ENGLISH NEWS BY SUEZ MAIL.

At' Epiom Races, the Derby (takes this year, rallied at £5850, were won by Mr W. 8. Crawford's colt Sefton, defeating Insulaire, Cbilperio, and 19 other horses. The Court of Queen's Bench held that the magistrate's order for the destruction of a number of copies of Mr Bradlaugh's book; as being on obscene publication, was invalid on account of a technical omission. An explosion occurred in the hold of a coal-laden steamer, the Chrysolite, lying in the Newport Doeke. Four of the crew were killed, andsereral others were muck injured. Disease is reported to exist among the grouse upon the Yorkshire and Scottish- moors, and many dead birds bare been found. An elderly man, Mr S. H. Hale, residing in West-hall-road. Casaberwell, shot bis wife dead and then committed suicide.' , The steamer Idaho, from New York, struck upon a rock |off the .Wexford coast and sunk. All the passengers ane crew were sated. The police throughout Germany are making search for Sooialist conspirator's' and many arrests hare been made in Berlin and" in other towns. The death is announced of the Rev Crawford Tait, only surviving «on of, the Arohbisbop of Canterbury. An obelisk, ereoted many years ago near Orieff, as a memorial of Sir D. Baird, was struck by lightning on May 30th, and almost entirely destroyed. Fifteen men hare been oommitted for trial upon ' obar'ges of riot and arson at Blackburn, Lancashire. Two men. engaged in {sinking a well, near Guildford, were suffocated by foul air, and two others, who descended to their assistance, were also killed by the impure gas. The death is announoed of the widow of Hahnemann, the foundor of homcepatby, whom she survived many years. In oonsequence of an almost oomplete failure of the oropi, through drought, there is great distress in Morocco, and n.any deaths have occurred from starvation. The tercentenary of Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood, was oelebrated on June Ist, by a dinner in the hall of the College of Physicians. The new railway bridge across the Tay was opened for traffio on May 31st. - Eugene Chantrelle, convicted of the murder of his wife at Edinburgh, by poison, was exeouted on May 31, the Home Secretary having declined to interfere with the sentence. There is no news of importance from India, beyond the openingof some waterworks at Daooa, constructed at the sole expense of the native ruler. The Churou of Holy Trinity, Hull, which has been restored at a cost of £30,000, was re-opened for Divine service on May 22. The Arohbishop of York preached upon the occasion. The riot at the Tohiragan Palace at Constantinople appears to bare been more serious than was at first stated. The leader of the band, Ali Suavi, and some 20 of his followers were killed, and many others wounded. Tranquillity has been restored in the Turkish capital, and there are no apprehensions of renewed disorders. Colonel Marcovitz and six other persons have.been shot at Belgrade for taking part in a plot to depose Prince Milan. , The two steamers recently purchased in the United States by Russian agents are now being converted at Pbiladephia iato war cruisers. The death is announoed of Dr. Gregg, the Protestant Bishop of Cork.; , ■ , The fortified bland of Ada Kaleh, in the Danube, near Orsova, has been occupied by Austrian troops, with the oonsent of the Turks, in order to prevent the Servians from taking possession of it. Cholera has broken out at Morar, and out of 42 Europeans attapked, 30 have died. The foundation-stone of a new Roman Catholio Church, to be built at Eilburn, was laid by Cardinal Manning. " A rowing match, for the championship of the Thames and a stake of £200 a side, between John Higgins,ofßhadwell,»nd W. Elliott, of Newcastle, was won easily on May 3rd by the London man. During two days there was continuous rioting at Northampton, the' Militia taking part against the polioe and special constables. A coroner's inquest was held upon some bodies reoovered from the sunken German ironclad, Grosser 'Kurfuret, and, after,taking evidence, the jury returned a simple verdict of " Drowned." Grave apprehensionsexst of another Indian war in California asd Idaho, and the Generals in coin* mand have informed the Washington Government that the forces under their command are inadequate to the task wkioh lies before them. The centenary of Voltaire's death was oelebrated ia Paris on May 30. The chitf gathering was at the Gailte Theatre,, where M. Victor Hugo delivered a J,agand eloquent eulogium upon Ijhs 's Apostle of

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Cute New Chum.—What tact and industry may accomplish, has had a practical illustration in the case of au immigrant who came to New Zealand lees than a year ago, unhampered by even a modicum of richei, and who now liveß on a quarter-acre lection in his own house and ground. The exterior of this edifice is remarkable. Like Mm Jarley's travelling-van, it runs on wheels, but is a little larger in size, and its outside walls are decorated with alternate stripes of green and blauk, resembling a Venetian sunshade. The proprietor of this cottage — Brown for short —rented a house in Arthurstreet on his arrival here, and being of an ingenious turn of mind, determined to utilise the back-yard of Ma residence. He accordingly rigged up the ark-like domicile referred to, and occupied it himself, whilst he let the other house for a higher rent than he was paying for it; and thus, while experiencing the happy responsibility of being his own landlord, he drew a small profit from the sub-tenant ot the land proprietor. When questions were asked regarding the black and green tenement, Brown returned the wily answer that it was a fowl-house. Finally, haviug amassed sufficient to purchase a quarter-acre section near to the Basin Reserve, he removed his house on wheels, and now argues with the tax-gatherer that the travelling propensities of the building should exclude it from being taxed.