NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9615, 13 September 1894, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

m ■ THE KATE MARSDENCASE. Pastor Francis, of the : British-American Church, St. Petersburg, has written to the London Times (according to a dispatch of August 15) that the committee of Kate Marsden's friends formed in St. Petersburg in December last, to inquire into the serious charges made against her in England, America, and New Zealand, have continued their labours, and the result has been communicated to Miss Marsden's London-com-mittee, who will recognise that Miss'Marsden's work must be closed, and the committee must immediately dissolve " When the committee was formed Miss Marsden agreed that if the decision should be adverse she would surrender all decorations bestowed upon her by imperial and royal well-wishers. It is now my painful duty," adds Pastor Francis, "to call upon her to fulfil her promise. Written acknowledgement of the gravest charge has been made by Miss Marsden. You will thus know that no possible injustice will be done her. N. Pobedonesteff, Procurator of the Holy Synod,- has undertaken to forward to Siberia any funds now in the hands of the London-committee for the relief of the lepers." Per contra, Miss Kate Marsden, of the Red Cross Society, does not propose to remain passive under these charges. She has decided to prosecute Father Francis. THE EVICTED TENANTS BILL REJECTED. The rejection by the House of Lords was on a vote of 249 to 30. The Duke of Devonshire, leader of the Liberal Unionist party, led the debate. After Baron , Ashbourne, Baron Herschel, the -Marquis of Clanricarde, and others had spoken'tor and against the Bill, Lord Salisbury' spoke in opposition to the measure. He denied that?, the House of Lords was a landlords' House. They were threatened with abolition, bat he had noticed that in France when the second Chamber was abolished, the extiuction**bf: the Lower Chamber' followed. Re concluded by expressing the hope that the) House would do its duty and reject . the dangerous measure. The debate was in striking contrast to the monotonous discussion on Monday. A majority of the speakers displayed animation, which at times amounted to passion. Even- the Duke of Devonshire shook off his usual apathy, and spoke with great vigour against the measure. He expressed readiness, however, to assist the Government in any reasonable plan of settlement. , Lords Ashbourne and Herschel gave themselves the fullest rein, the latter especially displayed passion, clenching his fists as his invective grew fiercer and fiercer, until after a savage outburst, he concluded by shouting, "I will not waste breath any longer." The Opposition lost their temper at this, and there were angry cries of " Hear, hear." THE IRISH OUTLOOK. I The Irish leaders are extremely anxious about the outlook in Ireland for the coming winter, owing to the rejection of the Evicted Tenants Bill by the Lords. The Paris funds will be available for the support of the evicted but the danger arises from the feeling of keen exasperation throughout Ireland against the Lords, and the conviction that they are determined not to pass any Evicted Tenant* Bill, either compulsory or voluntary, in this Parliament. Ihe resentment of the evicted may drive them to commit crimes in some places. Irish Secretary Morley might then be compelled to take such action as would render him so unpopular that the Irish party could no longer support the Government. To increase the tension and to add to the difficulties of Morley's position; the landlords are arranging for an eviction campaign when the winter sets in. If this is carried out, disorder will be sure to follow, despite all the efforts of the Irish leaders to pacify the people. The chief hope of avoiding a dangerous situation lies in the effect of the report agreed upon August 18, by the Parliamentary Select Committee, declaring that the intentions of Parliament in passing Mr. Gladstone's Land Act in 1881 have been frustrated by the decisions of the. Land Commission and the Appeal Court; Judges, and recommending the passage of an. amending Bill rectifying the defects of the former measure, so that the iutentions of the Legislature cannot be defeated. WITHDRAWAL OF ENGLISH CAPITAL FROM THE UNITED STATES. The World's (New York) London correspondent cables, August 4, that the Statist, the leading financial journal of England, declares in its issue of date, that the immense withdrawals of English capital from the United States are no longer due to either domestic or Australian money difficulties, but are solely because of the distrust of the financial future in America. " This distrust is amply explained," the paper says, "By the. unwise currency policy followed bo long, the refusal of Congress to take proper measures to restore order to the currency, and the unsatisfactory state of the tariff. The currency question, however, is the main cause of all the trouble" The Statist says the visit of several leading American fiuancers