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

MAN WHO SAW NELSON. A most remarkable centenarian is Joseph Sttwfeey, who httB entered upon his lOStfi year, and who recently becanip a, patient ill the St. Pancras Infirmary. He was walking; along-, a street in Ilampstejid when ansfJor who pro- fessed to krfow liifn struck him with a ..stick, as a result, of which he is being treated in the in- firmary for an injury to the hip. Stuckey's bed card gives his occupation as that "of a crc^ing-sweeper, apd it appears that aft^a'ifest Iventf ul *lif e he'was coimpelled* to clean a crossing,for, his living, fie was born at Newport (Jfon.) on E ve, ,1799, and was christdii^d'fc.t the Wesley&n.Qh^pel in that town. He was ;put -to sail-niakmg, and after- waid4 iftentto se4. Af the time of the Crimean War he joined the Navy as; à'seaman stoker, and in the 16-gun frigate Miranda went to the Crimea, where he took part in several naval operations-; He is probably the-only man living who saw Admiral Nelson, and he* has a vivid recollection of the stirring times that led up to the battle o £ Waterloo. He also remembers seeing King Edward VII. when his Majesty was a Ufiby. Stuckey's appefiite is remarluiblei his hearing is good, and he only finds it necessary to resort to spectacles yrjven, he reads. Bafore. he was5 takezl"- to the St' PaRcras Infirmary he ■, lived alone in one room. The parish 'allowed him 4s. a week, and he..paid, 3s.jjd., of this for, rent. The remainder was augmented by the small contributions of friends, and thus he was enabled to Hve frugally, without going into the workhouse; Thisj4 he "cfedlares, he never will do so long as he is able to stay out of "the house." N .J!

JUNGLE COLONY DESTROYED. A New -York telegram- .sta^ee-that- Mri -tJpton Sinclair's Socialistic colony at Helicon Hall,|, neaps Englewoldj Nejt'Jersey-, v*ks burgt to thef ground at davfn on Saturday morning, as the! result of an explosion. The explosion, which|! appears to have taken place tore B away the front of the buildings he settlement comprised fifty-five persorh?/, in-; eluding the author of- The Jungle/5 and his' TKfey escape<PI>y jumping out o/'tlje windows f< an tlfe second a^<f tfftrd floors, and the childrenL were tossed-o^ of the windows in their nightj! 2lothns1HTahd caught in the arms of men or j women b<|lbw^or in blankets held by them., The fexpkteicw wheai d a 'mile away. It is^ denied that the accident was caused by 4he| boilers of the heating plant. There is a sus- picion that it is the deliberate work of ai maUciouS Ipers on. The fire followed the explo- sion almost imniediatelyr 1 J The Sinclair €o-operati^. Colony was estab- lished in October, and included a iiutaoer of prominent meji in educational and;.literary world. Tlie co-operative seriant. plan, yvas adopted, meals being served in common in a large dining-room. A man and four women, inclttding 'Mrs._ Grace MeGoWair- COOK, "'an auth^ess, ^r'e^iri hospital. -Mrs. Cook and-Mr. William Montague, a Professor of Columbia University, where iujured hy' ;^trikmg ecping when they jumped. Mire.Cook's co'nat-; tion is serious. The body of a carpepter was fouild in his room.

Ð — — .l. J" :0 q, oti A verdjet for £ 250 d mages was given in the King's: oi|ench Division against the Harrow- foad and Paddiftgton TramwayS*4Comp"^hyr in I favour of'Amy Gertrude Noles, two and a half yeaia old] who was knocked down bv-one-of the company's tramcars and had her leg amputated. ■; Regarding the dredging of Southampton Water to a depth of tliirty-fjve feet and the ap- portionment of the cost of the work-, a confer- ence between the White Star Lineocialsand the Tlo decision ^fas come i6, aihd a iwriJEicj. confcr- -enee will be >- •„ >r ■ s

