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TOE VERY LATEST FROM ALL THE WORLD OVER. ^crcftiag lien* About Our Own Countrjr Orcat BriUIn, the United Statea, ud All Parts ol tht Olab*, Coadenacd and AMorttd iar Baay Raadlog. I'AKADA. 'Ilbe Ontario Let?ujlaiaie will meet on Wednesday, J-'ebniaiy 10. Mr. 'Phiis. Roch was killcil by l)einK tftruck by a tree in tine woods near Tyndail. Man. The reaigitaliomi of the entire staff of tli«> Oltawa Protest;int hoapital have been arcepled. Another ronsipiinenl of l^ie-ilnfield rifl.'.s niiinberiiit; iJ.OOO arrived at KiD(;8<^n. i1 Ib rvi>orl>eit that t*ere is n, great deal of siniigKliuig (Ut, preoenl ou llu) Canadian Pacific eoasL. I''ive more pitch k'im buoja will I* placed on th« ehoal.s in the St. Law- rence Uiver next season. Owing to lilu' lack of snow lumber oporatiuns in liie Gatineau district have been temporarily suspended. Ttii.- failures in the city of Montreal during lh»' pa«t year were far in ex- cess of tbo.se iif the two previous years. I'bn Dominion Parliament will not lueel tinlil March, and the tariff pro- IHJMtl.s will not be brougibt down until April. 'I'he Rev. George Clouthier, chaplain of tb<' Sl4)ny Mountain penitentiary, bis been ilismissed by the Minister of Jus- tice. 'Vlw will of the late James Hamilton, of Ix)n<lon, Ont., filed for prolate at that |ilac<-, dispones of an estate of 931,150. KaU'payers of the township of An- caster have voted a Imnus of 95,000 to the Hamilton, Cbedoke & Ancaster El- ^tric Hallway. .Am official anuouncemenjl is made that the Government intenda at the cominn session to a-sk Parliament to rei-oal the Kranchise Act. A man named Apollidore St. Pierre of l'ai)iiipauville. Que., mmmitted suicide at H«i Portage on account of misfor- tunt'H in hSs love affairs. Mr. Horden is at present engaged up- on a .scheiiic to comm'iile the two years' salary allowance to retiring militia of- tiwrn into a pension for life. It in Kiatcd that the Franchise of the Niagni.i Kalis IViwer Company for the Imildint: of the Cana<lian power tunnel liUs bi'i'n extended for four years. TJii- «jii;agcmeal of Miss Klla Walk- ex. granddauglUer of Hiram Walker, ilw millionaire diatiller of Wnlker- ville, Onlario, to Count Manford Von Matu.<i('hka, o* Schiloss, Ikchau, has Ix-en aiijiounced. Tin- Montreal Htreett railway man- ageiiie-n'. huvc adopted a new style of i-.-i.sh Ikix for Ihfir cemductors, turninh- ed wi'th a new contrivance known as an improved r«'<-«iver, which the mo- iiH-nt the coin Htrike.s the aperture ;«ize.s it in a tight grip, preventing its r.'movaj. Mr. Williaju Whyte, eup<rintendent "f (Ik Western Division of the Cana- dian I'icific railwayy, statcfl that of Ihe turtal aniounl of ninety million bushels of wlica.t in (Ik- Wesit at the opening of Ihe nea.sou. h* eatiiuiutcs that from two million and a half to three million bu.sli.ils ar." in the hatxls of the farm- ers wesH of WoiDDipeii. IJ1M;at HIUIAIN. The Lord .Mayor of London bos starl- 'il a fund for the relief of the famine f.ufferj-rs in India, Andrew IVrcy lieuuett ium been nii- j.o.nled Urili.sh .imimiI iiI New York. I'l i« exii-cted that th«- new Canadian luolding at Mi.sley will be ready for the team n<-xlt season. Tho appoinluient of. t\irlos Villan- iii'va, cojisui-genenil for Venezuela in l,<>ndoii h.Ts been approved of by Ihe Quee4i. Americans in Lo idon Ijave .suliKcrili- '.'' f'T â- ' '"V iw â- up im a present to Mr. Ilavard, the Anicricain Ambassa- dor at London. The Ki({ht Hon. and Most lUv. Kivd- eruk 'Icjni Ir, I). 