The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-03-07
FORRrGN INTELLIGENCE.

A competitive trial of milking machines
is to take place at Bristol, England, next July.
The pope has intimated his desire that
pilgrims abstain from any special allusion to
politics in their addresses to him.
The French artillery has resolved TO
discard the bronze field. pieces with which it
is armed, and, like Germany and Russia, to
adopt steel breech-loeders instead. Herr
Krupp, however, will not gain any additional
customers by such a step, for the French
war department is to make its own guus.
The Agence Russo says the conditions
of peace as published in London are mac
curate. Russia has never demanded the
expulsion of the Mussulman population OF
Bulgaria. She has only demanded the recall
of Turkish officials and troops: Russia does
not hand over portion of Bosnia to Servia.
The question of the straits is reserved for
the consideration of Europe. The published
version contains other gross inaccuracies.
Mai. Gen. Sir Garnet Wolseley, con-
tributor to the Nineteenth Century, gives an
article entitled England as a Military
Power" The following are his conclusions:
At no previous period has England been so
strong, in q military sense, as now. Were
war declared tomorrow, about four hundred
thousand drilled men would fall into line, if
required, and supported by 372 field guns,
manned and horsed by royal artillery. That
numuST WOulu TOugnIy DC mau6 up as IOl-
lows: Standing army at home, 5000 men /;
army and militia reserve, 10000; militia,
$1,000; volunteers, 10000; second class
army reserve, 10000; total, 4l4.O00. In this
calculation l have put the figures very low,
and have left out altogether the 10000 yeo-
manry who would be available for home
service. / have not taken into consideration
! the number of regular troops that would be
available for war when the Mediterranean
garrisons were furnished by the militia. 1t
will at once be seen that we could at once
| take the field with two fully equipped army
corps of more than $4,000 soldiers each,
| leaving similar force OF regular troops at
| home as a reserve. When 1 compare the
military strength of England now with what
it was in 1854, / am as amazed at the con-
ditions of military weakness and helpless
ness in which we were when we began the
| Russian war of that year as 1 am at the
/ ignorance of those who are now crcaking
| over our supposed want of strength and
/ alleged consequent inability to fight.
The steamship Oceanic brings the fol-
/ lowing intelligence from China: a terrible
disaster has occurred at Tientsin. A refugee
/ house, in which famine-stricken refugees
/ from the northern provinces had assembled,
/ took fire, and of nearly three thousand
people in the building, only one hundred
! escaped. The extremely cold weather that
/ has prevailed has had a fatal effect on the
/ refugees. many of whom have frozen to death,
while thousands are suffering from iu cient
1 accommodation or lack of food, which can
not be supplied in quantities to meet the
demand. Charles Ludd, of the China island
mission at Wachung, who has recently vis-
tied the famine-stricken province of Shensi
writes artrending account OF the suffer
ing he has witnessed. The efforts of the
government TO supply food and assistance
has been, to great extent, nulli6ed BY the
ishonesty of officials Children are sold by
hundreds by starving parents. In the large
cities of Houcheng and Pucheng risings
have occurred among the people, rendered