MAIL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 4208, 29 May 1895, Page 5

MAIL NEWS.

The Paris 'Temps' of April 21, referring to a statement that an agreement had been arrived at between Great Britaiu and Newfoundland on the French shore question, insists that that matter must be settled to France's approval before Newfoundland enters the Dominion of Canada. The delegates who went to Ottawa to treat for the admisaion'of Newfoundland into the Dominion returned to St. John's on the 21st iust. In the Canadian House of Commons on the 22nd Mr David Mills, one of the most promising of Uie Liberal members, protested against any interference by the Dominion Government iv the affairs of Newfoundland. Canada/he said, had been successful in breaking up the treaty negotiated by Attorney-General Boyd, of Newfoundland, and Secretary Blame, on behalf of the United States, but if Canada had only kept her fingers out of that matter Newfoundland would by this time be in a more prosperous condition than she could ever hope to be by forming part of the Canadian Dominion. It is asserted in yachting circles that the Prince of Wales will visit the United States for the international yacht races this fall.

Mr M'Cabnont's new steam yacht, the Giralda, broke all records for the Mediterranean by steaming 22 3-5 knots per hour.

If the yachts Valkyrie HI. and /:L>a prove fairly equal in their contests in Britisu waters they may both be taken across to compete for the America Cup. The Society for the Employment of Women, London, have put their foot down, and now declare that Parliament is governing full-grown female operatives too much, and has ranged women wage- workers with babies and incompetents. They are limited by law as to hours of labor, and are not permitted to take any work home with them. Everything is meddled with in law except the vital matter of wages, and now the society ask Parliament to omit certain clauses as vexatious, so far as female workers are concerned, in the new Factory Bill, " inasmuch as they enormously restrict the freedom of adult women to dispose of their own labor, and seriously affect the wellbeing of women working in different trades."

A sensation was caused in India by the discovery by Sir R. Low of a letter to Umra Khan from a Bombay firm offering to supply him with every kind of weapon and enclosing photographs of quick-firing guns. Eric Dickson alias M. Francis Le Feke, of Belfast, has been arrested at Dresden. He called on the British Consul of Dresden for the purpose of obtaining passports for Russia, in support of which he produced letters of naturalisation which the consul at once saw were false. The consul communicated with the police, who promptly arrested the fascinating stranger, who proved to be the long-sought interuational swindler for whom the police of at least five countries of Europe have been looking in vain. Dickson's real name is believed to be Ferdinand Rodrigeuz Alvarez, formerly an officer of the Guatemalan army. He is a linguist of marvellous ability. Four European Governments are claiming his extradition. Robert Sherard, a well-known Parisian journalist, is suing Mr M'Carthy, of the British Consulate, for criminal libel arising out of the Oscar Wilde case.

