County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

I REVIEW OF THE YEAR 1903. PARLIAMENTARY AND POLITICAL. Parliament was opened by the King on Febru- ary 15, and Prorogued en August 14. The prin- cipal measures mentioned in the Speech from the Throne at the commencement of the Session were the Irish Land Purchase Bill and that ex- tending to London iti-ie principles of the Educa- tion Act of the previous year. Both were passed, the former after iprolonged discussion, especially in Committee, and the latter with comparative ease, the Nationalists supporting the Ministry. The main features of the Budget, introduced by Mr. Ritchie -on April 23, were the reduction of the income-tax by fourpence, and the abolition of me corn duty, which his predecessor had im- posed. This laLter proceeding was vigorously opposed by Mr. Chaplin and others but the antagonistic feeling on the part of this section of the Unionists was quite overshadowed by the campaign instituted by Mr. Chamberlain for a review of, and inquiry into, the entire fiscal system of /he Empire. A good deal of debating went on ever the Sugar Convention Bill, but it was adopted by the Lower House after a vigoroiis speech from the Colonial Secretary, and eventu- ally read a second time in the Lords by a majority of The Port of London Bill was referred to a Joint'Committee, and is to come up again next seSSlOilat the stage at which it was left. A Motor 'Car Bill, providing for the registration and control of motor vehicles, and the licensing of drivers by local authorities, was brought in late in the Session, ana carried after some modi- fication. The Scotch Licensing Amendment Bill, after being dealt with by the Standing Com- mittee on Trade, passed into law. The War Office was assailed early in the Session, and Mr. BrcwJrick severely criticised; while new schemes for improving the position and status of officers in the Navy met with considerable approval. But the personnel of the Government and the control of-fhe great Departments of State were destined to undergo very considerable change during the largely owing to a bold departure o" the part of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who, as the outcome of his Colonial visitation, had declared in favour of preferential tariffs within the Empire. Meanwhile the Right Hon. R. W. Han- bmy had died whilst holding the Presidency of the Board of Agriculture, and the Earl of On- slow took his place, the Duke of Marlborough -succeeding the latter, whilst Mr. Hayes Fisher resigned the Financial Secretaryship of the Treasury, and was succeeded by Mr. Arthur Elliott. On August 22 the ex-Premier, Lord Salisbury, to the regret of all, died at Hatfield, ■end his eldest son, Lord Cranborne, who had been Under Foreign Secretary, became Lord Privy Seal, with a seat in the Cabinet, on the re- construction of the Ministry following Mr. 'Chamberlain's resignation of the Colonial Sec- retaryship to commence a campaign in the coun- try for the adoption of drastic fiscal changes. Mr. Balfour, in retaining the Premiership, de- clared for Retaliation, expressing the opinion that the country was not yet prepared to go. as far as Mr. Chamberlain desired in the direction of Protection, and regretting the resignation of the Colonial Secretary, for which he could not see sufficient cause. With the Prime Minister for departure from Free Trade principles, and Mr. Chamberlain actively working for sweeping Tariff changes, Mr. Ritchie, the Duke of Devon- shire, Lord George Hamilton, and Lord Balfour of Burleigh, left the Cabinet, and Mr. Elliot fol lowed his chief at the Exchequer into retirement. Mr. Austen Chamberlain was promoted from the Post Office to the Chancellorship of the Ex- chequer, with his father's approval. Lord Lon- donderry was given the Duke of Devonshire's place as Lord President of the Council, in con- junction with his former office at the Board of Education. The Hon. Alfred Lyttelton became Colonial Secretary. Mr. Brodrick went from the War Office to Lord George Hamilton's former place at the India Offi.ce and Mr. H. O. Arnold- Forster became Secretary of State for War. Mr. Graham Murray succeeded Lord Balfour of Bur- leigh at the Scotch Office; and Lord Stanley be- came Postmaster-General. The vacated Minis terial posts outside the Cabinet were fdled up thus:—Mr. Victor Cavendish, Financial Secre- tary to the Treasury; Mr. Pretyman, Financial Secretarv to the Admiralty; Mr. A. H. Lee, Civil Lord of the Admiralty; Mr. Bromlev- Davenport, Financial Secretary, War Office: Earl Percy, Under Foreign Secretary; Lord Hardwiek, Under Secretary, India Office; Lord Donou £ ?hmore, Under Secretary for War; Lord Balcarres. Junior Lord of the Treasury; Mr. Scott Dickson, Lord Advocate for Scotland Mr. D. Dundas, Solicitor-General for Scotland; and Lord Hamilton, Treasurer of the Household. Truly an extensive remodelling of the Govern- ment. On May 15 Mr. Chamberlain set the Fiscal ball a-rolling in a tentative speech at Birming- ham, bv referring to trade preferences, which, he stated, the Colonies were prepared to give to the Mother country, and advocating a grand inquest of the nation