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

KRUGER'S PILLS. Private G. Jasper, of the 6th Dragoon Guards, with Colonel Porter, writing from Arundel Camp to his parents at Battersea, says: We go out into the mountains for two or three nights and days together. We have had three hghts. One .night while we were out the Boers surrounded ua, but we made a big dash and drove them back. But their Long Tom is a bit off.' We cannot reach it 2000 yards. It will be a rough job to take Coles berg. I don't know if I will ,get,wentioned,in despatches for a little affair, as my el-tirri vas only a private. We had a big fight and had to gallop two miles. One of our men fell off his horse not 200 yards from the Boers. I went back and brought him in on my horse, and,-by old Kruger's pill9 did not half hop around. It is a good job their shells do not all burst, or else our regiment would have been no more."

ROIL was brought up from a depth of 326ft. from a cotit mine in Belgium, and from it sprouted weds of a species.unknown to botanists. IT « that there is £ 800.000,000 worth or gold und jewels at the bot tom of th» sea on the route, bet ween England and India. HusH fires.have occured in the Western District of the C-loyiy of Victoria, doing great damage, to- pro- ,p*rty. Ihousands of sheep are stated to have Loitn METHUKFT has always been a great believer in plenty of physical exercise. He is a fine pedestrian, and a skilled swordsman and fencer

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—FHBBFAKT 5. CONTRUPIATED MILITARY MEASURES. Lord Dunraven moved a resolution affirming that, in the opinion of this House, a full statement as tie the military measures which her Majesty's Govern. ment had in contemplation was desirable at the earliest possible moment. Lord Lansdowne disclaimed any wish to postpone the moment at which the noble lord's desire might be gratified, but it was customary and convenient that statements of such a description should be made simultaneously in both Houseaef Parliament. At tbta moment the other House was still occupied in discuss- ing the terms of the Address in reply to the gracious Speech from the Throne, He was informed that the discussion would probably end within the limit of a week -from the present date, and he could therefore indicate that as the approximate moment at which he would be able to make a statement to their lord- ships. The postponement of the statement would not, however, occasion any delay in the preparation of the measures themselves. The Government felt that a double duty was incumbent upon thom-the duty of making adequate preparations for the prosecution of the war in South Africa and also for securing the safety of these islands. The resolution was withdrawn. Lord Dunraven asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention had been called to letters in the Press from Colonel Edis and whether the Inspector-General of Auxiliary Forces had control over the various irregular corps now being formed. Lord Lansdowne, in reply, said the members of the Imperial Yeomanry and of the volunteer corps lately attached to the Line battalions were treated as belonging to the Regular Army, and they were there- fore no longer under the control of the Inspector- General of Auxiliary Forces. Col. Edis asked leave of the War Office to raise two new companies and to a-dd them to his volunteer battalion. The answer be received was that as his battalion had provided a company, which had been transferred to the line .battalion of the same regiment, he was at liberty to M) on recruiting to an extent sufficient to make up the void which had been created. Permission was not given to add further to the strength of the regi- ment, as that was a matter which the War Office desired to reserve for examination. Colonel Edis, however, without awaiting an answer went on recruiting. He regretted that Colonel Edis took that course and that bet wrote N, letter to the newspapers on the subject. The War Office had come to the conclusion that up to a certain maximum strength all volunteer battalions should be allowed to recruit, even if the maximtim exceeded the present authorised standard. Where he influx of recruits was so great as to point to the belief that a number of recruits might be obtained not only sufficient to raise the battalion to its maxi- mum s: rength, but to go higher still, there would be no objection to substituting for one full-sized bat- lalion two battalions of slightly less numerical strength. In reply to another question from Lord Dun- raven, Lord Lansdowne said the attention of the Lords of the dmiralty had been drawn to the statement that 400,000 tons of Cardiff coal had been recently consigned to foreign agents, but inquiries instituted at Cardiff had so far not resulted in any confirmar bion of the rumour. The question of ensuring a sufficient supply of steam coal for national require- ments was never out of the mind of the Admiralty. HOUbE OF COMMONS. IMPORTANT SPEECHES ON TilE WAR. There was a very large attendance of members find strangers, it, being inown that Mr. Chamberlain WAS M) speak for the Government in thedebatn the vote of censure. v. When the questions, many of which relateor to incidents in the war, had been disposed of. Sir W. Harcourt resumed, the discussion upon Lord E. Fitzmaurice's amendment. After vindi- cating the right of ,the Opposition to bring forward a vote of censure in time of war by reference to precedents, he.; examined the explanations given by different mem tors of the Government to account for the diffi- culties with which we had been confronted. The Prime Minister, he said, complained that the Govern- ment had been the victim of the "British constitution, but that institution had act received aimrlar blame from such men as the Duke of Marlborough, Lord Chatham, and the Duke of Wellington. Then blame had been fastened on the Treasury, but subse- gnently that Department was said to have done all tliait was required of it. He warned the Government tgainst attempting to abolish the system ot Treasury control. After paying a tribute of high praise to the brilliant speech of the Under- Secretary for War on Thursday, he took ex- ception to the view that we must always be defeated in war at first and must "muddle through afterwards. He next read extracts from Mr. Chamberlain's speeches in 1881 to prove that in that year the Colonial Secretary held that to with- hold from the Transvaal the jndependence of which it ought never to have been deprived would be an act of fraud and- frilly. Eveu rndre recently, in 1896, the Colonial Secretary bad declined that to go to war with the Transvaal to force upon it internal reforms would be immoral and unwise. Subse- quently the Government discarded