Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1874 — EPITOME OF THE WEEK. [ARTICLE]

EPITOME OF THE WEEK.

Condensed from Telegrams of Accompanying Dates. Friday, January 23. —According to the Spanish official reports of a recent engagement at Los Melones, near Camaguay, 650 Government troops, under Colonel Espanda, met 1,800 of the Insurgents, and after a severe fight of six hours and a half, the Spauiaids retreated, having four officers and fifty privates wounded, Espanda having his nose shot off. Private Cuban advices say that Espanda had 1,200 men, only 250 of whom escaped death, wounds, or capture.... A Washington Associated Press dispatch says that damaging reports about the election of Piuchbaek, by the Louisiana Legislature, having reached Mr. Morton, he sent for Pinehback, who made a clean breast, whereupon Morton abandoned the policy ot seating Pinehback on a prima facie case, and asked that the matter be carried to the Committee on Privileges and Elections to investigate the conduct of Pinehback.... The Republicans and Anti-Monopolists of the lowa House of Representatives have effected a compromise on' the following basis: The Republicans to have the Speaker and Chairmen of all the standing committees; the Anti-Monopolists to have all the remaining officers, the generarcommittees to be constituted equal in number of each party, and the Antl-MohOpolists to have the Chairman and a majority of one in each In vestigating committee... .In his recent report to the Wisconsin State Grange the Secretary gave a history of the order in Wisconsin, dating its progress from the Portage meeting, October 22, 1872, and from the .Ripon meeting following. The largest Grange now in the State is at Evansville, having a membership of ninety-six then and fifty-two women. The September report to the National Grange showed a State membership of 6,414, and 157 Granges. On January I, 1874, there were in the State 304 Granges.... The Michigan State Grange met in Convention at Kalamazoo on the 21st. The Secretary reported that In the United States there are now more than 10.000 subordinate Granges, with a membership of 1,000,000 patrons. The report concludes with a very hopeful view of the condition of the Order. Saturday, January 24*—The marriage of tile Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria, to the Grand Duchess Marie was solemnized in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the 23d. Hie day was observed as a holiday. At London flags were displayed from all public and many private buildings, in honor of the event, and throughout England the bells were rung and marriages took place in nearly every church..... The British Parliament lias been dissolved by royal decree. Gladstone has issued an address to his constituents at Greenwich, asking for reelection and announcing that the Queen has been pleased to accept the advice of her Ministers to dissolve the present Parliament immediately, and summon a new one to meet on the 511161 March, 1874... .The mineowners inthe Scbuykill district In Pennsylvania have accepted the proposition of the miners to go to work on the basis of 1873, and the strike is therefore ended... .The lowa House of Representatives have effected an organization by electing the Republican candidate (Gear) for Speaker, and Anti-Monopolists for the other officers?'.. ..The Republican State Central Committee of Louisiana have unanimously adopted resolutions protesting against a new election as —.likely.'to.Cttßt.tlie.l.iYesjpf hundreds men in the northern part of the State and the Red River parishes. Monday, January 26—The Carlists report that Santander and Portugalcte surrendered unconditionally to their forces on the 22d, and that the entire Scgovfa batallion, flnumber of artillerymen and engineers, 1,200 ' Remington and 400 Minnie rifles, and twoeannous, fell into their hands.... From a statement just published it appears that since March, 1867, 58,618 petitions iu bankruptcy have been filed in the United States Courts. The number of discharges granted, are 38,747. The total expense of the proceedings has been $4,821,784.... An Associated Press dispatch of the 25th says Pinchback’s friends had denied that he made any confession to Senator Morton of fraudulent practices with reference to bis election by the Kellogg Legislature. He stated that he had been tendered the unanimous support of the true Republicans of Louisiana, and that, thus fortified, he was determined to abide the. issue before the Senate. ... .The Postmaster at Austin, Texas, has received a dispatch from the Postmaster-General directing that all mail matter addressed to the “Governor of Texas” should be delivered to Richard Coke, and all mail matter addressed to “Governor E. J. Davis,” or “E. J. Davis, Governor of Texas,” should be delivered to E. J. Davis. Similar action should be taken as to other State officers. These instructions were given after consultation with the President. ... .The officers elected by the lowa House of Representatives" on the 23d arc: John H. Gear, of Burlington, Speaker; James M. Wearl, Chief Clerk; L. Irwin, First Assistant Clerk; Mrs. Sally A. Van Pelt, of Dubuque, Enrolling Clerk; Mrs. E. M. Ives, Engrossing Clerk} W. A. Fulmer, Second Assistant Clerk. The official count of the vote for Governor foots up as follows: Carpenter, 106,122; Vale, 105,057. Tuesday, January 27.—A London dispatch says intelligence has just been received of the death of Dr. Livingstone in the interior of Africa.. He died of dysentery, in June last, while traveling from Lake Bembe to Upyanyemlie. He had l>ecn traveling over a partially submerged country, and after wading four days through water was seized by the illness —of which he died. His body has been embalmed, and is lining conveyed to England by way of Zanzibar... .The Rt. Hon. Benjamin Disraeli has Issued an address to his constituents in Buckinghamshire, condemning the course of the Government, and’ asking for rejection to Parliament. Mr. Nolan, Secretary of the Irish Amnesty Association, announces hb Intention 6f contesting the election of Gladstone in Greenwich a. . Vlce-Pres ident Wilson has left Washington for Boston, where he will remain three or four weeks.... A letter from Jeff. Davis was published in Washington on Jhe 25th, In which he pronounces ex-Senator H. 8. Foote, of Tennessee, " a “liar.” Mr. Foote the next morning published a card, In which he challenges Davis, and Insists that “the habitual calumniator of honest and patriotic men has rio right to skulk behind the hypocritical pretenses of extreme piety.” Wednesday, January 28.—While the expreas paswpger train from Edinburg for

