Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 June 1883 — Page 1

THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL.

ESTABLISHED 1523.

WHEN INDICATIONS. MONDAY.—Partly cloudy weather and local raius; slight rise in temperature. Drap d’Ete and Alpaca just now are to hot weather what Ulsters are to January blizzards, and you ought to purchase your supply at WHOLESALE PRICES AT THE WHEN CLOTHING STORE. CROOK IN MEXICO. Be Was Warmly Welcomed by Officials and People. Willcox. A. TANARUS., June IG,—G eneral Crook’s staff reached here early this morning. Col. Biddle and Lieutenant Forsythe will arrive to-morrow with the Mexican women rescued from the Apaches. The women will proceed to Tucson. Knowing the general interest in the recent campaign, your correspondent interviewed General Crook and those with him, and is in a position to set at rest many reports published by sensational writers. The War Department did not prohibit General Crook crossing into Mexico. What it did was to caution him to adhere closely to the terms of the treaty, in any crossing of the line he might have to make. No obstacles were thrown in Crook’s way by the Mexican authorities. On the contrary. Crook speaks in the warmest terms of Gen. Scarbo Jopet, Governor Torres and all other officers he met in Sonora. They received him in the most hospitable and kind manner; assured him if the trails were followed into Mexico they would co-operate most heartily in the matter. The Governor oi Chihuahua, Mayor Eeubripn, of Chihuahua, and others were very anxious to put an end to the Chihuahua trouble. When the troops reached the Mexican towns Bavaza, Basarae, Hauchianera and San Miguel the inhabitants thronged out en masse and gave them a most cordial welcome. Guides were offered to show the nearest path to the mountains of northwestern Sonora. Although the climate is equable and produces everything necessary, the people living there are very much discouraged, having been robbed for years by savages. The troops marched rapidly from San Bernardia by night as well as day. The dress and appearance of the officers speak forcibly the character cf , the trip. Captain Crawford, with Indian scouts and four companies of cavalry, is marching with the Chiracahuas to the north agency. General Crook says lie regards the disposition made of the hostiles—many of them mean Indians when on the reservation —of greater consequence than the people may imagine. If they can be put upon the Ban Carlos, where they live, thousands of suspicious eyes will constantly watch them. The danger of another outbreak will be less than if they were allowed a reservation by themselves. When in idleness they might jpatch out mischief and deviltry. The axiom that “it costs less to feed Indians than to fight them,” is incontrovertible. Another Axiom is that we must tight all Indians we swindle. If they can’t get corn they will get cartridges. Trying to Sell the Hostiles Ammunition. Willcox, A. TANARUS., June 17.—Judge Wright arrived here this evening, and has with him two brothers of Charlie McComas. They recovered from the renegades, to-day, at Croton Bprings, their father’s watch and chain, valued at S3OO. They say that Charlie will be recovered—that they are expecting him daily. Captain Crawford, with the renegades will be at a point of the mountain fourteen miles from Willcox to-morrow on the way to the reservation. Singular as it appears,while men visited the Indian camp, to-day, they attempted to sell the hostile Chirachuas ammunition, and were only prevented by the vigilance of Captain Crawford. General Crook visited Fort Grant to-day. On his return he will inspect the Hachuaca post, then return to department headquarters. A Genuine Sensation Spoiled. Denver, June 17.—A highly sensational report was in circulation to-day that an attempt was made to poison Modjeska at the opera-house last night. It now transpires that it was caused by the blunder of a property man at the theater, When Barrett was here two months ago a preparation of phosphorus was used to give the face of the ghost in the play of “Hamlet” a luminous appearance. Last night, in the play of “Juliet,” the property man gave Modjeska a phial, mistaking it for one containing a sleeping potion. As • soon as the cork was removed the liquid ignited, and this, of course, prevented serious . results. No one for a moment suspected that it was anything more than a blunder Until the matter was reported to Modjeska’s husband, Count Bogenta, who seemed very incredulous, and stated that several attempts had been made upon her life. The Augustinian Society Funds. Lawrence, Mass., June 10.—Colonel John P. Sweney has been examining the books of the insolvent Augusiinian Society, and reveals interesting figures. Closing April 1, 1881, an auditor of the books entered a statement, in which it was found that up to that date the society owed depositors $137,589. To show what funds the clergy have had at their disposal, besides deposit money and that received from subscription, the schedule published shows they had $107,3G1. Thus from all sources, subscription, buriuland marriage fees, estimated at $30,000. the society has received the sum of $034,950, and the question to, where has it gone,

