The Warwickshire Herald. — 1895-10-31 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

NEWS NOTES FROM INDIA.  Sirdar Ilafirulla Jan, third son of the Ameer of Afghanistan, who was about 13 years of age, and whose mother was a Dadakshani slave girl, has died at Cabul from pneumonia.  Francis Xavier Fonseca, after a trial extending over eiiht days, has been convicted at the Bombay Criminal Sessions by a special jury of the charge of murdering Anacleto Duarte by administering to him a pill of strychnine. Mr. tut ice Starling, agreeing with the verdict of the jury, passed upon the prisoner the sentence of death, remarking that it was a most cruel and heartless murder.  Eight Molimunds of Peck Darra have been captured on the Malakand. They were tried for the murder of a coolie. Five, being found guilty, were executed, and three were released.  A mullali supposed to belong to the same gang of Molimunds has been caught while attempting to enter the officers camp at Malakand. As a long knife was found secreted about his clothing be was tried by commission and shot. It is rumoured that a case of mile tOok place recently in a village a few miles from Sagar, the wife having ascended the pyre of her deceased husband, and being cremated.  The examination, in the law courts at Rancid, of the ii.an who has been giving so much trouble to the loeal authorities, by proclaiming himself as the incarnation of God, has been commenced with closed doors. the approaches to the court-house being well guarded for fear of an attempted rescue. Many of his deluded disciples came into the town from the surrounding country, in order to be present at the trial.  A terrific cyclone swept over Chandpur recently. and is estimated to have done damage to the extent largol rimees. roc steamer companies and . . . . . _ .  :lir heaviest lo,ers. is feared tint there has hen heavy loss of life and property. rwenty country boat, loaded with jute were sunk at Cl.andpore alone, wail some loss of life. The storm listed 14 hours. 1. may property is badly I migeed. .  • A workman employed at Bullock's lime worts. South Croydon, found the dead body of a man almost cremated on one of the kilns. The left leg and arm were burnt oft, and the corpse was beyond monition.  The Board of Agriculture have given Us further information by the publication of statistical tables, whiclegive particul .re for the present year of the agriculture of each county. These have this time an additional interest, as they give information not supplied in previous years. We are now supplied with an estimate of the area of mountain and heath land in every county. It will perhaps surprise many to be informed that of the total area of Englaed no less than 2,104,180 acres are classed as mountain and heath land, although the majority of the counties are fiat and uninteresting from a tour at's point of view. Northumberland heads the list with 465,139 acres, then there is the West Riding of Yorkshire with 289,963, Cumbe laud with 252,562, Westmoreland with 201,589, and Devonshire with 138,269 acres. flie count is- vt ith the smallest area are Northampton 44, Wio i k 43, and Huntingdon 13, and in Butler' 'bele is none. In England the proportion of mountain and heath land is about one-fifteenth of the whole. In Wales, as might be expected, the proportion is much larger, being nearly equal to one-fourth. Brecon has 204,884 acres out of a total of 489,894, which is the largest proportion, and Flint has about the smallest-7.702 acres in a total area of 164,051 acres. In Scotland the proportion on the average is greater than inWales,there being 9,403,681 acres in a total of 9,453,843 acres; in some of the counties the piopor ion of mountain and heath land is nearly three-fi ut ths of the whole. Take Sutherland as an exampl : the total acreage is 1,345, 408, and the mountain and heath land covers 962,644 acres. It is these rough gr zings which some of the land reformers have blamed the owners and occupiers for not cultivating aod causing to produce an almost e mai mot tit of food with tee rest of the land. The fact that the suggestion has been made sliews an ignorance of the teal capabilities of the country will, hit may I.e I. lied the publication of the present figures ma j do n mil to remove. It certainly ought to have that etlect.