Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

TilE MACpenneni (/IV' *UIUUH/URMIM miiiuutes, oil the authority of Af r. Newell, that the report so ex- t e tensively circulated at Hackney as to the disappear- ance of the Rev. W. Pedr Williams being due to the service upon him of a writ for debt, is quite un- founded. It appears that neither Mr. Newell nor his solicitor had threatened to take such a course. Mr. Williams has now returned to England. THE restoration of the tower and spire of the ancient and beautiful Parish Church of Ashbourne, the Cathedral of the Peak," has cost £46. Towards this sum only about half has been sub- scribed, leaving a balance of over JE2000 still owing. A bazaar on a large scale is to be held. A MBDICAL authority says deaths are often occa- sioned by persons changing every-day clothes and putting on thin black suits to attend funerals AN extraordinary scene was recently witnessed in County-road, Liverpool. Handbills had been exten- sively circulated in the district asking for 5000 rotten eggs to throw at shops found open after five o'clock on Thursdays, and on the following Thursday a great crowd gathered at a draper's shop in County-road, and pelted it with eggs. MLLE. CORALIE BRACH, one of the shining lights in the dancing world, during the latter period of the Second Empire, died a short time ago leaving a :t•• fortune of no less than 3,000,000fr., or E120,000 sterling. This interesting fact has been brought out in a will case that is now before the Paris law courts. TilE British Museum will shortly be enlarged, additions to the building having been for a long time urgently required. An arrangement has been agreed upon with the Duke of Bedford, by the terms of which the Government will be enabled to purchase space around the Museum at present occupied by the houses fronting Montague-street and Montague- place. It may interest the curious reader to learn the names of some, at least, of the more celebrated men of the last two or three generations who have made the Library and Reading Room the frequent scene of their researches. Among them have been Sir James Mackintosh, Sir Walter Sco Charles Lamb, Washington Irving, William Godwin, Dean Milman, Leigh Hunt, Hallam, Macaulay, Grote, lorn Campbell, Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton, Charles Dickens, Ruskin, Jerrold, Thackeray, Shirley Brooks, and Mark Lemon. Lord Macaulay, when at work upon his History," used to sit day by day in the Iimg s Library. TUB Rev. Henry T. Morgan, M.A., has accepted the living of Eckington, Derbyshire, offered to him by Mr. Gladstone just before his retirement from office. THE death is announced of Lieut.-General Gubbins, C.B., who distinguished himself in the Crimea; and who has passed away after a short illness at Bishop- stoke. He was the son of Lieut.-Colonel Richard Gubbins, C.B., entered the army 1845, and retired as Lieut.-General in 1881. During the Crimean campaign he served as aide-de-camp to Sir De Lacy Evans, and received the medal and three clasps, the Legion of Honour, the Fifth Class of the Medjidie, and the Turkish medal. Afterwards he served as Assistant Adjutant-General in Malta and was made a Companion of the Bath in 188L

CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE. The Board of Agriculture has issued a report by Major Craigie, on the agricultural returns for the past year. The extent of land returned in 1893 as under all forms of crops, bare, fallow, or grass, in Great Britain appears as 32,644,000 acres. Beyond this surface there is also available for the sustenanco of certain forms of live stock a less easily-defined area of mountain and heath land used for grazing, but not reckoned as cultivated. The approximate estimate of this auxiliary surface is 12,300,000 acres. Three-fourths of this rough pasturage is claimed by the sheep-carrying hill farms of Scotland. A few of the English northern counties and the moun- tainous parts of Wales furnish fully four-fifths of the uncultured herbage elsewhere returned. The woodlands of Great Britain, which are similarly out- side of the cultivated surface, appeared, on the occa- sion of the last inquiry in 1891, to cover 2*695.000 acres. There are also about 13,000 acres occupied as nursery grounds. Comparing the 32,644,000 acres of technically cultivated land, capable of annual analysis in detail, with the area of 32,686,000 acres similarly accounted for in 1892, a diminution in round numbers of 42,000 acres is apparent. This decline is, however, says the report, the net result of important movements in opposite directions. The arable land of Great Britain has further declined in the past year by 176,000 acres, while the surface returned as per- manent pasture is greater by 134,000 acres. The decline of the arable area of Great Britain com- menced 21 years ago, in 1872, when prices of corn were much above the present level, and the reduction was attributed, in that and the following year, to the in- creasing cost of agricultural labour and the attraction of the high prices of meat and dairy produce then pre- vailing. Since that period, with two insignificant ex- ceptions, the record of each successive season has shown lees arable land, the annual diminution varying indeed in degree, and being of somewhat unequal local distribution. Compared with 1873, the arable area of 1893 is rather more than 2,000,000 acres smaller, or about an acre less in every nine. The surface under corn crops in Great Britain has never again been so large as it was in 1869, when 9,758,000 acres were thus accounted for. In 1872, when the arable land as a whole stood at the maximum figure recorded in these returns, zorn covered 9,574,000 acres. The figure of 1873 was 9,459,000 acres, whereas, in 1893, corn crops covered 7,656,000 acres only. Therefore, comparing the present corn area with that of 1873, the decline is 1,800,000 acres. Nine-tenths of the entire roduction in arable area is thus accounted for, while nearly the whole of the remaining tenth is due to the smaller fallows. The arable surface carrying other crops than corn remains practically at the same level it held 21 years ago. Wheat-now covers little more than. half the surface it occupied in Great Britain ir* 1871-5, and beans much less than half. As the agri- cultural conditions of the counties of Great Britain differ widely, it follows that the pressure of agricul- tural depression, so far as evidenced by the with- drawal of land from the plough, must be unequally spread. It appears that less wheat by 322,000 acres was grown in 1893 than in the preceding year. This has brought the total to beloir two million acres, the lowest figure yet recorded. The average decline of the year is 14 per cent., or nearly four times as much as in the immediately preceding season—a result that must be ascribed, in part, to an unfavourable seed- time in the autumn of 1892, as well as to the dis- couragement encountered by wheat growls in the remarkably low prices current. Every English coyntv shares in the reduction of 1893. There aro relatively large percentage declines in the small wheat areas of the North, as of 46 per cent. in Northumberland and of over 23 per cent. in Scotland—where wheat has shrunk from 62,000 acres to 44,000 acres; but it is to be noted that 304,000 acres of the reduction occur in England alone, 70 per cent. of this falling in the Eastern half of the country. Major Craigie adds Attention has been for some years directed to the steady development of the acre- age returned as occupied by small fruit of the nature of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and cur- rants, and it is noteworthy that the increase of this for.. of culture has been continued in the past year. Minute as the aggregato of such figures appear in comparison with the millions of acrea under corn, roots, or grass, it is yet satisfactory to find that the 62,148 acres returned in 1892 have risen to 65,487 in 1893, the counties of Kent, Essex, Cambridge. Sussex, Gloucester, Norfolk, Hants, and Devon showing the largest increments under this head in the past season. The total acreage returned as under small fruit in Great Britain has increased from 36,724 acres in 1888, when this heading was first included in the returns, to 65,487 acres, or by nearly 29,000 acres in five years. The extent of orchards may also be alluded to in this connection, as again showing a rise of from 208,950 to 211,664 acres."

