The Warwickshire Herald. — 1885-08-15 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

FROM RICHES TO POVERTY.  A fearful fall from purple and fine linen to raga and sores is reported from San Francisco. Johyny Skae, who at one period o! his checkered career could sign his cheque for 10,000,600n01., died the other day in poverty. He went to California when a boy and learn, d the business of a telegrar ill operator. He was working far the California Teleeraph Company when the four arianza id, O'Brien, Mackay, and Fair—were developing the resources of the Colisolidated Virginia and California mines on the Comstock. Mackay and Fair, who superintended the operations at Virginia City, were in constant communication with Flood and O'Brien in San Francisco by means of the telegraph, as it was di sirable to keep from "outsiders" the real condition of affaiis in the mines until the proper time for booming them arrived, the managi rs used what Viey considered • safe cipher in their despatches. This cipher Johnny Skae, who was the rtceiver on the Virginia City wire, succeeded in interpreting, so that he knew of every movement in the mines, and was apprised of the great boom in sight for several days before the general public knew of it. Acting on the knowledge thus acquired, Johnny invested all the cash he could raise in the stock of this two mines, and when the deal ended, and the tidal wave of excitement had receded, Johnny Skae was 3,000,000 d 01.,. ahead. but the crash came. Johnny bec-imis a book-kei per in a small-pox hospital in the Columbus district. Aiter this he disappeared from public view urtil about a year ago, when a San Francisco policeman found him helplessly drunk in the street. He was taken to the station. house, where it was found that the map who ,even years ago could sign his cheque far mocaouo had not 5 dole. to secure his lehase en bail.  A Vienna paper hears from Alexandria that the Mandi did not die a natural death,but V.as murdered out of revenge by the Arabs, whom he Lad reduced to beggary by his heavy war contrlbutionv. The same authority states that the Eoglish Government had seized certain corre,pondence th,cribing how the Mandi had received intelligence and arms direct from Egypt.  A report from Waterford states that two horses grazing on a farm at Strait:all) more, near Ballyduff, county Waterford, have.had their ears cut off and been otherwise cruelly treate:i. The parish priest, who is a pzesident of the local branch of toe National Deague,called an itdirnation meeting to denounce the perpetrators of the outrage. At a Conservative meeting held in the national school-room, Cockney, Nottinghamshire, the chairman read a letter horn the Duke of Portland, in which he said : I consider that the country is passing through a most important crisis, and if we Conservatives do not stand shoulder to shoulder, our country, which has so long been calli-d "merrio England." will be given over to Radical misrule and to the chaos of Republicanism. The errors of the late Government' are too flagrant to need much panting out, and I can only hope that a Conservative Parliament may be elected next Novernber,which will have the honour of old England at heart, and du its very best to unite our colonies to the mother country, and further ths Dtoecerity of-the land which we love so well.