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

TOWN TOPICS. ('From Our London Correspondent.) | Parliamentary work being wound up, our legislators are either scattered or scattering to the four quarters of the earth. Many of them, indeed, had the time officially allotted for their holiday to begin; and during the past few days that the House of Commons has been sitting not half the members were present. That, of course, is largely to be accounted for by the fact that all the most contested ques- tions had been disposed of in advance. The Motor Cars Bill was the last measure to arouse any keen interest, and that was mainly because it touched private interests in a special de- gree. The owners and occupiers of automo- biles felt that they were bound to stand up stoutly for what they considered their rights; and the fervour with which they pleaded would scarcely have been equalled if they had been defending the most cherished among the nation's liberties. But all their labours are now temporarily suspended, and the one haunt- ing question among many of them is as to whether these will ever be resumed. Nobody, of course, can tell; but if a dissolution does happen to take place within the next six months, no observant politician will be very much surprised. Those interested in public affairs from a party point of view are, of course, busily dis- cussing the results of the past session as they affect their own particular position; but Par- liament does much other than merely political work, and one of its minor labours this year has been of special interest not only to house- holders, but to' housekeepers, to the gentler sex, in fact, as well as to the sterner. There has been sanctioned for certain great cities, both in England and Scotland, a system of registration for servants' registry offices—in- stitutions which should be of much use, but which very often prove to both mistresses and servants a mockery, a delusion, and a snare. The entry on the register is to be made subject to cancellation on suspension by a petty ses- sional court, on conviction of a breach of the municipal by-laws; and there can be no ques- tion of the importance of such agencies being conducted by persons of good character and integrity. As far as the capital is concerned, we have still to wait for such regulations to be put into force; but the London County Council can be depended upon to follow promptly the examples of Glasgow and Man- I chester if their well-meaning experiment prove successful. London, both in regard to the City and the West End, is in important thoroughfares being so steadily, and even rapidly, transformed that those who have not visited the metropolis for some years can scarcely realise how much in this direction is continually being done. In the City, the demolition of .the old prison of Newgate is making a very considerable dif- ference to the whole quarter of the Old Bailey and close by the destruction of the well-known buildings of Christ's Hospital-so long the home of the "blue-coat boys"—is effecting a great change. But, of course, it is the con- struction of the new thoroughfare from the Strand to Holborn-Alderwych and Kingsway, as its two portions are to be called-which is effecting the most striking change. The buildings that are already completed, or are approaching completion at each end of the horn which forms Aldwych, afford sufficient promise of the handsome and solid character of the new thoroughfare when it is completed; and the further developments will be watched with very close interest. Not before the decision needed to be taken, the trustees of the British Museum have re- solved upon undertaking the necessary work for the enlargement of the great national series of buildings at Bloomsbury. Three-fourths of the sum required, or £ 150,000, which will be spent on the work, comes out of the Parlia- mentary funds voted in the Public Buildings Extension Bill, and the remaining one-fourth will be taken from funds bequeathed to the Museum trustees. Up to now only sketch plans for the extensions have been prepared but it is to be noted that the principal architect of the office of works is employed on the task, and that his designs harmonise with the existing buildings. This is what might have been anticipated, and it is a decision to which no one who knows the Museum is likely to take exception. The style is heavy, but it seems fitting to the purpose, and it is certainly com- modious, while the one departure from it— the immense circular reading room-hnr- monises with the rest, and is a trulv majestic anartment. It will seem to many to be curious that according to the official figures which hav3 just been made available, a less number of students visited that favourite haunt of theirs last year than in some previous years but otip may be assured that is only a temporary decrease which will speedily be made good. The West Indian banana, having become a most frequent spectacle in our London shops and streets, a stremwrrs effort is now nromi^pd to be made to bring the West Indian lime-fruit to our very doors. It is being llrp'pd that no onnorfiinitv -Tiolild be lost for supplying t,, th" British public the green lime of the West Indies, in orrfr-r to compete with lemons from the south of Furope, it being claimed to have- a morf refreshing odour and a fuller and yet more delicate flavour. Tn th^ form of limp- jniC'P we have, of course, been long accustomed to it but the ide* now is that we should he enabled to handle the f-nit for outlives, and make our "souash" from it to our No one will doubt the refreshing and health- giving minifies of the lime. which hopn attested by the experience of ageS and. if we can heln our own colonies by encouraging it sale, two excellent works may be simul- taneously accomplished. Much good work has been offerted at the various volunteer camps, which 'nve been— and. indeed, are being—held in different parts of the country: and the zeal and energy dis- placed 1w those taking part in them deserve 1, prrn'se. The War Office, in a worthv desire for efficiency, does not always seem +o recognise to full all the difficulties in the way of our citizen soldiers attending these annual camps and it does not always make suffi cient allowance for the trouble and expense to which both officers and men are put. But the trouble and expense, in the vast majority of instances, are borne as cheerfully as the; many discomforts which are inherent to cam-r- ing out. The regular soldier is usei to that. kind of thing but the volunteer from the hank and the office, the shop counter and the cor- nenter's bench, feels it keenly, and, there- fore, it is all the more honour to him that h« does the wnrk of camp at once so cheerfullv nnd so well. No one can dispute the value of the training thus received and the good snirit at the back of it all speaks volumes for the volunteer forces as a whole. It is only a very few years since complaint was to be heard that the upper reaches of the Thames, lovely though they will always con- tinue to he, were becoming comparatively deserted because of the competition of the highly-popular bicycle. But this summer the tale is being told that cycling is not a.s popular as it was, and that owing to the increasingly fashionable vogue of the motor-car. It is not that those who were accustomed to ride on cycles now journey in automobiles; it is that I many cycles find their nerves too sorely shaken hv the speed of their mechanical rivals to allow them to remain on the road. The whirligig of I time brings, indeed, its revenges, when the cyclist, who was once very widely regarded as the terror of the highway, has to succumb to the greater terror of the automobilist; but, though the fear of the former may be exaggerated, there appears no doubt that it exists. R.

