... HOWEVER much the reportsof the Onmissioners who have recently been reporting uponhe condition of the workhouses in various parts « the country may have been exaggerated, as they re alleged to have been since tie disgraceful disc,sures which have been made by them have so paitd the public ear, there can be nc disguising the facthat whether true or false they )ave caused a suden waging up ...

... On Tuesday morning Mr. Charles Bridges, an cld-estat blishtdaml highly-respectable solicitor of Birmingham,com- mitted suicide uiiaer circumstances of an unusually shock- ing description. He left his home at about a quarter pas- ten o'clock, looking very much as usual, but saying nothing as to his return, which was his usual custom, or as to where or for what purpose he was going out. Scon ...

... A special and adjonrn-ji qaarteriy meeting of the Corporation was held on ;nd-iy, when the Mayor, (R. L. Reece, Esq..) presided, and there were also present Aldermen Watkins and David, and Councillors Bowen, Whiffen, Spencer, McConnochie, S. D. Jenkins, E. S. Hill, D. Jones, and J. Bird. In regard to the application made at the last meeting by Mr. Stephenson, for the nse oi the Grand Jury room ...

... PENNY READINGS.—The second series of penny read- ings took place here on Tuesday evening last. Mr. W. Lewis occupied the chair. The programme was as fol- lows :— Mr. Maddox, reading a paper on The pleasures of science the Misses Emerson, duett, Let music and song be our pastime to-night; Master Rees Morgan, A Lyric from the British Fisheries; Miss Hibbs, sol pianoforte; Mr. Robertson, ...

... MONMOUTH AND SOUTH WALES IRON AND COAL TRADE. From the various ironworks in the district the reports which have been received during the past week charac- terises the iron trade as beiug dull, and in a state far from satisfactory. There is no doubt whatever that orders are not so numerous as they were at the com- mencement of the present quarter, when there were scarcely sufficient to keep the ...

... MORE FEN TAN ARRESTS IN IRELAND. — A dozen men have been arrested at Mitchelstown for Fenianism, and others are looked for. They are shop employes and working tradesmen. A head centre being captured, iocuments were found compromising them. Five oi her Majesty's steamships are off the coasts of Clare and Galway in pursuit of a vessel believed to be a Fenian privateer. AUGMENTATION OF THE LONDON ...

... FATAL EXPLOSION IN MANCHESTER. On Monday afternoon, a fewmiuutes after one o'clock, a terrific explosion took place on the premises of Messrs. Chapman and Holland, dyers and finishers, Bromlcy- ptreet, Ashley lane, Manchester, which caused loss of life to six individuals, injuries more or less severe to four others, and the entire destruction of the works. The premises are situated between ...

... HOP MARKET.—MONDAY. Messrs. Woolloton and Son report that the markets abroad are somewhat firmer, but here business is quiet, and where sales are pressed quotations continue in favour of bueyrs. ...

... FIRE AT HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. A fire broke out at Her Majesty's Theatre, the Old Opera House, Haymarket, London, at a quarter to eleven last night, and by eleven o'clock the whole build- ing was in flames. Fortunately the theatre was not open at the time. ...

... APPALIKG RAILWAY CATASTROPHE.—On Saturday evening an appaling accident occurred on the line from Auchin- leck to Muirkirk. On reaching a part of the road named VVelltrees the train dashed into an old colliery lye now in disuse. The engine, breaking through a wooden bridge, was precipitated illto the Iliver Lugar, a fall of about eight feet. The driver, John Hunter, had one of his legs broken ...

... HOW TO PUNISH REFRACTORIES !— Two dandies were some time ago, taken before a Dublin magistrate charged with intending to fight a duel The justice, who was a shrewd and waggish man, had strong doubts as to the really pugnacious inclination of either of the professed belligerents so he dismissed them upon a promise not to carry the matter further, but added, Gentlemen, I let you off this time ...

... FERNDALE COLLIERY. -The workings at this colliery are now in in a forward state for inspectional examination. The total number of bodies now recovered, with the number who died from their injuries, is 173. It is ascertained that at least six more are missing. The number of deaths therefore be put at 180. On Tuesday evening the members of the Pontypridd Committee met, and the secretaries read a ...