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

Queen Alexandra has six particular favourites -among her cat family, but a valuable Persian enjoys her special affection. This is Sandy, who is so named because he first saw the light at Sancliingham. For soverat months her Majesty is said to have, never travelled, without him, and he i-4 as fondly attached to his Royal mistress as the celebrated Irish terrier Jack was to the King In hi? most affectionate moments. Sandy is privi- leged to disport himself in the dining apartments, though his less fortunate brothers and sisters have to confine their activities to the other rooms in tho Royal dwellings.

LORD ROBERTS'S VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA. THE NEEDS OF THE COUNTRY. The long tour in South Africa from which Lord Roberts has just returned, though it was made in a strictly private capacity, may be of great educa- tional value if the impressions which he there received are allowed to have due weight in our dealings with that part of the Empire. It was in accordance with the best traditions of our race that the successful General should have been everywhere received with f, a ik and sincere cordiality, even by men who had ben sent to im- prisonment and exile as a result of his victories. Once in the Free State he was driven over a long distance by the very man who, owing to his knowledge of English, translated Lord Roberts's messages to General Cronje in the laager at Paardeberg. This Boer, a Free Stater, and one of Cronje's stalwarts, who was imprisoned after the surrender, may be taken as typically representing the feelings of the present-day Dutch farmer. Long before the war was over he had recognised the hopelessness of the struggle, and now he is per- fectly willing to live on good terms with the British. though he quite naturally put in a plea for Repre- sentative Government. He showed no animus, nor was there a trace of any such feeling in the attitude of any of the fighting Boers, who welcomed Lord and Lady Roberts on their stoeps. But Lord Roberts would be the last person to overrate the political significance of such a welcome. It is true that the power of the Bond is for the present largely extinguished; it is true that in Cape Colony the privotal section of the country, the Progressive Party, has gained tho upper hand. But there are still Dutch organs of the Press in Capetown, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria, ready to stir up strife; the predikants are as fond as ever of preaching sedition; and well-known Boer leaders in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony are not as anxious as they might be to assist the Government. The great hope, therefore, for the future lies in securing for the Boer farmer, who really wants peace, such an opening for his agricultural industry and such a consequent measure of prosperity that he will not be teiii^d through idleness or distress to listen to the voice of the predikant or the poli- tical agitator. The one practical method of attain- ing this object is the rapid extension of lailways. Something in this direction is being done; the De Beers Company is building a line, from Fourteen Streams to Klerksdorp, which will bring Kimberley into closer touch with Johannesburg; and other projects, like the Bloemfontein-Harrismith Rail- way, with its branch to Ladybrand, are slowly being carried out. But much more requires to be done. Harrismith should be linked up with Lindley and Kroonstadt; another line from Harrismith should be rapidly extended by way of Wepener to Aliwal North, opening up the rich valley of the Caledon river and above all the beautiful Marico Valley and the prosperous country round Rustenburg should be exploited by a Mafeking-Pretoria Railway running through Zeerust and Rustenburg. The Dutch farmers are only too willing to extend their industry, but are sadly hampered in the matter of railway facilities. If the war has b-ought about no other good, it has taken many B jers abroad, and shown them how other countries are thriving. One prominent Boer has brought back the latest invention in machinery from America. He succeeded in getting a lower rate on the Natal Railway for his implements, but even then the cost of carriage from Natal to Ermelo was greater than the whole freight in America to the coast and from New York to Natal. Other farmers near the wayside stations cannot get their produce carried by the railway, which caters only for the through traffic. Cattle disease is also fatal to agricultural .development in a country where there are few railways. At the present moment neither cattle nor mules are allowed to come into Pretoria from the Western Transvaal, and the Rustenburg farmers have to use donkeys as their sole means of transport. It is not too much to say that the whole future of the country depends rpon the rapid extension of railways, and the improvement of the existing service. If our Government would expend a few millions in construction, the capital Etinlc would return a rich harvest in peace and contentment. The great peace-making value of railways is well known in India, and more especially in Burma, where the extension of the line to Mandalay did more than anything else to get rid of dacoits. From the moment the work was taken in hand the unrest in the country began to vanish. The importance of railways is far greater in South Africa, since we have so much more at stake. For there is not only the Boer question ever present with us; there is a danger well recognised in South Africa of a rising of the blacks against the scattered and compaiatively small white population.. This danger would be largely obviated by a rapid improvement of the means of communication. Lord Roberts will have rendered another great service to his country if the strong impressions which he brings back from South Africa are allowed to have due weight with the public in this country. "M