NEW ASSYRIAN ROOMS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. Another new and interesting series of rooms have just been opened at the British Museum. Many visitors will doubtless remember the dull and dreary Assyrian basement; but memory is all that is now left, for the hand of the artist and sculptor has been at work, and the Assyrian basement, as it was for- merly, is now no more. In its place we see a large room with beautiful oak flooring, in place of stone. Around the top a gallery has been built, where visitors may walk round and inspect the sculptures from Assur-bani Pal's palace, viz., the famous lion-hunting scene, the bronze gates of Balawat discovered by Mr. Rassam have been arranged in a large case and placed at the end of the room. Inscriptions of Rimmon, Nirani, Senna- cherib, and Sargan are arranged along the walls. On leaving the basement and mounting the staircase, we find ourselves in another room of Assyrian remains. The most notable objects in this section are a series of sculptures representing the siege of Lackish, by Sennacherib B.C. 701 (2 Kings, xviii., 20). Also a scene representing the removal of gods from Babylon, by Tiglath Pileser III., B.C. 745. A mythological scene, probably representing the god of the south- west wind, and a long and beautifully-executed in- scription of Tiglath Pileser, are among the most notable objects in this section. I

Two new lighthouses, to be constructed entirely of iron, are being made for the United States, to be erected on Cape Charles and Hog Island, Virginia, at the entrance to ChesapeaKe Bay. One novel fea- ture of these towers will be an elevator worked by hand-power, and moving just inside the spiral staircase. REPORTERS, especially amateurs, are answerable for a good many sins of omission and commission, but there are extenuating circumstances when after- dinner speeches have to be reported in a very con- densed form from recollection. Mr.W.E.H.Lecky was, no doubt, startled to find a paragraph going the rounds that he had mooted the startling idea that cats may have inspired Shakespeare." The proposition is a startling one, taken by itself, for though every Englishman has heard of Bacon, very few know anything of cats. All that Mr. Lecky really said was that cats obtained a hold over the affections of his Dutch countrymen only second to that of Shakes- peare over the English race. NEW efforts are being made with a view to cure inebrity among women. Lady Henry Somerset is actively engaged in promoting a scheme that is not only novel, but has the promise of success. It is maintained that penal treatment is wholly inadequate to meet the evil, and women who are punished resume their old ways as soon as they regain their freedom. It is, therefore, proposed to open an industrial farm home to which women who would otherwise have been sent to prison may be consigned for such periods of time as are likely to effect a cure. The home, it is believed, could be made self-support- ing. On the assumption that outdoor occupation is the best thing to uproot the chronic love of drink, it is arranged to have for the women such employ- ments as flower growing, poultry feeding, market gardening, dairy work, and bee-keeping. WHATEVER may be the faults of London cabmen, they are, as a rule, honest men. The property that has been left m cabs and restored to the owners I during the past five jears is shown by police statistics I to represent a value of no less than £ 100,000. NEARLY all our public charities," remarks the City Press, are large sufferers by the failure of the Liberator. Many subscribers have had to witlidi-aav altogether, while others find that, consequent on a greatly reduced income, they can only spare half, or even less, of what they have been in the habit of giving. Especially grievous is the effect the failure has had on charities which gather their chief support from the Dissenting section of the population. Church societies have suffered, but not to anything like the same extent, while those who look chiefly to the Calrinists have escaped almost scot-free,"

BOHB OUTRAGE IN THE 1 MADELEINE. Another Anarchist outrage was perpetrated in Paris on the 16th inst. At about half past two in the afternoon, while a congregation was assembling to hear a Lent sermon at the Made- leine, a man entered the building with a bomb, which presumably he intended to throw, but it exploded prematurely, either through his letting it fall or from its being struck by the swing door, and killed him instantly, mutilating him terribly. The excitement among the congregation, and among the crowd outside who were attracted by the loud report, was at first very great, but the police were soon on the spot, and order was restored. Three men are in custody on suspicion of being accomplices of the criminal, who has been identified as a Belgian named Pauwels, a known Anarchist, who had been expelled from France, but had contrived to return without the knowledge of the police. The church has been little injured, and the public analyst states that the bomb, which was made of chlorate powder with a quantity of brazier's nails mixed up in it, could not in any event have done very great mischief.