When mediation by the United States was discussed last November by the authorities ar Washington and Tokio President Cleveland prophesied that a league of European Powers would deprive Jap*n of the fruits of her victory. Thereafter the Powers were carefully notified of JaDan's intention, and no oppos-ition to them was ever manifested. The blow was reserved till the treaty of i peace was signed. The j int protest, made ] on April 20 by Rus^a, Germany, and France against the ratification of the ChinaJapanese treaty of peace is well understood in English diplomatic circles (according to a London despatch to the ' New Yoik Herald ') •o be a protest against the secret British and Japanese understanding arrived at be- ] fore peace was finally arranged. In a word, ! Eugland has made a hard-aud-fast combination with Japan, and the orhvc Great Powers have join j d in a like protest to prevent, if possible, the consummation of the , alliance j The ' Daily News's ' Leicester correspon- \ dent, writing on April 14, said time a serious i feature in the boot strike was the rapid ] growth of American competition in the trade. Three tons of American boots and shoes were delivered in Leicester in a single day to local tradesmen at prices cheaper than they could be purchased for from the Leicester manufacturers. For instance, j American-made ladies' kid boobs were sold at 8d per pair cheaper than the same quality of home-made goods. Commenting on the fact the ' Daily News ' said editorially : At this rate there will soon be little left for the Eoglish manufacturers or operatives to contend for. •Le Croix,' the organ of the Catholic j clergy in Montreal, in its issue of April 10, impressed on all the electors that if they were interested in the settlement of the Manitoba School question, as desired by the Roman Catholic minority, they must vote for the Government at the incoming election. Archbishop Langevin caused a sensation in Winnepeg (Manitoba) on April 14 by declaring in St. Mary's Church that thereafter so-called adherents, who did not follow the teachings of the church in the matter of education, could not he regarded as members of the Roman Catholic Church. It was understood that a special encyclical from Rome had been received by the Manitoba bishops on the school question ; hence the announcement by Archbishop Langevin. Archbishop Fahey, of Montreal, issued a pastoral, in which he commended tbe clergy to keep silent in the pulpit on the Manitoba school question. An authoritative statement of the terms of peace between Japan and China have been secured from an official source in Washington. The statement is made, it is said, to clear up much misapprehension arising from speculation. The terms are as follow : — First, the independence of Corea ; second, the permanent cession of the island of Formosa to Japan ; third, an indemnity of 100,000,000 taels of Chinese coin, worth Idol 33c ; fourth, the permanent occupation of Port Arthur and immediate contiguous territory ; fifth, the new Japan-China treaty opening the interior of China to commerce. The money indemnity is expressed in Chinese taels instead of Japanese yen. A tael is in reality a weight instead of a coin, but is considered silver money. While the face value at Idol 33c would be equivalent to 300,000,000d0l in silver, it is said the actual value would be, however, between 200,000,000d0l and 220,000,000d0l in gold. The fifth term of the treaty includes various new features, such as free access to Chinese rivers. There is no demand for territory on the mainland outside of Port Arthur and its contiguous surroundings. Mrs Parnell, mother of the late Charles S. Parnell, was found in an unconscious state on the night of April 18 at Ironeide, a border town near New Jersey. On account of her advanced age she lies in^a critical condition. She is believed to have been the victim of a brutal attack. A Newark telegram says that Christopher Ritter, a German, who arrived in the United States, declares that Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln, is alive, and last winter was acting on the South American stage. Lord Shalto Douglas, a son of the Marquis

of Queensberry, was lodged in one of the f San Francisco prisons on April 23 as a lunatic. His friends so charged him because | they were afraid that he would marry an actress. A few days afterwards he was released, aud made immediate use of his liberty by attempting to thrash a newspaper correspondent, but in that encounter lie came off very much Becond best. Mr Labouchere, in '' Truth, 1 says that he has always regarded Oscar Wilde as somewhat " wrong in the head." "So strange and wondrous is his mind," remaiks the observant editor of 'Truth,' "when in an abnormal condition, that it would not surprise me if he were deriving keen enjoyment from a position which most people, whether J innocent or guilty, would prefer to die rather than occupy. He must have known in what a glass house he lived when he challenged investigation in a court of justice. After he had done this, he went abroad. Why did he not stay abroad ? The possibilities of a prison ms.y not bo pleasant to him, but I believe the notoriety that has overtaken him haa such a charm for him that it outweighs everything else. 1 remember in the early days of the culo of asceticism hearing Mr St. George ask him how a man of his undoubted capability could make such a fool of himself. He gave* this explanation : He had written, he aaid, a book of poems ; in vain, he went from publisher to publisher asking them to bring them out, for not one would even read them, for he was unknown. In order to find a publisher he felt that he j must do something to become a personality ; so he hit upon asceticism, which caused people to talk about him and to invite him to other houses as a sort of lion. He then took his poems to a publisher, who, still without reading them, gladly accepted the M.S." Easter week, says a London despatch of April 20, has been mainly remarkable for a considerable display of amateur soldiery, and out of it has arisen a small tempest which may result in permanent good to the auxiliary forces, who are divided into two parties — those who are desirous of doing serious soldiering and those who prefer making their holiday a picnic. This year the bulk of the volunteer regiments of the London district were taken to Windsor, and were quartered with battalions from the Aldershot Camp. Some paltry maneuvers were carried out, and on Easter Monday there was a big review in the presence of the Duke of Counaught, the general in command of Aldershot, Prince Christian of Schelswig-Holstein, Lord Bethune, commander of the Thames district, and other War Office officials. ' The Times,' in a leading article, took the Duke of Connaught and other military officers sharply to task for ordering such a burlesque of real soldiering, saying that the four days were misspent in rehearsing for a Royal review. The comments of ' The Times ' led to much correspondence on the subject, the writers in a number of instances thanking the paper for its outspoken criticicm of the military officials responsible for the review, and saying that the criticisms are in the real interest of volunteering.