CLIPPINGS OF THE MONTH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1356, 7 February 1865, Page 2

CLIPPINGS OF THE MONTH.

(From the Spectator for Novmber.) Tho Russian Government, not content with decimating Poland, has ordered an Poles to proclaim their exultation at the atfoeiiwa the?- are compelled I o endure. On the 10th of September a solemn To Ueum sung in all the Unman Catholic churches of Warsaw, to celebrate the anniversary ot General De BergV escape from assassination. Tlie suthorities of all kinds also panted the Lieutenant of the Kingdom with an adamw, which General Do Berg acknowledged by paving that, his success was due to Russia, which was ready «to devote her sons he very last one, to preserve the glory of her Sowreign.* 1 The Russian residents ot War»aw subsequently presented their bread and «alt, in token, we presume of their thorough approval of nil hi* nets. It is to be not«*dthat in'headdress M. De Berg is declared entitled to honour for the' glorious of the days of O.trolenks, ot the biking of Wola, and of th* awwlt of Warsaw, a touch of polnival cynicism of which only a Tartar could be guilty. There •" an exciting report that Shakespeare's own Prayer-book " has been found. Mr Toulmiti Smith writes to the Time* that a black-letter Prayer-book of the date of 1590 (the ftwlter part of the volume being two years older, 1501) was picked up at Whitchurch, North Shropshire, for a few pence, passed for eighteennenee into the hands of Mr. Partridge, of Wellington, and is now to lie wold. The book is about three and a half iticlu* long, and an inch and a half thick, with several leaves lout at the beginning. At the end ot the Prayer-book it the signature M William Shakespeare," and St the loot of ** the Confession of the Christian Fayth " is the signature "W. Shakesjieare." and underneath the last signature it* the date " 1600." By the aid of a glas* Mr. Toulmiu Smith discovered another nearly obliterated signature in another part of the book, and there i* also " M Shakespeare " signed in a different hand elsewhere. «Btratf«ni-on-Avoii" is written faintly on the inside of the left-hand cover. Mr. Toultniu Smith, of course, does not commit himself to the authenticity of the book, but lie seems ineliued to accept it. From internal evidence we had always been inclined to think Shakeajware a moderate English Catholic,—Catholic iu feeling, not fond of dogma, aud uiore attached to his country than his Church. However, manv of those who accepted the English Prayer-book and the faith »t expressed were of this type ot religion, and certainly would not have borne the name of Protectants,

Mr. Bunting, the worthy upholsterer who has become so famous by his successful effort* to grow lean, has published a statement of the wile of his pamphlet, on corpulence. Exclusive of the fit>t and second editions, he has sold 50,000 copies, at the trade price of U per dozen, so that there are at least I hut number of persons who have the mean* of changing their diet, and think they have too much flesh. The profit, amounting to £171, is divided among lour hospital*. Tiic sudden success of this pamphlet is remarkable, but it is trifling compared with the*ale a pamphlet for curing gcraggittefS would he sure to obtain. That, and not fat, is in the opinion of women the evil to l»e corrected, and anybody who discovers an effort ual pltn may charge a guinea per recij*e without diminishing his sale. A very mysterious case has attracted the attention of the public. George King, a gas inspector, was, on the 30t ho! October, found insensible in the Green Park, and taken to St. George's Hospital. There the surgeon* declared him drunk, and he was taken to the polleeftat ion iu King-street, where he remained all night. Next morning he was bailed, and hi# friends took him to Westminster Hospital, where he was found to have a fractured *kull and many severe bruises, and where he died. Where did he meet with his death? The surgeons at St. Georges way that when brought to them he was drunk (a j-tatement which might be the result «f their carelessness), and that he had no fracture, (which could not be), and from that moment till his delivery to his friends he wait in the hands of the police. Only two hypotheses are therefore possible; either he waa wounded in the Park, in which case the surgeons of St- Genre's ought to suffer for their gross carel©K#uesß-~or he was beaten by the police, iu which case the severest punishment ought to be inflicted. Neither of the*« «tipp<»t<itious is probable, the surgeon* being men of emiueuee, and the police having little motive for violence; but what is the third alternative? That Mr. King inflated fourteen separate blows himself on hi* own head while in the police cell? The ease need* a great deal more inquiry through an »gency imiep ndent of the police, wbo are U*o apt to act it* a corporate body, and wo are happy to oereeivo that the surgeon* of tft, George's promise further report. Mr. Hale, the new Lord Mayor, was •worn in on tin- IKb im*t, and a procession of the old »ort wended its way as usual through th* .Strand. It was very badly got up. The silk banners were too heavy, the men in aru»»«»r hwked as if a good push would send them off their horses, the bands played lively tune* too *luw for their meaning, and not «nie»ihifd of the carriages were decently api*oiuied. All that may be nobody a fault, hut the condition of the Htate carriage is disputable. Has nobody the courage or the power either to ro-gilu that rickety tub. •«- m?II it to some furniturebroker with a liode for manufacturing antique*? A iu*w eurri'tge mirely would BOt ruin the «'»iy or the inavor*, ittid if there is a lack o* invention, let them c«py that of the High Sheritl of Westminster. lhafc is jittering enough in all conscience, while it is not absurd. The ne* !/•(<! Mayor's dinner to her Majeetv's Mint t <« Ht tbe Muu«toit House on the oth >v:m <»»tly ♦ tjiiwrkitbjtt for the age of the four .uo»t distiugiiiohed speakers, Lord Brou^h»■•>, who is 85; Lord Palmer* stoo, \vin> in HU; Cliit'f litron Pollock, who is 81; »nd Al. iWryer, who is comparatively young at the nu« of ' 1 hero was iio epeaking of »<»y importance lho C hief Baron vt't* jo-uliir, that k'-> r d Macau by* Ne"' /blander unght now und a broii'ti'mcn of Bl.ieklViars, though not of to sit ujitiM. from which he might sket. h. not the ruins of Ht. Paul's, but the givat devastation going on in the eitf of London in preparation ior new buildiogi. It was not a b»d promise ol a joke, but the Chief litron had not turned over bia Jfew Kenlatider quit® vft**n enough in his mind wfcett meditating his apecch w ttm in&tit watches. He removed him somewhat ahL'tly from hoidoii Bridgr to Blatdifriars, liad not quite anflMetit *' motive for biro even whrii he got him there, and parted

