THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Grey River Argus, Issue 887, 31 May 1871, Page 2

THE ENGLISH MAIL.

A statement is published that Her Majesty has been vaccinated, and wishes the fact to be generally known. No half-crown pieces have been manufactured since 1851. This will account for the worn state of those in circulation. There is every indication of a large deficit to be accounted for in the approaching Budget— one calculation being L 3,000,000., 000, 000. An increase of the Income Tax is expected. It is said that from 120 to 125 millions of the war indemnity will be reserved for the pensions of the sick and wounded. The annual figure of those pensions is estimated as above five millions. Great outcries are being raised in Rome at the expropriating intentions of the Italian Government with respect to extensive edifices belonging to religious corporations, and adapted to the collocation of ministerial and other public offces, in consequence of the impending transfer of the capital. The monster cannon, the Valeric, which was placed on the bastion of St. Germain at Mont Valerien, has been conveyed by railway to Berlin. The Valeric will have the place of honor in the Prussian capital in the place called Kastaniehwaeldehen, near the great avenue of the Lindenstrasse. The Sun, tha oldest but three of the London daily papers, made its last appearance on February 25. It was established in 1792, and "the great Commoner," William Pitt, wrote at one time for it. The North Btitish Beview, for the last year and a half the organ of the Liberal Roman Catholics, under the editorship of Lord Acton, is also dead. The total number of French at this moment under German administration in the occupied departments is 10,276,198, without counting the Doubs, the Jura, and Cote-dOr, where, under the terms of the Convention, the line of demarcation still remains to be traced. Thus, therefore, nearly one-third of France is actually held by the armies of the Emperor William. Mr George, the publisher of the Argus, is daily expected in London for the purpose of negotiating with the Indo-European Telegraph Company, in order to connect the offices of that paper in Melbourne with the branch in Cornhill. It would seem, from what I could learn, that the proprietors of the paper desire to become the "Reuters" of the Australian colonies. Spiers and Pond are building a gigantic establishment in Piccadilly. It is to be called "The Criterion." In addition to a hall devoted to music and the drama, the building will contain an extensive restaurant, dining-rooms, telegraph offices, reading, billiard, and bowling rooms. Altogether, if their programme be thoroughly carried out, it will be one of the most attractive establishments in the metropolis. A frightful street accident occurred on February 25 on the Holborn Viaduct. The sufferer, Miss Sarah Moray, aged 38, resided at No 66 King street, Soho square. Her dres3 was very long, and it. fell over the kerb while she was walking on the pavement. The result was that the wheel of a waggon caught the dress, and the wearer was drawn underneath the vehicle. Both Miss Moray's legs were broken, and she was carried to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where she now lies in a dying state. The hon. Ernest Cochrane, son of the Earl of Dundonald, has had a perilous adventure in Loch Foyle. He was sailing in a small boat towards his residence, when he was overtaken by a hurricane, and, after being knocked about for a night in the lough, he was picked up next day in a condition of utter exhaustion, from which he is still in a precarious condition. A boy who was with Mr Cochrane in the boat was dead when they were discovered. The. report of the Peabody Trustees states that the first trust now amounts to L 178,733. Five groups of buildings, accommodating 498 families, have been erected, The second trust, amounting to L 213,918, will be increased in 1873 under Mr Peabody's will by L 150,000, and under this trust there will be sixteen new blocks of buildings on the Magdalene Hospital estate, affording dwellings for 300 families. There was a severe' shock of earthquake in North and West Lancashire on March 17. It was felt in the various towns and villages between eleven o'clock and five minutes past, and was so distinct in its vibrations as to greatly alarm the people. Its effects are variously described as a rumbling underground noise, as a rapid shaking of the earbh, followed in some cases by what sounded like a dull crack, and as a sharp swaying, oscillating motion. The universality of the testimony as to the peculiarities of the phenomenon leaves no doubt whatever that it was a very powerful shock of earthquake. It is stated that Baron Rothschild has given an opinion that France will be able to pay up the whole five milliards of francs in the course of the year. M. Cre*mieux has addressed a letter to M. Grevy, the President of the National Assembly, in which the ex-Minister proposes that France should promptly subscribe the war indemnity of five milliards, in order to rid herself of the Prussians. He says — " Let each of us consider the state of his fortune, and let us make an advance to our country, which will be repaid over a long course of years." M. Crdmieux himself offers 100,000fr. for this purpose. M. Thiers is 74 years old, and succeeds to an Emperor aged 63. The King of Prussia is the same age as Thiers. Von, Moltke is 70, Von Roon 68, and Bismarck 57 only. Prince Gortschakoff is 71. Lord Russell is nearly 80 ; Mr Disraeli, 66 ; Mr Gladstone, 63 ; Guizot, 80 ; Deßemusat, 74 ; St. Marc Girardin, 70 ; Dufaure, 73 ; V. Hugo, 69; Cremieux, 75; and Jules Favre, 62. The Due de Nemours is 57 years old; the Prince de Joinville. 