The Week.

that for some length of time hack the accused had succeeded in carrying on a rather profitable business . Some of the persons Avhose names had been thus dishonestly made use of came forivard and substantiated the charges of forgery . It appeared that all the forged letters Avere in the same handwriting , and had all the appearance of having been written by a female . It is not likely that any more silk-mercers ivill be swindled by the

individual in question . He has been committed for trial on all the charges brought against him , and they Avere sufficiently numerous to be the means of keeping him from doing any further harm for sbme considerable time to come . —¦—Mr . Pv . oebuck > M . P ., is so far well again that he was able to be present at the Sheffield Cutlers' Feast . It is understood that political topics

are not to be discussed there ; but Mr . Roebuck is a privileged person , and he favoured his hearers ivith his latest views on Reform . He declared that the bill of the last session ivas lost because of the bad management of the Government . He had a good many sneers against Earl Russell , and objected to the principle of admitting Avorking men to the franchise by lowering

the qualification a pound or two . He wishes apparently to separate the working men into two classes ; the " fractious , " as he calls them , are not to have a vote , while the well-conditioned are . H OAV it is to be accomplished he does not tell us ; perhaps on the principle that prizes are given to labourers at county agricultural meetings . Then Mr . Roebuck glorified the

House of Commons , and finally expressed a hope that the Conservatives ivould meet the moderate Reformers half-way , and make a party against which contention ivould be in vain . Mr-Roebuck said he . supported the bill of last session in the House because he Avas obliged . This is , Ave believe , the exact truth . When it was brought forward report said Mr . Roebuck was anxious to oppose it ; but he got a hint from his constituents

not to clo so if he wished to remain member for Sheffield . He knew the sturdy men of Hallamshire , and he took the hint . The Eyre D . fence Committee met ou the 5 th iust ., with Mr . Carlyle in the chair . Mr . Ruskin , too , ivas present , and made a speech . He defended Mr . Eyre , and condescended to argue ivith Mr . Mill on the subject . Ono of the rooms of the

Guildhall Coffee-house was Cor fully an hour , on the 7 th iust . filled by the tickctholders and other passengers of the Southeastern Railway . The object of the meeting ivas to protest against the delays and inconveniences ivhich they have been subjected to since tho opening of the Cannon-street station-Although numerous complaints were made , and occasional

outbursts of strong feeling took place , the explanations given by Mr . Eborall , the manager of the company , ancl Mr . Smiles , the secretary , gave such satisfaction , that the gentleman who presided , Mr . Lover ' ulge , withdrew tAvo resolutions of censure he had intended to propose ; and instead , resolutions ivere passed deciding that the Board of Trade be memorialised to inquire

into the state of the traffic on the line since the opening of the Cannon-street station , requesting the hoard to remodel their traffic arrangements , and testifying to the civility and good temper of tbe employes under the trying circumstances . The excuse given by Mr . Eborall was , that in trying to afford as quickly as possible the full advantage of the accommodation of

the Cannon-street station , and at the same time to provide against the possibility of accidents , the company had attempted more than it was found they could accomplish , and the result AA-as general dissatisfaction , but he hoped that after a short time all causes of complaint would be removed . A death of rather a mysterious character AV . IS the subject of an inquiry by the deputy coroner for Central Middlesex , on the 7 "th inst . The deceased ivas an old woman named Elizabeth M'Cormack . She is said to have been quite well a feiv days since . Her husband

parted with her about ten o'clock at night . She was then perfectly sober , and had in her possession 7 s . Sd ., with which she was to have purchased her husband a shirt and a pair of stockings . At about two o ' clock the next morning a policeman discovered her sitting on a doorstep insensible , smelling of drink , and ivith a great jug three-quarters full of beer beside her . She

was conveyed to the station-honse and locked up in a cell at night . In the morning she showed no signs of recovery , and she Avas taken in a wheel-harrow to the St Giles's Workhouse , where she died . AA'hen brought to the workhouse no money ivas found on ber . From wounds discovered on her person it ivas suggested that her death might have been caused by a fall ; but

the jury were puzzled as to what to think of the case , and returned an open verdict , the Coroner significantly remarking upon the practice of the police in treating all persons they find insensible in the street as being cases of drunkenness , and locking them up without a medical man seeing them . We recommend the coroner ' s advice to the attention of the authorities .

Rumour points to Lord Stanhope as the probable successor of Lord Coivlcy at Paris . Among minor diplomatic appointments , that of Dr . Norman Shaw , the late able and accomplished secretary of the Royal Geographical Society , to a consulship in Peru , Avill afford satisfaction . Last year's Atlantic cable has now been successfully laid . The Great Eastern arrived at the

mouth of the harbour on the morning of the 8 th inst ., by the evening of that day a message was transmitted through the 1865 cable , announcing the successful completion of the great enterprise . This gratifying result must , in a large measure , be due to the skill of Mr . Canning , the engineer , Before Captain Moriarty left England he was satisfied of his ability to find the exact spot where the cable rested in its oozy bed ; and he , too , has his roivard in bavin" - made no small contribution to the

success of one of the grandest scientific achievements of modern times . — - —The Association for Promoting the Unity of Christendom have had a field day in some of the metropolitan churches . The object of this movement is to unite the Greek Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches ; and its promoters selected the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary for their demonstration . If the services at St . Ethelburga ,

Bishopsgatestreet , may be accepted as representative-ill their character , Ritualism has now reached ils highest development . ——The floods iu the Midland counties have been most disastrous . The Trent , the Soar , the Dei-went , and their tributaries , have overflowed their banks and seriously damaged the crops . Tho latest accounts report that the water is IIOAV receding . A great open

air Reform meeting took placo in Bermondsey on the 10 th inst . The demonstration Avas held in connection with the establishment of a local Reform League , ancl for numbers and enthusiasm has probably never been exceeded in that locality . Other meetings have been held in Manchester and Norwich . A strange revelation has been made before Alderman Abbiss at the

Guildhall Police-court . One Charles Mayhew was charged with wilful perjury under rather original circumstances . It is pretty well known that when persons are summoned on a grand jury at the Lord Mayor ' s Court and do not attend , they are fined . The charge against the Charles Mayhew in question Avas that he had made it a practice to ascertain AVIIO the gentlemen were

who had incurred fines , and then to come forward and make a false affidavit in order to get them excused from the fine . This " little game , " it is alleged , had been reduced to such a system that some gentlemen never appeared at all , while others who did attend very naturally often complained that they were taken away from their business much more frequently than ivas fair . It Avas stated that there were several cases of this particular description of perjury to be brought against the accused