the declining revenue. The esti- mated expenditure for 1880-81 was put at £81,486,472, and tie revenue at £81,560,000. In order hot to interfere with the industry of the country, which had long been suffering from the depression of trade, Sir Stafford Northcote proposed to provide for the extra expenditure caused through the Zulu and Afghan wars by payments to the amount altogether of £6,000,000, spread over five years. — Preparations for the elections become general over the country. On this day Mr. Gladstone issued his address to the electors of Mid-Lothian. The right hon. gentleman re- joiced that the time had at length arrived when the constituencies are to be called upon to declare by their votes what view they entertain of the policy of the Government. Proceeding to deal with the Prime Minister's " electioneer- ing address," Mr. Gladstone maintained that Lord Beaconsfield had endeavoured by " terri- fying insinuations " to hide from view the acts of the Ministry and their effect upon the char- acter and condition of the country. To these he drew attention with some detail, though at the same time admitting that with threescore years and ten upon his head he felt the task an irksome one. He denounced the policy of Go- vernment both at home and abroad, and turn- ing to financial questions, censured the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer for proposing to meet only a portion of his deficits, and to meet them partly by a new tax on personal property, or by a sacrifice of the Sinking Fund. He pointed out that the Prime Minister gave no clue as to the domestic legislation of the future, and opened up no prospect of effectual altera- tion in the land laws, of local government reforms, of a more equal distribution of political franchise, or of progress in questions deeply affecting' the moral and social condition of the people. — Mr. James Russell Lowell, the new Uni- ted States Minister, introduced to Her Majesty by the Horne Secretary, in the absence of Lord Salisbury. 12. — Speaking at Marylebone M r - Glad- stone took occasion to condemn the abandoned Water Bill and also the proposed readjustment of Probate Duties, the latter as pressing unfairly upon personal as compared with real property. More sanguine than many of his supporters as to the results of impending General Election Mr. Gladstone hoped that whatever the answer of the country might be, it would be clear and unequivocal, ringing from John o' Groat's to Land's End. "Don't (he concluded) let us have an ambiguous expression of the popular voice — to-day an election in one way, to- rn jrrow in another, — to-day Liberalism is up MARCH l88o MARCH in good spirits, to-morrow Jingoism is up. It is better that Jingoism should have its way, and that people, if they won't learn by reason — and they have had plenty of reason— should learn by experience, than that we should present to the rest of the world, not one Eng- land, but two Englands ; in (fact an England that does not know its mind ; an England blow- ing one day hot and another day cold 4 one day wet, another day dry ; something like that which is said of our climate, and never main- taining that consistency and dignity of action which belongs to a great Power. " 13.— Died, aged 87, Thomas Bell, a former Secretary of the Royal Society and President of the Linnean Society. 14. — The Grand Shereef of Mecca assassi- nated. 15. — Lord Derby, in a letter to Lord Sefton, states that, though he had long been unwilling to separate himself from the political connection in which he was brought up, and with which he had in the main acted for many years, the present situation of parties, and the avowed policy of the Conservative leader in reference to foreign relations, left him no choice. — The General Post Office, Cape Town, robbed of diamonds valued at 75,000/. 16. — The Peruvian corvette Union forces the blockade of the port of Arica. The Chilian army took possession of the Peruvian town of Moquegua on the 20th. — Died, aged 99, Admiral Philip West- phal, the oldest commissioned officer in Her Majesty's service. He was at the battle of Copenhagen, and also fought in other engage- ments under Nelson. 17. — Mr. Gladstone addresses his first meet- ing in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, dealing chiefly with the foreign policy of the Govern- ment, which he described as a failure. Other meetings, following almost daily, were held at Corstorphine on the 18th, where the Afghan war engaged attention ; at Ratho, agricultural affairs ; at Davidson's Mains, on the 19th, the Berlin Treaty was discussed, and at Dalkeith Home Questions, including Local Option. On the 2 1st, meetings were addressed at Juniper Green, Balerno, and Mid-Calder; on the 22nd, Mr. Gladstone delivered four speeches — one in opening a new Liberal Club in Edinburgh ; a second in Queen Street Hall ; a third at Gilmerton dealing with the Dis- establishment question, which he desired to see pronounced upon unmistakably by the Scotch people themselves ; and a fourth at Loanhead on the Eastern Question. 17.— Mr. Gladstone attacks Austria under circumstances which lead him two months later to explain his views and position in office as Prime Minister. A report being in circulation, and as yet uncontradicted, that the Emperor had expressed a feeling favourable to the con- tinuance of Earl Beaconsfield's Cabinet in office, the hon. candidate for Mid-Lothian speaking to-day in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, said Austria had ever been the unflinching foe of freedom in every country of Europe. " Austria trampled under foot, Austria resisted the unity of Germany. Russia I am sorry to say has feeen the foe of freedom too ; but in Russia there is an exception — Russia has been the friend of Sclavonic freedom ; but Austria has never been the friend even of Sclavonic freedom. Austria did all she .could to prevent the creation of Belgium, Austria never lifted a finger for the regeneration and constitution of Greece. There is not an instance — there is not a spot upon the whole map where yau can lay your finger and sayj — ' There Austria did good.'" 19. — Died, aged 71, Charles Joseph Carttar, for nearly fifty years Coroner for Kent. 20. — The Board of High Officials appointed to try Chung-How, late ambassador of China to Russia, who negotiated the Kuldja treaty, recommend that the diplomatist should be kept in prison until the autumn, and then executed. Public opinion was said to be greatly against the treaty, and the war feeling against Russia was very strong. — The Lord Provost of Glasgow performs the ceremony of laying the last copestone on the quay wall of the Queen's Dock. Several members of the Clyde Trust, and alargenumber of well-known citizens, were present. At the luncheon which took place afterwards, it was stated that the dock had cost ;£ 1,600, 000, and that the Clyde Trustees had spent ^2,068,753 on it and other works. The revenue of the Trust was now five times the amount it was on the day the Queen ascended the throne 43 years ago. — Mr. Theodore Martin, author of the " Life of the Prince Consort," receives the honour of knighthood from the Queen. 24. — The seventh session of the Ninth Par- liament of Her Majesty was brought to a close this afternoon by Royal Commission. There were few members present on the occasion, the Peers numbering only four and the Commons twenty-seven. 25. — The Queen and Princess Beatrice leave Windsor for a tour in Germany. Baden-Baden was reached on the 27th, and Darmstadt on the 30th, when the Prince and Princess of Wales joined Her Majesty. — The Empress Eugenie sails from South- ampton for the Cape in order to visit the scene of her son's death. 26. — To-day being Good Friday, certain curious set observances took place in London, at the Church of All Hallows, Lombard Street. According to a custom which has been kept up for the last 287 years, sixty of the "33' MARCH 1880 APRIL younger boys from Christ's Hospital attended the service, after which, in accordance with the will of Peter Symonds, made in 1593, they each received at the hands of the church- warden, Mr. Shayer, a new penny and a packet of raisins. A very ancient custom was also observed at St. Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield, when an old tomb in the church- yard was visited, and twenty-one sixpences laid on the slab to be picked up by twenty-one elderly females of the parish. 27. — Died, when he had just entered his 100th year, Charles Winchester, a native of Echt, Aberdeenshire ; thought to be the oldest lawyer in Scotland, having been admitted to the Bar of Aberdeen as advocate in 1807. 30. — What came to be known as the March Decrees relating to non-authorized religious congregations published in the Journal Officiel, Paris. The first and most important gave Jesuits notice to break up and to leave estab- lishments which they occupied within the territory of the Republic in the course of three months, except in certain cases, where an additional delay of two months was granted. — Mr. Gladstone speaks at Peebles and Innerleithen, in support of Mr. Tennant's candidature for Peebles county, the hon. gentleman having withdrawn from Glasgow, where a seat was thought fairly secure, to con- test his home county. — Earl Grey writes that a change of Government would be a calamity, and there- fore expresses his sympathy with Conservative candidates for Northumberland. 31. — The first elections for the new Parlia- ment took place to-day, and their results fore- shadowed the ultimate decision of the con- stituencies. The elections for Birmingham, theCity of London, Westminster, and Hackney, were perhaps the most important of any. In Birmingham, as was expected, the Liberals secured all three seats by large majorities. In tke City of London the Conservative majorities were so large that, if the same perfection in the organization of voting power had obtained there a in Birmingham, it was generally con- sidered that all the seats would have fallen to their party. Westminster returned its old Con- servative members, though by decreased majorities, and Hackney "went" overpower- ingly Liberal. There were a few Conservative victories, notably at Maidstone, where both Sir John Lubbock and Sir Sydney Waterlow were dismissed ; and at Taunton, Sir Henry J ames had a very narrow escape of sharing the same fate ; but, ori the whole, the balance of the day's work was largely against the Govern- ment of Lord Beaconsfield. April A. — Died, General George Staunton, C.B., Colonel 92nd Highlanders, who had seen considerable service in India and the Crimea. 1332 5. — Public interest in the elections culmi- nates to-day, when the pollingfor Mid-Lothian took place. Mr. Gladstone, who was opposed by Lord Dalkeith, polled 1,579 votes against 1,368. The returns, so far as completed at this date, showed that 265 Liberals, 158 Conserva- tives, and 23 Home Rulers had been returned. 8. — Died, aged 88, Henry Pownall, for a quarter of a century chairman of the Middlesex bench of magistrates, and a prominent worker in religious and philanthropical movements. — The Emperor of Germany declines to accept Prince Bismarck's resignation. 9. — Died, aged 8l, Lord Hampton (Sir John Pakington), a prominent member of various Conservative Governments. — The Gazette of to-day contains an order in Council establishing the new Bishopric of Liverpool, the Rev. John Chas. Ryle, M.A., Dean of Salisbury, being appointed Bishop. The consecration took place in York Minster on nth June, 1880. IO. — Four new peers announced — Mr. Baillie Cochrane, Sir Lawrence Palk, Sir Ivor Guest, and Sir Arthur Guinness. IS. — Disastrous accident at the chemical works of Messrs. Burt, Bolton, and Hay ward, Silvertown, North Woolwich, one of the large stills exploding with a loud report. Several buildings were set on fire and destroyed, and eleven of the workmen killed. 15. — The Bagot Will Case, which was to be tried to-day in Dublin, settled on the terms that Mrs. Roberts, late Mrs. Bagot, is to get £8,000 and her costs, and her son ,£25,000; all further claim on her own part or on that of her son being relinquished. (See 20th May: 1878.) — Died, aged 60, Dr. E. V. Kenealy, ex- M. P. , defender of the Tichbome claimant. — A vacancy already caused in the new Parliament by the sudden death of Mr. J. S< Wright, one of the Liberal members for Not- tingham. 16. — Sixteen Scotch representative peers elected, the Earl of Glasgow presiding at at Holyrood as Lord Clerk- Register ; Marquis of Queensberry objected to his exclusion on account of theological views. — Major Wandby with a small party o'f natives, and 50 Pathans, attacked by over 1,000 Pathans, between Chaman and Canda- har ; Major Wandby and the natives killed. 18. — Anticipating a majority against his government in the new House of Commons, Lord Beaconsfield tenders the resignation of his ministry to Her Majesty. — Died, John R. Kenyon, Q.C., D.C.L.j Vinerian Professor of Common Law, Oxfords APRIL 1880 APRIL 19. — ■ At Ahmed Khel, the British troops under General Stewart, on the march to Ghazni, opposed by an army of over 15,000 Ghilzais, who had taken up a strong position on some hills about twenty miles south of Ghazni. The enemy were first perceived at a distance of about two miles, and the action was begun by Major Warter's battery at9a.n1., and, although the guns did considerable execution, a des- perate charge was made by over 3,000 Ghazis along the whole line and on each flank. The first rush being stopped, and General Stewart having fully developed his attack, the Ghilzais, after fighting just an hour, retired in all direc- tions, leaving behind them a thousand killed and carrying off a great number of wounded. The British loss was 17 killed and 126 wounded. — Died, aged 63, the Rev. Alexander Raleigh, D.D., a prominent Nonconformist preacher. 21. — Announcement made to-da'y that in the distribution of honours connected with the impending retirement of ministers, Mr. Mon- tague Corry, Lord Beaconsfield's private Secre- tary, was to be called to the Peerage by the title of Baron Rowton. — Last meeting of Lord Beacbnsfield's Cabinet at the Premier's official residence, Downing Street. — Serious fire at Hull, opposite Ottawa, Canada ; 800 houses reported as destroyed. — Extensive illumination of the Colos- seum and Forum at Rome, to celebrate the building of the city. According to Varronican ehronology, the City of Romulus had now entered its 2,633rd year. 23. — Mr. Gladstone summoned to Windsor and entrusted with the formation of a Liberal Administration. The right hon. gentleman accepted the task, and on his return to London took the first step towards the composition of his Cabinet by holding an interview with Lord Granville and Lord Hartington. — The Duchess of Marlborough* whose re- sidence in Ireland naturally terminated with the change of Government, receives a letter from the Queen intimating Her Majesty's intention to confer upon the Duchess the Order of Vic- toria and Albert in recognition of her exertions in connection with the relief of distress in Ireland. The honour was conferred on 4th May at Windsor. — The Union Company's royal mail steam- ship American, of 2, 126 tons register, founders near the equator, after breaking her main shaft, on the voyage from Southampton to the Cape of Good Hope. Fortunately the weather was fine at the time, and the ship being well supplied with boats, the whole of the 135 per- sons on board — a number which included fifty- eight passengers — were enabled to leave the ship. The second lifeboat and two of the cutters were picked up two days afterwards by the British and African steamer Congo, and taken into Madeira. Three more boats were saved on the 24th and 25th of April by the American bark Emma F. Herriman, and the passengers and crew, being transferred to the British and African steamer Coanza, were landed at Grand Bassa. Another boat was picked up by the Portuguese brig Tarujo, and seven men and five bags of mails were landed at Loandaon the 21st of July. 25. — Died suddenly, while presiding at the Savage Club house dinner, George Grossmith, a well-known public reader. Mr. Grossmith' was 60 years of age. 27. — The Directors and Managers of the West of England Bank surrender to their bail before the Lord Chief Justice at the Central Criminal Court, and plead Not Guilty to charges of having published, and having con- spired together to publish, false balance-sheets and false statements concerning the affairs of the West of England and South Wales Bank, with a fraudulent intent, and also with having made false entries in the bank-ledger with a similar object. The case lasted until Wednes- day, 5th May; when the Lord Chief Justice summed up generally in favour of the accused,; and the jury, after consulting in private for about a quarter of an hour, returned a verdict of Not Guilty in the case of all the defend- ants. 28. — Mr. Gladstone succeeds in prac- tically completing his Cabinet to-day, a* complete list of which will be found in the table of Ministries. . The last election return was now made, and the House found to be composed of 354 Liberals,; 236 Consenra- tives, and 62 Home Rulers, thus showing a Liberal majority over Conservatives and Home Rulers combined of 56. In the last Parliament the figures' were very different, the Conserva- tives numbering 343 ; the' Liberals,- 249 ; and the Home Rulers, 59. The aggregate vote cast in the United Kingdom was calculated as follows : — For the Liberals, 1,799,137 ; for the Conservatives, 1,413,722; and for the Home Rulers, 93,315. — Closing Liberal victory, obtained in Orkney and Shetland, Mr. Laing polling 896 votes,' against 518 given to Dr. Badenoch. — The Queen holds two councils atWindsor, to permit of Ministers exchanging seals of office. 29. — The new Parliament— the tenth of Her Majesty's reign — opened by Royal Com- mission, the Commissioners being the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Argyle, Lord Gran- ville, Lord Sydney, and Lord Northbrook. In the usual form it was intimated by the Lord Chancellor that as soon as the members of both Houses had been sworn, the cause of Her Majesty calling the Parliament would be de- clared. In the House of Lords about sixty 1333 APRIL 1880 MAY Peers took the oath and subscribed the roll. In the House of Commons the first duty was that of electing a Speaker, Mr. Brand being again appointed by the unanimous choice of all parties. The mover was Sir T*. D. Acland, and the seconder Sir Philip Egerton, the former of whom first entered Parliament in 1843, and the latter in 1830 ; and on taking the chair Mr. Brand was congratulated on his re- election by Lord F. Cavendish 'and Sir Stafford Northcote. 30. — Shortly after two o'clbck this after- noon a fire, attended with fatal results, occurred in the premises of Messrs. Hodgkinson & Co., manufacturing chemists, Aldersgate Street, London. It originated in the essential oil- room, owing to the breakage of a bottle of inflammable liquid, which came into contact with a naked light. Five men and a boy were in the room, and it is believed that only two escaped by jumping from the windows. — All foreign Jews ordered to quit St. Petersburg within six hours of publication of notice. May 1. — At the RoySl Academy banquet Mr. Gladstone, in replying to the toast of " Her Majesty s Ministers," said that if he had any hope of bringing to the discharge of his arduous duties even a small stock of physi- cal and mental strength, it was to be attributed to the devotion of Lord Granville and Lord Hartington, who had enabled him to enjoy five years of comparative repose, 'and, after having borne the burden and heat of the day, had ceded to him the honours they might justly have claimed. — Beethoven Monument nnveiled in Vienna. 3. — Mr. Bradlaugh having, on the invitation of the Speaker, verbally stated his claim to make an affirmation under the Evidence Amendment Acts of 1869 and 1870, the case is referred to a. Select Committee. 4. — Mr. Gladstone, influenced apparently by the resentment still harboured at Vienna re- garding his Mid- Lothian references to Austria (see March 17), makes an apologetical expla- nation to the Ambassador, Count Karolyi, expressive of his willingness to withdraw any hostile criticism, if assurance could be given that the circumstances had been mis- apprehended. The Ambassador, thereupon appeared to have assured the Prime Minister that the Emperor had never spoken against him, and further, gave explicit promise that his country would strictly observe such condi- tions as were set forth in the Treaty of Berlin. " Permit me " (Mr. Gladstone now wrote) " at once to state to your Excellency, that had I been in possession of such an assurance as I have now been able to receive, I never would have uttered any one of the words which your Excellency justly describes as of a painful and wounding character. Whether it was my mis- fortune or my fault that I was not so supplied, «334 I will not now attempt to determine, but will at once express my serious concern that I should, in default of it, have been led to refer to transactions of an earlier period, or to use terms of censure which I can now wholly banish from my mind." Such hostile com- ments as these sentiments tailed forth were intensified rather than modified by another passage in the same correspondence drawing a marked distinction between private and official utterances. "From the moment " (Mr. Glad- stone wrote) "when I accepted from the Queen the duty of forming an administration, I forthwith resolved that I would not as a Minister either repeat, or even defend any argument or polemical language in regard to more than one Foreign Power which I had used individually when in a position of greater freedom and less responsibility." Interrogated in the House on the 21st, Mr. Gladstone said that the Power to which he particularly re- ferred was Russia, generally adverse to liberty in Europe, yet receiving great sympathy from the Tory party in this country. 5. — The troops composing the Aldershot Division reviewed by Her Majesty on the Queen's Parade. — Earl Cowper sworn in as Lord-Lieu- tenant, at Dublin Castle. 8. — In the Exchequer Division at West- minster the case of Riviere v. Cooper was concluded after four days' hearing. The action was brought by one of the lessees of Covent Garden Theatre to recover damages from the defendant, who represented Mrs. Weldon. It was alleged that Mrs. Weldon had broken her contract with the plaintiff, as her choir had proved inefficient, and she herself had behaved improperly in the theatre. The defendant denied the charges. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with ^230 damages. — Sir William Harcourt, on his re-election as Home Secretary, defeated by Mr. Hall at Oxford. A petition against Mr. Hall's return resulted in invalidating the election. The Home Secretary found a seat at Derby after- wards, Mr. Plimsoll resigning in his favour. — Died at Rouen, aged 58, M. Gustave Flaubert, French novelist. ■ — Miss Beckwith successfully completes her thirty hours' swim at the Aquarium, West- minster. IO. — Died at Brixton, aged 80, Sir John Goss, many years organist of St. Paul's, and composer of various anthems and glees. 11. — All hope abandoned regarding the training vessel Atalanta, sister-ship to the Eurydice {see 24th March, 1878), and official announcement made of an intended inquiry into her loss. Nothing had been heard of her since the 31st of January, when she sailed from Bermuda for England with 300 of a crew. The vessels of the Channel Fleet had been ordered to search for her, but no trace pould be found, MAY 1880 MAY 13. — The Marquis of Ripon leaves England to assume the Governor-Generalship of India. — Died, aged 66, David Thomas Ansted, formerly Professor of Geology in King's Col- lege, London, and assistant-secretary to Geo- logical Society. 15. — Disastrous boiler explosion at the works of the Birchills Hall Iron Company, Walsall. Twenty-seven men were killed and a large number injured. In returning a verdict of accidental death, the coroner's jury censured the arrangements made by the company for the care of the boilers. — - The trial of Mr. Labouchere for an alleged libel, published in Truth, regarding the ante- cedents of a Persian named Lambri and others brought to a close. After the Lord Chief Justice had summed up, the jury returned a verdict finding that Lambri and a confederate cheated at cards at Rapael's and at the De Sterkes' ; that Lambri conspired with Beillard and Guagni to come to this country to win money by cheating at cards ; and that Lambri assumed the fictitious title of " Pasha " in order to obtain an introduction into clubs and private houses for the purpose of winning money by cheating at cards. His Lordship then directed the jury to find a verdict for the defendant. 16. — To-day (Sunday) the first performance of the Passion Play, at Oberammergau, takes place in the presence of 4,000 spectators. Nearly as many more visitors to the village having failed to obtain admission to the theatre, another performance was ordered for Tuesday, 1 8th of May. The performance lasted from eight o'clock in the morning till five o'clock in the evening ; a heavy thunderstorm in the afternoon considerably inconvenienced a large proportion of the audience, the greater part of the theatre being open to the sky. 17. — Mr. Goschen leaves London for Con- stantinople as special ambassador in room of Sir Henry Layard. Lord Granville's instruc- tions to Mr. Goschen were contained in a despatch dated May 18. His appointment as Special Ambassador to the Porte, it was stated, is specially intended to impress on the Sultan that the time has arrived when the Government are determined to insist, in concert with the Powers, upon the fulfilment of the engage- ments which the Porte has entered into with regard to Greece and Montenegro, and the reforms mentioned in article 61 of the Berlin Treaty. — Lord Beaconsfield and his friend Lord Rowton visit the Queen at Windsor. 18. — Trial of the Nihilists, eleven in number, concerned in, the. late attempt on the life of the Czar. (See 1 7th February. ) The trial lasted until the 26th of May, when five of the prisoners, including a woman named Kolenkina, were found guilty of belonging to a revolution- ary party which aimed at the destruction of the existing social and political institutions, while the remainder of the accused were declared guilty of a similar offence in a modified degree. Extenuating circumstances were admitted to exist in the cases of Dr. Weimar and Kolenkina. Michailoff and Saburoff were sentenced to be hanged, Dr. Weimar to fifteen- years'' hard labour in the mines, Kolenkina to fifteen years' hard labour in a Government factory ; and the remaining- prisoners, of whom three were women, received sentences ranging from simple exile to twenty years' hard labour in the mines. - — Died, aged 76, Paul de Musset, French novelist. 19. — Conservative gathering in Bridgewater House, London, Earl Beaconsfield speaking hopefully of the prospects of the party. — The strike of the Blackburn weavers was brought to a close, the work to be resumed at the former rate of wages. 20. — Royal Address moved in the House of Lords by Lord Elgin, seconded by Lord Sandhurst, and unanimously agreed to. In the House of Commons, Mr. Albert Grey pro- posed, and Mr. Hugh Mason seconded, the Address, which was agreed to, after an amend- ment, proposed by Mr. O'Connor Power, had been negatived by 300 to 47 votes. 20. — Died, aged 79, William H. Miller, F.R.S., forty-eight years Professor of Miner ralogy at Cambridge. — Died, at Florence, aged 84, Henry Ash- worth, of The Oaks, Bolton, a Lancashire cotton-spinner, closely associated with Cobden and Bright in their Anti-Corn Law agitation, and author of a League history. -^- Foundation stone of Truro Cathedral laid by the Prince of Wales. 21. — Mr. Bradlaugh again presents himself to the clerk at the table, and was. about to be sworn when Sir Henry D. Wolff objected, and Mr. Bradlaugh having withdrawn by order of the Speaker, Sir Henry moved a resolution to the effect that, as Mr. Bradlaugh had already claimed to make an affirmation or declaration, he ought not to be allowed to take the oath. To this Mr. Gladstone moved an amendment, referring the whole question to a Select Com- mittee, and the debate was adjourned. On its resumption on the 24th of May, Sir H. D. Wolffs motion was lost by 289 to 214, and the question . of the appointment of a Committee was postponed for further consideration. — Mi Martel resigned, on account of ill- health, the post of President of the French Senate. 22. — An interesting ceremony took place at Ferryhill Junction to-day (Saturday) in con- nection with the Queen's journey to Balmoral. When the royal train reached the junction, Her Majesty stepped from the saloon carriage and 1335 MAY l88o JUNE presented the Albert medal to George Oatley, of the Naval Reserve, Peterhead, for his gallant rescue of certain shipwrecked seamen at Bod- dam in February last. — Mr. Goschen held a long audience with the Emperor of Austria, and afterwards left Vienna for Constantinople. — Disgraceful scene at Mallow, where about 500 of the West Cork Militia were waiting to go to their homes by railway. Finding on the arrival of the train that all the carriages were full, they attacked a party of emigrants, ■ and, pitching men, women, and children out on the platform, took possession of their seats. 25.— The Right Hon. Robert Lowe, the Right Hon. William F. Cowper- Temple, and the Right Hon. Edward H. Knatchbull- Hugessen raided to the peerage by the titles respectively of Viscount Sherbrooke, Baron Mount Temple, and Baron Braboume. — M. Leon Say elected President of the French Senate. 