SUEZ MAIIi ITEMS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 249, 11 December 1880, Page 4

SUEZ MAIIi ITEMS.

. . y-C';Ho_ne:News,",Qotober22] . j It was a pity that Australia was not better represented at the Food Exhibition W the' Agricultural Hall.' What •be .wnt^was excelled.- of its liud, but there was,. % wint" of^riety- ip. th^ AaatVslten product. Sshb^nv. which on account of the short notice given, .were limited- to beef ondl • mu tton preserved in tim. On^thewb^le, therefore, \intbiji particular l branch of -'supply .America bad hj 'ftr the best of it. There was a •wealth-ofc ** goods " sufficient to satisfy the most fastidious palates. Turtle soup of undeniable quality, was served up at the inaugural luncheon;, also "an excellent tomato puree re•embliog in consistency and appearance the moat ..delicate Cregy,- which by virtue of a fine sub-acid, piquancy, it fairly surpassed." The delicacies which followed would not hate shamed, although by their strangeness they might have sarprißsd, a first-class Parisian tettaurateur. There might be nothing peculiar about Canadian lobsters, Baltimor«r~6yit*rß» br~x trrried- prawn b, but Luoullds. himself could never bave beard t>f Bbston b^ked beans, " a favorite American dish resembling; braised fifcgeclets a trifle burn)," of roast thrush, of cucriedjk&ngaroo. The dessert was of a.riobnesi to commend itself to the 3BV eueh eonnoiseur. Plums and grapes, the product of the " glorious climate of California," pears and peaches from Delaware, pine apples from Singapore were among the fruits provided. It ie satisfactory, to find also that poultry can life 1 "Vanned" successfully,- and perfect Whole fowls — - even small turkeys — were on view in tins at. thi. Exhibition. Probably, if there be a repetition; oi the. show, Australia will be able .to prove that in the matter of food pro. Suction she is not to be outdone. "Killed by the fog" is a verdict which: would have faithfully represented the CBpse of. death of very many who 'went to swell the bill of mortality ofi the City of London last winter. It |gi impossible even to guess what proportion of the deaths from long and ohest diseases are to be. traced to the fogl that darken the metropolis in tjbe autumn, and feed its population with loot. It is certain, however, that tiie tale? of viotims claimed by this modern ; mpneter jiajft large, and is likely to be a growipg, one. The area of London jis txtendiog, and as the fogs are due to the. noxious ieffects of coal fires, these trlf'lifeejy. to multiply until effective roeaps are taken to counteract, them. | Wbat r the remedy ought to be is b question, , however, . of. very, grejat. moment "to which scientific men may profitably devote themselves. A tax booalJSrfiaJias been suggested by Dr Arthur Carpenter in the- Times, in o.der to drive people lo use gas. Such api impost would, it is to be feared, . prove a heavy burden, and would be resented keenly. But it is high time that*" l^^ to ll^ye r London, from " thei doom ;of la gwai i ;CUyl ,^wbicfa ) according tola yeiiMil^ftr^^tt^jaC^yL published, ii id b a kill^d'By, a fog. Thfi, following jetter has been sent to MtJßiadlaugb,-MJP», in reference to hie^allegation that New Zealahders are confined in prison witbout trial for ploughing land claimed by them but confiscated by the. Government :-~ •* Sir,-^ln reply to your letter received In thip department, I am directed by Ih-ijEarl iof Kimberley to inform you &tf your .previous letter, drawing attention to the detention of certai). Maori prisoners in New Zealand, wn*. duly received, and is now under his L^dship's consideration. Further .' communication will be made to you ak Boon as possible.— J am, &. ., Edwabp Winqfibld."* The Central A'.wf statep . lh.tr M*r Bradlaogh protests against ,' fprth?r r delay, as* one Maori has die^ in prison and others are said, to be aerioWy ill. The J ! Queen has been graciously plefcefcd io fligUify ; hei. intention to conjfar the decoration of the Victoria Cresa ' Opon the underopientioned .officer of the Cape Mounted Riflemen, whose claim baa been lobmitted for Her Maje.ty's approval, for bis gallant cond uot during tife recent operationa in South Africa] aa recorded against his name: — Sergt. _ (n9?f Lieutenant) Robert George Scott, ' €4pe Moqnted Riflemen,- for conspicuous |^Tj(ntry;Bnd devotion during an attack' ©u.Mprossi'a Mountain on April 8, 1879, in volunteering to throw