Elf DRAWING iR iFEKIM .WAR'S END NEAR. Pre Staters Surrendering- Lord Robert' Fcrces rtcC3ling Rifles Faster Thin a. . r aclory Could Turn Thorn Out. The news from South Africa Monday Is entirely satisfactorily In the, British public. Tin- relief of Mali-Wing i not yet announced, but it is extremely prob nlile iliat this in it!re:iity accomplished by Col. Fluuicr's Advance The aclmd . relief movements have not lieen public ly developed in detail, lint it seem that Lord Methuen only started very recently nnd is rather engaged in dis persing the Bocts "f the district than aiming at actual relief. The officer commanding nt Belmont rcp.rrts that some deserters have come in with a Maxim, n nine-pounder and another Kim. Another nine -pounder has been brought into Colcshctg. The cavalry brigade hat gone to Thalia Nchtt in or der to reassure the inhabitant of that district and to distribute copies of the proclamation to the people of the Free Slate. These proclamations are being eagerly sought after. We nrc getting rifles surrendered faster than a factory could turn them out. It is quite certain that if a British official can reach the northern laagers u-iih Lord Roberts' proclamation the whole Iloer population will declare forj peace. - , Events have occurred which induce some to predict that the war will last (inly so long as it takes to march to l'retoria. The educated lloers, even the Transvaalcrs are ready to accept the inevitable. It is reported that n corps of j.oixi women have been formed at l'retoria. It is called the Amazon corps. All the members nrc uniformed in kills ami arc armed. . Lord Huberts probably ascertained from lr. Eraser, the new mayor of Bloeinfontcin. before dispatching Gen. Polc-Carcw southward that, in all like lihood, the railway was clear. The next move will be to edict at ISIocmfonlcin, by railwav, sufficient stores for the im mense nr'iny Lord ttoherts will have when the Orange river forces have joined him. This will probably occupy from two to three weeks. Therefore the next important operations may be expected in Natal. The cavalry brigade winch Lord Koh crls hh sent to Thalia Nchu. .15 miles east of nioemfontein, is destined to cut off some J.ooo Boers who are escaping from the southward. According to reports there are u.oon Boers with 20 puns in the Biggaiberg range. They will have to be caught sooner or later. The British troops are anxious to try. and the feeling is gen eral that before long they will be per mitted to do so. A dispatch from I.adysmith. dated Sunday, says: Our advanced camp is on Sundays river, two miles north of Etaudslaagtc. The lloers hold two po sitions on the Biirgarsherg range, about in miles north. The strongest is on the New Castle road, where several nuns have already been mounted and where licy are digging extensive trenches. The second position, which is on the Dundee road is not so strong. A dispatch from President Kr.tger says: "The burghers will only cease fighting with death. Our forces are re turning in Rood order to our lines of de fense on our own soil. The Natal campaign was longer in our favor than we expected. The British will never reach Pretoria. The burghers, Stevn, Joubert and myself, as well as all the others, are united. There nrc no dif ferences. God help us." Murdered by a Maniac In-a Paroxysm of rage Olof Pallesen. a Norwegian, stabbed nnd killed his wife Josephine, murdered Julia llenges bach. the three-year-old daughter of Charles F. Hengcsbach. a mail carrier, and murderously assaulted the child's mother, Mary llengesbach, Wednesday afternoon, in front of his home, Wash ington, D, C. Mrs. llengesbach lies near the verge of death with seven stab wounds in her body. Pallesen was ar rested. It is believed he has become demented through sickness. Texas Republicans nrc endeavoring to start a boom for Republican Slate Chairman E. H. R. Green, who is a son of Hetty Green, of New York, for vice-president on the ticket with Mc Kinley. Hundred Homelet. Report have been received that the Fox, Illinois and Sangamon river have overflowed their banks, doing great damage. Ottawa, 111., is under water and hundreds of families near Havana, 111., have been driven from their homes. There is an ice gorge at the Santa Fe bridge at Chilli cotlic, 18 miles above Peoria, and the water is up to the lies. Attempts are being made to break the gorge with dynamite. Peoria is threat ened with flood. Cap'. KcCalla Pardoned. President McKinley has granted n full and unconditional pardon to Capt. Bowman H. McCalla, of the navy, now serving in the Philippines. In 1800 Capt. McCalla, then a commander, was convicted by court martial of several offenses, including the striking of an other person in the navy, and was sus pended from rank and duty for three years. The pardon, which