Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
26 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
--THE LOSS OF THE VILLE DU…
THE LOSS OF THE VILLE DU HAVRE. ARRIVAL OF THE CREW OF THE LOCH EARN. The officers and crew of the ship Loch Earn, Captain Robertson, that collided with the French steamship Ville du Havre, on the morning of Nov. 22, landed at Plymouth on Saturday night. After the rescued passengers and the crew of the Ville du Havre were transferred to the Trimountain, Captain Robertson tried to construct a jury bow, with spars and sails to protect the collision bulkhead, and had the vessel trimmed aft. Gales, however, set in, and the bulkhead gradually gave way through the force of the seas, 80 that by November 28 the vessel was in a sinking state. The ship British Queen, Captain Mastars, from Philadelphia with petroleum for Antwerp, then hove in sight, and the officers and crew of the Loch Earn, two passengers, and a fireman of the Ville du Havre, thirty-three souls in all, were transhipped to the British Queen, and on Saturday afternoon taken from her off the Lizard by a pilot boat of the port, and landed at Plymouth. The account given by the Loch Earn officers and crew differs widely from the Ville du Havre's account of the con- duct of the officers and crew on the occa- sion of the catastrophe. The captain and second mate of the Ville du Havre are alleged to have gone on board the Loch Earn with only one lady passenger, and to have remained there from shortly after the collison without tdking any active part in rescuing the passengers. The major part of the French crew are also charged with exhibiting lamentable cowardice, only one French boat taking active part in rendering assistance. Several pas- sengers swam to the Loch Earn. A lady swam alongside with a child in her arms. A rope was thrown to her, which she seized; but in attempt- ing to be pulled up, holding on by one arm, with the other round the child, her strength failed her, and the child was lost, but the poor mother was hauled on board. ALLEGED DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT OF THE CREW OF THE VILLE DU HAVRE. PLYMOUTH, Dec. 7.—The Loch Earn was an iron vessel of 1500 tons, belonging to the Glasgow Shipping Company, in ballast from London to New York. Her captain gives an official report of the collision in his log. He states that the safety of the Loch Earn depended entirely upon the col- lision bulkhead. The officers and crew of the Loch Earn all agree in denouncing the con- duct of some of the officers and crew of the steamer as very discreditable. Captain Robertson says that none of the officers of the steamer bore any traces of having been overboard. The French officers walked the deck of the Loch Earn, while both their boats remained alongside. It was only after long and fierce remonstrance of the mate of the Loch Earn threatening to fire on the boats' crewf that any attempt was made to assist. Eventually a French boat was seized and manned by an English crew, and pulled to the wreckage. Vn-LE DU HAVRE.—It appears that the Ville du Havre, the steamer lost in the Atlantic, was changed from a paddle to a screw steamer in Messrs. Lesslieand Co.'s iron shipbuilding yard at Hebburn, on the Tyne, last year, and that she was handed over to the Compagnie Generale Transat- lantique on the 8th of March last; but it has not been mentioned that she was re-engined at the same time by Messrs. Maudaley, Field, and Co., of London. Messrs. Lesslie also lengthened the Ville du Havre 30ft. amidships. Two other large steamers belonging to the same firm are under- going the same changes at Messrs. Lesslie's works on the Tyne; one is nearly ready for sea, and the other has been lengthened, and is about ready to be brought out of dock and fitted out. Three or four screw steamers have been run into amidships in the North Sea within the past three years, and they all foundered about the same time after they were struck as the Ville du Havre, except one, a new steamer, which was out from the Tyne on a trial trip, with a numerous pleasure party aboard. There would probably have been a fearful loss of life on that occasion but for the presence of mind of the captain of the vessel which ran into the new boat. He kept his vessel with her bows in the side of the sinking ship, propelling easily ahead, until every one was got aboard his own ship, when he drew out, and the new steamer sank instantly. The fact that a screw steamer is likely to founder in a few minutes after another vessel has run stem into her amidships is another reason, in the opinion of practical men, why she should never cross the bows of a sailing vessel, as the Ville du Havre attempted to do, with such fatal results, but pass under her stern. The officers of the Ville du Havre spent a a few pleasant days in visiting the houses of several families in Tyneside while their vessel was being got ready in the Spring of this year, and they were looked upon as belonging to an intelli- gent and highly respectable class of seamen, the captain especially so.
