AMERICAN SUMMARY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 444, 8 February 1890, Page 4

AMERICAN SUMMARY.

Sax Francisco, January 14. The departure of theß.M.s. Alameda from San Francisco to Sydnoy was postponed till date from Saturday, 11th, owing to delay in receiving the Anglo-Australian mails, caused by tremendous rain and snowstorms on the Central Pacific railroad route. A movement is on foot in New York to build a continuous railroad system, beginning at the southernmost point in Mexico that is reached by rail from the United States through to Central America and the Isthmus, and running well into South America. An artesian well, completed at Woonsocket recently, broke loose on January 11th, at half-past seven a.m., and will flood the town. A solid column of water, as big as a man’s body, is thrown sixteen feet high from the top of the standpipe. The engine-house rapidly filled with quicksand, and the lower parts of the town were soon under water. No power can control the well at present. More water comes from it than runs in o neighbouring river, and the great roaring is heard for miles. " Manager Janies Allison,, of Australia, died at the German Hospital, San Francisco, January 12th, of pneumonia. Many members of the theatrical profession attended his funeral on the 14th.

A terrible cyclone swept the Southern States January 12bh. In the village of Clinton, Ky., eleven persons were instantly killed and fifty-three wounded ; sixty houses were demolished. Tho weather has this season been more than usually tempestuous all over the country, and in the mountains a greater depth of snow has fallen than ever known before. Trains have been snowed in, and when not impeded by snow, have been blown from the track by the force of the wind. In California, especially, it was uphill work getting the mail and express matter through to the interior towns. Passenger travel was out of the question, The west-bound Union Pacific fast-mail train was wrecked at Sidney, Nebraska, January 9th. Out of seven cars five were burned, together with nearly fifty tons of postal matter. Loss to the Railway Company was about $30,000, bub compared to the damage to persons whose letters were in transit, this is nothing. The fire was communicated by overturned stoves in the forward mail-car. Fortunately, the steamship Gallia was detained on her western Atlantic trip; otherwise the English mail for Australia, which was on board, would have been transferred to this train, and all lost in the wreck and burning.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s new opera, “The Gondoliers,” was produced in New Y'ork, January 7th, at the Park Theatre, with great success. The British ship King Robert, abandoned off Cape Horn, was passed on November 11th by the ship Tizat, San' Francisco, January 6th. The derelict vessel was blazing fiercely at the time. She was bound from Glasgow for San Francisco. By the breaking of the caisson of the new bridge now in construction across the Ohio River, Januaiy 9th, 14 workmen were drowned, Wardner, a thriving town of 1,5Q0i nhabitants, in Idaho, and the most important place in tne great Cmur d’Aline mining district, was completely destroyed by fire, January 3rd. ’.. ,>.., s .. V , —t !■ A party of sixty persons met to sup at • the residence of a friend in Brow nsdale,> Minn., on January 3rd. Among the meats, served were sausages, and forty-five of the guests who partook were seized with vomiting, and fell upon.one another on the floor.,

One victim died the following morning, and twenty others.are so low that recovery is not expected. ! The sausage! meat was trichinosed.' .... - •• • ..•,••• .-•> ■ The Masonic Order in Chicago propose to erect a temple to cost $250,000. Mrs Hannah B. South worth, who shot Stephen B. Pettus, a New York broker, died in the Tombs Prison, New York, . January 7th, of general debility and heart' failure. She iva? a widow, and shot Pettus for refusing to keep! his promise., of mar- < .riage. .. ... . • , 1 ■ Ah avalanche fell on Sierra city, Caluor-; nia, January! 3rd, and swept most,o£ the buildings into rpjn. Several- persqns .wsre overwhelmed. an.d. sjaffbpatec}., Enprinqus snow-drifts, blopkcd travel ’inalhd l , r in the ‘ California pjountalhs, ' Should a warpa rain set in, the destruction to the I valley country would be incalculable.

A plague of diphtheria and black tongue was raging in the mountain districts of Western Virginia on January 7th. The county had erected a temporary hospital, and many physicians and nurses were attending. ... , Jackson, the Australian pugilist, has accepted the offer of the California Club to meet John L. Sullivan in May in San Francisco. The coloured fighter has realised a large amount of money by his European Tlie Grinnell mansion at Fall River, Mass , was burned on December 19th, to-o-ether with the famous collection of Arctic relies and curios it contained. They had. been gathered together by Mr Grinnell’s father, and consisted of mementos and trophies of the Arctic Expedition of Dr. Kane while oi> nis search for Sir John Franklin. There was also the famous painting “The Finding of Sir John Franklin.” The collection was valued intrinsically at $60,000. For sentimental reasons Commander Grinnell is inconsolable. In St. Louis, Mo., December 19th, the Commercial Company’s Printing Establishment was consumed, and two janitors cremated with it.

