THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1906, 21 August 1890, Page 11

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Auckland, August 16. TheH.M.S. Mariposa arrived from San Francisco. Passengers s For Auckland— Mra Olapham, Mr and Mrs Jos. dearie, Messrs Edwin Harding, V. Stregler, B D'Orsay Ogden, K. B. Smith, J. Newcombe, N, Warren and son, and 9 Bteerage; and 67 through passengers for Sydney. The vessel brings dates as follows -.—London, July 12 ; San Fraooisco, July 26. Amongst through passengers to Sydney is Peter Jackson, th« well-known pugilist. GRNB'>AL SUMMARY. Mr Chaplin, Minister of Agriculture, delivered an address at Lincoln agricultural show on July 24, in the course of which he said the lecent rise in prices of agricultural products was due to the advance in ihe price of silver in consequence of the passage of the Silver Bill by the National Legislature of the United States. A meeting of the residents of Heligoland, the oession of whioh is provided for by the AngloGerman agreement, was held on July 21, and a grateful address to the Queen of England adop'ed. The O*nadlan-Paoifio Kailroad Company offered on London Stock Exchange on July 21, £1,000,000 4 per cent, perpetual bonds. Intelligence reached Dublin on July I L of a horrible affair at BMlyneale, where John Hart murdered his mother and ohopped the body in pieces, When discovered he was found lying beside the remains eating a portion of them. A cablegram on; July 1 7 reports an increase in mould and vermin in some Hnglieh hop plantations. EstlmatesTeoeived In New York show a probable shortage of one-quarter to one-third in Germany, and onehalf in the west of the Continent, as compared with last y«ar. I During the week ending July 20, there were further ravages by the potato blight In Ireland. The Re v. Dr Lyons , of Castle Haven , diocese of Boss , Cork, writing on July 17, says that in all the town land of hi« parish bordering on the sea. the failure of the potato crop is complete. He adds, that in places further inland tbe state of things is not altogether so bad, but the continuance of dry weather will be absolutely necessary to the safety of the crops. •• I feel quite bewildered," he says, " as I apprehend the consequences that are likely to ensue from this failure of the potato crop here. I see nothing less than starvation staring those unhappy farmers in the face " Distressing reports have also come from other districts of Cork, Limerick, Kerry, and Waterford. Since they were received the weather has been wetter than ever, and the blight bane has spread to a frightful extent. A despatch from London of July 20 speaks of tbe heaviest rainfall known in any one week since 1878. The pecuniary loss to farmers is something terrible. Between Shepeberton and London there were hundreds of acres of meadows ia whioh the oooked hay was four-flfthß under water. Two bright hot days in the middle of the week revived hopes thaf after all the wheat might be saved in something not too far below the average crop, but' there were subsequent tropical rains and an arotio temperature. There is likely to be the worst orop yield sinoe the disaster of 1879. The stock of English wheat is now all but exhausted, and under the influence of tbls and the dishpmrtening'prospeots of the growing orop prices had advanced about another shirlng per quarter during the week. The same stories come from the Continent, but iome are disposed to disbelieve that Russia has no durable crops. A despatch, dated Paris, July 25, says the orops throughout France, except in the section east of the Rhone, have been destroyed by incessant rainfl, and the losses are estimated at over 500,000,000 francs. Dealers in grain discount the scarcity, and the price of bread Is A despatch from Berlin, of July 6, reports that the inability of Major Wissmann to return to Africa Is due to the morphine habit that he contracted during his long service in the Dark Oontlnent. He suffered from Insomnia to suoh an extent that he was obliged to use morphine. The Belgian Congo State Company are about to send a new expedition to the Congo Btate for exploration purposes. It will consist of seven Europeans, 150 native soldiers, and a great number of carriers. The objeot is to explore the source of the rivers that water that country, and also find the truth concerning the reported existence of a great body of water, called Lake Uru, supposed to be in tbe interior of the Congo State. The explorers will follow a route hitherto untrodden by white men. Ex-King Milan, of Servia. thinking his divoroe absolute, has contracted, it is sold, a marriage with a very rioh young American lady, who will pay his debts, amounting to £600,000. Four women were arrested on board the steamship Majeitio at Queenatown, from New York, on July 17, and on being searohed their bustles were found crammed with tea, tobacco, spirits, and other contraband goods. The enormoas size of these adjuncts to their dress attracted the attention of thecustome officers. Jeanie Hugo, a grandobild of Victor Hugo, is betrothed to Leon Daudet, son of Alphonse Daudet. Lord Wolanley has recently written letters to a friend in Baltimore in which he says : — " The closer the bonds of union between mother and child— the United States— the betterit will be for both our races, and indeed for civilisation. Those who rant about causes of quirrel between us are no friends of either nation or to humanity. There mu»t never be war between üb, no