A SLAUGHTER OF CHILDREN Dreadful Calamity in a Public Hall in Sunderland, England. A Disaster of tlie Same Character as That on the Brooklyn Bridge, Accompanied by Great Loss of Life. Twelve Hundred School Children Struggling Dc&poiately for Life. One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Suffocated and Trampled to Death—The Military Called on to Preserve Order. HORRIBLE FATALITY. One Hundred and Seventy-Eight Children Smothered and Crushed to Death. London, June 16.—A terrible calamity, involving the death of 178 children, occurred in Sunderland, county Durham, this evening. From details received, it appears that an entertainment was given at Victoria Hall by a conjuror, attended almost altogether by children, several thousand being in attendance. The accident occurred at the close of the performance. The body of the hall had been entirely cleared of its occupants, when some twelve hundred of the little ones came rushing down stairs from the gallery. At the top of the first flight of stairs was a door, which opened only twenty inches, and thus but one child was permitted to pass through at a time. At this point, while the mass of children was pushing forward, one of them fell and was unable to rise, owing to the others crowding. The result was that a great number were crushed down, trampled on and suffocated. The scene was terrible. No effort could stop the mad rush of the affrighted children. They came on pell mell, though, strangely, without much shouting, and soon 178 were knocked down and suffocated to death by the others trampling upon them. A greater number of the bodies which were badly mangled from trampling lay seven or eight deep. Many victims who were not killed had the clothing torn from their bodies, and this, together with the bleeding bodies of the unfortunates, shows the terrible nature of the struggle. The ages of the 178 children known to have been killed ranged from four to fourteen years. The excitemeut in the town when the news of the disaster spread was terrific. Great crowds rushed to the scene until 20,000 persons surrounded the hall. The feeling was so intense that the authorities ordered out the Sixty-eighth infantry to preserve*order. The work of getting out the bodies was begun immediately. They were laid out in the hall, and the parents of those killed were admitted to identify the bodies of their children. The most heartrending scenes transpired while the identification was in progress. The mothers of the dead children constantly uttered piercing shrieks, and many fainted on discovering the bodies of their little ones. ADDITIONAL DETAILS. The List of Dead Swelled to One Hundred and Eighty-Six. London, June 17.—The terrible calamity on Saturday evening is the subject of universal unhappy comment. The hall has been surrounded to-day by distressed and excited crowds. The stairway from the gallery at the top of the landing on which occurred the pressure which led to the accident, was from five to six feet wide, and the gallery door, through which the children were to pass, allowed only one at a time, which circumstance is regarded as the direct cause of the calamity. It was fitted with a bolt which lodged in a hole in the floor, thus narrowing the passage-way for the purpose of facilitating ticket-taking when an audience was entering the hall. The janitor says the scene behind the gallery door w T as fearful. Borne children were fixed upright in a heap and actually gasping for breath, so great was the pressure of the crowd behind them. The majority of the children in the hall were under twelve years of age. When the disaster happened the janitor and his wife and several hastily-summoned bystanders went to work immediately to give the sufferers relief. They first sent out of the building by another exit way the little ones who were still in the hall, by this means averting fears of a further crush. Those who went to the rescue of the sufferers found the work of removing the heap of bruised and crushed sufferers and bodies no easy task. Two hundren children were rescued from the pile who were practically uninjured. Many others were found in an unconscious condition, but of these a number were restored and immediately taken to their homes. Nearly all those who were dead, with a number whose wounds were regarded as fatal, were laid out in the main hall, where local doctors in attendance used every effort to restore tnose in whom the spark of life could be detected. One eyewitness states that he saw lying on the flagstones a short distance from the bottom of the stairs the dead bodies of seven children. Many of those who came to assist in removing the dead and rescuing the living were utterly overcome by the distressing sight of so many dead and dying children. A number of deaths have occurred since the first report, and the fatal list is now placed at 186. One of those who responded immediately to the call for help says many who volunteered to assist in rescuing children

INDIANAPOLIS, MONDAY MORNING, JUNE 18, 1883.

