Monmouthshire Merlin

THE SUBMARINE TUNNEL BETWEEN ITALY AND SICILY. From the project presented to the Italian Ministry and proposed to the Venetian Society of Construction by Signor Gabelii, the following particulars are taken:—The length of the sub- marine tuunel between Italy and Sicily will be t3,200 metres. The maximum depth of the sea above the line of tunnel is 110 metres. The thick- ness of rock between the roof of the tunnel and the bottom of the sea 35 metre?. The d irc etion of the tnnnel from St. Agata to P uuta del Pizzo is almost due north-west to south east. The two inclines descending to the tunnel will first run parallel with the shore and then descend to the lowest level by spiral tunnels. The length of these inclines is each 4500 metres, and the area occupied by each spiral tunnel 3:,0 metres. The degree of inclination will be 35 per 1000, about that of the tunnel between Busaila ar-d Pontedecimo, which has been found by experience to be perfectly practical. The centre of the submarine tunnel will be on a higher level than the two ends. Wells and subsidiary tunnels will be constructed to drain off the per- colating water, and the most difficult part of the line will be first commenced, which will at once show the geological construction of the ground, and the difficulties to be overcome. According to the opinion of all geologists, the bottom of the Straits of Messina consists of crystalline rock (granite gneiss and mica schists). Neither in Calabria nor in bicily can the upper strata that cover this crystalline rock be 80 thick as to reach the level of the bottom of the descending incline. Geological and hydraulic considerations agree in the conclusion that the submarine isthmus between Punta del Pizzo and St. A, .ta cannot consist of material that is compact or easily cor- roded.

RAILWAY DISASTERS. An alarming collision occurred on Sunday morning on the Cheshire Lines Hailway, in the tunnel near to Tiviot Dale Station, Stockport. A train from Liverpool was approaching Stock- port about half-past nine o'clock, when the driver, seeing that the bignals were against him, brought the train to a stand. At the time the traffic was the train to a stand. At the time the traffic was being carried over a single line. Whilst the train was standing in the tunnel, a pilot engine ran into it. In the train were a number of members of the Salvation Army, known as "Charlie Earnshaws Company," and they were singing at the time of the accident. The collision was one of consider- able force, several persona being injured, some of them seriously. All the passengers were greatly alarmed, and the confusion was increased by the difficulty which was experienced, owing to the darkness, of ascertaining what was the extent of the damage. The leader of the Salvationist company, Charlie Earnshaw, was taken from the train in an unconscious condition, and removed to the retreshment room, whence he was removed to a friend's house. Another member of the band, & man named Close, waa seriously injured about the face and head. His wounds are said to be of & dangerous character. Other members of the band, who were chiefly railway men, were more or less injured. Several of them bearing marks of the accident took part in a service at Duke street Chapel, Manchester, in the forenoon, and made allusion to their escape. In the evening, however, they were too ill to coaduct the service. Several carriages in the train were damaged. The slow passenger train which left Morecambe at 2.15 p.m. on Monday, and was due in Leeds at 5.7 p.m., ran into ona of three engines which were standing j ust outside the Leeds Wellin gto n S t ation. The signals were clear for the incoming train, which was being pulied up. The driver saw the engine, which was foul of the lines on which he was running, at some distance, and, by a remark- ably prompt application of his continuous vacuum Drake, he so far broke the force of the collision that neither of the engines left the road. \one of the passengers were injured, and there was very little delav of the traffic. It was understood that the stationary engines wore waiting'to back to the trains to which they were respectively about to be attached, but how one of them was allowed to Joal the main line is not clear. NEW YORK, Sunday Night. A disarrangement of the air-brake on Friday xiioht caused the stoppage of the New York Central train on the track in the suburbs of New York City. It is reported that the apparatus was aleo defective. It is said that a passenger pulled the brake cord passing through the train. The brakesman's duty was to run back half a mile and sigual the local train, wi.ich was known to be following. He wont a few yards only, when the fodow.iig train swept round the curve at full speed, raised the rear car of the first train and dashed clear through it. Contrary to custom, the next were the palace cars, composing the rear of the first train. It they had not been next, the entire train would have bet n wrecked. As it was, eight passengers were lulled and ma--v wounded, some fatally. This is the ordinary story; the ad- ditional incidents raise the disaster above the commonplace. The first or leading train carried a large part of the members of the New York Legislature returning from Albany to this city. When the cars were ovtr turned, the stoves set fire to the wreck, which was totaly con- sumed. A remarkable feature was the drea 111 fierceness and rabidity of the lire Sev i il passeijgers caii.(:h, among the <:ebri were ac 1. ny burned alive withm sight, hearing, an 1 :;h of the horrified bystanders, who were only u to pile on snow. A con. le ii) tne traill were on -.z bridal trip; one was caught in tho wr-ck, other was free but, refused to have, an 'h wera burned. Perhaps the most tragic i; i the death of Senator Wagner, the inventor of 113 parlour cars kno^n and used everywhere. is started back to ee that the rear dali-,e ,I tI Is were properly displayed, and literally wa k ,1, to the jaws of death. He would have been "Ii ul he remained in his cat; and if he bad c-t ut sooner he would have prevented the or entirely. ILIR. Warner introduced the sl, g cars upon the Central !\oad in lio- and t r, later the day palace cars. He v. ssa m n oi "8 wealth and of great public usefulness lir- mains were idcutiiied solely by h f, w fragm n oi clothing. The city is talking of nothing else o- -Standard.

