HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4319, 30 March 1901, Page 7 (Supplement)

HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

MILITARY ACADEMY SCANDAL. J nero has been an unpleasant scandal at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and, although officials keep such matters as .secret as possible, the facts ol the. ease have been. brought' to light in the course of an official inquiry. It appears that a certain cadet complained to bis parents that he had been subjected by three other cadets to an assault u! a very serious kind, as a consequence oi which the parents lodged a complaint at the War Office. An inquiry was thereupon ordered at the academy, during which Colonel Coker (Deputy-Com-mandant,) acted as president. It scorns that the three cadets admitted having committed an assault, but denied other allegations that were made against them. The War Office subsequently ordered all three cadets to bo dismissed, and expressed the opinion that Colonel Coker had not taken sufficient trouble \ at the inquiry. He has therefore been replaced by another officer, although, it seems questionable as to whether Colonel Coker is as much to blame as a higher authority. Meanwhile, the parents of one of the youths complained of are, it is understood, taking proceedings for defamation of their son’s character. SHOOTING A LOVER. A tragic occurrence took place recently at an oilman’s shop in Hampstead. A respectable looking young woman entered the shop, and, it is alleged, almost immediately presented a loaded revolver at the young man in charge of the shop, named John Beilis, aged twenty-five, a nephew of Mr Griffiths, tho proprietor. The revolver was a flveehambered one, fully loaded, and two or three of tho chambers were discharged at flcllis, wounding him in tho head and mouth. The young woman, it is said, then turned tne weapon-upon her. self ami fired at her own head. Beilis fell on tho Hoor, dangerously wounded, and tho young woman also fell down, more from fright than actual injury. Hearing the unusual noise, Mr Griffiths hastened into the shop, and, seeing what had happened, sent for Dr Burt and tho police. Tho lamentable affair is said to be the result of a lover’s quarrel. Further inquiries went to show that the injured man and his assailant, whose name is Maud Eddington, have been lovers for upwards of four years, and were formally engaged. Last week Beilis remarked to his aunt mat it was “all over between himself and his young lady.’’ Three shots were fired altogether. The first bullet struck tho man on Iris upper lip, smashing one of his teeth, which broke to some extent the force of tho shot, because the bullet fell downwards and outwards, slightly grazing his lower lip. The unfortunate man reeled towards the counter, and the woman then fired another shot at him, this one striking him immediately behind the loft ear, the bullet embedding itself in the base of the brain. A third shot was fired, and it has been assumed that she directed It against herself. A .S TAB THAT CLASH; TO SHINE. Miss Symantha 'Ellen Brown, sued John Brain, before Mr Justice,Buehnill and a jury' in the Queen’s Beach Division fur breach of promise. Tho defendant denied the promise, said that if there ever was one it hat! Jjoen waived, and also pleaded the Statute of Limitations. Mr Richards, for Miss Brown, said the plea of the Statute of Limitations was rather an extraordinary one in an action of this kind, especially in view- of the fact that the parties had been engaged for fourteen years. They became acquainted in the .year 188&, when the plaintiff entered the service of the Hon. Mrs Portman. at Corten Denham Rectory, Somerset, while 'Mr Brain was a a few in the neighbourhood. Within a fow months the engagement was entered into, and it continued till the year 1899, when defendant broke it off, and plaintiff was compelled to leave her situation, as she could not bear the observations of her fellow servants, and' residents in tho village. When defendant came to town he stayed at the Aveuuo Hotel, Piccadilly, although it was now said he was only a labourer on. his mother’s farm. In his letters from tho metropolis defendant stated that he had visited the Alhambra and the London Pavilion, tind added, “Oh, what a lot there are to cat ah one if they could, bat I am not to be tempted. (Laughter.) You are the only girl I have kissed for three years, and I hope it may be tho same in the next three years.” In one of a number of affectionate letters he wrote ho quoted arid adopted a motto from a cracker, ■which., ran as follows: My love for you is not a ’Spark •Which only flashes in the dark, But like a steady, shining star, Whoso light is seen from near and far. Ultimately the defendant did not see tho plaintiff and did not write. Miss Brown denied that the engagement was terminated by mutual .consent. No evidence was called, for tho defence, and the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with , £250 damages. Judgment was entered, with oosts. ELEVEN MEN KILLED IN A HAT FACTORY!; One of tho most disastrous explosions which have occurred in the Manchester district for many years past happened at the hat works of Messrs' J. Wilson and Sons, Denton. Eleven lives are known, to have been sacrificed, while the number of injured—several of them very seriously—is ■ estimated at from twentyto thirty. The manufactory comprises a considerable range of buildings devoted' to the different processes of liat making. Shortly before eleven o’clock tho workpeople were startled by a terrific explosion, which seemed to shake the wals to their foundations, and shattered every pane of glass in the vicinity. A panic seized upon tho workpeople (between five and six hundred), and for a few moments | they lost control of themselves. Women 1 shrieked and cried, and men appeared I to be almost paralysed. !