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A correspondent of the Athen&um asks, Was not John Yonge Akerman a writer of verse in one of the Wiltshire dialects ?" He says, Akerman was also the first railway journalist, being editor and one of the founders of the Railway Magazine now called Herapath's Railway Journal, and bearing 1835 on its title as the date of its establishment." GENERALS VON GOEBEN AND MANTEUFFEL.— The Prussian correspondent of the Times writes under date, Berlin, December 3 :—" The reported duel between Generals von Goeben and Manteuffel is a hoax. They certainly fell out during the war, and Goeben, being Manteuffel's subordinate, was sent to prison for presuming to challenge his supe- rior officer; but this occurred some time ago, and the quarrel his since been made up between them. It is stated that the whole Goeben family would have resigned their commissions in the army, and, free from the fetters of the military service, chal- lenged Manteuffel one after the other, if there had been a duel between the Field-marshal and their offended relative fatal to the latter." SINGULAR CHARGE OF BIGAMY. — Benjamin Whittle, a river police-constable, was charged before the Liverpool stipendiary magistrate, last week, with bigamy. It appeared that seven years had elapsed between the first and second marriages. The first wife returned from Bombay a short time ago, and being told that his small pay could not provide for two wives she gave him into custody. It was alleged by Whittle, in deferice, that he was separated from her in 1863, and had not heard from her till after his second marriage in 1871. The magistrate discharged the prisoner, on the ground that the evidence as to the first marriage, which had been contracted in India, was insufficient. CURIOUS ATTEMPT AT MURDER IN IRELAND.—A cu- rious narrative of attempt to murder a wife comes from Castleblaney, county Monaghan. A man of the farming class," whose name is not given, was last week committed for trial on this charge by the Castleblaney magistrates. It is stated that having brutally assaulted his wife, and left her for dead in an outhouse, he went and told his friends and the police that his house had been attacked by men whose faces were blackened, and that he had es- caped, but that he believed his wife had been killed. On a search being made for his wife she could not be found, and it turned out that she had been able to find her way, in the interim, to a neighbour's house. Her depositions were taken, in which she accused her husband as being her assailant. CREEPRNA OF RAILS.—The "creeping" of rail- T°VM J8 attracted some attention of late, and, • •otaitemPt explain it, we offer a point on the fact that, on lines running north and south, the western rail "creeps" faster than the eastern ra that is, this strange movement of the rail towards the south is more marked in one rail than in the other on the same track. Further- more, it has been noticed that on such a line the eastern rail wears out the fastest. Both of these points, we think, can be explained by the motion of the earth as it turns from the west towards the east. Everything that has free motion is dragged after the whirling globe; every wind that blows and every tide that moves feels the influence, and our train going north or south is pulled over to- wards the east, and naturally presses the eastern rail most heavily. The western rail, being relieved of its share of weight, creeps" more freely and quickly, It is also noticed that the wheels that run on the eastern rail wear out the first, and we can but think that this earth motion is the true cause. The practical side of this is that the eastern rail and wheels should be made stronger.- Scientific American,
BliEAGH OF PROMISE.I
BliEAGH OF PROMISE. The case of Jones v. Inderwick was set down for hearing in the Court of Common Pleas on Satur- day; but after the jury had been sworn, Serjeant Ballantine said it was always painful to go int<1 these matters in public, therefore he had consulted with Mr. Huddlestone, Q.C., who represented the defendant, and they agreed upon the facts of the case. On the part of the plaintiff, therefore, he consented to a verdict for JE2500. The jury at once returned a verdict for that amount. The de- fendant pleaded that a reasonable time had not been allowed to elapse before the action- was brought. The damages were laid at XI0,000.
MURDEROUS ASSAULT BY A GIRL.
MURDEROUS ASSAULT BY A GIRL. Phooe Nash, about 15 years of age, was brought before the Liverpool Stipendiary Magistrate last week charged with dangerously assaulting her brother Thomas, aged five years. It appeared that about noon the previous day the two were left alone at home. When their mother returned she found the little boy lying in a pool of blood, insensible, and the prisoner confessed that she had struck him repeatedly on the head with a hammer. The in- jured child was in a precarious condition. It was. stated that the girl was only half witted, and that insanity prevailed more or less in the family. The. prisoner was remanded.
----. SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST…
SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A BANK OFFICIAL. Last week, at the Belfast Police-court, William H. Smith, head bookkeeper of the Belfast Banking Company, was brought up in custody before Messrs. Orme and O'Donnell, who sat in private, charged with obtaining from the Union Bank of England, London, certain sums of money fraudulently in the name of the Belfast Bank. The amounts of the alleged defalcations have not beea fully aacer- tained, but they are believed to amount to several thousand pounds. The prisoner was remanded. The arrest of the accused, who has held an excellent social position, has created a good deal of excite- ment in business circles.
.. GREAT COMPENSATION CASE.