with him too easily in the end. 9'V" J return to that New Map*" m if he h»d been forgotten, arid a liberty had been taken with him Lord Pal merstoir said, ot mum* what he always does say »« J *. v \ t ' lut fch ® advantage to hor Majesty i Ministers of meeting the city magnate* in a " convivial a is beyond hoilef, but ho did not, and iitnw » explain ttlesrlyin what the advantage consist*. He then went on to eulogise Lord Brougham and M. Borryei, tho former extravagantly fur omnmcienec and almost intellectual omnipotence, the latter more moderately for diitnity, virtue, and " patriotism/—tho last eulogium being hardly likely to nleaae tho Emperor of tho Freuch as applied to a strong Legitimist. Mr. Gladstone, at the same dinner, took ; occasion to state that Lord Palmerston had no intention whatever of dissolving 1 arliament yet. After tracing the rumour— which originated in Manchester with comical gravity to Lord Brougham, who sat opposite, and had sung a sort ot dirge over the expiring House, ho remarked, " And all I can say in regard to a dissolution in, tully admitting the great law ot Parliamentary mortality, that if my noble friend at the head of the Government cherishes in the deep recedes of his mmd any sinister designs against the life of tho present Parliament he has kepi those designs—and 1 greatly complain of it—a perfect secret." Members, theeefore, who vote for Lord Palmerston may sleep easily, undisturbed by visions ot tha hustiugs, until the autumn. If they aro summoned to meet the political judgment* day, it will be all the fault of the furies, as, indeed, most unpleasant things are! ! M. Drouyn De Lhuys, always nnwisely jealous of Italy and reluctant »o promote the Italian cause, which the Emperor has deliberately sanctioned, though still more reluctant to retire from office,- -he was epigrammatically described by a comrade as tm horn nic qui pour hi wilhvur de patrio nJo.it de btlk* ttttdr*>— has had at last an opportunity, probably long desired, of snubbing the Italian statesman who negotiated the Convention. In a dispatch, dated the 80th of October, M. Drouyn De Lhuys gently insinuated that Signor Nigra had misreprenented tho drift of the Convention, that he did not properly repudiate for the Italian Government the right of secretly stimulating revolution among the Pope's subject, —and that in case of a successful popular revolution after the withdrawal of the French from

Rome, the Government of the Emperor wan not further pledged to any course, but had u reserved" its freedom to intervene or not, as it might thin'v proper, Thia dispatch caused immense excitement among the extreme party in Italy, and was considered as lyoth an insult and a menace. General De La Marmora, however, replies to it in a most statesmanlike and dignified dispatch, in which he of course repudiates indignantly the notion of secretly stimulating disaffection among tho Pope's subjects, and states (hat Italy had been umvilliug to contemplate at all the eventuality of the Pope's auccessful deposition by his own subjects, having relied entirely on moral means to bring about a reconciliation between Italy and Home, but a;*'the French Minister has thought it necessary to call attention to that contingency, he can only say that both Governments, the Italian as well as the French, " reserve their freedom" to act in such a case as they may think proper. The answer is complete, and of course means that in such an event Italy would occupy Home, and so put down the revolution before Frauce could have time to intervene.

