as early as 1826, was deprived of my faculty to lecture for an offence which my superiors did their best to conceal; and who, in 1827, had already earned the reputation of a scandalous friar. I am that Achilli who in the diocese of Viterbo in February, 1831, robbed of her honour a young woman of eighteen; who in September, 1833, was found guilty of a second such crime, in the case of a person of twenty-eight; and who perpetrated a third in July, 1884, in the case of another aged twenty-four. I am he, who was afterwards found guilty of sins, similar or worse, in other towns of the neighbourhood. I am that son of St. Dominic who is known to have repeated the offence at Capua, in 1834 or 1835; and at Naples again, in 1840, in the case of a child of fifteen. I am he who chose the sacristy of the church for one of these crimes, and Good Friday for another. Look on me, ye mothers of England, a confessor against Popery, for ye 'ne'er may look upon my like again.' I am that veritable priest, who, after all this, began to speak against, not only the Catholic faith, but the moral law, and perverted others by my teaching. I am the cavaliere Achilli, who then went to Corfu, made the wife of a tailor faithless to her husband, and lived publicly and travelled about with the wife of a chorus-singer. I am that professor in the Protestant college at Malta, who with two others was dismissed from my post for offences which the authorities cannot get themselves to describe. And now attend to me, such as I am, and you shall see what you shall see about the barbarity and profligacy of the inquisitors of Rome.' You speak truly, O Achilli, and we cannot answer you a word. You are a priest; you have been a friar; you are, it is undeniable, the scandal of Catholicism, and the palmary argument of Protestants, by your extraordinary depravity."