matter how much pither or both may be egged on by ti'ose who hate the English race, and would therefore like to see us at one another's throats. We feel quite as proud of the United States as any other people can be. Itß honour and its reputation are as dear to us as they can be to those on the other side of the Atlantic. I rejoice above all things to think that the mutual respect we have always had for one another is now maturing into sincere and mutual affection." Byrard. the murderer of Gouffe in Paris, and lately returned there under the extradition laws from Havanna, Cuba, made a full confeislon of the crime on July 2. He said the crime was premeditated and committed for robbery The prisoner Is reported to be in a pitiable condition. He suffers intense pain from an internal dleease with whioh he was nttaoked while in gaol in Havanna. He persists In asking the judges of instruction to hurry on the case. He says that death by the guillotine would be preferable to p9nal servitude at his age, and he only begs to be allowed to go out of life as soon as possible. THE GRENADIER GUARDS. In the House of Commons on July 9 Mr C. Graham asked the Government what truth there was in the reports that inaubordination prevailed in the Grenadier Guards. The Secretary of State for War Btated that the reports were much exaggerated. There was some dissatisfaction on a battalion being

ordered to parade on Monday, tbe 7th, and for a short time the men failed to appear, but eventually the whole battalion paraded and marched in perfeot order to perform the duties assigned them. As a punishment for~~disafteobijn the second battalion whioh, since the occurrence had been confined ia Wellington Barracks, was crdered to Bermuda, and left for that destination on tbe morning of the 2<ind July. The scene at the departure was very affecting. The wives, children, swoethearts, and comrades orowded in to the spacious yard, and from 6 until 10 o'clock no guardsman was allowed to leave. An exciting but psinful meeting was held in the yard and canteen. At first the men of the second battalion boie themselves bravely, and laughed at, the expressions of fear of their wives and sweethearts. The sympathetic words of old comrades, however, soon kindled the angry feelings that smouldered In their breasts. The men inveighed bitterly' against the order that confined thpm. Ia one oaie the wife of a prisoner was inconsolable ; ehe> had three children with her and was in a delicate condition. As her marriage was without the content, of the colonel the poor woman could not expect to get that assistance during the absence of her husband whioh those married by permission always receive. At length, as the bugle sounded for visitors, to leave, the husband raised his wife and almost, carried |her to the gate, where the woman's friends took his place aud bore her home. Outside stood a. great crowd of sightseers, who gazed curiously aud sympathetically between the railings. At 10 o'olock in the evening the yard was cleared, and the crowd, obeying the orders of the police, sadly moved away. At midnight a small gathering reappeared, and increased every hour. By 3 o'clock in the morning it numbered more than 4000, and at 4 o'clock the Birdcage walk was thronged. The men gave way at the railings for poor women and children, aud with tearstained eyes and haggard faces held children up to see if they could find out their daddleß. At 5 o'olock the men were drawn up In double line, and 15 minutes later the colonel gave the word " March." The great gates of the Buokingbam Palace end of tbe yard were thrown open, and while the band played "The British grenadiers" the battalion marched out. They were greeted by shouts and oheers by the enormous throng. The streets were blookaded and a large number of police were formed in three lines to open the way for the soldiers. After the police came the Bappers and miners, and behind them the band and Colonel Eaton at the head of the regiment. As the battalion appeared in the road a mighty deafening cheer went up from the assemblage, lhey were accompanied from the barracks to the station by 20,000 civilians, who oheered them incessantly. The troopß proceeded by rail to Chatham, where they embarked on the troopship Tamar, which will convoy them to their destination. Good order prevailed among the troops. The War Office is extremely pleased at the way the soldiers behaved. If their good oonduot continues the regiment may be ordered back to London within two years. Previous to the departure of the battalion the arrest of six of the Grenadierß and 'heir trial by courtmartial had tended to oast a gloom over the whole battalion. When sentence was pronounced at the parade on tbe 21st some painful scenes ooourred. The oldest soldiers of the companies seemed to have been selected for trial. The preoise hour of their removal to the Brixton Military Prism was a well-guarded seoret, while theirtransfer to theambalance waggon was so quietly effected that only a few soldiers and spectators were present. When the men emerged the epeotators raised a loud shout. The Grenadiers werehandouffed in pairs and escorted by non-commissioned officers and soldiers. They appeared dejected and haggard. Several of the prisoners burst out crying as the vehlole drove rapidly away. STANLEY'S MARRIAGE. The marriage of Mr Stanley, the explorer, and Miss Tennant took place at Westminster Abbey on July 12, and may be called, in point of display and public enthusiasm, the