1)., wils <m Friday cii- throiied in Canterbury calhedral with mucli eccN'siastical (^meiiioiiy. It is reporlx-d from London that the coinmiHsionexs have signed a re por. rc(i,iiini*nding Ihe sjx'edy c6m- «l ruction of the I'lu-ific .•jible.. Lord Dufferin ha-s aocvpled the pres- idemy of a niov<'menl «t,a.rled at Itrls- tol Ici celi'lirali' I li â-  UlOth uujiiversary of the discovery of New foumdland l)y CaUil. U'ldy .SeliTia Scott, who pb'aded guilty un lluir.silay to tin- cnininal lllHd o'f Karl Hu-Hsidl, was on I'ri.luy .sentenced to eigliL monllia' impruunmunt without: hard l.iJKir. While hlin«irn{ with Ihe Meynell hiiMind.s on 'lui'sday, ,V1r. Clmpiin. for- .iicr:y president of the Hritish Hoard nf Trade, was thrown fiom his hoise »nil wriously injured. ."^ir lloiial'l Siiilili. thi' Canadian lliifli Commix.sioner, has e.slalili.shed ui'\\ agi'iii'isH >ii i..|...:i Jill ...ii-s loiuak- ix-llfr known to emigrants the re- sourie" of Canada. The Hritish Hoard of Trade relurtis ehow thnjl the total iiiijjiorts for IW)(i hnve iucrenKi'il i;-J,'i, 117,(177 over Mth. and the exports Iwive increased £14,- 038,103 over th:' previous year. The I'aJI Mall (inzettc, rt'ferring lo the rej)orl lha( Mr. Laurier had declliied the honor of kill iig hi hood, says tliiil liin snuwer left the inat(er so thai he could Hccepl HI a liilure date. Mrs. (ilad^((lne unveiled tlm memor- ial windirtv lo (he Armenian marlyrn in Hawarden ClBurcb. Hi>fore Ihe leVc- uony of unveiling llie window Mr. (;!a(lKl<»iie deliveredaspeedi to iin Ai- iiii'iiiaii dcpuiution. In resptHine to aletler signed by more tir.iii eighty noblemen and gcnileincn nuiinRnt in li(crtt(ure, science, and arl, Mr. Herlie.rt .'Spencer bus consented lluit a fund shall be opened (o )iain( his por- trail for I lie nation. The U'csliiiiinl.sler (iazidio on Wednes- day Hiive prmniinence lo ii rumour (li.it the C)ueen ha« decided lo comim'morate the fact (li:i( she ha.s enjoyed (he iiing- tn* reign in Kngli-sh binlory by alidical- ing ifi favor of the Prince of Wales. Sir Churles Tinpiwr and the Colonial Affents of Vii'torXL aivd Ta.suuinia were I giv«'n a compJiinentary dinner in Jmu- don on Wedne-sday niglU,. Sir Charles madie a speecb, pledging the loyalty of Canada (o the Hiridsh Kinpire, wiiich waa received with great applau/ie. irNI'rf-a> STATES. Storms continue to impede railway traffic in Missouri, Jaeob Wilhani, ag»d 87, and Mrs. Rivers, aged 97, were married at l)eer- fie.ld, N. H., on Tuesday, A (VipatcJi Xrojn Kargo, N. D., says two chiidren of John Pettit, of Hunter, were frozen to death in Sunday's storm. Lawrence Wiilson, "one of the eight iKiys bitten by a mad dog December 1st in Ualtimore, died at tbat place yes- terday. The Wyomijig Bt«te general Jiospi- tal at Rock Sjirings, \Vyo., burned to tlu! ground on Wednesday. One woman died from fright. Cciuumwider and Mrs. Uooiii-Tucker iiave been invited to Washingtua by Mrs. CJeveland to explaiin the meth«Mls of work of the Salivation Army. It iu reported in W^ashington that Mr. John Hay. of tjiat city, will be ap- pointed Buccecssor to Mr. Jiayard as auilKi&sador to England. Jilasting powder was used to kill rats in the house of Alex. Dolwick, at MiU- ereviiUe, Ohio, on Tmssday. Five oC the family were burned, one fatally. South lienlon. Ark., haso't a sound building now a<3 the result of Satur- day's cyclone. Many families are home- leje, and a numlier of deaths are re- ported. \ During the year ending .September over 190,000,000 fry were hatched and distributed by the fLsh hatcheries of the United States. The cost was less than 20 cents per 100. Five true biUs have