into the question. Lord Goschen, on June 15, in the House 'of Peers. condemned Mr. Chamberlain's proposals, as did Lord Rosebery, Mr. Bryte, and others of the Liberal leaders later on various public platforms. Sir William Harcourt, the Duke of Devonshire, and many more subsequently criticised the scheme, but an Imperial Tariffs League was formed for its furtherance. A Free Food League was initiated in antagonism almost immediately, and the Cobden Club exhibited increased activity on behalf Of Free Trade. Then came the Recess after the rising of Parliament in August, and things niiietened until the issue of a State Paper on the Fiscal Question in mid-September by the Prime Minister defining the Government posi- tion. The resignations of Mr. Chamberlain and his former colleagues alluded to already quickly followed. On the 1st of October Mr. Balfour, in a great speech at Sheffield, outlined his Retalia- tory ideal; and on the 6th Mr. Chamberlain, in the first of a series of mass meetings, explained his Imperial Reciprocity proposals. Greenock followed then Mr. Asquith, Lord Spencer, and Mr. Ritchie controverted the arguments of the ex-Colonial Secretary, and Lord Rosebery, at Sheffield, vigorously'denounced Mr. Chamber- lain's plans. On October 27 the latter was at Liverpool powerfully and confidently advocating his scheme. Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, Mr. John Morley, Sir H. H. Fowler, and numer- ous other Free Trade cb ,ions, took the opposite side on various platforms; and then Mr. Chamberlain spoke at Birmingham on November 4 in further support of his methods. At the Free Food League, on November 24, the Duke of Devonshire and Lord Goschen delivered weighty addresses, and the campaign has since been pursued with great vigo-Lir. The first Parliamentary by-election of the year occurred on January 2, Mr. C. D. Rose captur- ing the Newmarket Division from the Liberals by 507 votes; while on the 20th Mr. W. W. Rutherford (U) was chosen member for West Derby, vice Mr. Higginbotham (C), deceased. Mr. C. G. Craig (C), was returned for South Antrim on February 5; and on the same date Mr. J. H. M. Campbell, K.C., Solicitor-General for Ireland (U), for Dublin University, in place of the Right Hon. W. E. H. Lecky (U), retired. On the 27th of the same month Mr. T. R. Buchanan rL), was elected without opposition for East Perth. Mr. Devlin (N) was returned unopposed for Galway in place of Colonel Lynch, Mr. Will Crooks won convicted of high treason. Mr. Will Crooks won Woolwich in the Labour interest on March 11 bv the huge majority of 3,229 from the Conserva- tives Lord Charles Beresford having resigned, while on the 17th Dr. Hutchinson (L) was re- turned for Rye by a majority of 534 in the place of Colonel Brookfield (C), retired; and on the 21st Mr. E. Mitchell, Land Purchase cham- pion, defeated the Unionist candidate in North Fermanagh. Mr. J. A. Fyler (C) was returned for Chertsey on the 26th m place of Mr. Leigh- Bennett (C), deceased. Sir Wilfrid Lawson (L) was chosen M.P. for Camborne on April 8, vice Mr. W. S. Caine (L), deceased. Mr. J. Kerr (C) 'was returned for Preston on May 14 in place of the late Right Hon. R. W. Hanbury, beating Mr. John Hodge, the Labour candidate, by 2,149 votes. On the 22nd Mr. D. Kilbride IN) was elected without a poll for South Kil- I <3are. A three-cornered contest in the Bar- nard Castle Division occasioned by the 6enth of Sit X Pease (L) resulted in th% re-turn ot Mt. E. F. Henderscn, the lttloiir champion, by a small majority over the UtironM candidate, the official Liberal being lowest on the poll. On August 28,. Mr. Amsworth (L) Carried Argyllshire bv a majority of 2,/40, which county Mr. Nicol (C) ha'd represented before his demise. Cantain Ellice (L) was returned for St. Andrews on September 17 by a majority of 36 in lieu of Mr. Anstruther (U), aiwomted on the Suez Canal Commission; and Mr. C. Tuff (C) was chosen member for Rochester City on the 23rd, vice Lord Cranborne, who had succeeded to the Salisbury marquisate on the lamented demise Of his father. Mr. D. Sheehy (N) took the place ci Mr. J. L. Carew (N) deceased as representa- tive of South Meath on October 10. The by- elections necessitated by the Ministerial recon- struction over the Tariff question resulted in the return of the Hon. A. Lyttelton for Warwick and Leamington by 190 votes on his appointment as Colonial Secretary, vice Mr. Joseph Cham- berlain, resigned; Mr. Arnold-Foster (the new War Secretary) for West Belfast by 241 Lord Stanley (Postmaster-General) for the West- houghton Division (unopposed) the Marquis of Hamilton (Treasurer of the Household) for Londonderry City (unopposed) Mr. A. H. Lee (Civil Lord of the Admiralty) for Fareham (un- opposed) and Lord Balcarres (Junior Lord of the Treasury) for Chorley by a majority of L428. During November there died in quick succession four M.P.'s, viz., Mr. J. Penn (C), Lewisham; Mr. C. Seale-Hayne (L), Ashburton; Sir J. Blundell Maple (C), Dulwich and Mr. Jasper More (C), Ludlow. At the Dulwich and Lewis- ham pollings, which both took place on De- cember 15, the Conservative and Tariff Reform candidates, Dr. Ruth erf