ARRIVAL OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1932, 20 August 1889, Page 4

ARRIVAL OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

'; , . AxtckljANß, Aug. 16. The R.M.S. Ahmed■}. v.-ith dates from London to July 13 and S in. Francisco July 27, arrived to-night. GENERAL SUMMARY. Two .thousand guests were at the reception of the National Liberal Club on the evening of July 26, in celebration of Mr Gladstone’s golden wedding. It was t brilliant affair. Mr Gladstone was presented with a commemorative album, the work of many artists. He replied in an eloquent speech. He said he felt he was being drowned in an ocean of kindness. A London despatch of July 20 says that Queen Victoria is making arrangements for the Prince of W ales to relieve her of the labour of considering State documents. The Prince in this case assumes all responsibility, and wishes, it is said, to adopt the title of prince regent, and have the use of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, tha Queen retiring to Osborne and Balmoral,, If the arrangement is carried out, Prince Albert Victor will obtain possession of Marlborough House.

Christine Nillson, the Swedish pnma donna, has become deaf, as the result of illness.

The doctors are confident they will pall Mr Wilkie Collins through the present crisis of his illness, but that be will never be able to work again. Residents of Hawarden propose to erect a monument in honour of Mr Gladstone’s golden wedding, which was celebrated in grand style on July 25. The whole United Kingdom seat memorials, addresses, and other tributes of respect. The Prince of. Wales and a thousand dignitaries sent pleasant words of congratulation. The Premier, Lord Salisbury, in a speech at Mile End, on July 16, told his bearers that they must not expect the day ever to come when the colonies would become a federation in the same sense as the United States, but be hoped that by common agreement .ther present difficulties would be removed. - Remarking on Irish affairs he said it was appalling to think that years c hence their sons and grandsons ml|fittetiirbe discussing the Irish problem, with" noihmg new to say on the subject. Sarah Bernhardt’s husband is confined to an insane asylum. He is threatened with incurable insanity, the result of morphine.

The withdrawal of the Parnellite counsel on July 18 from the. Special Commission by order of their clients, who have abandoned ■ the case against The Times cause'Ca- profound sensation. The action P tbelrish leader is a determined protest ‘against the exclusion of the books of Secretary Houston, of the Loyal and Patriotic League, from which they proposed to probe the Pigott conspiracy against them, and the iniquity of The Times publishing the Parnellism and Crime articles inspired by Pigott. Although their counsel have loft the Court the Irish leaders have exposed their willingness to answer any question that the judges may desire to put. Theodore Schmidt, the Dutch consulat Hamburg, failed on July 4th, with liabilities of 12,000,000 marks and assets 8,000,000 marks. A number of bishops have petitioned the Vatican to canonise Christopher Columbus on the anniversary of the discovery of America. The fruit and vino crop in Northern Bohemia is reported an utter failure, owing to almost constant storms. A cable to the Montreal Gazette of July.l2 says ; —“ The British PostmesterGeneral has signed a contract with the Canadian - Pacific railway for a fast monthly China-Japan Service, guaranteeing £500,000 yearly. Steel steamers, which can be converted into war cruisers if needed, will be need in the service. The latter feature is considered important, and is whispered ns being the principal reason for the big subsidy granted, as it is much cheaper than keeping warships at great expense in the Pacific in case of trouble with Russia. President Carbin of the Railroad and Rapid Transit Steamship Company, has purchased 320 acres of land, aud all available water frontage at Mentalk Point, Long Island, New York, as a landing point in the United States for his new steamship line. In New York 8,000,000 ,dol r have been subscribed, largely by Vanderbilt, to build eight steamships with power to , cross the Atlantic in 5| days. The new Vessels will be constructed in America, and carry' only saloon and second cabin passengers. The batches 'are aot to be'opened for general freight. Only mails, express packages, coin, and bullion will be carried. The contract for the construction of ths steamers will be awarded ab soob as the; new White Star Line steamship Majestic proves a success. The new type of twin screw propeller will be tiled on this vessel. If successful =they promise to ravqlutinise screw propellers.

