Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-07-10

Acknowledgement Devons is acting rs
secretary of the navy department until the
return of Secretary Thompson from his
cruise along the Atlantic coast
The California election resulted in II ma
jority of non-partisans for the constitution
al convention, and the revolutionary ele-
ment will have only IL small minority.
The 10th annual meeting of the Ameri-
can Institute of Instruction openel at the
Fabyan House, White Mountains, Tues
day, with an attendance of 5000 teachers.
1t is stated that ex-senator Fenton, n
member of the international silver confer
ence, is in favor Of the double standard,
but only provided that foreign nations can
be brought to an agreement and to the ac-
ceptance of concordant measures as to the
relative value of gold and silver.
There were 81 deaths by violence in
Vermont during the first half OF the year
just passed, June leading the other months
with IA. OF the whole number % were
suicides--hanging being the favorite meth
ODD infanticdes and victim of abortion,
while the remainder were accidental.
The Potter committee is working at
New Orleans. Hpnton of Virginia one of
the members is having trouble, for the
Alexandria primaries have been carried
against him on the ground that he has
made himself so prominent in the fraud
tizzle TO the neglect of important legislation
his constituents wanted On the other
hand the talk against A. II. Stephens seems
to have amounted to nothing for he is car.
rying county after county in his district
in the contest for the congressional nom-
nation. The Bourbons wanted to beat
him because he denounced the Potter bus
mess rs one that would end in II tragedy
or farce.
Some rascal has counterfeited the erea
seal of California, it has recently been
discovered, and thousands of acres, some
of them the best improved and most val.
liable in the state, have been seized in
wholesale fashion under the guse of LEGAL
sanction. Hundreds have participated in
the villany. and thousands have been its
victims. In some cases large tracts oil
land have been taken up and parceled out
to settlers. and in others fictitious titles
have been manufactured, forcing many
a settler to pay roundly to dispense the
cloud on his title or robbing him of his
homestead altogether. Many worthless
deeds, based upon the counterfeit have
been entered upon the county records.
paving the way for intricate lawsuits. and
it is thought that, when the case is ferret.
ed out, many citizens and officials of
prominence will be involved
Fearful accounts of the famine in North.
ern China accumulates from all sources.
Chinese authorities estimate that :. 900 600
people have died of starvation, and the
most revolving crimes have become habit
ual in order that the stronger NAV live
upon the weaker. The Roman Catholic
bishop OF Shansi province confirms these
hgures rs not exaggerated. The long
dronth which occasioned the shortness Of
food has been succeeded by rainy season
of unprecedented length. and it is feared
that future crops may be endangered bv
these extremes. Mrs. Baldwin writes
from Foochow to the HaLhen Wonatn',
friend that the stringency of the food
market has driven great numbers of Chi
nese girls into the mission schools. Sufli-
cient supplies have been contributed by
the foreigner residents to save 10000
lives, and help is earnestly solicited from
this country.