been returned lit Washington against Francis J. Kiek- kboffer, late distributing officer of thu State Dt^partmenl, on charges of em- bezzling inl<'rnational intlemnity funds. His total shortage is alwut 9127,000. Richard D. Cornelias, one of the old- est and best known bank cashiers of Baltimore, committed uuictde. Uis Iwdy was found in the duck pund in Druid Hill Park a fmv hours after a shirlage of 9CU,0(I0 had been discovered in his accounts at the National Farmers' and Planters' Hank. At Hay City, Mich., a mob of several hundred angry Poles attacked the par- sonage of St. Stanislaus' church, break- ing every window and driving Father liogaci and his body-guard into the basement. A number of shots were fire<l and two or three men badly wounded. Our telegraphed summaries from tbo oommercioT agencies in New York are. an might have Ijeen exiieoted, more re- troBpective thoji anticipatorv. saying lit- Ue alx>ut the present, and less of the proliable future of trade. Business every- where is duil. and it is as yet, tooearly in the year for any practicaJ develop- numts. The bank lailuires iu the West have l)een serious, but the effect has so far been diucoanted that no further aeirious interference with trade is likely to cHCiu. The trade situation is quiet , though in wmie directions more season- able weatlier has stimulated a demand for seosuoable goods. UKNG&UL. The Pope has retiovered from bis in- disposition. Kmiicror William has de«igned the tower for the German Protestanl church at Jerusalem. Owing to tluB exo<lu8 on account of th.^ pjague, the jiopulation of Bombay has Tueen reduced one-half. The Petite He.puhliiiue, of I'aris, says that the Government has no faith in the duration of Euroiwan |)eucc A Kiwcial from Oaxaia, Mexico, Niys a s«^vere enrthiiuake is rei)orted from the soulhern iKirt of (he slate. A severe earthquake was felt at Che- ro<iue, IVpartment of Panama, on Sun- day. Some prniwrly was destroyed. Dr. Mauser, senior physician of the principal hospiUl of Bomlwy, died of the plague which is raging in thai city. The report thai the Japanese are as- sisting llu' rebels in the Philippine Islands is officially dini<Ml in Madrid. Til' Hoers luwe completed a bill of indimnity iigainHi llh' Hritish (iovern- ment amounting to £2,0011,000 for t he Jaine^ton raid. Th,' Paris edition of the New York IL-rald s(a(eN that it can guarantee the accuracy of I lie news which it iirese.nl s lint Antonio .\laceo is slill alive. Th' Warsaw d<rcti>rs luiv,- dfcideil (hat lb' Countess H'"U-n, wh!l^e tmdy wnsdis- inli rred through adread thai she was merely in nstaile of ciiliilepsy, is really dead. A pulilic meeting liii.s lieen called, under Ihe presidency of the Vieeroy.lhe Earl of Elpin, to consider private mea- sures lo ndieve the fainims sufferers in India. Ii is stated that the uncle of the Prin- cess Chiiuay has 8topp<'d all supplioN of money until affairs an' sell led in re- gard to li r elopement with Ihe llun- gorinn gypsy. Riiorts from Cuba H((ril)u(e many murders (o tbi' .'Spaniards. AVilhin a few miles of Havana Ihe Uxlie-s of sixli'eii Ciilians were found in one ra- vine. N 'Wfouiidland l-epislalure o|iens Feb- ruary 11. .\ rcwolulion will, it is said, be iiilriiduced li.v Ihe (iovernmenl fa- vouring n-ciprocily with the United .â- '^lati'S. II is I'l'imrli'd n( Constnntinople tluit Hcdros Kffindi, the Armenian recent- ly appoint !'