THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Western Star, Issue 1850, 10 January 1894, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Official reports of the earthquake at Kuchlan (Persia) state that 7000 persons and 50,000 animals perished. Tbe Teheran correspondent of The Times, who lately visited Kuchlan, reports that on December 1 the town was a heap of rains with no a house standing. Thomas H. Hasset, one of the six famous Fenian prisoners who escaped from Freemantle, Western Australia, in 1876, died at New York on Dec. 13. Chris EvanS, the famous Californian freebooter, train robber, murderer, and desperado, was found guilty on December 14 of murder in the first degi*ee, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

The Wilson Tariff Bill provides that duty shall be removed from wool on March 1, and reduced on woollen goods on July I. One of the San Francisco dealers in the wool trade exyressed himself freely to the effect that California cannot compete with Australia or South America in the production of wool without the protection of duties. The trade know this very well. Free wool therefore means, in his opinion, tbesubstituti< n of Australian low-grade wools for Californian low-grade wools, and in the competition which would ensue if the change became law the market would be much disordered, and Californian growers would have to take what they could get, pending retirefrom the business. Coal is also on the free list; and this, it is conceded by intelligent men, will prove a benefit to San Francisco and to the States, for the reason that manifactures will be thereby stimulated. Tbe duty on quicksilver, on tin plate, unmanufactured lumber, nickel and many other articles specified will be removed on March 1 should this bill become law.

The authorities of Maryborough (Ireland), in anticipation of an attempt to release the Inviucibles confined in tbe convict prison there, have redoubled the guard. Among the horrors of the storms of the past month in the North Atlantic is' the wrecking of the Norwegian barque Don Jnan near Lombig, with the drowning of all the crew except three, and the foundering of the steamer Noanca off the Cornisb coast and the loss of all her crew of 18 men. Intelligence has reached London tbat the captain and the majority of the crew of the chip Mendoza, which foundered near Martinique lately, died of fever. The few left were unable to navigate Her, and she sank. Only four of the crew were saved. A London despatch says tbe steamship Sir John Hawkins, for Gibraltar and Liverpool, founded with a crew of 25 men.

During the recent hurricane a steamer was seen to founder in the Bay of Biscay. The Dublin police arrested John Mearns on suspicion of being concerned in placing a box of dynamite under the walls of Allborough Barracks, and of complicity in the murder of Patrick Reed, presumably because he knew the facts. Mean s is suspected of being a member of a dyna mite society. The same afternoon a bag full of cartridges was found near Broadstono railway station. The subject has been before Parliament. 'lh.e House of Lords Committee has been considering the question of marking meats. It is reported at Birkenhead on November 22 that chilled beef from the "United States is so like English beef that the public are unable to toll the difference. In fact, the- committee are of opinion that a large quantity of English beef is inferior to American. The committee recommends dealers in foreign meats to be regestered and have signs stating the facts affixed to their shops. Thousands of unemployed people met at the Tower Hill, London, on December 12, and listened to the addresses of James Keir Hardie, the Socialist member of Parliament, Frank Smith and others. Hard© said he intended to move the adjournment of the House of Commons on the 12 th to call the attention of Parliament to the unemployed. Upon the conclusion of the speech-making the crowd marched to Hyde Park, a number of black and red flags being displayed. The police dispersed the crowd.