Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/497

 1899.] OHBONICLE. 73

7. H.M.S. Tyne, a screw troopship, en route from Sheerness to Malta, grounded on Bern bridge Ledge off the Isle of Wight in a fog.

8. The Irish mail train (North Western Railway), while travelling at a high rate of speed, was partially derailed between Madeley and Stafford by a bale of wool supposed to have fallen from a luggage train. One passenger was killed and several seriously injured.

— Signor Palizzolo, a Sicilian deputy, and chief of the Mafia, arrested at Palermo on the charge of being implicated in the murder in a railway train in 1893 of Signor Notarbartolo.

9. A disastrous fire broke out in Exeter Street, Strand, and destroyed a large block of buildings occupied as printing offices of the Ballantyne Press, etc., and did much damage to the neighbouring premises. In the evening still greater damage was done near King's Cross, where the timber yard of Messrs. Haggis and the adjoining premises were destroyed by fire.

— A portion of the roadway of the Champs Elys^es under which the new Metropolitan Railway was being constructed gave way, carry- ing with it gas-lamps, seats, etc.

10. General Gat acre met with a serious reverse in an attack upon the Boer position at Storm berg. Misled by his guides, he found himself before an impregnable position, and was obliged to retreat, leaving nearly 700 prisoners in the hands of the enemy.

11. In the German Reichsrath, the Chancellor, Prince Hoheniohe, read a statement declaring the intention of the Government to double the existing German Navy in the ensuing sixteen years at a cost of 783,000,000 marks, to be raised by loans.

— A bomb exploded in a theatre at Murcia during the perform- ance, and set fire to the theatre, which was completely burned down, but the audience escaped without loss of life.

— A collision took place on the Midland Railway at Wortley Junction, Leeds, an express train being run into by a mineral train which had jumped the cross-over points. Two passengers were killed and others injured.

— General Lord Methuen attacked a strongly entrenched position at Magersfontein held by 12,000, and after several hours' hard fighting was unable to dislodge his opponents, subsequently falling back on Modder River.

12. The freight-ship Denton Orange, with stores and remounts for the Cape, grounded on the rocks at Las Pal mas, Canaries, and the transport Rapidan grounded in the roadstead off Cape Town.

13. At the annual meeting of the general committee of the National Liberal Federation a resolution was passed, after much discussion, in favour of prosecuting the war vigorously, but deploring the conduct of the preceding negotiations.

— At Queen's Club the Inter-University Football Match (Rugby rules) was won by Cambridge by two goals and four tries to nothing.