Mr. JOHN W. MACKAY, president of the Mackay-Bennett Cable Company, of the Postal Telegraph Company, and of the recently organized Pacific Commercial Cable Company, and officer and director in sugar refining companies and railroad companies, died at his London residence on July 20 after an illness of only a few days’ duration. Mr. Mackay had gone to London to oversee the letting of contracts in connection with the construction of the new Pacific cable from San Francisco to the Philippines. He was one of the best known and most respected of the great millionaires of the present day. His great wealth began with the exploiting of the famous Comstock Mines of Nevada, in which he was a partner with Fair, Flood, and O’Brien. The wealth there accumulated he turned into telegraph and cable companies, greatly reducing the cost of communication between this country and Europe. His son, Clarence W. Mackay, will take his place in the great enterprises which the father originated. THE government has been requested by the Pacific Commercial Cable Company to turn over to it the chart of the soundings recently made by the cable survey ship Nero when surveying for a route for the proposed cable between San Francisco and the Philippines. The government seems disposed to do this on condition that certain concessions are made, such as, that in time of war the government may take the cable; that the cable be landed only on American territory; and that a reduction be made on all government messages. At a point between Midway and Guam the Nero was unable to find the floor of the ocean, while at another place a range of mountains was found under the ocean about equal to the height of the Himalayas. THE negotiations between Judge Taft and the Vatican authorities in reference to the question of the withdrawal of the friars from the Philippines have come to a close. The United States has accepted cardinal Rampolla’s plan to submit the whole question to a settlement at the hands of the Philippine Government and a papal representative in the Philippines who will be appointed for that purpose by the Vatican. This is regarded as a point gained by the Vatican. The United States has made the withdrawal of the friars, through the influence of the pope, a condition precedent to the settlement of several questions not connected with the friars directly. This is regarded as a victory for the War Department. Whether there is any victory in it for anybody but the church is yet to be developed. THE police of France have begun the work of closing the schools of the unauthorized Catholic orders, in harmony with the law of associations enacted by the French Government. The unauthorized associations are those which have not complied with the law in the matter of making public the workings of their institutions. The law requires that the unauthorized institutions shall be closed before July 23. This act will affect 2,500 schools, attended by 150,000 pupils. A number of small demonstrations against the measure have been reported from different localities, the clerical leaders denouncing the closing of these institutions as illegal and inhuman. THE Pacific Commercial Cable Company has signed contracts with the Telegraph Construction Company of London for the manufacture and laying of the cable from Honolulu to Manila. The construction company guarantees to complete the cable by June, 1903, if furnished with the necessary soundings; or, in case these soundings are not available, as soon thereafter as the necessary soundings can be made. Eighteen hundred miles of the cable between San Francisco and Honolulu has already been constructed, and loaded on the ship which is to lay it. IN view of the insistence of some of the powers that their share of the indemnity from China shall be paid in gold, the Chinese Government has again appealed to the United States to use its good offices to bring about such an arrangement for the payment of the indemnity that China shall be able to meet the payments. Her representatives assert that it is absolutely impossible for China to pay the indemnity in gold; that an attempt to raise the necessary amount for that purpose would result in a general uprising of the people. A FIERCE tornado, accompanied by lightning and heavy rain, burst upon the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on July 20. Eleven persons were killed and a number injured, many buildings unroofed, and trees and boats overturned. Of those who lost their lives, nine were drowned in the harbor in the overturning of small boats. On the same day there were several cloud-bursts in the State of New York, resulting in the loss of several lives, and the destruction of much property. THE United Mine Workers, in convention at Indianapolis, on July 19 decided against a general strike of all coal miners, and have arranged to give financial aid to the striking miners of the anthracite regions. This will be accomplished by a general assessment of the members of the miners’ union. In addition to the assessment, all districts, sub-districts, and local unions are to be asked for a donation from their surplus funds for the same purpose. THE sultan of Bacolor, Mindanao, P. I., who recently sent an insulting letter to the American commander, in which he threatened to begin offensive operations against the Americans in August, has now written a friendly letter, in which he disavows all desire to fight the Americans, and says that he will confer with them in the future. The cholera is said to be decreasing in Manila and in the provinces, and the quarantine regulations are being relaxed. THE situation along the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa, southward, is a very disastrous one for the people living there. The river has overflowed its banks, and immense tracts of land with growing crops are many feet under water. Careful estimates are said to place the loss at $6,000,000, with every prospect that it will be increased by two or