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At the annual convention of the Gramd Council, A.0.U.W., great changes were effected in the consiiiution of the deder, namei*. the separation of the rand Counci‘! of Canads {rom the Suâ€" me Council in the United States, he removal of the headquarters from Bt. Thomas to Toronto, and the adopâ€" tion of a graded rate of assessment. GREAT BRITAIN. Great Britain has agreed to the ratiâ€" lication of the Paris convention of 1885. Mr. 8. F. Glass‘ pottery at Pottersâ€" burg, East London, was destroyed by Sir William Van Horne, president, and Mr. Sha%hnessy, viceâ€"president, of the Canadian Pacific railway, waited on the Minister of Railways on Saturday and opposed the application which the Victoria, Vancouver, and Eastern railâ€" way is makin{ to the Government for assistance to build its lines from the coast into the mining regions of East Kootenay. The fruit growers of Ontario are threatened with a new sest. a small insect cailed the San Jose ‘Scale or Bark Louse. This insect bas lately apread throughout the nurseries and orchards of Ohio and New York, doing great damage, An agitation is on foot in Montreal to provide better facilities for crossâ€" ing the St. Lawrence, either by buildâ€" ing a new bridge or by imgroving the present Victoria bridie. overnment aid is wanted for either project. The Hammond murder trial at Braceâ€" bridge came to a conclusion on Friday night at eleven o‘clock, when the jury announced, after being out for ‘five hours, that they could not agree on a verdict. They were discharged. Captain H. L. Covetter, of Savanne, Ont., died on Thursday. He was formerâ€" ly commander of the steamer Chicora when she was running the blockade to Charleston during the American war. The shareholders of the Bank of Nova Scotia have authorized the dirâ€" ectors to increase the capital of the bank from $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 whenâ€" ever they deem it expedient. Commutation of the death sentence })und on Sullivan, of Moncton, N. B., or the murder of Mrs. Dutcher, has been asked, and a setition with 2,000 signatures forwarded to Ottawa. Acl.ingr on the advice of his pHaiâ€" cians, . Borden, Minister of Miliâ€" tia, will io south for two or three weeks to give himself time to recover from the chakingâ€"up be got in the recent railway accident. Special precautions are being taken on the Pacific Coast by the quarantine authorities to Kln"m the entrance of any of the deadly pestilences now ragâ€" ing in the Orient. Veterinary Surgeon Morgan has disâ€" covered the disease known as the "sheep scab" in two flocks of sheep, one at Barriefield, the other at Batâ€" tersea. The Department of Agriculâ€" ture has been notified. Mr. Walter Vaughan of the law deâ€" partment of the Canadian Pacific Railâ€" wu{ bas been appointed Bursar of Mcâ€" Gill University. . The Government has decided to abolâ€" ish the office of Deputy Commissionen of Patents, made vacant by the death of Richard Pope. Micheal Brennan, the life grisoner from Barrie at the Kingston Penitenâ€" tiary, has been taken trom the hospital and placed at hard labor. A deputation from the Ottawa City Council visited Montreal and inspectâ€" ed their fire appliances. It is probable that Ottawa will get a waterâ€"tower. Manager Whompson of the O{il_vie Mining Com?any announces at Winâ€" nipeg that all their elevators will be closed owin%;o uncertainty regarding the tariff changes. An illicit still was seized on Wim. Mcâ€" liroy‘s farm in Collingwood Township. Mcllroy was fined $100 and costs for the offence. The Caledonian Society of Ottawa ?ropooes to organize a company of kilâ€" ies which it bopes in time will be recognized by the militia authorities. It is rumored at Winnimthat the Dominion Government will nd over« to the Manitoba Government all the remaining Crown lands in the Pro-‘ vince. brokers‘ oflices by the police. Steps aro being taken in Montreal to prepare a testimonial to be offered to Bo many robberies have taken place in Montreal latefiy that a special guard has been vplaced on the banks and Mrs. James A. Sadlier, the wellâ€"known Irish authoress, at an early date. ‘The Manitoba Dairy Association reâ€" rt that $127,264 worth of butter and szz,oou worth of cheese were exported last year. Coal has been discovered on the shures of the Petewawa, on the Upper Ottawa, and it is said to be in paying quantities. A small army of men are employed by the Public Works Defirtment. in Otâ€" tawa clearing away the debris of the recent fire. the military authorities at Ottawa have ?:lc'ided