those views and ftltered their policy, and the result was the present situation. claim, as the Government had done, to prescribe what the internal policy of the Transvaal Government should be was a policy of war. The Government, no doubt, thought that the Boers would not fight, but thoy had no good ground for their belief. He blamed them for being guided by the opinions of the authors of the Jameson raid, when they should havtt listened to the counsel ef President Steyn and others, whoi. warned them that their policy would lead to war. As to the preparations made by the Government, they were based on a contemptuous estimate of the character and resources of the Boers. The Government ought to i have borne jn. mind how indomitable was the,energy of a free people fighting for their independence. The suspicions which had been entertained by the Boers with regard to the in- tentions of this country her ascribed in large measure to the raid. Replying to Sir R. Reid's strictures on the proceedings of the South Africa Committee, he declared that no member of that Committee bad any wish to hush, matters up, and explained why the pro- ceedings were not prolonged, observing that the reasons appeared in' the report. The manner in which those responsible for the raid were treated after the, Committee had reported was not salcuhUed; to diminish Boers' suspicions. Hp bjsli/ived..hvn.8elf that those who had tried to sonde the world that the Government had conmved its the r^id had been guilty of slander, and he was in favour ^taking steps tp expose the fraud and false- hood wliich had been "prevalent. Turning to the war itself, pfter eulogising the,valour of our troops, he said «W; ultimate success, but asked what was to follow wheff wp had conquered. to the alleged hostility of Other nation^ it. was a matter we should do well to pay attention to, now that we bad denuded the cotintry "of its land forces. Mr. Chamberlain, who was loudly cheered on rising and also many times in the course of his speech, pressed the opinion that Sir W. Harcourt's contribu. tion to Jjhg debate would not be approved by the country. A critical stage in the war had been reached, arjd the people wanted guidance and encouragement from the Legislature. Yet,si sixii a time Sir Av Harcourt attempted to show that the war was irpnaoral and unjust, and announced practically that if,it were in his power he would now do again what was done after MAjubai The criticises of the Oppo- sition Wpon'the policy of the Government before the war might well be left unanswered, for they werg contradictory. 'He insisted that the issues between Bder afrct Briton were great, aod substantial, and tlifet the causes of the present conflict had not conie Into being" #inoo 1895, the date fixed upon in the vdte oPceirs-ire, but had existed even before Majnba. Ever since the mistaken policy of magnanimity then R^re**# upolnJ the^history of the Boers relations with tbjU'coilhft'ry bad been a history of eflorts on their part to escape from obligations which they had undertaken. Even the late Government found it n^cpsfenry, in spite of the limitations of the Con ventions, to interest themselves to the internal afMrs ef'the Tr&nsvaa!. The real cause of what had ha"I)p-iied-, must bc songht in the difTerem-e between 4 £ oer character and-oivilisation and 13ritish chh'rh^frfadd civilisation; and from the first the asbTration of the Boers had been to get rid of British supremacy. Having stated again that the Government hoped up to the last moment to arrive at a peaceful settlement, and that that accounted for their not having made greater military preparations, he reminded the Opposition that the ultimatum did not proceed from the Government, and that war was forced upon them, the only alternative being the surrender of the interests of the Empire. As to the effect of our policy upon Dutch opinion at the Cape, to which allusion had been made more than once in the debate, he said ho recognised the difficulties of the position in which our Dutch fellow subjects were placed, and described their loyalty as greater than ordinary ,loyalty in consequence of the strain which was put upon them. But, he rebuked members who in their sympathy with the Dutch ignored the loyal British in Africa, who were bearing the stress of the war and were deeply hurt by the sneers of the Opposition. Commenting on the attitude of the majority on the opposite side of the House, he tauntpd them with not having the courage of their convictions. Believing the war to be unnecessary aim un- righteous, they ought logically to vote for im diate peace negotiations, and yet they were going to support the vigorous prosecution of hostilities. As to the minority opposite who agreed with the Government that the war was inevitable, how could they consistently vote for an amendment which assumed that the war could have been avoided? The Opposition's policy might unite that party but it was calculated to throw doubt in Europe upon the union of the country. But the people, he maintained, were determined that the war should be prosecuted strenuously and that its results should be commensurate with the sacrifices involved. For checks and mistakes of th« past and there had been both, let blame be appor- tioned at the proper time, between our system of administration and those who were responsible foi its working; the important matter now wr t to retrievi the errors that had been committed. The Govern- ment had been blamed for sending out too few troops at first; they were now pouring men intc South Africa they had been blamed for not sending sufficient mounted men and for having failed tc respond adequately to the offers from our colonies Now very soon our mounted force in South Africa would be nearly, if not quite, as large as that ol the Boers themselves, an unexampled force of artillery had been sent out, and the offers of the colonies were being gratefully and promptly accepted. Lord erts ,would shortly have under his com- mand aff-aruiy larger than that with which it was intended to carry out the original plan of campaign. Thus the mistakesfor which the Government had been blamed haefnot been continued. As to the spirit of the nation, it was absolutely unbroken, and there was no sacrifice that the people would not make and none which the Government would not ask them to make should necessity arise. The wai had demonstrated the enormous power of volunteer troops fighting in defence of their country, and this lesson/had not been wasted on the Govern- ment. Advantage, he believed, would be taken of the splendid volunteer material available in our own country for defensive purposes; and when the Go- vernment propounded their scheme of defence they would act not as a party, but as the