THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1093, 19 October 1869, Page 2

THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

(From the "European Mail" for August.) The Thames Tunnel.— The Thames Tunnel, which was opened on August 2, 1843, was closed on July 21, 1869, having thus been a public footway for a period of dtwenty-six years, less thirteen days. It lias been purchased for £200,000 (onethird of its cost) by the East London Railway Company, which line will be completed as far as Wapping in a short time. The new Thames Subway from Tower Hill to Bermondsey (Mr. Barlow's scheme) commenced on February 16 of the present ;year, is proceeding very rapidly, and* if all goes well, will be opened for traffic in three months' time. Its cost will be under £20,000. The works of the old Thames Tunnel were commenced in 1825. Physical and financial difficulties delayed the opening for eighteen years. Noble Action by the Crown Princess of Prussia. — A fire lately broke out at Potsdam in an old wooden building, the property of a poor day labourer. The grandmother, though an infirm old woman, rushed into the shed in the hope of saving some of the goods, and had really succeeded in dragging out part of a bed when a piece of burning wood fell on her clothes and set them on fire. Though assistance was immediately rendered, her back was severely burned. Just at this moment their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess arrived at the scene of the misfortune. The old woman was carried to a place of safety, where the Princess, who had accompanied her, dressed her wounds with her own hands, and attended her with the greatest care and gentleness till a medical man arrived. By her command the children were then taken to the palace, and washed and furnished with new clothes. The fire burned out without causing any further damage. Extraordinary Suicide at St. Petersburg.—From advices received from St. Petersburg, July 19, we learn that a sui-. cide had been committed under extraordinary circumstances. Colonel Hunnins, an Esthonian by birth, was lately engaged in discussing with the Czarewitch a financial operation concerning the armament of the troops, and the Grand Duke, considering the terms proposed too high, exclaimed, " With Germans one is always sure to be cheated." On the Colonel civilly requesting His Highness to withdraw so offensive an expression, the latter forgot himself, so far as to strike the officer in the face. The Colonel immediately applied to the Emperor, who ordered his son to apologise, but this he positively refused to do. Despairing of obtaining any satisfaction, and smarting under an insult' he was unable to resent, the unfortunate officer committed suicide by blowing out his brains. The Emperor is said to have t been most painfully affected by the sad event, and insisted on the Grand Duke attending the funeral. A City Antiquity. — Mr. Burt, surveyor, in a letter to the Times, August, 6, says that in pulling down some houses in Birchin Lane an interesting relic of Roman antiquity has been, discovered. It is a tomb of brickwork underneath the foundations of a house. On opening it] a skeleton was discovered, with a lamp at the feet and a vase of gold coins at the head. There was a date inside the tomb, which can be easily deciphered as b.c. Me. Feed. Godfrey, bandmaster of the Coldstream Guards, has been presented by Miss Burdett Coutts with an ivory j baton, mounted in solid gold, in commemoration of the opening of Columbia Market; The Laboucheee Family. — It is said that the late Lord Taunton owed the first step in his upward course towards the peerage to a lucky marriage contracted by his father, the late Mr. Peter C. Labouchere, of Highlands, near Chelmsford, Essex. In early life this gentleman, then a clerk in a bank at Amsterdam, won the heart of the wealthy daughter of one of the millionaires of the city. The father objected as he was a clerk, not a partner. He solicited admission as a partner and was refused. " But will you take _ie as a partner if I marry Miss A ?" " Yes, that is quite another thing." So he gained a rich wife on the faith of a promised partnership, and became a partner on the faith of his intended marriage. Expected Visit of the King of Sweden. — The Eang of Sweden is expected to visit England in September. The New Evening Dress.— The Prince of Wales' attempt to resuscitate a modified form of the blue coat aud gilt buttons of our grandfathers has not proved, as yet, very successful, whatever may be the triumphs reserved for it. The Next Task of the Great Eastern. — The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company has manufactured up to the present time 360 miles of the British Indian cable, and that portion the most important of all, and upon which they are at present ''engaged in manufacturing, should be on board the Great Eastern by the end of November. The big ship has been off Sheerness for some time, where she will take on board in the same manner as she shipped the Atlantic cables, the British Indian line, or rather that portion called the main cable, which will span from Bombay to Aden. Capt. Halpin will command the vessel on her voyage out to India, and Mr. Henry Forde is to be in charge of the cable, and is at the present time superintending its manufacture at Greenwich. The remainder of the line, the Red -Sea sections, are to be laid from the Chiltern and Scanderia. The former vessel, it is expected, will be retained for special service in the Red Sea, as a repairing ship. The contractors are very sanguine that the line can be completed by the promised time — namely, the end of April next. The Queen's Visit.