The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-01-01

uprooted, chmneys thrown down and in some
instances horses Frustrated. Ten persons are
known to have lost their lives and many others
have been i3d.v hurt.
LONDON, Dec. E.-Heavy gales have pre-
vailed all along the coast during the past few
days. Many shipwrecks attended in some in
stances with loss of life, have already been re-
ported.
sHIPwRECKs.
The American bark Z. V. Minot, Capt. Ha-
ley, which left Mobile on the 10th with a cargo
OF cotton for Havre, experienced one of these
gales when about two miles from the Cornish
coast, but weathered the storm and made the
port of Penzance. She lost two masts and suf-
fered other damage, though to what extent is
not yet ascertained.
Advices have also been received to the effect
that the barque Edwin Burke, from Montreal
for Greenock, was driven ashore near the coast
OF Ireland by furious gale The captain and
seven of the crew were drowned. The barque
VIII probably be total loss.
Turkey.
A THREATENING CLOUD
CONsTANTINoPLE, Dec. 31.-Some time since
the Sublime Porte sent demand to 1smael
Pasha to abandon his iron-clad feet The de-
mand remaining unanswered the Sultan to-
day forwarded violent message. to the same
effect.
Spni1.
MORE OPPOSITION TO THE DUKE OF GENOA
MADRID, Dec. 31.--It is reported to-day that
Victor Emanuel has positively refused his
consent to the candidature of the Duke of Ge-
noa.
France.
THE FRENCH CABLE-AN EXPLANATION.
PARIS, Dec. 3l.-The following is copied from
the Journal Official of this morning:
Office Of the Director General of Telegraph
Lines The message of the President of the
United States to Congress at its opening, as it
is published by the newspapers, contains in
the part relative to the French Transatlantic
Gable Company, an assertion which this ad-
mlnlstratiOn considers it duty to correct. 1t
states in substance that according to the terms
OF the concession, dispatches from America
transmitted by that route are subject to the
examination and control of the French gov
eminent; and it is evident that the passage
was written under the impression that such are
the conditions of the concession. This admin
lstratlon exercises no control Of that nature,
either over dispatches from America from
any other quarter, but it is its duty to see that
communications are transmitted over the cable
In the order OF their reception at BreSt, and
that there is no favoritism in this respect 1t
must also, on account of the Geographic mo-
nopoiy held out by the government see that no
dispatches are clandestinely introduced upon
the line, and SO avoid the tax which legitimate
ly accrues to the State.
Such is the double arm of its control, to pro-
tect at once the interests of the public and of
the treasury. Finally, the conditions under
which this department exercises control over
the business of the line are without political
intention. Its subordinate employees are
charged with the task and their duty is restrict
ed to the verifcation of cipher, such as the
signals of place and time OF filing and of for
warding, and the number of words which form
the basis for application of the government tax.
Again, the most of the dispatches, particular
ly those destined for Nantes, Bordeaux, Tours,
Toulouse and these sections, arrive at their
destination without passing through Paris at
all. The same is true of CORE spondence ad-
messages being transmitted direct from Brest
to London.