NEWS BY THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 4177, 17 January 1879, Page 3

NEWS BY THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

rssuxntsr α-vd the afshan wab. rAiti-i-»— .A Cos land, J:tnaary Jβ. The fo'losin? i* her speech at the ° ?Ba^aly £ i£r£a3d n <sentle3iea of t~e House of °!? T tba: I hare been oUind to.call for at an ungual and probably to m Garern:nent manifested taariTiS ay au . the manner my friendly mission left 13 * to make a peremptory EC no This demand havin? been d -^ ad f Z ThZve &**&*■ an expedit on to be earliest < J*rvritJ comniQnic*tion required by isafcß* that the papers on the » *j,l,>Meod]y feelings, and I have erery rf • «»* arrangements for the **T «iTrfEnrope made by the Treaty of carried into effect, "flffltlsnen of the House of Commons— "If prejerA&oa. aad Trill ia due time be and GfflttoenT ursoosetiuit. after foil deliberation upon the tS»*4ii hare led mc to anticipate your *~3r2nje of meeting, and after suitable recess mtTihatid proceed to the consideration of SaSm""" B ior the public benefit -which _iU than be laid before you. .' *I «afi iently commit to your wisdom the great iaterests of my empire, and I pray that the blessia? of Almighty God may attend your In the Honse of Lords in the debate on the gseech Earl Granrilie complained of several emissions in tne Qceen's speech, particularly tii- absence o£ any mention of the war ia South Africa, which wa3 received with great anxiety by thsse best acquainted with the colony. Nobody doubted the absolute prerogative of the Crsim to make war or peace; but was perfectly certain that the continual resnrrence of such emprises would seriously weaken the fc-unda-tioas of the prerogative. Ijord Lytton'a comBnaications to the Ameer of Afghanistan were iarsh and indiscreet. He concluded as follows : "Howerer unnecessary war may have been, however much ire may be convinced that you have completely played into the band; of our great riv>i, we urge this House to co-operate in the strongest m»nner with the House of Comnoas to make the most ample provision for the eta of our gallant troops. Wβ trnst the Gorerament ha* not made fallacious estimates, underrating the expenditure, as in the AbysEiaian war.

Lord Cranbrook declared that he accepted the responsibility for his de«patch. He pointed out that Lord Granville in 1873 declined to intimate to Russia that any aggression on Afghanistan would meet with British resistance.

Farl Grey moved an amendment to the a_dre?s expre sing regret that Parliament was not summoned as soon as possible after war became probable. The Duke of Somerset cordially supported the prosecution of the war. The Marquis of Saiisbury rep-died the personal charges that be had deceived Parliament, denying that there had been any change cf policy towards Afgh*m*tan. gar! Be—eonsfield then addressed the House. *ge criticised the attitude of the Opposition, and _a__ised them to attack directly the justice sad policy of the war. He l-tated that the J3_pee_on of Cyprus hy his colleagues showed tist 6s island surpassed all the Government's expßci3_aas. and would soon be recognised as ens at fto most influential positions in the £r_£sli cbminioDß. In conclusion, he paid the {JareHU-eut were prepared to meet Parliament's geeision, however it might affect tbe Ministry inemdua-y; but he hoped the House would decide to maintain tbe Empire, and not sanction * policy which mistakes timidity for wisdom. The amendment moved by Earl Grey was Ejected, and the address adopted without divit__. In the House of Commons, the Marquis of Hartiugton made a declaration ->imilsir_ to that rf Lord Granville. He slid the war having been commenced, it was necessary for the security of India to conduct it vigorously.

_• Mr Gladstone spoke briefly, expressing the hope that the House would have more information before a vote of credit was a?_ed. Sir Stafford N'ortfccote denied that the Government had purposely picked a quarrel •jrith the Ameer, or desired an extension of territory. The address was adopted by the House without -iv—danTHZ AM-KB'S ATTITUDX.

