NEWS OF THE WEEK.
KINGSTON, the capital of Jamaica, founded by the Bur- vivors of the earthquake which ruined Port Royal in 1692, and the most prosperous and important town in the British West Indies, has now in its turn been devastated by a similar calamity. As in the case of San Francisco, the damage done by the earthquake, which took place on Monday afternoon, was aggravated by outbreaks of fire, and the death-roll is estimated at not less than seven hundred, including, besides many promi- nent citizens, Sir James Fergusson, a gallant Crimean veteran, who served his country with distinction in India and the Colonies, sat in Parliament off and on for fifty years, and held various Ministerial offices in Conservative Administrations between 1860-1892. A large party of distinguished British visitors were visiting the island at the time of the earthquake ; but, with the lamentable exception already noted, none are reported missing.