event of the season. From Miss Tennant's house in Elohmond terrace, Whitehall, to the gates of the abbey, a distance of about half a mile, there was assembled an enthusiastic multitude, rivalling in numbers the Hyde Park procession or a Derby Day crowd. Mr Stanley entered the abbey shortly before 2 o'clock, and took his seat near the altar. Count Daroohe, the representative of King Leopold of Belgium, and the groom's best man, Mr Meyers, brother-in-law of Misa Tet.nant, Dr Parke, Mr Jephson, Captain Nelson, and Lieutenants Stairs and Bonny, who were with Stanley on his last expedition, grouped themeelves around him. Five minutes later Miss Tennant, accompanied by her brother, Charles Ooorabe Ten nant, entered the abbey aud walked along the aisle, her train borne by two oi her nephews dressed as pages of the time of Charles 11. The bridesmaid! were Miss Sylvia Meyers, the bride's niece, and Miss Findlay. While moving towards the altar the bride stopped and walked slowly to the tablet under whioh lies the dust of Livingstone, and placed there a wreath of white flowers, in the centre of whioh was a soarlet letter " L." Then resuming her place, she walked to the altar with head ereot and flushed cheeks. Mr Stanley rose to receive her, and the service began. His voice was almost inaudible as he repeated the service, but Mlbb Tennant wan dear and steady, and only faltered as she repeated "in sickness and in health." Two physicians present attended Stanley, who was evidently very ill. Around the bride's neck was a superb diamond necklace, the gift of Sir William Maoklnnon, chief of the Bast ifrican Company. From It depended a diamond set miniature of the Queen, presented by her Majesty as a wedding gift. Miss 'Tennant , "also wore an aigrette and diamond brooch, the gifts of Stanley. The Dean of Westminster (Mr Bradley) presided over the ceremony, assisted by Archdeacon Farrar and the Bishop of Itipon. The Prince and Princess of Wales were present, sharing the places of honour with Mrs Tennant, the bride's mother. Sir John Mlllais was aleo one of the guests. After the ceremony In the abbey, a platform erected for the convenience of guests collapsed, and several persons sitting or standing on It were bruised severely. After the service the bridal party proceeded to the residence of the bride's mother, where n reoeption was held. Mr and Mrs Gladstone, General Lord Garnet and Lady Wolseley, Sir Lyon Playfair, Baroness BimJettCoutts, Sir William Vernon, Sir John Mlllais, and a host of other well-known persons were proaent. Among his many congratulation*, Stanley received autograph letters from the Emperor of Germany, King Leopold of Belg'um. aud other sovereigns. Queen liabella of Spain, at Lord Salisbury's reception the other night, iniisted on shaking bands with him. Part of the honeymoon was passed at the neat of Sir Samuel Baker In Devonshire. AMERICAN SUMMARY. A large meeting was heldat Farewell Hall, Chicago, on Sunday afternoon, July 20, when resolutions were adopted that the Legislature, ahout to meet in special setsion, be earnestly requested to see to it that the World's Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago 1892 closes its doors on Sundays. The resolutions deolare that tho Injury to the city, State, and nation of an " open European Sabbath" cannot be estimated. The Western Union Telegraph Building, corner of Broadway and Dey streets, New York, was nearly destroyed by fire on the morning of July 18. Temporary stations were soon established, however, and work was continued with but a brief interruption. James Gordou Bennett Is about to erect an enormous building for business purposes for the New York Herald on the lot now covered by the old armoury, and bounded by Broadway, Sixth avenue, 35th, and 46th streets. A New York banker named Bernard Aronson was assailed ou July 20 by a cowd of angry Polandera and his banking eßtnbUshment raided. Aronson was badly beaten before the police rescued him. His aisailants allege that the banker misappropriated funds entrusted to him for the purpose of bringing out their friends and relatives from Poland. Private advices from Rio de Janeiro to July 10 say It is generally and openly stated that the Bothsohilds will not pay the loan made just before the fall of the monarchy. They allege there is no Government de jure, only de facto, and that in case of restoration or other change contracts may be repudiated. Ruy Barbosa, the Secretary of the Treasury, Is therefore in a bad fix. The new Government has oreated new departments and raised the salaries of everybody— the public employes, army, navy, and their own, which the country could not afford v ider the monarchy, much Ipbi now the foreign intereit has to be paid. Exchange Is very hl^h, and financiers do not know what to do. , . . A monument is being erected to the unfortunate crow of the Jeannefcte, who perished In Bennett a Antarctlo enterprise. It will be placed In the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The design resembles the cairn erected over their graves on tho delta of cne Lena river by Engineer Melville. A small paaaeng'T steamer, the Sea King, with a barge attached, conveying about 230 people from *'" State militia encampment at Lake City, Minn., on Sunday, July 13. was struck by a oyclone in the middle of Lake Peppin and became ™* m!i ™&f™?The barge was cut loose and after an hour drifted to the -shore with about 20 aboard. The other 200 or more on the steamer were drowned.

