contention in the courts with the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad Company. The tunnel company has come out victorious in the litigations, and nothing now lies in the way of the enterprise. The works were begun a long time ago, and now will probably be pushed forward to a speedy completion. The capital stock of the company is to be $15,000,000, of which, it is said, $10,000,000 has already been subscribed; Senator Jones, of Nevada, is said to be an active promoter of the enterprise. The project was first advanced by D. C. Haskin, of New York, who is the president of the corporation. The beginning of the work was the sinking of a vertical shaft lined with brick masonry of three or four feet thickness, having a diameter of 30 feet, in Jersey City, at the junction of Jersey Avenue and Fifteenth Street. When the shaft shall have been sunk to the depth of 65 feet, the horizontal cutting will be commenced. The direction of the tunnel will be northeast and southwest. It will have a length of about two miles; the terminus on the New York side will be near Washington Square. It will descend from both ends toward the centre in a gradient of two feet in 100. The diameter of the tunnel is to be 26 feet. Its roof will be nowhere less than 35 feet below the bottom of the river, so that there will be no danger from the anchorage of vessels. Little blasting will be required, and the two or three veins of rock which will have to be penetrated are of soft substance; the first vein of rock to be encountered crops up about 1,100 feet from the New York side. After a few feet of the lateral tunnel shall have been excavated, an iron cylinder will be introduced, in which the workmen will be protected when driving forward the tunnel. The cylinder will have hinged doors, and be provided with an apparatus and tubes for introducing compressed air from the surface.

There is a proposal to carry a telegraphic wire across the African Continent, from Khartoom, where there is telegraphic communication with Alexandria, at a distance of 1,100 miles, to Delagoa Bay, the terminus of the Cape lines. The distance between these points is 2,300 miles; but extensions are in progress which will shorten it to 1,500 miles. It is suggested that the trees might be utilized as telegraph-poles, and that depredations of the natives, who might covet the valuable iron of the wires, might be prevented.

The Dutch Government have issued proposals for the improvement of the harbor at Batavia, the capital of the island of Java and of their East Indian possessions. The only communication between the town and the present harbor, which has an excellent roadstead, has been by a canal 8 or 10 feet deep at low tide. The present accommodations are entirely insufficient for the large steamers which are employed in the Oriental trade, since the opening of the Suez Canal. It is therefore proposed to construct a new harbor

at Tandjong-Priok, to be formed by two breakwaters, 1,963 and 1,743 metres in length respectively, and rising 2 and 1 metres above low-water mark, with two inner harbors, of which only one is to be constructed for the present, each having a length of 1,100 metres, and a basin 73 metres deep and 175 metres in width. The entrance to the outer harbor will be 250 metres wide and 8 metres deep at low water. There will be 1,500 metres of quay, and a channel 50 metres wide leading to a coaling station. Between the harbor and Batavia a canal, five miles long, and a railroad, are to be built. The cost of the entire works will be $15,000,000; but for the portion to be constructed forthwith the estimate is something more then half that amount.

The first wire carried across between the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge was fastened on the 22d of September. This great work, after seven years of labor and the expenditure of $6,750,000, is still a long way from completion. The entire estimated cost of the completed structure is now set at about $11,250,000, or more than double the original estimate.

The contract for the construction of the proposed railroad-bridge at Poughkeepsie, over the Hudson River, has been taken by the American Bridge Company, of Chicago. The main part over the water will consist of five spans of 525 feet each between the centres of the piers, whose breadth will be 25 feet. The bridge will be of the description called the undergrade or deck bridge, and will have two tracks and sidewalks, and an under and upper deck, the latter carrying the two railroad-tracks, and the other a carriage-way of 16 feet clear. width. Each span is to have two trusses, 25 feet between centres, of the rectangular description, with double intersections; the material will be iron and steel combined. The trusses are to be 58 feet high, and the top of the piers 135 feet above high-water mark, so that the elevation of the track above the river at high tide will be 193 feet. The approach on the west side of the river will have one span of 160 feet, formed by two trusses, 30 feet in height. The long approach on the other side, extending across the town, will be composed, as far as Water Street, of iron trestling, formed by three post-bents strongly braced, and four lines of stringers of iron lattice, making spans of 20 to 60 feet. Across the Hudson River Railroad grounds, Water Street and Dutchess Avenue, will be two spans of 25 feet depth. Beyond, as far as the oppo site side of Tallmadge Street, where the approach ends, will be iron trestling, except at the crossings of Tallmadge and Delafield Streets, over which will be made two 90-feet spans. The entire length of the bridge and approaches will be 4,500 feet. The plan of the bridge proper is a suspended girder, with parallel and cradled cables, and two decks. The girder, 1,680 feet in length, will be of wrought-iron. The supporting towers will also be of wrought

track will have eight columns 80 feet high and 11 feet in diameter. Each chamber in the lower tower will have twelve saddles and two pairs of compensating levers. These and their attachments will be carried by a frame that extends in both directions across the saddlechambers and over the heads of all the columns of the tower. All the parts of the saddles and the lever attachments for the stay system will be worked in together upon this frame; and so that the parts will move together sufficiently to compensate the expansion and contraction of the main back-stays beyond what the tower itself sustains. The saddles will move by steel rollers upon steel faces under the carryingframe. The anchorage of the cables will be in the solid rock at both ends. It is expected that this bridge will pave the way for a new railroad to the West, with a route between New York and Chicago only 921 miles long, a saving of 50 miles over any existing line.

