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THE VERY LATEST FROM ALL THE WORLD OVER. Isterntlsg ltcs About Our Owe Country, Qrcat Brluia, tk United Sum. as4 All Parts ot tb Globe, Cosscascs' sstf AsMTtot lor Easy Rcadlaf. CANAJJA. (>rave roblers made an unsuccessful at tempt in Petertoro' cemetery. Valentine Short i*. tbe Vallajrfield murderer, is now an inmate of the St. Vincent de Pay I penitentiary. Mr. G. W. Gilbert was injured by runaway burses at Sarnia. and it is feared be will not recover. Tbe dead body of Mr. Samuel Burns, an elderly man. was found in a Bar- ton tireet house in Hamilton. An ire bridge has formed below the falls at Niagara, and many visitors and citizens nave crossed on the ice. Tbe latest combine is for the purpose of keeping the price of sole leathers upon a paying basil and restricting if possible the output. The Rev. Father Lacomhe. tbe North- West missionary, received an a New Year's gift from Premier Bow ell a grant of land. 150 miles east of Edmon- ton, to be laid apart as a Metis reserva- tion. John Carroll, a lad of seventeen years. fell into a vat of boiling water at Lox- ier's Kicyrle Works. Toronto Junction, on Wedresday evening, and died from bin frightful injuries four hours later Acting for a numlr of Hamilton citizens. Mr. Thos. McKeown. civil en- gineer of Buffalo, has prepared a re- port upon the T. H A B Railway, which states that tbe cornpsny has not complied with tbe conditions of the by-law granting the lionus of 1225.000 The death rate in the city of Ottawa fr IHW wsa 2D.W per thousand, com- pared with 21.60 for the year previous. Tbe River St. Lawrence has frozen over at Montreal This has been delay- ed to a later date than ever before known. Mr tieorge F Tucket t. Mayor of Hamilton, has resigned from the direc- torate of the Central Pair Association, and tne Hamilton Jockey Club. Tbe dead body of Wm Cole., sr . of Stralane. On'., was found in his oaoas in that village. Tbe man was nearly eighty years of age. and had lived alone for a long time. Mr. J. A. l-irard. a widely-known in- surance agent and appraiser f Mont- real, sw allowed pan* green on Thursday night from the effects of which be died early on Friday morning. A militia order baa t*en issued an- nouncing the retirement from the ac- ive forre of Col. Walker Powell. Ad .mtant-Jieneral of the Militia, with a retiring allowance and the rank of col- onel on the retired list. Tbe order cun- 'ained a high and unusual tribute t.. his personal and official character GREAT BRIT VIS Henry Irving L- to unveil tbe i tiient ,4 Sarah Siddons on Pad- duif >n green next spring. l/ord RLackUirn a I. nl of tbe KnirliAh Court of Appeal. Is dead. He was eiirhty-three years of am. British trade return* tor Deceailvr '8M. show a large im-rease over tbe re- turns for th- mrath a year ago. Mis.* MaiiiH- Dickens, tbe eldest daughter of the great novelist, mskes her bum-* at Dunton rectory, in tbe MI of Brentwood. in Rssex. Ixvd SalU>mry is engaged upon the Venezuelan <i>rrespondence. and a full ataUwneiit will lie placed before Parlia- ment aa speedily as possible. A nephew of Washington Irvine ia tbe landlord of tbe old-faahioned hostelry at Kirraintrb.ua. Kntrland. which is murh patronized l>y Amerkans visiting the iiidlands capital. The commanding officer of tbe differ- \: regiments of Knglish volunteers hive been overwhelmed with letters rom tbe men under their command expressing their desire to be enrolled 'or act ive service. Mr Cbamlvrlain haa sent a despatch ' President Kruger sayintt that the Vueii bts heard with satisfaction that tbe President has dn-iited to band over the pruoners recently captured to tbe Kritith (Jovernmwit Th* idea that a coinlnnation of powers hi* l<een formed against CIreat Britain seem* to he gaininir gmund. and a de- spatch to tbe Paris Soliel says that a inent L* really on foot to establish an ant i- British alliance (ireal Britain i* evidently determined I* caiiffht unpreparp.l for war if Emperor William *h >uld proceed on his recent arrogant c>ur*e. Rnih the naval and military authorities have been in- structed to make all necessary prepara- tion* t.i put the navy and artnv on a v..n f .