THE DUTY OF THE VOLUNTEERS. The Rt. Hon. H. O. Arnold-Forster, Secretary of State for War, speaking at the distribution of prizes of the Tynemouth Artillery Volunteers on Saturday night, made special reference to the re- sponsibilities of the Volunteer force in time of war. Every Volunteer, as well as every other member of the army, should remember that he was engaged in one purpose—that of preparing himself for war and gaining the victory when war took place. General Sir Neville Lyttelton, First Military member of the Army Council, speaking at a Volun* teer prize distribution at Leicester on Saturday night, said he did not think the position of the Army Council was fully understood in the country. Ho did not know that he knew very much about it himself yet, but he did know this-that they worked in what he might call watertight compart- ments. The whole of the armed forces of the Crown had been undergoing a process of reorganisation. The Regulars, being the most important, came first, but the Volunteers had not been neglected. Some of them thought they could have done with less attention, but he must remind them of this, that military bodies must really stand or fall by their military value. General Lyttelton went on to say that the duty of the Volunteers was to garrison forts and defend coasts. While we had command of the sea we need not expect organised invasion, but to deal with minor invasions they had schemes of defence to which they had allotted a considerable number of men, but there was a surplus. These were days in which taxpayers were bound to minutely scrutinise expenditure, and they could not keep men above their necessities., There were Volunteers efficient, but some whose military value was not high, and a winnowing process would go on, which might reduce the foree but make it more efficient.

The King of Sweden and Norway, in spite of his age, is an athlete, and possessed of great strength. His Majesty once stopped a runaway pair of horses on the Riviera, thereby saving three lives, and he is capable of walking twenty- five miles in six hours without in any way incon- veniencing himself. Mrs. Kennerley Rumford, better known perhaps as Madame Clara Butt, is said to be the tallest prima donna in the world. The great singer's marriage was quite a romance, as Mr. Kennerley Rumford actually proposed on the concert platform when they were sing- ing the well-known duet, "The Keys of My Heart." The quantity of energy put forth by radium is very large. Expressed as heat, if is sufficient to raise its weight of water to boiling point, in an hour. Expressed as power, the energy of a aaltspoonful would lift 500 tons a mile high- power 30.000 to 1,000,000 times as great as t,hat developed by the most powerful chemical energy hitherto known. The authorities in Norway have discovered a novel way of curing drunkenness. The patient" is placed under lock and key, and his nourishment consists in great part of bread soaked in port wine. The first day the drunkard eats his food with pleasure, and even on the second day he enjoys it. On the third day he finds that it is very monoton- ous, on the fourth day he becomes impatient, and at the end of eight days he receives the wine with horror. It seems that the disgust increases, and that this homoeopathic cure gives good results.