sickened at the spectacle and fled horrified from the distressing scene. The rescuers’ first efforts weie directed towards reaching children who were apparently alive, but so tightly were the victims jammed together, it was regarded dangerous to draw them out of the helpless mass lest the effect would remit in pulling off the limbs of the living children as well as the mutilated dead. They therefore proceeded steadily and systematically to liftoff the topmost and a few of those who, beneath, had survived, and whose moanings and cries of pain could be distinctly heard amid the excitement and cries of bereaved parents and friends who were thronging the adjacent street. The disaster was referred to in all the churches in Sunderland to-day, and by many of the preachers in London, and prayers were offered for the parents and friends of the victims. The stair-case from the gallery was a winding one. The officials vr4m in the hall at the time of the disaster, but were unaware, for some considerable time, of the terrible tragedy being enacted at the door. They were not informed until Graham, the hallkeeper, who was strolling near by the scene of the calamity, was attracted by the groans and gave an alarm. Mr. Fay, who gave this entertainment, was busy packing up his apparatus to depart when a man rushed up to him and informed him of the disaster and immediately fell down speechless in a fit. Some of the families whose homes were so suddenly darkened lost over three children. One man and wife pushed their way into the hall in which lay the bodies of the victims, and without betraying any emotion began to scan the faces of the dead. Recognizing the face of one of his children, the father, pointing with his finger, exclaimed: “That’s one.” Passing on again he recognized another, and then a third, and staggering in a fit of agony, he cried: “My God! all my family gone!” and overwhelmed with grief, sank to the floor. In some homes there are five children dead. Many Rurvivors had their arms broken in the crush. Others are suffering from broken ribs or rupture of internal organs. Graham, the hall-keeper, says children not twenty yards from the door came pressing forward, unaware of the tragedy. Queen Victoria sent a telegram to the mayor of Sunderland expressing her grief at the disaster. The children of various Sun-day-schools also sent telegrams of sympathy. Flags were placed at half-mast. One Sundayschool loses thirty scholars by the catastrophe. Painful Scenes in tlie Hall. London, June 17.—The scene inside Victoria Hall during the identification Os tlie bodies baffles description, and was painful in the extreme. The faces of the dead children were almost in every case black and swollen from suffocation, from which many died. Lips were cracked and parched,and noses bleeding, and parents rushing wildly about would fall upon the bodies of their dead children, and with loud wailing and weeping clasp the unconscious form in their arms, vainly endeavoring to note any sign of life. Many poor mothers swooned away at the first sight of the dead, while others were wild and almost violent in their hysterical grief. The act of removing the dead from the hall to-day was the occasion for the renewal of the lamentation any confusion. Many parents rushed through the police cordon appointed for the preservation of order, and there was a scene of great confusion. One of the witnesses of the calamity stated to-day that for the first five minutes there was great lack of assistance, and from this cause alone there were certainly 100 lives lost. The weather was warm and the passage way very close, so that in a short time after the catastrophe a horribly sickening stench came from the pile of corpses at the main outlet of the hall. The latest report to-night figures up 188 dead, and the gravest fears are felt that the number will yet be shown to have reached at least 200. The eagerness of the children to depart from the hall was caused by their desire to receive the prizes promised them. Graham throws the blame for the calamity upon a man connected with the entertainment, who, it appears, fastened the door half open, in order that the prizes might be given to the children one at a time while they were leaving the hall. One sad incident was witnessed in the vicinity of the hall. A lad was sitting on a railing near Carmurton street, crying. A passer-by inquired the cause of his grief. “Why, sir.” said he, “I was in the place there, and when I was coming out a boy that was dying bit my hand, and that’s him,” added he, pointing to the corpse of a child lying near by. Scene of the Tragedy. Sunderland is an important manufacturing city, situated in the county of Durham at the mouth of tlie river Wear, a short distance south of Newcastle. The city is built on both sides of the Wear, which empties into the North sea. The docks and the river are at all times crowded with vessels, and only London. Liverpool and the Tyne ports surpass it in the amount of their shipping, while as a coal-shipping port it is only inferior to Newcastle. The ship-yards are also an important feature of the city’s industries, giving employment to several thousand men; and there are glass manufactories, machine works, iron mills and foundries. The population of the city is about 100,000. Cremation of Two Women. Pittsburg, June 16 —The Chronicle’s Washington. l’a.. special says: “The remains of Mrs. Bertha Belcher, who died in New York on tlie 13th, were put in the retort of the Lemoyne furnace at 9 o’clock last night. The ashes were removed at midnight. She was a German and a member of the United States Cremation Company. The ashes will be sent to Carlsruhe, Germany. “The body of Mrs. Cornelia Wolberg, wife of Bimon Wolberg, a mining-broker of New York, arrived at 11 o’clock this morning and was taken immediately to the crematory and placed in the retort, When the ashes are lifted they will be sent to her late residence, put in an urn and placed on the parlor mantel.”