At Plymouth, on Monday, Mendozn. P.ea i ->rt was committed for tria', charged with 1lJ 1 grievous bodily harm upon a woman w-th m be had lived. An, A large fire took p^ce in Oldham on ,o ;y afternoon at the mill of a spinning com y. The fla.mes gained complete maste y ov. building, which was complete y de>. royed I total amount of damage is estimated at £ 20,000. PROTECTIONIST VICTOBIA FnLE TPAll SOUTH WALES.—In 1870, it app?»r8 trou) i ITtl published in the Economist, Victoria un goods to the value of £ 12,4 -5, ?57. and =>■-t ;C 12,470,014; New South "Wales in the sami od imported R,7,757,281, and expJrted t:7, \1, showing differences in favour of Victo: .» or a -V E4,698,476 on this one head, and £ 4,179, 'J other. Ten years after, the imports of 1'" tionist Victoria had only increased to £ 14,551' <4, and her exports to £ 15,954,559; while New ti t-th Wales had increased her imports to and her exports to £ 15,525,138; the iaorease of the populations in the meantime being ail, 130,000 in Victoria, and about 250,000 ia New South Wales. Thus, in the ten years Victoria showed an increase of 18 per cent. in population. j 17 per cent. in imports, and 20 per cent. in ex ports; whilst New South Wales shows an increase of population of 40 per cent., in imports of 80 per cent., and in exports of \)4 per cent. It, therefore, appears that while Victoria with her highly pro teotiva tariff has remained comparatively sta tionary, New South Wales under a Free trade policy has advanced by leaps and bounds.

.t' A DUEL IN PARIS. PAJIIS, Jan, 13th. a A anel took place yesterday between M. j Lirergue, brother of Mademoiselle Montbazan, 8 prima donna at Bouffe's Theatre. and Marcel Didier, a writer on the staff of the Vo taire, who had written disparagingly of the lady. The jJur. j rcaliat was woulIded in the hand. a —————— —

GREAT DIAMOND ROBBER? IN PARIS. PARIS, Jan. 12t (Night). Another great jewel robbery ha» just occurred J here. A man, supposed to be an American, entered a shop in the Rue des Capucines last night, and having chosen diamonds to the value of ;CIO,(i-OO, offered the jeweller a cheque for the amount. This was refused, and the thief, leaving in charge of the shopkeeper a bag into which he had apparently put the diamonds, left in order to procure gold. As he did not return the bag was epened, and, as might be expected, it was iound to be empty. _Dai'y Ch!-onicle.

THE WARSAW RIOTS. ST. PETERSBURG, Jan. 13tb. The two hundred and fifty persons arrested during the late disturbances at Warsaw have been brought to St. Petersburg, It is generally be- lieved that the reason for this step is that the preliminary proceedings in Poland would have shown a connection between these prisoners and the Nihilists. Recent events have prevented the execution of Ignatieff's project of amnesty for political sus- pects.

PRESTON ELECTION. The following letter from Sir Stafford North- cote, leader of the Opposition, was received at Preston on Jan. 13th:— Burnley House, Stamford, Jan. 12. 1882. Dear Sir,—Your letter Gf the 10th has been for- warded to me from Exeterr and only reached me this morning. Mr. Raikes was one of the best, if not the very best, chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means that I have ever known, and his presence in the House of Commons would be of the highest value to ua next session, when the question of the rules of tho House and of the methods of dealing with obstruction would come prominently forward. Wishing you a triumphant success, I remain, faithfully yours, STA.EJ.OJU> H. NOETHCOTBr

ANNOYING MR. GLADSTONE. During the dinner given by thE; Premier be his tenantry a. few days ago, a man entered the reom. and quietly took his seat at the top of the tablo. amongst the principal guests, and close to Mr- Gladstone himself. It seems that he had passsd everybody, some taking him for a tenant and others for a clerk. During dinnei he drank plentifully of wine, and cheered Mr. Gladstone to the echo, but before the speaking commenced, he handed Mr. Gladstone a lettgr, which that gentleman read and took no further notice of. Dinner concluded, the guests roae, and as Mr. Taylor, civil engineer, and one of Mr. Gladstone's tenants, emerged into the street, he observed tbia- individual tugging at Mr. Gladstone's coat tail, and evidently pestering him in a very unusual fashion, and impeding his progress. His desir& appeared to be to accompany Mr. Gladstone to the Castle. At that moment Deputy-Gizief Con- stable Adams same up, and Mr.. Gladstone. being released trom the man's grasp,, t&se latter was arrested by Mr. Adams and taken back to the hotel. The Deputy Chief Constable afterwards went to the Castle and obtained a copy of the letter, which ran as follows:—"My dear Sataai," the letter oommeuced, and the writer weat on to say that he had just come up from kell, and offered Mr. Gladstone his services, adding,. if you require brimstone I can give it you-cheapv" The j letter was signed. Old Harry." The man refused to give his name, bat it appeared from letters j found upon him that he had been in some kind of trouble before. He is evidently a man of very excitable temperament.

THE WILL OF THE LATE MR. JOSEPH I LAYCOCK. The will (dated Oct. 8, 1879} of My. Joseph ¡ Laycock, late of Low Gosforth and Tynemouth, Northumberland, and of No. 2, Cheshaai place, Belgrave square, who died on August. 2 last at I Harrogate, waa proved on the 31st ult- at the Newcastle district registry, by Richard Laycock, the brother, the acting executor,.the value of the personal estate in the TJnited Kingdom, suid includ- ing leasehold property, amounting to upwards of £ 104,000. The testator leaves his residence, The Esplanade, at Tynemouth, wiih the furniture, pictures, plate,, and household effects to his wife, Mrs. Harriet Laycock, for life; his maasion-house at Low Gosforth and his house in Chesham place, with the household furniture, plate, pictures, and effects, to the joint use of his wife and his son Robert, for their lives and the life of the survivor of them; should his son die in the lifetime of Mrs. Laycock, his son & wife, Mrs. Annie Laycock, ia to enjoy jointly with Mrs. Laycock, the use of the said houses aaid furniture as hooaes tor them- selves and his grandchildren; on the death of his wife the testator gives the iurniture, pic. tures, and plate- at both the said residences, to, his son absolutely. To his said daughter-in- law an annuity of £ 10t0; and upon trust for his granddaughter, Barbara Annie Laycock, £ 10,000. The residue of the real estate is devised to the use ot hia son Robert Laycock, j for life, with remainder to his son Joseph Freda- rick. The furniture, plata, fixtures, and effects at Castle Carr. Halifax, are made heirlooms to go with the estate; and the furniture, Ac., at Wiseton Hall, Notts, are bequeathed to his son. The testator directs the residue of his personal estate to be laid out in the purchase of freehold or copyhold estates of inheritance in England or Wales, to be settled in a similar manner to, the residue of his real estate. Testator s son, Mr. Pvobart Laycocls, M.P. for North Lincolnshire, only survived his father about a fortnight, and his son, Joseph Frederick, who isjiot yet cf age succeeds to this large property.