PUBLIC MEN ON PUBLIC MATTERS. THE WAR SECRETARY IN NEWCASTLE. The Right Hon. H. O. Arnold-F-crster, Sec- retary of State for War, quoted at a banquet in his honour (given at Newcastle by the North of England Volunteer Service Institute) the fol- lowing words written by Sir Ian Hamilton from the seat of war in the Far East:- This war has burnt into my mind in a way nothing else could have done that the condi- tion of our Army constitutes a terrible danger to the existence of our Empire. I have learnt here that nothing but the very best will do. Mr. Arnold-Foster declared that we needed to utilise the magnificent material we possessed, and nowhere more than in the Volunteer foree, and prepare it for war. We ought not to rely upon the Volunteers for providing an increment to the Regulars for fighting across the sea. The Volunteer force ought to do its own proper duty by being effective for the defence of these island's. There was ample materia), knowledge, and spirit to make the Volunteer force extra- ordinarily effective and useful for this purpose. There was, however, great need of officers. Second only to the commissioned officers came the non-commissioned. At trifling expense we could make them much more effective. Then there was the difficulty as to ranges. There were not enough ranges. It would be a, legiti- mate expenditure of public money if we could make some further contribution in that direc- tion. LORD AVEBURY AT ESSEX HALL. The colonies gave us a, certain preference t by imposing heavier duties on foreign goods than on British goods but if they shut the door The colonies gave us a certain preference by imposing heavier duties on foreign goods than on British goods but if they shut the door against us it was only a slight consolation to know that it was double-locked against the foreigner. MR. JOHN BURNS AT HALIFAX. The Protection movement was a bogus agitation from beginning to end. It was con- ducted by a discredited politician for a dis- credited Government for politically dis- honourable ends. Mr. Chamberlain's policy was that everybody was to be made rich by making everything dearer. MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN AT BIRMINGHAM. As Chancellor of the Exchequer he had exorcised the greatest economy consistent with efficient administration. To economise at all the Chancellor of the Exchequer had1 often to resist the demands of Parliament. Heavy expenditure had been wisely and necessarily incurred on the army and navy. MR. CHAPLIN AT SLEAFORD. Many farmers thought Mr. Chamberlain's pro- posals inadequate, but the benefits to be derived by agriculture would be considerable. When they had carefully examined the proposals they would have taken a great step towards enabling the industry to take an infinitely better position than it had occupied for many years past. SIR WALTER FOSTER AT ILKESTON. Under the American tariff system great mono- polies were created, enormous wealth was piled up by great industrial organisations, but the great mass of the people did not .secure the full benefit of the vast resources of the country in which they toiled. He prayed that there might never be a similar system in Great Britain. I SIR OLIVER LODGE AT GRANTHAM. He would like to see education dealt with in the provinces, as he believed the central author- ity at Westminster was overburdened. Scien- tific education had great possibilities before it, but it was to some extent on its trial. DR. MACNAMARA AT HORNSEY. If Mr. Chamberlain really meant what he stated at the outset of his fiscal campaign 14 months ago to the effect that black ruin sta,red us in the face, why had he not advocated a prompt appeal to the electorate for powers to change this disastrous state of affairs? MR. L. J. MAXSE AT GALASHIELS. We must construct a scientific British tariff for the protection (with a small p) of the home market against Protection (with a big P), and with that as our strategic base we should have no difficulty in obtaining reasonable terms from our industrial competitors. EARL BEAUCHAMP, IN EAST WORCES- TERSHIRE. In view of the enormous importance of our mercantile marine, we ought to be wider awake to the importance of the question, and at least to stand up as firmly for British ships as the German Government stood up for German vessels during the South African war. LORD LONDONDERRY ON EDUCATION. Lord Londonderry received at the Education Office an influential deputation from the Asso- ciated Chambers of Commerce, introduced by Sir W. Holland, M.P., whose object was to urge measures for the further development of technical and secondary education. Lord Lon- donderry in reply, while recognising the weight which the views of the Associated Chambers must possess in the eyes of any Government, said that the deputation seemed to think that the Board of Education could do a great deal more in this matter than it really had the power to do. The establishment of secondary schools did not rest with the Board, but with local authorities, and pressure ought to be brought to bear on those authorities. The Board's re- gulations gave all necessary encouragement to such schools. His earnest desire was to give the opportunity of a career to boys of excep- tional talent in all classes of the community. He promised consideration to the views of the deputation. LORD HUGH CECIL AT HANLEY. _j-»ora riugn ^ecu, speaking on Tuesday night at a free-trade demonstration at Hanley, said that the alarming, prophecies which had been made about the decline of our trade were not being borne out. If German and American imports were an injury to this country, then British imports were injurious to Canada, and what it was. proposed to ask Canada to do was to submit to an injury. This was a very poor way of promoting Imperial unity. Preference, he maintained, would not operate as a unifying influence. We should build upon that founda- tion of mutual eacrificeso admirably displayed in connection with the South African war. MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN AT HAY MILLS. Mr. Austen Chamberlain, addressing the second of a series of meetings of his consti- tuents, at Hay Mills, near Birmingham, devoted his remarks mainly to the Fiscal Question, and insisted that the time had arrived when we should reconsider our position in the light of the events that had happened since our original policy of Free Trade was adopted. MR. BRODRICK AT SHERE. J Mr. Brodrick, M.P., speaking at Shere, on Tuesday, said that he absolutely refused1 the kind- attentions of those who having excluded him by formula from their Free Trade heaven were endeavouring to shepherd him into a Pro- tectionist hell. MR. LYTTELTON AT SPALDING. I Mr. Lyttelkrn, M.P., Colonial Secretary, speaking at Spalding, claimed that, but Mr the calmness and wisdom of the country, the Dogger Bank incident would have resulted in a disas- trous and prolonged war. The tragedy had enabled the Government to make, a precedent for the peaceful settlement of such disputes. LORD GEORGE HAMILTON AT EALING. I Lord George Hamilton, M.P., speaking at Ealing, said that, now that he believed the cause of Free Trade t<, besa,foe in that con- stituency, he should adhere to his undertaking not again to contest the seat, provided Mr. Nield, the candidate of the Ealing Conserva- tive Association, adhered to the views on Protection propounded by Mr. Balfour at Edin- burgh. MR. ASQUITH AT PRESTON. I Mr. Asquith, speaking at Preston, said that I Liberals looked not to artificial but to natural remedies for the ailments in the industrial body. In this campaign they were fighting, not against progress, but against reaction, and their con- viction, founded upon experience, was that the eheet-anchorand the very essence of our industrial life was to be found in the main- tenance of the open door. The policy of the Government was to burke a Mr and square fight between Free Trade and1 Protection, and the propo'sed Colonial Conference was^ only another move in the game of procrastination,

