THE MAIL. MINERAL PRODUCE OF THE KINGDOM.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXI, Issue 5465, 27 February 1875, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MAIL. MINERAL PRODUCE OF THE KINGDOM.

Wk learn from tho introduction to the Minei.il Statistics for 1873, that tho tctal value of tho co.il ami otlicr minerals raised in tlio UnHcd Kingdom in tliat year was C70,722,i)!)2, of which motals composed C2l,40'.),878, coal £47,029,787, and earthy and other minerals £1,681,834. The following ii a geiicrrtl summary of tile returns of the mineral produce fol 1 1S7.1* tl'd lirtcst returns Avhich have vot been publishell i- -

A LONDON FEVER DEN. Some evidence q£ a very horrible nature witli regard to a fever, den in Holborn was given at an inquest held oil the uody oF a man named William Stone, aged fifty-four, of Leopard's Court, Baldwin's gardens, Holborn, who died of fever under very distressing circumstances. It appeared from the evidence of the relioving officer that lie was asked by a missionary to visit the house whero deceased liycd. He did visit >t, and this is the spectacle that met his uyw, On the Becond floor he found two bedsteads. On one was a young woman aged nineteen and a child twenty months old. On 'the other, in the same room, were three children aged eleven, nine, and six years. All were suffering from fever. The deceased, who was a baker, looked ill, and complained that the f fiver ai'dde fi'dni the "stench of the house," and that the dust had not been removed for two months. The relieving officer looked and found a largo heap of dust. There was no cover to the water cistern. No water on where it should be ; no traps to the sinks' ; and the windows would »?* let down from the top, The relieving officer reported the case to the sanitary officers, "but the room had not been disinfected or anything done" The deceased, although smitten by the fever, continued to work, notwithstanding that he was warned by the relieving officer that he would carry the fever inhis clothes, until he was obliged to take to his bed, whore he soon died. Iho jury returned a verdict that the deceased "expired from blood-poisoning, accelerated by the unsanitary condition oftiie house, and want of proper nourishment."

A STEPFATHER'S CRUELTY. The Cincinatti Commercial states :— On the night of the 13th of last month a barber, named Jacob Zimmer living at No. 93,Racestreet, returned home drunk and commenced to break up the household furniture.' His crippled stepdaughter, Delia Bro^ssard by name, attempted to pacify him m liis intoxicated rage, and he, maddened by her persuasive endeavours, seized a burning coal oil lamp from a table and hurled it at hen The lamp was shattered upon* the floor, and the contents igniting set fire to the girl's elofliing, burning her body terribly before "the flames were quenched. Zimmer was arrested and taken to the Third Street Police Station^ where the charge of disorderly conduct was entered against him. In the Police Court his dASe wa« continued to await the development of the injui-ed girl's case, and the prisoner in the meantime was aentto jail. Dr, Holcomb wa* called tovdtona the patient and did -what ho could, but owing to' the poverty of the family the girl was not as well provided for as circumstances called for. Soon after the coal oil burning the bed of the sufferer was set on fire from a lamp in the bands of her mother, who was attending her, and had not oifiders, Quinn and Tierney been within sound of the alarm which was given, and estinguished the flames, the unfortunate creature would undoubtedly have been roasted alive. In the second fire, however, the girl was not harmed, but in tho first her injuries was such as to cause intense agony, after suffering- which until yesterday morning she died. The screams of the unfortunate girl distressed'tho whole neighbourhood.

THE EARL OF GROSVENOR'S MARRIAGE. ' Tho Earl of Grosvcnor, eldest son of the Duke of Westminster, and heir to oue of the greatest fortunes in tho world, was married on the 3rd inst. to Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, daughter of the Earl of Scarborough. The wedding was a most brilliant affair. I transcribe tho description of the . dresses of the bride and bridesmaids : — " The bride's dress was of rich white satin, with Brussels laco flounces } a wreath , of ( t myrtle and orange blossoms, and Brussels ' lace" veil, fastened by diamond stars. She I alBO wore a pearl necklace, and a pearl and 'diamond cross, the gift of the Duke and . Duchess of Westminster. The eight brides- > maids were similarly attired in dresses com- ' posed of ruby velvet skirt anii sleeves, with | pale blue Sicilienne tunics, velvet Rubens I hats and feathers. Each young lady wore a crystal locket, the gift of Earl Grosvenor, set I round with diamonds, and diamond bow with ! enamelled monogram- in tho centre. The i Marquis of Stafford (eldest son of the Duke ' of Sutherland) > was* best man, and the knot j was > tied by the Archbishop of Armagh. Two days later the Duke of Westminster's brother, Lord Richard Grosvenor, M.P., was married at Westminster* Abbey to the Hon. Beatrice Vesey, daughter of Viscount do Vesci. This, was also a very stylish, affair. I The' bridesmaids were nine in number.— I Correspondent, > f " "