GREAT COMPENSATION CASE. DAMAGES, .£24,000.. < On Saturday a sitting was held of the City of London Sessions in the Upper Court, Guildhall, to assess the value of certain premises required by the Commissioners of Sewers for the improvement and widening of Newgate street. The Right Hon. Russell Gurney, the recorder, presided. Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., who appeared for the Com- missioners, in stating the case to the jury, said the premises in question were situate in New- gate street, at the corner of King Edward street, and were then, and had been for a great number of years, in the occupation of Messrs. Eagleton, wholesale tea dealers. The question for the jury to decide was the value of the premises and the injury the Messrs. Eagle- ton would sustain by a compulsory sale and re- moval. A claim had been put in for .£37,000, but the Commissioners, objecting to pay so large a sum, had determined to have the case submitted to a jury. The learned gentleman then went into the details of the property, and said it was agreed on both sides that the money, whatever it was, should be for twenty years purchase, with 10 per cent. added for compulsory sale. Counsel for the Messrs. Eagleton contended that the estimate sent in was a fair and equitable one for premises in such a commanding position, and ] the difficulty and loss that would be entailed by ] compulsory removal and sale. j After a number of witnesses, consisting princi- ] pally of surveyors, on both sides had been heard, The Recorder summed up the case, and it re- i mained for the jury to say the amount that the 1 plainiiffs were entitled to; that they would also < have to consider the claims for injury that would < be sustained by removal. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a f verdict for the payment of a gross sum of Jt24,000 1 for the premises, &c. t
THE ALLEGED OUTRAGE-BY THE…
THE ALLEGED OUTRAGE-BY THE LON- DON POLICE ON A BARRISTER. At Bow street, London, on Saturday, Sir Thomas Henry renewed the inquiry into the charge of assault made by Mr. Belt, a barrister, against John Washington and George Clifford, the former a private and the latter a sergeant in the E division of the Metropolitan police force.*—Mr. Poland ap- peared for the Home Secretary, under whose di- rections the inquiry was instituted, and Mr. Biron for the defendants.-On the last occasion' the charge against Washington, the constable who took Mr. Belt into custody, was heard. Mr. Poland briefly opened the case against Clifford, which was to the effect that during the time Washington was marching Mr. Belt to the station he had sufficient time to see whether that gentleman was drunk or not; therefore, there was the same opportunity offered to Clifford of testing the state of Mr. Belt before he ordered him to be incarcerated in the "drunkards' cell," where he was kept from ten minutes to thiee until half-past There was sufficient evidence to show that both defendants had been guilty of a violation of duty. Mr. Biron submitted that the charges against Washington and Clifford had not been proved. Wm. Boden, printer, stated that he saw Mr. Belt on the 27th October, in Bedford row, when Wash- ington took him into custody. Mr. Belt was very violent, and resisted the officer. From what he saw of Mr. Belt's conduct he decidedly considered he was drunk. Detective Woolley deposed that Mr. Belt, when at the police station, was most excited and unrea- sonable, and he corroborated the statements of the olice constables that he struck at Washington. e was talking as a drunken man would talk. Witness would not call it excitement. Police-constable Washington said, after putting Mr. Belt into the reserve cell, he asked him to go into the charge room. He refused to gp, and witness and Woolley took him gently by the sleeve, and assisted him in. When he was in the charge J°°m he would not go into the dock, and was forced in by witness. Mr. Belt struck out and hit him on the left side of the mouth. Sergeant Clif- •*L has struck you, so you charge him "Yes" a8sau*tWitness immediately replied, case» Biron said the defen- *?an who was thought very Thomson had 8ervice' and Superintendent Thomson had been Present, he would have called hIm. to give evidence. was unnecessary. He must said before that Mr. Biron was P y £ admitting that the charge of &nJd^hS^W.Mr- Belt «»** DOt be 8U8- +w TV,( Thon;?8) was quite satisfied on SflnXlt' „ n £ the ^est.on, was there a reasonable and probable cause to suppose that Mr. Belt was drunk ? There certainly was a lanre bodv of evidence to show that he was labouring unde^ considerable excitement, and this raised the question, did the constable Washington con- sider he was acting in the discharge of his duty and thoroughly believe that Mr Belt was intoxicated? and, if so, did he believe it was, his best course to take'him to the station ? On the whole, he (Sir Thomas) had come to the conclusion that the constable did follow what he considered to be a reasonable course al- though that was not a perfect answer to the case, it was an excuse to some extent, so far as Wash- ington was concerned. Undoubtedly it was a great source of inconvenience to Mr. Belt, but he (Sir Thomas) could not say that there was so much negligence on the part of the police that he could term it culpable. The summonses would, there- fore, be dismissed.
ICOLLISION WITH A TROOP SHIP.
At the Borough Court, Middlesbrough, George Graham, house agent, has been committed for trial at the next York Assizes, charged with publishing a malicious libel concerning Mr. John Imeson, a member of the Town Council. The libel was con- tained in a placard which purported to be the report of a board school examination, wherein the prose- cutor, under the cognomen of I-am-son," was held up to ridicule in various public and private capacities. Prisoner was admitted to bail. I COLLISION WITH A TROOP SHIP. A Malta telegram, date Saturday, states :-Her Majesty's troop ship Sernpis, having on board a number of troops of various regiments, left here about 11.30 p.m. last night, but returned about three hours afterwards, havtng been in collision a short distance from the harbour with the steamer Paladine, of London. The Serapis is making water, but as the vessel is built in water-tight com-, partments the damage will be confined to one sec- tion only. The Paladine has been seriously damaged, and has been run ashore.
FATAL NEGLECT OF A PAUPER.,
FATAL NEGLECT OF A PAUPER. The Altrincham Board of Guardians, last week suspended the master of their Workhouse, dis- missed the porter, and requested the nurse to resign, for neglec ing a pauper fever patient named Reece, a man seventy years of age. Thte man waB fetched to the workhouse in the fever van, and was left in the van from half-past two o'clock in the morning to half-past seven, and was then found in an insensible condition. A few hours afterwards he died, the cause of death, in the opinion of the house surgeon, being remotely typhoid fever, acce- lerated by neglect. The porter called the master up when the man arrived, but the master said he had given instructions to the nurse, and she would attend to the case. The nurse said she expected the porter to call her up, and had had no instruc- tion to wait up for the arrival of the van. The police have arrested the porter, who, with the master, will be brought up on a charge of man- slaughter.
