Weekly Mail

jflfc Perfect ft Ounnteed Wear. THE Y & N DIAGONAL SEAM CORSETS T \rN. Will not split in the Seams nor tear in the Fikbric. j«S I ^EEEB GOLD MBDAJLS.^ corset eTermade: —Lady's VTMLP Hade in White, Black, V ^lIPMBifflr and all the Fashionable X Colours and Shades in OvBgMOTW^jjLj^\ Italian Cloth, Satin, and ^>e^* ^>a*r an<^ Upwards. ■BFT-JMKIUSold bv all the principal Drapers and Ladies' Out- "ifiS" fitters in the United King- dom and Colonies. If Strongest and Best" n — HtUtk FRY'S Pure Concentrated COCOA or" RiAnt in flMh^orn)ii|g and energy* ""Wg Amlrtm Wil-n, too F.R's./l. aold MOdale a, DIPIPMOA J

rIlE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA. tORD KITCHENER'S WEEKLY REPORT. •^h Xxr Uiff ar Office have issued the follow- 0111 Lord Kitchener — PRETORIA, Monday. The total captures for the week ST the columns are:—Nineteen ers killed, six wounded, 802 Prisoners, nine surrenders. Also 580 rifles, 5,420 rounds 5r?n^~arm ammunition, 157 wagons, 400 horses and 4,300 cattle. No further news from Ookiep. The enemy all withdrew towards Langeberg. Kavanagh has met White near Garies. The bulk of Jhe enemy are about Tontellen- bosch. General Bruce-Hamilton's columns jttoved north again from the Land- ry line, in conjunction with General Elliott and Colonel Barker on. the 9th of May, capturing 21 Prisoners. Colonel Colenbrander, continuing operations about Bylkop and -^P^pspoort, hag added 70 more Prisoners to those already reported. General Ian Hamilton's columns, after clearing the central area east of Harts River, formed line and lhoved west on the 7th of May, in COnjunction with Colonel Rochfort, from Bloemhof. *p.All arrived yesterday on the J* Railway, with 357 prisoners and practically all the wagons and stock of the commandos in this district. This makes a total reduction in elarey's forces of 860 men since pls successful attack on Major -varis's column, two months ago, ^TEST DRIVE: SPLENDID RESULTS. ^e^ej.. PRETORIA, Friday. -'ery 8ll anice Hamilton has just concluded t;¡,q. "c-sful drive. Starting from Greyling- the to c<y.umns moved south across the •QCIJIJQ e Kroonstad, Lindley, and Heilbron vjeilt, 9Q ■llne- In the course of this move- eilzi,r oners were taken by Colonel Colin j ,°V0(J Q -As already reported, the columns j^benjj a £ ain, Elliott and Barker holding 0a & Vlei, which formed the eastern r^vley t ^bich the other columns converged, (V^Hera ^11? 25, Duff twelve, and Elliott five ViliQ Hip.v sides killing nine of the enemy. was again very suocessful, taw Allle*bvCap1;urill= 154: Garratt t0°k eight jjJ? th» eixteen, the total for the latter drir^- *itlrive being ten killed and 221 Co e of 321. p* Brand total for the whole Who- CoJenbrander, in clearing the cted, jja^ e ^e recent blow to Beyers was caPtured 31 more prisoners. -The rf11 FUSILIERS RETURNING, intern, ar Office announce that the steamship y 10 °v?re left Cape Town for England on V01 having on board on passage home: — j^^er Company Welsh Fusiliers: Cap- 2n,j Meredith Jones and 85 men. Wales Borderers: Major G. C. "e8. Jt ^CTORIA CROSS HERO. .t^a^ette" announced in Tuesday night's t Vr tliat the King ^as been pleased to J0^9, Cro18 ^ntenti°n °f conferring the Vic- "P°n Surgeon-captain A. Martin iP^o'ua „ „ African Constabulary, for con- Tt a gallantry in attending to wounded v thnf1011 at. vlalifontein on February 8. ha c°ntin7i°^ecasion he was shot three times, ti, r°UeH „ to atter"i to the wounded until 11 refn j1"' thoroughly exhausted. He u*<led £ 8!,d, water until all the other a had been served. T *HE XT LOCAL CASUALTIES. °r!0win?r 0flace on Tuesday night notified the k ea,tb i~~ fif1 enteric.—30th Company Impe- 27,792 Thomas William Tyson, d^eer n' May 10- 5°q^ '11—2nd South Wales Bor- ^efetV "^bert H. Williams, abscess liver, £ i "^ay 11- 29111 Company Impe- 'K^8fori+ 20.630 Lewis Perkins, enteric, May 10- kft ^0ll»hili 'Iter Evans- 8011 of ^r- Evans, iaVa,erlv0e' lias this week returned ^Ca. ail(ied, from active service in South W