BANK OF ENGLAND. MR. MAY'S RESIGNATION. A general court of the directors and company of the Bank of England was held on the 15th inst. Mr. D. Powell, the Governor, in moving a dividend of 4! per cent. for the half-year, said the liabilities in the Baring liquidation had been reduced to £ 3,557,667 and the debt to the Bank to £ 3,450,000. The assets, according to a careful valuation, now stood at E4,023,241, showing an apparent surplus of £ 465,574. In reference to the removal of Mr. May from the chief cashiership, the Governor said it became known last November that Mr. May had committed grave irregularities in con- nection with advances made by the Bank to certain customers, and had allowed in one case a consider- able overdraft without authority and without the knowledge of the governors. He had also engaged in Stock Exchange speculations, which had placed him in serious pecuniary difficulties. There was no alternative but to require Mr. May's immediate resignation. Measures had been taken which, it was hoped, would render such irregularities in future very difficult. The Bank would incur, in respect of ad- vances insufficiently covered, a loss of which the amount could not at present be ascertained, but a sum of F.250,000 had been set apart to meet all possible contingencies, and it would be amply sufficient. After some discussion the motion was unanimously adopted, and a vote of thanks accorded to the governors.

AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY. The workmen employed on the interior renovation of Poughill Church, Bude, have discovered some ex- cellent traces of fresco paintings worked upon a coat of plaster on the walls of the north and south aisles. The fresco in the north aisle measures about 12 feet bv nine, and is undoubtedly a work of a very early part of the 16th century. It is a representa- tion of St. Olaf, who is the patron saint of the church. In his early days St. Olaf distinguished himself in his piratical expeditions in the Baltic, and on the coasts of Normandy and England, but was subsequently converted to Christianity, and baptised at Rouen. In 1164 he was canonised, and became the patron saint of Norway. The fresco abounds in maritime detail, and the border around the painting is some nine inches wide, and bears a strong resemblance to the carved borders of the beautiful bench ends of the church, also the work of the sixteenth century. The fresco in the south aisle is 11 feet by eight, and is a representation of St. Christopher (the Christ Bearer), who, it is said, once carried our Saviour across a stream in Syria. The picture represents the saint upholdmg the universe, and in the act of carrying our Lord across the water. Other children are waiting to be similarly cared for, and the Blessed Virgin stands out prominently with her hand outstretched to direct the way. Both frescoes are most interesting specimens of early sixteenth century work, and although they have been hidden for so long a period under scores of coats of colouring, some of the colours are still as bright as when they were laid on four hundred years ago or more.

IRON AND COAL. The iron trade of South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire does not show very much change for the better. Export business is rather quiet in nearly all classes of bar iron. Fair specifications are to hand on Australian account, and large parcels are inquired for by the Indian Government. South American orders are quiet. South African trade shows a little of importance. Home business manifests a want of steadiness. Rounds, flats, squares, &c., in ordinary sizes, show moderate book- ings, both in branded and lower qualities. Shoo iron is in tolerably fair sale, but the current demand is hardly equal to the average. Tire flats, half rounds, &c., show very little new business, and the reserve of orders on hand is not large. The demand for chain bars, in all qualities, is without improvement. Sales of cable rounds are slightly brisker in ordinary sorts. Best qualities show no increased bookings, but inquiries are more numerous. Bolt rods and nut iron are in less steady request, and link rods and draw bar iron are in limited sale. There is not so much work being done at the rail and small- rod mills. Angles and tees are generally in rather back- ward demand, and inquiries are comparatively few. Rivet bars in steel are in fair average sale, but best iron sorts are in restricted demand. Hoops are not selling very freely, and the mills are quietly engaged. Tube strips are in moderate request, and inquiries for cold rolled descriptions are quiet. A medium business is being done in steel bars of all descriptions. Tin- plates and tinned sheets continue in fairly good demand. The pig-iron trade is steady, and users are taking the usual parcels in execution of contracts. Hot air-mine pig-iron is quoted at £ 3 to £ 3 2s. M. per ton; and other qualities in proportion. There is not so much activity in the general demand for coal. The household trade is, however, pretty regular, and there is a very fair demand for lumps, kibbles, and slack for manufacturing requirement.

SUGGESTED POSTAL REFORMS. Speaking at the Associated Chambers of Commerce the other day, Mr. Arnold Morley, Postmaster- General, said, with regard to the question of tIte American mails, and the controversy as to the advan- tages of Queenstown, Southampton, or other towns, as the point of departure, he could not now express an opinion. As for the suggestion of express telegrams to have precedence of others by payment of a double fee, he thought it would not be fair that other tele- grams should thus be kept waiting. Imperial penny postage would mean a yearly loss to the post-office which would increase as the business increased, but with the cordial co-operation of the colonies, and witli a Chancellor of the Exchequer in possession of a surplus, which was not likely to be this year, he should not be opposed to the system of imperial penny postage.

