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THE N, T, 0. STRIKE. The Conference of Leaden Arrive* at DO Term* of Settlement. A BRAKESMAN KILLED. A New York despatch says : The oon ferenoe of the Ubor leaders, whioh waa begun last evening WM renamed this moro ing. Orand Master Htrgent Mid : We are eooe more reviewing the entire evidence submitted to us for lirliberatioo, but just how loog the conference may Uil I oaDool ay just at the moment. Mr. Webb, when called upon, repeated the statement that everything wae running M ninal, and added that be did not antici- pate any farther trouble. tut riom BTST eo c. Mr. Powderly state* that the strike hai oeated to beone of a local assembly and bai bteomeoneof the whole organi/.iion, and it will oae every meant in ite power to oon. tinne tbe fight, lie intimatee that the Federation if Railway Emp'oyeei will inpport the movement. The situation it aeriuae. Grand Mauler Sargent, I'reeident of the council and chief of tbe tiremen'i organic tioo, hae ordered a meeting of tbe Supreme Council of tbe Federation of Railway Km ployeee on Saturday morning at Terre Haute, Ind , lor tbe consideration of the Mew York Central ttrike. MR. POWDBBXT'B ArrirtL. General Muter Workman Powderly will to-mcrrow iuae an appeal to all trne Kni)jbte of Ltbor in the employ of the Central Hudson Railway and upon tbe Vanderbilt connecting line*. In the docu- ment he will Hate the oeaaea for the itrike and the tfforti made to obtain a peaceable aettlemeot of the diffioaltiei, and notify every member of the intention ol the Kxeou- tive Board of the Knigbti of Labor to pro- eacote tbe fight agaioitthe Central Hudson Railway Company to the bitter end. At tbe tame time it ia made known that Grand Mailer h argent has called a meeting of the Council of the Federation of Ksilw ay Em ployeei for Saturday, Angait 23rd, at 9 a.m., at Terre Haute, lad. A ..rM 'HI. BTBIIE Mr. Powderly and Mr. Devlin, of tbe Executive Board of tbe K. of L., called on Vice Preeident Webb at 6 p.m. to-day. Mr. Tonoey wai with Mr. Webb, and the four gentlemen had an interview which lasted aOmiuotes. At the oonolaeion Mr. Paw- dsrly told the reporter! what had trans pired. Mr. Devlin asked Mr. Webb if be would conaent to an investigation of Ihe causes surrounding tbe discharge of tbe fifteen men. Mr. Webb answered that there waa nothing to investigate, that Ihe railway company were managing tbe read, and he did not see why their actions should be questioned. Mr. Devlin then aiked him if be did not owe tbe public and the employees of the road my duty regarding its management, in vhioh all were more or lest interested. Mr. Webb did not reply. Mr. Devlin then said there wai no use in further discussing tbe matter, as the rail- way company bad declared themselves in favor of an independent coarse. Mr. Tonoey then said that Master Work man Lee was primarily rurpjnsible for the Itrike. Mr. Devlin asked Mr. Toncev if he would waive the question of Mr. Lee's ac- tion and consider the discharge of Ihe other men? Messrs. Tonoey and Webb refused, and that ended the conference. The situation looks serious to night, and the indication! are that a general strike ii imminent. 11 UK xrunr.HKii ? Cbarlea Oswold, a young New York Cen- tral brakeiman, was win alive silting ou hil brake at Buuyten Uuyvel tbn after noon. When the train rolled into tbe yard at 7Slh street al 6 p m. he lay dead on bis oar, with a dent as if made by a brick be- hind the ear. Samuel Campbell, a non-union I witch- man, waa assaulted Dear hie home tins evening and bit on the head with a stone. TUB MOVBMBMT Or FRKIOIIT. An Albany despatch sayi: There are no new developments in Ihe situation in this vioinity to day. Hnpermtendent Bissell aaid hi was more than satisfied with Ibe great progress being made iu the movement of freight from there. Freight trains were sent out all through the night last night. A Thursday'l New York despatch nays: Mr. Powderly made Ibe following Hale men! to day in reference to a report tbat the grand jury wai considering the advisa- bility of indioting the leader! of the itrike : " 1 lie grand jury hai nothing to do wilh the oats. We have violated no law either Btate or national aince we oame to Ibil oily. The men have been orderly and peaceful. They have ado 1 like gentlemen since the strike began. Whether this strike has been ordered wisely or not hai nothing to do with the matter now so far as it affeoti the grand jury. The men have a right to (nil work and the grand jury has no right to decide, tbat they must return to work. " The railway officials have got men fol- lowing us. Thil morning, about 'i o'clock, a card wai sent op to my room. On ii was wi mm : The New York Herald offers ill npporl, and I am authorized to repreaent it. Tbe man oame to my room and began to ask queetioni aa to wbat we intended to do, wilhont laying anything of the attitude of the HiraUt. 