held by the Governors. In consequence of 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 12th 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 flank. At that moment, however, the Roumanian batteries from Islacz directed their fire upon the Turkish battalion, which was soon compelled 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 towards London, in the direction between Maidstone and Sittingbourne. The distance,

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as the crow flies between Dover and London is seventy miles; by rail a little over seventy-six. When the train came into Cannonstreet 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 evidence 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 be an inducement to them to behave well, and

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. Saffery, agent. The amount involved was said to be upwards of 30,000l. 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 company, was also brought 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 500l. 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 2001. and 100/., paid to Saffery, had been traced to him in the same way, although the latter were paid into his account. 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.

Dr.

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 gentleman with the technical knowledge of stationery business to the office of controller of that department. A successful stationer would not be tempted by 1,000l. a year, and the appointment 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 gentleman 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

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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 acquaintance 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 vote 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 Buckinghamshire at which he said the Rev. Mr. Pigott could 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 fighting. 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 100,000l.

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 800,000l. 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 telegraph 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 400,000l. During the present week the strike spread wider and wider; not only the Pennsylvania, 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 Illinois, 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 Antonelli'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 she could render her husband no assistance. The boat was hove-to fifteen days out of the forty-nine during which the voyage

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 endeavour 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 fireengines 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 committee 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).

for Birmingham said ::- "This statue which you have erected to-day, or which is erected in your midst, is by no means the greatest monument 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 example, remain a possession to us his countrymen; 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 1,500l. 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 engaged 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 a member has been declared out of order, and is pronounced to be disregarding 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 committees 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 carried by large majorities, the last by 250 votes to 7.

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 Parliament 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. acted as Financial Secretary to the Treasury under Lord Derby in 1866-67, and 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.

He

On the return of the Conservatives 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 Thousand a Year," and other novels, essays, and poems.

Died, at the advanced age of 96, John Frost, the last surviving leader in the Newport Chartist riots of November, 1839, and for his share in which he was sentenced to death. The sentence was afterwards commuted 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.

This

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 evening was almost entirely wasted in fruitless discussions on the South African Bill. 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 twentysix 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 doorkeepers, messengers, policemen, and other officials being also relieved in a similar manner. It was feared at one time that even these unusual 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 suspension 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, protesting 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 5,000 men. The Daily News correspondent who appeared to have witnessed the battle, telegraphed 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 continuous forward movement, and reoccupied the second position, which the Russians had 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 everything they had lost. The fighting lasted long after nightfall. With the darkness the BashiBazouks 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 raliways at a few points in the West. The daily Cabinet Councils which had been held since

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 imprisonment.

31. The law officers of the Crown give their opinion on the fight between the Peruvian ironclad 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 continuing 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 separation 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 affection 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 irascibility, manifested by unmerited reproaches and a series of annoyances of all kinds, prompted by some secret design. 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.

The

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 subscription 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. 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

The

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 condemning 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.

8.-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 prominent democratic leader, who had in his early days drawn up the famous "Charter," afterwards 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 consistently maintained, for, at the commencement of the war, the Government announced that they would adopt a "strict but conditional neutrality - the condition being that thei interests of this country should not be imperilled.