Welsh Newspapers
Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles
18 articles on this Page
[No title]
-=-= THE London Primitive Methodist circuits have now subscribed £ 1500 to the jubilee fu^a* THE Baroness Burdett-Coutts thinKs a all good fortune would desert her if she parted with a guinea which came into the family in a curious way. Mr. Coutts, her grandfather, was not particularly careful as to his outward appearance, and one day a bene- « volent old gentleman, taking him for a decayed tradesman, gave him a guinea. Next day he met tne banker at dinner at a friend's house, and was con- siderably surprised when he learned the identity of the recipient of his alms, who playfully refused to return the coin, calling it his lucky guinea. At his death it passed into the hands of his widow, who one day gave it to Sir Francis Burdett. His daughter, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, to whom it) was bequeathed, has since zealously guarded it. .'l'_ Li A « t :-4Kf I"
THE WORLD'S COTTON.
THE WORLD'S COTTON. The consumption of cotton appears (Engineerinq says) to be steadily and even rapidly increasing. In 1881-2 the aggregate consumption was estimated at 9.424,600 bales in 1886-7 the total had advanced to 10,468,800 bales; and in 1891-2 it had further ex- panded to 12,933,619 bales. A check was experienced in 1884-5, but with this exception the consumption has been steadily advancing year by year. The consumption, for instance, of the last five years has been: 1887-8, 10,938,670 bales; 1888-9, 11,394,880 bales; 1889-90, 12,015,293 bales; 1890-112,881,328bales; and 1891-2 12,933,619 bales, as already stated. The consump- tion of each year may be classified under four main heads. Great Britain, the European Continent, the United States, and British India. In 1881-2 the consumption of Great Britain was 3,640,000 bales; in 1886-7 it stood at 3,694,000 bales; and in 1891-2 at 3,977,000 bales. The European consumption was 3,198,000 bales in 1881-2, 3,640,000 bales in 1886-7, and 4,524,000 bales in 1891-2. The United States consumed 2,197,000 bales in 1881-2, 2,423,000 bales in 1886-7, and 3,290,000 bales in 1891-2. Finally, British India coasumed 389,600 bales in 1881-2,711,800 bales in 1886-7, and 1,142,619 bales in 1891-2. It will be seen that there has been a general advance all along the line, but that the pro- portionate increase in the consumption of British India has been especially marked. The working of coal in Alabama and Tennessee has also greatly stimulated the cotton manufacture of the Southern States. The consumption of cotton in Great Britain was somewhat [smaller in 1891-2 than in either 1890-1 "or 1889-90. The substantial fact remains that the general consumption of cotton through- out the world has increased at an appreciably faster rate than in the British Isles. The supremacy which Lancashire has so long enjoyed in the cotton manufacture would appear to be on the wane, although it is claimed for Lancashire that it pos- sesses a climate admirably suited for the manipula- tion and treatment of raw cotton. While the con- sumption of cotton throughout the world has been steadily advancing during the last 10 years, pro- duction has been growing in even a greater and more rapid ratio. The pacification of Egypt, and the good government of that country resulting from the British occupation, which has been in force since 1882, has very greatly increased the production of Egyptian cotton. The growth of cotton in the Southern States has also been advancing by leaps and bounds since 1882, so that, notwithstanding the remarkable increase in consump- tion to which we have just called attention, the price of raw cotton was exceptionally low during the crop year ending with September, 1892. Since September, however, it has been ascertained that this year's American cotton crop will be a short one-in fact the United States Bureau of Agriculture pronounces it the worst crop secured since 1860. The result has been a marked and rapid advance in raw cotton quotations.
------------ABANDONED IN THE…
ABANDONED IN THE BALTIC. The crew of the Sunderland steamer Ebro, recently frozen up and abandoned in the Baltic, have arrived at their homes and relate a most thrilling experi- ence. The vessel left Sunderland, with coals, on September 29, bound for Cronstadt, but this port was never reached. On October 5, when in the lower reaches of the Baltic, and in thick and heavy weather, the vessel went ashore and the crew had to take to the boats. She was, however, floated a few days afterwards and taken into Port Baltic for repairs. When these were completed she proceeded to Stockholm, where her cargo was dis- charged. When subsequently making for the port of Lulea the Ebro had literally to cut her way through an ice field which for over six miles encompassed the port. One of the crew, describing the scene, said We had to steam astern and go full speed ahead. During the day the steering rods smashed, and the two men at the wheel were badly hurt. It took us over 13 hours to do those six miles. We landed our cargo of iron ore in 26 degrees of frost, and by the time another was taken on board the Ebro was completely frozen up and unable to move. Sixty men were employed to break the ice, after which the captain attempted to get her through by backing her astern. The propeller, however, was carried away, and the steering gear broken, the man at the wheel being badly injured. In addition to this the bows were stove in, and the forepeak then filled with water." During the process of repairing the damage a telegram arrived from the owners at Sun- derland ordering the abandonment of the vessel. On the 26th December the crew started in eight sleighs for Helenoe, the northernmost station in Sweden, which they safely reached in five days, after suffering intensely from exposure and cold. From thence they took the train to Stockholm en route for Hull. Three of the crew, it appears, were left aboard the derelict—viz., Baines, the chief engineer, of Seaham Harbour Joseph Vergmen, of Sunderland, the steward; and Thomas Christie, a fireman, also of Seaham Harbour. The greatest anxiety is felt as to their safety.
THE GREAT SEA-SERPENT.
