THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Evening Star, Issue 3406, 21 January 1874, Page 3

THE ENGLISH MAIL.

COLONIAL ITEMS. j *The Agent-General for New Zealand has entered into an arrangement with Mr, Hoi) Joway, one of the representatives of the Agri; cultural Laborers’ Union, to accompany frpni 200 to 300 emigrants who take passage in the Mongol on.Dec. 15. Mr Holloway will see to the settlement of the emigrants and return to England for the .purpose of reporting on the, advantages of New Zealand as a field for • emigration. Dr FeatheVstba'hbpes to, be able to charter for emigrants the seebrid Steamer intended to carry the mail 'between New South Wales, New' Zealand, and Sari' Francisco, leaving iu January. "TheshipChina; that sailed fhriri Lon'don oil Nov. 13, took but 'fbr' New Zealand several specimen of cattle and sheep of the purest strains in Fnglarid. They' consisted of ‘‘British Flag,” a first prize animal, lately toe property of the Messrs Duddipg, of Pantoh, “ Wellingtbnia,”" a : ’'splendid half, bred by Mr Kirkh'am, bf Audley Caistor, and “Cherry Gwynne,” from the herd,of Mr Sharpley, of Acthorpe. The last hails from a herd of which a cowhand ihreedeceudanta .“i w 9, ririf®. rß and a bull* realised at a recent sale nearly L 1,500. These,.as well as twenty! five pure Lincolnshire owes, are being shipped by Mr T. Larkworthy, of the Bank of New , ind. , Twenty Lincoln, ewes and two rams from the flocks of M r Thomas Kirkham, of Bisoathorpe. and the Messrs Dudding, of Pantoh, have also been shipped by tjie China for Mr Cathcart W ason, of Canterbury, Ah Exhibition of Art arid Manufactures wap opened at.Dundee on Nov. 2, oh a very large scale arid with great display. r jLhe fol I lowing extracts from the ‘Dundee Adveri -riser *of Nov. 4 and Nov. 5/will showTHiab 'ew Zealand holds a distinguished place-ini the exhibition The case in the Industrial Departmeht containing speolmens of the fibre got from the phormium tenax—popularly known as New Zealand the; yarn and clothes produced from the same, is certain to prove a great attraction to all interested iu inanucacturea Alongside of this case stands one fitted up by the Messrs' Cox Brothers* filled with jute manufactures,; on which 100 much praise cannot be bestowed* while opposite is a case of. flax and hfempi yarns and cloth, from the Messrs Baxter! Brothers,, that could hardly be surpassed.' fhere are thus the means at hand of compar-i iug the products from phormium tenax with; splendid examples of linen and jute goods.; All things considered, the former shows .very; favorably indeed, ‘hew Zealand Flax’!-' like jute when first brought under notice—has.not hitherto been favorably regarded, by ; manufacturers. The specimens of Nativedressed fibre, and the. fabrics inftQqfactured from it are. very fine. Experts will, of course, speedily detect the difference between it and: flax, but experienced manufacturers will' probably be not a little astonished at the excellent quality .of, the goods.. The speci-j mens from fibre other than Native prepared; are also remarkable. - It is pretty , evident! that the phormium is quite suitable for the! purposes to which the real flax is applied ! Trie question rema'ns—can it be supplied at a price that will make it worth the while of anyone,,adapting their machinery—for we presume some'alteration may be necessary—' to manufacture it on a large scalp ? ; The; yarns exhibitedeomprise hand'and 1 machine-' spun, the latter both by the wet and dryi process. The manufactures consist of daniaSsk towelling, twills, canvas, hammock-cloth,: tablecloths, stair-covering,' sacking, &c.. These have been manufactured by firms in all parts of the country, and from all we can; learn those who have'experimented with the! fibre think highly of it., We understand tfiat Mr Lockhart,-although doubtful at one time as to the practical working of. the fibre,) is,now quite sanguine, as to its future., It is; not to,be supposed that the phormium will ever rival jute for cheapness, but it mavcome to. extensively used, for many! articles which at . present are, made exclusively from flax. .