— The Queen has intimated, through Lord Spencer, that next year she will pay a visit of some duration to Ireland. This announcement, which appears to be made on sufficient authority, will gratify all classes of the British people. The Star of July 19 says : — " The presence of Her Majesty on the soil of Ireland after the Imperial Parliament has given substantial proof of its determination to remove the causes of disaffection can scarcely fail to assist the work of remedial legislation, and to strengthen those new and better feelings which have already taken root." A Dangerous Craft. — It is said that it is the intention of the official authorities to have her Majesty's ship Scorpion, now lying in Cork harbour, immediately dismantled. It appears'that on a recent trip to sea she proved herself a most dangerous craft, in consequence of lier extraordinary low freeboard. Many times she was almost submerged in the sea, and she occasioned such panic to her crew that they have protested against proceeding again to sea in her. The Scorpion was originally built for the Confederate States. Letter from the Queen to Mr. # Peabody.—A letter which Queen Victoria wrote to Mr. Peabody. on his leaving England has been published in America. Her Majesty wrote:— "The Queen is very sorry that Mr. Peabody 's sudden departure has made it impossible for her

■ ' •.':■"..• '$% . '.- '■ -...;. ', •- -v.-,"-.- ''-:.;■ to see hhh before he left England, and sne\ is ebncerhed/to hear that he' is gone -in , bad-healtLi-'SHe now Writes him /_ t; linet to expiressrher hope that he may ret_r_ toC this country quite recovered, and that she* may then have the opportunity, of whijsh she has now been deprived, of seejng^him^ and offering him her personal thanks ; for ; all he has done for the.; people." $be/j note was transmitted by Mr". Art_6f ,*- Helps, the Clerk of the Privy -Coundiir who adds that tho Queen also commanded him " to be sure and charge Mr. Peabody to report himself on his return to Engs land." : =„ rr r ■:■■ The late Lord Justice SELWYir.— Lord Justice Selwyn died on. August 11, at his residence at Richmond. tHe had been a long time seriously ill, and had undergone a formidable operation, from which it was hoped, however, that he had recovered. The late Lord Justice (Sir; Charles, Jasper Selwyn). was the youngest \\ son of the late Mr. William Selwynj Q.o;^ : of Richmond, and was born in 1813. He „ was consequently fifty-six years of age.' He was called to the bar at, Lincoln's Inn i in 1840, received silk in 1856, was Soli-; , citor-General in 1867, and was appointed one of the Lords Justices of Appeal in 1868. Sir Charles was a brother of .the Bishop of Lichfield, who is four years His senior. • • PfIINCE AbtHUE's VISIT TO EGYPT.rr* Rumour says that Her Majesty's ship Ariadne will be temporarily commissioned for the conveyance of his Royal Highness . Prince Arthur on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal, and that as .•':; Captain Sir William Wiseman, 3LC.8., has considerable claims on the Admiralty which have not been, recognised' iri; the* '.' I way they should have been, it is expected that Sir William will be selected to carry out this brief service. A Second Moon.— A German astrono-/ mer has written a pamphlet to prove that we are soon to have a second moon,"* l and that it will be nearer the earth than our present Luna. An Eaethquake Theoey.— Of late the theory has been advanced that' earth- ; quakes are caused by the influence of the sun and moon on the internal waves of the earth. A Mr; Rudolf Falb has lately ; written in defence of this hypothesis, and ' in order to give a clear proof of its correctness he prophesies that the next earthquakes would occur in equatorial countries on August 7, September 6, and, October 4. Dogs and Bathers. — A possible dan- . ger to bathers is the subject of. a long letter which has appeared in a contemporary. The writer was bathing in the Thames, at Cookham, the other day, having with him a retriever dog of a very large' Breed. The dog, apparently from the impression •'. that his master was drowning, seized him in the water; and it seems that it was only by dint of great self-possession, and from the fact that he was a thoroughly; \ expert swimmer and diver, that the. gen-; tleman escaped with his life. A precisely similar case . occurred a, week since in Hyde Park. A boy of twelve years old, bathing in the Serpentine, was seized by. , I a large dog (not his own); and : was not I rescued without some diflici-lty.'./In'oase,''' however, of being seized by af dog "when / bathing, it is said that the proper thing to do is to splash the water in the dog's face and eyes. On the strength of experience a writer declares that this will, be effectual. ■ •■• • • V; Wj;re Tramway. — The Wire Tramway, as it is called, for carrying goods' in the air by wire ropes, is making far less progress in England, where.it was first worked, than on the Continent. This is on account of the way-leaves ; for., some . persons have an objection to hundredweights of stone bobbing in wooden bas--kets over their turnip-fields or wheatfields, with, as .they conceive, a chance of the wire rope breaking, and bringing the whole concern on their heads. In France, the beetroot sugar-growers have taken: several of these lines to convey produce to their mills, and it is being extended in the Alps of Savoy. ; In one of these districts there is already an example of a wire rope stretching across a valley for a kilometre, or 1000 yards, carrying Ore. It is understood that our Post Office will not use the wire tramway ; but prefer ''. pneumatic tubes for postal branch lines. The Peabody Statue.