MAIL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8931, 15 July 1892, Page 6

MAIL NEWS.

PREPARING FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION.

The last session of the present Parliament virtually closed June 3. The desire of a section of the Cabinet, supported by the Unionist party, to pass the Irish Local Government Bill, in order to go before the country with their Irish pledges redeemed, failed to prevail against the electoral exigencies. The Queen returns to Windsor June 22.

In a letter to the Trades Council, appointing June 16 for an interview, Mr. Gladstone complained for the first time of deafness, and asked the deputation to be few in number. His eyesight, too, appears to be failing, and he recently had to ask Mr. Morley to read some documents for him in Parliament.

Andrew Carnegie, the Scotch-American millionaire, had made a large indirect contribution to the Liberal election funds.

The whole of the 55 McCarthvites will seek re-election, and all the Parnellite seats will be contested by McCarthvites. General Collins and Mr. T. P. O'Connor have gone to Dublin to endeavour to promote a reconciliation between the two Irish factions but with little prospect of success. The New York Herald's correspondent, cables June IS :—" The dissolution of Parliament hangs like a great pall over London: Everything is unsettled, save the traffic of the (streets, and trade in necessary articles. The social season has been a disastrous failure. Now comes the Parliamentary dissolution with its rush of people to the country."

PLAN OF RESISTANCES. The Belfast Telegraph, May 30, publishes the promised plan of resistance to the mandates of the Irish Parliament, should such a body be established. The article is written by a prominent Irish unionist. It says the men of Ulster will not allow elections to occur. Tiie election writs will be publicly burned by the sheriffs of the counties anil the Mayor of Belfast immediately after they are received. J lulges and magistrates taking commissions from a new executive will not be recognised. The p dice will be reorganised, with special constables sworn to replace the regular police. The Queen's taxes will be paid, but not those levied by the Dublin Parliament. The Customhouse will be seized and held, till the question is settled. The article concludes : In the event of war, the North will be in a better jiosition both as regards credit and geographical position than the South. Belfast is unassailable, while Dublin is open to direct and immediate attack.

A statement giving the views of the Protestants of ister oil Irish Home Rule, and signed by the chief ollicers of the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational Churches in Ireland, and by OJt 1 ministers, elders, etc., was posted on Junes to every dissenting minister in the United Kingdom. The statement argues that Irish Home Rule would inevitably bring about an attempt by the Irish Roman Catholics to oppose the Protestants of Ireland, and that the latter would never submit to such oppression. The result would be most calamitous. Tile Dissenters in Great Britain are, therefore, appealed to to stand by their brethren in Ireland.

A crowded Unionist meeting was held in London on June *22, to support the appeal of the Protestants of Ulster to England. Many titled and prominent persons were present. Sir George Chubb presided. The Duke of Argyle delivered a speech, in which lie declared it was a slanderous falsehood to say the people of Ulster were aiming at religious ascendancy. " They were,'' he said, " against the ascendancy of the village ruffian and the parish Pope." A resolution, commending the attention of the appeal of Ulster to the attention of the British electors, was unanimously carried.

AGAINST HOME RULE. The great Ulster Convention, to consider the negative side of the Home liul" question, was held in Belfast on June 17. Work, generally, was suspended. The city was decorated, and many mottoes expressive of the Ulsterites' determination never to submit to the rule of an Irish Parliament were displayed. Ten thousand delegates were present when the Convention was called to order, after which the forty-sixth psalm. '"God is our refuge and our strength," was road by the Rev. Nathaniel Brown, D.D., -Moderator of the General Assembly. Robs-it McGeagh, President of the Ulster Liberal Unionist Association, moved, "That the chair be taken by the Duke of Abercorn." if he motion was carried.

