Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-05-22
FoREfaN GOSSIP.

There Is no taxation upon either
real or personal property at Para, but
when . piece of real estate is sold the
purchaser is required to pay fee to the
government Of five per cent. on the SELL
Ing price.
-The bastinado is still in use in Hun
gary - make refractory peasants testify
shout accomplices or as to their own
recently engaged in q campaign against
this relic Of barbarism.
The total number of animals in the
biological Garden, London. is stated in
the annual report to be 2,290. The an
nual income of this society is over $780,
600 They lost nearly !, 900 animals last
gifts were 1,121.
The Emperor of China had to choose
between depriving his sheep and goats
Of their pasturage on the lawns around
the Temple of Heaven and having an
open quarrel with his mother, the dow
ager Empress He preferred the latter.
An organization called 1.-The Med
.ical Defense Union" has been formed in
London. which, upon the annual pay
-ment Of ten shillings by doctor, guar
antees to defend him against any charge
made with blackmailing or otherim
proper purpose during the year.
Branches of the organization are to be
established throughout Great Britain.
"A curious exploration is now being
undertaken in a vast region of Scandi-
navia, which has practically run wild
for nearly hundred years, when whole
villages, as we'll as homesteads and
farms, were deserted on account of an
epidemic. The tract has been bought
by London syndicate, who have COM
missioned Sir III. Pottinger. one of the
pioneers of Norwegian travel, and j.
Sargent, the we'll known Oxford coach"
to report upon this almost forgotten ter
ritory.
The proposed ship canal across
Italy, to connect the Tyrrhenian sea
with the Adriatic, is expected not only
to afford improved water communication
for many places, but to facilitate the
drainage of marshy districts and to
render ITO square miles of lake area fit
for cultivation. The canal would be 13a
miles long, 263 feet wide and 40 feet
deep, and its cost is estimated by Signor
Bocca at S125. 900. 600.
When the Shah of Persia visited
Vienna one of the first things called to
his attention was the fact that his rep
resentative in that city was overwhelm-.
ingly in debt, and an immense mass OF
unpaid bills was produced in proof
thereof. Instead of evincing any anger,
the bills were at once paid, and gentle
hint was conveyed to the impecunious
Minister that he might easily avoid en-
barrassment in the future by the sale of
Persian concessions, titles, decorations,
ETC., SO dear to the heart of the wealthy
but untitled commoner.
-Sculptors in Europe are greatly an
noyed at the italian pirates who have
been initiating their best works and
|inundating France, England and the
United States with terra Gotta repro
ductions Of some of the best examples of
French statuary art. The visits made
by the police to the workshops of the
Transalpine contrabandists have led to
some remarkable revelations respecting
the ways and means of the sculpture
pirates" At the house of one Gasparini,
q molder of Montreuil. there were
found eight limitations of Falguiere's
Diana. A hack artist had made a copy
of the original, and from this plaster
cast was taken, this serving as model
for the statuettes. which were sold for
five, six or ten francs each.