AMERICAN SUMMARY. Sax Francisco, June 1, 1889.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 380, 26 June 1889, Page 4

AMERICAN SUMMARY. Sax Francisco, J une 1, 1889.

Memorial Day (May 30th), as ifc is called — devoted to decorating the graves of soldiers and sailors fallen in the war of nearly thirty years ago — was generally observed throughout the United States," but with less effusiveness than formerly. R. Speight, Chairman of the Victoria Railroad Commission, and Mr Goodchap, ex-Commissioner, have been diligently examining, in Chicago and elsewhere, the equipment and appliances in use on the railways in the United States. They leave for the colonies by the Mariposa, sailing at date. The annual meeting of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was held in New York on May 29th. The earnings for the year were $4,161,057, an increase of $82,510. This shows the Company has nob been affected by the strict enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, as it was prophesied it would be. The outlook for the grain and fruit crop, both in California and the United States generally, is reported good. A train on the St. Louis and San Francisco K.R. was wrecked on May 24th at midnight, 70 miles west of St. Louis, owing to the brack giving way. 45 persons were seriously injured. It is said the spikes and fish-plates had been l'emoved from the track, and the supposition is that iL was done by train robbers. A reward of $1,000 was offered for the detection of those persons who had tampered with the track. While the Rev. J. C. Myers was preaching in a Christian Church at New Liberty, Indiana, a thunderstorm broke over the place. The lightning struck and damaged the church, and prostrated the preacher, who found, on recovery,* that his sight was entirely destroyed. A serious riot was in progress at Braidwood, Illinois, on May27th, caused by striking Italian minex*s who were all well armed. They numbered 800, arid the military of the State was called out to restore order. The British-American .Association of the , United States has issuecl a protest against \ the appointment of Patrick Egan as Minister to Chili, on the grounds that he is a fugitive from British justice, and unfit to represent the United States in the capacity of Minister to any country. Steye Brodie, a bridge-jumper, took the famous leap over Passair Falls, New Jersey, in whioh Sam Patch lost his life on May 20th. . Brodie escaped alive, bub much exhausted. Miss Kate Patten, 23 years old, of Roxbury, Mass., supposed to have died on May 21sb from diphtheria or tonsilitis, came to life after being pronounced dead, and while in the undertaker's hands, who was preparing the body for the grave. An earthquake felt throughout Middle California occurred on the ( morning of May 19th, at nine minutes past* three , o'clock. It was not severe, but of long duration, lasting two minutes and. twelve seconds. Mrs AllBn, a teacher in the public school of Washington, D.C., was'shob and killed on May 17th by her husband, Oswald C. Allen, who afterwards committed suicide. He was a worthless fellow, and his wife had left him, refusing to support him longer. A riot occurred at Forrest City, Arkansas, on May 18th, during an of school direcbors, in which the sheriff and two deputies were, killed, the Town Marshal and many others , mortally wounded. A mob held possession^ the city. ! Untimely rains of gi;6ab severity occurred in California early in May, and brought the total fall for the season up to 2329 inches. Greab damage to the crops is reported by the " lodging " r ot th'e\ growing wheat, and bad results, have also' accrued to the fruit crop,

» ' * ' ' " ""' I « The steamer Alaskan,* belonging^to the "Oregon Improvement Company; foundered near Cape Blanco, off the Oregon Coast, on the 13th May*, and 35" "of the crew were drowned. The steamer had never been in commission. '• The steel cruiser, Charleston, built at San Francisco for the United, Spates navy, (the first built on _ the pacific coast), had a' trial' i trip, oh May 11. in the Santa Barbara Channel, and developed 18£ knots an hbui\witti' 5,500 horee-power. The" machinery 1 wasj not in sufficiently good working ord©r- to meet) the, Government's requirement/ arid some few changes ; ; will. have to be made before the vessel is accepted. ; While, a trial '"was, proceeding afc a Courtroom, in Kansas city on May lltb, the ] prisoner, Smith, jumped on, a detective, Gilley, who arrested him, and with' a knife almost severed his head from his body. ■He also .attacked an officer, Malone, and cub him severely. E»oth the wounded men — one dying — turned their pistols loose on Smith, who fell dead with five bullets in his body. > Admiral Porter, U.S.K., and General Bing F. Butler, aro engaged in a serious controversy. Butler charges Porter with showing cowardice at the battle of New Orleans, and Porter denounces the General as a falsifier. .