GEKMAN SQUADRON. 1 'WORK BY COLLIERS FROM CARDIFF. t A Yej ^erIa^ltere8tinff event was the coaling of top a i3eet on lts ^risb .which purpose there were char- tWf V ritish steamers to Berehaven. tL^iel. rp, "erman steamers—Hans and Paul, fleet t t^wo latter vessels had to follow et8 0 Kingstown in order to re-fill the e>"8 n° j the men-of-war there. All tv, to be ready at five a.m. on Wed- V^hed6,7th- and accordingly they were *Jrom Cardiff on the afternoon of JWone- at six a-m- eharP 011 the 7th they by MfiHg the respective warships. Dis- as cl°n'e by the bluejackets, and ar^ Quickly that the first collier waa in after dinner, three others fol- Oh1-OQ evening. On Friday discharging ■W ^tLrSH,Ially wel1 with the other colliers. titj.€ll«ion |?y no w°rk was done owing to taken To dlscharge the whole quan- ^Ut at 4,800 tons— W 30 hours were occupied until the eft* was flashed, including the shift- ot the veesels.

^CHSOLDIERS' REVENGE ^ABLE STORY OF THE J. ^EB:ING EXPEDITION. Par. an' TemP8 has printed extracts ^>,1C bjr a French Marine, who went ^hen fu China campaign. He declarea British guard turned out and ^tire 8<^me French and German rioters, vWS1 °H th ren.c^ contingent prepared to by quarters, and were only a birring speech from an officer of i 6 a to hi asserted that the ^lglish were hi» v e' and Promised jfiiat one day ^i» B brother officers wgjftld have the till ate satisfaction of personally leading tt ell Or ttainat the hated English. The 5?la< fa'nneverthele33, swore to be revenged ''to Ca„iifn comradea, and many a British a,bl1tC%íht out alone fell a victim to the 0 diJ bayonet without anyone being 3. cover by whom he had been mur- —

At j. 0FFICER SENT TO GAOL. orl Saturday A. Hollands, first- h of the gunboat Leda, was S? in^erft < court-martia-l to six months' H' /0r imP«>Perly leaving his place *688 for misappropriating £ 10 lis. of of Which he was caterer.

ON THE LINE. v *iy of at r WeH_dreftsed man was found on tv?" ji n £ h°, Lancashire, on Saturday 18 supposed that the deceased "J fpn ^^land-Scotch express. His irl:re1. The name on his clothe* t

EXPLOSION ON A SCHOONER. LIVES LOST AND VESSEL DESTROYED. A disastrous explosion, resulting in the loss of two lives, serious injuries to two other persons, and the total destruction of a schooner, occurred about 200 yards from Lowestoft Beach on Sunday afternoon, within sight of hundreds of spectators. The ill-fated vessel was the Flown, of Sunderland, 'bound from London to Newcastle, with a cargo of about 2,000 gallons of naphtha, stored in barrels in the main hold. The Flown had brought up in Lowestoft South Roads owing to contrary winds, and resumed her voyage at noon. She had not proceeded far when, without the slightest warning, a terrific explo- sion occurred. The whole of the middle of the ship seemed to rend asunder, and flames and smoke burst forth. All on board-the captain, William Fox, of Yarmouth, his wife. the mate, Samson Clark, of Robin Hood Bay. and the two seamen, an American named Charles Able, and a Dane, name unknown- were on deck at the time. The captain and mate were partially stunned, but quickly recovered, and seizing a length of rope, the end of which had been made fast, they sprang into the sea, which was very calm. The captain's wife was blown overboard, but she was reached by her husband and held up. The American and Dane had disappeared, and are supposed to have been killed or drowned. There were several craft in the vicinity, and a boat being speedily sent from a barge, the three survivors were picked up after being eight minutes in the water. By this time the Flcwn was blazing furiously from stem to stern. The rails were soon destroyed, the masts went overboard, and nothing was left but the blazing hull drifting upon the ebb tide. In two hours only a few spars were left. The three survivors were plaoed on the smack Pandora, and conveyed to Lowestoft. The captain's wife was badly burnt about the head and arms. The captain also was severely burnt, but the mate was uninjured, although hn is suffering from shock. No traces have been found of the missing seamen. The vessel was owned by Messrs. Freear and Dix, of Sun- derland, and was built at Bideford.