to disband the Seventh Batâ€" ion. Mr. Joseph Bourque of Hull, bas reâ€" ceived the contract for the new temâ€" mwnkry roof on the burned Parliament ock. The Kingston Elevator Company with a capital of $150,000, has beel; formed at Kingston. Four bundred Welsh families from Buenos Ayres are expected to settle in Manitoba in the spring. A disease has broken out amongst the sheep of Louth Township that baffles the veterinary surgeons. Manitoba College students have conâ€" tributed $92.05 to the India relief fund. Mr. T. Button of the Matthews House, Etratford, had $350 stolen from his cash register. The London City Council voted the sum of $500 to the relief of the India famine sufferers. The Bell Telephone Company is askâ€" ing the Government for permission to Increase their rates. The Seeiing in Londom is veering to lnteresting Itzms About Our Own Country, & i)r}ver Hoope; of "A" Battery, Kingâ€" ston, has fallen heir to $50,000. The meeting of Parliament will not take place until March 25', Athe *k _ The Western Fair Board of London report a most prosperous year. _ THE VERY LATEST FROM ALL THE WORLD OVER. J IFWS N NOE All Parts of the Globe, Condensed and Assorted for Easy Reading. is current in London that mc cmCOs oan oi h . HOT LAKES OF NEW ZEALANDy The hot lakes district df New Zeaâ€" land, covering an area of 1,000 square miles, is very actively and peculiarly volcanic. The particular attraction of the district lies in the changes that are constantly taking place in it. Almost from day to day extraordinary transâ€" formations are worked&y heat. {ire and steam. The freatut of the volcanio mountains, u:gahu. rises to a height of 9,000 feet, and one of the ‘?”" is estimated to throw water and steam toa height of 180 feet, while the lakes, nande and nanle amntaim wratam af 2..2. and pools contain ree of temperature. England has ordered a steamship to be b:i‘i’t.‘ for the "sole use of inuliSJ." ; a paragraph to the effect that the Czar was dissuaded from visiting Prince Bismarck by advice from the highest Government authorities. In the British House of Commons on Thursday Mr. Joee;iga(.‘hamberlain anâ€" nounced that the nsvaal had preâ€" sented their bill for indemnity as a result of the Jameson raid. Tie ask for £1,677,938 3s. 8d., one million {)einc for "moral and intellectual damage". At a dinner at Oxford on Saturday night Mr. John Morley, M.P., said that Crete must be liberated, for once and for all, from Turkish control. Mr. John Burns created a scene in the British House of Commons by atâ€" tacking Mr. W. W. Astor for his opâ€" mltion to the new County Council 1. The proposal to erect the hall was defeated. Herr Wagner, a Berlin editor, has been sentenced to two months‘ imprisâ€" onment for having published the stateâ€" ment that the Foreign Office inspired the side of Col. Rhodes, whose examâ€" ination will last another four or five sittings. © Bevere fighting is reported to have taken ileaoe between the Spanish troops ?;d dt insurgents of the Philippine ands. It is stated that 326,000 inhabitants bhave left Bombay on account of the plague. It is reported that Bolivia will deâ€" clare war upon Peru. Helen Weisenborn is suing the LO.F. at Cleveland for ?L,OOO on a Kolicy on the life of her husband who, she says is bead but whom the I.O. F. says is still living. The West End Street Railway Comâ€" Sany of Boston is advertising in Canaâ€" ian newspapers for men virtually defying the United States contract laâ€" bour law. H. J. Mayham, the New York brokâ€" er who chartered a special train from Chicago to Denver, in order to reach the bedside of his dying son, failed by four hours. The distance 1,026 miles was made in 18 hours and 52 minutes, the fastest time on record for long distance. It has been found that German gork. dui; inspected by a Government ofâ€" ficial, and atam‘i)ed as free from disâ€" ease, is infected. Opposite the Leland Hotel, Chicago, Elwood Leidy, of Philadelphia was held up by three men at eight o‘clock the oiher night and robbed of $165 and a gold watch. v oA ed the depression. On the cther hand steel trades, a better inquiry for wool and votton goods and boots and shoes, which encourage a hopeful view of the outlook. The mills are reported as having filled present demands, and wool, while more active, has not adâ€" vanced in price. Prices are stated to be a little better in New York, St. Louis, and Chicago, but no advance has occurred in other directions. _ Still the general trend of trade is for imâ€" provement, however slight. _ Mercanâ€" tile collections are reported as slow, and requests