NEWS BY THE LAST MAIL.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9124, 3 July 1891, Page 3

NEWS BY THE LAST MAIL.

The French Government ' shipbuilding yards are nov/engaged on six new ironclad warships, to be.called respectively Neptune, Brennus, Magenta, Charfea Martel,' Lazare Carnot, and Jauregui berry. The last three have juat been begun, and they are to be all completed in 1892. The Gange, the Trehouart, and three other coastguard ironclads are being turned into second class men-of-war, and fitted with turrets. They are all of 6590 tons register. Five plated • armour cruisers of the first-class, Dupuyde L6"mo, Charnier, Bruix, Chanzy, and Lalouche-Freville, are being pushed forward to completion, with two platedarmour gunboats . Large orders have been given to private yards for other first and (Second-class fleet cruisers and gunboats, some of which are also to be ready in '1892, Some of the Census takers in London 'have been writing articles on their work at the East End of the City. One \vrit6r "Bays: — "Providence-street is in itself 1 as i uninteresting as London builders and! London dwellers can make it. Long, and 'narrow, and "mean. Houses all .aJike, and t all..lookiag too small for the pppula'iion which leans übout the doors, or dabbles in ■the pools of lastnight's ruin etill lingering in the gutters. At some of the doors the oldest responsible inhabitant-stands with ■the blue paper ready folded for the census man. Many were the houses with little or no furniture in them, and . the women residents were nearly skeletons exhibiting poverty in their very faces." ' ' A Vice-Consul; writing from a Danubiari port, ' notes that' one cnribtifj, but steadily recurrent, article of import is waste paper, of which there arrived a 'supply of 38 tons during last year. It makes its' appearance in tho form oi' liiindlek of London' 1 daily 'jour'tfa a, apparently untouched froth the time of their isa'iib from their respective printing oflicea, to aid in ( swelling the totals oil , sonio <illargOßt QJrCyliitioiis." "' J "Tho"Ducli'esß of Teek, accompanied' by Princess Victoria, attended' the annual festival of tie t Princess Mary Adelaide's Training Honfo 'for Servants, -aHiliuteii ■with tho Metropolitan Boe'oty for Befriending Young Servants, at tho Presbyterian nail,' Richmond. There was ( a large attendanco of past ''and present innjaLes of the ■ homo, for wl om a tea was provided. An encouraging report of the paßt year's wo.k' of the institution was submitted. , ,> , There are two Hchemee for a ship canul from Paris to tho eea. One of these is to run from Rououto Paris — 1853 • kiloa— With 9t d-Vytb ?£ uiotrca, and v/gyld, it

19 ostiiriat'ed; , ■ tfo>t^"£l»OOPjOOp?T fß^' dty# route tbo voyage •would^'-tak^sdventeeii. hours, aud tlio^daes would amount to Gf. 50c. per' ton Moth' wa'y t s., 6flior, project is for a canal, Dieppe to Paris — only 1.70 kilos — while the distanc'ofromf Paris to t'lo

§ eea by tho other scheme would bo 350 kilos. ? The ports concerned ave^ naturally strongly o^jposod'to both proposals."* llocont trials mado in tho Russian army to test v the, . adaptability^ of snow breastworks ' against an enemy's tiro have resulted in tho following conclusions. Snow thrown up 6ft. thick ia a perfect protection against • bullets' fired i at , 300 paces. If packed up solidly with spado, and trampled down somewhat firmly, a thickness of 5f I. is enough. If the'fjvoo of t.iia v snow harrior becomes frozen ham 4ft. will suffice, whilo an outer crust 6f 'ico formed by pouring water uv.er it will render the snow intronchmont impenetrable beyond 3£ft.