have laid down their arms at your feet. You have captured or destroyed upwards of thirty pieces of artillery, many of great weight and efficiency, with ample store of ammunition. You have stormed the almost inaccessible fortress of Magdala, defended by Theodore with the desperate remnant of his chiefs and followers. After you forced the entrance, Theodore-who never showed mercy-distrusted the offer of mercy which had been held out to him, and died by his own hand. You have released not only the British captives, but also those of friendly nations; you have unloosed the chains of more than ninety of the principal chiefs of Abyssinia. Magdala, on which so many victims had been slaughtered, has been committed to the flames, and remains only a scorched rock. . . . I shall watch over your safety to the moment of your re-embarkation; and to the end of my life shall remember with pride that I have commanded you.'

21.-Apprehension of Fenians, with Greek fire in their possession, near Buckingham Palace.

22.-Commercial treaty between Great Britain and Austria signed.

Monster meeting in Mr. Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle on the Irish Church question, presided over by Mr. Bright.

Count Bismarck defeated in the North German Parliament on the official responsibility clause of the Confederation Debt Bill by a majority of 18. The bill was afterwards withdrawn.

Marriage of Prince Humbert with the Princess Margherita of Savoy celebrated at Turin.

At Bow-street, the sitting magistrate declines to have the charge preferred against Mr. Eyre of issuing an illegal proclamation.

23.-The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Ward Hunt) introduces the annual financial statement. During the bygone year there had been a deficiency of 370,000l. of actual as compared with estimated revenue, arising principally from uncollected arrears in the incometax department. The gross income for the ensuing year he estimated at 71,350,000l., and the expenditure at 70,428,000l., showing a surplus of 922,000l. This surplus, however, was only on ordinary outlay, and did not apply to the extra cost incurred by the Abyssinian expedition, for which Mr. Hunt calculated that 3,000,000l. would have to be provided in addition to the 2,000,000l. already granted. He proposed to meet that demand by increasing the income-tax to 6d. per pound, and issuing Exchequer bills in anticipation of income-tax to the amount of 1,000,000/. These, with the surplus on ordinary revenue, would make a net surplus, for 1868-9, of 722,000/. The Budget was favourably received.

Died Lieutenant Pollard, "the Avenger of Nelson;" deceased being the midshipman

on board the Victory who brought down the marksmen from the main-top of the Redoutable, whence the shot was fired so fatal to the hero of Trafalgar.

24. To counteract rumours now being industriously circulated, Mr. Gladstone sends the following statement to the daily newspapers :-"Though reluctant to attempt any encroachment on your space with reference to personal matters, I feel that I have no alternative at a time when personal charges, however irrelevant, are employed as a means of injuring or impeding a great cause. Within the last fortnight, or thereabouts, the following statements, purporting to be of fact, have been assiduously circulated respecting me in different parts of the country:-First, that when at Rome I made arrangements with the Pope to destroy the Church Establishment in Ireland, with some other like matters-being myself a Roman Catholic at heart. Second, that during and since the Government of Sir Robert Peel I have resisted, and till now prevented, the preferment of Dr. Wynter. Third, that I have publicly condemned all support to the clergy in the three kingdoms from Church or public funds. Fourth, that when at Balmoral I refused to attend her Majesty at Crathie Church. Fifth, That I have received the thanks of the Pope for my proceedings respecting the Irish Church. Sixth, That I am a member of a High Church Ritualist congregation. Aware how in times of public excitement rumours grow and gather through the combined action of eagerness, credulity, and levity, I will not bestow a single harsh word on any of these statements; neither will I advert to the cause to which some of them may be due, for I am determined to avoid, as long as it may be possible, envenoming a great political controversy, and what I think a noble cause, with the elements of religious bigotry and hatred. But I will in the first place declare that these statements, one and all, are untrue in letter and in spirit, from the beginning to the end; and since it is impossible for me to continue entangled as I have recently been in the meshes of correspondence which such fictions entail, I venture to request all persons whatever, that may be interested in the matter, if any like statements should hereafter come under their view, in the interest of truth, to withhold their belief."