THE CHARGE OF ATTEMPTED ARSON…
THE CHARGE OF ATTEMPTED ARSON AT PRtSTON. At the Manchester Assizes, on Saturday, James Woodall, lamp and lamp-oil merchant, Preston, was charged with attempting to fire his own premises. On the 27th October the prisoner told ht8 assistant that he was going to Liverpool to seek another place of business. About noon, according to the evidence of the assistant's wife, the prisoner took from his shop a can, which he filled with paraffin oil. and a number of candles. He also took a quantity of cotton-waste, and was afterwards found at his oil warehouse in another street by his ap- prentice. The prisoner went to Liverpool shortly afterwards, and the boy having occasion to go to the other premises, there saw a jar in an open box, which was standing on its side, in which was a quantity of straw. Behind the straw was a paraffin candle placed upright in a lucifer match- box, and surrounded by cotton-waste saturated with oil. The candle in the course of another hour would have burnt down so far as to ignit e the inflam- mable materials around it. The same state of things was discovered in another room upstairs.-— Mr. Pope, Q.C., made an able speech in the pri- soner's defence, pointing out that as the prisoner's k property was not over insured, there could be no motive for such a crime as that charged against him.—The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to penal servitude for five years.
ADULTERATION OF TEA.'
ADULTERATION OF TEA. On Saturday a deputation from the Sanitary Commissioners for the City of London waited on 4 Mr. Stansfeld to request further power from the Government to prevent the sale of adulterated tea. Among those present were Fred Farrall, Esq., chairman; Mr. Deputy Kilday, deputy-chairman of Commissions; Mr. W; Clements, the clerk of the Com- missioners and Dr. Letheby, the medical officer of health. The Chairman stated that a poisonous mixture was sold in England, greatly to the detri- ment of the health of the country, as tea; and that at present, owing to the want of proper super- vision, the Act was only able to prevent the sale of bad tea after it had already been bought by a retail dealer, who was thereby a great sufferer, and not, as should be the case, before it had been distributed over the country. This was owing to a want of in- spection taking place, not only before H was sold to retail dealers, but prior to its leaving the bonded warehouses throughout the kingdom. He sug- gested that inspectors should be appointed under the direction of the Government by the local authorities, with power to analyse any tea placed in bonded warehouses and other places, and to seize and destroy any mixture which was requisite. I. -Dr. Letheby produced several eamples of mix- ture of so-called tea, one of which contained 34 per cent. of mineral matter, 18 of which were mag- netic, and the remainder leaves, which had been already used for making tea. He also stated em- phatically that the greater payt of adulteration in tea was produced in China before it was exported, and that, therefore, the only means of stopping the great abuse complained of, would be by stopping its import into this country.—Mr. Stansfeld, in reply, stated that he would decidedly bear the. sub- ject in mind, but was unable to give them an an- swer at once, as he felt he was bound to consult his colleagues and the officials on the subject. The deputation then withdrew.
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The cost to the Government for the hire of such a ship as the Thames is nearly X1000 per month. The steamer Cairo, of London, and the steamer Cramlington came into collision on Saturday, near the Wold. Both vessels were seriously damaged. MURDER BT A HUSBAND.-A woman was last week murdered by her husband, Henry Largue, a joiner, at Maryport, in Cumberland. Both went home drunk, and a son, on returning from work, found his mother lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was removed to bed, but died shortly afterwards. The husband was apprehended and taken before the magistrates, who remanded him. A very stringent regulation has just been ap- proved by the Duke of Cambridge, with a view to prevent any possible surreptitious revival of the purchase system in the army. In any case for the promotion, transfer, or restoration to full pay from half-pay, the officer concerned will have to sign a declaration on his honour as an officer and a gentle- man that he will not pay or cause to be paid any money in respect of the promotion, transfer, or re- storation, or recognise any such payment on the part of any other person. Nobody seems to understand the precise position of the parties in the case of Mordaunt v. Mordaunt. It is still going on. and that is all they know about it. The case is really before the House of Lords and the question that supreme court has to decide is whether a person who is insane can be the de- fendant in an action for the dissolution of marriage during the continuance of the mental disease. Mean- while Lady Mordaunt is still under the professional care of one of the best-known psychological con- sultants in London, and I hear that there is no change in her mental condition.—London correspon- dent of the Leeds Mercury. I THE NOTTINGHAM SCHOOL BOARD.—A large and enthusiastic meeting of the Nonconformists of Nottingham was held in the Mechanics' Hall last week, under the presidency of Mr. Alder- <man Manning, for the purpose of considering the recent school board election in the borough, and of .supporting the policy of the Liberal majority on the Board. Resolutions were unanimously adopted expressing the joyful recognition of the meeting in that election of the evidence of the growth of en- lightened public opinion on the subject of national education, and calling upon Government to so amend the Education Act as to do away with sec- tarian contests, so that all may unite in a common crusade against ignorance; INTERESTING PHASES AT THE BRIGHTON AQUA- BIUJoL-SOme interesting developments are taking place in the Aquarium. The whiting-pout or bib are spawning for the second time this year. Millions of ova and young fish may now be seen dispersed through the water in one of the tanks. More than one important question is involved in this occur- rence, respecting which we shall, doubtless, soon have further details. Mr. Henry Lee, the naturalist to the institution, also reports the appearance in many of the tanks of a new calcareous sponge. It has been submitted to Dr. Bowerbank, F.R.S., who has described it, and it will be figured in the forth- coming third volume of his valuable monograph of jthe British Spongiadse, published by the Ray Society. He has named it "Leuconia Somesii,' after Mr. George Somes, the chairman of the Brighton Aquarium Company.
