Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-10-25

No one who has any acquaintance
with the life of the poorer classes in
Naples can wonder at the ravages the
cholera has been making in that city.
Large numbers of families are there
pent up together, in high and narrow
houses which enclose a filthy court,
with very inadequate ventilation, with
hardly water enough to slake their
thirst, and without any of the convenient
ces that decency demands Manyparts of
the town are in a worse condition than
the lowest London and New York
slums and life in many of the tond4d
would be simply impossible were it not
for the geniality of the climate, which
permits so much of almost every day to
be spent in the open air. When once
the cholera has gained footing in such
swarm Of underfed human beings, it
is less surprising that its victims should
be numbered by scores and by 6fties
than that it should leave single inhabi-
tant alive. To people who know moth
ing of Southern Italy except what they
have learned from Liberal phamphleteers
and historians, it may seem strange that
the iasga,0ni should suspect their fel-
low-citizens OF deliberate attempt to
reduce the surplus population by intro
ducing the disease into parts Of the
town that have hitherto escaped or
even by direct poisoning in the hospi-
tails. Those who are intimately acquain-
ted with the people will feel no surprise
at such rumors, strange and unfounded
as they are. The history of Naples, for
the last century, at least has been the
history of war between the middle and
the lower classes. That the poor of
Naples entertain the widest and most
unfounded suspicious there can be no
doubt, and it is this that renders the
visit of King Alfonso something more
than an act of personal courage and hui
manity. If he succeeds in lulling
the exhisting suspicion, his journey will
have done much to solidify his king
dom and establish his dynasty,
AT the late meeting of the British As
sociation in Montreal some remarkable
statistics were presented in regard to the
British empire. The area of the actual
empire is eight and half millions of
. square miles, but there is indirect do
minat:on over enough more to make the
total ten millions-one-fifth of the land
surface of the globe OF this only one
hundred and twenty thousand square
miles are included in the United King
doms and Of the ten million only two
million square miles are cultivated or
} occupied in the widest sense of the word
The total population Of the empire direct
is three hundred and five millions souls,
! of whom only one-seventh are Christ
ians, while Hinduism whole of
which is subject to the British Crown
} includes fully half of Buddhsts there
are seven millions The force regularly
under arms, including the native Indian
soldiery, amounts to about one million,
besides half million policemen The
comparative paucity of this land army
is accounted for by the predominance
OF the navy, which numbers at present
sixty-three ron-clads, Of which twenty
five are at sea, and nearly two hundred
other vessels OF war carrying fftyscven
thousand officers and men. Through
her merchantlle marine the British en-
pire holds about one-third Of the entire
trade OF ne world. The manufactures
Of the United Kingdom were valued by
Sir Richard Temple at L8iS,ooo, ooo
sterling, or one-third Of those OF all
Europe put together but this figure is
rivalled by the United States. The
wealth of the United kingdom, reck-
J oned at 2S,7ao, 900, 600, is exceeded
nearly million pounds sterling by the
total wealth Of ehe United States The
sum of British wealth represents seven
times the annual income and the total
British debt, governmental and munici-
pal, is now i,3r s,ooo, 600 The ma
tional" debt, strictly speaking being.
last year. E7s6,576,sI9, reduction
OF 4 10000, 900, since 1878.