THE STAR-ROUTE VERDICT. Rerdell Requests Permission to Withdraw His Plea of Guilty. 3adge Wylie hnggests a Way Oat of the Difficulty—An Additional Indictment Against Brady. Striking Illustration of Mr. Ingersoll’s Surpassing Effrontery. The Rush of Businegs at the Free Bar Opened by Brady and Dorsey—Further Comment by the Papers. RERDELL'6 CASE. Tlie Court Thinks It Best to Enter a Motion for Arrest of Judgment. Washington, June 16.—1n the Criminal Court, to-day, Morris, law partner of Merrick, stated that, in the case of Brady and others, he was requested to say for Merrick that Rerdell desired to withdraw the plea of guilty and substitute one of not guilty, and the special counsel for the government consented to this being done. The court said Rerdell must come into court and make a plea, and ordered that he be brought in on Monday. The court said, further, that it thought the best thing to be done would be to enter a motion in arrest of judgement. Under the laws it required at least two to commit a conspiracy—one could not do it. As the other defendants had been acquitted of the charge, the court would find itself unable to pass sentence on the plea entered. Morris replied: “But it is the intention of the government to enter a nolle pros on that plea.” “You had better consult the authorities,” said the Judge, “and come in Monday.” Adjourned. The grand jury this morning brought in another indictment against Thomas J. Brady. It charges that on July 13, 1880, the defendant made a contract with W. B. Price to carry the mail on the route from Socorro, New Mexico, to Silver City and back, seven times a week, on a schedule of thirtv-five hours, from August 1, 1880, to June *3O, 1881, for $41,582, and that on Nov. 3, 1880, the contractor paid General Brady $1,250 as compensation for awarding the contract. The witnesses are John A. Walsh, J. B. Price. Jo Cochran and J. W. Brady. It is said that the cost of the star-route case will foot up near $1,200,000. INGERSOLL’S EFFRONTERY. The Prosecution Denounced as lufamous —Tlie Promised Libel Suits. Washington Special. Nothing could better illustrate the assaranoe of the star-route crowd than Bob tngersoU’s visit to the White llousi, to-day. He went up to call on the President, and while waiting for an hour in the office of Private Secretary Phillips, he talked to all who came on the trial and the verdict. He went so far in the matter, and so far forgot his surroundings, as to denounce the course of the government in the prosecutions as “infamous.” On the part of the defense the trials were in every sense great, and would be as prominent in history as tlie Warren Ilasting’s trial. Coupled with his abuse of the government, he pronounced a panegyric on the jury, and concluded by boasting that the remaining cases would never be tried. This visit and talk of Colonel Ingersoll are fair samples of the assurance and effrontery exhibited by the star-route people and a portion of their counsel. In such criticism as this Indiana readers will be glad to know that Hon. Jere Wilson is not included. As to Colonel Ingersoll’s assertion that the remaining cases will not be tried, there is the highest authority for the statement that they will be pushed, and with vigor. Brady was indicted for receiving bribes on another route to-day. This case, as well as several others already pending, do not involve the difficult element of conspiracy, but turn upon direct testimony upon the charge of corruption. In regard to the reports of forthcoming libel suits, the following extract from a Critic editorial may be significant: ‘No one has ever heard General Bradv say ‘lie would bring libel suits.’ What Ge'neral Brady does, he does, and doesn’t blow about it in advance; and he is not so much in love with the machinery of justice as to voluntarily rush into a court to secure his rights or his vindication.” THAT FREE BAR. Rapid Increase of Liability—A Limit Speedily Fixed. National Republican. General Brady and ex-Senator Dorsey undertook a contract in the morning they were very glad to abandon a few hours later. When they left the court-house they repaired with a company of friends to a resort across the street for refreshments. “This is our day,” said Brady to the proprietor. “Don’t let any of the boys pay for anything, and give them what they want.” This worked charmingly for a while, and wet hardware was disp*ensed among the thirsty throng as rapidly as two or three experts could do the work. Ere long, however, news that a free saloon was in full operation spread to the outer provinces, and soon crowds of men began swarming in that direction, gentlemen of color predominating. Colorless citizens, with pantaloons hanging by one string and shoes without soles, called for forty-cent brandy and tweuty-five-cent cigars. They were having a picnic, and the reduction of stock was terrific for a time. The proprietor threw up both hands and sent for the defendants. “Look here,” he said, “you did not know what liability you were incurring when you gave that order. I want you to fix a limit on this thing.” The late defendants took in the situation and promptly fixed a limit. The proprietor made a reckoning, and then sung out that the limit had been reached, and thereafter cash on delivery would bo required. The fun was lively while it lasted, but parties who “got the Hag” complained that the programme was too short. NEWSPAPER COMMENT. Adilitloual Expressions of Opinion by the NewHpHpent of the Country. CONVICTION NOT POSSIBLE IN THE DISTRICT. Brooklyn Union. After the experience of both trials, very few people will be prepared to believe it possible that a jury willing to convict the men who have plundered the government by

means of star-route contracts can be found in the District of Columbia. If another trial is to be attempted of the Dorsey combination, or of any other set of contractors who conspired with the Second Assistant Postmastergeneral to bleed the Treasury, the venue ought to be changed. CONDEMNED BY PUBLIC OPINION. Philadelphia Press. Acquitted though they be by the jury, the defendants were long ago condemned at the bar of public opinion. One of their number has confessed his guilt, and the attitude of the other defendants throughout, has been one of conscious guilt anxious to suppress the truth. A week’s trial, with the evidence and argument limited to those dealings with the government in connection with a single route, would have secured a conviction from an intelligent and honest jury. A VERDICT THAT WILL BE DECLARED A LIE. Philadelphia Times. The public thieves who have shamed the nation by the most gigantic robbery and studied perjury, have been as brave and desperate in corrupting the channels of justice as they were brave and desperate in public theft; and they will go forth with an acquittal that fifty millions of their countrymen will declare a lie and a consuming reproach to the republic. THE JURY SYSTEM IN DANGER. New York Mail and Express. It would not take many such costly and disgraceful failures to put the ancient system of trial by jury, as it now stands, in danger. The highest end of government is justice. When justice is threatened by corruption, by diabolic resources of defense, or by the ignorance or unfitness of jurors, the very foundations of government and society feel the shock. A PLUM FOR THE LAWYERS. New York Evening Post. Wi do not mean to say that the trial has been protracted purposely, but we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that the case has gradually come to he looked upon as professional capital for those engaged in it, rather than a simple effort to bring offenders to justice, and this being so, it is certainly better to be done with it. A CASE OF DELIRIUM TREMENS. New York Graphic. A dispatch says the jury have done even worse than the Graphic predicted. They have acquitted the accused. Evidently a case of delirium tremens all around. The State Press. THE MARK OF CAIN ON THEM. Columbus Republican: “The defendants, while they have escaped legal punishment, have been exposed and disgraced in the eyes of their countrymen, and