[ STANLEY’S MOVEMENTS. A Ldndon despatch, June 29, says:— The friends of Stanley, the explorer, are not discouraged at not receiving additional advices by Tinpo Tib’s eon, who has just arrived at Zanzibar. There is general satisfaction in circles connected with British interests in East Africa that Stanley came afonnd Victoria Nyanza, and not through Ungoro and > Uganda. There is little doubt that Stanley has been in Uslata, where stores have been accumulating for some time. Besides the stores he would,.find there letters acquainting him! with the situation in British East Africa. 15 if so, he would : advance on the north-east of Victoria Nyanza, and on the country between that and Wadelai, to chepkmafe the efforts of tha.Germans to get up the Tana river and around by Uganda, and cut off British East Africa from the interior. In well-informed circles it is thonght probable that when Emin gels a supply of guns, ammunition, hnd stores from Stanley he may return to Wadelai, and continue to hold the province until steps are taken to secure it, Stanley has encountered shocking privations. His hair is now white, his clothes in rags, and, being without shoes, he !» obliged to use skins to cover his feet.

THE SAMOAN QUESTION. The New York Herald of July 24 prints he following Washington _ despatch ‘lt will not bo surprising if the treaty agreed on at Berlin regarding the Islands of Samoa should be reiseted by the Senate. The Democratic senators, if reports are true that are leaking out from

the State Department and the German foreign Office, will have more reason for voting against the treaty than their Republic ur colleagues bad for voting against the Fisheries Treaty. It seems that Mr Blaine is not satisfied with the terms made at Berlin, but yielded the point rather than have the conference a failure. Ic is said that Messrs Kaeson and Phelps had their eyes on the mission to the German Court, and if they have yielded American rights it will naturally give rise to criticism that they were more anxious to conciliate Germany than defend American interests at the risk of unpopularity in Berlin, The commission was not harmonious at any time, as the members were influenced too much by Prince Bismarck. As the settlement of titles to estates is left in the hands of a tripartite advisory board representing England, Germany, and the United States, the majority will always be in the hands of the two European powers voting together. No attempt seems to have been made by our commissioners to secure native possession of land and check German aggression.”

THE PAPACY. The New Yo<k Mail and Express has a special cable from Rome, under date July 6, to the effect that the Pope had arranged to leave the Yatican, and had prepared a list of court personages' to accompany him. The Vicar-general would remain at Rome with part of tha Papal household. The Spanish Ambassador to the Vatican arrived in Madrid on July 5, and reported to the Spanish Government the decision of the Pope to quit Italy and hi? desire to reside in Spain. He will be granted an asylum in Valencia., It is announced in ecclesiastical circles that the Pope’s expressed desire for thecardinals to select Cardinal Lavigerie as his successor meets with the approval of the prelates, and there is no doubt Lavigerie will be the next Pontiff. A despatch from Berlin of July 22, says that Prince Bismarck, through Dr Von Schloeger, the German representative at the Yatican, has dissuaded the Pope from, leaving Rome, and one from Madrid of the same date says lbs Spanish .Government has forbidden demonstrations calculated to encourage the Pope to come to Spain in the event of hie leaving Italy.

MATRIMONIAL GOSSIP. A despatch from London (June 29) says The announcement that Queen Victoria had consented to the marriage of Princess Louise, eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales, to the Earl of Fife, was the principal topic of the week. It appears that tbo Prince of Wales, wanted to arrange a marriage for bis daughter with the Duke of Portland, which would have been a far higher and wealthier alliance for the princess; but the Duke declined, preferring to make love match with the beautiful Miss Dallaa-Yorks. Royalty was olleoded at the refusal. This is why the Prince of Wales and his family started off to Paris on the eve of the Duke of Portland’s wedding, and why the Queen omitted to sstd even her customary present of an Indian shawl to the bride of her master of the horse. The Prince of Wales promptly arranged the marriage of his daughter with Lord Fife, in order to resent the snubbing be received from the Duke of Portland. The girl friends of Princess Louise of Wales have presented her with a flexible band of large diamonds for a bracelet. The wives of Cabinet Ministers have given a hoop bracelet with 11 large diamonds. A magnificent diamond comb has been given by the Prince of Wales’ household, and the Queen’s household has given three splendid diamond stars. The Prince and Princess of Wales gave a flaxible tiara of diamonds, and a cross of brilliants is given by the gentlemen of Norfolk. Lord Fife’s presents were a tiara and two necklaces. The tiara is a mass of diamonds, and one of the most valuable pieces of work in England. Mrs John W. Maokay gave a pair of diamond earrings costing 15,000i101. The value of the wedding presents amounted to £150,000. The wedding took place at Buckingham Palace Chapel. Tha services were full choral, and were solemnised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Dean of Westminster, the Rev. Edgar Shepherd, the Bishop of London, the Rector of Sandringham, the Dean of Windsor, and the Bishop of St. Albans. The bridesmaids were Princess Victoria of Wales, Princess Maud of Wales, Countess Fedora Gleichen, Countess Victoria Gleichen, Countess Helen Gleichen, Princess Victoria of Teck, Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Hol-stein. The Earl of Fife’s best man was his cousin, Horace Farquhar. The levee dress was worn, and the ceremony carried out in what Is known as the serai-State, which, since the Prince Consort’s death, has usually taken the place of full'State, and : is almost equal in magnificence. The wedding breakfast was served in the supper room of Buckingham Pulaco; The Royal Family breakfasted separately in another room with the Que&n. The Earl and his bride drove back after breakfast to Marlborough House.