* A SAD CASE OF HUSBAND AND 5 WIFE : A SCENE IN COURT. An occurrence perhaps without a jmraUel I was witnessed at the close of the assizea at ! Chester, .oLwhioh the Manchester Guardian ' gives tke~ 7 f6ll&wihg account :— Mary Lancaster, thirty-three, was indicted for tho i manslaughter of her husband, John Lancas- ' ter, at Birkenkead. The deceased had long Aed the prisoner a wretched life, and on sSept 13 he came home drunk, and kicked i over 'the meat 'which she was preparing for his dinner. He then thrajhed her, and in a passion the prisoner threw at him a sharpening steel, and caused his death. The prisoner was a hard-working woman, and in spite of her husband's bmtnl treatment of her, had done her best to make his j homo comfortable. The jury found the prisoner "Guilty." Mr. Justice Brett, addressing the prisoner, then said : I believe that if I thought it right to act according to your own feelings, 1 should say nothing about this unhappy husband of yours. As far as I can see you were a respectable, hard-working, well-behaved wife, and I feel bound to say a greater brute than your .husband was I have seldom heard of. There are circumstances in the depositions oven worse than those which have been brought forward. They show that, even oji the very last clay you were together, you were doing all yon could to make his homo comfortable and to make him happy. With a brntality which made me shudder when I .read it, ho cast away that which you had prepared for him. lie has been boating and ill-treating you for months, probably for years, and it is nothing but the tenderness and forgivonoss of the woman and wife which prevented you fr,oin having him punished for crimes he committed against you time after time. It was oidy when he has driven you to desperation by ill-treating you the whole day, and I daresay was on the point of ill-treating you again, that you, in a moment of passion took up a weapon and threw it at him, ' It did strike In'm, and ytti immediately ran for assistance and did all yon could to save him. < All tho jreal right in this case was on your Bide — alltho real wrong on youv husband's ; and God forbid that I should punish you. I will be no party to it. I will not even make this

|ii(l<ri](cnL complete. I Mill mil allow it bo saul l>y anybody -Lluifc yuii ate ,i comicted fdlon— '(Hear, Iie»r) — f«i* a conviction is not complete until u wentcuec it passed, juhI I mean to pass no aenlerice at all (Loud cheering, which for some timo the niheialB of tho court vainly endeavored to silppi o&s ) I dial) merely ask you to enter into your own rocogilisatfeos to coinc up for judgment if called upon, niut hf/body in the world will ever call upon you— (Add SmAnd they ever should. (Renewed cheering, (Wring which the prisoner left tho dock.)

faiPlASO WITH A CORONER. The 'fWrltoriul Enlttfpme states :—RecentlV 1 ai* etciicii individual, with l\is hat standing on two ftirii* «mrf Mb eyes projecting from his head like tlio Itdrite of a snail, lushed into the olTice of Coroner Hallftes. Tli9 Coroner is by profession a dentist, and his lirst tlfmigM as ho glanced at the man was that he was tfell nigh distracted with the toothache. Ho was sodtt iitidecoived however, as the frenzied individual cti«d out as soon as ho could catch his breath after running upstairs : " Been a man murdered I" "A man murdered "cried the coroner. " tldvr 1 Where?" "In a garding? I believe. with A club or a rook" «' How] long aso!' cried the c'oronc*, seizing his hat and cane. "Been done a gooft Whilo, and no polico nor constables hasnt nevef done ttotl»W about it. Never been no coroner se« <fli M« body or nothin o ! the kind; no verdict-' 1 M^»*)» man's name? Who was U f cried the coroner. " His name was Abel." Abtil 7 Abel who?" "Don't know. Never heard nothing but his first name." ' ell, what is the liairia of the roan who killed him .1 ' Vo they know ? Any olid Mtepacted ?" '/ Well, I've heard that a fellow Ctaol'lWt out his light. Cain was the brother of Abdl, ail d_" Coroner flourishing his cane, cries : "You get down them stairB, my fine fellow. Git, and don't show yourself here again;" With a loud guffaw the fellow went down Stairs, thfee steps ttt a tune, the doctor calling after hiifa i " Ho* dare yon trifle with an officer in this way, iifr