A new bridge is to be constructed at Montreal, about four miles from the Victoria Bridge, which is to be called the Royal Albert Bridge, and will be the longest structure of the kind in the world. Its whole length, including the portion built over the land, will be 15,500 feet, almost exactly three miles. It will start from the level of Sherbrooke Street in Montreal, and pass through the town at the height of about 90 feet, with distances of 150 VOL. XVI.-17 A

to 200 feet between the piers. Between the city and St. Helen's Island, whose centre is of the same elevation as the roadway of the bridge, there will be six spans of lattice, one of 550 feet and the rest of 300 feet. The roadway will have but a single track; but on the island side-tracks and a crossing-station will be made. From the centre of this island to the water's edge four spans of 240 feet will be required. On the other side of the island there will be twenty-one spans of 200 feet to the other channel, and over that five spans of 200 feet, the roadway on this side having a falling gradient of 1:100. On the lower side of the river embankments will be made, and connections established with the Montreal, Portland & Boston, and the Grand Trunk Railroads. At the other end there will be a junction with the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa & Occidental Railway; the distance between the two junetions is five and a half miles. In the navigable channel the piers, which will be like those of the Victoria Bridge, with heavy ice-breakers, will have to be put down with caissons, in a channel 40 feet deep, where the current is seven miles an hour. The superstructure will be of iron lattice-work, each pier being crossed by four girders, placed 18 and 14 feet apart; between the inner girders will be two street-car tracks; between them and the outer girders will be the roadways for teams, and on pro

jecting cantilevers outside will be suspended two walks for pedestrians. Upon an upper boom, 15 feet above the street-car track, will be the railway track, and on each side of it a roadway for carriages. The height of the upper floor will be 200 feet above the water. The estimated cost is $5,000,000. The maximum load which the bridge is calculated to bear is 12,500 pounds per lineal foot.

The Gilbert Elevated Railroad Company, after long contentions in the courts, is now in a position to complete its line of elevated steam-railway for rapid transit in New York City. The route is from the Battery, through College Place, West Broadway, South Fifth Avenue, Amity Street, and up Sixth Avenue. Upon some portions of the line the supports have been erected for some time. The structure consists of two rows of iron columns standing in the street, supporting parallel girders, which are connected at intervals by crossgirders, and having longitudinal floor-beams. The outer girders rise above the track so as to be a protection in case of accidents; the upper surface of their top-beams being on about the same level as the car and landing platforms. The Sixth Avenue columns will be 37 feet apart lengthwise, and 23 feet distant across, from centre to centre. The parts of the columns will be two channel-bars, 9 by 24 by inches; two plates, 12 by inches; a plate fastened to the foot; and four pieces of angleiron bars. The girders are pinned trusses, 6 feet deep, and 5 feet 6 inches distance between the centres of the pins; the upper and lower chords are composed of two channel - bars, united by iron plates. Each span of the longitudinal girder has four panels. The crossgirders are made up of plates, 24 inches deep by of an inch in thickness. At the junction of Amity Street and Sixth Avenue there will be a curve of 90 feet radius, and at South Fifth Avenue and Amity Street another like curve. Fifty-two feet in a mile will be the steepest grade. In Amity Street, College Place, and West Broadway the posts are to be placed on the sidewalk, and in Sixth and South Fifth Avenues in the roadway. The cross-ties will be 19 feet 6 inches long, and will be placed 18 inches apart. Outside each line of rails longitudinal timbers will be bolted, letting down upon the cross-ties on the outside. The total load which the structure is calculated to support is 15,000 pounds per foot on each track. The stations will be situated at the intersections of streets to the number of two per mile. The stationplatforms will be level with the car-floors, and 160 feet at least in length. The station-buildings will have iron frames, and will be roofed and sided with galvanized sheets of corrugated iron. The tracks are of steel, weighing 56 pounds per yard.

ESQUIROS, HENRI ALPHONSE, a French writer and politician, born in 1814; died May 14, 1876. In 1834 he made his début as a writer with a volume of poems, entitled "Les

Hirondelles," which attracted but little attention. This was followed by two novels, “Le Magicien" (1837), and “Charlotte Corday (1840). At the same time he published, under the title of "Evangile du Peuple" (1840), a philosophical and radical commentary on the life of Jesus, for which he was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs. During his imprisonment he wrote another volume of poems, "Les Chants d'un Prisonnier," and 1841-42 published three small socialistic works. After the Revolution of 1848 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the department of Saône-etLoire. Having made himself prominent by radical views, he was among those deputies who were expelled after December 2, 1851, when he went to England. In 1869, having returned to France, he was elected to the Corps Législatif from the department Bouchesdu-Rhône, where he sat on the extreme Left. After September 4, 1870, he administered for a time the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, but, having disagreed with the Government at Tours, he was removed from office. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly, and in 1876 a Senator from Bouches-du-Rhône, taking his place on both occasions with the extreme Left. Besides the works mentioned above, he wrote "L'Histoire des Montagnards" (1847), "L'Enule du XIXme Siècle," "La Vie future au Point de Vue socialiste (1857), "La Vie des Animaux," etc.

EUROPE. The area of Europe, according to the latest dates (see Behm and Wagner, Bevölkerung der Erde, iv., Gotha, 1876), was estimated at 3,823,378 square miles (against 3,824,456 in 1875), and the aggregate population at 309,178,000, against 302,972,000 in 1875. The transfer of 6.59 square miles from Switzerland to Italy has changed the area of these two countries, and new calculations have been made for several other countries. Gains of population are found chiefly in Germany, and in Austro-Hungary, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, Roumania, and Servia, where new estimates were substituted. The figures of 1875 and 1876 compare as follows:

The Eastern war-cloud which hung over Europe during 1875 continued during the year 1876, and at one time threatened to lead to a general European war. The insurrection in the Herzegovina spread over the whole of Bosnia in the early part of the year. All attempts at pacification failed, the insurgents steadily refusing all propositions of the foreign powers as well as of the Turkish Government. On July 1st, Servia, which had for a long time threatened to make the cause of the insurgents her own, declared war against Turkey, and was shortly afterward followed by Montenegro. But, although the Servians were aided by Russian volunteers, and contributions of arms and money, they were repeatedly defeated by the Turks, so that Servia was forced to invoke the aid of Russia to secure an armistice of two months. The Government of Turkey, in the mean while, had undergone considerable changes. On May 30th the Sultan, Abdul-Aziz, was dethroned by the Sheik-ul-Islam, and was succeeded by his nephew, Murad V., who in turn was removed by the Council of Ministers on August 31st, and was replaced by his brother Abdul-Hamid II. These proceedings had produced a deep impression in the other countries of Europe, particularly in England and Russia. In the former country the excesses committed by the Bashi-Bazouks, the irregular troops of Turkey, in Bosnia and Bulgaria, created a storm of indignation, and called forth a decidedly hostile feeling to the Turks among all classes of the population. Finally, in the latter part of the year, the English Government proposed to the other powers of Europe that a conference be held at Constantinople to settle all questions arising out of the war. Russia, after having in every possible manner aided the Servians, and after a threatening speech from the Czar, was obliged to accede to this proposition, and the conference met at Constantinople on December 12th. The Governments of both England and Russia, however, had previously ordered the mobilization of parts of their armies.

In accordance with the provisions of the new constitution, the elections in France for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies took place in the beginning of the year, the Republicans gaining a decisive victory in both. The prime-minister, Buffet, resigned immediately after the election, as he had been defeated in four different districts, and he was replaced by M. Dufaure. The most important questions

discussed in the early part of the year were the amnesty questions and the university bill. The latter, which provided that the state universities should have the sole right of conferring degrees, was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, but was rejected by the Senate. In the latter part of the year the interment question led to a ministerial crisis, in consequence of which Jules Simon replaced M. Dufaure as prime-minister. With regard to the Oriental question, the Duc Decazes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared on November 3d that it was necessary for France to preserve peace, and it would not interfere in the Oriental question until its most vital interests demanded it.

In Austro-Hungary the Oriental question caused considerable trouble. On the one hand, the Slavic subjects of Austria showed their sympathy for their oppressed brethren in the Turkish provinces in many ways. On the other hand, the Hungarians, partly on account of their hostility to everything Slavic, and partly through race-affinities (being besides the Turks the chief representatives of the Mongolian race in Europe), were entirely in sympathy with the Turks. Several demonstrations to this effect occurred in Hungary, which were suppressed with considerable difficulty. The conflict between the Government and the Catholic Church continued during 1876. The marriage law which was passed by the Reichsrath was disliked by the bishops. The monastic association law, after being passed by both Houses, was not signed by the Emperor, but the ministry declared that the Government would bring in a new bill in a different form. The differences between the two parts of the empire were brought to a close in May by a treaty in which all points except the bank question were satisfactorily settled. The latter continued to be a source of trouble, and was the cause of a panic.

The Royal Title's Bill was, next to the Eastern question, the most important subject discussed in England in 1876. The object of this bill was to give to the Queen the additional title of Empress of India, and thus strengthen the English hold upon the natives of India. The difficulties with China were brought to a close this year, after having threatened at a time to lead to a war, the Chinese Government making some important concessions. An animated discussion of the extradition treaty between England and the United States threatened for a time to overthrow the Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

In Germany.the war of the Government with the Roman Catholic bishops continued during the year. The Bishops of Münster and Paderborn, and the Archbishop of Cologne, were removed from their offices, and only saved themselves by flight from imprisonment. The Arnim affair, or rather the conflict between Prince Bismarck and his former embassador in Paris, Count Harry von Arnim, came to an