Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1889-01-04, Page 1• ji TWENT'L -FIRST YEAR. WHOLE NUMBER 1,099. - A 1 4 le, - r vrik- 41 /aad. be, I j ‘. 4A' tusit SEAFORTH, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1889. McLEAN BROS., Pt.-ibiishers. $1.50 a Year, in Advance JUST OPENED, Stoc,( of Goods, Cheap Cash Store HOFFMAN & CO., z 1. tr. 1 aiitable for HOLIDAY PRESENTS. heap Cash Store HOFFMAN & CO., CXE,D.NO'S BLOCK, SEAFORTH. A Word Prom Dakota. CaSzi Co., Dakota, ) le ereeer lesa. ana ea.— I send you a few tins part of the North they 1113y interest some of many readers. Our spring opened lays later than usual, but the .nonud .i.3 in ex..:elleut order for seed- ing, Au that branch of work was rush - (el t About the end of seed- ing \ ern nigh winds prevailed which lit erett damage by uncovering and ear-rye:1s: away the seed, necessitating hencirees of ares to be sown over again. 1"p to tne tirst week in June, we.tner was cold and raw, with litt:iesev,-in. About that time the weather got warmer, and heavy rains ',et in, eentintiing up to the 20th of A ugust. Owiug to so much moisture, vegetate ,n of al, kinds grew rapidly and ery caek. So niuh rain fell that the neasicet !Jay lands eould not be cut in Lion fee wator lying on them, and had eo -at after harvest. About the .2.0trt of ccops of all kinds were looking well, and where not hurt by spring winds gave promise of being ex- tra good both in bulk and yield. Short- y after that date a rust struck the wheat hlades and rapidly spread over their, foiluwed a week or so aflterwards by hot wands between the rains which scorched the wheat plants and blighted the whole crop. Seven -eighths of the wileat trop here was in no way hurt by the severe finest on the night between the 1 (ith and lith of August. About one- eighth of the very late sown was in places partially, and in other places, ruined by that frost. Had the weather been favorable for harvesting the bulk of the wheat crop here would have been in shock. Even with the unfavorable weather, thousands of acres were cut. We had over 50 acres in shock before the night of that frost. But here - bouts, tnat frost ruined corn, beans, and all garden vegetables, and greatly lessened the yield of the potato crop. Frons the threshing machine, wheat ranged from 4 to 14 bushels per acre. Few hall the latter figure, the general yield being from 7 to 10 bushels. In quality, the berry was the worst I ever iAw grown here, it was so shrivelled and shrunk up. The great bulk of this sea- son's wheat sold from No. 2 northern, downwards ; only a small portion of it reached the upper grades. The wheat crop of this season was & very short one, but the high prices paid for it helped the shortage wonderfully, and although most wheat raisers here will not make anything of this year's opera- ations, they are in a mach better state financially than they would have been had wheat been as low priced this fall as it was last. Oats were of good qual- ity and yielded from 30 to 40 bushels per acre. Barley and rye were fair crops. After the '20th of August, the weather changed from wet to dry ; all the rain that has fallen from that date, up to now, had it fallen at once would not have penetrated two inches below the earth's surface, and as for snow we have only had two light falls, each about one inch in depth. For lack of moisture, grass, and all vegetation, dried up early, but stock has kept in tine condition, feeding on the self cured grasses, and are in good heart to carry themselves through the winter. All through the fall, prairie fires were num- erous, and in many places doing great damage, but no damage was done by them hereabouts. Frost stopped the plough about the 15th of November, but a large acreage has been harrowed ever sinee that date. In the beginning of this month many farmers in this eourity sowed spring wheat in patches ranging from ten to hundreds of acres. Our fall was the most delightful I ever saw or ,,..xperienced : it was a beauty, one continuous Indian Summer. So far, our winter has been r---arkably quiet and mild. Often in the after- noons the mercury marks from 40 to 50 degrees in the shade. At our Novem- ber election of county officers, a vote on local Otion was taken. Cass county went for the sale and Ransom county against the sale. Times here are not as brisk as we could wish, the short wheat crop is the cause. Respectfully yours, HIGHLAND. line- :L \Veet len ; FROM MONTREAL TO CHEFOO, CHINA. The nelow in e niteresting letter. k% rittl•:1 lir. \V. \1. -Curt, Nt Inisisionary, \vie, \Vent troll the Provimse of tue•bec to China I ;eft 1„tehute en _u -'t Intl], and fertanatels, on the same train WAS tile 1)1". Farnham on his