KING AND UNEMPLOYED. I GENEROUS DONATIONS. I The Right Hon. Walter Long, M.P., Pre- sident of the Local Government Board, in a letter which he addressed to the Lord Mayor of London, as treasurer of the Central Com- mittee of the Unemployed Fund, on Saturday, announces donations to the fund amounting to £ 16,120. The King has sent 250 guineas, the Queen IP200, the Prince of Wales 100 guineas, and the Princess of Wales 50 guineas. Mr. Long has handed over these and other sums received to the Lord Mayor. The folio wing is the letter in which Mr. Long was informed of the King's gift.— 0 Dear Mr. lon,, -By command of the King, I have the pleasure to send you a. cheque for 250 guineas as a donation from His Majesty towards the fund which he is given to under- stand is about to be raised by the Lord Mayor with a view of carrying out a scheme now proposed for the relief of the unemployed in the metropolis. The cause, the King commands me to say, is indeed a sad and worthy one, and His Majesty hopes that this endeavour to alleviate the great distress we hear of may meet with a generous response.—Very truly yours, D. M. PROBYN. The Right Ron. Walter Long, M.P. In addition to the Royal gifts the following large sums have been contributed in response J to representations made by Mr. Long — 1 Lord Iveagh £ 5,000 The Peabody Trustees 5,000 Messrs. Rothschild 3,000 The Duke of Westminster 2,000 The Hon. W. F. D. Smith 500 The Lord Mayor of London has issued an appeal to the benevolent, for support in rescuing the men who are out of employment through no fault of their own "from the priva- tion and demoralisation with which they and their homes are threatened." Already upwards of 10,000 of these have applied for employment tinder the scheme which the Central Committee is setting on foot.

DISASTROUS GALE. I TEN LIVES LOST. I The terrific gale that has been raging on the Scotch coast has resulted in a disastrous wreck in the Moray Firth. The steamer Nar, of Glasgow, has been lost off Kingston, Garmouth, and all her crew of ten hands arc missing. Three of the bodies have been washed ashore, and the beach for a couple of miles is strewn with wreckage washed up by a. still tempestuous sea. I The coastguard at Kingston saw a vessel's flarelight about one o'clock on the morning of the 13th insfc. The rocket apparatus was out smartly, but not before the black storm had swallowed up the ship, and no answer was given to lights sent up from the shore. About.three o'clock the hatches of the vessels were washed ashore, and then the lifeboat. At eight o'clock two bodies were washed up—men of apparently about 35 years of age. They wore life- belts. One of the men was an engineer and the second a seaman wearing clogs. The third body came ashore soon after. Part of the vessel was seen half a mile out to sea at low tide, and it seemed from the position of the wreck that the crew had anchored the ship in deep water, and that she had capsized. During the gale off the Yorkshire coast Robert Hunter, the skipper of the yawl Ruby, when endeavouring to reef a sail, received a blow from a mizzen-boom that broke his thigh; and Frank Cappleman, a fisherman, had his ribs broken. A large steamer was disabled off Robin Hood's Bay. Several Scarborough fishing vessels attempted to reach the steamer, but failed, and she was eventually taken in tow by a steam-tug. Dnring the heavy gale in the Mersey Channel the schooner Fair Trade was driven on to a bank and remained fast. The crew of three men clung to the rigging till daylight, when the Hoylake lifeboat rescued them. The vessel subsequently sank. --The New Brighton lifeboat rescued six men off the Formby shore from the barque Rhinoceros, owned by Sir John Jackson, the contractor. The Wilson liner Othello and the steamer Barce- lona collided at the entrance to the Alexandra Dock, Hull, on Tuesday. The Barcelona, which began taking in water, was beached near the east pier. The Othello entered the dock. The Newbiggin relief fund opened for. the dependents of the seven fishermen who lost their lives at the stranding of the Norwegian steamer Anglia last Thursday amounts to £ 251. Addi- tional funds have been opened at Blyth and Newcastle. On the rock-bound coast near St. Abb's Head on Tuesday the Norwegian schooner Hans ran ashore in the gale. After a six hours' struggle the crew were rescued by the Dunbar lifeboat.

