lons per day to the Metropolitan District. The dam site is distant about thirty-five miles from Boston. The water will be conducted through an immense aqueduct that tunnels hills and bridges rivers a distance of 13.48 miles, till it reaches a point where it enters the basin of a part of the present supply system of Boston. The surface of the new reservoir will be 385 feet above high-water mark in Boston harbor. The dam will be across a narrow gorge near Clinton, a maximum distance of 1,250 feet, and a maximum height of 149 feet. The Mayflower Log."-In response to a petition presented by Mr. Bayard, American ambassador to England, in behalf of the president and people of the United States, the ecclesiastical court at St. Paul's in London, England, on March 25, ordered the delivery to Mr. Bayard for transfer to some final place of safe keeping in the United States, of the manuscript commonly spoken of as the "log" of the Mayflower. The conditions of the transfer were that persons desiring certified copies of entries might obtain them at reasonable cost, and that certified copies of the manuscript should be deposited in the library of Fulham Palace, the residence of the Bishop of London, where the original had lain for over forty years. The return of the manuscript to the United States follows upon the efforts of the government of Massachusetts, the American Antiquarian and Massachusetts Historical Societies, the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, and the New England Society of New York; and had the support in England of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London. Though spoken of as a "log," the manuscript really covers the history of the Plymouth colony from 1602 to 1646, with several anno tations and additions made in later years. It was written by William Bradford, the second governor of the colony, and was handed down in his family through at least four generations. The volume is bound in old vellum, with " America" written on the back in ink, and, with the exception of a few fly leaves, is in excellent condition, the text being everywhere clear and legible. In some 270 closely written pages, it tells not only the story of the voyage of the Mayflower, but of the events in England and Holland which preceded its sailing. It also covers incidents in the later history of the colony extending over nearly forty years from the time of the landing on Plymouth Rock. It contains a register of births, marriages, and deaths, and many items relating to the property of the descendants of the Pilgrims. The history of the manuscript is related thus: From a book-plate contained in the volume, we learn that the manuscript belonged to the New England Library, "begun to be collected by Thomas Prince, July 6, 1703." This library was deposited by Prince in the steeple chamber of the Old South Church in Boston, and, after many vicissitudes, in the year 1866, was transferred in trust to the Boston Public Library. But the ancient library was not complete. Not only Governor Bradford's history, but other works of great value, had been transferred to England. How they got there is a matter of conjecture. It has been suggested that the Bradford manuscript may have been among the possessions of Thomas Hutchinson, who was the last colonial governor of Massachusetts, when they were scattered by the mob in 1765, or may have been preserved by him and taken back to England. It is more likely, however, that it was appropriated from the steeple chamber when the Old South was occupied by British troops during the siege of Boston in 1775-6, and carried to England after the evacuation. The only proof that such a work ever existed was found in quotations from it in the books of Morton, Prince, Hutchinson, and other early historical writers. It was discovered in 1855 in the Fulham library by the Bishop of Oxford, who was writing a history of the Episcopal Church in America. Rev. John S. Barry secured a copy of this church history in Boston, and recognized some quotations credited to "a manuscript in Fulham library" as identical with quotations which Morton and Prince credited to Governor Bradford's history. The clew was followed up; and by a comparison with other manuscripts known to belong to Governor Bradford the identity of the Mayflower history was established. Miscellaneous.-A decision by the court of appeals at Albany, N. Y., January 19, in the litigation over the famous Fayerweather will (Vol. 4, p. 849; Vol. 5, p. 981), settled one disputed point, that the three trustees-Bulkeley, Ritch, and Vaughan-are only trustees and not residuary legatees, and, as trustees, will have fulfilled their obligations to the testator when they have executed the rulings of the court relative to the case. In other words, they have no power to divide the estate in any other way than is specified in the will. The decision is confirmatory of the victory already won in behalf of the twenty colleges named in the will, which claim an equal share in the residue of about $3,000,000; but further litigation has already been begun in behalf of the widow and relatives. A novel incident, which has excited much animated discussion in religious circles, occurred in Philadelphia, Penn., on January 29-namely, the unveiling and blessing, in the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Evangelist, of the first portrait of King Charles I. of England to be enshrined in any church in this country. The portrait was unveiled by Bishop Coleman of Delaware, and the prayer of blessing included these words: "Bless, we beseech Thee, our work in setting up to Thy glory in this Thy house a likeness of Thy servant and martyr, Charles; and grant that all they that visit this temple may be moved by the sight thereof to a faithful copying of his constancy even unto death." Bishop Perry of Iowa preached on the occasion. Bishops Seymour of Springfield, Ill., and Nicholson of Milwaukee, Wis., sent formal blessings; and letters of sympathetic regret were received from several other bishops and clergymen. The ceremony has frequently taken place in England, where Charles was canonized after the Restoration, and where his day was kept for more than a century. In 1859, however, Queen Victoria, with the help of parliament, abolished the service for his day, removed his prayer from the Prayer Book, and took his name off the saints' calendar. It is held by those who look upon Charles as a martyr, that he might have saved his life if he had agreed to abolish the episcopacy His constancy in this respect is supposed to be the occasion of the reference in the prayer quoted above. Perhaps the most costly and brilliant social function ever witnessed in America was the fancy-dress ball given by Mrs. Bradley Martin at the Waldorf hotel in New York city, February 10. Over 1,500 invitations were issued, and about 800 were present, all in costumes of the 16th, 17th, or 18th centuries. The Rev. Dr. Rainsford, of St. George's church, had, in an interview, condemned the ball as ostentatious, untimely on account of the prevailing distress, calculated to set the poor against the rich, and of evil example altogether. This started a discussion in which the newspapers, the pulpits, and the public generally engaged, with the usual division of opinion. By the will of William Lampson, president