26. — Died, aged 64, Rev. John Curwen, originator of the Tonic- Sol-Fa method of teaching music. — The Derby won by the Duke of West- minster's Bend Or, ridden by F. Archer. Later on a long dispute arose whether it was Bend Or, or Tadcaster : decided that it was Bend Or. 27. — Carried in the Free Church Assembly, by a majority of 287 against 256, Dr. Beith's motion withdrawing the libel and admonishing Professor Robertson Smith. 31. — Died, aged 84, James Robinson Planche, Somerset Herald, dramatist, and archaeologist. June 1. — Murder in the Galloway village of Glenluce, James Milligan, who kept a public-house, and his housekeeper, an old woman, being found on an alarm raised by a little girl senseless and greatly mutilated by blows from an axe. Much inquiry, but no murderer ever discovered. 3. — Mr. Goschen had an audience of the Sultan, and presented his credentials as Am- bassador Extraordinary. — The Empress of Russia (Maria of Hesse- Darmstadt) who had been for a long time past in a delicate state of health, died at St. Petersburg in her 5 6th year. — • The discovery of the body of a woman in a cask in the area of 139 Harley Street, caused much excitement in the Metropolis. — Duel between M. Henri Rochefort and M. Koechlin. M. Rochefort severely wounded. — Colonel C. G. Gordon resigned his post of private secretary to Lord Ripon, Viceroy of India. 1336 5. — Royal Thames Yacht Club match won by Mr. Clark's Vandnara; the Prince of Wales, in his Formosa, being second. 7. — In the House of Commons, Lord Hart- ington reads a statement as to the affairs of India and Afghanistan. The objects of the Government v/ere in the main two — namely, to bring the actual military negotiations to a close, and when the troops retired, which he hoped the main body would be able to do in the autumn, to leave behind some prospect of a settled Government. Instructions relating to these objects had been sent to Lord Ripon. The Government did not regard favourably any arrangement for the permanent occupation of Candahar by British forces ; but Lord Ripon would examine the matter, and discover what was binding and what was politically expedient without any preconceived ideas in favour of a permanent extension of our military liabilities. The same observation applied to the frontier acquired under the Treaty of Gundamuk. Lord Ripon would obtain the best military advice, and would act independently, without being influenced by the fact of the frontier being acquired and occupied under that Treaty, which must now be considered as having ceased to exist. — Died, aged 84, Colonel Sir Robert Bur- dett, Bart., only son of Sir Francis Burdett, and brother of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts. — Judgment pronounced in the case of the Duke of Norfolk v. Arbuthnot by Lords Jus- tices Bramwell, Baggallay, and Brett. The action arose out of a controversy between the Duke of Norfolk and the vicar of the parish of Arundel, on the question whether the chancel of the church was the property of the Howard", or of the parish. The church at Arundel was originally founded in connection with a chantry, and had at its east end a chancel, and at the side a Lady-chapel, each with an altar, at which, however, it did not appear that the vicar of the parish ever officiated, using instead an altar within the south transept. This chancel and chapel had always been claimed by the Dukes of Norfolk, and was cut off from the church by a "grille," or lattice-work of iron, always locked, and of which the Duke him- self kept the key. Sixteen members of the Howard family had been buried here since 1691, and the Duke's rights were never called" into question until now, when, on his erecting >i wall between the church and the chancel, which it was his intention to restore, the vicar caused it to be pulled down, and claimed the chancel as part of his church. This claim necessitated an appeal to the law, and the case, which involved much delicate argument, and was illustrated by curious historical evidence, was tried before Lord Coleridge, who decided in favour of the Duke. From that judgment the vicar appealed, but without avail, as the Lords Justices, without calling upon Sir John Holker, delivered elaborate judgments affirming that of Lord Coleridge. JUNE 1880 JUNE — Died, aged 59, Sir Stephen Cave, Judge- - Advocate General, 1874-75. IO. — The Plenipotentiaries appointed to settle the question of the Greek frontier, which had been left open at the Berlin Conference, meet in that city for the first time. — In Committee of Ways and Means Mr. Gladstone submits a supplementary budget, in which he proposed to make alterations in view of the deficit in India, and in prospect of the duties on wines being lowered, in order to secure a renewal of the commercial treaty with France. To make up for the deficiencies Mr. Gladstone proposed to put a penny on the Income-tax, which will yield £1,425,000 this year, and also increase and readjust the cost of licenses for the sale of liquor in such a way as to bring in ,£350,000 a year. Considerable discussion followed the speech of the Chaneellor of the Exchequer, and general satisfaction was expressed with his proposals. The resolutions were eventually put and agreed to. — The tercentenary of Camoens celebrated in Lisbon. The remains of the poet and those of Vasco da Gama had been previously re- moved to the monastery of Belem. 11. — Consecration of the Rev. John Charles Ryle, d.d., to the Bishopric of Liverpool, in York Minster. 14. — In the House of Commons Sir Charles Dilke is questioned as to the appointment of M. Challemel-Lacour as French Ambassador to England, while Mr. O'Donnell expressed him- self as anxious to know whether the French Ambassador was the citizen Challemel-Lacour, who, as one of the Prefects of the Provisional Government of the 4th September, 1870, ordered the massacre of Colonel Carayon Latonr's battalion in the telegram " Fusil! 'ez m-ji ces gens Ih," contained in the report of the Commission of the National Assembly on the subject, and who had since been condemned by a Court of Justice to pay £3,000 for his share of the plunder of a convent during the same period. Sir Charles Dilke, after ex- pressing his regret that such a question should have been put, gave a categorical denial to the accusation contained in the question. Mr. O'Donnell, however, was not satisfied, and proceeded to make a speech, which was checked by the Speaker, but as he still appeared in- clined to persevere, Mr. Gladstone rose to order, and moved that Mr. O'Donnell be not heard. After a motion for the adjournment of the debate, which had been moved by Mr. Parnell (who disclaimed all sympathy with Mr. O'Donnell), had been lost by 245 to 139, Major Nolan moved the adjournment of the House, which was also lost by 224 to 58. Lord Elcho then moved the adjournment of the debate, and the discussion, which continued very heated, was resumed, the Speaker men- tioning that such a motion as that made by Mr. Gladstone had not been proposed in the House for 2^0 vears. Motion withdrawn. — In the House of Lords the Earl of Galloway submits various resolutions regarding the ancient Earldom of Mar, held by John Francis Erskine Goodeve Ersldne, as nth Karl since the first Restoration, and 33rd in descent as heir-general from the holder of the title in 1065, and therefore Premier Earl of Scotland. Lord Galloway's first resolution was to the effect that the Select Committee ap- pointed to consider the petition of the Earl of Mar and Kellie (which was that the title of Earl of Mar should be brought down to the date of 1565 from its existing place on the Union Roll,) having reported on 27th June, 1877, that they had not been able to discover any precedents of instructions from the House for altering the order of precedence of the Peers of Scotland on the Union Roll, and that they were not disposed to recommend that any order should be made on the petition of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, it is incumbent on this House to rescind their order of 26th Feb- ruary 1875. This was carried by 48 to 41. The order of 26th February 1875, referred to, instructed the Lord Clerk-Register to "call the title of the Earl of Mar according to its place on the Roll of Peers of Scotland called at such election (of Representative Peers), and receive and count the vote of the Earl of Mar claiming to vote in right of the said earldom, and permit him to take part in the proceedings of such election. On istjuly, Lord Galloway's motion, rescinding (in accordance with their Lordships' resolution of 14th June 1880) the order of 26th February 1875, and ordering intimation thereof to be made to the Lord 1 Clerk-Register, was lost by 80 to 52 votes. 16. The King of the Hellenes visited Guild- hall, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales, to receive the freedom of the City and an address. 18. — A protest forwarded to the Powers by the Albanian delegates at Dulcigno against any cession of Albanian territory, more espe- cially Janina, Arta, and Previsa, to Greece ; declaring at the same time that, rather than submit, they would rise as one man against the alienation of their native soil, and, if need be, die with their wives and children. — A despateh from Baron Haymerle to the Powers stated that the proposal to hand over Dulcigno to Montenegro had emanated from England, and, having been favourably received by Austria, had been submitted to the other Cabinets. — In the House of Commons, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, for the first time, succeeds in obtain- ing a majority on his Local Option Resolution, the numbers being 229 to 203. — A large meeting held in Exeter Hall to protest against the appointment of a Roman Catholic to the Viceroyalty of India. 22. — Conclusion of debate regarding the admission of Mr. Bradlaugh. Mr. Gladstone 1337 JUNE l88o JULY said (he Government believed that the law as it stood was perfectly sufficient to deal with the case of Mr. Bradlaugh, and those who thought otherwise might propose legisla- tion if they chose. His personal and individual opinion was that the House had no jurisdiction at all in this matter. The debate was continued at great length, and towards its close Sir Staf- ford Northcote criticised the- conduct of the Government, to the weakness of which he attributed much of the present difficulty. They appeared to- wish for some means of admitting Mr. Bradlaugh to the House, and yet had not the courage to express that desire boldly. On a division, Mr. Labouchere's motion was rejected by 275 to 230. The amendment of Sir Hardinge Giffard declaring that Mr. Brad- laugh should not be allowed either to affirm or take the oath was then declared carried. 24. — In the House of Commons, Mr. Bradlaugh presents himself to take the oath, notwithstanding the decision which the House arrived at two nights since. The Speaker intimated that decision, and called on the hon. gentleman 1 o withdraw. Mr. Bradlaugh asked to be heard, and on the motion of Mr. Labou- chere permission was granted. The hon. gentleman then addressed the House at con- siderable length. When he had again left the House, Mr. Labouchere moved that the resolution of a previous evening be rescinded, but on Mr. Gladstone showing that such a course would be useless, he did not press his motion. Mr. Bradlaugh was then summoned and informed by the Speaker that there were no further orders from the House beyond that he should withdraw. This the hon. gentleman firmly refused to do, and after an exciting scene, in which Sir Stafford Northcote took the initiative, the member for Northampton was taken into custody by the Sergeant-at- Arms and conveyed to the Clock Tower, where he remained for. two days, till liberated on the motion, of Sir Stafford Northcote. — The Duke and Duchess of Connaught formally open, in name of the Queen, a great extension of Victoria Dock, the new part to be called the Royal Albert Dock, the old part the Royal Victoria Dock. Their Royal Highnesses also opened a new recreation ground in Whitechapel on the same day. 25. — Mrs. Rivington, wife of a former partner in the firm of Messrs. Rivington, London, killed in the Te"te Noire Pass in Switzerland, the horses of the carriage in which she was seated with Mr. Rivington having shied and precipitated the carriage over a cliff. Mr. Rivington was severely but not fatally injured. — The writ of error in the Tichborne case disposed of in the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice James, with whom Lords Justices Bramwell and Brett concurred, held that the writ of error had been imprudently granted by the late Attorney-General, and that two sen- 1338 fences of seven years' penal servitude had been rightly inflicted for two offences of perjury. The claimant will therefore remain in penal servitude for the rest of his term. Sentence was pronounced February 28, 1874- — Sarah Bernhardt condemned to pay 4,000/. costs and damages for breach of en- gagement with the Comedie Francaise. 26. — The Prince and Princess of Wales open the bridges of Wandsworth, Putney, and Hammersmith, the last of the- Metropolitan bridges remaining to be freed from- toll. The bridges were bought by the ratepayers, the amount, as stated by Sir James M'Garel Hogg, being^r,377,32S. 28. —Extraordinary affray at Glen Rowan between the Melbourne police and the Kelly gang of bushrangers, long a source of terror to the district. The whole gang shot, with the exception of the captain, who was hanged at Melbourne, I ith Nov. 29. — The excursion steamer Stawauhaka, carrying 300 passengers, burnt, after the burst- ing of a boiler-tube, off College Point, Long Island Sound, New York, with the loss of fifty lives. That this number was not greatly in- creased was due to the gallant behaviour of the captain, who stuck to the wheel until the pilot- house was on fire, when the spokes became so hot that he could only now and then touch them, to keep the vessel's head to the shore. When she grounded he jumped ashore, and was carried to the hospital, exhausted and severely burnt. — Annexation of Tahiti to France. The French Government had exercised a protecto- rate over it for some 40 years. 30. — Expulsion of the Jesuits from their establishments throughout France took place this morning amid intense excitement, though there was no organised attempt at violent opposition. In most places the fathers insisted upon force being used (in a formal manner) for their removal, and in several instances they locked the cell doors, which had to be opened by locksmiths. — Centenary of the foundation of Sunday Schools at Gloucester by Rev. J. Stock and Robert Raikes celebrated in various parts of England. — Died, aged 79, Lord Belper, a member of Lord Aberdeen's Ministry, 1S52-54. — Died, aged 62, General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget, K.C.B., com- mander of the 4th Dragoons at Alma and in the Balaclava charge. July 1. — In the House of Commons Mr. Gladstone submits a motion which proposes to permit every person returned to the House to make an affirmation instead of taking the oath, if he should claim to do so. Sir Stafford Northcote proposed an amendment to the JULY 1880 TULY effect that the House could not adopt a reso- lution which virtually rescinds that adopted on 22nd ult. On a. division Mr. Gladstone's resolution was carried by 303 to 249. — Final sitting of the Berlin Conference takes place to-day, and the frontiers of Turkey rectified. It was significant that the same telegram which announced this fact also stated that the Albanian League had garrisoned Dulcigno with 600 men, the Turkish garrison having been withdrawn to Scutari ; and also that the Turkish Foreign Secretary had in- formed the ambassadors of the Powers that the Porte could not consent to the cession of Dulcigno to Montenegro. Z. — The Siamese Embassy wait upon the Queen at Windsor, and present Her Majesty with the Order of the White Elephant. — Mr. Bradlaugh having made affirmation gave his first vote in the House of Commons at the morning sitting, and was immediately afterwards served with a writ concluding for a forfeiture of £S°°- 3. — Report of the Board of Trade inquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster published. From this document it appeared that the evidence had led Mr. Rothery and his colleagues to the conclusion that the bridge was badly designed, badly constructed, and badly maintained, and that its downfall was due to inherent defects in the structure, whicn must sooner or later have brought it down. Mr. Rothery's col- leagues thought that their duty was simply to report the causes of, and the circumstances attending the casualty, and not to say with whom rested the responsibility. Mr. Rothery himself, however, thought that it was distinctly the business of the Court to say who was to blame, and had no hesitation in laying the chief responsibility upon Sir Thomas Bouch, the engineer. — Duke's Theatre, Holborn, destroyed by fire. — Mr, Clark's Vandnara, scores another victory in a race from Dover to Cowes. 5. — Extraordinary explosion of gas, com- pletely wrecking a great part of Percy Street and Charlotte Street, Tottenham Court Road. For some time the workmen of the Chartered Gas Company had been laying down a new service of pipes from the Bloomsbury district across Tottenham Court Road. The men were engaged at about half-past six this evening in cutting out the Joint of the main pipe, when in some manner the mixture of gas and atmo- spheric air exploded, killing two men, one of whom was actually blown some distance down the main pipe. After the first explosion a series of others occurred, at distances of about thirty or forty yards, along Percy Street and Charlotte Street, bursting up the roadway and pavements, smashing railings and areas, and bombarding the houses with stones and granite 1339 cubes. The two streets looked Very much as if they had been exposed to the fire of shell, and an immense amount of damage was done. Strange to say, only two persons were killed— the workmen already mentioned — and not more' than a dozen seriously injured. 6. — Died, aged 66, Pierce Egan, novelist and artist, son of the author of "Life in London." — The Emperor of Russia's new yacht Liva- dia launched from the yard of Messrs. Elder and Company, at Fairfield, Glasgow, in presence of the Grand Duke Alexis, the christening ceremony being performed by the Duchess of Hamilton. The Livadia is of peculiar con- struction. With a length of 235 feet, she has a breadth of 153, and a draft of only 6 feet 6 inches. On the turbot-shaped lower part of the vessel, composed of steel with a double bottom, and containing the machinery, coals, and stores, is erected a palace, the description- of which is more like one of the wild fancies of the Arabian Nights than that of a com-- mon sea-going ship. The Livadia was safely removed from Messrs, Elder's dock to the anchorage off Greenock on the 6th of Octo- ber, the whole of the traffic on the Clyde having to be stopped to give her room to pass. At the trial of her machinery a speed of six- teen knots was obtained, with 12,383 indicated horse-power. It was, however, afterwards sug- gested that the extraordinary power of the engines would prove a severe strain on the frame even of so strong a ship as the Livadia. In crossing the Bay of Biscay on her way to the Black Sea, the Livadia encountered severe weather and heavy seas. Presumably by col- lision with some floating wreckage, the large flat bottom of the ship was damaged, six out of the 106 water-tight compartments into which she is divided being injured. The huge yacht put into Ferrol for repairs. 8.— The Marquis of Lansdowne, Under- Secretary for India retires from the new Minis- try through difference of opinion concerning the Irish Compensation Bill. 9. — Amnesty Bill passed fn the French Senate by 176 to 98 votes', Next day con- victed Communists were invested with all civil and political rights. IO. — Died, aged 63, Tom Taylor, editor of Punch, dramatist, and art critic. 13. — The following General Order to the Volunteers issued from the Horse Guards to- day : "His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief has received the Queen's commands to convey to the Volunteers of Great Britain Her Majesty's congratulations on the completion of the twenty-first year of the exist- ence of the force. The Queen has watched with much interest the steady progress of the force since its formation ; and its present numerical strength, high training, and discipline have AA * JULY l880 JULY elicited Her Majesty's unqualified satisfaction. While regrefting that it had not been found possible to hold a review this year, the Queen hopes that an opportunity may present itself at no distant period which will permit Her Majesty to inspect the Volunteers in Windsor Great Park. By command. H. Ellice, A.C." 14.— Grand review of "regulars," by Her .Majesty in Windsor Great Park. The troops from Aldershot, which had encamped at Chob- ham and Ascot, after a march, arrived at mid- day, and halted about half a mile from the review ground. They came on the ground about four o'clock with the cavalry, who had encamped in the park on the previous night. Several heavy showers of rain fell during the day, but there was nevertheless an immense concourse of spectators on foot and in carriages. The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Prince and Princess Christian, and the Duke of Cambridge, with their suites, arrived on the ground shortly before the Queen. On Her Majesty's arrival a royal salute was fired. The review then commenced, and the troops marched past and advanced in columns. Sir Daniel Lysons was in command. The whole force reviewed num- bered about 10,000 men. Next day Her Majesty inspected the 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards. 15. — A disastrous colliery explosion, in- volving the loss of 119 lives, took place about half-past one o'clock this morning at Risca Colliery. The pit belongs to the London and South Wales Colliery Company, and is situated about six miles from Abercarne and Newport, Monmouthshire. The coal is the well-known black vein steam coal, and the workings lie at a depth of 280 yards. All was reported well when the day shift left work at 10 o'clock on Wednesday night, and a shift of 119 men descended to repair the pit, remove falls, and so forth. A little after one o'clock in the morning two men came to the bank, and their ascent was almost immediately followed by a terrific explosion. A statement regarding the disaster was made in the House of Commons by Sir W. Harcourt, who intimated that the Home Office would be represented at the in- quest, 16. — Resolution carried in the Commons that the erection of a monument to the Prince Imperial in Westminster Abbey would be inconsistent with the national character of the edifice. The Committee seeking to pro- mote the erection of such a memorial thereupon withdrew their proposal, and Dean Stanley in expressing his assent wrote that the accept- ance of the offer- by the sovereign as " Visitor " of the whole Institution, was in response to a feeling of universal sympathy " which at the time I believed to be permanent, and which I still believe to have been genuine." Many other interments in the Abbey, added the Dean, have provoked discussion and even. 131° difference of opinion, yet the kindly feeling manifested on the present occasion stood out in marked contrast to "persistent misrepresenta- tion and savage menaces. " — Memorial fountain to Janet Hamilton, poetess, unveiled at Coatbridge. — Foundation stone of the new Hospital for Women in Fulham Road, Chelsea, laid by the Prince and Princess of Wales. 17. — The Khedive signs the new law of liquidation. It consists of 99 articles, and is divided into five sections — namely, the Con- solidated Debt, the Daira Sanieh, the Non- Consolidated or Floating Debt, the Moukaba- lah and, finally, the general provisions. 18. — Died, aged 64, Sir Cecil Beadon, K.C.S.I., Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, 1862-7. 20. — -Died, aged 71, Admiral George Maule-Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie. His Lordship entered the Navy at the early age of eleven, and served for nearly fifty years. _ — The remuneration of the liquidators of the City of Glasgow Bank decided in the Court of Session at the rate of three-eighths per cent, on ,£7,376,000, the ordinary debts, and at one- half per cent, on £931,274, the amount paid during the closing period of the liquidation. 21. — At the Manchester Assizes, the trial of the directors and officers of the Northern Counties of England Fire Insurance Company (Limited), for conspiring to defraud, which had lasted seven days, was concluded. All the prisoners, except one of the directors named Smith, and Cunliffe the accountant, were con- victed — the chairman and four of the directors being sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour, the auditor to twelve, and the general manager, who was described by Lord Justice Bramwell (who tried the case) as having been at the bottom of the whole mis- chief, to eighteen. ■ — A shaft of the tunnel being constructed under the Hudson River, from Jersey City, falls in, burying 22 men. — The Queen grants a site in Windsor Chapel for a monument to the Prince Imperial. 22. — Abdul Rahman Khan receives formal recognition i$s the new Ameer of Afghanistan in room of Yakoob Khan. At the durbar held to-day, Thursday, at Sherpur, outside Cabul, the principal chiefs and sirdars of the capital and the neighbourhood attended, and a depu- tation was present on the part of Abdul Rahman. Mr. Griffern, on behalf of the Queen Empress, publicly acknowledged Abdul as Ameer of Afghanistan, and announced the early withdrawal of our troops within the frontier fixed by the Treaty of Gundamuk. 23.— At the Wimbledon Meeting to-day, Private Runtz, of the London Rifle Brigade, acting upon information supplied by Sergeant JULY 1880 AUGUST Sage, of the Tower Hamlets, presented himself before the Council, and stated that he had ascertained some of the men employed as markers to be corrupt, he having himself arranged that in shooting for a certain prize he should be credited with a score of 46 points, whether he had actually obtained them or not. Finding it necessary at once to investigate so direct a charge, the Council deputed one of their body, Mr. A. P. Humphrey, of Cam- bridge University, to watch Private Runtz's shooting, and the manner in which it was scored. The result was that Mr. Runtz was credited with the identical 46 for which, as he stated, he had arranged. The investigation which was set on foot culminated in a court martial on the sergeant of Marines who had been in charge of the targets in question. The proceedings were unusually long and diffuse. The accused sergeant was on the 16th of Sep- tember acquitted, but the system was emphati- cally condemned, for, although the Court were not satisfied with the guilt of the man actually before them, it was perfectly clear that a system of fraudulent marking had been for some time in active operation at the Wimbledon Meeting. On the 28th of October the thanks of the National Rifle Association were conveyed to Sergeant Sage and Private Runtz for their action in this matter ; and on the 3rd December new marking regulations were issued. — Died, aged 56, Joseph Dawson, trainer of race-horses. 26. — Whitechapel Church burnt down. It had been rebuilt three years before at a cost of ,£70,000. 27. — St. Stephen's Green, which had been laid out as a public park for the citizens of Dublin by Lord Ardilaun, at a cost of £20,000, thrown open. There was no special ceremony, the gates being simply unlocked by his Lord- ship. — Defeat of the British forces in Afghanistan. About a fortnight ago the infantry under Shere Ali mutinied, and being pursued by General Burrows were completely dispersed with con- siderable loss. Since then Ayoob Khan reached the Helmund, which was easily ford- able at all points, and General Burrows removed his camp to what was considered a safer position about 30 miles from the river in the direction of Carilahar. The engagement, afterwards known as the Battle of Maiwand, was fought near a. place called Khushk-i- nakhud, and after our troops had suffered severely from the enemy's artillery fire, with which Burrows's six guns were quite unable to cope, an advance of cavalry and a wild charge of Ghazis broke up the Bombay Native In- fantry (Jacob's Rifles), who fell back in disorder on the 66th Regiment. All regular formation being presently lost, and our cavalry but in- effectively handled, it was not long, although the 66th fought magnificently, before the dis- AA 2 order degenerated into defeat, and defeat into rout. The remains of the force succeeded in getting into Candahar the following afternoon, and Ayoub, following them up as closely as his losses, which were also very serious, would allow, laid siege to General Primrose, who, on the first news of the battle, had withdrawn his troops into the citadel. The return of killed and wounded, published in The London- Gazette, showed the following list of casualties in this disastrous affair as: — Europeans killed — officers, 20 ; non-commissioned officers and men, 290. Wounded — officers, 8 ; non- commissioned officers and men, 42. Europeans missing — officer, I ; non-commissioned officers and men, 6. Natives killed — officers, II ; non-commissioned officers and men, 643. Wounded — officers, 9 ; non-commissioned offi- cers and men, 109. Followers — killed, 331 ; wounded, 7 ; 201 horses were killed and 68 wounded. 29. — Decided by the Master of the Rolls in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Jus- tice the case of the Emma Mining Company v. Grant. The plaintiffs here moved for judgment for leave to prove in the liquidation of Mr. Albert Grant's affairs for a sum of £100,000, which had been awarded to them in February, 1879 ; and also for personal judgment against him for the amount, on the ground that his discharge under the Bankruptcy Act did not absolve him from any debts contracted by fraud or breach of trust, which it was con- tended this was. The £100,000 in question was the half-share of the commission which Grant had divided with the vendors of the mine without knowledge of the purchasers. His Lordship was clear that the transaction was fraudulent in its nature, and accordingly gave judgment as prayed. 