was granted for conspicuous service in the war with Spain, restores Capt. McCalla to his old rank and position. CAEIE FLASHES. Official of the Pari exposition say that the exposition will be opened April 15, a advertised. The Prussian Reichstag is discussing a bill to purify the stage. It prohibits the presentation of anything calculated to produce a feeling of shame. The Prussian Reichstag ha adopted a coinage bill providing for calling in gold five-mark piece and twenty-pfennig pieces, issuing silver up to fifteen mark per head of the population and calling in provincial coins, for renam ing. Dr, Arendt, free conservative, of fered an amendment proposing the purchase of silver bullion for minting the new coins, but it was rejected by 161 to 61 votes. LATEST NEWS NOTES. On the Jack's Wndc crerk Klondike, sonic dirt has assayed $j to $5 of gold per bucket. A colony of 400 Missouri farmer Is to be established in the Concho River Valley, Mexico.. - Sunday the I'ort Gibson (Miss.) coni pressj in which was stored a.otm bales of cotton, was burned. ' Governor General Leary. of the island of Guam, has Issued :i proclamation do ing nway with slavery. Secretary Root left llavann Saturday for Charleston, where he will inspect the new fortifications. The unveiling of the Vance statue nt Raleigh. N. C. Iii been postpifned from May iti to July 4. A strike by union machinists of Cleve land is imminent. Employers refuse to consider a nine hour day. The Armstrong Steel Works, nt Mint. Miih., were burned Wednesday, the loss being $150,1x10. Brazil will close her polls to Argen tine vessels on account f reported bu bonic plague in Argentina. The National Sleel Company's steel nnd bnr mills at New Castle, Pa., re sumed operations Thursday. King Menelik. of Abyssini i. is threat ening to seize Italian provinces in Af rica and a war is imminent. The total number of deaths at Kim berley during the scigc was 1.07(1, 01 which ono were caused by disease. The Juliet (III.) Limestone Company has gone into the hands of a receiver. The liabilities nrc estimated at $4110.000. The ( til Well Supply Company's plant on Second nvcmie, Pittsburg, was damaged by fire to the extent 01 $00,000. The Senate commerce committee has reported favorably a bill to change the name of the steamer Paris to the Phila delphia. Webster Davis, assistant secretary of the Interior, arrived at Naples on his return from Smith Africa and sailed for New York. The Illinois Manufacturers' Associa tion has begun a movement, by resolu tion nnd petition, for the repeal of the war revenue law. Kansas will have n big exposition in lx4, in celebration of the fiftieth anni versary of the organization of the ter ritory of Kansas. The Prince of Wales is growing more like his mother and is now looked upon by Englishmen as promising to make a good king. M. L. llarbeson. law partner of the late William Gocbvl, has been elected in Kenton county, Ky to succeed Goebel in the State Senate. Application for the exchange of old bonds for the new two were made Sat urday to the treasury demrlment to the ai v.regate of $J7.ixx),0'Xi. Lady Roberts and her two daughter left England to join Lord Roberts in South Africa and were given a popular demonstration in London. Mexico's grand canal, part of the val ley of Mexico drainage system, was in augurated Saturday with grand cere monies in the City of Mexico. The pope sent a message to Irish Catholics in America with his benedic tion and expressing the hope that the Irish race may live in peace. The will of Isaac Gordon, the no torious money lender of London, has not been found. Scathing obituaries of him are published by the papers. At a meeting in Dublin the lord may or presiding, a committee was appoint ed to fittingly receive the uecn and E 1.-400 was subscribed for decorations. The war department is preparing ad vertisements for bids for live addition al buildings to be at once erected at Kgmont Key, commanding Tampa bay. Mrs. Ida M. Law. wife of F. W. Law, of Pittsburg. Pa., strangled her baby while temporarily insane. Four years ago she cut the throat of another baby. J. Picrpont Morgan, of New York, has announced the closing of the Brit ish war loan. The amount of applica tions, received here was about $30,000, 000. Application has been made for a char ter for the Franklin (Pa.) Air Compres sor Company. Capital. $.too.ooo. one half of which has been taken by Frank lin people and the balance by J. W. Duntley, of Chicago. Secret service officers have arrested in New York four F.nglishmen accus ed of making counterfeit coins and seiz ed their plant and a epiantity of bad money. Thomas Poolcy, a saloonkeeper of Butte. Mont., shot and killed his son-in-law, Thomns Littleiohn, and the lat ter' wife, Lyda, during a difficulty on the strcut. John R. Haines, a