ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 29, 27 January 1877, Page 3

ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

The new Woolwich gun of 150 Tons will be 127 yards long, it will have a ;<?alibre ; of 20 inches, throwT a shot fWeighing-l^ ton,., and: exhaust ,600 lbs, of gunpowder with each discharge, ," y, . Professo?N^W?Jian has been lecturing at Manchester on " Land Teh^^h\xe^t lation to /food supply.;". BrieSjfs,-., rhifr: propositions are that the- huid|i^npt a surface to bear rent for grand^ ; , but" a surface which the nations must dwell Tpp*on and ihava -food. , It .' will be seen, from this, that the professor contemns utterly the modern system of 'tenure, which places .vast, tracts, of land in'the f , .Aands. of . ."icrandees," who,, by /high; stone yralls and park; palings, : will mot let the people even:. gaze upon it, much less walk or dwell upon it; and which, checks the food-producing 'power of fhe ; soil, because the tenant,, the reiit-payer, is never sure' that he Vwill not bejturned out 6this;farm.. „ A...,, sin; the .Finance . Gommittee ybf the Au strian • : Ghainber, . of , Deputies the question. was. raised. ; whether the Emperor, and the members.. of the Imperial family are legally entitled to.the exemp-; , tion,froin. r .incoihe, ,tax : . which they have' practically enjoyed^,, The Em- | peror. Joseph, : on being made aware of 'this, at once ordered that the. exemption- should cease, giving, it as his opinion that the.Emperor and his family •should,; contribute as- fullyrto. the. sup-, portj^the State as any. person. ' T_e : Royal Irish ..Academy objects to be. m, any -way\ identified with Hqme Rule or its advocates: Mr Butt, M.P., Mr ; Ejtound Grray,7 proprietor ; . of the "Free^n's. Journal,'', and Mr Dawson, high sheriff of the county of Limerick, .three leaders <bf the Home-Rule movement, who were proposed as members fpr Tthe; Royal! Irish ,7 Academy,; .were blackballed: on Nove,mber:*i3. iThe Egyptian Minister: of Finance Has been disndssejd. from .his posXand imprisonedoh a charge of 'fostering agitation and conspiring., .against the Xhe/^dive. 1 ' His Highness Conducted -him to '"prison m his own carnage:. The/Minis- !: terms' rejported; to have died shortly after " from excessive" 'drinking. ; Prihcb,Hussein, the Khedive's son, hasbeen appointed Minister of Finance. '" XElieV" Fmancier" states"editorially£—- ' "We can state very confidentially the course the British Cabinet has resolved _ upon if .Russia invades Turkey. In "such case, a British army corps will occupy X/onstahtinbple and defend it against all " attacks, d Ji,. | s calculated that not more than 65^000 troops are needed, and Bx*itish engineer officers are already making; surveys for thorough -■ defence of the Turkish capital." The . " Financier " adds, " England's object is not to participate m war between Turkey and Russia, who ■ -may?? -fight -out their quarrel whether* 'in .Asia: or Europe; but . to protect Constantinople and the Dar : , dane.llsfrQm seizure, by Russia. England would , . simply .hold- Constantinople m pledge temporarily on behalf of other £ Powers, and a? sjopn^s a neutral state 7, waS;f drmed on ■',. .the. '-. B6sphprus,.pr such ■ other arrangemenlbs,, ejected as, E,urope t ,ma;y,ultimately:y^ wardenship of the. Dardaneils, England wouldv.wilEngly,^Ltlidr%wJi y X

A peculiarly horrible case of murder has just come before the Assizes of the Charente-Inferieure. The prisoner was an old man named Jean Bouton, aged 76 years, and the victim was his grandson, a young man of 18. He first shot him and then tried to burn the body m a baking oven. The attitude of the aged culprit m court was revolting by its cynicism and absence of all shame or feeling, as will be seen from the following short extract from his examination: — President: "What fault had you with your grandson ? He was loved and esteemed' by everybody." Prisoner : " Yes, by blackguards like himself. He stole'my rabbits. I had long made up my mind to get rid of him/ President : " How did you commit the crime ? " Prisoner : "Thid my self behind the baking oven, and fired on him as he approached, f waited for him several days." President : " Were both the barrels of your gun loaded ?" Prisoner : " Yes ; if the first charge had failed I should have fired the second. I intended to kill myself. afterwards. President: "Dp you not repent of your abominable action P" Prisoner:" "Why should I ? On the ' contrary, I think T did a very good thing." It was proved by the witnesses that the; prisoner was a bad and brutal, character, and after a] very severe sermon from the judge — to which, however, he only cynically shrugged his shoulders— he was sentenced 'to" deUth, ahd^ left the court smiling. ' ■■■■■■■..yy. A shocking; affair has occurred near Stourbridge. Some lads had been amusing.y themselves .at a bonfire and one of'/thenX named Taylor, complained of, toothache. His cousin Felix SouthaU, said he would cure his toothache for him, and. fired ; a pistol at' his back. The' charge' went', m several inches, and Taylor died before medical assistance. arrived. r