DETAILED ENGLISH MAIL NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 66, 30 April 1870, Page 2

DETAILED ENGLISH MAIL NEWS.

From the English papers which arrived yesterday we take the following items :— Hair-combs, the Boston papers say, are now made there out of old boots. . The manufacture of glass eyes in America gives employment to 600 men. The London Times had 12,O0Q*dv_er- .* , tisers represented in its columns in onet . day. " 7 . '- - ' The ladies of the Grass Valley Catholic Church, U.S., recently presented a gentleman's dressing case to the handsomest man in the place. ; The regular army of the United States consists of five regiments of artillery, 10 of cavalry, 25 of infantry, the battalion of engineers, and the corps of cadets. "The master of Lambeth "workhouse," a London paper states, "hasbeenPcdjmplaining that bodies are removed to the deadhouse before they are certified to be dead. Cases have even occurred in which people had been actually removed before they were dead, and they have revived, and even been restored to health again." Many fashionable young ladies in New York are said to be suffering with abscesses on their feet, caused by the high French boot-heels which are now in vogue. Inquests on the bodies of five persons who had died from the effect of the cold weather were held in London on February His Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar has been appointed to the vacant command of the division of Guards. The men of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, lately landed from India, it is reported brought home savings to thei amount of many thousand pounds, th6- largest amount ever brought home by a regiment. A negro thief broke into a house in Washington, and in endeavoring to pass from the story to another through a hole which he had. made in the floor, wa caught by the neck and perished. \ The Architect says that Mr Ayrton has >| under consideration a scheme for forming a gigantic covered piazza, to be roofed with glass, around a considerable portion of Hyde Park, as a convenience for promenaders. ... A meteor fell recently near Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and the stone was discovered by a traveller, near whom it struck. It made a hole in the marshy ground as large as a barrel, and when taken out was still hot, and emitted a sulphurous odor. It had the appearance of a cylinder of lava. A cask of petroleum was lately washed ashore near Cape Clear, and a number of people assembled in a house to divide |he oil ; the oil ignited and the house "took fire. Three persons, including a child lying in a cradle, were burnt to death, and; the house was completely destroyed. Of the 18. persons in the building.at the time of the accident, only three escaped uninjured. The officers of the Philadelphia Mint have prepared a medal commemorative of the opening of the Pacific Railroad. Qne side bears the head of the United States' President, and the reverse exhibits the most striking characteristics of the road. It is appropriately inscribed, and a ber have been struck in silver and bronze, and one in gold, to be presented to President Grant. The Cerberus has now on board about forfcv fitters. wnrTrinnr nyftrtimp, p™^™^ the gun carnages on Captain Scott's :principle. The death of Commander Noieinan will probably delay her departure, but she may be expected to Btart for Melbourne very soon now. By the time Mr Verdon receives the instructions from the Victorian Government, the ship will doubtless be ready for sea. The Council of the University of Otago has advertised in the English- and Scotch newspaper, their desire to consider ap*plications from candidates for professional chairs in that institution. An Australian, Mr Streaker, was the firßt winner- of tha Cambridge University Athletic Sports, held on the 23rd Feb. He occupies a seat in the 'Varsity Four, sn had to leave before the sports concluded* In putting the weight he won'witKi a "put" of 29ft 4in. fix the long jump he covered 16ft 9in, but was beaten by an inch. Last year he won the quarter-mile race. His boat engagements precluded •his competing this year. On the occasion of :the international boat race between Oxford and Harvard, various suggestions for other meetings in friendly rivalry were made. Among the suggestions was one which emanated from Lord Elcho, to the effect that an American team would be welcomed at Wimbledon, • to take part in some of the all-comera contests, and possibly to compete, tinder certain conditions, in an international ; rifle match. The object has since been ' frequently revived, and it is understood that before the next Wimbledon meeting commences an invitation will be sent to America. On the Great Western Railway, near Southall, England, a special parcels train took fire, and