-ing at the shortest possilje no- li should such a step lie deem?d necee sarv Ii L* IvlMfved in Ixmdon thii Great Britain has purchaseid froru INirtutrsI IVlagoa l*y. the nearest seaport to tbe Transvaal Republic. Tbe movement in favor of arUt ration In :be Venezuelan que.stuiii with the I'nited States is increasing in Londiun. The feeling is in faior of elaMitiint; a pennane-nt Court of Arbitration I M TED STAFFS At Luke Fiddler collierv. r-a., four avn lost their lives by falling out of a bucket in the shaft. 1 men in Mount Pleasant Florida, fought a duel, in which both were killed, for t In- U>v of a woman, who was su- premely indifferent to both. Tbe war feeling I* very strong among t lifrniann of Milwaukee, and they tl.i ik tbit the present Transvaal trouble will lead t the abnvation of the treaty o f I ciMlon. "The New York Excuw Board have liicrp.twxl the fee f- hotel, saloon, and ti rekeepers' licenses. This wa* ilotie *>( Huae the board be.lievnt there are too many oaUiuns in tbe city A. H Uruwnley. of London. Out., was Cat. at the Paiaj irf a pL>tol. and fonwl held up on the- beach at Santa Monica, to SI+MI ton Aiiicri.a.. K\pr<- Company rhequen for fifty dollars each. It i* reported at New York that tbe marriage of Mr. Oliver H I' Itrlmoiit and Mm W. K Van let bill will be orle- braiol at tbe rmidemce of the latter at MadMon avejui-.- and 72nd treet on v. January 28. The Rev Francis W Bit.*., a - \fn.-in mkvionary, at pment in Bua- Knglanrl u< tbe great civilizing influew* in South Africa, and 'h- world would b-- ih tetter for it if Hr Haiti owive.1 all Africa. Juliai Pauncefote and Viscount (i call. 1 upon Postmaster-General Wilson at WarliUigion and subn a propowiMim from the Pc.-t maater- il il Great Britain for tbe nego- . <>f a panrrl pant convention be- tween the. two countries. Mr H"nry Norman, the special c.m- mi.srioi.er of the l.>>n lo:. I)ai!) Chronicle, cables from Washington that all tbe best American opinion n earnestly de>in'i- of a friendly and dignified settlement "f the Venezuelan dUpute. and he considers tbe present moment a irolden one to se- cure American g<jod-will. Tbe German press of Detroit is red- hot for war between Great Britain and Germany. George B. Smith abot his father-in- law dead at Ransom ville, over tbe Ni agara border. A committee of citizens pursued the murderer and shot him down in a farm house where he had taken refuge. The auggebtion of Sir. .Norman, tbe special commuskxter of the London pail.. Chronicle at Washing! m. !> that Great Britain appoint five commissioners to confer with th- oofnmiasioaers recently appointe<l by riiaiihml Cleveland, and that these tea men constitute a Board of Arbitration to virtually decide the loca- tion of the disputed Venezuela boundary line. \. cording to comntercial reports from New York business across the line is dull even for t hi.-, dull period of the year. Generally st.-k* appear ample for immediate re.iuireui-nt-s. and d<>ub' as in tbe financial coume i hat Congre&t will pursue and rather d u tful political c n ditioiu at borne and abrotd are dearest ing trade and killing induntr lions are as a rule slow, and reports from travellers during the last few day* mention only a moderate demand though activity has increase'! in dry goods, boots and sho a -id clothing gen- erally 'A'h ! th- c n'liti < are not perhaps as hopeful *.* might be wished, satisfactory to be '.ill that in ii direction are they worse, and in sever- al much better, than wa the case a week ago. A despatch from Washington savs h i Secretary Mur'on is still cunsi 'ering ' be application for tbe opening of a new i>rt of entry and exp-jri in s land for tbe transport it;on ( I'una t.an cattle I ring ihippe I t , Great Britain or othrrr forei.Ti cnn.tre Th- Secretary is said to he favorably disposed to- wards ucb * port \ wr-k on the Baltimore and Ohio 'Vesirrn railwav was averted oa 'Vein '8 lay n gfa bv Ma Oh a nine- year-. .H g;rl ... !'