Karl Formes, the well-known and popular operatic basso, died in San Francisco, December 15th, of pneumonia. The great singer was born at Mulheim-on-the-Rhine, in 1810. , Among the notable deaths of the month are Henrv W. Grady, editor of the “Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution.” and chief exponent of the “ New South ” policy ; and ex-speaker Randall, at Washington. The former died of pneumonia and the latter ot cancer. A terrible cave occurred in the Lane Mine at Angpls’ Camp, Calaveras County, California, on Sunday, December 23rd, burying and crushing to death sixteen miners. The mine is said to have been improperly timbered, and the men were told to beware, but neglected to heed the warning. Henry George, author of “ Progress and Poverty,” after a lecturing tour in the West, will sail from San Francisco for Australia on February Bth. He intends to promulgate his views throughout the colonies.

The steamer Sardinian, at Halifax, December 30th, reports passing the German ship Shakespeare, from Hamburg, at sea, almost a total wreck. There was nobody aboard, and the boats were missing; but the crew, it is believed, were drowned, as a terrific gale and tremendous seas were prevailing. The vessel was commanded by Captain Muller. The new Academy of Music structure in St. Louis, Mo., in course of erection, fell with a crash on December 30th. Fifty men were at work on it at the time, some of whom escaped, but a number were buried in the ruins. It is believed the building was being erected on quicksand. The frame had reached tho third storey. The scales of wages insisted on by the Pennsylvania Coal Mines was signed December 30bh. It is their ultimatum. If not agreed to by the operators on May Ist, that day will see a strike of 100,000 men, the largest coal strike in the history of America.

On December 27th, the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters’ school and priests’ house adjoining, and seven other dwelling-houses at a place called Plains, Pa., were wrecked by a big cave in the earth’s surface, due to undermining by a colliery. In some places the earth had gone down twelve feet. Loss to property SIOO,OOO. Many persons are injured. By the burning of the St. Ignatius Building in San Francisco, December 29th, three women lost their lives, and seven firemen were injured. The building was situated in Market-street, and was formerly owned by the Society of Jesus, and occupied by them as a • church and school. Father Buchard, a leading member of this order, died in San Francisco on Christmas Day. He was born in New Orleans, and is a cousin of the famous Confederate general, -Beauregard. THE WOOL TRADE. The American “ Wool Reporter,” Boston, in its annual statement (January 2nd) of the condition of the wool trade in the United States, gives the following statistics : Total stock of the past year in the principal markets : 1889 —Boston, 36,084,659 ; New Y~ork, 9,079,000 ; . Philadelphia, 12,976,000 ; Chicago, 4,235,000; Sb. LouD, 1,900,000. 1888--Boston, 21,406,157 ; New York, 8,595,000; Philadelphia, 8,000,000; Chicago, 2,750,000; St. Louis, 7,500,000. The unusually fine working quality of the Territory wool in 1888 led to heavy purchase of the same, principally Montana, at shearing. The result is the quality was lower, and competition nearly ruined many. Despite increased supplies, dealers are not overstocked, while the mills are depleted. Hence the outlook this year is promising, and prices will hold out. Texas spring sold well, but the supply was light. California has been in good supply, and California and Oregon mixed is a favourite. Of all Territorial wool, however, Utah has been in the greatest supply. Scoured wool this year has been in great excess, being in’ Boston alone over 582.000 pounds above 1888. The visible supply of foreign Wools brought to the United States was far below the year previous. The small buying of the past six months shows the manufacturers have nothing of consequence on hand. Heavy orders sooner or later make the outlook bright on New Year’s Day. The Boston Merchants’ Association adopted, January 7th, resolutions favouring the free admission of wool. The “ Reporter,” January 10th', says the sales of the week at Boston were 2,282,700 pounds, of which 316,000 pounds were foreign. The movement of Australian wools is limited, but prices remain firm. A PROHIBITION PROCLAMATION.' Governor Goodell, of New Hampshire, issued the following proclamation on December 28th “In view of various and heinous crimes within the past few weeks, directly traceable to the use of intoxicating liquors, in the sales of which the criminal laws have been flagrantly violated,—-Now, therefore, I warn all persons engaged in' the illegal and deadlyb rssSe to desist therefrom immediately, and! call upon the Attorney-General, solicitors _ and sheriffs of the counties, the Mayorfl of cities and select men and all ocher officers throughout the State, and upon all good citizens of every party to unite in one supreme eriorb to close up and suppress. every liquor saloon of any description within our borders. Let no guilty man escape. I cannot refrain from urging all churches, temperatice organisations, ; and all persons who ; desire .the best good-of the commonwealth to redouble their efforts to promote personal gobriety and temperance among our people.;’ RACE TROUBLES. • ''Bloody'riots' took, place in Jessup, Augusta and Macon, Georgia, on Christmas - Day. Several white men as well as negroes were killed. The trouble in Jessup was diue to a blapk desperado qamed Brewer, who came into town to celeqrate, the,.day. Nine men were killed qnd qs many more badly wounded. ThemUibary were called out both at Jessup and at Macon, where the riot was - terrible,, in. its fierceness apd ‘ It had all 'the ,qf a pitched battle. A mob qf several hundred men raided the gaol at BarnwellCourthouse, §>,C., December 28t-h, overpowered the