representatives of the whole nation, and would welcome any criti- cism that would aid them to perfect their plan. Deal- ing with the allegation in foreign newspapers that the Empire was bleeding to death, and that our prestige was gone, he stated emphatically that out position was a very different one from that. If defects in our system had been disclosed, and if any humiliation was felt in consequence, that humiliation was accom- panied by the deepest pride when we thought of the troops from home and from the colonies who bad performed almost impossible feats. Stating the objects whicii the Government had in view at the end of the war, he declared, amid loud cheers, that there must be no second Majuba settlement, that the Boers -must never again ba able to erect in the heart of South-Africa a citadaland,centre of disaffection and taee animosity, and that they- must never again be able to endanger the paramountry of Great Britain, or to treat an Englishman åfII' jf ho belonged to an inferior race. He ridi- culed the notion which was entertained, apparently, in some quarters that gloom has settled upon the nation, which had shown a most manful spirit under the reverses that had occurred. The part taken in the war by our colonies was a factor of which the importance could not be exaggerated. Never before had the Empire realised to the same extent its great strength and unity. For the iirst time our colonies had claimed their share in the duties and responsi- 1 bilities of Empire. In this federation qf our race and 4JJ.other circumstances compensation was to found the evils of war. s. 1 Mr. Moulton insisted that if it was true thsfoa the events of the next two or three months depended the position of England in the world the House of Commons ought to strengthen the hands of the Execu- tive. General Russell commented on some of tha in- cidents of the war from a military standpoint, and the debate was continued by Mr. Atherley-Jones, Mr. Malcolm, Mr. Channing, Captain Phillpotts, and Mr. Dillon, who announced that the Nationalist members did not intend to vote for the amendment because its framers contemplated the prosecution of a war which was regarded by the Irish party as a very un- just one. Mr. Courtney, who was much cheered by the Nationalist members, denied that the fact that the nation supported the Government in the present crisis proved the war to be justifiable, and warned the Colonial Secretary that he was perhaps exposing the country to colossal misfortunes. He rejected the idea that the policy of this country after Majuba was in the circumstances magnanimous, and declined to admit that there was after 1881 an irrecon- cilable feud between the Dutch and Eng- lish in the Transvaal. The Dutch authorities at the Cape and President Kruger had done their best to maintain peace. He charged Mr. Chamber- lain with having brought some of the negotiations with the Transvaal to an unnecessarily abrupt termination. War, he maintained, was precipitated by the incurable perversity of the Colonial Office. He was anxious that the war should be stopped at the first favourable opportunity, and trusted that the settlement would be such as would not create new trouble. Some of the errors which the Colonial Secretary had committed were, he fancied, attributable to> the mistaken views publicly expressed by Mr. Rhodes, who had shown great ignorance of the Boer character. He feared that if the Government persisted in their present policy they would have to govern in South Africa by force, and urged that our experience in Ireland ought to deter them from such a course. After speeches by Mr. Beckett and Serjeant Hemp- hill, the debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr. Afquitb.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE, The Naples Museum has just bought from the De Prisco family, for the sum of £ 600, two magnifi- cently-executed silver statuettes representing Venus Aphrodite and Zsis, together with a silver serpent and a silver crescent, which were recently found near Scafati. According to the Rome correspondent of the Morning Post they are supposed to have belonged to some wealthy Pompeian family which was overwhelmed at the time of the destruction of the city. The silver statuette of Isis is particularly important because it is the first ever found holding the symbols of the attributes of the goddesø-an oar and an ear of corn. On the head is a lotus flower.

CALCUTTA'S supply of filtered water is conducted through more than 315 miles of pipes. The average daily consumption of the filtered water is 20,684,398 gallons, the consumption per bead in the town proper being 34"01 gallons, and 19 86 gallons in the added area." The daily supply of unfiltered water for a population of 436,393 is 4,778,899 gallons. M TAL walls and ceilings instead of plaster have been, it is reported by her Majesty's Consul at Philadelphia, "strongly suggested" for export to Great Britain. The plated ceilings, besides being extremely deoarative, are a very great protection against fire. It may be hoped," the Consul adds, that before these American walls and ceilings can be placed on the market in Great Britain, some enterprising British firm may be equal to supplying the requirements of the British public. THE ill-reputeof Friday as an unlucky day is shown by some current statistics to be undeserved. A care- ful investigation, largely through official channels, has been made of the matter in Germany, and as a result it is found that of 9948 weekly accidents and disasters, such as are commonly attributed to bad luck, 1674 occurred on Monday, 1551 on Tuesday, 1631 on Wednesday, 1547 on Thursday, 1638 on Friday, 1638 on Saturday, and 209 on Sunday. The mdst noteworthy feature of these figures, apart from their vindication of Friday, is the uniformity of dis- tribution of mishaps among the six secular days of the week, the difference between the most and the least "unlucky "day being less than aue-tenth. The day at BHWt disasters is Monday

DEFEATED BY AN EX-PUPIL. What must be the feelings (asks a writer in the Chronicle) of an old schoolmaster when beaten at a Parliamentary election by one of his former pupils ? Dr. McCay, who accepted office as Minister of Education in the new Government of Mr. MoLean, in Victoria, has been defeated on seeking re-election at the hands of hie constituents in Castlemaine. As a private member he had opposed the sending of Australian troops to South Africa. His"succes»ful opponent was a young barrister in the twenties named Lawgon, who stood as an ardent Imperialist. When Dr. McCay was headmaster of the Castle- maine Grammar School young Lawson was a pupil. As a result of his rejection by his constituents Dr. McCay has resigned his Ministerial portfolio.