The Duke took the chair, and addressed the Convention. He described the meeting as a solemn one, deeply earnest, and animated by love of country, family, home, religion, and, above all, by a determination to live as an integral part of the United Kingdom. He said the meeting was not a sham, but a throbbing reality, that would never have Home Rule. This declaration received prolonged cheering, the immense audience rising to give vent to its feelings. At the conclusion of his speech Sir W. Q. E wart proposed resolutions declaring that Ulster avowed its fixed resolve to retain unchanged its present position as an integral portion of the United Kingdom, and protested in the most unequivocal manner against the passage of any measure to rob it of its inheritance in the Imperial Parliament, under which its capital was invested, and its homes and rights safeguarded ; that it would have nothing to do with a Parliament certain to be controlled by men responsible for the crimes and outrages of the Land League, the dishonesty of the plan of campaign, and the cruelty of boycotting, many of whom have shown themselves ready instruments of clerical dominion ; that the attempt to set up such a Parliament will inevitably result in disorder, violence, and bloodshed, such as has not been experienced in this country; that Ulster will take no part in the elections or proceedings of an authority which, should it ever be constituted, Ulster will be forced to repudiate; and fellow-countrymen hitherto in favour of a separate Parliament are appealed to to abandon the demand which hopelessly divides Irishmen, and unite under the Imperial Legislature in developing the resources and furthering the best interests of the country. Upon the conclusion of the convention proceedings proper the delegates proceeded to the Botanic Gardens, where an outdoor demonstration was held at three platforms, and resolutions were adopted similar to those adopted at the Convention.

EXPLOSION ON A PETROLEUM VESSEL.

An appalling accident occurred, June 14, on the River Cironde, near Blayc, France, when the British steamer Petrolia, loaded with coal oil, from Philadelphia, became tilled with fumes from the cargo, which being accidently ignited by lightning during a thunderstorm, caused a tremendous explosion, scattering the decks and upper works in every direction, and setting fire to the vessel, Ihe oil floated on the surface of the water and set a number of vessels in the river on fire. These were mostly engaged in the river and coasting trade. They were burned to the water's edge. The Petrolia was completely destroyed,and '20 of the 40 men comprising her crew perished in the imes. The other 20 were rescued with difficulty, some of them in a badly burned condition. The lighters near the Petrolia sank in a few minutes after the explosion, drowning three men on board. The tire communicated to the landing stage and the woods along the banks of the river were also fired, and a quantity of valuable timber burned.

AN APPALLING DISASTER. The oil regions of Pennsylvania experienced, on June sth, a disaster from fire and water only eclipsed by the flood at Johnstown some years ago. Titusville and Oil City were visited by flood and fire, and nearly entirely destroyed, while explosions mac.e the earth tremble, sending the people teri or-stncken to the hills for their lives, and m their mad flight they trampled the weak under foot. It is safe to say that not less than 150 lives were lost, as nearly 100 bodies had been recovered, and many more were still missing. The property loss will reach into the millions. Besides Oil (Jity and litusvitle, Coney and Meadville were damaged to rhe extent of n quarter of a million. At 11.43 on the morning of the sth,

the city and country for miles around Titusville were startled by two explosions occurring almost simultaneously. Oil Creek was then a raging torrent, and fully 1000 people were watching the waters. Soon a green fluid was notice on the surface of the flood. This increased in quantity, and finally coloured almost the entire waters of the creek. A smell of oil and gas became perceptible, and the danger of fire was commented on. The words had hardly been uttered when 200 yards up the stream a mass of flame shot heavenward. The people stampeded like cattle, but hardly had they started when explosions rent the air, and the entire creek for hundreds of feet seemed one seething mass of flame and smoke. The panicstricken crowd shrieked madly in their efforts to escape, and women and children were trampled, some being severely bruised. In an instant the flames swept over the entire upper part of the city, which was flooded by the oily waters of the creek, and men, women, and children who were moving from their homes were caught by the flames, and if not burned to death outright, were drowned in the flood.. The sudden rise in Oil Creek was caused by the bursting of a dam at Spartansburg. The experiences at Oil City were similar to those at Titusville,

