THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE KAISER WILLIAM.

Auckland Star, Volume IX, Issue 2572, 5 July 1878, Page 2

THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE KAISER WILLIAM.

The Emperor of Germany was wounded in the head, face, back, and arms by Dr. Nobbling. When arrested he^ittempted to shoot his landlord, and also to commit suicide; but only succeeded in wounding himself badly. He barely escaped assassination at the hands of the mob. The Emperor lost much blood, and thirty shots were extracted. Dr. Nobbling attempted a second time to commit suicide. His brothers are officers in the army. The " North German Gazette" says that Dr. Nobbling drew lots with ten persons, four of whom belonged to the Berlin University. The Berlin Criminal Court has received several letters threatening assassination to all Sovereigns if Nobbline bo harshly treated. Four students have been arrested charged with complicity in the affair. , t The London "Standard's" Berlin special says

that Nobbling, before he became uncon scious, confessed that he offered to undeN take the work, and discussed his plans *Jth other persons. The latest telegrams reDnw Dr. Nobbling's death. vn LABOUR RIOT gAT BLACKBURN. London, May 14.—Serious1 noting begau at Blackburn yesterday evening. Thousands of the lower classes of operatives including women, paraded the streets, making violent demonstrations*. The residence of Colonel Jackson, .Chairman of the Master's Association, was burned to the ground The same mob attempted to burn Jackson's mills. The residence of Alderman Hornby was partially wrecked, and the windows of all the mills in the town demolished. A strong force of infantry from Preston has arrived and a troop of cavalry is en route London, May 15.—A Blackburn despatch says :—The troops have cleared the streets. Colonel Jackson and wife barely escaped the mob. Alderman Hornby was struck by stones while remonstrating with the rioters. TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. An exploion occurred in Evane's coal*, mine, Haydock, on June 8, at eleven in the morning. The colliery consists of two mines, the TXavenshead and the Florida, and the explosion was confined to the latter. When the men went to work at 6 a.m.* everything was a§ usual. There were 250 men in the Wood pit Colliery, 18 in the Ravenshead, and the rest in the Florida. The Ravenshead men were got out immediately. Ihe two mines are connected by a tunnel, and it was in working the Florida mine beyond the tunnel that an explosion occurred. It is the general opinion that every man in that part of the mine ia dead. The explorers found dead bodies of men and horses on every side fearfully burnt and mutilated, giving evidence of the fearful force of the explosion. A great fall of coal occurred. The men engaged in exploring the mines are working day and night, endeavouring to reach the place where the bodies are supposed to lie. Great crowds of men and women have assembled in the vicinity of the pit, and great grief prevails. The manager of the mine went down five minutes after the explosion, and, seeing a number of men lying on their faces, opened the ventilating doors, and thus saved the lives of 18 men. The bodies found are much disfigured. THE'GREAT STRIKE IN ENGLAND. During the Lancashire strike the presence of the police and large bodies of military alone held the population in check in the large towns. At Creenhead, near Glasgow, 1,000 operatives struck. At Haslingden a mill was burned down, and there was <great disorder at Preston, where a mob went about smashing windows. Many policemen were injured. At Great Hartford there was a riot, during which almost every window in the town was smashed.

GENERAL VALENTINE BAKER'S

PLUCK.

The Russian line at one time pushed so near to the Turkish works at Constantinople that the latter were manned, ammunition was served out, and General Valentine Baker sent his Aid-de-Camp to notify the Russian commander that he would fire on him if he did not withdraw. That portion of the Turkish line, which covers the entrance to the Bosphorus, was very weak, and the Russians naturally desired to Becure it in case of hostilities.

A CHINESE TORNA"DO. From Five to Ten TnctrsAND Lives Destroyed by a Terrific Cyclone at Canton.— Appalling Incidents of the Destruction.

Correspondence of the Hong Kong "Daily Press," dated Canton, April 14, gives the following particulars of the terrible tornado which, visited Canton and its suburbs on the 11 th oi April :— Passing over the Shameen settlement the storm crossed the canal to the city, carrying away in its course the balustrading of the East Bridge ; a native police-station opposite was also completely destroyed. The storm levelled all-iihe houses in its course, making a clean sweep of .everything, for a width of about ax hundred feet. The mortality has been variously estimated at from five to .ten thousand, and probably the latter number is nearer the mark. Nine thousand houses (speaking in round numbers) are known to have been destroyed, and although many of the inmates had notice of the impending disaster by hearing the noise caused by other houses falling, and made their escape, there are more other cases in which great numbers of people were killed by the fall of a single house. For instance, there was an eating-house in which fifty-two assistants were engaged. In this house there were at the time over one hundred people taking refreshment, and none, either assistants or guests, are known to have escaped. In aD other case twenty-four persons were killed by the destruction of a family house. There was also great destruction of boats and about a thousand lives on the water. As to the bearing away of the dead bodies the Chinese authorities seem to have acted with most commendable promptitude. Almost immediately after the catastrophe orders for four thousand coffins were issued by the Oi Yuk Tong Hospital, and up to the time the steamer left three thousand bodies had been recovered from the ruins, and buried without delay. The work of clearing away the debris was proceeding rapidly, but the stench in some places was unmistakable evidence that there were dead bodies still to be extricated. The violence ot the wind for the few minutes it lasted was as great as that of the severest typhoon. Granite blocks were lifted from their places and hurled a considerable distance ; thick trees snapped in twain like twigs ; roofs were lifted bodily, and boats were carried far on the shore. A row of houses—all brothels but one—forming one side of a short lane in the city, were the scene of one notable catastrophe. The other side of the lane is formed by the side wall of the Nam Cheong temple, which is some thirty feet high. This wall gave way to the force of the tornado, and fell in upon the opposite houses, the inmates ©f which, about one hundred in number, were all killed, most of them being crushed to death, and the remainder suffocated. There was no means of exit at the back, and no one attempted to dig the bodies out of the ruins The narrow creek is still partially choked up with debris, consisting of broken boats and other wreckage, in which are numbers of dead bodies. In many instances whole families have been crushed to death in one boat. The supply of coffins is nearly exhausted, and the undertakers are now, lain told, charging double prices. The villages of Pan Hin Hock and Pah Hock Tang two or three miles to the north, outside the walls, were caught in the storm, ar.d suffered great damage, many dwellinghouses and other buildings being destroyed, and numbers of lives lost. The village across the water, opposite to Shameen, was also partially destroyed. I hear that, though the whirlwind did not effect so much damage at Fatshan as in this port, it has made'sevcre havoc. It is stated by Chinese who have come from -there thafc not less than two hundred houses have been laid prostrate, while about half the boats in the river have been wrecked. The loss of life is put down at several hundred. A passage boat, gcoming Jfrom Fatshan to this city, was, when a short distance off, caught in the tornado,, and instantly capsized. About seventy of the passengers were drowned. The tornado, it appears, came from a direction quite contrary to that in which the clouds had been travelling immediately preceding it. TERRIBLE FAMINE IN CHINA. United States Minister, Seward, writes of the famine in China, that actual famine is pressing upon 15,000,000 of people, while 60,000,000 are suffering more or less distress. Crops have bnen good immediately around the stricken districts, but as food can be transported only on waggons or pack animals, it cannot bo taken thither in sufficient quantities to save the lives of the people. Iv Tientsin, a house made for the accommodation of suffering womeu and children from the famine districts was burned, and 150 lives lost.