31.' — A sudden illness prevents Mr. Glad- stone attending a Cabinet Council to-day. August 2. — Lord Kimberley, in the House of Lords, announces that the Govern- ment intend to recall Sir Bartle Frere, on the ground that, the Cape Parliament having come to a decision adverse to the proposed Confer- ence, there is no occasion to continue his services. — Died, aged 87, General Sir John Bloom- field, G.C.B., a Peninsular and Waterloo veteran. — The unexpected confinement of Mr.Glad- stone for " day or two to his house followed by rumours of serious illness excites an amount of attention and sympathy unequalled, at least in the Metropolis, since the Prince of Wales was laid down at Sandringham, Dec. 1871. On being called in to-day Sir Andrew Clark pronounced his patient to be suffering from fever with slight congestion on the base of the left lung. It did not pass without kindly recognition that the chiefs of the Opposition were among the first to express sympathy by 1 341 AUGUST 1880 AUGUST calling at the official residence in Downing Street where the Prime Minister was lying. In a few days the illness took a favourable turn, and the patient made rapid progress towards recovery. During Mr. Gladstone's absence the leadership of the House devolved upon Lord Hartington. 3. — In the House of Lords, the adjourned debate on the Compensation for Disturbance Bill was resumed, with the result that the Government was defeated, and the Bill thrown out by the large majority of 282 to 51. — Prince of Wales's cutter Formosa wins the Queen's Cup in the R. Y. S. Regatta. 5. — Died, aged 76, Mr. W. H. G. Kingston, author of many excellent books for boys. — Died, aged 73, Thomas Henry Wyatt, architect. — Died, aged 86, Hyacinthe Firmin-Didot, a French printer and publisher of wide repute. 6. — Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of New Zealand, selected to succeed Sir Bartle Frere as Governor at the Cape. The appoint- ment thus vacated was conferred upon Sir Arthur Gordon, then Governor of Fiji. 7. — Additional troops sent to Ireland for the preservation of order. The force consisted of 820 rank and file of the Royal Marines, besides officers and non-commissioned officers. — Dr. Tanner, of New York, who had undertaken to fast for forty days, completes his self-imposed penance in that city to-day. — Died, aged 72, Sir Peter George Fitz- gerald, " Knight of Kerry." 8. — A wild attempt at assassination occurs in Ireland to-day (Sunday) on the Waterford road, near New Ross. Mr. Boyd, landowner, was driving with his two sons and a nephew, Charles, Gradwell, and Evans, when four men, disguised and armed with breech-loading rifles with bayonets fixed, jumped over a ditch and fired a volley. Mr. Boyd and Mr. Evans Boyd were severely and Mr. Charles Boyd mortally wounded, Mr. Gradwell Boyd being more fortunate in escaping almost unhurt. The horse bolted with Mr. Boyd and Mr. Charles Boyd, who had fallen insensible in the carriage, and Mr. Gradwell and Mr. Evans Boyd had to run for their lives. Four men and a woman, tenants of Mr. Boyd, were arrested and charged with the murder, Mr. Charles Boyd having died on Monday after- noon ; but at the inquest the jury found that there was no evidence to show who inflicted the wounds, which caused the unfortunate gentleman's death, and they were liberated. Two brothers, named Walter and John Phelan, were subsequently apprehended on suspicion of being implicated in the murder, and com- mitted by the magistrate on the 31st of August. Their trial was fixed to take place at the Water- ford Assizes, in December. On the application of the Solicitor-General, however, supported 1342 as it was by affidavits, Mr. Justice Barry post- poned the trial until the spring assizes, refusing to accept bail for the prisoners. The affidavits on which the Solicitor-General relied, went to show that, in the state of terrorism and intimi- dation into which Ireland had by this time sunk, it would be very difficult, if not abso- lutely impossible, to get a jury with sufficient courage to do their duty. IO. — Accident to the "Flying Scotchman" at Marshall's Meadows, near Berwick, caused by the train leaving the rails when rounding n curve. The driver, fireman, and one passenger, a railway guard, were killed. On the following day a similar accident occurred on the Mid- land line at Wennington, near Skipton, in which seven persons were killed and twenty injured. 11. — An alarming report received from Lloyd's agent at Aden, to the effect that the steamer Jeddah, from Singapore, bound to Jeddah, with one thousand pilgrims on board, had foundered at sea off Cape Guardafui, and that all on board had perished with the excep- tion of the captain and some of his officers. Happily the report proved erroneous. It seems that the captain and his officers abandoned the ship, and having been picked up by the steamer Scindia, were landed at Aden, where they spread the news of the loss of the ship. A few hours later, however, the Jeddah was towed into Aden by the steamer Anterior with all the pilgrims on board. 12. — Between one and two o'clock this morning, the Juno, a full-rigged ship, was boarded in Passage Docks, seven and a-half miles from Cork, by five or six boats contain- ing about sixty men. The Juno was outward bound from Antwerp to New York, and had among a general cargo forty cases of arms. The men secured the captain and revenue officer, and confined them in the cabin, after which they took forty rifles and rowed away. No alarm was raised, and a considerable time elapsed before the news reached Cork, the telegraph wires having been cut by the robbers. A letter was afterwards received by the captain stating that the robbery was made in the belief that the rifles were breechloaders, and that the gang were much disappointed on discovering their mistake. 13. — Lord Eldon's residence at Encombe, Dorset, robbed of jewellery valued at ^15,000. 14. — Serious rioting connected with a Home Rule demonstration in Glasgow. 15. — Died, aged only 30, Lilian Adelaide Neilson, actress. 16.— Died, aged 95, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, K.G., who entered diplomatic life so long ago as 1808, memorable for the- promi- nent part he played while Ambassador at Constantinople in the negotiations preceding the Crimean war. AUGUS7 i88o SEPTEMBER 16. — The fiftieth anniversary of Belgian Independence celebrated at Brussels amid great rejoicing. 18. — Died, at Bergen, his native place, Ole Bull, violinist, aged 70. 20.— Died, aged 74, Ellen Kean (Tree), actress, widow of Charles John Kean. 22. — Her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales, visits the troop- ship Jumna, lying at Portsmouth, ready to sail with reinforcements for Afghanistan. 23. — Telegrams published to-day contain farther news from Afghanistan, General Roberts being reported by the natives to have passed Ghuzni unopposed, though at what date is not stated. The General and his troops left Cabul on Saturday morning the 7th inst., and when last heard of, on the loth, they had reached Zargun in the Logar Valley. — Died, at Beeston, Nottingham, aged 69, William Thompson, the once famous "Ben- digo " of the prize ring ; latterly a revival preacher. — Stormy discussion in the Commons, the Chief Secretary for Ireland (Mr. Forster) being called upon to defend his statement that Mr. Dillon s speech at Kildare qualifying insurrection and even outrages on dumb animals, manifested "a wickedness only equalled by its cowardice." Next day dissatis- faction of a passing kind broke out among Ministerial supporters by a declaration from Mr. Forster that while the Government was determined to maintain order in Ireland, it would at the same time discountenance any attempt on the part of Irish landlords to presume upon official power, in support of unjust pro- ceedings. 24. — Died at Brussels, aged 65, W. B. Hodgson, Professor of Political Economy, Edinburgh University. 25. — Meeting of the British Association at Swansea, when Professor Allman retired from the President's chair at the conclusion of his year of office, and was succeeded by Professor Ramsay, who delivered his inaugural address, confining himself to the science of geology. 26. — The second Collective Note of the Powers to the Porte, insisting that the decision of the Berlin Conference on the Greek frontier question should be carried out without dis- cussion or modification, presented to-day. — Mr. Gladstone embarked, a guest of Mr. Donald Currie, on board the Grantully Castle, for a tour round Great Britain to recruit his health. 27. — The sitting of the House of Commons, which began on Thursday afternoon at four o'clock, terminates only at one o'clock this (Friday) afternoon. The discussion, which began on the Irish constabulary vote in Com- mittee of Supply, degenerated to a protracted wrangle, diversified by a large number of divisions on alternate motions that the chair- man leave the chair, and that he report pro- gress. Eventually an arrangement was come to, the Government consenting to give another evening sitting to the discussion on the esti- mates, on the understanding that it would then be brought to a close. On the suggestion of Mr. Parnell, it was agreed to take the other estimates at the evening sitting, and prog .ess was reported. The Savings Banks (No. 1) Bill was read a third time before the sitting was brought to a close. The House — after little more than one hour's adjournment— resumedat a quarter-past two o'clock. 29. — Fierce hurricane passed over the Ber- muda Islands, destroying churches, houses, and crops. 31. — The appointment of the Right Hon. W. P. Adam, M.P., First Commissioner of Works, to succeed the Duke of Buckingham as Governor of Madras, approved by the Queen. September 1. — General Roberts, notwith- standing that he had completed his 320 miles' march only yesterday, gives battle to Ayoob Khan. Shortly after nine o'clock the first brigade advanced to the attack of an elevated village, which was strongly held by the enemy, who were gallantly cleared out by the 92nd Highlanders and the 2nd Ghoorkas. The two brigades then pushed on through orchards and enclosures, gradually driving the enemy before them, until they made a great stand at the village of Pir-Paimail. General Roberts's men, however, were not to be denied ; the village was soon in their hands. All was now over, and by twelve o'clock Ayoob's army was in full flight, and his camp and twenty-seven guns, including those taken from us at Mai- wand, were captured. Our loss in killed and wounded was 248 — the former including Lieutenant-Colonel Brownlow, who fell at the head of the 72nd Highlanders ; while among the latter was Lieutenant-Colonel Battye, of the 2nd Ghoorkas. The enemy's loss was very severe, being estimated at quite 2,000. Just before the British troops dashed into the camp, Lieutenant Hector Maclaine, of the Royal Horse Artillery, who had been a prisoner in Ayoob's hands since the Battle of Maiwand, was murdered by his guards. After the battle, officially known as the battle of Candahar, Ayoob Khan, accompanied by only a few followers, fled to Herat. — Seizure by the French Government of the educational institutions of the Jesuits. 3. — An Irade authorizing the immediate surrender of Dulcigno to Montenegro issued by the Sultan. 7. — Parliament prorogued by commission until the 24th November. '343 SEPTEMBER l88o SEPTEMBER 8. — A disastrous railway accident near Paisley, on the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Line. The 4 p.m. Caledonian train, from Glasgow to Greenock, when going along at full speed, dashed into a mineral train standing on the line. The engine was forced back on the guard's van, which was smashed, and the next four carriages were telescoped, the guard and five passengers being killed, and twelve passengers injured. How the mineral train came to be in the way was a mystery, as the line had been signalled clear, until the signal- man, who was taken into custody, admitted that it was entirely attributable to an error he had made in working the signal handles in his cabin. Major Marindin, in his report, laid the entire blame of the accident on the signal- man Ewing, but pointed out that at the time the man had been on duty for ten consecutive hours, his whole term of duty being twelve hours. — Terrible explosion, involving the lots of about 160 lives, occurs at Seaham Colliery, near Durham, the property of the Marquis of Londonderry. Early in the morning a tremendous concussion was felt throughout the immediate district, and those in the neighbourhood were awoke by a loud explosion. Both shafts being blocked and filled up with ruin, a long and anxious time elapsed before access could be got to the pit, and it was not until half-past twelve that Mr. Stratton, the resident viewer, was able to descend the upcast shaft with two workmen, and to open commu- nication with the men in the main coal-seam, who were found to be still alive. By slow degrees these were brought to bank, numbering in all sixty-seven ; the remainder of the men were lost. ' The explosion was followed by several fires in the pit, but they were got under in the course of a day or two. IO. — The nailmakers in the Stafford and Worcester districts, to the number of 28,000, strike work. The movement collapsed on the 13th- 11. — Accident at Nine Elms Station on the London and South Western Railway. An engine, which left Waterloo Station at five minutes to ten on Saturday night for the loco- motive depot at Nine Elms, was standing at that station on the main down line, when the pointsman, forgetting that he had not passed the engine into the yard, signalled the line clear for the ordinary ten o'clock train from Waterloo for Hampton Court. Coming up at consider- able speed, the passenger train ran into the engine. Both engines were thrown off the metals, and the first carriage of the Hampton Court train was smashed to atoms. Three of the passengers were killed on the spot, as well as the fireman of the train. Thirty of the passengers were more or less injured, and twelve of them had to be conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital. 1344 12. — The Queen of Spain gives birth to a daughter. 13. — Discovery made this morning of a supposed attempt to blow up a train on the London and North-Western Railway at Bushy Station, about sixteen miles from Euston. 14. — Prince Albert Victor and Prince George embark at Portsmouth for a twelve months' cruise on the Bacchante. 15. — Henry Perry sentenced by Mr. Justice Stephen to 30 lashes of the cat-o'-nine-inils and 20 years' penal servitude, for assaulting and robbing Clarence Lewis in a carriage of the Metropolitan Railway. 17. — Died at Brighton, aged 84, Lord Chief Baron Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Attorney- General in Lord Derby's second Ministry (1858), and engaged in most of the great law cases, civil and criminal, between 1828 and 1866, when he succeeded Sir Frederick Pol- lock as Chief Baron of Exchequer. 19.— Mr. Parnell explains and defends Boy- cotting. Speaking at Ennis, he asked, " Now what are you to do to a tenant who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has been evicted? (Various shouts, among which ' Kill him,' ' Shoot him.') Now, f think I heard somebody say, ' Shoot him,' but I wish to point out to you a very much better way, a more Christian and a more charitable way, which would give the lost sinner an oppor- tunity of repenting. When a man takes a farm from which another has been evicted, you must show him on the roadside when you meet him ; you must show him in the streets of the town ; you must show him at the shop counter ; you must show him in the fair and in the market-place, and even in the house of worship, by leaving him severely alone, by putting him into a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his kind, as if he was a leper of old." 22.— Died, aged 29, G. F. Grace, one of three celebrated brother cricketers. 23.— Died, aged 69, Miss Geraldine Jews- bury, well known in her earlier years as a writer of fiction. — Return of the Franklin search expedition, under the command of Lieutenant Schwatka, having discovered relics of Sir John Franklin's Erebus and Terror expedition, although its records could not, and, in Lieutenant Sch- watka's opinion never would be found. Lieutenant Schwatka's party followed the track of the crews of the Erebus and Terror on their disastrous retreat to Back's River, and burnt or buried all the remains of the ill-fated men which they found above ground. Among the most notable exploits of Lieutenant Schwatka's men was a sledge journey of eleven months, over 2,819 miles, during sixteen days SEPTEMBER I880 OCTOBER of which the average temperature was 100° below freezing point. The party brought away a portion of the remains of Lieutenant John Irving, third officer of the Terrtr. 24. — A fire broke out at the Post Office in Manchester, doing much damage, and inter- rupting telegraphic communications for many hours. 25. — Murder of Lord Mountmorres at Rusheen, near Ballinrobe. He had been in Clonbur to make some purchases, and left that town to return to his residence, Ebor Hall about eight in the evening. At nine he was found lying in the road, with six bullet wounds, any one of which would have proved fatal. He was carried to the house of one Hugh Flanigan, which was two or three hundred yards from the spot ; but Flanigan, although he was told that it was possible the man might still be alive, refused to grant him admission. Lord Mountmorres was a poor man, living on and by his estate, which was by no means ex- tensive, and had become unpopular owing to his unwillingness or inability to reduce rents. He was also supposed to be about to issue ejectment decrees. To these causes he un- doubtedly owed his death. If any doubt on this head could have existed, the behaviour of the peasantry to Lord Mountmorres's unoffend- ing widow and children would effectually have set it at rest. So strictly were they "boy- cotted," that it was not long before they had to leave Ebor Hall, and take refuge in England, Her Majesty the Queen having placed apart- ments in Hampton Court Palace at Lady Mountmorres's disposal. At the inquest a verdict of Wilful Murder was returned against some person or persons unknown. The state of terrorism which existed in Ireland at the time afforded but little hope that the murder would ever be discovered, and, notwithstanding that some arrests were made, and that a pro- clamation was issued by the Lord-Lieutenant, dated 29th of September, offering a reward of ,£1,000 to any person giving such information within six months, as should lead to the con- viction of the murderers, or any of them, and a free pardon to any person concerned in the murder, other than the actual murderer, in case of his giving such information as would lead to conviction, the perpetrators of the murder remained, undiscovered. 28. —The cottage in which the Poet Burns was born purchased by the Ayr Burns Monu- ment Trustees to be converted into a museum of relics of the poet. 29. — At Castellamare the Italia, the largest ironclad afloat, launched in the presence of King Humbert and many high officers of state, and amidst great public rejoicing. It was stated that much satisfaction was given by the presence at the launch of the English ironclads Thunderer and Monarch, which had come over from their station purposely to be present. 29.— The Australian Cricketers complete with their match at the Crystal Palace to-day the tour which they began on the 13th of May. Thirty-seven matches had been played by them, of which they won twenty-one and lost four, the remainder being draws. October 1. — International Exhibition opened in Melbourne, Victoria, by his Ex- cellency the Marquis of Normanby, Governor of the Colony. — Died, at Ferryden, near Montrose, in his 95th year, James Coull, who steered the Shannon into action with the Chesapeake in Boston Harbour on the 1st June, 1813. — New Science College at Birmingham, built by Sir Josiah Mason at u. cost of nearly £200,000, opened, the inaugural address being delivered by Professor Huxley. 4. — Accident at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, Ardwick, Manchester. The congregation, about 500 in number, were dis- persing, when the floor gave way, and about 100 fell through into a schoolroom beneath. One woman was killed, and twenty other per- sons injured. — Died at Paris, aged 61, Jacques Offen- bach, composer. 6. — Freedom of the City of London con- ferred upon Sir H. Bessemer, F.R.S., "in recognition of the valuable discoveries which have so largely benefited the iron industries of this country, and his scientific attainments, which are so well known and appreciated throughout the world." Sir H. Bessemer and a large and distinguished party were subse- quently entertained by the Lord Mayor. 8. — Galway county "proclaimed" by the Lord Lieutenant as a disturbed district. 9. — Dr. MacCabe, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, issues a pastoral letter, in which he spoke in unqualified terms of reprobation of the murderous outrages which at present dis- graced Ireland, and severely condemned the leaders of the " land agitation for the tacit countenance which by their silence they gave to these crimes. — Extraordinary accident to the Scotch express by the Midland route which left St. Pancras at a quarter-past nine. When approach- ing Kibworth Station, a few miles from Leicester, the driver, apprehensive that some- thing was wrong with his engine, pulled up and made an examination which convinced him that his -suspicions were unfounded. On re- starting the train, however, the driver, from some inexplicable cause, reversed the engine, the result being that the carriages were pro- pelled in a backward instead of a forward direction. Singular to say, none of the officials became aware of this fact until the train came into collision with a mineral engine and wag- gons that had been shunted on to the main 1345 OCTOBER 1 886 NOVEMBER line. The result was most disastrous to the passenger carriages) several of which, including the two Pullman cars, were wrecked. Five passengers were injured. 15.— The Prince of Montenegro receives official intimation from Constantinople of the instructions given to Riza Pasha to hand over Dulcigno — a fact which was communicated by Sir F. Beauchamp Seymour to the Admirals of the various squadrons. — Completion of the Cathedral of Cologne. The Emperor and Empress of Germany, the Crown Prince and Princess, the King of Saxony and a crowd of minor Princes and Princesses assisting at the completion ceremony of the building founded in 1248, J.6. — The March Decrees respecting the non-authorised religious communities put into force throughout the whole of France, the Carmelites and others being expelled from their convents. 19. — The greater part of the town of Chris- tiansand, including the Cathedral, destroyed by fire. 20. — Died, aged 42, Lord Justice Thesiger, third son of Lord Chancellor Chelmsford. 22. — Shocking murders in London. A man named William Herbert shoots his sister-in-law "and attempts suicide. Herbert was tried at the Central Criminal Court before Mr. Justice Hawkins on the 24th November, found guilty, and executed 13th December. Ada Shepherd, a little girl ten years of age, living at Acton, outraged, stabbed and mutilated by Qeorge Pavey. Pavey was tried at the same time as Herbert, with whom he was also executed. 23. — Died, aged 79, at his Castle of Bro- glio, Baron Ricasoli, Italian statesman. 24. Addressing a Meeting of Land Lea- guers in Galway Mr. Parnell spoke of Mr. Forsteras " our hypocritical Chief Secretary," and "Buckshot Forster." After dinner Mr. Parnell said that if Ireland appealed to Irish- men in America to aid her "in another field and in another way" she would have "their trained and organised assistance for the purpose of breaking the yoke which encircles you." Mr. Parnell's secretary, Mr. T. M. Healy, was arrested at Roche's Hotel, Glengariffe, the stated charges against him being the implied justification of the attempt to murder Mr. Hutchins in speeches made at Bantry on Sun- day week and at Castletown, Berehaven, on Sunday last. Meantime, whilst reports of further prosecutions filled the air, Mr. Justin M'Carthy sends in his adhesion to the Land League. 27. — Severe gale passed over the United Kingdom, causing a vast amount of loss to property. 28. — Writ of imprisonment granted by Lord Penzance against the Rev. T. Pelham Dale, rector of St. Vedast's Church, Cheapside. 1346 Mr. Dale up to this time obstinately resisted all processes issued by the Court of Arches to abstain from Ritualistic practices. 30. — Died, at Moffat, aged 58, much affected by the calamity on his famed Tay Bridge, Sir Thomas Bouch, engineer of the structure. November 1. — The freedom and livery of the Haberdashers' Company, presented to the Baroness Burdett Coutts, this being the first occasion on which the Company had exercised their privilege of admitting a lady. — Died at Paris, aged 54, the Comtesse de Civry, morganatic daughter of Charles, Duke of Brunswick, authoress of a life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 2. — The state of Ireland induces the Gov- ernment to take steps for the vindication of the law and the restoration of order. Informa- tions were lodged this evening in the Crown Office in Dublin by the Right Hon. Hugh Law, M.P., against fourteen members of the Land League. The list of those indicted included the names of five Members of Parliament, namely : Charles Stewart Parnell, John Dillon, Joseph Gilles Biggar, Timothy Daniel Sullivan, and Thomas Sexton. In due course, the defendants were committed for trial. — General Garfield elected President, and Mr. Arthur Vice-President of the United States by a majority over General Hancock and Mr. English, the Democrat candidates. 3. — Died at Hartrigge House, Jedburgh, aged 78, Robert Macfarlane, Lord Ormidale, Senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh. — Inauguration of the Mentana monument at Milan in presence of Garibaldi and an immense gathering, who gave the infirm old General a most enthusiastic welcome, — Died at Lausanne, H. J. Terry, an English artist long settled in Switzerland. 4.— -Died at Horsham, aged 87, Pilford Medwin, cousin and early companion of Shelley. 6. — Lord Rosebery elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh University. — Trial before the St. Petersburg Military Tribunal, of sixteen Nihilist prisoners charged, amongst other crimes, with complicity in the murder of Prince Krapotkin, Governor of Kieff, the attempt of Solovieff on the life of the Czar on the 14th of April, 1879, the at- tempt to blow up the imperial train near Mos- cow, and the explosion in the Winter Palace. On the 1 2th of November judgment Was delivered, when five of the prisoners were condemned to be hanged, and the other eleven, including three women, to terms of penal servitude, varying from fifteen years upwards. It was at the same time stated that the court would recommend a modification of these sentences in some of the cases. Of those con- NOVEMBER 1880 NOVEMBER demned to death, two men, named Kriatoffsky and Presnikoff, were hanged on the 16th of November. 8. — The Memorial at Temple Bar, un- veiled by Prince Leopold, in presence of the Lord Mayor and Corporation. 9. — At the Lord Mayor's Banquet, Mr. Gladstone, replying to the toast of Her Majesty's Ministers, referred almost at the outset to the state of Ireland, which, he said, pressed itself daily on the mind of every in- telligent Englishman. It would be the duty of the Government to carefully examine the condition of the Land Laws, and if they believed their provisions were insufficient they would not hesitate to call on the Legislature again to deal with the subject. Certain influences not compatible with good government had come upon the people of Ireland, but good govern- ment must be maintained. Her Majesty's Minister's recognised the paramount duty of enforcing order. They looked to the law as it stood for the protection of every citizen in the enjoyment of his life and property ; but if circumstances necessitated any increase of power, which they did not anticipate, they would not shrink from doing so. — The persecution to which Captain Boy- cott; agent to the Earl of Erne, was sub- jected, had by this time reached such a point that he could get absolutely no one to assist him to gather in his crops, owing to the intimidation which was brought to bear upon the peasantry — part of the system of lawless terrorism which added the verb ' ' to boycott " to the English language. Volunteers from Ulster having offered to make an expedition to Lough Mask to assist the Captain, Mr. W. E. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland, announces the intention of the Government to send a force to preserve order and to protect the harvesters. To-night a detachment of the 19th Hussars was hastily despatched from Dublin for Ballinrobe, whither also went 400 men of the 84th Regiment from the Curragh, and 150 men of the 76th Regiment from Castlebar, with Army Service Corps and Army Hospital Corps, all complete. — Died in London, aged 51, Lieutenant- Colonel Wm. Mure, of Caldwell, M.P. for Renfrewshire. 11. — The labours of the Revisers of the Authorised Version of the New Testament, brought to a close, the company having met on 407 days. -^ Disorderly scene in the French Cham- ber, a small military force being called in to suppress hostile manifestations caused by M. Baudry d'Asson, a. Vendean Legitimist,, to the effect the present Cabinet was " Un goveme- ment de crocheteurs." 