NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 730, 29 October 1870, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

After a volunteer inspection on Aii:*. 3rd, at Hanley, Colonel lloden, M. P., said "In my opinion we shall have to show, sooner than many of us expect, that our drilling is no sham but reality. Thi3 matter is becoming serious, and many besides myself are of opinion that it is only a question of time when this country will be at war, and we voluuteers will have to show that we can do our duty as well as our drill."

It is said that several Prussian officers reconuoitred the approaches to Thionville, having ascended in a balloon. They quietly noted the position over the heads of the French Army. One of the large screw steamers belonging to the West Hartlepool Steam Navigation Company has been sold to French buyers, and will at : once be employed as a transport. From Ancil lafc tn _.TnV anfU +!,« total receipts . into the Exchequer amounted to £20,652,522. This period covers a third part of the financial year, for the whole of which trie estimated revenue is £67,034,000. The expenditure during the past four months has been £24,81-1,941. The sums both received and spent are less than iu the corresponding period of last year. The balance in the Bank of England on August Gth was £3,223,177. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of tne British and Colonial Emigration Fund, Mr Haly said the receipts of the society dtring the year had been £24,000, of which £9OOO was subscribed by the public, £2500 by the trustees of Kel sail's charity, and £12,000 by emigration clubs and the passengers themselves. The expenses wore £22,500 for emigrants' passages, £2OOO for their bedding and outfits, and £6OO for other things incidental to the work of the society. With that amount 2500 had been assisted to emigrate, and the accounts received of them were satisfactory. The Prince of Wales will be present at a meeting of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Scotland, which will be held for the purpose of his installation as patron of the order in Scotland, on his royal highness's return from the Highlands in October. The Marquis of Westminster has caused a communication to be made to the Workman's Club and Institute for Pimlico, offering a contribution of £ 1000, and a site for the erection of a Workman's Club and Institute in Pimlico. . A further sum of about £ISOO will be required. An inquest was held recently at Liverpool, on the body of a man unknown, who was found in a dying condition in the street. The deceased was about GOyears of age. There was nothing in the stomach except the skins of two gooseberries. A verdict was returned of death from starvation. It is intended to erect a hundred additional Wesleyan chapels in London, and with that view a subscription is at once to be set on foot.

The number of postage stamps sold by the Post-office throughout the United Kingdom, during the year ended 31st December, 1869, as given in a return just issued, was 721,211,380, of various prices, valued at £3,490,608. Tho potato disease has exhibited itself rather extensively in the county of Mayo, but as the time is past when it has usually been most destructive, a nope is entertained that it will not seriously spread. The expenditure upon the new Courts of Justice up to the 31st of March, 1870, slightly exceeds £900,000, from which must be deducted about £ 10,000 for the proceeds of the sale of old materials. This expenditure was for the purchase of the site, with incidental and preliminary expenses. At present the statutory limit of ex«

penditure for the erection of the new courts and offices stands at £750,000. A girl, nine years old, recently drowned herself in the Manchester and Ashton Canal through fear of being beaten. Recruiting for the artay is being vigorously carried on in London. The placards posted in the vicinity of the Horse Guards, showing the advantages to be gained by entering her Majesty's service, are naturally at the present time read with more than ordinary interest. In King-street, the rendezvous of the recruiting sergeants, are to be seen daily crowds of young men waiting to undergo the usual formalities before becoming soldiers. In consequence of the statements of of one of the prisoners, another arrest has been made at Bombay in connection wi th the scuttling of the Aurora.