<l sub-Kimoikan of Tschar- san, was assassinali'd two days after his arriviil there. II is slated In Vienna that Auslria- llimgary will bavo lofcdlow FraiuKMind (ierinanv. and spend from eighty loono hundred million ilollars for quick-firing' guns for (he artillery sorvioo. Thi're is much talk in Paris of the imiKissiiliility of the French diH-kyards excciitinix nuickly enough the iiiew naval pidnramini', and the (luesliim wh'ther ininclads shall lie purchased in F'.nglnnd Ims "xcited a patriotic discus- sion WITHIN THIi UWV. Wild-eyed Man, 1 wunt a lot of IKjison right off, 'l>riig Clerk. It's against Ihe law to sj'll jMiiHoii to people who Itsik as if (hey want to cnininil nuicidn; but I'll let you have n liollle of llir. Black-Seipiln's Klixir of Lifiv, That N«>ems to Iw pret- ty sure ilealhk THE RAILWAYS OF OAUADA SOUE FACTS AND FIGUBES SHOW ING THEIR GROWTH. .Muniber of Mllea Iu Operation- MalUIInt an t» Capital Invritiril, Paueaxern Car- ried, »UiriilH|:», aad Other Faeta of la- ic reil. The Domioion of Canada is fairly well supplied with railways, 'The Can- adian statistical year book shows tbat on the 30th of June. 1895, there were 15,977 miles of railway in operation in the Dominion, and 10,091 miles of trai^ laid. Th» raiJway mileage of track laid and square miles uf area to each mile of railway, according to provinces, are shown as follows: Ontario has 6,403 mile.s of track ; Que- bec, 3,189 miles ; New Brunswick, 1,404; Nova Scotia, 891 ; Prince Edward Is- land, 210, Mani^toba, 1,472; North- West Territories, 1,772, uad British Columbia, 890. There is one mile of track laid to every 34 square jiiiles in Ontario, to every 72 square miles in tjueljec, to every 20 square miles in Now Bruns- wick, to 23 in Nova Scotia, to 9 1-2 in Prince l::uward Island, lo 44 in Mani- toba ; to 225 in the North-west territory, and to 478 in British Columbia. in addition to the above there are 28 miles ui railway owned by five coal and iron companies, ailJ in Nova Scoiia. This mileage is all of the 4 feet 8 inch gauge, with the exception of three miles with a ;^fuoi gauge. MANY KAILWAY CENTRES The southern purlious uf the Pro- vinces ul Quebec and Ontario are cov- ered with a network of lines. Several railway centres have been established. Siji lines centre, at QueLiec City, seven at Montreal, seveii al Toronto, and six at Uituwa. No less than nine rail- ways centre aX Winnipeg. Of the oUl«r provinces. New Bruas- wkk is belter supplied with railways nx prupurliun to urea thuji any of the others. According to populatiuiu Ontario has 4;j.7 per ceiui . uf ihtf people oi Canada and J9.8 per caul, uf the raa>lwa^y mile- age. Ijuebec has MI.8 per ceui. uipupu- ialiou aud 19.5 per cent, uf the rail- way mileage. iJriiish Columbia ha!> two pel cent, of population and five per cen'.. ut raiiwa^ miivag^'. Alauiiuba has 3.2 per ceoi. ol popu.aXiou ujid 9.1 per ceni. of railway mileage. The Norih-west 'Territories have only 1.4 per cent, uf population and II per ceul. uf railway mileage. it will thus be seeu that the western provinces have been provided wiib rail- way faiulilies far iu advance of popula- tion, it huviug been fe.ll thai railway communication should precede popu- lation. Dur,ug the harvest uf 1895 wheal to the vaJue ol 91.000,000 was cut every day. Ae but a .small iiortion of this wheal was required for use wilhiu the province, the exporiabile surplus would U) vtry iuige. 