DISHONOURED CHEQUES. SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A PEER'S BROTHER. At Marlborough street Police court, Lon- don, the Hon. Wyndham Curzon, 34. of no occupation or fixed abode," was charged (before Mr. Kennedy) upon a warrant with having obtained by false pretences, with intent to defraud, £ 10 Is. 6d. from William Whiteley (Limited), V 3s. 8d. from George Cosens and Co. (Limited), two passage tickets worth LIM 6s. 8d. from the P. and O. Steam Naviga- tion Company, a carriage lamp, wortk C4 7s. 6d., and the sum of L5 12s. 6d from William Brooman; £2 from William Martin, a jewel- ler, and £9 10s. from Cockerel and ctL coal merchants. In opening the case, Mr. Williamson, solici- tor, stated that the charges were of obtaining money, &c.. by means of a number of worthless cheques. Since April, 1899, the defendant had had all account at the Cockspur-street branch of the Credit Lycnnsis, which was, owing to its unsatisfactory nature, closed on February 18 last, but he did not return his oheqae-book. On March 1. however, he went to Whiteley's. and said he desired to rray an outstanding account of his deceased wife's. He gave the cashier a cheque for £20, a.nd the cashier receipted the bill, and handed him the balance of the account— £ 10 Is. 6d. The cheque was dishonoured. The same da-y he went to Messrs. Ooeene and Co., Edgware-road. and paid an account owing by his wife for 16s. 4d.. with a L5 cheque, and was handed a reoeipt and M 3s. 8d. money. On March 7 he went to Mr. Martin, an Oxford-street jeweller, and pledged a ring for Xi. He said he wanted some more money, and asked Mr. Martin to cash a S2 cheque, which the latter did. and left three first-cla.sa tickets for a passage between London and Paris as security. A witness would be called from Messrs. Gaze's to show that he obtained the tickets cn Feb- ruary 24 by means of a worthless cheque, having given a cheque for C,15, and then received C6 lis 6d. cash. On March 8 he paid Messrs. Cockerel a coal bill, and ordered more coal. He gave a cheque for XIO, and a receipt for the amount of the bill, E2 10s., was given him, together with £7 10s. cash. The coal was sent to an address he gave in Curzon-street, but he was not living there. Then, on March 15, he purchased two tickets for passages from Marseilles to Adelaide with a cheque for £ 12S 6s. 8d. (drawn on a blank sheet of paper), which was dishonoured. Two days after the pur- chase he took them to a money-lender in London Wall, and raised £45 upon them. A warrant was then obtained for his arrest. After some evidence had been given, the prisoner was remanded.-It was stated that he was already in custcdy on another matter, and under these circumstances the magistrate refused to allow bail.

THE STRIKE AT GIBRALTAR. DIFFICULTY EXPERIENCED IN BUNKERING VESSELS. A strike of a somewhat peculiar character, having the effect of stopping the bunkering and discharging of coal at Gibraltar, has been m progress there for almost a month past. The domination of Trades Unionism is responsible for a state of matters which has caused and is causing much anxiety to shippers. An agitation conducted for some months by Trades Union officials culminated in a demand that the employers should pay the wages of the men to the Union-not directly to the men themselves-so that the fees neces- sary for the maintenance of the various organisations could be deducted, the balance afterwards to be handed over to the men. The employers- among them those who bunkered and dis- charged coal met and determined to refuse the demand as an unwarrantable interference with their rights. They resolved not to allow the intervention of a third party in their dealings with their employes. When this decision was communicated to the Union leaders a general strike was agreed upon. It is difficult to say whether the men regarded this move with any favour. A protest was made by a section of the men against the action of their leaders, but it proved ineffec- tual, and the strike was entered upon. On inquiry at the London offices of the Shipping Federation on Friday it was ascertained that, on account of the depleted condition of the Union funds, an early and satisfactory settle- ment was confidently expected. Complaints had been received from steamship owners of delays in coaling their steamers, and since the strike began it has been well-nigh impossible to get any coal bunkered. The latest information, however, received by the Federation conveys the impression that matters are on the eve of re-adjustment.

ELECTRIC CAR ACCIDENT DAMAGES AGAINST THE LIVERPOOL CORPORATION. Before Mr. Justice Wills and a special jury, Sydney Beltram, formerly manager of the Grand Theatre, Liverpool, was at Liverpool awarded L150 against the corporation for the loss of a. foot in an electric tram accident.-Plaintiff's counsel described the action as onip of a never-ending series brought against the Liverpool Corporation in connec- tion with tramoar accidents. It was alleged that the accident was caused through the un- skilful management of the car, which went off with a jump while plaintiff was boarding it. He was dragged some yards, then had his left foot caught by the wheel, and smashed.

CY CLISTS TERRIBLE DEATH. A terrible accident occurred on the cycle track at Atlantic City, United States. The well known cyclist Archie M'Fachern was being paced by a motor, when the machinery went wrong and the car stopped. MFachern, who was going at full speed immediately behind it, was unable to turn aside, and dashed into the car. He was hurled into the air by the force of the colli- sion. He was terribly injured about the chest, and died shortly afterwards.—Central New*.

