MAIL NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4236, 17 October 1874, Page 3

MAIL NOTES.

ENGLISH. Lady Bute, on the 23rd July, opened at Cardiff a new dock, constructed at the cost of her husband. The dock is said to be the largest in the world, and upwards of £1,000,000 has been expended in its formation. At the Huntingdon Assizes, lately, Miss Constance E. Maule, daughter of the Clerk of the Peace for the county of Huntingdon, recovered £1250 damages for breach of promise from Mr. T. F. Fowler, a solicitor of Huntingdon. The plaintiff claimed £IO,OOO. A woman named Betsy Letherton is now living at Tring who last birthday reached the extraordinary age of 111 years. During the harvest last year she cut several sheaves of wheat, and intends, if all is well, making her appearance this year upon the farm of Mr. Mead, situated between Tririg and Little Tring. Mr. Barry Sullivan has been engaged by Messrs. Jarrett and Palmer, of New York, for a season commencing in August of next year, and extending over 150 nights, at £6O per night, with £3O additional for each matinte at which he appears. The Rev. Henry West, a Church of England clergyman at Norbiton, was bound over by the Kingston bench of magistrates on Wednesday morning to keep the peace for one year. On Saturday, ho violently assaulted his sister, knocked her down, knelt upon her, and pounded her eyes. He also set fire to her furniture, and made use of foul and threatening language. Recently a swimming match was arranged to take place at Eastbourne, England, between a fisherman and a mastiff dog. But there was no race, because the dog, once in the water with the man, supposed hia duty there was to save the latter's life, and persisted in his endeavors to keep the man afloat by thrusting his head under his opponent's chin. Alexander Dumas was invited to the literarj dinner recently given by the Lord Mayor of London, and replied as follows : " My Lord, I thank you for having thought of me ; but you should understand that I cannot go to dine in a country which authorises the literature of M. Vermersch and forbids mine." Vermersch was one of the worst of the literary Bohemians who wrote up the Commune and is now a fugitive in London. The wholesale boot and shoe trade in this country is one of considerable, magnitude. During the month of May last no less than 31,363 dozen pairs of boots and shoes were exported from the United Kingdom, representing a value of £104,260, and these figures, compared with the corresponding period of 1873, show a falling off of 15,550 dozen pairs, or a decrease to the extent of £41,330 in the trade for one month. As Northumberland House, London, is to be torn down the Duke of Northumberland has purchased the house No. 2 Grosvenor Place for a town house, and in which to place the furniture now in the old house, which is valued at $1,500,000. EASTERN. Sir Mutu Coomara Swamy, of Ceylon, on whom Queen Victoria has just conferred the honor of Knighthood, is a gentleman of distinguished position in the East. He is also remarkable as having been the first person who, being neither a Christian nor a Jew, was admitted a barrister of one of the English Inns of Court ; his " call" bears date January, 1863, at Lincoln's Inn. He has also done much towards making the literature of India known to the Western World, having published several works relating to Indian and Buddhistic philosophy ; and he has given to the public an English translation of an interesting Hindu drama named " Arichandra," which he dedicated to the Queen. CHINA AND EOSBIA. We find the following in the New York telegrams of the San Francisco papers : —" A correspondent writes that news has reached Berlin that China has pushed forward 190,000 picked troops to the Kashgar frontier, and, in addition, placed large garrisons in the towns of Barkerel; and Chinese troops have, moreover, been concentrated in the north of Tarbakati, Kelno, and Olycsutia, which can be readily made available for war with Kashgar. It is proposed to attack the latter country simultaneously from two Bides. At St. Petersburg it is believed that in that event Russia would at once come to the assistance of Kashgar, since China is known to be arming also for a war with Russia. The Chinese Government has already made a complaint to this Government, and the case is now the subject of diplomatic correspondence between the two Governments. The action of the United Stateß officers referred to was totally unauthorised, and will no doubt bo disavowed by the Government." FOREIGN. The . Bonapartists have elected another member of the French Assembly from the Department of Calvados. The majority was enormous. Some German workmen have written to Bismarck, stating that for every bullet shot at him which misses him, they will kill a Roman Catholic bishop ; for every one that hits him, two bishops ; whilo if he is killed, they will kill the Pope. M. Victor Hugo nearly met his death on a Sunday lately. A cart, laden with a huge wooden pole used for scaffolding, in turning round a corner at Passy, brought tho end of the pole against Victor Hugo'B head, knocking

