The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-08-24
FACTS AND COMMENTS.

The number OF schools in France
where the system OF savings bank had
been adopted was 16 494 at the close of
last year, against 1882 at the begin
ming. The average number of deposit
tors was twenty one per school, against
seventeen the year before. The depart
ment OF public instruction considers
that the results in seven years have
fulfilled the hopes of the inventor
of the system, M. de Malasse, the
school bank showing that it occupies n
unique position IN the world as a me.
dunn of education in thrift.
At first glance it would appear that
the canal business in Egypt has been a
little overdone. There are $40 canals
in that country, measuring in the aggre
gate 8,400 miles. OF these 113 are
used for navigation purposes as well es
for irrigation, and the other 657 for
irrigation alone. OF the fifty navigable
canals below Cairo the most important
is the one extending from the Nile near
Cairo to Zagazig. This is fitty.five
miles in length, and is navigable for
vessels of 400 tons burden. The fresh
fed mainly by this canal,
Statistics show that over 1000 900
operatives are employed in the manu-
facture of cotton goods in the principal
countries of tho world. OF these.
100000 are employed in Great Britain.
France follows with 100000, and the
other countries in order of precedence
are the United States, Russia, Germany
and India. With regard, however, to
the annual value of cotton goods pro
duced the United States comes second,
with about half the value of Great
Britain, and Germany and Russia fol-
low, the Joint product not being quite
equal to that of the United States.
Rabbits are playing hob with New
Zealand. They commence breeding at
the age of three months, and produce
twelve large families year. This
prolific increase has overrun the coun.
try with the pests introduced by pa
triotic Englishmen and Scotchmen, and
millions of dollars worth of property
are being destroyed annually. Crops
are feasted upon, streams are obstructed,
and in some places tho devastation has
been 80 great that, farmers have been
driven from theirsfarms. From so, O0O,-
600 to 60,000,000 of the frisRy limo
cents are killed every year, but with
their reproductive capacity the living
rabbits do not mind little thing like
that, which only amounts to decima-
tion.
When an individual starves to death
in civilized city his fate is probably al.
ways due to ignorance of his condition
and not to inhumauity. This certainly
must have been the case with William
Ellis, sculptor, who lately died in
Sheffield, England. Some years ago
he was engaged with Stevens in model
ing the Wellington monument On
his return to Sheffield he engaged in local
art trade, and executed busts in marble
OF John Arthur Roebuck and several
local celebrities Or late years he has
been in very destitute circumstances.
and frequently needed and received as
sistance from his friends. It was shown
ut the inquest that death had resulted
from exhaustion brought on by INSULT
cheney OF food"
The Mormons arc displaying the
craft which has always characterized
the Church of Latter Day Saints in
their efforts to sav5 their peculiar in
stitution" from the fresh assault made
upon it in the passage by Congress of
the Edmunds act for the suppression of
Thn;r R-rI -
the policy of evasion. All officials who
were polygamists have been ordered to
resign. and their places have been filled
by monogamists who are equally stropg
in the faith, 80 that there will be no
chance to apply the section which for
bids man with more than one wife to
hold Office. Moreover, from President
Taylor, in Salt Lake, to the elders in
the most extreme parts of their domain,
the polygamists have ostentatiously
separated from all but one of their
wives, and are living openly with her
only, so that it will be difficult TO find
grounds for institutipg proceedings
against them. Some OF the most emf
nent lawyers in the country have been
employed to fight the question of the
consti nationality of the law, and the
issue will be carried up from court to
court until t reaches the supreme tri
bunal. A report comes from Utah that
If the supreme court should finally de-
eide against them, the Wornons are "a
solved not to submit at any cost; but it
may well be doubted whether the sober
second thought will sustain even band
OF fanatics in fighting the whole power
OF the government The present out
look, however, is that, in any event, it
must be good while before material
progress is made toward the extirpation
OF the "twin relic OF barbarism."