for ‘"extensions‘" are common. A Dr. Steinitz, the famous chess playâ€" er, is dead, at Moscow. ‘According to the commercial reports from New, York there is no actual change in the present condition of busâ€" iness throughout the United States. Among other things unseasonable weaâ€" ther has to a considerable extent miâ€" litated afainst trade, and in some diâ€" rections labour disputes have augmentâ€" Four officials of De Kalb county, Inâ€" diana, have been found to be $30,000 shoxt in their accounts. A cable from Havana states that Dr. Richard Ruiz, a naturalized American citizen, was found dead in his cell on Wednesday afternoon. _ The Margquis of Salisbury‘s refusal to follow the suggestion of the Emperor of Germany and blockade the Piracus is warmly praised in England, and his suggestion to the powers that Crete be frantod autonomy similar to that of the sland of Samoa is well received, 4s affording a solution of the problem which Greece can accept without a too great sacrifice of national pride. UNITED STATES. | The great machine bolt trust is reâ€" poried at Cleveland to have collapsed. The Merchants‘ National Bank of Jacksonville, Fla., has closed its doors. Galveston, Texas, street railway i9 "tied up" by a strike of the employes. Over 250 Greeks at San Franciscoare ready to ieave for Crete when called The Standard Oil Company will, it is said, hereafter pay dividends of 5 per cent. quarterly. The lower branch of the Nevada Legislature has voted down the Woâ€" man Swfrage amendment., A bill to permit the construction of a bridge over the St. Lawrence oppoâ€" site Cornwall was introduced in the United States Semate. Chief Operator Williams, of the Westâ€" ern Union Telegraph Company, is dead At San Quentin, Cal., on Wednesday, Chun Sinf. a Chinaman, was hanged ior a tni) e murder committed in Sepâ€" tember, 1895. Increased activity is reported from manufacturing centres in &?:tern Conâ€" necticut. at Pittsburg. The Great Northern Railway is again blockaded on account of snow and storms in the Cascades. tion, left bi mir Iichard Wallace, the celebrated English philanthropist, to his widow, has now been bequeathed to the nation by her. _ It is one of the finest private galleries in the world, and is valued at £3,500,000. various fleets in the Mediterranean, Mr. Goschen, First Lord of the Admirâ€" alty, replied that Great Britain could whip the lot, which figures abundantâ€" ly prove. The ma%nifio_ent Hertford art collecâ€" tion, left by Sir Richard Wallace, the In reply to a « STEAMSHIP FOR INVALID6S. C Sss ~aveaife us se io PnE and pools contain water of every ply to a question from Lord Dalâ€" relative to the strength of the GENERAL. ONTARIO ARCH TORONTO a London Suburb. Blondin, the rope walker, is dead. He was born in 1824. His real name was Jean Francois de Gravelot. He comâ€" menced rope kvalking when only four years old, and continued his wonderâ€" ful exhibitions up to a few months ago. The Famous French Rope Walker Dics in On November 29, 1895, he married Caâ€" RAILWAY CARRIAGE MURDER. The police seem to have reached the end of their resources in seeking to solve the mystery of the railway carâ€" riage murder. Every clue in their posâ€" session thus far has been run down without result. They investigated no less than forty rumors in regard to iron pestles, but were unable to trace the one with which the crime was comâ€" mitted. The public and. the police themselves are beginning to believe that the tragedy must be added to the Jackâ€"theâ€"Ripper category. No _ adeâ€" quate motive has been discovered, and as far as anybody has been able to learn the murder was committed for the mere sake of killing. This idea bas naturally given a fresh imgetus to the })opular protests against the Engâ€" lish form of railway travel. The local roads admit that the receipts from first and secondâ€"class travel have fallâ€" en off sharply since the crime was disâ€" covered. Women continue to g_refer to travel in the more Fopular thirdâ€"class rather than enjoy solitude, which is the only real advantage of the superior be no attempt to get twentyâ€"seven knots, which has been reported as the expected speed. The company anâ€" nounces that a much higher speed than that now contemplated is quite pracâ€" ticable from an engineering point of view. It has been determined to aim at a regular Wednesday morning arâ€" rival, both at New York and Liverpool, making Queenstown by daylight, and enablin passengers travelling to places %eyond the port otf arrival to reach their destinations during the day. It is calculated that the Oceanic