The Osceola times., 1875-12-25
FROM ALL SOURCES.

Thomas, alias Thompson, the fend
who planned the destruction Of the Mosel
hy jvnastie explosion, died last week from
The effects Of injuries self-inticted.
Stoppages of iron works throughout
The whole Of the north Of England continue
"a be recorded. Yet Notwithstanding the
stsrnatiou of trade which necessitates this,
the trades union people continue to resist
proposed further reduction Of wages in the
works that are endcavoring TO keep in opera
tior on q limited scale all winter.
Col. Richard Henry Lee, who has
been chosen to read the Declaration Of Inde-
pcndence at the opening of the Centennial
Exhibition, is practicing law at Milwood, Va
He II the grandson OF Richard Henry Lee oil
the revolution, nephew Of Attorney Cen
eruI Lee Of washington's administration,
and cousin Of Gen. Robert L. Lee. He en-.
tered the confederate service es lieutenant
of infsntry In the "Stonewall" brigade, and
was wounded, after which he served as judge
advocate OF the second corps Of the confed-
ate army Of Northern Virginia until the close
of the war.
Lord Duferin gave an entertainment
recently to the judges OF the supreme court
at Ottawa, and in MS remarks paid this com
pliment to the supreme court Of the United
States: "Witness the respect and Difference
with which the chief court OF the United
States Is quoted by British and European
jurists. Such court is the parent Of peace,
order and good government II is the guar
dian Of civil, political and religious liberty.
II Is like the sun at MONDAY; it shines with
its own light, and, happily, human passion
and prejudice, and executive tyranny. and
frenzy, are a. impotent to intercept the bene-
fetal influence Of the one as TO share the
beam Of the other.
An exchange tells us that new re-
ligioss belief is'gaining ground in Ohio. Its
adherents are called Eternalists. They hold
that the soul is immortal, and occupies sue.
cesGon Of bodies on EARTH both OF men and
animals Belief in the transmigration of
souls IL no newer than any OF the half dozen
matcrialistic and pantheistic PHILOSOPHERS
which during the last halfdosen years have
attracted attention. In Greece from the
time Of Thales transmigration was taught.
The Druids in Britain believed in 1t; so did
the early German tribes. II is a superstition
with most heather nations. II the adherents
In Ohio wish a full explanation of the belief,
they should turn 10 Hindoo literature, where,
= an integral part of the Brahmanic religion
II Is fully set forth. aa
Three freight cans containing &C.
100000, worth Of silk-worm eggs arrived in
New York lsat week. They had come from
Hong Kong to San Francisco in twenty-three
days, and thence to New York in less than
seven days, the speed being faster than the
mails are carried by the same route. This
uncommon cargo Is going to Italy and the
South OF France, and could have reached its
destination quicker and at less cost by way
OF the Suez Canal, but IL has been found use-
less 10 ship them that way because the south
ern climate patches the eggs. The silk worms
are put upon long sheets Of cardboard in
China, and are left until each board is COW
ered-with eggs, which are about the size Of
muhtari seed. The eggs stick to the cards,
which, interlaid with sheets Of paper, are
packed In wooden boxes, tightly closed, and
wrapped In canvas and mating. In this
shipment there were 647 cases, containing
over 100000 cards. When the eggs reach
their destination they will be stored In
vaults, eecure against warmth until the null
berry srees ON which they feed have grown
their foliage.
A mammoth telescope, said to be the
largest ever made, is now in process of con-
sfvss6t3en at factory near Dublin, Ireland.
1t Is building at the order of the Austro-Hun-
garian government for the new observatory
Mt Vienna, to be finished by the autum Of
1873 The object glass will have an aperture
of about twcnty.seven inches. The focal
length is to be about thirty-two feet. The
great base casting, weighing some seven or
eight TONS will form chamber about twelve
feet long, four feet six inches wide and eight
feet high for the clock, which Will be massive
in proportion to the other parts. All the
axes will be entirely of steel, and all the va
rious motions Of the instrument, as well as
the reading Of the different circles, will be
available to the observer from the eye end Of
the telescope. A very simple walking-cane,
with a candle enclosed, which might be con-
venient for the use In dark passages, or even
for reading in railroad ears, has been intro
duced by German firm. The top portion
consists Of a hollow cylinder screwed on,
and containing spring TO press upward, as
fast as consumed, a candle placed in il. IL
IL closed by a screw-cap, which forms con-
venient top.
Our centennial calls up the facts as
to our religious progress. They are very re-
markable, and have been collated by Prof.
Denian, Of Brown university. In l777 the
number Of churches was less than $50; by
census of 1870 the number was 1900.
Churches have multiplied nearly 37-fold;
population ll-fold In 1870, religious socie-
ties owned S354,000,000 worth of property.
The most extraordinary increase has been
among Methodsts and Roman Catholics.
The rapid ratio of increase of religious
bodes might well seem alarming, were 1t not
that the vast amount of property held by re-
hgious organizations is distributed among
many bodies. A century ago the Congrega-
tionalists were largely in advance Metho-
dist were hardly known by name. Now
Methodists are the largest organization in the
land. ne hundred years ago the more inn
portant religious bodies were reckoned IN
the following order: Congregational sts,
Baptists, Church Of England, Presbyterians,
J.utherans, German Reformed. Dutch Re-
formed, and Roman Catholics; In 1870, by
Methodists, Baptists, Presbvterians, Roman
Catholics, Christian, Lutherans, Congrega-
tionalists. and Protestant Episcopal. The
zeal Of American Christianity has nowhere
expanded itself with such force ms it has in
founding schools and colleges, and precisely
at this point the Roman Catholic church
merges into Significance. II ranks now as
fourth in population and second for value Of
church property. II has caused apprehen-
sion, but on insufficient grounds, as reasons
for its surprising growth can be found in
foreign immigration. Neither the church
statistics nor the census furnish material for
anxiety. But conceding that the ratio of
the increase has been great, there is nothing
in the growth Of this powerful body which
need excite any apprehension.
The American farmers boy who has
made it part of his holiday service
to hunt for bumble-bees nests, and, at