Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-04-18
TIMELY TOPICS.


William Dawson is the name of poor
Quaker shoemaker in Spiceland, Ind, T.,
who is an excellent astronomer, who has
made his own telescope, constructed his
own observatory, and for twenty years has
furnished the Smithsonian Institute and
the Meteorological Bureau with. valua-
BILE statistics and observations.
Some interesting experiments and OBJ
servations have been made by two
French savants at Marseilles on adisease
resembling diphtheria, which attacks hens
and pigeons with fatal results. 1t was
proven that the disease could be COM
municated to mammalia, and it was
found that diphtheria was very prevalent
among the people at the time the fowls
suffered from the like malady. 1t was
suggested that the fowls affected should
not be sallowed to be brought into the
city.
London is enjoying a new pleasure.
w. R. R Ralston is telling " "stories to
children in St. James Hall with such
success that Mr.. Carlyle, Mr.. Bret
Harte and sundry other literary people
fought their way in among the innocents
to hear him, and white-haired grand
sires were as enthusiastic over his Won
derful narratives as golden-haired girls
of sew en- and eight years old. The magic
seems to be partly in the tales, the work
of authors yet unknown, and partly in
the telling, which has already made the
teller local celebrity.
The total amount of salt sold in the
United States during 1873 was 1862, ,65s
barrels, ofwhich 8, ,075, ,533 were imported.
About 1885, 900 were made in the Sag
inaw district of Michigan, about | ,434, ,O0O
in the Syracuse district of New York,
85O,OOO in Ohio and Virginia, and the rest
at other points. The imported salt
chiefly comes from Liverpool, but Ira
pani in Sicily, Cadiz in Spain, Hyeres il
France, and Turks Island and Curacao
in the West Indies furnish a large
quantity AS the domestic manufacture
yearly increases, the imports naturally
decrease
Some interesting statistics on the con-
sumption of alcoholic liquors in France
have been lately brought before the
French Academy of Medicine by M. Lu-
nier. Wine is the national drink, and
there is consumed of it, on an average,
thirty gallons per inhabitant per annum.
In 1888 the number was only fifteen gal
Ions. The consumption of cider tends to
diminish. But brandy is drank to facili-
tate the digestion of cider; and the more
cider the more brandy. The consump-
tion of beer has increased considerably
within the last fifty years. The con-
sumption of spirits, which was about
two quarts per head in 1887, is now re-
presented by three quarts. The depart
ments which consume most spirits are
those which do not consume much wine.
With regard to spirits, M. Lunier proves
that it is in the departments consuming
most spirits that most cases of accidental
death, through excess, occur, and the
cases of apprehension for drunkenness
are five times more numerous in these
departments than in those consuming
principally wine. Alcoholic insanity,
too, is almost everywhere in proportion
to the direct consumption of spirits. The
only exceptions are La Vendee and Char
enie 1nferieure, where they drink only
white wines; but these are stated to be
as dangerous in this respect as brandy.
1--WE have SO much freedom of the
press in this country" remarks a city
paper, and have had SO much of it from
the beginning, that we hardly know how
to appreciate it fully, having nothing diff
ferent to measure it by. We can form
very clear idea of it, however, by glanc-
ing at the governments Of continental
Europe, where all political troubles and
complications are associated with the
press, of which ministers and bureau
Gratis abroad are ever suspicious, and
which they take every possible means to
repress. In Russia nothing can be printed
against the Gar or his authority unless
by secret presses, and the discovery and
destruction ofany one ofthese is regarded,
and justly, as triumph of law and
order, or properly of despotism. Every
such press is held to be dangerous; and
it is. Autocracy is unsafe where freedom
has any privileges. In Germany disaP-
proval of the government in a newspaper
insures visitation of the police, and
punishment of the editor who dares to
express an opinion adverse to BisWarck's.
Press offenses have been con06nedi
Spain but they are still grave political
sins, and must be guarded lest they be
severely punished. In Austria there is
no real liberty of thepress, but tits grow
ing in Italy, and Switzerland, a true re-
public, is little shackled. But only in
Great Britain and here have we any genu
inc freedom of opinion and criticism by
mouth and publication. The inheritance
of the great English tongue carries many
advantages, and not the least of them is
freedom ofspeech."