wi{l be able to steam round the world without recoaling, at twelve knots, if necessary, as a reserve vessel of the British navy. It is expected to launch the vessel next January. The White Star line nomw has no less than 103,000 new tonnage under construction at Belâ€" ANOTHER OCEAN GREYHOUND. Some incorrect reports have been sent out regarding the new fast liner which will be built at Belfast this year for the White Star line. The Oceanic will be 7041 feet long, or 25 feet longer than the Great Eastern, and 17,000 %ross tonâ€" nage. It is expected she will be as fast as the crack Cunarders, but there will Although the Queen has been back at Windsor from Osborne for barely a week, she is engaged daily with memâ€" bers of the Royal family, court offiâ€" clals, and others, in connection with the arrangements for the diamond jubiâ€" lee. The impress Frederick and the Princess Beatrice are with her. The story goes that the Queen has given her patronage to a scheme of the Chilâ€" dren‘s Band of Hope Union (whose jubjiiee is next year) for obtaining a million more adult teetotallers to the ranks of the various socicties this year. By the end of this year the British Government expects to hold Egypt and the Soudan from the White Nile to the Mediterranean. To complete the English regime, the mixed tribunal, whose term of existence under the treaty will expire in 1898, will be reâ€" formed, or so revised as to give Engâ€" land amajority in the tribunal. Late news from, Cairo fixes the start of the Upper Nile expedition for June. The Egyptian forces will number 22,000, strengthened by Angloâ€"Indian forces to a total of 32,000. ‘The new gunboats now being completed in England for the expedition; carry each six machine guns; with one twelveâ€"pounder. ‘They have only two feet of draught, are twin screw boats, and carry their big gun forward. Bix of these formidable crafts will be at the service of the exâ€" gedmon, and will carry the most terriâ€" le weapons of war the dervishes have yet encountered. JUBILEE ARRANGEMENTS. Most of the colonies have already accepted the invitation of the Secreâ€" tary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, to send represenâ€" tations of troops to the Queen‘s Diaâ€" mond Jubilee celebrations, and they are expected to greatly enhance the attractions of the processions. Canada, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensâ€" land, South Australia, New Zealand, the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Trinâ€" idad, and Cyprus are sending cavalry, the troopers to be sent by the last beâ€" ing mounted zaptiechs. Some infantry and artillery are coming from elseâ€" where as far distant as the Gold Coast, Georgetown, and Hongâ€"Kong. A general officer will be appointed to command the whole force. The visâ€" itors will be housed in the military barracks of the Home districts. FRANCE NOT «PREPARED. In response to the question put to & leading Minister why the French Govâ€" ernment has treated Sizx M. Hicksâ€" Beach‘s declarations about Egypt with so much caution, the reply was made: â€""Because M. Hanotaux and his colâ€" leagues know that France is not preâ€" pared for naval warfare. The condiâ€" tion of the French fleet puts France as a sea power in a worse mess than she was in as a military power on enterâ€" ing upon the war of 1870." THE NILE EXPEDITION. Colonial Treops to Take Part in the Diaâ€" mond Jubilee Celebrationsâ€"France Not Prepared for War. A despatch from London says:â€"The plague and famine in India are proâ€" ducing the crisis in the Lancashire cotâ€" ton trade. The collapse of the Indian trade has led to the stoppage of thouâ€" sands of looms. East Lancashire is chiefly affected, and the employers are conferring over a projected reduction of ten per cent. in wages. The men have declared that they will fight th: reduction tooth and nail. If a strike occurs 288,589 looms will be idle. CRISIS IN THE COTTEN TRADE IN LANCASHIRE. SOME LATE CABLE NEWS BLONDIN HAS CROSSED. der an aesthetic which was being adâ€" ministered by Dr. Lamont, preparatory to an operation for the removal of the index finger by Dr. Chatin. Dr. Digâ€" by, Dr. D. Marquis, and Dr. D. A. Marâ€" quis were called in, but the efforts of the five medical men to restore aniâ€" mation were unavailing. It was afterâ€" wards stated that deceased was in the babit for years past of ukinf laudaâ€" num, & fact which he concealed from the doctors, and which no doubt causâ€" ed the unusual accident, ‘The medical men, assimt the wish of the friends of the deceased, have insisted that an inquest be