One seaman, who was frost bitten afier the 7reck of the Bath City, has died at the Liverpool Hospital. A" deputation of Cleveland miners have in- formed the masters that they would accept the sliding scale, as offered to them a month since. The London Ga-etts announces that the Queen appointed l,ieut.-Col. John Terance Nicolis O'Brien, C.M.G., to be Governor and Commander- in-Chief of Heligoland. Another French invasion is announced. M. William Eusnach is about to write for the Porte- Ha.int-Ms.rtin a spectacular drama, with the title of "Los Nuits de Londres." Mr Bradlaugh, addressing a meeting at Bristol, has reiterated his intention of taking his seat on the re-opening of Parliament. A xesolution in his support was carried. The Press Association says:-On hearing of the death of Lady Fergasson, at Bombay, her Majesty at once telegraphed to bir James vJI'usaon her condolence with him in his sad bereavement. It is feared that the steamer Ballina, which left Liverpool on the 5th inst., for Larne, has been lest in the Channel, with all hands, during the gale of last Friday, nothing having been heard of bar Lince she sailed. The Press Association understands that Mr. Gladstone has fixed Tuesday, January 31st, at noon, as the time at which he will receive a depu- tation from the Central and Associated Chambers oi Agriculture on the subject of local taxation. The Press Association is officially informed that the accounts of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Company for the past half- year. subject to audit, enable the declaration of a dividend on the ordinary stock of 4 per cent. per annum, carrying forward a balance of £ 2450. Mr. J. B. Edwards, of Deal, one of the solicitors sentenced to six months' imprisonment in con- nection with the recent bribery prosecutions, has within the past week been so seriously ill that the iome Secretary, upon the advice of the prison surgeon has ordered his release. Mr. Barker, solicitor, appeared at Bow street, in Jan. 13, to further discuss the question of insti- uting a prosecution against the Turkish acrobat, ,jen Mohammed. He said the necessary informa- ion could be obtained from a woman named Ade, ho apprenticed her son. Mr. Flowers said in hat case be would grant the warrant. Cotton Station, on the Coventry and Nuneaton irnnoh of the London and North-Weatern Rail. way was totally destroyed by fire on the 13tb mstant The fire, the origin of which is unknown oroke out before business was commenced at the station, and in the absence of the officials. The place was completely gutted, nothing being saved but a few books, papera. and reilway tickets.

DISASTROUS FIRE IN LONDON. A fire, which resulted in the death of two persons, broke out onTuesday morning at the premises of Messrs. Morson, the chemists, No. 26, Southampton row. The outbreak, which was preceded by a loud explo- sion, was reported to the Holborn Fire Station at about four o'clock, by a police-constable, and upon the arrival of an edgine, within five minutes of the call, the building was found to be "weli alight," and smoke, having a most offensive smell, was issuing from the doors and w ndows. A large number of other engines were then brought up, and with the aid of seven steam engines, one manual engine, and one stand pipe, all under the direction of Capt, Shaw, the fire was gradually got under. The men then ascended the escape, and entered the top floor of tne buildiog, where it was stated that two persons connected with the establishment had sleep- ins apartments. After a short search, which was attended with much danger, in consequence of the greatly damaged flooring and the noxious vapours, the dead bodies were discovered of Messrs. Kemp- -ter and Corbett, who were respectively the manager ud assistant manager to Messrs. Morson. They He dreadfully charred by the action of the fire, and om their pos tion it is supposed that the unfortunate len had been at first rendered-insensible by the rising uraea, and afterwards burned to death by the flames wmch fallowed.

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AND PEACE ASSOCIATION. The first report of the Committee of the Interna- tional Arbitration and Peace Association has just been sued, which congratulates its members on the satis- actory progress that has been accomplished. Amongst .he 1710 adhesions which have been received during cbe past yaar are the Duke of Westminster, K.G., the rlarl of Derby, the Earl- of Shaftesbury, K.G., Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., Sir John G. T. Sinclair, !5art., M.P. Sir Tnomas M'Clure, BaTt., M.P., the sx-Lord Mayo* of London, Alderman M'Arthur, M.P., md upwards1 of 40 other members of the House of Commons. The list of adhesions also comprises influ- ential members of the Church of England and other denominations,, mayors, aldermen, town councillors, bankers, merchants, and manufacturers. In France, Germany, Itusaiti, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and the United States of America adhesions have been re- ceived from members and ex-members of the Legisla- tive Bodies of thoee countries, of whom the chief are: —France, Paul Cassimir Perier; Germany, Dr. Lasker; Italy, Marquis Pepoli, C. Ricciardi; Spain, ArtnTO de Marcoa»rtu; also from eminent publi- cists, jurists, journalists, and the following ministers of religion: Pere Hyacinthe, Ednaond de Press.;nse, M. de Coppet; and also from pro.minent leaders of the working classes- The settlement by arbitration of the following inter- nal difficulties is mentioned:—Between the United States and France, between Nicaragua and France, and between Chili and Columbia. The report concludes by an earnest appeal for support on the following grounds-:—" That amongst all the nations of Europe there is an earnest longing for deliverance from the curse of war, and from the gigantic preparations for war, which are weighing down the nations, and crush- ing them beneath the bnsden. The founders of this association are firmly convinced that the only hope for pe, and for relief from the oppressive mili- tary system, resta in the adoption of a system of arbi- tration, and the establishment of an international tribunal, to which Governments may safely refer their national differences."