DEATH OF AN IRISH M.P. I Mr. Edmund Leamy, M.P. for North Kildare, died on Saturday at Pau, France, where he had been staying for the benefit of his health. Mr. Leamy was 56 years of age, and had represented North Kildare as a Nationalist since 1900.

WRECK OF A BRITISH STEAMER. SEVEN MEN DROWNED. I A telegram from Colombo states that the British India Steam Navigation Company's steamship Secundra, on leaving Galle harbour on Friday night, struck a rock and sank within two minutes. She is a total wreck. Chief- officer Henderson, Third-engineer McClean, and five men were drowned. The loss is covered by insurance. The vessel carried a cargo of cit- ronella oil for New York, besides a quantity of rice.

KING OARLOS GONE. I After a visit to this country extending over nearly three weeks, the King of Portugal left England on Saturday afternoon, carrying with him many pleasant memories of his holiday and the cordial good wishes of the English people. The final function prior to departure was a luncheon at the Portuguese Legation in Glou- cester-place, Portman-square. To be present at this the King and Queen and Princess Vic- toria travelled up to London from Norfolk. Dom Carlos, who drove from Buckingham Palace, was received at the Legation by the Marquis de Soveral, the Portuguese Minister. A few minutes later his Majesty came down the steps of the house to receive King Edward, Queen Alexandra, and the Princess Victoria. As the Royal group stood on the footway together, the large crowd which had assembled cheered lustily. Luncheon was served at five tables, and places were laid for thirty-two people. The floral de- corations were very charming. The guests in- cluded the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Fife, Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg, the Duke and Duchess of Portland, Mr. Balfour, Lord Farquhar, and Sir Tohn Fisher. After luncheon farewells were &aid, and the Queen and Princess Victoria drove back to Buckingham Palace, while the King and ,the Prince of Wales remained behind to accom- pany Dom Carlos to Victoria. His Majesty tra- velled in the Royal saloon, which had been attached to the 4.15 Dover express. At Dover he embarked on the turbine steamer Queen, which crossed to Calais in less than an hour, shortly after seven o'clock. Half an hour later King Carlos left for Paris, there to be joined by Queen Amelie.

General Luis Terrazas, Governor of tbe State of Chihuahua, is probably the largest landowner vn the world, as well as the richest man in Mexico. Born poor. he has made his way gradually upwards, and now he owns land equal in area to several of the American States. It takes an eight hours' journey on a fast train to travel from one end of his property to the other.

[ ELOPEMENT AND SUICIDE. I TRAGEDY IN A JERSEY nGTEL. Sensational evidence was adduced at an inquest held in Jersey on Monday on the body of a French naval engineer named Vetel, who shot himself with a revolver early on Saturday evening and died on Monday morning. In com- pany with a woman, named Querboul, the wife of a French naval lieutenant in charge of a torpedo destroyer, and another couple, Vetel left Brest on November 13 last, and, arriving in Jersey two days later, put up at a French hotel. Madame Querboul had 2,000 francs when she left Brest, which she entrusted to Vetel. All went well till Saturday, when Vetel told his companion that the money was all spent. She then sold her jewellery for 400 francs, and insisted on retaining possession of the money, which she placed in the keeping of the hotel proprietor. Vetel, however, threatened to shoot her if she did not give it up. She then sought the protection of the hotel proprietor, who accompanied her to Vetel's room. The latter flew into a, violent passion, and after exclaiming "She has exposed me put a bullet in his right temple. On his person was found 400 francs, part of the 2,000, which the French Consul will retain until claimed by the woman's husband. He was only twenty years of age.

