NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 802, 17 January 1877, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

LONDON LETTS;a

{From a correspondent of the Press.) London, November 24th, 1876.

Turkey’s unconditional consent to a Conference once more awakens hopes of a peaceful solution of the Eastern Question. People here are, I think, about equally divided as to the prospects of peace or war. A very large party feel no confidence whatever in the sincerity of Russia, and are convinced that she means to fight Turkey, no matter what the conclusions of the Conference. It is quite possible, many think, that there will be no Conference at all. If before its assembly Russia feels that her vast military preparations are complete, she will at once, under some pretest or another, throw off all disguise and declare war. If, however, the Conference does meet, and under God’s blessing results in peace, a great deal of credit will be due to our Government, whose exertions have been mainly instrumental in bringing about a meeting of the Powers. Wc have been very happy in the choice of the Marquis of Salisbury as our Plenipotentiary at the Conference. The greatest confidence is reposed in him on all sides. He left for Constantinople on the 20th instant, visiting Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Rome en route. At ail these capitals he had interviews with the Sovereigns and their respective Ministers, so that even before the sitting of the Conference his lordship is doing a great deal of valuable work in pos sessing himself of the mind and feeling of each nation. Notwithstanding the rumors and apprehensions that prevail throughout the country, I do not think that we shall be drawn into a wmr. Even if Russia does occupy a portion of Turkish territory, we shall retain our neutrality. We shall be very indignant, no doubt, but still we’ll look on. If Russia gets to Constantinople, then I believe we shall be prepared to occupy Egypt with a force. That would be the correct counter move for us to make. In view of any contingency, we have an overwhelming fleet in the Mediterranean, and our naval armament is crushing. Not content with our 81-ton gun, we are about to make a gigantic stride in gunnery, and construct one weighing 200 tons. Designs for a gun of this enormous calibre are now in the hands of the War Department. The length of this monster is to be 50ft, its bore 20 inches, and it is to throw, with a charge of about 8001 b, a projectile weighing from 39001 b to 40001 b, or considerably more than a ton and a half. The next thing will be now to construct ship armor to resist this, and when we have arrived at that point our next step will be to make another gun big enough to pierce that again ; and so the ruinous race between force and resistance goes on, to the detriment of the unhappy taxpayer. The members of the Arctic Expedition are still receiving that welcome from their countrymen which they so richly deserve, The oflicers have been entertained by the Lords of the Admiralty at a banquet in