CLASS HATES OF 'MORTALITY. In a recently published work on " Statistics of Families in the Upper and Professional Classes," Mr. Charles Ansell givgs Bontd interesting tables, •bowing the rates of mortality in dlffef«tt#'fleptipTiS'<rf tho cominunity. Out of every 100,000 individuals belonging to the. 'Teerage family olass," 88,000,(lived,tototr years of age, 86,000 to 15 years, 83,000 to 20 years, 75,500 to 30 years, 69,000 to 40 years, and 05,000 were still living" ah 46 yeard, ' The " Upper class list" gives a rather he'avW fate up to 25 years, but the difference gradually disappears, until at 45 years the [lines showing the rates join. But when the " Carlisle Table," which includes .all class&s of the community, is applied, the average rate of mortality becomes enormously increased. Out of every 100,000 children born alive only 64,500 were alive at 10 years of age 63,000 at 15 years, 61,000 at 20 years, 56,500 at 30 years, 51,000 at 40 years, and 47,000 at 45 years. From this it will be seen thatthe peerage families and tipper class sections of the nation possess greater probabilities of life than the community atlargfli But the most suggestive part of the table is that giving the mortality among infants of tender years. In the Peerage family class, 7,000 out Of every 100,000 died in their first year, and tho total inoWfclity under 5 years was 10,000 r while in., the Upper class the number of deaths'in the lirst year was 8,000. and the avcrago under 5 years 13,000. ButtheCail sletableshows 16, 001) deaths within 1 year, and a total of 32,000 under 5 years. The cause of this terrible discrepancy betweOn the rate of infant jnortalitV prevailing in the higher classes and' that ,f$md, in the lower is not far to seek, Agreeing, with the theory recently -'advanced W the* toedical officer of health for Islington, 1 Mr. Ansell attributes the-' higher rate of 'Mortality nmong the lower, clas«es to the f&llowing causes ji-JjiBufficiency <v"'l improper description of food, deficiency of clothing, neglect on tho part of* parents, and, {most fertile and subtle of all, crowded and unhealthy dwellings. Since this last agent of destruction is clearly preventiblo, a heavy weight of responsibility rests with the Legislature in permitting the continued existence of the evil. — Olooe.

RATHER EXPENSIVE FURS. The following is from a Paris letter to the Philadelphia North American :— The subject of furs brines to ray mind the Empress of I Russia's visit to Paris, on her way to the South from England, which she visited on the occasion of the confinement of her daughter, the Duchess of Edinburgh. The cloak her Majesty of the North wore on her arrival is said to be of the value of 100,000 francs, consisting of the richest Siberian 'zhibelline. Not less than 228 skins were employed in the cloak, each skin being ' estimated at 300 francs. But this is far from coming up to the value of the fur trimmings of a coat of the Emppror of Russia, which, consisting of blue fox, a most rare and 1 valuable fur, js worth upward of 120,000 ! francs. Madame Adelina Patti, the Mari guise de Caux, received as a present from the I Emperor Alexander, during her late visit to ' St. Petersburgh, a set of magnificent furs of i the value of 50,000 francs. She may be said ' to sing to some purpose. The equipage of the Marquise when she arrived in Paris created no little sensation. Black horses, bells, furs, and even coachman, were all gotten up in true Russian style. Nothing was wanting ; the pretty prima % donna herself, sitting gracefully within, and looking as if waiting for the ovations which were awaiting her on the Parisian boards in her part of Valentine in "The Huguenots"— new to her admirers here, though one of her 1 early successes in New Orleans.