three millions by the continued rise of the water. THE steamer Portland arrived at San Francisco on July 21, apparently unharmed after her trying experience of several weeks’ imprisonment in the grinding ice of the Arctic Ocean. There were no casualties among her passengers, though her detention in the ice has put back mining operations in the Nome district very materially. AN engagement between Bulgarian and Turkish troops has taken place at Strumitza, European Turkey, in which 25 Turks are reported killed. The loss of the Bulgarians is not given. Clashes of this kind are occurring frequently of late on the Bulgarian frontier and may lead at any time to more serious trouble. A PANIC was caused on the island of St. Vincent on July 17 by a severe earthquake shock, accompanied by loud rumblings and explosions. Although the shock was a severe one, no loss of life is reported. It was caused by the choking of the mouth of the crater by an avalanche of earth. ADVICE from Germany states that the steamer Premius, with 185 passengers on board, was cut in two and sunk by a tug on the River Elbe, on July 21. About sixty of her passengers were lost. PROF. H. M. HATHAWAY, of Wellsboro, Pa., is reported to have discovered a new explosive compound of great power and much more safe to handle than other powerful explosives. This compound is named Hathamite, and is said to be practically unexplodable except with a dynamite cap. THE Government of the United States has not been invited to participate in the anti-trust conference proposed by the czar. This conference is the outcome of the recent conference held by representatives of the European powers over the question of export subsidies on sugar. ON July 16 fire destroyed 90 blocks of the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, entailing a loss estimated at $5,000,000. There is also a large loss of life reported, but definite figures have not been given. The disaster is said to be so great that the inhabitants are in a virtual panic. ADVICE from Armenia indicate that there is much apprehension among the Armenians over the outlook for the future. Unusual numbers of Turkish soldiers are being quartered in their vicinity, and they fear a repetition of the fearful massacres of 1893 and 1894. GENERAL JACOB H. SMITH, who gave the order to make the Island of Samar a “howling wilderness,” has been reprimanded by the President, and placed on the retired list. General Smith was found guilty of the charges by the military court which tried him. IT has been officially announced in London that, by the king’s command, the date for the coronation ceremonies will be August 9. Rehearsals for the ceremonies have already begun, and officials who will have to do with them are again busy with the details. A BATTLE occurred off the coast of Colombia between two government gunboats and two gunboats belonging to the Colombian insurgents on July 18. The result of the battle is not known, but it is believed that one of the insurgent vessels was disabled. A REPORT from North Dakota states that three small towns were practically ruined by a cyclone which visited that portion of the State on July 15. Many buildings in these towns were completely wrecked, but the loss of life has not been reported. A NUMBER of American Methodist missionaries in Korea were recently assaulted by a gang of Japanese railway laborers and severely beaten. The Japanese minister at Seoul has undertaken the capture and punishment of the offenders. EMPEROR MENELEK, of Abyssinia, has had the biography of President Roosevelt translated into the language of his empire. He is said to take great delight in the exploits of the President, especially in his encounters with wild animals. THE total amount of deposits in American savings banks at the present time is $2,845,691,300. There has been an increase of more than one billion dollars in savings bank deposits in this country since 1895. THE Campanile, the famous bell tower of Venice, which was built in 888 and restored in 1329, collapsed of its own weight and the deterioration of its own materials on July 14. The tower was about 316 feet high. THE strike of the Chicago freight handlers came to an end on July 16, leaving the matter of wages to be settled between the roads and the men. It is regarded as a victory for the railroads. THERE was not a fatal accident on the English railroads during the year 1901, although fifteen hundred million passengers were carried, a record unprecedented in the history of railroading. A REPORT from Peking, China, states that cholera is rapidly spreading inland from the coast. The disease is increasing among the Chinese soldiers at Peking and at Pao Ting Fu. SIR ARTHUR LAWLEY, governor of West Australia, has been appointed lieutenant-governor of the Transvaal Colony, and will leave Australia for South Africa on August 5. THE State Department at Washington has declined to interfere in the dispute between Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia regarding the possession of the territory of Acre. A SEVERE earthquake was experienced at Bunderabbas, Persia, which destroyed many buildings and caused the inhabitants to flee to the sea-beach for safety. AN explosion occurred in the Daly-West and Ontario mines near Park City, Utah, on July 15, in which 35 men are reported to have lost their lives. TWICE recently revolutionists, aided by the Colombian Government, have attacked ports of Nicaragua, but have been defeated by the Nicaraguans. CHOLERA has broken out at Moucha and Assioot, Egypt, of a virulent type. Half of those attacked so far have succumbed to the disease. • QUEEN ALEXANDRA, it is reported, will follow the custom of Queen Victoria, and refuse to admit divorced women to court functions. FOURTEEN young men and women were drowned by the overturning of a boat in the bay at Portsmouth, N. H., on July 17. THE British Government has decided to take over all the war-ships now building for the Government of Chile.