— 2 Few Zealander, Melons are coming to the fore in America. California has organised a company, nominal capital 2,000,000d015., to extract sugar and oil from water-melons, and make alcohol from the rind and pulp. It is claimed that ten per cent, of sugar can be made from the juice, and 25 per cent, table oil from the seed. If successful, there is a great future for melons: but I doubt. Credulous people subscribing the capital will have less'to show for their money than if they started melon hills for themselves. — Ofciffo Daily Times. Adulteration. —Out of 89 samples of beer, and of materials used in the brewing of beer, examined last year by the English Inland Bevenue authorities, 61 were either adulterated or consisted of illegal ingredients. Well-to-do Bankrupt.—John Pishenden, the levanting bankrupt, who ib wanted in Invercargill by his creditors, is the individual who was found drunk in the streets of Melbourne with two hundred and seventy-four sovereigns in his possession.— West Coast Times. Eon-Paying Game.—An American paper relates that the enterprising keeper of a down east restaurant, having suffered severely from the abnormal appetites of his customers, Biarted a system of payment by weight, every diner or luncher, as the case might be, haviug to pass the ordeal of the weighing machine, before and after his meal, and being then charged by the lb for what Mr Stout would call the unearned increment. This ingenious " cuss" was however, done at last by a tall, lean Yankee, who, after devouring everything he could lay hands upon, weighed out lighter Jthan he came in, and claimed, with the forcible arguments usual in those parts, half a dollar for the difference. Two bricks were afterwards found under the table! Wondbbful Tale.—Once upon a time, many years ago, there was an Indian prince, who visited England in search of adventures. Amongst others, he made the acquaintance of an English lady, to whome he became devoted. At last he was forced to le*re for }m native land, and on parting—like other princes in fairy stories—gave his "ladyfriend" a ring, saying, " Whatever the hearer of that ring bids me to do, I will do." Years rolled on, and the ring lay unused in the lady's jewel-box until the Indian Mutiny broke out. And then —the aforesaid Indian potentate having joined the rebels—it became a matter of great moment to the English Government of the day to recover his allegiance. Somehow the romantic gift of the ring leaked out; and a Cabinet Minister (so runs this wonderful tale) set off in a great hurry from Downing-street to seek our heroine's resideneein Grosvenor Square, let us say. The ring was obtained; the promise was kept, and the English troops saved at a most critical juncture. Now, it it is said, the lady by whose means this desirable conversion was brought about, claims the new Order of the Crown of India as her reward. Cotton Mills in India.—Erom Liverpool we learn that orders have been received there to ship cotton for consumption in the mills of Bombay. It is intended with this material to commence the manufacture, of shirting and other medium classes of clothing in India. This cotton will pass into India duty free, whilst goods made from the same kind of cotton in this country will pay an import duty of 5 per cent. Madame Litvtnow is ft 'Russian laay who has just 'received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Philosophical faculty | of the University of Bern. She passed her examination with such brilliancy, especially in the mathematical branch, that the faculty unanimously agreed to attach the highest mark (cum tumma laude) to her diploma. This item is commended to the attention of those who do not consider the feminine brain competent for deep study. An Auctionebb Outwitied.—A story is told of an auctioneer, who was provokiogly annoyed while in the exercise of his profession by the judicious bids of a fellow whose sole object seemed to be to make sport for the buyers, rather than himself to buy. At length, enraged beyond endurance, the knight of the hammer, looking round the room for a champion to avenge his wrongs, fixed his eyes upon a biped of huge dimensions, a very monarch in strength, and cried out, " Marlow, what shall I give you to put that fellow out ? " " I'll take a sovereign." "Done! done! you shall have it." Assuming the ferocious, knitting his brows, spreading his nostrils like a lion's, and putting on the wolf all over his head and shoulders, old Marlow strode off to the aggressor, and seizing the terrified wretch by the collar, said to him in » whisper that was heard all over the room, "My good frin,, you go out mit me, I give you half the money." " Done 1 done! " says the fellow. " Hurrah 1 hurrah!"

