Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-30

sequences in the particular case under con sideration as to the far-reaching results which must necessarily follow. If second, third, or fourth wife has no rights under the law her children have none, and thus the severeet possible penalty is inflicted upon both the voluntary and involuntary victims of the hideous practice
 The ice in the Hudson is in magnificent condition, and cutting will soon begin. When the work is in full blast ten thousand men and boys, 150 steam engines and 2, 800 horses will be employed in cutting, poleing ,hoisting and storing the glistening cakes. The men who work inside of the houses storing away the cakes get $1.50 per day, and the men outside $1. .25 per day, while boys average from 75 cents to $1 per day each. It is thought that the bulk of the ice will be in the houses early in February. There was not much ice left over last year and if the weather is favorable after the houses are all filed large quantities of ice will be stacked outside of them for first ship ments, so as to leave the housed crop intact as long as possible. Some of the icemen be- heye that the demand for ice next season will be enormous if the cholera predictions are verified, and therefore they are preparing for it. Possibly 300, 900 tons of ice will be stacked and carried early away by barges and steamers. The harvest will probably amount to over 5000, ,00O tons.
 The rapid expansion of telegraphy makes it matter of the greatest importance that there should be no diminution in the SUD- ply of gutta percha, product which is in- dispensable to the electrician There is much reason to fear, however, that such a diminution will before long be experienced. The demand for gutta percha is always in creasing, while the supply is falling off. The natives of Sumatra and the neighboring 1 islands do not properly cultivate the gutta percha tree, and much of it's produce is ig- norantly wasted. One consequence of this ! is that, within comparatively brief period the price of gutta percha has trebled; anoth l CT, and very serious consequence, is that l the falsifer has turned his attention in this 1 direction, and has placed on the market many worthless limitations" A short time ! ago N. Seligmann-Lui was deputed by the
 
 I ner the production might be increased, ant | in the report which he has lately made ht 1 recommends that plantations should be es 1 tablished of trees which yield the best guttt pereha. As the cultivation of these trees il very profitable, the English, French ant Dutch Asiatic colonies would find an assured l source of revenue in growing gutta pereha. ! An English naval officer-Admiral Hay has proposed for solution all interesting l problem: He says modern wars are begun
 without official declaration. Suppose, there l fore, that the French government were tc send secret orders to Admiral Courbet tc ! cease operations at Formosa and Tonquin l and to concentrate his four armor-clad yes sells at Hong Kong; to sink the two
 lightly armed and lightly protected 1 ironelads that the English have al 1 that point, force the garrison to sur
 render, and then burn or destroy the town l shipping and doeks; to proceed from there
 to Singapore, take that place or destroy it from there to Trincomalee; thence to Colon
 bo and demand the surrender of Ceylon, ol destroy the town; and thence to Bombay 1 and then to Amen, capturing or destroying
 each place as they proceeded In the mean
 time one of the ships of the Mediterranean
 squadron would go to the Suez canal and | grounding itself athwart that waterway would sink all vessels attempting to forc' ] their way through while the other ships O | the Mediterranean squadron would proceed
 to the Mersey river, sink the enc ironoIad tha
 defends that waterway, and, entering th'
 harbor, ould demand ransom of $500,
 GOO, 600 under the threat of destroying Liver pool and Birkenhead. At the same time th' French fleet stationed at Cherbourg would
 leave that place and by bombarding Brighto, on the English coast would create a scar and thus prevent effective defensive opera
 tions in the northwest of England. Admira Hay gQea on to say that he believes, in tn present condition of the English navy anc
 the English colonial stations, that such ope
 rations on the part of Franee might be at
 tempted wish ippunity, in time Englan, might recover from the losses thus effected but at the outset the French, by suddel
 blow, could do almost incaleulable damace