MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8862, 21 July 1890, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Stanley declined to attend a banquet tenderer! on the night of the 6th of June to Surgeon Parke, the medicril officer of his late exploring party in Africa, by the members of the London Medical Society. It is understood his declining was bißEd upon the Idea that he could not afford to play second to one of his officers.

The St. James' Gazette, of June 14, says that a complete set of proofs on Stanley's forthcoming work were obtained by a person who offered copies to one English paper and two papers published in the colonies. The copies wero acenpteel, but publication was thwarted by the issue of a circular from the house "proposing to publish the book warning any person infringing their rights under a penalty.

The headquarters have bsen discovered in Barcelona of a gang engaged in maltlug bogus brands of chartreuse and clumrwgne, also sorts of deleterioui staff in largs) qunntities. An extensive plant of printing presses was found, aud a dozen men were arrestcJ. Tho head of the concern escap:d to America.

Admiral Langer, English commander of the Chinese North Coast squadron, has resigned on account of tho insubordination of the native officers.

Pirns are developing to take 700 of the " Passion Play" ,'actoro from Obsranimergau to the United States for the World's Pair in 18i)2.

'lbo Czarewifcch will start on a tour round the world on August 1, returning home by way of the United States.

Baron Kauer, Minister of War for Austria, has asked 100,100,000 florins to purchase more material, on the ground that the pe^ca of Europe was not secure.

Cholera, bronght by soldiers from Worth Africa, is reported (June 11) to have; broken out at Pueblo de Hugat, Valencia, Spain.

Switzerland has voted 500,000' francs for the purchase of war material, and provided for the registration of all horses fit for military service.

Tho loss of property by recent floods in Cuba li very great, and more serious thaa at first auppDse:l Nearly ?5 persons periaheil, and it is atimntcd that 7,000,OOOdo! worth of property is destroyed.

Large amounts of silver were mude reidy in Mexico for shipment to the United States in case the free coinage of silver bill passed.

A company is being formed in London to ronstruct a harbour at So. Brandon, on the Bristol Channel, for the American liners. The port is to ba linked with London by tho Great Western railroad.

J. C. Home, a South American merchant, failed in London on June 15 with liabilities at £250,0(;0.

Miss Fawcett. daughter of the late Professor Fawcett, carried oft the highest honours at tho Juno examination of Cambridge. Eho is bi-.sketed us superior of tho male senior wrangler in the mathematical tripos. Two other young; women. Miss Field and Miss lea, are also among the wranglers. A great labour demonstration was made on June 7 iv Hyde Park. Forty thousand men were in tho procession that marched to the park, where fully 2flO 000 more people had assembled to tak« part in the meeting. Leaving the park Sir Henry HavelooU Allen incurred, by some means, the ill-will of the crowd. The mob made a rush, and nearly unhorsed him. ThupoMcp formed a cordon around him. and k^pt back the infuriated workmen, who threw heavy eleds of earth ftt the officers, and tried to brc».'k through the iines. Arrests were made, edcl Mr Henry cantered off escorted by mounted policemen Reports from Corieute, Nicaragua, say that little work is beinp; done on the canal. Affairs are in a deplorable coudition, and the country ia overrun with Americans and Europeans who have no money, and can get no work. At the town of America, which the canal people started, there is a hospital with about 100 patleuts, mostly Americans. Every white man is trying to get out of the country. The company had made contracts for 2000 negroes from Jamaica per month.

British Honduras and the neighbouring republics have h£3n suffering from a disease so terrible in its character that everyone attacked die 3. At. Cayo. it was reported cm Juno 19 that people were dying like rotten pheep. The naturo of the disease is in doubt. European doctors call it yellow fever, but their American colleagues differ In their diagnosis. The only known fact is that itiavatiably kills in from six to sf.ven days.

