ENGLISH MAIL NEWS.

fIUEEN VICTOBIA'S VISIT TO "=" JSIBSIINGIIAiH.

She Befnscs to Shako Hands WitU Chamberlain.

A cTTTviotfS contretemps took place during the Queen's reception at Birmingham. Mr Chamberlain, anxious to welcome his neighbouring potentate to his good Birmingham, stretched forth *' j.--,,;! to shake that of Her M-'icsty- Tho Sovereign, however, nob ■wibly'heing aware that sho was in tlie Tsonce of a brother monarch and within F* domains, did nob respond to his con- Eccniling cordiality, and managed; to „«t ouf, of the cliilicuUy by arranging a •onveniout button on one of her gloves. The Queen will hold two drawing-rooms , Rji-jniiigham Palace in May. lb is pro file jjuit both these functions will take „ hc j> during iho second week of that nut,.! tbe l]iileA MOW "mnlaioned being \Vednesday tho I.lth. and Friday the 13th.

FRENCH PRISONS.

GHASTLY REVELATIONS OF TWO EXPERTS.

BE. Lola dut-Loia-ed,

(From Our Specuj. Correspondent.)

London, March 11. Thanks to the graphic narratives of Mr Michael Davitt, tho author of " Five Years' Penal-Servitude,"'the Hon. Lewis Wing field, and Captain D S—, most of us have a fair notion of what prison life in Eng land is like. French prisons, however, have till quite recently been dens of mystery and horror, even to well-informed Parisians, and it was therefore with considerable curiosity I the other day picked up two new works on the subject by competent authorities. One of them is called "TJn Joli Monde," aud it is by Gustavo Mac., formerly head of the French Detective Police Force ; tho other, "Le Monde de Prisons," emanates from the lato chaplain at tho greal penal prison of La Roquette, M. L'Abb. Moreau.

-Priest and policeman (says our Paris cor respondent)have evidently come to tho con clusion that if the world is greedy for naturalistic literature, it is not fair that M. Zola should be its exclusive purveyor. In these two books they have quite put-Zolaed Zola. The lover of the loathsome will find plenty to regalo himself in the revelations of prison life presented by M. Moreau and in the visits to all the vilenesscs "of Paris on which M. Mac 6 conducts him. He can even, thanks to theso books, become a pro ficient in the slang current among French criminals of the period. Because, howover, the narrations of these ox-functionaries are of a sensational character, it does not follow that they, do not tell us things worth knowing. There are many details that oould not possibly be published in an English journal, but there are somo chapters of which I may givo a brief account In both books there are some particulars regard ing the accommodation for prisoners. At. tho Bureaux of the Surete dejMirtmont in tlio Palais do Justice thoro is a subter ranean placo where prisoners are tempo rarily stowed, which M. Mace tells us is as limited in space as the cages of wild beasts at the Jardiu dcs Plantes. Less favoured, however, than the animals, the unfortunate human beings hero confined are deprived of both air and light. " When prisoners are led in, they are, as it were, fro/en with terror. Theso doors of mysterious aspect, these policemen dressed in black, who move silently about, leading prisoners still more silent and snd to the end of this obscure and fetid passage, in which aro tho locked chambers called violorts, which rocall the ouUititM of olden time - all theso aro sights to make a chance visitor shudder with horror. The Society for tin. Protection of Animals would clamour for tho enforce ment of the law Crammont, if horses or beast* should bo found thero." M. Mace, no doubt, does well to make thia stoto of things known, but it seems a pity that he did not speak out during his long tenure of office. In another passage M. Mace describes a cell specially assigned to great Bourse swindlers und floaters of bubble companies. These gentlemen, he explains, aro often "projected by influential per sonages," and so the polico hesitate to put them in the regular lock-up until the (.overnment have been communicated with. To judge, however,from his descrip tion of this privileged cell, which the polico call "La Corbeille do la Bourse," these gentlemen do not seem to profit much by tho high protection they are supposed to enjoy. Contemplating it, M. Mace thus soliloquises :— " How many well - known personages who have handled millons have reposed on this narrow mattress ! Passing suddenly from a well upliolstered apart ment into this damp denuded oell, they must have indulged in melancholy reflec tion., on the fragility 6'f tha hams, and the bai**e, and of human affairs in general !" In England, our prison arrangements are, at any rate, fairly satisfactory* thanks to John Howard's revelations 113 years ago. Bub in Republican France, despite her great revolution, to- which we aro often told all beneficent reforms are due, this is far, indeed, from being tho caso if the Abbt. Moreau is to be believed. Besides tho promiscuous association of prisoners, M; Moreau considers insufficient nourishment, defective sanitary conditions, and the low class of attendants to bo the great causes of the production of the recidivist, or habitual criminal. Some pr.isot.ers man ago to get well fed, but these are, as a rule, the most depraved. For in stance, the class called souteneurs are actually allowed •to receive visits from their female acquaintance-... Tliese brlrig them money, wherewith they provide themselves better food at tlio oontine than that allowed by the prison regimen. The regular prison rations are of the worst possfcle quality, being supplied by swind ling contractors. As for the prison can tine it is,declares tho Abb-i, a cause of demoral isation and an actual incitement to vice. " Those who suffer from bad food are sot the professional thieves but the novices in crime, who dare not Write to their families, and to whom no prostitute brings tho produce of her shameful trade," Speaking of the sanitary arrange ments, the Abbe asserts that most of the prisons are so damp as permanently to in jure the health of the prisoners, and to ren der them incapable of ever again getting an honest living. And as for the prison at tendants, they are mostly drawn from the class of unemployed workmen, who fatten on the bribes paid by "prisoners possessing a little money for infringement of prison discipline. M. Mac 6 has a very curious chapter on pickpockets, male and female* Tho latter he calls " pickpockettes." Most of those arrested in Paris are, be asserts, English and Italians. He de nies that the former are, as commonly believed, the most adroit. What he com plains of is their astounding activity. "The English pickpocket is an indefatig able walker. In a single day he will be at all the principal points of Paris, and the policemen who are after him, watching for the moment to detect him in the very act, are literally worn out with exhaustion when they get home at night." For skill M. Mace gives the palm to tho Italian pickpocket. If he only combined with it the prudence of the Englishman, he might defy all tho police of the universe. Tn an alarming chapter on volews chorofor mistesopiumisteji, M. Mace- suggests the de sirability of Foreign Ministers conoertirig some international measures against these travelling plunderers. They are constantly on the move and so easily baffle the police. Sudden deaths in railway carriages, in hotels, restaurants, and improper houses are, lie asserts, becoming alarmingly numerous. These are generally attributed to natural causes, but in tho opinion of the late Chief of the. Paris Police, they are, more probably, due to the effects of the drugs which this class of thieves contrive to administer to their victims.

