, 1892-03-19

"a VI dl 16olIICtIOuS OA GtlG sails ~ l6uNJ
and the substitution of good landlords for
bad, which means, as a rule, the Introduction
of landlords with means to foster good tenants.
The caution is a wise one. The necessity of
extending small holdings is now practically
conceded but in the South Of England an
increase of wages is even more required, and
it can come only from improvement in the
intelligence, the capital, and the security Of
the tenant farmers.
There seems to be wide spread prevalence of
distress from drought this year. The Russian
famine is due primarily 10 that cause, and
diRtress from want Of water Is now reported
from Galicia. The droughts in the drier sec
tions Of Australia have been most severe, in
the Broken Hills mining district. for example,
there is a true water famine; i'll some districts
of Upper Burmah the people are living ON re-
lief works; and in whole divisions of India
rain is anxiously looked for, but does not
come. There is keen apprehension IN the
North West Provinces and Bengal, though as
yet nothing worse but there are signs of ia
mine in Raipootana, aud in the dricr counties
of Madras the number Of persons seeking re-
lief on public works, though not yet great
thirty thousand Oh Saturday, Is steady
mounting up. The Governments every where
are doing their best Slut in countries depend
ent on agriculture or stock rearing, nothing
can compensate for a deficient supply Of rain.
Our engineers ought by this time to know how
to store water as well as the cid Hndoos did;
but something, probably the difficulty Of ex-
tracing profit. seems TO arrest the employ
ment of their knowledge. The works requir
ed are very large, though simple enough in
structure labour grows deare every day
and the profits Of irrigation are not steady
enough to tempt private speculation. We do
not quite see why, IN India at amy rate, all
convict labour should not be directed for a
series of years TO wards water storage.
The deaths from influenza III London dur
ing the week ending last Saturday were down
to I83. a against 3l4. 436 aud 500 in the
three preceding weeks, The deaths from
diseases of the respiratory organs, which
had been 1,465, 1872, and 7ol il lie proceed
ing th rec weeks, further fell to $40 last week
but were as above the corrected average. In
all 2,65l births, and 2,UIU deaths we've regis
tered. Allowing for the increase of popula-
ton, the births we've 292 below and the deaths
I73 above the average numbers III the cOrre-
spending weeks of the last ten years. The
annual death-rate per thousand from all causes
which had been 1870 41O, ami 500 the pre-
ceding three weeks, sank last week to 246. In
the great towns the same return TO shealthlness
is noticeable. Preston had the highest death-rate
-3016 and Bradford the lowest Ii +. 1t is
clear that the influenza will have neatly van
ished in another month. The question that
remains is: VIII it return-we hear of bad
cases in East Yorkshire and in Liverpool-or is
the soil in which the poison germ grows ex-
hausted and unproductlve9
Mr.. Wigham Richardson, in his address. to
the North East Coast Institution Of Engineers
and 6hipbuilders, reported in the Newcastle
Daily Journal of Monday, noticed a new me-
thod of smoke -consumption which may be of
the utmost Importance. Under the process in
vented by Mr.. Mond, of Messrs. Drummer,
Monde Co., smoke becomes q product far too
valuable to be turned loose into the air. He
burns his Goals with artificial draught, and
conveying the gasses into a chamber, he wash
es them with water spray, which causes every
particle of SCOT or smoAe to be deposited, and
at the same time conoenses and rtcovers the
ammonia "a product ofnItrogen and hydrogen