beld, and have laid the matâ€" ter before the coroner. Death of a Man at Brantford in a Sur gery. A despatch from Brantford, Ont., says:â€"On Saturday afternoon William Travis, an employe of the RBrantford Carriage Company, died in Dr. Chatâ€" in‘s surgery, Market street, whilst unâ€" tims of the Ju Ju, or fetish priests, awere found crucified, they having been sacrificed to the various gods. The Ju Ju houses and their compounds were reeking with the blood of those who had recently been beheaded in the religious ceremonies. In the fighting that took place before the town was captured seventeen European and 23 naâ€" tive members of the exhibition were killed or wounded. No trace was found of Mr. Campbell, a Consular official who was caFtured by the Beninites at the time of the massacre. It is supâ€" posed that he was killed by his captors shortly after he was made a prisoner. Complete Success of the British Expediâ€" tion, A despatch from Brass, Niger Coast Protectorate, s~ays:â€"The _ expedition which was formed to punish Drunami, King of Benin, for the murder of the members of a peaceable British expeâ€" dition which was attempting to reach Benin Citty, has been entirely successâ€" ful. The expedition has captured Benâ€" in City, and the King is a fugitive. He fled northward, but a part of the expedition is in pursuit of him, and it is expected he will be taken prisoner. When the expedition entered the town it was found that it well deserved its name of "City of Blood." Many vicâ€" The special representative of the Asâ€" sociated Press who is visiting the faâ€" mineâ€"stricken districts of India has inâ€" spected the central native States and Bundelkund district. People from the former have been flocking into Britâ€" ish territory for the past month, and hundreds of starvindg E:rsons are meetâ€" lnq the trains an gging as their only chance of substence. The vilâ€" lages are turning the refugees away and many are dying on the rails, Walkâ€" ing from one station to another, the correspondent found five dead bodies along the line. Children are deserted, and left to forage for themselves. The mortality is awful at Banda, the blackest spot of the Bundelkund proâ€" vince, where, out of a population of 700,000, 200,000 are receiving relief. The number is expected to reach 300,000. Great Mortality in Bombayâ€"Awful Scenes in the Famine Districts. Since the outbreak of the plague, 6,853 cases have been reported in Bomâ€" bay, and 5,447 deaths from that cause have been reported. In Bombay Preâ€" sidency, 9,911 cases and 8,006 deaths from the plague have occurred. The Rajahs were the last in starting relief works, and then the mischie was already done. uces . ie . g per square mile. Juhn Bartholomew, the statistician, of Edinburgh, from data very carefully collected, estimates that the Mongolian race is the most pumerous, numbering 630,000,000; the Indoâ€"Germanic comes next, with 545,â€" 500,000 the negro and Bantu races number 150,000,000 ; the Semitic or Haaâ€" mitic race, inhabiting the southwestern part of Asia, the peninsula of Arabia and North Africa, numbers 65,000,000 ; the Malay and PolIynesian races numâ€" ber 35,000,000 ; the Indians of the Amâ€" ericas, 15,000,000, and the Hottentot tribes of South Africa 150,000. Unequal Division of, Inhabitants to the Square Mile. The population of the world, accordâ€" ing to an estimate made by the Royal Geographical Bociety in 1891, is very unevenly divided, whether considered with regard to the number of inhabiâ€" tants to the square mile, or to their geographical distribution over the the earth. Europe has 8,555,000 square miles, and 380,200,000 inhabitants, or 106.9 to the square mile, being the most densely settled portion of the earth‘s surface. Asia comes second with 14,710,000 equare miles and a population of 850,000,000, or 57.7 inhabiâ€" tants per squrre mile; North America third, with 6,446,000 square miles, and & population of 89,250,000, or 18.8 per square mile; Africa fourth, 11,514/000 s(llu.are miles, poE:latlon 127,000,000 or 1 ggmom to t square mile; then South America, with 6,837,000 square miles and 36,420,000 inhabitants, or 5.3 per square mile; Australia, 3,288,000 square miles, 4,730,000 inhabitants, or 1.4 per square mile, and the polar reâ€" gion, with 4,888,000 square miles, a population of #00,000 or .7 inhabitants Blondin would never drink or amoke. Thougha Frenchman by birth, he livâ€" ed in Enfilnnd in a fine villa, which he named "Niagara." He was fairly wellâ€" toâ€"do at the time of his death, and posâ€" sessed a large number of medals preâ€" sented