GENERAL SUMMARY.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4947, 17 November 1884, Page 2

GENERAL SUMMARY.

Sir W. McArthur is about to retire from political life.

The European Mail says : — Building steamers to take the place of the sailing vessels now used for transporting crimi* nals to New Caledonia would seem to show that the French Government is bent upon carrying out the recidiviste policy.

The German Admiralty haa concluded a contract for the supply of coal to the German navy at two stations in the South Seas-—namely, Matapui, in JNew Britain, and Jalnit, on the Marshal Islands.

An unprecedented rate of speed at sea has been obtaiued from the new Cunard liner Umbria. In a trial trip down the Clyde she attained the maximum of twenty-four miles an hour.

At a meeting of the Prime Meridian Congress at Washington on Oct. 14, a resolution was adopted providing that the longitude shall be counted from the meridian of Greenwich, in two directions, up to ISO decrees, east longitude plus and west longitude minus. The following resolution was also passed :—" The Conference proposes for adoption a universal day for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or other standing times when desirable." On Monday, 20th, the following resolution was considered :—" This universal day is to mean a solar day, and is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the initial meridian, coinciding wjth the beginning of £ho civil day and date, and meridian \s to he pounted from zero up to twenty-four hours." By the collusion of the confidential c}erk, gashier, receiving clerk, and porter, the great dry goods firm of Constable and Arnold, New York, have been robbed of over 2,000,000d015. The confidential clerk, Pedder, invested all his stealings abroad.

The Da^e of died on Qptober 18. Baron S'ydewit? has talien possession, on behalf of the Emperor,°of all the feudal and allodial property of the Duchy. The Duke left a will disposing of his private property, estimated at Tjie'indications are that the completion of the pedestal of the Batholdis statue of Liberty, presented by the French Gov ornment to the United States, will be delayed for want of funds ; 325,000d015. are needed, and cannot be raised. The statue has m'ovpd c white eienhapt. '.Governor' Cleveland; 'demc/critic candidate for the Presidency, was furiously assaulted in the' streets of Albany ; first J>y arnan rimmed Boone, and afterwards at ihe^Exeeutive Mansion by J|oobe's 'wife, because he refused to pardon Bryan B.

Fairfield, their relative, sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Auburn Penitentary for manslaughter. The affair caused a great excitement at first, as it was thought to have a political significance, but Boones', as well as the prisoner, were proved to be a family of " cranks." The latter had already been transferred to an insane asylum. A great political trial was finished at St. Petersburg on October 13. It was conducted privately, and all the officers of the army implicated were sentenced to death. Six others were sentenced to banishment to Siberia, including the woman Vera.

General Gourka is made Minister of War, Pobodonoseff Minister of Public Instruction, and Doganoff President of the Council of Ministers.

On the occasion of the laying of keels of ironclads at Sebastopol'on October 13, the Czar wired to the Duke Alexis: —" I rejoice at the new birth of a Black Sea fleet. God grant that the spirit of the old fleet may revive, and render good service to the Fatherland."

The St. Petersburg Chief of Police has ordered the proprietors of all hotels, restaurants, and similar places of resort, to remove portraits of the Czar from their public rooms, on the ground that disrespect is shown them by the public.

The Koyal Humane Society have, on the recommendation of the Colonial Office, awarded bronze medals to Emosi, a native of Nasil, and llatu Joshua, Swani, and Apraim, members of the Fijian police, for services rendered at the wreck of .the Syria,ton the Nasilai Beef, Fiji, on May 13. Emosi saved a woman who had fallen in the wreckage and broken her leg, by carrying her across a dangerous passage over which the sea was breaking furiously ; Ratu Joshua saved the last man who was taken off the ship, when the breakers were dashing over; Swani swam out through the surf and rescued a woman and her infant who were being carried out to sea ; and Apraim carried a child under each arm aud a woman on his back through the breakers.

The iron and steel works of. the well known Crawshay Brothers, at Merthyr Tydvil, South Wales, have been closed ; the stagnation in the Welsh iron and steel trade being the cause.