him down insensible. He was taken to a chemist's, and was soon sufficiently restored to be able to walk home. We may look (says an American paper) to a graphic description of the event in that wonderful prose of which the author of " Ninety-Three " is master : —"The poet hastens on to his goal—his goal is the future—the present he regards not—the future is the ideal —the present is the real—the march of genius is suddenly stayed—it encounters brute force—brute force symbolised in the pole of a waggon —two mighty forces meet in deadly encounter- the living and the inanimate," &c, &c.

AMERICAN. A new method of navigation was successfully tried on Long Island Sound the other day. A boat was drawn by a kite twenty-two miles in three hours and a quarter, no other motive power being used. Mr. Loubat (who is now in London), owner of the American schooner yacht Enchantress, has issued a challenge to any member of any yacht club of Europe to sail a match with his vessel next July, for a cup valued at 100 guineas, over the Prince of Wales Cup course. Another contingent of the American pilgrims returned by the steamship City of Brussels. Among these were eleven priests. Many of the pilgrims made » tour of Ireland. They expressed themselves highly pleased with the scenes they witnessed and the kind treatment they received every where on their long journey. One forenoon lately a seedy looking individual entered the Central Office, New York, and inquired for the. Superintendent. On being conducted into the presence of that gentleman he astonished his auditors by stating that he had committed a forgery some two yews ago, and now wished to give himself up. His name, he said, was Henry W. Andreas. In 1872 lie forged a cheque for 3500d015. on the Manhattan Bank and got the money. The police were notified of the case at the time, but failed to capture the offender. Andreas was turned over to an officer, who locked him up. It is supposed that he is slightly deranged. It is stated that the Chinese Government will soon establish a consulate in San Francisco, and that the six Chinese companies of that city will defray the expenses of the establishment for the home Government. It is thought an American will be appointed Consul, with a Chinese Vice-Consul to aid him. The Chinese Commissioner who went East recently to make arrangements with Eastern colleges for the reception of fifty Chinese students, is clothed with authority to make arrangements for establishing a consulate. The American Paper Trade Journal says:—■ Chicago hopes to build up a trade in prairie hay with England, one car-load having already been sent to experiment with in the manufacture of paper. Above all the applause of the Plymouth congregation somebody heard the hollow, mocking, terrible laugh of Mephistopheles. What a joke for him ! —says the Herald. A BOLD ABDUCTION. The American papers have for weeks been taken up with items relating to the stealing of a child about four years of age, named Charley Ross. It occurz-ed in broad daylight in a street in one of the suburbs of Philadelphia, where the boy and his brother were playing-. A carnage, with two well-dressed gentlemen in it, drove up to the sidewalk, stopped, and one of the occupants asked the boys if they did not wish to take a ride. They assented, and both got in. After driving a short distance, they put the older boy out and told him to go home, and disappeared with the younger. This occurred about the first of July. A day or two later, the father received an anonymous letter saying that if he would pay §20,000, the boy would be returned to him. Mr. Ross not being able to raise the money, his wealthy neighbors subscribed the amount, and induced the Mayor of Philadelphia to offer the reward, which will only be given in case the child stealer is arrested and convicted. One of the New York papers comments on the case, in the following strain, before the Mayor's reward was offered :—" The abduction of littley Charley Ross, of Philadelphia, and the correspondence between the yet undiscovered brigands and the father, in which the enormous ransom of §20,000 is demanded for the restoration of the child, is one of the most startling revelations of crime yet made in this country. The fact that there are men among us fiendish enough to steal a child, and then, in some secure hiding place, deliberately threaten its destruction, if money be not forthcoming, is one that may well send dismay to the hearts of all parents. The fact that such a crime has for nearly four weeks baffled detection is a serious commentary upon the imperfection of our police systems. Mr. Ross, who is not now a man of wealth, has not yet been able to secure the amount demanded by the robbers ; but he is endeavoring to do so and will undoubtedly pay the ransom, if he must. T.'-is will encourage the repetition of the crime everywhere. No dealing with miscreants who engage in it can be too sharp and summary." BABY FARMING —A NKW SPKCIES OV SLAVERY.