s.VV to ''lin iti,sviiere he has been a missionary et. the Anieri,•an Preshvterian Church ler years, eff and on. 1 had the pleas- ure of his cempany all the way to Stiarighai. nail a very pleasant trip aeross the continent, everything \ ery ,romfortahle except the dust, Ns hich was rather disagreeable. We only staid a few hour: in Winnipeg. Atter p tsetse Winnipeg we fell in ss ith Res.. I 1. Robertson, stiperintendent of missions in the North \Vest, who aecompanied us as far as Donald, and later we met him in Vancouver. At Moosehtsv we met Rev. Mr. -raN,lor, whose face Was quite familiar to me. The trip through the Rocky Monutains is simply incle seribable by pen or pencil, and must he experienced to be appreciated rightly. Having spent the summer of 's4 there, the mountains had an additional interest to me, as I recognized the familiar scenes. But it is a pity that tires have been at work along the line, spoiling the beauty of many places. The l'aev. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, of Vaneouver, were very kind to us, and what would otherwise have been a very lonesome week was rendered very pleasant through their kiudness. The " Abys- sinia" was delayed at San Francieco whole week and so we did nut get away from Vancouver until the 2Sth of August at dark. As we pass the nar- rows the light: of Vancouver are lost to sight and we soon turn in for the night. Next morning we are up early to see the shores of Vancouver Island, but alas there is something stronger than patriotism, a.nd many care not whether the land fading in the distance is Can- ada or Kanischatka. So our dear old Canada is disappearing fast astern and soon the last faint line sinks beneath the horizon, and then we realize that we are on the great lonely Pacific. It is, indeed, very lonely, this route, not a ship did we see until within sight of Japan, fifteen days out. We sail along the tifty-first parallel as far as possible, then turn south west and sail parallel to the Kurile and ,Japan Islands. We see quite distinctly the Aleutian Islands with their snow clad peaks. The voy- age was pleasant enough, we had no storms, but it was foggy and wet oc- casionally whenever the wind blew from the south. We had fourteen missionaries aboard besides the father of a lady missionary iu Japan going to sec his daughter. They Were representa- tives of American Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Episaopal, Society of Friends, Cansaliau Methodist, Meth- odist Episcopal of the United States, Baptist and Canadian Presbyterian. Notwithstanding we represented so many denominations " brotherly love did abound In every one, I think, and we had a very enjoyable time iudeed. \Ve had Bible reading (at which every one was given an oppotunity to speak about any particular passage), singing and prayers, the gentlemen taking turns at leading in the devotional exercises. Ten of these missionaries were for Japan, five or six as teachers of English in the schools, for whic.ii they are paid by the Japanese Government, I believe, and so are self-supporting. Their spare time is devoted to evangelical work. One of these is a German, a Mr. Purfurst ; he had been a merchant in San Francisco, but bad felt so drawn 'to the mission field that he had sold out and was on his way to Japan, to put himself under the Presbyterian Church there, to be used as they saw fit. He was going at his own charges. We had a Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, sent out by Wy- cliffe College, Toronto ; Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Wright, of Pickering, sent out by the Society of Friends. During the voyage we had a lecture from a native Methodist minister of Japan, who has been on a lecturing tour through Can- ada for about a year. I understand he gave up a chair in the university in or- der to enter the Christian ministry. His comments at our Biblereadings were much admired for their common sense and clearness. We also had An inform- al talk about China by the Rev. Dr. Farnham. Oe dat fom V,' ,.ani. wenyourdis- 1 covered what the captain thought was a sunken rock quite near our ship and not down on the charts. Of course it was reported to the proper authorities im- mediately on arrival at Yokohama. We arrived at Yokohama on the morning of the 15th of September, sixteen and a half days from Vancouver, or seventeen and a half days if we count by the dates, hut as you know when we cross the 180th meridian there is no day all that day and we go into the next day, thus we jumped from Wednesday to Friday. By so doing we get from being twelve hours behind Greenwich time to being twelve hours ahead of it. Here in Che - foo our time is about thirteen hours ahead