12. — A gang of convicts on Dartmoor sud- denly meeting as they were about to return to the prison, a man named Bevan, who was undergoing a sentence of twenty-five years for a brutal assault, threw his crowbar at the principal warder, Westlake, shouting, " Now, boys, help me as you promised. " Another con- vict named Brian sprang forward to assist him, hut the others, who were immediately covered by the rifles of the warders, hesitated. Bevan and Brian, seeing themselves deserted, scaled a wall and made off, but were speedily shot down, Bevan being killed on the spot, and Brian dangerously wounded through the lungs. 13. — A review held at Lahore by the Vice- roy of 10,000 troops returned from Afghani- stan. The appearance of the soldiers seemed to give the greatest satisfaction to those present, and Lord Ripon was warm in his compliments to all who had taken part ia the campaign. His Excellency announced that the Queen had sanctioned the issue, in addi- tion to the Afghan war medal, of six clasps, bearing the names of the principal battles, and of a bronze star — a special decoration for those who took part in General Roberts's march from Cabul to Candahar. — Died at Coblentz, aged 64, General von Goeben. 14. — Died, aged 69, G. W. Tapp, a pro- lific contributor to various technical and in- dustrial publications. 15.— John Bright, M.P., elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University by a majority in all the "nations" over Mr. Ruskin. 16. — Severe storm, resulting in several shipwrecks. The Galatea, 1,477 tons > °f Liverpool, foundered in the Atlantic ; seven men and an apprentice were saved in one of the boats, but the captain, officers, and remainder of the crew, 21 in all, were lost. The Ailsa, 632 tons, from Glasgow to Bristol, was totally lost off St. Govan's Head, with her crew of nineteen hands and seven passengers. Heavy rains and floods were also reported from all parts of the country and many districts of France. — Canon Gregory makes a public appeal for a sum of £2, 500 to purchase a great bell of about twelve tons for St. Paul's Cathedral. — Died at Munich, aged 78, Dr. Karl Roth, the last survivor of the Munich triad of scholars, which included Schmeller and Vollmer. 19. — Proposal made to the Dominion Government for constructing a breakwater across the Straits of Belle Isle, and so join Newfoundland to the mainland. — Shrewsbury Town Hall destroyed by fire, many valuable relics, however, Shakspearian and others, being saved. 20. — Lord Penzance had before him the cases of the Rev. Richard William Enraght, Incumbent of Holy Trinity, Bordesley, near Birmingham, and of the Rev. Sydney Faithom 1347 NOVEMBER 1880 DECEMBER Green, Incumbent of St. John's, Miles Plat- ting, Manchester. Both had been suspended from their office forvarious offences against the Public Worship Regulation Act, and both continued the practices complained of after inhibition had issued. Lord Penzance, who had suspended judgment, now announced that he must signify to the Court of Chancery that both gentlemen were in contempt, and that their imprisonment must follow. On the 27th Mr. Enraght was taken into custody and con- veyed to Warwick Gaol, where he remained at the end of the year. Mr. Green's case was continued. 20. — Died at his residence in London, Sir Alexander Cockburn, Lord Chief Justice. His Lordship had been for some time suffering from disease of the heart, although no fear was entertained of immediate danger. His death, however, was very sudden, as he had been engaged in Court during the day, walked home, dined as usual, and went to bed about eleven o'clock. Immediately afterwards he was taken ill, and died before medical assistance could reach him. Sir Alexander came of an old Scottish family, and succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his uncle, the late Dean of York, who died in 1858. He was born in 1802. — Died, aged 90, Field-Marshal Sir Charles Yorke, K.C.B., Constable of the Tower, the oldest field officer in the army, having fought both in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo. 21, — Died near Fowey, Cornwall, from the effects of a paralytic seizure, aged 69, Colonel John Whitehead Peard, better known as " Garibaldi's Englishman." 23. — Dulcigno occupied by Dervish Pasha, after some fighting with the Albanians. — Publication of the Earl of Beaconsfield's new novel "Endymion" and Mr. Tennyson's ' ' Ballads and other Poems. " — Died at his country residence in Oxford- shire, Dr. Edwin Guest, F.R.S., formerly Master of Gonville and Caius College, author of a "History of English Rhythms." 24. — Disastrous collision near Spezzia, be- tween the French steamer Oncle Joseph, 823 tons, of Marseilles, and the Italian steamer Ortigia, of 1,583 tons, of Palermo. The Oncle Joseph sank immediately afterwards, and, there being no adequate means of rescue at hand, the loss of life was great, only 32 passengers and 23 of the crew being saved out of 305 on board. — Died at Torquay, aged 63, Sir Ben- jamin Collins Brodie, son of the eminent surgeon and late Professor of Chemistry in the University of Oxford. 25. — Lieutenant W. R. L. Heyland, of H.M.S. Minotaur, drowned while rescuing a seaman who had been washed overboard. 1348 25. — Sir Theodore Martin elected Rector of St. Andrew's University by a majority of votes over Dr. Freeman, historian. 26. — The Boycott relief party having ac- complished its mission, leaves Lough Mask. 27. — Died, aged 62, Mark Firth, of Shef- field, to which town he was a most munificent benefactor. 28. — Slight but very perceptible earthquake shocks experienced in the Inverary district of Argyllshire. 30. — A telegram from Adelaide reports the murder by natives, of Lieutenant Bower and five seamen, of H.M.S. Sandfly, whilst on a surveying expedition at the Solomon Islands, and that Sub-Lieutenant Bradford had landed and recovered the bodies, after- wards burning the village. — Heine's "Schloss Legende," first pub- lished forty years since, suppressed in Berlin on the ground of inculcating Socialistic doc- trines. — Died at Cologne, Herr Wilhelm Schulze, conductor of the " Cologne Gazette." December 1. — Lord Coleridge takes his seat as Lord Chief Justice of England. 3. — Arguments in the case of the Attor- ney-General v. the Edison Telephone Com- pany concluded to-day, before Baron Pollock and Mr. Justice Stephen, sitting in banco in the Exchequer Division. The contention of the Attorney-General was that a message sent through a telephone was in fact a message transmitted along a wire by electricity, and that the use of the telephone was consequently an infringement of the monopoly which had been granted to the Government by the Act under which the telegraphs had been bought up by the Post Office. The arguments, which had continued for several days, were illustrated by various scientific experiments, and their lordships, in postponing judgment, thanked the learned counsel for their assistance. On the 20th of December their lordships gave judgment in favour of the Government, being of opinion that the Attorney-General had made out his case. 6. — Died, aged 7°i Sir James Colviile, F. R. S., senior Lord of Appeal in Judicial Committee of Privy Council, and of hi^h repute as an Indian jurist. — Renewal of diplomatic relations between France and Mexico, which had been suspended since the execution of the Emperor Maxi- milian. 8. — Lilley(Free Church clergyman) divorce case heard in Court of Session. — An Irish bailiff named Mulholland, en- gaged in serving writs, shot dead by Gormley, a small farmer, at Loughfay, near Cookstown. DECEMBER l88o DECEMBER 10. — A serious explosion in the Naval Steam Coal Colliery, near Pen-y-graig, Rhondda Valley, the report being so violent as to be heard in a village four miles off, while a banks- man at the top of the downcast shaft was stunned and severely cut and bruised. At least eighty-four men were killed, the bodies being terribly burnt and mutilated, so much so, indeed, that many workmen could only be identified by their boots. — In addressing the grand jury at Galway, Baron .Dowse gives a lengthy account of the statistics of crime in the province of Connaught during the last four months, as shown by the police returns. .In the five counties there were 698 indictable offences, but only 39 of these come belore the court, all the other cases having for the present fallen through for want of evidence. The charges were divided as follows among the counties : — Galway, 291 ; Mayo, 236 ; Leitrim, 75 ; Sligo, 50 ; Ros- common, 46. — Died at Kensington, aged 70, Thomas Rymer Jones, F.K.S., Fullerian Professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution. 11. — Publication of the Boyton-Gladstone correspondence regarding Land League oppres- sion. 12. — Died in the house, Rue St. Georges, Paris, re-built at the public expense after destruction by the Commune, Madame Thiers, wife of the late President. — Various threatening Land League meet- ings in Ireland, where " boycotting " was freely recommended. — A revolution reported to have occurred in the small mountainous Republic of Andorra in consequence of an attempt first to set up a foreign casino and gaming-table, and second to construct a railway connecting the Republic with the outer world. Order was subsequently established through the mediation of the French agent. 13. — An extensive case of "boycotting" reported from Cork, twenty-eight servants of Mr. Bence Jones having left him, in conse- quence of being threatened with murder if they remained in his service. The local smiths refused to shoe his horses, and the local trades- men to supply him with necessaries. On the 14th a quantity of Mr. Jones's cattle and sheep arrived in Cork, consigned to the Cork Steam Packet Company for shipment to Bristol. This fact coming to the knowledge of other shippers of cattle by tie same steamer, they informed the directors that if Mr. Jones's cattle were taken on board they would withdraw theirs, and cease further business transactions with the company. The directors gave way, and the cattle were turned out of the yard. The Liyde Shipping Company also refused to em- bark them, and, as no one could be found to take charge of them, they had to be driven by the police into the sheds of the Great Southern and Western Railway Company not yet " boy- cotted " ; but the League put such an amount of pressure on the Dublin and Glasgow Steam Packet Company that its directors refused to • carry Mr. Bence Jones's property. At last the sheep were shipped on board the City of Dublin Company's steamer Kildare for Liver- pool, where, however, the consignees refused to receive them. They were then sent on to Manchester, and so finally got rid of. — Cabinet Council hastily summoned to discuss, it was understood, Mr. Forster's report concerning the alarming condition of Ireland. — Died in Thome Road, South Lambeth, aged 85, Miss Maria Catherine Innes, projec- tor along with two deceased sisters of the still popular Peerage book known as ' ' Lodge," placed in 1830 under the ostensible editorship of Edmund Lodge, Norroy King of Arms. 14. — Died at Florence, aged 68, the accom- plished Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, author of " Lives of the Lindsays," &c. — Addressing his constituents at Hack- ney, the Postmaster-General (Mr. Fawcett) mentions that the new Post-office Penny Sav- ings' Bank scheme had already led to the opening of 58,000 accounts. A reduction of telegraph rates and a parcel-post was also shadowed forth. 15. — Died, aged 94, William Lacon Childe, of Kinlet Hall, Shropshire, schoolfellow at Harrow with Byron, Peel, and Palmerston, and Tory member for Wenlock in 1823, when he moved the address in reply to the King's Speech. 16.— Philip Callan, M.P. for Louth, fined ^50 and costs for libelling A. M. Sullivan, M.P. — Died in Paris, aged 91, Mdlle. Etienne de Montgolfier, daughter of the famous in- ventor and aeronaut, who died in the last year of the last century. This patriotic old lady, who calmly awaited the Prussian advance in 1870, had been the patroness of Beranger, and pub- lished herself a volume of songs. 19. — Died at Branksome Towers, Bourne- mouth, aged 46, Lady Constance Leveson- Gower, Duchess of Westminster. — Died in Albany Street, Regent's Park, aged 54, Francis Trevelyan Buckland, natural- ist, eldest son of the late Dr. Buckland, Dean of Westminster. A delightfully descriptive writer concerning the habits of strange animals, birds, and fishes, brought under his notice as editor of " Land and Water." 21.— Died, aged 54, George Frederick Ansell, chemist, inventor of a fire-damp indi- cator, and author of a history of the Mint. 1349 DECEMBER 1880— 1 88 1 JANUARY 23. — Mrs. Cross, formerly Miss Marian Evans and Mrs. Lewes, but better known as "George Eliot," writer of "Adam Bede," and other novels of supreme merit, died some- what suddenly at her house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, aged 60. Mrs. Cross was buried in Highgate Cemetery according to the rites of the Unitarian Church. — Died, aged 58, Rev. Mackenzie E. W. Walcott, F.S.A., Precentor of Chichester Cathedral, author of "Memorials of West- minster," and many valuable contributions to the proceedings of learned Societies — anti- quarian, architectural, and ecclesiastical. — Charge against Alexander Ewing, Pen- nilee pointsman, dismissed at Glasgow Circuit, on the advice of Lord Young. (See Sept. 8. ) 24. ^-"Disaster to the British troops in the Transvaal reported from Durban, Natal. Ac- cording to this account, 250 men of the 94th Regiment, marching from Leydenburg to Pre- toria, as escort to a train of waggons, were surprised by the Boers and overpowered, 120 men having been killed and wounded, and the rest taken prisoners. One officer was said to have been killed, three badly wounded, and one missing. It was further added that the colours had been saved, a statement which it was difficult to reconcile with the assertion that the whole detachment had been either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. Later telegrams somewhat modified the first account of the disaster. — Died, aged 62, Mauro Macchi, an active and scholarly agent in the regeneration of Italy under Cavour. — Died on board a steamer when entering Bordeaux harbour, aged 82, Charles Edward Stuart, calling himself " Comte d'Albanie," reputed on slender evidence to have been the son of a legitimate son of Prince Charles Edward the "Young Pretender." The re- mains were conveyed to Scotland for interment in Lord Lovat's burying-place at Eskdale, beside a brother well-known like the " Comte " in Edinburgh society during the early part of the century, as John Sobieski Stolberg Stuart. — (See Quarterly Review, vol. 81.) — Died at South Norwood, aged 76, John Cousen, landscape engraver. 26. — A heavy snowfall, accompanied by a stiff breeze, causes serious suspension of rail- way traffic in the North. The Deeside section of the Great North of Scotland was closed ; between Forfar and Aberdeen five goods trains were snowed up ; the Buchan and Formartine line was blocked at Logiereive ; on the Mac- duff and Turriff section the drift was in some places from twelve to fifteen feet deep ; the Great North of Scotland main line was im- passable at Dyce. Further north, at Dorrery, Altnabraee, and Forsenard, the lines were also stopped. Large boulders, loosened by the 135° snow, fell on the Callander and Oban line, and considerably impeded the traffic. In the northern counties all out-door labour was suspended. 26.— Died at Tiptree Hall, Essex, aged 79, John Joseph Mechi, whose patented invention of the "Magic Razor Strop," gave him a start in life as one of the most enterprising scientific agriculturists of his day. 27. — Died, aged 95, Dr. Robert Bullock Marsham, Warden of Merton College, Oxford, who had in 1852 unsuccessfully contested the representation of the University in the Con- servative interest against Mr. Gladstone. — Mr. Pamal formally selected as leader of the Irish Parliamentary party in the House of Commons, who now also resolved to be in opposition whatever party might be in power. 28. — Commenced at the Court of Queen's Bench, Dublin, before Mr. Justice Fitzgerald and Mr. Justice Barry, the trial of the fourteen leaders of the land agitation in Ireland. 29. — Admiral Ryder, chairman of the Atalanta Committee, presents the report of the committee to the Secretary of the Ad- miralty. Although the committee condemned the construction of ships of the Atalanta class as faulty and unfit for use as training ships, they stated she was sound, seaworthy, and stable, and her officers and crew duly quali- fied, when the vessel left England upon her last cruise. 31. — The Governors of St. Thomas's Hos- pital, acting under authority of the Charity Commissioners, announce their intention to receive into St. Thomas's Home persons of the upper and middle classes who were able and willing to pay for the benefits of medical attendance and nursing therein — benefits which have hitherto been confined to the poor alone. — Died, aged 71, Dr. John Stenhouse, F. R. S., a native of Glasgow, one of the foun- ders of the Chemical Society! an< i otherwise of high repute for his researches in organic chemistry. — Died at Brighton, aged 77, Dr. Arnold Ruge, translator of various Greek plays, a journalist, and extreme German politician who passed the last thirty years of his life as an exile in England. I88l. January 1. — Disastrous gas explosion in Glasgow. A leakage from the main pipes in Henderson Street becoming ignited, six people were killed and ten injured, two houses being almost completely destroyed. In litigation which ensued damages were awarded by the Court of Session against the Corporation. JANUARY I88l JANUARY 1. — Close of the greatwalking matehat Lillie Bridge. Gale, the pedestrian, who undertook to walk 2,500 miles in 1,000 hours, failing to accomplish that distance ■ by about 95 miles only. 3. — Died at Liverpool, aged 77, John Thomas Towson, who was the first to devise means of taking photographic pictures on glass, and inventor of many useful aids to navigators. 5. — Wreck of the Indian Chief, 1,257 tons, on the Long Sand. The master and sixteen of the crew perished, the first and second mates and nine seamen being rescued by the Ramsgate lifeboat. 6. — Parliament opened by Royal Commis- sion. The Queen's Speech intimated an ultimate withdrawal from Candahar, the intro- duction of a Land Bill for Ireland, and also extraordinary measures for the repression of outrage and violence in that country. Bills were also promised regarding the abolition of corporal punishment in the army and navy, bankruptcy reform, rivers conservancy, secret voting and corrupt practices at elections. 9. — In the House of Lords, Lord Lytton enters into an explanation and justification of his policy as Viceroy of India, particularly deprecating the surrender of Candahar. The Duke of Argyll replied, imputing the Afghan war to the aggressive action of the late Vice- roy. Lords Cranbrook and Northbrook also spoke, but the discussion closed without any formal motion. 12.— Strike among the Lancashire colliers, over 40,000 reported to be out in consequence of a demand by the masters that the men should contract themselves out of the Employers' Lia- bility Act and accept a. system of insurance instead. 13. — After a winter of exceptional mildness cold weather suddenly sets in, and continues throughout the month with extreme severity, the lowest readings being, on the 14th, at Chester, 2° below zero ; 4° above zero at Nottingham ; and 8° at York. Snow fell heavily on the 181I1, and in London traffic both on the streets and the river was com- pletely suspended. The Post Office announced that communication between London and the country was almost altogether stopped. The low-lying districts of Bermondsey and Lam- beth were flooded, nearly one hundred barges were sunk at the mouth of the Thames, and the pier at Woolwich was entirely carried away by ice. In the country trains were snowed up, and much damage caused by floods. Similar disasters were reported from France, Germany, and Spain. 16. — Died, aged 81, Dr. Humphrey Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin;, author also of various works on optics.. 18. — Died at Cairo, aged 6o r Auguste Edouard Mariette, Egyptologist, better known as Mariette Bey. 19. — Marriage of Mr. Leopold de Roths- child and Mdlle. Maria Perugia celebrated at the Central Synagogue in presence of the Prince of Wales, the first occasion on which a member of the Royal Family had assisted at a Jewish ceremony. 20.— Died in London, aged 51, Edward Askew Sothern, actor, celebrated for his "Lord Dundreary." 20.— The Address in answer to the Queen's Speech, which was carried in one sitting of the Upper House, finally adopted by the Commons after being debated for eleven nights, principally by Irish members, whose chief con- tention was that remedial legislation should precede coercion. With the avowed object of delaying the introduction of the threatened Coercion Bill as long as possible, they proposed various amendments, which, after' prolonged discussion, were successively negatived by overwhelming majorities. 24. — General Skoberofi", commander of the Russian forces in Turkestan, announces the capture of Geok Tepe and Denzil Tepe by the Imperial forces. — Died, aged 66, Alfred Elmore, R.A., an industrious and painstaking artist of the historical school, admirably represented by such paintings as " Marie Antoinette facing the Mob at the Tuileries," and the same Queen as a prisoner in the Temple. — To-day (Monday) Mr. W. E. Forster moved for leave to introduce a Bill for the protection of persons and property in Ireland, and entered at length into a description of the state of Ireland under the rule of the Land League, which had become such as to require extraordinary measures for the protection of the well-disposed. The Bill proposed to give the Lord-Lieutenant power to arrest by war- rant persons suspected of treasonable inten- tions, and of intimidation and incitement to violate the laws. He would afterwards pro- pose a second Bill to enable the police to search for arms. Dr. Lyons moved an amendment requiring precedence for remedial measures. Speeches in opposition to the Bill were delivered by Mr. Givan, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Bradlaugh, and Mr. O'Donnell, while Mr. Davey and Sir S. Northcote supported the Government. The debate was adjourned. On Tuesday Mr. Gladstone moved to suspend the Standing Orders, and to give precedence to the adjourned debate on the Irish Coercion Bills. The proposition was strongly opposed by the Home Rule members, who, by vehe- ment speeches, protracted the discussion throughout the night, and it was not until after 2 P.M. on Wednesday that Mr. Gladstone's motion was agreed to by 251 against 33. — Termination of the State prosecutions at Dublin, the jury being unable to agree upon a verdict. 1351 JANUARY I* 36.— Repulse of Sir George Coney's forces in the Transvaal at Laing's Neck. On the 24th the British commander having made a laager at Newcastle, and provisioned it for thirteen days, determined to advance on the Transvaal with a force of about 1,000 men against the Boers, who, since the proclamation of the Republic, December 16th, 1880, had besieged several of the British garrisons. The attack was repulsed with heavy loss ; seven officers and about eighty men were killed, and about one hundred wounded. 27. — Earthquake in Switzerland, felt chiefly at Berne, Thun, Basle, and Aarbery. 28. — Rioting in Lancashire among the col- liers on strike there. After a mass meeting in Leigh, the mob proceeded to Atherton collieries, with the avowed object of bringing out the men at work there. The police charged the mob, amidst a shower of stones by which three officers were severely injured. The mob still remaining reckless, the Riot Act was read, and the Hussars charged the crowd, driving them in all directions. — Mr. Gladstone denounces the Land League in the House of Commons, as asso- ciated with the increase of agrarian outrage in Ireland. Dealing with the criticisms on the Outrages Returns, he declared that the general effect was only to confirm the confidence of the Government in their accuracy. But it was not on single cases that the Government rested, it was on the aggregate — on the combination out of which they sprung, and on the total failure of the ordinary administration of justice to detect and punish them. Neither the League nor any other person or body in Ireland could be touched by the Bill except so far as they fell within its stringent definition, according to which no one could be arrested except on reasonable suspicion that he had been a princi- pal or accessory in a crime punishable by law, committed in a prescribed district, being an act of violence or intimidation, or incitement thereto, and tending to interfere with or dis- turb the maintenance of law and order. After referring to the Conservative support with which the Government was taunted, Mr. Gladstone dwelt on the character and proceed- ings of the Land League, protesting against the parallels which had been drawn between it and the Anti-Corn Law League and the Trades Union, on the latter of which he pronounced a glowing eulogium. That an unusual state of crime existed in Ireland was undoubted, and admitted even by those who differed as to the causes. Some attributed it to the distress, some to the evictions ; but he showed by the statistics that crime had increased, while the distress and evictions had decreased. But he traced a close connection between the move- ment of crime and the increasing activity of the Land League, illustrating his argument by quotations from the speeches of Mr. Pamell and Mr. Biggar, which he condemned in severe 1352 FEBRUARY language as inevitably tending to the breach of law and order. " So that," continued Mr. Gladstone, speaking of the League, ' ' with fatal and painful precision the steps of crime dogged the steps of the Land League ; and it is not possible to get rid by any ingenuity of facts such as I have stated, by vague and general complaints, by imputations against parties, im- putations against England* or imputations against Government You must meet them, and confute them, if you can. None will rejoice more than myself if you can attain such an end. But in the meantime they stand, and they stand uncontradicted (cries of "No") in the face of the British House of Commons." Govern- ment, it was added, did not look so much to the mere amount of crime, as to its sources and to its character. 29. — Died at Devon Lodge, East Moulsey, aged nearly 80, Anna Maria Hall (Mrs. S. C. Hall), a popular writer for over half a century of Irish novels, dramas, stories for young folk, and also favourably known in the field of history through helpful work for " Ireland " undertaken in conjunction with her husband Samuel Carter Hall, the " Sherwood Forester " of other days. 31. — Extraordinary scenes in the House during the debate on the motion for leave to bring in the Protection to Person and Property Bill. The discussion had been resumed on the 27th, continued on the 28th, and adjourned over till this day, Monday. The adjourned debate was resumed by Mr. C. E. Lewis, who was followed by Mr. C. Russell and other speakers — mostly Irish members — until 1 A.M., when Mr. Gabbett moved its adjournment, to which Mr. Gladstone declined to accede. Several hours were spent in the discussion, and eventually the motion was negatived by 148 to 27. The sitting was continued through- out the whole of Tuesday, Irish members speaking at great length on repeated motions for adjournment, with occasional interruptions and altercations on points of order. Eventually, at half-past 9 on Wednesday morning, when the House had sat 41 hours, the Speaker inter- rupted the debate, ruling that, it being clear that wilful obstruction was being resorted to, he, in virtue of the Standing Order agreed to last Session, refused to allow further speeches to be made. This decision provoked a violent outburst from the Irish members, who, after vehemently protesting against the violation of their privileges as members, quitted the House. The motion to introduce the Bill was then agreed to. February 3. — Wholesale suspension of Irish members in the House. In answer to Mr. Parnell, Sir W. Harcourt said that Michael Davitt had been arrested, his ticket-of-leave having been cancelled for breach of the con- ditions. This reply caused great uproar from the Home Rule members, and upon Mr. Glad- stone proceeding to move his resolutions in FEBRUARY 1881 MARCH respect of procedure Mr. Dillon interposed, and, refusing to obey the direction of the Speaker, was "named," and the House, by 395 to 33, assented to a motion for his suspen- sion during the remainder of the sitting. Mr. A. M. Sullivan and other Irish members com- mented in warm terms on the action of the Speaker, and, after repeated warnings, Mr. Parnell was "named," and was ordered to be suspended for the remainder of the sitting, as were also twenty-five other Irish members who refused to withdraw or to vote. Mr. Gladstone then proceeded to move his resolutions, the debate on which occupied the remainder of the sitting. 3 — Died at Charlotte Street,in his 77th year, John Gould, F.R.S., a devoted ornithologist and voluminous writer concerning the birds of India and Australia. 