AN AUDACIOUS ROBBERY. ' A desperate running fight occurred on the afternoon of May lltti, near Fort Thomas, Arizona, between an escort of eleven United States soldiers (coloured), accompanying Paymaster Wham and, his assistant, Gibson, "and a party of ambushed highwaymen. The major was on his way ■ to pay off the troops at the fort, and was attacked in a narrow gorge. After a desperate battle, lasting half-an-hour, eight of the eleven soldiers were put hors ac combat, and the robbers succeeded in getting away with $29,000. Wham came' out of the engagement untouched ; his assistant had his clothes cut by bullets, but was uninjured bodily. The robbers are supposed to have been organised for this job in Texas and New Moxico. There were eight to ten of them, commanded, in Major Wham's opinion, by a man of more than ordinary intelligence. Ac the Paymaster's movements are kept quiet, some one well posted must have informed the robbers of Wham's movements. The tip is supposed to have come' from a woman. On the 19th, Wm. Ellison, etherwise ** Cyclone Bill," was arrested ( near Tucson on suspicion of being connected with this affair. He is 6ft 2in in height, with a heavy red beard and moustache, — a formidable looking fellow.

IMPORTANT DECISION. In the case of Chae Chang Ping's appeal bo the Supreme Court, the Scott law excluding Chinese from the United States has been sustained, and the Government's right to prevent the landing of undesirable aliens maintained. Chae Chang Ping claimed' the right to enter the country on the ground that he was a merchant, an excepted class in the law of exclusion ; ' investigation proved that he was not. The case was tried in the United States Circuit Court, and decided against the plaintiff, and then an appeal was taken to the higher Court on the general issue of the unconstitutionally of the Scott law. The result is the decision by Justice Field sustaining the judgment of the Court below. Great satisfaction is expressed with the conclusion arrived at by the law authorities. The leading men in the industrial interests of California propose to give a grand banquet to the Justice on his return to the State. THE BEHRING SEA QUESTION. Some speculation has been indulged in, based upon the fact that a. British squadron consisting of the flagship Swiftsure, the cruiser Amphion, the Icarus, two torpedo boats, now at Victoria, 8.C., and the warship Champion, now on the way from the South, will leave for Alaskan waters as soon as the latter arrives at Esquimalt, which will be June 10th at the latest. The vessels are being stocked for a lengthy cruise. It is stated that 1 the sealing masters fitting out at Victoria are assured, before clearing for Behring Sea, that they would be protected. A number of sealers from Nova Scotia will, this year, be engaged in the business. The American Government will also send three cruisers to Behring Sea. Replying to some remarks that the movement of the warships means hostility, an authority says, "One object of the presence of the British men-of-war was simply to see that no outrages were committed and to show that Great Britain has not given in to the pretensions of the' United States." .

A MYSTERIOUS MURDER. The sensation in Chicago, during the latter part of May, was the murder of Dr. IT. P. Crohin, who was connected with the Clan-na-Gael and other secret societies antagonistic to the British Government. Cronin was lured to a cottage near Lake Vie\v, and there killed in a shocking manner with a blunt instrument. On the 28th, after searching investigation by the police, Detective Daniel Cloughlin, Patrick O'Sullivan, a dealer in ice, and Frank J. Black, alias Woodruff, were indicted for being concerned in the crime. There are eight other suspects now under police espionage. The impression is that Cronin was cognisant of financial crookedness in the management of some of the societies he was connected with, and those impiicated'consphed to put him out of the way. Other prominent Irishmen' are, threatened, ifcis said,, with a similar fate.

A SENSATIONAL SUICIDE. llev. Hen r^ 1 Greenfield Schorr, 'assistant rector of St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, committed suicide by shooting on May j 28th. The' cause is said to' be hopeless love for a married lady in his congregation, Mrs Margaret M. Smith 1 , and who was old enough to be his mother. It was a case of complete infatuation. He left a note in which he penned the words': " Many will condemn ; but God will have mercy." Schorr is said to have been a peculiar man, 'and was both a moral and physical coward. He was a great favourite with his fashionable congregation. He steadily refused to talk about his parents, who live in a'humble way in ah obscure part' jbf Baltimore. Having borrowed all their hard-earned savings, he was ashamed of them. TROUBLE . JN , NEWFOUNDLAND. * On May 20th the commander, of the British) warship Lily issued a proclamation that he would not allow. Newfoundland fishermen to set nets or catch herrings in, St. George's Bay.,, -An indignation meeting was held and the proclamation torn down, but has not been "revoked. Blood-shed is expected;' as^the herring^will spawn soon, and the people will defend their claim to fish by a resort to arms. Two thousand British subjects live on the shores of St. George's Bay, and export to Canada -the, hemngH, caught. The local authorities, charge that the- commander of the , Lily is favouring the Trench at the expenseof the .English, fishermen ; and. when remonstrated with on bis course, expressed, the i contempt for the Newfoundland people.'