County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

Mr W. H. Wilkins is following up his early Hanoverian studies, and is engaged on a life of Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark, the sister of King George III., a Princess whose story in many wavs resembles that of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, consort of George I.

I SOUTH AFRICA. I I MESSAGE FROM MR. SEDDON. I Mr. Seddon, the New Zealand Premier, in a 't telegram from Pretoria to Wellington, s, ys he does not think the other New Zealand contingent will be necessary. A special correspondent at Pretoria, says the people there were expecting the proclamation of peace on Saturday, and could not understand why it was delayed. I COMMANDO SURRENDERING. I The advance portion of Visaye's (?) commando arrived at Balmoral on the evening of the 23rd May, and the remainder of the commando was I expected to arrive there in order to surrender. I CAPTURES m ORANGE COLONY. Dickson's Scouts engaged a number of Boers on the 16th and 17th May in the neighbourhood of Philippolis. One Boer was killed and six were captured with their rifles and bandoliers. Five hundred rounds of ammunition, 16 horses, and some cattle also fell into our hands. On the 17th the Scouts also captured a badly-wounded Boer, three horses, and 100 rounds of ammunition. Another Boer was captured near Modderfontein. I KRUPP GUN UNEARTHED. I I A Krupp gun was unearthed to the south of Heil j bron on May 22. I ENCOUNTER WITH REBELS. I On May 15 ten rebels stacked four Scouts close to Bijfaeker. The Scots held a position command- ing the water and killed two well-known rebels. The rebels were joined by 20 others, while five men from here went to the assistance of the Scouts, who held their own until the rebels fell back in the direction of Kakama. In addition to the two rebels the Scouts killed two horses and captured another, as well as two rifles and a hundred rounds of ammunition. The Scouts had no casualties. I SURRENDERS IN THE EAST. I Field Cornet Visaye has surrendered at Bal- moral, and also three other men from Com- mandant Piet Uys's commando. They came in with waggons and oxen. Captain Mackenny, who also surrendered at Balmoral, had charge oi Moll's Burgher Volunteer Corps. His aide-de- camp, Potgieter, surrendered with him. Visaye was an influential Boer leader, and his surrender is significant. Forty-six Boers, belonging chiefly to Visagie's commando, have since the above surrendered at Balmoral, bringing with them their waggons and cattle. Duvenhage, a field cornet from Piet Uys's commando, was among the surrendered. THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. I ATTITUDE OF THE BOER DELEGATES. I The general impression that the present negoti- ations will result in peace have been strong for the last few days (says the" Tinier" special correspondent in Pretoria) that a rumour to the effect that peace would actually be proclaimed in Pretoria on Victoria Day met with ready credence, and the Market square was thronged this morning with an expectant crowd. The nego- tiations, however, have not yet concluded, and a day or two must elapse before the final verdict of the Boer delegates at Vereeniging is given. The prevailing optimism is not altogether without foundation, but it would be useless to take for granted that all the Boers at Vereeniging will accept without discussion or modification what their Governments accede to in Pretoria. Until the Vereeniging conference has spoken, therefore, it is not wise to draw conclusions from the demeanour of the Boer officials. Neverthe- less, it is satisfactory to note that the members of the Boer Governments no longer adopt an impos- sible attitude. If their protestations here may be relied on they will endeavour to enforce their wishes on the assembled burghers at Vereeniging REINFORCEMENTS. I The 37th and 38th Battalions Imperial Yeomanry left Aldershot Camp on Tuesday morning to pro- ceed from Farnborough Station by special trains to Southampton, where they embarked on the Orotava for conveyance to South Africa. The steamship took on board 54 officers and 1012 men, consisting of 25 officers and 453 men 37th Battalion and 25 officers and 467 men 38th Battalion also 93 men 2nd Royal Berks and a few details. Lieutenant Colonel the Hon. J. G. Beresford was in command. The transport Ascot sailed from the Royal Albert Docks on Tuesday afternoon with 220 horses and a few officers and men of the Veterinary Deportment for the Cape. She was to call at Southampton and Queenstown for additional re- mounts. BURIED GUNS AND STORES. I By far the most interesting personage who sailed for the Cape from Southampton on Tuesday afternoon on the transport Orotavo was the Boer prisoner, who it is stated is going out to reveal where a large quantity of Boer arms and ammunition is concealed. He was captured during the war and sent to Bermuda, and after spending about nine months there he made a communication to the Governor, as the result of which he was despatched to England en route for the Cape. He arrived at Southampton on Friday night, and was taken to the Convalescent Depot at the docks under an escort. During his stav at Southampton he has been allowed con- siderable liberty, being permitted to go out very nearly as often as he liked, though, of course always accompanied by* an escort. He is a tall, handsome young Dutchman, with pleasing maimers. Before he was captured by the British he saw a good deal of fighting, taking part in no les3 than 22 engagements. He was in the great attack on Ladysmith, and was one of the assaulting party at Spion Kop. He was wounded at Belfast in the breast and knee, and was picked up by our ambulance after the battle.

