GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 61, 27 June 1874, Page 10

GENERAL NEWS.

A Gennano-Belgiun alliance is announced, Prince Philip of SaxeCoburg being about to marry Prineeia Louise, the daughter of King Leopold. b A number of lar^e iron-clad* are in course of construction in Germany.

The Ducheis of Madrid, wife of Don Carlos, has given birth to a daughter. General Von Moltke wan badly defeated in running on the. tickets of the new conservatives in Berlin. In his strongest district ha got only 715 votes out of 4182. The introduction of the dahlia into Europe is said to have been due to the culinary research of Lady Holland. Having eaten arid onjoyed " Palestine soup" somewhere in the south of Europe, and learning that one chief ingredient was the Jerusalem artichoke, she procured a root of it, as she supposed, and sent it to her gardener at Holland House. At first she was not a little disappointe 1 when a beautiful flower appeared instead of a succulent vegetable ; but the value of her acquisition beean to be realised when a London florist' who came to examine it, offered her thirty guineas for a root. The news of the cession of Fiji lias been received with much satis* faction. It would appear, however, from an inqui y which Mr M' Arthur made in the House of Commons, that no official intelligence upon the subject has yet reached the Colonial Office. A scientific expedition is to be made up that portion of the Nile situated in Egypt. Ths expedition is to consist of six Italian naturalists. By special desire of the Viceroy, two other gentlemen were added to the expedition, one of them being the Italian Vice-Consul at Alexandra, who is a Jew. A handsome gift has been preiented by the ladies of Chislehurst to the Prince Imperial. It is an inkstand* in the shape of a beehive. The hive is of gold, and rests on. a silver base, richly gih and enamelled. The bees, most artistically constructed, are placed at suitable intervals on the hive or base. Valuable jewels add to the beauty of the object. M. de Lesseps has fulminated a threat of closing the Suez Canal. Having protested in vain against the International Tonnage Commission, he now informs the Khedive that, being unable to work the canal under the new tariff imposed upon him, he will dismiss the pilots, and extinguish the lighthouses. The Khedive has replied thai, in such a case, he would himself provide for the working of the canal. No sooner was the escape of Roehetort announced than certain sensation journals of Paris stated that, there was an active exchange of despatches between tho English and French Governments, in which the latter complained that England allowed her flag to be abused by sheltering political refugees. We need scarcely «ay that there is not a word of truth in the story. A prospectus has been issued of the Dry Cold Air Refrigerator and Food Preserving Company, with a capital of £100,000, in shares of £10, to work an invention known as Clifton's patent, whereby the dry coH air system is upplied to the preservation of meat and all alimentary substances. The consideration to be paid is £5000 cash and one-fourth of all net profits. Mr Thomas H. Ogilvie, public analyst for Greenock, has made an analysis of the life-giving properties of Australian preserved mutton and Knglish mutton, with advantage to the former. It is of the highest consequence that the colonial preserved meats sent in tins should have tho normal composition of good butchers' meat, and that care should be taken thnt none of the constituents, such as gelatine and fat, be present in undue proportion. The Tichborne Dole.— An ancient custom, of whioh much was heard during the late trial — the Tichborne Dole— was on March 25 observed at Tichborne House. Ihere were over 200 applicanrs for a bounty, which dates from the reign of He»ry 11., and they represented three times their own mimber of -villagers, belonging to the adjacent villages of Tichborne and Cheriton. The dole was distributed in the presence of a large aeserably of spectators. The "Claimant's" wife and family are being exhibited in St. James's Hall, with Mr Shipwortb. for showman. Messrs. Whalley and Onslow were expected to have taken a part in the performance, but were not forthcoming, on the first night at least. The audience was rather more numerous than select, and decidedly noisy ; but it I really seems likely to be a goon speculation. The terms of the partner* | ship are not known to the public, but it seems not only probable but certain that tlie " claimant," if he survives his term of penal servitude will find himself a richer man than he Ims ever been before. The ' Post' denies the rumour that Mr Disraeli is to marry the* Dowager Countess of Chesterfield. It is rumoured that the Duke of Edinburgh is to be the ruler of Canada at the expiration of Lord Dufferin's term of office. The Prince Imperial of France is saii to have won the largest number of marks at the last Woolwich examination. A young man named James Fleming, a native of Australia, was killed at San Framuco on the 12th April, by J. G-. Corbett. Governor Pulsar, of Maracaibc, has doolared war against President Blanco, of Venezuela, and fled, into the interior, where he has raised a staudard of revolt. Sir Lambton Lorraine has been complimented by the New York Board of Aldermen tor his gallant conduct in the Virginius affair. Negotiations are being conducted between representatives of the American Government and Joseph Arch, whereby the latter is to arrange for an extensive ©migration of .farm laborors from Great Britain to the United States. Mr Belleu, the great elocutionist — perhaps tho best English reader of the day—has been seriously ill since his return from America, and at the date of the last English advices was almost beyond hope of recovery. i£r Belleu is a comparatively reoent convert to the Catholic Church.