THE GREAT SEA-SERPENT. The interesting correspondence in the Times on this subject has been continued by Professor Huxley and Admiral A. Mellersh. Professor Huxley says A gentleman who had been cruising on the west coast of Scotland sent me an account of an apparition of the monster, backed by the lengthy deposition of a companion, a person of proved intelligence and com- petency in some departments of scientific work. I read this document attentively, and when I came to the end of it I was almost convinced. Unfortunately, there was a second deposition, supposed and intended to be confirmatory, from one of the yacht's crew, a quartermaster, I think. From this, however, it appeared to be beyond doubt that the circumstances under which the first deponent saw the apparition were such as to make it impossible that he could have properly assured himself of the facts to which be testified. He had done what we are all tempted to do-mixed up observations and conclusions from them, as if they rested on the same foundation. I pointed out the state of the case to my correspondent; and from that day to this I have heard no more of that particular sea-serpent." Admiral Meltersh wrates: Just 60 years ago I was at Fernando Noronha, on the cost of Brazil, in her Majesty's ship Beagle. I was sent on shore with a party of seamen to cut wood for fuel. While the men were at dinner I strolled along by the sea with a verysharp handybilly (a small axe) in my hand. I saw a huge snake, at least 18ft. long and as thick (in its thickest part) as my thighs, lying in very shoal water, with a back fin, and part of its back out of water. Wishing not to injure it as a specimen for Darwin, I struck it with the axe just below the head, thinking to divide the spinal chord, but the skin was so thick that I only just drew blood, when the creature dashed off into deep water, giving me a shower bath as it went, and confused me so that I failed to make a second blow."
ALLEGED CURE FOR TYPHOID.
ALLEGED CURE FOR TYPHOID. The Medical Press and Circular says:—The cura- tive treatment of typhoid fever cannot be said to have been characterised, so far, by any great success, the attitude of the practitioner being perforce what is euphemistically described as "expectant "e.g., he hopes for the best. Dr. Anderson, the medical officer of health for Dundee, claims to have dis- covered the long-sought-for specific in the salicylate of phenol, alias salol. This compound, as is well known, splits up in contact with the alkaline secretions of the intestine into salicyclic acid and phenol, and he proposes to turn this phenomenon to account to render and main- tain the intestinal tract aseptic. He has tried this method of treatment in a number of cases of typhoid fever, and he states that in many the course of the disease was completely and permanently arrested on the fifteenth day after the supervention of the symptoms and the fifth day of the antiseptic treat- ment. Salol is recognised to be a harmless remedy- so much so, indeed, that it has sometimes been suspected to be inert-so that there can be no objec- tion to giving Dr. Anderson's proposal a fair trial. Much the same results were at one time claimed for the boracic acid treatment of typhoid fever, so that a little reserve of scepticism is perhaps allowable.
[No title]
THERE is a movement amongst the dentists, which j.8 said to be gaining fresh adherents every day, in favour of reorganising the internal government of ttle Profession and establishing an independent representative Dental Council. At the present moment the dentists are under the patronage and control of the General Medical Council, which grants them their diploma keeps their register, and occasionally dictates (as some of the discontented members complain) what ought or ought not to be considered as professional or honourable conduct. -J- r. u « --j oj.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN ON RELIEF…
MR. CHAMBERLAIN ON RELIEF OF DISTRESS. Mr. J. Chamberlain, M.P., presided at the second annual meeting of the Birmingham Relief Fund, and in moving the adoption of the report reminded those present that the institution was started as an axperi, ment two years ago, when there was much distress and considerable clamorous importunity, which was not always based upon real distress. The then Mayor declined to establish a special relief fund. Although there were sound economic reasons for that re- fusal, it did not follow that there was no suffering which ought to be relieved, and which deserved all the sympathy and aid that could be given to it. The object of the West Birmingham Relief Fund was to find a proper channel of distribution of relief in cases of temporary distress. When distress became chronic, when they had to deal with cases of per- manent destitution which were beyond the scope of this association, then the only thing they could look to was the wise administration of the poor-law intended for such purposes. He hoped to see, as a result of the labours of the Koyal Commission, that something may be done to discriminate the work of poor-law relief, so that those who had fallen into poverty more from their own misfortune than from any real offence or crime might be dealt with more kindly than those whose position is entirely due to their own neglect, careless- ness, or sin; but, until this was done, or until there was a scheme, which he had advocated again and again, providing by some system of State-aided pensions for the chronic destitution which was connected with old age, they must rely upon the ordinary working of the poor- law. There were numberless cases which did not come under that category. After such weather as bad been recently experienced there many trades had to be stopped. Many workmen were thrown out of work, having been unable to make provision for such slackness, and they might be in temporary need of assistance. It was important, not only in periods of bad weather, but also in summer as in winter, to have an organisation which should deal with these cases of exceptional distress, and it should be permanent also, in order to pre- vent imposture. Imposture was really, perhaps, the worst thing they had to deal with, the most dis- couraging thing in every walk of life; they found people who were ready enough to be charitable, but were afraid to be taken in. It was desirable, there- fore, to obtain knowledge of the circumstances of the place and of the character of the people. For all these reasons a permanent association was desirable.
DEATH OF FANNY KEMBLE.