— On July 23 the statue of the great American philanthropist, modelled by a great American sculptor, was unveiled in the heart of the city of London by the Prince of Wales, and in the presence of more than one distinguished American citizen. The only .. fault than possibly be found with the site of Mr. Story's admirable piece of work is that, being in the shadow of the Royal Exchange, it is perhaps a little too much . in the shadow of that edifice ; but Londoners have few open spaces that are very open, and certainly have none that could so appropriately contain the monument of one of the noblest friends whom London has ever found among the many strangers within her gates. The statue, which is executed in Mr. Story's best style, is said to be a capital reflex of the original. . The . cost of the design and workmanship is covered by the sum of £3,000. The statue has been carefully photographed by Messsrs. James & Co., of Cannon Street ; : and at a meeting of the committee, Sir Benjamin Phillips in the chair, it was unanimously agreed that a copy be sent to Mr. George Peabody. Transit of Venus, 1874.— _ugust 6.— . On the motion for going into Committee, Mr. S. Booth hoped some explanation would be given on this subject, as it was one of great importance. Mr. Childers said, in the year 1874, a transit of Venus will occur, which will afford an opportunity of solving one of the most interesting problems in astronomy, the only data for measuring the exact distance of the sun from the earth being from observations of the transit. During the last twelve years the astronomers of all nations have agreed as to the importance, and looked forward with interest, to these observations. The. Admiralty had set down the expense of these observations at £10,500, which will be spread over the next five years. The resolution was unanimously agreed to. Intellectual Amusement.— The leading amusement at Atlantic City consists in making crabs drunk.. Bread is soaked in whisky, and the crabs come out in ' myriads to indulge. Those who furnish the treat find their reward in watching the queer antics of the crustacean inebriates, as soon as the fierce stimulant steals away what little brains they have. The Rabbit Pest.— Notwithstanding— ■ as was noticed at the time— Her Majesty last year gave instructions for the extirpation of rabbits on the estates of Balmoral and Abergeldie, and that upwards of £50 worth of the vermin was killed, we are told that the numbers this season are very much in excess of those of the last, or any preceding year for. a ldng time < back. As a consequence, the crops are suffering to an alarming extent, and on y some farms the destruction is executed; in such a way as would lead any stranger :t6; .: fancy it must have been done by; the scythe. , : ' ".,.: ".'.• : .■>.''. Cricket. — The Cricket scores this year ■■■- have been perfectly Wonderful. ... In the - match between the Gentlemen of the South against the Players of the South at I_erinington Oval, which began nn> the - loth of July, the Players began^watK anYK. iaflings of 4,U, of which Chawwood made

165, Pooley 78, and Jupp 76. This was afterwards capped by the Gentlemen, who put together no less than, 533 runs, of whick M>. Wf G. Grace made 180, and Mr. B. B. Cooper 101! The Players Went in again, and for one wicket made 108,.thematen being then brought to a close. It will thus be seen that 1,116 runs were made for 21 wickets — a feat unparalleled in . this history, of cricket. The Canterbury week began on the 9th of August, and showed some extraordinary scoring. In the match between the Marylebone Club and the County of Kent, the Club made 428 for 9 wickets, Mr. W. G. Grace being again the top score with 127, obtained by very careful and fine play, against good bowling. The Aebeet MEDAL.-r-It is notified in the Gazette of July 27, that the Queen has been graciously pleased to confer the decoration of " The Albert Medal of the Second Class" on Captain James Beautine Willoughby, R.N., the principal Transport Officer in Egypt. The following is an account of the services in respect of which the decoration has been conferred : —On March 3, 1869, whilst the Ist Battalion of the 21st Regiment was disembarking at Alexandria, from the Egyptian steamer Bird of the Harbour, one of the soldiers, who was fully accoutred, fell overboard in a fit, and sank immediately. Willoughby at once jumped into the water after him, dived, and got hold of him ; and, after considerable difficulty and danger, saved him. When brought out of the water, the man was insensible. The harbour at Alexandria is known to be dangerously infested with sharks ; but in addition to the danger from sharks, Capt. Willoughby ran great risk, from the fact that the soldier fell between the pier and the vessel, and that, owing to the swell in the harbour, both Captain Willoughby and the soldier might have been crushed. A Qhange of Fortune. — Jefferson Davis's plantation is now leased to one of his former slaves, who pays 10,000 dollars a year rent, and employs 150 hands to work it. There are no white men about the premises. The Peinoe of Wales as a Fireman. — At the annual dinner of the Chiselhurst and neighbouring volunteer fire brigades, held oh July 16 at Chiselhurst, Mr. J. C. Merry weather, of the firm of Merry weather & Son, fire-engine manufacturers, in the course of a speech remarked that the chairman had referred to the Prince of Wales being a good fireman. This was perfectly true, for he (the speaker) had the honour of drilling His Royal Highness in the use of the fire-engine at Sandringhamfor five or six hours, and His Royal Highness not only worked well at the pumping, but also in the use of the branch pipes. A' New Bug.