lives by the Explosion of the Middle Duffryn Colliery, Aberdare, mentioned in the "Household Narrative for last month. The evidence given was that of a great many miners employed in the works; that of Mr. Blackwell, the government inspector who gave evidence at the inquest held in 1850, on the bodies of some thirty miners who were then killed by an explosion in the same pit; and that of Mr. Mackworth, the government inspector who has reported on the present disaster. The general causes of the explosion are made very clear by the scientific evidence. The Middle Duffryn pit is a deep working in what is called "a maiden country that is to say, a country only recently opened by mining enterprise; the seams of coal in which have not been drained of their gases, as those of the longer worked coal-fields have been, by shafts and passages that have been ventilated for generations past. They are therefore pervaded by explosive gases, the enormous pressure on which, at the great depths the coal is worked, makes them fly off at every pore. Occasionally they break loose with a force that rends the coal, or shale, like a gunpowder blast. In this instance a sudden and violent escape threw down a large portion of the roof, and so flooded the workings with explosive gas, that when the ventilating currents which had passed through the broken region came to the furnace which creates the ventilating draught in the upcast shaft, they exploded The defendant pleaded first, not guilty, upon which backwards throughout 450 yards of air-way, and made issue was joined; secondly, he pleaded certain allega- the currents for the whole of that distance poisonous to gations of fact, and said that the libel was true in sub-human respiration. It is certain that only a very few stance, and that its publication was for the public of those who died were killed by the force or heat of the benefit. To this the prosecutor replied that the defend- explosion; nearly all died simply of suffocation by "the ant had published it in his own wrong and without the after-damp "-that is to say, from the non-vitality of alleged cause. Upon this plea issue was also joined. The the air after the explosion had deprived it of all its prosecutor having proved the libel, the defendant oxygen. It is plain from this description, that the brought forward evidence in justification; for which secondary cause of the disaster was the use of the furnace purpose several women were examined, and deposed to in the upcast shaft. This furnace was specifically con the acts of immorality committed by Dr. Achilli in demned by Mr. Blackwell, the government inspector various parts of Italy and also in London; witnesses at the inquest in 1850; and Mr. Mackworth ascribed also swore to Dr. Achili's alleged conduct at Corfu; and the present calatnity to the persistence in its use, in evidence was given of the judgment of the inquisition, such a position that the explosive air was brought into whereby, on the ground of such charges, Dr. Achilli immediate contact with it as it left the mine. Of the had been deprived of all ecclesiastical functions for ever, general management of the mine, however, he gave and sent to a convent for three years. On the part of very high praises; therein concurring with all the the prosecution, Dr. Achilli himself was examined at miners. It also appeared that the owner of the mine great length; and pointedly denied the truth of the had consulted managers of experience and science after statements made against him. His evidence was a full Mr. Blackwell gave his opinion against the furnace, account of the principal circumstances of his life. He and that he was guided by their advice in retaining it. also brought evidence to his own character and to the The coroner alluded to this fact, and called the attention effect of discrediting the witnesses for the defendant. of the jury explicitly to the discrepancy of scientific On the 24th, the fourth day of the trial, Sir A. E. opinion as to the safety of bratticed shafts, with furnaces Cockburn addressed the jury at great length for the open to the whole draught of the upcast currents. defence, and was followed by the Attorney-General for jury found a verdict of "accidental death;" and exthe prosecution. Lord Campbell summed up; and the pressed their opinion "that there is no neglect or jury, after deliberating for nearly three hours, returned culpability attaching to any of the agents or men in a verdict, finding the 19th charge proved and all the their employ, notwithstanding we much regret that rest not proved. The 19th charge was that which re- the recommendations of the jury and the suggestions spected Dr. Achilli's having been deprived of his pro- of Mr. Blackwell in his report on the occasion of the fessorship and prohibited from preaching and hearing last explosion, had not been complied with; and we confession. Lord Campbell directed a verdict to be earnestly recommend that the proprictors be enjoined to entered for the Crown on that issue as well as on the adopt Mr. Blackwell's plan of ventilation, especially the plea of not guilty, stating that he would report the above dumb drift." special finding to the court when necessary. A juror begged his lordship to understand that they did not consider this case as regarded Protestantism and Catholicism; they only looked at it as a matter of fact. Lord Campbell: Oh, I am sure you have dealt with it conscientiously." Loud cheers were now given, which the learned judge did not for a moment attempt to check. Some conversation took place between his lordship, the jury, and the learned counsel, respecting the fees to be paid to the jury. All parties agreed that it "hard case; but his lordsdip said he had no power to grant anything like an indemnity, and, accordingly, only the customary nominal fee was paid to each juryman.

dington, the engine left the rails, broke from its tender, dashed through a hedge, and fell over on its side in a field. The driver retained his place till the locomotive turned over: he was only stunned. The tender, breakvan, and two foremost carriages, left the rails on the opposite side. George Allen, the guard, was thrown off by the sudden stoppage, and he died in a few minutes. The carriages were somewhat damaged, but the passengers suffered only from fright and bruises. The branch consists of a single line of rails: it is a dead level, and perfectly straight. A coroner's jury was held, when it was proved that the speed of the engine was regular and proper; and that if the disaster was attributable to anything but pure and unaccountable accident, the inferior order of the line might have had some bad influence. However, Captain Galton, government inspector, said that "the line appeared to him generally in good order." It was made when light engines were used, and heavy engines are not used on it to this time. The engine is supposed to have jumped at some uneven joint in the rails. The jury deliberated for more than an hour, and returned the following verdict:

by accidental circumstances, in consequence of the engine of the "We find that the deceased, George Allen, came by his death train of which he was the guard jumping off the line of the Aylesbury Railway. The jury think, that owing to the clay sub-soil the rails and sleepers require constant attention and care; and that it appears from the evidence that there is not in places sufficient ballast above the clay; that the bearings another sleeper under each rail. That no satisfactory reason are too far apart, the jury considering that there should be appearing in the evidence for the engine getting off the rails, the jury are unable to come to any other conclusion than that there was some defect connected with the rails or the sleepers in the neighbourhood of the accident."