The Ameer of Afghanistan has held a meeting ef his Council, at which, he declared that ___gi» _-ospit-tity to Afghan traders made it ins duty to give *8» "Russian embassy a cordial reception. He ordered the Ke per of the Seals to read to the Council an account of the power aad f«T"f of Russia. The Ameer brought the proceeemgs to a«Kicrasion by saying, "Return to your posts, aud sharpen your swords to meet the enemy ef your country." BUgSIA-T VI-WS AND _*Ov_M_H__. Tha fet. Petersbnr_ tx>rrespondent of the *'Vienna Evening Post" affirms the statement that the Russian Government has offered its good offices as mediator in the Afghan difficulty to England. The same correspondent announces that a good road, practicable for heavy vehicles aud artillery, is being made by Russians from Samarcand in tbe direction of Balk— and Cabal, and that the road v to be completed in four months.

Rasa-n newspapers express astonishment at t_ft prompt and successful action of the British troops in Afghanistan, but they warn the English not to boast too soon.

T_e B-sssn Government are much surprised at the speedy success of the British troops, and are quite unprepared for active interference.

A-vices from Orenburg state that, in consequence of the_ concentration of Chinese forces e_ the Russian frontier, aad reported pacifiCttka of K-otan, the Russia- fort of Narva las hem' strongly reinforced. The Chinese Mir_orced their outposts.

The "Cologne Gazette" remarks that the dacger of collision between England and Russia ja Central Asia is less remote than English wwtpapers appear to imagine. There are __ssi_n troops at present stationed not more tian seven or eight days' journey from Merv, tad the distance from Merr to Herat might be tcw«sed in twelve or fifteen days. The road lf_(_ through fertile districts, abounding in food $0* nan and beast, only about a third part «.tS» distance being steppe. Ii ought jo ie borne in mind, says the "Gazette," aUt Russia has an army of 100.000 men in the Gnesjas, which might without difficulty be conTtyte across the Caspian to the mouth of the war Aire-, Cnce there Merv is within easy lesdu

Tke S-tttsn army has once more been placed npoa a war footing. 300,000 men are in the Knexed provinces, and a force of 40,000 will pass the winter in large camps near Gumri and Xkxvsa. Recruiting is going on incessantly. Some heavy guns are being mounted at Kais. v _ T-BKISH VIEWS. • Several i_iporiant Turkish personages, he_*ri_g that tha attitude of the Russians in Uaamelia w_l lead to fresh war, in which England will be the a_y_ of Turkey, have been asxtsos to convince _ir Henry Layard that the _—si efficacious way of making war against A%-__stan would be to engage the Russians in &ropa. Among those immediately snrround--3*5 the Saltan, however, the ideas of pea?e aud 3*__&lity prevail. The Porte, nevertheless. «wss to anticipate momentous erents, and *'*A that impression is now desirous of coming fetarjaj with Austria.

TH_ Btrsst-S* STcrr-snTs. At St. Petersburg on December 11th several lapdrea students assembled before the Crarewitch's pdace to present a petition. The <**»*wi__-_»ii- g _t S«irs_owe, the IVefect of *«&» fcastaied to the palace, received the petition, and ordered the crowd to disperse. On tlelS-i inst. a meeting was held to protest *S*hsst the violence of the soldiers. The occur•gainst which the students protested were ?*J®ww— The Prefect of Peiioehad promised to ?%*b answer to the petition calling attention of students, and requesting ™* 'abjr&iion of their colleagues arrested at P* Instead of any reply being given, **r taHeges were surrounded by 2000 genr*]* 8 and Cossacks, aad two hundred arrests ?*_-. The Cosj-acka Hied whips and severj were injured. The drawbridge oyer **•Sera was removed to prevent thousands cf i the south side. The lecture **h hid _aea c o«d. is conspienomrly posted forin St. Petersburg district ™*l*"by aathcrizat_ra. It is rumored that the wmporary clo__g « t_e nniversities is seriously «"2t«ap__s_ The Car proposed to appoint a collectively f ß *-l OI^«e-_3iet.