27.-The morning papers publish telegrams relating to the attempted assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh, by the Fenian, O'Farrel, at Sydney, and to the capture of Magdala and release of the Abyssinian captives. The first was in the form of a brief despatch from Earl Belmore to the Colonial Secretary. It reached London early on the morning of the 26th, but was not spread to any extent till the afternoon, in order that her Majesty might previously be made acquainted with the occurrence. In the evening special prayers were offered up in many of the churches, and in

During the discussion in Committee of the first of Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church resolutions, the Premier was appealed to in order to get the division taken to-night. He replied that Government, feeling the extreme importance of the issue, would af ford every facility for its discussion, and he could give no pledge to interfere in any way with the full and free expression of the opinions of every member who desired to declare his views on a question which it was not concealed must lead to great and even revolutionary changes.

Mandamus granted by the Court of Queen's Bench directing the Bishop of London to hear a charge of heresy against the Rev. W. J. E. Bennet of Frome.

28.-Commenced at the Central Criminal Court the trial of the Fenian prisoners, Burke, Casey, and Mullady, charged with treason-felony.

In reply to a deputation, the Duke of Richmond said that the clause of the Railway Regulations Bill relating to the enclosure of parcels would be amended in Committee. The clause was afterwards withdrawn.

30.-A force of 1,200 Argentines, under the command of General Rivas, effect a landing on the Chaco, below the part exposed to the fire of Humaita. Works were immediately thrown up and when next day the Paraguay. ans, strengthened from Timbo, attempted to carry the position by assault, they were routed by the united fire of the infantry and of the Tamandare and Behia, whose guns protected the flanks. In their retreat towards the road to Humaita, the repulsed Paraguayans came suddenly upon the Argentine Exploring Legion of Volunteers, who shamefully broke their ranks and fled. Many threw themselves into the river, where the Tamandare, coming to their aid, picked them up. The remainder not killed or captured managed to escape to the Brazilians.

Concluded, after a discussion extending over eleven nights, the debate in Committee on Mr. Gladstone's first resolution relating to the Irish Church. Mr. Gladstone replied this evening to his opponents, and Mr. Disraeli closed the discussion. The latter opposed the resolution, because there were many other institutions besides the Irish Church which did not fulfil the purposes for which they were instituted; because it would be impossible to avoid interfering with other Established Churches; and because the scheme involved elements of confiscation and revolution. Division:-For the resolution, 330; against, 265: majority against Government, 65. On the numbers being declared, Mr. Disraeli said:"The vote at which the Committee has now arrived has altered the relations between the Government and the House of Commons; and therefore, as it is necessary for us to consider our position, I shall, with the permission of the House, move the adjournment of the House till Monday." Mr. Gladstone assented to this arrangement; but afterwards placed a notice on the paper, pledging the House to take up the second resolution on Monday, before proceeding with the Committee of Ways and Means. The House adjourned at 3 A. M.

on Friday the 1st.

May 1. Police Constable David Paton shoots a brother constable, John Cruickshanks, in the village of Sherburn, Durham, and then commits suicide by shooting himself. Resentment at being " reported was said to be the exciting cause of this deed.

The brothers Arthur and Hector Smith, the former 14 and the latter 12 years of age,

make a murderous assault upon Mary Ann Nunn, housekeeper in premises in Catherinecourt, Seething-lane, London. Detected in the act of robbing the house, one brother seized the woman, while the other attacked her with a mallet, and inflicted the injuries.

2. The impeachment of President Johnson quashed by a majority of two votes on the eleventh article of impeachment, charging him with denying the right of Congress to legislate.