CHINESE AFFRAY ON THE RAND. A disturbance occurred on Sunday at the Witwatersrand mine, the Chinese labourers attacking the Kaffirs. Three Kaffirs and one Chinaman were killed, while eight Kaffirs and twenty-five Chinamen were wounded. All is now quiet. The Chinese coolies set fire to the native location, half of which was destroyed. The local Volunteers were mobilised to assist the police in suppressing the disturbance.

STABBED TO DEATH IN PLAY. A farm servant named John Richardson, living at Singleton, near Preston, died on Monday from the effects of a wound in the chest. On the 4th inst. another farm servant had a knife in his hand, and while the two were larking it accidentally penetrated Richard- son's chest. Richardson told his stepfather that he had been stabbed in play.

MISS DAISY LEITER'S ENGAGEMENT. According to a telegram from Chicago, Mrs. 11 Leiter announces the engagement of her daughter, Miss Daisy Leiter, sister of Lady Curzon, to the Earl of Suffolk. The date of the wedding has not been decided upon, but it will be in the near future.

DEATH OF THE OLDEST M.P. A REMINISCENCE OF AN ALL-NIGHT SITTING The death was announced on Monday of Mr. Spencer Charrington, who had sat in the House of Commons for the Mile End Division since 1885. Mr. Charrington was born as long ago as 1818, and was much the oldest member of the House, but he bore his eighty and odd years remarkably well up to within the last few months. Only in July last, it will be remem- bered, he distinguished himself by going through the twenty-six hours' sitting, and in recognition of this fine feat of endurance the Conservative members subscribed for a silver cup, bearing the following inscription:- "Presented to Spencer Charrington, M.P. for the Mile End Division of the Tower Hamlets, to commemorate the twenty-five and a half hours' sitting of the House of Commons, July 19th-20th, 1904, when he, at the age of eighty-six, voted in nineteen divisions, and ipemained in attendance until the rising of the House. The gift of one hundred and seventy- eight colleagues." The cup was handed to Mr. Charrington by the Premier, and the member's constituents, among whom he was immensely popular, pre- sented him with a similar memento. Mr. Charrington had been connected with the East End all his life. The eldest son of Mr. N. Charrington, of Mile End, he. beca.me a partner —after being educated at Eton—in the great brewery in the Mile End-road. He did a vast amount of charitable work in the East End, though his zeal in this respect did not carry him to the extreme step taken by his brother, Mr. F. N. Charrington, whose temperance views compelled him to sacrifice his interest in the family brewery. Mr. Spencer Charrington, who died at his country house at Hunsdon, near Ware, married a daughter of the Rev. J. Calmeyer, Archdeacon of Hammerfest, Norway. His death, of course, causes a vacancy in the Mile End Division of the Tower Hamlets, where his last poll for the Conservatives was 2,440 against 1,280-a majority of nearly two to one. Mr. Charrington's majorities at the 1892 and 1895 elections were 273 and 867 respectively. It was only on Thursday last that the Liberal candidate was chosen-Mr. Bertram S. Strauss, who has represented Mile End on the London County Council since 1898.

OBJECTIONABLE POSTCARDS. The Postmaster-General finds that during the present year there has been a large increase in the number of postcards, principally of foreign manufacture, sent by post, bearing pictorial designs of an objectionable, and, in some cases, indecent character. In view of the probable increase in the transmission by post of pictorial cards during the approaching Christmas season, the Postmastsr-General desires to draw the attention of the public to the fact that by the provisions of the Post Office (Protection) Act, 1884, any person who sends by post a postal packet (which term includes a post-card), having thereon "any words, marks, or designs of an indecent, obscene, or grossly offensive character," is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to be fined or imprisoned for twelve months. Any postcards which come within this prohibition are, when observed in the post, with- held from delivery.