FATA; FORE OM A BUFFALO HOTEL.

A-' fIUR-TY LIVES LOST. ifl, e UW.fi.o'1 *- 1 *>nd St. James's ■tr-11 Buffalo. we,e burned on March 18th. Eg/ossMdiily half a million dollars. A o fJives are reported lost and many "Lei.. T'lo building is situated on tho aimer ' "•' uill UIU' Eag}o streets, exfending • through to Washington f ... re(;t- The lire was discovered at 3.30 '•__!_____] in the morning in the new BirJiiiioiiH Hold. The house contained 8 large number of guests, and thoir heart rending shrieks could plainly bo heard. ' liitldora. wore raised as hoon as possible, and as many as could be were takon out. A t 4o'cloc:k tlie whole of the Richmond Hotel, the.I**** 'lam(- s' N''l" anf^ ot* lor property in tlie block were doomed to speedy destruc tion. The whole placo burned like tonder. The corridor in tho contre of the building actedasagreat funnel, nnd as the flames streamed upward, the guests found them selves inijin'soued by wall of fire. The screams of the unfortunates could be heard for blocks, and at many of the windows theycoalfl bo seen in their night clothes callin" wildly for help.' At ono of tho third-tloor windows two guests were scon by tho crowd to fall b.ick into the flames. One man jiimpol from the fifth floor to the roof of a two story wooden building adjoining. ,}|ewas6ormii-ly injured.

JUHD SPREAO OP "HS FLAMES,

Tho rapidity of the firo cutting off the means of escape led some poisons to leap for life fi'om the windows, Others got down the fire-escapes or on ladders raised by tho Fire Department. Ono man, mud (rith..terror, leaped- from tbo third story TOtlow and was picked up from the stono _ide*al_c on Main-street a mangled and bleeding corpse. Others, more fortunate, escaped, with slight.injuries. The elevator shaft served as a, fluo for the flames, and the whole structure was envoi oped in a few moments. As the guests weref aroused and saw the interior exit cut ,o(T,,,they- turned to tho windows. They couM'beseen standing out against, the lurid background of flame. The firemen did mWe work arid confined the fire to the narrow limits of tho throe buildings named. Their work of rescue had many exciting inctdente, -'■'■ The telegraph wires were, as nsnal, in the way of thy Wider brigade, mmiA valuable time wins lost iti getting tieMderg. past them.