While the new Corn Exchange at Liverpool was crowded with people about noon on the 8th inst., Mr. Forbes Mackenzie and Mr. Charles Turner, the Protectionist candidates, being present to canvass the electors, the floor gave way, and the crowd fell with the ruins into the cellarage beneath,-a depth of ten or twelve feet. But though the people were rudely jammed together, and the sample-stands fell upon them, none of those who had been on the floor were killed, though some were wounded and made insensible. Unfortunately, two labouring men were beneath the floor eating their dinners; one was taken out dead, and the other died soon after. An inquest was held on their bodies, and the jury found a verdict of "accidental death," qualified by censure. They found that Philip Code, the clerk of the works, was "highly blameable The great printing establishment of Messrs. Clowes, for allowing the centres to be removed without the in Duke Street, Stamford Street, suffered severely by a express permission of the architect, especially as the Fire on the 10th. especially as the Fire on the 10th. A little before two o'clock, while architect had declared the step would be dangerous till most of the workmen were at dinner, it was discovered the whole building was completed; and they were of that the warehouse called the "chapel "-a building opinion that "the Corn Exchange Committee was not formerly used by a Unitarian congregation entirely free from blame." They also asserted generally, flames. Engines were soon obtained; and every effort their opinion "that it is a practice much to be censured was made to stay the progress of the fire; but from the that public bodies take the lowest tenders for work, inflammable nature of the stock the fire spread to without regard to the means of the parties to carry that another warehouse, the two upper floors of which, with work to completion." the whole of the "chapel," were destroyed. The loss of property is very great. About two hundred tons of type have been melted; twenty thousand reams of paper, and a vast quantity of printed books consumed. Among the books consumed, was the whole edition of the new octavo Illustrated Great Exhibition Catalogue, peare, and many other completed works. Catalogues in other sizes, Knight's Illustrated Shaksthe fire is unknown, as no lights or fires were allowed in The origin of the "chapel :" it is supposed that some one had carelessly thrown down a match after lighting a pipe or cigar. The fire was at first believed to have destroyed 50,0002. worth of property, but it has since appeared that the loss will not exceed 1000l. or 50001.

An Explosion in Bunker's Hill Colliery, Bilston, has caused the loss of five lives, and seventeen o:her men have been badly hurt. went down to feed the horses, and negligently left open On Sunday the 13th, a man an air-door, which stopped the ventilation; when the workmen entered with candles on Monday morning the accumulated gas exploded. A skip was descending full of workmen at the time, and all but one were blown out of it by the explosion. The disaster was increased by the explosion of two casks of gunpowder.

Mr. George Thompson, an iron and coal master at Minera, near Wrexham, has been Killed on the branch railway which traverses his estate. Mr. Thompson, eighty-three years old, was crossing the rails on a pony, when a train dashed up and struck the pony. Mr. Thompson died after six hours of unconsciousness. A Fatal Accident took place at Oxford on the 7th. A few minutes after the ceremonial of opening the baths and wash-houses had been concluded, and before several of the gentlemen had left the building, a rumbling noise was heard, which was succeeded by a heavy crash. It was discovered that the hot and cold water isterns had fallen, and that the tall shaft and walls joining were thrown down, presenting a desolate heap ruins upon the very spot where, but a few minutes efore, the founders and supporters of the undertaking ere congratulating themselves on the successful terination of their labours. A boy named Burchell, and ordsworth, a stoker, lost their lives. The stoker's fe, who was with him partaking of dinner, was very ach bruised. A boy, named Hosier, had his thigh oken; and two little girls sustained considerable ury. A Fatal Railway Accident occurred on the Man- During a Thunder-Storm, which lately passed over ester, Sheffield, and Licolnshire line on the Sth, near Ipswich, a young woman named Stevens was struck by Woodhouse junction. The engine of the goods the electric fluid. She had retired to rest, and noticed n was thrown off the rails, and sustained considerable nothing during the storm, beyond being greatly heated; age. The passenger carriage, and several of the but upon rising on the following morning she discovered waggons, were crushed to pieces, and two men that the whole of her hair on the right side and part on were sitting in one of the compartments of the the back of the head had been burnt off by the lightning, age, unaware of the danger, were killed on the the other portion being much singed. The left side was Their names are Waller and Walker, married uninjured. The hair removed is about a foot long. residing at Brigg. other Railway Accident, also fatal, occurred on 1th, on the Aylesbury branch of the North-western way. As a passenger train was approaching the on with the North-western main line at Ched