1 itk'j'cf ore there is an aliho.ute necessity uf having railway communication e\eu in excess of the wonts 111 populaliuu, judged by ordinary standards. DEVELOPMIJNT OF UAILWAVS. iu Ihe year 18^0 there were only UU mi.eA ol railway iu oiieraliuii iu all Canada. These had iiicreascd lo 2,Ulio ioi 18110, Olid to 2.278 miles when the provinix's were united. During ihe uexl ten jear.s ihoiv was aji increase uf 3.304 m.iea. In 1K88 there were 12,184 miles in operalton. and in 1895, as sUle<l alAive l;i,977 mi.e». Thus since conled- erutjou there has becu ihe enormous in<'rease ol 13.099 uu.cs of railway in oiMTauim. In lNi8 Uic puidup capi- tal invesicd in railways amounted to 9ll>0, 171,190, and lu 1K95 Iu V(l94,lilU,- iK.9. AUogelhcv Cuuada has bad lo dale 136 railways. Tweniy-five of lliesti have HUia.gamated and form the Giand Iruuk railway sysleiu. The coii.solida- t.on ol 22 oLb.Ts have produced the Csin.idiuii Puc.fic rai.way -syslem. llu remii.aiing Hi) have mure or less con- .solulaled, .so thai in all there aix' 76 separate organ. zal ions. Two of Ihes,' are liridgi' lonipanieji with 3 3-4 miles uf rails; one is a tunnel wiiii 2 1-4 rails, two are electric railways, one nearly 14 imles lung, the Niagoiu Falls Park luid Uiver Luviric Railway, aud one 22 nuil«s in ling, h, Ih' Montreal Park and Lslaiid ra.lwuy, leaving t'i9 iiulwaya, lie.sides iho Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk and tht luiorciu:- ouial. SIZK OF IHh; HAUiWAYS. 'The mileage (miles laid) of the sev- eral laiJway cianpauies is as lollows: Canadiii.n I'acilic. 6,174 miles; Grand Trunk. 3,161 ; lulercuionlal, 1,383; oiher ruilway.s. .^),382. Kleclric railways, 35; bridges and tunnels, 6. As a rule the railways of Canada are buill with a gauge of 4 feet 8 1-2 niches. The exceptions are the Caril- lon and Grenville, with a gauge of 5 feel 6 inches ; the Prince Kdwiird rail- way wilh a gauge of 3 fwl 6 inilies. and the Moiitlord Colonization and the AllH'rla Coal ru4lways, each with a gauge of 8 Sev^t. The railways of Canada have lieeii greatly a,ssiHted by state and municipal uiil. 'ihe Doiuinion Goveirnmenl has c<mtribu|led at the rate of 99 369 |H'r mile c<iiistructed. the Provincial Gov- ernments at th«' rate on lui average of 91,847 per tniile, and Ihe municipalities a I the rate of 9881 iH>r mile im the tcvtal mileage. As, however, the pro- vincial rontribulions were limited to roads within the proviiuv, th^ individ- ual provincial contributions per mile were much laiger. On the whole the Dominion Goveriimeiil has contributed fl.'ill.ODO.tinO; ihi' Onlario Government, 96.71)0,(1011; Qu.'Im-*', 914,400.000; New Hrun-'wick. 9(.t(H),U00; Nova .S-iXia, $1,- 400.IIIHI; MaiiiloUi, 92.6()(),l)il0 j Hritish (Ni!iinibia, 937, .''lOO. Muuieipa lilies have i-'iilribuled tljic large kuiii of 914,000 000. Taking in^o consideration the var- ious sources from which the whole rail- way ca|)iiaJ has been drawn, it appears that th" ordinary share capital is 28 per cent, of the whole; the bonded debt, 8fi per cent.; Dominion Govern- ment aid, nearly 17 [ler cent., and Pro- vincial Government aid, 12 per cent. Very nearly 22 per cent, of the total capital has l)ecn contributed by Fed- oral. Provincial and municipal aid. STATlSnCS OF RAILWAYS. In 187.') trains were run over 17,680,- 168 miles of tra<'k in Canada. In 1895 the train mileage was 40.C<>1,890. 'The total numlier oi fares in 1875 was 5- 190,416; in 1885 it was 9,672.599, and in 1895, 13,987,580, showing the enor- mous increase in railway travel during two decades. Only 5,670.836 tons of freight were carried in 1875. Ten years later 14,659,- 271 tons were carried, and in 1895 no less than 21,524,421 tons. Thii earnings 20 years ago of Cana dian railways were 919.470,539. Last year the earnings were 946,470,.539. The working expenses in 1875 were 915.775, 532; in 1895 they were 932,749,669. Tht? expenses were 81 per cent, of the receipts m 1875. In 1885 they wei« 75 per cent., and in 1895 70 per cent. From the above figures it will be seen tliat the train mileage increased 130 iHtT c*nt.; the number of passengers earned 169 per cent., and the tons of freigW transporte<l 280 per cent., all during a p.?riod of 20 years. 