SOME NARKOW ESCAPSES. T* Fro girls,' who roomed on the fifth Boor. J-ttdea ropo out of tho bedclothes and hang it out of the window^ but none seemed inhavo'tlio courage to start. At lactone oi the five took hold and swung down .0,t1.0, window ledge, from which she was rescued, Three others came down inthesamo manner, and then tho fifth girl started down. She had gone bub a little distance when the rope parted, and down shewcht four .-tories. Strange to say, she was not.killed. Her legs were terribly bruised, iher back badly injured, and, her faco and arms wei'C in a frightful condition from burns. : ... :

R. % Humes occupied a room on the third fiopr. He was awakened by the elec trio bells, and, after arousing several people on the same floor, jumped through a window to the kit-hen roof. There everything was .in.Barnes..anil others were on the same roof. He made a rush for the Eagle-street row, going through the kitchen skylight and out through tlie flames, and escaped. He left five persons on tho kitchen roof, and thinks tbey must all havo porished, as they did not attempt to follow him through the flames, i - - ■

There were 125 persons in the hotel, seventy of whom were transient: guests, eight boarders, and the remainder porters, bell-boys, and the families of the proprie tors and clerks. Twenty-two of these weh. rescued from the windows by fire men. Twenty-two are.at the hospital, and •|»rge Dumber made their escape by other means. ' . •

-WHAT THE EMPLOYES SAY. Willianr H. Alport, the nigbt clerk, says lie fire started in the cloakroom, under the main stairway, at 3.150 o'clock. There was : nobody up but myself, the night porter and the hell-boy. "I pulled all four of the foe-alarms on the diJJerent floors, and the People came flying down-stairs in their uightclothes. The'fire followed the eleva -w,iiiid inside of five minuteS reached the 'Moor. I rushed out of she door after •rag-ill I could."

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN KENTUCKY.

. The Chicago "Times'" Evansville (Ind.) special says: Intelligence was received in *•% city to-day of volcanic disturbances

anf eruptions on Blood river, near New "' - Concord, Callaway county, Ky., yesterday, , ™ieii have frightened the inhabitants out ■;■« their ..wits. ... Tuesday afternoon all the-wells in the < neighbourhood wero-fcund to be dry, The !»night strange rumbling noises were "earn in the earth, similar to an earth i Quake shock. About 10 o'clock an explo |° n was heard in the direction of Stiger's ■"'j.". two miles from New Concord. A -Wlumnof fire was seen to 'shoot toward ?m heavens at least 150 feet. A perfect Wemonium followed. Men, women, : p children, thinking the day of judg meJit had come, fell upon their knees, began praying and begging for mercy, ■ worses aud cattlo wero wild with fright Paging and kicking in tlie most frantic ™anner. Fowls flow from their roosts and Aero wa ß a tremendous uproar generally. ;., ■*■«•} explosions continued at intervals ™*'<mghout the night, and columns of fire , £°**tmue to shoot upward. Some of the more wumgeous citizens have made a visit to the :- DM, but the heat is so intense that they SPOt get within a quarter of a mile of it, ~?«•■ red-hot ashes seem to bo flowing down ;"*e vest side of the bluff. When the in- Btilpat left fcbe remarkable eruption was •"" in progress, and the' majority of the rWIe were perfectly wild with terror. ...... ofik Scene of the phenomenon is in* one "'.tie wildest and most rugged parts of the ?^e. Mayfield, twenty-five miles distant, 4. .?*jearost railroad "station,, and efforts \L l that Point to-night by telegraph wvefceeti unsuccessful.

Food fou Consumptives. Scott's Emulsion or Purs Cod Liveu Oil with HypopnosrHiTj-n or Limb and Soda, is a moM wonderful food for the Consumptive. It not only gives strength and increase* the flesh, but heals the irritation of the throat and lungs. It is very palatable : children take it like miHt. and in all wasting diseases both for adults and children it is a marvellous food and rrw-dicine. Large and small bottlei of all Chemists. <s 6d and 2s fid.

Poverty and Suffering. — " I was dragged down with debt, poverty, and suffcf ing, for years, caused by a siok family and largo bills for doctoring, which did Hiem no good. I was completely discouraged, until one year ago, bjr the'advictfof riiy pastor, I procured Hop Bitters, and commenced their use, and in one month wo vvero.all well, and none of us have seen a sick day since : pnd I want to say to all poor men, you can keep your families well a year With American Co.'s Hop Bitters, for less than onb doctor's visit will cost. 1 know It.—A WORK ixgMax." Read.