The entire abolition of the slave trade lias yet to be accomplished in New York, says the Herald. Although the days of slave ships have long since passed, the traffic in human flesh flourishes in another and even a more heinous form. Poor little helpless infants take the place of the dusky children of Africa and brutal nurses that of the overseer. Starvation is found to be a more efficient instrument of torture than the lash which roused the nation once to crush the relic of barbarism that existed in the South. Recent visits to the haunts of the "baby farmers," as they are called, reveal a condition of affairs absolutely shocking. The mortality among the poor children in those vile dens reaches sometimes as high as seventy per cent, each year, and the Burvivors generally have a worse fate before them. Child murder and the sale of infants at this present day can only be regarded as a crying disg;ace to the great city. The unfortunate babes who escape the discipline of the institutions fare little better when they are handed over to the individuals who, for the sake of the few dollars paid them, are willing to undertake their charge. The usual result is death from starvation. The want of sufficient funds in the treasuries of the foundling asylums which are recognised by the authorities, and which provide for the health and comfort of those helpless little ones, prevents them from adding to their present responsibilities and leaves a large surplus of uncared-for children at the mercy of those dens of infamy over which baby farmers preside. There is an excellent field here for the exercise of the wellknown charitable spirit of the metropolis and for the vigilance of the police. MANIA FOR REMCS OP SUMNEIt.

The sale of the furniture and household effects of the late Mr. Suinner, at Washington, on the 3rd June, seems to have caused no little excitement in that city. The spectators of the sale were, according to the New Yorh Tribune, divided into four classes :—First, the devoted friends of Mr. Sumner, who were anxious to secure some souvenirs of the departed scholar ; secondly, the curious ; thirdly, the speculators ; and fourthly, the professional auction-goers. The small articles of a miscellaneous character brought, it is stated, " extravagant and unprecedented sums" The Bale began in the kitchen, and the commonest kind of kitchen utensils, which Mr. Sumner probably never saw, fetched "frightful prices." For instance, jelly and ice-cream moulds, worth 50 cents or 1 dollar, brought from 5 to 10 dollars. The dining-room was next sold out. After the sideboard was sold for 200 dollars, the dining table, " the seat of as liberal and refined hospitality as was eve rdispensed," brought 160 dollars, a " colored caterer," one of Mr. Sumner's favorite friends, being the purchaser. This dining-table was, saya the Tribune " an especial object of attention and remark. Besides being very elegant in finish, around it cluster much secret history and many memories. Poets, artists, philosophers, scholars, politicians, presidents, and princes, foreign diplomats, historians, and statesmen have sat at that table. I* was at that table that General Grant, Mr. Fisli, and Colonel Forney sat when Mr. Sumner was importuned to espouse the San Domingo annexation scheme." "A worn-out fly-brush" brought 4 dollars 50 cents. The hardest contest was, however, over Mr. Sumner's arm chair, which soon ran to an " alarming figure," and was ultimately knocked

down for 315 dollars. The most valuable article in the house —an old clock which stood in the hall, and which sometimes beats a tune —was not sold. The highest bid, reaching 3000 dollars, for the clock, was declined, and it is understood that it will be sent to a relative. Altogether, the sale seems to have been a great success, and affords another proof that the furniture of great men is valued almost as much as their memory.