NEWS BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2127, 16 January 1880, Page 2

NEWS BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

THE HOME RULE MOVEMENT. At a Meeting of the National Convention Committee in Dublin on Nov. 11, the following resolutions were adopted That O’Connell’s plan for the reconstruction of the Irish House of Commons be the basis of that for the convention”; second, “ That the delegates number 300, that the place of meeting be Dublin, and that the time of the first meeting be not later than April, 1882”; third, “That the representation be divided as nearly as possible as follows = Counties, 171; cities, boroughs and towns, 125 ; Trinity College 2 ; and the Catholic University, 2”; fourth, “That the suffrage be manhood suffrage.” Mr Parnell, in supporting a resolution, said they had now in Ireland no Government deserving of the name. At the present time they were passing through a great crisis. They were all peacable men. They all wished to act within the bounds of the Constitution, yet none of them knew at what moment the Habeas Corpus Act might nob be suspended ; none of them what might be at hand under the control of some irresponsible and frivolous Minister—some x>olitician fresh from his schoolboy days, who was spirit over to Ireland in order to learn his first lesson in the art of government.. That morning at 1 o’clock he was awakened by a gentleman who rushed into his bedroom to inform him that at 6 o’clock he (Mr Parnell) and Mr Davitt would be arrested. The same information was given to Mr Davitt. He was told that, if arrested, he would be sent back to serve the remaining six years of his sentence of penal servitude. Mr Davitt determined however, to face the danger, and this, like all his conduct, would redound to his own credit, and the cowardly and contemptible action of the authorities would discredit the worst Government that ever governed or misgoverned the country. How long did they intend to put up with a state of things under which the ordinary action of the constitution was periodically suspended and no man’s liberty was safe ? On Nov, 19, Mr J. E. Cullen, barrister and lecturer, on political economy and Mr Michael Davitt, the liberated Eenian convict, were arrested at their residences in Dublin, on a charge of haA r ing used seditious language at the anti-rent meetings in Gurteen, county Sligo, on Nov. 2. At the same hour, Mr Daly, proprietor of the “ Mayo Telegraph, Avals arrested in Castlcrcagh. Messrs Davitt and Killcn Avcrc conA 7 eyed by train to Sligo, and Mr Daly was also brought there, and haring been charged before the Resident Magistrate, was remanded. It is stated that Mr Davitt is also under arrest for having failed to report himself as a ticket-of-leave man. Mr Davitt is reported to have said that he believed that rent for land under any circumstances, in prosperous or bad times, ivas an unjust and immoral tax upon the industry of the people. Landlordism Avas an open conspiracy against the well-being, prosperity, and happiness of the people, which ought to be crushed by those suffering in consequence of it. “ The time had come,” he said, “ when the manhood of Ireland must spring up to its feet and say it would not tolerate this system any longer.” He called on the people to hold by their laud, and to pay rent only when they' had a surplus after everything else and could afford it, and to labour on unceasingly for free land and liberty. Mr ICillen said their land had been confiscated three times in favor of the aristocrac} r , and they wanted a restitution in favor of the people. He left it to them to say Avhcthcr that was to be done by the pen, the pencil, or the sword ; whereupon a voice exclaimed, “ Plenty of lead.” The following placard has been posted throughout Mayo: “To the people of Mayo,—Fellow countrymen, the hour of trial is come. Your leaders are arrested. Davitt and Daley are in prison. Tou kuoAV your duty, Will you do it? Yes you will. Balia is the place of meeting, and baturday is the day. Come in your thousands and show the Government and the world that your rights you U maintain. To the rescue in the mightiness of your numbers. Laud and liberty ! Balia, Balia! Saturday next! The national Press writes bitterly but Avith caution on the subject of the arrests. The “ Nation, in an article headed “The Government Swoop, says After stealthilly watching the progress of the land movements tor some months, after having had their spies in every crowd and their reporters on every platform, noting every look

and every word of those who took a leading part in the proceedings, the Government have made their spring, and on whom have they pounced? Not on Mr Parnell the central figure of the whole movement; not on any of the brave-hearted priests who spoke out on these occasions in the interest of their imperilled flocks. Oh no, the courage of our rulers was not equal to such a strain—a collision with those gentlemen they would not venture on. They have made a capture on men supposed to be somewhat less formidable ; but if the Government think they can make light work of the prosecution of these gentlemen they will find themselves greatly mistaken. All Ireland will stand behind the accused, the whole country will sustain them, and the result we have no doubt, will be a moral failure of the Government ; honor and fame for those whom it seeks to victimise, and a victory for the national cause.”