THE -AIICKLANi> EVENI?TG __\__^"M^s^^^]f^[^_

7



TIT-BITS ' FOX T ARGE SIZE' 9 x 4 BLANKETS, good quality, 3s lid each, original price« f~* 12s 6d per pair. Only at the Sale of the D. I. C, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. mO MEET THE TlMES.—Winter Dress Materials, 4-kl, 5Jd, 6§d per yard -*- (several hundred pieces to select from), well worth from 9d to"la 2d. At tho Sale of the D. I. C._ Canada Buildings, Queen Street. T ACE CURTAINS, 6 yards long, 2s lld per pair. Only at the Great Salo of •*-* the D. I. C, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. T ITTLE BOYS' SUITS, all sizes, at about half original prices, at the D. LC, T- * Canada Buildings, Queon Street. <TfcVERCOATS FOR MEN at 16s 6d, worth 30s, lined throughout with wool >< plaid. This_lin.e_._cannot be procured again. Can- now bo had at the Sale of the D. I. C, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. •jl/jTANTLES AND MILLINERY half-price during the Sale of the D. I. C, •*■ ■ Canada Buildings, Queen Street. T ITTLE BOYS' OVERCOATS at 25 per cent. less than our original prices ■M at the Great Sale of the D. I. C, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. (CALICOES 2d, _.} s d, 3d, 3^d per yard at the Salo of tho D. I. C, Canada Buildings, Queen Street. MEN'S TWEED SUITS at 17s 6d tho complete suit, nothing near it in Auckland at 255. At tho Sale of the D. I. G, Canada Buildings, Queen Streot. "WHITE TWILL SHEETINGS from 7|d to Is per yard, worth 50 per * * cent. more. At the Sale of tho D. I. C., Canada Buildings, Queon Street. "PLOWERS AND FEATHERS half-price during the Sale of tho D. I. Q, ■*• Canada Buildings, Queen Stroet. "ECONOMISTS in those times should look where thoy can spend thoir money -~ to the best advantage, and a glance at our Stock and Prices will con vience tho most ac-optical of tha WONDERFUL BARGAINS AT THE SALE OF THE D I C CANADA BUILDINGS, QUEEN ST., AUCKLAND. ' ' JOHN ' SCOTT, Pboprietor. WHO IS 0, A. PORTER! ■Tlfi H idrF*^ "^^e PerP efcrator °* c s{ir,"Pe<* S^°P ft |/I\l|J l£f monstrosity;" (late Yaruom's) 276, V/ Queen Street, corner of Wakefield Street, Auckland, N.Z. I/ I Wn! h IN ALL ITS BIUNCHES AT A C. A.PORTER'S NEW AUTUMN GOODS. CONSUMPTION CURABLE! "ME G. T. CONGREYE ON CONSUMPTION AND ITS SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT. ShowiDg that direful disease to be curable in all ita stages ; with observations on ASTHMA, CHEONIC BRONCHITIS, ETC." Fbom the " Christiah Herald," March 31, 1886. Mr o. t. congreve*s treatment of consumption and other chest diseases " Continuea to be mode a great blessing to sufferers, far and wide, in every part or tho kingdom." , . , L " The world -.nd wo ourselves owe bim a debt of gratit.r.c.t.. Not long since we placed a young iady under \\va oi,re, who has recovered her health, w\ we need only poin^ to tho cases (Mr Congreve io publishing one ever week), many of which had been given up as past all hope." ; *»'_«■ «• There can be no doubt that for Consumption and other Chest Complaints, Mr Con greve is a specialist of the first order, and stands unrivalled. Certainly there has been no otherdiecovery in medical science from whiph tho consumptivepatient may gather so much hope as from his." i _ j H The one H-XDaßu akd thistt-three oases which are recorded in Mr Congreve s book are a most convincing testimony; but what have been long a marvelare the cases of cure which have been published for several years past in tho weekly journals (our own included), o-ne every weok." (The readw is referred to the "Christian World," tian Age," "Christian Globe," &c, &c). The author (Mr Congreve, of Coombe 7/>dge, Pockbam, London), has been urgently entreated to make his treatment known iti all the British Colonies. The price of the Book is-* SIXPENCE, OK SEVENPE'NCE, POST FREE. Pphubhed by UPTON AND CO., AUOKLAND, And"may be ordered throutrh any Bookseller



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