The London Standard, of the 20th of October, says, in its financial column, that there are renewed reports of serious difficulties impending in the Liverpool produce and shipping trades. One company of American liners recently called a formal meeting of its creditors, and revealed its inabililits|to fully meetits engagements, but no formal bankruptcy was apprehended. The delegates to the Farmers Alliance will hold a conference in London in Nov. on the agricultural crisis. The programme of the meeting includes a proposal to refer questions of reduction of rentals to Courts of Arbitration. The Scotch Farmers Alliance has received favorably the report of a deputation sent to Ireland advising the application in Scotland of the Irish Landlords Act, with fixity of tenure, fair rents, free sales, and remission of arrears.

Mr Gladstone wrote a long letter to the St. Asaph Diocesan Conference, held on October 3rd, the subject being the disestablishment of the Church of England. In it he counsels Churchmen to be tolerant of each other's views, and conduct their controversies with charity, moderation, mildness, and reserve. Wheat reached the lowest price in the London market on October 19th since the American civil.war. - Mining and railway shares are falling on account of the competition in iron rails. The Government have decided to expend one million on its fortifications in Aden Singapore and Hongkong. Orders have been seat from the War Office to hasien on the works.

A London despatch of Oct. 19th says that on the opening of Parliament a Commission will be appointed to inquire into the condition of the navy, and that the Admiralty will ask for an increased grant for ship building, to enable it to give orders to private firms for the construction of swift and light armoured, vessels. The distress at the ship-building centres of the North is increasing, and trade on the Tyne and adjacent districts is paralysed. Forty ocean steamers are lying idle at the docks in Sunderland, and most of the ship yards are closed. Public subscriptions are being made for the laborers out of employment.

A home for female inebriates has' been established in London.

Mr Aid. Nottage has been elected Lord Mayor of London for the ensuing year. The movements of the Kussian fleet in China waters are viewed with great sus» picion, and it is thought a secret alliance exists with Prance.

The concession for the Paris under*, ground railway has been signed.

A fund is being raised in England to enable Mr Henry George to continue his agitation in favor of land nationalisation, but the subscriptions come in but slowly. According to a London despatch of October 12th, English landowners are menaced with impeeuniosity, for no less than 30,000 acres vainly demand tenancy. In Essex, within 30 miles of London, lately, 170 acres were sold for. £24C0 for which £5000 was refused years ago. The low prices of wheat and cattle, with the high rents left by the Land Courts, have impoverished the Irish farmers.

In Parliamentary circles it is believed that if the Cabinet consent, the Chamber of Deputies, at its next session, will pass a vote to abolish the duties on cereals.

The Queen requested Mr Gladstone to submit to the Cabinet for their consideration the question whether special powers cannot be conferred upon the Prince of Wales to enable him to participate in. the ponferences of the Sovereigns of Eurooe, The Paris Memorial Diplomatique is responsible for tkis item. Irish Affafcs. On October 12th, a number of laborers' delegates inaugurated at Cork, a Labour League, which is to be devoted exclusively to the interests of the laborers. It is altogether independent of fhe Irish National League. The members are pledged to support only candidates favoring the Franchise Bill, which they believe will tend to remove the grievances of laborers, and also, abstain (row out A3 annouueeoaeas, on October 33th, that the Irish Nationalists were about to import Irish-American speakers, caused an unexpressed sensation ia Dublin. Tories and Orangemen are organising meetings to neutralise the effect of this I imported eloquence. They are also taking pnjctical s^g 0^ the' Irishmen who are coming from America.' They have procured from certain cities in the iT'nited States authenticated reports of the violent speeches made l»y Alezande? SulIjVan, late 'iSresufccfc ot' i?he Irish League ; Patrick Ford, the editor of the Irish

World ; and John Pinuerty, of the Chicago Tines. These reports have been formally submitt^to the Dublin Castle authorities, with |?view of inducing Earl Spencer to proclaim the meeting at which Sullivan, Ford, and Finnerty are expected to speak. All these gentlemen, and some other good speakers, will leave for Ireland in November, after the general election in the United States.

A London despatch of October 17th says that the private negotiations between Mr Gladstone and Mr Parnell have been broken off. Mr Trevelyan, Chief Secretary of Ireland; has secured Mr Glad stone'sassent to thp renewal of the Crimes Act.

It is rumored that Earl Spencer desires to resign, and that he will be succeeded by the Duke of Connaught.

Mr Trevelyan, the late Chief Secretary for Ireland, is now accompanied everywhere by a detective. ' The weekly national papers exult over Mr Trevelyan's resignation.