A RIVAL OF LAURA BRIDGEMAN Helen Keller, ihe deaf-mute whose attainments rival those of Laura Bridgeman, -in whom Ofi^rle? Dickens took so much interest, has recently passed, with honours, the entrance examination of the Women's Annex of Harvard University, under condi- tions precisely the same as those governing other candidates. Her conquest of physical disabilities if little short of marvellous, as she taught herself to speak in a fashion understood by her friends. She is also a skilled typist, and the questions in her examination were answered by a typewriter. Athletics, too, form a large part of her daily life, ae she is a skilled cyclist--& tandem, of course—horse- woman, sculler, and nwitrtmer. Amongst the sub- jects of her studies ate Latin, Greek, algebra, and geometry. Altogether, her 6ase is one of remark- able interest, as, even supposing her to be excep- tionally gifted, it would seem possible to develop the faculties of deaf-mutes to a greater degree than has hitherto been supposed.

A ROMANCE OF THE LAW. Nothing in any story of buried treasure, says the Law Times, not even Poe's story of "The Gold Bug," or Stevenson's Treasure Island," exceeds in interest and excitement the story of how Mr. J. A. Maconchy, one of the official assignees, has dis- covered the board of a man who became a bankrupt in the last century, out of which a large dividend it about to be paid to the representatives of the bank- rupt's creditors. Mr. Robert Smyth, vintner, of Smock-alley, Dublin, was adjudicated in 1797. Shortly afterwards the creditor's assignee brought a suit in Chancery to establish the bankrupt's claim to the moiety of a rent payable Out of certain 1t.!lds in King's County, and a sum of £ 500 was paid into court to abide the result of the suit. The assignee, however, died, the records of the bankrupt's estate, which in those dayt were kept by the .ateiaMe .personally, wen lost, and the Chancery suit lapsed. Mr. Maconchy was put on the track ot the matter by seeing a re- ference to the assignees of Robert Smyth in the list of dormant funds in Chancery, and by the exercise of infinite patience and research, extending over several years, he has pieced together the whole story. He has now succeeded in establishing his title as assignee in Smyth's bankruptcy to the funds in court, and, having revived the old Chancery suit, he has got a declaration of title to a proportion of the rents payable out of tbe lands. The sum of E300, with the addition of compound1 interest, amounts now to £ 3335 3s. 10d., and the rent recoverechhas been sold forA:1620, making altogether a sum of about £ 5000, rescued in the nick of time from the jaws of oblivion. It is expected that a dividend of 16s. in the pound will be paid. There was a good deal of trouble in asCertaining.. the creditors and in proving their claims, 'but in nearly every instance all difficulties have been overcome. Several traders in the oounty of Dublin who were creditors, including Messrs. Guinness and Co., were even able to produce their original account books of the year 1797, and to s^ow directly the amounts owing by the bankrupt of Old igmock-alley. There was one final difficulty which, however, did not prove to be eerious. A luge pro- portion of the dormant funds in Chancery has been used up by virtue of the Four Courts Library Act, 1894, for the purpose of building the new library. However, sec. 2 of that Act provides that any deficiency in the fund to the extent of the amounc required for building the library and for certain other purposes shall be advanced when necessary by the Treasury out of the Consolidated Fund. And so the story ends all right, and the spirit of Robert Hmyth, bankrupt, is atpeaoe at last.

BADEN-POWELL AT SCHOOL. Special interest attaches just now to some inci- dents concerning the school-days of its hero, which Dr. Haig Brown, the former Headmaster of Charter- house, has been telling a Surrey paper. "I notice that the name is invariably mispronounced," said the Doctor. "The I'a" in Baden is generally given the sound ah,' but it should have the usual sound of a,' as in 'Bathing Tow.el,' which was his nickname among the boys at school. The boy was essentially father to the man he was very active, lively, full of fun and amusement, and exceedingly popular with his schoolfellows. An extremely clever boy in every sort of way, his accomplishments were numerous. He proved particularly clever with his hands, and could,draw two pictures with left and right at the same time. He was fond of athletics of all kinds, and in<all be undertook showed a fertility of resource, coupled with a keen sense of humour, which has been displayed again acd again during the siege of Mafeking, In his numerous scouting expeditions," continued the doctor, he often carried his life in his hand, but his courage, skill, and alertness brought him safely through. On one occasion he had a very narrow escape. During the Matabele cam- paign he one day detected a man hiding in a tree. The colonel was well within shot, and the man took aim at him, but he suddenly swung round and got his own bullet in first, bringing the man to the ground." Colonel Baden-Powell, two days before he left Eng- land for South Africa, paid a visit to Dr. Haig- Brown and characteristically remarked, I hope they will give me a warm corner." The Doctor remarks, His wish, as it turned out, was fully gratified, for certainly no man has had a warmer corner in the present campaign than the heroic defender of Mafeking."

WASTING FOREST WEALTH In a discussion at the Surveyors' Institura in London the other night, Mr. F. L. Lightfoot saiathe bad condition of English forests was the resM? chiefly of apathy and ignorance. The owners regarded their woods merely as a source of income, and made no attempt to improve them. Want of capital was another cause of the neglect. Owners might, to a large extent, provide the means for improvement by selling their old and worn-out timber. He also suggested that the Government be asked to make loans of money for new plantations at low rates, as newly-planted woods were entirely non> productive for a number of years.

CHINESE HUMOUR AT WASHINGTON. Wu Ting Fang, the Chineae Minister at Washing- ton, is social favourite txcause of his genial humour and companionable ways. At a little dinner the other night, he had to answer a toast. He began with a complimentary allusion to American ways, but said there were a few things about Oriental civilisation superior to Occidental. There had been some wretched weather that week, and he turned to the Weather Bureau chief, who sat close by. For instance," he said, fiercely, we in China would long ago have cut off this young man's head." It dazed the company for a minute, but they soon grasped the playful allusion to the weather-maker, and roundly greeted the remark.

To PRESERVE Boota AND Suons.-To soften and prevent leather from cracking, rub castor oil into it, and let it remain on for 12 hours. This applied about once a month will greatly prolong the wear of boota. They will polish perfectly with ordinary blacking after using this remedy. I SBVXH out of every 10,000 inhabitants of the United States are deaf and dumb. The affliction is much less common among the negroes than among the whites. lONE of the Grenadier Guards' Band writes to say that if the War Office would only give them a chance from 20 to 30 of them would gladly volunteer to join thair cotar&des at the Modder River.. AT Ladysmith, during a recent bombardment, f Archdeacon Barker picked up a Boer shell which was on the point of exploding and dropped it into a tub of water

EPITOME OF NEWS. THE postage to the Caps is-for letters, Id. the åoz.; for parcels, 9d. per lb. THE highest income-tax has been 2s. in the pound, the lowest 2d. TURRH are two solid silver tea-tables at Windsor Castle. ABOUT 400,000,0001b. of soap is used in Britain yearly. THE Duchess of York is the most accomplished oars woman in the British Royal Family. SUNDAYS and fixed holidays excepted it is esti- mated that EWOW worth of fish is daily dragged out of the sea by British fishermen. THE work of the t. boy washerwoman" at the Church Army Boys' Home iaNobas proved so satisfactory that it is found hardly possible to cope with the amount of work to be done. OWING to local circumstances the Newfoundlaod Legislature will not meet until the middle of April. The Government are pledged to renew the modtta vivendi regarding the French shore. THE marriage arranged between Mr. Russell, soq of the Lord Chief Justice, and Miss Mary Ritchie, daughter of the Right Hon. C. T. Ritchie, M.P., will taire place on February 17 in the Brompton Oratory. On his return to Berlin from Prinkenau the Ger. man. Emperor received at the station the British Military Attache, Lieutenant-Colonel Grierson, who reported himself prior to his departure for England. THE Admiralty have appointed a civilian expert #* Plymouth to give a number of naval medical officers in the Royal Naval Hospital a course of instruction in the use of the Rontgen rays in surgical cases. BICYCLE wedding-trips are all the rage in Franca. One couple recently returned to Paris after a tour of 1100 miles, all made on their wheels. They were absent seven weeks, and had viaited 3-14 villages. THE employes of the Canadian Pacific Railway are carrying out a scheme to augment the Canadian Patriotic Fund, all the men agreeing to give u a day's pay. This is expected to produce 20, ONCE a week the staff officers of the Russian A rmy assemble under the presidency of the Grand Dote Vladimir to discuss the progress of the Transvaal War. The last two meetings have been attended by the Czar himself, who goes thoroughly into all the details of the war. TUB Minister of the Congregational Church of Ladysmith writes that a piece of shell struck a branch of a peach-tree at the door of his kaffir's house, and sent flying over 100 peaches. HEAVY snowstorms continue to be reported from all parts of Spain. At Pampeluna the snow lies 3ft. deep in the streets, and the province of Old Castitte is thickly covered. A LLOYD'S telegram from Oorunna states that the report that a torpedo-boat had been lost near Finis- terre was erroneous. The vessel vseckel was the British steamer Turret). LoRD ROSEBBKY'S eldest son. Lord Dalmeny, -has joined the Royal Military College to qualify for the Cavalry or Foot Guards. The heir to the Primrose 4 estates has just completed his 18th year. THE Japanese have many curious customs. They begin a book at what we call the last page, and the end is where we have the title page. Horses, when in their stalls, face the doer of the stable; men, an& not women, do the sewing, and they insh-the needles in and out from them instead of towards them. WRITING on the decline of the French language, M. Jean Finot points out that at the end of the last century French was the language spoken by tbe greatest number of civilised people, whereas now ill stands fourth. English is spoken by 116,000,0005 Russian by 85,000,000, German by 80,000,000, and French by 58,000,000. IT is reported from St. Petersburg that, no £ with-< standing that the Court mourning is not quite over at the Russian Court, there will be numerous festi- vities this winter. There are to be six theatzicalper- formances at the Hermitage under the management ,of the Emperor's cousin. ifne creameries of North-West Canada produced half a million pounds of butter last year, most ei. which went to British Columbia. AN association for the maintenance of the inrttt pendence of the Netherlands has been founded i, Holland. Ma. T. H. HATTON RICHAKDS has been sdeded for the appointment of Assistant Secretary to theGoverBH ment of Cyprus. PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA, it is reported in Berlin, will be appointed Inspector of the First Division of the German Navy. AFRICA'S railways now in operation or in count of construction have a combined length of about 10,000 miles. THE new district church and schools at St. Helens, recently erected at Knowsley-road, have been bulk at a cost of E4000. AN auctioneer's licence has just