time-iuse; ihells, ashandgrenades, over a line ofi a^ne, barricades, from behind which; .tlitjeneipyLWere^bringing a heayy fire to bear on the colonial troops, audi wbieh it waa impossible^ effectually to Wtorb. After causing all the men .ofi Jrirpiirt^ ; to retire i tinder cover, lest the; abeli should burst prematurely — byj which, precaution many live.B were in irfl^rqbal. Uity savedrSergeant Scott ad-; vjtfnped in a most deliberate manner under a heavy fire', and, having got under the wall, m. d. two attempts to throw shells! ever it. Alt the second attempt, owing! t^.ome defect in the fuse, which he had jußt lighte^, the sbelLexploded almost in' Sergeant Scott's hands, blowId^right band to pieces and wounding Sp»)severely in ibe left leg. ' ■ Th 6 floods in the: East ; Stafford disfcfict are as great as they have ever been l^oifn. The whole of tbe district •SWUI. dnTamworth'iß one vast expenae 4ii V-rbshing waters, as both the ; Tarn and Anker have, overflowed their banks. ISfumberi of the" inhabitants have been i^pr^aoned in their bouses for days, and «<MnjuuiHbations with Fazeley, Lich<«W, r Dtaycot, Wilnecote, f and '< other placea were rendered impassable for ie^t- passengers. Tiie water in the f^fcjiajfiye i|_€»t: bjghj endi business nen have to be conveyed to the places Mentioned in vehicles. The floods . ba^e readhed the sireets of Tamwortb, aid 1 the houses in Bobbridge:Btreef, Hoor lane, and other parts are in«nd^ted. In Moor-lane the water is three feet deep in the bouses, and haß bten rushing along the thoroughfare with the force of a torrent. '' A-TOT_a_B i oftfie wonders of modern, icience has just been teßted in a new T^iatiLeejJ... Ifc was alwayß asserted fchatlone of the many advantages to follow from the^useofrthe, telephone wonld be to allow lis to hear excellent music, without the slightest trouble. iß|_Mpt[^ .^d^Wsit sc^mp4 Iben, exagi grated," pictures were drawn ; of 'the

happy family seated quietly at homp and listening after dinner to Patti or Sims Reeves, or assisting at a grand oratorio at the Albert Hall wifchoup leaving their chairs. A trial of telef phonic power in disseminating gooi) music was -made last, .week at Leeds during the .great' musical festival. The Yorkshire Telephone . Company were permitted to place a transmitter in the Victoria Hall during the performance of the ora -brio Samson, and to connect ifc with their offices. Although the intervening distance was great, it is rer ported.that the music was heard with wonderful distinctness and fidelity,. The solos were especially heard to ad--vantage, and ifc is said by a person pre--sent that ifc was sometimes difficult t<p realise that one was nofc in the same room with fche singer. The chorusep also came out well, although occasionally£the great volume of sound produced a slight indistinctness. The orchestra, especially fche violins and flutes, was wonderfully well heard. On a second nighfc another and a still more remarkable trial took place. A connection was made between fche Leeds Town Hall and Bradford, a city ten miles distant.- The Bame marvellous "results were obtained. Instruments and choruses were heard with wonderful distinctness. One of these days shall haye the opera.laid on to private houses, and the circle of influence jof sweet music may be widened indefinitely. The following letter from a farmer in the country of Mayo, which has been sent to the Times for publication, gives a remarkable picture of the state ofthe country in that part of Ireland: — "The following details may be interesting to your readers as exemplifying the poW.er of the Land League. On Sept. 22i a process-server, escorted by a police force -ot seventeen men, retreated on my house for protection, followed by • a howling mob of people, who yelled atid hooted afc the members of my family. On the ensuing day the people collected in crowds upon, my farm, and. some hundred or so came up to my house and ordered off, under threats of ulterior consequences, all my farm tabourets, workmen, and stablemen, commanding them never to work for me again. __j_y herd has been also frightened by; thejm into giving up his employment, though he has refused to give up the house he held from me as part of his emolumerlfc. Another herd on an off farm as also been compelled to resign his situation. My blacksmith has received a letterthreatening him wifcfc murder if he do£s any more work for mo,, and my lau^idressShas al_o been