— Referring to the late Mexican expedition, a contemporary, writing on. August 4, says :— " At length the cv& consequences of the Mexican expedition begin to be fully developed. , Most people imagine that they have long since known the worst of that business. They know what an expensive vagary it has been to France, and how much dishonour it brought on French statesmanship. Not less than any other political event — not less even than the aggrandisement of Prussia— it has tended to bring the personal government of the Emperor into disrepute, and to embitter the cry for reform. But this is not all. The French people have not known the full extent of their disaster until now. Bit by bit the truth creeps out. The Mexican expedition has ended in the introduction of a new bug into France. These hideous nocturnal insects have bitten themselves into note. The 'Mexican monsters are even more dreadful than the national bug of France —they are larger, with a long tail, and more venomous. Their tails are said to be nearly an inch long ; but this is a statement which should probably be referred to the affrighted imaginations of the French populace. There is an indictment to bring against the Imperial Government —it has by this Mexican adventure wasted the public money, discredited the national prestige, and infested the country with a new bug." Burns' Granddaughter. — Mrs. Sarah Cameron, of New Zealand, granddaughter of the great Scotch poet, has written a letter — which appears in the London. Scotsman — of indignant protest againstthe harsh criticisms of the Rev. Fergus Ferguson on her famous grandfather. The Queen and the Farmers of Kent. — On the invitation of Her Majesty, a deputation, consisting of about thirty of the most scientific and practical members of the Farmers Club of Kent, have visited the Royal Farm, Old Windsor. After an inspection of the stock and the admirable arrangements, with which they were highly gratified, particularly noticing the fine stock milch cows, they repaired to Mr. Tait's residence in the park, where a handsome dinner was provided for them at the Queen's expense. The Men of Kent expressed themselves highly gratified by the day's pleasure afforded them through the kindness and condescension of Her Majesty. Capture of a Jackal at Ayr. — A jackal has been captured at Ayr. Nobody has any idea how it came there. The Peael Fisheries. — During the past three months pearl-fishing has been assiduously prosecuted in the Tay, the Earn, and the Isla. Though the dry summer has been favourable for fishing, very few good or valuable pearls have been obtained. Upon the Earn, from its junction with the Tay up to Kinkell, there were a large number of fishers, who have been generally successful. A little below Kinkell Bridge, a beautiful pearl was got which weighed 25 grs., and was sold for £20. A good many small pure white pearls were picked up between Dupplin and the mouth of the Earn, and the price realised for them was from £1 to £2 10s. The pearl fishing is now about closed for the season. . On the Books of the Bank. — There are 5,429 Smiths who receive dividends on various sums in the public stocks. 2,478 Browns are also among the distinguished quarter of a million, and 2,190 bear the name of Jones. In Consols alone there are not fewer than 1,140 accounts on which the half-yearly dividend is less than 6s. There are 77 accounts on which the dividend does not exceed Is., and 25 on which it is Id. In defence of penny fundholders it is right to explain that some of these accounts are remanets, no longer claimed, of larger • sums, and. the dividends find their way eventually into the "unclaimed dividend" account of the Government. In other cases they accumulate until they form a sum worth applying for. An Impending Calamity.— -The inhabitants of Durrenstein and the neighbourhood are living a life of constant dread. Near the castle, which tradition points out as. the prison of Richard Coeur de Lion, a wnole granite pliff has begun to slide downwards, and it is expected from day to day that the vast mass of rock will be precipitated over the road into the Danube. , ., The highway is closed from eight o'clock in the evening till six o'clock in the morning, and during the day everyone who wishes to pass is given to understand that he does so at his own risk. Mr. Spick a well-known engineer, is engaged on works which are intended to

— — (i .. K >. .. % '„„ ; diminish as much as possible the destructive effects of the catastrophe. ..." Mont Cenis Tunnel.— lt is stated in the Italian papers that great progress is making with the Mont Cenis tunnel, the works being actively carried on night and day, and that there is every probability the line will be opened in the course of next year. To celebrate this event it has now been definitely decided that a Universal Exhibition shall be held at Turin in the spring of 1872. A- Waterspout Undeemining a Railway. — A very peculiar accident occurred recently on the Vera Cruz and City of Mexico Railway. During a thunderstorm a waterspout passed over the track near the city of Mexico, washing away the earth from beneath the ties and forming a gully, into which a train ran and was smashed up. Six of the servants of the company and four passengers were killed. Stray Bank Notes from New Zealand.—At Guildhall on August 2, as Alderman Hale was about to leave the bench, a respectably dressed man, who gave his name as John Burton, carrying on business at 18 John Street, Brick, as a secondhand dealer in clothes, said that on August 1 he was at Notting Hill, where he bought j some second-hand clothes. When he was examining the things at his house he found two Bank of England notes, one for £5, and the other for £10, in the pocket of a coat. They were in a letter dated from New Zealand and addressed to Bayswater, but not to any particular house. He therefore begged to ask the magistrate what he had better do with the notes. Alderman Hale advised the applicant to try and find the owner. Colonel Gamble.