4.-The Earl of Malmesbury in the House of Lords, and Mr. Disraeli in the House of Commons, enter into explanations regarding their proceedings since the adverse vote of the 30th. The Premier said that he had waited next day upon her Majesty, and told her that "the advice which her Ministers would, in the full spirit of the Constitution, offer her, would be that her Majesty should dissolve this Parliament, and take the opinion of the country upon the conduct of her Ministers, and on the question at issue: but, at the same time, with the full concurrence of my colleagues, I represented to her Majesty that there were important occasions on which it was wise that the Sovereign should not be embarrassed by personal claims, however constitutionally valid and meritorious; and that if her Majesty was of opinion that the question at issue could be more satisfactorily settled, or that the interests of the country would be promoted by the immediate retirement of the present Government from office, we were prepared to quit her Majesty's service immediately, with no other feeling but that which every Minister who has served the Queen must entertain, viz. a feeling of gratitude to her Majesty for the warm constitutional support which she always gives to her Ministers, and I may add-for it is a truth that cannot be concealed for the aid and assistance which any Minister must experience from a Sovereign who has such a vast acquaintance with the public affairs. Sir, I in fact tendered my resignation to the Queen. Her Majesty commanded me to attend her in audience on the next day, when her Majesty was pleased to express her pleasure not to accept the resignation of her Ministers, and her readiness to dissolve Parliament so soon as the state of public business would permit. Under these circumstances, I advised her Majesty that, although the present constituency was no doubt admirably competent to decide upon the question of the disestablishment of the Church, still it was the opinion of her Majesty's Ministers that every effort should be made that the appeal should, if possible, be directed to the new constituencies which the wisdom of Parliament provided last year; and I expressed to her Majesty that, if we had the cordial cooperation of Parliament, I was advised by those who are experienced and skilful in these matters that it would be possible to make arrangements by which that dissolution could take place in the autumn of this year." Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Lowe, and Mr. Bright censured the Government for not resigning unqualifiedly, and said that

5. In answer to repeated questions in the House of Commons, Mr. Disraeli explains that the power held by the Government to dissolve Parliament related entirely to the Irish Church question, and that if any other difficulty arose, it would be the duty of Ministers again to repair to the Sovereign.

Sir Robert Napier reaches Ashangi on the homeward march with the rear-guard of the Abyssinian army.

6.-Meeting in St. James's Hall, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to express sympathy with the Irish branch of the National Church. Resolutions were proposed and spoken to by the Lord Mayor, the Bishop of Oxford, the Bishop of London, and Dean Stanley. A statement made by the Dean, that the traditions of the Liberal party in this country were all in favour of the union between Church and State, was received with a storm of disapprobation, which compelled him to resume his

seat.

7. Mr. Gladstone's second and third Irish Church resolutions carried in Committee without a division. In a debate which followed, concerning the withdrawal of the Maynooth and other grants, considerable difference of opinion was manifested among the Liberal members, and displeasure expressed at the absence of Mr. Disraeli. The latter on returning said it was not his duty to obtrude his advice on the House with respect to every possible topic. The discussion, he continued, had only anticipated, what he always expected would be the case, that there would be a quarrel among the Liberal party over the division of the plunder. Mr. Bright retorted that Mr. Disraeli, in bringing the name of the Sovereign to the front in this question, had been guilty of the greatest crime and misdemeanour a Prime Minister could commit. "The right honourable gentleman," he said, "the other night, sometimes with pompousness and sometimes with servility-(oh! oh!)talked at large of the interviews he had with his Sovereign. I venture to say that a Minister who deceives his Sovereign-(oh! oh!) -is as guilty as the conspirator who would dethrone her. Mr. Disraeli concluded the interlude by charging the member for Birmingham with indulging in stale invective, and challenged him to bring any charge he had to make to the vote of the House.

Died at Cannes, in his 90th year, Henry Lord Brougham, lawyer, statesman, and philosopher. He was found dead in bed after a day's quiet exercise in his garden, and was buried at Cannes.

8. In the Court of Queen's Bench, Mr. Justice Blackburn issues an order for Mr. Vaughan,

the Bow-street police magistrate, to hear the charges preferred by the Jamaica Committee against ex-Governor Eyre, and to commit him for trial if necessary.