A BOHEMIAN MINE DISASTER. Four huudred miners, it is now known, lost their lives in the Birkenbenj Silver Mine disaster. The fragments or the* bodies brought to the surface," June 4tb, filled three waggons, many bodies were burned beyond recognition. The accumulation of gas in the mine greatly interfered with the work of the removal of the corpses. Only 13 who were rescued have survived, while 27 who volunteered for rescue work were killed by falling timbers or other accidents or suffocated to death. The faces of the victims were scorched and showed traces of a desperate struggle for life. The scents at the mouth of the pit were heart-rending. One woman fell dead aud another became insane. The rescuers were encouraged by hearing a bell in a neighbouring pit where a number of the miners were known to be imprisoned. It took a fortnight to explore the mine for those who were entombed. I),image to the mine amounts to 800,000 florins. Official reports state that 352 men lost their lives, anil 304 bodies were recovered, leaving 292 widows, ami 692 children under 14 years of age. The Austrian Social Democratic Congress made a report on this disaster on June 8, in which it is alleged the immense loss of life was due to officials driving miners back from the shaft when they were trying to escape, insisting there was no danger. This was just after the fire broke out. The key to the fire engine-house could not at once be found, aud time was lost in searching for it instead of breaking down the doors. When the key was found, however, the engines were of no use, as there was no water for them. The fire was caused by ignition from the lighted tapers of a small wooden altar erected in the lower galleries in honour of the patron saint of Bohemia.

A FLORENTINE TRAGEDY. According to recent despatches from Florence (June 6th), a cook named Cognacci has been the hero of a terribly bloody affair in that city. He had married a pretty German woman named Marie Straubinger, and the two settled in th.i palace of Count Co raze i, he as cook and she as waitress. Visiting the Count was a wealthy Florentine merchant named Alineari. He fell in love with the cook's pretty wife, and by numerous and costly gifts succeeded in betraying her. CogniKici was not asleep. He soon obtained proof of his wife's infidelity, and then proceeded to take horrible revenge. Marie and her babe were asleep together. He seized her by the throat and speedily strangled her. Then he smothered the infant. He had with him a kitchen knife. With this he severed his wife's head from her body, leaving the dead babe covered with the blood of its mother. Stealing out of the palace, he made his way to the residence of Alineari,! and forced a passage to his bedroom. Ah, wretch," Coguacci exclaimed to the terrified betrayer, who was loudly shouting for help, " you robbed me of Marie and she is dead, and our infant. You, too, must die.'' With that he shot the shrieking man through the heart. Cognacci was soon arrested, bound and taken to prison, where he was left calling on death to relieve him from his misery. A TERRIBLE FATE.

A frightful accident occurred on June 20. on board the new French cruiser Dupuy de Dome, at Brest. A trial was being made of her machinery, when the head of one of her boilers blew out and an explosion occurred in one of her coal bunkers, totally disabling the vessel. The fire-hold at once filled up with scalding steam and smoke, while boiling water covered the floor to the depth of several inches. The unfortunate engineers and stokers, imprisoned in the hold, writhed in anguish as the scalding steam tilled their lungs, and, falling to the floor, they were scalded with hot water. While in agony, they bit themselves ami companions, and struggled and fought together. Attempts were made to rescue them, but these were met by the same frenzied resistance, the sufferers biting those who attempted to drag them out. Finally fifteen were released, and taken to the Hospital. A number of the others are not expected to live.

A NOTABLE MARRIAGE. Count Herbert Bismarck and Countess Margaretta lioyoi were married at the Evangelical Church, Dorothea-Stras.se, Vienna, on Juno'2l. The church was filled with a brilliant assemblage. There was a burst of cheering when Prince Bismarck and Count Herbert arrived, and at half-past eleven another burst announced the arrival of the biide, escorted by Prince Hohenloiie von Bulow, of the German Embassy at Rome. Count von Schmvaletf, the Russian Ambassador to Germany, was the only Ambassador present. Both the Bismarcks, rather and son, wore the red and green ribbons of the Austrian Order of St. Stephen, and the Prince was loudly cheered by the populace on his way to the church. As the bridal party left after the ceremony, it was loudly cheered. The wedding breakfast took place at the Palfy P,ilac<\ at which the bridegroom toasted Count Sehouvaleff as his father's truest friend. The Count, after replying to the toast, went to Prince Bismarck, clinked glasses and whispered to him. The honours and ovations paid his grandfather's old Minister, have, it is said, incensed the German Emperor to a fearful degree.

