AMERICAN SUMMARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 93, 21 April 1893, Page 4

AMERICAN SUMMARY.

San Francisco, March 31.

THE AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

Postmaster Backds, of San Francisco' received a letter from N. M. Brooks, Superintendent) of Foreign Mails at Washington, March 28th, announcing that a change has been made in the days of departure for mail steamers from San Francisco to Auckland. As the mails from London for Australia and New Zealand will, from April nexb, be carried across tbe Atlantic by either of the Cunard Steamship Company's steamers Etruria or Campania, which are fast vessels, it is anticipated that mails will raach San Francisco one day earlier than hitherto ; it ia therefore necessary that the steamers leave San Francisco one day earlier.

I There is a bitter fighb going on in New ] York bebween ElbridgeGerry,of the Society for the prevention of cruelty to children, and the managers of the different theatres. Gerry insists on clearing the , stage of children, and the theatrical people resist his interference. The ' parties appeared before the New York \ Stage Legielation March 29th, and made ■ a showing pro. and con. ae to a new 1 measure proposed to be passed, Gerry ! said this meant thab the lives of hundreds of little girls would be ruined. ( Manager, M. A. Palmer, gave ib as his [ solemn testimony fchab ho never saw children more carefully looked after and I lovingly tended than the children on the stage. Joe Jefferson denied that the stage ' exerted a bad effect on the health. On the ' contrary, the theatrical profession was a ' healthy one and contributed to longevity. ' He was in favour of stage children. He j himself had gone on the stage when bhree ' years old.in fact,ho added,there was a tradi- ' tion that he had been carried on in long ( clothes. ' An onormoua moteor passed northerly ' over Ballard, South Bartara county, Cali- j fornia, at 11 o'clock on the night of March • 14th. It was so close to bhe earth that its ' rush through the air sounded like a mighty wind. Its light was as if the '. heavens were on fire. Fifteen soconds after its passage three intense explosions were heard, and tho windows of dwellings rattled i like castanete. The locality of the fall is thouught to be in tho hills north of Los ' QUvoe, i i Earthquakes were felt ab Jamaica, Long | | lßland,;.New York, March 14. No damage: was done beyond a lively shaking up. i JACK THE RIPPER, The police of New York, says a dispatch from that city, March 21st, are inclined to think that they have the olu3ive "Jack the Ripper" in thoir clutches. A woman was ripped up the side on Sunday night, 19th and a big knife left sticking in the wound. The knife was traced to one Frank Castellano, an Italian barber, whoso record has been under the police, search-light. They have discovered that until recently he was a fireman on board one of the transAtlantic steamers, and there are several circumstances connected with the case thab incline the police to believe Castollano is none other than tho myaterious "Jack the Ripper," who has kopb the fallen women of London in terror for the last two years. Some go so far as to say that the prisoner will be found to be identical with the mysterious man who accompanied " Old Shakespeare " to the East River Hotel on the night of her murder, and for whose death "Frenchy, the Greek " is now serving a term in the State prison at Sing Sing, New York. Every effort will be made to secure a complete account of Castellano's travels and operations during the past few years. LOSS OF THE WHITE STAR STEAM. SHIP NARONIC. British steamship Coventry which arrived at Bremen, March 20th, from Fernandina, Flinda, brought news making certain the loss of the White Star freight steamer Naronic, which sailed from Liverpool for New York, February 11th, and had nob been heard from till the Coventry's reporb was made. On March 4th, while the reporting steamer was south-west of Sable leland, oft the coast of Newfoundland, she sighted two life-boats bearing the< j name Naronio, keel upwards, and giving i evidences of having passed through a very I ! severe storm. Appearances indicated thab j I neither boab had been very long adrift, j ! There is a chance thab the occupanbs had ; i been picked up by a passing vessel. One j iof tho boats was passed at 2 o'clock in the | | morning and the other at 2 o'clock in the ] afternoon. That the Naronie i 3 at the | bottom of the sea is not doubted, but the j | cause of tho disaster is of course a matter of j conjecture. | William Johnson, winter watchman a j j Oclan View, Virginia, near the mouth of ! Chisapeake Bay, picked up on the beach of j i that place, March 29th, a champagne bottle with several corks tied about its cock, and with a letter inclosed giving alleged information of the sinking of the Naronie. Ib] reada:—"3.lo a.m., February 19. steam-,, ship Narouic, White Star Line, ab sea —To who picks this up : Report where you find this to our agents, if nob heard of before, that our ship is I fast sinking beneath tho waves, and it is such a storm we can never live in email boats. -One boat has already gone with her human cargo below. God let all of us live through this. We were struck by an iceberg in a blinding snow storm, and floated two hours. Now it is 3.20 a.m. by my watch, aud the great ship's deck is level with the sea. Report to the agents at Broadway, New York, M. Kerser and Co. Good-bye all.—John Or.soN, cattleman' On the same day the bottle came ashore, Jobn Brown, at Long Branch, New Jersey, shot a strange pigeon that was among his flock. Upon its leg was found a small silver band, bearing tho following : " N. 13. 301." It iB thought the bird was aleo a messenger from the lost steamer. The bottle story is questioned, because it would be impossible for it to float against the Gulf Stream. The pigeon flew from Philadelphia, and not from the sea.