glrobintts.

There is little political activity about the country ; as is usual in the exhaustion that follows a protracted session with its attendant excite- ments. The most characteristic trait of country life just now is dis- played in such paragraphs as this, touching "the Twelfth of August"—

"From Cumberland we learn, that the sport on the moors in Cumberland

and Westmoreland, on Monday, was most excellent. Birds were plentiful; but it required the greatest ingenuity to come within range of them, they being universally strong on the wing. The Honourable Colonel Lowther, Sir James M'Adam, W. Holmes, Esq., and other gentlemen, on Shap and Birkbeck Fells, the preserves of the Earl of Lonsdale, made a tolerably good day's sport. Co- lonel Lowther bagged sixteen brace; but his sporting companions were not quite so fortunate. Sir George Musgrave, of Eden Hall, Captain Salmoud, and others, were more successful on the worthy Baronet's preserves, on the moors near Kirby Stephen, in Westmoreland. Sir George, we understand, brought down twenty-five brace, and the other gentlemen of his company made some excellent sport. W. Marshall, Esq., M.P., who was accompanied by three other gentlemen on Cross Fell, traversed many a weary mile; and on their return to the shooting-box on the Fell, in the afternoon, were well loaded with fine birds. H. Howard, Esq., of Greystoke Castle, and his friends, were on Skiddaw Forest ; where the birds were numerous, but being packed toge- ther in large numbers they were difficult to come at. However, by unweaned perseverance, they made a good day's sport, killing eight brace each on an average. Accounts received from several other moors say that the birds are numerous, but, in consequence of the long-continued dry state of the weather during the hatching-season, they are packed and remarkably wild."

The colliers have had another meeting on the Town Moor, at New- castle, but in much diminished numbers. The Chairman complained that many who had attended these meetings, and held up their hands for the resolutions, had afterwards " gone sneaking back to their masters" to seek employment. It was announced that the miners would be as- sisted by the workmen of London. " No compromise" was the resolve of this meeting, as well as of another held on the Sands, Durham. The Tyne Mercury, however, states that " the greater number of the St. Hilda pitmen went to work on Tuesday morning, and his expected that the remainder will return as soon as arrangementscan be made for their employment. This is the result of some of the inhabitants stepping in and acting as mediators."

The Provincial Medical and Surgical Association held its twelfth an- niversary meeting at the County Hall, Northampton, on Wednesday and Thursday week. Divers papers were read on medical subjects, on some of which discussions arose ; and there was a public breakfast and a pub- lic dinner, with speeches at the latter. The state of the Association was announced to be prosperous ; the members now amount to 1,784.

A Romish "cathedral," on a larger and more magnificent scale than any built in England since the Reformation, has been recently erected in Nottingham, and will be opened on Wednesday week. The Ponti- fical mass on that occasion will be presided over by Dr. Wiseman. Mr. Pugin is the architect.

Dr. Dalton, the chemist, was buried at Ardwick Cemetery, in Man- chester, on Monday. The funeral was a public one : the shops and warehouses in the line of the procession were closed, and every one seemed desirous to pay respect to the philosopher's memory. Dr. Dalton was a Quaker.

A trial respecting a life-policy took place on Tuesday, at Monmouth. An action was brought by the widow and administratrix of one Benjamin Walters, deceased, against the Directors of the Alfred Home and Foreign Mutual Insurance Association, to recover the sum of 5001. upon a policy of insurance effected on the life of Walters. The de- fendants pleaded that they had been deceived by Walters, when they granted the policy, as to his state of health ; for though he pretended to be in good health, he was afflicted with paralysis. Evidence was ad- duced on both sides, of rather a contradictory nature, not very distinct for either party, yet so much in favour of the plaintiff's claim that the Jury returned a verdict for her without requiring the Judge to sum up. The Registrar of Deaths had entered, without proper authority, the cause of the man's death as " paralytic stroke ' ; and this appears to have induced the insurance-company to contest payment of the amount claimed.

Warner, the clerk of the Birmingham Town and District Bank, pleaded guilty, at the Warwick Assizes, to having robbed his employers. He was sentenced to be transported for fourteen years.