Topeka ticket broker, has been sentenced to 50 years in the penitentiary for murdering Charles Watson, formerly a rich Ohio lumber merchant. Senator Cullom Friday presented in the Senate a memorial from Illinois for the construction of a ship canal, 24 feet deep and 300 feet wide, from Lake Michigan, through the drainage canal anil the Illinois river, to the Mississippi. The attorney general ' of Nebraska has brought suits against the Union Pacific railroad for $.110,000;: the Mis souri Pacific for $2lo.oro, and the Rock Island for $150,000, or alleged viola tion of the maximum rate law. It is reported that a Kenosha, Wis., tannery has been sold to the leather trust for $4,000,000. Last week it was reported the big combine made the company an offer of $,vooo.uoo, but this was refused and the company held to their original demand of $4,000,000. Prince Anandsing Ajectsing Advasi of Bombay, India, has been sentenced to three months in jail and fined $50 for fraudulently obtaining board, and lodging in New Haven. Trouble is looked for between Rus sia and Turkey if Prince Ferdinand, of Bulgaria, backed by Russia, carries out hi announced determination to declare himself king of Bulgaria. A movement has begun in Russia to abandon the Julian calendar, which i 12 day behind that used by other na tions, and secure, jf possible, the adop tion of a universal calendar. INSURGENT JUNTB STILL ftCTIVE. INCITING FILIPINOS, Their Idea It lo Fore the Etsl Possible Term From Congress Brlgindag Take Iht ' -Plaol of Organizid Warfare. ... Gen. Otis considers Manila the most troublesome center III the siliinlion. The insurgent junta there, in conjunc tion with that in I long Kong, Is grow ing netive. The military authorities have lu'Mi forced to put a stop to Ma- bitti's intercourse' with the public.' The press considers Ins- recent utterances calculated to incite the .Filipino to a continued revolt and prejudicial to American control. Mores, Agiiinaldo's surrendered sec retary of war, who has just arrived in Manila, says he comes trusting to Amer ican leniency nnd that he would not have dared come to Manila if Spain were in control, lie cherishes the hope which actuated him when in the field nnd desires to watch congressional ac tion upon the question of the Philip pines. 1 lie insurgents, he says, 110 not rxpect to vanquish the Americans, but nrr maintaining n resistance with tlir idea of forcing Congress to accord them the best possible teims. A num ber of representative itum-gent leaders from different parts of Luzon have re renlly been in conference in Manila. Some have been placed tinder arrest, but the others thus far have not been interfered with. Louis Spitzcl, head of the firm of Louis Spilzel ft Co., contractor to the Chinese government, nnd himself n sus pected filibuster, came from I long Kong to Manila last week nnd wns tem porarily detained in custody on suspi cion. It is asserted upon good author ity that three loads of arms ntul ammu nition have recently been landed on the east cost of Luzon. Capt. Taylor, of the Thirty-ninlh regiment, recently cap tured 12 new maulers near Calamlia. It is also reported that the rebels are reorganizing in the province of Zam bnles, under Mascardo. Brigands arc committing atrocities in the province of Nueva l'.ciga, where they have mur dered 20 natives and Chinamen. Fight oilier murders have been committed near Tarlae. The Nueva Feign insur gents nre heavily taxing local trailers and farmers, with the result that busi ness is paralyzed and there is a general scarcity of food. The funds for main taining this guerrilla warfare nre col lected from the various towns of the island, whether occupied by the Ameri cans or not, even including Manila. Travel between the towns garrisoned by the Americans is becoming more dangerous. All wagon trains must be escorted bv heavy guards in order to insure their safely. Two ambushes were narrowly averted recently ; small traveling parties were attacked; single travelers freiintly disappear or nre found dead. Spaniards nnd Filipinos conversant with the Tagalo character say that Agiii naldo's capture would terminate the revolution. Three months have passed since he was actively pursued. A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. An Eccenlrlo Jersey Doctor ol 123 Years Who Beats Pones do Loon all Hollow. Dr. Smith, who claims to be 12,1 years of age, and whose marriage in At lantic City a few months ago to n wo man of forty caused something of a sen sation, has removed to Egg Harbor City, where he is diligently pursuing a plan to erect a huge sanitarium for those afllieted with disease. His only cure is the water of L'nion creek, which he claims possesses peculiar medicinal properties. Dr. Smith, even during the cold weather of the last three months, has