of Montreal time, so that when.we are in churlh on Sunday morning you Montreal folks are just going to bed Saturday night. Japan is a beautiful country. To see it is to fall in love with it, with its lovely green hills and cosy valleys, studded with quiet, peaceful villages; the peo- ple, too, seem so happy and contented and clean. Fusi Varna, or the " One mountain. a snow capped cone over 14,- 000 feet high and the pride of every Jap, we did not see on account of the overcast day. Nor did we see the vol- canic mountain which is usually visible sailing up the bay to Yokohama. Yo- kohama seems quite a busy place ; many foreign houses have warehouses here and agents; many American tea dealers have representatives here. Most of the Japan tea goes to America, I believe. There ,..re a great many very fine native shop, tee, selling Japanese tea sets, , i here Ns ere, I euppeee, (.:- steam -hips at an. itt it the liar- loor .e 11 kV(' cre there, ter there ale , et Yekeliaina, and e irgeee are loaded and discharged by email heats csolier unpins, usually manned hy a 1111-11 a!)-1 St.' are 111 a:: 1‘u Is (Jf th.' Nvur-1,1 ; tee termi- nus co the English , P. & t).mail (team- ers ,01,1 the French marl Stutter -4 is here. \I Lily et the -e are wider the .1ap0eese 11 tg. e s*r» ()HIV :21 111 Yokohama, awl ilitriiig that time na-I ee procerre our tickets for Snarighai ioid have haggaee tratieferred t1) tne Fr, rich mail steamer, ee had net much time to take in the eights. I)r. Etrirli tin and 1 \vela, to the I -v. Aestinn, , in; the Scaineus M1551ltt, for ttIhn lunch) and dinner. Nil.. iwi N! ‘‘ ere \ cry kiln' to us. :11 the everting before getting 'dermal our site Liner b)OkjiitrikIttsand had a rale areniel Yekeham 1, hut it being after dark 001.1111 not see very .1111..11. During the day 1 had all ittr luetien te 11r. Hepburn, who has don,. so mich in the language, and Dr. Coehratie, the 1 triadi 111 Nlethoclist NI Sion. The Seani1..11', Nlk,ion seems a very descry ing institution. There is 11 large reading room furnished a ith ever 80 many Peri- edicals direct from the publisla•rs, not .Me 01111 hand ; then there are rooms for tat sailers to sleep in who care to stay ashrore, and meals are also furnished them at cost price ; thus they have no excl.1,e fel- frequenting houses of quee- tionahle repute. \verity tour hours from Yokohama we conic to Kobe, where we lay -to for 24 hours and hati au opportunity to see a little of the place. We, Dr. Farn- ham and 1, called on some of the !His- sienaries. From Mr. Atkinson, of the American Beard, we had some account of the effort now being made, and which is likely soon to he successful, to unite the Presbyterian and Congregational churches into one body, to be called " The Church of Christ in ;Japan." This is a step in the right direction, and I am glad there is a movement on feet to unite all the Presbyterian churches in China., and it is hoped that something definite in this direction vill he arrived at befere or at the General li-sionary Conference of all China., to be held at Shaneliai in 1 :10. A cottttt'ittce of the Anieric-an Presbyterian Mi".Si(111 been appeinted lately to correspeiol with representatives of the other Presbyter- ian leiclies. Some one, I believe, eng- g,ested at the American Preebyterian Synod that the Congregationalists be also invited to join, but it was decided to defer this invitation until all the Preshyterians were united. We had dinner in Kobe at Mrs. Lainbuth's. Dr. Isamburit had been a iniseionary in Foo - chew, China, for many years before he was transferred to 'Japan. We went to see a train leave the station. at Kobe ; the engine and ears were quite English, but the trainmen were natives, dressed in foreign clothes. Foreign dress is very 00111111On among the men in .Japan ; all who go abroad seem to adopt the European dress. The transformation that has taken place in ,Japan iu thirty years is truly wonderful : I do not sup- pose there is a case at all approaching it in history. Thirty years ago Japan was hermetically sealed against all for- eigners, be they merchants or mission- aries, and the people were taught to be- lieve that they were " the people," and that there was nothing outside of Japan worth knowing or worth having. To- day the doors are wide open ; every for- eigner who can tell them some new thing is welcomed. Their best men are sent abroad to study and observe, and what they think best in any country they adopt. To illustrate some of their work abroad, I have been told that a Jap, while studying at John Hopkins University, wrote up a " History of Land Tenure in Canada,' which was of such value that it was pointed out and pub- lished at the expense of the