THE LAND QUESTION

A meeting on the laud question was held on Nov. 4 at Athenry, at which the following resolutions, among others, were passed:—“That until the baneful toproot of Erin’s degradation, beggary, and pitiful provincialism—the accursed union—is sterilised by Home llulc or eradicated by repeal, or otherwise annihilated, there never can be thorough peace, prosperity, or national independence in our native land.” “ That, while fully recognising the right of the owners to a fair consideration, by rent or otherwise, for their vested interest in the land, we deem it necessary, not only for the peace and prosperity of all classes amongst us, but as an act of the strictest and most undeniable justice, that the toiling tillers of this Irish soil should by law obtain an equitable foothold of perpetuity in their native fields, and be thus—but thus only—rescued at last from the cruel capriciousness and grinding tyranny of the felonious feudalism which has for centuries brought such unnumbered and unspeakable woes upon the tenantry of this downtrodden and impoverished country.” Mr Michael Henry, M.P., in seconding the second resolution, said : With regard to the recent committee on the Bright Clauses, the committee recommend that a million of money should be voted by Parliament for the purpose, and the Government could advance to tenants three-fourths of the purchase money of their holdings to enable them to purchase. I believe therefore a very considerable stride will be made in a short time in peasant proprietary. It is not possible by a stamp of the foot to do these things. They cannot be done in a day ; therefore although a large proportion of the population may in the course of time become proprietors of their own farm*, yet a great number must still remain to pay rent. It would suit a great many farmers to pay moderate, fair, and fixed rents rather than part with their money to buy the land when they want it to stock their farms. Therefore it is that I say that every tenant should be secured ; that so long as he pays a fair rent—by which I mean a rent settled by arbitration between the landlord on the one hand and the tenant on the other—he should never be he turned out of his land.

At Maryborough on Sunday Morning, Nov. 9, the following Avas found posted on the chapel gate : —“ Notice.—All persons connected Avith the land are hereby warned to observe the following rules: — No man is to take the holding of another man, whether evicted for non-payment of rent, non-tithe, or otherwise. No person to allow himself to bo influenced by religious or clerical dictates. No information of the doings of any tenant to he given to the Castle authorities. No person to allow himself to be convinced by any spalpeen that his felloAv-man cannot be trusted simply because he holds a different religious opinion. Any person breaking the above rules to be looked upon by all classes as an enemy of the tenant, and as an enemy of Erin, and to be shot dead the first opportunity that presents itself. We have plenty of power in our hands, and let it not be wasted in a useless Avay. Lot a bullet he the reward of a traitor. God save Ireland.” The notice Avas printed.

COLLISION WITH AN ICEBERG. The steamship Caspian, which arrived in, the Mersey early in Nov. 22, had on board forty-eight of the cabin passengers of the steamer Arizona, which was in collision with an iceberg on the night of Nov. 7, off the Newfoundland banks, 300 miles from St John’s. From the statements made it appears that the second officer was in charge of the watch at the time of the accident, the captain having left the deck a few minutes before. The wind was north, the sea calm, and the sky rather cloudy, while the ship was steaming at the rate of fifteen knots an hour. Suddenly there was a violent shock and recoil, and the passengers excitedly rushed on deck to ascertain the cause. It was found to be through impact with a huge iceberg with a base of 000 feet, and rising to a considerable height. The shouts of the passengers ami the noise of the lumps of ice falling on the steamer’s deck were very distracting, but the captain was equal to the occasion. After extricating the ship from the neighborhood of the iceberg he soon got the deck cleared of the ice with which it was strewn, and the passengers calmed down when they saw there was no longer any danger of the pinnacles of ice toppling over on to the ship. Prompt measures were adopted to ascertain the extent of the damage sustained by the Arizona. It was discovered that she had been struck in the fore peak, but the bulkhead was intact. Pieces of iron from the bow were scattered about. No more serious casualty occurred among either cabin or steerage passengers than being thrown down by the violence of the collision. It was decided to put back to St John’s, where the vessel arrived safely on Sunday, Nov. fh