. rtini'Hltb. Ohio, who. finding an <>l>-tru< * track, crawled acnws s high trestle bridge and ml' a fire o tbe track, which warned tbe train hind* who stopped tbe train, which wait crowded with passenger*, in tim to prevent a disaster Henry Norman, the special commu- afcwer of Tbe London Chronicle in 'Va-bington has interviewed the aasav l*r of th Senate Committee or .n Relations and the Bouse t'om milee . -r, Foreign Affairs a* to the ,etMi-hment of a perm wen' tribunal of aii-itration fur i|oratiuus arising be- tween Great Britiin and tbe I'nited State*. not involv.ng national autonomy n.>r \l r\--r-f*l themselves troagly ip favor of such an tJKNKKAI Tbe recent cenu* of (Germany snow* a population of 51.75H.SH Culn rehrl* ex|>!<krd dynamite un !- er a train on tbe Nuevitas Puerto line, ining 9>JO passengers, several whom wer." injure 1 Tbe u.il- i ,,f an Italian torpedo boat n 1-ake Maggiore explo-led on Thurs- day sinking the vessel, and drow mug thirteen people wbo were OB hoard. Two sever* earthquakes, causing tbe low of 1.100 lives, have occurred in the Khalkh.il district in Teheran They -relv destroyed two villagea. New* ha* 'wen "received in K*ne that the Italians in A>>vmia hafe defeated Emperor Menelek s forces at Nakaleb Tbe > hrann are said to have lost heavily I- LS state) that Dr. Jameson's force, on ita way to Johannesburg, marched one hundred and sixty miles in ninety bourn, never baiting more than two bourn at a time President Krugvr of tbe Transvaal, has replied to Secretary ChamU rlain, thanking tbe Queen for ber kind ex- pressions, and renewing his promise to band over Dr. Jamexon and the other prisoner* to tbe British Government puninhment. Tbe Canadian- Australian ^'earner Miowera. which bad not tieen heard .since she parted company with tbe Strmthnevis. which she was towing into safety, is safe. Tbe VYarrimoo spoke her on January 2nd. about one hundred 'u:les south of Honolulu and all waa ajaJI its sent forward line tbe Asbanti territory have returned to tbe British ui|svu.s am! report that King Prempeh has sent a messenger to meet the expe- dition now un ILK way to Comnassie. to profuse terms of peace. The Queen of Italy, who always takw great iiitete.st in every ntw invention, has keen lately making use of a horse- leiss carriage m ber grounds at Monza. with which she ban lieen so much pleas- ed that she has ordered a similar car riage for her <>i ber rwudeaoea. The Y'fkohauta corrwumdent of the 'eiencurg Novor N reuiva cable* that Japan has offere-d free and un- limited anchorage to Kuanian warships in all Japanese harbors, with the view of diverting Kuua from ber intention of acquiring a harN'r in Corea. Count de Ceali has been arrested in PartH on a charge of having ohtaim-.l one million franca by frud frv>in the late Max Leliaudy. the young mil I ion- sire who recently died from typhoid fever contracted while serving bin three yearn' term of conscription in tbe French army. Portugal, it is announced, will remain neutral in tbe dispute hetwwn Great Britain and Germany regarding tbe Transvaal, and will not permit the tJer- mantt or the British to land truov" at Itelatroa bay. or to traverse tbe Portu- guese territory in South Africa. Tbe crew of tbe first-lass Russian steel cruiser Rurik mutinied recently while that veaawl wan in the harbor of \lgier-s. Tbe mutiny wi> suppressed 1 rench authorities, and thirty .>!' 1 1* leader* are now on their way to ~iadt. where they are to be exe- cuted MESE THf SOLD VAST TREASURES HOARDED III BU-S1A AMD INDIA. a. i atM. .