MURDER IN COUNTY MAYO.
MURDER IN COUNTY MAYO. On Saturday night a dreadful crime was com- ttted near Castlebar. A woman was found bru- tly murdered at a place called Kilkenny, within to miles of that town. A man named M'Donnell Is been arrested on suspicion of the crime, and ttnmittgd to gaol.
SE SOLICITOR-GENERAL AND HIS…
SE SOLICITOR-GENERAL AND HIS CONSTITUENTS. The Solicitor-General addressed his constituents e Oxford on Monday. He loosed with perfect manimity to the coming general election, believ- that an enlightened public opinion would guide te verdict aright. Mr. Harcourt did not think the tne had come for any extension of the electoral lpresentation. He could not consent to any pro- ))8&1 to sever the connection between Church and tate. He admitted that there was a good deal of lath in the complaints of the wage-earning class tat they were governed by unequal laws, and he iped the present Parliament would remedy their fievances. Referring to Mr. Disraeli's address to te Glasgow University, and his warning against te march of equality, Mr. Harcourt expressed the ]easure he felt that the working classes, and par- tjularly the agricultural labouring classes, were taking advances in the social scale, and were eveloping an ambition to rise and excel, which agured well for the future of this country.-A vte of confidence was unanimously adopted.
MURDER OF ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES…
MURDER OF ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES IN CHINA. Once again, in the province of Szechuen, a Roman "atholic French missionary has been murdered, Sough he was provided with a passport from lekin in perfectly good order. The Rev. Pere lue, accompanied by a native priest named Tary, "ent to the city of Ki'en-kiang-hi'en with the itention of taking possession of a small house Ought with the express permission of the high nthorities of the province, superior to the local landarin, who himself, seemingly acquiescing in lie project, had previously informed the mia- ionaries that nothing hindered their entering ■ Ha territory. This mandarin, named Koui, lis always shown a spirit of violent hate gainst foreigners and ill-will to Christians, mom, in spite of the Imperial edicts which gene- »lly he did not post up, he had constantly refused Utherto to admit within the limits of his sub-pre- ftture. As to the city people, they were all most jjjaceful and showing a good spirit towards the qKsionaries, whom they had oftentimes before in- >$ed to come and reside among them. Suddenly, >i the 5th of September, the residence of the two iBssionaries was invaded by a mob, who, rushing dfton them, dragged them along the street, beating wd wounding them till they had in their hands but swb dead bodies. Naturally the mandarin Koui, to flrhom suspicion points strongly as the author of the riot, stopped quietly in his yamen throughout, ihd did not attempt to restrain the outbreak.r jjopon Daily Herald. e
I? V L O N G E V I T Y.
I? V L O N G E V I T Y. T The College Conrant has been making a study of |be comparative longevity of the American Pro- restant clergy, and with the most satisfactory general results. It finds that of a total of 250Q clergymen the mean average of their lives was 61 years. One in every 40 lived to be 90 and over; one out of 7 was 88 or upwards at the time of his death; the ages of 60 out of the whole number ranged from 90 to 103; while only 52 died under the age of 40. Nearly one-half lived the full term of threescore years and ten; more than one-half saw tbreescore years; three-quarters lived to the age of 50; and seven-eighths passed the age of 40. lliese are interesting facts, and their value would be increased if the statistician had found time to sup* plement them by a table showing the number of ser- mons preached by the 2500 clergy during the aggre4 gate term of their ministry, together with the average length or life fenjoyed t>y tneir congregations. Of course, nothing is easier than to outshine averages course, nothing is easier than to outshine averages by particular instances, and a journal published in a .distant part of the same continent supplies a striking opportunity. The Anglo-Braziltan Times claims the acquaintance of a living Brazilian who was born on the 29th May, 1695, and who is conse- quently in his 178th year. Don Jose Martins Coutinho is, we are assured, still in possession of his mental faculties, and the only bodily ailment he complains of is stiffness in the leg joints," which in a gentleman of his years is hardly to be wondered at. In his youth Coutinho fought as a soldier in Pernambuco against the Dutch, and re- members 1 he most notable facts in the reigns of Don John V., Don Jose, and Donna Maria I. It is added that he can count 123 grandchildren, 86 great grandchildren, 23 great great grandohildren, and 20 great great great grandchildren, which is, perhaps, the least astonishing part of the story.— Daily News.
.. A PRIMA DONNA IN ST. PETERSBURG.