4. — Died in Cheyne Row, Chelsea, where more than half his long and honoured life of 85 years was spent, Thomas Carlyle, a " writer of books," as described by himself, which without manifesting any very systematic philo- sophical system beyond the stern duty and true dignity of "work," made him one of the most powerful personal educating influences of the century. Mr. Carlyle, although deeply grieved by the sudden death of his wife (Jane Baillie Welsh) in the spring of 1866, by no means abandoned his studious, methodical ways in later years, and at length gradually succumbed to the advance of age on a naturally sound constitution, passing away quietly among friends familiar with his labours and proud of his literary triumphs, who reverenced his un- tiring devotion to duty, and who carefully appreciated the simple blamelessness of a life which had more than once turned intended public honour aside. The remains of the aged scholar were laid in the churchyard of Eccle- fechan, within the Annandale village where he was born, and beside those of his father and mother, whom he never ceased to think, speak, and write of with supreme affection. 8.— Died, aged6i, Michael Charles Blount, of Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, representative of the old family which numbered among its descendants the Misses Blount, friends and correspondents of Pope. 9.— Second reading of the Protection Bill carried in the Commons by 359 to 56. Eight days more were occupied by the discussion of , the clauses in Committee, and the Bill was read a third time and passed on the 25th, after four divisions, the last showing a majority of stil to 36. On this evening the Speaker laid on the table the new rules of procedure. These were seventeen in number, and were specially designed to cope with the obstructive tactics of the Irish members. 11. — Mysterious murder at Chatham. Lieu- ' tenant Percy Roper, Royal Engineers, found dead at the staircase leading to his quarters, having been shot. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of wilful murder, but in spite of large rewards offered no clue was obtained. 12. — Marriage of the Baroness Burdett- Coutts with Mr. W. Ashmead Bartlett cele- brated at Christ's Church, Mayfair. Mr. Bartlett had obtained royal license to assume the name of Burdett-Coutts, and in compliance with the will of the Duchess of St. Albans he subsequently had to apply for permission to use the name of Coutts separately. 14. — Freedom of the City of London and a sword presented to Sir Frederick Roberts, in recognition of his services in Afghanistan. 18. — Died, aged 81, William Ellis, educa- tionist and political economist. 24. — The Senate of Cambridge decide by 398 to 32 to admit women to the Tripos Examination. — Died, aged 88, Commander Edwin T. Caulfield, R.N., who entered the Navy as early as 1806, and was present at the Scheldt and in the Walcheren expedition. 25. — Terrible lynching occurrence at Springfield, Tennessee. Nine negroes who some months previously had murdered a farmer; were captured by a mob 'while in charge of the sheriff, and hanged to the verandah of the Court House. 27. — Disastrous engagement at Majuba Hill. General Colley and his staff, with about twenty officers and 627 men, moved out of camp to this point, where they arrived after an arduous march too much fatigued to entrench themselves. At daybreak the Boers at once commenced an attack, which was withstood till about one o'clock, when suddenly they obtained full possession of the hill, and our men were in full flight with heavy loss, General Colley being among the killed. — Marriage of Prince Frederick William, eldest son of the Crown Prince of Germany, and grandson of Queen Victoria, with Princess Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein. 28. — Died, in her 89th year, at Geneva, the Countess of Pourtales, a prominent member of society in the First Empire. March 1. — Urgency having been voted by 395 against 37, Sir William Harcourt, in the absence of Mr. Forster, moves for leave to bring in the Peace Preservation Bill. This measure forbade the carrying of arms, author- ised search for them, and gave power to prohibit and regulate their sale. — The Cunard steamer Servia, 8,500 tons, (he largest steamer up to this date except the Great Eastern, launched on the Clyde. 2. — The Bill for the Better Protection of Person and Property in Ireland, generally known as the Coercion Bill, receives Royal assent, having been passed by the House of Lords through all its stages in three days. 1353 MARCH APRIL 5. — The town of Casamicciola, in the island of Ischia, destroyed by an earthquake. One hundred and twenty bodies were dug out of the ruins. The lower part of the town was less injured, but in the upper part not one house remained standing. Another shock occurred on the 15th. 6. — Died, in her 81st year, Mrs. Horatia Nelson Ward, daughter of Lord Nelson, whom with his dying breath he bequeathed to the care of the nation. — Sir Evelyn Wood, who had assumed the chief command on the death of General Colley, in conference with President Joubert agrees upon an armistice of eight days. The armistice was still further extended. (See March 22. ) 9. — Debate in the House of Lords on the policy of the Government in Afghanistan, Lord Lytton deprecating the abandonment of Candahar. The debate, in the course of which ' many speeches both weighty and dignified were delivered, was chiefly memorable as being practically the last in which Lord Beaconsfield took part. On the division Lord Lytton's motion was carried by 165 to 79. A similar resolution moved in the Commons by Mr. Stanhope was negatived by 336 to 226. 12. — Pope Leo XIII. issues an Encyclical reminding the Episcopate of the bitter warfare carried on in many countries against the Church, and complaining that in the very centre of Catholic truth, the sanctity of religion was outraged and the dignity of the Holy See turned into contempt. 13. — Assassination of the Emperor of Russia. While returning from a. military review near St. Petersburg, a bomb was thrown which ex- ploded in rear of the carriage, injuring several soldiers. The Emperor alighted, and a second bomb was thrown, which inflicted frightful and fatal injuries, he living only about two hours after his removal to the palace. One of the assassins was arrested, and the second, who threw the last bomb, was himself wounded by its explosion and died in the hospital without declaring his name. The Czarewitch was imme- diately proclaimed Emperor Alexander III., and on the following day issued a manifesto announcing his accession, and claiming the allegiance of all subj ects of the Empire. ' ' There has been no disorder in the capital, nor in any part of Russia. The police have discovered the house in which the explosive bombs were made, one man found there blowing out his brains on their arrival. A mine charged with explosive materials has also been found, exca- vated under a street along which the Emperor and his son frequently passed." 16. — Attempt to blow up the Mansion House. About half-past eleven a strong wooden box with a burning fuse attached was discovered lying on one of the windows. On examination the box was found to contain 1354 about 40 lb. of coarse blasting powder. No clue was obtained, but the attempt was attri- buted to Fenian terrorism. 16. — Deliberate attempt to upset the London and North Western express from London near Wolverhampton. A sleeper with two chains had been firmly fastened to the rails, and the force of collision, though great enough to cut the sleeper, did not upset the train, and no fatal results ensued. 21. — Destruction by fire of the Opera House at Nice. Soon after the commencement of the performance of Lucia di Lammermoor a gas explosion took place, setting fire to the scenery. Happily there were not more than 150 people present, but of these 62 lo ; t their lives in the struggle for egress. 22. — Mr. Gladstone in the House of Com- mons announces that the following terms had been agreed to between Sir E. Wood and the Boers : — I. The suzerainty of the Queen over the Transvaal was to be acknowledged ; 2. Complete self-government was to be given to the Boers ; 3. Control over foreign relations was reserved ; 4. A British Resident to be at the future capital ; 5. A Royal Commission to consider the protection of native interests and questions of frontier ; 6. Boers to withdraw from Laing's Neck ; 7. British garrisons to remain in Transvaal till final settlement ; 8. Sir E. Wood not to advance or send warlike stores into the Transvaal. 25. — Died, aged 62, Sir Charles Reed, LL.D., chairman of the London School Board. 26.^Died at Paris, aged 75, John Prescott Knight, R. A,, secretary to the Royal Academy from 1846 to 1873. — Charles I of Roumania vested in his kingly title by the Senate, Chamber of Deputies, and Council of Deputies. 27. — Funeral of the late Czar at St. Petersburg. — Died, the Rev. W. H. Bateson, D.D., Master of St. John's College, Cambridge. 28. — Close of the Lawson v. Labouchere libel trial, in which Mr. Lawson of the Daiy Telegraph prosecuted Mr. Labouchere for alleged libel in his paper, Truth. The case had been argued for an entire week before Lord Coleridge, and in the end, the jury, having failed to agree on a verdict, were discharged. 30. — Johann Most, editor of Der Freiheit, a German Socialist newspaper, charged at Bow Street with publishing a scandalous libel con- cerning the late Czar, with intent to incite to murder. Herr Most was found guilty on April 26th, and on June 27th was sentenced to sixteen months' hard labour. April 3. — The decennial census taken throughout the United Kingdom, above 30,000 enumerators being employed in the work. APRIL \i Total population, 35,246,562, England show- ing anincrease of 3,113,260, Scotland, 374,352, and Ireland a decrease of 252,538, since 1871. 3. — Earthquake at the island of Chio, in the jEgean. The principal town and many of the adjacent villages were destroyed. Out of a total population of 71,491, it was ascertained that 3,612 were killed and 1,306 injured. 4. — Introduction of the Budget. The esti- mated expenditure for the ensuing year was ^84,705,000, and the revenue £85, 990,000, showing a surplus of £1,285,000, which was, however, reduced to £1,185,000 by a vote for the extinguishment of the loan for barracks. The Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to reduce the Income-tax to $. D.D., an eminent Wesleyan preacher. 18. — The Prince and Prineess of Wales visit Norwich for the purpose of opening the National Fisheries Exhibition, 19. — Died between four and five o'clock this (Tuesday) morning at Curzon Street, May- fair, aged 77, the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, K.G. In his place in Parliament at the opening of Parliament, and alert as ever in the defence of friends, the ex-Premier had for more than three weeks been contending with bronchitis supervening on gout, and during that time there had been several occasions when it was feared he could not survive Asthmatic spasms, aggravated, if not induced, by the persistent east wind, were so severe that his recovery from tbem appeared to be more than doubtful Again and again, however, he rallied. His indomit- able will carried him through attacks to which weaker natures would unquestionably have succumbed ; and a day or two ago, with a BB* APRIL r88i APRIL change in the atmospheric conditions, there came a gleam of hope that he would survive. 9nt once more the east wind increased in force ajid bitterness, and on Monday evening there wejre renewals of the spasms which had been 50, trying. After midnight the patient "slum- bered for- at. short time in a state of great exhaustion. Then came a fresh spasm which would BQt.yielct to treatment, and it was feared that life could not be much further prolonged. Dn Quain was speedily summoned, and messengers despatched for Lord Barrington, Sir Philip Rose, and Mr. Ralph Disraeli. Soon after three o'clock the spasm passed off, and there was ease ; but life was fast ebbing. About four o'clock there was a short attack of coughing, after which came the quietness of complete exhaustion. Turning his head to one side, the dying man murmured " I am overwhelmed," and never spoke in audible tones again. There was no further disturbance of bis. quiet, and at half-past four o'clock he died. The following announcement was sub- sequently made:— "The debility, which was evidently increasing yesterday, progressed during the night, and Lord Beaconsfield died at half-past four, calmly, as if in sleep." Lord Barrington, Lord Rowton, Sir Philip Rose, Dr. Quain, Dr. Kidd, and Dr. Bruce were at the bedside of the sufferer when he died. Lord Beaconsfield dined out for the last time on the 19th March, when he was the guest of the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House ; took a slight part in a political gathering held at his residence a week later ; and transacted private business for the last time on the 7th inst. , when he sent for Lord Barrington to ask him what day of the month it was. On being told, Lord Beaconsfield said : — "I think it is time that you should write to the young Duke of Portland, and tell him I regret I cannot come to him for Easter Week." Lord Rowton arrived on the 7th of April, but Lord Beacons- field did not see him till the nth. He had said previously to Lord Barrington that he had heard Lord Rowton had arrived. " Let him come to me gradually," he said, evidently feeling very nervous at the thought of meeting iim. Lord Beaconsfield, according to a state- ment made by himself, was born in the Adelphi Buildings, London^ 21st December, 1804, and baptised in the Parish Church of St. Andrew's, Holborn, 31-st Jury, 1817, his father, Isaac Disraeli, having four- years previously severed all religious connection; with brethren worship- ping in the Jewish. Synagogue. 21. — Commencement of" the. evacuation of Candahar, by the march of the British forces towards the Pishin Valley, the posts in {he. city being transferred to, Afghan troops. 23.— .Russeli McCoy, the first descendant of' the famous mutineers of the Bonnty- (ij8g.\ who ever visited this country, arrived at Liver-, pool from Pitcairn, Island in the American ship Harvey, MiNs. When, he left there were 1356 ninety-five persons on the island, but only three names of the original mutineers now remain, these being Christian, Young, and McCoy. The oldest inhabitant was a step- daughter of John Young, she being also the step-daughter of John Adams. She was then about ninety years of age, and was the second child born on the island. McCoy stated that it was an error to suppose that Adams was the leader of the mutineers, that position being always occupied by Fletcher Christian. 26. — Second reading of the Irish Land Bill moved in the Commons by Lord R. Grosvenor. (See 19th May, 1881.) — Funeral of Earl Beaconsfield at Hughen- den. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught, and Prince Leopold (representing the Queen) followed the chief mourners in the procession, which included the prominent statesmen of both parties, diplomatists, artists, and a large gathering of distinguished per- sonages. — Died, aged 6$, at Meran, Tyrol, General von der Tann, commander of the Bavarian forces in the Franco-German War. — Mr. Bradlaugh having been again returned for Northampton by a majority of 132, presents himself at the table of the House to take the oath prescribed by law. Sir Stafford Northcote moved that he be not permitted to do so, and the motion was carried by 208 to 175. Mr. Bradlaugh was then directed to withdraw, which he refused to do, until the Sergeant-at- Arms advanced towards him, and he then with- drew as far as the bar, but he immediately returned, and was then forcibly removed by four attendants. The following day he pre- sented himself again, and was again ordered to withdraw, which he did. On May 6lh the Attorney-General moved for leave to introduce the Parliamentary Oaths Bill, allowing members to make affirmation, but the motion was opposed and debated for three nights, and then the debate was adjourned again. No decision having been come to, Mr. Bradlaugh on the 10th of May once more presented himself at the table of the House, and announced that he was there to take the oath. The Speaker again directed him to withdraw, and he did so, and on the motion of Sir Stafford Northcote a resolution was carried "That the Sergeant-at- Arms remove Mr. Bradlaugh from the House until he shall engage not further to disturb its proceedings." — H.M.S. Dottrel, six guns, 1,137 tons, an .paper for a libel imputing to the plaintiff unskilful or careless administra- tion of medicine to the horse Bend-Or, winner of the Derby. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with ^1,750 damages. 26. — Died, aged 78, at South Kensington, Mr. Edmond Beales, County Court Judge, and a prominent supporter of Mill and Bright in the Reform Bill straggles of 1866. 27. — Marked fluctuations in newspaper pro- perty, the Morning Post being reduced to-day to the price of a penny, at which it was first issued in November, 1772. During its exist- ence the price rose to Jd. in the early years of this century, and fell successively to 5on became jammed with struggling masses of panic-stricken people, whose confusion and despair was heightened when on the bursting of the- gasometer the whole passages were in- volved in total darkness. — ■ Pope Leo XIII. officiates for the first time at the high altar of St. Peter's, on the occasion of a canonization. 9.— Died at Richmond, South Africa, T, F. Burgers, ex-President of the Transvaal. IO.— Mr. W. Powell, M.P. for Malmes- bury, ascended from Bath in a balloon, accom- panied by Captain Templer and Mr. Gardner. The balloon was brought close to earth near Bridport, .and two of the occupants were thrown from the car, Mr. Gardner sustaining a fracture of the leg. The balloon again ascend- ed with Mr. Powell, of whom nothing was ■ever 'heard. 10. — A terrible accident this, Saturday, morning at Cannnbury Junction of the Great Northern and North London Railways. A train just starting was run into in a tunnel by another train ; that again was almost immedi- ately run into by a third train, and shortly after a, fourth train was in collision with the others. Five persons were killed, and many others were more or less severely injured. 12. — Sale of the first portion of Sunderland Library, removed from Blenheim Palace, which had extended over ten days, concluded to-day, Monday. Total sum realised by this first sale ^19,377- — Died at Stratford, Essex, aged 70, Sir Antonio Brady, F.G.S., late superintendent of the Navy purchase and contract department. 13. ^Meeting held in the Chapter House, Westminster, presided over by Dean Bradley, to promote a memorial to the late Dean Stanley. The first resolution was moved by the Prince of Wales, and seconfled by Earl Granville, and it was agreed that the memorial should consist of a figure of the Dean by his grave, and the completion of the stained glass windows in the Chapter House. 14. — Died at St. Leonards-on-Sea, aged 81, Decimus Burton, architect. 15. — The town of Godalming lighted by electricity, the contract with the gas company having been allowed to expire. Incandescent lamps were used for the small streets and arc lights for the larger, the motive power being the water in the river Wey. — Mrs. Langtry appears for the first time before Vice-Chancellor Sir Richard Malins, Con- servative M.P. for Wallingford 1852-65. 16.— Died in Edinburgh, aged 76, Sir Daniel Macnee, LL.D., President of the Royal Scottish Academy, famous as a portrait painter, but known to a select circle of friends as the best of Scottish story-tellers. Sir Daniel, who suc- ceeded Sir George Harvey as President in 1876, was -- native of Fintry, Stirlingshire. 17.— Died in Paris, aged 69, Charles Blanc, art critic, brother of M. Louis Blanc, and of kindred republican sentiments, who also found refuge in England when the Coup d'Etat de- prived him of the office of Directeur des Beaux Arts. 20. — Hammersmith station of the Metro- politan District Railway destroyed by fire. — Died in Sheffield, while on a visit, Wil- liam Miller, of Millerfield, Edinburgh, land- scape engraver, aged 89. — Died at Redhill, aged 90, John Lin- nell, a landscape painter, who' began a career famous in the annals of art so far back as 1804. 21. — Garibaldi, presently in an infirm state of health, arrives at Naples on a visit. — Died at Munich, Hermann von Schlagin- tweit, German traveller and naturalist. 24. — Election contest in the North Riding — ■ the first since 1868 — a Conservative (Dawnay) being returned by 8,135 votes against 7,749 given to Rowlandson, Liberal. 25. — After a trial extending over seventy- two days, the prisoner increasing in violence and eccentricity towards the close, Charles Guiteau is found guilty of murdering President Garfield, and sentenced to be executed on June 10th. 26.— The Gambetta Ministry resign after being defeated in the French Chamber on a vote regarding the revision of the Constitution. — Collision, during a fog, on the Great Northern line at Hornsey, a train standing at the station being run into by another arriving from London ; two persons killed and twenty more or less injured. 27.— Died in Edinburgh, aged 85, Professor Sir Robert Christison, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., an acknowledged authority in medical juris- prudence. On his resignation in 1877, Sir Robert had filled the Chair of Materia Medica in Edinburgh University for over forty-five years. Professor Christison represented the medical profession in Scotland in the newly- 1367 JANUARY 1882 FEBRUARY constituted Medical Council of the United Kingdom, and had been twice President of the Koyal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. 27. — Died in Belfast, Professor Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie, the occupant for over a quarter of a century of the Chair of Juris- prudence and Political Economy in Queen's College. — Robert Alfred Herman (Trinity) de- clared Senior Wrangler in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos, the last occasion on which this distinctive honour was awarded, the future examinations being arranged to consist of three parts, two held in June and the third, open to Wranglers only, in January. Miss Burstall and several other ladies from Girton College won an honourable place in the examination. 28. — Another collision on theNorth London Railway, caused by the break-down of a light- truck train, near Fairfield Road Bridge ; five passengers — one man, three women, and an infant — killed. — Died, aged 62, Richard Brinsley Knowles, essayist, son of Sheridan Knowles, dramatist. — Died, aged 69, Sir William Henry Drake, K.C.B., Supply and Transport Service. February 3. — Queen's University, Dublin, closed by absorption into the newly-established Royal Irish University, the old students simu- lating grief by a mock funeral procession pre- paratory to interring the gowns of an M. A, and B.A. with a suitable oration. — Jubilee of Chambers's Journal observed in Edinburgh by the presentation of addresses to Dr. William Chambers from publishers and booksellers, and also from his work-people, some of whom- had passed their lives in the service of the firm. — United Ireland newspaper, previously suppressed in Dublin, seized in Liverpool and confiscated as a disaffected Home Rule and League organ. 4. — Died in Earl's Court Square, aged 52, Major Sir William Palliser, C.B., and M.P. for Taunton, inventor of the powerful pro- jectile for piercing armour-plated ships bearing his name. 5. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 57, Rev. James Stormonth, compiler of a comprehensive and useful English Dictionary. 7. — Third session of the tenth Parliament of the present reign opened by Commission, intimation being made in the Royal Speech of the approaching alliance between Leopold, Duke of Albany, and the Princess Helen of Waldeck Pyrmont. The condition of Ireland at this time, it was said, " as compared with that which I described at the beginning of last year, shows signs of improvement, and en- courages the hope that perseverance in the course you have pursued will be rewarded with 1368 the happy results which are so much to be de - sired. Justice has been administered with greater efficacy ; and the intimidation which has been employed to deter occupiers of land from fulfilling their obligations, and from availing themselves of the Act of last session, shows, upon the whole a diminished force." In the evening, after an acrimonious debate, Sir Staf- ford Northcote carried, by a majority of fifty- eight, a fresh resolution for excluding Mr. Bradlaugh : " That, having regard to the reso- lutions of this House of June 22, 1880, and of April 26, 1881, and to the reports and pro- ceedings of the two Select Committees therein referred to, Mr. Bradlaugh be not permitted to go through the form of repeating the words of the oath prescribed by 29 Vic, c. 19, and 31 and 32 Vic, c. 72." The Home Secretary, on behalf of the Premier, moved the previous question. Mr. Bradlaugh was heard at the Bar, and the motion was then carried by 286 to 228. After another attempt Mr. Bradlaugh withdrew. Mr. Gladstone then stated his in- tention of moving his Resolutions on Procedure on the following Monday. The arrest in Ire- land of Messrs. Parnell, Sexton, O'Kelly, and Dillon, also the release of Mr. Sexton, were reported by the Speaker. Mr. Gray moved to refer the matter to a Select Committee, which was negatived by 174 to 45. The customary Address was debated over a week ; Mr. Sexton towards the close defending ' ' boycotting " which, however, he said was not the invention of The League. So long as it was confined within the limits of social discountenancing and negative action he entirely approved of the practice, and was prepared to justify it on moral and public grounds. 7. — The Judicial Committee of Privy Council reverse the judgment of June, 1880, in which Lord Penzance refused to pass a sentence of deprivation on Mr. Mackonochie. The ex- pression of any formal reason was in the mean- time reserved. 8. — Died at Cannes, aged 70, Berthold Auerbach, a German-Jewish philosopher and historian, author of "Tales of the Black Forest," birthplace of the novelist. 11. — Explosion, thought to have originated through the upsetting of an oil can, in Coedcae Colliery, Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire ; loss, six lives, 13. — Died in Paris, aged 68, Madame Celeste-Elliott, a dancer of repute, famous also in melodrama, and a theatrical lessee. 16.— r Corservative returned at Taunton, Mr. C. Allsopp heading the poll with 1,144 voles against, 917 given to Viscount Kilcoursie (Liberal). 17. — The House of Lords T>y a majority of 96 to 53 agree to Lord Donoughmore's motion for a Select Committee to inquire into the working of the Irish Land Act. On the 20th Lord Granville announced that Government FEBRUARY 1882 FEBRUARY would take no part in the work of the Com- mittee, while in the Commons on the same date Mr. Gladstone gave notice of a motion condemning the action of the House of Lords {See March 9th). 17. — In the Commons Mr. Gladstone moves that the orders of the day, stand postponed in favour of his Procedure Resolutions. These provided for the closing of debate by a bare majority approving the putting of the question by the Speaker ; but the question under dis- cussion was not to be decided in the affirmative unless supported by 200 members, or opposed by less than 40. Mr. Marriott gave notice of amendment against the ruling of a bare majority. 20. — Newspapers of the day are now much occupied in recording and discussing such items of intelligence from Ireland, as that Mr. Hefferman, the postmaster of Dromkeen, has been waylaid and his skull fractured so badly that his life is in danger. " The house of a farmer named Donellan, near Kilmihill, has been fired into. The tenants at Newgrove have been visited by an armed party, who made them take an oath not to pay their rents. A party of armed men were surprised at Drom- blane, near Thurles, while attacking the house of a farmer named Ryan, who was suspected of having paid his rent. They had wrecked the windows and discharged several shots when they were fired on by a police patrol in ambush and one of them wounded. The others fled. The injured man, John Dyer, is the son of a farmer at Mealiffe. He is reported to be fatally wounded. Two daring attempts to blow up houses with dynamite are reported. A heavy charge of dynamite was placed against the house of Mr. Mahon, agent to Lord Clonbrock, in county Galway, on Sunday night, and on its being fired a wall was blown down, and the windows of the house were shattered. A similar attempt was made to blow up a farm- house occupied by brothers named Lucas, at Letterkenny, the house being partly wrecked, and the inmates owing their escape from injury to the fact that they were sleeping at the bade part of the premises. A reward of ^5°° ' s offered by the Lord-Lieutenant for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons who fired at Messrs. Carter and Frootne at Belmullet on the 15th inst." 21. — A new writ for Northampton having been refused in the Commons, Mr. Bradlaugh stepped forward to the table of the House, and drawing a small volume (presumed to be a New Testament) from his pocket, repeated the words of the oath, kissed the book, and there- after took his seat. Next day a discussion on Mr. Bradlaugh's case led to his expulsion from the House by 297 to 80 votes ; a new writ was thereafter issued for Northampton. 22. — Michael Davitt, a released convict, adjudged guilty of treason-felony, returned for Meath unopposed in room of A. M ; Sullivan, resigned. The return was rejected by the House after discussion on the 28th, only 20 voting in JJavitt's favour against 208. 22. — Died in Belgrave Square, aged 87, Catherine, DowagerCountess of Essex, formerly Miss Stephens, famous for her beauty as well as for her singing and acting. 25. — Electric Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, opened by Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh without ceremony. — Died at Cannes, aged 76, the Rev. Dr. Robertson, minister of New Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh. 26.