MRS. CHADWICK'S MILLIONS. A telegram from Cleveland, Ohio, states that it is estimated that Mrs. Chadwick's creditors will realise It million dollars. 2 Leading lawyers doubt the possibility of a conviction for forgery in connection with the Carnegie notes," as they were merely deposited with Mr. Reynolds, whose affidavit secured the loans elsewhere. It was no crime to write Mr. Carnegie's name if the paper was not negotiated. It is argued that the indictment for conspiracy show's that the grand jury recognised the difficulty of obtaining a con- viction for forgery. Mr. Reynolds is supposed to have kept silence in order to protect the name of Mr. Carnegie, whose natural daughter Mrs. Chadwick pretended to be. The Paris correspondent of the "New York World," says the Central News, has inter- viewed Dr. Chadwick, the husband of Mrs. Chadwick, now in prison on charges of swindling. Dr. Chadwick said his wife had never been acquainted with Mr. Carnegie. The charges made again si his wife had given him a terrible shock. The grand jury has indicted Mrs. Chadwick on the two counts of forgery and uttering forged documents. The indictments relate to notes purporting to be signed by Mr. Carnegie for 500,000 dols. and 250,000 dols. respectively.

The "British Medical Journal" announcee that Professor Arthur Robinson, of King's Col- lege, London, has been appointed to the Chair of Anatomy at the University of Birmingham, in succession to Professor B. C. A. Windle, now President of Queen's College, Cork. The Duke of Wellington has consented to be nominated as President of the Royal Counties Agricultural Society for the ensuing year. The Society's annual show is to be held next summer at Bournemouth. The Corporation of the City of London have contributed a fourth donation of one thousand and fifty pounds to the Fund now being raised at the Mansion House for the National Memorial to Queen Victoria-