THE REVENUE. The receipts on account of revenue from the 1st April, 1902. when there was a balance of £ 8.566.947, to May 24, 1902, were C22,627,067, as against £ 19,051.925, in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, which commenced with a balance of £5,526918. The net expenditure was £30,628,18: as against £ 31.723,231 to the corresponding date in the previous year. The Treasury balances on May 24, 1902, amounted to £6;358,367, and at the corresponding date of 1901 to £ cs.SG3.493.

A DESTROYER ASHORE. The torpedo boat destroyer Recruit ran on a rock off St. Just, Cornwall, during a fog, about four o'clock on Tuesday morning. Tugs were sent to her assistance, and she was got off in the course -I of the afternoon. She was able to proceed under her own steam to Mounts Bay, where she anchored at four o'clock with the cruiser Hyacinth and other Government ships in attendance. The exact amount of the damage sustained by the Recruit has not yet been ascertained. The Recruit wass built at Glasgow, and was only launched last year. She is a twin-screw torpedo-boat destroyer of 5800 indicated horse-power, and acted as tender to the Victory at Portsmouth. Her steaming speed is 30 knots, and she has on board oAe 12-pounder and five 6 pounder guns. Her official com- plement is 58 men. Both the Recruit and the torpedo-boat destroyer Dove, which struck a rock' and lost a propeller on the Irish coast, belong to the Portsmouth Instruc- tional Flotilla, and both were attached as tenders to the flagship Victory. A Penzance correspon- dent mentions a singular fact connected with the stranding of the Recruit. Being short of rockets she is reported to have fired live shells. The fog was so thick that the shells fell landwards, burst- ing over St. Just, and breaking windows. No one was hurt, and the folk of the town secured frag- ments of the shells as a momento of the stranding of a warship.

The special mission from the United State3 of America to the Coronation includes, besides Mr. Wliitelaw Reid, the younger, Mr. Pierpont Morgan, who is, of course, a resident in England; and there will also be a naval and a military representative, each of whom will have two A.D. C.'s.

