English News.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 94, 27 April 1876, Page 7

English News.

Near Hartland, l>"Jew York, recently, a party of workmen -discovered a newspaper bedded in gravel, and turned into stone. The printing on it was plainly -visible to the naked eye. A citizen of Lexington has in his possession. a quill which has a remark-: able history. It was given to Henry Clay in 1824, with aninjunction not to cutj;it pintil he . was^lecjted; President,when lie was to write his first message with it Am case he was ' not elected it was not to be cut until a "constitutional President wrote a constitu-l tional message for aU the Slates."' After Mr Clay's death it was given to Millard Fillmere, but he was likewise' unable to use it. During the last campaign the. owner determined to give: it to Mr Greediey should he be elected.. The quills which is still uncut, is over 3ft. long^ and is as large round as a man's thumb. A 7raachineAfor writing- words has been' invented" by,' M. H. Huppinger. The \ Revue Industjrielle' describes 7 the machine as being about -the size of the, hand. ; It is :.put in connection with' the vocal organs— the instrument re-j cording-theirTnovements '"upon a, mov-i injg J&nd QfLpaperiin , dotsAa nd- hashes. The pereon_to_whom f theJnstrument is I | attached simply c repeats the : words of | the speaker -after hinrinaiidibly. The | lip language is then faithfully written j JOUtA jl A XjXCI 0± Li 7AJ h , ■-- -.. . \ " Tt has been decided "to light all the j waiting-* r flndx-%gage" rooms of the j principal railway stations; in Paris by; , means .of electricity ,*,.. 8y working the! *oi&h'a'mK machine J. with three-horse power, as r " ; much light is obtained as thafc-#ivenAfby- a hundred gaslights. l The electric lantern ia placed at a; height 'df ten metres from the ground,! ■ and:;sheds a soft, clear light, over an' aiea of 20,000 square feet.

*'■-' Mr Henry Moses, of the world-re-nowned London firm of dealers in shop clothing, is dead. His estate has 'been sworn under £600,000, which, although small in comparison with Sir Anthony Rothschild's fortune, is no despicable sum. His.leg-acies are -very numerous, including a good many Jewish charities.

"•Whether or not the Glasgow people spent a. merry Christmas,'" observes the 'Pall. Mall Gazette/ "there seems to be little doubt that they have bad (if convivality is symptomatic of bliss) a happy New Year. Three men .' the worse for drink' fell into the harbor and were drowned; two laborers, who were also intoxicated, stumbled into the, Forth and Clyde Canal, out of wbich they were fortunately extricated before life was extinct. The universal merriment pervaded even the nursery, and a child six years of age, the daughter of a laborer, died from, an 'over-dose of whisky.' An old man also succumbed to the attractions of" this fascinating beverage, and peacefully departed this life in a state of intoxication^* An Irishman and a young woman sustained ' scalp wounds' by falling down a stair. A. laborer, overcome by drink, fell from a window and fractured his skull. By a tramway accident a woman had her left leg broken, and a man received concussion of the brain. Several other street accidents are also reported, and altogether the delights of tbe New Year appear to have been veiy largely shared in by the citizens of Glasgow." . Mr . Hercules .Ross, son of Captain Horrtio Ross, and the champion shot of India, has- just carried off a cup offered by the Viceroy of India with the remarkable score of 141, made with ten shots at 800, 900, and 3000 yards. Including the two sighting shots at each distance, the score was made up of 30 bull's-eyes, .3 centres, 2 inners, and an outer. At 900 yards, 5 was registered for each of the 12 shots fired,. Mr Ross, who is to be home this year on leave, intends to compete lor a place in the Scottish Eight for the Elcho Shield.

We learn from the ' Hour ' that the forthcoming marriage of Princess Beatrice, which has been the subject of so many rumors, was referred to by Sir Henry Peek, Bnrt, M.P., at the annual meeting of the Sutton Conservative Association. • Sir Henry stated that he was informed, and he believed it was no secret, that her Royal Highness is engaged to be married to Prince Louis of Battenberg, R.N,, who is now in India with the Prince of Wales.