— Died, aged 75, William White, for many years an officer of the House of Commons. — Died, aged 80, Lewis Gruner, artist. — Nihilist trial concluded at St. Petersburg, ten of the criminals being sentenced to death and the remainder to various terms of banish- ment or imprisonment. — An informer named Bernard Bailey, residing for some time in the police barracks, shot dead in Skipper's Alley, Dublin, at a time when the place was crowded with people, and policemen on duty in the immediate neighbourhood. A reward of ^500 was offered but failed to elicit information. — "Moonlighters " at work in Clare County. So far as could be ascertained the facts appeared to be as follows : On the townland of Leigh- ton, within three miles of Feakle lived two large farmers — Michael Morony and James M'Namara. "It is stated that they were suspected of having pai'd their rent ; but, be this as it may, on Saturday night Morony was in M'Namara's house, after spending . the evening with him, when a. number of men were heard appruaching. It was thought they might be troops or police passing, so Morony went to the door to look out. He observed some 40 or 5° armed men on the roadside, the major portion being disguised, and at once closed the door after him and pro- ceeded stealthily to his own house, which was on the opposite side of the road. He there informed his wife that a party of 'moon- lighters ' were outside. Terrified at the announcement, Mrs. Morony bolted and barred the premises, quenched the light, and saw a party of 16 men enter M'Namara's house opposite. The gang placed M'Namara on his knees ; he was told to keep his head down and four shots were fired over him. One of the party, it is alleged, was about to fire at M'Namara but was prevented by a comrade. A son of M'Namara, a mere lad, who had con- cealed himself, was dragged from his hiding place and was twice stabbed with a bayonet, but not dangerously. The men then crossed to Morony's house, but were refused admission. Three shots were thereupon fired through the 1369 FEBRUARY MARCH window, and ultimately the door was forced and the gang entered. Mrs. Morony was stand- ing in the kitchen. One man demanded why they had been so long detained without being admitted, and in reply the poor woman stated that she was unable to open the door. One of the ruffians then placed the muzzle of a loaded gun to her head and asked where her husband was. She was brutally struck, and then reluctantly stated that her husband was in the bedroom. He was at once dragged into the kitchen, compelled to hold down his head, and struck on the eye with a butt- end of a rifle." A man said, " Morony, you paid your rent," when another stepped forward and, placing the muzzle of a rifle to Morony's leg immediately below the knee, drew the trigger and fired, shattering the bones to pieces. The "moonlighters" then left. The houses of four other tenants were next visited, shots being fired and warnings given not to pay rent to landlord Brady. Morony died from his wounds two days afterwards." A young man, Patrick Freeley, son of a farmer at Ballydrehid, Mayo, was shot dead by an armed party, which broke into the house at night, searching for the father, who had paid his rent. 27. — Her Majesty's memorial to Lord Beaconsfield (R. C. Belt, sculptor) erected in Hughenden Church. The centre of the memorial is occupied by a profile portrait carved in low relief. Beneath is a tablet bearing an inscription penned by the Queen herself: — "To the dear and honoured Memory of Benjamin Earl of Beaconsfield, this Memorial is placed by his grateful and affectionate Sovereign and friend, Victoria, R. I. ' Kings love him that speaketh right.' — Prov. xvi. — Died at Scarborough, aged 73> George Leeman, solicitor, late M.P. for York, and three times Mayor of his native city. 28. — A meeting, presided over by the Prince of Wales, held in the Banqueting Hall, St. James's Palace, with the object of obtaining public support for the proposed Royal College of Music. March 1. — Successful experiments with oil in stilling waves carried on at Peterhead, the pumping apparatus wrought by Mr. Shields making the running sea at North Harbour entrance quite smooth. — The wide historical estate of Swinton Park, North Yorkshire, owned for generations by descendants of Leofric of Mercia and Lady Godiva, afterwards by relatives of the Con- queror, and more recently by Scropes and Danbys, sold for ,£400,000, exclusive of the timber, to Mr. S. Cunliffe Lister, of Broughton Hall, Skipton-in-Craven. 2. — The Queen fired at when entering her carriage at Windsor station with the Princess Beatrice, and the criminal, Roderick Mac- 1370 lean, instantly seized. No one was injured. Tried for the offence of high treason, Maclean was found to have been a disappointed poverty- stricken person of weak intellect, and confined to an asylum during her Majesty's pleasure. Congratulatory addresses on the royal escape were unanimously adopted in both Houses of Parliament. 2. — Charles Bradlaugh re-elected for North- ampton—the third time returned as joint member for the borough. 3. — Monuments to the poet Keats and his artist friend Mr. Severn unveiled in the Pro- testant Cemetery at Rome, in presence of many English residents, the ceremony of unveiling, in absence of Lord Houghton, being presided over by Mr. T. A. Trollope and Mr. Storey, American sculptor. 4. — Anticipating, as was explained after- wards, some trouble through increasing uncer- tainty of temper, the Council of the Zoological Society of London arrange with Mr. Barnum, of New York, to accept ^2,000 as the price of their huge and aged African elephant : ' Jumbo, " a metropolitan favourite as he turned out, se- cond to few other attractions off the stage. Mr. Ruskin was among those who pleaded hard for " Jumbo's " retention in the Gardens, where he was so well known and liked by visitors of all ages, but especially by children freely permitted to ride along the walks in his howdah. — Colonel Brine and Mr. Simmons picked up by the Channel mail-packet Foam after abandoning a balloon in which they left Canter- bury to cross over to the French coast, but through a sudden change of wind drifted towards the North Sea. 6. — Died in London, aged 69, Edwin J. James, formerly M.P. for Marylebone, and an English barrister and Q.C. till 1862, when his name was removed from among the Benchers of the Middle Temple. (See p. 628.) — Servia proclaimed a kingdom, Prince Milan, of the Obrenovich family, assuming the title of Milan I. 7. — Died at Melton Mowbray, aged 82, the Right Hon. Thomas Egerton, second Earl of Wilton, prominent in sport and yachting. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 72, John Muir, D.C.L., LL.D., formerly of the Bengal Civil Service, and justly classed among the most profound Sanscrit scholars of his day. Dr. Muir was a native of Glasgow, and educated at the University there, after leaving Irvine Academy. Haileybury was attended prepara- tory to passing through the College at Fort William, Calcutta, in 1829. — Died, aged 77, Rev. Thomas Jarrett, Canon of Ely, and Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge. MARCH I8S2 MARCH 8. — Extensive floods reported from the Mississippi Valley, by which 60,000 persons were rendered homeless, and enormous quan- tities of property destroyed. — Died at Rome, aged 67, Giovanni Lanzi, Italian statesman. — Elephant " Jumbo," who had suddenly become one of the most popular characters of the day, having been thrown into the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice for the purpose of preventing his removal, Mr. Justice Chitty decides to-day that the Zoological Society had power to fell any animal as incidental to the management. IO. — Died, aged 69, Francis Wey, originator of " the feuilleton " novel. — Died at Bonyside, near Linlithgow, aged 51, Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., late Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, and chief civilian in the Challenger expedition. 11. — A party of spiritualists from London prosecute certain occult investigations at Dun- echt House for the purpose of discovering Lord Crawford's stolen body. They gave out as having seen the body carried out of the vault to a house on the estate, and ' ' after- wards removed to a field that slopes towards a wood." — Died in Ashley Place, Westminster, aged 67, Captain Hans Busk, D.C. L., zealous as a rifle volunteer in the earliest days of the move- ment, and author of "The Rifle, and How to Use It," as well as of various important contributions to periodical literature. 12. —Archbishop MacCabe, of Dublin, created a Cardinal. — - Died at Sydenham, aged 88, Rosina Wheeler, Dowager Lady Lytton, author of " Cheveley," and other novels, having entered upon an unhappy course of married life with Bulwer, afterwards Lord Lytton, in 1837. 13. — Earthquake at Costa Rica, and thousands of lives reported to have been lost. 14. — The Queen and Princess Beatrice leave England for a month's stay at Mentone. — After a trial extending over five days before Mr. Justice Hawkins in the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, the jury return a verdict of "Guilty" against George Henry Lamson, charged with the murder by poison of his young and somewhat infirm brother-in-law, Percy Malcolm John. The prisoner, twenty- nine years of age, and son of a clergyman, was a surgeon by profession, residing a year or two of late at Bournemouth and Ventnor. In the autumn of 1878, he married Miss Kate John, one of several brothers and sisters, whose parents were dead, and who had inherited * 1371 small property to be divided among them. The youngest brother, Percy Malcolm John, was a cripple, afflicted with curvature of the spine and paralysis of the lower limbs. He would have been nineteen years of age on December 18, but his death before the age of twenty-one would be a gain of £ 1,500 to his sister's husband, Lamson, who was in a des- perately embarrassed pecuniary condition. The boy was a pupil at the private boarding-school of Mr. W. H. Bedbrook, Blenheim House, Wimbledon. Here Lamson came to visit him; and on December 3, while in easy conversation with Mr. Bedbrook and the unfortunate youth, produced some capsules for taking medicine, but into which he pretended only to put sugar. He persuaded the lad to swallow one, and immediately left the house. Percy Malcolm John was taken ill a few minutes afterwards, and died in three or four hours, having been poisoned by a dose of aconitine. It was proved that Lamson had recently made purchases of that deadly ingredient. At the end of his trial, the jury were in deliberation three-quar- ters of an hour. The prisoner, on being asked the usual question after the verdict, protested his innocence, and Mr. Justice Hawkins then passed the sentence of death, which he received calmly. 15. — A poll in St. Saviour's parish, South- wark, results in the acceptance of the Bishop of Rochester's offer to foreclose the advowson for ^7,000, two satisfactory results being thus attained — the abolition of Church rates, and the restoration to the parish of its ancient name of St. Mary Overy. 20. — Continued outrages in Ireland, Sub- Inspector Doherty and a young woman being shot at when driving between Ballymote and Tubbercurry ; the son of a. gamekeeper on Lord Ardilaun's estate beaten to death and his mother grievously injured nearCIonbur ; while a poor hairdreesser's assistant named Andrews, against whom little could be alleged, was both stabbed and shot within a house in Tighe Street, Dublin. The condition of the country, it was reported, ." as revealed during the past week in the reports from the Assizes, arrests, and number of crimes and outrages perpetrated in several districts is beginning to call forth an expression of horror and alarm even from quarters in which, until recently it had been represented in a favourable light. Such events as the attempt upon the life of Mr. Carter and the atrocities committed in parts of Clare and Kerry appear to have given a shock to the strongest nerves and disturbed the calm philo- sophy with which a class of politicians were accustomed to view the state of Ireland. There is for the present a very remarkable agreement of opinion among all parties as to the general facts, but a very wide difference as to the con- clusions to be drawn from them. It is admitted on all hands that the measures taken by the Government for the repression of disorder have CC* MARCH 1882 APRIL not proved so successful as it was expected they would prove, even in districts where tem- porary success gave promise of permanent improvement." 23. — By a vote of the Commons (387 against 42) Prince Leopold's income is raised from j£i5,ooo to ,£25^000, and the contingent widowhood of the Princess Helen provided for by fixing £6, 000 a year as her annuity. — Died aged 62, William Newmarch, F.R.S., manager of Glyn's bank, a high authority on currency questions. — Colonel Burnaby crosses the Channel from Dover in the "Eclipse" balloon, descending near Caen in the evening, after a pleasant journey of about 250 miles at the average rate of thirty miles an hour. — Died at Mentone, aged 50, Colonel Lawrence Maxwell Lockhart, late of 92nd Highlanders, a Times War Correspondent, and a successful novelist. His stories appeared for most part in the pages of Blackwood's Maga- zine, the conductor, John Blackwood, also holding the writer in high regard as a personal Mend. 24. — "Jumbo" having been conveyed during night in a strong cage constructed for the purpose to St. Katherine's Docks is finally got on board the Assyrian Monarch for de- spatch to New York. . — Died at Cambridge', Massachusetts, aged 76, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the most gifted of American poets, and probably the widest read among the English-speaking people over the world. Professor Longfellow was a native of Portland, Maine-. 26. — Died, aged 45, Thomas Hill Green, Professor of Moral Philosophy, Oxford. 27. — Scandalous outrage in the Chapel, Tavistock Place, presently of disputed owner- ship, a prize fight being arranged for within the structure and the altar rails used in con- structing a ring for the pugilist blackguards, who were ultimately separated and taken into custody with their more prominent supporters-. — Died, aged 68, Jorgen Moe, Bishop of Christiansand„ Norwegian poet and compara- tive mythologist. 28. — The murder of a van-driver in Dublin named McMahon leada to an important dis- covery of arms, and' treasonable documents. 29. — Died,, aged 63, William' Menelaus, Past President of the Iron and Steel Institute. — Died at Hampstead, aged 68,. Thomas Jones Barker,, painter of battle pieces, and son of " Barker of Bath," famous years since for his "Woodman." — Foundation-stone of a Town-hall for Westminster, to be built in Little Chapel Street, laid by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts. 1372 29. — Died at Clifton, Dora Greenwell, a writer whose works in prose and poetry were highly popular in religious circles, and among the young. "30. — A. E. Herbert, of Killienkeerna, Kerry, a small landlord and agent of an Eng- lish landowner, shot dead as he was returning from Petty Sessions. — General Strelinkoff, Public Prosecutor before the Kieff Military Tribunal, shot in Odessa while resting on a bench placed along the chief promenade overlooking the sea. — The American steamship Golden City, trading between New Orleans and Cincinnati, burnt to the water's edge when approaching Memphis, and thirty-five of the passengers or crew drowned. — The six hundredth anniversary of the Sicilian Vespers massacre observed at Palermo. Although in somewhat failing health Garibaldi was noticed among the more distinguished visitors. April 1. — Collision off Cape Finisterre between the Royal Mail Company's steamer Douro and the Spanish steamer Yrurac Bat, forty lives being lost on the occasion, owing largely, it was thought, to a delay or confusion in lowering small boats. 2. — Mrs. Smythe, Dublin, shot near Col- linstown, Westmeath, while driving home from church with her brother-in-law and Lady Harriet Monck, the murderers making hardly any attempt at concealment beyond having blackened their faces. Distressed beyond en- durance by the peculiarly savage features of this outrage, Mr. Smythe, who was understood to have been the victim marked out for death, despatched at once a bitter epistle to Mr. Gladstone laying the guilt upon the Prime Minister and his supporters. Mr. Gladstone expressed his heartfelt sympathy with Mr. Smythe on the occasion of this terrible out- rage, whilst declining to enter into the per- sonal matters contained in the communication. To his tenantry on the Barbavilla estate he wrote: — "I do not go through the form of calling you friends.. Few of you are, and most of you have assented to the deed of blood, and many of you only regret that one who has passed a long life and spent his income amongst you was not the victim. Some of you know what was intended, and are guilty ia God's sight as the murderer." Mr. Smythe went on to inform his. tenants that in future they will have to pay their rents to a non- resident agent, who will have no power to make allowances, nor do anything on the property not strictly required: by law. On the same day (Sunday) an attempt was made to blow up the police barracks at Limerick with a bomb,. APRIL 1882 APRIL 3. — Self-protection in Ireland. Major Traill writes that he always went about with a guard of two policemen, one armed with a Winchester rifle, carrying twelve rounds ready and fifteen extra rounds in pouch ; the other armed with a double-barrelled gun loaded with buckshot, and eight extra rounds : he himself carried a revolver and six spare rounds, and his groom carried a revolver and five spare rounds. At no moment of the twenty-four hours was a revolver out of reach of his hand, and his wife had a revolver too, and knew how to use it. Being thus guarded against any attempts at assassination, Major Traill dryly concluded, ' ' Any man who attempts my life and lives to be tried by a jury is entitled to their merciful consideration as a brave man." — The Sculling Championship of the world and £l, won on the Tyne by Hanlan of Toronto. 6. — Died in Wellington Street, Strand, aged 71, John Francis, for fifty years publisher of the Alhenaum journal, and active other- wise in his zeal for repealing all taxes on knowledge. 7. — Died at Blac'< rock, near Dublin, aged 65, Denis Florence MacCarthy, an accomplished Nationalist poet and translator from the Spanish, author also of the " Pillar Towers of Ireland," and many other ballads of wide popularity. 9. — Died at Birch ington, near Margate, aged 54, Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti, a poet and painter, supremely devoted to the cultivation of art in its loftiest and most suggestive walks. — Died, aged 65, Samuel Gurney, late leading partner of the firm of Overend, Gurney & Co. , the profits of which were at one time a quarter of a million annually, but which firm eventually failed disastrously, with liabilities of eleven millions. (See May 10th, 1866.) IO. — The Easter Review, held this year at Portsmouth, is attended by about 22,000 volunteers and 3,000 regulars under arms. — Mr. Parnell released from Kilmainham on a parole for fourteen days to permit of his presence in Paris during the serious illness of a nephew. — Resignation of Prince Gortschakoff as Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, and appointment of M. de Giers in succession. 12. — International Fisheries Exhibition opened in Edinburgh. — A three days' Conservative demonstration commences at Liverpool, when the foundation stone is laid of a new Club-house. 14. —The Queen arrives at Windsor from the Continent, having experienced an excep- tionally rough passage between Cherbourg and Portsmouth. CC2 14. — Extensive robberies reported as having taken place at the Winter Palace, Peking, and in the national library of the Hanlin Yuen. 15. — Moscow Cathedral reported as under- mined by Nihilists preparatory to explosive material being placed there for firing during the approaching ceremonies incident to the Emperor's coronation. — Overtures entertained by Government for liberating certain of the Irish " suspects " from Kilmainham Prison. Captain O'Shea, the Member for County Clare, having written to both Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Chamberlain on the subject of evictions for arrears, and desiring Government to take the matter in hand, the Prime Minister replies to-day in writing: — " Whether there be any agreement as to the means, the end in view is of vast moment, and assuredly no resentment, personal prejudice, or false shame, or other impediment extraneous to the matter itself will prevent the Govern- ment from treading in that path which may most safely lead to the pacification of Ireland." Two days later Mr. Chamberlain wrote also in approving terms to Captain O'Shea, but cautioned him that if Government and the Liberal party generally were inclined to show greater consideration than they had- hitherto done for Irish opinion, the leaders of the Irish party must also pay more attention than they had hitherto done to public opinion as expressed in England and Scotland. 18. — The Skye crofters set on foot an organ- ization to resist any legal proceedings in the way of ejection from' their holdings. — . Died at South Kensington, which he had helped to create by hisvaiious educational art schemes, Sir Henry Cole, K.C.B., aged 74, an unwearied writer and organiser. 19. — Frederick Maclean tried at Reading assizes for attempting to shoot the Queen at Windsor (see March 2) was found not guilty on the ground of insanity, and ordered' to be confined during her Majesty's pleasure. — Died at his' residence, Down, Becken- ham, Kent, aged 73, Charles Robert Darwin, admittedly the foremost naturalist of his time, author of the "Origin of Species," "The Descent of Man," and numberless contribu- tions to learned societies filled with the results of an observing and trained judgment, yet moderate as well as modest in expression. The great naturalist was interred with honour in Westminster Abbey on the 26th, his funeral being attended by the most illustrious writers and scientific inquirers of the day. Dr. Darwin, grandson of the author of "The Botanic Garden, "was born at Shrewsbury, and educated at the public school there under Dr. Butler, afterwa.-ds Bishop of Lichfield. 20. — Mr. Redmond, Member for Wexford, "named " by the Speaker for disregarding the authority of the chair during debate on Mr, '373 APRIL 1 882 MAY Sexton's motion respecting Mr. Clifford Lloyd's conduct, and suspended for the sitting by a. vote of 207 to 1 2. 22. — Died at his residence, Eaton Place, aged 76, the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Erskine Perry, late Chief Justice of Bombay and last member of the Indian Council, son of the late James Perry, editor of the Morning Chronicle. 24. — The Budget introduced by Mr. Glad- stone, who estimated the revenue for 1882 — 3 at £84,935,000, and the expenditure at £84,630,000, being nearly ,£900,000 less than previous year. He proposed to raise the carriage duty from 15s. to 21s. per year, and from 42s. to 63s., to ease the highway rates. 25. — Mr. Spencer Walpole, son of the ex- Home Secretary, and formerly Inspector of Fisheries, gazetted Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man. — Hanoi, the capital of Tonquin, captured by the French forces under Colonel Riviere. 26. — The King and Queen of the Nether- lands arrive at Windsor Castle as guests of her Majesty. — Mr. Redmond, Member for Wexford, having introduced a Land Bill for the purpose of permitting tenants to get rid of all arrears up to the passing of the Land Act (Aug. 30, 1881), and providing with Irish Church Fund for payment of the residue, Mr. Gladstone anticipates what was apparently an Opposition movement by commending the moderate and practical tone of the scheme, and indeed wel- comed the Bill as an authentic expression on the part of Mr. Redmond's friends of a wish to make the working of the Land Act an effectual security for the peace of the country. His analysis of the Bill was minute and suggestive, but his promises with reference to it some- what vague — a circumstance probably to be accounted for by the fact that the real authors of the measure were at the moment confined in Kilmainham Gaol on the ground of having thwarted an Act which the Ministry itself seemed not disinclined to regard as a failure. Previous rumours of discord in the Cabinet now assumed a more positive shape, and indeed were given effect to within a few hours. — Died at Redhill, Surrey, James Rice, joint-author, with Walter Besant, of various popular novels. — Died, aged 87, Mrs. Lilly, the Queen's monthly nurse at the birth of all her nine children. 27. — Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont married at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. — Died at Concord, Massachusetts, aged 79, from the effects of a cold caught when attending the funeral of Longfellow, Ralph 1374 Waldo Emerson, one of the most distinguished of American transcendental philosophers. In 1829 Emerson was a Unitarian parson in Boston, from which position he retired after three years' work, devoting himself henceforward to literature and lecturing. In 1833 he visited this country, mainly to have a personal inter- view with Thomas Carlyle. 28. — Dissatisfied, it was given out, with negotiations presently pending between Govern- ment and the Irish ' ' suspects " in Kilmainham jail, Earl Cowper resigns his office of Viceroy, and Mr. Forster the Chief Secretaryship of Ireland. The Cabinet, however, did not appear to be taken by any surprise, as Earl Spencer and Lord Frederick Cavendish, younger brother of the Marquis of Hartington, were at once nominated to the vacant offices. — Mr. Parnell's offer to the Liberal party. In a letter to Captain O'Shea from Kilmain- ham, the Member for Cork describes the kind of settlement that might be approved of in Ireland regarding tenants in arrear with rent, and which, if adopted, he had every confidence — "a confidence shared by my colleagues — that the exertions which we should be able to make strenuously and unremittingly would be effective in stopping outrages and intimidation of all kinds." In an important closing para- graph, omitted in the copy of this letter first made public by Captain O'Shea, Mr. Parnell declared that if the suggestions he made could be carried out as a. practical settlement of the land question, it would, " I feel sure (he wrote), enable us to co-operate cordially for the future with the Liberal party in forwarding Liberal principles." — George H. Lamson hanged in Wands- worth jail for poisoning his brother-in-law, Percy M. John, the convict having received a respite to this date on the plea that important new evidence was to be forthcoming from America. 29. — Serious gale in London and the southern counties of England, causing much damage to foliage of chestnuts and limes in the public parks. — Died, aged 81, John N. Darby, originally a barrister, but founder in 1827 of the sect known as " Plymouth Brethren." 30. — Mr. Forster, as he explains next month during the debate regarding the Kilmainham "suspects," verbally informs Captain O'Shea that the imprisoned members of Parliament should only be released either when Ireland was pacified, or the prisoners bad given a pledge that they would observe the law, or when the Government was armed with fresh powers by a new Crimes Bill. May 1. — Debate on Procedure Rules re- sumed in the Commons, various amendments being lost, and the main question adjourned for discussion. MAY 1882 MAY 2. — The three members of Parliament, Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and O'Kelly, released from Kilmainham jail. — Important Government announcement regarding the imprisoned Irish members of Parliament and future Irish business. Earl Granville informed the Lords that the late Viceroy's resignation was not founded on any difference of policy from her Majesty's Govern- ment. Further, that although it was not the opinion of the Government that the Protection of Life and Property (Ireland) Act had been a failure, it was not their intention, as at present advised, to ask Parliament to renew it. They would, however, submit to Parliament a measure which they thought would be the means of preserving life and property in Ireland ; and they would make a proposition on the subject of the arrears of rent and the Bright clauses. They had determined to dis- charge from prison the Irish members now confined ; and the cases of other persons now in jail as suspects were under consideration. — In the Commons, before the Orders of the Day were called on, Mr. Gladstone appealed to the House for permission to make his state- ment earlier in the evening than was originally intended. The motive, he said, which had induced Government to accept Earl Cowper's resignation was a desire that the Executive should be carried on with the highest degree of authority attaching to the direct action of a Cabinet Minister. On the second point he announced that directions had been sent that day to Ireland to release the three members of Parliament imprisoned at Kilmainham since October, and to examine the list of the other prisoners with a view to the release of those who were not believed to be associated with the commission of any crime. This statement was cheered from below the gangway on the Liberal side, but was received in silence by the Pamellite members ; and when Mr. Gladstone went on to say that the Government had taken this step on their own responsibility, there was a laugh from the Opposition. By this he meant that they had acted on the information they had gathered from all quarters, without any concert or negotiation with others, and solely in pursuance of the principle they had always acted on of taking the course best fitted to maintain law and order in Ireland. This act had entailed on the Government the resigna- tion of Mr. Forster, who, he said, amid loud cheers from the Opposition, had declined to share in the responsibility for it. When he had obtained her Majesty's permission, Mr. Forster would himself explain to the House the reasons for his resignation. As to legisla- tion, Mr. Gladstone said the Government, though they had not formed any .final judg- ment, did not contemplate at the present moment the renewal of the Protection of Person and Property Act, but as soon as the Procedure 'Resolution and the necessary financial business were got out of the way they would bring in a bill to strengthen the ordinary law and to meet the difficulties which had occurred in the administration of justice, and no measure mentioned in the Queen's Speech would be allowed to stand in its way. He also said that if it should appear that peace was threatened by the secret societies fresh measures would be taken against them. 2. — Opening of an exhibition of ships' models at Fishmongers' Hall by the Duke of Edinburgh. — Twenty-one lives lost by an explosion at Baxterley Colliery, Warwickshire ; and seven by an explosion at Morley, near Leeds. A. — The first sod of the new canal dividing the Isthmus of Corinth turned by the King of the Hellenes, and the rock where Nero began cutting the Isthmus blown to pieces by dynamite discharged by the Queen. 