— This officer, late deputy-quartermaster-general inNew Zealand, has been appointed assistant quarter-master-general at the camp, Aldershot. The New Bayonet.— The proposed new bayonet of the British infantry is the same as that supplied to the Irish Constabulary. It is a saw-sword bayonet; that is to say, it has a sword edge and a saw back, while the point is as effective as that of an ordinary bayonet. It is of the same length as the present weapon, but the Martini-Henry rifle itself is 3J inches shorter than the Snider-Enfield, and the total length of the arm as a pike is, therefore, reduced by so much. The committee, in recommending this swordbayonet, appear to have had in view the fact that bayonets will henceforth be less frequently used than in former times as weapons of offence and defence ; they desired, therefore, to substitute an instrument of more general utility. The efficiency of the weapon as a sword, as a saw, and as a bayonet, was carefully tested. With the sword edge a sheep was cut up into joints ; and with the saw back the shin-bone of an ox, a Norway spar, 24 inches in diameter, another of 3f inches, and a 3-inch balk of very tough dry elm were sawn through. The weapon fixed to the rifle was also thrust through a dead sheep with its wool on, and wrapped in a great coat ; and the security of the attachment of the weapon to the rifle was tested by twisting it about inside the sheep, and by driving it six inches through a 1-inch door, and allowing it to swing while sticking in the wood. Thus the soldier will have a tool as well as an effective military weapon, and one with which he can clear away wood, cut materials for fascines and fabions ; or he can use it, if he likes, as a nife for cutting up his rations. Prince Arthur. — Lieut. His Royal Highness Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, K.G., K.P., was gazetted, on August 3, from the Royal Artillery, to be Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade. A Long Journey on a Bicycle.— The journey from London to Edinburgh, a distance of nearly 400 miles, has been recently accomplished on a bicycle by a Mr. Klamroth in six days. The Murders in Abyssinia. — It was stated, on July 19, that information had been received which at last set all doubts at rest respecting the sad fate of Mr. and Mrs. Powell and party. Mr. Walter Powell, M.P., a brother of the deceased gentleman, has just returned from Alexandria, where he had gone to deliver a firman which he succeeded in obtaining from the Viceroy of Egypt, and which directed a strong military escort to be provided for Mr. Henry Powell and Mr: Jenkins, who went in search . Mr. Walter Powell brings intelligence, which is believed to be substantially authentic, that Mr. Powell and party were attacked and massacred by the Tekah tribe, and not by the Bezan tribe, as first reported. The Bezans afterwards came upon the murderers, and compelled them, not only to relinquish the booty, but to deliver up the bodies; and the Bezans conveyed the bodies to the Swedish missionaries, by whom they were buried. No doubt is entertained of the correctness of this statement. We hear that the murderers have since been punished at the instigation of the Swedish missionaries. On July 26, Mr. Ronald M'Donald, gamekeeper, Braemar, who was out with Mr. and Mrs. Powell in the late disastrous elephant-hunting expedition in Abyssinia, arrived home, at Old Mar Lodge, Braemar. It is said his account of the sad massacre differs in no material detail from the reports already given. Cases of Heat Apoplexy.— lt is re- ( ported that, a short time since, four women were travelling in a cart from some place on the Cawnpore road to Allahabad, but before reaching Allahabad, the driver and the four women were found dead, it is supposed from heat apoplexy. Again, on June 25, Schoolmaster J. Thomson, of the 58th Regiment, was discovered dead in a railway carriage. Then shortly after this occurrence, a Mrs. Kemp, a passenger in one of the trains, feeling unwell, on her arrival at Allahabad, broke her journey and remained in the ladies' wait-ing-room. In the evening, some time after five o'clock, she told the ayah that she felt very ill, and before the station-master on duty had time to go and see the poor lady, she was in a fit of convulsions, and died shortly after, it is believed from heat apoplexy. It is said that if medical treatment had been obtained there might have been some chance of her recovery, Colonial Governors.— The following return of Colonial Governors to whom pensions have been granted under Act 28 and 29 Victoria, c. 113, was published on July 21 :— Sir W.. M. G. Colebrook, aged 77, 18 years' service ; salary on retirement, £4,000 ; allowance granted, £252 Is. 3d. (this pension is £750 per annum, but is reduced by £497 18s. 9d., the amount of his military pay.) Sir C. H Darling, aged 57, 15 years' service ; salary on retirement, £5,000; allowance [granted, £1000. Sir W. Denison, aged 62, 15 years' service ; salary on retirement, £7,000 ; allowance granted, £429 Bs. 4d. (suspended while he holds office of Chairman of Rivers Pollution Commission.) Sir J. Douglas, aged 62, 12 year's service; salary on retirement, £2500; allowance granted, £500. Mr. Ker Bailie Hamilton, aged 61, 13 years' service ; salary on retirement,' £3000; allowance granted, £500. Mr. T. S. Hampton, aged 59, 18 year's service ; salary on retirement, £1000; allowance granted, £300. Sir E. Drummond Hay, aged 50, 18 years' service ; salary on retirement, £2,000; allowance granted, £500. Sir Francis Hincks, allowance granted, £666 13s. 4d. , Mr. Charles J. La Trobe, aged 64, 13 years' service ; salary on retirement, £2,000 ; allowance granted, £333 6s. Bd. Sir Henry Light, X.C.8.,

