11. Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the great American ironmaster, intimated his willingness to contribute 50,000l. to the projected Birmingham University.

In the House of Commons, on the discussion of the Finance Bill, the Chancellor of the Exchequer consented to modify the extra taxes on wines announced in his Budget speech by sixpence a gallon on bottled wines, and to reduce the charge on light wines from one shilling and sixpence to one shilling and threepence per gallon.

12. A disastrous explosion occurred in the chlorate factory of chemical works at St. Helens, Lancashire. The surrounding buildings to a considerable distance were wrecked, six persons killed, and twenty seriously injured.

The Russian Minister at Pekin applied to the Chinese Government for a concession for a new branch railway to connect Port Arthur and Pekin.

The men of the Nebraska regiment (supported by their officers) serving in the Philippines, petitioned the general commanding to be relieved from duty, in consequence of exhaustion. The regiment had lost more than 200 men since the beginning of the campaign, and of 300 left at the front, 160 were on the sick list.

A collision took place on the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, by which thirty-five persons were killed, and upwards of a hundred injured.

13. The Right Rev. George Carnac Fisher, formerly Bishop Suffragan of Southampton, appointed Bishop Suffragan of Ipswich.

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General Pelloux, the outgoing Italian Prime Minister, presented a reconstructed Cabinet composed solely of Conservatives, which was accepted by the King.

A state of siege proclaimed in the city of Valladolid in consequence of the repeated affrays in the streets between the university students and the cadets of the cavalry school.

14. The library of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, containing 40,000 volumes, and considered the best collection of works on trade and political economy in France, totally destroyed by fire.

The historic drama "Eisenzahn," professedly the work of Major Lautt, but admittedly written under the direct guidance of the German Emperor, produced with great success at Wiesbaden.

15. The Queen, accompanied by the Princess Henry of Battenberg, arrived in London from Windsor, and on her way to Buckingham Palace paid a long visit to Kensington Palace.

Six Englishmen, five of whom had been non-commissioned officers, and a Dane, arrested at Johannesburg on a charge of high treason, and conveyed to Pretoria. They were alleged to have enlisted 2,000 men for purposes hostile to the republic.

The Decorations Committee of St. Paul's Cathedral, in view of the generally expressed disapproval, decided to discontinue the stencilling of the flat stonework of the arches.

16. Kau-lung City, in the Hong-Kong extension, occupied by British troops, and the Chinese garrison disarmed with consent of the mandarin.

Major Marchand and his escort arrived safely at Jibuti, having thus crossed Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.

- An application by Lord F. Hope to sell the Hope or Tavernier blue diamond, valued at 18,1157., refused by the Court of Chancery.

17. The Queen, in semi-state, and attended by the members of the royal family, laid the first stone of the new buildings of the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington, by which the work begun by the Prince Consort was to be completed.

In the House of Commons it was found impossible to obtain a quorum of forty members, and as it was against the orders for “a count" to be taken, the sitting was suspended until 4 P.M., when the House adjourned.

The Khedive signed a decree reforming the Mekhemeh Sherich, the Court of Appeal for judging questions affecting personal status in accordance with the sacred law.

18. The Peace Conference, assembled at the Hague, at its first meeting elected M. de Staal, the chief Russian representative, president. Twenty-five States were represented by a hundred delegates, Brazil being the only important absentee.

In Paris, in consequence of the refusal of the Senate to pass a bill embodying an increase of their pay, 3,000 postmen struck, throwing the delivery of letters into great confusion. The strike, however, only lasted twenty-four hours.

- M. Paul Deschanel, President of the Chamber of Deputies, elected member of the French Academy, in succession to M. Edouard Hervé.

19. The Czar, on the occasion of his birthday, ordered the appointment of a commission, under the presidency of the Minister of Justice, to consider the question of substituting another penalty for transportation to Siberia.

The contract for the Anglo-German Tien-tsin to Chin-kiang Railway loan of 7,400,000l. at 5 per cent. signed at Pekin.