--iME.P^S '-ENOAOEMEN^r/t N GE Just as the announcenient is made of one M.P. s engagement being broken" off, wines news of another one engaging himself to marry. Sir Henry Norman, member for South Wolver- hampton since 1900, who is to marry Miss Pria- Ij cilia McLaren, younger daughter of Sir Charles and Lady McLaren, is a well-known author and journalist, andUs 49 years of age, having been born at Leicester in 1858. He was educated privately in France, at Harvard University, where'he gained his B.A. degree, and Leipsig University. On leav- ing the latter he went to America, where he promoted the public agitation for t he national preservation of Niagara Falls, which resulted in the subse- quent purchase of the tails by the State of j New York.- On return., ing to England he Was for several years on the; editorial staff of the ¡" PalL Mall Gazette," and after- wards joined the staff of tho" D ail y Chronicle," of which SIR HY. NORMAN, M.P. he 'became assistant editor in 1895, but he resigned that post in 1899 in order to have more time for literature and politics, though he founded "The World's Work," a monthly magazine of efficiency and' progress, an 1902. He has visited the whole of the United .States and Canada, and hag travelled and explored in Japan, Russia. Siberia, Central Asia, Korea, Chinas Siam, the Malay, Peninsula, Egypt, and the Balkans. He has contributed a number of interesting accounts of his travels to newspapers and maga- zines, and has written a number of books in- cluding "The Real Japan," "An Account of ,the. Harvard Greek Railway," and "Motors and Men." Sir Henry, who has won a, position in the House of Commons by his grasp of foreign affairs, and his intimate knowledge of the Empire, received the honour of knighthood last year. His recreations are shooting, fish- ing, riding, automobilism, mechanics, and photography, while he also goes in for farm- ing-

ARMED BOY BURGLAR. ) The remarkable adventures of two boys were described; on Monday at the Croydon Police- court. The leader is alleged to be Frank 8. W. Taylor, 16 years old, who lives at Robin pEiood-lane, Sutton., He was charged with 'at- tempting to murder Mr. John Frederick Carl Damon, of Kenilworth, Park-hill, Carsnalton, and he was also charged with Edwin John Bar- rett, who is two years younger, with burglary at ,[Mr. Damon's house, and at the house of rMr. John Kebb-le at Carshalton. The younger boy was dressed in an Eton suit, and wore a wide Eton collar. Taylor was also neatly dressed, but there was a long rent in his coat received in; his struggle to escape. I' Mr.1 Damon said that when he -tttts at dinner pn Saturday, evening,he heard his servant call out, and saw Taylor running down a passage. He was stopped at the end of it by a 11 plumber, and when Mr. Damon questioned "him, he an- swered smilingly that he had made a mistake in the house, and explained that he w'as trying to play a practical joke on a, boyfriend named Davis. Mr. Damon sent for young Davis, who1 admitted that he knew" Taylor slightly. In the meantime the servants had found a window topeni .arid a black bag under a bed. Mr. Damon' announced his intention of sending for the police, when Taylor junfjied up and attempted to escape. Mr. Damon tried to sebie him; and Taylor drew a small revolver and fired at him, threatening to shoot again if Mr. Damon came any closer. The boy then turned and ran into the scullery, where he was captured. Both boys were:,remanded, bail being allowed.

-TH) f y f ;1', A « MISSING; MILLIONAJRE. According to1 a telegranr from New York, Mr. Frederick Weyerhauser, the "Lumber King," who is reported: to be' tlfe fifchfest tnitii in Amel:ica, hasi mysteriously disappeared from South California. His frielads, however, are inclined j to halieve ttkat the- millionaire has quietly withdrawn-from the cares and anxieties of business, and th,*it?iwhe»ihe had finished his holiday he will return to his regular duties. MR. F. WEYERHAUSER. Mr: Weyerhauser, who is a little-klnown per- sonality and ai £ j some, sonality ana PHF some, thing of a recluse, is i.said- 1 'fjtoase&s pro- perty ^or%; "a billion dollars. His own tmsi- mess associates, how- over, do not share his secrets, his home life at St: Paul, ift the United States, is quiet and simple, and even- •to those who lcnow him best he is a puzzle. He is now seventy- three years of age, for he was born, in Germany in 1834. He went to America as --i an emigrant, moved West, and went to work as ia section hand on a new railroad. Then he got a job on a Sawr mill, and soon he owned the mill. The. rest of his lifq.^as been a slow, unceasing grind of buying timber cheap,, selling at a profit, buy- P, ing more timber,' then acquiring still largei tracts. To-day the great 'i'ote'st tracts of the North-West are his; and he is beginning to reap the fritits of his foresight. One piece of yellow-pine land, h-old .ten years ago at a price of 75,000dok., is to-day unobtainable at 750,000dols. Another tract in West Virginia, covered with spruce and hemlock, and pur- chased- five years ago for 12,000dols., has re- cently been sold for 500,000dols. In the lum- ber territory of Wihcoilsin, Minno 11 and the upper Mississippi River" district hhaB reigned Mr years undisputed. It, is. etimated by those who have studied Wieyerhtu er wide- spread, business interests that itnjy 30,000,000 acres (50,000 square I- miles) of timber- land are under ihis controls T'he ^iand ia calculated to b|s woi-lh' close toi-a ibillMi dolfars—an#8 it is E increasing in value at a greater rate than any other article of public utility.