oord Harris arid Major Coates, were returned, with 1,437 and 2,012 majority respectively. On the 18th the names of a number of gentlemen selected to -sit as Tariff Commission were announced- THE YEAR'S HOME EVENTS: SOCIAL AND GENERAL. SOCIAL AND GENERAL. The King and Queen were present at the christening of the infant son of the Prince of Wales on the 25th of January. A contemplated visit of their Majesties to th-e Duke of Devonshire in February had to be abandoned by reason of the King's illness from influenza; but on the 16th his Majesty was suf- ficiently recovered to open the new nursing wing of the Herbert Hospital at Woolwich with the Queen. Their Majesties visited the London County Council's dwelling's tor workmen at Mill- bank on the 18th, and on the 25th the King was present at the Shire Horse Show. There was a levee at Buckingham Palace on Marfch 9, and on the 10th the King and Queen celebrated the fortieth anniversary of their wedding, giving a brilliant dance in honour of .Uhe occasion while on the 30th his Majesty departed for Lisbon on a, visit to the King of Portugal, the Queen going to Copenhagen. King Edward was at Gibraltar on the 8th of April, calling later at Malta on his way to Rome on a visit;to the King of Italy. On May 1 his Majesty arrived in Paris and had a popular reception there, returning to London on the 5th, the Queen having mean- while got back to Britain from Denmark. The new bridge at Kew was opened by the King and Queen on May 20, their Majesties having previously visited Edinburgh and Glasgow and held a court at Holyrood Palace, and been present at the Royal Military Tourna- ment at Islington. The King and Queen were at the Derby on the 27th, and the Court went to Windsor on the 30th. On/the 7th of June the King and Queen were at St. Paul's Cathedral, at a, service in aid of the Hospital Sunday Fund, and on the 11th their Majesties visited rthe London Hospital. There was a grand ball at Windsor Castle on the 19th, and on the 22nd the Court returned to Buckingham Palace. The King and Queen were at the Royal Agricultural Show on the 24th, on which date the Khedive of Egypt arrived in London, and was received later by King Edward. Princess Charles of 'Denmark gave birth to a eon on July 2, and on the 7th there was a gala performance at the Opera in London, attended by the King and Queen and President Loubet of France, who had been banqueted at Guildhall in the afternoon. There was a splendid Royal review at Aldershot in honour of the French President on the day following, and a State Ball at Buckingham Palace at night. President Loubet returned to Paris on the 9th, and on the 10th the King reviewed the Honourable Artillery Company on the Horse Guards' Parade. On the 11th his Majesty visited the Duke of Devonshire at Eastbourne, afed stayed over Sunday, while on the 13th the King and Queen were at a ball given by the Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House. Their Royal Highnesses travelled to Cornwall .the next day, and were at Truro for the benediction Of the cathedral nave on the 15th, going on to Falmouth and Devonport subsequently. The King and Queen, on July 21st, went to Ireland, and were most enthusiastically received. Their Majesties disembarked at Kingstown, and drove to the Viceregal Lodge at Dublin. There was a levee at the Castle on the 22nd, and the King and Queen visited the Alexandra and Trinity Colleges. Next day there was a review in the Phoenix Park, and at night a Court at the Castle. Their Majesties went "slumming" in Dublin on the 24th, calling as well at Maynooth College. Lord and Lady Londonderry were visited at Newtownards on the 25th, and also Lord and Lady De Ros at Old Court. On the Sunday the King and Queen, after attending t 1 9 Divine Service, called on the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava at Clanboye. Belfast and Bangor were visited by their Majesties on the 27th, and then embarkation was made on the yacht Victoria and Albert ifor Lough Swilly. The King and Queen landed 'at Buncrana and took tram to Londonderry, later going for a cruise off the West Coast. Landing was effected at Killary Bay, and a motor tour enjoyed. Galway was next visited; then their Majesties went to Kenmare, Dereen, and Queenstown. Military colours were presented by the King and Queen at Cork and the exhibition visited, and then their Majesties embarked for Cowes, having heartily enjoyed themselves amd afforded immense pleasure to their loyal Hibernian subjects. On August 4 the King opened the Royal Naval College. at Osborne, and, on the 12th, his Majesty left for Marienbad. The death of Lord Salis- bury at Hatfield on the 22nd occasioned the deepest regret, and his funeral on the 31st, in the village churchyard, presented a touching scene. King Edward visited the aged Emperor of Austria at Vienna, and was at a gala per- formance of the opera on September 1, and a dinner at Schonbrun Castle on the 2nd, leaving next day for London, and reaching home on the 4th. On the 8th Queen Alexandra went to Den- mark, and his Majesty travelled laiter to Aber- eeldie, to visit the Prince of Wales, halting at Rufford Abbey and