'The earn- ings during th<< name period increased 140 per cent., while the wxirking ei- peene<?, instead of keeping pace with the earnings, increase*! only 107 per cent. PERCENTAGE OF EXPENSES. 'The percentage of expenses to gross receipts was smallest in 1895 in the case of the Canadian Pacific railway system, lieing 63 per cent. The Canada Southern cam|» next wilh a percent- age of ffl per cent. The percentage of the Grand Trunk railway system in this respeci was 69 per cent. The Quebec Central's expenM^s were over 80 per cent, of the total receipts. Government railways were run a,t a small loss, the expenses being 2 per cent, above the receipts. No twit hull an ding the hard Oasadian winters the proportion of expenses to receipts in cooaection with our Cana- dian railway system is not quite so h.gh as in the United States. In the New England States the pro- portiom is 72.'? per cent., in the Middle States 70.74 per cent., and in the Cen- tral Northern Stiites 71 1-2 i>er cent. The total earnings of 946.785,487 from the who'.e railway sy.stem uf the Do- uomion were derived as foJlows:â€" Prom passenger traffic., 913.311,400. from freight traffic, 929,545,490, and trum inaiis, express and other sounds, 93,928,558. INTEREST IN CAPITAL. The net earnings of aill the railways tn Canada last year were 914.035.817. 'Taking into consideration the total amount invested in these railways the proportion ol such earnings to capital was only 1.57 pex cent. leaving out the bonded debt and the aouount con- tributed by the state, provinces ajid municipalities, the p«'rceiiitage of earn- ings to capital invested was 3.88 per cent, for the year 1895. In the year 1892 ii was 4.41 per cent. O^THKR COl'NTRLES COMPARED. The average amount received per ton of freight carrieil in Qm-ensland is 92.98; in Russia, 92.90; in Italy, 91.(2; in France. 9152; in Canada, 9137; in Deiouiurk. 91.11; in Germany, 79 cents; in Great Britain, 68 cents; in Belgium, 65 cents. The greater distances travelled may account for the average amouut being higher iu the colonies than iu Euro- pean countries. The average cost per compjeted mile of roadbed in Canada up to the present time is 9.')5,599. In Great Britain the cost ^Ie^ mUc has l)e<'n 9269.851 ; in the I nited States, 961,409; in India, 943.785, and in W»^stern Australia. S-L720. 'The proportion of net revenue to capital cost Ls very small, almost the smalle.st in tht" world. It hius lieen .said thwt the ciost of a railway should not lie more than ten times its annual traffic, or in other words, that the annua! traffic should be 10 uer o«>nt. of the capital coi-t. Judged by this .standard, the cost of Canadian railways has far e.vceeded their liiuii, as in 1895 the gross re- c«-ipLs only amounted to 5.2 pel cent, uf th«' total capital expen<litui-e. the theoretical capital having lj»vii 9467,- 854.87(1 and the actual cost 9894.640,- 559. In must European countries the cost of raLlway.s is above thi.s standard, and in llrilLsh India and the Linited ."''tati'S ill is lielow it. 'The roll.ng slivk of Canadian rail- ways in 1895 consisted of 2.1123 loi-umu- tives; 216 sleepers and Pullman cars; 91,076 first -I'Ja.ss cars; 702 »ecoud-clas.s cars; 1,154 mail and express ears; 36.