NATIONAL BANK OF WALES. LAST ACT IN ITS DISMAL HISTORY: The last act in the dismal history of the National Bank of Wales closed with the meeting of shareholders held at Cardiff on Wednesday. The meeting was called for the purpose of receiving the liquidator's report and fixing his remuneration for the services he has! rendered during the nine years which! have elapsed since the bank was absorbed by the Metropolitan. The attendance of shareholders, though not large, was thoroughly representative, and open proxies were held, chiefly by members of the investigation committee, for nearly 4,000 shares. The statement presented by Mr. C. E. Dovey, who has acted as liquidator, gave the shareholders a very clear and concise history of the unfortu- nate undertaking in which they had in- vested their money and a statement of accounts up to date. The capital of the I MR. DOVEY EXPLAINING THE POSITION OF THE SHAREHOLDERS. I bank was P,500,000, in shares of L20 each, half of which had been called up at the time of the amalgamation with the Metropolitan Bank. During the liquida- tion two calls of £2 10s. each have been made, and the chief anxiety of thosa who attended the meeting on Wednesday was to ascertain as quickly as possible how much more would be required to meet the deficiency which was known to exist. Many feared the remaining L5 would be called up, and it came as a relief when Mr. Dovey was in a position to state that he hoped to make a call of E3 10s. per share suffice. The only question which gave rise to any discussion was the amount of remu- neration which the liquidator should receive for his services during the nine years over which the winding-up pro- ceedings have extended. The committee of investigation, who are best able to judge of the services rendered, suggested k23,500., The work which has fallen upon him has been enormous. He had not only to realise the assets refused by the Metropolitan Bank, but to conduct criminal and civil proceedings against directors and the chief official of the bank. In addition to his own services, he employed his staff in the work, and iieg- lected lm own general business. With the exception of two or three shareholders A SHAREHOLDER WANTS TO KNOW. I the meeting recognised the work which 1 had been done in their interest, but, sympathising with the position of the shareholders, Mr. Davey consented to accept £ 22,500, that amount to include ES,000 already received. In the statement of accounts which the liquidator submitted a deficiency of L31,850, plus £ 14,500 additional remune- ration, is shown, making a total of R46,350, which, it" is hoped, will be covered by a call of L3 10s. per share. No information was, however, given of the losses which the shareholders have actually sustained, and which amount in round figures to over half a million of money: The whole of the following amounts have been utilised in payment of debts and losses incurred:- Paid-up capital £ 225,000 Reserve and inner reserve. 113,011 Goodwill paid by Metropolitan Bank 110,000 Two calls of L2 109. each 83,659 Balance now due 46,350 Total £ 578,020 This total does not include £ 23,500 re- paid in of the £ 30,000 commis- sion re< y two directors and the general on the purchase of the North ii. ;ness of Pugh, Jones, and Company- Hew much the call now about to be mtude will realise it is im- possiW*3 > -ay. When the liquidation proceed: -x>mmenced there were betwe< < > >00 and 15,000 shareholders, but, ihrov.jh bankruptcies and other cause? scxit of which are due to losses in the Bauh f Wales, there now remain only 1,:100. It is possible that some d 1 will not be able to meet the calls uadc upon them, The statement j submitted by the liquidator on Wednes- day may be summarised as follows: — Total liabilities £ 1,498,304 Assets 1,466,454 Deficiency 31,850 Add liquidator's remuneration 14,500 Total £ 46,350 THE MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS. A meeting of the shareholders of the Bank of Wales was held at the Lesser Andrews'- hall on Wednesday for the purpose of hearing ing the statement from the liquidator (Mr. C. E. Dovey) as to the position of affairs in con- nection with the bank. About 50 gentlemen were present. In making his statement, Mr. Dovey said that they had arrived at a stage when the liquidation could practically be brought to a close. Since the last meeting the action brought against Mr. Cory had been concluded in the House of Lords against the liquidator. The bank was started in 1879, and was in difficulties from its inception. Proceedings were commenced in Manchester, and the shares went to allotment before the proper capital was subscribed. Before very long there were two changes of London agents. In 1884 a committee was appointed by the direc- tors to investigate the position of the bank. They reported in November of the same year, and their report was by no means satisfac tory. They found fault with the manner in which securities were taken, and also with the lack of control over the branches, each manager seeming to take his own course. One result of the report was that two of the directors retired, and their positions were never filled. Mr. E. H. Collins also retired from ill" in dagetsil4. lie was succeeded oy Mr. E. Jenkins, who seemed to have trietf his beet to conduct the business of the bank pro- perly, but his position became so hard that he was obliged to retire, and Mr. E. H. Collins was reinstated. There was a possibility at one time that the bank would really fake a national position, and its business began to increase But losses began, and £ 30,000 WAS IMPROPERLY used by the manager. The auditors subse- quently began to press for proper accounts, and were repeatedly assured that they should be furnished. These accounts were not placed in proper fashion, however. Bad debts in- creased, Lll,000 was written off in one name; the resources steadily shrank, and got locked up more and more in dormant accounts. An issue of new shares gave no relief; reckless trading followed, and the auditors found in 1891 that "the bank lost £ 50,000 in bad debts, of which X20,000 went in the accounts with the directors, and one debt of that amount was masked by being shifted in entry from Cardiff to Blaenavon. Attempts to sell the bank affairs to other bankers failed. In 1893 there were very heavy losses, but they were spread over the branches, £ 200,000 being allocated to Cardiff alone. Refer- ring to the action against Mr. Cory, Mr. Dovey said that the liquidator and the shareholders were advised by counsel that they were bound to succeed. He was afraid, however, that the result would make the shareholders feel less confidence if directors were able to plead that they had exercised reasonable care and to throw the blame on the staff. While the pro- ceedings were in progress the shareholders were in perfect accord. At the last meeting a shareholder asked a question as to an OFFER BY MR. JOHN CORY. It was perfectly true that Mr. Cory made an offer, but it was submitted privately, with the condition that it was not to be published. It was carefully considered by the committee, who at first believed that it was not a final offer. Eventually, however, they decided that the offer of X25,000 was not adequate. In deal- ing with the present financial position, he said that the total liabilities amounted to RI,498,307, and. after making allowance for all assets and expenses, there was a deficiency of RZ1,849 128. lid., to which must be added the amount of the liquidator's remuneration, which would have to be voted that day. The law costs in the case against Mr. John Oory were L16,169 on behalf of the liquidator, and £ 5,003 on behalf of Mr. Cory. The coats for teet actions, recovery of calls, Ac., amounted to £ 15,759, and the total law costs were C41,264, towards which the Metropolitan Bank paid 5,000. Several shareholders wanted to know how much the call would be, but Mr. Dovey said that that would depend upon the vote to him as liquidator. Mr. D. T. Alexander asked for an explana- tion aa to the difference in the costs on one side as against the other, and -also if Mr. Dovey could say what he thought he ought to receive. Yr. Dovey. in answer, said that meet of the costs had been taxed, Mr. Oory had paid a great deal more than the £ 5,000. There was aleo the consideration that the people bring- t ing an action had to spend more in working up their case than the defending party. Mr. W. W. Jones, speaking on behalf of the shareholders' committee, said that Mr. Dovey had given the utmost attention to the matter, and but for his action they might have been in a far worse condition. In answer to a question by a shareholder, the liquidator said that Mr. Tom Williams had been true to his promise, and would make no charges in connection with the appeal to the House of Lords. In answer to other ques- tions, Mr. Dovey said that the total to be made up in the call now to be made was £ 47,349, including the zE23,500 proposed to be voted to him. A shareholder asked if a. L2 10s. call would realise a total of £ 41,063. Mr. Dovey replied that it would not, as there were so many defaulters. From 22,000 sharee he estimated that only 14,000 were good to be called upon. Mr. D. T. Alexander said that Mr. Dovey had worked so hard in connection with the work that at one time his health was impaired. Mr. Dovey had discharged his duties faithfully, with ability, and to the best interests of those who placed him in the position of liquidator. (Hear, hear.) He thought £23.500 was not too much, and moved that the sum should be granted. This was seconded. A shareholder asked if Mr. Dovey could not meet the shareholders a little further. Mr. Dovey said that he had already con- ceded £ 1,500. Mr. W. W. Jones said that he knew the amount of work done, and considered that Mr Dovey was entitled to much more. Dr. Davies said that he waa not an accountant, but felt that the CHARGE WAS NOT TOO HIGH. He had protafeted against the case going to the House of Lords, but did not protest now against paying the bill. Mr. Alexander had given his advice, and he (Dr. Daviea) sup- posed that Mr. Alexander knew how to make charges. (Laughter.) Mr Alexander: You come and try. (Laughter.) Mr. Dovey said that he had done a great deal of work, and if he had known what it was likely to be he would not have taken the liqui- datorship. His own business suffered very considerably, and the work had caused a great deal of bad blood. MORE THAN £ 22,500. (Loud applause.) Mr. J. H. Jones (Llwynypia) said that he had no fault to find with Mr. Dovey, but he still held that compulsory liquidation would have been better. They would have had certain persons in prison sooner. Mr. D. T. Alexander then formally proposed a vote of C22,500 to the liquidator, which was seconded by Dr. Evans, and agreed to unani- mously. Mr. Dovey said that he hoped that a call of L3 10s. would be sufficient. Whether that would be final would depend upon the manner in which the shareholders paid their calls. He hoped, also, that when the call was made the shareholders would respond as readily as possible. The longer the matter was held in hand the more the expenses increased. He should make an application to the court for the order as soon as possible, and would at once issue the call when he had the order. In answer to a shareholder, Mr. Dovey said that if there was a surplus it would be re- turned. Mr. D. T. Alexander then proposed a vote of thanks to the shareholders' committee, viz., Messrs. W. W. Jones (Cardiff), W. H. Lloyd. John Thomas, John Davies (Carnarvon), and John Evan Roberts (Bangor), for their valuable services. Mr. Dovey seconded, and expressed his appre- ciation of the services rendered by the com- mittee. The vote was carried unanimously, and this ended the business of the meeting. THE POSITION. The total deficiency on the accounts made up to date as between assets and liabilities is £ 31,849. To this would ordinarily be added the X22,,500 voted as liquidator's remunera- tion, making the total £ 54,349. Mr. Dovey however, had received £ 8,000 from the direc- tors, that amount having been received by them from the Metropolitan Bank as com- pensation on giving up the directorates, but wa.s handed by them to Mr. Dovey towards the expenses of liquidation. In addition, he obtained £ 3,000 from a guarantee society on a bond for a prominent official in the bank. This made £ 8,000 to be deducted from the vote of £ 22,500. The total deficiency, therefore, is E46,349, and this, with the ex- pense of the fresh call, will be covered, in all probability, by the XZ 10s. per share. As the position of so many shareholders has declined during recent years, the number of shares I that can be called upon has decreased seriously. The new call makes a total caJl of £ 8 10». per share in oonnectioa with the j liquidation and deficiencies.

