NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1514, 18 November 1886, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

,f THE MI.JAST RIOTS. d The Committee appointed to investi- .. gate the circumstances causing the recent j riots is sitting at Belfast. On the opent ing day all the barristers engaged in the y investigation except two insisted ou an e adjournment for a few minutes, fifteen at least, in order to decide on what course y to adopt. Mr Justice Day refused to e grant an adjournment, saying it would bo B a waste of time. The Judge, 'leepite the i protests of the barristers, proceeded Jo B examine witnesses, whereupon the barris--1 ters rose and left the Court room in recession, taking tbeir 'bags, briefs, -and ■ books with tbem. Several solicitors, priests, and Orangemen interested in tbo investigation followed the barristers. One barrister, Mr O Shaughnesy, said he was 1 indignant at Mr Justice Day's conduct, " and added, " The Irish bar is not used 1 to such treatment." A subsequent lele- ■ gram states that tin. result of the Com- • mission is to show that the Home Rule proposals oaused the Orangemen to lose their heads. REV. H. W. BEECHBR. Mr Beecher's absence from the Congregational Union proroked ereat irritation amongst the Congregationalists, The General Committee were unwise in inviting him before taking the opinion of out-side-Churchmen. Many of these latter were dissatisfied with the issue of the Til ton case, and Mr Beecher's doctrinal developments of late years have caused distrust as to his orthodoxy. Nevertheless Mr White's offensive suggestion that Mr | Beecher had already had a good innings j in England, and could be spared from Norwich, has brought the President of the Union into much reproach. Since the Norwich incident Beecher has given further cause for blame. In his address at the City Temple to the clergy and students he protested with great emphasis against the " barbaric doctrine of retribution," drawing a protest from several ministers. He has offered to preach in | St. Paul's or the Abbey, but after these ■ deliverances his offer is not likely to be | accepted. Mr Beecher's visit certainly has not increased his reputation. SUICIDE OF A PRINCELY GAMBLER. Prince Melissano, a member of one of the best Neapolitan families, committed suioide in Paris on returning from hiß Club, where he had seen his name posted as a defaulter. Prince Melissano had lost at the same Club more than £20,000 within two or three years, and had often applied for time for payment on a debt promised. His creditors on this as on other occasions bad placed the debt en carte as it is called., that is to say, had deposited in hands of the proper officer a cs»rd stating that the Prince was to pay £6O. The time having expired without the amount being paid the official published the fact. When the Prince entered the Club he noticed his name stuck up against a mirror. He went close to the glass, looked at it, and then without saying a word took up his hat and went home. There he placed a loaded revolver against bis right temple, discharged it, and fell dead. More than six years ago the Prince had spent his last farthing, yet since then he has Jived in Paris like a man worth £15,000 or £20,000 a year without doing anything rendering himself amenable to the tribunals. He made the business oi getting into debt a science, and most of his creditors allowed their claims to inerease in order not to have to confess that the money was sunk, and that so charming a nobleman was hopelessly insolvent. To such a length did he carry the art that he created fresh resources, partially paying off a fraction of the army of old creditors at the expense of new ones. The Prince was only a little over forty years of age. A PRIEST XILLED AT THE ALTAR. The tragic death of Father Kavanagh has caused great sensation id Dublin, where he was well known as one of the most prominent and eminent of the clergy of the Irish Catholic Church. Later particulars from Kildare show that his death was not caused by the fall of the altar, but by the fall of a statue which stood above the altar. On being struck by the statue the unfortunate priest fell backward, bis head striking a marble step, indicting a fearful wound to which he succumbed in about an hour. The melancholy event caused great excitement among the worshippers. It was through the intervention of ths deceased that a settlement was effected with the Duke of Leinster at a critical period iB the land agitation. He was a prominent figure in almost every Irish movement of importj ance,

5 TROUBLES IN WALES. The cause of the Land League has just won its first victory in Wales. A farmer's goods at Ruthen were distrained upon for rent. His horse was sold for £3, aad sold to the tenant. The sale came to a | standstill. The auctioneer and bailiffs J withdrew, pelted with rotten eggs. Then followed an indignation meeting of farmers. Wales is now taking a step from tithes to rent. RIOTOUS MSHERMEN. The fishermen's riot at Ramsgate is an ugly affair. It is well known that English fishermen suffer mach from loss and destruction of their nets by French and Dutch rivals. The latter use an implement known as " the devil," which is as harmful as the torpedo, The riots at "Ramsgate rose parily from the circum.stunce that an Englishman fancied that be saw his net in a French boat, and partly from the ill-feeling engendered by the recent detention ef English boats at Havre. The French . Ambassador is already demanding explanations and punishment of the Eamsgate rioters, and the bellicose newspapers of Paris are in? dulging in lofty adjectives. FREE SCHOOLS. The crusade of the London School Board to secure sharp payment of fees, mainly the work of the Chairman of that body, is causing immense irritation among the poorer classes. It is denounced as a piece of official pedantry and will have a result which its promoters never expected and by which they "ill make free schools inevitable. In connection with this it does not escape ebservation that Lord i Randolph Churchill's new dispensation , coo£ajped and indication that his party r may make education a plank in its programme. THE ESTABLISHED ,CHUROH. ; The Church Congress at Wakefield has been more than usually active and , interesting. Bishops and clergy alike insisted on the abandonment of nonessentials, and the desire to enlarge and .' broaden the Church s foundation is more obviotu than on any previous occasion,