He went out tiger-shooting at the foot of the hills on Captain Colby has been Killed by a Tiger in India. which the Muree depot is situated; and having come upon a large male tiger, fired at and wounded him, as he supposed, mortally. Upon this he drew near with

his elephant, and descending, approached the tiger, which lay to all appearance dead; but on his coming close to it, it sprang upon him, and mutilated him dreadfully. He was rescued by the Mahouts and other natives of the shooting party, some of whom immediately started for Bawul Pindee to give information. Two medical officers arrived early the next morning. They found Captain Colby dreadfully mangled, and judged amputation of the left arm indispensable. The operation was at once performed, near the shoulder; but so great had been the loss of blood, that the patient sank, and expired the same evening.

A poor schoolmaster has died in London from Starvation. An inquest was held on the 18th at a public house in Gray's-Inn-lane, on the body of an elderly man, named John Nicholls. It appeared that he had been formerly a schoolmaster, but was latterly so reduced as to be compelled to earn his livelihood by writing window bills for tradesmen, and with all his industry sometimes only realised a few pence a week. The parish allowed a loaf a week for the support of himself and wife, who is paralysed. During the last twelve months he was daily sinking from sheer starvation, but still buoyed up with the hope of getting some property to which he was entitled. On Monday morning his wife found him dead in bed at her side. The following day he became entitled to 1207. in cash, and 607. a year. A surgeon deposed that death resulted from want and disease of the lungs. The foreman, on behalf of the jury, expressed their horror and disgust at the parochial authorities limiting the support of deceased and his paralysed wife to a solitary loaf of bread a week, instead of inquiring into their wants, and contributing a sufficient quantity of food for their support. The jury, returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence, and accompanied by the following addendum :-" And the jury express their opinion that the applicants for relief on this parish ought uniformly to be visited by proper officers by order of the parochial authorities, immediately after the application for relief, and from time to time afterwards, so long as they are in receipt of that relief, in order that the extent of their wants may be ascertained."

Additional correspondence about the Two Ships seen on the Icebergs by the crew and passenger of the "Renovation," in the spring of last year, has been published by the Admiralty. Captain Coward has been examined at Venice, and his testimony is in harmony with that already published of Mr. Simpson, the mate of the "Renovation.' Captain Coward states that he was very ill at the time the vessels were first sighted, and, coming on deck to see them, he remained there but a short time; as he thought, and still thinks, that the ships were two Greenlandmen abandoned, and as the sea was very heavy, and the neighbourhood of the ice dangerous to his own old ship. Mr. Lynch, the intelligent passenger who sailed in the "Renovation," and who first saw the ships, has been traced out, and found at Prescott in Canada; and has been fully examined. In one of the official letters in the correspondence the following sentence occurs:-Mr. Lynch was of opinion that they were the ships belonging to Sir John Franklin's expedition; an opinion in the accuracy of which there seems now to be a general concurrent belief, including her Majesty's government.'

SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL

PROGRESS.

nication from room to room. The rooms of the Governor and Deputy Governor are by this means placed in direct and immediate communication with every important department; and the most perfect secrecy of communication is insured by the use of an apparatus by which a message intended for one particular office cannot be read at another.

A return to the House of Commons has been printed, showing that on the 1st of September last the number of licenses of hackney carriages in the metropolis was 3548; the weekly duty in the year amounted to 85,5877. These hackney carriages are nearly all cabs.