-< in al- a* ><>.. I,|I.B Bjtjah* Have faAi ttrr fib* Pr*elw lal. How did Russia amass the iui.nense of gold whicb she is said to poa- asf The answer is simple. She haa been 'or ever so long a hoarder of tbe yel- low mfltal. withdrawing from circula- tion not only the product of her own mines, but also the foreign coin and /old bars imported into tbe country Mar 'lv any gol I leaves Russia, while sh- recei.es annually from outs.de $8U.OOl!, MB to 9TOOO-OJU worth of .t Thus she has got together s gigantic heap of specie by draining tbe channels of tbe monetary circulation of the world. Tbe Treasury of the Czar now contains about 690.000.0UO in gold. It i* not known why Ruv-ia has adopt- ed this policy of boarding. Perhaps it may have been for tbe purpose of im- proving ber credit and financial stand ing among tbe Power*. If ao. tne pUn baa been succeisful It has been con- by other authorities that tbe gold is s war fund. The boarding of gold, which signifies i's -A r hdraw.il from cir ulatiun h nders the flow of tbe world's commerce and ia an injury to tbe latter. It would be an immrnan benefit to all mankind if the stores of the yellow metal now held by individuals in India could be made avail- able for general u Ever since tbe lawn irf history that country has been g.tb r n. . 1 an l hiding it away. Plu.y who ued in 7y A.O.. complained that India drew from the great Kouian Em- pire not less than 92.7UO.UUU in gold and silver yearly. A Frenchman nam- ed Bernier. in loUS. writing a report t" his Government from Delhi, said that "tb- gold and silver of the world, after circulating for aotn tune, finally flow to India, at into an auyait irum there in no reiuru. ' It was estimate*! by Dr. Sjetbeer t>at iiriutf tb* half entury previous to 1*.-, In in hoarde<i l.o '.ow-MluU oi sil.^r a:i : g< I.I nearly iMie-third nf the total amount of coin- age in circulation in tbe world. EA>1 INDIAN HUAKLW. TreevMiRSaf aluio- .:.. il u ahle value are poasesaBd bv mau> ludiau Priaoas. Itecenily lae \Lahai ajau of Bur<lan and tbe stuck ol gold and silver I'll b\ him wa<i > Large that no mem ber of the faui.ly could make an accur ate esiim.t. . \ report made to tbe lirr-.il t <ovwrnineni by a secret agent sttu-l tail uu -_be estate of the letunct potentate were a number "t treasure bouses, one of them contain ing three mums. 1 he largest of these three rooms were tri let long and was filled with ornamnits ' gold and silver plates and cups, washing bowls, jugs, ail of precious metals. Tbe otber two room* were full of tugs and bo\e- of gold mohur* and silver ru.--e- I duors of this and other tri 1 i-ure houses had been brii-k*xl up for nuoody know.- bow long. A--' "i 'in,: a custom of tbe Kurtiwan Raj fam.ly. all of tbww valu ablea were in tbe custody of tbe Mahara jib s wife, tbe vaults being attache! t h r apart m-nt4. but none of them was allowed to lv opened save in tbe pres- ence of tbe master. One vault was fill- ed with ornaments belonging to differ- ent jr-"t- '( th- firmly It Is known that this board has been in process of accumulation for seteral centur \ .t long ago tbe sum o* 11.130.000 wad drawn out of it for in vestment in land, tbe entire amount being in Sikka rupees, none of which have been coined since 1896. Gold or other money thus hoarded is not put away with any intenttun to take it out again. On the contrary, only pressing necessity can force tbe owners t.> redu e the stock of wealth. It is considered a ?>int of honor not to break into a b<*rd bs proprietor will burrow rather than tou-b it. the hoard being treated like a family picture, not to be sold if it can be avoiiled. One native prince in India i> known to be boarding gold at present at the rate of 250.000 a year. Every month be sends 40.000 or 50.000 silver rupees to agents in Calcutta and Bom- bay, wbo convert them into gold mo- burs. A mohur is worth about 77. Two other Indian prince*, wbo died a few rears ago. left board* amounting I. r-004W.Ofln each. lastrad if spend- ing these great heaps of in.mey. their descendants will add to them M-:\R AFTER YEAR and generation after generation. Tbe nati%t> of that couutry generally pre- fer to invest their means in ornamens for tl. -ir fain lies, whk-h serve the pur- pose of board In fact, a large part of the saving* of tbe people are in the shape of jewelry IV.wries are often composed of jewelry alone. The native.* commonly bury their boards, and among tbe poorer classes a favorite hiding place i* a hole dug beneath the bed Disuse.! wells are sometimes employed for the ,*am purpose It is undoubtedly a fact that many board* thus deposited are lost forever. It is estimated that in the Bombay pn*|len.