The proof-house had been completely wrecked, and it seemed inevitable that tho whole of the inmates—twenty-one —must have perished. To add to the general dismay, a fire broke out, and threatened to destroy other portions of tho buildings. As quickly as possible the members of the Denton Voluntary Brigade were on the spot, and after securing the flames from spreading, they assisted in tho work of rescue. The task was of a. most gruesome and painful nature. Under one huge tank were found the mangled remains of six bodies, tho whole mass being a confused heap of. charred flesh. Recognition of any one of tho corpses was impossible, save by some articles of clothing. In other instances limbs had been blown off, one

i j poor fellow -h. rr I another his The bodies -were lain ouOTnfflTnujoimng shed, and ttriie among the large crowd which, had assembled, who had cause to think a relative might he among them were allowed to' inspect the remains. In som.o.capeif. tj.io fear proved to be only • too, wpu' founded,, and distressing scenes took .place, as wives or. mothers and fathers .-identified their lost ones by a piece of clothing or some, personal pe- ' cnliarityr • , . The exploit on, ns already; stated,' took place in the -pmoLliou.se, where the, raw and limp felt is-Hansfbnned into a stiff material. AfterTbeing, dipped into a liquid'containing a proportion of methylated spirits, tho pieces of felt are placed in a largo drying stove, the tern-: poraturo of. .which is, maintained at a high point. The evaporating spirit from the felt is -caught, and. condensed, so that a considerable quantity can be saved and again utilised. It is supposed that in some way or other the spirit in the stove became ignited, and than caused tho explosion. Snob was the terrible force of tho concussion that its effects were felt at Oldham, five miles away, whilst at Droylesden, three miles distant, the inhabitants wore so impressed with tho idea that tho local gasworks had blown up that large crowds at once made their way to them in tho full expectation of (lading the structure reduced to ruins. BRAZILIAN GENERAL’S ESCAPADE. A scandalous scene took place at the , Brazilian Legation, Paris, recently. It appears that /.luyiiig tho uprising which ; led to the fall of Dorn Pedro and the j founding of 'the'Republic, a French eit- i graver, named, Ulrich joined the army, and behaved\wjth such bravery that he . was rapidly promoted to the grade of brigadier-genera/., He married a widow at Rio Janeiro, and amassed a considerable sum. During-.the latter period of tho Exhibition General Ulrich came to Paris, where ho .-seems to have lost his money. Ho, applied to the Consulate, where, after inquiries, he was informed! that as he was not a naturalised Bra- j zilian, subject, no provision could be : made for bis return to his adopted ooun-1 try. The General then flew' into a vio- j lent passion and struck the Consul. He also assaulted the secretary, and rather severely injured the concierge. At length he was’bound hand and foot, and carried to the police-station. M- G. de Piza, the Brazilian Envoy, dedinod to prosecute the General. A A COOL-HEADED BURGLAR. ; A daring burglary is occupying the attention of the Kensington police. It appears that while the occupant of 4L Warwick Gardens, West Kensington., was spending the evening at the theatre, burglars broke into tho house by" the front door, and leaking tbeiir way to; a bedroom on th'e' .second floor, possessed ; themselves of jewellery worth between IffiOO and £6OO, The story bars, a peculiar sequel. One of the men crit Ids arm I in breaking the glass of tho front do Or, as was evident from splashes of blood in j they hall. It now. appears, says a news / agency, that the same night-tho cohsftablo on , duty in Warwick Gardens met I n/iuan hurrying into Kensington High wtreet. The nihil explained to tho _ policeman that he had met with, an injury encounter with a. street’ rough, andAyas escorted by the constable to the consulting room of a neighbouring .doctor. While waiting for the attendance of tho doctor tho man surreptitiously '. passed through 'the French window of , the room on to the lawn at the back ;of 1 the house aiid ' escaped. It is assumed that he was one of the burglars, who no doubt separated when they deft the house. M. BE BLO WITZ’S BLACK bflT-i ./'A,..,;, BOOK , | The... Paris' correspondent of the '.‘Times’’ ,is .’riever; very optimistic. But he has an article in the “North American- Review” on Past Events and Coining Problems; in which, be takes’a very serious view of what is'before the worth in the oentui-y we have Just enteredFor instance;— -• , “I catch- glimpses, in the twentieth century of wars dri wars throughout its entire span. If the United States .is swept away by the wind of Imperialsm, it must make’, ready to sustain during the coming century formidable struggles, in drdet to assimilate what is still , wanting : to- the" satisfaction of its Irii- j periali.st dreams, and no time should fie lost in the preparation of the means which’ will permit the serious realisation of this ideal.” ' | A- “The twentieth century,” he says again, “will witness numerous and terrible wars throughout the entire globe. In the centre of Europe I see war break out on the morrow of the death of Francis Joseph.” • | Tho coming events that oast their shadows before are not, however, even in M. Blowitz’s opinion, all so black. Concerning thofuture of electricity, he makes this statement: j ‘Tt is my conviction that the task of revealing the full meaning of this demiurgic force is to devolve upon tho twentieth century, and that then, the question solved, the entire problem bf existence on this globe will be seen to have been solved as well. The solution of all the problems which are tormenting the human mind is bouaid up in this onje. This solution will suppress frontiers, change the aims of armies, subject the planetary spaces to the human will, modify altogether the faith of the race, and give in general to the efforts of its intelligence a fresh direction andl an object as yet undreamed of.” : It is, in fact, according to M. Blowitz, “the progress of the power of electricity which is destined to offer to the human race the penultimate word on the everlasting enigma which it has sought to solve, ever since the problem and mystery of human destinies haye been its torment.” j A VICAR WHO RUNS A COFFEE: SHOP. ; Undoubtedly one of the most unique positions ever held by a clergyman is that of coffee shop keeper. The Rev. W. Russell Finlay, vicar of All Saints’, Sumner road, Peckhnm, S. E., enjoys this distinction. Close to Ips church in Sumner road, is a large public house, the Trafalgar, and tho reverend gentleman often noticed what a- largo number of working men visited this public house. An idea occurred to him to open a shop in opposition to the Trafalgar, and he therefore rented the vacant premises next door and forthwith opened a coffee shop, which lie called the Victory. Instead of the men ' having to go to the publichouso for refreshment in the early morning, as they used, they now go to breakfast at the. Victory. Mr Finlay’s shop is a great benefit to factory bauds, for they can obtain a good dinner, consisting of meat, vegetable and sweets, for 7d.

