ENGLISH AND FOREIGN.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 858, 4 November 1870, Page 2

ENGLISH AND FOREIGN.

A NOVEL YACHT. A correspondent of the London Field, who writes under the nom de plume of " Ironmaster," gives some interesting suggestions with regard to the construe tion of a yacht, which he maintains would be *'ablu to sail round the Sappho," have better accommodation, less draught and friction, deeper gravitation, and be as stiff as a rock and as upright without wings as the best of soldiers without lead. Without an accompanying illustrate »n, it is difficult to convey an idea of " Ironmaster's " plan, but its main features are a " fish " iron keel hanging six feet below the life keel, and twelve feet below the water line, with a dorsal fin that can be raised or lowered at pleasure, This fisb keel, for a boat measuring 100 tons, should weigh 60 tons. The fin is to counteract the too great quickness of the vessel in steerage. By this arrangement the boat would have but half the buik of water to displace as compared with the Sappho, the water leverage would be doubled, and increased latitude given in size of canvas aud spars. A midship gangway protects the crew from being washed overboard, aud various other ingenious modifications are suggested.— Qork Reporter.

ENGLIBU PBEC4UTIONS. The Broad Arrow hears that several batteries of Boyal Artillery have orders to be in readiness to start for various ports in the Mediterranean, to act with other troops as an " army of observation." According to the 4rmy and Navy (gazette the War Department has received a communication from the Admiralty, in which their Jjordships have requested the proper authorities to see that without loss of time, all reserves of ordnance, &e., which niigtyt be required for the Mediterranean fleet, should be despatched to Malta. A wooden frigate (the Glasgow) and an unarmoured iron corvette (the Active) are to be placed in commission at Portsmouth, at once, to strengthen our naval force on the home station, The possible contingency of the formation of a British squadron of observation, for service off the coasts of Belgium and Holland or in the Baltic, it is added, renders it very possible that other ships may be commissioned "as speedily as the Admiral can find seamen and stokers £o man them."

THE ENOLJSH MILITIA. Colonel Patten, in replying to the toast of the "Army and Navy," proposed by Lord Derby at the annual dinner of the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society, held at JSiackpool on the iOth August, spoke as follows ?rr-' f He believed as to arqay, the portion of it which

did exist could not be equalled in the world for efficiency. It was with ao common interest that he heard the Secretary of State for War state that at no time were we better prepared for war than at present. With regard to the militia, that force he (Colonel Patten) believed was never in a more efficient state than at present. He might also mention that during the last annual training 20,000 militiamen volunteered into the reserve force. Speaking of Lancashire he did not think he was exaggerating when he said that the volunteers were 20,000 and the militiamen were about 9,000 strong in the country. He believed the same spirit pervaded other counties that characterised Lancashire, and as to the safety of the country from invasion, why it would make one laugh to bear any one suspect that any country in the world could invade us. He thought there could be no doubt of this, that if any person were bold enough to set his foot upon these shores, he would never see his own shores any more. (Laughter and cheers.) 4 PEOPHEOY. The Schlesische Zeitung quotes the following remarkable passage from the IdSss Napoleoniennes, written by Louis Napoleon in the year 1839 :—»'• One nation is urged on against another and the one is employed to accomplish the subjection of the other. The French liberate the Italians from the yoke of Austria j Germany and England remain neutral, for what do they care about the Austrian* in Italy J That is the first war. When the power of Austria is broken, then comes the turn of neutral Germany and Austria, but with the aid of the Italians. That is the second war, by which the German question, the Rhine and J)anisb question, the Scheldt alluvium question—that is, the incorporation of Belgium and Holland with France be solved. The third war will be directed against England, The object or pretext will be to free the oppressed nationalities—wthe Irish and Scotch, as well as the the English rule ; to break the power of England on sea, and to dismember Great Britain. Whatever power can dispose of ships of war must help. Then the great Western Empire of the Napoleon dynasty will be complete, and the other half of the .world, the Eastern Empire, is Russia, against which, after she has been the ally and the auxiliary, the last war will be'declared,'* " These plans," adds the Schlesische Zeitung, " may appear wild and fanciful, but who can say they are not in a fair way to be realised ? The first war has been carried out according to the programme. The second has just been gurated."

A WAR FALCON. The Journal de Marseille baa the fol? lowing curious story the disem* barkation of the Ist Zouaves, the public could remark perched on the knapsack of a soldier, a magnificent falcon. This bird belongs to the trumpeter Verrier, who caught it in the Djebel Amour. They made together the last campaign ia Morocco, under General Marmier. Several times on the crest of the mountains the hawk, launched in chase, supplied with great ability the insufficiency of the larder* When the regiment received orders to march, the trumpeter, notwithstanding his poignant regret, set his faithful com* panion at liberty. After a three days* march the bird was almost forgotten, when at the camp of Ben Chicao it was seen to reappear iu the air, and, after circling for a few instants, it alighted majestically on the back of its old friend. It was received with a general acclama* tion, and the decision was taken that the falcon should make the Prussian campaign.

BISMABCK's IJIBETUOpSNESS. Count Yon Bismarck was in the habit of visiting some of the fashionable beer saloons in the capital, to smoke a cigar, drink a glass of Berlin beer, and discuss politics as occasion served. One day he had rather an extraordinary adventure, which may serve to illustrate toe impetuous character of the man. The his* torian says j—-•" He had just taken his seat, when a particularly offensive expression concerning a member of the Royal family was used at the next table, Bismarck immediately rose to his full height, turned to the speaker, and thuudered forth —' Out of the house, sir | If you are not out of the house when I drink this glass of beer, I will break this glass on your head.' At this there ensued $ fierce commotion, a«d threatening out*

cries resounded in all directions. Without the slightest notice Bismarck finished bis draught, and then brought down the measure upon the offender's pate with tuch effect that the glass flew into fragments, and the man fell down in anguish. There was deep silence, during which Bismarck's voice was heard to say, in the coolest possible tone, as if nothing had taken place,— * Waiter, what is to pay for this glass.'" WAB STATISTICS. The Crimean war was stated to have cost 784 900 lives; the war in Italy in 1857, 45,000; in SchleswigHolstein, 3,500; the American war, 800,000; the Prussian war, 41,000; Mexico and Ohina, 65,000— making a total, between 1853 and 1866, of 1,750,000 lives. *£BN{JH .SOI.DIBRS OK THEIR TBAVBLB A correspondent of a French paper wonders that no accident happens on the railway line to the Eastern frontier. The number of trains alone is sufficiently dangerous, but the conduct of the soldiers is also imprudent in the extreme. They seldom stay long in the carriages, but climb upon them and stand on the roof, singing vociferously. When a bridge or tunnel appears they lie flat down, but only to rise again* To all remonstrances they make the convincing answer, " Vive la France!" "A bas laPrusse!" The Presse gives an account of an episode which occurred at the Eastern Railway Station on the departure of the 3rd Regiment of Voltigeurs. Just as they reached the station a private carriage drove up, from which came an elderly gentlemen, wearing a decoration, who immediately commenced taking from a huge sack parcels of tobacco, which he handed in succession to the soldiers, amid the cheers of the assembled crowd. At length, having exhausted his sack, and many ol the men yet remaining unserved, he went *ip to the colonel and told him that he bad exhausted the stocks of all the tobacco shops in the quarter to fiil his bag, but had not been able to procure enough for the whole regiment; finally he begged him to accept 200 louis in order to purchase tobacco for them, and handed him 4000 francs in gold, which the colonel after some hesitation accepted, and thanked bim on behalf of the men.