University But their teachers were not always of the right kind : some of them were infi- dels, who diligently sowed their seed, and infidel books are translated and widely circulated and read throughout Japan. Their educated men are no longer idolaters, and, although they acknowledge the superiority of Christi- anity over all other religious and see the good it has done for Japan, still they are not prepared to accept it for them- selves. There is great danger from atheism and infidelity in Japan now ; there is great danger, lest the house, empty and swept of the unclean spirit, be taken possession of by other spirits worse than the first. China has not reached that stage yet, although it must soon come; the old, unclean spirit of idolatry and vice is here yet. After leaving Kobe we soon enter the beautiful Inland Sea, the scenery of which has been compared to that of the Scottish lakes. Leaving the Inland Sea we sail across the water lying between the Eastern and Yellow Seas. As is usually the case when sailing between two seas, most of the passengers do not put in au appearance for reasons best known to themselves, so crossing this water some ot us were very uncomfort- able, if not downright sick, although the sea was not rough but only " chop- py." For a long distance out to sea we notice the water tinged with that from the great Yang tsi River. This mighty river brings down great quantities of earth suspended in its waters, which be- come gradually deposited in the sea or the estuary of the river, and in this way a large island has been formed within the memory df those living, I am told. In fact, the whole country about the mouth of the river on which Shanghai is built has evidently been formed in this way. The land all around is low and perfectly level • there is no hill for many miles from the city. The_ foreign settlement of Shanghai is well built, and the streets are kept beautifully clean. There are about 4,000 foreign residents here. Shanghai is, I suppose, one of the largest shipping ports in- the far Ea.st.hi 1SS5, 3,Siti9 steamships enter- ' ed and cleared, besides 941 sailing ves- sels. The exports and imports for that year were eetimated at :":41(i.V00,000. Ibe native city, which is separate trent the fereien settlement, is surrounde1 by an 1)111 fli.',111,/ilt!li wail of brick about 20 nr 25 feet high, with towersat intervals for little ))11-10.shiened 011111)1). The aetll is eurreundecl by a moat tilled with dirty, stiekieg water. This moat is very lawful and allbWerS seVoral pur- poses, it is 1 reeeptacle for refuse of all kinds, dirty people in oirty boats live on its dirty watcrs, ;mil it also supp!ies the neigliberlicael with water for drink- ing and cooking. If ail that is said shout filth and disease germs were true then I do not ece why these people do net all (lie bedde of six months. flie city, Cliefee,is entered Ify several gates, svhich reminds me of pictures of gates at Jeruealem. 1. here are many things here that remind one ef the Bible steries. They thresh their grLin on a levelled piece of ground, and I believe they tread it out with cattle, although I hay'. not liven them at it, yet. I went through the gate twice into the city. The emell 18 imt very inviting, I assure you. I do not know whether a China- man 1148 an olfactory nerve or not. I think the first time I have an opportu- nity I try to find out ; if he has 000 it must de worse than useless. Hu- man flesh seems cheaper than horseflesh here, all tit carrying cd freight is done hy men ; cie-s of goods are carried slung from the centre it it bamboo pole carried by two men , there are no cabs here, but jinidelsehas, Which means man- strength-eari iages little two -wheeled carriages, data ii by nem for ten cents an hour. They are very comfortable, and it is serprieing how long a man will draw one, keeping up a run all the time. A matt can be hired in Chefoo for twelve cents a day, and board him- self. There seem to be so many men about, one will see half a dozen men do- ing the work that one or two men would be doing in the west. Mr. Stevenson, 'manager of the China Inland Mission in China, was very kind to me white in Shanghai, inviting me to titlin and dinner, and to their prayer meetings. They have prayer meetings pray for the three moat northern prov- ieLeerys;daya mlfter tilliu. On Monday they Tuesday the three next, among which comes Henan. In this way alley go over the eighteen provinces in six days ; then on Saturday evening they have a general prayer meeting at which letters from missionaries in the interior are read. These prayer meetings are held at every station in the mission throughout China, so that on the same day all in the mis- sion are