MLISE" ON HOUSEWORK. HOW TO MAKE IT EASY. Women who find housework a worry (writes Elise," in ono of her Home articles) should not treat it as a necessary evil but try to fit themselves to do it to perfection, it is easy then in- stead of irksome." A practical woman, whose life has much in it to encourage wives and mothers, says the same in her capable, pleasant way in a Liver- pool paper. Housework used to be a terrible trial. I was often taken," she says, "with pains in my stomach and across my body. I had to go about the kitchen stooping—I couldn't stand up straight, and it is only through taking Dr. Williams' pink pills for pale people that I am strong and well now. My doctor ordered me to bed, for the disease was ulceration of the coats of the stomach. I could not keep any food down, and I was so weak through lack of nourishment that I couldn't lift my hand to my mouth. The pain I suffered cannot be described. I had a cupboard full of medicine bottles. Drugs eased me for a time; soon I was as bad as ever. The disease, called in medical language gastric ulcer, arises out of neglected indigestion. Every time I a anything I suffered intense pain, until it came up, and then I would be as hungry as ever. But in time even hunger deserted me; I became weak and ill through lack of sufficient nourish- ment, and I couldn't do my work for three years. I was perfectly miserable. How did it stop ? I'll tell you. Six months ago, I read in the paper about a cure by Dr. Williams' pink pills for pale people. The person had the same ailment as myself. I got a box, and after four pills I found great relief. I had alto- gether seven boxes, but the last box is only half empty. Dr. Williams' pink pills acted in a marvel- lous way. They healed the ulcerated stomach, which formerly rejected all food, and I could take a stronger diet without suffering. The pills gave me a good appetite. I can now eat my ordinary food and enjoy it without pain, and I am as well as ever I was in my life." The speaker was Mrs. Webster, of 508, Edge- lane, Liverpool, and her cure is one of those where Dr. Williams' pink pills, by enabling the stomach to absorb and use the food, remove the cause of indigestion and increase many-fold the value of the food taken. Hence the impoverished blood grows rich and healthy, the tired back and nerves are strengthened and braced, and the weak, tired woman becomes strong and well. The pills are as valuable to men as women: they have cured paralysis, locomotor ataxy, rheumatism, kidney disease, sciatica, impoverished blood, sorofula, rickets, consumption of the bowels and lungs, ansemia, pale and sallow complexion, weakness, palpitation, pains in the back, early decay, female weakness and hysteria. They are genuine only with the full name-Dr. Williams' pink pills for pale people—and are sold by chemists, and by Dr. Williams' medicine company, Holborn-viaduct, London, at two shillings and ninepence a box, or six boxes for three shillings and ninepence these pills are a tonic, not a purgative.

SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF. The Saturday Evening Post" prides itself on being the oldest journal in America, having ap- peared regularly every week for the past 174 years, except for the short period when Philadelphia was in the hands of the British Army." Benjamin Franklin was its founder and first editor. With such unusual traditions-for American journalism —the Post feels that it has a reputation to maintain. Its editorial comments are brief to the point of epigram. Moreover, they are not without humour. Here are a few specimens It is well that the world-wide empire is a dream. Otherwise it might be a nightmare." 11 Greater New York has an official bureau of complaints. This is in addition to its yellow journals." Wide circulation is given to the fact that a servant stayed with the same family 50 years. But let no one take false hope. She is dead." By means of the new tunnels to be constructed under New York anyone may take a train from Boston to any other part of the country. But this raises no ex- citement in Boston. Why, it asks, should anyone want to take a train from Boston ?" This is much above the level of the average American news- paper humour.

FROM PRISON TO PREMIERSHIP. I Nikola Pasitch, the Servian Radical leader who ¡ is entrusted with the formation of a Cabinet, has been Prime Minister before, namely, from Feb- ruary, 1891, till August, 1892, President of the Skupshitna twice, and Minister at St. Petersburg. By profession (says the Standard^ correspon- dent in Vienna) he is an engineer, and as assistant of General Tchernaieff during the war with Turkey, superintended the building of roads and bridges. He was Professor of Geodesy at Belgrade University, editor and chief leader writer of a newspaper there, organiser of the revolt in Timok Valley, 1883, for which he was court-marshalled and sentenced to be hanged, but pardoned by King Milan, and he was a supposed accessory to the alleged plot against King Milan in 1898, when he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and again pardoned by the present King, to whom he swore allegiance and fidelity in open court. Ho was born in 1846, and is therefore 56.

KING ALFONSO AND THE CIGARETTEE. An amusing anecdote about the young King of Spain is going the rounds at Madrid. The King went one evening to seethe Prince of theAsturias, who was in command of the Palace Guards, and asked for a cigarette. This being forbidden, the Prince refused, saying, Your Majesty, the guard is not permitted to smoke." Alfonso addressed himself to another officer, and received a similar reply. He then walked to a private, and said sharply, Give me a cigarette." The soldier replied, "I have no cigarettes, but if you like to make one here are paper and tobacco." There- upon (says Dalziel) his Majesty turned to the Prince of the Asturias and remarked, Well, I have found someone who obeys his King."