aged 82, 12 years' service ; salary on retirement, £5,000 ; allowance granted, £666 13s. 4d. Mr. Willoughby Shortland, aged 61, 10 years' service ; salary on retirement, £1,200 ; allowance granted, £166 13s. 4d. Sir H. E. F. Young, aged 60,14 years' service;, salary on retirement, £4,000 ; allowance granted, £500: Poisoned Socks Again. — When we published a paragraph to the effect that some persons had been poisoned by' their $ocks and underclothing, there were many who thought it a little piece of sensationalism; and they viewed our statement with incredulity, to say the least. It was probably thought to rest upon much the same sort of foundation as the classical story of the poisoned tunic given to Hercules by Dejanira. Since that time (the Lancet of July 24 says), some experiments which have been undertaken have proved that several of the fashionable dyeing ingredients in use are active poisons ; and we have quite recently seen one wellmarked example of a troublesome and painful local affection induced by the absorption of a dye through the skin. A gentleman purchased some socks, with a magenta stripe, at, a well-known London house. He wore a pair of these one day during the recent hot weather. At night he felt a good deal of irritation and tingling in his feet, which he ascribed to the attack of a nameless animal. In ignorance of the true cause, he continued wearing socks of the same pattern for two or three clays more, at the end of which time the skin of the heels had become red and inflamed, where the edge of the shoe probably caused most friction, and this was succeeded by a line of vesication disposed in a semicircle around the heel and side of each foot. The disease thus artificially induced was symmetrically placed on the two feet, and corresponded with one of the coloured stripes. He noticed that some of the dye had coloured the part. The pain was sharp, and the blistering far too well marked to be pleasant, as it rendered him lame, and his socks have consequently cost him twice their value in cab-hire. The Duke of Edinburgh and his Presents.— The Broad Arrow remarks that no doubt the picture of a royal duke painted in the imagination of the inhabitants of our colonial dependencies contained the important adjunct of a wellfilled purse and a liberal hand dispensing its contents. A royal duke to such person?, of course, suggested the idea of almost boundless wealth and munificence. It is perhaps a pity that they should have become disabused of this idea, and that the apparent generosity of the Duke of Edinburgh in bestowing substantial marks of friendly recognition should be based upon such a matter-of-fact performance as a parliamentary vote. When our friends at the other side of the world woke up from their dream, they could hardly fail to manifest intense indignation at the prospect of English tax-payers being called upon to pay for the presents which they thought were private gifts from the Duke of Edinburgh. We may ask the question whether this particular item has been put into the Estimates for the express purpose of bringing the royal family into disrepute? Its prominence in the Estimates is rather significant when we reflect upon the extraordinary facility with which the British public are bamboozled and mystified by objectionable items of expenditure being concealed under cover of gross totals, and shuffled about from year to year from one part of the Estimates to another. — The Morning Star observes that one of the penalties exacted from royalty in a free country is that its proceedings may be freely criticised. If public opinion were accustomed to pronounce very harsh judgments, there might be reason to complain of the practice ; but, in truth, public opinion is very tolerant of royal personages, even when, to adopt Oliver Goldsmith's joke, they are German dukes with more titles than subjects. We do not suppose that a royal prince or duke submits very cheerfully to a popular censorship, however mildly administered ; but it is necessary that he should be made to feel his responsibility to the nation which provides him with palaces, and otherwise pays substantial tribute to his rank. In reality he is a prominent man, who lives in the full blaze of publicity, aud whose conduct is as fairly open to criticism as that of any Minister of State or head of a department. At the first glance, it is not easy to perceive what the colonists have to complain of in this matter. It may, however, be presumed that in their eyes royal gifts lose much of their grace and spontaneity when they have to be paid for by the British taxpayer. Unused to the ways of the European Courts, they naturally revolt at the idea of a Royal Duke making handsome presents to all sorts of colonial functionaries and their wives, . not out of his own pocket, but at the expense of other people, who only know of their liability when the amount of the bill is smuggled into the Estimates. The Australians are right. If the Duke of Edin- ' burgh makes a present, it should be his own voluntary act, and paid for with his own money. When the Viceroy was here he distributed thousand of pounds in the same way. Did it occur to the recipients that they were really robbing hospitality of all its charm P — accepting payment for courtesies which should be without the taint of lucre ? — receiving money or moneys worth which had been ground out of wretched fellahs, who are worse treated than Christian dogs in the palmy days of Tunisian slavery ? We have little to do with the Viceroy. But we have a right to protest against a bad usage when it obtains the sanction of a British duke on his travels. Withdrawal of Grant in aid of the Tasmanian Penal Establishment.