5 ' mei il ere al = See Re A em to CeERMS Five Dottars A Yrar, NEW SERIES, CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1883. s=s-asaocanssnnnoepsenettnestocnsseanarnanmanendlpiteessanannennensetinedtittltllinenann=n-anmnanncatangssass>™™> tensa -aS=cce pee aa eenepeguaeineeeipeasansaegpenennempaliagienaatmsaapenanaypeas “ This is true Liberty, when Free-born Men, having to advise the Public, may speak free,”’—Evxtrrmss. ee SINGLE Copres Two CENTS. VOL. 14.-—NO, 8 fus Dairy Examiner Merchants’ Bank of Halifay, heres oneaires tt CHARLOTTETOWN ACENCY, Savings Bank Department, The Kxaminer Publishing © From théir office, corner of Water and Great George Str ets, Charlottetown, —WILL BE— Vrince Edward Island, . ower oe OPENED IST NiVEMBER, 1883, RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION : on and after which date DEPOSITS OF $6 Six Months, $2 50 AND UPWARDS, will be taken and rhree Mouths, 1 26 interest at the rate of Month, ° - ° 0 50 . . ‘ Four Per Cent. Per Annum ALLOWED THEREON, For further particulars apply to F. H. ARNAUD, Oct. 30, 1883, AGENT. na Advertising at most moderate rates. Contracts may be ‘made for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly advertise- ments, on application. ALMANAC FOR NOVEMBER, 1883. | McLEOD, MORSON & McQUARRIE, | Barristers & Attorns;s-at-Law, SOLICITORS, NOTARIES PUBLIC, ET { San Sua | Moon High Days OFFICES : MOONS CHANGES, First Quarter, 7th day, 7h. 51.9m., a m, Full Moon, 14th day, 2h. 24.5m., p. m. Last quarter 2ist day, 3h. 31.1m., a. m. New Moon 29th day, 2h, 41.7m., p. m. M J /AY OF WEEK ; —wa we rises |sets | rises | water | len’h. | hm jh m morn afta | nxeform Club Committee Rooms, Opposite Post | Office, Charlottetown, P. E. Island, Thursday 6 47.4 40| 8 5 11 30 2) Friday | 48; 39) 9 O morn | Merck 4 e ise. a a 3! Saturday 50 37 953/0 6 | a ear > a aaa — 4iSunday Si] 96,20 41) © 42/1006) no Loan - os 5 Monday | 53} 34} 11 25, 1 19) mun es JOAN, on good security, at 6|Tuesday 54 33iaft 3) 2 1' | moderate interest. 7|Weduesday | 55) 32) 0 39) 2 50, | Nem McLeop, W. A. O. Morson. 8| Thursday 57; 31} 1 Li! 3 49) : Nem. McQvuargik, 9 Friday 59) 29' 1 42) 5 3| Nov. 24, 82 —pres her 10| Saturday 17 0; 28) 2 13) 6 21 11!/Sunday of 27| 2 44 7 23) 9 46 SULLIVAN & MAGNEILL 12! Monday 3} 26, 3 19) 8 33 ' 13 Tuesday 5} 24| 3 58] 9 24] - 14; Wednesday | 6] 23! 4 44110 12 A T TORNEY i AT- LAW 15, Thuraday 7| 22/5 asi 57 Oe 16 Friday 9} 21) 6 36 2 _— s 17 Saturday 10} 20) 7 39 aft 2s Solicitors iil Chancery, 18 Sunday | 32, 19° 8 45) 112°9 30; 3. : 19| Monday 13! is} 9 53! 1 59 NOTARIES PUBLIC, &c. 20' Tuesday 14. 17110 58) 2 ry i ¥ coi 21| Wednesday 16} 16! morn| 3 44! OF FICES— O’Halloran’s Building, Great 22|Thursday 47) 16| 0 1,449 George Street, Charlottetown. 23\P riday 19 15) I | 5 58 Ga Money to Lean, 24 Saturday i 20} 141 2 37 5H *: WW, Sottivay, Q. OC, | Cnusrsr B. Macweut. 25' Sunday { 21) 13, 3 3) 7 57) 9 15) Jan. 16, ’83. 25 Monday 23| | 4 a . . encanta a 27' Tuesday | 24) 12) 4 56) 9 20) 23|Wedvesday | 25. 12) 5°59) 9 51) L.ARTHUR & CO., 29 Thursday 26, Il - oo a 30) Frida 23; 10) 7 49.11 10 fesaey | 8 TI =6| 6) 6h GENERAL oo i Commission Merchants, BuSTON STEAMER, STEAMERS: Carroll, 879 tons, Capt. Brown, Worcester, 865 tons, Capt, Blankenship (ROSS MARKET). BosTON, MASS. “Boga and’ Produce a Specialty, April 26, 1883.—-wkly tf "GEORGE TWEEDY, ATTORNEY - AT - LAW, Notary Pablic, &c. OF FICE—Weat Side of Queen Street, Uhar- lottetown, next door to Stevenson's Tin Shop. July 25, 1893. — dy wkly 6m EDWARD T. RUSSEL & 6O., GHNERAL Commission Merchants, NO, 284 STATE STREET, pep BOSTON. Particular attention given to the sale of Fish and Produce of all kinds. June 22, 1883,—6m NE of the above FIRST-CLASS STEAM- ERS will leave Charlottetown for Boston EVERY THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AT 5 P. M. PASSENGERS will find this the Cheapest and most pleasant trip to Boston. Accommo- dations on both steamers are splendid. CARVELL BROS., AGENTS, | Ch town, May 17, 