MISCELLANEOUS: 1 Four thousand persona 'waited in the 'streets all night at Paris to see the execution of Moreau, who poisoned his two wives — and the execution was postponed. Grasshopper Plague m Kansas : The grasshopper plague in Kansas have caused fearful devastation ; out of 158,000 acres of corn planted not a bushel has been gathered; 20,000 persons are destitute in consequence. A railway disaster occurred in Ohio, near Cincinnatti, on* the 16th of October, which shows the bravery with which some railway servants meet death. A passenger train, owing to a misplaced switch, plunged through a bridge, the driver and stoker being instantly killed, butalltheothors on thetrainbeingsaved through their heroism. These men might have saved themselves by jumping, as the train was going only at 12 miles an .hour, but they remained at their posts, the driver applying the air-brake when.he discovered the misplaced switch, so that the passenger coaches were stopped before they reached the chasm, and the passengers saved. The driver was found crushed to death in the locomotive cor, by the tank, his hands grasping the throttle.

The texts which dishonest people like the best are pretexts. DEAFNESS.— I presume no commont S» needed to the appended letter from a respoetablo sottlor, to whom I fonvarflod a of medicine compounded from the rootpp (by a distinguished Auckland Oliom)i t) ol tJjo principal Aurint in England:— "Jlakotu, Hay of 1 1'louty, December 2, 1874.— Dear Sir, —Allow mo tender my most sineoro thanks to you for tho bonoflt 1 liavo Srocoivcd from tho inediclno supplied by you for deafnew.' For iomo yeara post 1 liavo boon sulloring from 'partial doafuoss; but last lutmnor, owing: 1 suppose !to too froqucnt bathing I bocamo totally deaf, and Ian acquaintance of mino called my attontlon to your odvorMiemoiifc. 1 bad been undor tho caro of tho 'eolebraled 1 (rogue) but did not rocoivo any 'bonoflt from hw treatment} conioquontly, wu rather (to use a boiroivod plimso), 'duboriomo.' but In, 'Octobor wroto to you, and tho beginning of Novombor 'l roooivod your modlclno. Aftor four dayi treatment il liod lmrtlally recovorod my hearing, but being obliged to go up tho country, I loft off tho treatmont. On my return, aftor a fortnight'! absenco, 1 roiuinecj tho u«o of your remedy. .1 havo now qulto recovored iny houring, io much no, ai to bo qulto annoyed at any of my friend* »peaklng- In a loud toiio. You are at llborty to publish this, with many thanks. Believe, &o., Andrew McMiluhn, To Mr. T. B. Han»alord, High-atxt«t"~ [Aovr.: > CONVULSIONS IN TEETHING.- Non» but anxious Mothers know the worry of " TMthlni Tlmo, and the riunory ha« no moro innocent hslp than Mrt. Johnson's far-famed Amorlaw Soothinf Syrup, which applied to tho Infant's Gum», relievo tho pain and provents convulsions. Nono genuine without tho • amo of "Barclay* Sons, Farringdon-itreot," is on tho stnmp. Sold by all Ohsmitts. at 2s. Od. abottlc.Ascnts, Vennoll & Co u Auckland.

Quantities. Viiluc. Minerals. Tom. Cwt. £. Coal 127,010,717 0 47,031,280 Iron ore., ,, .. 16,077,400 0 7,573,<>70 Copper oro .. .. rfO,W8 tO 3J2.708 Tin oro 14,884 11 W>d,835 Lend oro 73,500 10 1,131,007 Zinc oro 10,000 0 ai » m Iron pyrites . . 03,024 3 3fi,485 AWCllfc r,,448 17 22,864 Blmnutli 1 't J8 Cobalt . i 0 0 12 Maiitfarics*- .. 8,071 0 B7,7flrf Oehro and umbof . l',»08 X, fi,410 Wolfiwn 10 1" 02« Clny, fino and lire, ami shalo (estimated) .. 1,785,000 0 050,800 Salt . ... 1,785,000 0 802,500 Barytes .. . . 10,200 11 7,098 Other oartliy mlnenilB (estimated) a *— r JM>00 Total valiio of tlio minoral* produced m tho United Kingdom in 1873 . . . . £00,470,480