British and Foreign Items.

Hastings Standard, Issue 328, 21 May 1897, Page 4

British and Foreign Items.

German income tax returns show that the wealthiest trio are :—(1) Rothschild, of Frankfort; (2) the great ordnance founder, Krnpp ; (3) Prince Pless. Seme Jime since Krupp headed tho list. It has now been decided that a number of native cavalry from India will be brought over to form an escort, with the colonial troops, for her Majesty in proceeding to and from St. Paul's Cathedral. Mr Hooley, the latest English millionaire, has parted with his £400,000 to the poor of the district in which he lives. Since Peabody gave his £500,00# to re-house the* London poor there has been no such sum given to charity in that cnmtryl Mr Ralph Locke, one of the survivors of the Benin massacre, had a warm welcome at the Foreign Office, when he attended to report his arrival home from the Niger Coast Protectorate. Mr Locke had interested auditors for the history of his and Captain Boisragon's marvellous escape from death. M. Brunswick, a speculator well known on the Paris Bourse, has blown his brains out, owing to heavy losses in gold mining transactions. His liabilities are said to amount to over £66,000. He made desperate efforts to right himself by heavy speculations for the rise, but failed, so he resolved to commit suicide. The number of cases of mystical madness in France is increasing daily. They are caused by visions and visionaries, not only in distant and benighted provinces, but in Paris and the larger towns. The French bishops are endeavoring to cope with this craze of fanaticism, which appears to be as political as it is religious. The King of Siana, who will visit England during July and August next, is said to be the best looking man in his own counrty, where he is very popular. To Dr Gowau, his late body physician and intimate friend, the King owes his knowledge of English. All the more prominent of the Siamese princes speak and write English with a fair amount of fluency. The War Office authorities have appointed the Duke of Concaught to take command of all the troops in London on celebrations in honor of the Queen's Record Reign. His Royal Highness will have at his disposal a very large staff, the chief of which will be Major-General Lord Methuen, commanding the Home district. The latest suggestion for the Queen's commemoration is by a " Spectator " correspondent, who proposes to insert a new clause in the Litany of the Established Church " to bless and protect the colonies and dependencies of this realm." The Britain beyond the seas is become too vast and populous to be longer ignored in our liturgy. On the other hand, it has grown into vigor during her Majesty's reign. At this moment 11 light-draught gunboats are being built on the Thames for the Upper Nile. They will be sent out to Egypt this summer, conveyed to Assouan by rail and steamer, carried round the first cataract by the Shellal railway, embarked on barges and towed up to Haifa, and thence forwarded by the new branch of the Soudan railway to Abu Hamed, where they will be put together, engined, armed, and launched for the advance to Berber. An heroic-sized figure of the Saviour, to be cast in bronze, will be erected in a central position in the temperance village of Duckshurst, Surrey. The figure represents our Lord with His hands outstretched as if inviting the sorrow stricken to come to Him. This will be the first statue of Christ erected in a prominent position in any English town or village since the Reformation. The Pope is about to call upon Cardinal Ledocbowski, Prefect of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, to resign, and he will be replaced by Cardinal tfacobini or Cardinal probably the latter. Ledochowski is generally recognised as the most important personage after the Pope, and is usually called " Le Pape Rouge." If the cardinal should be replaced it will be an important victory for France and Russia. The art treasures which have been bequeathed to the British nation under the will of the late Lady Wallace are valued at £1,000,000 at the least. The bequest includes 11 examples of Murillo, of Velasquex 8, Reubens 11, Van Dyck 6, Teniers 5, Claude 2, Watteau 14, other French masters 336, Dutch masters 169, besides Gainsboroughs, Hoppners, Lawrences, Wilkes, Reynoldses, Romneys and artistic treasures other than pictures. Truly a handsome gift. The refusal at a public auction of a bid of £57,000 for the site of Cleveland House, at the corner of St James'ssquare and King-street, gives rise to some reflections on the growing value of landed property in London. In 1665, little more than two centuries ago, Charles 11. granted a lease in perpetuity of the 45 acres upon which the square stands for the annual rental of £BO, to Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans. To-day a quarter of an acre cannot be had for less than £60,000. The " deceased wife's sister" is at present stirring the peaceful colony of Natal to its depths, and it is interesting to observe that the case of " the deceased husband's brother" is not forgotten in the bill which has been introduced in the Legislative Assembly. Between them, " the sister" and " the brother," are evidently destined to cause no small flutter in Natal clerical circles. In London a gentleman had taken a flat on a three years' agreement, but when he moved into it he found that the place was " simply overrun with bugs." Indeed, so plentiful were these specimens of insect life that the servant used to " sweep fiem up with a brush and a dust-pan." The judge, however, withjegal stupidity, held that there was no proof of any implied warranty that the house was free from bugs, and gave judgment for the plain-

tiff. Tbis may be good law; it certainly does not look like justice. According to Sir James Sievwright, a Cope politician, the real South African question is not English or Dutch. They were there, he said,, to maintain the supremacy of the white rr.ee, and to see that the country did not become a black man's or a brown man's country. " What is the use," demanded Sir James, "of English or Dutch, German or Hollander, quarrelling with each other, or with the Afrikander ? They are like man and wife, bound together for better or worse." This is the language of a wise statesman. Russian diplomacy is showing its hand in Washington. From Russian sources leading members of the Foreign Relations Committee have been provided with copies of the treaty concluded between Britain, France, Sweden and Norway in 1856, by the terms of which the King of Sweden pledged himself not to grant to Russia any concession of territory, coaling station or ice free harbor. In return England and France guaranteed the integrity of the Swedish kingdom. This explains the objection to the selection of the King of Sweden as arbitrator by opponents of the treaty, on the ground of his English leaning. Russia is hardly a country in which one would look for much journalistic enterprise. However, New York, and even Fieet street, is not "in it" with St. Petersburg. In London they start a new daily paper once every fifteen years or so, and someone has to sink a fortune before it begins to pay. But in St. Petersburg new dailies appear like flies in June. "The press of St. Petersburg," says the Times correspondent calmly, " has been reinforced by half a dozen new daily newspapers." But if they come out easily, these Muscovite journals go in, or under, with equal rapidity. Two of the new "organs" are already suspended—because of some little difficulties with the censor. There was enacted a terrible domestic drama the other morning at Issy, a suburb of Paris. A Madame Graffiat, who was rendered desperate by the bad conduct of her husband, a workman, made an attempt to asphyxiate herself and her two children, a boy and a girl. As the three were lying on a bed gasping, Graffiat came home, and caking in the situation at a glance tried to throttle his wife. The woman, who was conscious, jumped off' the bed and threw herself out of a window, sustaining severe injuries by her fall. One of the children, the boy, died from the effect of the charcoal fumes but the girl was saved. Graffiat was arrested and his wife was sent to the hospital, while the child who survived the asphyxiation will be temporarily taken care of by the police.