BLOWN TO PIECES. The filling-house at the Mare Island Navy Yard, located in the Straits of Carquinez, Solano County, California, was blown to atoms on Monday, Juiie l.'ith, and thirteen sailors, belonging to the United States war cruiser Boston, engaged in filling shells with black, quick-burning powder, were literally torn to shreds. Two others wlie survived the explosion, were terribly mangled. Nobody can tell the exact cause of the disaster, and there are many theories extant concerning it. It is just possible, according to some old expert ordnance men, that powder fragments might have become lodged in the screw threds, and ignited while the cap of the shell was being screwed in. Others say that two apprentices were racing to see who could till tlie most shells in a given time, and one of them, in his haste, handled a shell carelessly, and the explosions resulted. The Boston's officers are blamed for allowing other than experienced men to engage in the work. An investigation was held, but the verdict was " pure accident."

FALL OF A BRIDGE. A waggon and street-railway bridge in course of construction between Covington and Newport, Kentucky, over the Licking River, collapsed 011 June 15th, and 40 workmen, besides Andrew and Robert Baird of Pittsburg, Pa., the contractors, were either crushed to death or drowned. The cause of he disaster was an imperfect foundation, the wooden beams composing it being about ten inches square, old and weather-beaten, and showing signs of having been used before. This false work was overweighted by the enormous iron sections above, and hence the disaster. The scene of the twisted and splin tered timbers with the mangled human bodies between, was a horrible one. The fall to the river was over 100 feet. Sixtyeight workmen were on the works at the time the collapse took place.

THE J ACKSON-SLAVIN FIGHT. The groat fistic encounter between the two heavy-weight Australians took place at the National Club, London, May 30th ultimo. The place was crowded to suffocation. The entrance became so much obstructed by the crowd that the owner of the building refused to allow any more to enter without a ticket. Two hundred policemen kept order in front of the club - house, where a surging mass had assembled with the expectation of being admitted. Lord Lonsdale opened the proceedings with a speech, and the fight began. After the first round it was evident that Slavin had 110 chance against the bigger man, yet he always came up pluckily. In the tenth round Slavin was knocked helpless against the ropes in the first two minutes of the round, being in a terrible condition from the fearful punishment he had received, and the fight was awarded to Jackson.

It was ten minutes after seven o'clock when Jackson and Slavin made their appearance in the ring. The usual preliminaries occupied only a few minutes. Fighting was continued till the tenth round, which is thus described : — Tenth round—Slavin came up very game, but he was weaker than he looked. After a few exchanges, Jackson landed a straight right-handed blow on Slavin's throat, sending him against the ropes. Before Slavin was able to recover Jackson was 011 him with both hands. Slavin became dazed from the effects of his terrible punishment. Jackson fought him all around the ring and succeeded

in knocking him out in the first two minutes of the round. Jackson was declared the victor amid terrific cheering. Jackson tipped the scales at 193 pounds and Slavin at 185 pounds. The ring was 20 feet in diameter instead of 24 feet. Among the heavy bets recorded was one of £500 to £200 on Slavin, made at the Victoria Club, and one of £200 to £100, also on Slavin, at the Criterion. Slavin, knowing the man he had to deal with, soon abandoned his running tactics in favour of cautious sparring. When it came to out-fighting Slaviu was no match for Jackson, who displayed wonderful science, yet Slavin's sudden collapse in the tenth round was an utter surprise to the majority of the spectators, who thought Jackson would win only by points. Despite the fact that Jackson is a negro, the victory is extremely well received here. Jackson invariably nailed his opponent as the latter came on, thus securing a blow of double impact. His frequent visitations on the nose and mouth nearly choked Slavin, as the blood trickled down his throat, troubling him greatly. At the close of the fight, Slavin, as he lay helpless and disfigured, appeared almost dead. He presented a woeful appearance, and showed plainly the effects of his terrible punishment. His eyes were tightly closed, his face badly swollen and discoloured, aud his body was covered with blood. Jackson, too, lost some blood, and showed the marks of the terrible encounter in which he had been engaged, but he was in a comparatively fresh condition, when the j fight was over.