A curious list haa been published of the results of competition for the Indian Civil Service. Of the 376 civilians who have net out for India since 1855, uo less than 255 had been educated at Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, or one of the Scotch Universities, besides olhers who stood tho examination direct from public school#. Out of 313 appointed aince 1857, nearly a third were sons of clergymen, 70 of officers, barrister*, or doctors, 50 of men with independent means, 31 of well-to-do tradesmen, and 80 of " persons in the lower branches of trade." It is the unfitness of these last which the opponents of the system denounce, but we fear the evil is aggravated by another These sous of " persona in the lower branches of trade " beat tho respectables in getting on, which, in a country like this is, ot course, a most subversive proceeding. We do not believe in examination much, except

as a sieve which lets the inefficient full through, but if its opponent* have nothing better to allege than this they had better demand u quartering* " 110 a qualification for offut?, and so, if they wiist talk nonsense, talk it consistently. Another horrible murder. The headless body of a man about thirty was found among the roods of PJaiatow Marshes, under circumstances which seemed to indicate murder by a large cla*p knife, and next day the head wan found carefully buried in a hole about twelve inches deep, a!ho dug with a knife. The head wan recognized a* that of a German called usually "John," but aaid to be named Furhhof, who had resided for some time with Ferdinand Karl Kohl, a Dutch sugar-baker, and bis wife. This man and bi« wife were arreted, hut as there was nut a particle of evidence to criminate the woman, a well-conducted English girl of

eighteen, ahe wax reload, hut the man wa# detained. Am yet the principal evidence agiiiriit him ia that he wm mm in eouijmiiy with the <!d<-?a#ed in the mantiea, and it ia believed it* th» i»eighl»ourhood that In* coin, tnitted the murder frura jealousy, Murder m #11 art doe* not improve at all. Muller Ifft damning evident# behind htm, and the idea of burying a man'a head and leaving hi* body uiiiiurii-d, ui> that it might «t*gye*t search, •*» inemwably iwirtiatie. The Mi'dieal Befiool Committee of St. George'* Jl«wpit#l have inquired into tin* matter of (}w»i"j{ft Kmt>i wsid to have bei*u discharged from ihe hospital m only drunk; when he wan (iji'ig of fwlnroii in lite nkiiH# They state that King"* head wa* carefully e*am»oed liy Mr. Freeman, h»ti*eaurgeon, and Mr< <looea three <!ir»tmc*t ttmt*tf t that he had no fonturra, and that..ho waa very drunk. The man wim removed by the policeman from the h«aipit-al, eontrury to ex* preaa »»j million*, and theuee taken to the poliee*atat ion in ICing street, Weatwiiiatef, tvhvtit*t% it will in* rttiuumiuwJi In* whu brtiltui out next morniiiii in a dying condition, with fourteen aeparata womitl* on hia headdo trust aome memhtT ot I'arliainent ia ktoping the published evidence of ihia remarkable cttftc, with & renolve, if nothing is done, to " a«k " what the police are about, and why there ia mj little appearaueo of eagenieaj to find out the cmiae of tbouo wound*. ' If it wero niity pfMHiible to pcrauade ContiiKiital linanets roiniatera, *|cci»l correapondenta, editor*, and oi her ]»• ople whoae miamesa it ia io give iuforamtioo that A

budget to bo intelligible should bo complete! Signor Sella produced that of Italy on 4th November, aud for want of this conviction it might, so far as England is concerned, as well have remained in his desk. All that seems clear is that Italy has a deficit of £8,000,000 for the year, but how much of this is temporary and how much is permanent nobody knows. Signor Sella proposes to fill up the vacuum by mincing the navy greatly and the army a little, by increasing the monopoly price of tobacco and Bait, by raising the duty on colouial produce, grain, letters, and official salaries, by selling Crowu lands and railways, and by compelling laudowners to pay up their land-tax in advance. This is Turkwh lluauce, not that of a civiltzed State, and almost deserves to fail.

The English Bar entertained M. Berryer at dinner in the hall of the Middle Temple. Theattendaiieo to do honour to the illustrious French lawyer was considerable, Lord Kiugdown, Lord Brougham, Sir A. Cockburn, Mr. Gladstone, and several judges, but the speeches were hardly equal to tho occasion. Sir lloundell Palmer praised the guest of the evening in a just but not very original speech, Lord Brougham compared him to Erskine, Sir A. Cockburn declared that throughout his career his honour hud been untarnished, and Mr. Gladstone mentioned that eveu in Naples the " audacity of tyranny had not dared to interfere with tho freedom " of the Bar, and in courts bristling with bayonets he had heard lawyers defending the accused with freedom and fearlessliens. M. Berryer replied most gracefully, alluding with high approbation to the English practice of selecting "procureurs geueraux" from the Bar, and the cordial relations between the Bar and the Bench. Ilia point was the value of that free interchange of ideas between the Bars of civilised nations which was foreshadowed iu tho reception granted to himself. The just respect with which M. Berryer has everywhere been received is naid to have deeply gratitiud the Bar of.France.