YELLOW FEVER IK THE UNITED STATES, Whett the announcement Ws made' by ■ ro ™i Shreveport that trade was paralysed, the “river falling,” and 7 coni neotiou with the outside world cut off from: Shreveport and Memphis, because of the ■yellow fever, the Howard- Association of New! Orleans responded with an alacrity worthy; of praise, the 7th of September foi the present rime the members,' lrom the President downward, '’have labored “with an earnestness that increased in proportion to the increase* of -the epidemic. It is certainly l honor to the South to have such a society, -The Brotherhood of Telegraphers can bride; itself on having ’produced some' herpes* but! we 'Wcrc 'as worthy of the. name those noble fellows who fell, instrument! in hand r atiShyeyeport. Ja^k-i son apd Mr ftae, the {orpmp an operator, and : the laripr the superintendent of the Western Union telegraph office, 7 died at their posts, as did also Mr Alfred Saville, the successor of Mr r i Jacksf)n. Mr H. C. Davis, an operator of Noty Orleans, immediately, volunteered to fill- the gap mftde void by poor Saville’a death, and Mr William Bernard, an operator of Cincinnati, went -forward with eagerness to bear him compapy. These two brave 1 men havb' since, by order of Mr Prcsident Orton, forwarded, free‘of cost; all' despatches relating to the sufferers. ■The Sisters of Charity engaged’in the W6rk : with, their accufetemed unaeltishness., Three have already died—Sister Mary .Joseph, formerly superioress of St Agnes Academy, and Sifters Magdalen and Marie, of. Ha; ealette Academy, - Clergymen of all denomii nations have practised in Shreveport and Memphis what they preached elsewhere. The Episcopalian, the Baptist, the Methodist, the Unifaiian, Universalist, Congregationalist, and Roman Catholic met on one common work—the work of humanity. All differences of opinion were for the time being; 'forgotten. The Rev. W. E. Paxton was prostrated with the diease in the midst of fiis labors, as were also the Rev. Dr Carmichael and the Rev. Messrs l.ee and O’Shea Amongst those who died of it were the Rev. Messrs Biles, O’Brien, Cand, Leysont, Gorgand, M‘Cloud, and Quemerais. The editor of the ‘Shreveport Times,’ we are glad to say for the sake of journalism, likewise proved himself to be a hero. The ‘ Southern Telegram ’ suspended, publication op the seventh day after the President of the Board of Ttade had telegraphed to .New Orleans that business was paralysed, and communicaripo with ,the outride , wl4 «ut off. The

‘ Shreveport Times’ Held on, notwithstanding the 10.-s of Mr 0. W. Lewis, its burinesls manager, all its advertisers, and at least twothirds, if not more, of its readers. Some days its only news was the death record. The editor clung to his p-n and his office] and still survives The ‘ Shreveport Times ’ has a claim on Shreveport that should long be remembered to its credit. Mayor JohnP sou, of Memphis, performed his duty with exceptional bravery. From the outbreak of the fever until he was seized with it he worked in the most energetic manner. Now we come to the doctors of medicine. Although the period of epidemics is popularly supposed to he their harvest time, it would be unjust to deny them a large share of praise for their work at Shreveport and Memph's. Most of them, without any hop 6 of pecuniary reward, have put their shoulders to the work like heroes. Dr Willets, Dr J, A. Richardson, Dr Wise, Dr Tj P. Hotchkiss, Dr John > mitb, and Mrs DiColeman were seized with the disease, and all died with the exception of Dr Willets. I The ‘Memphis Appeal’ writes While it was yet twilight people were out in the streets breathing tho precious air of the purii fying frost. Here, stooping down, one gathered a handful of the glittering hoar frost, which pure and beautiful, lay upon the earth, and gazing upon it with somewhat of the gladdening spirit with which the Israeli ites gathered the manna in the desert of Arabia, exclaimed, “0, God, we thank Thee for this blessing. ” Others came, and touched with reverential fingers the pure cold mesi senger of health, as if to satisfy themselves (like the half-believing Thomas of old) that the saviour of the city had descended from heaven to save the people from the destroy; ing angel of the pestilence. Groups of men and women moved from place to place to prove by cumulative evidence that indeed it was frost, and not some optical delusion; that the wished-for guest had not merely confined his visitation to one locality, but enjoyed the freedom of the city. Strong men, bare-headed and bare-armed, walked excitedly hither and thither, rejoicing in the fact that a physician had come to whose nostrums tho whole faculty must yield precedence as the only true panacea for the terrible yellow fever. Windows and doofe were thrown open, woollen and cotton gar- 1 ments were exposed to the disinfecting agency of the cold and rarefied air, and every-i where in the eity the enthusiasm was marked* fervent, and joyous.”