;W- NEWS NOTES. I From a collation of some six hundred reports received frosa correspondents of the "Agricul- tural Gazette" on the harvest outlook and results, it is seen that the only crops for which the over-average estimates exceed the under- average returns are hay and beans, precisely the crops which a wet season suits best. Oats, peas, and turnips, however, are not very far under an average, while wheat, barley, and potatoes come out badly, and mangels con- siderably under the mark. In the reports alluded to the whole of the United Kingdom was embraced, but if the figures for England alone were taken, the verdict on the 0 crop would be still more unfavourable. It is neces- sary to point out that the favourable verdicts in many cases are qualified by remarks as tu corn crops being badly laid and twisted, the hay crops damaged to a great extent, or the potato crop badly affected with disease. These disadvantages have not been allowed for, because it is impossible to tell at present how much to allow. A bulky crop is put down as over-average however much it may have been injured by the recent bad weather. On the other hand, the root crops are still susceptible of much improvement, as they are generally late, and, as a rule, they are growing well. Harvest operations have been general in the South of England, and whatever may be the outcome, there will be a plentiful supply of food for stock. Since 1870 the area of land in the United Kingdom under grass, it may be noted, has increased by four and a half million acres, while for wheat there is a decline of one and a half million acres. The "Cowes Week" was brilliant, and wound up brilliantly by the winning of the handicap for motor-propelled launches by the "Napier," steered by a lady, Miss Levitt. The "Napier" covered the entire course of twenty- six miles at an average speed of twenty-two knots per hour. At its conclusion, Miss Levitt had the honour of exhibiting the craft before I the King and Queen. On the closing day at Cowes the King had a lengthy cruise up and down the long stretch of sea on the German Emperor's yacht the Meteor, while the Royal yacht, Osborne, with the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and Princess Victoria on board, steamed westward, return- ing in the evening. The King and Royal family dined on the Victoria and Albert in the evening. Lord Roberts paid a visit to Princess Henry of Battenberg and Princess Christian at Osborne Cottage in the morning, and subsequently returned to Portsmouth, and left by train for the north. On the whole Cowes was a decided success, socially and in a sporting sense. A chaste memorial raised by the workmen of Crewe to their fellow men who took part in the South African campaign has been unveiled by Lord Stalbridge, who, referring to the valuable services rendered by Crewe rail- way engineers in the late war, said they com- prised a body of men who could build and run a railway in any country in the world. The action of the Crewe railwaymen had shown that the Government in the event of need in the near future should never be afraid in calling for volunteers to come forward. Crewe con- tributed an enormous number in proportion to its population, and showed that an appeal for volunteers would never be made in vain. The Report of the Commission on Dysentery and its Relation to Enteric Fever, has been issued as a Blue Book. The comparative immunity of Boers from enteric fever during the late war is attributed to the fact that they almost invariably boiled their drinking water. Colonel Lane Notter, one of the members of the Commission, says he is satisfied that there is some evidence to show beyond any doubt that the active agents in the dissemination of enteric fever in standing camps were flies. Careless to the point of recklessness as he was in many conventional matters, in his art poor Phil May was rigidly conscientious. Only artists can realise the labour necessary to pro- duce the easy, unerring dash of line that expressed so much. And Phil May had to teach himself. The zenith of his power was reached in 1894, and at the time some of his intimates remember watching the toilsome method, Phil May's own, which resulted in such an amazing appearance of ease. He would first make the most careful drawing, with every detail filled in. Then over the whole he would place a thin sheet of tissue paper, and having seen what was necessary to the purpose and what could be omitted, he began the process of elimination. Any elabora- tion was finally confined to a single point in the picture; for "Phil's" theory was that when you looked, say, at a man's face, you saw but that single point in detail, the rest was but a dash of line. He was one of the kindliest as well as the merriest of men. The present writer remembers him as one of high promise in the old ante-London days, before his admirable art had compelled recognition. Alas! Poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest." "He was a man, take him for all in all. We ne'er shall look upon his like again." Lord Biddulph of Ledbury, one of the newest peers, is the happy owner of an estate in Wilt- shire (Kemble, near Cirencester) which con- tains within its bounds the source of the Thames, the site of a Roman vrlla, the remains of a large Anglo-Saxon village identified as the Hunlafs seat of Domesday Book, a Druidical altar in excellent preservation, and a curious relic locally known as the hoar stone," which is said to have been the boundary mark of an ancient British tribe. On this estate Lord Biddulph (says a provincial contemporary) has acted the part of beneficent seigneur in pro- viding an admirable water supply pumped from the Thames springs for the two villages of Tarlton and Rodmanton, the cottagers gladly paying a halfpenny a week per cottage for the accommodation, while the farmers pay from £ 10 to £ 12 per annum.