to London just now, will be fruitless, because of these facts. I have talked, to-day, with a gentleman, adds the correspondent, having intimate relations with Liverpool merchants, who says the belief is very general among them that if the enormous withdrawals of English gold be not checked, the United States will, in an appreciable time, be practically on a silver basis. He reports the most gloomy feeling among these Liverpool merchants with American connections. EPIDEMICS IN CHINA. Some idea of the feeling entertained by the Chinese toward foreigners, which has caused anxiety for the safety of American citizens, is given in the report of the Canton plague received to-day at the Marine Hospital Bureau. Consul Charles F. Seymour, writing under date of J uue23rd, says :—" The natives are tryiug to blame foreigners for the plague, and have gotten up riots in Canton and the surrounding country." The consul reports that the plague does not seem to yield to medical treatment; that the mortality is 50 per cent, of the cases, and that the deaths since March number at least 40,000. Cholera had made its appearance in Canton in an epidemic form, but is not so threatening as to cause especial precautions to be taken against it. the Kaffirs and BOERS. Despatches from Pretoria, South Africa, , August 17th say The rebellion of the Kaffirs is spreading, and assuming alarming , proportions. The Transvaal police detach-; ment, which has been attempting to relieve ! I the garrison at Agatha, were repulsed with '. serious loss. Emboldened by their success, , the Kaffirs pursued the retreating troopers, ', and attacked the main column of the Boer , forces. The Kaffirs were driven back, but , the advance of the' column was retarded. From the Boer settlements all along the I Letaba River, came reports of severe fighting between isolated parties of retreating Boers, \ and the Kaffirs, who are burning Boer home- '. steads all along the river. The Boers are , fleeing before the Kaffir advance, taking all [ their portable property, but large quantities '■> of provisions have necessarily fallen into the , hands of the Kaffirs. The latter have mur- . dered a number of Boers and their wives and children, and the fiercest feelings of the , Boers have been aroused against the rebels, f In all the disturbed districts mail and passenger coaches have been stopped, the pas--1 sengers killed, the coaches looted and dex stroyed, and the mules stolen. THE PACIFIC CABLE. * It appears from an official statement issued 3 by the Dominion Government (as an Ottawa r dispatch of August 8 reads), that it has been " decided to abandon Hawaii as a port for the c landing of the Canadian and Australian ] Pacific eable. Tenders are invited for seven different plans. Plan 1 invites tenders for e the construction of a cable, to be the pro--1 perty of the Government, bat to be guaranl teed by the construction company. Plan 2, 6 is for the cable to be run by the company I undertaking the work under the basis of a subsidy, the tender to stipulate the amount 8 of the subsidy required, and the number of 3 years for which it will be operated. The a third plan calls for a tender for the construc- " tion and operation of a cable for a stipulated " share of the earnings, to be made by the com- !' panies tendering. The parties tendering are , asked in each case to tender for seven difte- , rent routes under the three separate plans }' mentioned, the Government to regulate the amount of tolls to be charged by an Order-iu-Council..... ■;..' >, ; . .-... ;",.'• g LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, e Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, ie ex-Chanceller of the Exchequer in Lord " Salisbury's Cabinet, African traveller, and it ex-Secretary for India, accompanied by Lady n Churchill, who was Miss Jennie Jerome, h daughter of Leonard Jerome, an eminent if sporting man of New ¥ork, arrived in San k Francisco, California, August 14, on their re way around the world for the benefit of Lord ty Randolph's health, as stated. Various •" rumours have been set afloat as to the cause r. of his lordship's ill-health, and he has been v- made the victim of morphine, opium, core caine, and intoxicants of all kinds. That b- he is a sick man is not apparent from out3. ward indications. He strides along vigorie ously, has a healthy colour in his face, and jy is vivacious in-manner. The travellers will h- spend a few days in San Francisco and at at Del Monte, then go by steamer to Victoria, d British Columbia, whence they will sail for d- Japan on August 27 for a long stay abroad. J® THE PULLMAN INVESTIGATION.; it. The Strike Commission appointed by Preit, sident Cleveland commenced work August il. 15. So far it has been developed that the re strike of the rail road operatives was caused by the statement of the general managers