Tsui Kivi Kwln, Chinese Minister to the United States, Spain, and Portugal, arrived In Washington on July 6. He returns to watoh the working of the Chinese exclusion law, and is quite free la laying that unless the American Government repeals the law which now exoludes Chinese. China will treat the States to a dose of its own medicine and exolude Americans from the Chinese empire. The treaty made by tbe late Secretary, Mr Bayard, on the part of .thiß country with the Minister lv oharge of the Chinese empire has not been yet signed, and is not likely ever 'to be made operative unless <he foreign policy of the United States, no far as China is concerned, be changed. Notice has been received from Anliooh, North syrla, that a tremendous army of paupur Asiatics are preparing to invade the United States A regular Chinese bureau is eet up iti Washington for the purpose of eecuring the repeal of the exclusion law, Bnd correspondents are filling all thi groat daily papers of the Bast with matter urging it, and at thfl same time abusing the people of the Pacific Const. The general f rutt crop of the Delaware Peninsula is almost a total failure this season. A few growers will not have even a basket of peaoheß for their own ! use, and many not a single peach— this, too, in a district where it was usual to ship 300 cartloads daily to the eastern markets of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The Lutheran Synod, which closed its deliberations at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 4, passed resolutions that members of the sect are not constrained to send their children to the public schools of the country because they are conduoted on a nonreligious basis. The Silver Bill has passed Congress, and this important measure comes into force on September 13 The result has been a great speculation flurry in the white metal. Certain persons in New York have for some time been engaged in getting a corner in silver pending the pasrage of the bill. The New York City Western National Bank has alone stored away in its vault* about 7,000,0000z, while upwards of 2,000,00002 are in the hands of others in that city. It will be impossible to tell with anything like accuraoy what will be the market price for silver till the 18th September arrives, and for one month thereafter it may have a still higher tendency, inasmuch as the Government is compelled to buy 4,500,0000z per month. It may be several points lower than it is at present, but whatever the market price, the Secretary of the Treasury Is bound to pay. Encounters between whites and blacks are becoming more frequent in the Southern States. One occurred at Mill Pond, Fayette, County Georgia, on the afternoon of July 10, in which four negroes were killed and several wounded. Eight whites were shot, but it it> thought only one of them fatally, making 18 in all killed and wounded. The trouble started between a negro who was setting wine and n white man, and it was not long before there were 500 involved in it, white and black. There are also grave fears of a rnce war In Pocahontas mining region, Western Virginia, where the operatives are for the most part coloured men. On July 6th a gang of them set upon a white man in an excursion train on the Norfolk and Western railway and beat him nearly to death. The railroad detectives interfered and a terrible fight ensued, in which the white men were badly done up as well as the negroes. A riot was reported near Kirsin, Btirnwell county. South Carolina, on July 15, where 300 negroes, armed with rifles, confronted 25 white men. One negro had been killed. Assistance was sent from a neighbouring town. Horrid stories are told anent the recent invasion of Formosa by Chinese. When the invading army reached the country the Formosa savages fled to the hills. That ended the campaign, and Jen Chew Tai returned with a few selected troops by steamer, leaving the rest to get baok at they best could. Many marched overland, and some were sent in freight boats, with rations for one day. They were out eight' days, and some 30 or 40 were starved £o death, and 300 died from fever. When they landed at the harbour of Auping they presented a deplorable spectacle. The consul sent an appeal to Ohew Tai, who responded by sending gravediggeri. These added to the horrors of the situation. All the sick who were supposed to be dying were hustled into coffins and buried before they were cold. Soldiers were seen forcing the lid of a coffin down on a victim who was piteously orving for water, but the lid was nailed fast, and the living man hurried away to burial. The more dead there were the more money came to the pookets of the survivors. A measure now before Congress, called the Lodge Bill or Force Bill, has given great dissatisfaction to the people of the Southern States. It is a new efeotlon meaiure ; and, in a