grass towards a point of great dan ger. The elder girl ran to the spot, but only in time to see her disappear over the fatal point. Some people in the road below observed the child making every effort to cling to the stunted bushes; but, after being caught for a few moments in some trees, she was seen to fall head-foremost from a prominent piece of rock, and to strike another point in her descent. A young man, with great difficulty, mounted to the spot where the unfortunate child was lying, and brought her to the road beneath. She died soon after her admission to the Bristol Infirmary. In January, another fatal accident happened in the same neighbourhood. The body of William Blanning, a journeyman shoemaker, of Bristol, was found at the foot of the Lion's Head Cliff. This rock rises 300 feet above the level of the sea, and the unfortunate man's head had been beaten to pieces against the different points of the rocks. No particulars of the accident were ascertained.

In the same month, a youth of about 14 years of age, son of the Rev. D. Pitcairn, while strolling on the beach at Torquay, was crushed to death by a mass of rock which, loosened no doubt by the action of the recent frosts, became detached from the cliffs above.

VOLUNTEER REVIEWS.-Of the hold the Volunteer system has taken upon the English people, a noticeable evidence is to be found in their appropriation of Easter Monday to its purposes. This universal holiday of the middle class, though its amusements are generally desultory, has not been without its peculiar features; but something was wanting which should bind the masses of plea

sure-seekers in one common sympathy. The Epping Hunt belongs to past history; the Fairlop Oak is no more, and its fair is denounced as senseless and immoral; and Greenwich Fair is sunk to the lowest point of ruffianism. The festival day thus vacant of its antique charms, has been occupied by the Volunteers, and thus fielddays, sham fights, and rifle-shooting, have taken their places among the sports and pastimes of the English people.

The officers of the metropolitan rifle corps, justly proud of the performances of their regiments in Hyde Park and Wimbledon, became ambitious of testing the proficiency of the force in combined movements upon a large scale. Some desired that the value of the unpaid army should be tried by the sudden assembly of a large force upon some distant point. Others were of opinion that, however well the corps could act when assembled in one field, the organization which would alone enable such a force to move at a distance was altogether wanting-had not, indeed, even been attempted. These latter, therefore, were of opinion that the design was premature, and was likely to end in discouraging failure; and, while they desired to put a large force of Volunteers in motion, were of opinion that the field of operations should be near home.

The authorities of the Horse Guards withheld their countenance from both schemes, but did not oppose either; the officers and corps who wished to take part were simply left to make their own arrangements. They were probably of opinion that the want of organization was a valid, though not the only objection; that the commanders and officers

of regiments were not equal to the required movements, nor the men yet sufficiently trained to execute them efficiently. They thought it would be wise to leave them to their own devices, and thus discover for themselves both what they could, and what they could not do.

The leader of those who desired a quasi-military expedition was Lord Ranelagh, the colonel of the efficient South Middlesex. Lord Bury, colonel of the not less efficient Civil Service Corps, headed the other party. Under the discouraging circumstances referred to, the well-meant scheme almost failed. But there seemed no sufficient reason why each party should not have a field-day on its own plan, and such was the result.

Lord Ranelagh and his friends selected the Brighton Downs as the place for muster, and made their arrangements with great skill.

Their metropolitan force did not amount to 5000 men; but this considerable corps d'armée was assembled and conveyed to Brighton with great speed and order. On the Downs the London corps were joined by some corps of the south-eastern counties, by which the total number on the ground was raised to about 7000 men. This force was divided into one artillery brigade, commanded by Colonel Estridge, and four infantry brigades, commanded respectively by Lieut.-Colonel Faunce, Lieut.Colonel Lord Radstock, Colonel Moorsom, and Colonel Vallency. The entire army was commanded by Lord Ranelagh. The Earl of Chichester, the lord-lieutenant of the county, and Major-General Scarlett, the military commander of the district, were present, the latter officially instructed to in