that they would back up Pullman during iti continuance; that, according to one witness the strike was not merely for the protection ' i;l|0 Pullman employees, but as the genera! managers had organised against the Arae rican . Railway Union, the members had t< protect themselves. Mary Abbott Hood, £ woman striker, testified that the wages paic by the Pullman Company were insufficient for the bare necessities of life. , She received 1 dollar per day, and paid 17 dollars 10 cents per month rent for one of the pompany'i nouses. Testimony to the same effect wa! given by other witnesses. About 4000 met struck at Pullman, and each paid 1 dollar tc the American Railway Union. „ \ 1. ■'. MISCELLANEOUS. \The steamship Gaelic, which left San Fran Cisco on Monday, August 6, carried from 15,000 to 16,000 barrels of flour to Hongkong. This is the largest shipment of flour to China for a longtime from that port. - The Central News says that the British Government officials are' watching carefullj all firms that are fitting out ships and manu factoring ammunition. Many .firms have been warned against working for either Japan or China, • '■■.''■ • -~■■.■'■■ v ; A ; upecial despatch from Rome at London, August 21, says, the Pope had an attack oi syncope on Sunday, the 19ch, and for some minutes his condition caused much alarm." v: The House of Commons, August 14, by a vote of 112 to 107 adopted a local option amendment to the Miners' Eight-Hour Bill. Mr. John Morley and many other Liberals supported the amendment. Mr. Beresford Hope has sold the Saturday Review/almost 40 years in the Hope family, to L. H. Edmonds. Mr. Walter Pollock retires from the editorship. .-'•'•, The wool manufacturers of Bradford, Leeds, and Halifax, where stocks are abnormally low, and where business has been stagnant for years, expect a revival as a result of the tariff settlement in the United States. The London Daily News, in its financial article, says the passage of the Tariff Bill by the American Congress has been followed by great activity in many markets. Metals, it says, have most readily responded, especially copper arid tin," on the expectation of a large 'American demand for tin plates. ;■ ■: The.Freeman's Journal (Dublin), August 15th, commenting upon the Evicted Tenants Bill, rejected by the .House of Lords, urges Ireland to resent "this intolerable insult." " Peace cannot be longer preached to evicted tenants," the article continues, now is the time for the people to make their power felt in -strong and united action. Justice and mercy fail to move the landlords. Let the pressure of public opinion be applied in practical form." The London Times of August 13 announces the death of James Allan, head of the Allan Steamship Line. . . Lord Salisbury, as President of the British Association for the current year, delivered his inaugural address before a brilliant gathering in Oxford, August 8. Professor Huxley, in seconding a vote of thanks to the new President, declared that "Lord Salisbury has set the seal of his authority upon the doctrine of evolution." J. G. L. Mowatt, librarian of the Pembroke College, Oxford, committed suicide by hanghimself on the night of August 7. The London Standard announces the betrothal of Prince Adolphus, the eldest son of the Prince of Teck, to Lady Margaret Evelyn, youngest daughter of the Duke of Westminster. The visit of the Prince of Wales to the United States cruiser Chicago, at Cowes, which was made on Saturday, August 11, was highly satisfactory. As he stepped on board the cruiser she fired a salute of 21 guns, the British ensign was hoisted, and the yards were manned. Admiral Erben, Captain Mahan, Lieutenant-Commander Potter, and Lieut. Clover, greeted the Royal party as they came aboard. The Prince of Wales wore the uniform of a British Admiral, and the Duke of York that of a post-captain, while the members of the Prince's suite were attired in the uniforms of their respective ranks. A guard of marines was drawn up on the port side of the quarter-deck, and they were carefully inspected by the Prince. At his request all the officers of the Chicago were presented to him in turn. In the House of Commons on August 16, Mr. Henry Fowler, Secretary for India, said that the Indian Government had no intention of re-opening the mints to the free coinage of silver. The experiment of closing the mints would be well tried before there would be any thought of abandoning it. So far there had been no reason for alarm. The great difficulty was the steady depreciation of silver, and sooner or later this would force India to go over to a gold standard. English newspapers sent to France (according to a Paris dispatch, August 6) by mail or otherwise, are examined by the French police in order to see if they contain infringements of the Anti-Anarchist law, particular attention being paid to the publishing of reports of the trial of Cesario, the assassin of President Carnot. •' The treaty between France add the Congo State was signed on August 14. It provides that the French Congo colony's territory shall extend to the Congo and Nile basins. It also modifies the treaty between the Congo State and England, the Congo State renouncing the lease Great Britain granted which led to the recent