That wicked flea" kept me awake all night, simply because I forgot to get a tin of KEATING S POWDER, the unrivalled Killer of Fleas, Beetles, also Nits in Children's Heads. Harmless to every- thing but insects. Sold everywhere in 3d., 6d., ] s. Tins. Filled Tin Bellows, 9d., free for stamps. KEATING, Chemist, London. At Wnhrenbruck, Saxony, there has just died a man who occupied at the same time the posi- tions of town clerk, church secretary, member of the Presbyterian Council, commissioner of nres, fire brigade superintendent, magistrate, deputy-chief of Customs, assurance agent, tax assessor, commander of the guild of archers, and president of the choral society. n°t be generally known that an Irish Lord Chancellor on hi-s appointment receives an pQAnA1106 exclusive of his salary of &8,U00 per annum. The allowance dates from the time when English lawyers were invariably appointed to the Irish Chancellorship, and was given to defray the expenses of a change of resi- dence from London to Dublin. Seeing, how- ever, that the appointment now goes invariably to a member of the Irish bar, the allowance might weU be discontinued.

BURTED BY A CLIFF. I At Filey on Monday there was a shocking cliff I accident. Mrs. Dixon, the wife of a civil engineer, of Harrogate, was with her children and nurse on the I Filey sands, with Mrs. Burnett, of Harrogate, and her children. The children had been paddling, and on leaving the water went to the base of the cliffs to have their feet dried. A great portion of the cliff over- head slipped and fell upon Mrs. Dixon and her six. year-old boy John and the nurse. A crowd of people from the beach rushed to the rescue. Mrs. Dixon, who was knocked down and partly covered by the mass of earth, was quickly I extricated, and was in a fainting condition. When the boy was reached it was found that he was dead. He had been fearfully crushed, his face being unrecognisable. The nurse escaped. ( The scene of the accident is situated about 100 yards to the south of the Filey foreshore. The I high cliffs for some distance to the south of Filey are composed of soft clay, and in wintctr and spring there are frequent landslips. At this season of the year, however, such a fall is very rare. The sad fatality has created a most painful impression among the other visitors and towns- people.