8.—Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, as finally reported to the House, were in these words:"i. That it is necessary that the Established Church of Ireland should cease to exist as an establishment, due regard being had to all personal interests and to all individual rights of property. 2. That, subject to the foregoing considerations, it is expedient to prevent the creation of new personal interests by the exercise of any personal patronage, and to confine the operations of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of Ireland to objects of immediate necessity, or such as involve individual rights, pending the final decision of Parliament. 3. That an humble address be presented to her Majesty, humbly to pray that, with a view to preventing, by legisla tion during the present session, the creation of new personal interests through the exercise of any public patronage, her Majesty would be graciously pleased to place at the disposal of Parliament her interest in the temporalities of the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclesiastical dignities and benefices in Ireland, and in the custody thereof. 4. That when legislative effect shall have been given to the first resolution of this committee, respecting the Established Church of Ireland, it is right and necessary that the grant to Maynooth and the Regium Donum be discontinued, due regard being had to all persona! interests."

Alexander Arthur Mackay, aged 18, murders his mistress, Emma Grossmith, of Artillery-passage, Norton-Folgate, by beating her with a rolling-pin and furnace-rake. He got

clear off from the scene of his crime, but was apprehended next month at Maidstone, while undergoing imprisonment in the gaol there for another offence. He was tried for the crime at the Central Criminal Court, and sentenced by Mr. Justice Lush to be executed on 8th September. Mackay was the first executed within the precincts of Newgate under the Act of this

session,

10. The governor of Ayr Prison (Sutherland) commits suicide by cutting his throat in a London coffee house.

11.-The bill providing for executions taking place only within the walls of prisons read a third time in the House of Lords and passed. 12. Robert Smith executed at Dumfries for the murder of a little girl (whom he first violated) in a wood near Annan, followed by a murderous attack on an aged woman in Cummertrees village, with the view of concealing his crime.

Lord Royston, Comptroller of the Household, appears in the House of Commons with her Majesty's answer to the address on the subject of the Irish Church :--"I have received your address praying that, with a view to preventing, by legislation during the present

session, the creation of new personal interests by the exercise of public patronage, I would place at the disposal of Parliament my interest in the temporalities, the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclesiastical dignities and benefices of Ireland, and in the custody thereof. Relying on the wisdom of my Parliament, I desire that my interest in the temporalities of the United Church of England and Ireland in Ireland may not stand in the way of the consideration by Parliament of any measure relating thereto that may be entertained in the present session. (Cheers.)" Mr. Gladstone : 'Having heard her Majesty's gracious answer to the address, I will to-morrow move for leave to bring in a bill to prevent for a limited time any new appointments in the Church in Ireland, and to restrain for the same period in certain respects the proceedings of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. As I suppose that it will be the wish of the House to have the bill printed and in the hands of members as soon as possible, there will be no objection to my asking for leave to bring in the bill to-morrow at any period when I may be able to do so."

Her

13. The foundation-stone of the new St. Thomas's Hospital laid by the Queen, on the right bank of the Thames, near Lambeth Palace, in presence of many peers, members of the House of Commons, the president and governors, and about 5,000 spectators. Majesty said:"It is with sincere pleasure that I lay the first stone of the noble building which you are about to dedicate to the use of the suffering poor. St. Thomas's Hospital, founded by my predecessor, Edward VI., from the services which it rendered to humanity, naturally attracted the attention of my esteemed husband, whose heart and mind were ever interested in institutions of so beneficial a character. It is a solace to me to follow his example in promoting the objects which you have in view. I think that your hospital upon its new site, by various improvements which experience and sanitary skill suggest, will secure the greatest benefit to its suffering inmates, and provide an admirable school for nurses, and for the promotion of medical schools of science. I thank you for the loyal and sympathising expression of your feeling at the late attempt to take away the life of my dear son, the Duke of Edinburgh, and join in your prayers that the same good Providence which preserved him from the assassin will soon restore him in health and safety to his family and country."

14. Mr. Gladstone obtains leave to bring in a bill suspending for a limited time the exercise of patronage in the Irish Church. Read a first time without a division.

Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana to representation in Congress, on condition of their having ratified the constitutional amendment, and of never depriving of suffrage those persons who are now entitled to vote.