The German Emperor in proposing the Czar's health at a birthday banquet in honour of the latter at Wiesbaden, declared that Russia and Germany were of one mind with regard to the aims of the Peace Conference.

20. The Chinese Government consented to permit the occupation of Sammun Bay by Italy as a purely commercial port.

The annual convention of the Irish National League held at Bradford, under the presidency of Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P. Few members of Parliament attended, and a resolution condemning the dissension in the ranks of the Irish Nationalists was adopted.

21. The American liner Paris, on her voyage from Cherbourg to New York in fair weather, ran on the Manacle rocks off Falmouth, within a few hundred yards of the spot where the Mohegan had been wrecked some months previously. No lives were lost, and all the mails and passengers' effects were saved.

22. The thirty-first annual congress of co-operative societies, attended by about 11,000 delegates, met at Liverpool, under the presidency of Mr. Harlem (Oldham), and before proceeding to business passed a resolution expressing good wishes for the Peace Conference.

The annual meeting of the Independent Society of Oddfellows (numbering 944,769 members) held at Middlesbrough, and that of the National Order of Goodfellows, numbering 76,562 members, at Doncaster. The presidents of each society respectively urged their members to trust to themselves, and not to legislation, to settle the question of old-age pensions.

The postage rates to all German colonies reduced to the same rates as those charged for inland rates-viz., 16 pfennigs for oz., and 20 pfennigs up to lb.

23. A due! took place in Paris between M. Catulle Mendes, the poet, and M. Vanor, arising out of a heated discussion of the personal appearance of Hamlet, the latter holding him to have been thin and the former fat. M. Catulle Mendes was seriously wounded.

At the military laboratory of Refshaleo, near Copenhagen, an explosion occurred during the loading of some shells. Eight persons were killed on the spot.

A three days' jubilee in celebration of the return of peace began in Washington, the Spanish and American flags flying side by side in the streets.

24. The Queen's eightieth birthday celebrated with real enthusiasm throughout the United Kingdom and the colonies. In the United States, especially, the regard in which her Majesty was held was signified in various ways.

At Windsor the Queen was serenaded by the local musical societies of the choirs of St. George's Chapel and Eton College, was present at a parade of the Scots Guards, and later attended a special thanksgiving service in St. George's Chapel.

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The International Congress on Tuberculosis met at Berlin, and its formal opening by the Secretary of State, in the presence of the German Emperor, took place in the great hall of the Reichstag.

25. St. John, New Brunswick, devastated by a fire which, originating in the Indian town district, was carried by a fierce wind into the northern trading centre. Upwards of 100 buildings, exclusive of the dwellings of the poorer classes, were destroyed.

The Queen, before leaving Windsor for Balmoral, expressed publicly her heartfelt thanks for the testimony of loyalty and affection received by her from all parts of the world.

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The International Miners' Congress, assembled at Brussels, unanimously carried resolutions in favour of a minimum wage (which each nation should fix for itself), and of an international understanding to regulate the output of coal.

26. At the Hague Conference, Sir Julian Pauncefote proposed the formal establishment of a permanent tribunal of arbitration, and the

Russian delegate, Baron de Staal, in support laid on the table a paper embodying a similar proposal.

26. The final round for the golf amateur championship played at Prestwich, when Mr. J. Ball, junr., of Liverpool, defeated Mr. F. G. Tait of Edinburgh by one hole.

- At Rome a disgraceful scene was provoked in the Chamber of Deputies, when Signor Crispi attempted to meet the accusations brought against his African policy by the Socialists, who finally prevented the ex-minister from being heard.

27. The Queen, on her arrival at Balmoral, received an address of welcome and congratulation from her Highland servants, to which she replied orally.

- At St. Petersburg, the Palace Bridge, connecting the richest quarter of the city with the business quarter, having collapsed, an inquiry was instituted showing that five other wooden bridges over the Neva were insecure.

28. The French Derby won by M. Caillault's Perth, which defeated the favourite, Holocauste, by more than six lengths. Nine ran.

29. The plenary court of the Court of Cassation assembled in Paris to hear the report of M. Ballot-Beaupré on the application for revision of the Dreyfus case. The chief point urged by the reporter was that the bordereau had been written by Esterhazy.

The final vote on the Federation referendum in South Australia resulted as follows: affirmative, 65,990; negative, 17,053; informal, 10,909.

Señor Castelar's body having been brought to Madrid, and viewed by almost all the population, his funeral was made the occasion of an imposing public demonstration.

30. Major Marchand arrived at Toulon, where he received a magnificent ovation from the authorities, the patriotic societies and the population.

The vacancy in the Southport division of Lancashire caused by the death of Sir H. Naylor-Leyland (L.), filled by the election of Sir G. Pilkington (L.), who polled 5,635 votes against 5,052 given to Mr. C. B. Balfour (C.).

At the Kennington Oval Cricket Ground in the match between Surrey and Somersetshire, the former scored 811 runs in their first innings, Abel carrying out his bat for 357.

31. At Epsom the Derby won by the favourite, the Duke of Westminster's Flying Fox (M. Cannon). Twelve started.

M. Déroulède and M. Habert charged with inciting General Roget and his soldiers to march on the Elysée, after two days' trial, devoted to declamation, acquitted amid uproarious enthusiasm.

President Kruger and Sir Alfred Milner, High Commissioner for South Africa, arrived at Bloemfontein, on invitation from the President of the Orange Free State, to discuss the alleged grievances of the Transvaal Uitlanders.

31. At Bulawayo the first sod of the Northern Extension Railway turned amid general rejoicings.

JUNE.

1. Major Marchand and his companions of the Fashoda expedition arrived in Paris, and were received with boundless enthusiasm, the route from the station to the Military Club being decked with flags.

A resolution prohibiting the use of the dum-dum bullet adopted by the Disarmament Commission of the Peace Conference at the Hague by eighteen to three votes-Great Britain, Austria and Italy.

At Cambridge the jubilee of Professor Sir George Stokes as Lucasian Professor, celebrated by the university, a gold medal and a medal from the French Institute were also presented to him.

2. The Queen Regent of Spain at the opening of the Cortes announced the cession to Germany of the Ladrones and Caroline Islands, the last relics of the Spanish colonial empire. The price to be paid was 25,000,000 pesetas (875,000l.).

At Epsom the Oak Stakes won by an outsider, Mr. Douglas Baird's Musa (O. Madden) defeating the favourite, Lord W. Beresford's Sibola (T. Sloan) by a head. Twelve ran.

Major Esterhazy communicated to the Times and Daily Chronicle an avowal that he had written the bordereau by order of Colonel Sandherr.

An extraordinary railway accident occurred to the BerlinFlushing express. When reaching the latter station the pneumatic brakes would not act, the engine dashed through the station and the refreshment room, breaking down two walls, and causing the death of two post officials, and Mdlle. Roth, daughter of the Swiss Minister at Berlin, and delegate to the Hague Conference.

3. At Paris the Court of Cassation unanimously quashed the judgment and annulled the sentence passed upon Alfred Dreyfus in 1894, and sent him to be tried again before a court martial at Rennes.

The first test cricket match between the Australians and England played at Nottingham, resulting in a draw.

The trackmen's strike on the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada ended in an understanding to refer the wages question to arbitration. 4. M. Loubet, President of the French Republic, whilst attending the Auteuil races made the object of a hostile demonstration, and personally assaulted in a dastardly manner by members of the Jeunesse Royaliste, and other fashionable and reactionary clubs.

5. The centenary of the Royal Institution of Great Britain celebrated, the Prince of Wales occupying the chair.

In the House of Commons the resolution granting 30,000l. to Lord Kitchener in recognition of his services in the Soudan, passed by 393 to 51 votes.

In Paris the Ministry after some discussion decided to adopt severe measures against those who had attempted to pervert the course of justice in the Dreyfus case.