Doncaster, for the St. Leger, on the way. On the 20th his Majesty unveiled a bust to Queen Victoria in Crathie Church. The King returned to London from Scotland on October 8, and next day held a Council &t Buck- ingham Palace, for the exchange of seals in con- nection with the changes in the Ministry. On the 19th the King went to Wynyard Park, to visit Lord Londonderry, and returned to town on the 24th to meet the Queen on her home coming. Their Majesties were both at the opening of the new Gaiety Theatre the next day. The King dined in Hall at the Middle Temple on November 2, and went to Midhurst on the 3rd to lay the foundation of the sanatorium for consumptives. The 9th saw the celebration of his Majesty's birthday throughout the Empire; and the betrothal of Prince Alexander of Teck and Princess Alice of Albany was on the same date announced. On the 17th the King and Queen of Italy arrived on a visit to King Edward. A State banquet was given on the fSth in honour of the august visitors, and their Majesties were entertained on the day following at Guildhall bjr the City-of London. King Victor shot with King Edward in the Royal preserves at Windsor on the 19th and 20th, and their Italian Majesties left England for Rome on the 21st. Queen Alexandra kept her birthday at Sandringham on December 1, and the King journeyed to London on the 7th inst., to visit the Smithfield Club's Christmas Fat Stock Show, at which his Majesty was one of the most note- worthy prize-winners in the choice cattle classes. Dr. Randall Davidson, Bishop of Winchester, was appointed Primate of All England on January 8, in succession to the late Archbifihop Temple, and his enthronisation at Canterbury Cathedral followed on February 14, Bishop Ryle. of Exeter, was translated to the See of Winchester; Bishop Jacob, of Newcastle, to St. Albans and Bishop Lloyd, of Thetford, to New- castle while Dr. Robertson, Principal of King's College, London, was made Bishop of Exeter. During the year Cardinal Vaughan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, passed away, and the election of Bishop Bourne, of Southwark, to take his place, was approved by the new Pope. Mrs. Spurgeon, widow of the Pastor of the South London Tabernacle, also died, and the Rev. R. J. Campbell, late of Brighton, took up the Ministry of the City Temple in London, vacated by the demise of Dr. Parker. The year was not one of buoyant prosperity on the whole in home business for manufacturers, but there was no abnormal distress, and the absence of serious disputes between Capital and Labour is a matter for congratulation. Meteorologically the year 1903 has been a shockingly wet one, the rainfall having bteaten all records, an<d manv crops suffered a good deal in consequence. Farmers cannot anywhere in the kingdom congratulate themselves upon a pro- pitious season. At the end of February a ter- rific gale wrought havoc the country through and in mid-June great floods, following the phenomenal rainfall, spread over large tracts of land, and did an immense amount of damage. The London County Council's electrical tram- way system from Westminster to Tooting was inaugurated in May by the Prince o. Wales, and H.R.H. also opened the Passmore Edwards Sailors' Palace at Limehouse. The Gordon- Bennett motor races in Ireland, in July, attracted considerable attention, as did the Stock Exchange walk from London to Brighton earlier on in the year, while Mr. Spencer's air-ship navigating experiments in London, as well as Mr. Cody's crossing of the Channel in a collap- sible kite-boat were incidents" arousing con- siderable public interest. The King carried off a large number of prizes for live-stock at the 'Smithfield Club Christmas Cattle Show. On December 10 a small fire occurred at Sandring- ham House, imperilling the life of the Queen, who was happily saved through the presence of 'mind of Miss Knollys. THE YEAR'S CHIEF CALAMITIES, CRIMES AND CIVIL CASES. Under the New Licensing Act Sir C. A. Lawson, on January 9, obtained a separation from his wife. Government House at Aldershot was destroyed by fire on the 15th. "Colonel" Lynch was found guilty of high treason at the Oid Bailey on the 23rd, and received the capital sentence, which was afterwards commuted to penal servitude for life. In the Peasenhall murder case the jury at the second trial, on the 24th, again disagreed, and the prisoner Gardiner was subsequently released. A terribly disas- trous fire occurred on the 27th, at Colney Hatch Asylum, causing the deaths of fifty-one persons. Several lives were lost on February 10, owing :to -a collision in the Bristol Channel. On the 13th "Edwards" was sentenced to death for the murder of a man and his wife and child, under atrocious circumstances, at Camberwell, the discovery of the mutilated bodies of the victims at,Leyton on New Year's Eve having occasioned <a :painful sensation. A fatal explosion occurred' on the 16th at Woolwich Arsenal. Justice Wills consented on the 24th to the payment of zC23,000 by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers to the Taff Vale Railway Company in settlement of all claims and costs in connection with the strike of