A LOVE-SICK LADY AT SIXTY. ANXIOUS TO GET THE RING ON HER FINGER. The case of Horne v. Child was before the Barnet magisterial bench on Wednesday. Mr. L. J. Horne, manager at the Hadley Brewery, had summoned Clara Child, of Green- road, Whetstone, for annoying him. The lady is sixty and the gentleman thirty-four years of age. For years she had persecuted I him with her unwelcome affection, ever since he was a pupil at her music and dancing classes at her residence. Ever since 1887 she had been writing love letters to him, and "accused" him of being the author of "lovely poems," addressed, she assumed, to her through the columns of the local press. She had written thousands of these effusions. In one she said:—"I cannot live without my bonnie Len. It nearly kills me. dearie, when I see you laughing and talking with other girls. I cannot bear any gentleman's arm round my waist but yours. Do come this evening and sit here and have some supper and talk with me, and send me the ale, Len dear." Another read, "I give up all to keep true to you. Place me in your home, dear, by your loving side and heart." In another she implored him to come and see her, and went on to complain, "Why am I tossed hither and thither like this? Your poor Clara hasn't had one night's rest, nor day either, for weeks and weeks. Oh, Len, put that ring on my finger. Don't let me be in this misery any longer." She persistently claimed Mr. Horne in the streets, stating "You are mine." She addressed him in court as "My only sweet- heart," and he had to escape from the court by a side door, the defendant being bound over to be of good behaviour She was to find a surety in the sum of L10, but was unable to do so. and was given until yesterday to produce a surety or go to prison. Mr. Horne denies ever having given her the slightest encouragement, and Dr. Harnett said she was suffering from delusions. Such a mania he believed to be very unusual at such an advanced age. Miss Child arrived long before the time for the court to sit. Her attire was somewhat juvenile, from her gay felt hat trimmed with pink ribbon and cream lace to black silk rosettes"on her boots. Her hair was carefully arranged with a "kiss curl" on her forehead. In reply to the Bench, she said she had not been able to find a surety. She added, "I will apologise to Mr. Horne for running after him if he will but forgive me. I did not mean to annoy him. I would sooner go to prison than contradict my bonnie Len." Mr. H. R. Potter (chairman) said he should suspend the commitment again, and in the meantime she must not molest Mr. Horne. Miss Child: I may say "Good morning" or "Good evening" to him? She was requested to do nothing of the sort, and was led from the court exclaiming tear- fully, "He belongs to me."