REMEMBER the Black Beetles, and be sure to tell Cook to well sprinkle the floor near the fire- place last thing at night with KEATING'S POWDER, the unrivalled Killer of Fleas, Beetles, Moths also Nits in Children's Heads. Harmless to animals. Sold only in Tins, 3d., 6d., and Is. Filled Tin Bellows ready for use, 9d. An old pumping engine in a Birmingham canal station was recently removed after having been in continuous use for 120 years. Lieut.-Colonel Fenn, the medical officer to the Viceroy's household, has arrived in England on leave from India. He was for some years at- tached to the Brigade of Guards before being chosen by Lord Curzon to proceed in his suits to India. A wooden chimney stack 160 feet high is in operation at Mapimi, in the province of Durango, Mexico. The interior is lined with corrugated iron, and there are platforms at in- tervals to throw water on the wood if it catches fire. Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Batten- berg has consented to become a patron of the Royal Hospital for Children and Women, Water- loo-bridge-road, now being rebuilt in memory of Queen Victoria, and has named one of the wards The Princess Beatrice." An Exchange Telegraph Company's Aldershot telegram states that Captain Smyth, D.S.O., 9th Lancers, who did splendid work in South Africa, has been appointed to command the newly-estab- lished Remount Depot, at Norwich. The Countess of Warwick is writing a history of Warwick Castle and its owners, from Saxon and Norman times to the close of the reign of Queen Victoria. The book will be illustrated, chiefly from paintings and relics in the castle, and will be published in the autumn by Messrs. I Hutchinson.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. I NO PEACE ANNOUNCEMENT. When the House of Commons met on Monday there was not a hundred members present, and after Mr. Balfour had stated that he had no announcement to make with regard to peace a large proportion of these vanished. 0 I THE EDUCATION BOARD. Sir John Gorst, in introducing the vote of £ 5,421,862 for the salaries and expenses of the Board of Education, gave an exhaustive sum- mary of the work of secondary schools in London ,t and the country. Better results and better at- tendance." Never before had such work been done, and every conceivable subject was now taught in the science and art schools, from short- hand and French to lessons in stained glass manufacture and furniture decoration. Sir John pointed proudly to the attendance at the museums as another instance of the far- reaching results of our educational system. I now pass," he said, to elementary educa- tion." At this there was a guffaw from the Liberal benches. Sir John looked pained. "What are hon. members laughing at?" he asked, and plunged into his subject in the same serious way, extolling the block grant system. Dr. Macnamara was not at all satisfied with the,.yice-President's speech. He moved to re- duce his-salary by £100, and argued that Sir John Gorst was the real author of the Cockerton judg- ment that restrained education in the night schools to the age limit of fifteen. There had been a decrease in the country of 34,000 pupils. London had lost 3,500 in average attendance. The Education Depar&aent, he said, only al- lowed swimming to be taught on land. Sir John protested. They gave grants, he said, for pre- liminary swimming lessons in the schools, and resuscitation from drowning, which had to take place on land. But Dr. Macnamara stuck to his point. Mr. Yoxall attacked Sir John Gorst fiercely for his treatment of the pupil teachers. The Vice-President," he said, is like the insect known as the bee-fly. It resembles a bee, it buzzes like a bee, but it is only a fly. Sir John looks like a Minister of Education, talks like a Minister, but he is not a Minister of Education at all." Mr. E. Gray, from the Ministerial benches, chided Sir John Gorst, who seldom made a speech without saying something to hurt the feel- ings of the people who were earnestly trying to carry on the educational work of the country. Mr. Whitley condemned the action of the Board of Education in withdrawing grants for the time spent in physical exercises, which helped to make good and useful citizens. The motion to reduce Sir John's salary by L100 was defeated by 181 to 102. I DEVELOPING COLONIES. At the evening sitting of Parliament on Mon- day a vote of £ 1,000 to Cyprus was discussed. Sir Albert Rollit suggested that steps should be taken to improve the steamship communica- tion between the island and Egypt and the Syrian coast, so that Cyrpus should be used as a sana- torium. In this he was supported by Mr. Sydney Buxton. Mr. Pierpoint protested against the continu- ance of the payment of the tribute to Turkey, and Mr. Hobhouse expatiated on the strength and usefulness of the Cyprus mule, a very prodigy among his kind. Mr. O'Mara made the suggestion that the people of Cyprus should be given their independ- ence, and moved the reduction of the vote by £ 5,000. The Chairman pointed out that the total vote was only EI,000, whereupon Mr. O'Mara moved a reduction of L500. Mr, Chamberlain said the appreciation shown by the House of what had been done to further the prosperity of Cyprus would encourage the p Colonial Office to do more. He confessed he