—-/p 3 * DISTRESS IS _XG___D. <u__J" w r*-sP*** distress in Sbeffieid. A ee_--9?. &r tie supply of sixty thousand tons <£acaj>Utes being diverted to South Wales |****» tfiel*sof three hundred thousand pounds •? the distr__. Hundreds of families are living Sj o6B wH_ar_t fttrnitnre or fires. One firm •mcii employed twelve hundred hands has jf***«sl its employes io forty. The Bcarf of Supervision at Edinburgh, *na the Mayors of Liverpool and Mane-ester, _*jpk%i-,t_e ordinary mean- of relief were at H?£**ffdfident to meet all necessities. A. Birmi_g__ a ihe Mayor declared tbe »li*wwire and increasing daily. ** 2C<K) children and 3000 adults re•**»i a aid last week, The STajror's relief fond *MBB_i to 30.0W-ollai.. •at Stoektoa ii* distress is increasing. Ejrrafamilies and workers are dest_»tß. fe?£l_S____^ t *** aß< * te * * 88f JBCe

At Edinburgh a deputation of -nemp'oved' men waited on the for employment. At Gla-gow the depression and di-tress is unexampled. The streets are swarming with idle TOcea and children. A Dundee dispatch says there is much misery in that part of Scotland. a t Manchester rati numbers of middle cla** poor, who will not appeal to chari-y, are suffering keenly. Lost-ox, December 22. The proposed reduction of twelve ar.d h Jf per ce-t % in the wages of colliers ia South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire has affected one hundred thousand men. A monster meeting will be held soon when a proposal for striking in mass at the commencement of the year will be discussed. London, December 19. A number of Oldham mills have commenced running part of their machinery at a reduction. The strike has entered upon the fourth week, and there has been lost in wages alone .£60,000. There is great distress, and appeals are being made for relief by the laboring classes. THE GOOCH CASS. The Gooch case has been another sensation of the month. The charge against Lady Gooch was that she unlawfully conspired with another woman to palm oS on her husband a strange child as her owiu All the proceedings had commenced, when Sir Francis Gooch wished to re- i tire from the prosecution, but the case had gone too far, and the attempted imposture was of too i

■ serious a nature to justify the magistrates in preventing it from going before a jury. Sir Francis had been rather roughly handled in society for having taken the proceedings against his wife in a matter which was so palpably an imposture, but unless absolnte measures had now _een taken, forty years hence it would be very difficult to disprove any illegal claims to the estates dependent upon the issue of the trial. Sir Francis Gooch only did what wa3 right in the interests of his family. Instead of censure, he deserves pity. When Lady Gooch ap-eireJ in Court her face was deadly pale, find she was supported on the arm of her solicitor. On being seated, she put on a dark thick veil. On the seesnd day, just at the opening of the proceedings, the swooned away and fell upon the doer of the Court. After iha was carried out screams were heard from the adjoining room, where she had been carried, and where she was held up in paroxysms of hysterics. Her conduct seems to have been "dictated partly by hatred of the br*.nc_ of the family to which the estate would revert in default of her issue, and partly by a forlorn hope of winning back the estranged affections of her husband. V- THE r-OSIEBANIA DISASTER. The papers give a detailed account of the terrible disaster in the British Channel in the loss of the steamship Pomerania by collision with the Welsh barque, Noel Ellans. The steamship sailed from New York on the 14th of December for Hamburg with a moderate passenger list and a crew of over 100. She touche l at Ph mouth on tha night of the 24th, and landed a small number of passergers: On leaving that port the passenger list numbe ed 109, principally steerage. Ihe disaster occurred on the following night during the prevalence cf a. dense fog iv the Channel, at all times swarming with shipping of every oe-cription. The locality was not far from where the great German ironclad Grosser Kurfurst met her fate in broad day less than a year ago. Ihe steamer was proceeding cautiously with an extra watch iv the bows and on the bridge. The captain was also at his post. Suddenly the barque came bowling through the fog before a free wind at right angles with the course cf the Pornerania, •and bafore any time was permitted for the slightest mauoeuvreiug she struck the steamer ami-ship, and the latter went down in ten minutes. Tha steamer Glengarry happened to be close in the vicinity and went to the rescue, and 170 were saved out of a tot<d of about 320, passengers and crew. Captain Schwaren was on his cue hundred and fifty-first passage across the Atlantic as commander. After the collision he maintained his post on the bridge, directing the movements of tho crew for the rescue of passengers, and he went down with h;s ship. " The conduct of this faithful and heroic commander," says an English paper, " presents a lesson, and it is useless to suggest in what direction it applies." Thos. Blight, a certificated officer of the British Mercantile Marine, is detained as witness by the Board of Trade. Be was a passmger on the steamship, and says the Pomeranii was going at half to three-quarter speed. There was a good look ont, th ■ lights were burning, ; and it was very foggy. He heard no whistle or fog horn before the steamer sank. 1 _?re was