praying for the eagle provinces. There are over 260 missionaries in the field connected with the China Inland mission, about forty being home on leave—over 300 in all. Any special dif- ficulty is prayed over, and those con- cerned are named by name in these prayers. The ladies pray as well as the men ; it is, indeed, very good to be with them, and they prey in simple ev- ery day language, and it seems to come right from their hearts, And in truth there is much here to pray for. There is no Sabbath here, there is no knowledge of God, the mites of the people do not know what God means; they have no word for God ; not knowing God, they do not know that they are sinners. These things have to be taught to them ; in most cases this %sill be a matter of time and patience and perseverance. Compare the mere handful of ns to the many millions among whom we are go- ing, and you see the need there is to pray for strength andierace. The peo- ple here, with few exceptions, are given to vice. Stealing aud lying are not regarded as sins. Bribery and corruption are the rule in those in authority. The higher extort from the lower officials, and the lower officials from the common people. Each magistrate has a retinue of under offi- cials who are supposed to make their living by extorting money from the ac cused, for they have no other salary as a rule. Woe betide the unfortunate who falls into their clutches ; he fares about as badly as the man who went from Jerusalem to Jericho, and there are few good Samaritans here. There is a proverb among the Chinese which the poor people can appreciate only too well. It is very expressive : " The big fish eat the little fish, The little fish eat shrimps, The shrimps eat mud." Still, there is material in China for a great nation. The people are brave, in- dustrious and persevering. They are called the Scotch of the East. They possess a good farming country, and one that is rich in minerals also. When China adopts Christianity she is destined to become, I believe, a leader among the nations. The Chinaman then will not be treated like a dog or a bale of merchandise when he visite the shores of America. There are some exceptions, I believe, to the people leading lives of vice. There are a few,men in China, I am told, who aro trying to live up to the light:they have, who do not worship idols, and try to live hOnest lives. These usually hear the Gospel gladly, and make good Christians.. When I arrived in Chefoo on the 4th of this month I was invited by Dr. Dotxthwaite to go and stay with him as he was living alone ; his wife died a year and a half ago. I accepted his kind invitation and remain- ed with him a week and a half, when Dr. Henderson, the port physician, who has been ill for the last three months, asked me to come over to the settlement and attend his patients, so now I am being feasted at the Sea 'Vi€w Hotel, where at present I amthe only boarder. The .practice does not interfere with my studying the languagaas there is very little sickness here in winter. Dr. Douthwaite, of the China Island Mis- sion, was doing Dr. Henderson's work previous to my coming here, but; it was too much for him with his other' duties, and, besides, he lives about a mile from the settlement. The foreign residents here are not many, being made up of the China customs officials, the eensuls ot several countries, and a few foreign merchants. On my arrival Mr. Geforth and Dr. Smith had gone inland te Honan to " spy out the land." They have not yet returned but we expect them almost any hour now. As 1 r, t;oforth has tele- graphed Mrs. Goforth to pack up, we expect he hail got a house and is going to move inland at once, probably to eome station near Ronan. where there are other missionaries, whence he can make journeys to Ilonan more frequent- ly, and thus get the people accustomed to us, for 1 lonan is considered t Ile prov- ince the most hostile to foreigners. The Smith's will be staying here all winter, I think, studying the language, for they will not listen to one who cannot speak their language fluently, they simply de spise such and look on them as an in- ferior race of animals. However, 1, shall be able to tellayou more about our plans when Mr. G. and Dr. 5, return. Mrs. Smith was ill for 501110 time, but is able to be about again. Mrs. Goforth and the baby are very well. Mre.Smith and I\liss Sutherland will insist 00 call- ing the baby " Ronan." Miss Suther- land is well. She is very cheerful and and keeps things bright around. She has done good work here already. Not long after she arrived, she was called to nurse Mrs. Corbett, the wife of Rev. I)r. Corbett, of the American Presby- terian mission. Dr. C. is considered the model missionary of China, a most earnest, devoted and conscientious man, and very plain and unassuming, too. \Vhen Dr. C. left for the interior to visit his stations Mrs. Corbett was not very well, but he thought it his duty to go. After he had gone she became worse and died. The body was kept for burial ten days waiting for Dr. Corbett's return, Pour of the brightest children I have ever seen are left motherless. The eld- est is only ten years old. \V. McCeuite.:. clime, China, oetoner 17. 