The "Jewish World" suggests that the firsi suffragists recorded iu. history were the daugh- ters of Zelophehad, -and adds that it is unfortu- nate that Mr. Dickinson's Bill- could not be re- ferred to the secret arbitrament of Urirn and Thumin. The, same journal mentions that one of the pioneers of the women's suffrage move- ment in America was a Jewess, Mrs. Ernestine L. Rose, who addressed meetings as early as i 1836. She attended the famous Bloomer" convention at Syracuse in 1852.. Describing the continued ron-payment of a debt of £ 4,620 as "sharp practice" on the part of the Kent County Council, the Dover Corpo- ration decided to charge interest and compound interest on: the money for the period it has been owing. The county council have forced the corporatIon to arbitration for small outstanding amounts of £ 383, whilst this large sum i&:due. T JTom Milton, who sold newspapers outside Aldersgaet-strest Station, and lived at Hare- street, Bethnal-green, was feuried at Wood- grange Park Cemetery. Thousands of persons watcned the passing of the funeral procession, which consisted of a hearse drawn by six horses, with postilions, eight pall-bearers, and five mourning coaches. At the Galway Board of Guardians' -meeting a letter was read from the boys of the-work- house school, complaining that, the master of |jie workhouse had taken possession'iof their football because, he could not get an hour's rgst for the noise they,made..The letter, which evoked much laughter, was signed, "y otlr o'id ^fiends/' The master was-, ordered to "return ca ball. t

DR. MACNAMARA AND THE L.G.B Dr. Macnamara, M.P., was entertained tc dinner by residents of Camberwell on his ap- pointment as. Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board. Replying to the toast of his health, Dr. Mac- namara said the Local Government Board was, or should be, the great central generating sta- tion for social reform and the well-being of the community. Its aim, he thought, should be to encourage the effective local authority by lending a prompt and sympathetic ear to its proposals, to strengthen the weak with wise eounsejs, and to correct the faulty by courageously applying dissent from its acts of commission or omission. He devoutly trusted that the supply of public men in this country for local government would never decrease otherwise, with our enormous commitments, our position would indeed be a serious one. In the course of the evening Mrs. Macnamara was presented with a handsome diamond and sapphire ornament for the hair, while a gift Of a pendant was made to Miss Macnamara.

SCBNES, AT DOWIE'S FUNERAL. Extraordinary scenes were witnessed at the funeral of John Alexander Dowie at Zion City. Thousands of Dowieites knelt along the roiitfe of the funeral procession, hoping that the dll and, crippled would, be miraculously healed, but, they were, disappointed, and many of the devout caught cold instead. Mwie's followers believed that he. would rise from his coffin as he had predicted many times, and they crowded around the hearse in order to have an unob- structed view of the resurrection. There were many severe fights with the police in conse- quence, and some of thEfe; mournera were clubbed. The main gateway at the cemetery wao. broken, presumably by workmen who Were con- structing; the Dowie vault. The cemetery; autho- rities held Dr. Gladstone Dowie, the "unkissed son" of the "prophet," responsible, and threatened to arrest him at the grave unless he guaranteed to make good the damage. Dowie had written his own funeral sermon, but his representatives would not permit it to be read at the graveside, for fear of provoking disturb' ances. ,\)¡

HEROIC -S TRGEON'S DEATH. t '¡ A dtbry of heroism is recalled by the death of Dr. Lowson, of Hull, which took place in a London nursing home. When he was in prac- i tice iri Huddersfield he was caned on to per- form an operation of. tracheotomy in a case of J diphtheria. The tube suddenly became blocked with false membrane and blood, and with no thought for himself Dr. Lowson at once sucked it clear, saving thus the patient's life. The result was that a.few days.;after he. was himself stricken with diphtheria, and, owing to serious complications which were left be- hind, he was incapacitated from work for over a year. The Albert Medal was bestowed pn him in recognition of his5 heroism. The illness which resulted in his death began through blood poisoning caused by pricking his finger while performing an operation for appendicitis without fee.