EXPORT OF BREADSTUFFS FROM THE UNITED STATES. The total export of breadetuffs from the United: States last year amounted to 224,000,000 dollar) compared with 276,000,000 dollars in 1889.

( ENGLAND, TURKEY, AND EGYPT. The Central News is enabled to state that affairs in Egypt continue to occupy the attention of bar Majesty's Ministers. The representations of Eaci Dufferin to the Sultan hú"e had a certain r9- assuring effact, and hopes are now entertained that the objections of the Ottoman Government to the interference ot England and Fiance may be speedily overcome. We are farther enabled t»> state that no such alarming intelligence respecting the condition of affairs in Egypt. as was represented by a London evening newspaper on Monday even- ing has been. received in official quarters. Tho negotiations m far between the three Governments are proceeding in a satisfactory way, and it is trusted that without any unusual straining of the diplomatic relations of thi& country with the Porte, the object sought by the Joint Note will bo substantially secured. Arabi Bey is known to I e a thoroughly sincere and honest man, aiad bm sole purpose is the welfare of his country, it is not unlikely that he may see it to be his duty not to prolong opposition to tb& point that wouid seriously affect the nationalist aspirations of the party he is said to reproseii-b in Egypt.

SINGULAR FRENCH WILL HJIT: A Paris tslegram, dated Monday night, sars: The case of M. and Madame Rivoire, ciiaie on for hearing before the Civil Tribunal of Marseilles on. Saturday. The hu&band and wife perished on the 12th of J una in a boating accident upon the Rhoae. The point for decision is. which of the two was the suivi-vor,, iLiDd the importance of deciding it lies in the fact that a foctuae of soma seventy five thousand pounds sterling is, invotwd in the answer. The wife left a will be- queathing; to her husband property to the. amount named. If he survived her but a few minutes, his heirs are entitled to the fortune-; if, on the contrary, he perished first, the will lapsed, and her representatives are the rightful claim- ants. The first duty of a tribunal called upon to decide such a question is, of course,, to proceed upon evidence. On Saturday, accordingly, the facts of the occurrence were fully gone into. Both sides admitted that Rivoire was observed to be struggling for some minutes after his wif& was seen apparently lifeless. The ad- I vacates on the husbands side contended that she was actually dead, while those representing the wife s relatives- maintained that she was merely in a state of syncope, and that in reality she survived her husband by several mmutes. A proposal for a judicial inquiry into the facts, to supersede the inquiry already made by the Com- missary of Police, was resisted by the counsel on the wife's side, and ultimately the judge granted an adjournment for a week to enable the learned gentleman to prepare his plaadings against the admissibility of such an inquiry. This was rendered the more necessary inasmuch as he intimated that could not compress his apeech into less than four hours. Should the evidence prove insufficient to establish the point at issue, it sterns probable that the Court will not finll a decision so easy as has been assumed by seveial of your correspondents. The judicial theory called the theory commcritnks, which prescribes that in doubtful cases, such aa that in question, the wife being the weaker, she shall be held to have died first, is, according to the opinion of many French lawyers, not appli- cable to the present case, being destined only for successions ab intestate.

At Monday's meeting of the Jersey Statea Assembly an extraordinary scene occurred, owing to there not being, when the House reassembled after refreshment, enough rectors present to form a quorum. Great confusion arose, and business was brought to a standstill, amid much excite- ment. When Mr. Fawcett became Postmaster-General remonstrances were made against the employment almost exclusively of women in the London post offices by the postmasters of the various districts. He declined, however, to make any change until he had had sufficient experience in his depart- ment. Since the robbery at the Hatton Garden office these remonstrances have been renewed and Mr. Fawcett has go far been influenced by them as to be about to make an inquiry of an exhaustive nature into the whole question of the employment of female labour in the post office. The result of this inquiry will probably be thht while the district offices will continue to be largely worked by women, none will be so exclusively, and all positions of difficulty and responsibility will be held by men. SUPPOSED PRIZE DOG FRAUD.—At the Edmonton Petty Sessions, on Monday, before Mr. J. Abbiss and Mr. J. B. Doe, Robert Carling, aged 40, of 13, Prospect place, Bethnal Green, was charged, on remand, with conspiring with H. Ramsay and others, not in custody, to obtain by false pre- tences, from Mary Ann Foster, a terrier dog and a terrier bitch, which were exhibited at the dog show at the Alexandra Palace in Decembei last, and obtained first and second prizes in their class, —Mr. Mead, barrister, now conducted the pro- ceedings on behalf of the public prosecutor; and Mr. Avery, solicitor, appeared for the prisoner.— Mrs. Foster, of Bradford, the exhibitor of the dogs, gave evidence tending to show that the prisoner was acting in collusion with a man named Ramsay. She sold the two dogs to the latter, and he gave her a cheque for t60 for them, which was dishonoured. She considered this price was a fair one.—Richard Hunter, a carman, deposed to facts showing that the dogs were in the prisoner's possession after this transaction. -After some further evidence the prisoner was remanded.

BURGLARY BY A GENTLEMAN. John Gooch, described as a gentleman, was at Melford, Essex, on Tuesday committed for trial for burglariously entering the house of the rector of Lawshall.