1 thought the man aoled nipioioUHly, and upon watching him after he left us ws discovered he went to ihe Mew York Central depot instead of the J/rrald iftioe Ue wai not a newspaper man, and appeared very rnuoh flurried and excited while hi wai in the room. If Ihe New York Central people hope to ibape the action of Ibi Orand Jury by soon means ai this they oannot expect suooess." Mr. Uayes, in disciming tbe matter of the Orand Jury, remarked that if tbe Orand Jury f. m .1 lodiulmenll agaii it the loader! of the itrike he did not oare, because aa investigation wae inre to fol low, and tbat it precisely what the leaderi want. A MBITnUU Or I'EI.BOATIS. Beoretary Hayes, of tbe Exeuntivi Board, announced this afternoon that on Monday next at 10 o'clock, at Albany, a meeting of Disirijl >4A would be held, at which the .Executive ttoerd would bs preeenl for oon- sultation. To this meeting each local as sembly will send tbne to Bve delegates, and there will be present 600 to 700 members from the section lying acjeoenl to the Cen- tral road from New York to buffalo. WILL IBIF rosTBi>. Mr. Webb thie afternoon said, relative to tbe charge made by Mr. Powderly, that be and the Executive Board had been shadowed by detective*, tbat unless he bad taktn every lawful means to keep himself informed as to what the board was doing, he would be unfit to remain half an hour in in his present position. in rr TO i A v. The Oeneral Kxeomive Board of the K. of L. reported to- night that everything was very encouraging, and that they were in constant communication with the stflsure along the line No strike has yet '>' ordered outride of District Assembly 240 Of tbe future orders Mr. Powderly could not tell. They will be very glad if the Federation joins them, if not they will go on anyhow. This is the nrs) time, sold Mr. Wright, tbat Mr. Powderly bad ever come into a strike himself , bqt he was here flat footed, and was going to stay. Mr. Powderljr said he bad never ordered a strike, and neither had the Executive Board, and they had not ordered thin one. A tie up of the surface roads and elevated roads lhrongh< ut the oity, Mr. Powderly aid, had not been thought of. rOWIiEBLY'l HANIFKHTO. To-night Mr. Powderly itsued an appeal to tbe people. Tbe appeal reviews the causes of the itrike, and relates tbe un- availing efforts made to secure a peaceable settlement of the difficulty, referring to Mr. Holland's interview with Mr. Webb, and Messrs. Powderly and Devlin's interview with MesBri. Touoey and Webb, accounts of whioh have already been published. The appeal then continues : The public may have formed erroneous impressions of the Knights in the con- troversy We don't pretend to dictate to the company tbat it shall not discharge employees, but in all fairness the die charged men should be told why they are dismissed. During the session of theLegis. latnre tbe Knights of Labor were active in tbe passage of the weekly pay bill. Tbe committee of tbe Knights representing tbe employees of the New York Central A Uudnjn River Railway were faced in the Legislative committee-room by tbe at- torneys of the railway and browbeaten, {uestioned and terrorized. Borne mem- bers of that committee who were at the time employed in the New York Central were discharged without any given cause. There exists not tbe shadow of doubt in the minds of tbat committee that these men were singled out for endeavoring to secure the passage of tbe above mentioned law. After thoroughly investigating the causes which li-il to tbe strike, and after making evt-ry effort in their power to induce the oompany to arbitrate or submit to an in- vestigation by impartial men tbe question