1883,--pat her sj ——— —<} s TEAMER “HEATHER BELLE,” INSURANCE OFFICE. (ueen Insurance Company, OF ENGLAND, CAPITAL, TEN MILLION DOLLARS, FALL ARRANCEMENT. O* and after Tuesday, Oct, 16th, 1883, the steamer-‘‘Heather Belle,” will run as follows :— Wil eave Onell Bush Whar oe guests; Lancashire Instrance Company town every Tuesday, ts Thursday mornings at seven oidey's| CAPITAL, FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS calling at China Point and Halliday’s Wherves. sa, ths Insurance effected on_all kinds of property Leaving Charlottetown for Haliday s, China) ,+ current rates. Losses settled promptly Point and Orwell Brash Wharf same)... equitably. evenings, at two o'clock, remaining at DESBRISAY & ANGUS, ' General Agents, Brash Wharf every Tuesday and Wed- nesday nights, and Thursday night return-| 9 .._south Side Queen Square. Ch’town, Sept. 15, 1582. ing to Charlottetown, arriving about : sy ne i t seven o'clock leave! a ee Temes eo Crapaud ; leaving | CONSIGNMENTS SOLICITED. Ce Oe een eackatteluneane : ‘Ch ° alning at ~ a sight Chale R. O’DWYER, Commission and General Merchant “FOR SALE OF P, £. 1. PRODUCE. 289, WATER’ STREET, St. John’s, Newfoundland. In connection with the aboye is Capt. night. : Saturday, leave Charlottetown for Crapaud, at nine o'clock, a. m., leaving Crapaud for Charlottetown, about one o'clock, p. m. JOHN HUGHES, Agent. Ch town, Oct. 13, 1883, [2aw wkly pat ne her pres 1m WANTED. MEVERAL VESSELS, 60 to 150 tons regis- b= ter, to load Prince Edward Island pro- ; duce for Newfoundland and West Indies. | English, who is well kaown in_P. E. Island, ALSO, Two (2) Vessels, about 200 tons who will take special cha ge of all consign- register, to load for England, ; ments, and will also attend to the chartering ‘AND one (1) about 250 tons, for United) of vessels for the carrying trade of P. EB. 1. Kingdom or Continent. N. B.—Parties wishing to procure good Good rates and quick despatch. Labrador Herring would do well to cousult JOHN F. ROBERTSUN, |B. Tk Ch’town, Sept. 26, 1883.—pat ect a, fa pt. 11, 18S3,—3i tawawkly. 12) ATLANTIC. AVENUE, ../ AUCTION SALES, MARKET DAYS, SteVeLson's Building, (een street, Wylie meant; for presently he broke out in (NEAR THE MARKET). UCTION SALES of Furniture, Implements, Carriages, Sleighs, ete above central stand for market-day sales. | | A. MeNELLL, Auctioneer. Farm | me, promptly attended to on market days at the turn. Chet led. oe dee oe ae By Charles Reade. i—apeer rs | CHAPTER IX. | ( Coutsawed, } i There was a silence, during which Hnd- was probably asking himseif what }@ loud, but somewhat quivering voice: ‘Why, you mad, drunken devil of a ship's }carpenter, | see what you are at, now; you | are going : ‘Hush!’ cried Wylie, alarmed in his ‘Is this the sort of thing to bellow /out for the watch to hear? Whisper how.’ This was followed by the earnest mutter- ‘ings of two voices. In vain did the listener | send his very soul into his earto hear. He LIFE INSURANCE. ; —OF THR— | GUY OF REW YORK. _—-s ORGANIZED 1850. i ——— |New Features, Incontestible Policies, Prompt’ Settlement of Claims Guaranteed. <a ee | Apply at residence, Weymouth Street, from § to 10 a, m, and 4 to 6 p, m. A. H. McPHERSON, Agent. Sept. 25, 1883.—2aw ~~ STANDARD LIFE ASSURANCE 00. ! ; | T the 57th Annual General Meeting of pu ’ the Standard Life Assurance Company, m at Edinburgh on Tuesday, the 24th of April, 1883, the following results for the he had a serious misgiving. year ended 15th November, 1883, were re- ported :— ' 3,038 new proposals for life as- surance were received the year for $ 9,754,085 38 2,561 proposals were accepted, assuring 7,239,048 13 The total existing assurances in force at 15th November, © 1882, uted t6 =” ©» $6,936,302 91 (Of which $7, 753,031.15 was reassured with other offices) +h s by death which sadAring bievear amount- ed, including bonus addi- tions, to The annual revenue amounted . at 15th November, 1882, to 4,267,546 00 The imvested funds at same date amounted to ; Béeing an ihcrease