been granted to a lady in Melbourne. This is the first instance,in -Australia of a licence of this kind being insuedw a woman. THE last of the Court pages of Xing Charles X. of France is just dead. He was the Marquis Jules da Castellane, and had lived for many years at Sisteron, in the Basses-Aipes. THE Queen has approved the appointment of Liei*. tenant Charles Steward Smith, R.N., her Majesty's Consul at Bilbao, to be her Majesty's Consul-General at Odessa. MRS. Lxy, of Epperstone Manor, Notts, has giyea £ 1000 towards the erection and fitting up of an iron church in an outlying portion of St. Thomas'* parish, Derby. THE death is announced at Bronbeek of General van der Heyden, who gained great distinction in tie hostilities between the Dutch and the Atchiaese. HER MAJESTY'S thoughtfulness for the woundelil at Netley Hospital has been shown by the despatch of a large quantity of beautiful flowers and plants for the wards. IN the new zoological park opened at New Yorkip a great cage for birds. It is 152ft. long, 72ft. wide, and 55ft. nigh, and amid other attractions has* shrubbery for nest-building and a pool of water 100ft. long. 4 THE death is announced of Lady Gosset, widw the late Sir Ralph Allen Gosset,* K.C.B., formerly Serjeant-at-Arms to the House of Commons. She was in her 85th year. THE reduction of the charge for telegrams between Victoria and Queensland from 3s. to 2s. for a IW word message has resulted in mich an increase of business that the revenue has gained by the reduc- tion. A NEW roller boat, now being built in Canada, in cigar-shaped, and is about 30f t. long. The screw ie n cylinder, about one-half the length of the bottl^ situated in the centre and passing entirely arousal the hull proper. Fins or wings ran diagonally around from one end of the cylinder to the othfev, and their rotation gives motion to the hull. The keel iolconnected to both ends of the hull proper,- hangs below the revolving cylinder. THE Beechgrove Free Church, Aberdeen, now in course of erection, is being built of light Kemnps granite, in the Early English style, with Scotnspi features. The building will be surmounted by spire 175ft. high. A series of arches built of rick red freestone, and rising from massive pillars oC< polished pink granite, aeparate the nave and the aisles. A hall will be erected at the rear of church, and vestries, session house, and varionp rooms will also be provided at that part. THE building trades gift to the nation is to tak* the form of six cet.tage homes, to be erected and equipped by the buiiding trade, and comprising'in all 100 beds, together with the necessary offioes and a large recreation-room and workshop. The Cornea, which are to be erected at Bisley, where the Right Hon. Lord Pirbright has given a freehold site for that purpose, are to be for the sole use of invalided soldiers returning from the Transvaal War, so that men leaving hospital may have an opportunity cf regaining their strength.. L THE consumption of tin for the year 1897 anft 1898 was respectively: United Statw.25,000 tone and 29,000 tons; Great Britain, 15,000 tons and 13,000 tons; Germany, 1^500 tons and 14,500 tons; France, 7000 tons and 8500 tons rest of Europe 8000 tons and 10,000 tons Australia 3000 tons and 3000 tons; Asia, 5000 tons and 5060 tons. A NEW Congregational Chapel at Great Dodding-> ton, recently completed, is of red trick with moulded corners, Bath stone being introduced. The nave w 33ft. by 18ft., and the transepts, each 12ft. by 12f"" can be curtained off and used as class-rooms. The roof is open timbered, with moulded principal springing from the stone corbels. There is as entrance inside a porch on each side, with an inter- vening lobby between each poroh and the chape). The building is heated by means of hot-water apparatus, the furnace beuw OR building at -tW rear. ,f

CURRENT SPORT. The severe weather prevented the playing of man) football matches on Saturday under both Rugbi Union and Association rules. A Quarter of a century has elapsed since the first encounter between Scotland and Wales at the Asso- ciation game was decided, and, on yet, the Princi- palitv have not been able to place a win to theii credit, and only three draws--& remarkable record truly. Saturday's encounter took placest Pittodrk Grounds, Aberdeen, before 10,000 spectators. The weather and ground were all that could be desired For the match both Associations selected strong elevens, Wales drawing on those Anglo-Welsh playert who have risen to some eminence in the service of tht English clubs, whilst the Scottish body, departing from their usual custom of choosing a team, got to- gether what was regarded as the nucleus of its ulti- mate strength when the -more serious encounter with England is decided. Unfortunately, defections had to be recdrded in both elevens, four changes having to be made in the home team, whilst half a dozen .changes were made necessary in the Welsh combina- tion. From the start. Scotland held the upper hand, ,and «Bty four minutes had elapsed when an excel- lent centre by M'Coll to Bell resultedin the latter beating Gritlith, with a shot he had no chance with. From the restart Wales acted on the aggressive, and Jones shot just over the bar, but the home team were soon busy again, and Wilson succeeded in putting on a second point. Though playing la hard and determined -:gaJll" .t;b«Ú!t( was a lack of method about the efforts of the Welsh front rank, and this, combined with inefficient sup- port from the halves, rendered most of their dashes futile. On the other hand, the Soots played in "masterly Style, the'three inside forwards—M'Goll, Hamilton, and Wilson-giving a delightful exhibi- tion. It was mainly due to this trio that the third goal was notched by the last-named player. Play up to half-time was rather one-sided, Scotland's supre- macy being undoubted; but, nearing the interval, just after,Hamilton; had scored the fourth point for the home team, from one of Wales's rare