at is ue namely : Whether the men were discharged because thry were Knights of Labor, and for the purpose of destroy ing the organisation, as they btlii-ve and main- tain, or for just cause and proper reason, as tbe company allege, the General Execu- tive Board have, by a unanimous vote, de- termined to stand by the men, who, whether their strike was opportune or not, bad no alternative consistent with their manhood. AM iiTFM. roa ri'M>s. " Tbe General Executive Board knew nothing of it until 11 was thrust m ou th. in, mi now that we have to faoe it we ack tbe entire Urder of the K. of L to orinn to our BHiiatanoe with the means to wiu the strike. We are not craving for sympathy . we are not in need of moral support. We lave to light a power which owes ill ofly bearing to the wealth it baa piled up from the labor of its employees ; untuld millions are at its command, and we want noney to carry on tbe struggle. \N > ask all mi inberd of organized labor to oom to our aid. We not only atk labor orgn.i/a tions, but we ask of the great public beyeud our organi/ations of Ubor to coine to our relief. 1 THE MNKKKTDNS. Mr. 1'owdcrly at some length pays his respects to the 1'inkrrion man and the methods of their selection and value of their services. Ue states that blank commissions are signed by the sheriff of Albany and left in the obarge of Central officials. Mr. 1'nwiif rly then goes on to say : " H. Waller Webb applauds the action of tbe I'niHeiioi H in shooting, and says they did right. Mr. Webb never did a stroke of work to secure the wealth he abused. It came to him by Inheriianou and he now abuses it. The elder Vacderbilt wai a workman and knew something about the Feeling of the man v> ho toils. Ii was in his day that the record of the New York Central for generous treatment of work- men was made, and not under the present management." In conclusion Mr. Powderly says: " The K. of L. hold themselves in readiness now, and will continue to hold Hums. Ivee ready, to yield to the will of the public in this matter. Tbe company, on the other band, holds it si If above and superior to pnblio opinion. I would here aak tbe men still In the employ of the New York i eotral Railway whether it be not their intereat to stand by and supi ort thuee who are striking to vindicate the common right to organize. The General Executive Board will conduct this contest with all of their ability within the law and without vtoKnoa. MO TBOrm.E WIST Or llflTALO. A Thursday's Chicago despatnh says : John lUil. a member of the Executive Board of the Federation of Railway em- ployees, said to-day, in reference 13 the strike on the Vanderbill roads, tbat he did not believe the Brotherhood men west of Buffalo would be involved, aa he thought the action to be taken at Terre Haute- on Saturday would be only as to the New York Central Railway. The leading officiate of the Vanderbilt lines In Chicago lay they are not maki g preparations for a itrike and do not expect one. The 1 1. 1,.,. ...i i , .,..k A Paris, III., despatch says : " Shorty " M (hll, an all-round orook aud pickpocket, m >de his esoape last night from the new j*il here by crawling through the sewer p |ie leading from the water oloset. M. Uill weighs but 00 pounds. Ills partner, ileuiy Morris, followed him, but stuck in the pip* for nearly two hours and wai taken out mire dead than alive. FIVE MILLS in THREE MINUTER, Terrible Uawh of HUIIT far Down .MM,. P.nn roar Killed. A Reading, Pa., diepaiob stye : A borii ble accident occurred this forenoon shortly before 11 o'clock on tbe Mount Perm gravity railway, a mountain route encirc- ling Mount Penn, 800 feet above the oily of Reaciug. The road wan op> n< d five months ago, and has been doing a good business ever sinos Tbe cars were Uken from a point on tbe outskirts of tbe city to tbe top of tbe mountains, a oUtance of five miles. On returning ihu oars were allowed to go down lh mountain by gravity by way of another route to i he point of starling This forenoon at half-past ten a ctr con laining about 18 paeksengen was taken f i oin the station 10 tbe ton of the moun- tain. Tbii consumed about 30 minutes On the top ol tbe mountain there is a high stone tower, where tbe passengers were allowed to alight to enjoy the scenery for 30 minutes. HOW Till