■fj That the reverend gentleman’s pari-vh-j ioners fully appreciate fhoirtvicar’s bo- ! nevoienoe in opening such a shop will be seen from the fact that on the capital j of £”6O a dividend of 3.1 per cent, was paid for the half year, in addition to a bonus of 6 per cent.,.ana this ratter paying' rates and taxes ;tmd wages'of four employees. On a busy day the Victory .serves over 100 meals,” and the average weekly taking is £O. WRECK OF THE SYBILLE. The Secretary of the Admiralty regrets to report that the following telegrams have been received from the Commander-in-Chief on the Cape of Good Hope Station regarding the wreck of H.M.S. Sybille ;—Jan. 17. Arrived Lambert’s Bay at half-past four p.m. to-day, and found Sybille abandoned, and likely to become a total wreck, lying inside reef with both boiler rooms full of water. It sea moderates, further examination will bo made to-morrow. I bad to give up any idea of towing her off as hopeless. Captain and crew of the Syndic remain here to salve guns and stores, which will bo placed in a transport here. All on hoard saved except William Jones, ordinary seaman, No. 192,147, cf 25, Bushstreet, Barton-hill, Bristol. Sybille went ashore at half-past four a.m. on Jan. 16. She had to put to sea on account of bad weather the day before. Jan. 18, Lambert’s Bay.—After careful examination of Sybille, I am of opinion that she cannot bo got off reef, but in the next three weeks, if fine weather’ prevails, guns and much stores calf; bp saved. i Ship now lying three miles south-east j of Lainbefrt’s Bay; heading South 30deg. I East, 300 yards off shore, heavy sea breaking on starboard side, port side is a fair lee. Ship is waterlogged. H.M.S. Terpsichore has been ordered to be commissioned, in her place. A teldgram from' Capetown states that the Sybille was ..sent to Lambert’s Bay to co-operate’ Syitli the Army in the operations against the Boer invaders, who were making towards the coast. A force from the cruiser had already been landed, and the officers were ashore superintending the building of a fort and other defences.—Reuter. ’ - ’0 A FRENCH SUBMARINE BOATS. Interesting eixperiments with a model of a submarine boat were made in the flock-basin at Marseilles recently, in the presence of Admiral Besson and other naval authorities. The vessel with which those trials were executed was a miniature boat constructed by a coppersmith named Veron, employed in the workshops of the Transatlantic Company. • The boat is in the shape of a cigar, and riieasures two yards in length and fifty centimetres in diameter. It is provided with fin-liko blades on both-sides, audits motion resembles the movements of ; a fish. j- y" ' . t RATS AND PLAGUE. ; A bacteriological examination of the dead rats which were found among the cargo of the steamship Pergamou, which arrived at Hamburg the other day from Smyrna, showed that the animals have died of plague. The crew of the Pdrgamon, and the labourers who; came into contact with the cargo, are .'under medical observation, but are all yell. The ship has been isolated in the India Harbour. The unloading of the, cargo was carried out under the supervision of the police and of the harbour medical authorities, and the steamer, thoroughly disinfected. ! A PRINCE ARRESTED. i ___ ! f The arrest of Prince Victor Nakachirie, the supposed Nihilist, has caused some excitement in Paris, and the police have followed it up by investigating the pilesent whereabouts of certain suspected members- of the Russian colony. On inquiry at the Russian Embassy, a Paris correspondent w’as informed 1 that no. plot to assassinate Nicholas ll.' at Nice could be serious, as the Tsar had never intended to go these. Nakachirie is undoubtedly a prominent Nihilist, and a distant kinsman of a Georgian princely family. He was condemned ‘fo death in 1886, his sentence being commuted to imprisonment for life iri consequence of his noble extraction. H e escaped from the fortress of ; Saints Peter and Paul in 1887, and managed after some thrilling . adventures to reach France. Tis book entitled “La Verite sur I’Armee Russe,’’ is forbidden in Russia and Germany. He was . imprisoned for three years in France for’having explosives in his possession,, and then expalled. He then resided in London and at Clarens- in Switzerland. ! He married a Miss Mary Rodell' von Rudelheitn at Gibraltar. , His. wife -isAsaicli to be related to the Duchess of .Wellington. Prince Nakachine’s father-in-law is a mysterious who', calls himself 1 “Baron.” He says he was born on the Upper Rhine in 1841; arid performed military service in Prance in, 1861. As a matter of fact, Rodell was" formerly a captain in the Italian Army, and still enjoys a pension.' In France he has posed as a miniature painter. THE ROTHSCHILD DUEL. The duel fought between Count de Luborsac and Baron rie. Rothschild in Paris is the sequel to an old quarrel of a year ago, which had its qrigin in the antiSemitic proclivities cf the hot-headed young Count. Owing to. Baron Robert’s minority the seconds could not be got to consent to a meeting-at thei time, but tho Baron has new arrived at man’s estate, and is doing his military service in the 14th Regiment of the line. The encounter, which took-place with swords on private property of the Rothschilds' at Boulogne-sur-Seine,: was of an extremely stubborn character,- the antagonists being evidently expert swmrdsmen. At the sixteenth round the Baron made a desperate'lunge, which ’ inflicted a deep flesh wound along Count do Luborsac’s right arm, measuring; 'ten inches. There is no danger of any sort, but it will take a fortnight to,.heal the wound. Baron Robert waslwartaly congratulated on the lessen hel had given to the aristocratic sprig of anti-Seinitisni. THE QUEEN’S PHYSICIANS. Sir Jahes Reid, Bart., K.C.8., was a physician to Queen Victoria for twenty years, and physician in - ordinary since 1889. Hd is the eldest son of; the late Hr. ■ James Reid, of Ellon, cAberdeenshire, and is in his fifty-secondiyCar, having been hern, on October 23, ! ; 1849. Her Majesty conferred upon him ".the’Companionship of the Bath in 1889; raised him to, the dignity of a K.C.B. imTB9o, and in 1897 created him a baronet; He

