The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-12-04
TIMELY TOPICS.
GUIBoRps remains have been laid
away i'll the grave, after all, unattended
by rioting Or. disorder of amy kind.

TIE Spanish government has opened n
competition for composers of Il national
air. Can it be possible that all this time
Spain has been without national air?
No wonder it is constantly i'll Il state of
distraction. What would this country
have been without Yankee Doodle?
The newly arrived daughter of the
duchess of Edinburgh increases Queen
Victoria's tally of grandchildren to
twcnty-scvcn, twcnty-four of whom are
still alive, and that of her total living
progeny TO thirty-thrcc, including three
unmarried children and the Princess
Louise, who is married, but without
family.
WHEN you grumblc at hard times and
crippled industries, just cast your eyes
over the big water and look ut France,
with one hundred and twenty three
thousand industrial establishments, and
giving work to about one million eight
hundred men. At least two-thirtls of
these are now losing q months time and
wages i'll order to drill for 81 future war.
TIE explosion and destruction of the
lronclad Magenta makes the second vessel
OF This kind lost by the French govern
mcnt within two months The sinking
of the English vessel Vanguard, within
The same period, by tho tap of the spur
OF Il ncighborng vessel, is beginning to
weaken confidence i'll the durability of
ironclads.
IN Michigan's population of l 300, 900
there are GO, 1927 more males than females
In Massachusetts there arc 10000 more
females than males. Under such circum-
stances it would seem emincntly proper
Tor the Michigan male surplus to relieve
Massachusetts of her female surplus.
Doubtless the Massachusetts, women
would be moro than willing.
Tie annual report of the commissioner
of education contains many, interesting
s mot. Fhdfe siifo enr5iIe6 IN
public schools upwards of 100000 puu: pu.
pills, with an average daily attendance of
4,5Oo,00O. The estimated population be-
tween six and sixteen years is 1O, 500, 900.
TO support these children in school cost
last year $74,O0O,0OO.
TIE fate of the passengers and crew of
the City of Waco is yet unsolved. The
theory that the oil stored on deck ignitcd
from the lightning and set fire to the
vessel, wrapping her entirely in the
ilames in Il few moments, giving the pas
scngers no time to escape the awful death
seems the most probable. If SO, it is one
of the most terrible catastrophcs of the
year. s.
CANADA has indulged in the past in
some exceedingly lofty boasting as to the
superiority of her buildings over those
erected on this side of the frontier. The
bursting of the grain elevator at Belle
vile, however, is calculated to check
s'icii boiisting iii the future. Tile strtfc
ture Yves of the cheap and nasty" order
of architecture, and it's fall scattered 4O,-
600 bushels of grain to the winds and
the pigs.
a NOTICEABLE thing about the
monthly meeting of the Massachusetts,
Total Abstinence Society, held in Boston,
was little speech by William B. Spoouer
on the prevalence of drinking among
clergymen, more than one-half of whom,
he said, drink wine. A large majority
OF the Roman Catholic clergy drink; a
majority of the Episcopalian and of his
own de }ddse'nomination-the Unitarian, some
Of Of the orthodox and Baptist, butvery few
OF the Methodist or Universalist.E
THE British commissioner tn orr con
tcnnial has suggested, according to For
ney, that the permanent buildings of the
exhibitioGfshould be kept filled with in
teresting objects, contributed each wear.
SO that there may be bi-ccntennial
ready made in 1876. This would be 4
good thing for Philadelphia, perhaps, but
there is no certainty that the rest of the
country would find it either pleasant or
profitable. The coming centennial would
be an awful bore if we had deliberately
begun preparing for it a century ago.
Alittle matter of dispute has caused
the 'ils'rlllption of apowcrful Long Island
camp meeting association. The dispute
arose froEi the setting up of billiard
saloon a and bowling alley on the grounds