A DR. E. A. W. BUDGE has been appointed to be keeper of the Department of Oriental Antiquities in the British Museum. For the past two years Dr. Budge has been acting assistant keeper, while the department has betn in the charge of the principal librarian. I AM informed," says the London correspondent of the Birmingham Post, that both Mr. and Mrs. Glad- stone have received autograph letters from the Queen since the late Premier intimated to her Majesty his intention to retire, and that these were couched in language of high appreciation. That to Mrs. Glad- stone was marked by a pathos which deeply moved that lad v. It

EPITOME OF IfEWS. TUB Rev. Alexander Blair, vicar of Allerton- Bywater, in Yorkshire, the first clergyman in the dioeese of Ripon who has been sentenced to depriva- tion under the new Clergy Discipline Act, is an Irish- man, and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained deacon and priest at, Coirk in 1862 and 1863. Mr. Blair has been vicar of Allerton-Bywater since 1874. THE Marjoribanks family, who derive their singular name from an estate in Annandale which was granted to one of their ancestors more than 300 years ago, owe their fortune mainly to their connection with Coutts's Bank. This establishment, which is more than two centuries old, has always had a strong Scotch element in it. The founder was a Campbell, of the house of Argyll, whose partner, Middleton, was a Perthshire man. Afterwards Thomas Coutts, son of a Lord Provost of Edinburgh, came in. The father of the late Lord Tweedmouth became a partner more than a century ago, and remained so till the close of Ufbyery long life. Lord Tweedmouth owns about 6000 acres in Berwickshire, and 20,000 in Inverness. The present lord married a sister of Lord Randolph Churchill, and is also a brother-in-law to Lord de Ramsey, Lord Wimborne, and Lord Curzon. THE Italian Minister of Marine has, it is said, directed the preparation of plans for the naval manoeuvres which will take place during the summer of the present year. The plans are to be prepared by a number of superior officers, who have been given to understand that the whole of the permanent fleet in Italian waters, together with several specially- appointed vessels, will be available to take part in the manoeuvres, the plans of which are to be based upon the supposition of the attack of Sicily and Sardinia by the fleet of a foreign foe. THE Administrator of the Seychelles has been com- pelled to adopt legislative steps to put a stop to the ,fkreeny of "heart leaves" of the coco-de-mer trees fe that dependency. The Government has been moved to action, it seems, by the planters of Praslin, the only island which produces this remarkable tree in quantities. The straw plaited from these heart leaves" fetches a high price in the European markets, and the inducement to secure them is great to such people as do not happen to own the trees for the leaves are in the centre of the tree, and in securing them the thieves generally hack the trees about so much as to kill them. A drastic measure has now been adopted, however, by the Mah6 Legis- lative Council, and this will, no doubt, put an end to the nuisance. THE Bishop of Bath and Wells has issued a letter of appeal for help for his poor clergy. Out of the 495 benefices in the diocese, 230 are under £200 1 year, and 66 under £ 100. The bishop desires to forn| a Diocesan Sustentation Fund, to consist of two p&rts (1) A capital fund the interest alone of which would be applied to the augmentation of the smaller livings, and (2) the annual income arising from subscriptions! The bishop will contribute £ 100 to the sustentation fund, and £10 10s. annually to the latter. i MR. B. L. ABRAHAMS, who has just won the ArnQ14 Historical Essay at Oxford, is a bright young fellol who is assuredly destined to create an impression on the educational and literary worlds. An old pupil of the City of London School, he was successful in gaiifc ing an open exhibition at Balliol. This was the nf} ception of a University career of exceptional bril- liance, though singularly enough Mr. Abrahams some* how missed his first-class in the schools. He will be well recalled by the Jewish students in Londoh. A course of lectures which he delivered at the Jeyfs' Working Men's Club in Whitechapel were marked"by a literary appreciativeness and a faith in the Hebrew character that made a deep impression on hit audience. THE new Treasurer of the Household, the Hon. Arthur Brand, M.P., is perhaps best known as the husband of the lady who introduced the fashion of ladies singing comic or sentimental songs at political meetings. It cannot be denied (remarks the Globe) that she was marvellously successful, and sung Mr. Brand into the Wisbech seat, which he certainly would never have won without her help. yi THE Vicar of Newcastle-on-Tvne, Canon Lloydy has issued an address in which he states that it has been decided to form a union of all the Church Day Schools in Newcastle for mutual protection and help. He asks for at least E2000 to assist struggling schools which are able to meet the ordinary yearly expen- diture, but unable to pay for the structural altera- tions required by the Education Department. As at the present time, Canon Lloyd adds, many of these schools are situated amongst the poorest of the population, they have a claim upon the wealthier members of the Church in other parts of the city. THE rumours circulated with reference to Mr. Gladstone's failing eyesight recall the fact that one English Prime Minister died blind. Lord North- the Minister of the American War—totally lost his sight. On meeting General Conway, one of his foremost Parliamentary opponents in former years, who had also become blind, Lord North wittily re- marked, Well, General, there are not two men in the kingdom who would be better pleased to see each other than you and I." THE returns of the rifle practice of the Royal Marines for the season 1892-93 have just been pub- lished, and show exceptionally good results. Colour- Sergeant W. H. Jones, of the Nelson, port guardship at Portsmouth, has created a record by scoring 230 points out of a possible 240. The second best shot in the Fleet is Colour-Sergeant W. J. Andrews, of the Crocodile, who scored 222 points. Out of 7528 non- commissioned officers and men the large proportion of 1548 have qualified to wear the badge of a marks- man," while the grand average of points is 156'5. The distances at which the practice is carried out range from 100 to 600 yards. The Serapis heads the list of ships in order of merit, the average points obtained by her detachment of Marines being 186'33. The average points obtained in individual firing by each squadron of the British Navy are South-East Coast. of America, 165'95 points; Mediterranean, 16422 points China, 157-24; East Indies, 155-66; Coast- guard service, 151*87; Pacific, 151*52; Cape and West Coast of Africa, 148*68; and North America and West Indies, 148-56. THE summer tourist has hitherto been content to make the North Cape his Ultima Thule. Now he will be contentwith nothing less remote than Spitsbergen. The Orient Company are sending a steamer there on a pleasure trip this season. The excursionist is con- stantly removing his pillars of Hercules, and Captain Wiggins will not have the Kara Sea to himself much longer. That gentleman, by the way, has been honoured with a very handsome present of old Russian plate from the Czar. Had Captain Wiggins been born in a neighbouring land, we should have had transports of enthusiasm over such a manifest mark of national sympathy. > A STAINED glass window has just been erecrea to the memory of the late Charles Kingsley in the parish church of his native place, Holne, near Ashburton, Devon, The window consists of four lights with tracing above, and the subject of the window is The Adoration of the Magi." In the smaller openmgs above are, in the centre, a bust of Kingsley, on the left his armorial bearings, and on the right the bugle, horn, and crest. At the foot of the window is the following inscription To the glory of God, and in pious memory of Charles Kingsley, born and baptised in this parish, 1819; died at Eversley, Hants, 1875." IN connection with the testimonial which has been raised to commemorate the present Bishop of Win- chester's occupancy of the See of Rochester, the Bishop of Southwark purchased at Christie's last week a silver gilt rose-water dish with raiBei centre, chased with bands of acanthus foliage and with embossed corded borders, 19in. in diameter, dated 1715. This handsome piece of plate, which cost f-50, will be presented to Bishop Thorold as a personal souvenir, the bulk of the testimonial, amounting to £ 1000, having been assigned to the St. Saviour's, Southwark, Restoration Fund, a work in which the bishop has taken great interest. SIRWYNDHAM ANSTRUTIIBR, upon whose estate on the banks of the Upper Clyde the Carmichael Cours- ing Meeting takes place, is a person of no small con- sequence in Lanarkshire. His ancestors have ranked among the barons of Scotland for upwards of seven oenturies, and what is even more remarkable his family can boast of having possessed a surname in addition to their territorial designation as far back as the year 1100. But altogether apart from his ancient and honourable lineape, Sir Wyndham