a large number of fowls, geese, turkeys, and game of every description, and a great majority of other Christmas daiuties, were either utterly spoiled, or reduced to a half-cooked condition. The authorities gave away the worst part of this heterogeneous mass, and the remainder was sold to the.porters, to whom geese were offered at from Id to 6d each, and the other things at. equally low prices. " "'-■ %| , An American paper tells an improbable; story regarding the death, at Newhaven, • Connecticut, of a man named John Darwin, the occupier of a liquor saloon. The ' place took fire, and Darwin, after first leaving the house, returned to save his sleeping children. He was badly intoxicated at the time, and entering vihe building the flames struck him in the face, and immediately, owing to the amount of liquor he had drunk, set .fire to the inside of his throat and stomach, burning up his tongue, so that when he was found that organ was a mere crisp. He died soon afterwards in great agony. General Beauregardj the celebrated Confederate general, is now in Marseilles. He has been for some time past the director of a railroad in Louisiana. His visit to Europe is in connection with a scheme of which he is an ardent promoter, for the construction of a Southern Pacific Railroad, starting from Charleston, in South Carolina, and traversing the Southern States to Sacramento, in California. \ The New York Tribune speaks in high terms of the Chinese, who, it says, Twill form a valuable addition to the national family. It points out that/ they, form one-third of the number of the human race, and perform from sis-tenths to

seven-tenths of the manual labor of the world. What the Jews have been all over the world in banking, the Chinese inevitably become in general commerce and in mechanical and agricultural industry wherever they are allowed to settle and are let alone. The world cannot Bhow such woollen work as the Chinesemade blankets of Calif ornia and Oregon. * ' The overseers of the Central Pacific Railjroad across the Sierra Nevadas have declared +hat Chinese can in a given time drill more rock and move more soil than any equal number of other people, European or American. At the same time, the men as well as the women, are matchless as nurses for babies, as washers, ironers, cooks, aud gardeners. The Great Britain will bring out the March batch of emigrants, passage war-rant-holders and others, selected by the Hon. George Verdon, Agent-General of Victoria. Mr George Fawcett Rowe has written an original comedietta, entitled Sampson's Wedding, which will be produced, for the first time, at the Lyceum Theatre tomorrow, the 26th February. Mr Rowe does not play in the piece, the principal character being entrusted to Mr C. Wilmot. Mr Rowe's Australian friends — and the George Fawcett of the old days has troops of them — will be delighted to hear that he has made Micawber as great a favorite here as it was in the colonies. The Bame keen perception of humor, artistic care, and elaboration of details that distinguished Mr Rowe's rendering of the character in the old days distinguishes it still, and is, if possible, more appreciated now than then. On the 14th February, Captain Gunn, •with a party of constabulary, entered the house of Timothy Mahony, a blacksmith, in Dyos lane, West City, Cork. They arrested Mahony's son, Denis, with a revolver on his person, and found concealed in the house an American rifle, 26 rebel pikeheads, 120 rounds of Minie ammunition, and a vast quantity of powder

and gun caps. On removing the prisoner, resistance was threatened by the crowd, but the police force was overpowering. • The "Cumberland aud Westmoreland police have been inquiring into a number of extraordinary outrages committed during the last fortnight in the Lake district. Ten churches have been broken into and desecrated, and in several schoolrooms wanton outrages have been committed. Last week two churches near Kendal were broken into, the communion plate damaged, and the register books destroyed. At Longmarton, near Appleby, similar outrages were committed. The parish church of Crosthwaite, near Keswick, and Newlands Church were afterr wards visited by the Marauders. Ttfe sacramental wine was drunk, the poorboxes robbed, and an unsuccessful attempt was afterwards made to break open a safe containing the plate and the registers. Buttermare Church was also entered. Two young men, named Robinson and "Webster, are in custody on the charge of complicity in the outrages. They have been remanded by the magistrates. A brutal murder is reported from Clare. The victim was a poor young woman named Fogarty, who gained her living as an itinerant dealer in eggs and poultry. Her body was found near Corofin, on Thursday night, bearing frightful marks of violence, while