A meeting of the parishioners of St. Martin's-in-theFields was held on the 9th, to inaugurate the establishment of a Library and Reading Room for the Working Classes, in the building of the Northern Schools, Castlestreet, Long Acre. The Vicar announced a valuable contribution of books from Prince Albert, a donation of 5l. from the Lord Bishop of London, and read also letters expressing sympathy and countenance from the Earl of Carlisle, Viscount Goderich, Lord J. Manners, Sir W. P. Wood, and other gentlemen, who were unavoidably prevented from attending. The Earl of Harrowby, who followed, said he was gratified at being present to encourage the parish of St. Martin's-in-theFields in another of those good works for which it had made itself conspicuous among the parishes of the metropolis. They were the first to lead the way in the establishment of those great parochial institutions, baths and washhouses, and now they had provided an institution for the cultivation of the mind. He believed they had done right in beginning with the body, for if that was not comfortable, it was difficult for the mind to be at ease. He wished every parish shool in the country, was a parish library also, where the children, youths, and parents could carry on their studies together, and where dignity was added to the elementary instruction of their children by their witnessing the intellectual enjoyment of the elders. The association between the library for the adult and the school for the child was of great social advantage, and he could not imagine more humanising institution than the one they were met to celebrate, or an institution which would better cement the bonds of society and better promote the general good.

The annual general meeting of the National School Society took place on the 10th. The chair was taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, adverting to the report, said it contained gratifying information respecting the state of education throughout the country. He believed the character of the education given had been greatly improved by raising the qualifications of the teachers, and the exertions which had been made with so much self-denial in many cases had not been without their fruit, but were beginning to tell upon the rising generation. It was now more easy than it used to be to obtain some proportion at least of the expense of maintaining the schools from the parents of the children who received education. All who were well acquainted, with the poor of this country knew that they were keenly sensitive as to the value of any article for which they paid; and it was because the poor found that the education which their children now received was far better than they could formerly obtain, that they were willing to pay towards its support. He might also remark that at the seasons of confirmation he now observed a degree of earnestness, of animation, and c intelligence on the part of the young persons brough before him, which it would have been vain to look fo some years ago. The report was then read, and th meeting proceeded to dispose of Archdeacon Denison' resolution respecting the alleged suppression of th catechism in schools in union with the National Societ and to discuss that gentleman's resolution on Archdeacon Denison address

THE Electric Telegraph has been carried across the Irish Channel, from Holyhead to the Hill of Howth. The operation was successfully completed on the 1st inst., by the Irish Electric Telegraph Company: the cable enclosing the electric wire-eighty miles long-management clauses. was manufactured by Messrs. Newall and Co., of Gates- the meeting, and stated that, in consequence of head, the same firm who made the Straits-of-Dover cable. The distance from Holyhead to the Hill of Howth is about sixty-five miles: the steamer from which the cable was paid out was worked across in about eighteen hours.

An electric telegraph has been constructed at the Bank of England, forming a perfect system of commu

COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

THE intelligence by the Overland Mail from Bombay comes down to the 22nd of May. The expedition under General Godwin against the Burmese arrived before Martaban, a town in the neighbourhood of Rangoon, on the morning of the 5th of April. The place was immediately stormed and taken, with a very trifling loss. Rangoon itself was carried by storm after two days' fighting on the 12th and 13th. The list of casualties amounted to 17 killed and 132 wounded; but several officers and men died from the effects of the climate. The slaughter among the Burmese seems to have been immense, and the place, after its capture, was full of dead bodies. The cholera had begun to rage among the British troops, and a number of men had died. There is no recent intelligence from Rangoon. Our forces will remain there until the termination of the rainy season; and should the war continue, additional troops will be sent from Bombay, Bengal, and Madras. At Bombay, two European and four native regiments have been selected for this service. Sir Colin Campbell has been again called forth with considerable forces to act against the native tribes in the north-west.