breaks away, Perry caught -the Scotch custodian napping and scored with a deceptive low shot, so that at half-time Scotland were leading by four goals to one. In the second half the home side, con- sidering the lead in. hand, took matters more leisurely, and for some time little of note was recorded. The Welsh showed improvement, and Parry tested Dickie with a good shot, but the home custodian cleared. Later, however, after fisting out from Parry, he had to acknowledge defeat from Butler, who: put on the visitors' second goal. Wales continued to attack 'in determined fashion. Shortly before thft finish, however, Smith finished up some goodork with a fifth point for Scotland, who came out easy victors by five goals to two. Tot-ma: Scotlandi—-Kieki? (Rangers), goal; Staith (Ran- gers) and Crawford (Rangers), backs Irons (Queen's Park), Neil (Rangers), and Robertson (Rangers), half-backs; Bell (Celtic), Wilson (Queen's Park), n (paptsin), ari<f Smit!r(ftangers), forwards. Wales.—Griffith*^ (Blackpool), goal; Thomas (Druids) and Morris (Chirk), backs S. Meredith (Chirk), J. Jones (Tottenham Hotspur) (captain), _ud" L Harrison (Wrexham), haV-bàeb; Pugh (Lincoln City), Butler {Druids), R. Jones (Bangor), Parry (Owestry), and Watkins (Aston Villa), for- wards. Saturday's results in the Association Football League Championship Competition were as follows: Aston Villa beat Derby County by three goals to two, Sheffield United drew with Notts County at one goal each, Preston North End beat West Bromwich Albion by five goals to two, Wolverhampton Wan- derers and Manchester City played a drawn game of one goal each, Newcastle United beat Bury by two goals to one, Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers by three goals to one, Burnley beat Everton by three goals to one, Stoke beat Glossop by two goals to one. Owing to the bad weather only four ties in the second round of the Amateur Association Cup were brought to a definite result oia Saturday. Lowestoft, on their own ground, completely outplayed Ches- tuint, and won by nine goals to none. The most interesting match was that between Grimsby All Saints and Hunslet, at Grimsby, which, the home side won by three goals to two. Hunslet combined well, but weakness of front goal lost -them ..the game. Darlington had the better of the foothalL against the Liverpool Casuals at Liverpool, and won by four goals to two. In the match between Stockton and Bishop Auckland, at Stockton, the visitors won bv four goals to tWo. Bishop Auckland, took a strong lead in the first half, and this gave them the game. The tie between the Old Malvernians and Colchester, at Colchester, was not played out, as the ground became quite unfit for football, and the referee ttopped the game in the second half, when Colchester were leading by three goals to two. The English Rugby Fifteen Rafter a lapse of two years have won another match, and their victory on ffotiwday -breaks the sequence of four wins which 'Ireland had gained against England. That the for- ward is still the dominant element in Rugby football was well proved at Richmond Athletic Ground, when It was the splendid shoving and footwork of the English scrummagers that really turned the fortunes --of the game. While' the ball was loose (says the Titites critic) the Irishmen *]WereVas .good op ever in keeping -On it and making theiroppoaenta *put 'it down; but in genuine shoving the Englishmn, triumphed. The actual result was a win for Englattd by tWo goals ami it*o '^triea 0 to a goal; but a score of this nature does not convey sn adequate idea of the game. Until tfeftlast • qtikrter of an, hour it was a case of "touch And go," and England had to light splendidly hard" foifthtfir success. It was fine old-fashioned football of the best type, and ifi wasiVgood to watch. The com- mittee went to that splendid park of Gambridge Uni- versity to get the nucleus of their forwards, and they fared well jn. so doing. Daniell, a superb forward in himself, with plenty of pace, had his colleagues Scott and Bell to help him, and next to these men there were H. Alexander, a neglected Oxford Blue, and S. Reynolds, of Richmond. It was a wonderful pack. The match really turned on the effect of the forward play, and the winging and dribbling, traditional with Irish forwards, were for once counteracted by the old-fashioned scrummaging of the Englishmen. Outside the scruniiiiage both sides did a lot of fine work. The .three-quarters and halves were adepts at kicking; but Gamlin, the full-back for England, excelled himself by his manner of finding touch, and often gained 30 or 40 yards for his men. Neither Marquis nor Nicholson proved of international class, and these were the very players whose right to be appearing flo*, England was questionfeji at the time of selection. Ireland was not quite so" good as' they were a wliile' ago; but they were several tilDes on Saturday withip anace of winning the niatoh, Their for- wardtf were, of course*, quisle in the open and in keep- ing on the ball; but behind tne scrummage their men lacked the precision of souie other Irish teams, and, though kicking well, fumbled much in passing. L. M. Magee, the Irish captain, was clever at hall, and his punts into touch were among the best things in the match. Marsden, Gordon-Smith, and Robin- son, were part icularly good for England, and Magee, Allison, and Reid played finely for Ireland. Indeed, the fight throughout upheld the high traditions of this Enaland and Ireland match, and the company -of 10,000 showed a discrimination and an impar- tiality that were creditable to every one. This English success, after 1°D8 PeJlo>n^ '11-fprtune, will do Rugby football much good. The Scottish match this year is at Edinburgh, and there will be little change in the English Fifteen. About mid-day on Saturday the English authori- ties assembled at Richmond thoug t of giving up the match, but the snow which lay very deep on the ground was eventually cleared off in time to make a •tart just beyond the advertised time. 1 he corpora- tion's carts and men having finished there duties in the streoUL of, Richmond put in an appearance about one o'clock and rapidly completed a work already begun by volunteers and the Rugby committee. Ireland scored first, a dropped goal, by Allison, giving them the lead; them Gordon-Smith equalised with a dropped goal, and following a fine dribble by Bell, Robinson, with a try, gave England the i £ ad- After half-f.itne the Irishmen had for a long white, perhaps, mong of. the garpo than'England. The, tackling by bdth-tdnms was splendid. In the laht quarter of an hour brilliant work outside the scrum- mage led up to tries by Gordon-Smith and Robin- son, from one of which Alexander placed a goal. Bidee: England.