RUNAWAY RAILWAY TFTUOKS tYø, A heavily-loaded mineral train was proceed- n ing, tvp-i- the? hwline 'between Dukinfield, and Stalybridge when some couplings broke at the entrance to the latter BtatlOn. At once over fifty waggons started to run back in the direc- tion of 'Dukinfield, with great impetus. 1 Fortunately Signalman Wood, at the Dukin- :,fiold; tcflbih, saw the,,m,aggons coming, and with great, presence of mind he turned the runaways ".into a siding, vtfhere they came in contact with the stop blocks., So great was the force of the collision with the blocks M;hat "ifver waggons were smashed and others derailed. An express train was due about the same time, but was stopped while" the minerftl waggons were side- tracked. -■ .j lr i: -j -,c '■

I REFUSING A GOOD OFFER. A remarkable story of lost opportunities was, told at the Peterborough Bankruptcy Court by Charles Robert Bullard, an osier grower, of St. I ves,II-iuntq. Debtor became interested in the, gromotiQii, of fk non-slippjng tyre, which won the £ 100 prize for the best invention of the kih<T, igiven by the Cyclists' Touring Club last year. He was offered £ 16,000 for. the tyre, but refused it. Subsequently Mrt;, E. T., IJooley made overtures, -naming £ 25,000 for the "all- world" patent rights. Debtor failed to accept -while ithe' -PPtio11 lasted, and it now. transpired that the patent for this country had, not. been fully protected.

The erection of a statue or b\ist in^ S.outh- wark Cathedral 'to the late Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., who died while recording his t, vote at. the recent- London Couaty Council.ejec- tipn,. was decided upon at a large meeting in the Southwfirk borough market, A Sheffield postman, John William'Betts, 32, w'as at Leeds Assizes sent to gaol' for two months foGr I steafin'g a letter' Containing 23 pic- ture postcards. A compositor sent from Padi- ham, in Lancashire, 23 picture postcards to his wife iri Sheffield, which were never received and were discovered in a Bible at the ho'use 'of the prisoner. ir' William John Churchill, who was said to decoy boys to help him, was at Glamorgan Assizes, sentenced to three 'years' penal servi- tude for~J burglary at Pontypridd. "Frederick ^Grainger and Albert Samuels, changed in con- junction with him, were also sent to prison, the latter to Borstal. Presiding at the annual Court of Governors 6f the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, founded at Margate in 1791, the Earl of Derby said the institution was makipg steady prog-rvss, blit until the four new wards were built over the Wilson wing the hospital could not be said to meet modern requirements. Apoplexy, brought on by worry owing to shortness of work, was the reason assigned at a Whitechapel inquest on the death of a woman named Lewis. A pathetic feature of the case was that the day after her death a postcard was sent to her house offering her employment for some time to come. s Anticipating continued improvement in in- come this year, the Ecclesiastical Commis- sioners, the annual report states, are to increase the amount for augmentation and endowment of benefices to £ 325,000. .11 Numbers of men are still being discharged at Woolwich Arsenal, and, it is being suggested that the Government should charter a vessel to convey all "those willing to go to Canada, and thus" reIleve the distress now prevailing, i