A serious epidemic has broken out in the village of Eagely, near Bolton, in Lancashire. Already, within a fewdays of its appearance, eighty persons have been attacked. The disease, which bears resemblance to foot-and-mouth complaint in cattle, was noticed when a number of persons were seized with sickness, followed by enlargement of tongue and swelling round the eyes. In the worst eases this is succeeded by unconsciousness ; but, with the excep tion of a few children, no very dangerous symptoms have supervened. Patients are under medical treatment. The most alarming part is the rapidity with which the disease spreads.-^ In one street not a single house has escaped,' whilst' in more than one instance whole families are prostrate.

The pleasing effect upon the mind of the rising generation caused by the publication of sensational reports of capital punishment has recently been illustrated at Edinburgh. It would appear, according to a local paper!, that while a number of boys were playing at Dikehead, one of them proposed that" they should " have a game at Wainwright." This was agreed to, and the boys erected a scaffold by piling some stones or bricks against a pole to which a rope was attached. The cere-; mony was then proceded with in miniature , the murderer, the sheriff, the chaplain, and the" hangman, all finding representatives. Having made his "last dying speech and confession" the shatn Wainwright ascended the : scaffold, the rope was placed round* his neck, the, stories knocked fromunder his feet, and he was left struggling. ; As soon as his 1 companions diseovered-the state he~was! in they, ran :away. /Fortunately 1 their! proceedings were observed from some: neighboring houses, whence timely aid' was rendered the boy, who,, whentaken down, was iv an exhausted condition. It may readily be imagiried'that he will not have any inclination for v a game of Wainwright " in future. '" "

Just as the young girls at the japanning works of Mr Henry Morris, Phibpin! Street, Bristol, wereieaving work, and' had got (ratsideAlhe "door,/ an "explosion 1 took' place; blowing,; the roof Into' the' adjoining premises, shattering the win-/ dows ofthe Pile ..Street "Free School A ; aud creating^the greatest alarm -in thei neighborhood. A.T he. girls' fortunately! escaped.- ,. ., -L 7. . . ...... „ , ... ; At "Birmingham . George . Underbill , i an independent gentleman, was. ..com- 1 iriitted. to- the Warrick Assizes Jfti the! willful murder-of Alfred Parke, 'a book- ; maker's clerkj on the 712 th ultimo. . The! accusedjLwho ; was" snowballed; fifed" his; pistol aiid hit Parked who' clied ; ten}"daysi afterwards.' 'A*- 'A ■-'■'■■ AAy A- A/7.A' i

The «3xecutors of the! late Sir R..ALA Joriesj si Lmer6hant. df "Lfverffool, "have ,made known - the /scheme! : iiponr;which "they : , will "carry * ■ out .*• *his*vA beqfteltj of: £300,0007%^ the varipiis'charities. ; The Royal/ ,Mrraary,A the-: 'NorthenrAand [Southern- di ospi tal s/ and ■ fi ve Asti'&ller charities divide among theni^ll^OOp, and meny other institutions also receive substantial donations,

Blankets of brown paper of a superior quality, perforated in such a manner as to. permit a free passage to the exhalations pf;tlie body, without diminishing the warmth, are advertised in London at 4d, sd, or 6d,each.

One of the daughters of the Shah of Persia was married on the 19 th of January. The marriage ceremonies 1 included his daughter's dowry, cost the Shah 120,000 toumaris (about L 6000), A most valuable MS. has been'discovered in the Azores^ It refers to 1 the colonisation, in 1500, of the northern part of America, by emigrants from Oporto, : A verio, and the island of Terceirr. It.was written by Frinciscp de Souza in 1570. Barboza Machado states it was lost during- the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1755. ; This most important document is about to be published by an erudite A zorian gentleman, and will throw great light on the disputed question of the, early discovery j of America. . --■-■■ -■- - \ Tt.is announced that Lord NapieH of Magdala,,R.B., G.C.B ? , G, 0.5.1,, is to be the next Governor of G ibr alter, succeeding tho hero of Kars, Sir William Fen wick' "Williams. No appointment could have been better. Lord Napier, like Sir Garnet Wolsely, is a fortunate soldier. He did thoiAbyssinian business very cleanly, and thereby demonstrated in the., first instance that an engineer can make an able commandeMn -chief; and, in the second, that our Indian troops fight well, outside of Hindostan, . and hence must not be considered as a. mere militia. But, after all, to true soldiers, the Abyssinian campaign Was not real war." THs not much to thrash baptized AbyssiiniLor unbaptised Ashanteos. Still, Lord Napier did; his duty, and will doubtless do it again.' He ought, to make, a popular Governor { of " Gib." Life is pleasant and society animated on the Rock. Moreover, Gib- ; ralter is now free from its former curse, namely, the worst convict establishment in Europe, All that remains. is Gibrklter's little penchant for smuggling", which we fear will last as long as cheap brandy and cigars are popular/ ;. A The Sussex ' Daily News' reports that on the occasion of the burial of the infant twin sons of Mr Julius, a surgeon, at the Hastings Borough Cemetery, the coffin was made of wickerwbrk. In shape it was 'of the ordinary description, but at the sides there were open meshes, the vacant places being filled with moss, ferns, 7 and choice flowers. The lid was also made bf wicker, and was covered with beautiful ferns nnd flowers.