LABOUR M.P.S' APPEAL. < TO COLONIAL WORKERS. The Labour members of the House of Commons have signed an appeal to workmen in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand relative to Mr. Cham- berlain's fiscal policy. The appeal is as follows: "Mr. Chamberlain has proposed to the people of the United Kingdom to alter their fiscal policy in the interests of Imperial unity. He asks us to put a tax upon our food on order that we may give a preference to you for so much of it as yoiti supply to us. (Speech in House of Commons, 2 May, 1903.) And he tells us that' a system of preferential tariffs is the only system by which I this Empire can be kept together.' (Speech at Constitutional Club, 26 June, 1903.) We dissent from his proposals. But we do not yield to him in our goodwill towards you, or ia the strength of our desire to promote that goodwill by every means in our power consistent with those principles of justice and equality, operating between you and us, from which it has sprung, and upon which alone, as we believe, it can durably rest. "Stripped of rhetorical ornament, and of some subsidiary suggestions that do not concern you, and that appear to be made to us for the purpose of bribing us into an acceptance of his main pro- posal, what Mr. Chamberlain asks is that we should tax our food for your benefit. "We in the Old Country have experience to prove that a tax upon food produces an amount of misery, pressing more particularly on the poorest among us, to which you, with your vast natural resources and sparse population, can never be sub- jected. From this experience many of your own fathers suffered; and it may be that the recollec- of it has not passed away from the memories of some still alive among you. We have, here at home, a population that is far in excess of our own food supply. Tlit-t population has been sustained during the last 5U years, and has increased and multiplied, on food drawn, in steadily increasing quantities, from every quarter of the globe. You, on the contrary, have a food supply that is'more than equal to yoi i i- demands. You export from your abundance. We import to make good a deficiency that is estimated to be equal to three fourths of our total consumption. This simple fact makes a change in our free import poHcy of far greater consequence to us than any fiscal change can be to you. Our policy has been determined primarily by our need for an un- restricted supply of food-the first necessary of life. Yours is in no way affected by this need. The difference between free food and taxed food is, to masses of our people, the difference between a bare sufficiency and an actual insufficiency. We, therefore, believe that you have never understood what a tax on food would mean to us, or that Mr. Chamberlain wrongs you when he tells us that you ask for it. We lost half of our colonial umpire in the eighteenth century because we claimed and tried to enforce a right to tax the colonies for our benefit. We are now told that we shall lose you unless we consent to tax ourselves for your benefit. Our action in the eighteenth century was not just to our solonies, and it brought to us its due penalty. What would be the result if we yielded now to what we are told is your demand ? The process of exaction would be reversed; but would it be more just ? "We do not, however, believe that you have made the demand. It is not consistent with the characteristic traditions of our raoe, as these are exemplified among you in the colonies and amor", us at home. Nor is it consistent with these great principles of equal liberty and equal justice which, in their application to the re- lations between you and us, have made us all willing members of a great brotherhood of kindred nations. And if the constitutional structure of our common Empire is ever to be completed, as in the interests of peace and of the orderly pro- gress of human civilisation we ardently hope it may be, then it must be by a fuller application of the same principles of equal liberty and equal justice that have carried it to its present great position in the world, and not by adopting a suggestion that would be in open conflict with them. An arrangement that would be felt by us as a profound injustice can never be the means of cementing our relations with you. Nor, we are convinced, would it ultimately promote your welfare. We therefore earnestly appeal to you to heip us to defeat these most injurious proposals. (Signed) W. ABRAHAM. C. FENWICK. RICHARD BELL; J. KEIR HARDIE. HENRY BROADHURST. ARTHUR HENDERSON. JOHN BURNS. B. PICKARD. THOMAS BURT. D. J. SHACKLETON. W. RANDAL CREMER. JOHN WILSON." WILL CROOKS.

The recent excellent dividends declared by the Princes Restaurant and Benoist and Com- pany, Limited, prove that the cloud of the late war, which interfered so much with fashion- able caterers, is passing away. The confidence expressed by the foregoing directorates in the future of the catering trade of London em- phasises the point that England, thanks to the difficulty in obtaining cooks, is rapidly becoming a nation of diners-out. A strange fire scene was witnessed at Ken- nington on Sunday night. The scenery of "The Sailor's Sweetheart" was being moved on a trolley from the Kennington Theatre. About twenty yards from the building it took fire, and the whole was speedily a mass of flames. The fire brigade were very soon on the scene, but the vehicular traffic was stopped for about fifteen minutes while they extinguished the outbreak. Three grand jurymen were fined £10 each at Middlesex Sessions on Saturday for non-attend- ance. There is every probability, it is stated, that in the coming winter there will be a great re- vival in tho South Staffordshire chain trade. Edward White, an ex-policeman, was com- mitted for trial at Darlaston on Saturday charged w'th a murderous attack upon a police- man. Mr. Passmore, an ardent Sabbatarian, resid- 'ng at Esher, to check the practice of Sunday trading in the young, is issuing a pledge card for children, in which they undertake not to buy sweets on the Sabbath. A retriever was much attached to a ten-year- old Brixton boy who was buried at Norwood on Saturday. After the funeral had started the animal crept out of the house and followed the hearse. In Brixton-road, however, the dog was r,in over by a car and killed. In a printed answer to a question addressed to him by Sir John Colomb, Mr. Gerald Balfour states that while the total amount of rates paid to local authorities by the railway companies of the United Kingdom in 1882 was only £ 1,773,634, ten years later it had risen to £ 2,368,558, and last year was £ 4,227,593, or two and a half times as much as twenty years ago,

