ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

Kumara Times, Issue 1140, 25 May 1880, Page 4

ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

The St. Petersburg correspondent of the Daily News hews that the Russian Government has decided to carry out the Central Asian expedition on a limited scale, the intention being to punish the Tekkes, but not to occupy Merv. This is the plan of General Soobeleff, who has been appointed to the command. The Russian Government is desirous not to go to. Merv, in order to avoid the contingency of a counter occupation of Herat. The expedition will be on a reduced scale during two years, and will not exceed 10,000 men. This year’s operations will be confined to establishing outposts, lines of communications, &c. No troops are now to take part from the north. The Daily Telegraph’s correspondent, referring to General ScobelofFs appointment, remarks that England must watch Russia’s movements on the Oxus, for if a blow is to be struck he is convinced that it will be in that quarter. News received at Teheran states that a number of troops with a large supply of stores has left Tchikislar for Chatte, and that the telegraph line between those two places is advancing at the rate of about five versts a day. At Krosnovodsk a great quantity of railway material and stores has been accumulated. > There seems to be but little prospect of an early termination of the South American War,,if any valve is to be placed bn , oaths.; At the begiuing of the struggle seven, hundred and officers of the army, all above the grade of Sub-lieutenant, ‘' swore " the following rightful oath, with • a request that prosperity would take of it: —“ We, who carry a sword!at our girdle, which our fatherland,has.confined to us to defend it r and preserve intact its honor, swear a thousand times over not to sheathe that sword before avenging the outrage which , Chili has, committed on Bolivia. And to 'fulfil these oaths we are prepared for every sacrifice, begiuing by the renouncement of salaries, and subjecting ourselves to. camp rations on the same scale as the soldiers. Thus be it, and let prosperity judge us.” Prosterity will no doubt form its judgment on the matter as requested ; but it will feel rather annoyed if the result of this “ hard swearing” is a heavy debt caused by the prolongation of the war, to be handed down to it with the oath. The Avenir Militaire publishes an article in which it maintains that the heavy guns with which the vessels of the French navy and the coast batteries of France are armed are fully equal in every respect to the most powerful ordnance constructed either in England or Germany, The heaviest piece provided for the armament of French man-of-war is a 24 centimerse gun, which weighs 48 tons, and which, the Avenir states, imparls to its projectile an energy only less than that communicated by the English 100 ton and 80 ton guns and by the 58 ton Krupp gun. Eight of these 34 centimetre guns have been already completed, four of them form the armament of the lately launched Duperrb, a vessel of nearly the same size as the English Inflexible, and both offensively and defensiveiy the most powerful vessel iu the navy of France ; while the other four are to be placed on a board sister-ship of Duperre, which has not yet left the stocks. . -These guns are constructed entirely of steel—a fact which is worthy ,of note,.as until they were designed the Whole of the French heavy ordnance was constructed of cast iron, lined and hooped with steel. French artillerists are there* fore, it is evident, perfectly ready to profit by the researches and experiments made in, other, countries, while the raaources of private factories are also largely utilhsed in the construction of heavy ordance. J Tobacco, like those who smoke it, is credited with many sins of which it is guiltless. The “loss of health” so often laid atlts door, is probably due in many instances not to tobacco itself but to some vluauous compound bearing its name. A story, told by the principa! of the laboratory of the Inland Revenue Depaitment, m his report for the past year, shows how easily this may happen. The supervisor at Birmingham, observing that an article was being sold at very cheap rate in packets, under the name of smoking mixture,” sent a sample to thP. Inland Revenue laboratory for examination, and it being found to contain a large proportion of vegetable matter resembling the broken-up heads of camomile flowers, further inquiry led to the discovery of the manufactory. The process of manufacture consisted in the bitter principal of camomile, flowprheada with water, and then dyeing and sweetening them with a solution of logwood and liqueoice, which brought them, when dried, somewhat to the color of tobacco. The heads, when Were then mixed from 20 to 30 per cent of out tobacco, accord7 g . to 7® P««e at which the mixture was be sold. The mixture was supplied to retailers in packets labelled “ The New » M 7 ture > Analysed and Apuv 11 ? j 8 agencies had already evtL® Btab ? 8 j ed m several towns, an extemuve trade would no doubt soon hilt, arißen had the manufactory not &S r at “ early 81888 in its