Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1879 — NEWS NOTES, [ARTICLE]

NEWS NOTES,

“Stricken” Memphis was sligbly shaken up by an earthquake the other night. ’ • The first snow fall of the season occurred in Eastern Canada, on Thursday morning, Sept, 25th. The first horse race that has ever taken place by the illumination of the track by the electric light, was witnessed at Peoria, 1)1., the other night. It was an entire success, and witnessed by 10,000 people. <

Owing to the serious labor troubles in Englaud, the government is seriously contemplating summoning Parliament early in November. The Belgian Bishops have added to the intensity of the struggle between church and state by instructing the priests to refuse absolution to parents whose children attend the public schools., * , New plans are being perfected at Washington for a large increase in the postal, service the coming year,in Ohio and Indiana, and some of the Southern States. The Kingdom of Greece, according to a recent census, has a population of 1,679,775, being an increase of 221,771 since 1870. The city of Athens has a popoulation of 74,000. Since the liberation of Greece from Turkish rule in 1837, when her population was only 850,000, she has doubled her numbers. An extraordinary railway disaster occurred near Port Cortes, Mexico, recently. A train was blown “higher than a kite” by the explosion of 400 kegs of gunpowder which was on board the train. A(1 the passengers (ten in number), were “literally blown to pieces,” and the cars were demolished. Those who raised a good crop of hops this year will probably receive good prices for it. The hop crop in England is a failure, and they will need all we can send them. A war to the bitter end is in prospect between Turkey and Greece over the controversy of the geographical boundary. In the meantime efforts are on foot for an alliance between those inveterate, foes, Russia and Turkey.

The volume of railroad traffic, and its prospective increase, is indicated by the announcement that the Pennsylvania Company has contracted for one thousand freight cars of twenty tons capacity each, being about double that 06 those now in use. Arrangements are making for holding an “All-Wo rid Sunday School Convention" in London next year, in connection with the Raikes cen ten nary. The Church of England Sunday School Institute and the Wesleyan and Old Bailey Sunday School Unions

have matters in charge. It is intended to hold services at St. Paul's Cathedral, the City Road Chapel and" Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle, lfam meetings wffl be held in Albert Hall and elsewhere. The Treasury Department is in receipt of letters from the west complaining of a scarcity of notes of small denominations, and asking that a supply of such notes be sent to the several sub-treasuries with directions to pay out in exchange for notes of larger de-

nominations. The assistant treasuries, with their limited clerical force, can not undertake to exchange one denomination for another, but the Treasurer of the United States will furnish new notes of such denominations as may be desired, at New York. Ireland and portions of England are working up a prodigious popular excitement against the extortionate rent rates demanded of the hard-work-ing farm-tenants by the land owners Hie tenants, being unable to “make both ends meet," are openly resisting the payment of the high rates imposed upon them, and the prospect is that if the landlords do not make voluntary concessions, then* will ere long be one of the most formidable revolutionary movements that Great Britain has ever witnessed. During the month of July, the exports of petroleum from the various ports of the United States were 50,032,280 gallons, valued at $4,238,461. tp to the close of last week the exports oi this article from Philadelphia duiing the present year, were 49,762,5 3 gallons, against 36,674,484 gallons during the same period of last year. On Monday last there were forty-two vessels in that port loading with petroleum, with clearances for nearly all the leading European ports.