On a false charge of libelling Emperor William, preferred by drunken students, a New York merchant mimed Jos Jonasen was arrested In Berlin on Jn-e 20, and thrown into prison where he was detained for days and treated barbarously. Ho intends to mak« a national affair out of it in the way of apology aad George Washington Butterfield, an American, has brought an action for libel against the London Financial News, laying damages at £100,000 for saying that Butterfleld had put an impudent and wild mining scheme on the London market. M. De Les6eps presided at the Suez C.mal meating at Paris on June 4. The annual report announced the profits for IES9 at. 37,212.925fr, and the net dividend at 85fr per Bhare. Charles De Lessaps announced that for 1890 it would be 91fr without rebate. Senhor Garcia, the new Minuter of Finance for Brazil.! announced on June 18 that he would burn publicly ona half of 30,000,000 of Idol notes illegally circulated. The Barings tara arranged n 'loan for Uruguay of £200,000 at 6 per cent. * .. In addition to ( he shore batteries of Victoria, 8.C., it is proposed to fortify strongly several islands guarding the entrance tn the harbour at l.squimault. A washout on the Canadian Pacific railway 30 mile 3 eot of Torouto caused an accident on Juue 18, which led to the death of five men. They were on the-locomotive that pluagcd into the break aud all were drowned. A fresh report has beenjissued by the special Panama Canal Commission on the prospective earnings of tl-.e nnterprico The annual cost of maintenai!C3 ii placed sit 5,600,000fr; expenses of administration, 1.800,fl00fr; the annual income for the first four years, BlS.fOOfr, estimate! and calculated on an average antiunl tonnage for that period of 4.100,000, and the proposed rate of charge per ton <if l?}fr. The commission cst mates lhat after the first four ye.nrs trere would bo an annual increise in tonnage of 150.009 ton 3 until the maximum of 6,000,000 should be reached. In regard to the transfer of Heligoland to Germany. Lord Salisbury said in the House of Lords on June 19 that there was no ground for supposing the inhabitants obj cted to the transfer except as regards their conscription, and this was p-ovided against In th<i agreement. Germans place great importance on the strategio importance of Heligoland, and Gen»ral Oaprivi recalled the fact in a debate in the Bundesrathon June 21 that during the war of 18iO it was necessary to Mefaeh a ;large force to guard ajrainst the possible landing at the month of Weber and Elhe river, and pay submarine miners to protect the wa' er approaches to Hamburg aad Bremen. The opinion oflhe people of the island as regards an enforced change of nationality cuts no fismra with either Germany or Great Britain. The American tariff cames excitement in the House of Commons. On June 21 Mr Vincent, C.nBsrvative member for Sheffield, asked whether the Government would request the United States to modify the proposed duties on British produots before it made any modification in the rules governing the importation of American cattle. The Undersecretary (Sir J. Ferguson) said the restrictions "n cattle were solely on sanitary conditions. Mr Vincent thereupon, gave notice of a motion declaring that the House will consMer whether a free market is fo ba longer afforded to competitive products nf a foreign state which puts a prohibitory dnty on British goodi. The excitemont among French merchants arising from the difficulties caused by American regulations concerning the importation of goods into the United States is spreading to the Chamber of Deputies and to newspapers, and a few excitably talk abnut retaliation. Government officials and tho artistic community are both startled by the news that works of art aro taken out of the free lists. There is a ereat outcry over Newfoundland affairs. The St. John's noivspapsrs taunted the British naval officers, saying they ought to wear petticoats inBtead of breeches, and carry lawn teanis raquets instead of a sword. The British men-of-war were in Newfoundland waters ostensibly for fishery protection, but they in reality were there to bnlster up French claims to tlin flsherlo, and to give officers -\n opportunity to play liwn tennis. Tho report of the captain of the steamship Harlow, which went to the Bay of St. George with a cargo of provisions, is published in the Holi'ax papers 6f Juno 15. He was not permitted to land any goods at the bay, as the residents there lefuard to pay customs dues. He .proceeded r§ far as Flowers Cove, where the people were found to be starving, avd. reduced to such extreme want that they had nothing to eat but r. tten carcases of sails, aud many were at the point of death when the Harlow arrived. The Paris Figaro of June 19 declare* Lord Salisbury will accept arbitration, and that if France refuses he will repudiate the treaty of Utrecht and open negotiations for a new treaty, giving the French Co a reasonable extent the cod and lobster fishing grounds, and the colonials exclusive rights on the coast and bank. As

the case stands at present, lord Salisbury denies tho right of the French to tnke the lobster, whlohwas unknown as a flsb at the time tho old treaty was concluded.