AMERICAN SUMMARY. San. Francisco, July 27. Miss Kate Driscol, who recently entered Pittsburg Convent, has donated 250,000 dollars to found a Catholic college in Philadelphia exclusively for coloured students. , . The Rev. Solomon Bour, Rabbi of the First Hungarian congregation, has sued the members of his flock for 10,000dol, od the grounds that they hired a Thug to give him a pummelling. Harold Marsh Sewell, late United States Consul at Apia, Samoa, who accompanied the American Commission to Berlin, has entered a complaint before the United States Secretary of State that he was treated with contempt while in the German capital and unmercifully snubbed. The officers of the United States Treasury, Washington, have made the startling discovery that a conspiracy has been in operation among those who print Government securities, by which a large amount of Government money has been fraudulently issued printed from plates and dies in the bureau. Secretary Wilsan, of the New York Chamber of Commerce, is at work trying to find out the effect of the Chinese Ex? elusion Act on American interests in China. Circulars have been sent to American consuls and missionaries in that Empire asking their views. A few responses have already been received. They favor the repeal of the Act. All replies will be read at a meeting of the chamber in September, and an effort will be made to have next Congress fepeal the Act. I

The British Minister at Washington sailed for Europe on July 10. It is reported be c'i'es a rough draft of an agreement between Great Britain and the United State? concerning the Canadian and Behring Sea questions, to bo submitted to Lord Salisbury for consideration and suggestion. A sudden sinking of the earth took place in Prince George County, Virginia, on July 17, covering a wide area of territory. In one place the depression is from 10ft to 60ft. This embraces 12 acres, and a lake fed by subterranean water has formed.

John Lewis, a saloon and gamblinghouse keeper at Fossil, Wyoming territory, who flogged bis (wife for teaching their child a prayer, was visited on July 17 by 20 women, armed with black snakes, buggy whips, and willow switches, by a vigorous application of which they nearly flogged him to death, He struggled, cursed, and swore, but the flagellators were too much for him.

English capital is seeking investment in the United States just now in enormous quantities. Syndicates have been formed to buy breweries, restaurants, match factories, and tocontrol the dry goods trade, The latest organisation is a salt trust, with a capital of 20,000, OOOdol. The dry goods project called for £10,000,000 sterling, and the money was ready. The United States Navy department sent by the steamer Australia, which left San Francisco for Honolulu on July 19, a cast iron screw for the warship Nipsic, expected at that port. The order of Admiral Kimberley, in sending the Nipsic home in tow of the Alert, is looked upon as a most extraordinary one.

The village of Princetowo, Ohio, was almost wiped’out by a tornado on the afternoon of July 14, and from 15 to 20 people were killed. Not a house escaped damage, and some of them wore blown away bodily. In many instances not a trace was left of the structures that had stood on the spot. Generally in Ohio; and Misssouri the storm wrought fearful damage. A bloody battle took place at Dalntte, Minnesota, on July 6, between 2000 striking street labourers and 36 police. The military were called out, and attacked the rioters vigorously, bayonetting several, and shooting many more. Seven officials ware wounded by the mob, but none seriously. : The police were attacked while guarding 70 men working in a sewer trench, who, being satisfied with their wages, preferred not to go on strike.