From this point, the fire advanced to old St. Andrew's Church, which, together with the dwelling-house of J. Mahony, and several outbuildings, was destroyed. The fire then extended its ravages as far as Little St. Joseph-street, where it was subdued. Several houses facing the steamboat landings were consumed. The total loss is estimated at 250,000l. to 300,000%.

PROGRESS OF EMIGRATION AND COLONISATION.

Mrs. Chisholm's second group meeting on Australian Emigration was held on the evening of the 4th at the Islington Bazaar. The room was crowded to excess. Mrs. Chisholm remarked that it was of the greatest importance to secure the clip of wool this year, as, in the event of its being lost, thousands in Yorkshire would be reduced to pauperism. Her suggestion was, that the Yorkshire manufacturers should subscribe a certain amount to send out boys (with the consent of their parents) who were too young to obtain a licence for the diggings. She urged all intending emigrants to examine well the quality of the provisions of the vessels by which they were to sail, and ascertain the names of the parties who supplied the vessel. Emigrants paid their ready money, and certainly ought to have good accommoda tion. She strongly recommended persons not to go out singly, but in parties of fifty; and if such a number came to her she would get another fifty to join them As a sign that some attention was being paid to the The new governor of the Cape of Good Hope, General subject, Mrs. Chisholm mentioned that model ships were Cathcart, arrived at King William's Town on the 7th being fitted up at Liverpool at the present time for the of April, and immediately assumed the command. Sir conveyance of emigrants. There are now forty-four Harry Smith left King William's Town on the follow-vessels advertised in the "Post-office Packet List ing day, and sailed from Cape Town for England, after take out private ship letter bags to Australia, and all of various demonstrations of respect from the principal which are to sail by the middle of July next. The aginhabitants. gregate tonnage of these vessels amounts to above 30,000. Thirteen of these vessels are for Sydney and twenty-two for Melbourne and Port Phillip.

A system of Thuggee has been discovered in the Punjaub. Five hundred murderers have been found, and the names of 320 rebellious Thugs obtained; 120 are in prison, and the majority have confessed the crime. It is stated that the Nizam is willing to liquidate his debt by a cession of territory.

Montreal has been visited with a most destructive conflagration which has laid in ashes a considerable number of buildings in the business part of the city. The fire commenced at six o'clock in the morning, on the 6th instant, at the corner of St. Peter and Lemoine streets, in the carpenters' shop of J. Martin, which, together with his residence, was quickly consumed, and two of his children were burned to death; one died on the spot, and the other in the course of the afternoon.

to

Large vessels are weekly leaving the Broomiela, filled with passengers; and by the end of the season, there is little doubt that a larger number of emigrants will have left the Clyde than in any previous year. The number of emigrants who have sailed from the various ports on the river, up to the beginning of the month, is 6050. The destination of these persons, with the exception of from two to three hundred, is North America.

NARRATIVE OF FOREIGN EVENTS. THE most remarkable piece of intelligence from France, is the attack made by the President upon the English press. The Paris Correspondents of the Morning Chronicle, Daily News, and Morning Advertiser, were called before the Minister of Police, and informed that if the Journals with which they were connected continued their injurious comments on the conduct of the President, the French government would hold them, the correspondents, as responsible, and would expel them from France. The correspondents had recourse to the English Ambassador, who undertook to remonstrate with the French authorities on the subject; but it appears that he has not obtained any change in the determination of the government.

A strange scene occurred in the Corps Législatif on the 21st. The President had sent to that body, for the second time, his financial scheme for the ensuing year, giving them to understand that by the new Constitution they were bound to adopt it as a whole. But the members felt enough of the spirit of freemen to venture upon a discussion of the items placed before them for approval. In an obscure part of the gallery of the house-in the corner of one of the reserved tribunes, in such a position as to be concealed as much as possiblesat the President himself, to watch the proceedings of his Chamber. A member urged objections to the proposition to adopt a budget to which no amendments