— The Standard, commenting on Lord Granville's despatch intimating the intention of the Government to withdraw this grant, says : " Can we be surprised at the manner in which the Tasmanians have received their portion of the new dispensation ? What is contemplated in their case is a naked and deliberate breach of faith, for which there cannot be the smallest justification. The penal establishments in Tasmania are most clearly a burden, a portion of which belongs to the mother country. They are the remanents of her occupation. The costly and extensive prison at Port Arthur' — one of the most elaborate and highly finished of gaols in any part of the world — is not wanted, and never would have been required for local Tasmanian crime. It was built entirely and solely for the retention of criminals the 1 produce of British soil. Of its inhabitants now more than three-fourths are original British convicts. These convicts are among the worst of the felon kind — wretches graduated in every kind of wickedness, who, if let loose to-morrow, would turn the island into a pandemonium. Against this danger, utterly out of proportion to its own means of protection, the colony has hitherto been compelled to use an imperial subsidy to supplement its own humble revenues. Is there anything very unreasonable in the threat of the Tasmanians, that if we violate our contract with them they will empty Port Arthur on our shores ? This may not be a very effective way of procuring their own relief, but as a demonstration against the disgraceful and iniquitous course which is contemplated by Lord Granville, we have no right to complain if the Tasmanians are as good-

as their word. What right have we, indeed, having adopted the new theory of colonial dependence, to expect from any of the colonies even the common courtesies whichfriendlynationsobservetowards each other ? A few more such despatches as thosfl of Lord Granville, and the new Liberal scheme of empire will become perfect. There will be no colonies." The Health of the Princess of Wales. — The retirement offered by the quiet and romantically situated bath of Wildbad, in the Black Forest, is said by the Lancet to have been one of the chief reasons for its selection by the Princess of Wales at the close of a somewhat prolonged and certainly fatiguing season. But, in addition to" this, Wildbad has a certain reputation in joint affections, derived probably from the temperature rather than the chemical constitution of its waters ; and advantage will be taken of . the local means of treatment in the case of Her Royal Highness, who is still somewhat inconvenienced by the .absence of. perfect power' of flexion.- .' The Quickest Way Round the World. — With the means of locomotion at present in use, a tour round the world may be made in 80 days, or about the time employed in the olden time for a journey from London to St: Petersburg. The •itinerary is as follows: — Paris to New York, 11 days ; to San Francisco (rail) 7 ; Yokohama (steamer) 21; Hong Kong (steamer), 6; Calcutta (steamer), 12; Bombay (rail), 3 ; Cairo (steamer and rail), 14 ; Cairo to Paris (steamer and rail), 6 ; total, 80. Of that immense route, the only portion on which steam is not used is about 140 miles between Allahabad and Bombay, and that interruption will shortly cease, as the works for completing the railway are being carried on actively. Sad Reverse of Fortune. — At the usual weekly meeting of the Paddington Board of Guardians, held on July 28, Mr. F. J. Prescott, banker, in the chair, the chairman stated that while visiting the infirmary he had been accosted by a pauper inmate who, a few years ago, was in possession of property worth from £50,000 to £60,000, was a blood relation to one of the highest peers in the realm, and whose fortunes bad been completely broken by the failure of Messrs. Overend &Gurney]s concern. From subsequent inquiry it appears that Mr. Hamilton Wood, the party referred to, disclaimed being a relation of the nobleman and gentleman previously referred to, and said that he had been misunderstood." He was born in Manchester, where his father was an opulent merchant. On arriving at manhood he. succeeded to a business in which he employed 500 men, aud he eventually accumulated a very large fortune, upon which he retired into private life to enjoy the fruits of his industry ; but finding the life of a country gentleman to him so monotonous as to become insupportable, he came up to London and embarked in various speculations. Eventually he became a prominent director of the Marylebone'Bank; and when that affair collapsed he was served with a writ for £150,000, and thus became beggared. He then went to the Southern States of America, where he again succeeded in acquiring a large fortune, every penny of which he lost during the American civil war. Returning back to London he contrived to again start himself in business, and success again followed his footsteps, but his spirit of enterprise died out with his last failure, which was caused by the failure of Messrs. Overend, Gurney & Co.'s concern, which left him a ruined destitute pauper. Mr. Wood added that he has not a friend in England, but he has two sons in Rome who are well-to-do artists. He declared that he has discovered something wonderful which will reduce the art of woodcarving to a minimum of labour, and that he should like to see his invention brought out before he dies. The authorities of the workhouse decided to allow him some little indulgences. Mr. Jefferson Davis has been making a tour through Scotland, accompanied by Dr. Charles Mackay. Alleged Death through Vaccination.