DEATH OF FANNY KEMBLE. Mrs. Pierce Butler, the famous actress, better known by her maiden name of Frances Ann Kemble, died on Sunday night at Gloucester-place, Portman- square, London, in her 84th year, after an illness of very short duration. Fanny Kemble was born in London in 1809, being the elder daughter of the late Charles Kemble and niece of Mrs. Siddons. Her first appearance was in 1829, at the Theatre Royal, Covent-garden, then under the management of her father. She then appeared as Juliet, and made a triumphant debut. After playing to crowded houses for some weeks she took the part of Belvidera in Otway's Venice-Preserved." After this she essayed many parts with striking success, among them Mrs. Haller, Lady Townley, Calista in the Fair Penitent," Lady Macbeth, and various Shakespearean heroines. The year 1831 was a memorable one in the annals of the Kemble adminis- tration, there being produced on March 15 Francis I. a tragedy written by Miss Kemble herself. The Hunchback followed, with Miss Kemble as Julia. During the three years that she was a member of her father's company she achieved for the falling fortunes of Covent Garden what the genius of the elder Kean enabled him to do for Drury Lane. Subsequently she visited America, and married Mr. Pierce Butler, a Southern planter. Her marriage was not very happy, and there was a judicial separation, ultimately followed by a divorce at Mrs. Butler's instigation. Returning to England after 13 years' absence, she appeared at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, as Julia in The Hunchback," and was greeted with great warmth of applause. Then she came to London, continued for a season, and returned to America, where, resuming her maiden name, she lived in retirement for 20 years. It was not until 1877 that she returned to England. She has made many contributions to literature, prominent among which is the Journal of an Actress."
STEAMERS ON FIRE.
STEAMERS ON FIRE. The Cunard steamer Bothnia arrived at Queens- town on Monday afternoon from New York, and the passengers who landed state that at noon on Sunday a fire broke out in the store-room in the after part of the ship near the first-class passengers' state-rooms. The fire was discovered before it had made much headway, and the captain soon bad the crew at work pouring a copious stream of water on it. It was extinguished in about half an hour, the damage done being trifling. The Capel, a Dundee-built steamer of about 1600 tons, which arrived at Granton on Sunday with a cargo of esparto grass, was on Monday morning observed to be on fire. The local fire brigade and volunteers kept the flames under till assistance arrived from Edinburgh, but meanwhile the west pier and jetties were in great danger. On the hatches being opened it was found that the fire had complete mastery of the ship, and she was with difficulty hauled into the centre of the harbour and scuttled.
ATTACK ON A MAIL CART.
ATTACK ON A MAIL CART. An extraordinary attack was made on the mail car running between Dingle and Tralee on Monday even- ing. When the car reached Kerrymore, about eight miles from Tralee, with the mails from Dingle, at abeut six o'clock, a crowd of young men at- tacked the vehicle with stones. Tho only occupants of the car were the driver and Captain Eveleigh-de- Moleyns, of the 4th Hussars, who was returning from Burnham, the residence of his father, Lord Ventry, to join his regiment. The driver at once jumped from the car, and thereupon the attackers fled: He, however, captured one, who struggled desperately to escape and ultimately succeeded. Captain DeMoleyns ran to aid the driver, and when he returned to the car discovered that his sword and Jase had been carried off. At Tralee the police were at once communicated with and immediately pro- ceeded to the scene. They have been closely search- ing the district.
ITHE NEW CARDINALS.
THE NEW CARDINALS. At a Consistory held on Monday at the Vatican, the Pope created 14 new cardinals, six of whom are Italians, two French, two Prussian, one (Archbishop Vaughan) English, one (Archbishop Logue) Irish, one Hungarian, and one Spanish. Cardinals Yaughan and Logue held receptions after the Consistory, at which large numbers of clerical dignitaries, members of the Diplomatic Body, and other prominent persons in Rome attended to con- gratulate them. Archbishop Vaughan declared that he regarded the honour bestowed upon him as due, not to his own merits, but to those of his prede- cessors, Cardinals Wiseman and Manning, and to the desire of the Holy Father to do honour to the Eng- lish nation.
SIR JOHN GORST AND AGRICULTURAL…
SIR JOHN GORST AND AGRICUL- TURAL DEPRESSION. In opening the Village Club at Dedbam, Essex, on Monday night, Sir John Gorst dealt with agricul- tural questions, and said that no one had yet hit upon an effective remedy for the present depression in agriculture. The prevailing disease could only be cured by a more healthy condition of social life, and the co-operation of all classes in rural districts. Regeneration must come from within in the shape of social reforms as opposed to revolutionary methods. He welcomed village clubs as a means, in the absence of village councils, of bringing about an intercommunication amongst classes which would tend to the general improvement.
SEAMEN'S WAGES.
SEAMEN'S WAGES. The Free Labour Association has issued a state- ment to the seamen of the United Kingdom by way of reply to the manifesto recently published by the secretary of the Seamen's and Firemen's Union. It denies that the Shipping Federation has sought to reduce wages, and points out that a million tons of steam shipping are lying idle, that wages have declined under the inexorable law of supply and demand, and that Norsemen, Swedes, and Danes, 1 now frozen out of their employment in their own ] ports, will eagerly grasp the work that British seamen decline.