dispute with England. According to the Paris Le Petit Journal a plot to assassinate Premier Dupuy was discovered on August 17. The Premier was in Vernet-les-Bain, near the Spanish border, accompanied by three detectives. The Anarchists, says the Journal, had been warned of danger the night before the police prepared to arrest them, and fled to Spain. The plot was hatched at Barcelona by French and Spanish Anarchists. Three men were designated by lot to cross the border about the middle of August and assassinate the Premier during his stay at the baths. Prince Emanuel of Orleans was arrested in Bordeaux on August 17 while on his way to visit Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. He recently applied for admission into the Austro-Hungarian army, and the Emperor granted the desired permission. Archduke William 111., son of the late Archduke Charles, and a second cousin of Emperor Frauds Joseph of Austria, was unhorsed, near Baden, on July 29, and died from concussion of the brain. He was testing a favourite animal at the time as to shying at the electric cars. . Earthquakes were felt in Macedonia, old Servia and Eastern Bulgaria, July 27th. Many houses at Varna were damaged, and a number of people killed. According to a Tien-Tsin despatch, August 6th, Jules Deutril de Rhines, the eminent French explorer, has been murdered at Thibet, and his body thrown into the river. The French Envoy has demanded of the Chinese Government recovery and return of Deutril's body and papers, and proper compensation for his family. Professor J. W. Spencer has made the startling announcement, in a paper read before the Geological Society of America, August 14, that the North American continent is slowly sinking. His measurements have been made at the mouth of the Missii ssippi, and in the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida. , , __~., The treaty between China and the United States ratified recently, prohibits the coming I of Chinese labourers to the United States for the next ten vears, upon conditions specified. The Chinese" Government, will require all Americans in China to be registered in the same way as the Chinese are listed in the United States. | Forest fires near Merrill, Wisconsin, raging I during the first fortnight in August, have destroyed 700,000 feet of lumber, and 200,000 feet of logs. Great losses have also occurred near Gladwin and Watermeet, Wisconsin. Fires are raging in all directions. Fruit raisers of Linaun, Solano County, California, have begun the exportation of fruit to England by the carload, and expect good results. Pears and plums will be the principal varieties. It is expected to land the fruit in Liverpool in 12 days, preserved in refrigerating cars and in cold storage chambers on board the steamships. The cost per carload ; of 480 boxes of fifty pounds each of pears will be 750 dollars. President Cleveland has requested Secretary Carlisle to give instructions to the Secret Service Bureau to have three detectives on duty at Gray Gables during the stay of his family at that place. He is fearful one of his children may be kidnapped. Madame Osborne, the once famous operatic singer, wife of George Pool, died in New York, August 5, in extreme poverty. She had to beg her bread. The town of Phillips, Wisconsin, was swept out of existence on July 28th by a forest fire. The loss is about a quarter of a million of dollars, with twenty or thirty lives. •_ Heat was so excessive in New York and Philadelphia on July 29th, and also in Brooklyn, that many persons succumbed to sunstroke. Prostration and death was everywhere. .v Negotiations are said to be pending between the striking car-builders at Pullman and a large corporation, much of the money of which has been subscribed by capitalists in the Eastern States and England, that may deprive " Model Town," as George M. Pullman's place is called, of all its skilled labour. The new corporation has a capital ot over five million or dollars, and proposes to manufacture palace and freight cars and dog coaches, in opposition to Pullman. George M. Pullman, the multi-millionaire, who was directly responsible for the recent great railroad tie-up on the southern and western railroads of the United States, now proposes to evict all the late strikers from his model town near Chicago, giving for a reason that he must make house room for new employees. It is a desperate outlook for.: the. unfortunates. As one poor woman exclaimed, "Surely they will not put us out. Where would we go?, .We have not money enough to buy a bushel of coal. We have uo

clothes, and the American public would not stand by and see a thousand families homeless " While Pullman is riding thus roughshod over former employees, the AttorneyGeneral of Illinois filed petition on August 11 that the Pullman Palace Car Company's charter be declared void, and for cause sets forth that the company has usurped and exercises privileges and powers not warranted under the said charter, and with a persistent disregard for the law of the State of Illinois.