—H. T. Gamli (Somerset), back; G. C. Robinson (Northumberland), J. T. Taylor (York- shire), G. Gordon-Smith (Kent), and E. T. Nichol- son (Lancashire), three-quarter backs; G. H. Marsden (Yorkshire). and J. C. Marquis (Cheshire), half- backs J. Daniell (Cambridge University) (captain), C. T. Scott (Cambridge University), R. W. Bell (Cambridge University), S. Reynolds (Richmond), J. Baxter (Cheshire), J. P. Shooter (Yorkshire), H. Alexander (Cheshire), and A. F. Todd (Kent), forwards. Ireland.—P. O'B. Butler (Mbnkstown), back; G. D. Doran (Lansdowne), J. D. Allison (Queen's College, Belfast), Carl Reid (North of Ireland), and E. T. Campbell (Monkstown), three-quarter backs; L. M. Magee (Bectiv6 Rangers and London Irish) (captain), and J. H. Ferris (Queen's College, Bel- fast), hal f-backs: M. Ryan (Rockwell College), J. Jijpaly (Dublin University), A. D. Meares (Dublin j Wanderers), S. T. Irwin (Queen's College, Belfast P. Nicholson (Dublin University), C. E. Allen (Derry and Lancashire), F. Gardiner (North of Ire- land), and J. Coffey (Lansdowne), forwards. Of the 177 runners, representing 19 cross-county clubs in the South of Thames Junior Championship. at Oakley-park, Bromley-common, on Saturday, 164 went the full seven miles and a quarter journey. A. E. Hatchings, of the Bexhill Hare and Hounds, who won the same event last year, and the Southern Counties Junior Championship as well, fulfilled general expectations by again finishing first, but his club scarcely did so well as they had hoped, as, although again second, they lost, to the Herne-hill Harriers by 96 points. The order and tiroes of tiie first six men were: A. E. Hutchings, Bexhill H. and H., 45min. -^sec.. 1 A. O. Bullock, Kent A.C., 46min.i14sec., 3. A Starck, Herne-hill H., 46min. I7sec,, 3; K. La/up- bell, Porough Polytechnic H., 46min. 22sec., 4 F. J. Stead man, Epsom H., 46min. 39sec.. 5; and T. A, Snell, Morden (Surrey A.C.), ro inin. 34sec., 6. Tht club results were as follow: Herne-hill H., 74 points, 1 Bexhill H. and IT., 170,2; Eastbourne Rovers (C. and A.C.), 209, 3; Brighton and County If., 220, 4; Kent A.C., 238, 5; and Kennington H. 262,6. Six and a half miles were quite far enough for the 180 runners who took part in the north of the THamei Junior Championship at Wembley-park on Saturday, despite the lact that 148 of them finished. Thf snow was several inches deep, but not of II "slushy" sort. J. Binks, of the Unity Athletic Club, who has accomplished many fine perform- ances, was an easy winner, and finished ahead of all the others, C. S. Silsby, of the Hamp- stead H., first man home in 1896-97-98-99, retiring at 4-! miles. The individual leading plaoings were J. Binks, Unity A.C., 48min. 26 3-5sec., 1; Fi S. Clefeley," Unity A.C., 43min. 8.5800., 2; -G.' Still. Unity A.C.. 43min. 41 l-5sec., 3; H. Shuff, Wig- more H., 43min. 53sec., 4; J. J. Mayhew, Unity A.C., 44min. 4 2-5sec., 5; and J. E. Smith, St. Bride's Institute A.C., 44min. 29sec., 6. The principal club placings were: Unity Athletic Club, 28 points, 1 Queen's Park, 141, 2; St. Bride's Institute, 152, 3: Wigmore, 171, 4; South Essex, 184, 5; Thames Ironworks, 244, 6. Cambridge University Hare and Hounds beat Thames Hare and Hounds at Cambridge by 20 points to 35. H. G. Lloyd, Thames H. and H., was first man home. The well-known Fifeshire athlete Blues, after being medically declared unfit for service in South Africa with the Fife Light Infantry on the ground of" unsoundness of. wind," promptly turned out and won the Kirkcaldy Harriers Tpn Miles Cross Country Championship. — iiY 1XJ Oxford University were unfortunate at Tottenham, on Monday, in having a very bad ground to play on and in being without their captain--E,-M-. Jameson —and R. E. Foster. Further, an injiiry to Dickin- son left them a man short during the greater part of the second half; so their defeat by six goals to none was to some extent excusable. But they were always outplayed, and the goal-keeping of Wilkinson was the only redeeming feature in their game; Tot- tenham Hotspur scored twice in the first half and four times in the second. < The.third meeting of Blackburn Rovers and Ports- mouth in the Association Cup took place on the Aston Villi ground on Monday, when the Rovers won easily by five goals to none. They piny Prestos North End in the second round. 1

THE YOUNG DUKE OF WEST- MINSTER. One of the (nost interesting figures of the hour is the young Duke of Westminster—that fortunate young man who, before he had attained his majority, has entered upon the most princely inheritance in the world. The young Duke (say M.A.P.) was born in 18§0, the year in which Bend Or carried the colours of his grandfather to victory this is why he was always known by the nickname of Bend Or in his family, and, indeed, is still so called. Considering the vast rent roll and estates which he, in course of time, would inherit, the young Duke received a nqt particularly large allowance. But this had to sufiice, and in spite of there being some 40 horses, hunters, haeks. and coach horse* in the magnifipent gtables at Eaton Hall, when the young heir wished to follow the hounds, he had to hire a horse from a livery stable in Chester.