MAIL NEWS.

Evening Star, Issue 4075, 18 March 1876, Page 2 (Supplement)

MAIL NEWS.

The difficulty experienced in finding worthy recipients of the L 3,500,000 awarded by the Geneva Arbitration again England for Alabama depredations, justifies Lord Chief Cockburn’s protest against the decision of the Commissioners. An American exchange received, by the last mail says“ It is now apparent that all the claims before the Court appointed for the distribution of the fund will not consume half the amount. Hence the question as to what is to be done with the surplus (which will probably exceed ten million dollars in currency) becomes an exceedingly interesting one. ft has recently come to the knowledge of the public that the marine insurance companies which took risks on vessels that . fell a prey to, the rebel cruisers, intend tb make strong to obtain the greater, part, if not the whole, of this surplus. Their claims to it are, however, Open to serious seems to us that if their claims are recognised at all they should be postponed until other are liquidated. ! Every maripe insurance l company that entered *9jj°n % 6 hdsinesa of insuring. against capture during the rebellion made money out pf the business, and the

unfortunate insurers who were compelled to pay enormous premiums are more entitled to consideration than money,”

BOUCICAULT AND THE FENIAN PRISONERS.

A letter, from which the following is an extract, has been addressed to Mr Disraeli by Mr Don Boucicault, who states that he has withdrawn “ The Shaughraun” “ lest his proceedings may be misconstrued” :—“ Theatre Royal, Drury lane.—Sir, —During the last five mouths we have been representing before the English people in London a play entitled ; The Shaughraun.’ The work is founded upon an episode in the Fenian insurrection in 1866. As a literary effort it has no pretension, therefore no poetic clothing disguises its subject—it possesses no wit to divert public attention from this simple story. I call to witness 200,000 of the people London who have been present at this representation during 100 nights—l call to witness the Press that recorded the result, to declare that I have stated [ simply and without guile the scenes and incidents composing this work; and 1 call the whole world to witness this spectacle—the Government of England, with a full and noble reliance on the loyalty of the English people, authorising and approving the representation of this play, thus inviting daily a jury of 2,000 citizens to hear and pronounce their feelings on a great political question. All the leaders of the Fenian outbreak are at large; a few obscure men still linger in chains, and these are, I believe, the only British citizens now in prison for a political offence. lam not capable °f judging what benefit the spectacle of these sufferers may be to society, but I can’t see the detriment occa-1 sioned when punishment exceeding the measure of retribution makes Justice appear capricious, and tends to turn the criminal into a martyr. 1 have seen and I know that towards these twelve or fourteen miserable men are directed the sympathies of 20,000,000 of English hearts in American breasts—English hearts that sincerely respect the mother-country and would love her dearly if she would let them. One crowning act of humanity would be worth a dozen masterstrokes of policy; and the great treaty to .be established with the United States is neither the Canadian fisheries nor the border line on the Pacific Ocean ; it is the hearty cohesion of the English and the American people. Those who say the time is not come for the exercise of clemency forget that mercy is not a calculation, but a noble impulse—that no man keeps a fallen foe under his heels but a coward who dare not let him up. In reply to such objection I would answer, if the time has not come for the prudent exercise of Her Majesty’s prerogative, let your noble impatience push forward the hands of the clock—its stroke will be heard in millions of grateful hearts, and your own, Sir, will not feel the" worse either here or here-aster.—-Your very obedient servant, — Dion Boucicault.” CRUELTIES IN BULGARIA.

The * Times ’ correspondent at Pera, in support of allegations as to the cruel treatment of the Christian subjects of the Sublime Porte by the Turks, quotes the following letter from Eski-Zaghra, printed in the ‘ Istochno Vreme,’ and reproduced in the ‘ Courier de Orient.’ It tells us that at Sulmuchli, a village in the province of Bulgaria, “the Turks have broken into the houses of rhe Bulgarians, where they violated half a score of young girls and three young married women.” He adds that the tortures by which'money is extorted mainly consist in burning the victims with red-hot irons, piercing their tongues with sharp daggers, compelling them to tread barefooted on heaps of thorns, &c. “ Sadick Bey, with some others, went from village to village violating Bulgarian girls. More than 100 have been ravished.” THE SWAITHE COLLIERY EXPLOSION. .

The last of the bodies of those who perished in the sad explosion at the Swaithe Main Colliery has been recovered. This makes a total of 143. A sad case of wrong identification transpired. One boy, whose number on the official list, was 89, was interred unidentified. On Monday Inspector Stott took the clothing belonging to the lad who was interred to the house of Mrs Kendal, of Ward Green, Warsbro’, who lost her husband and two sons by the explosion, whilst her third son narrowly escaped by leaving the pit on the morning of the explosion. After examining the clothing, together with a belt and other things found upon him, she was clearly able to indentify them as belonging to her son. The most painful part of the story has yet to be told. Mrs Kendal buried a lad as her son, along with her husband and another son, in Warbro’ Common. Very little seems to be done in the way of forming a relief fund, and as the local aid is exhausted, a good deal of distress is being witnessed amongst the bereaved.

THE SHAK.ERS : EXTRAORDINARY SCENES.

An extraordinary scene, amounted to almost a riot, took, place at a meeting of the New York Shakers at Exeter on December 9. Mrs Girling was accompanied by eight young women and four men, and whilst she was in the midst of her address, one of the girls commenced to dance. This caused some excitement, as the dancing was prolonged, and was pronounced by Mrs Girling to be due to religious influx ences. One of the audience got up denounced the whole thing as a

blasphemous farce. This expression was loudly cheered. ’ Mrs Girling invited anyone who wished to speak to come on the platform, and one gentleman went there. At the same moment another girl commenced to dauce, and the excitement increased. The audience moved as a body to the platform, and a large number scaled it. Indescribable confusion followed, in the midst of which attempts were made to stop the girls, but they resisted, one of them shouting, “I*will rejoice,” and “Touch not the Lord’s anointed.” The male members of the community were remonstrated with for permitting such an exhibition, but they expressed themselves powerless to stop the dancing. The girls were at last forcibly stopped. Some one threatened to give one of the male Shakers a thrashing, upon which he commenced to dance, and the disturbance was only ended by the whole body of Shakers being forcibly ejected from the platform.