MAIL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9254, 7 January 1889, Page 3

MAIL NEWS.

THE G"SRMAN EMIN BEY RELIEF EXPEDITION. . •_" TnE Emin : Bey Relief Committee has voted a grant of 150,000 marks, or £7500, for Lieut. Wissmanxi's expedition to the relief of Emin. Bey. It is hoped he will be able to start for the interior within a month after his arrival on the coast. He proposes to enlist natives of Zanzibar to assist him in the enterprise. It is pointed out that Mr. Stanley was able to enlist several hundred Zanzibaris for his expedition. Lieut. Wissmann asked for and received '';he sole responsible leadership of this expedition without any connection with Dr. Peters or his German East African Company. ; A FEARFUL TRAGEDY. On Monday morning, November 26, a dreadful occurrence happened in the little village of Botley, five miles from Crewe. About half-past nve o'clock quarrelling was heard going on in a cottage occupied by a man named James Jeivis, a pointsman in the employ of the London and North Western Railway Company. A neighbour heard a noise and screams, but being an invalid she was unable to give an alarm at once, and as the noise soon ceased she took no further notice of it. An hour later a workman was passing through the village, and when he got opposite Jervis's house a woman rushed out in: her night dress and caught him tightly by the arms. She did not speak, but appeared in great distress; it was dark and. raining, and he could not tell what was the matter. The woman released her hold upon him, and ran to a house on the other side of the road, where it appeared her mother lived. She sank at the doorstep exhausted. The man followed and roused the inmates of the house, and got her inside. The woman could not speak, and it was seen she was covered with lalood, and her throat was' frightfully cut. She expired a few minutes afterwards. An alarm was at once raised, and two men proceeded to the house of her husband. The door was not fastened, and on going upstairs a baby fifteen months old, and another child aged four were found in bed dead with their throats cut. A third child about six also had several scratches on its throat, but was not seriously injured. The father, James Jervis, who had cut his own throat, was discovered in a corner near the bed holding tightly in his hand a table knife covered with blood. It was evident his wounds were fatal, and he succumbed to his self-inflicted injuries shortly after noon, confessing the crime to the vicar of the parish before breathing his last. He was 36 years of age, his wife being two years older, and since their marriage they have lived apparently happily together in the small comfortably-furnished, semi-detached cottage in which the terrible deed was committed. Jervis, who was the son of a farmer residing in Shropshire, was of temperate habits, and when last seen on the night preceding the murder was perfectly calm and sober. It would appear that he rose at his customary hour onMonday morning, and.after lighting his railway lamp, was on the point of leaving for his work as signalman, when he suddenly returned to his bedroom, and, kneeling on his wife's chest in the presence of his eldest daughter, who had rushed into the room on hearing her mother's screams, proceeded deliberately to cut the unfortunate woman's throat, while shepiteouslv besought him for mercy, exclaiming. " Oh ! Jim, don't; I've done nothing." After a terrible struggle the wife and daughter escaped from the house, and Jervis rushed downstairs. But almost at once lie returned, and seized two of his lads, who were fortunate enough, however, to escape from his grasp. He then completed his terrible crime on a lad of four in the same room, having first slain the baby, a girl of 14 months old. The motive of the crime still remains a mystery, but it is believed that Jervis was suddenly attacked with homicidal mania. The little village, which had hitherto been so free from crime that the presence of a police officer was not considered necessary for the safety of the inhabitants, is thrown into a state of terrible consternation. WEDDED THE WRONG WOMAN. A divorce case of more than usual interest is occupying the attention of the Courts at l'esth and of Austria Hungary. Count Kirisky, a son of the governor of Lower Austria, recently married a young lady supnosed to be the daughter of a Hungarian landed proprietor. During the wedding trip the bridegroom discovered that his wife was not the daughter of the couple who passed as her parents, but was really the natural daughter of a Hungarian member of Parliament. Count Kinsky asks for a divorce on the strength of a decree of Joseph 11., on the ground that ho was deceived, and his right of inheritance to his family estates would be forfeited through having wedded an illegitimate person. There is much curiosity in Vienna as well as Pesth as to the result of this suit, which involves an issue of vital interest to not a few of the Emperor's subjects of both sexes. THE DUKE AND THE VICAR. The Duke of Marlborough has adopted a petty method of showing his displeasure at the remarks made a few days back by the Vicar of Woodstock. Speaking at a clerical gathering, the vicar took occasion to express a strong opinion as regards the marriage of divorced persons, and he carried out his