ordered to give up my washing. A little boy, twelve , years of* age, who carried by post-bag to and from the neighbouring town of Ballinrobe, was struck and threatened, and ordered to desist from his work, since which time I have sent my- little nephew for mp letters, and even he ojn Oct. 2 was stopped on the road apd threatened, if he continued to all supplies to my house, arid I have just received a message from the postmistress to say that the telegraph messenger was stopped and threatened on the road when, bringing out a tneesage to me, and that she does not think ifc safe to send any telegrams which may come ior nae in future for fear they should be abstracted'and the messenger injured. My farm is pnblic property ; the people wander over it" with impunity. M|y crops are trampled upon, carried away in quantities, and. destroyed wholesale The locks of my, gates. are smashed,; th|e gates thrown open, the. walls thrown down, and the stoek ; driven out on ■ thb roads. ■. Lcan^gefc 'no- "workbarii to dp anything* and my minis openly avowed as the •objfept of the Land* League unless I throw up eyery thing and leave the country.; I say nothing about the danger to my own life, whicli is apparent to anybody thafc ; . knows the country." Among the lawyers whom Mr Ashj meod-Ba&tlett, has v consulted .' on the nationality question is Sir Traveri Twiss. Sir Ttaivers is the great inter j national lawyer of our day. On most matters Mi„ tfpiri.dn would \ba conoluj si ye. On the question of Mr Ashmead . jßartlett's nationality bis opinion is clear and: decisive. Hia grandfather; baying been an Englishman,* and 7 h^ himself having never acoepted the position, of an Blien, his father's naturajisa-j lion in. America does not in thej slightestaffect the son's position as a citizen by original right of this coon-; try. He need not have become naturalised; hjs deed, ofj naturalisation; was so much waste paper. He is anj Englishman— he may become the bus-, band of Baroness ' Burdett -Coutta without her closing any money; A mah commonly knownVas " Billy "j 1 Cooper, of the' town of Tan Etten, wasj ! walking, on the railroad track, at a j • point not far distant from, his ho-pe. Ini i crossing the railroad bridge, he made a ! misstep, and, slipping, fell between the ties. in such a manner that he was fastened too firmly, to extricato himself. Only his head remained above the ties, | but his position was so crampedi that ihe waa unable to get tbat out of danger. There, suspended 'in that awful position, \ \ with the body dangling,, below, the j | bridge, he heard a train thundering ! along, in tbe distance, 1 approaching every moment nearer end nearer. Nd one ' Will ever know the struggles for life which, the poor fellow made,, but ; they were futile, and with arms pinioned to his side he was unable to signal the engineer.. The train: oame sweeping on upon its helpless victim until withiu a few feet of the Spot; when the engineer saw the man's 'head and endeavored to stop his he-avy train. Buifi too late; the moving rapes passed over, cutting, the head -from thb shoulders as clean as it could "have been done by the "guillotine itself. " Another perilhas been, added to railway travelling. A few ; days ago the. Scotch express, running \frotxi London to the north, came into collision witb a jmineral train near Leicester, to the serijous detriment of a. number of persons ;wlio were passengers by the train.; jThis is a common enough occurrence ; , jbjjt the curious point here was the > jcause of the accident. The, enginedriver, though an experienced servant! of , the Midland Railway Company, and, considered, indeed, their best driver, had reversed his engine, and instead |of -proceeding on his journey took his _ trainjlback,; until it came into collision i iwith. the mineral train, So tbat jit* is

\ .I*l.l . . ii I l ■! possible, it seems, for the driver, stoker, and guard of a railway train to be unaware that the traiii is going the wrong way ; for all 'thetie in this instance are said to havo been thus ignorant. Hard as it is to believe, it appears likely that it is so. 4 The driver was thinking df his engine, and which engendering too much heat, and having reversed his screw to stop her, omitted to turn it the right way again ' when, the timie came for going on again. -The occurrence may be capable of explanation, but for the present it helps to increase the 'nervousness of railway passengers.