has also several foreign orders,'and enjoys many professional distinctions. Sir James married in 1899 the Hon. Susan Baring, formerly a 3laid of Honour td her .Majesty, the ; youngest _daughter of the first-Bhron Revelstoke, 'and brother of the present peer. ‘ Sic Richard Douglas Powell, Bart.was physician to her late Majesty since 1887, and physic-ion in ordinary since 1809. He is .an only surviving son of the late Captain Scott Powell, of thb 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and is ill his fiftv-niuth year, having been 1 born oil Sept. 25, 1842. He was educated 1 pri-j----vately, and at University College Hospital, London. CHINESE GIRLS SOLD BY AUCTION Five Chinese girls were sold by auction recently at San Francisco. Notwith l standing that there was a large crowd there was no protest against the proceeding. The girls fetched, prices ranging from 1700 to. 2500d015. I I men' suffocated at sea. I . 0.-; i The steamship Ptarmigan, belonging to the Cork Steamship Company, put into Falmouth recently, and landed thfe bodies of-three of the crew who Jiafl been suffocated at sea. The vessel waf, on a voyage from Liverpool to Amsterdam. ' I Forty, miles off the Longships Lighthouse,- during a gale, some casks of carbolic acid stored on the poop deck broke loose. The mate, Mr Shaw, and some of the -seameu-’weht to make them secure. One of the men, W. Callisteii was overcopiq .by tl;e, fumes of the acid!, and fell senSCltess on the deck. Andrew Johnston and E. Jullens also lost consciousness,,. .the, former falling through the hatch on to the 1 poop deck. By strenuous exertions on the part of the first and third mates the three monwerja got on to the decki Callister, however, was then dead, and the two others expired in a short time. Both the mates ware burned by the acid, and became insensible, but recovered. At the inquest a verdict that death was due tb accident was returned, and the jury joined with the coroner in complimenting thd mates on their plucky conduct. i “BOBS” AND THE BUN BOY. ' Earl Roberts passed through Basingstoke on his way from-London some days age, and an incident occurred showing the kindness and thoughtfulness of the Commander-in-Chief to those in the lower ranks of life. A lad in the employ of the refreshment contractors was on the platform with his basket of buns and cakes -when the train pulled up. Tile lad, naturally anxious te catch sight of “Bobs,” made his way to the carriage, but was repulsed by one of the railway officials. This caught the eye of the Commander-in-Chief, who- immediately hailed the hoy and bought a bun from him, at the same time giving him a penny for himself. \ j A DARING ROBBERY. * A daring robbery is reported from the Langham Hotel, London. AMr and Mrs Garside, of Worksop, haye been staying there some day's, Mrs Garside having in her possession'a quantity cf very valuable jewellery. With them was Mr Garsido’s valet, described as a German, an accomplished linguist, and a verysmart man. Mrs Garside had left much of the jewellery in cases on her dressingroom table on the morning of the robbery, and'when she entered the room at seven in' the evening the jewels were gone. ■’ ' ■ ; ,

Meanwhile, about thrde ©’clock in tlje afternoon, a foreigner had visited the pawnshop of ■ Messrs Attenborough, Duke street, Manchester square, whc-ie he presented about £1,500 worth of the jewellery, at the same time prcducingja letter asking for a temporary loan, which ho said had been written by a French countess staying at the Langham Hotel. He suggested that £350 should be advanced. The pawnbrokers, seeing the value of the articles offered, made some inquiries, and, after further conversation, the man admitted that he wrote the letter himself. The man was asked to come back later, and wont off, leaving the jewellery behind liiin, but never returned. ' The police have succeeded in recovering much more of the stolen property, but have not yet made an arrest. Nearly £SOOO worth was taken, but the value of the article's still missing is under £IOOO. LONDON SOLICITORS’ DEFALCATIONS. The .melancholy catalogue of solicitors’ recent defalcations and their consequences was, it is to he hoped, brought to a close by the sentences passed at the Old Hailey on Arnold and Sismey, the fraudulent solicitors of Lincoln’s Inn. Benjamin George Lake, whose case was the worst of all, inasmuch as he was at the head of his profession, had previously been sentenced to twelve years’ penal servitude.' The offences of Arnold (a son of Sir Edwin Arnold) were even more flagrant, but he had greater youth and less experience te plead. This bankrupt, whose liabilities in 1895 exceeded £II,OOO, at this period bor. rowed £3OO more, and took into partnership Sismey, who had, borrowed a like suim. During the four years of the partnership each partner’s annual drawings were £2500, and when the smash cam© the deficiency was £142,000. 