San Francisco Mail News.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 103, 1 May 1894, Page 3

San Francisco Mail News.

AMERICAN SUMMARY.

San Francisco, April 5.^ A CHEVALIER D'INDUSTRIE.

William Griffs, alias Lord Ashburton, alias Saville, with a dozen other aßaumed names, was turned out of the Waldorf Hotel. New York, March 20th. He was endeavouring to dispose of $100,000 of forged New Jersey Central bonds, while he owed the hotel a bill of $4,0C0. Griffs haß had a lively and profitable experience in the west. He was obliged to flee from New York twelve years ago for disposing of a lot of forged Bank of England notes. He went to Cheyenne, Colorado, where he disposed of $2,000 of the worthless paper. His attempt to swindle big oil companies abroad later and his subsequent California experience, have already been published. He went to San Francisco, where he pub.up at the Baldwin Hotel, Market-street, under the name. Lord Ashburton, and became a close friend of E. J. Baldwin, the proprietor. He was negotiating for the purchase of a large ranch, when he was arrested by Captain Lees, chief of the detective force of San Francisco. A large number of forged English notes were found on his person. Grifl's, or Saville, was tried, convicted, and sent to the State prison at San Quentin for seven years. He served his full term. On his release he married a young lady of San Francisco, and by her had one child. Superintendent Byrnes, of the New York police force, will now compel Grifla to leave the United States for good. GENERAL NEAL DOW. This great American apostle of temperance reached the ninetieth anniversary of hid birthday on March 20th. The General lives in Portland, Maine. England, in common with all the ' civilised world, celebrated the event. An immense meeting was held in London at night participnted in by Lady Henry Somerset), Frances Willard and other prominenb temperance advocates. The United Kingdom Alliance and _ the British Women's Temperance Association of England enthusiastically adopted the suggestion offered by the World's National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and a picture of General Dow as ho appeared in 1851, when he was Mayor of Portland, and''when the prohibitory law was adopted in thab State, and another picture representing him as he now appears, are to be seen displayed in all the temperanco resorts bbroughoub England. Lady Henry Somerset, Miss Frances Willard, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, and others sent through the Associated Press the following message, which was read at the Portland City Hall during the birthday celebration :~" To General Neal Dow, —A mighty throng gathered In Exoter Hall crowns your 90 beneficent years with love and gratitude, for you can truly say, ' when the ear heard me, then ib blessed me, when the eye saw mo ib gave witness to me. Because I delivered the "poor who cried, and the fatherless, and him that, had none to help him, the bleaaing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness and clothed me, my judgment was a robe and dindem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and the v cauae which I knew nob I searched oub."-—Job 29, xi. xvi.

The old temperance reformer was present at the Maine celebration, and said he was in the best of health. Congratulatory telegrams in large numbers 'were received from all parts of the world.

BEHRING SEA AWARD.

There is perfecb accord between Great Britain and the United States in regard to the plans and methods of enforcing the award. No difficulty, according to Erabaseador Bayard, need bo feared on the subject. In the House of Commons, March 29, on motion of SirCharlesßiißsell, leave was given to introduce a Hill for the enforcement of the award. It provides that any violation of tho terms of tho award is puni3hab'e, and authorises British warships to seize British vessels engaged in their violation, The Bill empowers the Queen, in Council, to'authorise certain named officers of the U.S. Navy equally to seize British ships for violations. In the American Bill a similar provision will be included, empowering British officers to soizo American vessels. The Bill fixes tho time forclosing the fisheries specifies the protective area, prescribes the authorised modes of capture, and gives a rule by which tho system of licenses may be worked. The real mission oE U.S. Admiral John G. Walker, who sailed from San Francisco, April stln as passeneer on board the Oceanic steamship Mariposa, for Honolulu, is to secure Pearl Harbour, in Hawaii, na one of the stations and bases of supplies for th 9 war vessels palicing the ocean for the protection of seals, San Francisco and Yokohama bein&" tho others. Sir George Baden-Powell, who was British Commissioner in, tho Behring Sea investigation, said to a reporter of tho " Associated Preee," April 4bh :—"The Bohring Sea Bill seems to bo drafted with the object of destroying, and not preserving the scale. It will not, in my opinion, in any way assist in preserving tho seals. I regard ijj as inhuman to urge the sealers to take the female seals in pup. The Bill, in my opinion, will tend to destroy the seal industry ashore and at Bea. Arrangements, however, could easily have been made to proserve the seals and the industry had expert advice been taken. 1 am certain the Americans and Canadians are equally anxious to preserve the Beals, and all the parties interested ought to combine and devise new regulations which would be scientifically adequate. Bub if the three Governments have agreed on it, the Bill must pass, although experts regard ib as worse than useless." As the result of a further exchange ot views between London and Washington, the Attorney-General, Russell, withdrew the Behring Sea Bill, which he introduced in the Commons on Thursday, 29th, and it was re-introduced with modifications on Thursday, April sbh.