A PRIMA DONNA IN ST. PETERSBURG. Writing, last week, from St. Petersburg, the correspondent of the Standard says :-On Monday, November 24th, to the great joy of the frequenters of the opera, Patti re-appeared on the stage of the ^re?t -theatre. She returned to St. Petersburg rresh from the triumphs 6he had just achieved at I Moscow, where the excitement of the audience on the night of her farewell benefit at the ancient capital surpassed everything that has ever been seen in Russia. In the course of the evening she was called out no less than a hundred times; a magnificent brooch "let in diamonds and pearls was presented to her by the subscribers; bouquets were showered from all parts of the house; and at the end of the opera more than five hundred were thrown upon the stage, which was literally covered with flowers. It must not be supposed that St. Petersburg is far behind Moscow in these extraordinary demonstrations. Last year when Nilsson left the theatre after her benefit she had two carriages, one for herself and one for her flowers; and the latter was literally crammed with the trophies she had received. It is not only the jeunesse doree who take part in these displays, old men are carried away by the madness of the moment, and even women are drawn into the current. Nilsson's dress was literally torn to shreds by admireis, who wished to have some souvenir of the divine singer, and women vied with each other for the honour of kissing her hand. We are not living in a latitude where the expense of a cartload of flowers more or less is hardly a considera- tion, but all these wreaths and baskets and enor- mous bouquets are produced here in Russia in the month of November. If we reflect for a moment on the outlay in fuel and labour which a single bouquet represents, we shall be able to form some idea of the cost of such a vast quantity of flowers as a Russian audience throws at the feet of its favourites. The wonder is how they can be sup- plied. The competition among the buyers is so great that the sellers demand exorbitant prices. Very few bouquets cost less than three guineas, most of them much more; so that the money thrown away at the famous benefit at Moscow must have been enormous. No one who is able to appre- ciate the highest description of talent would grudge to such distinguished artistes as Patti and Nilsson every reasonable tribute of admiration, but such senseless manifestations ought to be checked. If those who indulsre in them were to think of the hundreds of starving families in Samara, and of the ridicule to which they expose themselves, they would, perhaps, be less lavish in their expenditure and confine their admiration within reasonable limits.
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— A conductor of a Dublin tramway has been killed when jumping off a car running between Clontarf and Abbey street. The Council of the Society of Antiquaries has given leave to the English Dialect Society to re- priat the Glossary of West Riding words compiled by Dr. Willan, which appeared in vol. xvi. of the "Archaeologia." The Glossary has already been sent to press accordingly. Messrs. A. and C. Black have in the press a new work by the Rev. Dr. Cunningham, of Crieff, author of The Church History of Scotland," en- titled A New Theory of Knowing and Known, with some speculations .on the Borderland of Psychology and Physiology," to be issued in January.
!ITHE ASHANTEE WAR.
THE ASHANTEE WAR. FURTHER RETREAT OF THE ASHANTEES. ILLNESS OF SIR GARNET WOLSELEY. The special edition of the Standard on Saturday evening contained, the following telegram from its special correspondent :Notfcing of importance has occurred in a military point of view since last mail. The Ashantee army, however, is retreating to the North through the bush. The general health of the troops is satisfactory. General Wolseley has been five days ill with a slight fever, but is better now. Captain Hewitt has arrived, and all males have been impressed as carriers. LISBON, Dec. 6.-Intelligence from Cape Coast Castle announces that slight fevers are prevalent, and that several officers are on the sick list. General Wolseley is better, and is on board the Simoon. The weather is favourable, but it is in- tended to await reinforcements before comprehen- sive measures are taken. The Ashantee army is retiring to the bush and marshes. The Portuguese officials in the African colonies have been instructed to forward British interests in every way.-Beuter's Telegram. —
A NEW ftODE OF PREVENTING…
A NEW ftODE OF PREVENTING RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. The Scotsman says;—"The unusual amount of attention directed recently by the public and the Board of Trade to the frequency of railway acci- dents is already beginning to hear good fruits, one of which is the ingenious method adopted by the Caledonian Railway to place a check on the evil, and which is described in a circular just issued to the employes of the company. This is the establish- ment of a scale of premiums or rewards, ranging from X3 to £ 5 for the different classes of servants, to be paid to each man who for a year has not been, directly ox indirectly, connected with loss of life or property on the railway." We also learn that the directors of the North- Eastern Railway have decided to allow at the enfl of every three months a bonus of JB1. 5s. to each of their signalmen who shall not during that period have had any case of negligence proved against him, and shall have discharged his duties generally in a satisfactory manner. This arrangement, we understand, took effect from the 1st October, and the bonus for the first quarter ending on the 31st inst. will be payable in January next.
. MORE RAILWAY COLLISIONS.
MORE RAILWAY COLLISIONS. A goods train from Tayport to Edinburgh last week ran into a number of waggons left standing 'n the line between Marknich and Thornton sta- tions, on the North British Railway. No one was injured, but there was a great destruction of plant and permanent way. The same evening, as an up passenger train was coming into the Torre Station of the South Devon Railway, it came into collision with a stationary goods train, in consequence of the points being wrong, knocking in one end of the brake van of the latter, and jerking the passengers, but no person was seriously injured. On Saturday, about midnight, an alarming collision between two Lancashire and Yorkshire trains occurred in the Victoria Station. Manchester. The train from Yorkshire due at 11.28 was ten minutes late. On arriving, and after being emptied, it was shunted backwards, when the Rochdale train, due at 11.40, which was only three minutes late, ran into it with great violence. The carriages in both trains were damaged, the first vehicles ,in each considerably. The number of passengers was few,. but four were seriously injured. The pointsmait alleges that he had guarded the train by signals, but that his levers would not work. The lever was tested afterwards, and was found to work somewhat badly.
THE BANK RATE OF DISCOUNT.
