The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-08-13


In Sumatra, telegraph companies are annoyed
by elephants and tigers upsetting the poles, and
monkeys breaking the wires,
The State University at Oxford, Miss, had
3l9 students last session.
Philosophical gentlemen in New Orleans,
have combined and are raising fund to equip a
surveying and exploring expedition, for Hon
duras, under the command of F. Armant.
David Mather, of Bastrop, Texas, who owns a
camel ranch, asserts that they can be raised as
easily as horses, The colts for three or four
days are rather tender, but after that they take
their chances with the herd, and sell when grown
for 5000 to 5000 each,
Francis Murphy and his son Edward passed
through Elmira last evening on train No. r.
bound for Pennington, n. j.. to see the other
members of the family. Mr.. Murphy telegraph
ed to friends in Elmira to meet him at the depot
and few minutes talk was had with him while
the train fingered. He came direct from Cali
fornia, having been nine days on the road. His
temperance work in the Golden State has ex-
tended over period of six months Mr.. Muir
ply was importuned to stop in Elmira for a day
or two but his time was in such demand he conld
not do so. He will soon return to the West for
work in Kansas and Colorado.-Elmira Aover-
tiser, July %.
General W. H. Sterling, chief Of the bureau
appointed for the extirpation of pleuro- pneumo-
MIA from among the cattle of the State New Jer-
sey) made his report of the doings of the bureau
to Governor Mcclellan on August 5th 1t shows
a decrease in the number of cases in quarantine
from the report of last week, and that the dis
ease in an extremely malignant form has broken
out in Recklesstown, Burlington county. A
number of cattle have been killed, and at pre-
sent there are in quarantine 101 herds, contain
ing 796 cattle All the farmers from this State
and Pennsylvania are under strict quarantine
regulations.
Oliver Johnson has been describing the sum
mer glories of Eastern Pennsylvania for the
New York Tribune, and describes particularly
the southern part of Chester county, where he
has been visiting. He says:-"The is a farm
near the spot where | am writing which has re-
manned in the same family from the day of VIII
liam Penn until the present time-through seven
generations. l have seen the original patent,
bearing the seal of William Penn, and dated Oc-
tober 8, 1907. The farm has never since been
decided, but has passed by will from generation
to generation by rule of voluntary primogeni-
ture and bids fair to do the same for generations
yet to come.
1t is said that Charles Reade, the noted novel
ist, keeps two secretaries at work reading and
clipping from the newspapers accounts of muir
ders, poisonings, suicides, and other crimes and
tragedies of the life of to-day to be used in his
stories and plays. What dismal task for his
secretaries" But we hardly know which most
deserve our commiseration, these servants of his
or the readers who are to again feast on the hor-
rors made only more horrible and narrowing by
his genius. This suggests the question, Is there
a connection between the morbid desire for nov
els and the unhealthy desire to read accounts of
the shocking crimes which preval?- United
Presbyterian
De Lesseps is seventy four years old, but looks
not more than fifty, and is as energetic as a
man of forty. He has a high, bold forehead, is
rather thickset, with snow-white hair and mus
tache, and the piercing eye of an eagle.
Glen Riddle, small town on the line of the
Philadelphia and West Chester Railroad, fifteen
miles from the former place, Is greatly excited
over the alleged discovery of gold in that neigh
borhood 1t is stated that in sinking an arte-
sian well at the Riddle cotton mills an alluvial
deposit was encountered at a depth of eighteen
feet below the surface, and on being analysed,
was found to yield the precious mental at the
rate of about $50 to the ton. The locality is to
be thoroughly explored by competent biologists.
GOOD YIELD.-Mr. VIM H. Weaver, of New
town, raised this year go bushels of wheat on u
acres of land Good yield Winchester News.
The Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Society
has invited the Fifth Regiment of Baltimore, the
Confederate Society of Maryland monument
committee to their fair in Winchester, October
7. The invitation committee is John NJ Miller,
Edmund Pendleton, Thomas N Lupton, and B.
Nooman.
DEBTS OF SOUTHERN STATEs-The
debt of Alabama in 1878 was $9,452,6 69; real
and personal estate, tax basis, SLY, 1856 5S1 tax,
seventy cents; amount raised by tax, $S27,399
Arkansas, debt 81 153,O35; unfunded debt,
! $l3,9 0l2; tax basis, 100000; tax sixty
cents; amount raised by tax, $457 $50.
Florida, debt 81 ,34S, PIP; tax basis, $30000,-
600; tax, ninety cents; amount raised by taxa
ton, 1925, 600
Georgia, debt $1O644, 500; tax basis, $685.
sos, $50; tax, fifty cents; amount raised by tax,
81 900. In 1872 Georgia annulled $10477,-
900 clearly fsaudulent bonds, leaving the debt at
that time ST. $50, 800 recognizing s., 798 900 of
the Bullock bonds.
Kentucky'S debt is only 81, S52,S41; her tax
basis, 1857 ,326,Ol3; tax forty cents
Louisianas debt 1878, amounted to Sl2,66O-
448; tax basis, $174, 100000; tax, $l.45, The
amount raised by taxation in 1878 was $2,473,-
628.
Mississippis debt, $2.O54, 458; tax, fifty cents;
tax basis, $l27O00,oOO; amount raised by taxa
ton, 1854, 70l.
Missouri's debt in 1873 was $16, $4,000; tax
basis, real and personal, little over $6.0OO,OOO;
tax, forty cents amount raised by taxation, 81,
S43,935
North Cardinals debt, 1873, $27, l2O, 22S; tax
basis little over Sl48,0OOOO0; tax, thirty eight
cents amount raised by taxation in 1878, 1888,
635.
South Cardinals debt in 1878 was Sc, 739, 696;
tax basis little over $l25,00OOO0 tax forty
five cents amount raised by taxation, $7l59S2
Texas debt in 1870 was S5,073, SOL; tax basis,