LORD GRENFELL'S WEDDING. The commander of the Fourth Army Corps. General Lord Grenfell, was married on Saturday to the Hon. Aline Majendie, one of the late Queen Victoria's maids of honour. The wedding too!! place atLockinge, a village some three miles from Wantage, and was largely attended. The Bishop of Peterborough performed the ceremony, and Gen. Kelly-Kenny attended Lord Grenfell as best man. The bride's wedding-dress was of cream satin, veiled with old Brussels lace. She was given away by her brother, Mr. J. Majendie, M.P., and was followed by eight bridesmaids, viz., Lady R. Grey, Lady M. Parker, Miss C. Charteris, Miss M. Lyon. Miss A. Honblon. Miss Thornton, and tlv Misses Diana and Rose Bulteel, who were gowned in pale blue aatin, trimmed with cream lace and large black hats adorned with pale pink roses. The distinguished guests afterwards met at Lockinge House, the residence of the bride's aunt, Lady Wantage, where for the remainder nf the afternoon Lady Margaret Majendie ha arranged for a garden party reception prior to the departure of Lord and Lady Grenfell for The Rookery, Dorking, lent them for the honeymoon by Mr. Lionel. Bulteel. Among the wedding presents were a pair of gold-topped scent- bottles from the Duke of Connaught, a gold chain bangle set with amethysts from Princess Henry of Battenberg. a silver electric clock from Princess, Christian, and an enamel waist buckle from Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Lord Grenfell gave his bride a magnificent di;i mond tiara, a large diamond and ruby brooch. an I a pair of earrings to match. The staff of thn Fourth Army Corps presented Lord Grenfell with a tortoiseshell and silver writing-table set.

EARL ROBERTS IN SCOTLAND. Lord Roberts, accompanied by Lieutenant- General Sir Ian Hamilton and Captain Lord Charles Fitzmaunee, arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday morning, and began his official visit to Scotland as Commander-in-Chief. At the con- clusion of the church parade of the Black Watch the Commander-in Chief presented war to five artillerymen and one member of the Army Service Corps.. Lord Roberts, with Sir Archibald Hunter, then attended the servic- at St. Giles's Cathedral, after which he was con- ducted through the historic building and signed the visitors' book. Two motor-cars afterwards conveyed the Commander-in-Chief and military party to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home near the Castle, and later to the Soldiers' Home at Piero- hill, in both of which places Lord Roberts mani- fested great interest.

While returning through Cefn Village towards Merthyr on Sunday, a horse driven in a light cart by Arthur Meredith bolted and dashed h-Li the wall of the river bridge. The animal was killed and Meredith pitched ever into the river, where he alighted on a projecung rock. He wac" removed in a state of collapse to Merthyr Hos- pital. Commander Charles Gregory Gardiner died suddenly at Hastings on Saturdaj whilst mount- ing his bicycle to return from the golf links. The number of people applying to become German cavalry officers is annually decreasing. The number went from 190 in 1900 to 119 last year Landlady: "Oh, Mr. Gloomy, the Government is trying to raise featherless chickens. VV Old that be nice?" Boarder: "'Umph! Wish they'd try to produce some hairless butter," as he removed a long black curl from his slice cf bread.