-v alone *V1.0l000 worth of British sovereign* are treasur- ed up because they bear tbe design of St. George and tbe dragon and are val- ued on religious grounds. India is a very religious country and the gods take up immense quantities of gold, sil- ver an<l precious stones. The temples contain vast amounts of the yellow and white metal*. This haliit of hoarding seems to have been induced by ages of misgovernment. during which oppreafion and violence hi^e lw*n rife No feeling of safety ex- isting, it was natural that the natives should adopt tbe practice of reducing their wealth to a concentrate t shape and hilling it. Thus in case of emergency the familr savings in hard cash were always within easy reach, and robber* her enemie.* were not likelv to get hold of them. Meanwhile c-entury after century the exports of In Iw have great- ly exceeded tbe imports of that country, an-l consequent lv an uninterrupted stream of gold and silver has flowed thithrr Purinir the thirty three yean emfod in !>*!>.' India imported and kept ahout f825.noo.000 in gold That u. indeed, a bottomless well into which a tream of treasure perpetually flow*. .z all the rest at tba wi I' U said that there is a hair* amount >' run !! if./.i .11 IVkm The. Chinaae ffi iili loiiiin n'v uitke la r g- foriunem v in that i'f>un' ' i>e almost univeraa They are afraii to pr their money into ank>, b-cime their uperi>rt w> aid ili*- .'nee and ounfucate 'he whole of it. .So they buy g dd bars and secret* them. titly. gold al- w.iy commands a conaiderahle premium at Pek:n INVENTCB AMD EMPEROR. e al the tb* < rrm Katacr. Bjr grace of the Holy Roman Empire boovj A. Edisno bears (be rank of Count. But this distinction by the (tali in Kmperor means little to him. In fact he haa a box full of emblems of royal favor, whk-h are treasured only by hu wife, and rarely gazed upon by himself. This brings to mind an experience be had with tbe present Ger- man Emperor. While in Berlin be received an invita- tion to viiit William the Warrior in his palace, and on the appointed day a state carriage, gorgeous in golden ornaments. drawn by six bones and with outriders. called for him. This display abashed the modest-minded inventor, and be said that he would reach the Imperial pal- ice in hit own wsy. He walked. When be reached tbe designated place th<* flunkeys in charge declined to take hi* card to the royal presence, his humble appearance rr>.kin g it seem impossible to them that he was to have an audi- ence with their auguat master Edison. no wlte Disappointed, returned to bis botel where shortly he was waited upon by a court official conveying William's regreti for tbe mistake and a request to.it h<- would visit the palace next day *nl bruu with him one of hu phono- graphs. He did .to. The Emperor took him into hi* private cabinet, nu one else being present, carefully closed all the doors and then besought him to take toe marvellous invention apart and explain to him all ILK workings. This wa.-* done, and tbe investor wu invited to attend a court reception next day. and to bring the phonograph with him. I' pon this occasion the great invtr.'. r found the Kmperor surrounded with a b nil .int throng of nobles, each one damraUd with the insignia of his rank \VOTI be produced his mysterious in- vention tbe Kiupprur took it in hand. it cnu-illy. as though br had never seen it before, then took it apart in-1 expLiine.l t> tbe amavsed court n>ra exactly bow it perform** 1 its wuo'iera. He never said a word about bia instrue- tkm tbe day before. Beneath bj.* brv.it h Ediiwn whispered of tbe German Kaiser. "An unmitigat- ed fraud.'