the plaintiff's employees in 1900. In the Loates v. Maple jockey suit judgment was given for the plaintiff, on March 5 for £ 2,000. The custody of the child was given to Mr. Eric Gordon, in the Gordon v. Gordon case, on the 10th, but on the day following, Lady Granville Gordon, with the child, disappeared from London. On the 19th, Klosowski, lately a Southwark publican, trading under the name of Chapman, was sentenced to death for poisoning his barmaid, most sensational evidence being adduced as to the murderer's career. Earth- quake shocks were experienced in Derbyshire and North Stafford on the 24th; and on the 25th the suicide of the brave General Hector Mac- donald, in Paris, under painful cifeumstamcea, occasioned consternation and deep regret. The jury stopped the case in the Druce divorce suit on April 3. Leave was granted in the Moat Farm mystery case, on the 6th inst., to presume the death of Miss Holland, and the lady's body was found OR the 27th. Several passengers were killed and injured by the wreck of a mail train near Ballymoe, co. Galway. A case of "ragging" in the Guards attracted much attention in the Press and Parliament. Hyman Goldstein was sentenced at the Old Bailev to ten years' penal servitude, and Philip 'Goldman to five, for forgery of banknotes on May 2; and in the Veronica mutiny case, Rau, ..Monsson, and Smith, were at Liverpool, on the 14th, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Arthur Shrewsbury, the celebrated Notts, bats- man, committed suicide whilst insane, on the 19th and, on the 23rd, several spectators were killed' in a motor accident at Bristol sports. H. F. George, a private detective, was on the 27th, at the Old Bailey, sent to five years' penal servitude for perjury in the Worsley divorce case. Two boys were suffocated in a fire at Efeom College on June 1. On the 14th, a sailing pin- nace from H.M.S. Venus capsized off Grimsby, occasioning the loss of several lives. At a dread- ful lyddite explosion in Woolwich Arsenal on the 18th, sixteen men were killed outright, and others severely injured. Samuel Dougal was on the 23rd sentenced to death for the murder of Miss 'Holland at the Moat Farm. William Brown, the 4,!bogus prince," was sentenced to two days' im- prisonment at Winchester Assizes for making a false declaration on his marriage with Mabel, Countess Russell. An accident on H.M.S. Csesar, during the Mediterranean Manoeuvres, resulted in injury to twelve persons on July. 13. On the 14th the Crimes Act was revoked by proclamation in cer- tain Irish districts. In an accident on the Lan- cashire and Yorkshire railway between Liverpool and Southport, si: persons were killed and many injured on the 15th, and in the Poulett peerage case, on the 24th, the House of Lords found in favour of the son of the third marriage. Fifteen lives were lost in a railway accident at Glasgow on the 27th, and in the Constadini suit the jury on the 29th awarded the record damages of OC25,000 against the co-respondent. By the fall of a grand stand at Perth, on August 1, many persons were injured, and several passengers were hurt in a railway accident at Preston. Mr. Whitaker Wright was brought up at the London Guildhall and remanded on'charges of company-promoting fraud on the 5th, having been fetched home from New York for the pur- pose. Three lives were lost on the 8th in a boat- ing accident near Colchester, and on the 18th the mysterious disappearance of a ladv doctor. Miss Hickman, from the Royal Free Hospital, created a, sensation which lasted for weeks. Thirty-five lives were lost in shipping disasters at South 'Shields and in the Bristol Channel on the 20th. A strike began in the South Wales tin-plate trade on the 29th. On September 1 a big fire ragecl at the Lime- house basin Of the London Docks, and six per- sons were drowned on the same date by the sink- ing of a sailing yawl at,Great Yarmouth. H.M.S. Belleisle was torpedoed and sunk in Portsmouth Harbour on the 4th, while on the lltli a destruc- tive gale swept over the South of England. Mr. Whitaker Wright was committed for trial after many hearings at the London Guildhall on the 17th. Four tourists met with a tragic death on Scafell on the 21st. and two men were killed in a collision on the Glasgow underground railway on the 25th. Gales and floods again prevailed in England during the early part of October. On the 16th jewellery to the value of £ 10,000 was stolen from London auction rooms, and on the 18th, after much searching, the body of Miss Hickman, the missing lady doctor, was discovered accidentally by some boys in a plantation in Richmond Park. The result of the coroner's inquest held subse- quently was that a verdict of suicide by poison, taken during temporary insanity, was returned. Frances Mary Day, a lady, was sentenced at Exeter on the 22nd to six months' hard labour for cruelty to two of hew children.' H.M.S. Vic- ¡. tory, on which Nelson died, was seriously dam- aged by the Neptune at Portsmouth on the 23rd. On this date also George Edalji, a solicitor, was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude in the Staffordshire cattle maiming case. M. Sagatiel Sagouni, an