THE BANK RATE OF DISCOUNT. The fall in the value of money has again occurred. The cessation in the German demand has produced the effects which were to be anticipated from it. We h$ve long h^^qjpjovide bullion for that market, and for the present oertainly we are "providing it no longer. And we should be careful to see clearly the mode in which this arises. It has no connec- tion, as is often fancied, with the balance of the German Government in cash in London; quite irrespective of that balance, whether much or little, the German Government holds convertible securi- ties in large amounts, which it can turn into money by sale or loan if it chooses. Its power over the market is undoubted, and has no reference to the state of its banking account. Nor is the German demand for bullion at all dependent on the bills said to be held by Berlin bankers on this country. Those bills are simply items in the general Ex- change account of this country, and have no ten- dency to draw bullion from us any more than the vastly greater amount of other bills upon England held abroad. Everything turns on the intentions of the German Government exclusively. If that Government wants gold from this market, it can take it quite independently of the general Ex- change account between this country and the rest of the world. It can make by means of the pro- ceeds of the indemnity a large new transaction, which will provide for it that which it requires. At present, so far as we know, it has no such intention. But it is also to be remembered that its plans have been but imperfectly declared, and are far from being fully known. The American panic seems to be gradually passing away. The exchange has risen to a point at which America is not likely to withdraw gold from hence, and the usual bill currency," which settles the trade balance between the two countries, has recovered its efficiency. Few per- sons would have hoped a month since that the amendment would have been so rapid, and it would have been madness to have calculated on its being so. The improvement may fairly be expected to con- tinue, and it is probable that we shall see another reduction in the Bank rate before the end of the year. We wish that we could anticipate that the Bank of England would take this opportunity of raising its reserve to a higher point than it has formerly judged sufficient, but we fear that there is no ground for so imagining. The recent events, though intrinsically most instructive, have passed away too rapidly to have imprinted their legitimate lesson.—Economist.
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ONE CAUSE OF RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.—At the Stafford assizes, Thomas Hales, 24, labourer, was indicted for having, on the 4th September, mali- ciously placed an iron plate on the rails of the Lon- don and North-Wottem Company, in the parish of Seighford, with intent to obstruct certain engines and carriages. A further count charged him with placing the iron there.for the purpose of endanger- mg the lives of passengers. Hales, on being called on to plead, was evidently in a muddle; eventually av plea of not guilty was entered to the first charge, and a plea of guilty to the second, it being never- theless doubtful whether the prisoner really dis- cerned the effect of his admission. Mr. Mottram, on the part of the prosecution, declined to offer evi- dence in support of the ch rge» of felony, taking into account the unmistakable silliness of the ac- cused. Mr. Greaves, the surgeon of the gaol, was called, and spoke to the imbecility of Hales. The Judge sentenced the prisoner to 14 days' imprison- ment. BARONESS BURDETT COUTTS ON CRUELTY TO HOBSES.-The sufferings of tramway horses in Edinburgh are the subject of a letter addressed by Baroness Burdett Coutts to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is difficult/' says her ladyship, to see how the ma- gistrates can enforce the law which righteously protects horses from over-work, ill-usage, and being worked in unfit condition while the tramway Worses continue to run as at present. Those who compel these miserable skeletons to toil and sweat up the incline of Leith walk and North Bridge are surely daily committing breaches of the Acts of the Legislature, both for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and also for the suppression of shows and habits tending to the demoralisation of the public, especially of the young; and as the Presi- dent of the Ladies' Humane Education Committee of the Royal Society of England for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, I \enture most earnestly to set before you this flagrant violation of these Acts. The spectacle Edinburgh presents in its tramways is all the more to be regretted, because, as a general rule, it has struck me and o hers that animals are kindly treated here."
I THE "LONG FIRM" AT STOKE-ON-TRENT.
THE "LONG FIRM" AT STOKE-ON- TRENT. Some very extensive long firtn" frauds have just been discovered at Stoke-on-Trent, which has I' been one of the headquarters of a firm of Bir- mingham and Manchester swindlers for some time past. Only one of the" firm has been appre- hended as yet, but the police have a clue to his partners, and some interesting revelations will probably come out of the investigations of the affair. A few days ago Mr. Williams, chief con- stable of Hanley, received private information of a Birmingham man being at Stoke, and, under the pretence of carrying on business as a whole- sale grocer, receiving consignments of goods from various grocery houses, and privately transferring the plunder to Birmingham and Manchester. The inquiries of Mr. Williams in conjunction with Chief- superintendent Oswell, led to the discovery that this man, who had been lodging at a eoffee house in Stoke, had sent orders upon printed memoranda, representing him as "J. Hargraves, wholesale grocer, Stoke-on-Trent," to numerous firms in dif- ferent parts of the country, intercepting the re- plies at the Post Office, and the goods at the railway station. The name was well chosen, there being at Stoke a Mr. W. B. Hargraves, who is well known to the wholesale houses, and the memoranda were well calculated to deceive persons who per- haps did not take the trouble to look at the initials of the name. That this deception was successful is shown in the case of one firm whose traveller lately called on Mr. Har- graves, and was told that Mr. Hargraves would con- sider the subject. A few days after the firm received an order from J. Hargraves," and thinVinpr it was for the gentleman whom their traveller had called upon, sent the goods. This is one of a great num- ber of cases in which Arms have been defrauded. The pseudo Mr. Hargraves was detected in the act of removing a quantity of goods from Stoke to Birmingham, and was followed by the police, but was lost at Biimingham. He again turned up at Stoke soon after, called at the Post Office for letters, and was looking over a fresh consignment of goods at the railway station, when Messrs. Wil- liams and Oswell interrupted his career, and arrested him. He gave the name of Mills, and said he had a. house in Birmingham, but would give no address, and was very defiant. He is a respectable-looking man, about 40 years of age, and somewhat resembles Mr. Hargraves.
