AMERICAN NEWS. San Francisco, July 28.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 292, 22 August 1888, Page 5

AMERICAN NEWS. San Francisco, July 28.

0 ver 300 Icelanders arrived at Winnipeg on July 14, and 430 are on the way. The inhabitants of Iceland are on the verge of starvation, and it) is feared many will die. One farmei who de&ired to emigrate to Manitota o/lered hib place for sale, and the highest bid was three shillings ! Dispatches from Port-au-Prince state that the Bayfcien insurgents had burned 1,000 houses m that city and most of the public buildings. Bootirio Diaz has been re-elected President of Mexico, with only two dissenting votes. The Government has no depositions in Congress. Recent surveys on the line of the proposed Nicaraguan canal reduce the length of excavation, leaving the necessary construction less than thirty miles.

A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY. A bitter country-site feud between the towns of Hugoton and Woodside, Stevens County, Kansas, terminated on July 27th, in the mnrder of John Cro^s, Sheriff J. Ilubbard, C. W. Eaton, H. J. Taney, and W. H. Wilcox, all citizens of Woodside. They were surprised in the night by a Uugoton party, who took away their arm&, stood them in a row, .shot them, and left them lying- where they iell. ANTI-CHINESE MEETING IN SAN

FRANCISCO. A large and enthusiastic mass-meeting, called by the various trades unions, was held in San Francisco on July 26th, to conhidor the conduct of the Festival Judges in admitting words of Chinese contrary to the spirit and purpose of the Re&Lriclion Act. The abuse of judicial power was denounced in round terms, and the impeachment of the judges demanded amid wild applause. A refeience to Australia and its dealing with the Chinese question was cheered to the echo.

A WHISKY FKJHT. A warm fight took place ab Haslan, Ky., on July 25th, between the whisky men and prohibitionibte. The whisky men were routed out of town for a time, but they teturned and commenced a fus&ilade with Winchester?. One man was killed and two were fatally wounded. At last accounts the prohibitionists held the Court-house, and were prepared for babble.

AN EXTRAORDINARY STORM. Twenty-three (probaby thirty) lives were lobt by a cloud-burst which visited Western Virginia on July 19th. The country in all diiections was devastated. 100 square miles of agriculfcuwd land wa& .swept bare, and a great number of hoi'ees and catcle drowned. Six inches and seven-eighths of rain fell in less than an hour. The loss within a radius of fifteen miles of Wheeling is estimated at #1,500,000.

THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION. The hoicleb of nnmigiante. now being landed by foreign .steamship.s at Castle (iarden, New York, nas aroused public attention and anxiety. Huigoun - (iencral Hamilton, of the Marine lU>pital ser\ ice, recently investigated Iho matter irom a sanilaiy standpoint, and m bile lie praises the management oi the immigiation oihecrs-, says that if the people ot the United States at largo understood the real character ot the hordes being dumped on the Battery by the foreign steamship companies, theto \\ ould be a stop put to the influx at once, (icrmiine to this subject, the " Uefoima" of Koine, commenting upon the appointment by the U.S. 3-loufcC of Ilepie^entatives of ji committee to inquire into the evasion ot contract laboin, with special lotcrenec to the inilux of Italian* into Amnica, -ayb the Jtalian (joveuiment will be on it& guard to see that, neither Amciica nor any otlier eountiy takes mcasuics contraiy to international law or in opposition to the rights coutencd on Italy tlnongh her diplomatic lelations. About two thousand Italians assembled in mass meeting on July 22nd, in New York, and denounced the action of Italian immigration societies, and also of the American press, in calling thorn paupei?. Resolutions ■wore passed hoping that no law of ostracism •would bo pa&scd by Congress.

A PACIFIC CABLE. A Gable despatch from London, received at Montreal <luiy 7Lh, says :— A complete break-down in the Eastern Telegraph Company's* system between Java and Port Darwin is dealing; astiong feeling among; the commeicial *" public in favour of a Pacific cablo liom Vancouver, 8.C., Lo Australia. This was voiced afc the meeting ot the new Oriental Dank. The Chairman said he went East recently over the Canadian. L'acific Road, and was convinced that a cable by way oi Australia and Canada would greatly benefit the commerce of the Empire. The opinion -was expressed that the Imperial and Colonial Governments should hasten the proposed survey of the route. A despatch from Ofctawn, Canada, July 27th, says the exact route of the cablo has not yet. been determined on, but it will probably run from Vancouver, 8.C., to the Hawaiian Inlands and the recently-annexed Fanning and Fiji Islands, thence to New Zealand, and thence to Australia. The cablo will be 6,800 miles loner, but the longest stretch will not bo oaov 2,000 milosi

Mr- Owen Jones, engineer and capitalist;, arrived fiom Australia on July Bth, accredited to the Canadian and American Governments on a mission of no less importance than the conduct of negotiations looking towards • the construction of fchis cable.

THREATENED OUTBREAK. Despatches from Winnipeg, July 12th say that trouble is brewing at- Batoucho on the banks of the Saskatchewan, amontf the Canadian half-breeds, and that the Dominion Government will have another rebellion to cope with if iis policy is not changed. A letter received by Louis Keil, hanged for his connection with the former uprising, says the half-breeds are ready to stand by Gabriel Dumont should ho consent to lead them in another levolt, and that fchey will spend the last drop of their blood in his support. The half breeds have not the wheiewithal to live, and in desperation have sent for Dumont, asking him to rai^e funds for them in Quebec and come to their speedy assistance. It is learned through private channels that the Government is alarmed at the report? of the organisation for armed resistance which have reached headquarters. The Metis aie known as desperate and re-i-olute, and it is well understood that the Roman Catholic clergy will not interfere with them, as they believe the Government has badly treated the people.

EARTHQUAKE AT SEA. The British steam&hip Syrian, Captain Haighb, which arrived at Philadelphia from Glasgow, experienced an eaifchquake at sea on J uly 25th. The forward part oi the vessel was lifted high out of the water, while the stern was partly suhrnerged. A feecond shock struck the ve&selafb and amidships, where the full force of the water was felt.