The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-05-17

moio PUPuiOuS anu prosperous was because
until the beginning of the present century 1t
had been treated by England simply as
fish curing ground. Before the present GEN.
fury no woman was allowed upon the island
When England relaxed its laws In relation
to the island settlement began, and there
was sufficient wealth of mineral and lum-
Der, not to speak Of the fisheries, to warrant
a prosperous future. Under the present re-
iatlons with France, however, the west
coast, that nearest to the trade centres of the
continent, was closed to settlement and
Its mineral and timber resources remain
undeveloped. Settlers on this coast were
at the mercy Of the French, and could be-
and had been sent away from their set
Elements and buildings without compensa-
ton. France, ever since the Treaty of
otrecht, had been gaining advantages over
brltalns diplomats by reason of the igno-
rance OF the latter. There was so much irri-
tation among the people of the Island over
the matter that there was daily danger of
breach of the peace. and the Islanders were
complaining that Britain was not acting as a
mother. The utterances of some of the
other delegates were much less temperate.
One of them pitched into England with much
spirit, accusing her of leaving her colony en-
tirely at the mercy of the French. 1t was
very evident from the outgivings of the vari-
Gus delegates that Newfoundland is very
much stirred up and is likely to straighten
out the trouble with the French itself IL
England doesn't come to her relief.
Whether Mr.. Andrew ]. Plummer was
murdered, or whether he fell from his cart
and died from the effect of the shock upon a
system already enfeebled by exposure and
indulgence in strong drink, has apparently
become matter of little consequence. The
great question now is how he got across his
door yard into the position In which he was
found. And on this point there are two rival
theories. The Argus thinks that The pro-
PEELED himself across the door yard. 1t bases
Its conclusion primarily on the dead mans
trousers. which were inspected by one of its
| reporters at Saccarappa on Thursday. "The
| seat OF the trousers" says the reporter, "ar
| that portion of both legs below the knees,
were thickly coascd with mud, while the in
terven.ng parts had little if any mud upon
them. In short, the trowsers were In pre-
cisely the condition In which they would
have been If Mr.. Plummer. after tumbling
out of his carriage, as the horse turned
sharply from the street into the door yard,
had worked himself backward across the
muddy street in a sitting posture" This
view Of the case is reinforced by some other
considerations which are thus stated:
Mr.. Plummer had been a great sufferer from
rheumatism, and ne was also strongly addicted to
drink. Every adult knows that alcoholic drinks
affect the heart, and that the greatest dread of
rheumatism is that it may reach the heart. Every
man OF ahy experience where the rum bottle
reigns is aware that when person gets thorough
ly filed with LIQUOR, so that his limbs are practi-
eally useless. that while sudden fall or jar or
control OF his physical powers, yet the liquor will
soon again assert full sway. Hence when Mr.
fell oTt Of his carrsge as t MS dqS nfo
his door yard, he was, by the shock of the fail
given vitality enough to work himself out of the
buffalo that had fallen afterward from the carriage
and then, overpowered by the returning force of
GOWN pe ps ne could the
Under those circumstances, lying beneath the
sombre sky at that hour Of cold May morning,
drink habit, is it any wonder that his heart re-
fused to act and that his life passed out in short
agony Of which the sole trace left the extend
ed arm? The foregoing may not be the correct
explanation OF Mr.. Plummer's death, but it is
surely reasonable and to the writer's mind has all
the force OF truth.
This elaborate argument, convincing as 1t
appears to have been to the author of it, is
not convincing at all to the Evening Express
which disposes of it In this summary
fashion:
man suffering from rheumatism of the heart,
or any other affection of that organ, could not
drag himself BY his hands alone that distance and
the trail through the mud Is one continuous mark
and there are no indentations made by the heels
as ifthe man attempted to help himself. The horse
was driven or led past his usual turning point
end OF the house. These points seem incOntro-
vertible.
The PRESS does not intend to express any
opinion as to the comparative merits of the
two arguments. Both are very able, and
the Argus's seems to be very erudite in
some directions.