- 300 cattle and Ikix cars; 15.75S plat- form cars, and 4.815 coal and dump cars, ITi'-ri' are only 364 miles uf railway luid wi'.h iron rails in Canada. 'The n'-- iiia:nder is e^uipiM'd wilh steel rails. LL^^T OF FAl'ALITIKS. lu Ihe last twenty years there have lK>en killed in railway accidents on Canadmn railways no less than 3.415 p«'ople and 11, 462 have lieen injured, luking the year 1895 as an averagt« year there were niuf passeiijrers killed t>« injured; 51 employes kill 'd aud 488 injured; 127 others killed and 110 in- jured, ."^evon of Ih'.s*' ("ussengers were killed while getting on or off trains in motion. Six employes were killed liv b«Mng on Ihe track, and 17 by falling olf liams. Of the oiher fat;i.'itie.s Ri out ol 127 were killed by Ix'ing on the track. Ih<i average of piussengeis killed dur- ing th,' past twenty years is onlvom< in every one million carried. The iiver- age in llniltd States iu 1893 was onlv one to every 1,985,152 carried. As ii mailer nf fact a higher (H-i'i-^'nlage of passengers have l>een killed and in- jured on Canadian railroads than in any country in the world during the p<i.st twenty years. MAKING OL.VSS H.i:siST FIRE. Attention has lately been drawn to a product called "wire-glass.," which, it is asserted, presents an effective bar- rier again.st fire. It coiwists simply of a mewh-work of wire eiiihedded in a gln.HS plate. Even when licked by flam<^s and rais»Ml lo a red heat it does not fall to piec♦^s, and expcriiuetits have shown thai, employed in windows and skylights, wire-glass not only resists the heat of fire., but al-so the .shattering effects of cold water poured over it while it is yet glowing hot. NO MORE USE_FOE HOKSES WHEN THE WONDERFUL NEW FIBE TRUCK COMES IN USE. It Ik Kaa bjr a ('ompreiued Air .Malar, ama fan or FjuIIt Coalrolled In the lilreeca â€" TUc Maeklnery Very Hlwple aa« Naulpalated by Oue Maa on tk« BriT- er'H Seal. The automatic fire truck has come, and soon every Fire Department of im- portance in the large cities will be in possession of one of the latest inventiona It will be in every way a more practi- cal and efficient aid to fire fighters than its more picturesque predecessor.whicb depended tipon well-trained horses for its motive power. From an artistic or sensational new point there will doubtlese be many persons who will regret the passing of the fire horse. But the spirit of pr<^ gress has no sympathy for the pictur- esque. This, as well as everything else, must give way before Che march of im- provement, and so the horse's ocoupatioa is gone. Of course, t'be same clanging of belia will be heard ; the same rush of the lony red truck through the crowded thor- otighfare will lie seen, and the same belmeted and rul)ber-clad fire fighters recklessly riding to victory or death on the narrow footboard will characterize the usual conflagrations, but there WILL BE NO HORSES. Th© one aim of the fire fighters is to get to tihe scene of action and get their life aud property saring appara- tus into position and ready for use in the quickest possible manner. The de- lay of a few minutes or even seconds in reaching a fire may mean life or death to those imprisoned in the upper stories of a burning building, and even with the utmost exertions of three powerful horses, nine times out of ten the heavy ladder truck, wiihbut which the work of fire figlbting is severely handicapped, is tlu' last to reach the scene, because it is so heavy and unwieldly that the ligbter engines and hose carriages out- stripped it in lihe race. All this will be changed by the new invention. In appearance the automobile fire truck does not differ greatly from tbe hook aad ladder truck of to-day. There is the same arrangement of ladders along the body of the truck, the same footboard for the crew, and the manip- ulation ut the rear steering gear is the same. 'The radical difference is ia tbe arrangement of tbe front 'wheels and the driver's seat. THE MOTIVE POWER Of this automobile truck is what is knowu as a compressed air gas engine of continuous running design. One of the principal advantages is that it is always ready for use. All that is ne- cessary is for the motorman to t;Lke his seat and move the operating lever. The engine which furnishes the mo- tive power, is placed just above 1 hie front axle, and directly Ix-neath the driver's seat. A system of cog »^lie»'ls and levers act din-ctly between Uie en- gine and the front wheels. In fact, the entire maciSnery, which is very sim- ple, and consists iirincipally of cog wihe«'Ks. is loi'ale<l direcily in front of lh«> engine, aluiosi beneath the foot- lioard of the apimrulus. h'xtending upward from the machin- ery through the fuotloard. and extend- ing at a height a little alxjve the driv- er's seat, are two lovers w-hich resem- ble tho8<' in common use ou cable cars. One of these level's is used for the (lou- ble puriiuse of steering Uhe machine, and as a brake, while the other lever controls the speed of the engine. It can lie iwersed when necessarv. and in addition can t>e used as a supplemen- tary air brake. 'The engine is so constructed that when the driver lakes his seat and grasps th«> left hand lever, ihe whole appar.itus is ready to start. By sim- ply drawing lihe lever toward himself, thi< driver sets the truck in motion. 'The cogs on the lever, which work the wheels, fall into another set of cogs, which work directly from the engine, and the start is made. A .MOST PKCl'LIAR FEATURE * Is founil tin he fad that in order to .sUfp the truck it is not necessary to slop th,' engine. A forivard pressure on tl;;' left-hand lever tlii'o>\H the cogs out of place anil a pull on the right-hand li'ver applies the air brakes. .Should this noi stop the progress of the triK'k in a suificientlv .short time, ihe ciigs can !»' Ihiowii Wck into pbn-e and the engine ivversetl, and an entire set of o'. hor brakes be applied to the rear wheels of the truck. The tender is automatic and adjust- able, jikst clearing th.' street, and is designed so that t\i\\ p«'rson tinforlun- ate enou;{h to be caught iu it will es- ca|h' al all events alive and wilh a ri'asonablc certainly of little injury. The truck can !»• driven at a s|iee<l uf to miles an hour, if necessary, and in order that it can travel" at a high rate of .siieed over simxiih and slippery [lavinieuts the tii-es of the wheels .ire rou^'heiied and provided (like a horse's hoof) wilh corks and short spikes. This improvement has lu'en found lo lie must .su'ce.ssful. es(M'ciall) in turning sharp curves. Another great advantage of the new invention is found in the fact that the motive power being so completely under itintrol it can 1* used immediaiely for elevating an extens'on l.'idder, which is of the gn'atesi importance both in tbe fighting of fires and Ihe saving nf hu- luan life, THK A'TI.ANTIC'S DEP'TH, 'The depth of the Atlantic lietween Ihe Canary Lxlanils and the West In- «lie.s is something awfuil. A (irctty level Imltoni runs righi away from the .\fricaii Islands lo the American oius, gradually <leet«>niivng lo nearly 19.000 feel. At thi« sjiol we might .sink Ihe hi-jhe.*! point of the .\lps and still have nt.'i.rly Ixuilf a (uUe ut sea-water coverijig it. -» «v