would like to come to the House for money to develop the resources of other Colonies, and he believed in the end that the expenditure would be profitable. The right hon. gentleman declared the pro- mises held out to the people had been amply fulfilled. They were anxious to escape from the misgovernment of the Turk, and under British rule they had enjoyed justice and a share in the government of the island. The Government were willing to assist private enterprise in establishing a bank, and they were also about to arrange for a weekly service of steamers between Alexandria and Cyprus. Mr. Hobhouse: A British line? Mr. Chamberlain said he was glad of that in- terruption if it meant that the Government would be supported in giving preference as to sub- sidies to British lines not only as regarded Cy- prus.. The tribute, he continued, existed when we took the island over, and it had been greatly reduced under British rule. On a division, Mr. O'Mara's amendment was rejected by 199 to 30. The following votes were agreed to :— £ 133,225 for the Pacific cable, and a £ 40,000 loan to the Government of Crete. BUDGET BILL POSTPONED. Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman having, in the House of Commons, on May 27, asked the First Lord cf the Treasury when he proposed to pro- ceed with the Finance Bill. Mr. Balfour replied that he could not fix a day for the Committee stage of the measure, as it would be very incon- venient to discuss the Bill while other things were in the balance." TERMS AND THE BOERS. To Mr. J. O'Kelly, who wished to know whether the House of Commons could be told what terms had been offered to the Boers, the right hon. gentleman made no reply. AGRICULTURAL QUESTIONS. Upon the vote of C95,716 for the Board of Agri- I culture, in Committee of Supply, Mr. Hanbury, replying to a number of miscellaneous questions which members of the Committee had put to him, said that he looked forward to a time when farmers in England who desired to'engage in horse breeding would receive the same assistance as was now given to farmers in Ireland. But while he recognised that farmers were entitled to some State help, he advised them to rely more than they did at present upon self-help. From co-operation they might expect to derive con- siderable benefits. Having explained his view3 with regard to the kind of elementary education which should be given to children in rural districts, he stated that farmers were to be supplied with information bearing on the ques- tion of remounts, as it was desirable that they should be encouraged to supply the horses required for the Army in normal times. He declined in the public interest to relax the regulations in force for the prevention of rabies. The decrease in swine fever in the first three months of this year had, he said, been very maiked. Anthrax, on the other hand, was gain- ing ground. Touching upon the question of the Z, 0 importation of Argentine cattle, he pointed out that in view of the importance of the trade the Argentine Government ought to take stringent precautions against the possible introduction of cattle disease into their country. It was his intention to introduce a Bill dealing with sheep worrying by dogs. The vote was agreed to. CHARITY COMMISSION. On the vote to complete the sum of £33,442 for the Charity Commission, Mr. Cremer, who, with other members, criticised the administrative methods of the Commissioners, moved a reduc- tion as a protest against the manner in which the funds of St. Katherine's Hospital, Regent's Park, were distributed. Mr. Boscawen explained that the Commis- sioners had no power to interfere in the adminis- tration of this trust, jurisdiction over the charity being exercised by the Queen through the medium of rules which were drawn up by the Lord Chancellor. Answering Mr. J. Ellis, who had suggested that the Charity Commission should be merged in the Board of Education, he maintained that no advantage would result from this change. Sir H. Fowler having expressed the opinion that the House ought to have more control over the Commission, Mr. Austen Chamberlain pointed out in reply that, though the control of Parliament was indirect, it might still be effec- tive. Mr. Cremer's amendment having been negatived by 200 votes against 118, the vote was agreed to, as were votes for the Civil Service Commission, for the Exchequer and Audit Department, for the Friendly Societies' Registry, and for Stationery and" Printing. I LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Mr. Long was asked for information on a variety of topics. In the course of his state- ment in reply he dealt with the regulations for the ^management of motoc cars, and he admitted that the present regulations were altogether inefficient. While they placed undue restric- tions in the way of those who wished to use motor cars prudently, they did not prevent reckless persons from doing great harm. But if there was to be any increase of the maximum speed allowed, adequate means of identification must be devised, and from any new regulations that might be issued there must be no exemp- tions. He hoped to be able to make proposals which would be advantageous to the owners of motor cars and which at the same time would afford the public greater security against injury.

PUBLIC MEN ON PUBLIC MATTERS.. LORD ROSEBERY ON THE LIBERAL SITUATION. Lord Rosebery was the principal guest on the 3rd inst. at a house dinner of the National Liberal Club in London. Responding to the toast of his health, Lord Rosebery set himself to inquire why the swinging of the pendulum had not operated as it usually did between the general elections of 1895 and 1900. He did not think it was because the nation had a blind and strenuous confidence in the present Government. It might be that the Liberal party ha,d lost the confidence of the nation. In that case it was the duty of the Liberal party to regain that confidence. There was a great, dormant force of Liberalism in the country, and the possible power of ;Liberalism had not diminished in the country, although its Parliamentary oppression was so singularly weak. Nevsr was a Liberal party or a Liberal Opposition more needed than in the long period of patience, stress, and, he hoped, of statesmanship that was involved by the pacification of South Africa. He believed that if the Liberal party could once coma together and stand shoulder to shoulder in a great cause, they would forget all petty personal ques- tions and resuscitate once more a great political party. Lord Rosebery dealt also with the Educa- tion Bill and with the financial policy of the Government, declaring that, for good or evil, the Liberal party was bound for free trade. I THE WAR SECRETARY ON THE WAR. I The Rt. Hon. W. St. John Brodrick, Secretary of State for War, speaking at the Volunteer Ser- vice Companies' Dinner in London on 23rd inst., said he should be going beyond his duty if he were to enter upon the communications now passing and which were the prelude, as they all hoped, to the surrender of the Boers now in the field. But the Government was as determined as ever not to purchase temporary immunity from trouble by sacrificing anything which would tend to the permanent security and peace of South Africa. He praised the work of the auxiliary forces during the present campaign. The forces which three years ago were national forces were now Imperial forces. The dream of colonial federation had been made a reality by the Boer war; and at the approaching conference of Colonial Ministers it would be considered how we could put on a per- manent basis the temporary movement of enthu- 1 siasm which had bronght our colonies into the field with us from all parts of the globe. I SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN AT DARLINGTON. Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, on Saturday, ad- dressing a large Liberal gathering at Darlington, denied that he had ever made aspersions on British soldiers, and quoted from his speeches to show that he had never given credenco to the stories of wanton cruelty on the part of the British army in South Africa. What he had attacked was the executive action of Ministers. The speeches of Liberals had done nothing to cause the Boers 0 prolong the struggle, but he could finzl some phrases of mem- bers of the Government which, at least, had had the effect of contributing to the dura- tion of hostilities. He hoped the war would soon cease, and that a secure and permanent settlement in South Africa might be attained. He condemned the increase in our ordinary expenditure, and said the Corn Duty was part of the normal taxation of the country in order to provide for the remorse- less march of expenditure. The tax meant Protec- tion, and if there was to be protection it must be all round. In fairness it must be universal when once it was admitted. The Education Bill con- tained proposals which were gravely obnoxious to the Liberal party, and they would offer it the most determined opposition. SIR ROBERT REID AT OXFORD. I Sir R. Reid, M.P., speaking at the dinner of the Palmerston Club at Oxford on Saturday evening, expressed his disbelief that there would be any serious disunion among Liberals in consequence of the war. He believed that a straightforward and sensible policy would have averted that hideous calamity. He censured the Education Bill as a piece of ecclesiastical legislation, and regarded the corn duty as an invasion of the principle of free trade. 1, CHARITABLE FACTORIES." I The Home Secretary, replying on Tuesday to a deputation who waited upon him to urge that charitable institutions should be exempted from the provisions of the Factory Act, 1901, admitted that the law with regard to laundries needed amendment, and sympathised with the object aimed at by the deputation, but could hold out no hope tliat any legislation on the subject could be attempted this session. INSANITARY AREAS. I Mr. Walter Long, President of the Local Govern- ment Board, on Tuesday received a deputation of representatives of various local bodies in London and the provinces, who urged the neces- sity of change of procedure in dealing with insanitary areas. Mr. Long, in reply, said he sympathised with the objects of the deputation, but he would caution them not to attempt to remedy evils by a course of legislation which would itself create evils. He could not promise to advise the Government in favour of compulsory purchase without the preliminary precautions for which the law now stipulated. He admitted, however, that some change in the law was necessary in the case of owners who deliberately kept their property in an insanitary condition. I MILK BLENDED BUTTER. I Mr. Hanbury, replying on Tuesday to a deputa- tion from the Butter Association and kindred bodies, which urged upon the right hon. gentle- man the necessity of fresh legislation with a view to prohibiting the sale of butter substitutes and so-called butter which contained more than 16 per cent, of water, said that he thought that a strong ease had been made out against the sale of milk- blended butter, and he would give no encourage- ment to a process which manipulated imported butter to the prejudice of the consumer and the home producer. .IVI8.'III1Da-