PAUPER BURIAL SCANDAL. AN EXTRAORDINARY CASE AT USK. At the meeting of the Pontypool Board of Guardians on Thursday morning Mr. F. Jenningr3 complained at the way a pauper of that union had been buried about a fortnight ago. He said a pauper was taken from the union to be buried at Usk Churchyard, and when the hearse reached its destination there was no one there to take the corpse to the church- yard. Mr. T. Edmunds, a well-known trades- man of Usk. happened to be passing at the time, and asked the person in charge of the hearse if it waa not his duty to provide bearers, whereupon he was told to mind his own business. The speaker was also informed of another regrettable fact, which was that the breastplate on the coffin bore the name of William Jones, whereas it ought to have been Charles Jones. The relatives of the deceased were not satisfied that Charles Jones had died in consequence of the mistake on the breast- plate. The speaker considered that the burial contractor should be strongly censured. contractor should be strongly censured. The members generally much regretted the sad occurrence, and denounced the action of the burial contractor. The Clerk (Mr. T. Watkins) informed the board that it was the duty of the contractor to provide the necessary bearers and hearse of approved pattern, and also the breastplate, and in this instance the master told the correct name of the deceased. Upon the suggestion of the Chairman (Major D. E. Williams), the clerk was instructed to write forthwith for an explanation.