14. Russian progress in Central Asia. Today Samarcand was occupied, and four days afterwards a detachment was sent northward to seize and destroy the fortress of Tchilek. On the 23d about one-third of the entire Russian force left Samarcand to attack the important fortress of Ourgout, which was taken after a severe encounter with the Bokharians. Kara Tepe was next taken, and a camp formed at Katy-kurgan. The masses of Bokharians assembling here became so considerable that on the 11th June General Kaufmann marched in great haste from Samarcand and defeated the Khan's troops in a sharp engagement at Zera Boulak. During his absence an attempt was made to recapture Samarcand, but the Russians held the citadel with great bravery against overwhelming numbers, till General Kaufmann returned by forced marches and raised the siege.

Six men killed at Cannock Chase Colliery by the breaking of a chain to which the cage they were descending in was attached.

The widow of King Theodore of Abyssinia dies in the British camp at Haikhuilut.

18.-At the close of an uproarious meeting in Edinburgh, called to consider the question of adopting the Public Libraries Act, 71 vote in favour of it and 1,106 against.

- Mr. Baxter's motion that it be an instruction to the Committee on the Scotch Reform Bill to disfranchise all English boroughs which had a population of less than 5,000 at the last census, for the purpose of giving increased representation to Scotland, carried against Government by 217 to 196. Mr. Disraeli preferred Sir R. Knightley's plan, discussed at the same time, of reducing certain small boroughs Mr. at present returning two members. McLaren proposed, That no arrangement respecting additional members can be just or satisfactory which does not treat Scotland, as regards the number of its representatives in Parliament, as an integral portion of the United Kingdom, entitled to be placed on a footing of

66

perfect equality with England and Ireland in proportion to its present population, and the revenue which it yields to the national exchequer, as compared with the present proportion of revenue in England and Ireland; and that to establish this equality at least fifteen additional members should now be provided for Scotland." This was also carried against Government by 118 to 96. They immediately met with a third defeat by Mr. Bouverie carrying his proposal to insert a clause: "...is and has been, for a period of not less than twelve months next preceding the last day of July, an inhabitant, occupier, or a lodger of part of any dwellinghouse, such part being of the annual value of £10 or upwards." Mr. Disraeli complained of this as an unjust decision, and moved that the Chairman report progress for the purpose of enabling Government to consider its position.

18.-Munches House, Galloway, struck by lightning and afterwards burnt to the ground.

20. The Jamaica Committee make out such a preliminary case as induces Mr. Vaughan, Bow-street magistrate, to commit ex-Governor Eyre for trial. The latter said he had now been for two years and a half the victim of unceasing rancorous persecution, but he was convinced that those who had combined for such a purpose would not influence or be accepted by the higher tribunal to which this action is now to be referred, or the large majority of my fellow-countrymen, to whose sense of justice and common sense I confidently entrust my honour as a gentleman and my character as a public servant."

Sir Colman O'Loghlen's Press Libel Bill carried into Committee by 100 to 38.

21. Mr. Disraeli makes a Ministerial statement with reference to the defeats sustained on the 18th. The Government looked upon Mr. Bouverie's amendment as very seriously interfering with the principle of the entire Reform scheme; but thinking the House had assented to it somewhat precipitately he proposed to add words to the effect that no elector in a Scotch burgh should be entitled to exercise the suffrage, who was not rated to the poor, and had not paid his rates. This compromise was afterwards accepted by the House.

The Chicago Convention unanimously nominate General Grant for the Presidency.

22.-Vice-Chancellor Gifford gives judg ment in the case of Lyon v. Home, a suit instituted in June 1867, to set aside certain gifts to the defendant, Daniel Home, the well-known spiritual “medium." Mrs. Lyon, 75 years of age, with some property of her own, married a wealthy husband, by whom she was left a widow in 1859, with about 100,000/. at her own disposal. She was devoted to the memory of her husband, and from mysterious intimations during his lifetime she was possessed with a belief that in some way she would meet him again at the end of seven years. In July