5. — Sir M. Hicks-Beach gives notice in the Commons, that " Having regard to the critical condition of Ireland and the recent statements of her Majesty's Government, the House is of opinion that the paramount interests of the country require that the Irish policy of the Government should be forthwith submitted to the consideration of Parliament." Mr. Glad- stone said, in answer to an appeal, that, recog- nising the scope and importance of the motion, he would give Monday for its discussion, and as he could not expect it to be finished in one night he would not fix a morning sitting for Tuesday. Mr. Chaplin asked whether the "secret information" on which the Govern- ment determined to release the suspects was communicated to Mr. Forster ; to which Mr. Gladstone replied that it was mostly docu- mentary, and these documents had reached him through Mr. Forster. Mr. Gibson asked whether there was any objection to lay that documentary evidence before the House, to which Mr. Gladstone replied that it was a point of honour, and that he would rather leave the members affected — and especially the member for Cork — to make their own declara- tions unfettered by any statement on his part. 6. — The Queen and Princess Beatrice went in state from Windsor to Epping Forest, where they were received by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, the Duke of Connaught (Ranger of the Forest), &c. After presentation of an Address from the Corporation of London, the Queen declared the .Forest dedicated to the use and enjoyment of the public for all time. • — Michael Davitt liberated from Portland Prison and accompanied by Mr. Parnell to Vauxhall station, where the chiefs of the League were met by Frank Byrne and other friends. Mrs. Byrne, it was afterwards stated in evidence, was believed to be "the brave I37S MAY 1882 MAY little woman " who had some day or two since smuggled over the weapons to be used by the Phoenix Park murderers. 6. — Phoenix Park Murder Day, the double crime then and there committed being memor- able for all after-time as an event peculiarly atrocious and cowardly. To-day (Saturday) Lord Frederick Cavendish, the new Chief Secretary, arrived in Dublin to be present at the formal entry of the new Viceroy, Lord Spencer. During the day he was engaged in official business at the Castle. The Lord Lieutenant left about six o'clock, and rode along with an aide-de-camp to the park with- out attracting attention. The Chief Secretary and Under-Secretary were to have dined with his Excellency. Lord F. Cavendish left the Castle on foot shortly afterwards, as he wished to have a walk. Mr. Burke left the town subsequently, and on reaching the Park- gate hired a car from an old man and drove on. He had not proceeded far when he over- took Lord F. Cavendish, and both walked on together until they came opposite the Vice- regal Lodge. It was a bright summer even- ing, between seven and eight o'clock — scarcely less light than at noonday. There were many people in the Patk. Lord Frederick Caven- dish and Mr. Burke stepped along the princi- pal road — a wide highway for walking and driving, with flat grassy stretches at each side, and trees here and, there. It seems almost incredible that in such a place, a park full of people, and at such a time, two men could have been suddenly set upon by armed assas- sins, and literally cut to pieces, without any one noticing what was going on, and without any opposition being offered to the escape of the murderers. Yet that is precisely what did hap- pen. Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke had got to within a few yards of the Phcenix Monument ; they were within sight of the windows of the Viceregal Lodge, which lay on their right a few hundred yards away. Some boys on bicycles who passed them were the last to see them alive. The bicyclists drove round the Phoenix Monument, passed a car with some four n,en on it driving rapidly away, and came back to find Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke lying on the ground dead, and covered with wounds. Both were in large pools of blood. On examination it was found that Mr. Burke had received several stabs near the region of the heart, and that his throat was cut almost completely across. His clothes were much torn, and' his hands bore marks of a fierce and protracted encounter with his assailants. Lord Frederick had been stabbed in several places about the chest ; one wound being through the right lung, and very deep. A boy named Jacob stated that, while bird-nesting in the park, he saw, about 200 yards from where he was, near the road, a group of men who seemed to be wrestling. He thought they were roughs, and did not pay much attention to them. He then saw two 1376 men fall to the ground, and the others, four in number, jump on a car and drive rapidly off. A Mr. Maguire and a friend, riding on tricycles, had passed Mr. Burke and Lord F. Cavendish shortly before the murder. They were then on their way along the main road through the park. Returning, the tricyclists found the Chief Secretary lying on the main road in the centre of the carriage-way, and Mr. Burke prostrate upon the pathway. The work of blood must have been done in a couple of minutes. The struggle was also witnessed by Captain Greatrex, of the Royal Dragoons, stationed at Island Bridge Barracks, who walked through the gate nearest the barracks into the park, and observed a car waiting. He walked on, and near the scene of the murder saw the struggle, but had no suspicion that a murder was being perpetrated. He saw four men get up on the car and drive away. They went through the Island Bridge gate and into town. The news of the assassinations, though made known at a late hour on Saturday in official circles and at some of the clubs, only became publicly known on Sunday morning, when it spread rapidly throughout the country. At first it was received with incredulity, which was succeeded by feelings of intense indignation and sorrow. In almost every town crowds collected in front of newspaper offices, and people gathered in small knots to discuss the dreadful news. References were made to the crime in the prayers and sermons at many of the churches. When the news first reached Mr. Gladstone on Saturday night he was at the Austrian Embassy, where, with Mrs. Glad- stone, he had been dining. Sir William Har- court and the Earl of Kimberley were also guests of the Ambassador and Countess Karolyi. The terrible intelligence caused profound consternation and dismay, the party immediately breaking up. Lord Hartington, who was one of the guests of Lord Northbrook, First Lord of the Admiralty, to meet the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, c'id not hear the sad intelligence till he left. On Sunday, the Cabinet, hastily summoned, met at three o'clock in the afternoon, and remained in deliberation until half-past six. The following paragraph appeared in Sunday's Court Circu- lar: " Her Majesty, received last night with deep grief the horrible news of the assassina- tion of Lord Frederick Cavendish, Chief Secretary, and of Mr. Burke s Under-Secretary for Ireland." Innumerable messages of sym- pathy and visits of condolence were received at Devonshire House. Mrs. Gladstone, dressed in deep mourning, called on Lady Frederick Cavendish- on Monday morning. The- Prince and Princess of Wales also called, and the Queen sent a- message of condolence. A large number of members of Parliament and others also called at the Premier's official residence. — Thomas Ivory, advocate, Edinburgh, a religious enthusiast, commits suicide by throw- ing h ; mself over the Dean Bridge. MAY 1882 MAY 7. — A manifesto issued in name of the Irish Parliamentary party, and signed by Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and Davitt, thus refers to the Phoenix Park murders : — " To the People of Ireland, — On the eve of what seemed a bright future for our country, that evil destiny which has apparently pursued us for centuries has struck another blow at our hopes, which cannot be exaggerated in its disastrous consequence. In this hour of sorrowful gloom we venture to give an expression ofourprofoundest sympathy with the people of Ireland in the calamity which has befallen our cause through a horrible deed, and to those who had determined at the last hour that a policy of conciliation should supplement that of terrorism and national dis- trust. We earnestly hope that the attitude and action of the whole Irish people will assure the world that an assassination such as that which has startled us almost to the abandonment of hope for our country's cause is deeply and religiously abhorrent to their every feeling and instinct. . . . We feel that no act has ever been perpetrated in our country during the exciting struggles for social and political rights of the past fifty years that has so stained the na'me of hospitable Ireland as this cowardly and un- provoked assassination of a friendly stranger, and that until the murderers of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke are brought to justice that stain will sully our country's name." Mr. Parnell was further reported to have said : — "I am pained and horrified more than I can express at the terrible and startling news, which I only heard about at breakfast- time this morning. I think the murders form one of the most atrocious and unprovoked crimes ever committed in any country, and their effect must certainly be most damaging to the interests of the Irish people." (See also May 15th.) 8. — In moving the adjournment of the Commons, as had been done by Earl Granville in the Lords, Mr. Gladstone,, who rose amid a deathlike stillness and spoke with evident emotion, said : — " I rise for a purpose that the feeling of the House ean anticipate, and it is to move the immediate adjournment of the House. It is a course, I" believe, which will be felt to be in conformity with what has been done on previous occasions when sad events have come home to the mind of Parliament and the public. I believe that this occasion, made known on Saturday night and yesterday morning, is unparalleled in our history — un- paralleled for the blackness of the crime which has been committed— unparalleled, as I fully believe, for the horror which it has caused in the entire people ofthe United Kingdom. In the death of Mr. Burke we are robbed of one of the ablest,, most upright, most experienced, most eminent members of that Civil Service to which we owe so much for the government of the country. But, Sir, the hand of the assassin has come still nearer home, and though I find it difficult to say the words, yet say I must, that one of the very noblest hearts has ceased to beat, and has ceased at the very moment when it was just devoted to the service of Ireland, full of love for that country, full of hope for the future, and full of capacity to render her service. As to the future govern- ment of the country, all previous arrangements must be reconsidered and to some extent recast." 8. — A Proclamation issued by the Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland offering a reward of ^10,000 to any person who shall, within three months, give such information as shall lead to the conviction- of the murderers, and a further sum of j£l,ooo for such private information as shall lead to the same result, with' a free pardon to any person not the actual'perpetrator of the murder, and full protection in any part of her Majesty's dominions. Many arrests were made, but the briefest examination convinced the authorities that the police were not even on the track of the murderers. It was thought the drive out of the park had been skilfully pre-arranged to baffle justice regarding the precise route taken to the city, and that the gang might have caught a Cork train or left by a steamer from the North Wall for Liverpool. — The remains of Mr. Burke interred in Glasnevin Cemetery. Large crowds of people assembled along the line of route, the shops were almostwholly closed; and mourning was generally worn. Many people were visibly affected. Mr. Burke was born in 1829. He was the eldest son- of the late Mr. William Burke, of Knocknagur,- county Galway, his mother, Fanny Xaveria Tucker, having been a niece of the late Cardinal Wiseman. His father resided at Bruges, and he himself was educated in Belgium and Germany, becoming a proficient linguist. When Sir Thomas Red- ington was Under-Secretary in Ireland he appointed Mr. Burke his private secretary and nominated him to a junior clerkship in the Castle. He was private secretary to Lord Carlingford, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Hart- ington, while they were Chief Secretaries for Ireland. Mr. Burke was a Roman Cathnlic, and heir-presumptive of his, cousin, Sir John • Lionel Burke. — Died, aged 56, Sir Edward Dashwood, Premier Baronet of Great Britain. 9. — In the Commons leave is given to the Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms to plead in the action brought against him by Mr. Bradlaugh for assault in removing him from the precincts of the House in August last. — Mi". G. O. Trevetyan appointed Secretary for Ireland, Government being at the moment disinclined to accept the continuance of Mr. Forster's services as a temporary arrangement. 11, — The remains of Lord Frederick Caven- dish interred in the churchyard of Edensor, 1377 MAY 1882 MAY near Chatsworth. The body was despatched from Dublin on Sunday evening, the whole route from the Viceregal Lodge to the steam- boat being crowded with people whose de- meanour was most respectful and sympathetic. On arrival at Chatsworth on Monday morning the body was placed in the private chapel, where the tenantry and inhabitants were ad- mitted to view it. The features of the deceased were calm and placid, the only scar visible being a slight one across the nose. A beauti- ful floral cross was placed over the body, and the Queen sent a splendid wreath. The coffin was not fastened down till just before the funeral ceremony, which was attended by a very large concourse of persons, many of whom arrived by special trains. Mr. Glad- stone, Lord Granville, representatives of the Queen, Prince of Wales, and other members of the Royal family, together with many pro- minent members of Parliament, arrived by special train at Rowsley about one o'clock, and drove to Chatsworth in vehicles sent to meet them. The coffin lid was removed for a few minutes to allow the many members of Parliament who were anxious to do so to take a last look at Lord Frederick's features. The procession was then formed, the Duke's tenantry carrying the coffin to the hearse. Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville were associated with the Duke of Devonshire, the Marquis of Hartington, and the other brothers of the deceased as chief mourners. Following the relatives of the deceased came the mem- bers of Parliament who had arrived, a large number of deputations from all parts of the country bringing up the rear. The path through the park was lined with people, of whom several thousands were present on the arrival of the procession at the gates of the churchyard. 11. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 72, John Brown, M.D., LL.D., descended from a noted family of Dissenting preachers, but otherwise of world-wide fame as author of "Rab and his Friends," and several delightful volumes of essays, professional and literary. — Sir W. Harcourt moves for leave to bring in a Prevention of Crime Bill for Ireland. This was carried by 327 to 22 Votes, and read a first time. The Bill provided for the creation of special tribunals composed of judges of the Superior Courts, who would sit without juries ; gave the police the right of search at any time in proclaimed districts, and to arrest any per- sons unable to give an account of themselves ; power to control newspapers, compel the at- tendance of witnesses, and conferred other exceptional powers on the Executive during continuance of the Act, which was limited to three years. It was also proposed to rescind the Alien Act. In his opening statement Sir William declined to regard the Phcenix Park tragedy of last Saturday as an isolated event, n?8 but judged it rather to be the inevitable out- come of secret societies and unlawful combina- tions which spread their influence over the country and prevented the people from ex- pressing their real feelings. Mr. Forster said that though there had been differences on various points between himself and his col- leagues, he had never been in any way thwarted with regard to the administration of any act which had been agreed to by the Cabinet. lie was glad that the Bill had been brought in and that the Government was determined to press on the measure before other business. He certainly thought some of the provisions stringent, but believed they were required by the present condition of things in Ireland. In expressing approval of the Bill, Mr. Bright pointed out that it would not affect innocent people, and any inconvenience it might occasion should be cheerfully submitted to for the sake of restoring order. Mr. Parnell contended that crime gave the Government no warrant to place the lives and liberties of the Irish people at the mercy of such judges as Chief Justice May, and he further predicted that it would lead to one hundred-fold more disaster than the coercive policy which had already failed. Mr. Dillon described the late Chief Secretary's speech as "blood-thirsty," but afterwards with- drew the expression. Mr. Goschen spoke of certain Irish members as "steeped to the lip in treason," but afterwards substituted a milder phrase having reference to those who had signed the No Rent manifesto, and who had publicly declared that they would "not take off their coats " for the Land Question alone. 12. — Suspicious canister wrapped in brown paper found attached to the rails at the back of the Mansion House, and other preparations detected for an explosion. A reward of ^500 was offered for the apprehension of persons concerned, but no arrests were made. -~ Died suddenly at Moscow, aged 64, General Kaufman, Russian Governor of Turkestan. — Mr. Forster visits his constituents at Bradford nominally in support of Mr. Holden's candidature, but avails himself of the oppor- tunity for giving his version of the causes which led to his separation from the leaders of the Liberal party whilst remaining as firmly at- tached as ever to its principles. He distinctly objected to the release of Mr. Parnell and his friends without having reasonable belief that they would not or could not, when they were released, do the things for which they had been shut up. The difference with his colleagues, however, was not one of principle, both parties being anxious to preserve order. 13. — Owing to the disturbed state of Egypt two ironclads are ordered to proceed to Alexandria. 14.— Died, aged 74, Col. J. T. Smith, R.E., F.R.S., a learned Master of the Mint MAY It MAY at Madras and Calcutta, who had deeply studied the intricate subject of Indian cur- rency. 14.— Died, Dr. Chadwick, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham. 15. — A. letter purporting to be of this day's date, and signed by Mr. Parnell, was printed by the Times in facsimile, 18th April, 1887, and led to much bitter controversy both in and out of the House of Commons, the Member for Cork indignantly repudiating all connec- tion with the document, which read as follows : ~" J 5/5/82- I am not surprised at your friend's anger, but he and you should know that to denounce the murders was the only course open to us. To do that promptly was plainly our best policy. But you can tell him and all others concerned that, though I regret the accident of Lord F. Cavendish's death, I cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no more than his deserts. You are at liberty to show him this, and others whom you can trust also, but let not my address be known. He can write to House of Commons. Yours very truly, Chas. S. Parneli,." The Times was careful enough to point out that the body of the manuscript "is apparently not in Mr. Pamell's handwriting, but the signature and the ' Yours very truly ' unquestionably are so ; and if any member of Parliament doubts the fact, he can easily satisfy himself on the matter by comparing the handwriting with that of Mr. Parnell in the book containing the signatures of members when they first take their seats in the House of Commons." To comprehend the drift of this criminatory epistle the Times also wrote that it was right and necessary to explain that the " Dear Sir" was believed to be Egan, and that " the letter was addressed to him in order to pacify the wrath of his subordinate instruments in the Phcenix Park murders — then (on May 15, nine days after the tragedy) still at large and undetected. The anxiety of the writer to keep his address unknown will be noted, and is curious in connection with a belief prevailing at the time that Mr. Parnell was so impressed by the danger he had incurred by denouncing the assassinations as to have applied for the protection of the police on the plea that his life was in peril." Speaking on the motion for adjournment on the 8th, Mr. Parnell said that he wished to express his belief that the crime had been committed by men who absolutely detested the cause with which he had been associated, and who had devised that crime and carried it out as the deadliest blow in their power against his hopes and the new course which the Government had resolved upon. — Mr. Gladstone introduces his new Irish Land Bill, admitting that in its essential features it followed the lines of Mr. Redmond's measure in adopting the principle of compul- sion and gift. Substantially it was limited to the smaller class of holders, not over £30 Griffith's valuation, and required that the tenant should have paid the year's rent from November, 1880, to November, 1881. These conditions being fulfilled, the State would advance, as a free gift, the equivalent of one year's rent, and all arrears previous to that were cancelled as between tenant, and land- lord. Thus, by the payment in full of one year's rent, the poorer class of tenants might clear off all arrears and start afresh. To carry out this scheme under which, as Mr. Gladstone urged, landlords would profit equally with their impoverished tenants, about £2,000,000 he thought might be required, and for three- fourths of this sum the Irish Church Fund surplus was available. At some later date it might be necessary to apply to Parliament for a grant, but in that case the amount required would not exeeed ^500,000. The House gave a languid kind of acquiescence to the Bill without much discussion at this stage. 15. — A combined Anglo-French fleet sails from Suda for Alexandria, where serious danger was gathering round European residents through plots devised by Arabi and others to create discontent between the Khedive and the Sultan. Trie Egyptian troops at once began to throw up batteries and earthworks, while discontented Arabs within the city were hourly busy stirring up a hostile feeling against foreigners. On the 30th Consul Cookson wrote that the town was in continual danger of being stormed by the soldiery, who actually had cartridges served out to be used against Europeans. "The crisis is only suspended, but all elements of danger which existed yesterday remain to-day. The small squadron in port could only silence the fire of the Egyptian forts, and when these forts are disabled then would commence a period of great danger for Europeans, who would be at the mercy of soldiers exasperated by defeat. Every day's delay increases the dangerous temper of the soldiers and their growing defiance of discipline." 16.— -Prosecution of the Freiheil newspaper undertaken by the Home Office for a "scandal- ous libel" respecting the assassinations in Dublin. — Thomas Fury, who had been convicted on his own confession for the murder of Maria Fitzsimmons, at Sunderland, in 1869, executed at Durham. — Discussion in the Commons regarding the release of Irish " suspects," under the terms of what came to be known as the " Kilmainham Treaty." Replying to a sharp attack made by Mr. Balfour, who had moved an adjournment of the House, Mr. Gladstone persisted that Mr. Parnell knew nothing of his intended release until it actually took place, nor did he know anything of the Government intention with respect to arrears beyond what all the world was aware of after the debate on 1379 MAY 1882 JUNE Mr. Redmond's Bill. Earlier in the after- noon when pressed by various members of the Opposition, Mr. Gladstone contended that Mr. Parnell's letter of April 28th was evidence of a new frame of mind, and that the Member for Cork, therefore, could no longer be ' ' reason- ably suspected." Half-an-hour after he re- ceived Mr. Pamell's proffer of support to Liberal measures he wrote to Mr. Forster stating that it was of a nature he had no right either to expect or accept. The afternoon's debate closed in anger but without a division. 18. — The new Eddystone Lighthouse lighted up for the first time by the Duke of Edinburgh, acting in his official capacity as Master of the Trinity House. — Debate on second reading of the Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Bill, which was carried next night by a majority of 383 to 45. — • Died at Sully, Isle of Man, aged, it was said, 107, Thomas Anderson, a native of Cumberland. 19. — The proposed opening of public museums and galleries on Sundays negatived in the Commons by 208 to 83 votes. — The Railway Pier at Queensborough destroyed by fire, which also extended during the night to the telegraph offices and to various trucks laden with valuable merchandise in transit. 21. — The Guion steamer Alaska arrived at New York, having completed the passage from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in 7 days 4 hours and 42 minutes, the shortest time recorded. — Died, aged 63, William Henry Fitzroy, sixth Duke of Grafton, a member of the diplomatic service in early life. 22. — The new bell, "Great Paul," for St. Paul's Cathedra], weighing seventeen tons, which was cast at Loughborough, arrived at its destination, after having been eleven days on the journey of 112 miles by road. — The St. Gothard Railway opened between Lucerne and Milan. 23. — For the first time during thirty-s.ix years the House of Common continues its sittings over the Derby Day, the race on the occasion being won by the Duke of West- minster's Sholover. The cause was a. re- newed discussion on the Irish Crime Bill. An assurance was given that such sitting would not be locked on as a precedent. 24. — Died in London, aged 73, the Rev. William Hanna, D.D., son-in-law and biogra- pher of Dr. Chalmers. — Died, aged 54, Rt. Hon. Sir John Holker, Lord Justice of Appeal. 25. — Mr. Joseph Cowen's motion dis- approving of restrictions on the free expression of opinion embodied in the Crimes Bill rejected by 344 to 47 votes. 1383 25. — Parliament adjourns for Whitsun holi- days till 1st June. 26. — Died, aged 61, Joseph Lemuel Chester, D.C.L., an enthusiastic American genealogist. — Rev. Ernest Wilberforce, Vicar of Seaforth and Sub-Almoner to the Queen, appointed Bishop of the newly-created see of Newcastle-on-Tyne. — The Select Committee on Electric Lighting recommend that the business of the Electric Lighting Companies should be secured to them for fifteen years, and at the expiration of that time their plant might be taken over by local authorities without compensation for future profits. — Albert Young, a railway clerk at Don- caster, sentenced at the Old Bailey to ten years penal servitude for sending a letter to Sir Henry Ponsonby, threatening to murder the Queen. 29.— Abbey Park, Leicester, opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. 31. — A new steerable balloon tried with varying success at Charlottenburg, near Berlin, the first experiments being considered success- ful, but later on the envelope burst, while the car mechanism was also injured. June 1. — When the Commons resumed sitting to-day after a brief Whitsuntide recess, Mr. Gladstone indicated that while the Govern- ment were prepared to make certain minor concessions in Committee on the Crimes Hill, yet its chief enactments would be maintained substantially as the Home Secretary had ex- plained them. Mr. Horace Davey (Christ- church) proposed to omit treason and treason- felony from the list of offences triable without a jury, but Sir W. Harcourt contended in reply that the Bill was aimed at secret societies, whose object was not agrarian reform, but revolution and the subversion of Imperial authority through murder, outrage and arson. Sir William could not honestly say that, he believed there was a fair chance of an indictment for treason succeeding before a common jury, and to accept the amendment might induce Irish people to think that treason was a crime which Parliament looked on with less disfavour than ordinary crime. The new Crimes Bill came up for discussion in one form or another almost every evening during this month, and on to Ilth July, when it passed through Committee, was reported, read a third time, and passed. 