(prox ovk OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
Mr. Blaine has declined to run for President, This decision has caused sincere regret on the part of his friends, and the Republican party will scarcely tind another candidate so strony as he would be. Pr sident Harrison is now spoken of as the next" bust ian, but it is early for prognosfications, "The Democrats are making gre efforts in favour of Governor Hill of New York, but it is by no means obvious that he is' their strongest man, Cleveland has still a strong backing. The newspapers and local politicians are proposing new candidates all the time, in a complimenta: manner no doubt. 'The latest is ex-senator Blair who was recently appointed, minister to Peking, and Mr. Blair has' actually expressed his readiness to accept the office of President of it should be offered him, about the most unlikely thing imaginable.
There seems to be a yrowing impression Mr. Blaine may yet be inclined to accept the nomination, but this is not based upon any stronger grounds than the wording vf his letter declining it, which some good Republicans do not regard as quite so positive it might be.
A Dill has been introduced in Congress to incorporate an International American Bank with a capital of $5,000,000, which may be increased to $25,000,000. ° The are to be twenty-five Directors, fifteen of whom shall be citizens of the United States. The principal office is to be in New York or Washington and there are to be eight branches in this country and as many others as necessary in Mexico, South and Central America, the West Indies, ete. The bank eunnot be incorporesed until 50,000 shar are subscribed for and 25 per cent. paid down.
The present aspect of silver legislation is not entirely encouraging. The free-coinage majority in the lower house will only be restrained from passing a free eoinaye bill by possible considerations of party polic The truth seems to be that the Democrats are afraid to make the free silver bil prominent subject of discussion in the Pr sidential campaign. They. would prefer if they could to get it passed and out of the way immediately, with as little notice as possible and make their great fight on the tariff. It is said that a proposition has emanated from the administration to the effect that if the Senate will engage to defeat the bill, the President will call fo international silver conference. This, in view of the possibility that otherwise the Senate might, as some believe, pass a free coinage bill, The Senate has passed a bill, introduced. by Senator Dolph, to regulate Chinese immigration. It merely continues in force all existing laws prohibiting and regulating the coming of Chinese to this country, for a period of ten years. Several other bills relative to the subject are before Congress, notably a very elaborate one which would absolutely exclude Chinese persons of every rank or condition, except accredited government officers, even for purposes of transit.
The form which this legislation will finally take is uncertain, but it is to be hoped that the bill of Senator Dolph will pass the House and become a law, because it is the least objectionable of all to the Chinese.
Now that Congress has gone off almost in a body to visit the people in Chicago who would like to get a trifle of $5,000,000 for the World's Fair, your correspondent tinds it a convenient opportunity to send you a' few rambling notes on the progress of discovery and the practical applications of scientific knowledge in this progressive land.
The application of electricity as a motive power has made ritest wonderful advances within the past two or three years. The Falls of Niagara have long been regarded as source of power, and many have been the schemes proposed to utilise it. I remember how it was once thought to transmit this power by belts and pulleys for considerable distances; butevery plan has found objectors, and even when it was first suggested to bring it by electrical conductors to New York City, it was deemed impracticable, because there uch a loss of energy on long lines. To-day itis different. Electricity can be transtuitted economically to almost any distance, and enormous works are under way and well advanced to produce electricity at the Falls, and distribute it to be used for innumerable purposes. Thus science and mechanical ingenuity are at work to utilise the vast stores of energy in nature for the prosperity and comfort of ma Perhaps the most remarkable use of electricity is for welding iron. I was told of a practical demonstration of this the other day by an eye witness, Two. bars of about six inches in section were brought end to end, the current turned on and in a few moments the ends seemed to melt together and, with a little hammering, the two bars became one. As the operate proceeded the men I they would any piece of cold metal, regardless of the tremendous electrical energy manifested at the point of juncture.
Electric motor cars on tramways are growing rapidly in favour. The most successful lines at present run with overhead it h bring the electricity from the At Vancouver such a line miles, eight miles in one direction from the source of energy. This, I believe is the longest continuous line in existence. We have two such roads in Washington. One gets a very. strong impression of the great power of the invisible current, which comes so mysteriously along the wire, by standing over the motor beneath the car when" the floor is up, so that one may see the swift buzang armatures revolve. The heavy car moves up a steep grade apparently as easily as over level ground.
It is still more remarkable to see a car on an ordin suddenly start off on its own volition, as it were, and proceed on a journey without any obvious motive power. It is an uncanny thing like spooks and table tipping. We have some such ears in. ud T never see the Blessed things wf on so strangely without some such impression. Their motive power is an electric storage Iattery carried beneath each car. This is charged at a station along the read and runs the ears at good rate of speed. The economy of this plan has yet to be fully demonstrated, but the cars "do move " and this is a great point gained, The question has been asked me whether such electric motor cars could not be introduced in China and Japan. I wonder what, the stolid Chinaman would think of them anyhow! The people residing at Pekin would surely like to have an experimental line to Tientsin; but perhaps the old Woosung railway bed could be utilised for a more profitable experiment, or the Emperor himself might like to geta motor for his private railway ye A cable from California to China is in contemplation. The U.S.S. Albatross has completed two series of soundings between the California coast and the Hawaiian Islands, which demonstrate the practicability of the route, and we may look forward to early realisation of the great enterprise.
Buta far greater undertaking of a similar nature has been the subject of discussion from time to time among scientific men. It is estimated that a signal about 85 miles in diameter displayed by the inhabitants of the planet Mars, would be visible to us with our large telescopes. It is supposed that the planet is inhabited by people whose astronomical knowledge is greater than ours. It is therefore possible that they have been trying to communicate with us for a long time, There are certain difficulties about this inter-planetary telegraphy, but it affords an interesting field for speculation, and for the scientific use of the imagination, One of the leading men of science in this country, Prof. 8. P. Langley, has long been interested in the subject of flying through the air, and he has been closely engaged in designing a flying machine which is intended to illustrate the physical principles involved in flight, Some credulous persons suppose that he is constructing a machine which he will some day carry up to the top of the Smithsonian tower and himself sour away like a bird into the ethenol blue, It isneediess to say that he has no such high aspirations. But the machine will doubtless soar on its own account and risk.
Mr. B. E. Firnow has published a pamphlet entitled What is Forestry 2" which contains some most surprising statements of the enormous value of forest products, He tells us that the annual product of wood material consumed in the United States is $1,000,000,000 representing 25,000,000,000 cubic feet of wood, or an annual increase of the wood growth of 500,000,000 acres of forest. This value exceeds ten times our gold and silver output, three times the product of all our mineral and coal mines together, three times the value of our wheat crop, and about one quarter that of our entire' agricultural product.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.