ticae to save every life, if order had been main-tai'-.ed. He was beside the captain when the latter put on his life belt. He heard no orders given. It was too late for ord s rs. One of the oficera to!d him the doors of the watertight bulk heads were all open. Theie was'no more sea than usual ia the Thames. AH could have been saved if the sailors had not rushed to the boats. The captain was saved by means of a spar on which he floated till he was picked up by the steamer City of Amsterdam, the same vessel that rescued most of the passengers. The eon. tractor for raising the German ironclad has signed a contract for raising tha Pomerania also. J_TSC___ANEOU_. Londot* (undated). Intelligence received from Quillan, on the West Coast of Africa, says earth works had been thrown up to protect the. town, an attack by the Aridoanabs being expected. Captain Ellis, the commandant, was attacked in a boat on the lagoon, and narrowly escaped with his life. Five natives were shot in the affray. It is stated that the number of arrests made in Rome are estimated at 200. The police have seized a large quantity of placards threatening death all who should join in the ovation to the king. Sir Henry Layard forwarded to the Marquis of Salisbury a request England should guarantee a projected Turkish loan {for The Porte has concluded a loan of .£630,000 with the Ottoman Bank, and another of £ 1,000,000 with Messrs Zariff. In consequence of the increase of atrocities and murder j ia Switzerland, the Council of State has agreed to discuss the restoration of capital punishment. The Princess Alice died of diphtheria. The Princess was in a state of unconsciousness from 2.30 am. until the time of her death. The flags at Windsor Castle were at half-mast, and the bells at the Royal Chapel and Eton College were tolling. Nearly all the houses, publio and private, in the royal borough^were closed. The Duke of Cumberland and Princess Thyra ! arrived with great pomp at the chapel of Chris-tians-erg. castle on the evening of Saturday, December 21st. j The Bishop of Durham has resigned through ill-health.

It is rumored that Alexandretta, a seaport in the north of Syria, has been ceded by Turkey to England. The Derby cotton mill at Bolton waa destroyed by fire, tha loss being £25,000. Mr Isaac . Butt has been denounced by Mr John O'C nnor Power as a traitor to Home Rule aud the Irish can=e.

Mr John Buskin declines the Slade Professorship at Oxford. Ihe Britisli Government has abandoned the intention of granting relief to the Ehodope fugitives.

Mr Tottenham, a Conservative, was returned for New Ross, defeating Mr Delaney, a Home Ruler.

Mr Gladstone intends to come forward as a candidate at Midlothian.

The great Triatoru Colliery Company have closed their mines.

By a eol'ision in the Mersey, fifteen persons were drowned from the ferry boat.