to him by the sovereigns of the countries which he had visited during the days of his glory. > t.erine James, at the Brentford regisâ€" try office, in England. The bride was many years the junior of the husband. Blondin _crossed Niagara Falls on June 30, 1859, in the presence of nearly 50,000 {Jeople. It was the first time this feat _ had ever been attempted. The following year he made the trip across Ninana River, just above the Falls, nearly 50 times, and on Septemâ€" bar 14, 1860, he carried a man across on his back. The Prince of Wales witâ€" nessed this performance, and when Blondin was nted to him, the Prince exclaimor?'l‘ehank God, it‘s all over." THE WORLD‘S POPULATION, FAMINEâ€"STRICKEN INDIA. UNDER ANZESTHETICS. BENIN CITY CAPTURED. performed and over a quart of sproutâ€" ed wheat taken from the stomach of ocu crackad and not Sranine Hinough n crac and not passing oug the stomach it began to grow. Some of the sprouts were two inches lo Kroeger is in a bad shape, and it doubtful if he will recover from ¢ iA German‘s Trouble After Eating That Ccrealâ€"Yarn From Kansas. A despatch ftrom Hutchinson, Kan., says: â€"Physicians _ of McPherson county report a strange case. Living in the nbrthâ€"east pa‘t of Reno county is a German farmer, Abram Kroeger. He sold his wheat some time ago to the Bubler mill, and it became necessary to have it delivered, even though the roads were heavy and muddy. In taking it to mill Kroeger was in the habit of eating the wheat, continually pickâ€" ing up a mouthful. A short time ago he was taken sick and his case baffled the doctors. K.roe%er grew worse. The doctors being unable to diagnose the case, and fearing death if no relief wy;gi;in."ii"opar&xan _was deterâ€" mined upon. On Thursday last it was Montreal advices do not indicate any increase of buoyancy in business, and various are the reasons assigned for the nonâ€"improvement in general trade, such as the peculiar winter seasons we are having with its scarcity of snow, the curtailment of lumbering operaâ€" tions, and the general disinclination to contract ahead for goods in face of posâ€" sible tariff changes. All these condiâ€" tions tend to a contraction of trade, and a restriction in the circulation of money in country parts. _ Wholesale grocers report a quiet demand for the season in most staple lines, though for Eickled fish, canned goods, and other enten requisites there is a fair enâ€" quiry, and some stiffening in prices owâ€" ing to limited supplies. Hardware, meâ€" tafl, oils, paints, cements, .etc., are all duil. The shoe factories are mostly busy, some especially so, in preparing for the delivery of spring orders, and there is a little more doing in certain lines of leather, prices of which tend to firmnsss, owing to the reported adâ€" vance in the American hide market. For dry goods moderate spring orders aer reported from the country ; city reâ€" tail trade is very guiet on the wimle. Trade in dairy products is limited, all stocks of cheese being already absorbed and the demand for butter being mainâ€" ly of a local jobbing character. The money market is easy, four per cent. bemf now the general quotation for call loans, and some claim that for large amounts a 3 1â€"2 per cent. rate would probably be obtainable, though no acâ€" tual business is reported at this figâ€" age. A large part of the profit arose out of the business of s;fi»plying Canâ€" ada with half dollars. any of the twentyâ€"cent coins in circulation come from the Straits Settlements. Considâ€" ering the invasion of American, Newâ€" foundland, and Straits Settlemuents curâ€" rency, it will be seen that the matâ€" ter is of considerable importance. is easg. call loans being quoted at 4 12â€" to 5 per cent., and prime commercial paper discounted at 6 Eer cent. Stocks are firmer than at the beginning of the week, but the dealings are more reâ€" stricted. The Bank of England disâ€" count rate is unchanged at 3, and the open market rates are 1 15â€"16 to 2 per cent. Trade conditions at Toronto seem to have undergone no change this week. There has been a fair demand for dry goods, and the shipments have been up to the average. In both groceries and hardware dealers report business as fairly good. Quite a number of failâ€" ures are reported, but they are generâ€" ally for small amounts. ‘The Toronto Board of Trade has again taken up the question of insolvency. A bill covâ€" ering the whole Dominion is needed. The wheat market has been very dull this week; there is no export demand and prices of both red and white are lower. Live hogs are b?her in price, with