of the Bank of Leroy, who died in Leroy, N. Y., February 14, Yale University received a bequest of about $1,000,000. Mr. Lampson was a graduate of Yale, class of '65. On February 22 a proclamation was issued by President Cleveland, establishing thirteen forest preserves along the mountain divides from Montana to southern California. They aggregate 21,000,000 acres, and are designed chiefly to protect water sources, but partly also to preserve untouched forests. Another steel bridge has been constructed over the gorge of the Niagara river, at a cost of about $500,000. It is built immediately under the old suspension bridge, and its construction did not interrupt traffic on the latter. It has a span of 550 feet between the end piers; and a trussed span at each end 115 feet long connects the arch with the bluff. The total length of the bridge, with its approaches, is over 1,100 feet, and the centre of the arch is over 226 feet above the water. There are two decks or floors. On the upper floor are two railway tracks; and on the lower floor there is a wide central carriageway and room for a double trolley track, and sidewalks on each side. The width on the top is fifty feet. The lower floor is fifty-seven feet wide. Six million pounds of steel were used in the construction of the bridge, and the load it is designed to carry is enormous. Messrs. Harland & Wolff, the Belfast (Ireland) shipbuilders, have received from the White Star Line a contract for the construction of a passenger steamship, to be named the Oceanic, whose dimensions will exceed those of any other vessel hitherto built. The Oceanic will be 704 feet long. The lengths of some other mammoth ships are as follows: Great Eastern, 680 feet between perpendiculars; City of Rome, Anchor Line, 561 feet over all; Campania, Cunard Line, 620 feet over all; Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, building, North German Lloyd Line, 649 feet 6 inches; Pennsylvania, Hamburg-American Line, 558 feet. CANADA. Manitoba School Question.-A Papal Delegate Appointed. The appointment of a papal delegate to inquire into the differences which have arisen between the bishops and the liberal laity of the Roman Catholic Church, as to how far the discipline of the Roman Church makes it incumbent upon the hierarchy to interfere in political or politico-religious matters such as the Manitoba school question, is the most significant incident of the quarter in Dominion politics. It is expected that the report of the delegate to Pope Leo XIII. on the educational conditions existing in Manitoba and the political situation as affecting the church elsewhere, will be followed by a decision. on the part of the supreme pontiff that will finally set at rest the present factional dispute within the church, which, though primarily concerning Catholics, and Catholics alone, is of the deepest interest to all denominations and must apparently have a most important bearing upon the development of constitutional government as established in Canada. The delegate, it is to be remembered, has not come to Canada to settle officially the Manitoba school question. That controversy will be left, so far as his report is directly concerned, in statu quo,—a matter for adjustment by Canadians themselves through the courts or other constitutional means. The delegate, or rather the Holy See basing its action upon his report, it is presumed, will merely dispose of a controversy within the church, in which outsiders have not the slightest right to interfere. If any other results shall follow from the visit of the delegate, they were apparently not contemplated by those who sought at Rome to have a delegate appointed, nor were they within his official instructions. It is difficult to gather from the newspaper reports an exact account of the incidents which were the immediate occasion of the appointment of Monsignor Merry del Val. The appointment was not made in response to an official appeal from M. Laurier, or from any member or members of the present government acting in their ministerial capac ity: no such official appeal was made. It followed as a result of representations made to the Pope by prominent individuals of the liberal party acting in their capacity as private citizens and as sons of the church, who felt that the actions of certain members of the hierarchy in the general elections of last year and in regard to the subsequent Manitoba school settlement," were calculated to deprive them of civil rights and liberties whose full enjoyment they considered to be perfectly consistent with the rightful discharge of all their duties as children of the church. As long ago as last October the movement looking to procuring the appointment of a delegate from Rome had been begun. An appeal to the Pope for consideration of alleged grievances, was signed by forty-five liberal members of the house of commons and senate, in part as follows: "To His Holiness Leo XIII.:-Most Holy Father, -We, the undersigned members of the senate and members of the house of commons of Canada, and representing therein the liberal party, present ourselves before your Holiness as respectful and devoted children of the holy church to complain of the existence of a state of things which, if allowed to continue, might be extremely dangerous to the constitutional liberties of this country as well as to the interests of the church itself. Your Holiness has already been made aware of the conduct and attitude of certain prelates and of certain members of the secular clergy, who, during the general elections in this country, in the month of June last, intervened in a violent manner in restraint of electoral freedom, taking sides openly for the conservative party against the liberal party, and going so far as to declare guilty of grievous sin those of the electors who would vote for the candidates of the liberal party. Sincerely attached to the institutions of our country, which insure to us Catholics the most complete liberty, we respectfully represent to your Holiness that these democratic institutions under which we live and for which your Holiness has many times expressed sentiments of admiration and confidence, can only exist under a perfect electoral freedom. *The priest is a citizen, and we would not for a single instant deprive him of the right of expressing his opinion on any matter submitted to the electorate; but when the exercise of that right develops into violence, and when that violence in the name of religion goes to the extent of making a grievous sin out of a purely political act, there is an abuse of authority of which the consequences cannot but be fatal, not only to constitutional liberty, but to religion itself. * Some twenty years ago his Holiness Pius IX. deemed it his duty to put a stop to certain abuses of a similar character, and forbade the intervention of the clergy in politics. We beg that your Holiness will renew in our behalf the most wise prescriptions and prohibitions of your predecessor, protect the consciences of the Catho lic electors, and thus secure peace in our country by the union of re ligion and liberty. * * * * * * * * L'Abbé Proulx, it will be remembered, had visited Rome after the elections of last June (Vol. 6, p. 660); but the general public has had little light as to the details of his |