BRUTAL CONDUCT OF A FATHER. At Birmingham, on Tuesday, Martin Munroe was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for having on Monday brutally assaulted his daughter, aged three years. Prisoner dashed the child to the ground, and afterwards struck her violentlv about the head.

DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY BY A WOMAN. At Dudley Police Court, on Tuesday, a woman named Davis, was committed for trial for commit- ting a daring highway robbery at Sedgley. On Sun- day night two men when leaving Deepfields rail- way station were accosted by the prisoner, and at her request drauk something from a bottle. Both men afterwards became unconscious, and prisoner took from one of tkeir pockets Y,27 and a watch and chain. One man lay unconscious for seven hours.

BURNING OF AN EAST INDIAMAN. A Lloyd's telegram, dated Capetown, 15th inst., states thai; the ship Alblasserward, 1210 tons register, bound from Shields to Batavia (Java) with a cargo of coals has been abandoned in the Southern Ocean on fire. Part of the crew were picked up by the Amerieaa barque Caprera, and landed at Capetown. The fate of the captain and ten men is unknown, as their boat parted com- pany before the barque was sighted.

TWO CHILDREN SUFFOCATED. On Tuesday morning a fire was discovered to have broken out in a house in Strathiaaartin road, Dundee, occupied by Robert Stephen, boilermaker, and his wife and two children. Both parents were absent at work, and the door being burst open the children, a boy aged six, and a girl three years, were found lying beneath the bed dead. Death had resulted from suffocation. Little damage was done by the fire, which is supposed to have been caused by the children lighting papers at the-fire.

DEATH UNDER CHLOROFORM. An inquest was held, on Tuesday, at the Chil- dren's Hospital, Pendlebury, on the body of Wm. Bradshaw, aged nine years, son of Joseph Brad- shaw, metal planer, Salford. Deceased was ad- mitted into the Hospital on the 10th inst., suffer- ing from an abscess bthe thigh and spinal dis- ease. On the 13th, it was found necessary to put him under an operation, and chloroform WIiS ad- ministered. The operation was successfully per- formed, but deceased never regained conseious- ness, and died within a few minutes of the drug being givenv to him.

DISASTROUS COLLISION. A Ltoyds' telegram received on Tuesday moning from Lisbon states that the large steamship George Wascoe, 1005 tons register, owned in North Shields, and bound from the Tyne to Messina, was in collision in the Bay of Biscay with the Nor- wegian Fosna, which vessel sank almost immediately, the crew being rescued by the steamer. The George Wascoe was found to be Beriauslv damaged, and was at once put about in order to make for Lisbon, and soon after her arrival in the Tagus she foundered at her anchors. She lies in 10 feet of water at low tide.

THE ATTEMPT TO MURDER A SWEET- HEART AT LEICESTER. At Leicester on Monday, Charles Henry Wilson plasterer, was charged with attempting to murder his sweetheart, Mary Jane Firth, and attempting to commit suicide. Miss Firth, aged 19, said that when she and the prisoner were left alone in a room, he bolted the door, seized her by the throat, Baying, "Do you mean going with me?" She did not answer, and he drew a large knifa, saying, If you don't, I'll give you this." Someone came to the door, and afterwards, in the presence of Mrs. Hubbard, the prisoner stabbed Firth in the head, causing a deep wound. He also inflicted five wounds in her back. After a terribia struggle he was got away. He then cut his own throat in a terrible manner.—Firth denied havieg thrown burning coal at the prisoner and threatening to stab him.—Mrs. Hubbard, Jun., swore that Firth did throw the burning coal and broke a lamp, and that they were quarrelling seriously. -The-prisoner was committed for trial.

The jubilee of the foundation of the Oddfellows' Society was celebrated in Sunderlaud on Tuesday. John Charles Humphreys, shop assistant at Gilliugham, KeDt, was murderously attacked last week, by James Butler, porter, with a carving knife. Batler was, on Tuesday, sentenced by Mr. Justice Groves, at Maidstone, to ten years' penal servitudez, While a party of people were having a wake in a Dublin tenement room on Monday night some voung man entered, and, being unwelcome visitors, were attacked. A terrible fight then took place where the dead body lay, oaths, screams, and curses making the scene a shocking one. The young men, who were arrested, were badly in- jured. A youth of 18, named Geo. Jones, was on Tues- dav sent to gaol for two months for threatening to shoot a married woman named Bray. He met her in the street in the afternoon,.and, presenting a revolver at her, pulled the trigger, but the weapon missed fire. He made use of some threat- ening expression,, and then ran away. The pri- soner said it was a joke, and he only wished to frighten the prosecutrix. Mrs. Bray thought this was so. The case was dealt with as a common assault. The first case under the Newspaper Libel Act of last session was tried on Tuesday at the Newcastlo Afesizes, before Mr. Justice Matthew and a special jury. The plaintiffs were two nurse3 at the Gates- head Workhouse, and the defendants tbe pro- prietors of the Tyne side E, ho, an evening paper published at Newcastle. It appeared that in October last, at a ratepayers' meeting in Gates- head, an allegation was made that nurses at the workhouse drank whisky intended for paupers in the hospital. The statement was pub- lished in the Echo, without the name of the speakar, who was uakuown at the time, but has since been discovered. Subse- quently, the matter was brought before the guardians, who passed a resolution vindicating the character of the nurses and asking the paper in question to publish it. This was done, but at the same time a statement was made that the charges in question had been had been hawked about. The editor,, however, expressad pleasure in publishing the refutation. Both nurses now brought actions, one in respect of tbe report of the meeting and the other in respect of the subsequent comment. The defendants' contention was that the report was privileged under the new Act. and that the comments were not libellous.-Tbe Jn,,I-e summed up in favour of this view, and a verdict was given for the defendants. The French Government are determined to mprove the condition of the French railways, or Lt all eveuts to lessen the scale of the fares. The act that a treaty is on foot between the leading French railway companies and the Minister of vVorks, of which the terms are that, if the com- panies take 50 per cent. off the tariff of their ares, then the Government won't interfere, other- wise the project started a year ago of the acquisi- tion of all the lines by the State will be pushed an, is, of course, news chiefly interesting to the French, but I have heard a rumour in which Londoners are personally interested also. The fare to Paris is certainly excessive, and the accommodation on the French side is certainly niggardly. Of course, if you travel first class, you are all right. But a company ought not to I.le allowed to compel the public to travel first •jlass because its second class carriages are ditty and uncomfortable. And this is what the Northern Company of France have done for years. Here on this side the Channel our companies have made the service as perfect as pos- sible. They have accelerated the speed, and they have supplied saloon second class carriages better than any first class carriages on the French lines. In that way they have promoted the traffic with Franoe, and the French companies quietly accept the gain, and do nothing either to deserve or to advance it. I hear this has gone so far that the English companies have remonstrated, and that we shall soon see some ohanges, and that these changes will include some concession to third class passengers. France has yet to learn what Eng- land only discovered a few years ago, that railway dividends are to be swelled, not by extortionate charges to the few who must travel, but by tempt- ing many to go abroad who would otherwise Q" stayed At bome.-London correspondent.

PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS IN RUSSIA. A pamphlet was issued oa Tuesday containing articles from the Times on the above subject, with map and appendix, containing a tabulated state meut of all the places where these disgraceful events have occurred. From this it appEars that during 1881 no less than 167 towns and villages 11 Southern and Western Russia have bean tho scenes of outrage against the lives, honour, and property of Russian Jews. They commenced at Elizabethgrad, on April 27th, where 500 houses and 100 shops were destroyed, a Jew was murdeied, and 300 Jewesses violated. At Kieff, on May 8th, four Jews were killed, and five Jewesses died from the effects of outrage, three million roubles of property was destroyed, and 20U0 Jews left homeless. At Odessa, a week after- wards, a Jew was killed and eleven Jewesses violated, and a million and a half roubles of pro- perty destroyed in a riot lasting six hOUfS. At Alexaadrowsk, May lcith, LOO out of 400 families were rendered desolate. From these four centres riots spread to all the towns and villages of Southern Russia. During the months of May and June not a village on the banks of the Dnieper escaped the visit of rioters, who carried on the contagion; and these troubles have not been quelled, as they have since broken out in the same districts, especially violent cases occur- ring at Percjaslaw on July 12th, where three Jews were killed and 176 houses destroyed; and at Borispol, on July 2lst, when the Jewish quarter was burnt down. During June, July, and August no leôs than 41 towns in Western Russia were fired in their Jewish quarters, while iu all the affected quarters the Jews were being expelled by the police autho- rities, and left homeless amidst the infuriated masses. Riots have likewise recurred in Novem- ber at Kieff and Odessa, and on Christmas Day one was raised on a false pretext against the Jews in Warsaw, causing the loss of 12 Jewish iives, two million roubles of property, and 6000 homes. Altogether it is ostimated that 100,000 Jewish families have been rendered homeless by fire, ex- pulsion, or pillage, and that a loss of property has occurred amounting to sixteen million pounds sterling. ST. PETERSBURG, Tuesday. The announcement that the commission ap- pointed to deal with the Jews' condition in Russia has finished its labours, is premature. Owing to M. Grigorieff's death and the complicated laws affeoting the Jews, very slow progress is made. In the meantime, many Israelites are joining the Caraimes, thus acquiring the rights of Russian citizens.

THE GREAT NIHILIST TRIAL. ST. PETERSBURG, Tuesdav. M. Mouravieff, Procureur General, has now complsted the indictment against the accused in the monster Nihilist trial, known as the Proc js des 22/' or the Proces Trigonia." The document is a very lengthy one, extending to nearly (J00 pages folio. The following are the names of the prisoners:— Michael Trigonia, nicknamed "Milord;" Alexis Michaeloff, chief of Revolutionary Propaganda; Nicholas Gonchanoff, formerly au offioer in the navy, who did the engineering work in connection with the explosive mines; Nicholas Kalokiowicz Alexandre Baranikoff; Ferdinand Lustig; Nicho- las Kledospbinkcff, an agent of the secret police, who joined the Nihilists, and warned them of the Government measures against them; Michael Frolenko; Gregory Isaieff, described as chemist to the band; J. Emeliancff, one of the conspirators who assassinated the Emperor (when the Czar fell Emelianoff, still holding a bomb, was the first to go to his help); Peter Titzelimin, Peter Titselimin, Gregory Friedensoc, Basil Merculoff, Leo Zlasopolski, Eisig Arontschik, Macarius Tetioria, who fur- nished horses for the band; Niholas Morosoff, formerly editor of the Narodnaia Volya; Martin Langans, Elizabeth Olovenicova, noble; Lud- milla Terentjewa, Tomira Lebedewn; Anna Takimowa, a friend of Perofskaya, and who passed as the wife of both Jeliaboff and Koboseff. The 22 are charged with the assassination of General Mesentzeff, chief of the famous Third Section;, with the Solovieff attempt in 1879; with the robbery of two and a half million roubles from the Treasury at Cherson; with the attempt upon the Odessa Railway in the summer of 187V j with the attempt near Alexandrowsk in November of the same year, and the attempt upon the Moscow- Koursk Railway; with the attempt to blow up the Winter Palace, in 1880; with the attempt to blow up the Pont de Pierre in 1880; with being concerned in the pillage of the Treasury at Kiche- neff; and lastly, with the crime of the 13th Mar., when the Czar was assassinated. < There is also a charge against them of being 3 concerned in a crime which up to the present has, for certain reasons, been kept secret. It appears that some time previous to the Emperor a assassination at St. Petersburg, Robo- soff, Perofskaya, Sablin, and several whose names are in the list just given, had intended to do the same thing at Odessa. Sablin and Perofskaya, who passed as husband and wife, had taken a shop in a street leading from the railway station to the landing place for the Imperial yacht, and had begun to excavate a mine for the purpose of blow- ing up the Czar aa he passed, and it was only his arrival earlier than was expected that prevented the execution of the plot. I The Official Msstenger publishes an order of the Minister of the Interior authorising the reappear- ance of the Golas from to-morrow.