a good demand, and dressed hogs are firmer, with light weights comâ€" manding good %rices. Hides and leaâ€" ther are firm. Poultry and dairy proâ€" ducts in demand and firmer, owing to smaller supplies. The money market is easy, cafl loans being quoted at 4 The visible supply of wheat in the United States and Canada is now only 46,658,000 bushels, a decrease of 1,227,â€" 000 bushels for the week. The total a year ago was 65,926,000 bushels and two years ago 80,733,000 bushels. ‘The amount on passage to BHurope is 25,â€" 920,000 as against 26,240,000 bushels a year ago. Â¥ The world‘s decrease in wheat last week was nearly 8,000,000 bushels. The exports from America for January were 11,610,000 bushe!s, a decrease of 2,853,â€" 000 bushels from last year. In seven months ending Janu&r{’ B1, exports agâ€" gl“’gated 105,078,000 bushels against 8,361,000 bushels for the same time last year. t Business Man. Money on call is easy at 41â€"2 to 5 moent. in Toronto, and firmer in don at 11â€"2 to 2 per cent. The world‘s shipments of wheat were smaller than usual last week, the total being only 4,680,000 bushels. _ The imports of raw sugar into the United States last oÂ¥w increased $23,â€" 000,000. Imports refined increased $3,000,000, or equal to 140 per cent. . â€"The earnings of the Grand Trunk Railway for the week ended February 7, were $304,344, an increase of $18,424 over the corresponding week of last year. ioÂ¥ Some Items of Interest to the Busy THE FIELD OF COMMERCE, THE WHEAT SPROUTED Delaware, Ohio, has been blacklisted by tramps because the town authorâ€" ities have revived the ducking stool and use it to punish vagrants that refuse :o work énr their llodgm& Last week wo wanderers applie lodg im the town‘s free ‘fi:dqing-house. m%hey refused to work whereupon the Mayor ordered them tied in a chair and a firehose turned on them. ‘After a thorâ€" onfih soaking the idlers recanted and willingly started to work. , WHERE LOCUSTS ARE EATENX, Locusts are an article of food in parts of Africa, Arabia and Persia~of such immlnoe that the price of pÂ¥ovisions is uenced by the quantitsy of the A STRANGE FISH. Africa still contains much that is unâ€" known and mysterious, notwithstandâ€" ing the many explorations and discovâ€" eries of recent years. In Lake Tanâ€" ganyika, for instance, there lives a speâ€" cies of large fish which rushes at the paddles of passing boats, but of which no description bhas yet been published. For Â¥urs travellers had beard about this fish from the natives, but Mr. J. E. S. Moore appears to have been the first Enm;;ea.n to see it. During his recent explorations of ‘Tanganyika he saw the mysterious fish rushing at the paddles but learned little more about it than the fact of its existence, alâ€" though he caught enormous numbers of fish of various species, some weighâ€" ing as much as sixty pounds. There is as yet no positive clue to the perpetrators of the horrible crime. The appearances about the ranch, the conâ€" dition of the bodies and some other circumstances, have led to the suspiâ€" cion that the murders were committed by Indians, and this suspicion was in part started from a known fact that one Indian was seen in the neighborâ€" hood of the ranch yesterday. . The bodies were terriblg mutilated with axes and clubs. _undi% Rock, an Indian reservation, is not far from the scene. A despatch from Winona, N. D., says: â€"A sextuple tragedy was discovered one mile from this place on Thursday on the ranch of the Rev. Thos. Spicer. The hborribly mutilated bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Spicer, their daughter, Mrs. William Rouse, with her oneâ€"yearâ€"old twin boys, and aged Mrs. Waldron, mother of the postmaster of this place, wereh discovered scattered about the ranch. Mix People Murdered at a Dakota Ranch â€"No Traces of the Assassins. A Terrific Exploston in Ayrsbhireâ€"Bix Perâ€" sons Killed. An explosion occurred in the extenâ€" gsive works devoted to the manufacture of Nobel‘s explosives in Ayrshire, Scotâ€" land, on Wednesday morning, killing six persons. The explosion took place while the men were washing nitroâ€" glycerine, and the report was heard fifteen miles. â€" The explosion occurred at Stevenston. ']\ven:{v tons of nitroâ€" glycerine exploded, and the shock was tremendous beyond description. Winâ€" dows were shattered for miles around and persons long distances away from the scene were thrown to the ground. All of the windows of a lpa.ssenger train at Paisley, a dozen miles away, were smashed. Persons in the vicinity of the explosion were rendered partially