SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 908, 14 March 1879, Page 2

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

THE PLAGUE IN RUSSIA. Vienna, January 24. With reference to the Russian plague, a j conference of International Sanitary Commissioners, at which Germany, Austria, and Hungary were represented, the | measures to prevent the plague spreading !>r"p'ised by the German and Austrian civ legates were in substance adopted. The refutations relative to imports from Uwrfia are slightly less stringent than the : programme reported provides, but the Commission resolved, in the event of the spread of the epidemic, to entirely close the frontier. St. Petesburgh, January 28. The plague is reported to be near Moscow. The Press here oppose the proi posed International Medical Commission, declaring the matter concerns humanity at large. Special Health Commissioners are being appointed, and military pickets invest towns affected. Russia declares that the Austrian and German measures to prevent the spread are unnecessary, and threaten materially to cripple Russian commerce. Loxuojr, January 25. The Russian and German medical journals state Eastern Europe is in a state of great alarm at the rapid progress of the 'plague towards North and East Russia 1 from the Caspian Sea along the coarse of Volga. One great difficulty in preventing the spread of the plague is the want of physicians. About one-third of the Russian doctors died either during the war or from typhoid fever, which followed, and a large number of young ■indents have been summoned from the hospitals and medical schools to toko their

I places. The Medical Journal insists upon the importance in the interest of all ; Europe, of providing Russia with doctors, i and helping her to keep down the plague. ' London, February 3. The origin of the plague in Russia is thus given —A Cossack, returning from the war, to "Wethouka, brought his lady a Bhawl, which she. wore two days, and sickened with all the plague symptoms, and died. In the following four days other members of her 'family "also died. The disease' spread rapidly, the local authorities not paying any attention to it till half the inhabitants were dead, and the remainder unable to bury the victims. Thus when the epidemic assumed serious dimensions urgent measures were taken for preventing its . spreading. Strict quarantines were established, 'firstly in towns and villages by shutting off the streets where the plague, reigned from the rest of the place ; secondly, by surrounding the villages with" troops, so that nobody was allowed to pass in or out. The panic in Hussia is almost incredible. Every class and station in life have petitioned for the entire cessation of all intercourse, | even [postal communication, between the rest of Russia and Volga. Letters sent from Astrachan and Zantzen were, not received by persons to whom they were addressed. Some people ever refuse to take paper money, fearing that the germ of the infection might be communicated through it. It is almost impossible to describe the terror that has taken possession of the people. The Russian Sanitary Commission proposed to shut off the Volga line from all intercourse with Western Russia, and permit communication only under quarantine. The Russian railway cars are not admitted into German territory, and the export of grain from Poland will suffer severely from this restriction. The Roumanian Government are discussing the expediency of the prohibition of the transit of Russian provisions sent to victual the Balkan army. St. Petep.sbcrgh, February 4. Two regiments of Cossacks and one of j Infantry arc marching to reinforce the military cordon, which is a thousand miles long, around the district infected with the plague.

Berlin, February 5. According to an investigation made by the German Board of Health the plague has existed in Astrachan since May, 1877. Even the paper money in the district has betn ordered to be burnt. ADDITIONAL ITEMS. Five hundred Kent laborers and 200 other emigrants will leave Plymouth for New Zealand in the steamer Stadt Haarlem, chartered by the New Zealand Government.

Jospph Arch has threatened to resign his connection with the Agricultural Union unless its affairs are differently managed. Spurgeon has visited Canada, for the sake of his health.

Cardinal Manning will go to Rome. The Pope congratulates him 011 the spread of English Catholicism.

A monument is to be erected to Cobbett.

The winner of the first prize in the French lottery of LSOOO is a working man.

Clergymen's salaries are being reduced owing to the depression in trade. Father Hyacinth has opened a new Catholic Churcli in Paris.

Captain Cook, of the sth Ghoorkas, is recommended for the Victoria Cross for his conduct at Periwar-Kotal.

-At a meeting of the creditors of the Cornish Hank, l(3s in the £ was accepted. The Government intend to introduce to Parliament a copyright bill based on the recommendations of the Copyright Commission.

Austria has denied that the price of the recent treaty with the treaty respecting North Schelzwig was the price paid for li6r support of her scheme of annexation of Salon ica.

The Marquis of Lome says ho will press the vigorous prosecution of the Canadian and Pacific Railway. Lieut. Wills was assassinated by a fanatic at Candahar, and died from the wounds.

A Russian steamer has penetrated up thn Oxus, beyond the Afghan frontier. Mr. Cross, Home Secretary, declares himself willing to accede to the revision of the convict Benson's sentence on the ground of the remorse he endured, and f»r exposing the corruption of the Detective Police Force.

Serious charges of cruelty are being investigated by the Commission against the French police. /.V the proposed lottery in aid of the shareholders of the City of Glasgow Bank, the Crown agents warn parties concerned that tho law against lotteries will be enforced.

L 12,000 has been raised by subscription to rebuild the Birmingham Free Public Library, which has been burnt down.

M. Delbccque, Director of the Mint at Bordeaux, is sentenced to six years' imprisonment for embezzling 1,000,000 francs worth of bullion lodged by Rothschild, and substituting copper bar for the bullion eii'' '