THE ALLEGED MURDER AT RHYL.
THE ALLEGED MURDER AT RHYL. The adjourned magisterial inquiry into this case was resumed last week, before Mr. G. A. But- terton, D.D., and Mr. Prioe Jamea. The first witness examined was Mr. David Murrott, of Lon- don, who stated that he had known the deceased, Robert Carroll Davey, for more than seven years. He lived at his house about four years, and was in the habit of visiting him often during the past two or three years. The last time he visited him was on the Monday evening, 6th of October last, when he met Mr. Davey, at the house of Mr. Smith. t He was in his usual state of health. It might be said that he was rather excited and talking a great deal, but there was nothing despond- ing or irrational about him. Witness saw him last about half-past eleven o'clock that evening. He was not overcome with wine. He had been suffering from neuralgia, but not at that time. He never suffered from any particular ailment, but was subject to a sort of fainting fits. He saw him in one of these fits the first time about three years ago. Deceased was then nearly the whole of the night insensible. He was oonfined to bed for some time in consequence of it. Subsequently, on the 22nd of July last, on the occasion of the birthday of one of the children of a friend, he had been in- sensible for an hour, and was so weak that he was obliged to sit down on his way home. He spoke once or twice during the attack, but was so helpless that witness had to force brandy and soda upon him. He was not in the habit of associating with immoral women, and seldom attended theatres. He was not "addicted to drink, neither was there anything about him that would induce witness to suppose that he would ooinsut suicide. Witness was not aware that a brother of the deceased, residing in America, committed suicide. Emma Evans, Vic- toria Inn, a place close to the spot where the body was found, deposed to having seen the prisoner Mar- garet Thomas, on the afternoon of the day the deed had been committed, getting some drink, but did not I see her afterwards. Had seen the prisoner Evan Parry on the afternoon of the day the prisoners were taken up. He called for two-pennyworth of rum, and had been about an hour drinking; and in calling for the second he inquired if that was not the place where the man was killed, the result of the inquest, and whether the deceased's things were found right upon him. The prisoner Anne Yates came there I at the time, and they had drink together.-Dr. Wolstenholme deposed to having attendedMargaret Parry professionally, when she made a statement to him of having robbed, as well as the way in which she robbed the deoeased.—Mr. Davies, who de- fends the prisoner Margaret Thomas, declined cross- examining the witness as Inspector ;M'Ltu-en, in whose custody were the clothes which prisoner and the deceased wore on the night of the 10th October, was stated to be from home upom an important inquiry connected with the case, and Mr. Davies intended to put questions with regard to his client's clothes. The Court adjourned at five o'clock until Thursday next, as the result of the post nwrtem, examination could not be satisfactorily given before then. The prisoners, in the meantime, were re- manded to the county gaol
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A NOVEL ACTION.—In the Court of Common Pleas on Saturday morning a firm of wine mer- chants brought an action against a retired major, and now the proprietor of a colliery in South Wales, named Mansel, living at Wimbledon, to recover j £ 63. Is. 4d. for wines supplied to his wife. The evidence disclosed that the lady's brother was traveller to the plaintiffs, and the wine was ordered through him without the major's knowledge. The defendant said he had already iefused to pay other wine bills contracted during the same period of six months. He had paid .£116 for wine for the house during that year, and there were altogether about thirteen or fourteen other wine merchants who had sent in bills. He had forbidden his wife to order wine. Her medical attendants ordered her to take it. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant. BIRMINGHAM MEN ARRESTED AT QUEENSTOWN. -Last week. two brokers, named Snow, and a man named Hickman, were brought before the Queens- town magistrates on a charge of being concerned in larceny at an iron factory in Birmingham. The prisoners were arrested on Wednesday, at Queens- town. aboard the Allan steamer Canadian, bound for Halifax, in consequence of a telegram received from Chief-constable Glossop. Two of the Birming- ham police now attended to identify accused, and convey them back to England. The English war- rant was not, however, forthcoming, and the magistrates refused to hand over the men on the application of the English police. The prisoners were discharged, but after arriving at Cork they were rearrested and taken away. THE RECENT COLLISION AT MIRPIELD STATION.— Colonel Hutchinson, reporting on the collision between a cattle train and a passenger train, which occurred on the 2nd Oct. at the east end of Mirfield Station, on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, says:—After fully considering the conflicting evi- dence in this case, the primary cause of the col- lision is in my opinion to be attributed to the Tower signalman having neglected to stop the cattle train at this cabin by keeping his home signal at danger" as he ought to have done in consequence of the short interval (probably two minutes) that had elapsed since the passenger train had passed, and this more particularly considering that he believed the tail light of the latter train was not burning. His mind evidently misgave him on the subject as the cattle train passed, for he acknow- I ledges to have tried to attract the driver's atten- tion by exhibiting a red hand light. The cattle train driver was not running as cautiously as he ought to have been in approaching W. cabin, the signals of which were at danger, or he could, I believe, have stopped before striking the other train. The weight of the evidence I think shows that the tail light of the passenger train was not burning as it ought to have been, and for this the guard is to blame. This collision would have be n prevented had the line between the Tower and West Cabins been worked on the absolute block system. The superintendent of the line informed me that it was intended shortly so to work it."