Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1879 — NEWSLETS [ARTICLE]

NEWSLETS

The first ice of the season in this country was formed at Pembina, Dakota Territory, on Friday night, September 12th and 13th. The Canochet mansion of the Spragues, which passed from their hands the other day, to pay debts, has ninety-two rooms. The caving in of a coal mine at Mahoney Plane, Penn., has caused the settling of a large tract of land, on which is situated a number of dwellings. * Calisthenics and military drill have been made compulsory in the public schools of Montreal, but the time devoted to them Is to be taken from the Saturday holiday. A dispatch from Bombay says that the greatest excitement has been caused there by a report that the Ameer of Afghanistan has been killed by the rebels, or, according to another version, that be hpw committed suicide. The West Indies are again the source of warlike news. A new revolution has broken out in Hayti, and the revolt In Cuba has been renewed. Spain is about to dispatch 10,000 troops to the latter islaud to putdown the “patriots.” The Institute of International Law, now in session at Brussels, has voted in favor of a resolution recommending that the various States agree that the destruction or injury of submarine telegraph cablte is offensive and against the law of nations. The weather has greatly improved in Great Britain for the past week or two, but too late to do the grain crops much good. It is estimated that the yield of grain in that country will be at least 25 per cent, less than the average of former years. ' • Reports received at Washington relative to the Iron trade in all sections of the country shew a steady improvement. Furnaces that have been out of blast and iron work which have been suspended are resuming, and the trade is apparently in a very promising and prosperous condition. The Czar of Russia is organizing his official heads of departments. There are other respects in which might reorganize the affairs of his Empire with advantage to himself os well as to the i*?ace and welfare of bis people. The trouble in Russia is an excess of stupid aud heartless despotism. A half dozen drugs seem to be sufficient to combat all kinds of disease. During ihe last Turko-Russiati war the medical staff of the Russian army ordered. 35,000 pounds of quinine, 16,000 pounds of chloroform, 130,000 pounds of castor oil, and several thousand pounds of opium, gum arable, camphor and carbolic acid. With these they felt prepared for all emergencies. The first threshings in the West and northwest of France show a very poor yield both in quality and quantity, and there is no off set to the bad results in the southwest,Eastand center. Though France will not have to purchase so largely as last year, she will require from fifteen to tweuty million hectolitres, and must buy it almost exclusively in America in competition with England. The sixth annual convention of the Mexican war veterans of Illinois, recently held at Chicago, adopted resolutions of respect to the memory of Gen. Shicjls. The present officers were reelected. Peoria wps selected'- as the place of the next annual meeting. Delegates were appointed to the annual convention at New York on February IJ3d. A committee was appointed to confer with a similar committee of Ohio veterans respecting the advisability of calling a national convention to take action on the pension question. A special to the London Times, from Philadelphia, says Pennsylvania furnaces have been buying more than 70,000 tons of pig-iron and old rails in England, American producers not being able to supply the enormous demand for iron. The estimated consumption for 1879 is set down at 3,000,I 000 tons of pig-iron aud 1,100,000 totfs |of rails, which is an unprecedented i amount.

There is not much encouragement for temperance workers in the recent statistics from tbe internal revenue bureau. There was an increase of 16,060,000 gallons in the quantity of intoxicating beverages manufactured in the United States last year—figured out by tbe expert editor of the Chicago Inter-Ocean to equal 480,000,000 square drinks of three fingers each. Besides this we imported last year, in excess of the former year, 4,434,455 gallons. The custom-house receipts at New York city last week were larger than those of any one week since 1872. The total receipts of the recent Ohio State Fair at Columbus were $34,000, being $11,350 in excess of all expenses and arrearages of last year’s fair—the beet showing of any State fair ever held in that State.

The New York Herald refers to ast Saturday as a glorious day for the United Btatee. “We did not win a victory on field or flood, but we ex- ! ported to Europe from New York alone three hundred and fifty thousand bushels of grain, twenty-four thousand barrels and bags of flour, twenty-live hundred bales of cotton, and thousands of tons of meats, cheeee, butter and other provisions.”

A hotel at Westerville, 0.. vh blown up on Sunday night with gunpowder. Corbin, the proprietor, was the only person Injured. He claims that it was done by some of the villagers because of his refusal to cease selling liquor In the village. Four yean ago a building in which he kept a saloon there was destroyed in the same way. He then left and had but recently returned. The official employe* of the Turkish government are on a “strike” for the pay that is due them, and the rank and file of the Saltan’s army threaten to disband for the same-reason. In the meantime, the city of Constantinople is represented to be infested with criminals and desperadoes to such an extent that the representatives there of foreign governments have called the attention of the authorities to the fact that life and property are no longer secure.