THE HUMBERT FRAUDS. I I FRESH CASE IN COURT. I The trial of the Humberts commenced in tho Paris Assize Court on Saturday. Madame Humbert, who declared that she was ill, weak, and exhausted by her three months' imprison- ment, again asserted that Crawford Brothers exist, that the hundred million francs of the Crawford inheritance exist, that no one had been wronged, and that everyone would be repaid to the last farthing. She said the Rente Viagfere Insurance Company was started to serve as an investment for the interest of her immense fortune. The Rente Viagere was her idea; it was she who created it, the concoi a prospered, and he who caused its ruin commitl ,ù a crime. As to the story of the family in Mad' id, she contended that the Government knew < ry well where they were, and she promise I to exi;Liin the part the Government played in the affair. I A RETROSPECT. I It (says aTaris correspondent of The Times ") will be of interest to give a brief summary of t iN- case so far as it has become known ^through the legal proceedings that have arisen out of the Crawford inheritance "-an indefinite amount, of which the estimates have apparently varied from 20.000.000L to 100,000.0001'. It is only fair to give Mme. Humbert the benefit of the doubt with respect to alleged representations on her part of another large Portuguese legacy in her favour before her announcement that she had become the heiress of the American millionaire Henry Robert Crawford. The trial now taking place turns mainly upon the authenticity of two I wills alleged to have been left by this testator, who died in 1877, and who is said to have made the acquaintance in romltntic circumstances 24 years before of Therese d'Aurignac, who afterwards became Mme. Humbert. By one of these ¡ documents, both of which are dated Sep- tember 6, 1877, the entire property was bequeathed to Thérèse d'Aurignac. Subsequently two nephews of the testator, named Henry and Robert Crawford, produced the second will. ¡ according to which the property was to be divided into three parts between themselves and Maria d'Aurignac, Mme. Humbert's sister, a further pro- vision being that the two brothers should out ot their shares pay a life annuity of 360,000f. to Thdreso d'Aurignac. By an agreement dated March 4, 1883, between the two Crawfords and Mme. Humbert and her husband, it was arranged that, awaiting the majority of Maria d'Aurignac and a settlement of the difference between the two parties by negotiation or a decision of the Court, the securities constituting the Crawford inheritance should be kept in trust by M. and Mme. Humbert. On December 9,1884, the Crawford brothers wrote to M. and Mme. Humbert offering to renounce their claims for a payment of three millions each. This offer was accepted, but shortly afterwards the Crawfords refused to carry out the arrangement on the ground that it was subject to the express ndition that Maria d'Aurignac would marry one of them. This led to a trial, the first of a series which occupied the French Courts for years, and seemed likely indefinitely to postpone the liquida- tion of the affair. Eventually certain of the numerous creditors who had lent money to the Humbert family, the total of which is estimated at about 64.000,000f., became uneasy. Doubt began to be expressed—among others by the eminent lawyer and politician M. Waldeck-Rousseau—as to the existence of the Crawford inheritance and of the elusive Crawford brothers, who never put in a personal appearance. These doubts were not. however, expressed with impunity, as two ladies found to their cost, one having to pay damages for defamation of character, while the other was con- fined in an asy] urn as of unsound mind. But in spite of the fact that the Crawfords on three different occasions, for the last time in December, HJOl, signed powers of attorney at Bayonne, one of the most pressing of Mme. Hum- bert's creditors applied to the court to have the securities in her possession transferred to an official receiver. This demand was opposed by the legal representative of the Crawfords as well as by the Humberts' lawyer. The latter, how- ever, agreed that an inventory of the securities should be taken—a proceeding which still remains inexplicable in view of what ultimately came to light. The upshot of the affair is still fresh in the memory of the public—the flight of the Hum- bert family in May, 1902, before the examina- tion of the securities by order of the Court, the opening of the celebrated safe, which was found to contain a button and a copper coin together with some old newspapers and letters, the arrest of the Humberts in Madrid last Decem- ber, and the disappointment of public curiosity caused by Mme. Humbert's subsequent failure tc tion of the securities by order of the Court, the opening of the celebrated safe, which was found to contain a button and a copper coin together with some old newspapers and letters, the arrest of the Humberts in Madrid last Decem- ber, and the disappointment of public curiosity caused by Mme. Humbert's subsequent failure tc make the promised revelations in the hearing of the case of the banker Cattaui, one of her principal credit,ors- I MADAME SPEAKS OF A "TERRIBLE REVELATION." J The hearing of the Humbert trial was resumed before the Assize Court, Paris, on Monday. The prisoner, Frederic Humbert, insisted on maintaining that he had never been concerned in financial matters. Mme. Humbert declared that they were all innocent, but there had been a great misfortune, which she only knew of at the moment of her flight. She looked for the Crawfords and the money everywhere, but she only found the Craw- fords—(sensation)—who made a dreadful and terrible revelation to her. Mme. Humbert added that she had told everything to Maitre Labori, who, she said, knew their name, for they were not really called Crawford. She continued: "Everyone will be paid the millions will come the Crawfords, perhaps, will not come, but they exist. Their name only does not exist. Justice will then see how she has been deceived." The President vainly requested Mme. Humbert to explain herself. I THE CRAWFORDS. I Further evidence was given at the Humbert trial in Paris on Tuesday. M. Parmentier, of Havre, the representative of the Crawfords, re- lated how he was entrusted with their affairs. His instructions were to deprive Madame Hum- bert of the credit she enjoyed, in order to con- strain her to consent to a compromise, and to the marriage of her sister Maria with Robert Crawford, the elder of the two brothers. M. Frederic Humbert violently attacked M. Valle, the present Minister of Justice and former legal adviser of M. Cattaui, whose complaint led to the opening of the iron safe and the flight of the Humberts. Madame Humbert endorsed her husband's views, and said if it had not been for the action of M. Cattaui and M. Valle, she would have returned with the millions a day or. two after the opening of the safe. The trial was again adjourned.