ACCIUBKT OCCCBBBP. There are different merits as to tbe cause of tbe accident, but it appears tbat when ihe tower was retched, tbe point where tbe gravity portion of the road commenotg, tbe engine wa* detached, when the oars ran a* ay while the passengers were still on board. Tbe distance to the point of start- ing is five miles, and it is estimated that this was covered by the runaway car in three minutes, tbe car attaining a fearful speed, intimated at 80 miles an hour. It remained on the track to the foot of the plane, going around all tbe curves, while the passengers shrieked in their fright, and several jumped off. When the car reached Ihe station at tbe foot of tbe plane it jumped off ihe track and rolled down a filly-toot embankment, where it landed upside down, with the pitasengeri imprisoned inside. Tbe greatest excitement prevailed and soon a large crowd gathered. Doctors and the ambulance were sent for and tbe dead and injured removed. Fonr were taken out dead. They included Charles Rettow, con- ductor of the oar, and E. M. Lavan, a lawyer of this city. ACCCODNT BT iX BT1 1ITMS-. Norinin B. Wilsher, of this oity, who waa standing at tbe foot of Ihe plane when Ihe oar oame clashing down the mountain, iB)B he beard first a distant roar, as of thunder, acd looking up saw tbe oar com- ing down the mountain, but slicking to the track, at the rate of about a mile in forty- rive seconds. Ue bad barely time to recover hui. M. if when ihe car like a lightning tlb dathed past the station and down the em- bankment fifty feet below. Mr. Wilther wai tbe first on the ground. He aayi be foiii.il the oar turned upside down, tbe passengers all thrown into a confused mass, and that with the assistance of others who arrived, be helped to carry out the dead and injured. Tbere were about a dozen of tbe latler with broken limbs and battered heads, their clothing being covered with blood. Mr. WiUher said as the car fell the united shrieks of twenty voices added terror to ihe scene. In addition to Edgar M. Lavan and Charles Rvttow, who were killed, Ihe two others killed were Miss Ko*a Pfeilier, a \oung lady of ibis oily, and Mi*s Harriet ilmokle, of Philadelphia. Tbe following will die : Mine Hiram Hchutlcr and Mrs. W. A. H. Sobmel. Among tbe injured are : Htllie P>e and Mary Ontbrie, of Wilmington, both badly burl ; aud Willie bcbmel, of this city, both legs broken. A JOUHMALIlT MtHUKKEU. (that Mown Hy it I'. -mult Vendor an Htrvt i urnrr. A Detroit despatch says: Fred. Crim- mini, assistant city ediur of Ihe An M/. / .S'IIH, was fatally shot by Tony Mauli, a paannt and fruit vendor on Ihe corner of i roghau and Kandolpn streets Ibis after noon. He had just left the Sun office for tbe day and slopptd at Ihe Italian's stand to purchase 10 ue fruit. As he was examin- ing acme plums Manlt drew a M oalil re pistol from under tbe aland and emplitd one of thit clumbers into Crimmins' abdomen. The latter fell woere he stood. 1 am killed," be muttered, > Wbat will my poor sinter do ?" He was picked up by syrnpstheiio bands and carried into iluckentlein's dry goods store from where be wai removed to Uarper'i Hospital Drs. Walker and MoGraw were called and are probing for the bullet. They say the itound ii fatal beyond a doubt, and Ihe victim oannot live many bouri. Manli ran up the alley between Kiudolph and llrimh streets aud was captured by Officers Wolfe and Belle in a barn twenty minutes laler. He wai taken 10 the nation and looked up pending the result of Crimmini' injuries. m till I UN 1 t II K ll.nl III K A Canadian -I, .! Hlinsrlf ID IlllaeU MU i. it i M ...u Hack on Hi, i,. A Springfield, III., iptoialdeipatobiayi: Harry Hamilton shol himself through the heart this altnrnoon aud died instantly. He was a hotel porter and worked in tbe Bl. James Hut. I, Denver, and had bteu em- ployed in the Pnlaoe Uutel here for a year. lie was discharged three weeks ago He oame back lookiim for work to-day. He had been drinking. Failing to obtain employ- ment be slsrted for Litobfisld, a country town near here. He bad two valises, and after visiting several ssloons left them temporarily with a storekeeper. Then be stepped into an eld y and put a bnlltt through bit heart. He aid to a companion a few minutes De- lore that he bad consumption, that the girl