O'Connor, convicted of Fenianism, has been released from Spike Island. The Canadian loan of 3,000,000, at 4 per cent., half guaranteed by the Imperial Government, has been placed on the market, and was ! allotted at the mi-imum price of Bvh per cent. Business in silver is at a complete stand still. William Henry Palmer, known as B. Heller, the maeician. leaves .£i2s a year to Haidee, who assisted him» his performance, £125 to his wife and the balance of his wealth to his brother Angelo, of Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. Sir F. McClnre, a Liberal, has been returned for Londonderry, beating Mr Alexander, a Conservative. Obituary—Geo. Henry Lever, author ; Alfred Wignan, author; the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury. ~ . . . Captain White Melville, the novelist, broke bis neck iv the hunting fi--ld. Karl Ferdinand .iutzkow, the German dramatic poet, is also dead. The failures for the moitb are BUston Loan and Discrunt Company with liabilities ; Henry Taylor and Sons, grain and flmr merchants, G-asgow, liabilities .£1 300,000; J. J. Fentbn aud tons, private bankers. Bochdale, and Heywood, r-r-nth. and Co. (failure announced on October 3rd), with liabilities estimated at JE3.000.000; James Ramsey, Dundee, merchant, £8*0,000: Gallemot and Weyland, bankers - Hprahwd, merc-ant, Stockholm; Caledoriin Bank, Glasgow. - The West of England and South Wales Bank has suspended. 1 hey propose to re-construct the bank by assessing indhridnal stockholders. The Odessa CoromerdJ Bank went into _»_uil_tioaonthal4th. - Further failures are—Fox, Walker, and Co., Atlas Engme Works, Bristol; Zubina and 00., ireti ore importers, *£ Cardiff and Newport, Woke; MoKean, Tibley, tad Co., merchants, Bradford, for jSSS.OOO.

AirsaicAN. A swindler named William Griffin has been arrested at San Francisco for extensive forgeries on the Union Bank, London, in the shape of letters of credit passed on Baldwin, the mining millionaire and proprietor of Baldwin's Theatre _&od tit—-jJ A plan is no4er consideration to cansolidate the __i_naiid Ce_i_ai Pacific Kaflroads under one management. ..."...

The Marquis of Lome was, AWO»a fa *& £}over_or-G«_ier»l ot the dominion 0 a the 25th -tfsmft-.. yStfi* were great festivities aaihe ocfUMVh

McMohon, of New Jarsey, accepted Weston's proposal t j walk ia Sua Francisco 5-2 miles in 14i hours. The Harvard Boat Clcb are p-tbusiastic in the r d-jte-minatio- ti challenge the oarsmen of the two English Universities lor an cight-carid race next rummer. l>e_M Kean-ty, the agitator, was received on hi? return to __n Francisco by a procession of nearly 5000 working men, with banners and mu^ic. Clara Louise Kellogg quarrelled with the manager because a new prima donna, Lita, eclipsed her ia the estimation of the musical public. Chinamen are being l naturalised in New York. The steamship New Zealand, from New York for Antwerp, returned on the 27th with her cargo on fire. Virginia refused to observe a thanksgiving day on President Hayes* proclamation. Mra "i iltou has been formally expelled from Beecher's Church at Brooklyn. Orville Grant, brother of the ex-President, has been released from the Insane Asylum, cured. Mackay, the Bonanza king, has given Gilmore aud Bind-nann 150,00(1 dols to insure their European professional tour against loss. The British ship Thalia, from Glasgow to Honolulu, foundered at eea. Part of the crew reached Valparaiso. Bayard Taylor, the traveller and author, formerly United States Minister to Germany, i 3 dead from dropsy. A mutiny occurred on board the British barque Anaway, on her voyage from New York to Trieste. The mate was killed and others wounded. The captain shot one of the mutineers. Gold waß sold at par in New York on the 18th for the first time since the suspension of specie payment in 1862.