1 Canada. The next Provincial Exhibition will he held at London, Ontario. —The borers for natural gas at St. Catherines have reached a depth of 1,300 feet. —Diphtheria is said to be on the in- crease among the wealthier classes of English speaking people in Montreal. --Four cases of wife -beating were tried before the police magistrate in Ilamilton in one day last week. —Simeon Thompson, for many years a resident of London is dead aged 99 years. He was a member of the Masonic order for 79 years. —Mr. Thomas Henning, brother-in- law of the !ate Hon. George Brown, has just died at Florence, Italy, Mrs. Hen- ning died only fifteen days previously. —Over twenty seizures of illicit to- bacco have been made by Inland Rev- enue officers recently in Prescott and Russell counties. —The Salvation A, my authorities in Montreal dined a the isand poor people at the barracks on the evening after Christmas day. —Mr. S. It, Brown, who has just re- signed the head mastership of London separate school, has been presented with a valuable silver tea service and water set. —Mr. Daniel Weber, one of the ear- liest settlers in the district about New Hamburg, died a few days ago on the same farm where he had settled in 1834. —A Puslinch farmer brought to Galt for the Christmas market two mammoth geese which weighed 19i -pounds each and were last June's goslings at that. — Angus Matheson, contractor and lumber dealer, of Ingersoll, has sold out his business and removed to Denver, Colorado, for the benefit of hitl health. — On Christmas eve a sneak thief got away with a two -gallon jug of sherry wine, -Valued at $6, from a grocer's de- livery wagon standing on the street in — A serious fire occured at Deloraine, Manitoba, early last Friday morning. A large part of the town was destroyed and little or no insurance. —The New Glasgow Enterprise an- nounces that Miss McCready, daughter of Editor McCready, of the St. John Telegraph, has entered the journalistic profession. — There were three very heavy snow - slides on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the mountains during last week. There were some narrow escapes but no loss of life. — Dr. G. S. Wright, head master of the Belleville High school, was the other night presented by his Bible class and his co-workers in the Tabernacle Sunday school, with a handsome easy chair. —While Wm. K. Robinson, of Rom• ney township, was hunting near Wheat- ley, on Christmas day, a large limb fell, striki.ag him on, the head. He has since died. — A company is about being formed at Gaspe, with a capital of $500,000, to carry on the fishery trade at Labrador. It intends to construct special steam vessels for the work. —D. J. Freeman, of Middleton, Nova Scotia, has been fined $75 for violating the Scott Act, $76 for tampering with witnesses, and his wife was fined $50 for retailing liquor. —Mr. F. A. Tetu, civil engineer, who is seeking a charter for a Labrador fish- ing company, proposes, if a subsidy of 850,000 a year is assured him for three years, to demonstrate the practicability of winter navigation in the gulf of St. Lawrence along the north shore, where, in consequence of the north winds which constantly blow from the shore, the river is always clear of ice. The voyage to Liverpool by Tadousac and Cape -Bay, and there to Newfoundland, is said to be 36 hours shorter than the route from Halifax. Mr. Tetu claims that the project to make Rimouski a winter port is imprac• ticable, in consequence of the immense nettle at ice to ere /end 0.0?1,14 tt.e brutal shore. The distance fr aciousa, to Cape I lay is -1'35 miles, and it the ,ii8- trance can he atlet:.CSEflliiy traversed the problem of the winter rt a insane: of the St. Law:a:nee wil/ be a es eo. --Judge Weatherly is t-ettiing Eaglisa gentle -hien tanners an ar)IIL1 tier meat orchard in the Gaspercaux Ne\ 0. eral terms have telL sold ltitc:y, and more are waeted. —NV. I 1. Webh, ss n murdered wife at Brandon, Ma.nitena, on septe ber 1st, by shooting her tet ugh t c head, \\ a, flanged at Brandon laet bri (lay. —Miss .