he had lovtd had gone back on him and that he did not rare to live. His relative! are not known here but live in Millbrook, Out , and ibe body will be sent there. roar K ui.,1 In a Mnllwsy Wreck An Emigrant Osp, Col., despatch says : At Casoadu City to day a train was stand ing at Ihe summit with air brakes set. The air leaked, aud the caboose and several oars started down grade. Wben the ran- awe.y train reached Cascade it struck Ihe oaboone and one or of another freight pulling in on a side irauk. Conduutor Kiugaley, of the runaway, and Conductor Connelly and lliaknsn i-n Beavtr and Levi of the o'lii r tram wi re killed, and one or two others were badly injured. Nineteen tars were piled up in a mass and tbe wires prostrated. 1 What became of that tremendous mot- a nun yon had here yeeterriay, kill him ? o, I drove him around to the pound.' THBI PBNNSYLVAHIA CTOLUHK. The Loci ef Properly Will Probably B*ach ( I .000.11 till. A Wilkciberre deipeiob sayi : Tbe Ninth Regiment is on duty assisting the police in maintaining order. Unemployed men were pressed into strvioe to raise the em- bargo laid upon very many of Ibe streets by fallen trees, telephone and telegraph uoles. Many ownerl of buildings have already set about the reconstruction of tbe injured portioci of ihur property. A oarefnl estimate places the number of buildings demolished and partially destroyed at nearly 800. and some estimate that it will exceed this figure. Tbe loss ill probably reach nearly, if not quite, 11,000,000. At the city hospital several victims are oared for. Borne of them cannot survive. EXTENT Or THB D*BUOB. The nnmbor of boildii.gs wrecked was 400. They are damaged to amount! rang iug from 1100 to t20 000 Tbe total loan is estimated al over (1,000,000. When tbe storm swept up towaras Boott street a piny of bo)i were on that tboroniib fare Eddy Bohmidl, aged 7, was carried 600 feet and thrown inlo a pond. His ikull was crashed. His body was found today. George Frye, aged 7, was probably fatally hurl. Two other boys were less seriously injured. A tpecial from Susqnehanna, Pa., says : At Brnsbville, three miles from here, at 6 o'clock lasl evening, a heavy windstorm unroofed bouses and barns, and fi led the roads with fallen trees and debris. A house occupied by Luther Hsll was partially blown down. A son of Mr. Hall was killed, and another son received fatal injuries. PKUOMKIU KKTOLT. A Nervy Deputy Aswlled by rive D- l>ri! Convlcia. An Iron Mountain. Mich., despatch says: Wben Deputy Sheriff Oeo. Reyes, of Flor- ence, Wts., thirteen miles northwest of here, entered Ihe jail at 8 SO last night to lock tbe prisoners into their cells, one of them named Burke threw a lighted lamp into bis faoe and knocked him down. Another named Gallagher oovtred him with a blanket and held him on tbe tlxir while tbe jiil foil of prisoner! started to escape. Keyes struggled free and shot Gallagher directly over Ibe heart. He aleo forced an Italian murderer into bis cell and fired a number of shots after two who succeeded in reacting the door outside. Theie were a man named Burke, arrested two weeks ago for robbing freight can, aud a fellow named Wiley, arrested here three months ago for burglary. Oallagber, the one who was shol, died bait an hour later, but lived long enough >o say tbat Burke, who is an old convict, bad arranged Ihe plan to escape. Burke and Wiley are mil at large with Ike iheriff and a posse after thi in Telegrams are in the bands of all neighboring iffioers Keyes is a yonig man, formerly marshal of Florence and acting aheriff during Ihe sheriff's absence. He is congratulated on bis nerve. Tbere were in ihe jil five as tiu.h men as bars ever held. Two were in for murder, one for attempted murder and two for roboeries. Only Burke and Wiley escaped. EBGLAID'8 IAV7 What ia Being Done to Add to Strength. luy luruMl tu kurrow. A Boston despatch layi : 'Ihe laddest story of the (juiuoy doaster yeiterday ii tola by Judge Edwards, of Louisville, Ky. tie was one of a party of nine Itdiis aud ^vnii, nu-ii and children from Lounville who were north enjoying a vacation. Of the parly two are dead, a third is dying, ' and every member of it wai more or Itisj injured. There were in the party beiidti Judge Edws,rdi>, Cap!. W R Abbott and wife, Mra. O ' Fenli-v. Mrs. XUrv