been regularly administering this to his patients who could adapt themselves to the treatment. It consists of a daily bath in the water of the stream at all seasons. The danger of contracting cold is counteracted by taking what Dr. Smith calls hi elixir of life, which, he says, has been the means of prolonging his life nearly a century and a quarter. He is very uncommunicative in regard to his plan, and apparently want to avoid notoriety. The American Tobacco Company dis charged its 500 employes at it New York factory and will remove the plant to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Richmond, Va., and Lancaster, Pa., where labor is cheaper. ' A War Inevitable A telegram from' Matagulpa, Nica ragua, says that war between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is unavoidable. Recruiting is going on in the district of Matanzas. The heav iest recruiting is in Leon prov ince in the west. President Iglcsias of Costa Rica, has suspended the constitu tion. He expect an invasion by the Nicaragua!! under Nora, a renegade Costa Rican. Trek From Missouri lo Mexico. A colony of 403 Missouri farmers is to be established in the valley of the Con cho river in Mexico. The promoter of the colonization scheme have pur chased 200,000 acres of rich valleys, an l a tew of the colonists have already ar rived. The remainder of the families will reach here in time to put in this season's crops. The effect of the uncertainty of the tariff situation as to Puerto Rico, is shown by a report prepared by Colonel F.dwards, chief of the insular bureau of the war department, according to which the custom receipt.! for January were $68,460, a decrease of $51,410 com pared with the receipts for January, 199- Yields 936,000 a Day. Norman MacAuley has returned to Victoria, B. C, from the Klondike with a story of the riches of claim No. 46, on the Sulphur, which is known to be the richest mining claim in the world. The owner, whose name Mac Auley could not recall, i a German, and he will before long be the richest man of all the Klondike kings. The claim, he says, is now producing at the rate of $.16,000 each day. John M, Wampler wa tentenced at Gladeville, Va., to be hanged for the murder of William Jenkin. MORE SUBSIDIARY COIN, AI Least $20,000,000 lo be Minted anil Put On Ihs Market Under the New Mone'ary Law. Mr. Roberts, the director of the mint, has announced his intention of speedily taking steps to increase the stock of itibsiiliary coin under the new financial net. As quickly ns possible at least $20,000,000 will be coined nnd put on the market to meet the demand for small money. Speaking of the matter, Mr. Roberts said: "The new monetary net, approved March 14, authorize an increase of about $20,ixxmxx in the stock of sub sidiary silver coin. The last authority for the issue of subsidiary silver was given by a joint resolution, approved July 21, 1876, in preparation for the re sumption of specie payments. It au thorized the issue of nn amount which, together with the fractional paper cur rency outstanding, should nt no time ex ceed $50,r)oo.(xx. "July o, 1K70, the net providing for the redemption of subsidiary silver ill lawful money wa passed, and forthwith our old quarters, dimes nnd halves, which had been driven to the West Indie and South America by our paper money, began to return. They were presented for redemption until the treas ury held over $.n,ooo,ooo of them. In this way the $5o,ooo,x limit was ex ceeded, for the treasury officials paid tin Mock out in the regular course of business until it wns prarlically nil ab sorbed. The present stock in the coun try thus reached nboiit $,ooo,ocio. Under the new law it may be $100,000, oon, nnd bullion purchased tinder the Shermnn act may be coined. The new nulhority was sorely needed nnd will scarcely suffice for the growing needs of the country more tha'n five or six years." STARVATION IN PUERTO RICO. Suffering Inhabitants Rjady lo Agree lo Any Legislation Thai Affords Speedy Roltef. (iovcrnor (ieueral Davis has received petitions for work and food from 60 comity women who marched from Nar nniito to find relief from starvation. The women presented a most pitiable sight. They were barefooted and rag ged, half, naked, dust-covered nnd weary from their journey. Some ol them were lame; all were discouraged. The petition which they presented to the governor general tells the story of the depressing times; no work, and the price of rice, beans and bread beyond reach, fruits destroyed and the relief supply discontinued, bringing them and other where the came from almost to starvation. (ten. Davis promised relief to the party and reiue.sted the mayor to pro vide transportation. His reply was that there was not a peso in the treasury and that the police were yet unpaid for their