* PEARLS OF TRUTH. simplicity is tba deep**' wis- dom. Harrow. Tears are sometimes tbe lunpaaat uniles of love. Stendhal. If there were no future life our souls would not thirst for it. Ricbtnr. He that swells in prosperity will be sure to aink in adversity . Colton. Valor wtaild cease to be a virtu* if there were no injustice. Agesilaus. Gambling is tbe child of avarice, but tbe parent of prodigality. Colton. Th" highest manhood reside* in di- poHition. not in mere intellect Beec her. Our deeds determine us as much aa we determine our deeds. George Eliot. Walk m the. lub' and tbou shall see) thy path, though thorny, bright. Bar- ton. Where 'here is room in the heart t berc is always roum in tbe bouse. Moore. There waa speech in their dumtaeaa; language in tbieir very gesture sbaks- pear. Remorse not only turn* God against us. but turns us against ourselves. Thomas. There is no gain ao certain as that which ariaeia from sparing what you have. Publius Syrus. Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction. Goethe. To-morrow 1 will live, the fool doea say; to-day itaelfs too late: the wlae lived yesterday. Martial. Pleasure and revenge have ears more deaf than adders to tbe voice of any true decision. Shakspeare. Nature is tbe time-vesture of God that reveals him to the wise, and hides him from tbe foolish Car lyle. Nuptial love luaknh mankind : friend- ly love perfectctb it; but wanton love- corrupteth and emlwaetb it. Hacon. Tbe sweetest honey is toathesome in its own delici'Huneas. and in tbe taste confounds tbe appetite. Shakspeare. Tbe decline of literature indicates tbe cles-line of a nation: the two keep pace in their downward tendency. Goethe. Tbe contagion of crime is like that of the plague Criminals collected to- gether corrupt each otber. Napoleon. Prayer is the wing wherewith t.h* soul flies tn heaven, and meditation tbe eye wherewith we see God. Ambroae. They wbo do speak ill of themselves, do ao mostly as toe surest way ot pro"- in*r bow modest and candid they are. Anon. MS OF THE HW YEAR, IN CUBA, ARMENIA. ASI'ANTEE AID SOUTH AFRICA. U WVII rr*a*et I. that ! An Unfortunate Frenchman Giovanni Casorio. the Toungeat bro- ther of Santo Caaerio. wbo assassinated President Can*.*, has been extremely unfortunate since his brother's inha- uia.ii crime. He has been kept under police surveillance, though be did not share ia the. least tbe anarchistic ideas of his brother This oapionsge pre- vented him from finding vrork ; and fin- ally be entered a Capuchjun convent, at Horgu San Donnino. But after three months' residence there, when be wa* to be accepted aa a regular monk and brother, the Sut>erit>r. who is a Prencb- mtan. having been appriaed of tbe iden- tity of Caserki, drove bun out of the convent. Tba young maji is now auk- ing the franco Governnaant permJsion U> change his nazos. r i-mr - m . ! Will * " lass-War la a !>*!. The prospeuu of the New Year f lighly satisfactory from the jingo poi.it nf view. It U reasonably certain tusl 1896 will be marked by nun bloodshed 'han 1S95. that there will l no devia- 100 (rum tDe Kuropean policy of main- ining th heaviest possible armaments and that thme forces will be employed n dent roy ing the weakest communities. Whether the great military powers will urn their forces against one another is a question too uncertain to discuss. War is now going on in Cuba. u Armenia and in Aahante. amocg other places. The war scar* whkh the United State* has just experienced. and the af- fect* of which ha** by no means pawed away, inuat ba countd a* of more im- portance than some of the actual wars. That is partly uo account of the ap- palling magnitude of the conflict which if threatened, partly on account of 'be til results which it may have in the future and for other similar reasons which will be apparent u> thoughtful peraooe. The wax scare will have many of the results of a real war, turning the pub- lic attention to the question of incresa- ed armrmamen'-s. It ia highly probable that the t'nited State* will eat about the conatructioii of a great nary. Vene- zuela has already begun her war-lite preparations, and the newi of an armed attack on British subject* either ia Venezuela or Brituth Guiana will be no surprise. Until a few moot ha ago the continu- ous and wholeaale slaughter which was on in Armenia could only ba des- cribed