1 Arnold fled to America, and great difficulty was experienced in procuring his ex. tradition. ’When fairly run to ground he pleaded guilty to two charges of embezzling trust funds, for the first of which he was sentenced by Mr Justice Willis to seven, and for the second to three years’ penal servitude, the terms to be consecutive. Sismey escaped with fifteen mouths of hard labour; and a third solicitor, named Greenfield, was sentenced at the same, court to twelve months’ imprisonment in the second division, which, of course, will involve his being struck off the rolls. ; BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ABOUT Tu. DUKE OF YORK. An interesting biographical notice of the Duke of Cornwall and York, the HeirApparent to the English Crown, appears in the “Express.” From his birth upwards, says the writer, the Duke of York has been one of the most popular of our Princes. Two events , stand out prominently in the Duke' of York’s' life. The first was his cruise in the Bacchante, which took place in 1880-82, when he and Prince Albetr -Victor visited Australia, and the second was his succeeding Prince Albert Victor as heir-in-line, followed by his marriage with the Princes May of Teck. The first of these events may be closely* connected with the lately-completed

Federation of the Australian colonies, lit Was the first manifestation of the real affection which subsisted between the colonip-j and.the mother-country. From- th» date tor IJLs-return Prince George, as he was .known . until in 1890 when he was created Duke of York, devoted himself-exclusively.-to the Navy, and after passing through the various grades ho was appointed to the command of a gunboat in 1890. and continued to perform his naval duties even after the death of the Duke of Clarence in 1892,

'The announcement of the betrothal of the Duke of York to Princess Victoria 31 ay of'Teck-Was made bn Jiine 4. 1893. Enbrinous interst was caused by the information, owing to the fact that the Princess had, previouslyßeen engaged to Prince George’s brother, the . deceased Luke of Clarence The manner-in which tne Queen made the announcement satisfied the public that allhad happened for the best, for the Queen expressly said that she had gludy given her cons'cat to the union, and repeatedly gave proof of tlie fact, by inviting the Princess to stay with, her and by taking opportunities of showing how attached they were to each other. , . Happy fin his married life, with his beautiful Princess and his four children, rivalling in popularity his father, who is now- King, blessed with good health and spirits, and enclpwed with a strong devotion to duty, -there' is no doubt that the career of the,Duke of York as HeirApparent Will-‘correspond to the obligations of his high .position. The nation will rejoice when lie is raised to the higher dignity of Prince of Wales AN AMERICAN JOURNALIST. A remarkable : case, illustrating the ways that -are dark of news touts, has boon heard hi the Court of King’s Bench, before Mr Justice Ridley, occupying twp days. It turns on the abstraction of the Hawksley letters, which have so often been held in terrorism over Mr Chamberlain. The facts are, briefly, these: One Turnbull, an American journalist, or “news investigator,” as -he calls himself, camo over to England, and was engaged by Mr-Alfred Harmsworth in 1896 to serve on the reporting staff of the ■■-daily Mail.” He appears to have been specially told off for the collection of information about South African matters,' more particularly relating to the inception and secret history of the Jameson raid. In the course of his inquiries ho made the acquaintance of a certain Wallis, confidential clerk to Mr Bouchinr F. Hawksley, solicitor to Mr Cecil Rhodes and to the Chartered Company. According to his own statement, he bribed this man Wallis with drinks, cigars, and cash payments, in all about £lO or £ls, derived from secret service money supplied by Messrs Hannsworth, with that knowledge, and in fact at their instigation, to abstract the letters in queswhich, however, Wallis retained in his own possession. The theft was discovered’ in 1897, and Wallis was summarily dismissed. Mr Hawksley wrote about Turnbull to Mr Hannsworth, who dismissed him, and he joined the staff of the “Daily, Telegraph,’' but left in some six months, because, as he phrased it, “the,‘Telegraph’ didn’t suit me, and‘l didn't suit the ‘Telegraph.’ ” Mr Harmswort'h then took him back again, condoning his indiscretions, soft is stated, on account of his American training. Ho was, however, finally dismissed 1 at the end of 1899, it having com© to Mr Harmsvvorth’s knowledge that he had endeavoured to'trade these letters, supposed to bo in Wallis’s hands, to Mr Massiiigham, of the “Daily Chronicle,” and afterw’ards to Mr Stead. In January, 1900, Mr Hawksley wrote a letter to the Colonial Office, informing them of the theft of these letters and copy letters, which, he stated, had been effected by his confidential clerk Wallis, at the instigation of plaintiff. This was the libel complained of. Defendant pleaded justification. , Like Gil-Blas, plaintiff, when in the witness box, seemed unable to realise what an arrant rascal ho was by his own showing, and the jury stopped, the case and found for . defendant, with costs. Mr Justice Ridley ordered the whole of the correspondence between plaintiff and Wallis to be f impounded, and remarked that it was hard upon the “Daily Mail” to bo imported into the case, because the allegations made by plaintiff that the paper-had employed him to suborn .Wallis to steal letters were not germane to the issue of the present inquiry.