shouted the audience. The auctioneer had the good sense to join in the laugh, and coolly produced the sovereign. New Zealand Sponge.—Good serviceable sponge it seems is to ba included nmongst the resources of the Colony, and, if the statement of the Poverty Bay Herald is correct, the establishment of a thriving local industry is by no means improbable, a great deal of sponge being imported. Our contemporary says:— Large quantities of sponge may be tound growing a short distance from here on the beach. Mr Helps, in Mr Jttogan's office, has shown us some very fine samples, which he has cleaned, and in appearance they seem equal to those purchased in the shops. Judging by the size and quality of those shown to us, these sponges should prove a valuable article to export. — Press. " A recent Alsatian journal," observes the Globe, " contains an account of some iron-plated defences which are about to be installed at Strasburg by the German commandant. If the opinion which the Prussian military authorities have formed of the constructions is well founded, it may be expected that they will come much into fashion in many parts of the world, as indeed they have already done in some of the more important modern German strongholds. The idea is to carry into the fortification of towns that principle which has been worked out with such important results at sea, and to erect, in point of fact, ironclad •' turrets" exactly similar to those with which ships of war are fitted. The new scheme has not, of course, been yet tested in actual warfare, but experiments are said to have been made with the most successful results at some of the German military centres, and at Metz and other places the new forts have been permanently erected. They can be made either on a stationary plan, with embrasures arranged in the most convenient positions, or so as to revolve by the aid of machinery, directing the fire of the single big gun within at the pleasure of the garrison, and it is the latter system which finds most favor with the engineers of Strasburg and Berlin. If nothing should occur to shake their confidence, the iron forts will soon become the rage, and the critics will begin to laugh at the old defences of stone fronted with iron, which still make aa important part of the defences both of Cronstadt and Portsmouth. With regard to the lafcter places, they would naturally be the first to adopt the new system of protection, inasmuch as it would be comparatively easy to transfer the big guns from them to war vessels, or vice versa, while the land turrets, being arranged on very much the same system as those of the navy, would not make bad schools of instruction and practice in time of peace or war." A JNew Dbam4tic Exhibition. — A " show" of a peculiar character, says a northern contemporary, is about to leave America for New Zealand. It is the grand and unique dramatic exhibition of " The Deluge, or Paradise Lost." It is owned by the energetic Keralfy Brothers, of Philadelphia, and is a drama of a magnificent spectacular kind, something like " Eound the World in .Eighty Days." It illustrates Milton's Paradise Lost, in a dramatic form, supported by a full company of actors and actresses, numbering about forty. Miss I Julia Seaman has from its initial performances represented Satan, and amongst other characters sustained are Abel, Cain, Adam, Eve, Tophee, Ithuriel, Mammon, Raphael, &c. Its scenery is Pandemonium, Garden of Eden, Satan in Judgment, and also a panorama of the aerial voyage of his Satanic Majesty. This massive production was originally represented in New York some two years ago, and since that time has been Bhown in all the principal cities of the States. Prom what I know of the Australian people it will come-rather rough on their ideas, but I think that the grandeur of the affair will ultimately tend to its success financially—artistically, it is bound to be great. I feel curious to see hoy Eve will be dressed; as to Satau, we have him frequently in our fancy balls in a variety of shapes.— Press. The Rev. John Jasper, pastor of the largest colored Baptist church at Richmond, Virginia, in a Bermon which has attracted attention throughout the United States, proved to his own satisfaction, anJ apparently to that of his congregation (says the Pall Mall Gazette), that the philosophers are entirely mistaken in their theory that the earth revolves round the sun. " It," said the reverend gentlemaD, " he did not prove by Bible authority that the sun moves, he would never preach again." Ihe earth, he maintained, is motionless; for, as he pointed out, if the earth turned round, " the ocean would be spilled over the land." His ' chief argument in favor of-the motion of the sun is the fact that Joshua told the sun to stand still; which would have been a ridiculous superfluity if the sun had really never moved. At the close 6t his eloquent discourse he called on those of his audience who believed that the'£sun moved round the earth to hold up their right hauds ; and, in answer to the invitation, every hand in the church was uplifted. Mlle. Jeanne Donste is a little pianiste only seven years old, who has lately performed before Queen Victoria. When at Buckingham Palace, the little lady wore a white artificial camellia. " Who gave you that?" asked the Queen. "Oh ! that's my talisman, your Majesty ; Mile. Albaui gave it to me for good luck." Her Majesty went over to a corbeille, took out a red camellia, and gave it to the child, saying, •' W ear that beside it, my dear, and may both bring you a two-fold share of good luck!"