as massacre. Now. by the vig- orous reautiance of Zeitoun it baa as- sullied the t'H VRACTER OK WAR. This ia the one war which all humaat and civilized people must approve. The more war the Armenians can make on 'heir murderers the better That ia their only chance, but it is not worth much. Fur more than three month* they have defended the little town of Zeitous. with berok valor against a strong of the regular Turkish army. Ow ing to the situation of the place, surround- hills. with narrow defiles between them in which are lurking many compatriots' of the beaieged townspeople, the Armen- ians hav* been able to make a prolong- ed resistance 1'he Turks have losl many soldiers in fighting the besieged garrison. and it is said that as many aa a hundred a day are perishing from cold lack of provision.* ao<l disease. 1 the Annanians haw hitherto been massacred fur nothing more than their profession of (he Christian religion, it is naturally to be expected that the punishment for rebellion, will be. if possible, more brutal. At the) same time th> prnc t> of massacre is going on steadily in /.mien- is and ia other parts of th Turkish empire in Asia. The Armenian inhab- itants of the important citr of Erzer- wini have been early \tenninatad. Tre- i i/cind. another important city, has suf- fered similarly. In i he Provinces of Sivas. Van and Hi' II* daily massacres have >en report- ed No sane man can aToi>l i he con- clusion that the total extermination of the Christian population of the Turkish empire has taen decided uo Judging from the attitude of the Christ i.-tn pow- ers up to the present, there ia every reason to believe that it will be carried No estimate places the number of Christ ians massacred during the past year below 100.006 In Cuba th* opening of the year 1896 haa seen a marked improvement in 'be prospects of the insurgents Th?y have fended their operations over a wi.ler territory and in all their encounter* with the (Spanish they have not re- wived \ PKCII'EO CHECK It is true that the Spanish report noth- ing hut victories, but in a war of this kind where the regularly organized army does not cripple, exterminate, or capture the enemy it cannot be said to have gained any great advantage. As a ma'ter of fact, the revolutionists have carried the war into the neightiorbood i-f Havana. Capt.-Gen Martinez Cam- pos is reported to have aul that the Spanish cannot hope for jierinsnen' suc- cess. A British army officer baa writ- ten that the Culvns a- hound to win. Aooi her war which . ue consider- able iii'erest is that which England is carrying on against t be King of Ashan- tee ana bis people, who are called \shan's. Ashantee is a country in the interior of Africa, behind the British colon v of the Gold Coast and adjacent to Daho- mey. recently annexed by France. The .Vshantees made *>me rmid into British eni'ory The British proclaimed a pro- tectorate over the King of AAhantee's domains and he prepared to resist. The ' capital is at Coomassie. The i r nopal object of interest to visitor* to this metropolis is a grove a short dis- tancs without the city limits, where human beings are sacrificed on many public oroiiAwns. Innumerable bones lie here. A British expedition has already started for CooniA&*ie. and has no 'I'm* t occupied it by this time. The King will probably fly into the interior, wearing the ilk bat which is his emblem of sov- ereignty . but the British protectorate will no doubt 1* established Fighting has already occurred in the Transvaal in South Africa, and the vt- uation threatens more trouble. The 1'utch inhabitants of this republic keep all political power in their own hands to the exclusion of the English and oth- er foreign immigrants. \ force of Knif- ILthiiM'n under Or .'aine^on inva<le<l the Transvaal ost*n,*ibly to aid the foriegn ere, and were defeated with severe lorn puasiblv seventy or eighty bv the Hours. The temper of the English col- onists of Cape Colony and the H<rs of the- Transvaal ia in a bad condirHHi and a general South African wr is not improbable,