Glasgow was running at great speed on the morning of the 27th, it came in collision with another express train. Sixteen persons were killed and a number were severely injured. Several coaches were demolished.... Dr. Wyman reports that the cause of Agassiz’s death was disease and obstruction of the arteries pt the brain. The greatest weight of the brain is estimated at 56 5 avoirdupois ounces... .The Boston School Committee have declared, by a vote of 46 to 45, that the seats of the women who had been elected members were vacant. The women whose seats were in question stayed in their places and voted f6r their side. ... .The lower portion of Fulton, N. Y., has been inundated. Ou the evening of tlie 25th about thirty families were obliged to leave their homes, and many more were the next morning carried from the second stories of their homes by boats. Men were seen wading in water to their waists, carrying the women of their households on their backs to places of safety. The damage to business interests was great.... Mr. Waite, the new Chief-Jus-tice, lias resigned the Presidency of the Ohio Constitutional Convention.... The Lower House of the Missouri Legislature has defeated the bill to allow women to bo elected to office under the school laws, by a vote of 30 yeas to 77 nays.... At Des Moines, on the 27th, Governor Carpenter took the oath of office and was inaugurated Governor of the State of lowa for a second term. Thursday, January 29.—A Bayonne .telegram says the report that the Carlists had captured Santander was denied, butanother report was current that the corporation was negotiating to raise 2,000,000 piasters, which the Carlisfts demanded as the price for abstaining from bombarding the city....A memorial of citizens of Phildelphia was presented to the President and Congress, representing that tbe near approach of the one hundredth anniversary of the nation’s birth renders it befitting that tbe survivors of those who freely offered Carpenters’ Hall to the Continental Congress, when even the time-honored State House was closed against them, should commemorate the nation’s advent at that place; therefore Congress is invited to assemble in Carpenters’ Hall on the sth day of the ninth month, 1874, the one hundredth anniversary of the meeting of the first American Congress, and order such ceremonies as they in their wisdom shall deem best. The President and Cabinet have also been invited.... Ex-Chief Justice James Thompson, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, fell dead in the Supreme Court room iu Philadelphia oh the morning of the 28th, while engaged in arguing u tax-title case before the court... .The Hon. Rufus King, of Cincinnati, has been chosen successor to Mr. Wuite as President of the Ohio Constitutional Convention... .Gen. 8. B. Maxey has been elected United States Senator by tlie Texas Legislature, Reagan having withdrawn from tlie contest.