THE BOMBARDMENT OF OMOA. i lu October a Hondurian revolutionary force attacked Omoa, an interior town, and! there perpetrated serious outrages on the merchants and others in the town. Among other misdeeds, the British Vice-Consul ate was broken open, and jewels, money, and goods, to the amount of many thousand pounds, were taken ; while the British flag was hauled down and trampled on. Hearing of this, the Mobe, taking onboard Mr Vied Consul Bam, proceeded to the scene of ac- ( tion. 'lhe following demands were sent in to General Strebsr “The release of all 1 British prisoners confined in the castle, a salute of twenty-one guns cn rehoistiug the consular flag, the return of the stolen plate and jewels to the consulate, and an ind'em-’ nincation of L 20,000 for robberies of Pritish' merchants, perpetrated under Stroher’s. orders. As the means of communicating' with the/capital was cut'off,! audit wa<Umpossiblo to correspond with the Englfsh' Minister .Resident, the extreme urgency; of the case compelled ‘ the alternative' of bombarding Omoa Castle to be held °. nt to Streber should the just reparation demanded from him hot’be- conceded. Umoa Castle is a huge casemated fortiflea-' tion on the sea beach, built formerly to protect Spanish-interests , from the buccaneers : It is triiHgular in shape, 600 yards round . e on-? lVT hlo , b are 4uft hi fih a nd from 15ft to 20tt thick, the parapets mounting twelve or fourteen guns, most of them very ancient ordnance. There were, however, 300 to 400 soldiers who garrisoned what was consideredthe impregnable fortress on the coast. All 1 peaceable overtures being summarily rejected. General Sti-eber '(commanding the re-' yolters) pointed his guns on the ship, trustmg his stone walls would defy the Niobe’sl guns. He paraded his troops on the para-' pet, and gave three derisive cheers, at the' same time firing his inshore guns. At three; 0 clock on August 19 the Niobe steamed into position, and in a few hours made consider- i able havoc in the walls with her 7in guns : many shells bursting in the casemates, while the crash of falling masonry and debris told : of the destruction inside. At balf-past five the firing ceased, and the ship anchored for the evening. At one in the morning op, the 20th, no signs of yielding being apparent, the: castle was again shelled fur an hour, the ship; returning to hey. anchorage down the bay.' Ihe desired effect was now produced, for at' eight o clock a white flag was seen waving frantically from tho fort. After some diplomatic correspondence, all the British de- : mauds were complied with, and it was thus proved that English people and their flag could nob be insulted w\th, impunity, GENERAL. Mr Andrew Lusk, the new Lord Mayor of c ? mes from the hardy stock of the Scottish peasantry ; he worked as a plough, man on his grandfather’s farm, apd afterwards began town life as a small grocer, advancing step by stpp in honest industry to larger merchandise and wider fame in Lonwhere for the last eight years he has represented the borough of Finsbury in Part Lament, and, where now he has attained to the chief- magistracy, A society has been formed to supply religious instruction by means of unpaid volunteer tepchers, a,nd application will ha made to, the school board to allow the pse of th,eir rooms, on the payment, of rent, at pertain fixed hours of the week., strict regard being had t.e religious scruples of pa ' rents.