Armenian, was assassinated at Nun- I bead on the 26th.. TwdmoreIhéfilbers of the Armenian Hent- chakist Society were shot dead at Peckham on November 4, the assassin committing suicide. Bernard White was on the 13th sentenced to death for the Warley Gap murder. On the 14th, after many months' duration, the Penrhyn strike ended. The Royal Artillery Theatre at Wool- wich. was destroyed hy Are on the 18th and on the 24th an armed lunatic shot at the secretary of the Bank of England in the Bank parlour. Fortunately without injuring him. Brown and Cowdrey were sentenced to death in the Aider- shot murder case on the 27th, Dunbar being ac- quitted. On December 3rd three sailors of Wterwitch were washed overboard in the Formosa Channel, and on the 5th the Scotch express had a remaikably narrow escape from destruction near Penrith. Several coaches were thrown off the line, but the engine-driver was the only person seriously injured. On the 7th, Mabel Countess Russell presented her peti- tion for divorce against her husband (known as the "bogus Prince") on the ground of his cruelty and misconduct. A decree nisi was granted in her favour on the 10th. Miss Marie Corelli recovered a farthing damages, without costs, in an action for libel decided on the 16th; and on the 17th, Rowe, the ex-Secretary of the Great Fingall Company, was sent 10 I 10 years' penal servitude for fraud. NOTABLE FOREIGN AND COLONIAL AFFAIRS OF THE YEAR. The Coronation Durbar was held at Delhi or New Year's Day by the Viceroy, Lord Curzor- of Kedleston, on a scale of great magnificence. Honours were distributed, and as many as 1.6,000 prisoners set free to mark the formal proclama- tion of the King-Emperor. The Augsgleich difficulty between Austria and Hungary came to a satisfactory settlement after seven years dispu- tation. The British Boundary Commission column left Aden for the disputed region in the Hinterland on the 2nd, when it was also reported that an Abyssinian expedition was ready to co- operate with the British in Somaliland. An attempt on the life of the King of Spain was made in Madrid on the 10th. The Armenian Patriarch was wounded by a pistol shot whilst celebrating service in Koum Kapou Cathedral on the 19th. German warships bombarded Fort San Carlos, Venezuela, on the 21st, destroying a village. A treaty providing for the completion of the Panama Canal by the United States was signed on the 23rd and on the 24th a treaty between Great Britain and the United States was completed at Washington, settling the Alaska difficulty. Yussuf Ali, the native chief at Obbia, was de- ported to Massowah on February 4. Mr. Cham- berlain was busy touring in South Africa, through the new Colonies, about this period and on the 7th the first stage of the advance against the Mullah, in Somaliland, began. News came that certain islands of the Polynesian Group had been swept by a hurricane and devastated. The Crown Prince of Saxony's petition for a divorce was granted on the 11th. Five pirate dhows were captured on the Red Sea and sunk by the gunboat Harrier on the 12th. Colonel Morland, on the 14-th, occupied Kano, the Amir fleeing. The Bulgarian Government dissolved all Mace- donian revolutionary societies in the country, and cast many leaders into prison, taking mea- sures simultaneously to prevent the incursion of .armed bands into Turkish territory. On the .20.th, Colonel Rochfort and Captain Cobbold had left Harrar with a large force of Abyssinian troops..Mr. Chamberlain made a great speech -t Cape Town on the 23rd, amidst much enthu- siasm, and at ,the end of the, month the trouble in .the Balkans became accentuated. The United States decided on March 4th to spend eighty million dollars on its Navy and on the same date Damot Wells, in Somaliland was occupied. A revolution broke out in Uruguay on the 17th inst. An irade was issued by the Porte on the 19th, conceding the British demands re- specting the Aden Hinterland. President Castro, of Venezuela, resigned on the 22nd. Fatal rioting at .Port of Spain, in Trinidad, occa- sioned the landing of bluejackets from H.M.S. j Pallas. The Morning relief vessel to the British Antarctic exploration ship (Discovery arrited at Lyttelton, New Zealand, reporting that a sledge party had penetrated nearer to the South Pole than any previous exploring party. Major- 'General Hector Macdonald shot himself in Paris ,on the 25th.; and on the 27th the German Empress was ^thrown from her horse, sustaining ;a fractured forearm. In a military riot at Pre- toria, on the 28th, eighteen men were wounded. Count Zborowski was killed on April 1 by the upsetting of his motor-car in a hill-climbing contest at Nice, and severe fighting was reported in connection with the revolt in Albania. Major Sharpe engaged the Somaliland natives, killing twenty-seven of them, and capturing many camels. Galadi was occupied. President Roosevelt made a notable speech on the 4th, respecting Trusts. The lCzar conferred on General Babrikoff the virtual dictatorship of Finland, on the '6th. King Edward was well received in Lisbon, leaving the Portuguese ical)ital on .the 7th. On the 8th his Majesty ,called at Gibraltar, and made