LLANGADOCK SCANDAL. CHARGE AGAINST A LLANDILO AUCTIONEER. At Llangadook Petty Sessions to-day Mr. Griffith Williams, a well-known auctioneer, of the King's Head Hotel, Llandilo. was charged with an indecent assault on Emily Jones, wife of Mr. Phillip Jones, formerly licensee of the White Hart Inn, Llangadock, and now of Swansea. The evidence of the prosecution was to the effect that defendant forcibly assaulted complainant on the couch in the public-house parlour, and was caught in the act by her husband, who had insisted upon her taking legal proceedings in order to vindicate her character. For the defence, it was urged that nothing had been done against the complainant's will, and that, therefore, the essential element in the charge was absent. It was contended that if the hus- band had not been a witness of the incident nothing further would have been heard of it. The case was dismissed for want of evidence.

PASSENGER SHIP MISSING. OVER SEVEN HUNDRED SOULS IN PERIL. Lloyd's agent at Rangoon telegraphs that a lifeboat belonging to the steamer Camorta has been picked up in latitude 15.30, longitude 96. The steamer Oamorta is bound from Madras with a large number of passengers on board, and was reported by cable on Tuesday from Lloyd's agent at Rangoon as being eight days overdue. Another telegram says :-It is believed that she was caught in a cyclone which raged fiercely on the 6th inst. in the Bay of Bengal. She carried a crew of 89 all told, and had 650 native passengers iDn board.-Iteuter.

GOODS GUARD KILLED. Evan Phillips, of Henry-street, Neath, a goods guard on the Great Western Railway, was run over and killed instantaneously near Dany- graig Junction, Swansea, on Tuesday even- ing. He had just come in with a train of coal wagons from Neath, and jumped off near the signal-box at Danygraig, not noticing that an engine, belonging to Mr. E. Rowlands, con- tractor, was coming along on another line. He was shouted to. but failed to give heed, and was knocked down by the engine, three wheels of which passed over him. He had been in the employ of the company for forty years, and was 63 years of age. At the inquest a verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.

BARMAID'S VICTORY. The case o Daniel Brown (Limited), the only employers of barmaids in Glasgow, who have refused to comply with the order of the magistrates to dispense with female bar attendants, and who resolved to risk the issue at the Appeal Court, came before the Court of Quarter Sessions. It had been suggested to the appellants, who are leading restaurateurs in the city, that the obnoxious bar should be '(' against the wall as a means of evar v I < difficulty, so that, technically, the Kt "tai'1 should no longer be a barmaid, bu "<. refused to adopt this makeshllt • magistrates it was urged that no emid be made in this instance. The 1 • ded that, for the benefit of certa" thle youlg men, and old men, too, tf iin must go, and they could not in arc- ;r. e go back upon this decision.—On h noing taken. the appeal waa sustain fry 59 votes to 38, and the licence waa w, granted.

OIL EXPLOSION AT PITTSBURG. TWENTY PERSONS KILLED AND MANY INJURED. A terrific explosion occurred on Mon- day at Pittsburg among the oil cars in the Sheraden yards of the Pan- handle Railroad. The cars became ignited. communicating witiijather oil cars in the yard, which became a WettOf burning oil. A telegram of Tuesday says :-Twenty persons were killed and 200 badly injured. The doctors believe 150 of the latter will die. The cause of the catastrophe was an explosion on a train of naphtha cars, which was being shunted. The rear car telescoped the car ahead, and the leaking naphtha beame ignited from the ewitchlight. The explosion threw the flames twenty feet into the air. Much of the escaping naphtha ran through the streets to Esplenborough, one mile and a half away, and caused another explosion, blowing to atoms the Seymour Hotel and Mr. Collins's house, and wrecking another building, in which 200 persons were engaged in betting on races, etc. The first explosion occurred at 4.40 p.m., the second at about five p.m., and the third at 6.15 p.m. The last one was the worst, the detonation being heard for miles around.-Renter. A Central News telegram saysTwenty-five people were killed by the explosion or burned to death by the burning oil, and over 100 people were injured. The burning oil from the exploded cars made its way to a sewer, through which it was carried into the Ohio River, a quarter of a mile away. On meeting the air the oil exploded. A dozen houses were wrecked by the second explosion. and eleven people were injured-two fatally.