last two month's work. The party of women dispersed rpiictly, some retracing their steps afoot, others begging easier conveyances to Naranjito, which is 20 miles from San Juan, a portion of the road being almost impassable. Similar parlies nre expected from other towns. The feeling of uncertainty regarding the tariff holds business practically at a standstill, the merchants being afraid to order goods or to advance funds on the planters' accounts. The merchants here will be satisfied to accept any decision of Coitgrcss, either free trade, the 25 or 15 per rent, tariff, but they nsk for a settlement of the question, so that business activity may be resumed. Shot Daughter and Husband. Thomas Poolcy. a saloonkeeper, of Piiitte, Mont., Sunday, shot and killed his son-in-law, Thomas Littleiohn, and by accident the hitler's wife, Lydia, the shot being intended for Littleiohn, dur ing a difficulty on the street. The trou ble dated from Liltlciohn's marriage to Poolcy' daughter without the fath er's consent. I.ittlcjohn had knocked Poolcy down nnd was kicking him. when the latter drew his revolver and fired. Mrs. Littlejuhn was carrying her baby at the time. Forty Door Factories Closed. Forty sash nnd door factories in Chicago have decided to shut down as a result of the struggle of the con ,mti(i1 nnil tin htiilflincr nnd trades council. This throws 6.000 more men, mostly union wood workers, out nf .nJnnwni Tn activity in buildnitr circle and interference by the employe with the delivery 01 goous 10 non-union force caused the action. 1 Negroes Musi Leave. Citizens of Parium, a fine resilience suburb of the big mining camp of Cal umet, Mich., have appointed a commit tee to rid the town of negroes. They object to having it called a vigilance committee, and announce that only peaceable and legal methods will be used, but that the negroes must go. Colored men were almos unknown there until a sewer contractor brought in several carloads from Tennessee and Alabama 18 months ago. Several white girls have eToped with negroes and constant trouble has led to this acticn. Yellow Fover In Havana. H. J. Ormsby. of Wisconsin, who has spent the last five months in Cuba a a special agent of the war depart ment, says that yellow fever is now and has been for some time past raging in Havana. The reports of the actual deaths from yellow fever, he said, are not allowed to go out. For the first time in the history oi mining in Central Pennsylvania a new scale was agreed on by arbitration be tween miners and operators at the Al toona convention. The annual report of the Canadian Pa cific railway shows gross earnings for 1800 of $29,230,9.18.26; working ex penses, $16,999,77275, and net earnings, $12,330,165.49. Frank R. Dundy, city chamberlain, of F.lmira, N. Y., and defeated Demo cratic candidate for mayor on March 6, has confessed to a shortage of $jo, 000 in hi account. The director of the Anaconda Cop per Mining Company Friday at New York declared it regular quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share and an ex tra dividend of 75 cents. DEATH IN I JUKE EXPLOSION. SHOWER OF HOT METAL. Ont Man Burned Up Completely Another Vlollm's Flesh Falis from His Bones. Three Olhers Badly lnjred. A terrific explosion occurred In Mo. lioiigaliela furnace No. t, n department of the National Tube Company' plant, at McKeesport, Pn., nt $-.40 o'clock Fri day afternoon. One man wa killed, an other so badly injured that he cniinot rrcover, nnd three men very painfully burned. The indirect cnusc of the exnlosion was the dogging of the furnace, which is (10 feet high. A lot of ore, limestone and coke had become fastened to the side of the furnace 20 feet from the top. This is called a "hung." Hut the men at the top, Martin and Cumin, kept filling in more ore, coke and limestone. I'inally the weight of the stone, coke nnil ore thrown in caused the "hnng" to break loose.' It then fell down to the bottom of the furnnce, 40 feet be low. At the bottom of the furnace was a large mas of molten metal nnd gases. W hen the ore nnd stone rntne tumbling down, the explosion ensued. ! ire, molten metal, ore, coke ana stone were sent flying high into the nir. Some of the pieces of stone nnd ore fell to the ground a block away. The noise made by the explosion could be heard nil over the city. The ynril about the furnarc wa strewn over with metal, ore nnd stone. The top of the furnace was blown oft, and some of the fixtures of the furnace destroyed. He- yond this little damage was done to the furnace. The report of the explosion and the wierd scenes attending nnd following it were indescribable. People rushed to the place from nil over the city, nnd the greatest excitement prevailed. Nothing whatever could be discov ered of Martin' remains. His hat was found on the