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 accomplished."

2. In the course of an interview at Lavidia with Lord Augustus Loftus, English Ambassador, 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 76, Antonio Tamburini, baritone singer.

9.-Thirteen 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 physiologist, whom she had survived for thirty-four years.

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-(loud and renewed cheers)-because there is no country whose resources are so great. In a righteous 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 determined 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."

10. 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 Khedive accepts Mr. Goschen's plan for settling the Egyptian debt.

16. Came on in the Queen's Bench division 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

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 arrested and lodged in York Castle. They remained imprisoned until September 9, when they were discharged on their recognisances to attend this Court for judgment, and were subsequently brought up and admitted to bail, pending their examination on interrogatories by the Master of the Crown Office, Master Mellor. In closing 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 law. This cannot be allowed. It cannot be allowed that individuals should set up their judgments against that 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 relieved from the necessity of passing the severe sentence of imprisonment it would otherwise have been our duty to pass upon these defendants." The defendants were then discharged, and left the court bound in their own recognizances each for 1,000l. 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 attend the Conference. He arrived at Constantinople on the 5th December, having had interviews on his way with various members of the Governments of France, Germany, Austria and Italy.

21.-Died, aged 86, Field-Mar-hal 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.

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 a 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 born 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 troops and entered the city of Mexico, proclaims himself provisional President.

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 But the duty which he has undertaken. now the special Ambassador has been to Paris, to Berlin, to Vienna, and to Rome. He has seen the Duc Decazes, Prince Bismarck, Count Andrassy, and Signor Melegari. 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,

If he

he may do great good. If he acts as the subservient representative of his chief -judging his chief by his own languagethen I 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 37,000l. 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 afternoon, 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 sympathy with the oppressed races in Turkey, and severely attacked the Turkish Government. "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 right." In a characteristic letter

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 entertained 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 thirtyfive men were at work, of these twenty were killed at once, and several more dangerously hurt.

Interesting historical discoveries at the Tower. Whilst restoring the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula, coffins containing the remains of persons executed for State offences were found, and by examination of contemporary 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 Jane Grey.

22.-Died, Lieut.-General George Campbell, C. B., one of the heroes of the Indian Mutiny. General Campbell was one of the

first who entered Delhi through the Cashmere Gate when it was blown 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 representatives had been excluded. Safvet Pasha, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, was elected President, and began with some account of recent events, including the Bulgarian 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 representative, the Comte du Bourgoing, some salvoes of artillery were heard. The President explained that this announced the promulgation of the New Ottoman Constitution. The Conference regarded this Constitution as an ingenious manoeuvre intended to hinder their action, and by no means accepted it as a settlement.

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 prepared for the Royal table.

At

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 fit, and, in spite of all argument from the other plenipotentiaries, always maintaining, with firm politeness, their inability to assent without a reference to their Government. Thereupon the articles were reserved. the third meeting, on the 30th, the Porte announces that it had a counter-proposition to make, which would render further consideration 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 asking 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.

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 addresses, 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 medais 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 similar 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 deserving prisoners released. Demonstrations in honour of the event were also made at Zanzibar, Muscat, and Bushire.

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 pronounced guilty of contempt 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.

10. 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 6,500,000l. Great interest and sympathy were excited at home for the sufferers, 493,000l. being collected at the Mansion House.

15. A trader's boat upset in a gale off Queenstown and five men drowned, whilst soliciting orders from a ship entering the harbour.

20. Close of the Conference at Constantinople, the Turkish Government having rejected the proposals of the European Powers. At a meeting held on Jan. 1st, the Ottoman delegates submitted a series of counter proposals, little differing from those of the Powers, except as regarded an International Commission, an amnesty to the Bulgarian prisoners, and the question of guarantees for the proposed internal reforms. Turkey maintained that the Constitution just proclaimed was the best guarantee that the desired reforms would be duly carried out, while the Foreign Plenipotentiaries declared that a mere promise was not enough to satisfy Europe. On the 15th, after refusal to appoint a local commission of Christians and Mussulmans to carry out the reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the proposals of the Powers, reduced to two points, were submitted. These were an International Commission nominated by Europe without executive powers and the appointment of Valis (Governors-General) for five years by the Sultan, with the approval of guaranteeing Governments. This, the "irreducible minimum, was presented on the 18th to a Grand Council of Ministers and dignitaries of the Ottoman Empire, and unanimously rejected as "contrary