THE BOAT RACE. Cambridge won the Boat-race on Saturday by four and a !half lengths, in 20aiins. 26sece. Thti time of the winning crew was Imin. 39secs. out- side the record, but the impossibility of achiev- ing fast time was apparent as soon as Hammer-- smith Bridge was passed. Up to that point the wat6r Aad been smooth and with a strong spring tide flowing Cambridge's time of 7mins. 15secs. was only a. few seconds short of record. Subsequently it was like coming out of harbour into the open sea. The fact that one mile six and a half furlongs had been covered in T^mins., and that 9mins. 44secs. was occupied in the stretch to Barnes which was shorter by a furlong, shows the different conditions the crew had to contend against. The idea that Cambridge would aim at a. record was dispelled in the first few strokes. Those who saw the electrifying dash with which Stuart went off last year against Oxford and Harvard noticed the difference on Saturday. For the first minute or so Oxford held the winners, but this was the only time they made a race of it, for when Cambridge began to draw away all was -over. At Cravfen Steps the win- ners were nearly clear, and at Hammersmith they were three lengths in front. At this time they felt sufficiently safe to take Oxford's water, thus improving their own conditions and in- creasing the Dark Blues' difficulties by giving them the wash. Stuart, who had put in nearly 40 strokes in the first minute, against 3S, fly Oxford, had long ere this reduced the rate to a comparatively slow one. Oxford had made up about half a length at Chiswick Church, but they fell back again, and at Barnes Railwíhl Bridge they were lagging fully four lengths behind. Cambridge again .changed "their station for the final stretch to the winning post, and added half a. length more to the distance between the After the race both crews, under the presi- dency of Mr. R. McKenna, M.P., dined together at the Grand Hotel, in company with a galaxy of rowing stars-mostly lights of other days. Later on the customary entertainment of the rivals took place at the Alhambra Theatre. A huge house still sported Boat Race favours, and light and dark blue costumes were worn by some of the principals in the ballet. The crews occupied opposite boxes. These were, draped in their respective coloure, and also carried the arms of the two universities. v

> NEW YORK STOCK PANIC. Remarkable scenes occurred in the New York Stock Exchange during the severest "break" which has been seen" since May, 1901. The market was thrown into complete demoralisa- tion, and the sudden reversal which came like a'fboIt'from the-blue" carried traders off their feet, prices in the most active stocks falHr)|g 5 to 10 points. Crowds of spectators in the galleries witnessed scenes of excitement on the floor of the Ex- change which have rarely been equalled. The break was caused by banks calling in loans for heavy disbursements, including 000 OOOd-ol. on' Pennsylvania, 60,000,000dol. note issue, and 15,000,000 on Standard Oil dividend. After two days' demoralisation stocks recovered, the ad- vancing prices on ,the tK)Sdon Stock Exchange causing a spasmodic rebound, and when the Exchange Closed the spectators in the galleries saw brokers on the floor of the house give cheers at the announcement that no failures had occurred. < The White House and the Treasury Depart- ment have been flooded with appeals to Presi- dent; Roosevelt ,^nd Mr. Cortelyou to avert the "threatened disaster" in the financial and rail- road worlds. It can be stated authoritatively, however, that President Roosevelt will not change, his, attitude towards the railways, though it is admitted that the administration does not intend tQ make, an extremely radical attack'On them. -■ Exciting scenes were, ,also witnessed on the London Stock Exchange following upon the sensational slump In Well Street. Tension and uncertainty were the order of the day, but when pricjes arrived ffom New York there was, fortu- nately, an upward tendency, which helped to urighten the outlook considerably. The excite- ■i<ent reached -it-a limit when three faijureq were announced, all following quickly one' upon another, f. '1, j- ■

DUMA CEILING COLLAPSES. If The ceiling of the hall in the Taurida Palace, in which the Duma meets,rcoHapsed"at a quar- ter to six on Friday morning, in consequence, it is supposed, of a constructional defect. The hfall presented a scene of great confusion. In the centre, 200 of the''deputies' seats we're covered with-planks and piece* of stucco. The huge ventilating apparatus, ifxed above the ceil- ing must have been-too heavy for the old beams supporting it, and this is supposed to have been the cause of the aocideiit. It-was arranged to bold the sittings in .the, Katherine Hall of the Taurida Palace. > There would have been. hundreds of victiihs if the accident had occurred during the sitting. Indeed, only the; Ministers, journalists, a few Polish deputies, and some members of the Ex- treme Right would have escaped. Three- quarters of the ceiling collapsed, and the floor of the House is covered with plaster, planks and wood of all shapes and sizes, from single planks to rafters thirty or forty feet long. The largest fell 'into the centre of the beautiful Blectroliers, smashing them completely and leaving only a few fragments hanging. The collapse of the ceiling was due chiefly to defec- tive materials. Much of the wood was so rotten that small pieces coiild easily be extracted with the handsi and crunched to powder with the fingers.