—On July 19, Dr. Lankester held an important inquiry at the " Brookfield Arms," Highgate New Town, relative to the death of William, infant son of Mr. Emery, ham and tongue dealer, of Great Portland-street, Marylebone, who^ having been vaccinated in accordance with the law, was alleged to have died through the introduction of deteriorated or impure matter into the system in the operation. The inquiry resulted from one held a few days prior by Mr. Bedford, the coroner for Westminster, in which the same allegation was made, both children having been vaccinated at Dr. Allen's surgery, 11 Soho Square. The verdict of the jury in the latter case was one of natural causes, Dr. Clark stating that the death was due to erysipelas consequent on vaccination. Mr. Emery was present at that inquest, and having lost his child from/the same cause, pressed for an .inquiry, and in conformity with his wishes the body was exhumed. The coroner said the inquiry related not merely to a single death ; it was really an inquiry into a system, namely, the Compulsory Vaccination Act. He remarked that during the last century forty-five millions of persons died from small-pox, but in the present century, through the introduction of vaccination, the number of deaths was exceedingly small, showing that vaccination was beneficial in saving life in the community. The evidence went to show that the deceased had been a fine healthychild, and that death resulted from erysipelas caused by vaccination. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. In remarking upon the vexed question of vaccination, a contemporary says :—" There are thousands" of families in whiph the belief is entertained that vaccination injures a child's constitution, is ineffectual against an attack of . small-pox, and introduces disease where> none- existed before. For each of these, opinions there are to be found numerous corroborative facts. The careless way in which vaccination is too often conducted; especially upon the children of the poor, must necessarily render it useless as a prophylactic, but, worse than all, it does actually impart disease from an unhealthy ono. If all parochial medical officers, or 'cheap' doctors, took the trouble to Use pure vaccine,, and to ascertain well the state of children before vaccinating from one to another, there would be less actual basis for the increasing unpopularity of Jenner's system than, now exist. But when all this is said, tho fact remains that since Jenner's discovery small-pox has ceased to be the frightful scourge in England which our forefathers found it, and that in nine cases out of ten, or more, it does really act as a safeguard against the disease. This view of the question ought to be made familiar to the general public. At the same time the Government might do great good by taking some stepsto ensure the proper discharge of the important duty undertaken by vaccination officers. To pass a law compelling parents to submit their children to the operation is well enough as far as it goes, but there ought to be some security that vaccination is not made a vehicle for transmitting disease." The Princess of Wales at Wildbad. —A private letter from Wildbad states that the Princess of Wales, on her arrival, ■ was dressed in an ecru-coloured silk cos-

tume, embroidered in white silk, and a white hat an d blue feathers. Their two sons were in their carriage with Mrs. Hardinge, a governess, and two maids, the two little girls being in another. Then followed an omnibus full of servants and the Nubian boy brought from the Nile. The Prince and Princess came out after their five o'clock dinner, and sat with all the visitors at Wildbad in the Platz, to listen to the oand. The Prince had his little girl on ins knee, till it struck her that drawing .and digging in the sand with her father's stick would prove an agreeable occupation. The two little boys, who were sitting on either side of their mother, thought the amusement so attractive that they provided themselves with the sticks of the gentleme n in waiting, and proceeded to the same occupation. The Princess wore a dress of plain pique*. Reported Vibit of Mr. Gladstone to Ireland. — The Jlreemaris Journal of August 6 says it is currently reported that Mr. Gladstone intends to visit Ireland during the autumn. The Dublin paper promises him a hearty welcome. Horses and Tubbans. — Horses in Cal- ! cutta have taken to wearing turbans. They are said to be very unsightly, but \ very useful. Chignons may come next. The Esmonde Will Case has at last been decided at Carlow. It is stated that Lady Esmonde, being greatly hurt at the perversion of her daughter, the Countess of Granard, to the Roman Catholic religion, left all her property to found a college in Wexford, to educate young men for the Protestant ministry. The validity of the will was disputed, „nd it was urged that at the time the will w„s made Lady Esmonde was of unsound mind, and was subject to undue influence. The jury decided in favour of the will, and an income of over £9,000 a year will go to the Wexford College. A New Rival to the Illustrated London News is about to appear at Birmingham — the Illustrated Midland News. The newspaper will deal especially with the arts and manufactures of Birmingham, Staffordshire, the Potteries, Nottingham and its lace, Worcester and its porcelain, Coventry and its ribbons.