Anstruther has a title to menV respect, being genial and open- handed to an unusual degree. Eighty years ago, when on the death of the last Earl of Hyndford, the Lanarkshire property of the Carmichaels passed into the hands of Sir John Anstruther (uncle to the present baronet), the tenants grumbled a good deal; but Sir Wyndham's bonhomie and kindness of dispo- sition have won for him an abiding popularity, and very few people remember nowadays that there has j been any break in the succession. J Ax atrocious outrage has been committed at the village of Manningbeg, about eight miles from Clifden, county Galway. Some cattle, the property of Colonel Brown, were fearfully mutilated. The constabulary have been as yet unable to make any arrest. IN the course of a series of visits to the homes of students who hold Nihilist opinions the Warsaw police came upon a Nihilist meeting at the home of a student named Deljaboff, at which Deljaboff him- self, four male companions, and three female students were present. Upon the entrance of the police Del- jaboff produced a revolver and twice fired at the officers. One fell dead and three others were wounded. The police sent for reinforcements, and when they arrived attempted the arrest of the Nihi- lists, which was ultimately effected in spite of the des- perate resistance offered by their leader. FOR some time past there has been considerable difficulty in keeping the channel of the Medway free from mud. The Admiralty have now decided to purchase two 600-ton dredgers to be used for this work. The material removed from the bed of the river is to be deposited on St. Mary's Island. DURING the last 12 years some 400,000 Jews have emigrated from Russia, of whom a very large number have gone to the United States. Only two per cent. of them were agriculturists the other 98 per cent. were employed in small trades and handicrafts, chiefly shoemakers and tailors. THE custom of wearing hats in Parliament seems to be merely a survival of a general custom which has been crystallised in Parliamentary usage. Men sat with their hats on during public worship in churches, and Pepys in his Diary attributes a severe cold to the fact that he had taken off his hat at dinner. THE cocoa crop of Paramaribo, in the Nether- lands, last year, was a remarkable one, being more than the total output of the previous two years, and exceeding the production of any other one year within the last decade. ACCORDING to latest Government statistics there are at present 20,310 Japanese residing in the Hawaiian Islands. THE Bishop of Liverpool condemns the system of holding bazaars as means of raising money fur church purposes. THE office of Attorney-General was worth £ 2.7,000 to Sir Charles Russell last year. The fees in' the Behring Sea arbitration amounted to no less than £ 8000. TjiE Board of Agriculture have appointed Pro- fessor T. E. Thorpe to be chief agricultural analyst for the purposes of the Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act, 1893. TiiE schnapper is the most valuable of all Aus- tralian fishes, and is found along the whole extent of the New South Wales coast, where it is very abundant. It is a deep-water fish, caught generally near rocky points or reefs running out into the sea. The schappers school," as it is termed, during the summer months, and are then most plentiful. The schnapper is caught by the hook, which it takes freely, as it will attack almost any bait. It some- times attains a very large size, weighing as much as 19 301b. THE improvement of the Trent navigation continues to occupy the attention of Nottingham. It is alleged that great benefit would accrue to manufacturers, colliery owners, and consumers generally if a regular service of boats of 100 to 200 tons burden were to be established between the Humber and the Midlands. There is at present a regular service between Hull and Newark. There is water enough in the Trent for most of the 55 miles between Nottingham and Gains- borough to carry craft of 80 or 100 tons. But there are certain spots which can be easily waded at most seasons, and in drought are covered by a few inches of water. These barriers would have to be removed. MR. CHARLES ScoTTEit, general manager of the London and South-Western Railway, has given £ 500 to the South-Western Orphanage for the dedica- tion of a ward in memory of the late Mrs. Scotter, and in remembrance of her constant sympathy with the institution. PAINTERS have many privileges, and one of the most enviable is that of being able to combine so much pleasure with the exercise of their profession. Mr. MacWliirter, R.A., for instance, having, from his youth up, had a passion for wild flowers, indulges it each year by going away to revel in the flower- carpeted Alps and bring back a picture so fascinating as to be sure of a purchaser. The coming Academy will contain one which he painted last May Dttir Berizal, above Brieg, on the Simplon Railway. There the fields were decked with blue gentians and yellow anemones, the scheme of colour being carried through the violet sides of the snow-covered mountains. As is usual when Switzerland is at its best, the painter had a comfortable hotel and the country-side to him- self. CONSIDERING their capacity and service, coal barges in the United States are cheap carriers. They cost from 800dol. to 1200dol. and last about 10 years. The barges are generally about 130ft.long, 25ft. wide, and nft. deep. A barge carries from 400 to 560 2 tons, 480 tons being a fair average. On the Kanawha a tow-boat will take from four to 14 loaded bafrres. but on the Ohio they take from 13 to 34 loaded barges-about 15,000 tons. MANY European customs have ere this received the hall-mark of the approval of that mysterious monarch the Mikado of Japan. The latest to which he has set his seal is that of the silver-wedding observance. On Saturday he and the Empress had sipped the sweets of conjugal felicity for exactly 25 years, and the circumstance was duly noted and celebrated bv loyal subjects. Tokio has literally not known whether it has been standing head or heels upwards; and all over the country, in parts extremely remote from the capital, there has been the maximum of patriotic jubilation. By order of his Imperial Majesty a special medal has been struck to commemorate the occasion. CARISBAD, with all its acknowledged therapec advantages over other European watering-plabes, Vichy included, has not yet succeeded in attracting to any extent the English invalids. This is accounted for not so much by the dread of a few weeks of severe regime, but principally by the notorious dulness and want of means of transport. Carlsbad does not possess a casino, and, though surrounded by pic- turesque woods, they are not easily accessible, and the town itself is too far from the railway station. The municipality of Carlsbad has now decided to obviate those inconveniences by making a funicular electrical line to the woods and an electrical tramway through the town to the railway-station. It will sur- prise everybody to know that the shortsightedSirai- keepers of Carlsbad are blocking the way to these' ap- provements. WHEN the last mail left New Zealand the old chief Rewi, the head of the Ngatimaniapoto, was lying at the point of death at his o'd home, within gunshot of the classic pah at Orakau, where he distinguished himself in the campaign of 1864. It was in the pah at Orakau that Rewi being hemmed in on all sides with the last rem- nant of his fighting men, stubbornly de- clined to surrender to the leader of the European forces. He was one of the finest Maoris of his time, and has always been held in the highest respect by the whites in New Zealand. He could never be induced to enter the New Zealand Parliament, as he always held aloof from the Government, and never really became reconciled to the pakeha invasion. IF it is true that an inventor has succeeded in adapting a petroleum motor to a bicycle, developing a high rate of speed, the joy of the pedestrian who sticks to the old-fashioned mode of locomotion will be complete. As it is he cannot saunter five minutes on a country road without having the current of his thoughts thrown out of gear by some "scorcher" whizzing by within an inch or two. ALUMINIUM is being supplied in Switzerland at five francs a kilo. When the small specific gravity of the metal is considered, this brings the price nearly down to that of metals ordinarily used in construction, and it is probable that its use will extend rapidly. The French are trying hard to find a means of rendering it more elastic, and have contemplated using it for armour plates for some time past. As Lord Hopetoun is to return to England this year, there is naturally some speculation as to who will be his successor at Melbourne. Probably a new man will be given this coveted post, although the names of many existing Governors are being mentioned in connection with it. Sir William Robinson, of Western Australia, is considered by his friends to have good claims to the appointment. Sir William is a brother of Sir Hercules Robinson, Bart., a well-known Colonial Governor in his day. Sir William has been 40 years in the Colonial service, and has had some very useful experience in all parts of the world. He acted for a short time as Governor of Victoria in 1889, before Lord Hopetonn arrived in the Colony. He is an accomplished musician and composer, and i6 very popular in Victoria, I MR. F. W. Dyso, the new chief assistant at Greenwich Observatory, is, like his predecessor, a Fellow of Trinity—and a very distinguished one. too. At Cambridge- ho was both second Wtangler and Smith's prizeman, and he qualified for his present position by winning the Isaac Newton studentship for Astronomy. Mr. Dyson hails from the North—and he possesses all the orkshireman's characteristics— he is frank, hospitable, and relentless in his aims. Once he sets himself to obtarn a purpose lie is never satisfied until he has succeeded. He himself declares that the foundations of his career were laid at Bradford Grammar School—a successful centre which he holds in affectionate memory. VICF-ADMIRAL N. B. BI:iiiNGFirLT>, whose death is announced '.t the age of 70, has had a life of stirring adventure such as falls to the lot of few naval officers. Entering the navy in 1839, he was a midshipman In the Clio during the operations on the Yangtze Kiang in 1842. For some years afterwards he was engaged in the suppression of the slave trade on -,he coast of Africa, and was repeatedly commended for important services rendered while in command of the Jackal and Pinto. He was wrecked in the Fore- runner, and bv his presence of mind was instrumental in saving many lives. In 1858 he accompanied the late Dr. Livingstone on the Zambesi expedition, and on his return was made a Fellow of the Royal Geo- graphical Society. He retired from the navy in ]Ri7. IN I860, a member of the Chaplin family died at Blankney, Lincolnshire, and was laid in the family tomb. This particular Chaplin was a naturalist, and among his other pets had a large grey bat. That bat was permitted to enter the tomb and was sealed up alive along with the corpse of his dead master. In 1866 the vault was opened, and to the surprise cf all, the hut was alive and fat. On four different occasions since the Chaplins have looked after their de::d rela- tive's pet, and each time it has been reported that the bat was still in the land of the living, although occupying quarters with the dead. He was last seen in T 892. WHILST a largely-attended funeral was taking place at Gnosotto, in the Yaltellina district, Italy, a portion of the high cemetery wall, close to which the crave was situated, suddenly fell in, burying a number of the bystanders, five of whom were killed and 36 injured, some of them very seriously. PEOPLE who are fond of tittle-tattle about Kings and Courts will be pleased to hear that the King of Servia, who is now 1/, rises at seven o'clock in winter, and at five, or six in summer. Although no athlete, and a mediocre horseman, lie always begins the day bv a ride-in the school if the weather is bad. Then he returns to the konak and reads the papers- three German and seven French journals form his daily pabulum. From ten until one o'clock he grants audiences. Then conies lunch, after which lie re- ceives the heads of Departments, signs documents, takes a short drive, and returns at five to preside over the Council of Ministers. Then he dines, and at eleven p.m. all lights is the konak are extinguished. The life is uot an enviable one for a lad in his teens, and family griefs aggravate the cares of State. I am an orphan whose parents are still living," said the young Sovereign one day. IT is proposed to restore the Parish Church of I Burton-on-Trent at a cost of about £ 5000. Mr. W. H. Worthington has promised a donation of EIOOO. THE inventor of dynamite, Mr. Nobel, who was in London in connection with the recent cordite litiga- tion, has returned to San Remo, where he has a charming villa. It is there he spends most of his time in complete retirement, devising compounds still more deadly than those he has been the means of originating. To a French interviewer he recently said that one of the inspiring principles of his life was a horror of war, and a passionate desire to put an end to it. This he believes to be only possible by the invention of some explosive so overwhelming and irresistible that flesh and blood cannot face it. When a battle would mean absolute certain death to every- body on both sides, nations, he says, would lav down their arms. Curiously enough, M. Turpin, the in- ventor of melinite, shares these views. A COUPLE of special commissioners from Japan have lately been travelling about Polynesia with a view to finding a new field for cheap Japanese labour. They paid a visit to Fiji, and no doubt in time there will be plenty of room for a stock of Jap coolies. TheisIands are now being opened out very rapidly, and as so many restrictions are placed upon the em- ployment of the Fijians themselves for plantation work, all the labour required by the planters has to be imported. The supply has so far been drawn from the Tokolaus, Solomons, and New Hebrides groups, and from India as well, of course but there would be no harm in giving the Japanese a trial. MR. WILLIAM WBOVGHTON, a well-known member of the Pytchley Hunt, has been unanimously elected master in succession to Earl Spencer. A CANDIDATE for one of the Midland constituencies is telling a story against himself. He was standing outside a hotel in a small town one day when a stranger drove up. Jumping out of his vehicle, the latter said" Here. hold my horse." The candidate did so. and when the driver resumed his journey re- ceived half-a-crown. This the candidate declares was the first money he ever earned in his life; and he lavs special store by the half-crown. IT costs as much as a million sterling to build and equip one of the larger battleships of the British navy. THE boiler of a locomotive exploded at Wilkes- barre, in Pennsylvania, with terrible effect. Frag- ments of metal were hurled in all directions, and three men were killed. SURGEON WILLIAM GEORGE KYNASTON BARNES, M.D., has been promoted to the rank of staff-surgeon in her Majesty's fleet. THE Victorian Government does not (according to a Reuter telegram) favour the proposed introduc- tion of Imperial penny postage, as it would entail upon the colony an estimated annual loss of £ 12,000. THE Royal Agricultural Society is to be asked to promote a bill in Parliament making the sale of separated milk illegal, unless it is properly marked as such. THE estimated acreage of the colony of British Honduras is 4,839,408 acres, of which 45,000 are re- turned as being under cultivation, and 4,155,000 as being uncultivated. By the death of the Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen, the Gallican Church loses an able and distinguished prelate. Born at Paray-le-Monial in 1826, he became Bishop of Rochelle in 1867, and Archbishop of Rouen in 1883, but was not made a Cardinal until 1893. Mgr. Thomas was a prelate of singular eloquence and power, and was, perhaps, the greatest ecclesiastical force in Northern France. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1869. Bisnor RYUE has made an earnest appeal to the Churchmen of Liverpool not to surrender their day schools. He remarked that a parish without a day sehool was like a man without an arm. A NEW partv, to be called the "Poor Man's Party," is being organised at Shelbyvilla, Illinois. It is pro- posed to elect no man to a local office who has posses- sions valued at more than 1,500dol, PttOOP is forthcoming almost daily of the ineffi- ciency of the Poisons Act. A case was before the magistrate at Penge the other day in which a young girl was charged with attempting to commit suicide by taking oxalic acid. The chairman of the bench naturally blamed the chemist's assistant for selling the poison, but the latter stated, and, as it appeared, correctly, that the Act does not impose the necessity of asking any questions of a person who buys oxalic acid. The assistant who did ask for what purpose it was required, really therefore, did more than his legal duty. AN appeal has been issued on behalf of the St. Martin's Orphanage, Barnstaple, which has been established for the purpose of assisting poor and destitute female children from all parts of the country. An outbreak of typhoid fever has drained the somewhat limited resources of the institution to the utmost. The deaconesses in charge of the insti- tution will gratefully receive any help. Subscrip- tions should be sent to the Sisters Gertrude and Louisa, St. Martin's Orphanage, Barnstaple. THE Earl of Cork, the new Master of the Horse, is a fine-looking peer of 65, who takes life easily, and generally wears a smile. He was on two occasions Master of the Buckhounds in Liberal Governments Lord Cork's appointment is chiefly interesting for the moment as an intimation that he may be ranked for the future among the Home Rule peers. He was one of those who abstained from vot ing on the second reading of the Home Rule Bill, so that his accepts ance of office may be set against Lord Burton's de- fection. The earl is a big landowner in Ireland and Somersetshire. He lives near Frome, close to Long- leet, the Marquis of Bath's superb residence, and is lord-lieutenant of his county. Lady Cork is just as clever as her husband. She is an admirable contro- versialist, and an experienced woman of the world, whose contributions to magazines in the shape of social reminiscences are always eagerly read in Society tirelew.

THE ZIERENBERGS DISCHARGED. Before Mr. Justice Grantham, the trial of Charles Zierenberg on charges of perjury committed in evidence given by him in an action brought by him- self and his wife for libel against Mr. H. Labouchere, M.P., the proprietor of Truth, was concluded in the Central Criminal Court on the 16th inst. The Judge ruled that evidence bearing on the position of the defendant in 1864 and 1867 was not admissible, and, after the case for the prosecution had been closed, he held that there was no evidence on any of the charges which would justify a conviction for perjury, and directed an acquittal. The prosecution intimated that no evi- dence would be tendered against Mrs. Zierenberg, and both the defendants were discharged.

t ————' TREASURES OF THE PYRAMIDS. Most interesting discoveries continue to be made in the brick pyramids of Dasliour. The Times corre- spondent at Cairo says that Mr. de Morgan has just found a large quantity of jewellery and gold orna- ments bearing cartouches of Kings Osirtasn II. and III. and Amenemhat III. Brugsch Bey, who is now arranging them in the Ghizeh Museum, considers that they far surpass in beauty and exquisite work- manship anything previously found in Egypt. The Kings' Tombs have not yet been found, and the broken condition of the sarcophagi indicates that the place had been rifled. The pyramid building itself does not contain any chamber, but an extensive necropolis for Royal personages is cut out of the rock on which the pyramid stands, and a large extent is still un- explored, which is expected to yield still more valuable treasures.

CATARACT AND ITS CURE. In view of the retirement of Mr. Gladstone, no doubt in some part due to the affection of his eye- sight, it is gratifying to know (says the Optician) that cataract is one of those serious diseases of the eve which are most readily amenable to surgical treat- ment, and of which the subsequent inconvenience can be very fully removed with the aid of proper glasses. Ninety-five percent, of the cases operated on for cataract do well, the others go wrong either from hemorrhage into the eye, iritis, or suppuration. Although demand- ing absolute rest—abstention from the use of the eyes-for a considerable period, the operation is not one of that serious character to which advanced age is any bar. In fact, although the disease is eminently one of the later period of life, its radical treatment should not, as a rule, be resorted to until after con- siderable progress has been made towards the com- plete loss of useful vision. During the first period of ripening," in cataract it can bo well understood that vision is clearerjji a feeble light-with dilated iris. And, in case of emergency, medicinal means can be employed for the maintenance of such dilatant elate of the iris under ordinary conditions of illumi- nation. The proper conditions for reading and writing during this period are that spectacles should be worn to accommodate for rather over the usual "reading distance"—if, of course, this be consistent with the size of the type and the acuteness of vision, which last is purely a function of the nervous ap- paratus of the eye. Then the room should be darkened; the book or paper should be laid upon a desk covered with black cloth, and it should be strongly illuminated by a projecting lamp. As to the colour of the light, if one would treat of this matter with refinement, it must probably be admitted that there is some one kind of light which is the best adapted, and which we could determme if the law of the dilatancy of the iris were understood as well as is that of luminosity (which governs the ex- citation or retinal activity). It must be admitted that the spectacles which have to be used following an operation for cataract are not of the most sightly description. The ugliness due to their excessive convexity may, however, be somewhat modified by the use of heavier glass, or of a double lens before each eye.

RABID WOLVES. Reports from the interior of Russia notify the ap- pearance of mad wolves in many districts. The rabid beasts are causing much havoc and consternation among the peasantry. In one village five muzhiks were severely bitten while essaying to kill one of these pests, and in another 30 persons were bitten in two days and are now undergoing medical treatment at Moscow. Many other cases are cited in the Russian Press. _——————