--LIFE-STORY OF AN ANTHRAX…
LIFE-STORY OF AN ANTHRAX BACILLUS. Hartwell Hall Farm, near Stone, Staffordshire, affords a remarkable object lesson in the persistence of the anthrax bacillus. In March, 1887 (writes a correspondent of the Birmingham Post), Mr. Dale took the farm, and in two years he lost from anthrax nine cows, a bull, three calves, and presumably 40 fowls. Mr. Dale had bought some Indian bone- meal, some bags of which had burst, and the fowls that died bad no doubt scratched among it. They died suddenly, and their reported symp- toms were those of anthrax. Afterwards the dust was spread upon a grass field, and here animals that died between 1887 and 1889 had grazed. Mr. Dale left the farm in March, 1889, and was succeeded by Mr. Kent, the present occupier, who was aware of the facts. In December, 1889, he lost a cow, and it is curious to note that one of those that died recently died in the same stall. In February there were further losses, and the place was disinfected, the animals being buried in the prescribed manner. The disease now appears again with virulence, and we have three outbreaks ia the last six months of 1892, two of which occur in December. There are some remarkable facts about the deaths of these latter cows. The August cow had grazed in the field first mentioned on which the Indian bone meal had been spread. Further, this field had been cut for hay by Mr. Kent, and some of this hay was from time to time stored in a stall in the cowhonse. When the stall became vacant it was occupied by a cow that succumbed in December. The stall had practically been unoccupied by stock for three years. Yet, after one week's occupation, an animal dies as recently as December 25. The whole history of this case merits attention, but what good are inquiries, the results of which are not placed in the hands of the agriculturists through the medium of their journals ? Professor McFadvean in 1890. in addressing the Midland Counties Veterinary Medical Society, showed how the lengthy existence of the bacillus out- side the body of an animal might be. He then gave an instance of where it was found to have existed for some time at the bottom of a haystack built upon the spot where some sheepskins had been laid down. Sheep, it should be remarked, die of anthrax more frequently than is imagined, and readers will re- member the serious outbreak at Sleaford in 1891. But many cases occur that are unrecognised, for few are reported, and doubtless in sheepskins may be found the initial infection of many a farm. To the writer's personal knowledge such a thing as anthrax in sheep has not been reported for five years in a large sheep-farming country. This is due, not to the veterinary inspector, but to the fact, as Professor McFadyean has said, that too frequently the farmer regards the diseases of sheep as insorutable, or he is content with saying, I Oh, they died of braxy. Many a farm slaughterhouse or place where animals are dressed may be swarming with bacilli to-day, for they grow with great facility in fceces mixed with blood, and this is put on the land. In the meantime we are told that a one per cent. solution of corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride) and a watering-can are absolutely fatal to this per- sistent and death-dealing bacillus.
JOINT STOCK ENTERPRISE IN…
JOINT STOCK ENTERPRISE IN 1892. It is a great satisfaction, in times of depression observes the Investors' Guardian, to be able to record, with some measure of certainty, the exact period when low-water mark has been touched. The statistics of new companies registered during 1892 show a decrease in aggregate capital of over X35,000,000 as against 1891, which in its turn showed a decrease of £100,000,000 compared with 1890. Small in comparison with 1891 as the diminution in 1892 seems in itself, viewed as a bare result, and without taking into consideration the surrounding circumstances, the figures would not give much hope for the future. It is when we come to estimate the actual progress made during the year, and when we criticise that progress by the light of previous ex- periences, that we feel justified in concluding that we have now turned the corner, and that 1893 will be an improvement upon 1892. It is an undisputed fact that in the formation of new companies the second half of any year is always inferior to the first six months, on account of the holidays and other causes into which we need not enter, as they are doubtless patent to everyone. Consequently, the number of companies registered in the second half is always lower than in the first half, and in previous years the difference has been very marked. But in 1892 the improvement of business in the autumn is strikingly shown by the fact that the registrations from July to December were only £ 2,000,000 less than those in the early part of the year, which points to the fact that the dullest part of the present depression may be dated as between January and June, 1892. The actual number of comr panies registered is also encouraging, as it only shows a dimunition of 140, the figures being 2446 in 1891, and 2306 in 1892. This is clear evidence that the popularity of the limited liability is in no wise diminishing, and will assuredly make steady pro- gress with the increase of trade. Last year the financial and banking companies exhibited a de- crease of 46 millions as compared with 1890; and it now exhibits a further falling off of 12k millions: Miscellaneous show a decrease of 10 millions; Shipping, always a very important depart- ment, 4t millions; Insurance, 3t millions; Mining, 4 2-1 millions; Electrical, one million, in spite of the 4 steady growth in the use of electricity Manufacturing, one million; Breweries, £ 750,000; Land and Agri- cultural, £ 600,000; and Telephone, £ 360,000. There is a solitary increase of E400,000 in hotels, accounted for by the conversion of several large West-end businesses. Turning from the registration to the issue of new companies, the amount of capital of companies brought out does not exceed the comparatively small sum of E30,000,000. Looking in other directions for indications of improvement, the two main factors are the large amount of capital seeking profitable investment, and the re- viving confidence on the part of the geneial public. There is a good demand for shares in sound industrial concerns, and the journal believes that a fair number of such firms will be issued during the present year. It is not a promising season for new mining ventures, and there is little chance of much profitable inerease in the number of land or financial companies. In the near future no very rapid rate of progress can be reasonably expected, although it is probable that 1893 will show a satisfactory improvement on its predecessor.
THE DEPRESSION IN SHIPPING.\
THE DEPRESSION IN SHIPPING. HTJNDBED6 OF VESSELS LAID UP. Special inquiries have been made by the Dundee Courier at the various shipping ports in Great Britain, as well as at a number of foreign ports, in order to ascertain the full effect of the present de- pression in shipping. These inquiries have re- vealed a state of matters that is probably far worse than is generally imagined. At each of the sea- ports a large number of steamers are lying idle, over 150 vessels, representing a tonnage of 350,000, being laid up in the Tyne alone. In London only 17 vessels are reported to be laid up, but this is ac- counted for by the heavy dock charges levied at that port. At Liverpool 156 steamers, representing 159,000 tons, are lying idle. While that number includes steamers usually laid up at this season of the year, the number of tons is far in excess of previous years. At Hull 51 vessels, with a total of 96,000 tons, are laid up at Cardiff 32 vessels, having a total carrying capa- city of 54,500 tons at Leith 25 vessels, giving 56,400 tons in the Clyde 20 vessels, giving 50,000 tons; at Swansea 9 vessels, with 14,000 tons at Dundee 7 vessels, with 17,500 tons; at Bristol 6 with 19,000 tons; at Newport, Monmouthshire, 4, with 6400 tons; and at Aberdeen, 4, with 6300 tons. Thus, in the larger English and Scottish ports 479 vessels are laid up, representing a total tonnage of 856,100. In addition to these there are 50 steamers at Kiel, 25 at Stettin, 15 at Dantzic, 6 at Koenigsburg, and 3 at Mefnel. These 99 steamers represent about 100,000 tons carrying capacity. The vessels laid up in the British ports range in tonnage from 155 to 5000 each, and a noticeable fact is that the steamer Long- ships, of 2842 tons, which was built at Dundee for the Clyde Shipping Company, has been laid up at that port since her trial trip. The average Fize of each vessel laid up may be reckoned at 1700 tons carrying capacity. On board a steamer of that size the num- ber of hands usually employed may be reckoned at 16, and the wages would amount to about £100 per month. Five hundred vessels lying idle, therefore, make up a loss in wages of not less than E50,000 per month, and that heavy loss falls upon 8000 unem- ployed sailors, eagineers, officers, &c. These facts show that a great depression of the kind now experi- enced tells not only against capitalists, but also against the working classes.