OFFICER’S HEROIC DEATH. Lieutenant Fagan, of the Ist Lancers, stationed at Hyderabad, was recently drowned, 'writes a Simla correspondent, while duck-shooting near Belarrn. He went into a‘ tank to assist a native who had got into difficulties while retrieving ducks, arid" became entangled in the weeds." Captain Burton went to his assistance, and .got hold of his hand. He could not draw him out, however, and Lieutenant Fagan, seeing that ho was dragging his officer after him, relinquish, ed his hold ! on Captain Burton’s hand and was drowned. > When sonic" of his regiment came up there was a scene, one of them having to be restrained forcibly from entering the tank. The bodies of Lieutenant Fagan and the. native were recovered the next day. JONAH AND THE WHALE. Faith in the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale was a subject which aroused the Rev. Dr Watkiu to a personal explanation at the Victorian Wesleyan Conference. . Dr Watkiu said it had been inadvertently represented in the press that lie regarded this Biblical incident as mere fable, and some pious Metho. dists had been greatly stirred over it and had written to certain persons asking what was to become of Methodism when such men as lie held that view. (Laughter).; He .would say that ho did nob regard the story as fable. He had not lost his belief in the miraculous; and he believed, that, to serve some moral end, God could make au ass speak, or could make a prophet who was a fugitive from duty comfortable inside a whale. (Loud laughter.) The president of the conference, the Rev. A. R. Edgar, said he had received a letter on the subject, asking that the Rev. Dr Watkin be brought to his bearings, and requesting that the conference be asked to declare its belief in Jonah and the Whale. THE KING’S MANSIONS. The reign of Edward' VII., after the tei'miuation of the first term of mourn, ing, will no doubt be signalised by the rescue of the northwestern portion of St. James’s Park from the semi-deserted condition which has characterised that palatial- quarter for the last 40 years, the King, says, a, correspondent, is fond of London, and, after lus migration from Marlborough House, Buckingham Palace will, no doubt assume, much the appear. ance .it exhibited- during the lifetime of the late Prince Consort; The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York will exchange their cramped .quarters in St.

James’s Palace for Marlborough House ; and the removal of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught from the apartments they now occupy at Buekinghaip Palace tt) Clarence House was decided upon some time ago. Another -hug? mansion clo.se by. once a focus - of! London .'intellectuality; bur now hardly ever tenanted hyps lessees, is Stafford liou.se, the lease of which will revert, after a few years, and what the Crown Will do with it remains to bo seen. It is too large, for a nobleman of high rank in these impecunious times, and will have to be let to a South African millionaire or be converted into a r museum. It was built for the Duke of York', Commander in Chief, and brother of George IV., bu ( t Ills death', in .1827, occurred before its completion. So the Duke can only contemplate it from his lofty column nearly adjacent. It contains some fine rcomij, but was compared by a satirical Amcrioan visitor to a loaf with the inside scooped out. What one Eoyal residence gains another loses. The Court will uu. doubtedly reside much less than heretofore at Balmoral, if -at- all, -which wall be a great blow to Deeside. Osborne will become the property ’of. Pripcedb Henry or Battenberg. , ' — t mystery of the sea. .;. \ The captain of the Ben. Avon, whicji has just reached Hobson’s Bay from New York, brings the story of xi terrible ocean tragedy. When the Ben Aron was about midway on her journey, she sighiL ed a burning vessel, and, hearing down to within two cables’ length .of her, saw that she was in the.last stages of. demolition by fire.' All her .masts wore gone,the hull was red-hot .in places, anti fierce flames rose from the hull to- n height of sixty .or seventy feet, accompanied by an overpowering odour :of burning kerosene. High; above the. doomed vessel floated ;a huge, cloud of dense black smoke, and all around the sea was boiling from the immense heat of the hull. The Ben Avon cruised for miles in the neighbourhood of.the burning vessel, hut saw no signs of human life, .and the captain believes that the officers and crew have all perished. She was apparently' an iron four-masted ship of about 4000 tons register. 1 !