A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. The folloAviug are among the accounts given by passengers saved when the Champion steamship was run down by the Lady Octavia, off Delaware Cape, on the morning of Nov. 7. Josiah Mitchell, a passenger, says . —“ I and others who were on the slippery deck were all drawn down when the ship sank. I don’t knoAV how long I was down, but when I got to the surface someone had a terrible grip on my arm. We went down again together. I managed somehow to get lose, and again to the surface. I had but little sense left, not enough to save myself. But a big*wave lifted me and threw me high and dry. When I fell I lit upon a window-sash. I fell flat upon it, and my knees, arms, and hands went clean through the glass, cutting me all up, but I clung to the sash, and being a good swimmer, Avhen I fully recovered my senses was able to float. Along

came a man floating on a chair. 'He wanted my sash, because it was flat and his chair kept rolling. I had to fight him off, and I cut myself many more times on the glass. Then another man floating on a tub, came along. He wanted my sash. Then I had to defend it against two. It was bright and clear and I could sec boats picking up persons. Tne man on the chair and the man on the tub yelled for help. There were barrels, boxes, and furniture bobbing around us, and wo were in danger of having our brains knocked out every minute. I was awfully cold, and I was fast getting benumbed, and my throat was full of salt water. One of the lifeboats passed us for the second time without coming to our help, and then I despaired and gave up, and became unconscious, and the next thing. I knew a big sailor was lifting me up over the side of the Lady Octavia, and was soon after pouring hot coffee down my throat.” Another survivor, Mr Charles Garner, says : —“ I had a bottle of brandy, anti was playing cards during the evening with Mr Broad and other passengers whose acquaintance I made. When the accident happened I lost some time in finding the key of ray cabin door, which had dropped out. When I got the door opened I saw ladies dressing hurriedly in the saloon. I took a few of my things and rushed on deck. I put my hat on, and just as I was about to jump overboard, I gave it a tremendous pull almost down over my eyes. It was on so tight that it did not come off when I went down, and the crown —being, of course, full of air —was as good as a small life preserver, and helped me to the surface. When I came up into the air again the ship was gone. Mr Broad and another were clinging to a piece of skylight. I took hold of it too. Mr Broad recognised me and said, ‘ I wish we had some of that brandy here now, Garner.’ I said I wished we had too, hut the wishing didn’t do any good. It was hard work holding on to the skylight. It cut our hands, and we were all very nearly exhausted. We floated in this way a long time, and several times I was so far gone that I had serious thoughts of lettin" go and letting myself down. At last we saw a small boat. We shouted as loud as we could, and the boat came up to ns. It was just in time, for Mr Mitchell, the third man on the sash, was very badly frightened, and kept trying to climb up on the sash, although we told him several times that if he persisted he would drown ns all, for the sash was useful only when we kept as much of our bodies under water as possible. Mr Broad was pulled in the boat first, and he was no sooner in than he shouted to mo, “ Here’s your darky, Garner.” I held up my arm and was drawn in next, and sure enough there was Foster. I never expected to see him again. We were soon taken on hoard the Octavia. Ben Foster, my boy, had tried his best to save my satchel of samples. He jumped overboard with it, and he declares that it carried him right straight to the bottom, for it was heavy. When lie struck bottom, he says, he let go the satchel and soon came up. Some current took him in a different direction from that in which I went, and lie was picked up by the Octavia’s boat.” Captain Lockwood says : —“ I saw we were sinking. I rushed into the cabin and tried to get the ladies out, shouting to them not to stop to dress or do anything else, but to follow me instantly. I did not remain there more than a minute, but rushed on deck again. I looked behind me but nobody was following me, and so far as I could see none of the passengers had come out of their state-rooms. I reached the after deck, and was standing near the main rigging when she made a plunge, head foremost, and went down. All of ns who were "on the deck were sucked down with her.” SALE OF LIFE POLICIES. One of the disastrous consequences of the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank was illustrated a few days ago, when life policies, amounting to £200,000, which had been effected by two of the shareholders, were sold by auction at the Marf, Tokenhouse yard. The sale took place on behalf of the liquidators of the hank, the auctioneers being Messrs Norton, Trist, and Watncy. The policies were stated to have been effected in the English and Scotch Law Life Assurance Association, and the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, on the lives of two gentlemen now in their forty-eighth and forty-ninth years respectively. The policies were divided into fifteen lots, the first portion of the property offered being five £20,000 policies in the English and Scotch Law Life Association, on the life of a gentleman now in his forty-eighth year, at the annual premium of £7OO. In submitting the auctioneer stated that the office value of each of these policies was £6OO. Before the biddings commenced several questions were asked, one of which was whether they were world-wide policies, and another question asked was whether the assured was in England or abroad. In answer to these questions the auctioneer replied that all he know was that the name of the assured was Fleming. The sale then proceeded, the first policy of £20,000 being sold for £7OO, the second, third, and fourth for £750 each, and the fifth for £835. The £IO,OOO policies, ten in number, were next offered. They had been effected in the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, on the life of a gentleman now in Ida forty-ninth year, at the halfyearly premium of £207 Is Bd. As regards those policies, the auctioneer stated that'they were world-wide, and he believed the insured had just left England for Bombay. The office value of each of these policies was £142 15s 4d. They realised from £225 to £230 each. It was stated in the room that they had been purchased on behalf of the relatives and friends of the assured gentlemen.