EPITOME OF NEWS. , -
EPITOME OF NEWS. RAM SINGH, the Indian artificer, whowas detached' some time ago from his duties at the Lahore School of Art in order to assume others in connection with the-preparation of the Indian Saloon at Osborne, has returned to his home in the capital of the Punjaub. He has taken with him commissions from the Qneen and the Duke of Connaught for various articles of furnitmre mthe Indian style, amd the, execution of these is for the present almost exclusively occupying his attention. During his stay in this country he was admitted to private. theatricals in which several members of the Royal fwiuily took part, as well as other Court functions which are generally regarded as of a very exclusive order. AIR. G. T. CARTER, the Governor of Lagos, and his escort have arrived at Abeokuta, the Egba capital, and have taken up their quarters in a healthy part of the town situated 500 feet above the sea level. His excellency was met by the delegates from the chiefs at the entrance to the town, where thousands of people had asspmbled to witness his arrival. The party marched through the place preceded by a band, the streets being thickly lined by the inhabitants. No interview between Mr. Carter arid the"chiefs has yet taken place, but the usual complimentary messages have been exchanged. Strict orders have been given that all courtesy is to be shown to the governor. MAJOR GENERAL DHAVSON; RJS., m hie wftrks, Thirty Thousand Years of the Earth's Past History," and "Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and < Geology," has. shown that the glaoial period lasted about 20 000 years, and ended some 6000 years ago, a conclusion which, although arrived at by astronomy, is in harmony with the results Qf geology. Glacial periods occur at regular intervals, according to General Drayson, and are due to wha't he calls the second rotation" of the earth, that is to say, a swaying of the axis of revoltr- tion, which causes the celestial pole to describe a circle round an imaginary point. The precession of the equinoxes is due to this second rotation, which some 13,500 years before Christ extended the Arctic and Antarctic circles 12 degrees nearer to the equator, and the tropics 12 degrees nearer to each pole. The glacial period was then at its height. In the year 2295 A.D., or 403 years from now, the difference between summer and winter temperature will be least, and from that time forward, the difference will increase until about the year 8300 A.D., when the earth will enter on another glacial period, which will reach its maximum about the year 18,136 A.D., which is perhaps far enough to look forward to. IN reviewing the decline of wheat-growing in this country, Dr. Fream places at the head of the list of the counties in which this decline has shown itself during the last 10 years Cumberland and Westmore- land, which have each lost two-thirds of their wheat area. Chester, Monmouth, and Northumberland have lost one-half. In Derby, Devon, Durham, Hereford, Lancaster, Leicester, Notts, Rutland, Salop, Somerset, Stafford, and the North and West Riding, the diminution ranges from one-third to one- half of the acreage of 1882. In Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucester, Kent, Middlesex, Oxford, Surrey, Warwick, and Worcester, the decline is from one- fourth to one-third. Beds and Hunts have lost one- sixth, Essex one-seventh, Norfolk one-eighth, and Hertford and Suffolk each one-twelfth; whilst Cam- bridge has suffered a diminution of only one- fourteenth. The general result is to demonstrate that during the last decade the wheat area has undergone shrinkage in every county of England, also that the relative decrease has been greatest in the outlying courities of the North and West, and least in the compact group of Eastern Counties lying between the Wash and the Nore. A COMPARATIVE statement of the military outlay in different European countries shows the percentage of the cost for the army and navy to the wkole budge- tary expenditure. The figures, which apply to the fiscal year 1892-93 are these: Great Britain, 36-9: Russia. 28-7; France, 27'1; Italy, 22 4 Germany, 17*8 and Austria-Hungary, 17*6 per cent. The ex- penditure for the interest and sinking fund en the public debts of the different co-mtries amounted in Italy to 43'8; in Austria-Hungary to 29*3; in France to 28*4; in Great Britain to 27"9; in Russia to 25'7 and in Germany to 12'9 per cent. of the whole budget. COLONEL CREAGH, who was promoted to a brevet colonelcy in the last London Gazette, is an exception- ally fortunate officer, being but 38 years of age.nd having entered the army as recently as the year 187 He has served in South Africa, and also in Egypt in 1882, for which he received a brevet majority, and in the Nile Expedition of 1884-85, which gave him a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy. He attained the rank of regimental major in the artillery in Januarv, 1891. THIS is what Dr. Stephenson, ex-President of the Wesleyan Conference, thinks that temperance re- formers should resolutely demand: (1) Sunday closing (2) the closing of all public-houses on elec- tion day; (3) the veto of the liquor traffic by local option (4) rendering illegal the sale of drink to chil- dren or persons under 16 years of age; (5) if the Government desire to commit the licensing authority to any representative body or board it must be a body elected for this purpose only, so that the voice of the people shall be heard on this one issue; (6) iy system of municipal management of public-houses 44 proposed it must be strenuously revised, unless the most complete and satisfactory guarantees are given that the profits shall in no way go to the relief of-the gates. THE total number of confirmees last year in the diocese of Chester was 5439. of whom 2254 were males and 3185 females. THE 31st inst. being the anniversary of the death of the late Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, the officers of the Metropolitan Tabernacle are making arrangements to hold a memorial service. The preacher will be the Rev. John Robertson, of Gorbals Free Church, Glasgow. AN examination of the prospects of the executive officers of the navy reveals the very significant fait that only one-fourth of the commanders who are made captains and only one-twentieth of the lieu- tenants who are made commanders can have any reasonable expectation, to use the service phrase, of reaching thf ir flags." Perhaps wha £ is even more significant is tnat at this moment the retired flaglist is nearly four times as large as the active listHihp retired captains list is twice as numerous as the active list, and that while there are 340 names on the re- tired commanders list there are only 237 onfte active list. le MR. TATTERSALL, the secretary of the Master Cotton Spinners' Association, has made the following statement: I have finished a table of the results of the stocktakings of 99 joint-stock cotton-spinning companies for the year 1892, and I find that thet result declared amounts to the enormous loss jrf £ 94,860, or an average loss per company 'of £ 9o8. In 1891 the net result declated of 97 companies was a profit of £ 31,113, or an average profit of only £ 320." A CURIOUS marriage has taken place at New. For the third time a lady, named Makings, has been before the altar in the character of a bride, and there has been something remarkable in each of her three engagements. Her first husband was a Quaker, her second a Roman Catholic, and her present ajro- testant. Each husband was twice her age. A she married a gentleman at 32, at 30 she took one at 60, and now, at 42, she is united to a gentleman of 84. THE PRINCESS OF WALES is a frequent visitor to the studios of Sir Frederick Leighton, and on such visits her Royal Highness usually stays to tea. On one cf these occasions the Princess asked -Sir Frederick, who is a bachelor, the reason he had never married. Because," said Sir Frederick, I have not the leisure that a man should have to devote to a wife," and this is the reason that a President of the Royal Academy, with the most artistic home in England," is still an unmarried man. IT is said that no man who has reached the age of Mr. Gladstone has ever before taken an active part in the Government of this country. Lord Palmerston died in harness, but he died on the eve of his 82nd birthday. Chatham died at 70, Fox at 57. Pitt at 47, Canning at 58, and when Sir Robert Peel met with his fatal accident he was 62. Earl Russell attained the good old age of 86, but did not hold office after he was 74. Lord Beaconsfield died at 77. IN a large park in Lincolnshire the mistletoe grows by the ton on the old twisted thorn trees, maple, and poplars and at Christmas time there. are as many as 30 night watchers employed by the head keeper to prevent the shrub being stolen whole- sale for the London markets. In Worcestershire the case is very different, and the mistletoe in the app e orchards is looked upon as nothing ^n,, a plague, for its growth saps away the strongi ot the trees. IT is expected that the new rates will not be gene- rally enforced by the North-Eastern Railway Com- pany, the idea being that the new tariff will be held i in reserve, and only put in operation to protect the company's revenue in any great trade crifis such as the late Durham miners' strike, which so seriously affected the company's returns. THE gold output in Victoria during the past year amounted to 663,000 ounces, showing an increase as compared with last year cf 41,000 ounces. The out- put is the largest since 1886, when the yield was 665,196 ounces. THE statementof Mr. Brydone, the inspector under the Canal Boats Act, as to the effects of supervision on the general condition of the boat population is very explicit. The indecent herding together of men, unmarried women, and children is now very rare, overcrowding, if not absolutely un- known, has been much diminished, and the sanitary state of the boats has been considerably improved." • RIF" COCPLAND SELBY, who has passed away in Glanville, South Australia, was descended from a very old English family, and connected with the Selbys, of Wavendon, Bucks. Thomas James Selby, late of Wavendon, left by his will the Whaddon Hall estates, to his right and lawful heir-at-law. Dying without any near relation, an ancestor of J. C. Selby laid claim to the estates so devised, as a descendant of the great grandfather of the testator, but for want of funds had to abandon his claim. Mr. J. C. Selby had been investigating the claim and was about laying claim thereto when his death took place. Mr. Selby has left two sonsand one daughter, and Mr. Charles Selby, the eldest, intends to carry on the claim as heir-at-law to his father, and consequently as heir-at-law to Thomas James Selby, the testator. THE approaching retirement, just made known, of the Rev. E. C. Wickham, from the head mastership of Wellington College, to which he was appointed about 20 years since, in succession to the present Archbishop of Canterbury, is an event of considerable importance in the educational world, and there will no doubt be a keen competition for the vacancy thus created. A Winchester boy, trained under Doctor Moberley, Mr. AYickham became in due course Fellow and Tutor of New College, Oxford, where his lectures on Horace, since expanded into his well- known edition, proved him to be a sound and cautious, if not very brilliant, critic. MR. ACLAI, I, has, by a judicious act, removed one of the grievances of the female teachers. Some of the certificated mistresses who give up their profes- sion on marriage have unfortunately had to resume it owing to the death of their husbands. But inas- much as the terms of the original pension minute re- quired the service which qualifies for the pension to be continuous, this break has hitherto sufficed to deprive them of benefit; and Mr. Acland has now laid down a series of conditions under which service may be broken without deprival of the pension. THE number of women and children travelling on canal boats is rapidly diminishing, and the number of children of school age on board is accordingly very much smaller than it formerly was. In the' 1233 boats which came under the observation of the Sal- I "ford inspector during last year there were only 234 children, and of these there were only two of school age who were not attending school. The Liverpool inspector, who examined 4370 boats, had only occasion to send notice to the School Board of 53 children of school age. THE exportation of boots and shoes from the United Kingdom fell from a value of EI,763,000 in 1891 to one of £1,552,000 in 1892. QUITE a phenomenal carrot has been grown on an allotment at Bottlesford, Wilts. It possesses 16 separate lobes or roots, and its weight is nearly 4!b. RECENT additions to the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London include a bittern, European, pre- sented by Lord Ilchester. F.Z.S.; two hamsters, British, presented by Miss Pugh two alligators from Florida, presented by Master Williams a common snipe, British, purchased. THE longevity of members of the Society of Friends is again shown by the denominational obituary for last year, just issued. The deaths of members in Great Britain and Ireland numbered 278. There were no fewer than G2 at RO yny, snd above, and the average age at death was r.bove 61 years. IT is reported that the success in breeding lions, which has long been a marked feature of the Dublin Zoological Gardens, is still maintained. The lioness Queen," bought in 1883, has had, since then, nine litters, numbering 28 cubs, of whi.-h only one died. Twenty-five were sold for about £ 1000. and one male. "Romeo," and ene female are etfll in the gardens. THE Guildhall Library (says the London City Press) has reoeived an exceedingly valuable addition to its store from Mr. Willoughby Mullins, architect and past-master of the Pewterers' Company. Mr. Mullins has visited miny of the capitals and chief cities of the world, and aas collected works of unique interest relating generally to questions of art and architecture. He has also been an indefatigable col- lector of first, or early, editions of English classics. Most of the volumes which he has presented to the Guildhall are folios. THE Brahmans, according to the report of the Director of Public Instruction, take the first place of honour in the educational institutions of the Bombay Presidency, the pupils of that caste numbering close upon 100,000, while they contribute 774 to the Uni- versity graduates, the total of aU classes being only a little over 1800. Mahommedan pupils, who num- bered 90,000 in the previous year, showed an increase of 7000; but they are still far out-distanced in the race for higher education by Brakmans and Parsees. Surely," says one authority, it reviewing these figures, with 200,000 Mohammedans in the city of Bombay alone, we might expect to find more than two score Mussulman students in the colleges." An important advance, however, is noted in the fact that nearly 100,000 children of this large and important community are now in the primary and secondasy schools, Tiix London correspondent of an American paper gives some information regarding Maarten Maartens, the novelist. He is, according to this writer, a Dutch country gentleman, living in an old chSteau in Hol- land. His neighbours know nothing of his English literary career, and he tells them nothing, appearing to be only one of themselves. They cannot under- stand what he does all day long, and sometimes a young lady will ask him if he reads English. He has travelled a good deal, and has lived in France and Germany. He determined to write a novel in Eng- lish, so as to have a large audience, for Dutch gives one no audience worth speaking of. He sent Joost Avelingh from Holland to England, and all the pub- lishing houses refused to look at it. He then pub- lished itat his own expense. SOME recollections of George Henry Lewes are concluded in the Bookman for January, by a writer who was evidently well acquainted with the subject of his sketches. Among other anecdotes of George Eliot which Lewis used to tell, was the following "In illustration of the versatile keenness of her obserring faculty, he said that having had an oppor- tunity for inspecting a winner of the Derby—Kisber, I think, was its name—George Eliot, after a slight scrutiny, pointed out some physical defect or blemish in the steed, the existence of which was at anoo, admitted by the groom-in-waiting, and great was his astonishment, the proud and happy Lewes declared, that a lady should have detected what bad escaped the ken of male connoisseurs in horse-flesh." BARON POLLOCK, the senior judge since the l'et retirement of Mr. Justice Denman, is also for certain the last of tbe Barons," all newly-appointed judges being under the Judicature Acts styled Justices. The late Baron Huddleston was very desirons to be remembered by the former title, and at one looked probable that his senior, Baron ro oc would retire first, in which case his wish wou ave been realised. The Pollocks for three generations appear to have held more high positions .c ..ce lu.w than any o'her family. SMALLro.x has broken out at .-ncier.ar.d. disease having heen introduced i -e casual Ward by tramps. The authorities have tnt-refore declined to receive any more tramps. THE Charity Organisation bociety snows that, as far as can be ascertained' epileptics number about two per 1000 of tbe population, and that nearly one- half of these are sane, which would give for the population of Great Britain about 39,000 sane epileptics- Miss Willap.d regards the scheme of the Bishop 0f Chester as wrong in principle and hopeless 88 remedy, and while she recognises in him the Christian scholar, yet Bhe feels that he has no real knowledge of the greatness of tbe evil which he seeks to mitigate. THE Bilston Township Commissioners have re- solved to follow the example of the Wolverhampton Free Library Committee, and blot out all the betting news from the newspapers before they are plaeed OR th e stands of the Free Library. ? ""j* ..J -¡. r¡rru ?.¡1,¡ liiw l-t ) ? J -.ø:J f.o
SCIENCE GOSSIP.
SCIENCE GOSSIP. MR. ERNEST HART, following up a Times corres- pondent, who has been prying into Parisian hyp- notism, has done well to demonstrate that there is nothing new in the new mesmerism." Like the old, it is for the most part based on credulity, self-dectp- tion, and imposture. He has been repepting some 0" the most startling of the French experiments in what Professor Gregory, of Edinburgh, called" animal mag- netism "in the old daj s when "hypnotism "was exhaus- tively threshed out in the medical school of Edinburgh University. But be repeated them under conditions ^1) which absolutely excluded imposture, and (2) which misled or deceived the pretended medium," e.g., using bogus magnels while he or she was made to believe they were real. When bogus magnets were used and the duping "medium" was duped, the results of reality which the subject thought it his or her business to supply were duly forthcoming. After that confessions of fraud were freely made. IT is a grim comment, on the triumphs of progress to find some of the foremost physicians in sceptical France hypnotising a hysterical woman and then pre- tending to transfer her sensibility to an india- rubber doll, held in front of her, so that when you pinch it she squeaks. If it were the other way about and the doll squeaked when you pinched the woman the thing would be more convincing. The suggestion is that by hypnotism you might draw off" a disease from a patient into the doll, and thereby effect a cure So at last modern science and mediaeval witchcraft at the end of the century clasp hands ever the gulf of the ages Everybody knows how witches used to be burned for making images of their enemies, and by sticking pins into the bewitched doll cause the death of the person whose vitality had been transferred to it. We do not burn the modern man-witch. We make him a Professor of Medicine in a French University. ——— BUT is there no basis of fact in hypnotism ? There is. In weak, morbid, disturbed, or explosive states of the nervous system, when it is in a condition or molecular instability, it is certainly possible to make impressions on it by non-material stimuli exactly like those made by stimuli that are gross and material. If that impression exhibits the phenomena of disease it may be removed in the same way in which it was made-not by material stimuli, such as drugs, but by non-material stimuli, such as suggestion." If a person imagines be has a disease, and even by imagination he succee's in producing symptoms of disease, there is nothing miraculous about a doctor who removes the disease by making the patient imagine he is cured. "MOUNTAIN sickness" seems to be attracting attention. The latest notion that big-boned, full- blooded men of large vital capacity are best adapted for Alpine climbers is, however, open to doubt. Mr. Whymper's experience is against it—though ha does not know enough of biology to explain the reason why. Mr. Bosanquet, F.R.S., however, tells us truly that the." internal feed" of the human body, regarded as an engine, of which the stomach is the mechanical stokehole, must vary much in different individuals, and that it is to this fact we must look for an explanation of the paradox that a weak man may be a better Alpine climber than a strong one. In men of large vital capacity his feed will be greater than in men of small. From this it follows that our internal feed for fuel, i.e., food, may be so enormous that it can easily use up the utmost conceivable supply from the breathing organs. Mountain sickness at great heights would therefore arise from the reduction in the oxygen or rarefied air supply, to a point at which there is not enough of it to burn up the fuel (food) continually brought forward by our internal feed," that is to say, by the stomach. Hence Whymper's friend Perring, though he tells us he is suffering from debility, escaped mountain-sickness when stronger climbers went under. Why cannot Mr. Whymper see that because he was debilitated, the food supply his organism had to work off was small, and therefore not too great to be burnt up by the rarefied air he breathed even with the reduced supply of oxygen ? If not burnt it would of course have been piled up in his body as poison. EYEY the sacred fields of electrical enterprise are being defiled by the competitive demoB, who rides on humanity like black care behind the horseman. Our future rivals in production are going to extinguish us because they have -big waterfalls like Niagara as sources of mechanical energy, which when trans- muted into electrical force can be distributed everywhere as moving power. Mr. Thwaite tries to comfort us-we who may be pitied as Dan Webster pitied the Queen of Sheba, because, unlike the city of Rochester (Mass., not Kent) she had no big waterfall—by publishing results of an inquiry he has made into hydrographic data, to see if (1) the tides might be used as a source ef electrical power and (2) if it would not be more to our advantage to draw for this purpose on our coalfields. He is in favour of the latter course. Our coal supply cannot be interfered with by exceptional gales, or tides, or torrents, or floods. He tried to work out a plan to provide Weston- super-Mare, which has a high tidal range, with power from turbines in impounding walls, which held in the sea at the top of the flood tide. The water was to rush through turbined shafts to the low-tide level. But he found the cost of the works was so great that it would be cheaper to put up a generating station on the opposite Welsh coast and carry the electric power over the Bristol Channel by electric cable. This is very well. But who will have the advantage when the coal gives out ? Surely the cities which, like Rochester, have waterfalls! THERE is a type of botanist who is becoming a. dreadful nuisance, and he ought to be abated. Words- wprth said he would despoil his mother's grave for a rare plant; and yet in Ireland, according to the Irish Naturalist, they stimulate him to activity at meetings of field clubs by offering prizes for a collection of the rarest flowering plants in the ground covered by the excursion. If the collection was of any more use to anybody than a bundle of dry bay, one might not complain. But is it ? In this particular case the only praotical result of the prizes must be, not the shedding of new light on bio- logical problems, but simply the extinction of mro forms in the eastern part of Ulster. Perhaps this prize-giving accounts for the disappearance of Saxijraga oppositifolia from these regions. But the disgusting thing about the haymakers who call them- selves botanists is that they are now carrying on a vulgar trade under the cloak of science. We know of a place in Essex where an extremely rare orchid is to be found. It is with pain that we recently heard it had been ransacked, but not with surprise that we afterwards learnt specimens were being advertised at a high price for sale to collectors. ANDRUSOFF'S views about the Black Sea attracted 80me attention at the British Association meeting in Edinburgh. Of these the most remarkable, in aspect of the interest it is stimulating, is his discovery at depths of from 100 to 600 fathoms relics of brackish water-mussels such as exist in the Caspian. Some of them are varieties of species found in the estuaries of rivers which enter the Black Sea. Others no longer exist In that sea, but do in the Caspian. They could hardly have been carried by currents or waves to this depth, where, indeed, the density of the water would have killed them. The idea, therefore, IS that at the beginning of the Quaternary period the Black Sea was a brackish lake exactly like the Caspiail. It had not cut a com- munication with tne editerranean, and there was land where the blue g«n now flows. The cutting of the Bosphoru? at e end of the Glacial period probably let Mediterranean torm8 into the Black Sea. --Daily Chronicle.