r NATURE NOTES. I I MILES OF STARFISH. [ What is locally known as a "beach kermesse" has just taken place on the Belgian coast between Ostend and Blankenberghe. It takes the form of a vast deposit of starfish, thrown up by the sea in such numbers that they cover the sands, it is said, for miles with a thick carpet. This sea-harvest is of very rare occurrence, and is hailed as a gift from Providence, and provides a supply of excel- lent manure for the neighbouring fields. As soon as it takes place the whole countryside—men, women, and children—makes its way over the sandhills to the beach, and transport the catch to the farms. "TAPPING." A correspondent in Nature Notes gives his impressions of the cause of the tapping" sounds that occasionally are heard in rooms of our houses similar to the noise of the death-watch." I cannot," he says, "help feeling convinced that these sounds are emitted from wooden furniture. I have generally noticed that I heard them after a sudden change in the temperature from heat to cold. I have also noticed that similar sounds may be produced at pleasure with a stove that has a fire-brick back to it. In furniture heat causes it to expand and open the interstices of the wood, which become filled with air. A sudden cooling, on the other hand, causes the wood to contract, and the interstices then close and forcibly expel the air with these explosive sounds. PJPLESS APPLES. Three nurseries in the United States and Canada are being devoted to the propagation of the new seedless apple tree. The tree gives pro- mise of completely revolutionising the apple- growing industry of both Europe and America, and at no far distant date. The idea of a coreless apple commends itself at once to the housewife, but still more to the fruit-grower, whose greatest losses are connected with late frosts and the codlin moth. With the almost bloomless tree of the seedless apple there is small fear of damage from frost, and the absence of seed prevents damage by moth, which in the ordinary apple lays its eggs in the blossom, the grubs, as they hatch out, being nourished on the seeds of the apple. 0 INSECT MOBILISATION. Wonderful are the ways of ants, and in no re- spect more than as a sort of contorted reflection of our own. "Nature Notes" recalls the ex- periment of a well known scientist who once on the brown hills surrounding the famous old city of Toledo, in Spain, saw an army of ants with banners, crossing a dusty road They literally carried banners—sprays of dry grass, apparently—which waved above their serried I ranks, and in that place of famous battles, of memories of Spanish chivalry and of the fierce wars between Moor and Goth, the spectacle thus presented was like a phantasmagoria of past glories, passing before his eyes in miniature. Just what they were about it was difficult to say. But there, in an endless column, they filed out of the gra ssy forest on the other side. tramping steadily (military formation) advancing in the direction of Toledo, as if they meant to assault and capture that ancient stronghold of King Roderick. BEAUTIFUL WENSLEYDALE. In an article on Wensleydale, the "Estates Gazette" makes interesting allusion to its many historical monuments and associations. In it stands the quaint little hamlet of West Tanfield, full of memorials of the Marmions. To the north are the ruins of the Premonstratentiall Abbey of Cover- ham, and but an afternoon's walk further away, the great, gaunt Bolton Castle, the only remaining one of the many English prison-houses of Mary Queen of Scots, and still a little further, Middle- ham Castle, the prison—was it, of Richard II. ? These rugged memorials in a setting of well- timbered valleys, shut in between high moorland ridges, with rivers that are alternately placid streams and roaring rapids, as at Aysgarth Force and Hack Fall, and one can imagine no district in which artist or writer of romance, disciple, of Isaac Walton, or worshipper of Diana, country squire or merchant prince, could better wish to spend the remainder of his days. THE RICE PAPER TREE. The rice paper tree, one of the most interesting of the entire flora of China, has recently been successfully experimented with in Florida, where it now flourishes with other subtropicals and Oriental species of trees and shrubs. When first transplanted in American soil the experimenters expressed doubts of its hardiness, fearing that it would be unable to stand the winters. All these fears have vanished, however, and it is now the universal opinion that it is as well adapted to the climate of this country as to that of the famed Flowery Kingdom. It is a small tree, growing to a height of less than 15ft., and with a trunk or stem from three to five inches in diameter. Its canes, which vary in colour according to season, ate large, soft and downy, the form somewhat resem- bling that noticed in those of the castor bean plant, The celebrated rice paper, the product of this qneer tree, is formed of thin slices of the pith, which is taken from the body of the tree in beautiful cylinders several inches in length. The Chinese workmen apply the blade of a sharp straight knife to these cylinders, and, turning them around, either by rude machinery or by hand, dexterously part the pith from circumference to centre. This operation makes a roll of extra quality paper, the scroll being of equal thickness throughout. After a cylinder has thus been pared, it is unrolled and weights are placed upon it until the surface is ren- dered smooth throughout its entire length. It is altogether probable that if rice paper making becomes an industry in the United States those primitive modes will all be done away with. ELECTRIC SEAL OR RABBIT. Some popular commercial literature contains astounding natural history. Now, if you were going to hunt the electric seal, would you take a gun, or lobster for supper ? Well, the electric seal is well known. You can easily catch him. Often enough you follow him to his native lair, and lure him with a cabbage leaf, placing the leaf between the bars of his hutch. If he isn't there, then he is in the pie. You have often heard the call of the fur trader, bartering for the pelts of this particular kind of wild electric seal. He cries, Any old rabbit skins ?" and his standard of value with the native is three squares of hearth- stone per pelt. But the rabbit is more than a seal. He is sable, mink, and chinchilla, just as the goat is bear, and the hare is fox, and the Coypu (Nutria) is SFHI, and the mink is sable, and the marmot is mink. THE RARE 8EA OTTER. Some furs command good prices for the same reason as rubies. There are not many of them. They are no nicer to look at than commoner furs, but you can't look at them so often. If you glance through the sale-list at the annual sales of the Hud- son's Bay Company, amongst the hundreds of thou- sands of common furs you may see only six of the sea otter or a hundred of the silver fox. Sach animals are not only extremely rare, but they live in the most inaccessible places, and the hunters who procure them, and the carriers who bring them to civilisation, have to endure terrible hardships. It is impossible to get such furs at a sale as bargains." A fine pelt of the sea otter might be worth between £ 40 and 9100. The size is 2ft. by 6ft. A silver fox pelt will fetch between 10 and £ 40; size, 2ft. by 4ft. There is a little sailing-boat, the Stork now on the way from Hudson's Bay with a cargo of furs worth £ 70,000. Yet you could almost stow that cargo in an ordinary van, there is so little of it. Now, that little boat is overdue. She should have been here some weeks ago. Therefore it is but natural, should she not arrive, that many choice furs will be rare and will be dear this season. There will be no bargains," but there will be lots Of bunny" skins.

If the people were as honest and upright all through the week as they try to appear at church, on Sundays, this world would be a veritable vara. dise.