Evening star., 1899-03-02

sea. rushing through the gaps, covered
thousands of acres, surrounded houses,
drowned cattle and game and created dis
comfort of every description The lower
part of the town of Carnarvon was flooded
and the Union iron works inundated. Ban
gor suffered heavily. The extreme end OF
the marine drive at Rhyl has almost dis
appeared. and huge piles driven deep in the
sand have been uprooted and carried away.
In the valleys along the course of the riv-
ers remarkable scenes were witnessed yes
terday. The water extended for miles with
out a break. covering the railway and the
highways. Near Lanwrst the embankment
was washed away for the fourth time this
year. The engineers are anxiously watch
ing operations at Penmaenbach, the scene
of the recent railway disaster. Between
Prestatyn and Mostyn the sea carried away
portions of the embankment and flooded
the land, causing much damage. The en-
bankment near Towyn has been leveled
and the Rhuddlan marsh is exposed to the
tnroads of the sea On the east coast the
high chalk cliffs of Dover. Folkestone ana
Eas stbourne have lost large portions winch
have slipped into the sea. This part OF
England always suffers most, and the sea
has been steadily encroachinS here for
years. and nothing can be done. houses
which at one time were far removed from
the sea now stand on the edge of the cliffs.
Croynes and sea walls are washed away
as fast as erected.
The Thames valley is flooded. the river
never having been so high as at present.
People are going in boats from house to
house in the streets, families living IN the
upper stories. The sight from Windsor
Castle is like looking out on large lake,
the water covers the fields for miles.
Terrible sufferings are endured by the poor
all over Great Britain and also in Ireland,
where matters are just IS bad. There has
been great loss of life too.
Discussing Andree's Fate.
1 have discussed with several well-known
authorities in London the probabilities as
to the accuracy of the report that the dad
bodies of Andree and his companions have
been discovered in the Thimur peninsula.
While they decline to express any definite
opinion until the agent who has been sent
from Krasnoyarsk has had an opportunity
of investigating the truth of the story, they
are still inclined to doubt its authenticity
1t is not the first time that state mentS as
circumstantial have come from that region,
and it is difficult to explain why they
should be forwarded through a town 1900
miles from tha spot where the discovery is
said to have been made. Port Dickson is
not TWO hundred miles away, and the prob
ability is that at least some rumor would
have reached that port. Moreover, 1t IS re-
garded as unlikely that the search party
which trayarsed the whole of the region
last summer would have failed TO find
trace of the expedition. Nevertheless, it is
probable that the balloon may nave de-
scended in tha north of Siberia, seeing that
the wind changed from south to southwest
soon after the party started, and that the
only unqueSt tiOnable message received frCm
Andree-that of the carrier pigeon shot be-
tween Spitzbergen and the Seven Isles on
the 18th of July, 1897, two days after the
start-reported AN easterly course. If the
story prove to BE- true-and we shall have
information on this point in three or four
weeks-it would appear that Andree and his
companions were either dead when the bal
loon descended, or were killed at the mo-
ment of descent. 1t is not to be assumed
IN hoy r1a1 TO jc Ii
ty, or that they met with violence at the
hands of the Tunguses. who are described
as "a nice, quiet people" The truth of the
present story, or falsity, can be established
beyond doubt. Every article of wood the
expedition carried was branded ''Andree's
Polar Expedition. 1897" Every metal arti-
Gle was engraved with the sama inscriD-
tion. and all bags were painted with it. The
scientific instruments alone would affOrG a
complete Identification. The world is
curious, is even eager in its curiosity, but
the average man will ask himself what hope
of gain or fame could compensate for so
much peril and hardship. even if the erd
We're won The average man and the born
advHnturer on natures solitudes are vide
apart. To men like Andree there is a call
of voices to which common ears are closed.
He had already spent five years in arctic
America, and lived in Spitzbergen before he
set out upon the journey which has now
carried him so far into the realms of tie
unknown. 1t is a hundred TO one that if
sound and whole, his voices would call him
back into the wastes again.
Crisis in the Church.
The debates of the past week. both in
parliament and in convocation, on the crisis
in the Church of England are being eager
ly discussed by all parties. There is
strong feeling that the high church party
have scored heavily in both places The
statement by the archbishop of Canterbury
that there is no hurry for the new ecclesias-
teal procedure bill has given great salts
faction to those who object to the const-
tuition of the final court of appeal under
the bill: but, on the other hand the inten-
tons of the archbishop are seriously ques-
toned. He succeeded in convincing num-
ber of his hearers that he desired rather to
hang the matter up for an indefinite period
and to leave the courts untouched. The
bill is not regarded with favor even by the
most extreme low churchmen, as it will take
the objectionable form of persecution
against the ritualsts. and this course is to
be avoided, unless it is desired to increase
the movement. The archbishop sets great
store by his plan of hearing the clergy
himself with the archbishop of York as
assessor; and there is already evidence that
his proposal is giving great satisfaction to
the high church party. Some of the more
extreme men were at first inclined to reject
the proposal, seeing that the archbishop of
Canterbury has already expressed views ad-
verse to them on some of the points at
issue. But his very definite statement that
he will approach those questions with an
open mind has reassured them. The whole
question is of such delicacy and needs such
careful handling if the Church of England
is not to be disrupted, that cooler counsels
are now prevailing and Kensit and his aid
erS are somewhat at a discount. Still ii is
firmly believed by many that disestablsh-
ment will be the ultimate outcome of the
differences between the rituaiists and low
churchmen.
New Street
For nearly fifteen years London authori-
ties have talked of putting wide street
through the heart of one of the worst
slums in town; that is from Holborn to
the Strand. And now 1t seems likely to
come off. Not in many years have there
been so many street improvements going
on in London as at present. Streets are
being widened. new ones made old houses
torn down and new and imposing ones
erected.
In connection with the widening of the
Strand authorized by the act of 1897, many
Of the preliminary steps have been taken.
All the freehoiders and leaseholders have
been served with notices to treat, with the
exception of about six lessees, whose terms
have less than two years to run. In three
instances purchases have been completed.
I his Improvement is one to which the prin-
ciple of "bettermpnti is tO anDly and q