deaf or blind by the concussion. members of the family, whose name was Woodwardâ€"the mother and nine childrenâ€"were in the waggon. The mother amd six of the children were killed instantly, and the other three children are ‘dangerously, two per= h.;fs fatally, hurt. . They lived eight miles out in the country and were comâ€"= ing to Chattanooga. _ The father, W. J. Woodward, was already in town They failed to notice the ll%nals giv= en by the trainmen, and death came to them before they were aware of their danger. Both horses were killed, and the waggon utterly demolished. _ The shock to the train wuas so severe that all the windotw glass in it was jarred to fragments. The bodies of the dead family were brought to an undertakâ€" ing establishiment in Chattanooga soon after the accident. Seven Members of One Family Rilled at Railway Crossing. A despatch from Chattanooga, Tenn., says:â€"Seven out of a family of eleven were killed on a railroad crossing near Sherman Heights, a suburb of Chatâ€" tanooga, on Wednesday afternoon. Ten ter a number of g{ymnutic moves that made him think of his school days, l;z found himself sitting on the grass the embankment alongside the track, Seeing another passenger sitting a short distance away, patiently -ugfort- Ing various parts of the splintered car across his legs, he inquired : *"Is this Speers Crossing ?" The passenger, not altogether new to such happenings, replied, with a smile, although in considerable pain:> "No; this is catastrophe." "Is that so." hbe irritably exclaimed. ‘"Now I knew that conductor would putb me off at the wrong place." Now the Old Man Was Let OK at the Wrong Station. "Mister Conductor, you be #ure and let me off at Speers Station. You see, this is the first time I ever rode on steam cars, and I don‘t know anyâ€" thing ‘bout them. You won‘t forget it, eh t" + "All right, sir; I won‘t forget." The old man brushed back a stray lock of hair and, straightening bimâ€" self, fuod with increasing wonder at the flying landscape, everynow and El_l_e_n s exf:laiming, ‘"Gracious |" _ "By The train was roaring along about forty miles an hour, and the conductor was busily punching tickets full of holes, whenalittle thin old man who sat in one of the corner seats plucked his sleeve. . DUCKINGâ€"STOOL FOR TRAMPS Suddenly there was a crash, and afâ€" TWENTY TONS OF DYNAMITE. A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY. HORRIBLE TRAGEDY. A CATASTROPHE, a¢ How I Wo & pretty little girl across the street. ed the curb she Alig ice and fell vily. half a to reac and pi r up. & the , though not to rt her for shé went her way stores and yelled a ‘ I had tramped up three or four times ed cash boy ran ou "Come, quick! '1} esaught a shoplifter "Ah, officer," said was a mere busines glad you have come. at the lace counter valuable piece of la and gave the alarm ried away from the was found in an ou cloak. ‘This is the There was a sud part of he womnn. handkerchiel from hber right arm and with rage, and, t eyes upon the fairly screamed: ""Tis false! 1 BShe was the bl I had picked up before. It was getting to hen my attention Then she told me was an orphan and by an old aunt in six months before died, and she came turned her hand 1 had been able to cently since then. She said she h shop to make som« was arresied wher protested that sh the lace came to hb I explained the at the station ani for her to sit in instead of occup Bomehow 1 coul ful look of those and I couldn‘t s light came time scourt time came thinking over Uh rive at some soll girl. Of course wh Minnieâ€"that wa victed in oneâ€"L made ho statem likeâ€"and the jm in the court ab As they led 1 the picture of d of encouragimen with a look the words could har broken." % I had question apperrance of th near her at the / remember none { ed woman who ung.ion because lation of one of had been cut ou 1 persuaded 1 grant me leave of days and wen ed the pictures hard and carne every female cr lery, but 1 coul alter. At last I fell under the picti face, and was k hat by the w piece cut out, ol I ‘had a lon: friend of min was able to pl me where she All that day I was on the and was despa .nmb eh'vmman 6 rushing again cloak. I glanced uy one of her ear the girl and 1 described. ‘The woman Bhe entered had arrested the very cou stolen and be And then, se for it and tu I was in a termined t0 the risk of 1 Seeefinng up shoulder and me. 1 want same time | stant, and 1 fiantly and in the direc den, where 1 ed three day struck my 1« up a bundle dropped it. _ Reeing th shoplifter on my thief en the piece Every d ce. b‘hr"?:u {G* *A ,