NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8361, 15 September 1890, Page 6

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

EMIN PASHAS ADVENTURES.

Authentic news has been received at Zanzibar of Emin Pasha. He had some severe fighting with the Masai in Ugogo, and killed very many of them, using a Maxim gun A/l th destructive effect. His soldiers, armed with the new German rille, fired ail immense quantity of ammunition, of which the pasha now needs a fresh supply. Emin Pasha seized 1201) head of cattle, and had some further lighting with the Ugogo natives, whom he defeated with great slaughter. ACCIDENT TO CHRISTINE NILSSON. A serious accident happened > to Countess de Cassa Miranda (lice Christine Nilsson). While entering a railway carriage at the Paris Gare de I'Est, to go to Lucerne, she slipped and fell, and her leg was jammed between the footboard and the platform. She was obliged to return at once to her hotel in the Rue Clement Marofc. She cannot yet put her foot to the ground. MURDER OF A COUNTESS. A terrible murder is reported from Terni, Italy. The Countess Menghi, an aged lady, was murdered in her palace by her coachman, who is said to be the head of a band of robbers. When he appeared at her bedside with four others, whom he had let into the house, the countess recognised him and begged him to have mercy, but all to no effect. The countess's maid is believed to be an accomplice, as she witnessed the murder and did not raise an alarm nor call the police till the murderers had lied with £10,(XX) worth of jewels. Bloodstains were found on her clothes. A TELEPHONIC FEAT. It is believed that the greatest achievement in the way of telephonic communication is that of the telephone between New York and Chicago. By this medium audible converse is held between two persons standing just 1000 miles apart. The telephone between Paris and Marseilles only covers miles, which is a long way short of New York and Chicago.

A DRAMATIC MURDER IN FRANCE. A murder which was perpetrated at St. Ouen on Saturday, August 2, was attended by unusually dramatic circumstances. The name of the victim was Esposito Deborogo, a working sugar refiner, '2.'! years of age. Some time ago lie was engage? 1 to be married to an Italian girl, Virginie del Greco, but a few days ago he intimated to her that he had no intention of marrying her, though she expected shortly to become a mother. Del Greco's family immediately held council, at which were present the father, the girl's two uncles, V irginie herself, and her elder sister. It was decided that Deborogo should be left the choice between marriage and death, the two uncles being charged to inform the young man of this decision, and, in case of refusal to marry, they were to carry out the sentence. At one o'clock on Friday these two men, Carmine and Victor del Greco, armed themselves with revolvers, and begged one of their fellow-countrymen, Longos, to tell Deborogo that they had something to say to him. The unsuspecting young man came, and was at once asked by Carmine whether he meant to keep his promise of marrying Virginie. Deborogo hesitated, and sought to elude the question, but the other uncle insisted. The young man refused to give a categorical reply, and was literally riddled with bullets. He fell dead, struck with seven bullets, three in the head, and four in the chest. Virginie and her sister were standing by ' and witnessed the murder with perfect composure. Carmine del Greco, Longos, and the two young women were arrested, but Victor del Greco succeeded in escaping. MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE. A sad accident occurred at Fontainebleau. A young student for holy orders, who was spending his holidays with the Abbe Leger. went to bathe in the river Seine. The abbe and his housekeeper's son remained upon the bank of the river. Suddenly a cry was heard, and the young; mall was carried under by the current. The housekeeper's son jumped in to rescue him, and was in his turn sucked down. Seeing this, the abbe, who was 45 years old, jumped into the water without staying to divest himself of his cassock ; but his movements were impeded, and although a good swimmer, lie also was soon lost to sight. When at length help arrived it was too ■ late, and the rescuers were only able to bring up three corpses. SHOCKING DISCLOSURES IN ROME. The public has been