The Bishops of Liverpool and Exeter sharply disputed respecting the merits of the country clergy. A discussion on the amusements of the working classes found some Bishops to favor dancing, and the theatre was spokes of with respect, but when a local manager offered to give a benefit performance for the Wakefield Bishopric fund, the Bishop of Ripon had to decline, leßt an acceptance be misunderstood. RUSSIA AND THE EAST. A traveller from Bokhara, who has reached Peshawur, in the north of India, j reports that Russia has completed the Merv and Oxus railway to within five stages of Saraks. Russia intends to establish a military cantonment for 30,000 near Bokhara. Russian officers, disguised as merchants, are actively engaged in inspecting the passages to India. The traveller also reports that the Czar is displeased with the Ameer of Bokhara for refusing to enlist Russians among his troops. Sir Edward Thornton's recall from Constantinople after so recent an appointment causes much gossip. His misfortunes began by his unhappy selection of a moment for presenting Lord Salisbury's note con- ' cerning the Armenian reforms. The Russian Ambassador made much of this. The Sultan has since made Sir Edward's position impossible. His Majesty treated him with marked discourtesy on his leaving. THE MARRIAGE RULES 0! THE SALVATION ARMY. The Staff-Council of the Salvation Army have just issued the following stringent order:—"That in future ao sanction will be given to courting or aDy engagement of any male lieutenant. He must get promoted to the rank of captain before anything of the kind can be recognised. No captain is to expect headquarters' consent to his marriage, either after two years' service or more, unless be has proved himself an efficient and successful officer, and is backed by his divisional officer, who, in consenting to his marriage, must agree to give him three stations. In future no marriage will be agreed to by headquarters unless we have consented to the engagement at least twelve montlis before. The old rules remain in force that there must be at least twelve months' service in the field as a commissioned officer before any engagement can be sanctioned. Communication with regard to engagements must be made to the divisional officers, who nil! refer the matter to headquarters." MISCELLANEOUS. Berlin despatches say Countess von Avini, the insane wife of Count Avini, recently fled from the private asylum to the Black Forest. Her body was found in the River Murg. Cholera returns for Oct. 18 are : Trieste, sixteen new cases and deaths; Pesth, thirty-nine new cases and twenty deaths.

Herbert Spencer is at Brighton for the winter. He is in a bad state of health, and has assumed a completely recumbent attitude in his wheel chair.

The Grand Duke Nicholas, heir to the Russian throne, who is afflicted with a pulmonary disease, is in a precarious condition, and it iB feared he will not recover.

The Academy of Medicine in Paris has •just been listening to a report from M. Polailon on an unusual surgical operation, which ended successfully. The case was that of a young man who out of bravado had swallowed a fork. It was extracted by an incision in the stomach. For several days after the patient confined himself strictly to a diet of soup and iced champagne. Later on he took some milk, and on the twelfth day was allowed a cutlet. He iB now quite well. The other day a gentlemaa ate a lobster salad. He died shortly afterwards in great agony. At a subsequent investigation the lobster (which was tinned) was found " not guilty." But the report of the analyst is not likely to increase tbe demand for tinned goods. There was, indeed, no trace of any poisonous metal or of any poison, but the lobster was crowded with bacteria —in other w ords, it was rapidly decomposing. Patted fishj it seems, unless it is preserved in oil, is liable to speedy putrefaction in warm jreather, and should not be consumed after the d<*y the tin is opened. On a recent Monday great consternation was produced on the Western National iair Grounds at Bismarck Grove, Kansas, U.S., by the seizure of 3600 bottles of beer, which was being sold in violation of the prohibitory law. Late on Saturday evening the sheriff set six men to work drawing the corks and pouring the liquid into a ravine which empties into the Kansas river, and replacing empty bottles in the cases. Five hundred thirsty people witnessed tbe operation with great disfavor. This is the first case of note •f confiscation in the State, and its legality is deaied.