I BASEBALL ACCIDENT. I I 160 KILLED AND INJURED. A serious accident occurred on Saturday at the Philadelphia baseball grounds, by "which foui persona were killed, at least twelve fatally in- jured, and fully 150 others hurt, some seriously A narrow elevated walk, some- 20ft. above the ground, used by the spectators to reach their seats in a distant part of.the field, fell into the street, carrying with it more than 200 specta- tors. The accident was indirectly due to a quarrel between two drunken men in the road, I -ci-s the spectators rushing on to the walk to look down at the fighting.

Lady of the House: "Rosa, who is that dragoon you had in here yesterday?" Servant: -4 "Ach that was my sweetheart, but I shan't have anything more to do with him, because he is always making remarks about everybody. Only yesterday he said, Rosa, your mistress is the handsomest lady I ever saw.' What business has he to talk about you in that fashion?" Lady: Still, he seemed a very decent sort of man, and I' I do not see why you should jilt him." The International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers has accepted an invita- tion to arrange the British Fine Art Section of f the International Exhibition, due at Dusseldorf I next year. Mr. A. Neven du Mont has been appointed the delegate to represent both the. directors of the Dusseldorf Exhibition and the International Society. This invitation is a gratifying compliment to the society, but at the same time imposes upon it no slight respon- sibility as the custodian for the time being of the credit of the British school.

V' 1 I Indigestion. I g For the greater part of twenty B H years, my Wife has suffered from B H Indigestion and has not been able B H to eat any other meat except B H mutton, and that only very spar- B 1 ingly. She has tried many medi- B I cines without any lasting results, B U and one of the leading Doctors in B I this city told her she would always B I be Dyspeptic. Her Appetite failed 9 I and she began to lose Flesh. I B I read one of your advertisements Kg 1 in which a similar case was men- B i tioned and got a bottle of B n Guy's Tonic I y I Now I have the satisfaction of B H saying that Guy's Tonic has quite B | cured her, and her Appetite is B U such that she can eat a dry crust B If with relish." B El What Guy's Tonic did in this case, it B H wilt do for you. A Six-Ounce Bottle of B H| Guy's Tonic, price I3^d., is sold by B B Chemists Everywhere. You are urged to ■ e4 give it a trial-it never fails. JB L  ZOX Cures Neuralgia I A | The Proprietors of ZOX I are so corsfjdent of its effi- j cucy, that they offer readers I of tfsis paper Sample | Powders Free on receipt of Stamped Enve lope. NKUKAXjGIA is a Disease of the Nerve% lnuSt commonly attacks the nerves of the face. The. illL/slration presents in the prominent lines the nerves ojthe tifth branch, i which are most Hable to the attacks oj 8 Neuralgia. All who suffer will be glad to know of ZOX, a simple and sure remedy, certified free from injurious substance by Where the paiu strikes. Dr. A. B. Griffiths, The Proprietors of the Hemedy offer to Rend two free sample ZOX tf) ((11// render (If tnis neiospaper who will Reizil them (t'tampgci aJ>trrsHCii £ powtierA can be obtained of CJafimiiits, Scores, etc at Is. and 2s. 3d. a Box, or post free from the CO. (Dept. C), 11, Hatton Garden, London, KC