the evils which their conduct fastened upon the public service have been promptly remedied. * Like the whisky trials, a few years ago, most of the conspirators escaped punishment at the hands of the law, but the trial exposed r. great public evil and caused it to be eradicated. The defendants can go free, but they have lost their political influence and social standing, and the mark of Cain is upon them, and it will be long years before the postal service will again suffer in the same manner.” THE JURY THE ONLY GENTLEMEN. Crawfordsville Journal: 4480th sides resorted to ingenious devices and pleas that reflected no credit on men whose reputations are national. Even the judge conducted himself, at times, in a manner so as to elicit anything but admiration. The jury, notwithstanding the fact that one had an 'attack of jim-jams, were the only men connected with the case whose conduct was characterized with the dignity of gentlemen,” WHAT SHALL THE HARVEST BE? Wabash Plaindealer: “Os course the starroute thieves were acquitted. The jury rendered its verdict on Thursday, and it was received with cheers in the court-room. The power of money, when corruptly used, and tlie beauties of the jury system in America, received an illustration in this case that shou Id arouse public opinion and insure a reform. Now, ‘what shall the harvest be?’ ” THE EFFECT NOT GOOD. Anderson Review: “The effect of the trial on the public cannot be good. It tarnishes the good name of the courts of justice to a very great extent, it brings odium on the administration in power. It makes men lose faith in their fellowman. and that a trial by jury is a very uncertain thing.” THE PEOPLE GIVE A DIFFERENT VERDICT. Indianapolis Saturday Review: “The government has failed, after the expenditure of a million of money, to secure a conviction. The twelve jurymen have said not guilty, but the 50,000,000 of people who have also been trying the case pronounced a different verdict.” NO JURY WILL CONVICT. Logansport Pharos: “Tlie government might as well cease prosecuting them. It will be hard to make tlie American people believe they are not guilty, but it is not likely that a Washington jury would ever convict them.” PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST THE VERDICT. Indianapolis Saturday Herald: “But public opinion holds to their guilt, and so it will forever.” JUDGE KIIUM. He Returns to St. Louis, ami Is Surprised at tlie Reports Concerning Him. St. Louis, June 17.—Judge Chester H. Krum, whose unexplained absence from home has caused so much comment for several weeks past, returned to the city to-night and held a long conferencs with his father and some friends. Nearly all tlie statements which have been published about him were news to him, and excited surnrise. lie would not be interviewed to-night, but saici he would prepare a statement for publication in a day or so. and give all information concerning himself which the public arc entitled to. There appears to be no doubt but that the estate of William Robertson, the dry goods merchant, whose assignee Judge Ivruni was by appointment of tlie Circuit Court, was properly administered, and that all, or nearly all, the creditors, were paid their claims as far as the money in his hands would satisfy them. Union Pacific Shortening tlie Time. Omaha, Neb., June 16. — The fast train on the Union Pacific now leaves Omaha at noon, and arrives at Ogden at 6 o’clock on the morning of the second day, and the Atlantic express leaves Ogden at 9:30 o’clock in the morning and arrives at Omaha at 9:35 on the morning of the second day. These trains connect with the Central Pacific, saving one day between Omaha and San Francisco, and also connect with lowa trains, Burning of th Bellevue House. Cincinnati. June 17.—The Bellevue House, on the hilltop at the head of the Elmstreet incline-plane railway, overlooking Mill creek and the city above Brighton, is on fire since midnight. Two relays of engines were called out, but the fire ooutinues. The house is worth about $30,009,

price five cents.

