NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2498, 8 January 1877, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

(FBOM THB HOME NEWS.)

About a dozen Englishmen who hare held commissions in English cavalry regiments have arrived in Constantinople, and hate found immediate employment in the Turkish cavalry now being organised under Colonel Valentine Baker. The latter will admit none into the corps under his direction except such as he is perfectly certain are good and efficient officers, with nothing against them in any way. Onder the Colonel's direction of the Ottoman Horse, none who are not approved of by him can enter the service. It is stated from Paris that the work of sounding for the projected Channel tunnei is advancing rapidly. On. the Ist of September the depth of the shaft at Sangate reached 107 metres; on the Ist of October it had increased to 119, and on the 9th inst. to 122 metres. The boring of this shaft, which is to be sunk to a depth of 130 metres,* will probably be completed towards the end of the present month. The soundings of the Strait were taken some time back. The result of these operations appears entirely to confirm the expectations of the geologists. The Danish Inspector-Generalof North Greenland says, in a -letter respecting the Arctic Expedition, that to endeavour with the means we at present possess to reach the Pole across the ice—no doubt immensely old, exceedingly rough', and about one hundred feet thick—would lead oniy to certain destruction. The northern shores of the Polar Sea north of Baffin's Bay are now defined, and a longer stay would no doubt hare left the recent expedition to the fate of Franklin. Only to the three sledging companies, to whom the most arduous duties were assigned, and to Captain Nares' incomparable skill, is it due that the expedition has returned at all, and only with the loss of four lives.

One Sunday last month; in the afternoon, Her Majesty, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, drove to Lochnagar Distillery and paid a visit to Mr Begg. The Queen, after a short stay at Lochnagar Farm, continued her drive by way of Balnacroft, and remained for some time beside a field of oats belonging .to, Mr Begg, where about fifty men and women were actively at work binding in stooks grain which bad been spread out to dry on the previous day. It was quite dry on the Sunday, and the people in the district turned out, and with willing hands had the whole field bound and stooked by evening, part of the operation being conducted by moonlight. Before leaving Her Majc. ty signified to Mr Begg her opinion that the work was one of necessity. In this she differs from some Scotch clergymen who have denounced from the pulpit the practice of Sunday harvesting as a violation of the sanctity of the Sabbath.

The reason why the Claimant has lost his chance of early relea.se from penal servitude is that he committed the first act of insubordination by refusing to make up his bed —a thing which he generally did with unusual exactness. 'J he punishment for the refusal was exceedingly slight, but. he was ordered to do some work in the yard of the prison— work of a very easy kind. To this he objected, and said he would see the governor and officials Tar enough before lie would submit' to such treafcnieat. He has been, in consequence, treated with extra severity—a circumstance which never previously occurred since his imprisonment.

At last, after upwards of half a century after the adaption of that great reform, a memorial is to be raised iv honor of Sir Rowland Hill, who ik. 'usually regarded as the author of the penny postage system. It is, indeed, disputed whether ho or Mr Wallace of Kelly first originated the idea. It is certain that to Sir H. Hill belongs the honor of its practical organisation. Some persons will scarcely be aware that Sir R. Hill still Hres. Ho does, and has arrived at the ripe old age of eighty-five. The site of the memorial is to be his native town of Kidderminster, and when the memorial has been erected it will mark not only the institution of a great reform in England, but a great example which Etigland^et.to thereat of Europe.

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 1876, will be remaikablc for an event unprecedented, we believe, in the, annals of. the. Turf. Rosebery, the horse which a fortnight ago surprised every one in winning the Cesarewitch, in a canter, on that day won the Cambridgeshire—thus showing the " fallacy of the belief that the same horse cannot carry off the two great handicaps of the year. The course for the Cesarewitch is two miles, the course for thtf Cambridgeshire little more than a mile. The difficulty of preparing a horse so as to be equally good at these two distances is increased by the fact that the.winner of the Cesarewitch has to carry an extra weight of fourteen pounds. Bosebery has triumped over all these obstacles, and is consequently the equine, hero of the - hour.