A Washington telegram states that Generals Corbin, Young, and Wood have been formally invited by the German Emperor to attend as his personal guests the German military manoeuvres next autumn. The invitation will be accepted. A massive gun metal cross and stained glass memorial windows have been placed in the Royal Chapel, Windsor Great Park, to the memory of Major Prince Christian Victor. An inscription states that the memorial has been erected by his friends. China's prospective industrial development may be divided into the following general classes: (1) transportation, including harbour and waterway extension and betterment; (2) mining and metallurgical; (3) manufacturing industries, through which the products of the soil and mines are converted into commercial articles by modern methods. With but slight exceptions, none of these classes of development has as yet been undertaken seriously in China, according to Mr. F. L, Garrison.

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THE MYSTERY OF JOHANN OETH. Further light is thrown on the mysterious fate of the luckless Archduke Johann, better known as Jahaaan- Orth, by a Dutch engineer who is now ia the service of the United States at Washington. The Times correspondent says this gentleman explains how he associated with the Archduke im- mediately before he sailed on his last voyage, how he supplied the Archduke with sand as ballast, and how a small sum was left owing. As I am fully persuaded that my calculation would neces- sarily have been found correct, and as I knew Johann Orth to be a gentleman, as good and noble a gentleman as I have ever met, I am satisfied that in some form or other he would have sent me that small sum if he had been alive and had landed at Valparaiso or elsewhere. But that is quite impos- sible."

INSURANCE FOR SPORTSMEN. The Field quotes a circular from an entel prising insurance company in Paris which will surely be amusing to English sportsmen. It runs thus I have the honour to inform you that for an annual premium of 16fr. you can be insured against all accidents you may cause to third persons whoever they may be, except members of your family. Guaranteed 10,000fr. ( £ 400) per victim." A form of proposal was enclosed, showing that this referred only to shooting accidents. There may possibly be persons to whom such an insurance would commend itself as useful and perhaps economical, but persons so insured (adds the Field ") would hardly be looked upon as pleasant companions in an ordinary shooting party.

