General Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume V, Issue 266, 7 June 1878, Page 9

General News.

The Universe says an excellent man and a good Catholic died on the Bth March at Vienna in the person of the Archduke Francis Charles, 'father of his Majesty the Emperor Francis Joseph. He was bom on December 7, 1802, and on November 4, 1824, married the Princess Sophia of Bavaria, who preceded him in death five years ago. This illustrious princess was at one time the best-abused woman in Austria, simply because she was a good Catholic and tried to educate her four sons in accordance with her religious convictions. Her husband fully concurred with her, but being a man of retiring habits he attracted less notice. Upon his brother, the Emperor Ferdinand 1., resigning the sceptre on December 2, 1848, the archduke declared that the time required " more juvenile vigour," and consequently allowed his son, Francis Joseph, who at the time was but 18 years old to succeed in his place. The death of the Archduke Francis Charles -will be chiefly felt by those numerous works of Catholic charity, to the support of which he sacrificed a large proportion of his f ortune ; it may be said that owing to his kindness and benevolence he had not at the moment of his death an enemy in the "world. R.I.F, " I hear that strong Russian influence was used to prevent the Japanese Government from selling their ironclads to 'my Lords' of Whitehall. In Japan just now the Russians are held if not m respect at least in awe. It does not require a diplomatic mind to guess the reason." — The World. The correspondent of the Gcrnmnia writes from Brussels that the German Government has asked from the Belgian Ministry a complete list of all Prussian priests now living in Belgium — for what purpose, the correspondent, of course, cannot tell. On Saturday (16th March) Prince Louis Napoleon, the Prince Imperial of France entered upon his 23rd year, The event was celebrated in the quietest possible manner at Chislehurst. Congratulatory addresses and bouquets were dispatched from all parts of France to Chislehursfc. The following is from the NortJiern Standard : — Near the Townsville Iceworks on the Bank of the Ross, Queensland, an alligator has his habitat ; not content with catching a stray dog or two he has of late gone in for specimens of the genus homo, and on Sunday last he made a meal of a blackboy, some nine or ten years of age. The person in charge of the Iceworks had a narrow escape, evading his jaws by dodging and turning quickly. In the year 1871 1 was rambling through America when I stopped at Beaver Falls, a flourishing manufacturing town within thirty miles of Pittsbtirg. I was surprised to see so many men walking about idle during working hours. I inquired the cause, and I found that two hundred men were discharged a few days previous from Mr. R 's cutlsry factory and their place supplied by Chinese. I ascertained that the latter worked for ten dollars a month, though the ordinary wages were from forty to fifty And yet Mr. B did not reduce the price of bis cutlery ! After a few weeks the whole town threatened to burn down the factory, Chinamen and all, if the " boss" did not send the 'Jyallow faces" away, which he had to do, and again took back his former employees. I could give numerous other instances of the misery, mischief, ruin, to say nothing of the social aspect that have followed in American towns where these blighting pests have settled in large numbers. But I have said enough to warn the people against their wholesale immigration. — Random Notes in Sydney Freeman. A OA.SE for a Cadi has occurred in the Haute Garonne. A peasant bought a cow at market, and put the payment in gold and a note for 100 francs upon a post, holding tile beast meanwhile. The quadruped devoured the paper" money, and the question is, who is to suffer the Joss. A correspondent writing as follows from Shoshong, to the Transvaal Argus, concerning the gold fields in Mashona : — " From private scources I hear that the gold fields in Mashona yield a, splendid average of coarse gold and nuggets. Lobengulo has forbidden any white man to enter the country without his special permissioD, and issued strict orders that no one is to dig or prospect. Repeated attempts have been made to gain the King's favour, and induce him to grant permission to explore the land, but with one result, in the sharply emphasised answer, ' I refuse.' " Some days since we chronicled the death of a Swede, who fell from a mulberry tree. Since then another xmf ortunate (a coloured man) has met his death in a like manner. He had climbed a mulberry tree (the branches of which are very brittle) and while stretching out to pluck the fruit the branch under him snapped. After three days suffering he expired. — Beaufort Went Cowrant.