It is satisfactory to find that, up to the 30th. of September, some 150 London firms, from which scarcely a prominent name connected with the City is absent, have signified their approval of the scheme for building the Colonial and Indian Museums on the old Fife House site. The list of names is now 1 in print, but, as it is still private and confidential, it cannot yet be disclosed in this journal. A statement, moreover, of great value hat been prepared and sent to all the leading Colonial authorities, which throws much light upon the details of the plan. It describes the site, which is illustrated by a map. It advocates separate museum space for each colony, as well as a readiagroom and general colonial library. As for the cost, the estimaterare naturally only approximate, but :the provisional con* elusion is that "adding 20 per cent, in order to provide for the common entrance* hall and staircases, as also for the thickness of the outer walls and contingencies, the cost to. ■ each colonj of every square foot of ground .(internal, measurement) enclosed by its section, would amount roughly to 110 shillings or to £5 10s." The statement in question also touches on the probable cost of the maintenance of the museums, but it would be at once tedious and premature to enlarge here on these particulars. An ap« pendix is added by way of a specimen in the form of a memorandum about the kind of division of product and other ob>* jects. which would suit the .New. Zealand section. It is drafted by Dr James Hee* tor, F.R.S., and the classifications are as follows and may be taken as typical:— 1. Mineral Kingdom:—l. Precious metals. 2. Ores. 3. Coals and iron. 4. Building materials^ 5. Geology. 11. Animal and Vegetable: 1. Agricultural. 2. Pastoral. 3. Fisheries. 4. Manufactures. 15. Fibres. 6. Timbers. 7. Gums, &c. 111. Arts and Sciences: 1. Natural History. 2. Ethnological. 2. Pictures, &c. • ' ' '•' •''"■

The charge of conspiracy against Mr Slade, the American medium, and his secretary, Mr Simmons, has broken down. Mr Slade has, liowerer, been sentenced under the Vagrant Act by Mr Flowers, the Bow street magistrate,; to three months' imprisonment with hard labour for having, according to the eridence of two witnesses, attempted to impose upon Professor Lank ester and Dr Donkin by, writing on the slate himself words which he could not think were written, as he alleged, by the spirit of his wife.. Notice of appeal was given against the sentence, I and the medium was admitted to bail. As might be expected, Mr Slade is already | hailed as a martyr to his cause. The 1 Spiritual Association of the United King* dom has held a meeting to protest against the punishment, the infliction of which, by»the-bye, is doubtful. Those who.be* lieve in Mr Slade and his professions will not believe in them the less because Mr Flowers has stigmatised him as a vagrant who has resort to subtle devices*. I?r Wyld, a man of learning and culture, as well as an eminent Musician* writes to say that he is not , more convinced of his own existence than of the fact that the messages appeared on - the slate without the agency of human hands. "To • see, 1' adds Dr Wyld, "what I have seen, is to be convinced at once and for ever, and therefore no amount of Lankesters, police-courts, or ridicnle can shake that conviction one iota. The object of all science is to find but truth—that is, ■' to .extort the secrets of nature. If the phenomena called spiritual are real objective facts, they are! worthy of investigation by the profoundest minds. My own con* riction is that these phenomena will one day furnish a k«y.to some Faraday or Tyndall, which .will enable him to penetrate to ihe very foundation of the laws of matter. This may be so. The unfortunate thing is that Mr Slade should have been detected, as undoubtedly he was, in an attempt to deceive Dr Donkin and Mr Lankester, and that Mr Maskelyne should be able to produce at the Egyptian Hall, without the aid of the spirits, precisely the same phenomena 'as Mr Slade uro-

dupes with the alleged assistance of these arial visitants. -._-,. The following letter has been addressed by Mr Guildford Onslow to Mr Edward Foster, of Leeds, an ardent believer in the "unfortunate nobleman now lari-' guishing in Dartmoor ": — " Copley, Hants, October, 1876. Dear Fcster.-^I . hasten to convey to you the glorious news ■ that my own agent, Mr William Lock, of Melbourne,has wired to me to»day,.(Satur* . day) by Submarine Telegraph : ' Arthur Ortonis found alive.' Previous letters prove this correct. The telegram cost Lock £5. I have also found a survivor of the Bella; with documents to prove all. My reward of £2300 found Orfon, and my reward of £50 found (he survivor. Tichborne will be a free man in less than six months. Hurrah! I don't know what to say about publishing it, but it is". ' true enough. What will the wiseacres, rogues, and ruffians say now ?~Yours, G. Ojjslow." The Mr William Lock referred to. by Mr.Onslow is said to,be the solicitor wlio defended both 1 Orton and: Tichborne for horse-stealing, and was sue*, pessful in obtaining their acquittal. *4 ; ; Sir Thomas Sutton Western has offered to purchase Temple Bar from tlie Corporation, he wishing to have it as an entrance lodge to his estate in Kelveiou, Essex.