ARCHBISHOP'S NOTE-BOOK. ISpeakfng to the scholars of the Streatham High, School for Girls at the prize distribution, the Archbishop of Canterbury said one of the things that scholars should make a habit of was to note things they heard or saw. When he was at school his master, whom he honoured very I- much, and still honoured—for he was still living—provided the scholars with a book of blank sheets in which to dot down anything they heard- or saw, but of which they were not cogni- sant, so that afterwards they might look it up, and thus educate themselves in that way. He had found the system a very excellent one indeed, and it would probably surprise the audience to know that he still did it. The Arch- bishop produced a book, and smilingly held it before the audience. He said that he would not for the world let them see what was in it-for if he were to reveal what was in the book t astonishment would be very great ii-icteed, but he advised them to adopt the same plan, and assured them that they would find it a very -excellent help.

FENIAN LEADER'S DEATH. ——— Mr. John O'Leary, the well-known Fenian leader, died at his residence in Dublin on Saturday evening. He was associated wA all the advanced political movements since 1848, and in 1865 he was sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude, but was released after five years. He was editor of the old "Trish People," the Fenian organ which was suppressed in 1865. Having been banished on his release f«K>m prison, he returned to Ireland after the te\^ of his original sentence was over. His writings included Recollections of Fenians and Feni- anism." He was in his seventy-seventh year.

The Duke ot the Abruzzi, who is proceeTNtia to America on board the cruiser Varese to rtll- present Italy at the Jamestown tercentenary celebration, will be escorted by the small cruiser Etruria. Surgeon-General Sir John Harry Ker Innes, K.C.B., who served in the Crimea and the 111. dian Mutiny, died at his residence in Florence from pneumonia, at tlll ,aged of 87, and his re- mains are to be cremated.

STRANGE & WONDERFUL LINK WITH THE PAST. A link with the past is to be seen in St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Gransden, Hunts. It takes the form of a huge grappling- hook, which in the days of primitive fire ap- plian'ces, was used for pulling the entire fhatch off the roof of a cottage in the event oi fire. The shape is that of a long bar with a turned-down fork at the end, the length being sufficient for men on the ground to reach the top of the roof, and the weight so great that the strength of several men was necessary in, using it. GIGANTIC STAG HORNS. The biggest pair of horns in the world de- corate the hall in the house of Herr Kamerats Ilgen, at Blaswitz, near Dresden. The horns were found in a peat bog in Limerick County, Ireland, and are those of the extinct stag known to scientists as Megaceros Hibernicus, which is the ancestor of the modern red deer, Each horn measures 6ft. 8in. from base to tip and the palnis are respectively 1ft. 9in. and 1ft. 8in. broad. The accompanying illustra- tion shows how the ancient Irish deer's hq^ps compare in size with those of a full-grown red deer of the present day. red deer of the present day. CURIOUS CUSTOM. An ancient border custom, known as "creeling the bridegroom," has recently been revived. The creel, a basket used by fish- wives for carrying their fish, was placed on the bridegroom's shoulders, and the crowd of creelers then threw stones into it until the bride publicly kissed her husband. This. she promptly did, and he was forthwith released. QUAINT OLD SAFE. Lovers of the antique would rejoice in the possession of a, quaint old iron safe which was discovered in an out of the way place in Springfield, Mass., not long ago. The safe was probably used by its original owner when c he. raised sheep and sold their wool. The dis- covery was made by Colonel John L. Rice, of Springfield, Mass. Instead of keeping his prize, however, Colonel Rice has turned the curious old articles over to the Connecticut Valley Historical Society. "MAKING A FACE." When things go wrong with a child it "makes up a face." Things were going very wrong with this steel column when it twisted itself into the resemblance of the head of a I horse. This sadly warped column was taken from the ruined walls of the Fairmount Hotel at- San Francisco. Many of the steel columns in the frame of the building were found to be "wilted" by the intense heat to which they were subjected. ICE-BELLS. Near Shoji, in Japan, there is a wonderfui. cavern containing immense quantities of ice which never melts away. In one place in the cavern huge icicles, depending from the roof, have formed upon the floor beneath through the slow dripping of water, a score of great hollow cylinders, some of which are jive feet in height, looking like inverted crystal bells. When these are carefull struck they give gong-like notes. "HIGH" COLLARS. The women of Padang, whose tribe boasts of the longest necks in the world, wear high collars in the form of metal rings from early childhood, and as they grow up ring after ring is added* until the effect illustrated is gained. The wearing of this curious collar .r J 1- is generally regarded as a mark of superior station, as those wearing these metal neck- bands are unable to work. Another cudpus feature about these women is that theyijIJ their hair up suggestive of a bird's nest ivitl eggs in. ———— UNDER THE OCEAN. Under the sea are ranges of mountains as •ug-e peaks as lofty, and chasms as deep as any on land. In the Pacific there is one peak not many fathoms beneath the surface which has its base five miles down on the mean's bed. ———— THE TALLEST TREE. The highest tree in the world, so far vs has been ascertained, is an Australian g"1^ tree of the species Eucalyptus regnans, which stands in the Cape Otway Range. It is no less than 415 feet high. Gum treBS grow very fast. There is one in Florida which shot up forty feet in four years, and another in Guatemala which grew 120 leet in tweh. vears. This corresponds to a- rise of ten feet w a year, or nearly a foot per month.