greatly shocked by some, painful revelations following upon the death of a Jesuit priest named Giuseppe, who expired suddenly in the confessional chair at the church of San Ltiigi, while hearing the confession of a young woman. Subsequently the woman made a sensational statement. She declared that the priest was her father, and that she confessed to having been unduly familiar with her own brother, in ignorance of their relationship. The horror of the thing brought on an apoplectic seizure, and the priest expired in his chair. PLOT AGAINST THE CZAR. The Dix Neuviiime Si«k:le publishes a telegram stating that another Nihilist plot against the Czar is discovered in St. Petersburg. Arrests, including that of Professor Corlowski, of the university, have been made. The Figaro has received a despatch confirming the above, and adds that many arrests have also been made in Moscow. Two superior otlieors compromised in the plot have committed suicide. MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY AT NIAGARA. A mysterious affair happened atthe Falls on August 2. A young gentleman named William Ellis, the son of a wealthy brewer, of Springfield, Illinois, arrived at Clifton House, accompanied by his fiancee, Miss Alice Drew, her mother, Mrs. Drew, and her brother Alfred, a Chicago lawyer. Subsequently the party visited the different points of interest, and crossing to the American side, stood for a few moments gazing at the Horse Shoe Falls. There were many other visitors about at the time. Young Ellis induced Miss Drew to approach the edge with him, when he suddenly clasped her round the waist, and before the horrified mother or anyone else could interfere, he uttered a loud yell and jumned with her over into the falls. Their bodies were swept away, and have not yet been recovered. A BERLIN SUICIDE. A Berlin merchant named Mann, having discovered that his wife was untrue to him, locked her up for three days in a dark room, with nothing but bread and water. On the morning of the fourth day the woman found the door unlocked, and passing out was horrified to find the dead body of her husband suspended from the wall, immediately outside the door. Before taking his life, the suicide had sent a letter to the police authorities, charging a city judge with being the author of his wife's ruin. The latter has b- suspended pending an official investigaAN IRISH ELOPEMENT. * A sister of tne Convent of Sisters of Charity, Ballaghaderin, County Mayo, Ireland, recently wrote to Archbishop O'Brien, of Halifax, Canada, for assistance on behalf of the relatives of Kate Higgins, aged 19, a welleducated girl, whose disappearance had caused her family great anxiety. It appeared that she had become enamoured of Richard Kelly, a member of the Royal Irish constabulary, who was 20 years her senior, and had a wife and children. He resigned his position in the force and commuted his pension for a lump sum, and with the money eloped to America with Kitty. Thence the couple passed to Canada,' and a Halifax detective has succeeded in finding her in St. Patrick-street, where Kelly is in business. The girl has been offered a free passage back to Ireland, but refused, electing to stay with Kelly. A CIVILIAN SHOT BY A GUARDSMAN. A man, while passing Wellington barracks about half-past ten on Monday night, August 4, was shot at by the sentry. fortunately the bullet only went through his coat and did him no injury. As soon as he had fired the shot Private Bennett, of the Ist battalion Scots Guards, appears to have conducted himself somewhat 3trangely. According to one witness he brought down his rifle to "the read};," as though he was about to reload, and it was not until Police-sergeant Littlefield was in the act of seizing him that he desisted and leant his weapon against one of the large guns close by. All who were present agree that Bennett was in a state of mental confusion, although great difference of opinion exists to tne cause of his bewilderment. His comrades naturally speak as well as they can of him, but his superiors do not hesitate to declare that his cnaracter during his three or four years' connection with the regiment has not been irreproachable. Some time ago he was brought back to barracks as a deserter ! On the prisoner's behalf it is represented I that his mind was affected long ago by an 1 injury received in the head when living at 1