Mr. Gladstone made a speech to the Volunteers of the St. Martin's division' at their annual dinner, at the Freemasons' Tavern. He spoke in strong commendation of tho Volunteer force, which ho hoped would become a permanent part of our national strength, and made on a subject apparent ly exhausted a new and most effective point. It is this:—" Until the Volunteer force came into existence there was one npeeial gap and one speeial defect in the military institutions of the country." We have an incomparable Army and Navy, but the officers were taken from the upper, the men from the lower ranks of society, and until the Volunteer force came into existence, an Englishman of tho middle class, " possessed of political power, and wanting in none of the gifts and qualities which belonged to the other classes, had no opportunity of exhibiting his desire for and contributing his fair share to the defences of his country." Cromwell found out that secret once before, and acted on the discovery. Mr. Gladstone recognized, ho said, to the full the necessity of maintaining the "just influence" of this country "with a high and strong hand, at all times and under all circumstances," a conviction which he will have to prove as well as express before England obey# his lead.

A case has been tried before the the Rolls, which reads as if it had been invented by a third-rate sensation novelist. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Gedney, ot Candlesby Hall, Lincolnshire, claimed aeonsiderable property under her mother's settlement. Mr*. Gedney's family resist, alleging that the claimant was not Mr*. Gedney's child, but one who hnd purchased in London. The evidence showed that Mrs. Geduey, a woman who lived unhappily with her husband, and had been infected by liiin, came up to London in 1854, alleging that she was piegunut; that nhe employed an advertising accoucheur named Goss to attend her; that Goss obtained from a hoxpital the illegitimate child of one Lydia Fletcher; that Mr. and Win. Go«h made their appearance in Mix Gedrey*B lodgings with a buudle, that every body wan shut out, and that the child appeared to a nurse afterwards admitted not to be new-born. It was also proved that the local physician did not believe Mrs. Gedney had ever hud a child, and that the unfortunate lady herself had twice confessed the deception, once to a clergyman. On the other hand, it was shown or alleged that the husband believed the child hi#, and that Dr. Frtrr, who attended Mr#. Gedney, believed that she hnd been confined. The claimant * did not call Mr. Goss, and the jury returned a verdict for the defendant, thus declaring the child suppositious. It is curious that this erime, which is neither more nor less thim an elaborate swindle, is popularly believed in England to be exceedingly common, while it is, according to police record#, perhaps the rarest of frauds—the propertied class, who alone have an interest in commit, ling it, being indisposed at once to iucurthe risk, and to phice themselves in the power of the iigents they must employ.

Faraday has sent a very good reply to an invitation* to a spirit *&mce. Ho has been too much disappointed, he says, in the mani* testations he nns witnessed, to waste more time on them voluntarily. But Mif spirit communications not utterly worthless ..booh! happen to start into activity, I will trust the spirits to find out for themselves how they can movo my attention. I am tired of them " Ami no wonder. A spirit ablet» interest Faraday ♦night to care for light and science, aud all the spirits hitherto manifested confessedly prefer darkness and encourage nescience.

There has been a bad murder at Boulogne A limit of the name of Lediieq, who ha* a mistress in London and a wife in Boulogne, has murdered hi* two illegitimate children of the ages of four and nine,apparently either iVom vindict ivenesa towards their mother t-r simply to get rid of the necessity of supporting them. He brought them from Folkestone to Boulogne by packet, ami then after it became dark drowned them in the Arricre Port, be himself going into the water, it is supposed, for the purpose; a« his trousers were wet when lie was next seen by his wife at her hou*e in Boulogne, The man appears to have made very feeble efforts to conceal the murder. He received five francs from his wife, and with it went to hi* native place, Mont Oavarel, near Moiitreuil, where he wan arrested on Monday, and lit once confessed the murder.

The early iui<i bittisr winter which woxrn t<» hivi* wt i» will fall with wad wight u|mm I*naMhire/wlttw tl»« dwtrtw miucmwiiitf but too rapidly. Tlio minimum of paupnum w «„ rm-hed oi» the fourth week of Augiwt , whfti the tttttiibcr of tMUi|ttN wa» euttwd nt 78,780, NowfowlOMGO. f,etf t