gaoler, and took out eight negroes charged with murder, and shot them to death beyond the town. It is called a well-managed affair. -

A coloured citizens’ mass meeting was held in Columbia, S.C., on January Ist, to take action in regard to the lynching of their fellows. Resolutions were adopted urging coloured' men not to hold indignation meetings, npr agitate in favour of retaliation, and advised them to seek residences in other sections of the State and elsewhere, thus commending their action to the attention of all thoughtful men. BRAZILIAN AFFAIRS. An official cablegram from Rio, December 29th, denies that the property of Dom Pedro has been confiscated. The civil list alone has been stopped. The ex-Emperor has accepted the offer of King Carlos to reside a lew days in the Royal Palace at Lisbon. He is much dejected over the death of hie wife, and desires to be left alone. His physicians are anxious about his health. . News from Rio de Janeiro, December 28th, says that a number of French, Portuguese, German and Italian merchants, residing and doing business in Brazil, have applied bo their Governments for protection. News from Rio, December 25th, by the journals, show that the resistance, by the monarchical parbyin Rio to theßepublicwaa more serious than at first reported. Alarming riots had occurred in Maranhao and Para.

Letters and papers received from Brazil, dated December 12, say the Government has urged all political parties to constitute some kind of a representation for the different States, in view of rapidly increasing disorganisation and the prevailing discontent with a military dictatorship. The advent of the republic will be celebrated April 7th. The citizens of Rio de Janeiro have formed a Society to insure Dom Pedro an annuity equivalent to the interest on 5,000 contos.

The populace in Rio is overawed by the police, who side with the soldiers. The chance of an outbreak is remote. Two young officers of Amazon were so affected by the overthrow of the Emperor that they committed homicide, shooting each other at the same instant. SPANISH AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES. An attempt was made to assassinate the wife of General Esquircl, defeated Liberal candidate for the presidency of Costa Rica, on January 3rd. Ex-Commander General Rivas, leader of the San Salvador insurgents, was captured in Honduras, whither he had fled, on January 3rd. Buenos Ayres was excited on Jan. 4th, when gold reached 240, and a panic became imminent. BLOWN UP AT; SEA. A letter received from Captain Howland, of the whaling barque Canton, at New Bedford, Mass., January 13th, dated at sea, December sth, and postmarked Capetown, gives an account of the loss by fire of the English barque British Monarch, 1,262 tons, of Liverpool, from Hamburg to Sydney, New South Wales, with a general cargo. Captain Howland says : “lam on my way to Capetown with part of the crew of the British Monarch. November 20th, the crew discovered the ship was on fire, and tried to get at ten tons of dynamite, which were located near the fire, intending to throw the stuff overboard, and then start the ship for the Cape of Good Hope. The fire reached the dynamite, which exploded with terrible force, demolishing the vessel. The second mate’s boat became separated from the rest, and nothing was seen of it afterward. Two boats, containing Captain William Morrow’, first officer David Welsh, and fourteen others, were picked up.” The vessel was owned by Henry Ternce and yens, of Liverpool.