the ground bore traces of a violent struggle. A few shillings, which she was known to have had about her, had disappeared, and it is supposed that her assassin was instigated by the desire to possess the paltry sum. A man with whom the deceased is said to have been intimate was arrested on suspicion, but was discharged after the inquest, which resulted in an open verdict. On the 7th February the Dewsbury magistrates had a case before them which shows that slavery can hardly be said to be extinct. A little boy, named Andrew Thompson, was placed before them to give evidence against a collier mmcd "WilUam Field, of Ravensthorpe, who had wounded him in the back the preceding Friday with a spade. The boy, it appeared, worked for Field — nay, was his slave ; and, because, when in the mine, he had disobeyed some trifling order, the inhuman fellow beat him with a spade, cut a deep hole in the child's buttock, . and bruised him severely on the back and shoulders. The magistrates chose to deal with the case as one of common assault, instead of unlawfully wounding, and Field escaped on paying a fine of five pounds. It transpired in the course of the hearing that the boy was an orphan, his parents having died when he was about five years of age, and that on their death he fell into the hands of a man who as soon as his services were marketable, Bold him to Field for two pounds, and the latter made him work in the coal mine in which he himself was employed, as a hurrier. He had frequently ill-used the poor boy before. In a Russian journal lately, has appeared the following piece of "Jenkinistn": — Yesterday his Imperial Majesty deigned to wake at 7 a. in., and after a frugal breakfast was graciously pleased to go for a bear-hunt. On entering the wood with his suite, a bear, moved apparently by a happy instinct to recreate the mind of the father of our holy Russia, immediately came to the spot where his Majesty had. posted himself. Paralysed at the sight of the ruler of millions of beings who idolised him, the bear stood still, and it was observed that instead of the fierce aspect by which this savage animal is usually characterised, his countenance bore an expression of blissful anticipation • as if he were looking forward, like a loyal subject, to the happiness of being put to death by his gracious sovereign. On returning from the chase, his Majesty caught cold, but the usual remedies having been applied to him, he deigned to fell better. He then went to bed, and next morning he was graciously pleased to be quite well." A disastrous railway collision took place near Glasgow on February 12. It appears j that two men and a pilot engine were employed at the Glasgow station in shunting waggons, when the driver went to his supper, leaving the stoker, Robert Hay, to continue the work. The latter, it is believed, accidentally fell off the engine, and, in catching at the bars, put oh the full steam. The engine set off at a great speed, when Hay was caught by the wheels. Along the line torn portions of his clothing were picked up ; half a mile on his entrails were found, and the mangled body two miles from Glasgow. In the meantime the engine pursued its way with accelerated speod till it met the London express, travelling at a slow rate of 15 miles an hour. The shock was terrific ; the engines were completely I wrecked, and the three first passenger carriages shivered to splinters. A Yorkshire gentleman was killed on the spot, and other persons .had broken bones and bruises. Fortunately there were not more than a dozen passengers in the train. There is a story in Nature about an island called "Pleasant Island, lying in the rout of ships between Australia and China. In the year 1865 a ship captain visited the place, bringing away news that there was an Englishman among the native population. Three years later Captain Hall, of the barque Glenisle, passed that I way, and was boarded with canoes from the island, and a couple of whaleboats. Two Englishman came with the skiffs, one of whom said he had been 28 years on the island, and introduced his younger companion, 18 years old, as his son. They told Captain Hall that they tried to visit all the ships passing within easy distance, and were "anxious it should be known that they could supply crews with pigs and cocoanut oil. The captain ad- • vised them to cultivate potatoes, and they gave him an advertisement to put in the colonial papers. Unfortunately this document hay baffled all attempts to decipherit, from the faulty writing. This island is Btated to be nine miles accross, and 22 miles in circumference. On February 14 an explosion of gunpowder took place at the Morfa Collieries, nearNeath. The bodies of several men have been recovered, but upwards of 20 more remain in the pit. The coal scams are on fire^ and the danger of a second explosion is consequently imminent. The shock was felt like an earthquake in the neighbourhood, and the guides of the carriages were well blown into atoms. Twenty-three persons have died from the results of the explosion, and 30 more are injured, four of them dangerously. The injured and dead were raised in a bucket, one or two at a time. It is believed that a great number of horses have been killed, as the stables are in the immediate neighbourhood of the scene of the explosion. It is easier to imagine than to describe