The recent visit to London of a deputation re- presenting Russian agricultural interests is al- ready bearing fruit, for it is stated that contracts have been signed for the regular importation of large quantities of Russian dairy produce. English market is already fairly well supplied with Russian eggs, but an opening has been found here for the disposal of butter and cheese from the same country. These articles are said to bear very favourable comparison with the exported produce of Denmark and Belgium, so much of which is consumed in England. There does not appear to be any accounting for the prejudice against May marriages. Some people with a violent antipathy to the annual spring cleaning might suggest that it is because the feminine mind is more concerned with turning the house upside down at this time of the year. But that suggestion will hardly do, because the aversion to being married during the present month can be traced back before the Christian. era, when house cleaning Could not have been the formidable business it has become undea modern conditions. Sir Alfred Hickman has taken Castle Leod, Ross-shire, from Lady Cromartie. It is one of the finest old Highland residences in the country, and there is excellent shooting, which extends over 20,000 acres. Lady Cromartie inherited a large sum of money to enable her to keep up the dignity of the Earldom of Cromartie. The be- quest was disputed, but the Scottish Courts de- cided that the money, which was left by the late Duke of Sutherland, was intended for the actual holder of the title, and was not to be divided between Ladv Cromartie and her sister, Lady, Constance Mackenzie. News comes from Vevey, on Lake Geneva, of the death of General Bates, who served thirty- five years in India and went through the Mutiny. He lived for the last eighteen years at Vevey, and was much esteemed locally for his kindly, charity. .:w,t.N-.(_M'I],t'It''I'

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A heavy and delicate piece of underpinning under rather unusual conditions has been success- fully accomplished on lower Broadway, New York, where one end of a tall office building adjacent to a taller new office building has been raised nearly 2in. and underpinned without per- ceptibly impairing the integrity of the brickwork or stone ijasonry, plaster, or even disturbing the alignment of the lifts and other machinery in use. The record of Colonel J. T. Marsh, late of the Royal Engineers, is probably without a parallel. He has six sons holding commissions in the Army, all of whom have seen serious fighting. By one or other of its members, this remarkable family seems to have had at least one representa- tive in all our recent campaigns; and its mem- bers can between them show a record of active service of which their father may well be proud. Brazil appears to be the nursery of aerial navi- gators. A fellow-countryman of M. Santos Dumont is reported to have come to Europe with a project for an airship nearly two hundred years ago. The "Evening Post" of December 20th, 1709, contains a curious account of a flying ma- chine, stated to be the invention of a Brazilian priest, who had applied to the King of Portugal for a patent for the contrivance. An explanatory diagram shows an open boat-shaped car, with sails stretching from stem to stern, like an awn- ing. Mr. Chamberlain has consented to preside at a banquet to be organised by the Royal Colonial Institute, the British Empire League, the Colonial Club, the Australasian Club, and the Aus- tralasian Chamber of Commerce in London, to celebrate the Coronation of his Maiestv the King, at wnicn he principal guests from his Majesty's Dominions beyond the Seas will be entertained at the Guildhall, by permission of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City of London, on Eriday, July 11. The above-named SCcieties have deputed a Committee to make the necessary arrangements. Surely, says The Whitehall Review," two of •?i "P°s" ^cresting figures at the Coronation will be the Duke of Cambridge and his sister, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, both of whom appeared at the last Coronation. The venerable Grand Duchess I is to arrive in England about June 12, and during part of !tier stay will be a guest of the Prince and Princess of Wales. When the Prince was abroad recently he paid a special visit to the Grand Duchess, who is a charming old lady with excellent spirits and the liveliest ideas. She will take her rank at the Coronation as Princess1 Augusta of Great Britain.