spect the evolutions of the force; and before these dignitaries the corps assembled marched in open columns of companies. This inspection over, a sham fight took place in the hills and hollows of the Downs adjoining the racecourse. The spot is well calculated to try the skill of the commanders and the steadiness of the men, but the force was not large enough to occupy the position. A very large number of spectators, estimated at 60,000 to 80,000, had mustered around the grand stand to view the spectacle; but the advance of the brigades in attack took them out of sight in the hollows of the hills beyond, and the spectators saw but little, except the smoke which rose from the invisible combatants below, and a battalion occasionally gaining the crest of a hill. A singular circumstance gave an interest to the scene, in which it might otherwise have been deficient. A large extent of furze caught fire, and blazed and crackled with fitful vivacity, and presented in a slight degree a terrible incident of real battle-fields. The circumstances did not admit of any great test of the powers of a volunteer army. The movements were advisedly as simple as possible, and these were executed in a manner which received the praise of General Scarlett, who declared himself greatly satisfied with the skill of the commanders of brigades and battalions, and highly commended the whole management of Lord Ranelagh. The total absence of any arrangements for the commissariat and field-equipage necessary for an army on service, reuder any comparison between this operation and a real military movement absurd; nevertheless, the Brighton fieldday proved in a very decided man

ner that a force of 10,000 Volunteers, and all the regular army in the south-eastern counties, can, on an emergency, be collected and conveyed to any menaced point upon the coast with great rapidity. And since, in time of war, the defence of the country would be systematically organized by the military authorities, there can be no question that a force sufficient to repel any desultory invasion could be assembled at any required spot at a few hours' notice.

The competitive field-day, under the auspices of Lord Bury, was held on the same day on Wimbledon Common. The force here assembled amounted to about 4000 men. At the conclusion of the manœuvres, Colonel McMurdo, the inspector-general of Volunteers, made to the corps a judicious address of praise, criticism, and exhortation. These two field-days, in truth, gave a very useful lesson to the Volunteers throughout the empire; for it was experienced that, however great the excellence of particular regiments, the Queen's Volunteer army had not arrived at perfection per saltum, and that great industry and perseverance in drill and exercise was required to put the force as a whole upon an efficient footing.

Several other corps of the metropolis and the adjacent counties held their meeting on Easter Monday, so that in the whole not fewer than 20,000 men, all in a very respectable state of efficiency, were assembled in array, simultaneously, and without any special call, in the south-eastern corner of England.

6. EXTRAORDINARY OMNIBUS ACCIDENT AT DUBLIN.-SIX PERSONS DROWNED.-A very singular and disastrous accident occurred at Dublin to a public omnibus. The VOL. CIII.

Great Canal runs round the south of the city, and is crossed by numerous bridges, one of which is called the Portobello Bridge, and is somewhat steep. The omnibus, due at Nelson's Pillar at 9.30 on Saturday night, was proceeding into town, and when it had arrived at the crown of Portobello Bridge, the conductor called to the driver to "pull up." The driver stopped, and two passengers got out. There then remained in the omnibus six passengers-three ladies, two male passengers, and a child. The conductor gave the usual signal," All right;" but when the driver proceeded to make the horses go onward, they both got restive, and began to back in the direction of Rathmines. He turned their heads to the eastward for the purpose of making them go up the incline of the hill at an angle. This involved the partial locking of the fore wheels, and, the horses continuing to back, brought the carriage round to the south-western side of the bridge, on the road near the old turnpike. The horses still kept backing, despite every effort to urge them forward, until the hinder part of the vehicle crushed against the wooden barrier between the road and the lock of the canal. After some slight resistance, the frail timber work gave way, and the omnibus rolled backwards to the stone edge of the basin. The fierce exertion of the driver compelled the restive horses to strenuous efforts; but it was too late, the hinder wheels of the omnibus went over the sill, the driver lashed furiously, the conductor pulled at the heads of the horses, which struggled frantically; but their power over the carriage was quite lost, and, amid a frightful shriek from the unfortunate passengers,

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the omnibus fell backwards into the basin below, dragging the horses and driver with it. The depth from the sill to the water was 15 feet; the water was not, at the moment, more than five or six feet deep, but the lower lock gate was closed, and the upper open, to admit water, so that in a few minutes the omnibus, which was found standing in its usual upright position, was completely submerged. The unfortunate persons within were, of course, instantly smothered. The driver was dragged to the top without injury. The horses struggled for a considerable time, but their very efforts made their fate more certain; they were entangled with the harness and with each other, and perished. The shrieks and confusion attendant upon such a catastrophe soon brought people around, but rescue under such circumstances was impossible. The lockkeeper was urged to open the lower lock gate, but he refused to do so until he had closed the upper gate; nor would his doing so have been of any avail; for, beside that the poor people must have been suffocated in a few moments, if both gates had been open at the same time, there would have been a rush of water which might have swept away the wreck. When the upper gate had been closed and the water drawn off, the omnibus was seen standing upright, and very little injured. Amid the glare of torches and lanterns, two men armed with hatchets descended into the lock, at the imminent risk of their own lives, and broke open the roof of the carriage. The corpses of the six passengers were found huddled together, and life had apparently been extinguished without a struggle. The victims