53; the Due d'Aumale, 49 ; and the Oomte de Chambord, 51. Gambetta is only 32, and the Comte de Paris, 33. Jules Simon is aged 57 ; Lord Granville, 56 ; and Louis Blanc, 58. A terrible affair has lately taken place in Soho. A Frenchman and his wife, with their four children, had been living for some years in Pulteney street ; three months ago two of the children died, and the loss appears to have been kneenly felt by the parents. It is also stated that, owing to the siege of Paris, a firm in that city, which the man represented in London, had been compelled to give up their business. Reports of firearms were heard, and the neighbors, oh entering their apartments, , found the Frenchman and his wife both dead— the woman from a pistol .shot through the brain, and the man with a bullet through his heart. It

is supposed by some that the man first shot his wife and then himself ; and by others, that as two separate revolvers were used, the woman shot herself, and then the man shot himself. The claim made by the married women opens an intereßting«page4nJßaris life. Who is married?— and who irnot?— is a question difficult! to answer. Everybody in Paris is more or less married. Some have signed contracts for a liffupf misery before "Monsierla Maire," others have taken to themselves Eves without that ceremony. The. thirty sous per day to members of; the/National Guard, and the fifteen sous w wyei ye8 > are * nducementsfor idleness, whichhave brought to light many startling phenomena. Li one company of the National Guards there are, according to the returns, 250 married men who have 2^7 wives : the (explanation we leave to the ingenuity of bur readers. In view of an experimental campaign on a large scale, it is proposed that a force of 20,000 men shall march from Aldershot in the first week in June, and occupy the country between that place and the New Forest for six weeks, engaging every day in sham battles, field operations, and all the manoeuvres incidental to. actual warfare, and bivouacking at night wherever they may find themselves located. The troops expected to take part in the great campaign are the C Brigade and' part of the B Brigade Royal Horse Artillery, a number of field batteries from various brigades, the 9th and 12th Lancers, 3rd Dragoons, several companies of Royal Engineers and the Mounted Engineer Train, a large force JofihefArmy Service Corps, and numerous regiments of infantry. It is also stated that a brigade of Guards and several foot 'regiments are shortly to be sent to Aldershot for the purpose of participating- in this great lesson in the art of war. Under the head of "Ireland," the European Mail supplies the following items : — Lord Erne has lately been severely indisposed. The Corporation of Dublin has given LSOO towards the French Relief Fund." In opening the assizes for Westmeath, Lord Chief Justice Monahan took an opportunity to comment on the increase of crime in that district. One could not wonder, he said, that it had engaged the attention of Government, for it had gone on from bad to worse until it had reached a state that it was impossible to conceive or describe. His' lordship alluded to cases of crime in which there was little doubt but that the offenders were known, and yet no one would come forward to prosecute. The opinion is still entertained in some quarters that a royal residence in Dublin is seriously contemplated. The Sustentation Fund for the new Church is receiving considerable accessions, and we may expect the new organisation to take some definite shape shortly. Outrages of a sadly retrogressive character continue to be chroniclid. On March 4 a 6re broke out at a greengrocery (a ten-roomed house), kept by a Mr W. Halley, in Chapel street, Edgware Road. The family consisted of a father and mother, six sons, aged respectively, James, 19 ,* William, 17 ? . Richard, J5 • Walter, 13 ; Alfred, 2\ years ; and George, 3 months. There was also a servant girl, Caroline Shirley, aged 19. The fire had completely occupied the lower rooms before it became perceptible to the policeman on duty, and an alarm was given. A fire-escape was quickly on the spot, but before it arrived the mother with, her baby appeared at one of the windows. The bystanders spread a blanket and called upon her to throw down the child. She did so, but unfortunately missed aim, and it was killed on the spot. The other child, Alfred, was then let fall and caught, but it was much injured and taken to the hospital, where it died" in icrf ew hours. The fire-escape succeeded in rescuing Mr and Mrs Halley and two of the sons, William and Walter. While: this was being effected Richard and James jumped from the second floor, by which the former was killed and his brother, seriously injured. The premises were completely gutted, and the roof burnt off before the firemen could extinguish the flames, and then on exploring the ruins the body of the servant girl, almost reduced to a cinder, was found on the remains of a bed. The ratification of peace allowed a number of soldiers who were in the North of France to pay a hurried visit to England ; and Hyde Park, St. James's Park, and the neighborhoods of our principal buildings were on March 3 visited by a number of fair-haired, bronzed, and square-shouldered foreigneis, who stared around them as we are told their companions stared who marched down the Champs Elysees. They were nbt^in uniform ; but they still wore their long riding-boots and spurs. As most Englishmen fancy that every German cavalry soldier is an Uhlan, considerable curiosity was. excited