PROSECUTING THE PALMISTS. ! Is pahnisty a science or it is mere fortuuo-telling prohibited by the Vagrant Act ? This point was submitted to a magistrate at ClerkonWell, whon five men and women were: summoned for “pretending to tell fortunes ■ by palmistry” for gain. Evidence in regiird to only one case for test purposes was taken. It referred to Mary Louise Eoy, the wife of a Brahmin, who practised at a w r axworks show: in Islington, London. When called to give evidence on her own behalf, Mrs. Eoy said she had had a good education, and, nan. made a study of palmistry, She received instruction from her husband, whp had been a professor of Sanscrit.at Oxford University. Her father was an M.A.. of Caiubridge and rector of an important parish. She did not profess: to?tell'fbrtunes, but be., lieved all she told her .cliehts.. “Palm-, istry is a. science,” declared Mr Joseph Dodson, lion, secretgry'of, the Occultists’ League, called for : the defence., Eventually Mr Bros decided "that The practice of palmistry for gain. oame.Under the ban of the Vagrant Act. It was immaterial whether the prediction, was true or false. He thought it would be advisable to hare the decision, of a higher court, so he convicted' Mrs . Eoy and imposed a fine of ten guineas. The other cases were adjourned, while the defence—which is practically, the Occultists’ League—considered the expediency of an appeal. STUDENT’S DEATH SYNDICATE. ' A remarkable document was produced at an inquest ebneening the death of a man named Sydney Stuart Evans, at Kennington, London, . under circumstances whicrh the police regarded as sus.picious. It was ascertained that Evans, who was a student, drank some chlorodyne in warm water, .but' that lie was in ]io trouble. He had threatened suicide, however. .Then'the following document was produced l ; ' , ’ The Evans D path-Syndicate, 1900. Capital nil. Directors-—Messrs Thorogood and Bedford. Banker—Mr Loaigcy. Secretary—Vardmah 'Hutdli; 28) Russell street. Tins' company 'is ; formed! for the purpose of a little gamble on the life of; our esteemed' friend The Eake (to wit, Evans)' The said 1 Rake for the consideration of unlimited' beers has given his consent that w 6 shall insure his life as heavily as possible, and that as soon' as convenient the said Eake shall shuffle off this mortal earth. ' Press Opinions.—The “Pookham' Pre. varicator”; “We have much pleasure in calling our readers’ notice-to the Evans Syndicate. This should be a genuine investment, as they will be,sure to reap a good harvest in : a short time.” The “Drury Lane Echo”: “Anyone knowing the officials of this syndicate must know that the shareholders will soon get their money back, as the said'officials mean this to be a great success.” " • ' Witnesses stated that the matter was merely a joke, and the jury returned a verdict of “Death' from misadventure.” A MILLIONAIRE WEDDING. Miss Elsie French has been manned at Newport, U.K.A., to Mr Alfred GWynne Vanderbilt, youngest son but favoured heir of the late Mr Cornelius Vanderbilt. The bridegroom is a cousin of vthe Duchess oY Marlborough. The wedding presents were so numerous and valuable that the bride’s mother leased a largo vault in the Aquldneck Bank for their inception, and special policemen in plain clothes w’ere stationed about Mrs. French's villa. Day and night the place was carefully guarded. In addition to this Mrs French had a pack of huge mastiffs wandering all night about the grounds. Telegraph messengers refused to carry messages to Harbour View alter nightfall. The eldest sou of the Vanderbilt family, Cornelius, refused to attend the' wedding because his wife, whom bo married against the wishes of his parents, was not invited. Considerable mystery is observed regarding the place of the honeymoon. Probably it will be one of the ''Vanderbilt farms The couple will sail for England “to be presented at Court.” A LIFE’S SAD KOMANOE. A touching episode took place recently at the village of Engelden (Canton, of Argo vie). A rich farmer,’ sixty-nine years of age, a baclnlor, had died, . and the dry after the funeral the body of jail old woman named Sack, we! I,known in the canton for her charitable works, was discovered!, in the river near by., ' - At first it was - thought, that death was the result of au accident, but on ex-; amining jher house a letter was found which stated that Mme. ; Sack’had committed suicide in order to.Jao buried by

the side of her old lover, the farmer, i and requested that her last wash should ■ be canned out. i It appears that the. lady.had once jilti od tins farmer, hut hud repented of it > afterwards, and had taken a house oppo- . site his inthol io p btl i a rife r lover would ■ return to- her. ■ n-r:; > i Mine. SacU,-had , wfiit-ed’patiently for , ; thirty : years’ watching the ; farmer's : j movements, every, day, ,bu£ he never • spoke to her again,, and on learning of . his; death she had committed suicide, ; BAG GATHERER HANGED AT . ■ , ■ BELFAST. ■ ' .At .Belfast recently ,a ..rag gatherer named. Woods was executed for the murder of a married woman named McGiyern, with w honi he lived at Eagry ■ during the night of 2oth September lust. Eleven yours, ago. Wood?. murdered another paramour his*, tying her to a cart wheel and hacking .'her. ip death with a scythe. He escaped hanging. :m the, jujy.Tpuml the crime was committed ipider provocation, arid was Hot promeditated. . He was sentenced ,tp 12 yeaks’. penal servitude, and released on tickot-ofJeay'B.,ih.'July J 1891),. ’ ■” :On the day of the.crime the pair had been, drinking heavily,.;and at daybreak the. woman was found by her young son dead, ,the head.