during the year of 2,462,226 59 29,503,416 00 1,062,648 36 JOHN LONGWORTH, Agent for Charlottetown. THOMAS KERR, Inspector of Agencies. Ch'town, Angneat 9, FRR" & MONCTON N R. P. LEA, in returning thanks to the -public for the liberal patronageextended to him while in business in Charlottetown, begs leave to inform his old customers and the public generally, that he, in company with Mr, William Rogers, bas appointed Messrs. B. Williams & Co, Lumber and Coal Dealers, Pownal Wharf, Charlottetown, our agents,’ who will keep coustantly on hand a full supply of Mould- ings, Window Sashes, Doors, etc., at LOWEST CASH PRICES, All orders entrusted to them will receive prompt attention, LEA & ROGERS, Moneton, N. B, Sept. 5, 1883.—2aw wly - J. A. ChIPMAN.& 60., ARE OFFERING AT MILLERS! PRICES IN STORE; 375 bris. Choice Superior Ex- tra. TO ARRIVE: 1200 bris. Choice Sup, Extra and Patent. OFFICE AND WAREROOMS : OPPOSITE RANKIN HOUSE. J. F. SHAT FORD, AGENT. Sept. 11, 1883. BUFFALO ROBES, WOLF ROBES, Best and “heapest in the City, at Gre*t Gegyge Street, Now. 14,—e0d 2w why 2 Sash and Door Factory. ‘could catch no single word. Yet he ‘gould tell by the very tones of the speakers |that the dialogue was one of mystery and | importance. Hore was a situation at once irritating United States Lifp Insurance (Co, sac clamine: bet thsre woe neo help foc. i draw unobserved, and wait for another op- portunity. He did so, and he had not long Tetired when the mate came out staggering and flushe@with liquor, and that was a \thing that had never occurred before. He left the cabin door open, and went into his own room. Soon after sounds issued from the cabin |—peculiar sounds, something between ‘grunting and snoring. Mr. Hazel came and entered the cabin, There he found the cap- tain of the ‘Proserpine’ in a_ posi- jtion very unfavorable to longevity. His legs were crooked over the seat of his chair, and his head was on the ground, _ His handkerchief was tight around his neck, and the man himself dead drunk, and purple in the face. Mr, Haze] instantly undid his stock, on | which the gallant seaman muttered inarti- culately. He then took his feet off the ‘chair, and laid them on the ground, and tthe empty bottle under the animal's neck. But he had no sooner done all this than Would not this man’s death have been a blessing? Might not his lite prove fatal! The thought infuriated him, and he gave ‘the prostrate figure a heavy kick that almost turned it over, and the words: '*Daty to employers,’ gurgled out of its mouth directly. It really seemed as if these sounds were ' indepandent of the mind, and resided at the tip of Hudgon’s tongue; so that a thorodgh’ good ‘kick could, at any time, | shake them out of his inanimate body. Thus do things ludicrous and things ,terrible:‘mingle in the real world; only to ‘those who are in the arena, the ludicrous | passes unnoticed, being overshadowed by its terrible neighbor. And so it was with Hazel. He saw noth- ing absurd in all this; and in that prostrate, ‘insensible hog, commanding the ship, for- sooth, and carrying all their lives in his hands, he saw the mysterious and alarming ‘only, saw them so, and felt them, that he lay awake all night thinking what he should do, and early next day he went. into the ,mate’s cabin and said to hin: ‘Mr. Wylie, in any other ship I should speak to the captain, and not the mate: but | here that would be no use, for you are the ‘master, and he is your servant.’ f ‘Don’t tell him so, sir, for he doesn’t (think smali beer of himself” ; ‘I shali waste no more words on him. It is to you I speak, and you know I speak the truth. Hear is a ship, in which, for certain reasons known to yourself, the captain is under the mate. ‘Well, sir,’ said Wylie, good-humoredly, are no use trying to deceive a gentleman like you, Our skipper is an excellent sea- imaa, but he has got a fault.’ Then Wylie ‘imitated, with his hand, the action of a per- son filling his’ glass. ‘And you are here to keep him sober, eh? Wylie nodded. ