NEWS AND NOTES

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 11, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 32.

International.— The court of inquiry at Halifax, appointed for the investigation of the causes of the Bourgogne disaster, exonerate the captain of the Cromartyshire from blame in the matter, placing the responsibility for the collision on the officers of the Bourgogne ...... The French minister of marine has decided to order a fresh inquiry into the loss of the Bourgogne, with a view of punishing those who failed to do their duty ...... A persistent rumor comes from Panama to the effect that Peru is planning a naval demonstration against the Pacific Coast of the United States for the purpose of causing America to withdraw her claim against the Peruvian Government. Commodore Ferryos, of the Peruvian navy, has sailed for Europe, where it is reported he is going for the purpose of buying war ships for this purpose ...... A report from Guatemala states that another revolution has broken out there, headed by General Castillo, the candidate for president, who is attempting a forcible overthrow of the government ...... Indications now point to an early settlement of the Cerruti claim, held by Italy against Colombia, which will avert the threatened rupture between the two countries ...... The French Government has received an official despatch announcing the assassination of the French Captain Cassemajou, and the massacre of his entire escort in Western Africa ...... Switzerland has warned Don Carlos that he must leave the country in case he starts an agitation in Spain against the present government ...... Spanish troops are reported to be pursuing a band of Carlists, which recently appeared in the province of Catalonia ...... A report from Yokohama states that Hawaii has promised to pay to Japan an indemnity of £40,000 in settlement of the dispute over the exclusion of Japanese subjects from the Hawaiian Islands ...... England has objected to the erecting of Spanish fortifications, which have been recently undertaken within range of Gibraltar. In view of this protest, the Spanish guns which have been landed have not been mounted ...... The Chinese rebellion has not yet been quelled. Fighting is still going on between the imperial troops and the forces of the rebels, who have captured several towns in addition to those already taken by them ...... The American mission school, in the Haiphong district, Kwangtung province, has been burned by the natives, and the United States consul at Canton has appealed to the viceroy to send troops to quell the rioting ...... The empress dowager of China has relieved the emperor of all power and authority, and superseded him as ruler of the realm. Her accession to the throne was immediately followed by the appointment of Li Hung Chang as viceroy, in the place of his rival and enemy, Weng Tung-ho. Li Hung Chang is now the virtual head of the Chinese foreign office ...... On the night of July 30 Prince Bismarck, the iron chancellor of Germany, died at his home at Friedrichsruhe, at the age of eighty-three years. His funeral took place on August 2, and, tho attended by the emperor and empress of Germany, was conducted without ostentatious display of any kind ...... The failure of Hooley, the great London promoter of schemes, trusts, and companies, has brought the names of a large number of well-known English lords and nobles into an unenviable light. It is charged that these influential names were purchased by Hooley at fabulous prices, to influence the sale of stocks in the companies with which their names were connected.

Items of Interest.— Artificial teeth made of paper are furnished by the dentists of Germany. They are very comfortable, retain their color, and are much lighter and cheaper than China teeth ...... The ladies of the Russian court have been forbidden by the czarina to indulge in the nauseating practice of cigarette smoking in her presence. These court ladies have petitioned her majesty to withdraw the prohibition, inasmuch as the dowager czarina, the empress of Austria, the queen of Roumania, the queen regent of Spain, and the queen of Portugal, with their court ladies, are addicted to the habit ...... The Prince of Wales has sustained an injury to his knee-cap which is likely to make him a cripple for life ...... Whisky biscuits are the latest invention of the liquor element for inducing in children liquor appetite. These are being sold in large quantities to the school children of New York. The board of health of that city has decided to begin a crusade against those who are engaged in this pestilential traffic ...... The surgeon in charge of the army hospital at Governor’s Island, New York, where many wounded soldiers from Cuba are receiving treatment, reports that the wounds made by Mauser bullets necessitate fewer operations and heal much more quickly than those made by either the Springfield or Martini-Henry rifles. The Spaniards are using the Mauser weapons almost wholly ...... The Russian minister of public instruction has issued a drastic order to the effect that corsets must not be worn by Russian young women attending schools and universities ...... There is still in England one manufactory where flints are produced for fire-making. These flints are shipped to Spain and Italy, and are used by the poorer class in place of matches for starting their fires.