A STORY OF MILLIONS. COLOSSAL LOANS ON AN EMPTY SAFE. The interest in the great Humbert-Crawford lawsuit culminated (says a Paris corre- spondent), when the President of Notaries, aocompaniei by another notary, pro- ceeded to the residence of Madame Humbert, in the Avenue de la Grand Armee, to open the famous safe and verify its contents, in order to ascertain whether Mr. Crawford's hundred millions were in it or not. The 6afe was found to contain only an empty jewel case. a few envelopes, and a jewel of little value. Seals have been affixed to the safe by the authorities. At the Palais de Justice the news of the disappearance of M. and Madame Humbert had already caused considerable sensation, which the result of the search had the effect of still further inf^easing. Several barristers and solicitors corn cerned in the various Humbert-Crawford actions are likely to be placed in awkward positions, owing to the turn which events have taken, among them being a well-known Havre solicitor, who is said to have given his Parisian colleagues a guarantee as to the existence of the brothers Crawford. It is stated that the sums bop- rowed by M. and Madame Humbert on the expectations connected with the alleged Oraw- rord fortune amount to 50.000,000f. M. and Madame Humbert have left the country. together with Mdlle. d'Aurignac, Madame Humbert's sister, and the servants assert that they are now in England. As the result of the search made by the authorities at Madame Humbert's residence, M. Parmentier. a solicitor at Havre, representing the brothers Crawford. has been arrested on a warrant issued by M. Leydet, examining magistrate. M. Par- mentier, who was present at the opening of the safe, was taken to the police-station in the evening by two detectives. On leaving the house, in the Avenue de la Grande Armee, Messrs. Leydet. Cochefort, and Roy went to No. 55, Rue de Douai. where the Humberts had another house. Owing to the advanced hour, however, they were not able to search the premises.—Reuter.

DR. SCOTT AND. MR. KRUGER At the meeting of the Congregational Union at the City Temple on Tuesday the address of Principal Scott, chairman of the Union. was read in his absence through illness. Dr. Soott said that had Mr. Kruger been intelligently acquainted with modern criticism of the Bible he would not have allowed the incidents related in the Hexateuch to bulk so largely before his eyes as to hide from him the teaching so much loftier and nobler of the four Gospels. He would not then ignorantly and anper- stitiously have pursued a course which had brought nothing but devastation, misery, and death in its train. Had those results also permeated the thought and influenced the life of men and women in this country, the very last way in which we should have celebrated victories in the field would have been the streaming of banners in our churches and the holding of drunken orgies in our streets. A discussion took place on a resolution requesting the general committee to prepare a scheme on the lines of Dr. Parker's pro- posals for uniting Congregational churches Dr. Hunter (London) maintained that the pro- posals sacrificed the spirit and letter of their first principles of independency, and warned them against vulgarising their churches and ministry. They should not allow themselves to be demoralised by big meetings and the public press. They did not reqnire more out- side regulation.—The resolution was carried almost unanimously. In th? afternoon a conference took place cn th-3 Education Bill, which was hotly con- demned.—The Rev. Hirst Hollowell said when ttie country gave the Government a large majority on the South African war people were not told that the power would be used to flog Nonconformists. If the Government appealed to the country on the Education Bill they would be smashed not only in Bury, but throllgut Lancashire.

A MUCH MARRIED MAN In the Divorce Court on Tuesday the case of Von Veltheim, otherwise Schiffer, v. Von Velt- heim came on for further hearing. This was a. suit which was before the court last month, in which Paula Yon Veltheim, otherwise Schiffer, sued for a decree of nullity of mar- riage, on the ground that when she went through the ceremony of marriage with the respondent, Carl Ludwig Von Veltheim, his wife, Marie Louisa Von Veitheim, whose maiden name was Yearsby, was alive. At the last hearing counsel for the petitioner stated that the respondent was married to his wife in 1886. in Western Australia. In 1896 he made the acquaintance of the peti- tioner. a young lady of means, to whom he was married in London. The following year he went through a ceremony of marriage with a young lady, named Mavrogordato, in London, and she afterwards obtained a decree of nullity. Counsel said that in 1898 respon- dent was in Johannesburg, and was tried for shooting Woolf Joel, who was connected with Barnato Brothers, but was acquitted. The case stood over until now for evidence as to identity and as to the validity of the Australian marriage. Formal evidence was now put in. and Mr. Justice Barnes granted the petitioner a decree of nullity.

SERIOUS CHARGE OF FRAUD At North London Polioe-court on Tuesday Arthur John Stone. 42. clerk, was remanded charged with converting to his own use the sum of R700, part of a sum of money sub- scribed for the Skegness Disaster Relief Fund. of which he was a trustee.—Prosecuting counsel said that some years ago there was a sad boating disaster at Skesness, by which a number of men lost their lives. A subscrip- tion of £ 2.700 was raised and vested in trustees, of whom the accused was one, later becoming secretary. By apparently sending out cheques to different trustees for signature he àa.4 drawn doable the amount xegPUML