LINERS WRECKED. | HEROIC RESCUE OF 750 PEOPLE. Two great liners were wrecked in the Eng- lish Channel, within a few miles of each other, during the fog and gale on Sunday night. The White Star liner Suevic, homeward bound from Australia, with 560 persons on board, went ashore on the Brandies Rocks at the Lizard at 10.30. Her passengers and crew were rescued by five lifeboats after great difficulty. The. West Africa liner Jebba, homeward bound, with 190 persons on board, went ashore several hours later at Bolt Tail, near Salcombe, on the Devonshire coast. The passengers and crew were rescued by the coastguard rocket apparatus, being hauled singly up a steep cliff. Both ships will probably become total wrecks. The White Star liner Suevic, the largest British vesel engaged in the Australian trade, was homeward bound from Sydney, and was due To call at Plymouth. She carried 400 passengers and 160 officers and men. Perhaps the most pathetic feature of the disaster is that the com- mander of the Suevic, Captain Jones, was making his last voyage, after a career of 39 years at sea, and he had been presented with an address on behalf of the crew only a few hours before the ship struck. The Suevic encountered heavy weather on Sunday, but continued apparently on her usual course. Shortly after 10.30 at night, the look- out, who had only ten minutes previously re- ported "All's well," was startled by the sullen boom of breakers. Immediately afterwards the Suevic struck the Brandies Rocks, close under the headland, upon which stand the lighthouse and signal station. Captain Jones at once ordered the water-tight doors to be closed, the steam pumps to be set running, and distress signals fired. The passengers behaved with splendid courage. Some had already retired, but all were dressed and assembled in the saloon within a few minutes. The Lizard and Cadgwith lifeboats speedily put off to the vessel, which was gripped hard and fast on the rocks, and was being driven more and more in shore by the south-westerly gale and heavy sea. Three other lifeboats arrived from Falmouth about 1 a.m.. and assisted in the work of rescue. Lifebelts were served out to the passengers in the library, and the usual order given: "Women and children first." When the lifeboats got alongside the sailors carried the little children down the ship s ladder, and boat-load after boat-load got away in perfect order. The first boat-load of women and children was landed at 2.30 a,.m at Cadgwith Beach, where a group of anxious villagers raised a cheer as the stem of the lifeboat grated on the beach, and sympathetic women rushed forward • to receive the travellers, who were suffering intensely from the cold. The heavy sea maclo the debarkation -of the travellers extremely dan- gerous, but they were assisted by the lifeboat- men and the Suevic's sailors,and all got off safely, the ship being clear soon after daybreak. The passengers and erew were given shelter in the cottages and the solitary hotel at Cadg- with and later in the day 140 passengers were conveyed to Falmouth on the tug Triton. All were, loud in their praise of the officers and ^The Jebba, which was owned by Elder, Dempster, and Co., was bound to Plymouth and Liverpool with 79 passengers and mails from West African ports and Grand Canary, the passengers being chiefly soldiers and invalids. She struck the rocks at Ramillies Cove, a little bight under the eastern spur of Bolt Tail. Both Captain Mills and the chief officer were on the bridge, and the first intimation they had of dis- aster was when the ship struck the rocks. All the passengers were asleep, save 30, who were to go ashore at Plymouth, and who were being served with a special late supper in the dining saloon. 4 ,•« The coastguard watchman patrolling the cliff above, heard shrieking of & ship's siren, and, peering over the brink of the cliff, he saw the liner dimly outlined against the white play of the surf. Doubling back to the coastguard sta- tion at Hope Cove, he roused his comrades. With remarkable promptitude the lifeboat was got away by a volunteer crew of local crab fishers, but the tempestuous swell made it im- possible to approach the vessel, which lay on the rocks with her bow raised, broadside to the land, and not more than 50 feet from the cliff. The sea. was breaking over her, and it was ap- parent that she was ijoran extremely dangerous position. While the coastguardsmen ran out their rocket apparatus to the brow of the cliff, the officers, sailors, and stewards aboard the Jebba assembled the passengers in the saloon, where lifebelts were served out. There. v\ as no panic, although several ladies fainted. The coast- guardsmen sent a line right across the fore part of the liner, and by means of this a steel rope was hauled aboard and secured, the shore end being attached to a pile driven into the sward at the cliff head. While the first lifeline was being made fast on the upper deck, three men, who were lowered down the cliff by the coast- guardsmen, managed to throw a second line on board. Considering the position or the wreck, the rescue of the 190 souls aboard was one of the most expeditious on record. The rocket appa- ratus was fired shortly after three o clock, and bv-eight o'clock the ship was deserted. the task of hauling the passengers and crew.-singly out of the spray-swept wreck was slow and perilous. The children were sent fist, then the women, then the old men and invalids. the mar- ried men, the native crew and the English crew in the order named, and, finally, the officers, Captain Mills being the last to leave the ship. Davbreak revealed a strange huddle of shiv-i- ing", people on- the barren heaaland, until all those on the Jebba_ had heen ashore. Some of-them were m a pitiable.condi- tion, and scantily clad. A nnmoer of men v.ue wrapped in dressing-gowns with tneir feet ba The work of rescue proceeded with a.mo^, mechanical regularity,, and the two Joatswain^ cradles journeyed up and down ^uhout de Even the ship's cat_ and a couple of i zees were taken off in safety. _■ » A few passengers sustained saghr, I*e sprains in the course of removal, but there .1 c no serious injuries. The little town^ of combe, three miles from the scene en the wres provided ample accommodation foi the ship wrecked community in their temporarily dest^ tute condition. Within a few minutes after the Jebba struck many of her cabins were filled with water, and the electric light was extin- guished, making it impossible to search for valuables. Before all the crew had left the ship she was three parts filled v>ith wate Hope Cove lifeboat and _several tugs^ stood b> during the greater part or the^oay, J j able to approach the liner. She a wreck, although at low water it may be possible to save the mails; —