WAR PROBABLE IN DALMATIA. VIENNA,, Monday Night. Affairs in the Balkan provinces are becomiiig worse daily, and the anxiety here is very great. Since yesterday a panic has reigned on the Bourse, the like of which has not been known siuce the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war. It was evidentlv considered that the situation looked most serious, in fact, as if we stood on the eve of war or of great military disturbances. Herr Ti&za was received in audience by the Emperor very early this morning, and later on a common council of Hungarian and Austrian Ministers was held at the Foreign Office. Finally the resolutions then adopted were considered at a prolonged Ministerial Council in the after- noon, the Emperor himself presiding.. It is, of course, impossible to give an authoritative account of what passei, but it may be stated generally that it was decided to 6ummcn the delegations to meet on the 28th inst., unless circumstances should arise rendering it necessary to alter the date. The question of reinforcements for the army at present in Dalmatia was also con- sidered, and of course the financial aspect ot the question was a serious point. Statements vary greatly regarding this, some placing the credit at ten millions and some going so high as thirty. We cannot forget that the first of the risings that preceded the great Russo-Turkish war took pIsco at Neverjnje and Trobinje in Herzegovina, and the fact that now, as in lb75, the cbiei troubles are in that neighbourhood seems omi- nous. Early In the winter the Government obtained information of a general Slav insurrec- tion, on the Balkan Peninsula, and that the occasion of it would be the conscription which Austria intended to set on loot in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Panslavist agents have been active for months, wandering in all directions throughout the occupied provinces, but the matter was not considered prefsinil, it is now seen, however, that the afiair is such as seriously to menace European peace, and that in fact Russia has been all along engaged in her tra- ditional work of promoting disaffection among the Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula.-— Daily Chronicle. The general situation of affairs on the south- eastern frontier of Austria has assumed a mol,' serious aspect. The Government ha.s received information to the effect that a genel al rising has been planned in the north west of the Balkan Peninsula. It. is to commence again, as it did before the Servian war, in Herzegovina, Thence it will extend to the border districts of Dal- matia, and to Bosnia and Albania, probably also involving Montenegro. It is no longer a mere question of Crivoscie. The insurgents there are but a titho of those preparing to rise in the moun- tainous districts of Western Bosnia and the Her- zegovina. The measures which were decided upon to-day may ha judged from t^e,.acf. at ,t'le Government h&s resolved to ask the Delegations to grant a sum of 15 to 20 millions of florins, or a million and a half or two million pounds sterling, to defray the expenses of the military operations contemplated. It has been determined to despatch to the scene of disturbance a very large force, pro- bably an entire army corps, to crush the insurrec- tion in the bud. Standard. VIH :NA, Tuesday. The majority of this morning's papers state that there is no question of an insurrection in Herze- govina, and that the troops which have ordered thither have not been despatched to q^611, ftn actual rising, but merely to prevent one from breaking out.—RetUeft telegram. Wm. Eell, the late secretary of the Leigh Co. operative Society, was on Monday arrested fot embezzlement. A labourer, 50 years old, in the employ of the Rector of Buckland St. Mary, at Chard, com. mitted snicid en Sunday by hanging himself. I A naturalifit Newmarket has received an order foi a thousand pheasants' skins, which are to be used in trimming ladies' hats for the Paris, New j io:k, and Vienna markets. It is reported iu "Ublin legal circles that Sir Edward Sullauu, Master of the Rolls, will be j raised to the r,eerage, and appointed to the appel. late judgeship in the House of Lords. I Two soldiers of the 14th Rc-giment were con. victed at Dcich?8 er, on Saturday, of stealing a watch, aid ?er Mntenced, ♦he one to three, and the other to on month's imprisonment with hard labour. The Royal Institution for Girls is to be provided witli a swimming bath, at the expense of iioOO, and is also stated that the 94th anniversary, which will take place in May will be presided over by the Duke of Connaught. Mr. Brp-dlaugh addressed a meeting at Exeter On Monday, held under the auspices of tbeWorking Men s Radical Association, on the subject of per. petual pensions. The meeting approved of a motion for tho appointment of a Commission of inquiry. It is proposed by the Devonshire Quarter Ses- sions to prevent traction engines travelling on the highways of the county between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., but the owners of the huge machines have determined to petition the Local Government Board not to confirm the alterations. Many stories of Mr. Bernal Osborne are going the round of the clubs. One is as followsThe late Lady WaJdc: rave had been boasting to Mr. Osborne of her wei -known powers over the oppo- site sex. Last t me I sat in this chair," she said to him at one of her gatherings, I had two of your sex at rry feet." "Indeed," was Mr. Osborne's quie" to, ply, "chiropodists, I presume." The Pall Mall Gazette is informed that the present value of Mr. Jones' collection of Sevreg porcelain, furniture, pictures, and miscellaneous objects of art is estimated, not at Y,25 ,000, as was stated, but at twice that amount. Part of these treasures have already been on view. In 1805 Mr. Jones lent to South Kensington Museum his valu- able collection of miniatures, which is especially rich in enamels by Petitot, Bordier, and Zincke. There appears to be anything but unanimity amongst the railway servants in the kinidom with regard to what is known as the nine hours' movement. Undoubtedly, the majority of the men are in favourof the curtailment of their hours of labour, but they do not feel so strongly a) out the matter as to be prepared to take any risk or to incur any expense in trying to compel the com- panies to make the concession. The agitation is therefore languishing somewhat, and appears not unlikely to die out altogether before long. Lieutenant Howgaard, R.D.N., has arrived in London from New York, the discovery of the Jeannette having forcibly rendered his projected search after the American exploring ship useless. M. Howgaard proceeds now to Paris to consult with Mr; Gordon Bennett, and afterwards to Utrecht, where be is to arrange with Dr. Snellen, who is the leader of the proposed Dutch Arctic expedition to the mouth of the Yenisei, to take the command of the expedition. Negotiations are being oarried on with Sir Allen Young for the loan of the Pandora to take the Dutch expedition to the Arctic regions. FATHER IGNATIUS ON THE SALVATION ARMY.