most interesting appearance at the Lord Mayor’s-banquet was that of the Austrian ambassador, the famous Count Von Beust, whq said that he regarded it as bis principal task to understand England, whoso most characteristic feature was a respect to tradition in the midst of process. Ho spoke of regenerated Austria, and said that whatever changes had taken place, Europe “ still looked up to the country where freedom did not rush forward like the lava from a volcamo ©rater, but where it flowed clear, like a spring from the rock of law and justice.” Manchaster has been the first to elect a new school board. There were twenty-one candidates for the fifteen seats, I find them classed as follows;—-Seven churchmen (styled by their opponents the sevfn champions of Christendom), seven “ national unsectarian ” three Roman Catholics, two Wesleyans, one a working-man’s candidate, and the laststrange incongruous teetotaller—a “ Permissive Bill ” man. Two Roman Catholics were returned at the head of the poll, than came one of the Churchmen, then the other Roman Catholic, then the other six Churchmen, and lastly, five of the “unsectarian” candidates* including Miss Lydia Becker. Manchester has forcibly illustrated the present position of the education question. It 'has become u question of the sects ; its religioiis aspects are the most prominent; and these elections are in danger of degenerating into a miserable equable between the denominations, in which the most ardent partisans shall 9,9010 to. the front instead of the largest-minded men .The Manchester School Board made the denominational schools its first care and while largely subsidising them, has failed to make any great impression upon the general population. Its failure may be in part due to the hindrances of factory life; but ah

though the average attendance has been increased by about 8,000, it is believed that still forty-five per cent, of the children who ought to be at school in that city are' receiving no education at all. In Birmingham, some of the most ardent advocates of a secular, national policy, chiefly non-con-formists^-arc making a new effort te solve “the religious difficulty.” I mentioned in my last letter some signs of revival in the Church of England which had national interest. A -conference' of the clergy has since been held inLondon, with a view to organising a “ mission,” or simultaneous.. evangelising movement—a sudden laggresive march upon the haunts of ignorance and vice. It is,to take place next year, in the ten days proceeding Lent. A preparatory service has been held in St. Paul’s Cathedral, where more than 1500' of the clergy of the metrpplis were present, and addresses were given by the Bishops of the three contiguous dioceses of London, Winchester and Kochester. The high rates of living begin to press, more hardly upon the poor with the approach of winter. .Medical officers complain of the scarcity of coal, which still keeps up its price, so that there is risk ,of the old and infirm being left to: shiver and die in unusual numbers. Indignation has been arpjjsed by thp abominable frauds , practised by, the sellers of coal. ; , Many so-called merchants,” .have been.summoned fiefore the magistrates and severely fined, for selling as theb?st;coal, coal of a,very inferior-quality, or stone that would not burn at all. The most barefaced cheating has thus been exposed. and aometimeaynsolently justified as the custom of the trade. Another grievance has also been brought into, the courts, the old standing one of the adulteration of milk. iSota few vendors of milk and water have, bopn finpd,; and in one. case a London dairyman tbfik action against the country farmer who supplied- him, showing that before be received his milk it had already been diluted - by thirty per cent, of water. ' Tb*? Cuban ■ difficulty emerges •in a new form at , this crisis. The Spanish-gunboat iornado captured an American blockade runner, _ the Virgiaius, six miles off the number! of, insurgent leaders. on board,' These leaders were at once brought to trial before the tribunal of Santiago and, shot as pirates, before the arrival of; an order for delay which had been sent from Madrid. The United States Government rfemonstrated, and on the request of General Sickles an order was sent to Cuba: that no further executions shoulditake place, till the legality of the capture, had been.affirmed iff a court of law. The Spanish commander set' the order of his'.Government at .defiance,' aud after the bloodthirsty Cuban fashion, executed his priiotiers with scarcely the formality of trial. The number, of executions by the last report had reached .63. ' Colonel Stoffol was tried by the Cbrrec.tionaV Tribunal,of Versailles,, for having used insulting language to General de bivifsre, and condemned to three months’ imprisonment and the expenses of the trial.