Sir George White ia Field Marshal. The King went to Malta on the 13£h:; on which date Prince Ching was appointed rto succeed Yung Lu, deceased, as Grand Secretary of the .Celestial Empire. The German Emperor was ,entertained at dinner on the 18th at the British Embassy in Berlin and, on the 20th, King Edward laid the .'foundation of the new breakwater at the.entrance of the Grand Harbour of Malta. His Majesty left Syracuse for Naples on the 22nd. Colonel Plurikett's column met with,a serious reverse in Somaliland. the ootmmanding and nine other officers and about 180 men being killed, and two Maxims lost to the | eneaiy. In Sokoto Lieutenants Wright and Wells, with 44 mounted infantry, repulsed with heavy loss .3,200 natives of the Kano army. Par- ticulars -of Russia's demands in Manchuria were published on the 23rd; and on the 24th Lord Milner's report on the resettling of the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies was issued. King Edward visited the Carthusian Monastery at San Mart in o, on the 25th; and, .on the 28th, his Majesty was entertained at a State banouet at the Quirinal Palace in Rome. The King was present on the day following at a review of 25,000 Italian troops and .on the 30th his Majesty left Rome for Paris. In the French capital King Edward had on May 1 a magnificent reception,, and, on the 2nd attended a military review at Vincennes, being afterwards entertained at the Elysee and the Grand Opera. The German Kaiser went to Rome on the 2nd; and on the 6th the Porte addressed an emphatic note to Bulgaria respect- ing the Macedonian outrages. It was reported on the 8th that Russia had reoecupied Neweh- wang, and rumours of imminent trouble in the Far East revived; but subsequently the news came of a Muscovite retirement. Three hundred houses were destroyed by fire at. Ottawa on the 11th. A railway strike of large dimensions at Victoria was happily brought to an end on the 15th inst. Lord Milner, at Johannesburg, advocated the admission of coloured inhabitants of high social and educational qualifications to the franchise. As many as six persons were killed and eleven injured in the course of the Paris-Madrid motor race on the 24th, and the contest was stopped after Bordeaux had been reached. The Federal Parliament of Australia opened on the 26th. Two thousand people were killed by an earthquake in Asia Minor, and the bi-centenary fetes at St. Petersburg began on the 29th. 5 b The Prime Minister of British Columbia was dismissed by the Lieutenant-Governor on June 1, and the same date witnessed the wreck of the British steamer Arequipa off Valparaiso, with the loss of many lives. Forest fires, following protracted drought, raged in Canada in early June and on the 7th a collision between the French steamers Libau and Insulaire resulted in many fatalities. The German Antarctic expedition arrived at Simonstown and reported on the 9th the discovery of Emperor William II. Land. King Alexander of Servia, Queen Draga, the latter*s brother, and several Ministers, were assassinated on the 11th, a revolution taking place in Belgrade. On the 15th, Prince Peter Karageorgevich was elected King, and ascended the throne. The British force in Sokoto received a check and on the 21st Major-General Sir C. Egerton took over the charge of the Somaliland Expedition. The Constitution of Malta was modified on the 22nd. Mr. Seddon strongly supported Mr. Chamberlain's taxiff proposals in a speech in New Zealand. General Manning and the Oblbia force arrived on the 26th at Bolaotle from Damot, without opposition, An iattempt on the life of the Sultan of Morocco having been made, the would-be assassin was burned alive on July 3. The Manchurian situation became again strained about this period, and Britain, the United States, and Japan assumed a firm attitude, as against Russia, with a quietening result. A new Greek Govern- ment was formed on the 11th, with M. Ralli as Premier. Important correspondence between Lord Salisbury and Lord .Lansdowne and the Government of Germany and Belgium, respect- ing Canada, was published on the 13th inst. Pope Leo XIII. died at the Vatican on the 20th, and his remains were removed on the 25th, and deposited with solemn ceremony in a. sarco- phagus, after lying in State in the Basilica of St. Peter's. Orders were given on the 27th, at Newcliwang, for the stoppage of the export of grain to Japan. Several Alpine fatalities were reported at the beginning of August, and on the 4th Cardinal Sarto was elected Pope, taking the title of Pius X. Lord Curzon announced his intention to accept the invitation to extend the term. of his Indian Viceroyalty. On the 6th the Konak at Krushevo was blown up with dynamite by Bul- z;1 garian agitators, fifty Turks being killed. Great damage and loss of life was occasioned by a cyclone at Martinique on the 8th. The Russian Consul at Monastir was murdered by a Turkish soldier on the 9th. Sixty persons were killed during the strike disturbances at Kieff, in Russia and a cyclone carried havoc to the island of Jamaica on the 11th, many lives being lost. Admiral Alexieff was appointed Viceroy of the Russian territory in the Far East, with