Fenley and her three little girls and Mils 8uie Fenley. I hjy bad been spending ten days | at Nantookel. It wai their purpose to spend three or four days iu Boston. After ' Boeing Bontou they were going to Saratoga and then >o New York. Mrs. Mrv Kenley and her cti <iren were to meet Mr. Fmley, who is a L iii-iii. le banker. Tbe latter wai coming north to attend tbe bankers' convention in Nnw York. Ju'ge Edwardi' hands were badly out and burned. I Irt-mri, tti.,1 k nglurerk Strike. A Chicago dei|atuh of Friday aayi : All the firemen and engineeri employed by tbe I , iion Stork Yarde Switching Atiooiatiou struck fur higher wages this morning. At noon 40 engines, each having two men, were lying idle in Ihe 47>b street yard. In consequence of the strike I'M iwitohmen are also idle. The switching or tranifer lyilem is the largest in the o >untry, as the association does all tbe work for Ibe pack- ing houses in the yards. Consequently all work al tbe packing houses is at a stand- still. The traoks are flllrd wiih immense trains of fresh meat, which was destined for outside points. " I should like to see Scotland again," said Dr. MoCosh the other day. " Dear old Bottland, with all her great asiooiations and grand and noble men t I can never forget her. In mimory I revisit htr every day of my life. I had my liokel bought not long ago for a voyage to her shoiei, but I wai not able when the lime oame to go. Scotland 1 hope yet to see Scotland onee more. ' China ii going quite extensively into railroad ooniirnoiion, in spite of the ob- structive taotios of its noo progressive statesmen. This movement in China promises to open new fields to the loco- motive builders and other enterprising manufacturers of this country. The large eijortations of steam engines aud machinery show that tbe manufacturers of these product! are capable of competing successfully in Ihe maikell of tbe world in ipile of the burdens whioh Ibe tariff imposes on them. fkiladrlphia Ktcord. The London Huipii'H tells of a seamstress wbo, like Hood'i pnihetio heroine in tbe "Hong of the Bhtrt." worked till the stars hone on the roof. Her eyesight failed, and the itory goei on : Hhe aaw at Ihe lame time four hands, fonr needles and four earns. Hhe al first Healed them as an illusion, but al the end of tome days, in const qaenoe of weakness and prolonged ntf. ial anxiety, she imagined that she was really sewing four seams al onoe, and that Ood, touched by her misfortune, had worked a miracle in her favor." Oroom A ring around ths moon is the sign of rain. Bride (sweetly) -And a ring around a woman's finger is In* sign of T Oroom (aadl> )-Rai(a. THIETY TWO IEW VE8BELB TO BB BUILT. We print in full Lord Oeorge Hamilton's Itatenjent explanatory of tbe navy isli- mates lor In 'JO "Jl, which hai been iksued as) a Parliamentary paper, layi the London Timn. It contains much interesting com- ment upon a text wbicb in its naked sim- plicity is found by many people somewhat difficult reading, notwithstanding the genu- ine public interest to which the increase of our naval strength is unquestionably due. The estimated expenditure upon the navy for the eniniog financial year ii 13,786,- 600. Oting an increase of 1101. 300 over the estimate! for 1889 90 Some difficulty has always been felt by the public in under- standing the exact icope and effect of tbe Naval Defence Acl of last year, which dealt with a sum of 21,600,000. On one side it hai been inppoed that thii sum cousin 11 ten an addition to the money spent year by year in tbe ordinary way , and on the other side it is sometimes asserted tbat Ibe Act is illusory, and that we are simply maintaining tbe navy at the old rate. Tbe confusion arises from the fact that, while the act gives parliamentary sa notion onoe for all to the expenditure of iwenty- ooe and a half millions upon specified undertakings, eleven and a half million! are voted year by year as part of the an- nual provision for the navy, while ten millions are charged upon tbe consolidated fund, this constituting a source of naval revenue independent of the annual votes. Thus the act flies a minimum of 2.660.000 to be expended in each year for five finan- cial yean upon dockyard shipbuilding, and 600,000 to be yearly expended during the same period upon armament. If these sums are not folly spent in any one year the balance unexpended remains at the disposal of tbe Admiralty in snob fashion that Ibe available total for the whole term shall suffer no reduction. Thirty -eight vessels are to be built with this money, and of these twenty one are already begun, seven will be begun in the coming year and ten of tbe lighter types will be left to begin after March. 