CLEVER FORGERS

The capture of the men who were brought up before the magistrate the other day at- Lambeth for printing forged Russian banknotes stops one great centre of distribution of forged Russian banknotes, but we may anticipate that there are plenty of other forgers at work on the same lines who will be more circumspect now that their competitors have been got out of the way. The evidence given showed on what an enormous scale the manufacture had been carried on. When the police forced their way into the house at Tulse Hill, where the forgers were at work, they found thousands of rouble notes laid out to dry. And the execution of these notes were so good that the magistrate could not tell the false from the genuine. The former, indeed, were the rather better executed of the two. How long this particular factory has been at work is not stated, but evidently a few weeks would suffice to produce a very handsome

profit; and if there are other ’similar establishments, worked with equal skill and energy, we may form some idea of the amount of bad paper-money now in circulation in the Eussian Empire. MISCELLANEOUS. News has reached Berlin that the new revolutionary party in Eussia hare distributed the first number of their journal entitled the “ Will of the people,” the tone of which is very violent, in which war is declared against the Government. A Milan paper states that Irma Combrisson, a famous dancer and beauty, has just died in retirement, in extreme poverty. She was passionately attached to Charles 111., Duke of Parma, and two days before he was assassinated revealed to him the plot against his life, whereupon he formally appointed her director of police. The Apache Indians recently driven over the Mexican border by the United States troops have turned on an isolated band of their pursuers in Chihuahua, Mexico, 200 Indians overwhelming fifty whites and killing thirtytwo of them, and others escaping though all wounded. A Press despatch from San Francisco states, that a six days’ walking match between horses and men at the Pavillion in that City closed on Oct 21 with the following scores :—Horses—Pinafore, 559 miles ; Nellie, 536 ; and Dan McCarthy, 517. Men—Guerrero, 375 miles ; and Brodie, 362 miles. The other day, while one of the steam tramcars was passing along the Boulevard Montparnasse, at Paris the engine suddenly sank into the catacombs, which at this point undermine the city, The car, fortunately, did not follow the engine and nobody was hurt. The headless body of Signor Catolfamo, a rich proprietor of Cefalu, who was carried off by brigands a few weeks ago has been found in a cave on Monte Pellegrino, above the (English cemetery near Palermo. The brigands had been scared and the 8000 lire ransom had come too late. A telegram from Valparaiso states that 128 prisoners were landed there on Oct. 15 from the Peruvian Ironclad Huascar. It is said that eighty-five of the crew were Englishmen.