- JTeingyjnearly severed. Woods/gaye .Himself up to; the police at Bushmills during the morning. ; 1 In the jail Woods.-has been quite reJ signed; to, his fate, openly confessing his guilt, stating that if .he had not been in a drunken frenzy he would never have committed the. crime. . , . -n/Sco.tt was .tire executioner. No at,tempt was/made-to obtain a reprieve. , INDI'AN CdAL.EQR SRIP,S. , , . Tiro cpal-miuing industry of; Western Bengalis reaping a golden harvest j list npw r -:, ;The East Indian Railway are dm. able, to supply enough waggon's tociOifry tire coal to- Calcutta, so enormous lias been the demand for shipment. ,• Tire Ividclerpore ■ decks, vast as they are, are finding; it all they-, can do to handle the consignments pouring .into then). Tire coal is rough, fall of smoko and ash, but it is goqd. enough. for steamer furnaces when the fire.bars are made to suit it, and the supply is practically unlimited. The scams are also easy to work. , . ~ The question of the growth of the industry., depends entirely on; the price ruling on the seaboard,, and this,; lor a number' of months past, has been; high enough to alForxt.ajlandsome margin rf profit. . The coal is being shipped to all the principal parts, from’ Singapore; to Aden. . .. ' A few' years'ago British.,coal had a monopoly in this r j)ar f t .of the world. A CONVICT CATCHER. ‘ At' Rochester,' ex-Principal Warder W. H. Rowe was the recipient'of a handsome testimonial from, prisojTgovernors, officials,’ and Warders lipbii retiring from tile prisons’ sorvi.ee; alter 31, years’ active duty. By fal* the greater’part of this‘-time was' spent'inDartmoor, and The -presentation Eras really* associated ; with'■ that prison, although latterly Mr Rowe has beeiiJongaged at the Borstal establishment;? Mr ‘Rowe has seen ’service Tinder eightfgoveraors, and at Dart, moor was chiefly engaged on tlio bogs, reclaiming and cultivating the land with tli© convicts.' Tie was in charge of the bog parties’ on* Olu'istmas Eve, 1890, when the Lewisham burglar, Carter, was shot dead in attempting to- escape. Another prisoner, Goodwill 1 , who’ got away on the same foergy day, was recaptured at Devonporb. On ! one occasion' Rowe detected a convict, a sniarb burglar, tlying to cut his wiry 'out!through the roof of the prison, and was obliged to fire at him*- owing: to tliei man threatening to decapitate him with a, saw. In another instance he -.recaptured a - convict who .had; got i three-ardlefe away from the prison, and he it was who frustrated the intentions of ardonyict-, who had ingeniously tampered? with rthb t dock; of Ibis icell,, aind sought- tb-.-.-take flight in'tiro middle of the night,; At; Rbrstal Principal .Warder Rowe,land another;'officer recaptured ’ Soar in the 'woods/ although the latter-got clear,away, with a convict naaned King, ’ on making Iris escape from prison on a later dkte. . ? ■ AN EXCLUSIVE HOTEL. Mr John', Jacob, Astor,?the multi-mil-lionaire, is .about to erect a .remarkable hotel at,the oornei of .Fifty-fifth street and Fifth. Avenue.- It is-intended to bo an-, exclusive residential >, hotel , for wealthy people. It- will be 16 storeys high,. and beautifully designed : and de-corated,-and will take two years to build. There are -to be special attraqtipns. The rooms are to be heated by, a new system by which Warm' air will ,bo diffused from the Walls, and ceiling,?,, the temperature regulated in each, .room ; by an ingenious mechanical' device. Cool air will be supplied in the summer, and .meals will be conveyed to the upstairs rooms"hy'swift electrical, elevators travelling from the kitchen to the top storey in a minute rand a half. These elevators will be fitted up as removeable pantricsj'and will bo equipped with electrical heating tables, enabling the food to reach even the top .floors piping irot.”. Water rwill.he- supplied from a private artesian well. ’ EXTRAORDINARY- ASSAULT CASE. An extraordinary.,story, has boon related at the Liverpool Police Court in connection with a, charge of assaulting young women,*’ which Was preferred against' a well-dressed man, named Maurice Reubens/ who was described as an advertising bill inspector. It was stated that the prisoner’s weakness seemed to be -going about’ attacking young women with a hat pin, ! and three specific charges were made against him Of having wounded women in this mattier. He pleaded guilty. Recently tire police have received’ numerous complaints from young’ women of similar attacks, which, seems to have been generally made- while the victims were inspecting shop windows! In. most cases the injuries were of a trifling character, but the prosecuting solicitor stated that in one case a young woman’ suffered severely for some days from the wound inflicted. The bench, after commenting bn the unusual and extraordinary character of-the dfferice, sent Reubens to prison for six months. '