1891. Thirty -two vessels are to be built by con- tract out of the ten millions set apart and charged upon the consolidated fund. Ol these, twenty -lix have been ordered during the year cow closing. The remaning six are torpedo gunboats, oapable of rapid construction, and held over for the present in order to obtain the bei efit of Ihe latest experienoe. Tbns the effect of tbe Naval Defence act is to fix an irreducible dock- yard programme for five yeari, tbe cost of which appears in the estimates, and, ia addition, to provide during tbe same five years ten millions' worth of ships built by contract, and not appearing in tbe annual accounts. Ships begun earlier than last year have to be completed out of tbe inmi charged in the enimatei. Ii in expected that the whole of them will be com- pleted in the coarse of the incoming year, with the txoe pi ion of the Blake and tbe Blenheim leu which ought to have been finished by this time have been delayed for various reasoni of a more or leu satis- factory kind. The vessels build ing by contract for Australian set vice under the Imperial Defer. c Act of 1888 have also been delayed, but it is hoped tbal they will be ready iu the course of the summer. No portion of Ibe cost of these vessels appears in the annual voles, and against it there is the set-off of considerable contributions payable by the colonies for twelve years. Many vessels of new designs were em- ployed in the naval inai u> ivres of laat year, and the expert* noe then gained has been useful in various ways. Detail* of boilers and machinery, of coal transport and ventilation of engine- rooms have un- dergone improvements which are embodied in the 01 umal deiigns of the kbip s built under the Naval Defence Act. Ia particu- lar it is satisfactory to know tbat ihe boil- ers of Ihe new cruisers have been increased in power from 16 to 25 per cent., and tbat ipecial attention hai been given to the development of high ipeed under ordinary service conditions. In other words, tbe mi-eiored mile performances, which are wholly exceptional, are not any longer to be treated as indications of the work to be got out of the machinery under ordinary conditions. Mortality of Wliluwers Kr..m PhthlaU. In a paper on tuberculosis in Belgium MM. l-essirtc and Uallmaerts come to tbe conclusion as the result of their investiga- tion! that, in comparing the mortality from phthisis of bachelors, married men, and widowers, the last are very much more subject lo Ihii disease than eithsr of the other classes. Tbe same statement holds good for all ages, and it it, they lay, also true tbat widows are more liable than sin gl women to die of phthisis. The author! do not think this is to be explained txoept by direct contagion of wife to husband or husband to wife. They oannot think iriegularitin and excesses indulged In by widowers can be answerable for it, for ad- vanced age does not seem to make any difference. They would aioribe it to the infection ooourting during married life, tbe disease claiming iti second victim tome time after Ibe death of the fiist. Ut. Jamet' Oautte. ts Who Hell Chll.lrt.ii. In tbe government of Podol tbe peasant! have no scruples about wliirg their chil- dren. Instances of a very revolting nature are reported in a Moscow daily. One peasant sold his daughter, a girl of 8 yean, to travelling mencioants for tbe mm of six rubles , another one brought two girls to the town of Qrenova, where he sold the older, a child of 7 years for five rubles, and the younger, 3 years old, for three rubles. Such iuitanoes have occurred in many towns of the government. ModMtly Stated. Travelling Agent Are you the head at the house, sir T Mr. Cowed Hem! -Ah ! I repressnt her. The mother of Oscar Wilde, who baa written vemes that bay* been admired in Kugiaud, will henceforth l-eoeive an annuity from the Biitiab orownjher name having been placed on tbe