Miscellaneous Extracts.

Hastings Standard, Issue 276, 20 March 1897, Page 4

Miscellaneous Extracts.

STAMBULOFF'S HANDS. A ghastly story comes from Sofia apropos of the recent trial of Stambuloff's murderers. It is announced by a Bulgarian journal that the ex-Pre-mier's widow has had her husband's hands, which were amputated by the surgeons after the murderous attack, embalmed and placed under a glass case in the dead man's chamber. The hands are crossed like two fencing gloves, and behind is a hideous photograph of Stambuloff, showing him in all the horror of his terrible wounds just after his death. In speaking of these gruesome relics, Madame Stambuloff said : " I have preserved these mutilated tokens of my dead husband in order .to keep constantly before the eyes of my children the great crime of his death." SCHOLARSHIP OF AN OLD-TIME PARSON. Frank Samuel Chill, in his book "The Colonial Parson of New England," tells a story to illustrate the condition of scholarship among the oldtime parsons. It is about Thomas Newbury. The theological opinions of this minister did not altogether approve themselves to his brethern. The brethern therefore visited him and engaged in argument. They spoke in English, and he replied in Latin. They took up the argument in Latin, aiid he answered it in Greek. They""continued it in Greek, and he tied, to Hebrew. They followed him into Hebrew, and he clinched the matter in Arabic. This was truly a clincher for them, since Arabic was beyond their acquirements." How would the scholarship of our modern English parsons compare with that of Thomas Parker'? THE BIRTHDAY OF THE ITALIAN NATIONAL FLAG. The hundredth anniversary of the birthday of the Italian national flag has just been celebrated. By one of the many odd ironies of history the green-white-red of the United Kingdom of Italy had a Republican origin. On January 7, 1797, the young General Bonaparte, at the Congress of Reggio-Emilia, founded the Cispodane Republic, which consisted of the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Reggio - Emilia, the green-white-red tricolor was declared the flag of the new State, and every loyal citizen was ordered to adorn himself with a green-whitc-red cocanh'. The same tricolor, which was distinguished from that of the French Republic in consideration of Italian susceptibilities, was afterwards adopted by the Italian monarchy. The anniversary was kept with much solemnity in the Town Hall of Reggio-Emilia, where several relics of the Cispodane Republic were exhibited, a memorable tablet unveiled, and a patriotic ode declaimed by the poet Carducci. A NEW SUBJECT FOR THE CRAMMER. Towards the close of last year (says the Berlin correspondent of the Telegraph) one of the numerous canards, that are always soaring about, declared that Fredrich Wilhelm Rein del, "Public Executioner and Master KnackeV," of Madgeburg, was desirous of retiring from office, and that a number of persons had applied for his post. Bursting with indignation, the above-named official sat down and penned the subjoined missive to the Berlin Kleine's Journal : "It is not possible that several persons could have applied for the post of public executioner. Anyhow, such applications will be fruitless, as very likely my son Wilhelm who pased the examination several years ago for the post of public executioner, will be my successor. For the present, however, I am not tired of office." Evidently this " official " has a very high opinion of the diginityof a knacker, and public executioner ; but it would be interesting to know what is the subjects of examination laid before the candidates for that post—seeing that his son has already some years ago qualified himself for it. Is he required to weild his axe over special dummy corpses ? and who are the arbiters and examiners ? INDIAN LABOR IN NATAL. We have not heard much as yet of the anti - Indian demonstrations in South Africa, but that pleasant unconsciousness will not last much longer. The Colonial Goverment, the Government of India, and the Secretaries of State concerned know too well what trouble is brewing. South Africa, in fact, has taken up just the same attitude towards natives of India, which Australia took toward* the Chinese. But there is a grave difference in the circumstances the Chinese are foreigners, those others are fellow subjects of the men who would exclude them. A writer in the • Standard says : —The case of Natal is most pressing. It has a thousand more Indians than whites among-t its population already -.">1,000 to against 100,000 negroes. Of these, no less than !iO,OOO are free that is, they have finished the term of service for which they Were engaged, and they elect to remain in the colony. _ It is a f vast number to compete with the wage - earning class - the latter may well declare it intolerable. l or UkmHO,OOO are now working as household servants, petty farmers, Imwk. r-, is- ir kit, gardeners, goldsmiths, artisan, pettv schoolmasters, photographer attorney:-.' clerks, .vc., to quote the i census return. Moreover, a proportion ' of the lti.UKl at present working as coolies will join the multitude : l r \ j Nor is tliH all. for the number ilr ih I settled proved sufficient to ultra t 000 i Indian traders and shopmen, Vkho | wnugraUd at their own e\pt-n*e to I cater for their fellow countrymen, and | now, of course, injure the white stow-

keeper. No one who considers these facts can think it surprising that Natal is determined the case shall not grow worse, anyhow. The first coolies were landed in 1860, and for many years they gave no trouble. Now, being established, it would really seem that a struggle for existence has arisen between the poorer class of whites and the cheap-living Indians.