\Iargery Campbell, claughtt r of the Licutenant-GoNernor, serieusi ill at Government house, er si, bans, hey, ever, have a firm hope of 1.1-I ultimate recovery. -The town of Cornwall is infested at present with a number et bad and des- perate characters, A citizen was beld up and robbed of his money and gIb watch on his way home about 9 o.eleek a few nights ago. —Edward Kelly, of Winnipeg, has forwarded a forfeit of $50 in support ef his challenge to Win. Fleming, of Mark- ham, for the checker championship ef Canada, and wants the game to be play- ed at Chicago. --Old residents about St. Catherines say they do net remember such continu- ed mild weather at Christmas tirne einee 1a:17, the year of the Mackeuzie rebel- lion, when military movements were greatly impeded by muddy roads. --The Toronto Police Magistrate has committed Polly Bredin, alias Mary Pattison Hill, for trial at the General Assizes on the charge of bigamy prefer- red against her. Bail was accepted, a cash deposit of $1,000 being made. —A virulent eczematic etruption pre- vails in Quebec amongst horses, similar to that of eight years ay. It attacks the animals in the feet first. The cola tagion of the disease is liable to humans by having an open cut or sore coming in contact with the animals. —Hamilton has a tramp test, which the Mayor declares to be very effective. All able bodied applicants for relief are sent to the quarries, where they can earn $1 a day. if they refuse to work, they are not given any relief, --Mrs, Aussum, an old lady, one of the early settlers of Dumfries, a as found itt all unconseious state in her residence in Galt the other day. She never re- covered consciousness, dying in a short time. —The pulpit of the Presbyterian church at Parkdale was occupied last Sabbath evening by Mr. Malchaff, a Macedonian student at Knox College, who, when ordained, will return to his native country to preacl. —Rev. J. E. Irvine, a Methodist clergyman, and his wife have opened a home for divine healing through faith in Christ, at Niagara Falls, Ontario. A number of cases of remarkable healing of severe diseases have been reported dur- ing the past week. —Inspector Moffat, of the Northwest Mounted Police, the other night left for Regina with Thomas Robinson, the de- serter who was arrested in Paris, where he was courting a young lady. Robinson isnot only charged IN ith desertion but forgery. —J. Kindred, of Caradoc, who had spent Friday in St. Thomas, about 12 o'clock midnight went into the Wilcox house, and dropped to sleep in a chair in the waiting -room. \Vhen he awoke he found $47 which had been in his pocket was missing. — James Dingwall, an employee in Walker & Marlatt's pork house, Ayl- mer, was stru:k square in the face last Friday by a barrel, which fell twenty feet, terribly injuring him, hurting his eyes and breaking his nose, aad knock- ing him senseless for a time. —Upwards of 20,000 sheep have been shipped from Summerside, Prince Ed- ward Island this season. There have been exported from that place during the season : Horses to the value of $107,167 ; sheep, $40,789; eggs, $84,120; oysters, $32,667. —The Marquis of Lothian, Sir Charles Tupper, Mr. King, M. P. for Hull, and Thomas Skinner, of the Canadian Ga- zette, have been appointed a commission to carry out the Home Government's scheme for the colonisation of crofters in Canada. —The Pacific coast sent Christmas greetings to Lady Stanley of Preston and to Lady Macdonald in the shape of a fine assortment of Victoria grown holly for each. The donor was Mr. J. Davis, of Victoria, a gentleman who pre- sented Lady Macdonald with a magnifi- cent collection of roses on her first visit to Victoria. —Seven boys in Montreal whose ages ranged from 10 to 14 years, were charg- ed with stealing door knobs. Witnesses testified that the youths, in order to procure intoxicating liquor, had recourse to the novel plan of selling •the knobs after wrenching them from private resi- dences, in which the young tellows lived. —The firm of R. Park & Co., who for inany years have been in the tanning business in Newmarket, have lately added a new wing to their tannery, with 30 additional vats, coolers, and new machinery. This will give them a capacity for turning out some 500 sides of harness and bridle leather weekly. — Mr. John Miller, tax collector for South Dumfries, Brant County, reports his roll with some $13,000 on it, all col. lected except the tax of $1.00 each on five dogs, which will require to be struck off by the Council, and $1.59 on real estate, which will require to he returned to the County for collection. —An interesting family gathering of the Bishop family took place at Wood- stock on Christmas Day. There are nine children and all are married bat two. Being s0 widely scattered it wal quite an effort to meet the " old folk at home." One Mite from New York, one from Chicago, one from Winnipeg, two from the " Soo," one from Tor- onto, one frail. Last 2. r ra. 0.1. 