AHred John Balaam, a baker, was committed for trial at Ipswich charged with at temp-irg r,o murder his sweetheart, Emma f ling, whose throat he is alleged to' [ie stated that he only meant, to frignten h At Nottingham County-court £ 180 and costs was given against Plaster and Cement Company, against an action for damaged highway s b^ motor lorries was brought by the ruiai aw ::oun('i1. The Mancbe..ster magistrates committed for :rial Mr Craven aueonscious by a blow on tne head lrom aueonscious by a blow on tne head lrom £ Mr? "Robert Thursfield Smith, formerly head, Df the firm of R. T- Smith and Co.. founders, Whitchurch, who has ]ust died ao-e of 79, was regarded as one of the sr living authorities on Methodism, and j mii in his Wesley library a.nd family relics pre> < the fin-est all-round collection in the world. The Medical Officer of Health stated a » meeting of the Chelsea Borough Council that a case of spotted fever had occurred street, Chelsea, and that the removed to hospital. Two cases or spotted were renorted at- Dingle, Co. Kerry, one t.at of a child eleven months old. endin* fatally.

REWARDS FOR BRAVERY. 'i The "Royal Humane Society has conferred awards on a -fiumb^r of persons for gallantry in saving or attempting to save life. They in- cluded the bronze medal to Miss Nora K. Wil- son, daughter of Sir David Wilson- for her ocui eo-Lis action oh February 4, in' rescuing her ipother, -Lady Wilson, who, while skating on the canal at Tiverton, feU through the ice. When the breâk r took place Miss Wilson at once went to her mother'f help, when the ice again broke, and she aisc fell in. Being a good swimmer, she mariagec to keep her mother afloat, and also to bring her within reach of others on the bank, and |ht was pulled out. ,j In connection with the disaster to tlle Greai Eastern Railway steamship Berlin, on Februarj 21, silver medals were awarded to M. Sperling, C. Sperling, and K. Ree with bronze medals to Captain Berkhout and the four other mem- bers of the pilot boat's crew., for .their great gallantry throughout the trying circumstancet attending the reseue of the survivors of thE wreck.