word, contemplates the dividing of the country into certain districts, and placing over each district a supervisor, who is to be appointed by the Federal Government, and to do away with the present system of eleotion entirely. It it a republican measure, and the supervisors would be appointed by the controlling party in Congress. The best men in the South denounce the bill as senseless and dangerous to the peace of that seotion of tbe country, because it commits the whites to negro rule. The Atlanta Constitution proposes that the South boycott the Northern merchant! if the bill Is passed, and the proposition meets with some favour. The use of the lake front asked for by the directors of the World's Fair, at Chicago, as a site has been granted by the oity council. A free hospital for consumptives is to be established in Philadelphia. The treatment to be adopted is airtight compartments for patients, filled with oxygen, or oxide, orany vapour contnining medicine, by inhaling whioh tbe patient is liable to cured. The present decennial censu* ' shows Chicago to ' have 1,000,000 inhabitants. A shocking accident occurred at Baden station on the South Pacific railway on Sunday July 13, whereby three women and two ohildren were killed, j and many others injured, The casualty was due to ■ too much drink. A party of Germans were returning from a picnic, and nneof the waggons attempted to cross the traok, when it collided with a locomotive. The waggon driver was drunk. General John O. Fremont, U.S.A., intimately connected with the early history of California as au ■ explorer (the " Pathfinder," a* he was ca'led). died in New Xorlcon July 13, at the home of his adopted daughter, the wife of Colonel H. Porter. His death j was due to inflammation of the bowels, induced by the extreme heat of the *• eather. He had reached the age ol 77 years and six mouths. Fremont s experience in California and Oregon, which he visited for the first time in 1843, read Tike a romuncfl His remains will probably be monumented afc Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. A. tornado passed over the northern part of the town of Gallatin, Tennessee, on June 29th, blowing a Methodist church to pieces, killing the preacher, who was In the pulpit at the time, and hurtimg 12 or 15 of the congregation, some futnlly. Governor JSTIohoIs, of Louisiana, vetoed on July 7th the bill passed by the Legislature granting an extension of the lottery franchise. In his veto message he denounced the lottery as a dark shadow and a disgrace on the honour of the state. On the Bth the Legislature calmly passed the bill over the Governor's veto. Ayes, 67; noes, 31, It is proposed to bring a detachment of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, now in Ceylon, Home, via the Canadian-Pacific route, the desire being to test the railroad's capacity for militnry transport. A terrible accident occurred at Dartmouth., Nova Scotia, on the nightof July 11, by which a number of people perished. The cause of the disaster was tbe slipping of a chain attached to a ferry boat, which allowed the front of the bridge to sink an<» preoipitate a crowd of 600 or 700 men, women, and children into the water. The people were crowded there waiting for the steamer Annex, whioh had just arrived from New York to dock. When the steamer got within 2ft of the landing* number of persona jumped on board, and at that moment the accident occurred. The outer end of tbe bridge wenb down suddenly and the terror-stricken crowd slipped off Into the harbour as though they were desoen ding a slide, piling on top of each other, shrieking for help and grasping for means of safety. In the melee 10 or 12 persons were drowned. A aitpatch from Pembroke (86 miles above Ottawa) on July 23 says that two nights befone some mlsoreants cut the rope by whioh was held a log raft on which 23 raftsmen were asleep The raft was moored to the bank. The men were asleep and the raft drifted down to the rapids. In the dark only two escaped. The rest were ground to death by the aotlon of the logs, or drowned. No trace of their remains nor a clue to the perpetrators of the murderous outrage have been discovered. TBRUIBLB CYOLONK. A cyclone struck the northern aide of St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 13, and the estimate of loss of life is 36. It la said that disastrous effeots were confined to a dlstriot only three and a half miles long, and that the worst damage was dono within the limits of half a mile. Several villages and small settlements at Coliman's Lake, Little Canada Lake, Joinnahass Lake, and White Bear Lake were blown to the four win<iß of heaven, and lons of Hfo ia reported in every instance. The destruction a? life and property were very severe at Lake Gervais, the place first struck by the cyclone, and the scenea 'Happening there are said to beggar description.