views in a practical manner by refusing to allow the bells of the parish church to be rung when his grace of Marlboro ugh returned to Blenheim with his rich American bride. The Duke thereupon stopped his annual contribution of £10 to the parochial schools, and forbade the rector and his curates to give any religious instruction in the schools of Bladon, which is part of the parish. He has also, through his agent, withdrawn the privilege of driving through Blenheim Park trom the Rector and his family. The schools will no doubt survive the loss of the ducal ten-pound note, but it will be long before " his grace " recovers from the ridicule with which he has covered himself by such petty spitefulness. THEATRICAL DIVORCE CASE. Affidavits have been filed for another theatrical divorce case, and the public will soon be flooded with the details thereof. Seven years ago Miss Florence St. John burst into a blaze of popularity. She had a fresh voice, a fine figure, and a pretty face, with a slight squint. She threw over her husband and married a Frenchman named Marius. Now she sues him for divorce, and he files un answer alleging collusion. THE PANAMA CANAL. There was a scene of excitement at the office of the Panama Canal Company on December 12. The crush of people to obtain shares was greater than on the day previous. At 4 o'clock p.in. De Lesseps appeared, and mounting a table, said, "My friends, the subscription is safe. Our adversaries are confounded. We do not need tl>« - : i -* l,lc financiers. You l.a- rp r-"ft : selves , b £ your own ev^ 1 -"' Iho V aual ,s .™" l «- Here T>e JjeSße P 3 was so overcome that he wept. Cheering, weeping, and with many congratulations, .all present shook hands with him. When the excitement had partly subsided, the news went round that 410,000 bonds had been subscribed for in Paris and the same number in the provinces. Marseilles alone took 86,000. An official of the company who replaced De Lesseps announced that the subscription lists would be kept open till Saturday noon. Large numbers immediately renewed their subscriptions, the receiving clerks being completely overtaxed. The next day another exciting scene occurred at the company's offices. On a call for De Lesseps, his son appeared, and announced that only 180,000 bonds had been subscribed for, and that the company would therefore begin returning the deposits on the 14th. Referring to his father's remarks on the 12th, he said, My father is younger in spirit than I. His remarks were made on the strength of a hopeful report I made him. The result is bankruptcy or the winding-tip of the company." He urged those present to petition the Government to come to the aid of the Company. Panama shares touched 137 francs ; centimes during the day, but closed at 156 francs 25 centimes. There was some talk oi an American syndicate representing 75,000,000 dollars taking hold of the Canal enterprise. De Leaaeps and his colleagues resigned their posts on December 15th. The Tribunal of the Seine appointed M. Hue Bandclot and M. Normandie as judicial liquidators. Of the committee appoiuted by the Chamber of Deputies to consider the Canal Bill, 17 are opposed to it, two in favour, and three reserve their opinions. Tno Bill postponing payment of the Company's liabilities has been rejected. Great uneasiness existed at Panama in regard to canul matters. The floods caused by the overflow of the Chagres river were reported as subsiding on December 15, but railway communication was still interrupted. MISCELLANEOUS. George Routledce, the publisher, died in London on December 14. A petition in favour of decimal coinage in England was signed by 70 members of Parliament on December 8. Sir Morell Mackenzie resigned from the College of Physicians, London, November 29, Slaving been censured for a violation of professional confidence in connection with Emperor Frederick's illness. W. S. Gilbert's new play, "Brantingham Hall," was produced at the St. James', November i>o, and damned. Gilbert took its cool reception so much to heart that he refused to appear when some friends called him. Madame Boulanger denies that she has applied for a divorce. She has retired to a convent with her youngest daughter. : Ex-Empress Eugenie went to Paris on : December 11 to receive -he chiefs of the Imperialist Committees.

It was officially announced on December ] 3th that the Pope never intended to leave Rome. Russians are building pontoons at Reni, in readiness to bridge the Danube. Mrs. Langtry, the English actress, has been offered 10,000 dollars by a New York publisher to write her autobiography, and has agreed to do so. Spalding's ball teams, receutly arrived in Australia, netted, since leaving Chicago en route, 20,000 dollars. The expense of the round trip is estimated at 30,000 dollars. Typhoid fever has become epidemic in Brooklyn, New York, the peculiarity being that the disease mostly ravages the wealthy classes. Among the recent victims are Isaac Bell, ex-U.S. Minister to Holland, and several young society belles. An English syndicate completed the purchase of all the leading cigar factories in Havana on. December 12th: the last bought was Juan Zance's establishment for 80,000 dollars in gold. A monopoly of all the fine cigars for the European market is thus formed, and the United States shut out completely.