At Wells, on Monday, Joel Fisher was tried for the murder of his wife, at Weston-super-Mare. We gave the particulars of this murder on the 8th June. The prisoner was found guilty, and sentence of death passed on him. He said he was justified in killing the woman, because she was a bad and provoking creature ; and that he would rather be hanged than have lived with her. It was attempted to be shown that the man was insane ; but the proofs failed.

The murderer Weeks was hanged, at Bodmin, on Monday. During. a great part of the time since his sentence, he was in a state of uncon- sciousness.

An inquest has been held on the bodies of the people who were killed at Saville's execution, in Nottingham. The Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental Death "; but declared that the place of execution was a most improper and dangerous one for the collection of a great crowd. A majority of the Jury also censured the authorities for not having adopted proper precautions for the prevention of accident. Another man has died from injuries he received at the execution.

Jane Miller, the wife of a cotton-spinner at Manchester, was mur- dered on Wednesday morning. She was left in the house with Evans, a lodger, a dissipated young man ; and when her husband came home to dinner, he found her lying dead in a closet, with her skull fractured. Evans had disappeared, taking with him a quantity of property from the house.

The Thomas Bennett, Halsey master, sailed from Liverpool on the 3d, for Charleston ; and when she had got so far as the Bay of Biscay, a dispute arose between the master and the cook ; in the course of which, it is said, Mr. Halsey presented a pistol and seemed about to murder the man. The cook immediately drew a knife and stabbed the master in the back, and in other parts of the body ; so that he died at once. The crew secured the cook, kept the mangled remains of the captain on board, and have brought the vessel back to Liverpool ; where the mur- derer was taken into custody.

William Cooper, son of'a gamekeeper to Sir Thomas Boughey, living at Halmerend, near Audley, in Staffordshire, was murdered on the night of Sunday week. He went to Audley in the evening, and returned to his father's house soon after midnight ; and he was on the point of entering the house by a back-door, when some man fired at him, and

wounded him so badly that he died in ten minutes. Downing, a collier, and another man named Powys, have been arrested. Downing had only been released from prison on the day previous to the murder; where he had been confined for two months upon the evidence of the father of the deceased, for poaching. Foot-marks of two men were traced from Cooper's house, and the boots of both the prisoners fitted those marks. At the house of Powys's father, a gun was discovered in a drawer, hidden among some female wearing-apparel ; and a small quan- tity of powder was also found in the same place wrapped up in a blue paper ; this paper corresponded as nearly as possible with a piece of discharged wadding found upon the spot where the murder was com- mitted.

A mysterious murder was committed last Saturday, at High Eighton, in the county of Durham. Two men were proceeding along a potato- field which they were watching, depredations having been recently committed there, when a man fired a pistol from behind a hedge, and killed one of them. The man's breast and heart were shattered and torn : no fewer than 187 shots were found in his body. The criminal has not yet been captured.

John Duckett, a jobbing-carpenter, was killed last week, near Ban- bury, by a very quiet bull, which he had struck and irritated. Duckett fell down, and the bull knelt on him, and struck him on the head with his horns.

A young man met with a dreadful death in a fulling-mill, at Rossen- dale, on Saturday week. He was perching a blocking or woollen-warp, when by some means the piece caught him, taking him up along with it on the fly-wheel ; wrapping his whole body within its fold, except his legs, 'which were left sticking out at one side, and which, consequently, were entangled in the machinery, and both broken. It is supposed that he was in this situation half-an-hour before the accident was discovered: he was quite dead.

A frightful explosion of fire-damp occurred on Monday, at the Crab- tree colliery, West Bromwich, belonging to Messrs. J. Bagnall and Sons ; by which four men were instantly killed, and five others were so se- verely burned that they are not expected to recover. It is supposed that the " air-lead " had become choked up during the night, and caused an accumulation of explosive gas in the colliery beneath.

A boiler-explosion occurred on Monday, at the mouth of the shaft of a pit at Mesnes, Wigan, belonging to Messrs. Blundell and Sons. The same boiler burst a few months ago, was repaired, and has now exploded a second time, with fatal results ; for a man and a boy, who were near, were so scalded that they have since died. The Jury who sat on the body of the boy returned a verdict of " Accidental Death," with a deo- dand of 60/. on the boiler and other apparatus ; and the Jury who inves- tigated the man's death declared their opinion that the accident arose from the employment of an incompetent engineer, whose services could be commanded at a low rate of wages.