by. the presence of some of the daring horsemen whom t the French peasantry have come to regard with a mysterious awe. They roamed round the ponds in St. James's Park, and at the ducks and tbe nursery-maids ; they leaned on the railings in Hyde Park, forming a singular contrast to the slim and pallid lougers there; and they drove about in hansoms, apparently as delighted as sailors with, that novel form of entertainment. It was apparent from the fresh color and splendid physique of the men that they were not German cferks who had been called away from London offices and had now returned to their duties. Many of them looked like brisk, intelligent, and sturdy farmers ; and popular opinion had it that they were 1 somff of the soldiers who had seen, the sea f orthe first time as they came to the northern coast of France, and were now extending their J" our ney to get a glimpse of the;capital of England. .They must have 'formed a favorable notion of our London climate, as the day was as warm and clear as a day in June. A letter from Switzerland to the Augsburg (?a?eWe contains details relative to General. 'Bourbaki's attempt at selfdestruction; It states that after receiving certain despatches from BordeaiSx-he was in such a state of mind that his aides-de-camp were constantly keeping his arms out of his reach, and. on January 27, on receipt of another letter from Ganibetta, he exclaimed, "They forget at Bordeaux that in this army of ,80,000 men there were but 35,000 soldiers, and the*rest are good for nothing !" He then sent off all the officers on various messages ; one of them, however, returned after having executed his orders and remained in the ante-chamber.. Bourbaki then went into the room of one of the absent officers, whence he took a leaded pistol which he concealed under his own pillow, fie wrote several letters in the evening, and was still occupied in arranging nis papers

when the chief staff surgeon entered ; the general and he sat down by the fire and conversed for a time, and the doctor finding the general much agitated, advised him to take a few henre' rest. " You are right, doctor," replied Bourbaki ; . " and will you not lie down yourself?" "If you will permit me, general, I, will remain here near the fire." Bourbaki lay down on the bed and drew the curtains. A moment afterwards the doctor heaid a shot, got up in terror, rushed to the bedside and opened the curtains. "Unfortunately I have not succeeded in killing myself," said Bourbaki calmly. He had kept one arm supported on the side of the bed, and had placed the barrel of the pistol to his temple, but a movement had disturbed its position at the moment of discharge, and the ball had penetrated the occiput. The aide-de-camp who was in the ante-chamber had run in at the sound of the explosion, and received instructions to go to Bordeaux for Madame Bourbaki 'and conduct her to Besangon. On reaching Bordeaux he learned that the lady had already left, and he endeavored to TOtura to Beaaugon, where he had left his arms and baggage, but it was too late ; Besangon was surrounded by the Germans before he could reach it. One of the most exciting scenes that has perhaps ever been, witnessed in ' Dover occurred on March 20, when the Emperor Napoleon arrived from the Continent on the termination of his captivity. The Emperor, who on his landing was cheered at every step, had not taken a dozen paces before he met the Empress and the Prince Imperial, who, followed by a great many people, had walked from the pier towards the harbor. The Empress rushed forward, put her arms round her husband's neck, and passionately kissed him five or six times. The Prince Imperial saluted his father in a similar manner. The croffd was so dense that their Majesties and the Prince could only proceed with great difficulty. In vain did the police and the gentlemen of the Imperial suites endeavor to clear the way ; the people were anxious to get a glimpse of the illustrious exiles, and as they cheered, pushed forward in such a way that at one time it was thought that the Empress might be incommoded. Seeing her danger, Major Dickson, Prince Murat, and General Flourens, with the help of other gentlemen, at length succeeded in forming themselves into a circle, and in this manner reached the Lord Warden Hotel, and were almoßt carried up the steps by the crowd, being for a moment separated from the Empress, who had been leaning on his Majesty's arm, and from the Prince Imperial, who had taken his father's hand. The cheering did not cease even when the Emperor had disappeared, and the people remained outside the hotel, hoping to be able to see his Majesty on his way to the station. The Emperor and Empress, however, after staying only a few minutes, reached the station by means of the private corridor, and took their seats in a saloon carriage attached to the special train. Some elegant bouquets of flowers had been presented to the Empress, who smilingly acknowledged the cheers and the respectfnl salutes of the 200 or 300 ladies and gentlemen who had been allowed to go on the platform and witness the departure. The Emperor, whose hair and moustache are quite grey, was evidently in excellent health, and from the moment of his landing up to the minute when the train departed never ceased to smile or bow in return for the public enthusiasm, which really knew no bounds. The Prince Imperial sat on his father's knee. Several gentlemen on the platform shook hands with the Emperor and the Prince Imperial, and the hand of the Empress was kissed by some of the ladies present. The distinguished exiles arrived at Chislehurst soon after half-past three.