i Paisley, and that quite recently he hi, I fered from occasional attacks of reli'""'" mania. When placed under arrest he'' 011 ' 1 served a dogged silence respecting hi 3 .1 i,r! - ordinary conduct, and volunteered^" explanation of what had happened' r 1 being brought before the magistrate J" prisoner said he had no recollection it ■ occurrence. He was committed for trial ! A SAD ACCIDENT. On Sunday. August 3, three chij, gathering shells in a bay near Kjirush I 6"' I overtaken by the incoming tide and di f , When the bodies were found, some h" afterwards, the little ones were clasw^ 8 each other's arms. '5 LORD SALISBURY ON THE AFRjr.. AGREEMENT. N Responding to the toast of " Her M a ; f > Ministers," at the Mansion House on Am, • 5 6, Lord Salisbury touched on the 3 ' with Germany. He said: Men have corned the agreement we have made with if' ' principal nation of the world ie. rr ! Africa,' partly, no doubt, on account" r ,f 'Jr great field opened to English industry a i enterprise, but also because they reco"ni that in this agreement we are removing ri" most probable and dangerous causes on,/ sible quarrel between nations who always to be at peace. (Cheers.) \Ve d .",' been engaged in what, to the satirist j.. ''' appear the somewhat needless task of ing lines on maps of places where none lit* trodden. We have been giving away I^, and mountains to each other, and we i, u ! : been only hindered by the small imiiodimethat we never knew exactly where ttiev v\ (Laughter.) But whatever superfluous "in congruity there may have been in this p trt t tion of the unknown, there is this n',',,' practical merit—that it has remove:.l pass,!,: 1 causes of quarrel from those members of !- respective nations who, on account of their very adventurous and gallant and self.i|e V r lt ",,j lives, are too apt to push with undue ferocity the claims of their respective countries each other. In the present day vie cnoallow these tilings to be fought out on t,' spot. The electric telegraph lias made a t,.',. rible change. If, in the days of Lord Cliy { for Warren Hastings, a Dutchman an] a .. Englishman came to blows in an isaer'n place, nobody heard of it for six months; ;lU ,| when they did hear of it, they felt it wiis't (|o antiquated for a subject of diplomatic into', vention. But now we know it next morning Newspapers publish it, leading articles i-fj" large upon it, ingenious and intelligent mi:,... tions are asked about it in the House ot c .m----monsquestions so constructed as to : duce the greatest self-glorification for 'the questioner and embarrassment for the .Mini," ter (laughter)—defiances are exchanged in fierce leading articles from one capital i, another, and diplomacy very soon fuels the effects of the contagion evoked. These a; e real dangers ; and if you feel that we hny, given up ourselves too zealously to partition and distribution of territories which do nr.; exactly belong to us, and which, indeed, 1,..! long to other people, and which it, will i... some time before our authorities have the chance of visiting, you must always read U. tween the lines, and see that we have beea the means of avoiding a cause of quarrel 1)., tween the nations of the world, and tii.,3 England has contributed her quota to the cause of peace. A DISTRESSING AFFAIR. Distressing, indeed, are the accounts re. ceived by the Gazette de Midi of Marseille? concerning the wreck of the steamship l.j Reine, a few miles from the Tunis harbour. The fate of Mr. John Bernard lirowu, a :i English passenger, was truly deplorable. In endeavouring to get from the ship one of his arms was jammed between her and a boat lashed alongside, whilst the tire was ra;dii; near him, so that apparently he was preeluded from the possibility of escaping, in this dreadful dilemma he entreated some the people who were getting over the ship's side into another boat, to cut off his arm, that he might join them ; which not being complied with he contrived to take a penknife from his pocket and put an immediate end to his life, by cutting his throat. INSUBORDINATION. The Daily Graphic says : —One hears very unpleasant accounts, not only of the .structural condition of the Victoria in the .Mediterranean, but also of the state of discipline of the ship's company. Similar reports, some of which are unfortunately very wellfounded, are far too common just now. An evil spirit of insubordination seems to be abroad in both services. It is impossible to suppose that only the men are to blame, but it is a fact that they do not sufficiently hear in mind that there are legitimate modes as well as illegitimateo nes of obtaining the redress of all real grievances. « MYSTERIOUS POISONING CASE. On Friday night, August 8, New Cross, London, was the scene of an awful tragedy, in the enactment of which romance and conjugal infelicity appear to have played a serious part. At about eiirht o'clock in the evening the wife of Dr. Knowlson Townsend, of 168, Lewisham High Road, was found lyin<r dead at 14, Park Road, Aniersham Road, New Cross, by the side of the dead body of Dr. de la Motte. A correspondent states that some years ago Dr. Townsend, who is a handsome and robust man, took a medical practice at the corner of Manor Road, New Cross—about live minutes' walk from the scene of Friday's tragedy—living there in apparent comfort with his wife, and making himself personally popular throughout the neighbourhood. Among his numerous companions, Dr. De la Motte, as he was generally designated, was one of the best known. Dr. de la .Motte was a comparatively young man of fair complexion, clean-shaven, except in respect to a reddish moustache, and of somewhat stout build. A familiar visitor to Dr. Townsend's house, he was treated more like a brother than a stranger. Dr. Townsend's two boys, aged 9 and 11 respectively, testify to this by the freedom with which they were wont to treat him. Dr. Townsend recently determined to retire from practice in this country, and to leave, with his wife, for the United States. Dr. Ezard then occupied the house in the Lewishain-road, and attended Dr. JLownsend patients. About ten weeks ago when this arrangement was made, a suite of rooms was taken by Dr. Townsend in the house tenanted by Miss Ann Cracknell, 14, lark Road, in which lie and his wife were to reside _ until their final departure. Here they lived until Friday evening, when the doctor left home in* the best of spirits at seven o'clock, uttired in a grey check suit, to join the steamship Ludgate "Hill, oil the eve of departing for New York. Mrs. Townsend was to remain behind in order to see the baggage safely despatched, and go 011 board on Saturday. An hour after the doctor had left two men drove up to the house in a cart—one a carman and the other a friend who had come over to assist with the boxesforthe purpose of conveying the luggage tc the Albert Docks. On making their business known they were at once admitted, and proceeded under directions to the back bedroom on the first floor. Upon entering the room the carman noticed Mrs. Townsend lying on the bed fully dressed but apparently asleep, and Dr. De la Motte in an insensible condition half-way under the foot of the bed. Oil a doctor being summoned he pronounced tliev were both dead. Death in each case had been caused from poisoning by prussic acid. Hie whole affair is wrapped in mystery. It is reported, however, that shortly before her death Mrs. Townsend called at a chemist's shop in the neighbourhood and purchased some poison.