full I powers of Government, on the 13th. A congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire opened at Montreal on the 17th. The ex-Sultan of Sokoto and 700 natives were slain by the British in Nigeria on the 20th, Major Marsh being killed on our side, and several officers wounded. Mes- sages of condolence reached England from many places abroad, on the 23rd, in respect of the much-lamented demise of Lord Salisbury on the day preceding. A verdict of guilty in the Hum- bert swindle, in France, was returned against all the prisoners, and heavy sentences imposed. King Edward was in Vienna on September 1, visiting the Austrian Emperor, and was made much of there, returning to London on the 3rd. On this date Shamrock III. was defeated in the third race for tlifc America Cup by Reliance, Sir Thomas Lipton's boat thus losing right off the reel. Several Powers landed troops in the Bal- < kans on the 4th, to protect the Legations, and the mo-e had the effect of bringing about com- parative tranquillity. King Leopold visited Pre- sident Loubet; and, on the 6th, there was a fatal brawl between Mussulmans and Christians at Beyrout. On the 8th it was formally announced that Russia had definitely undertaken to com- mence the evacuation of Manchuria; and, on the 9th, Russia increased her import duties on Indian and Ceylon teas. Bubonic plague at this time, at Marseilles, created temporary alarm. A progressive manifesto was issued in Cape Colony on the 12th and on the 15th Russia and Austria both made strong representations to the Porte, at Constantinople, regarding the Balkan situa- tion. A conference was held at the Colonial Office on the 16th, respecting cotton culture in the West Indies. The German Kaiser visited the Austrian Emperor on the 18th and, on the 23rd, a contingent of the Honourable Artillery Company of London set out to visit the United States. The Czar was in Vienna on the 30th which day also witnessed the demise of Sir Michael Herbert, British Ambassador to the United States. Three thousand Bulgarians were reported mas- sacred at Mehomia, in the Balkans, on October 2. Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg were wedded on the 7th. Pro- fessor Langley's airship fell into the Potomac on the same date, and was completely wrecked. In riots at Bilbao, between Republicans and Roman Catholics, on the 11th, several persons met their deaths. An attempt was made on the 13th to blow up the British Legation at Pekin. On the 14th an Arbitration treaty between France and Great Britain was signed. The Australian Federal Senate agreed on the 15th upon Bom- bala as the Commonwealth capital. The King and Queen of Italy visited Paris, and were lavishly entertained. The award on the Alaska Boundary Commission was announced on the 20th and Sir Mortimer Durand was selected for the American Embassy at Washington. An attempt was made on the 27th upon the life of Prince Galitzen, the Governor-General of the Caucasus. The German garrison at Warmbad, in South Africa, was annihilated by Hottentots on November 2. Tammany triumphed in the New York municipal elections and on the 4th a re- volution occurred in Panama. The Germau Kaiser, on the 7th, underwent an.operation for the removal of polypus from the larynx. Signor Rosano, the Italian Minister of Finance, com- mitted suicide on the 9th; and a disastrous fire on the St. Petersburg-Moscow mail did damage on the 10th to the value of about three-quarters of a million sterling. The New Zealand Legis- lative Council passed the Naval Defenoe Bill on the 12th; and on the 15th Lord Kitchener met with a riding mishap outside Simla, breaking his leg. On the 16th a British expedition to Thibet was decided upon, and simultaneously rumours reached this country of the existence of a secret understanding between Russia and Thibet. A revolt took place at San Domingo on the 18th and on the 23rd Galadi in Somaliland, was reoccupied. In the Salem district of Madras about 200 lives were lost by flood. On the 26th a large party of English members of Parliament were received in Paris by the French President; and on the 30th a report was published concern- ing the Post Office scandals in the United States. An agreement between Russia and Japan was reported on December 2; but much diplomatic secrecy was still rife between the two countries. The British cruiser Flora stranded off the island of Vancouver on the 3rd; which was the date of an important statement in the Reichstag, made in the course of a speech from the Throne, respecting commercial relationships with Great Britain. The United States President delivered his Message to Congress at Washington on the 5th, referring to trusts, the national finances aliens, foreign relations, and the new Republic of Panama. A great capture of forgers, im- plicated in nefarious operations on both sides of the Atlantic, was made on the 7th. After six days of exciting play the first of a series of Test matches between Mr. Warner's M.C.C. cricket team and All Australia was decided on Decem- ber 16th, in favour of the Englishmen, by five wickets. Mr. R. E. Foster made the record score of 287 in the England first innings.