A Pensylvanian has taught a canary bird to sing " Home, sweet Home'" in this way : — He placed the canary in a room where he could not hear the singing of other birds, suspended from the ceiling so that it could see its reflection' in the mirror, and beneath the glass placed a musical box that was regulated to play no other tune but " Home, Sweet Home." Hearing no other sounds but this, and "believing the music proceeded from the bird it, saw in -the mirror, the young canary soon* began to catch the notes, and finally got so that it sings thi song perfectly'; A AAA 'A A

. „ Those who do believe .the. .following had better test it — when they get the c-hanee. The 'Chemical Review' states that in a. drop of watar obtainedfrom a single snow-flake, and magnified .five hundred times, were found pieces of coal, fragments of cloth, grains of starch, sandy matter, and aif immense variety of other.. substances, not a fragment of .-which-, exceeded in diameter the three-thousandth part of an inch. j Aii interesting relic ; of pre-historid London, the massive lower jnw-bone of a hippopotamus, -with its tusks and teeth, lately exhumed from a depth of 40 feet, will be exhibited at the rooms ofthe British Archaeological Association on the 2nd of February. !

There is a possibility of England im-! mediately iricreasing'her influence in! Egypt, though in a.private" rather than! in a national. sense. It would appearj that the Khedive has not found the 4bur l millions he got for his Suez Canal shares! go a long - way; and -that he il now: a E x ,VQ,us to ..dispose., of .the -rail ways of the country, nearly the whole of which; . belong to him.. and; of -which there Were: at the beginning of 1873, 737 miles j „open:and"s92 miles l in A course of -con- ■ struction. : A.group.of English Capital- j ists are said to be negotiating with, the! Khedive for the purchase. j Here is a .picture of the Chicago ofi .to-day, painted by the leading Chicago! newspaper :--Tlie gamblers,; banko'-men, I and thieves are allowedin absolute free-; dom of the city. They Utterly swarm -" in our puplic thoroughfares, and even! blockade upL the sidewalks. They 'carry! their pistols -openly. ' Tlie'ir gamblino-j hells and dens are kept in full operation" | hot only ; ih the night 7 time 'but iri the! abroad daylight' ; They instil^ swindle, j rob, assault, and v, |ciU people "with impu-1 nity. They hoid'tlie "business sect ion. of! the city in!" absolute terrorism^and 'there ! is no redress foriAA "■ ""'"" '"' ''-..! „ Mr i C.7Switzer > * l oneof the largest ein- \ namon ; growers '---"at '..Colombo rgave ■•" tile j munificent ;i. subscription;- of* 200,000 ' rupees',- (say . L2o)ooo)> : towards -theses- ! .tiv.ities .on .the occasion ofthe -Prince of 7 gales' recent.^ isit.tb .GeylotfA- - Al.- ;A • A California. ecUtor,^:speakin ? g'bf f a ' notoiious^ruffian^jin;.th.atf.S.tate|.;wh;o'Aisl supposed'to have committed more Tmur-.! ders than- 'a'rijr' other l man eye'r. known onathei Pacific coast] 4 'says^^'iH'e'-'-has^a wonderful talent foiA bereayinA any family he does not happ^h'to like.'' L -