hen Slavin was officially declared out" and Jackson was announced the victor, he walked away without any assistance of his seconds, and apparently was able to continue the struggle much longer. He appeared not greatly the worse for his encounter. There were present dukes and earls and marquises and baronets, and non-titled aristocrats in profusion. Colonel North, "Buffalo Bill," and Artist Furniss were noticed among the crowd. Out of regard for the aristocratic patrons, a fiat has gone forth that no names are to be mentioned.

The sports in attendance upon the fight, while applauding Jackson's magnanimity in not finishing off his opponent earlier, think he would have been more humane had he done so. Jackson is not a savage fighter, and when, in the tenth round, though blind and dazed, Slavin pluckily declined to lie down and admit his defeat, but held up his gory head to receive blow after blow, Jackson, in a helpless, dogged manner, stopped aud looked around, as much as to say, " Have I not done enough ?" His adherents warr.ed him to continue his blows, and again they were rained upon the almost defenceless man. Slavin swayed feebly and stood up again, but finally, iu response to a terrific blow, sank in a heap on the floor. Lord Lonsdale's speech of introduction was long, and was received with impatience. Considering the public comments on prizefighting, he begged the press to avoid using any objectionable word in the reports, and to describe the contest as really a boxing match under rocognised rules. Presently a loud shout announced the entrance of the combatants. Slavin's expression was one of dogged confidence, while Jackson's was that of a man who did not quite know what the result would be. Both looked in the pink of condition. In the opinion of the majority there was only one man in it, and that was Slavin. They are new left to ponder over the fact that it is one thing to possess the power to hit as hard as Slavin, but quite another tiling to get it home. More than once Jackson's supporters felt apprehensive, while Slavin's adherents always expected a great punch from their favourite, which never came. In tact, Slavin did not shine as a boxer. In the meantime Jackson's blows looked playful, but they hurt. He countered well, and took all tho sting out of Slavin's tremendous lunges. The wonderful part of it was Slavin's stamina. The remark was often heard that Jackson was no finisher, yet he gradually wore his opponent down, and when it came to the finish he give Slavin one of the handsomest "settlers' ever witnessed to the finest match on record.

In the House of Commons on June '2 Sir Wilfrid Lawson asked whether proceedings would be taken against the abettors of the Jackson-Slavin tight ? The Home Secretery replied that he had recommended the Public Prosecutor, it he could find material to justify it, to prosecute the managers of the right. The contest had not occurred with the cognizance of the police.

MISCELLANEOUS. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was increasing on .June 11, and lava in large quantities is flowing down the mountain side. An earthquake was felt on June 7th, at San Severino, from which, however, no damage resulted.

Count Leo Tolstoi, the well-known writer and philanthropist, is seriously ill. A duel was fought between the Marquis de Mores ami Captain Mayer, on June 23rd, near Paris, in which the latter was seriously wounded. The affair grew out of the antisemitic campaign. Mayer died the same evening from his wounds.

The Emperor William's yacht. Meteor beat the JuveniH at Harwich, May 31. Sir Gilbert Campbell, of London, the novelist. was arrested 011 June 5, charged with defrauding artists. An unusual ceremony took place at West Broiripton, Loudon, on the morning of .June 13. It was the burial of Long Wolf, an Ogallala Indian chief, who died the day previous at the Cody " Wild West"' encampment, from the effects of wounds received in various campaigns during his career as a Sioux warrior. His body bore 25 bullet wounds, all of which had become more or less painful with increasing age. Long Wolf makes the fifth American Indian grave at West Brampton from the " Wild West" show contingent. 0. S. Campbell, the American tennis champion, was defeated by Him, June 16th, at Liverpool, but experts say he played grandly. The last set was stubbornly contested, 22 games being necessary to settle it. The Prince of Wales was present, June "20tii. at the opening of the twenty-third annual show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in the beautiful park of Warwick Castle. The exhibition was quite up to the average in point of numbers, and the exhibits are fully up to the general standard.