2. — During a great strike of ironworkers in the United States a train containing negroes to fill up the labour njarket is. boarded by a mob and the blacks severely beaten. Judge Pillsbury of the Illinois Appellate Court, one of the passengers, was shot dead. JUNE 1882 JUNE 2. — Died in his island home of Caprera, aged 75, General Giuseppe Garibaldi, a heroic worker in the cause of Italian freedom, and personally the most popular commander who ever led on her armies to victory. The General had been in but poor health for some months, so that the end of the aged patriot's career was not quite unexpected. It was at first intended that his body should be brought to Rome, and that a public funeral on an imposing scale should be solemnised, but from motives of policy this ceremony was postponed, and it having been found impossible to comply with his own wish for cremation, Garibaldi was buried on the 8th in the cemetery of the island of Caprera. 3. — Died at Bremen, aged 56, Dr. Reinhold Pauli, Professor of History at Gbttingen, and author of many popular historical works, Pictures from Old England among the rest. — Died, aged 47, James Thomson, pessimist poet, author of The City of Dreadful Night, and other harrowing pieces, the fruit in some respect of his own bitter experiences in life. 5. — Mr. Justice Bowen sworn in as a Lord Justice of Appeal, in the place of Lord Justice Holker. 6. — The Rev. H. Dodwell, detained at Broadmoor Asylum for shooting at the Master of the Rolls, makes a murderous attack on Dr. Orange's superintendent, the weapon used being a large stone. Dodwell was luckily overpowered before his purpose was effected. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 69, Professor James Spence, appointed to the Chair of Surgery in 1864. 8. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 78, John A. Fullerton, an enterprising publisher, and largely engaged in his day with what is known as the "number" trade. — Walter Bourke, of Rahassan, County Galway, and Corporal Wallace, of the Dragoon Guards, who was acting as his escort, shot- dead near Gort. — Died at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, aged 75, John Scott Russell, C.E., F.R.S., a naval architect and shipbuilder of high repute for novelty in design, who planned the Great Eastern steamship, and built up the vast dome over the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. Mr. Scott Russell was a native of Clydesdale, and one of the three original promoters of the Great Exhibition of 1851. IO. — M. J. Simmons involuntarily crosses the Channel in a balloon, out of which Sir Claude de Crespigny had been thrown and severely injured before it suddenly shot up with the remaining aeronaut. Mr. Simmons landed with some difficulty near Arras, and was most hospitably entertained. 11. — A rising of the Arab population against Europeans takes place to-day at Alexandria, in the course of which four Englishmen were killed, the British Consul, Mr. Cookson, C.B., and the Italian and Greek Consuls wounded, while over 250 other Europeans, chiefly Maltese and Greeks, were reported to have been murdered. 12. — In the House of Lords, the second reading of the Bill for legalising marriages with a deceased wife's sister, introduced by the Earl of Dalhousie, and opposed by the Bishop of Peterborough, was thrown out by 132 non- contents to 128 contents. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Leopold voted for the Bill, but the Duke of Cambridge and the Archbishop of Canterbury left the House without voting. ■ — The Guion steamship Alaska surpasses even her own previous great feat by making the voyage from New York to Queenstown in six days and twenty-two hours. 15. — Died at Paris, aged '72, General de Cissey, Minister of War under M. Thiers. 16. — The Council of the Society of Arts award their Albert Medal to M. Louis Pasteur, of the Institute of France, for his " researches in connection with fermentation, the preserva- tion of wines, and the propagation of zymotic diseases in silkworms and domestic animals." — Iowa State desolated by a tornado, the path of which was calculated to extend over 150 miles, with an average breadth of half a mile. Many people were killed, and entire trains blown off the rails. 17. — A seizure of arms and ammunition, far exceeding any made since the first out- break of Fenianism, effected within a stable in Rydon Crescent, Clerkenwell. When search was made 400 stands of rifles were found, twenty-five cases of revolvers, several kegs of powder, and about 100,000 rounds of ammunition — all believed to belong to Her Majesty. A carpet-planner, named Thomas Walsh, was arrested in connexion with the discovery, and being found guilty of unlawful possession at the August Clerkenwell Sessions was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. — The Prince of Wales unveils the statue of Sir Rowland Hill (Onslow Ford, sculptor), erected by public subscription at the Royal Exchange, Cornhill. — First day's sale at Messrs. Christie, Manson, & Co. of a portion of the contents of Hamilton Palace. The eighty pictures offered brought £43,200, the highest price (4,900 guineas) being given by Mr. Beckett Denison for kubens's "Daniel in the Lions' Den." The Italian pictures, 102 in number, realised £26,802 10s., many of them being keenly competed for by representatives of the Louvre and National Gallery. 1381 JUNE 1882 JULY 17. — Died at Edinburgh, aged 85, John Gordon, LL.D. of Edinburgh, late H.M. Inspector of Schools. 20. — Died, aged 69, W. Bodham Donne, of Mattishall, Norfolk, Examiner of Plays in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, editor of the letters of George III. to Lord North, and well known otherwise as a contributor to periodicals. 21. — Nihilist arrest in St. Petersburg ; a large quantity of dynamite being found in their possession and also a plan of the Kremlin. 22. — Died at London, aged 69. Bence Jones, of Lissalan, a prominent Irish agri- culturist. 23. — The Prince and Princess of Wales, presently guests of Sir Titus Salt, at Saltaire, open the New Technical Schools in Bradford, erected at a cost of .£30,000, 24. — Archdeacon Blomfield consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Colchester in the Cathedral of St. Albans. 27. — At the Auction Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, the advowson, or next presentation to the living of Feckenham, Worcestershire, having been offered for sale, the President of the Curates' Alliance opposed the transaction with such effect that only a derisive bid of is. 6d. was obtained. 28.— Died, aged 80, Mr. Turle, for fifty- eight years organist of Westminster Abbey. 29. — Three more murders reported from Ireland. J. H. Blake, agent for Lord Clanricarde, and his servant Keane, shot dead on a car near Loughrea; while John McCausland, of Belfast, was killed on a car with a scythe, and his servant injured. — Died, aged 78, Joseph Aloysius Hansom, architect, inventor of the " Hansom cab." 30. — Charles Guiteau hanged at Washington for the murder of President Garfield. — Frederick Schwalm found guilty at the Old Bailey of publishing a scandalous libel on the late Lord Frederick Cavendish, and sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. — In an action for libel brought by Thomas Scrutton against Miss Helen Taylor (both members of the London School Board) with reference to the alleged mismanagement of St. Paul's Industrial Schools, a verdict by consent was given for the plaintiff, with £1,000 damages, including costs. — Sixteen Irish Members "named" in the Commons and afterwards suspended for wilful obstruction in connection with the Crimes Act. At the evening sitting ten amendments moved in frequent succession by the Parnellites were negatived, after which Mr. Playfair, the Chairman, proceeded for- mally to "name" Messrs. Biggar, Callan, 1382 Commins, Dillon, Healy, Leamy, McCarthy, Marum, Metge, T. P. O'Connor, O'Donnell, Parnell, Power, Redmond, Sexton, and Sullivan. Mr. Childers moved their suspen- sion for the sitting, which was carried by 126 to 27. On the Speaker resuming the chair, the House confirmed the suspension by 125 to 29. Mr. O'Donnell characterised the chair- man's statement as an "infamy." After motion for adjournment had been negatived, the House went into Committee on the Bill. Six motions were made in succession that the chairman do leave the chair, whereupon the chairman ' ' named " the following as obstruct- ing business — Messrs. Byrne, Corbet, Gray, Lalor, Leahy, A. O'Connor, O'Kelly, O'Sullivan, and Sheil. On the Speaker re- suming the chair, the House confirmed their suspension by 128 to 7. Progress was re- ported at eight o'clock on Saturday evening, the House having continuously sat for thirty hours. Thirty-one divisions had been taken during the sitting, the minority in no case rising above forty, and more frequently numbering from fourteen to twenty. July 1. — The town of Newcastle-on-Tyne raised to the rank of a City by Royal Charter. — First railway in Newfoundland, running from St. John's, the capital, to Topsail, opened for public traffic. — Died at London, aged 69, Campbell Foster, Q.C., Recorder of Warwick, author of a series of "Letters on the Condition of Ireland," which appeared in the Times, as well as of certain legal works. 2. —Died at London, aged 34, Cyril Her- bert, artist, and Curator of the Antique School in the Royal Academy. 3. — The Postmaster-General (Mr. Fawcett) announces in the Commons that the Com- mittee of Railway Managers had assented to his scheme for a Parcels Post, whereby forty- five per cent, of the proceeds would be given to the Post-office and fifty-five per cent, to the railway companies. — Dalton Hall, a house of residence for students at Owens College, built by the Quakers at a cost of £12,000, opened by the Bishop of Manchester. — On the Commons reassembling to-day (Monday) the Speaker gave it as his opinion that a combination for obstructing public busi- ness came within the standing orders agreed to on the 31st January, 1881, and Mr. O'Donnell (Dungarvan) was at once invited by Mr. Gladstone to offer some explanation of the sense in which he used the word "infamy" at the previous sitting, which had drawn upon him the censure of the chairman. Mr. O'Donnell, whilst admitting that he might have been guilty of some irregularity, denied the accuracy of the words imputed to him, JULY IS82 JULY Having been absent from the House, he said, the whole of Friday night, he thought he had been unjustly and unfairly suspended ; and in including him in the list of the sixteen, the chairman, he affirmed, ' ' had sinned against all the traditions of "his office." The hon. Mem- ber for Dungarvan further stated that, in sus- pending him, the chairman had not acted upon circumstances within his own knowledge, but upon the "false and feloniously misleading" reports made to him as to what had occurred in his absence, and it was this which he had designated as "an infamy." Dr. Playfair ac- cepted the full responsibility for suspending the sixteen members, and disclaimed having been influenced in any way through reports made to him by others. Various amendments were made in the way of avoiding suspension, but Mr. Gladstone's resolution affirming the de- cision of the Speaker was ultimately carried by 181 to 33 votes. Later in the evening Mr. Gladstone moved ' ' urgency, " so far as public business was concerned, but the division of 259 to 31 showed the presence of only 290 members, while the resolution required at least 300. The subject was therefore postponed till to-morrow. 3. — Died at Florence, where he had resided of late years, aged 72, Charles Heath Wilson, for some time Director of the Schools of Art, Somerset House, and afterwards much engaged in. selecting and arranging the elaborate series of stained glass windows introduced of late years into Glasgow Cathedral. Mr. Heath Wil- son was decorated by King Victor Emmanuel with the Order of the Crown of Italy. 4. — Mr. Gladstone's motion for "urgency" carried by 402 votes against 19. The Speaker then laid on the table the urgency rules in force last year, supplemented by an additional one under which the closure may be imposed in Committee by a majority of three to one. Mr. Justin McCarthy thereupon read a pro- test to the effect that the Irish Parliamentary party had been expelled from the House under threat of physical violence during discussion of the Crimes Act, and declaring at the same time that they would take no further part in the proceedings in Committee regarding a Bill "which has been urged through the House by a course of violence and subterfuge — (interrupted by the Speaker)— and which, when passed into a law, will be devoid of moral force, and will be no constitutional Act of Parliament." Mr. McCarthy thereupon, marched out of the House with his friends amid loud Ministerial cheers. 6.— Mr. Justice Kay gives judgment in the case of the Channel Tunnel, directing that an inspection of the works under the bed of the sea should be carried out by the Board of Trade, and that the scheme in the meantime should not be pushed farther. — Died, at Hampstead, aged 70, William George Ward, a leader in the Tractanan movement, and author of an important con- tribution to the literature of the period in the form of his "Ideal of a Christian Church" (see pp. 164-166). 7. — Prevention of Crime Bill, as amended, discussed and adjourned. Mr. Trevelyan moved an amendment objecting to the police having the right to enter private houses in the night-time in search of arms : negatived by 207 to 194. At the evening sitting the Bill was read a third time and passed. The Speaker reporled that the state of public business was no longer urgent. — Admiral Seymour threatens to bombard Alexandria. — Died suddenly at Moscow, aged 39, a victim to an affection of the heart, General Michael Dimitritch Skobeloff, or " White General," as he was commonly called, the Russian hero of Plevna. 8.— Died at Brighton, aged 67, Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"), who had illustrated novels by Dickens, I. ever, and other writers, with many clever drawings. — Died at Kennington, where the remain- ing years of his long life were spent in retire- ment, Benjamin Nottingham Webster, a popular actor, dramatist, and theatrical mana- ger. Mr. Webster was born at Bath in 1798, and appeared first before a London audience on the boards of the Regency Theatre in 1818. In later years he successfully conducted the Adelphi, old and new, the Olympic, the Princess's, and St. James's ; and in the interests of his profession, of which he was at once an ornament and a favourite, laboured hard to establish a Dramatic College. 9.- — Died at Canterbury, aged 69, Canon James Craigie R >bertson, Librarian in the Cathedral, formerly Professor of Ecclesiastical Literature in King's College, London, author of a biography of Thomas aBecket, and vai ious other valuable contributions to Church history: Canon Robertson was a native of Aberdeen, educated at Marischal College there, and at Trinity, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., 1834. IO. — The steamship Floors Castle, from Hankow for London, wrecked off Cape Guardafui on the north-east coast of Africa. Crew rescued on the 27th by a passing steamer. — Admiral Seymour demands from Arabi not only the stoppage of works on the fortress of Alexandria, but their immediate surrender into British hands. By this time the Euro- pean inhabitants had almost wholly embarked on board the ships provided for their reception. At nightfall the British ships withdrew from the inner harbour to take up the positions assigned to them, the French ironclads re- tiring to Port Said. The entire fleet before Alexandria consisted of thirteen vessels, of which eight were ironclads. I3S3 JULY 1 882 JULY 11.— Bombardment of Alexandria forts. The twenty-four hours' grace having expired, Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour opened fire at 7 p.m. on the forts of Alexandria and silenced them in a few hours. A landing party blew up the guns in Fort Mexs. Briiish loss, five lulled and twenty-seven wounded. During the night Alexandria was seen from the fleet to be in flames, and in the morning the forts and town were found to be all but deserted. The eonvicts had been set free, and, with Bedouins, had fired and pillaged the town and massacred all the Europeans they could find. Arabi had retired with his forces and the bulk of the inhabitants of the town. Parties of marines and blue-jackets landed, blew up some of the guns in the forts and cleared the streets of looters. 13. — Mr. Justice Chitty pronounces as invalid the objections made to ihe sentence of deprivation passed in the Prestbury case by Lord Ptnzance on Mr. De La Bere. The sentence he maintained, in opposition to counsel, had not been pronounced either with- out jurisdic;ion or in an improper place, — Died in London, aged 81, Henry Kingscote, a Gloucestershire squire, belonging to a family which is said to hold acre for acre the lands assigned to an ancestor in Domes- day Book. Mr. Kingscote was in early life a keen cricketer and daring rider after hounds, but was latterly much occupied with philan- thropic and religious schemes, connected for the most part with the diocese of London. 16. — Died at Springfield, Illinois, Mary Lincoln, widow of President Lincoln. 17. — Mr. Bright, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, retires from the Ministry on the Egyptian Question. When informing the House that he had very little either to explain or defend, he mentioned that it was a well- known fact he had for forty years endeavoured to teach his countrymen that the moral law is intended not only for individual life, but for the life and practice of states in dealing with one another. In the case of Egypt his con- science was satisfied that there had been a manifest violation both of international law and of the moral law, and therefore it was im- possible for him to continue longer in the Cabinet. Mr. Gladstone expressed regret at Mr. Bright's withdrawal, and while admitting that the moral law was applicable to nations as well as individuals differed from the member for Birmingham in this particular application of the principle. Mr. Bright was succeeded in office by Mr. Dodson, President of the Local Government Board, to which office Sir Charles Dilke succeeded with Cabinet rank. — The House of Representatives at Wash- ington confirm the election of Smalls, a negro, to a seat for South Carolina. 18. — The body of the late Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, which had been stolen from the 1384 tomb at Dunecht towards the close of last year (see Dec. 2), was found concealed in the grounds near the spot whence it had been removed. The discovery was made through one Charles Suter, who stated that he was poaching in Dunecht policies on the night when the body was removed, but was sworn over to secrecy by the thieves who had carried the body from the tomb. Subsequently Suter was charged with being an accessory to the deed, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to five years penal servitude. On the 26th the remains of the deceased Earl were removed to the English family seat, Haigh Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, and reinterred in the Balcarres vault there. 19. — Professor Francis Mai tl and Balfour, of Trinity College, Cambridge, loses his life (along with his guide) in attempting the ascent of the Aiguille Blanche, a virgin peak of Mont Blanc, from Penteret, with the inten- tion of returning afterwards to Courmayeur. The bodies were found together attached by a rope where they fell on the Fresnay glacier. Professor Balfour was so much impressed with the perilous nature of the undertaking he was about to attempt that, before leaving Cormayeur, he made his will, and insured an ample provision for the family of the guide who risked and lost his life in his service. Professor Balfour, who was only 31 years of age, was awarded a Royal Society gold medal in 1 88 1 for researches in embryology and comparative anatomy. 20. — Sale of the Hamilton Palace collection of pictures, works of art, and books (including the Bedford Library) brought to a close, the dispersion occupying seventeen days, and the amount realised from all sources reaching the almost unexampled figure of ^428, 000. 21. — In the House of Commons the Presi- dent of the Board of Trade (Mr. Chamberlain) states that, in spite of repeated orders to the con- trary, as also of the promises of the secretary of the company, and the personal assurance of Sir Edward Watkin himself, the substantial work of boring the Channel Tunnel — wholly un- necessary, it was contended, for either pro- tecting life or securing ventilation — had been carried forward to a distance of more than 600 yards beyond low water mark. In Mr. Chamberlain's judgment the acts of the com- pany amounted to so flagrant a breach of faith, that no further works should be allowed to be executed except after compliance with the strictest legal conditions. — The editor and publisher of the Freethinker, along with Mr. Bradlaugh, M.P., committed for trial by the Lord Mayor on the charge of blasphemous libel, preferred by Sir Henry Tylor. — Arrears of Rent Bill (Ireland) amended in the Commons, and third reading carried by 287 to 177 votes. JULY I8S2 JULY 22. — The yacht Mayfioiver run down and cut completely in two by the steamship Valhalla, off Dtmgeness ; captain and three seamen drowned. — Educational Endowments (Scotland) Bill considered in Committee and reported. 24. — Government orders of the day granted priority over other business in the Commons up to end of August. — Snow-storm experienced in the English Channel twenty miles south-west of Dunge- ness. — Died at Valambrosa the Hon. George Marsh, for many years United States-Minister in Italy, and author of various books concerning English literature. 25. — A Royal Message read in the Commons calling out the First Army Reserves. Two days later the first instalment of troops, con- sisting of Royal Marines, left Portsmouth for service in Egypt, and before the end of the month the Guards had sailed from London. The nominal force conveyed from England to Egypt, irrespective of troops British and native ordered from garrisons in the Mediterranean or brought from India, was set down as : Cavalry, 118 officers, 2,174 sabres, and 2,006 horses ; Artillery, 56, officers, 1,514 men, and 1,214 horses ; Engineers, 30 officers, 876 men, and 222 horses ; Infantry, 270 officers, 6,958 rank and file ; Medical, Transport, and Com- missariat branches, 98 officers and 1,384 men. — After the rejection of Lord Elcho's motion condemning English intervention in Egypt ex- cept in conjunction with the Sultan, Mr. Gladstone renewed in Committee his motion submitted yesterday for a vote of credit, not exceeding £2,300,000 for the army, navy, and transport services in Egypt. The Prime Minister proposed to provide supplies by raising the income tax for the second half of the financial year from $d. to 8d. in the pound, equivalent to a tax of 6id. for the year. Pass- ing on to consider the state of things in Egypt, Mr. Gladstone described the country as under lawless military violence, aggravated by cruel and wanton crime ; and tracing the proceedings of Arabi, he asserted emphatically that there was not a shred of evidence for his claim to be considered as the leader of a national party. It was impossible, he said, to escape with honour from any of our oft-repeated obligations to defend Egypt, not for sake of the Canal alone, but t ) put down anarchy. Sir Stafford Northcote craved delay before the vote was agreed to, and protested against Mr. Glad- stone's attack on the late Government in connection with Sir S. Cave's mission. The defence of the foreign policy of the present Government was undertaken by Sir Charles Dilke in an elaborate speech of two hours' duration, and the vote carried by 275 to 19 on the 27th, when an additional 10,000 men were provided for, and certain resolutions agreed to concerning the employment of native Indian troops to be conveyed to Egypt and paid for out of Indian revenue, or otherwise. 25. — Rev. E. R. Wilberforce, D.D., conse- crated at Durham as Bishop of Newcastle, 27. — The Dacca sails from Portsmouth with the first instalment of British troops destined fir service in Egypt, consisting of Royal Marines and Royal Marine Artillery. 28 — Died at London, aged 78', Robert Wilson, C.E., F.R.S.E., late managing partner of the firm of Nasmyth, Wilson & Co., Manchester, who shared with his senior partner in the fame of having perfected the steam- hammer. — Canon Basil Wilberforce addresses a strong remonstrance to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning the large number of public-houses erected on Church property. — The chief pilot Meiling, of the German Navy, brought to trial for selling naval plans to Russia, and condemned for high treason to six years' hard labour with dismissal from the navy. — Died, aged 80, James Turle, organist of Westminster Abbey. 29. — First Battalion Scots Guards (about 700 Strong), with the Duke of Connaught, em- bark on board the steamer Oritnt in the Royal Albert Dock for Egypt. — The French Chamber reject a vote of credit for protecting the Suez Canal, where- upon the Freycinet Ministry resign. 31. — Arrears of Rent Bill discussed in the Lords, and Lord Salisbury's amendment re- quiring assent of landlord before tenant could apply for settlement of arrears carried by 169 to 98 votes. It was read a third time and passed next day, as was also the Ancient Monuments Bill. — The Annual Educational Report for England and Wales shows the number of Voluntary Schools to be 14,370, with accom- modation for 3,195,365, and an average attendance of over 2,000,000. Board Schools, 3,693; accommodation for 1,194,268, and average attendance 356,351. The average ex- penditure in Board Schools was highest in London (£2 i$s. io\d.), and lowest in Hull (£ l 9 s - I 11 '-), being <)\d. lower than the Roman Catholic, the lowest of the voluntary schools. Bradford was £2 6s. 6d. ; Liverpool, £2 3s. %\d. ; Manchester, £1 19s. o| ; Birm- ingham, £1 i8j. i|rf. ; Leeds and Sheffield each, £1 17s. 54*/. — Pollok Castle, Renfrewshire, the seat of Sir Hew Pollok, destroyed by fire with the greater part of its family pictures and plate, the damage being estimated at from £20,000 to £30,000. 1385 AUGUST 188: AUGUST 31. — Died in London, aged 47, Dr. Ernest Anton Max Haas, Oriental scholar, and Assistant Librarian in British Museum. — Died, aged 52, Col. J. Cox Gawler, keeper of the Crown jewels in the Tower of London. Col. Gawler was succeeded by Major-General George Dean-Pitt, who entered the army in 1839, and distinguished himself by a series of valuable services in the Australian colonies. August 1. — The Porte declines to proclaim Arabi a rebel. — The Life Guards and Horse Guards em- bark at London for Egypt in the Calabria and North Holland steamships. — ■ Wanstead Park formally opened to the public as an addition to Epping Forest. 2. — William Mertens, a compositor, sen- tenced at the Central Criminal Court to three months' imprisonment for being concerned in the publication of the Frdheit newspaper libel. — The French admiral having four days since formally withdrawn from any alliance with the English fleet concerning Egyptian affairs, Admiral Hewett occupies Suez on behalf of the Khedive. • — Sir Garnet Wolseley embarks for Alex- andria, which he reaches on the 15th. 3. — Parcels Post Bill, along with other measures, reported in Committee. It was read a third time next day as amended and passed, as were also the Reserve Forces Consolidation Bill and the Militia Acts Consolidation Bill. — Cetewayo, ex-king of the Zulus, arriving in England for the purpose of formally sub- mitting his case to the Government, quarters are provided for himself and attendants in Melbury Road, Holland Park, where the chief spent over three weeks. — William Penhall, of Fumival's Inn, and his guide Maurer lose their lives in an aval- anche of fresh snow while attempting an ascent of the Wetterhorn. — B. Leigh Smith and the missing crew of the ship Eira found by Sir Allen Young in Matotchin Straits, Nova Zembla, which they had reached after being compelled to w inter several months in turf huts through the loss of their ship in the ice near Cape Flora. The Eira had left Peterhead in June 1881, and after reaching Franz Josef's Land in July was making an attempt to pass eastward of Barnet's Horn when she was nipped in the ice and sunk. 4. — Return of H.M.S. Bacchante with the sons of the Prince of Wales on board, after an absence of two years. 5. — Corrupt Practices (Suspension of Elec- tions) Bill read a second time in the Commons. 1386 5. — Auriol, a priest of Nohedes, Pyrenees Orientales, sentenced to penal servitude for life on a charge of poisoning two ladies who had been induced to make settlements in his favour. — Died, aged 74, William H. Calcott, composer. 8. — Mr. Gladstone moves that the Lords' amendments to Arrears of Rent Bill (Ireland) be considered. Detailed consideration was given to them : some were accepted ; others — infringing the principle of the Bill — were re- jected. A committee wa