the scene around the pit, where mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters were anxiously awaiting the arrival of each bucket. The works belong to Messrs Vivian. It is stated that another explosion of fire-damp has occurred at the Morfa Colliery, by which several men have been killed or injured. The men were looking for the bodies of those who had • been killed by the previous explosion. A number of released Fenian prisoners, recently returned from Australia, arrived in Dublin on tho 18th Feb. They were entertained at dinner by the Amnesty Association on Saturday evening. 'The press were not invited, but a report has found its way into print. The first toast given was " Ireland," and after it had been duly honored, the " Irish National Anthem," — '* God Save Ireland" — was sung. Mr J. S. Casey, "the Galtee Boy," was* selected to respond to the toast of the evening, " Our Returned Felons," and in doing so said that the Fenian prisoners had always had one consolation — that they felt conscious of no crime, and that they knew their countrymen did not regard their acts as criminal. Other toasts were given and responded to, and towards the close of the proceedings Mr Isaac Butt, Q.C., entered, andjannounced that the innocence of Barrett, who had just been tried on a charge of shooting Captain Lambert and acquitted, had been so far vindicated that a jury had disagreed as to his guilt. Master O 'Donovan Rossa and Master Luby, sons of unreleased prisoners, were present, and on their healths being drunk returned thanks "not for themselves, but for their fathers in chains." The Scotch papers are amusing themselves over the bibulous tendencies of the Town Councillors of Stirling, who have been drinking much whiskey on Sundays at the expense of the town. The municipal bodj r , or such of their numbers as can with a safe conscience do so, are expected to attend in the pew set apart for them in the principal kirk of the town, and between the morning and afternoon services they felt it would be agreeable to retire to the Council Chamber to recrait their exhausted energies with plentiful libations of Glenlivat. Those who did I not partake of the enticing liquor saw the opportunity presented itself of lashing their weaker brethren, and considerable merriment has heen excited by their ruthless inquiries into the quantity of whiskey imbibed, and by the coy resistance of the sinners to the stern inquiries of justice. It appears that the thirsty Councillors — about fifteen in number — managed to make a clearance between morning and afternoon service of four bottles of whiskey, and an indefinite number of bottles of wine, besides alo. In these days of economical reform it is not wonderful that questions should be raised. About a quarter to ten o'clock on the 20th of February, a man named Malqne was standing in a public-house near Messrs Ganiy and Parker's, Usher Quay, when he saw two flashes, as from a pistol, on the river side of the street, and on going to the door he observed a man, rushing across the road towards the shop. Just as he reached it, however, he fell, and when Malone went to his assistance he found that he was dying. In a few moments the unfortunate man expired where he lay. An alarm was at once given, and the police were quickly at the scene of the murder. Acting Inspector Fox, 7D, had the body immediately removed to the Richmond Hospital on a car, and Dr Hamilton had found that one bullet had passed through the heart, and another lodged in the abdomen. The deceased was soon afterwards identified by liis stepdaughter as a plumber named Mullen, who had recently been in the employment of Messrs Courtney and Stephens. His wife was found at her residence Dog and Duck-lane, off Usher's quay. The inquiries of the police and detective officers resulted in the arrest of four men — three brothers named Salmon and a man named Hare. One of the Salmons and Hare were arrested in a public-house on Arran quay ; another at the door of Bridwell lane station ; and the third at his residence in Manor street. No arms or ammunition were found in the possession of the prisoners. The assassin made his escape without difficulty, although the murder was committed in a tolerably busy thoroughfare.