London, and the town of Portsmouth is about to pay a similar compliment to the crews. To this latter entertainment not only is Jack himself bidden, but he is to be allowed to bring his wife, and if he has not got one, his sweetheart 1 Each unmarried man, however, will be strictly limited to one sweetheart —a rule which may place him in a position of considerable difficulty and delicacy. It is preposterous to imagine that so an animal as the British sailor, particularly an arctic explorer, could could be contented with one sweetheart. On the 12th of next mouth the Royal Geographical Society will give Captain Nates and his companions a public welcome at the St James’ Hall. .It is not likely that this generation wiil witness any other attempt on our part to reach the North Pole. Under such conditions aa now exist, and are likely to exist for some time to come, Captain Nares has shown the impracticability of the achievement; but in the distant future inventive science may be capable of lending such aid as not only to justify another attempt but to crown it with success. A naval officer of some Arctic distinction, who, however, was not a member of the recent expedition, is of opinion that a balloon should be used for getting over that tract of broken piled up ice which surrounds the Pole, and proved impassable to our sledges. There is a good deal in this, and if the Pole is ever reached it will very likely be by this method. But, argue some people, will any one be a bit the wiser or better if we do reach that spot on the surface of the earth where the sun’s altitude is equal to its declination, this being in point of fact all that the North Pole is. This, however, is not the spirit in which to regard Arctic exploration. It has been and is a capital sohool for the development of all the moat valuable qualities in seamanship. The British flag has now been carried farther north than any other. The exact point reached is 83deg 20min 26aec, just 400 miles from the Pole, and being now in the van of arctic exploration we may, for this generation at least, rest on our laurels. Medals commemorative of the expedition are to be struck and distributed to the officers and crews of the Alert, Discovery, and Pandora ; and a valuable memorial of the gallant attempt will exist in an account of it which is now being written by Captain Nares. A ridiculous farce, in which the Board of Guardians of a place called Keighley, have been attempting to play John Hampden, has just been brought to an appropriate conclusion by the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of Queen’s Bench. The Keighley guardians belong one and all to that class of people known as anti-vaccinators, and as such refused point blank to put the Vaccination Act in force within the union. A writ of mandamus was thereupon issued and duly served upon these misguided gentlemen, who treated this potent instrument of the law aa if it had been so much waste paper. On this they were committed for contempt, and after indulging in the glory of suffering imprisonment in the cause were a few days ago brought up to receive judgment. After listening to some sensible remarks on their conduct from the Lord Chief Justice, the martyrs were bound over in their own recognisances of £IOOO each to observe the law for the remainder of their tenure of office. They were then res ored to the bosoms of their families and their fellow citizens, amidst the cheers of the Keighley folk and the inspiriting, if somewhat inappropriate strain of “See the conquering hero comes” from a brass baud. The opponents of the Vaccination Act, who unfortunately are numerous, will it is to be hoped read in the discomfiture of the Keighley guardians a wholesome lesson thatthe laws of the country on this point cannot be set at defiance with impunity. Just now indeed a stern necessity unfortunately exists for their rigid enforcement. The deaths from smallpox in London last week amounted to fiftytwo, Since the outbreak of the present epidemic the mortality among the vaccinated cases has been 13 per cent, whereas among the unvaccinated cases 'it has been 57 per cent. The whole weight of medical and enlightened opinion is in favour of obligatory vaccination, and it is only amongst the ignorant and impressionable that vaccination is regarded as injurious to-health, and its enforcement a violation of personal liberty. During Mr Gladstone's ministry the whole question of vaccination was thoroughly and exhaustively investigated by a select committee of the House of Commons, composed of such men as Mr Mundella and Mr Jacob Bright, than whom no more jealous guardians of the liberty of the subject could be found, and on their report the present Vaccination Act was mainly framed. The election of members to serve on the third London School Board now excites much interest, and the education question is consequently a conspicuous one at the present, It is extremely doubtful whether the labours of the two last School Boards can be termed successful, The rules of the Board seem to have been carried out with undue harshness, and there is now a strong reaction in favour | of voluntary schools. There are fifty scats at the Board, and of the seventy-nine candidates for election thirty-seven are opposed to the present compulsory system. Though personally a strenuous opponent to the introduction of women into the arena of politics, or to anything likeiy to lead in that direction, I am delighted to see that there are several ladies amongst the candidates. There are many reasons why the presence of a few women on the School Board would be of the greatest advantage. More than half the children are girls, or little boys of very tender age, requiring the especial care of women. More than half the pupil-teachers are women. Mothers of children have frequently to attend the divisional committees for carrying out the bye-laws on compulsion, and the presence of women on the Board who could enter into domestic difficulties and smooth them over would be a blessing to many a poor struggling mother of a family who now looks upon the Board as so many tyrants. One of the New Zealand emigrant ships furnishes the following extraordinary tale of disaster: —On the 20th instant the Hurunui sailed from Plymouth Sound for Wellington, I hope her long chapter of accidents is now closed, and that this, her third attempt to reach her destination, will be attended with success, She made her first start between seven and eight weeks ago from Gravesend, but was forced to put into Plymouth in consequence of an outbreak of diphtheria and scarlatina on board, After being on this account detained at the last port for about six weeks, she made a second start on a certain unlucky Friday, minus fifty-nine emigrants, who refused to proceed further in her, she had not left Plymouth many hours, when, in the darkness of the night, she came into collision with a vessel which

afterwards turned out to be the Greek barque Pater, from Cyprus to London. The Hurunui at once bore up for Plymouth with her fore compartment filled with water, and in making the port she was with difficulty saved from going ashore off Penlee Point About forty more emigrants now left the ship, which has been detained for a week before being able to proceed on her voyage. The survivors of the crew of the barque Pater, who managed to get ashore in their boat after their vessel had sunk, bring serious charges against Captain Boyd, of the Hurunui. They allege that their lights were burning brightly, and that after the collision, when in a sinking condition, their loud cries for help were unheeded. A Board of Trade inquiry into the collision is now being held, and Captain Boyd, the mate, and the lookout man of the Hurunui have been detained to give evidence.

The Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Town Council of Bristol have decided to request Her Majesty to establish an Imperial Museum for India and the colonies on the Victoria embankment, and there seems to be every likelihood that the project will be received with favor. Any one of your readers returning to this country and revisiting the metropolis after ten or twelve years absence would be, I venture to predict, more struck by the Thames embankment than by any other improvement made in the capital since he last saw it. I believe 1 made this remark before in one of my letters to you; but apropos of the establishment of a colonial museum on this magnificent site, I feel I may make it again. It is probable that this site will be devoted to the erection of handsome public buildings; and when a few of these are completed, and the trees have attained a fuller growth, the Thames embankment will be the finest boulevard in Europe. The Warwick race meeting now being held closes a flat racing season, which has illustrated " the glorious uncertainty of the turf” in a manner unparalleled in the annals of racing. It is also memorable, unpleasantly so, for the numerous victories gained byforeigners. Nearly all the important races of the year have fallen to the representatives of other countries. At Warwick this week, that singularly successful jockey F. Archer, has scored his two-hundredth winning mount this year. George Fordham in his palmiest days never equalled this. The feat is unparalleled.

Here’s a little piece of " romance in high life.” Viscount Maidstone, son and heir of the Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham, has enlisted at Woolwich into the Royal Artillery, and was duly attested and sworn in yesterday by the sitting magistrate at Woolwich police court. He has enlisted with a batch of other recruits for a service of twelve years, and he is twenty-three years of age. This is the second time he has enlisted into the artillery, his friends having bought him out on the first occasion. Sir William Power still continues to officiate as Agent-General for New Zealand, I hear that Sir Julius Vogel is expected in this country at about Christmas, but about this gentleman’s movements you probably know more than I do. Wo extract the following items of intelligence, brought by the Suez mail, from the Argus correspondent’s letter : THE INDIAN CYCLONE. The Gazette of the Agricultural department of Calcutta, of November 25th, publishes aminute from the Lieutenant Governor, detailing a visit to the eastern districts suffering from the effects of the recent cyclone. His Honour estimates the number who have perished at upwards of 245,000, Effective relief ia being given to the survivors. Referring to the recent cyclone, the Friend of India remarks :—” The fearful effects of the cyclone in Eastern Bengal are almost beyond exaggeration. No exact estimate of the number of lives loot need be expected, but the lowest is not below 150,000, and it is generally believed that the number must be over two lakhs. The islands and Southern Noakally coast were the principal scones of death, Baltia is said to have lost half its population. The two immediate evils feared for the survivors were want of bread and water, for it was believed that the wave must have destroyed all the tanks in the island, and that all the water would be brackish. A good deal of suffering from these causes there must have been at first, but less than was anticipated. In most parts the people had underground stores of grain, which were dug up and dried, and in a very short time food was flowing in from the neighboring districts. It is believed that Government can prevent all risk of starvation, and that no aid will be necessary from public charity.” THE STROUSBERG TRIAL. The protracted trial in connexion with the Moscow Commercial Loan Bank frauds has terminated in the conviction of Dr Strousberg and three of his accomplices. The sentences were that Strousberg, Polianstei, and Landall, be perpetually exiled to Siberia, and that Schumacher, the Mayor of Moscow, be banished to one of the Russian governments. A petition to the Emperor was drawn up and ’signed, with a view of obtaining a commutation of Schumacher and Polianstei’s punishment. Foreign critics have not failed to remark that by the patriotic verdict of the jury the foreigners were declared guilty, while the Russians more or less implicated in Strousberg’s proceedings were acquitted, Most of them, with tears and sobs, or in abject tones, pleaded for mercy. Strousberg alone was calm, self-possessed, and defiant to the end. At the close of a protest addressed to the judge he sat down saying, “ You can crush me, but you will never make me yield.” It cannot be denied, however, that the Strousberg revelations have had a most disastrous effect upon banking operations in Russia. Immediately after his arrest there was a general run upon the banks, depositors thinking that after the failure of the Bank of Moscow other similar and less wealthy institutions would collapse in the same way. By degrees these fears subsided, but though twelve months have elapsed since Strousberg was apprehended, there is still a great want of confidence, and the latest returns of the balance sheets show that the deposits in the principal banka diminished from September, 1875, to September, 1876, from about 220 million roubles to 160 million roubles, a decline of 27 per cent,