1 ‘A itle111 L 150 i‘ei. ;:aat,\ : La7\i1.1:"..v, ier 1 a:se..e . gran, rest .N. ne les .M,ssr- laeann. rain I 15he18 les; e (.\ . • ar,•isee rat - fo.r. 0.1;1 1 V -...}- pr -,212e 01, a a lee, a 1:. t 1./. • II r, rem, le( . • e 22e, r 2eadieg tee le( st --The Leas eftt,t 'hate Gibson, 12.181-1( :( - \ : :rt: ( 81.10.::a . . NA, • b*. : h, bt t1.1) tl., . ns, IlIL ageet 1 tae '4 0.8 caueed 1 11 elt, h ' f 111 leaves a vid, ss ar, : 81 Mr. 1,11,801, nee at e, crara somee: time o\ t :\ Dr. Ciapiean. preseieet 01. \ e aeetie Preit t 'rev, t. r.. Aese 1. a :ea to the lia:ifax Ilerab ti at tiesI eierst af a carg• of N 4 1" :1i-4 ; ; 8te Landon a\ era,.Ii 2 .")" ' . .ear of all ex penes. are] 1;.. a-, ; 1 a 0. EiC1.1hCin,E e.i St reer , 11*10 and eetted the e a, tie r 45 ol rpj er irs (}11 er rr te tl e .1 sele near i ht.S —Peter ..11sMaettl, a Lit -1.' acter, ho has 1, r leen, ',Jae ,l(ntel the authorities t- arrest 1.e... eas isa made trisoeer Mr. 5 \\ t. :( uty sheriff of Preseett and I :ere. a '1 re bury fur the purpose of def 1a_ al'. est. anti v, hen seimei drew a 1(-‘,....(1.01 Was overpowered and ,iiearme --Last Sunday morning -e .1. fbi-t ir Psichmonci hall, Teroetce t, and the euteast v, -ab att( nieu and 44l,11100. In t}10 .4sereeg 25 came to seppe: . EN rns ere i ad a lee ful supply f eunilkiehtS, ( arel 1,1itter, tea, .2( ti,te, At r ea 1. meal :\lr. H.(. Ifixen (led ra .2 a -ef rt but earnest nispel address. h itoge choir sang a number ef pep L'itIT — Messrs. J. Nib, 1 Iii.2ar ney, Georgian Bav, -iiv teat ttie catch of fish has been very fair tee. year and prices likewise. Their L et, i, little over the 500 tons fresh tars \ ear, and there were ehipped altein fr( n. Squaw Island and Killarra y et 1 -at alai tous. Of this euantitv 1,1 tons went to Butlalo. —The other day Mi. ( loge samen one of New Hatehere-s best known citizens met vs iti accident. litine run iete rig, he was try ing to cheek team and was thrown \ hard ground and dreg): distance. lie recei \ti scalp wounds but he is as can be expected. —Mr. \V, T. Gia.nyi Michigan Central Raila a while riding on an erne, morning fell oil near Montr, striking his head en a tie. terrible gash. Ile was pickte conveyed to his home at a. Bridge, but his recovery is deli,. —Mr, Ed. Lyons, clerk ot American flouse, Berlin. is a charitable citizen. Last eek presented to the Orphans. 11(1110, a St. Agatha, about $300 w)rt:, of Pres erste consisting of blankets, foe IP, COD" fectioneries and toys. Ile has done this kind act for about eight years, and hs.s' been also assisted by several of the more charitable citizens, —The temperance convention held at Cataraqui, neat Kingston, on Friday, ap- pointed a comin,ftee for each tonship to do battle in fa. or of the Scott Act in the repeal contest which is to take lace. Fines to the extent of $2,000 have been collected in the county-, and the temperance people claim to be well satisfied with the working of the Act. —The Montreal Judges on Saturday ordered the liberation of Adeline Trempe from the Good Shepherd convent, to which she had been committed in 1885 for five years on a charge of vagrancy trumped up by her uncle, who wished to remove the girl from her mother, who was a Protestant. The court was very severe on the Recorder for his ac- tion in illegally depriving the girl of her liberty.' —An American " broker " last year met the daughter of a French Canadian wine merchant' in Montreal, married her, and in a very short time went through the thonsands of his wife. Since she has no more money her hus- band ill-treats her. The neighbors have been called upon time and again during the night to give her shelter. After maltreating her on Friday he was ar- rested. - _on e of the valuable pair of horses recently bought by Professor Goldwin Smith from the Messrs. Burgess, of Drumbo, was accidentally killed a few daye ago in Toronto. While entering the stable he was frightened by a hawk, which flew down from some of the large elms that ornament the "Grange," and is supposed to have struck his head fatally against thetop of the stable, door. The loss is felt keenly by the professor as he was exceptionally well pleased with -the handsome team. —Mrs. A. (.Foley, -of Peterboro, was surprised the other day by receiving $41 from some unknown debtor. A letter accompanying the money explained that the writer bad borrowed a sum from Mrs. Foley 32 years ago. Recently the writer had joined the 'Salvation Army and thought the money should be repaid and it was enclosed with interest for the 32 years. The recipient of the con- science money has no idea from whom it came. • 1 144111/6„ 1