of this miserable catastrophe were a Mrs. Byrne and her child; Mr. Gunn, a respectable pianoforte and musical instrument dealer, of Dublin; a man employed in the docks; and Mrs. O'Connell and her daughter, a beautiful young woman of 18, the wife and daughter of a respectable solicitor of Ennis.

8. THE CENSUS.-On the night between Monday and Tuesday, the 8th and 9th April, the seventh decimal enumeration of the inhabitants of Great Britain and the fifth of Ireland was taken, under the authority of Parliament and by means of a most efficient staff. The first of these important investigations was instituted in 1801, in respect of Great Britain; but in Ireland not until 1821. Since then the Census has been taken at every decennial period with constantly improving machinery. As regards England the organization has long been completed by the appointment of a great public officer, the Registrar-General, under whose superintendence the Census of 1851 was taken; but as regards Scotland and Ireland, this of 1861 is the first that has had a corresponding advantage. In 1851, in Scotland the duty was entrusted to the sheriffs of the several counties, and in Ireland to the department of the Chief Secretary; but in 1855 a Registrar-General was appointed for Scotland with the same duties as the English officer, and with appropriate machinery, and it was by this organization, aided by the provincial magistrates, that the Census of Scotland was taken. In Ireland, which, to our shame be it said, is the only considerable country in Europe which possesses no system for the registration of births, marriages, and deaths, the taking

of the Census was committed, under the authority of the Chief Secretary, to the officers of the Constabulary-a most efficient body, beyond question, and by whom the duty was admirably carried out. The Census of the Channel Islands and of the Isle of Man were taken by the Lieutenant-Govenors, under the authority of the Home-Office. From the additional experience gained by the last Census, by the greatly. improved organisation of the staffs, and by the zeal and intelligence of the sub-officials, and most of all by the willing co-operation of the population there seems little reason to doubt that the present Population Return is as accurate as the nature of the operation will admit of. In the Appendix to this Chronicle will be given the tables which contain the most essential information obtained by this enumeration of the British people. To these will be added a summary of the Census of France taken also in this year; and also an abstract of the Census of the United States taken in 1860documents, especially the latter, of great interest at this crisis.

The many millions of returns from which the information so succinctly stated in the British tables is collected, require a very laborious investigation before the figures can be published as strictly accurate; and this process enables the Commissioners to make remarks and deductions of the greatest value. But as this must be a labour of many months an examination of these results of mature experience must be reserved for another volume. A few phenomena that were apparent upon the face of the returns may, however, be noted here.

First it must be mentioned that there was a singular want of uniformity as to the subjects of inquiry in the three kingdoms. In England, in 1851, the Census Commissioners, without the authority of Parliament, sought for voluntary returns with respect to accommodation and attendance at places of religious worship, and schools, and much valuable, though not altogether accurate information, was obtained by this means. It was proposed to insert columns for these subjects in the forms of 1861, thereby making the return compulsory. This being objected to by many persons, and especially by the Dissenters, the proposal was withdrawn, and even the voluntary returns were abandoned. In Scotland, the Act provided, that beside all the information required by the English schedules, certain particulars should be given respecting rooms provided with windows in each house, and as to school attendance.

In Ireland,

besides the usual information as to persons and houses, the heads of inquiry included the educational status of the people, their religious opinions, and some vital statistics. These variations give rise to some curious inferencesin Scotland it is to be presumed that the knowledge really sought was as to the number of rooms in which there were no windowsa particular of vast importance as regards the civilization and health of the Scotch nation; while as regards Ireland the inference is that the different sects are divided by such marked lines of demarcation that the people would rather proclaim than conceal their antagonisms; while the columns for vital statistics seem a rough attempt to remedy Ireland's discre