FRANCE IN THE FAR EAST. Belief that the Tonqtiin Complications Will Result in War. Probable Effect of an Eastern War on the Business Relations of the United States and England. The Chinese Making Extensive Purchases of War Material, Merriment Created In England by the American Rumors of Victoria’s Abdication Other News by Cable. FRANCE AND TONQUIN. If War Occurs, It Will Have To Be Brought About by France. New York Herald Interview with Marquis Tseng. Correspondent—May I ask your Excellencyif war is imminent? Marquis Tseng—That depends upon France entirely. China is desirous of an amicable settlement, and her conditions are fair and equitable commercial advantages for the world at large. Tonquin is the richest province of Annam. The French claim that the possession of Tonquin is absolutely necessary for the existence of the settlement of Saigon is something like saying that to live in New Orleans it is necessary to occupy New York. Correspondent—Then China has not decided to oppose the French by force of arms? Marquis Tseng---Even if China does not oppose France by force of arms, and merely protests, as she did before, a condition of things will arise most inconvenient for France. China always takes her own time to attend to her own affairs. France would bo compelled to keep in Tonqtiin a large force of occupation, because she would not know the precise moment when passive resistance might become active. Supposing China were not to go to war just now, merely for the present leaving the matter to the King of Annam, it is quite possible that China would follow the example of Russia in Servia, and allow her officers and soldiers to cross the frontier as volunteers. The chronic state of war that would be engendered would be more detrimental to France and the commerce of tlie world than a sharp, quick settlement at arms. Correspondent—Wiiat would be the effect on commerce in the event of war? Marquis Tseng—France alone can bring on a war. France would probably bombard and blockade the treaty ports of China. This would be a matter which, in tlie sight of other foreign nations, might seem to be a small matter for France, because her commerce is insignificant in the East. But to England and the United States it would be serious, and the European powers probably would refuse a recognition of the blockaked treaty ports, for a distinction must be made in the case of a country bound to go to war and the case of one wantonly bound to stir up war. France is doing the latter. In response to iny question as to the military and naval forces of China, the Marquis was naturally reticient, but remarked: “If in 1860, when the Chinese were only armed with matchlocks, bows and arrows, it required 18,000 French and English to take the Taku fort, how many will it take now that China is prepared with weapons of modern invention and is not exhausted by internal rebellion? Is France prepared for the sacrifice? If it cost her 230,000,000f. to establish a protectorate in Tunis, situated at her very doors, what will it cost to annex Tonquin, on the other side of tlie world, and in face of the force China and Annam could bring upon her in a favorable moment? It took 60,000 troops in Tunis, half of whom are required there now. M; Challemel-La-cour’s answer to the Chamber of Deputies that the Annamites were ready to welcome the French soldiers with open arms to relieve them from their Annamite masters, is a grave error. The French are hated. To insure the good treatment of European travelers in tho territory adjoining the French at Saigon, the only passport necessary is one proving that the bearer is not a Frenchman.’’ War Connidercd Inevitable. Paris, June 16. —War between France and China, over Tonquin complications, is regarded as inevitable here. The French government continually claims that China is receding from what is termed the arrogant position she at first assumed. But it cannot be learned that any concessions have been offered or that tlie Flowery Kingdom has abated its demand that the vessels of the Annam and the Tonquin suzerainty be recognized. The Chinese minister to this country has often stated distinctly tlie only concession the Emperor would consent to. and his programme does not permit France to retain any territorial or commercial advantages acquired since the unrecognized treaty ot 1874 was signed. It is well known that the Chinese govern* ment, through American and English agents, is purchasing ammunition and other war material in every available European market, and the French minister at Washington reports that considerable quantities of war implements have been procured from American dealers and are now in transit to China or in course of manufacture. The Chinese embassador, Marquis Tseng, is at present in Germany contracting with Krupp for a number of heavy guns French agents report that Krupp has furnished upward of 400 cannon, and that other German and Austrian manufacturers have taken contracts for a great number of torpedoes, cartridges and other material. Warning to Ship-Owners. London, June 16. —An otlicial telegram has been received bore from China warning steamship companies whose vessels ply irt Chinese waters that the inhabitants of tho Malay peninsula and adjoining islands, anticipating probable war. were making peparaiions for equipping piratical crafts to prey upon commercial vessels along the coast of Tonquin A1 the Chinese embassy here intimation is made that theMalaysare encour* aged to take this step by French agents. Manv lbitish vessels trading in Chines porta have been ordered to remain in United States waters. Applications of numerous retired European army and naval officers forservieo in the Chinese army have been forwarded to Marquis Tseng. At Lloyds’s, insurance rates on vessels to and from Chinese ports have been raised to a war basis upon receipt of information that the Chinese embassy here luTs been nvWfie;4