— Father Ignatius held a service on Sunday at the concert hall in Coleshill street, Birmingham, the Bishop of the diocese having refused to ahow him to conduct a mission service in M. Peter s Church, Dale end. In the course of his sermon Father Ignatius said, How is it the Salvation Azmy has Buch power? It was because its members believed what they talked about, because they had taken Christ at his word; because they bad a mighty love of souls, and would go through fire and water to win a soul. Therefore he said, God speed the Salvation Army." Let them have such men as Wesley, General Booth, St. Francis Xavier, St. Francis of Assisi, and then the Gospel would be a different thing from the cut-and-dried, fashion- able, worldly formality which it too often was in our midst. Sir John Holker, like Lord Justice Lush, whom be succeeds, is a member of the ancient and hon- ourable though small society of Gray's Inn, which, fcltbough securing on an average only twelve or fourteen new students annually, has more than its due proportion of men in high places. Mr. Justice Manisty and Baron Huddleston are of its members. One reason to account for this may be that hardly anyone enters at Gray's Inn who does not intend to work at the bar. Those who simply wish to be tin barristers "-that is, to have the came—join the Society of the Inner Temple, whilst gentlemen connected with the press as a rule go to the Middle Temple, and Chancery men to Lincoln's Inn. The fees at Gray's Inn are the lowest, and at the Inner Temple the highest, whilst the dinners- are in an inverse ratio. It appears, according to the statistical rQ. searches of M. Vuillemin, that from 1855 to 1880 the total coal production of the world passed from 104 to 294 millions of tons, making an increase, during the last 25 years, of 190 millions, or 180 per cent. The number of men actually engaged in this production is nearly 1,220,000, making an average of about 240 tons per annum to each man. The average wages being X50 per annum a ton of coal produced costs in labour alone an average of 4s. 2d. Taking the value per ton in Great Britain at 6s. t)d., and in other countries at 10s. 5d., the total value of the coal raised in 1880 in the world would be £ 108,279^900. This value is, how- ever, at least doubled by the cost of transport, profit, and sundry expenses, so that tho cost of the total quantity of ccal consumed in the world may fairly be put at £ 216,559,800. Quite a sensation has been caused in one of the out-of-the-way townships of the Fylde by the sudder and unexpected disappearance of a clergy- man with the daughter of a farmer. He is quite a young man, and has not been in the district.very long; but since being located in it he appears to have been considerably under the influence of Cupid. One of the houses he had most regard for was that of a farmer, who was & member of his place of worship, and who had two or three daughters at home. The clergyman became enamoured of one of the girls, but she was not inclined to show him any encouragement. He made her an offer-wanted to marry her; but she objected to his proposal. This was about seven weeks ago. Afterwards he transferred his affections to another daughter of the farmer, and she took more kindly to him; but the father was against any match being made. A few morn- ings ago she went out of the house in her every- day cloihes, and as she did not return inquiries were made about her, and it then transpired that she had on leaving the house, gone across one of the adjoining fields, got into the road, proceeded to a conveyance which was standing hard by, and in which was the parson, and with him drove to a place a few miles off, where, it is said, they got married by special licence. Afterwards they went to a watering place, whereat they are still sup- posed to be staying. It is thought that the parson will in a week or two return to the district he ha.s thus so peculiarly left, and go on with his preach- ing and teaching as usual. -Liv,,TPOOI Daily Post. SERIOUS CHARGES AGAINST A DOCTOR. At the Carlisle Assizes, on Saturday, before Mr. Baron Pollock, William Jones, a medical practitioner, charged with four separate criminal assaults upon girls under the age of 12 years, was sent up for trial.—Mr. Page, who appeared for the prisoner, moved the court that the jury should first be empannelled to try whether he was in a fit state of mind to plead.—The prisoner, on being asked whether he was guilty or not guilty of the first charge to bo investigated, viz., that of assault upon Barbara Atkinson, at Aspatria, on the 13th of December last, said, "X cannot answer that in one word, hut I am ready to answer the charges oolleotively. —His Lordship said he was ready to adopt the course suggested, and the jury were accordingly sworn to try whether the prisoner was fit to plead. Medical evidence was then called to show that the prisoner had suffered from extraordinary mental delusions for several years. Letters were produced written by the prisoner in gaol addressed to the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the pope, the Archbishop of York, and others. The letter to the Prince and Princess of Wales was as follows:— To the (sic) Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. Pray for me, a°d may tbe blessing of Christ Jesu rest upon your Royal household." Tbeother letters were all to the same effect.—The jury, after an inquiry occupying two hours, found the prisoner insane and incapable of pleading to the indictments.—His lordship, upon that finding, ordered it to be recorded., and that the prisoner be detained in custody until her Majesty's pleasure be known.