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN DAIRYING. The National Agricultural Examination Board announce that the annual examination of can- didates for the National Diploma in the Science and Practice of Dairying will be held, for English students, at the Reading College from September 21 to 24; and for Scottish students at the Dairy Institute, Kilmarnock, from September 28 to October 1. The last day for the receipt of applications to sit at either of these centres is August 31. The subjects of examination are the General Management of a Dairy Farm, the Management of a Dairy, Chemistry and Bacteriology, Practical Skill in Dairy Work, and Capacity for Imparting Instruc- tion to Others. Forms of entry and copies of the regulations may be obtained of Sir Ernest Clarke, 13, Hanover-square, London, W. or Mr. James Macdonakl, 3, George IV. Bridge, Edinburgh.

TWO NEW V.C.'S. DECORATIONS FOR BOERS IN SOMALILAND. It is announced in the "London Gazette" that the King has conferred the Victoria Cross upon Captain W. G. Walker (Indian Army), of the Bikanir Camel Corps, and Captain G. M. Rolland (Indian Army), of the Berbera Bohotle Flying. Column, for conspicuous bravery in Somaliland. During the return of Major Gough's column to Danop on April 22 last, after the action at Daratoleh, the rear-guard got considerably in rear of the column, owing to the thick bush, and to having to hold their ground while wounded men were being placed on camels. At this time Captain Bruce was shot through the body from a distance of about twenty yards, and fell on the- path unable to move. Captains Walker and Rolland, two men of the 2nd Battalion King's African TWIes, one Sikh and one Somali of the Camel Corps were with him when he fell. In the meantime the column being unaware of what, had happened, were getting further away. Captain Rolland then ran back some 500 yards- and returned with assistance to bring off Captain Bruce, while Captain Walker and the men remained with that officer, endeavouring to keep off the enemy, who were all round in the thick bush. This they succeeded in doing, though not before Captain Bruce was hit a second time, and the Sikh wounded. But for the gallant conduct displayed by these officers and men, Captain Bruce must have fallen into the hands of the- enemy. The King has appoved the grant of the medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field to the undermentioned soldiers, in recognition of their gallant conduct in assisting Captains Walker and Rolland to save Captain Bruce from ianing into the enemy's hands:—Sergeant Nderamani,. African Rifles Corporal Surmoni, 2nd Battalion King's African Rifles; and Sowar Umar Ismail, Somali Camel Corps, 6th Battalion King's African Rifles. The services of the Sikh, Lance- Naik Maieya Singh, 24th Beluchistan Regiment, Indian Contingent, British Central Africa (who also assisted), have been brought to the notice of the Government of India. The following decorations are also an- nounced:— C.B. Captain and Brevet. Lieutenant-Colonel (local Brigadier-General) William Henry Manning, Indian Army. D.S.O. Captain Wilfred Lionel Foster, Royal Artillery; (with the Boer Contingent). AIEVET. Captain W. F. Bonham, D.S.O., the Essex Regi- ment, to be major. Dated August 8,1903. MEDALS FOR BOERS. The King has further approved of the grant of the medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field to the undermentioned soldiers of the: Boer Contingent in recognition of their gallant conduct during the operations in Somaliland Sergeant D. F. Botes, Corporal S. J. Herbst, Trooper C. J. Dreyer.

BORWICK'S The Best BA, KING on Ao" POWDER    s EL BS? B N  Wo-rld. MBf POWDER

EXPLORATION IN LAOS. The important civilising work of exploring the wild Laos States bordering on Siam, of which so -1 little is known, has just been completed on be- half of the French Government. The credit of this achievement belongs to M. Ajalbert, who has spent three years in those regions, at once un- known, barbarous, and derelict. Fortunately, though the population is almost excessively sparse, and savage enough, it is not ferocious, and M. Ajalbert has suffered from nothing worse- .j.J;1an hardships of travel, scant diet, and river water full of infinite possibilities in the way of cholera. M. Ajalbert has just returned to Paris, where the results of his mission are being ar- ranged for an elaborate report.

A recent cable message to the Australian Press stated that the Earl of Lytton was mentioned as a possible successor to Lord Tennyson as Gover- nor-General of Australia. The Prime Minister stated that he had never heard Lord Lytton's name mentioned as a likely successor to Lord Tennyson. From the profits made on the last Yarmouth race meeting, Mr. J. Sutton, the honorary sec- retary, has shared L946 between the local hos- pital and several churches and charitable institu- tions.