top of the furnace, near the edire. The force of the explosion seems to have been directly upward and downward. Martin had been working nt the place eight years. EXPANSION IN WEST INDIES. Our Government Will Buy the Danish Islands lor a Reasonable Price. The purpose pf the government to ac quire the island of St. Thonia for a reasonable consideration from Den mark, has not been abandoned, notwith standing the statements attributed to the Danish ministers not to part with the island. It is believed that the last announcement is only evidence of a pur pose on the part of the Danish authori ties to secure a higher price for the island than the United State had re garded as proper. It is probable that no active effort will be made by our government to hasten the negotiations, but having learned that the finances of the island showed a deficit last year of $75,000, in spite of the most rigid econ omy in the administration, a sum charg ed up against the home government, it is believed that our terms will ultimate ly be accepted, if reduced to a con crete proposition to pay $3,000,000 for St. Thomas and St. Cruz. FOUGHT WITH YAQUiS. Americans Wen Killed by M:x!cans During a Ballle. George W. Vaughn, superintendent of n mining company nt Lower Sonora, Mex., says that just nt this time the Yaqui Indians arc quiet nnd Mexican soldiers nre also quiet. Vaughn re ports that a young American prospec tor named liostwick, who for months has been a prisoner in the hands of the Yaqtlis, has been released and, that he returned to Ilcrmosilla last Tuesday. Host wick said the Indians have no idea of surrendering. They are well armed nnd number not more than 2,000 Ilostwick was not mistreated by the In dians nnd did not know why he was released. He was simply led to the outskirts of the camp and told to go. Vaughn says Gen. Torres is friendly to Americans, and that the only two Amer icans killed by Mexican soldiers, were fighting with the Indians and were slain (luring a battle. At Rio Janeiro elaborate prepara tions are being made for the celebra tion of the anniversary of the discovery on May 3. 1500, of Brazil, by Pedro Alvarez dc Gabral. ONE GOOD INDKN GONE. Washakie, Chief of Ihs Sosione Tribe, Buried Wi'.h Military Honors. Washaki. for nearly 70 years head chief of the Shoshone Indians, died a few days ago at Fort Washakie, Vv yo ming. He was buried with military honors. Troop E. First cavalry, escort ing the coffin, which was draped with an American flag, to the cemetery. The F.piscopal service was read by two clergymen of that church, one. Rev. Sherman Cooltdgc, being a full-blooded Arapahoe Indian. About 2.000 Indians and whites were present to pay a last tribute to a chief who had always been a firm friend of the whites, always en deavoring to have his people live after the manner of the white man. nnd to set an example to them in the attain ing of a higher civilization. tl IHfc NATIONAL CAPITA1. Representatives of the Philadelphia ?roduce exchange were before the louse agricultural committee in favor of the Grout anti-oleomargarine bill. Mr. Wise, the newly-seated Republi can representative from Virginia, has introduced a bill to encourage the or ganization of industrial schools for the benefit of the frccdmen of the outh. The State department has been advis ed formally of the willingness of the French government to extend the pe riod of time allowed for the ratification of . the pending French reciprocity truaty. Because of his wife' health, George A. Gate ha resigned the presidency of Iowa college to take effect in Novem ber. Before the Idaho investigation com mittee at Washington L. J. Simpkins, an electrical engineer, testified concern ing extreme brutalities committed by the colored soldiers at Wardfeer. WAR MUST GO ON. Great Britain Poremptorlfy Refuses to Aco;pl Petition of Burghsrs United Stales fn terventlon Not Wanbd. Offer to nld In bringing about peace In South Africa have been respectfully declined by Great Britain. Lord Salis bury has rejected the Krugcr-Steyn proposition to end the war. The United Stnte government, nt the request of President krugrr and Presi dent Steyn, offered to the British-government Jtn service a mediator, with the view of bringing about peace in p""ui Mricn. The United State charge d'nffnire, Henry White, rnw Lord Salisbury at' the foreign office Tuesday evening and received a formal reply from the British government, declining the good of fices of the United States in regard to pence. The representations made to Grent Britnin were o put that they nsumed nothing (lf 8 desire to intervene, but simply transmitted the communication ninde to United State Consul Adelbcrt S. Hay, at Pretoria, with the accom panying assurance that anything the state department could do In the inter est of peace would be gladly undertak en. The well known aversion of the British government to any foreign In tervention doe not nppenr to have been aroused, and while Lord Salisbury wa unable to comply with the offer, he ex pressed hi appreciation of the United States efforts in behalf of humanity. The offer of mediation sprang from Pretoria, where Mr. Hny, with the oth er consul, subsequent to President Kruger and Steyn sending their peace cablegram to Lord Salisbury, were ask ed to endeavor to secure the good of fice of their respective government, apparently with the view of bringing outside influence to bear upon Lord Salisbury' reply to the Boer over tures. These seem to have been fruit less, except in the instance of the Unit ed States consul, whose representation lo Secretary Hay were forwarded to the United State embassy in London with instruction outlined nbovc. These Mr. White, the charge d'affaires, per sonally presented to Lord Salisbury, who received them cordially. A the Boer overtures had already been answered to the effect that no propositions including the retention of the republic's independence could be considered, the presentation of the American offer was already too late, but the premier apparently deemed it a matter of sufficient importance to put himself on record with a formal reply. The government will not allow the Krugcr-Steyn nppenl to influence in any way their determination not to spare any effort to prosecute the war. There will be no diminution of measures cal culated to maintain the full efficiency of the field force, and whatever rein forcements were previously considered advisable will still be sent out. Lord Salisbury's reply meet with nn nnimous approval among Conservative and it is the universal opinion that the Boers, by their extravagant claims and canting tone, meant to influence for eign powers, have again overreached themselves, as they did by the ultima tum. FRANCE CANNOT INTERVENE. For Her to Off ?r Mediation to Britain Wculu Act a Oil on Flam:. A responsible mouthpiece of the French government says: "A far as France is concerned, she certainly will not take the initiative in offering Eng land mediation, nor will Russia, for the dual alliance is naturally working together in this question. "We feci that in the present excited state of public feeling in England, and especially as regards ourselves, any step taken by the French govcrnmenl would defeat its own object, and instead of pctiing a way to honorable peace, would act as oil on flames and proba bly create fresh complications. "We consider that overture for me diation can emanate from some power whose cordial relation with England prevent such a suggestion being con strued a an unfriendly act. The em peror of Germany, for instance, might take the initiative, or President McKin ley. without fear of creating the friction which would follow any such action or our part. and. after this i done, full reliance can be placed on the unquali fied support of France and Russia, whost only desire is to see the end of the bloodshed and who are eager to lend their good offices in bringing about this end." The Gaulois. referring to Lord Salis bury's reply to the Kruger-Steyrt appeal, sitys: "England no longer hides hci plans. She confirms by her attitude the object she evidently had in view when opening the campaign, that of I w'ir of extermination and conquest. I One can consider the step taken b Presidents Kruger and Steyn as dic tated by a desire to place England in difficult position before the civilize) world, since she has been obliged tc reveal her designs publicly." APPALLED OVER PUERTO RICA. A New Yorksr Claims Conditions Thera An Awlul Tames Creclman cable the following relative to the conditions prevailing is Puerto Rico: "The condition of Puerto Rico is al most incredible. The whole people an be:ng pauperized by free government rations, while the instability of thecoun try without constitutional guarantee pre vents American capital from flowing in There is a general outcry from leadinf Puerto Ricans against this degradin alms-giving as a bribe to quiet the pco pie, while Congress is fastening tin slavery of a colonial system upon them "The official return show that it r five months the normal "datrt rate at Puerto Rico ha increased g.oWsnci the tornado period, showing that tin island is losing in population at th rate of 20,000 a year as a result o American control. The sights in tht mountain districts are appalling. AI experienced men agree in saying tha the only hope of saving Puerto Ric from utter ruin is to at once conver it into a regular United State terri tory. The people do not need charity They need the opportunity to work. At Ottawa, III., the river is 21 (tb above its normal level.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers