New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-18
ATTRIBUTED TO MR.. BLAINE
ENGLISHMEN HOLD HIM RESPONSIBLE FOR
THEIR BAD WEATHER

connection with the Bchring Sea dispute? These
two questions are heard on every side at the
present moment 1t is hardly possible to meet n
single person who does not deem il his duty to
burl them at your head. especially if you happen
10 be an American. And although originally
started as bit of delightful humor7 English
people have such queer ro,ion of this particular
commOdity-yct the sheer repetition of the ques-
tons has gradually produced a kind of vague i'm
preston. especially among the suffering masses
that Secretary Blaine is in some manner or other
responsible for the terrible severity of the present
winter Only once during the century has the
gold been so intense. II was in the winter of
1s13-1s14, when, just az now the Thames was
icebOund. Fortunately these terrible frosts are
few and far between There have only been
about dozen recorded in England since the
Norman conquest. Twice in the eighteenth cent
ury. namely. in 1915 and 1740, were ice fairs
held on the frozen surface of EnclandS great met
ropOlitan tdcway Similar festivities are de-
scribed also as having taken place in 1908 and
1853. while in the sixteenth century no less than
three winters occurred of sufficient severity to
enable Londoners to walk dryshOd from the Md
lleseX to the Surrey shore of their recovered
river.
While the relatively raIe recurrence OF these
Arctic vistations bears out 10 a certain extent the
samples" of weather, none of them lasting long
enough to enable the people 10 appreciate their
true value yet il mast be confessed that the
present frost here is something more than mere
sample show. For more than hvc-and'tnr'y
DAYS no glimpse has been caught OF the SUM- TEN
orally intense cold is accompanied by clear cheer
full and bright atmosphere. Bnt here 1t has hech
attended by a succession of the densest lo2S
ever known. These. together with the snow anu
ice have contributed 10 interfere ana In many
cases to completely Interrupt traHc-thls' 700
lust at Christmas time which Is TIE busiest
season Of the year English methods Of heatlr9
the railroad carriages are primitive In the extreme
Like the rush and tallOw candle which only serves
10 enable one to see the Septh of the surrounding
darkness so do the fiat metal cases filled with
tepid but at no time hot water increase the
sense of cold in the British railway carriages.
And to be locked up in one Of the cars forming
mart of a train DELAYED by fog and snow is, TO say
the very least. dis1grecabe experience Under
The circumstances it is not SURPRISING that the death
rate should have increased enormously. This. how
ryer is not alone due to the direct influence oil
the cold and fog upon the system hut also to the
fact that the frost has seriously lnteriefed oolh
with the water supply and sanitary arrangements
Not only is nearly the whole of the drinking
water used in London pumped up from the lhameS'
but the latter is likewise the recipient OF an I'M
mense volume of sewage and other foreign matter
which since the river has become Rebound no"
finds itself without outlet or escape. MS I'D
itself is sufficient to breed sickness and disease
among the 100000 of people conSrega'ed
within the metropolitan precincts on the banks
of the Thames
The condition of affairs in London is reproduced
on a minor scale in all the provincial cities and
IN, thorn
strange to relate. more lenently treated by the
weather than the ones further south. Hitherto
the southern counties including Kent, SUSSEX,
Hampshire and Devon, have invariably enjoyed
exceedingly mild winters. a fact attributed 10
their coasts being washed by the Gulf stream
But within the last two weeks numerous cases
Of persons being frozen 10 death are reported
from Kent and Sussex, while the illustrated papeIh
contnin pictures of snowdrins IN the pretty
Devonshire towns which recall 10 mind the streets
of New-Yerk during the great blizzard
The distress caused by the severe weather
among the poorer classes has been Of an appalling
nature All outdoor operations having now been
suspended for over three weeks, periect armies
of brickmakers, masOns. boatmen, etc, nave been
thrown out of employment. Moreover, as the
London markets are mainly dependent for their
snnnIv of food upon freight arriving by water. the
sn.nension Of navigation caused by the Ice has
almost resulted IN famine. The provincial canals,
TOO. are all frozen up, and as they serve for the
CONVEYANCE of nearly all the coal used iss
industrial purposes, a large number OF foundIles
and manufactures of every KIND nave pceh
Obliged 10 suspend operations in consequence oil
scarcity Of fuel
"It is not however only in England that sheep
are being roasted whole and carnlvals held upon
the frozen surface of tidal rivers. Analogous
weather prevails all over the Continent ana even
in Africa. Snow has fallen along the Ned
iterranean Coast in Egypt, lrpoiI ana 2isierS
Measures have had 10 be taken ny the fIehch
authorities al Oran for the relief OF several snow
bound attachments and outlying p"sto. oudhec
as 1t may sound TO hear Of ptop.c DELI sao1 ~
bound in Africa, il is still more extraordinary "
learn that there has been heavy iall OF snow aU
Suez Oh the shores of the Red Sea. me
temperature of the latter has always un n NOW
been REGARDED as only one degree khea uinuI
sunernr TO that of the Internal regions ana inc
appearance OF snow on IFS t"fd shores nae spie""
CONSERVATION among the shpcTsttlOds ndtEeS'
IN Belgium the navigation OIL thc SchcIuu nI'
been stopped By the vast amount OF zee III me
river. and all communication by wafer 1et"rrn
Antwerp and the sea Temporarily shSpehucu' Ut
board Of pilots have decided 10 grant no hoIc
riots for vessels attempting 10 get mp 10 the lof'
and few ships which tired 10 bTcaN men way
Fi"sbino severely damaged. The Rhne is frozen
aver from Binecn 10 Cologne, and so, TOO, Is the
Danube from Vienna TO Iestn the N'op!e IN both
.Ie;o9s and ON skates LARGE portion of the
Rack sea living between odessa and Se6astopol
has likewise become converted into sheet Of
ice and among the vessels caught thereby ana
f,o,en in is The great military transport Orel,
with .. 600 recruits on board, concerning whose
fate great anxiety prevails The Platten see i in
vatcr in Southern Europe. is completely frozen
over. Alarudng scarcity OF water prevails at
Vienna. where the entire supply Is brought
from tho Holenthal and the Schneeberg region.
NAVIGATION on the Elbc has ceased. and Hamburg
is emf of from communication with the sea Even
postal communication between liellgoand and the
mainland has had 70 ne susPehaed IN CONSEQUENCE
~ tho frost 4 number Of other islands along
Ire Danish and German coasts are likewisc cat
OF from all intercourse with the mainland except
hr telegram and are suffering greatly from
&c -n,..- ~ thc nccessa res OF Life. IntI The