Miss Stowell, of Melbourne, and Miss Abbott, of England, have carried the highest honours in the Cambridge examinations, coming out equally with the men of the firstclass, first division. The Mark L ine Express, of June "20, says it is expected that the British wheat crop this year will be a million quarters under that of 1891. Barley promises well, and there will be a good yield. The continual drain 011 the English wheat is likely to make the average price under 30 per cent.

AMERICAN SUMMARY. San Francisco, June 24. The town of Coquille. Oregon, was literally wiped out of existence by tire 011 May 30. The Roman Pontiff has decided to send a special exhibit to the World's Columbian Fair at Chicago in 1893, and has asked that space be reserved for the same. Such a step has never before been taken in regard to a world's fair by the Papal authorities. A brute by the name of Kentner, formerly county surveyor of Apache County, Arizona, accused of maltreating a little eight-year-old schoolgirl, was lashed out of the town of Hulbrook, in that territory, by eight indignant mothers. They used raw hides for the purpose, and scourged him for nearly a mile. Richard C. Beggs, who formerly worked as a clerk in Australia and New Zealand, but recently held the position of secretary of the Oakland (Gal.) Consolidated Street Railway Company, decatnped 011 June 7 to parts unknown, carrying with him 15,000 dollars of the company's money. Bob tord, the Missouri desperado, who shot Jesse James, the bandit and trainwrecker. some eleven years ago. was himself shot and killed by a deputy-sheriff named Edward Kelly, 011 June 8, at a place called South Creede, Colorado. Since the killing of James, Ford had been a professional gambler, and no new mining camp has been opened in which he has not cut a conspicuous figure. The Sells Brothers' circus arrived at San Francisco from the colonies by the Union Company's steamer Monowai, on Friday, June 9, in good order and condition. A strong and persistent demand for California dried fruit has developed in the English market, and a good deal of activity has been imparted to the trade. Public meetings are being held in San Francisco to close up the underground places of amusement in that city called " dives," and also to restrict the issue of licenses to sell liquor. Four Italians were lyncned at Mount Vernon, Washington, June 17th, by a party of white labourers, for murderieg a foreman by the name of Neilson. He was killed by a crowbar being thrust through his body. The white men in the railroad camp number 75, the Italians 200, who looked on while their fellow-countrymen were being strung up, taking no steps to prevent or avenge the action. A cyclone that swept over Southern Minnesota, June 16, involved the death of over 50 people. Concerning it, the dispatches read that houses were picked up by the force of the wind and dashed down to earth again, where the groans of the dying were heard among the broken timbers. The tornado is described as a " funnel-shaped cloud," the usual lortn in which these messengers of destruction come.

Public feeling has been aroused in • San Francisco in opposition to the wholesale immigration of Japanese into that city. Every

vessel from Japan brings a large contingent, and they are under-working und under-sell-ing th vhite man and woman everywhere. In ii.ri international douhle-scull rowing match for the world's championship, between Hanlon and O'Connor and Hosmer and Gaudaur, at Erie, Pennsylvania, June 23rd, the Canadians, Hanlon and O'Connor, won • 19.55.

A party of four, in the yacht Hayseed— appropriately named,—under the command of Captain Gisler, left Stockton, California, June 20, bound for Cocos Island, in the South Pacific, to search for pirate treasure, popularly supposed to be there buried. There have been scores of expeditions for the island like this fitted out from all parts of the world, and all have failed. The pirates' spoils, if there be any, still lie hidden in Cocos.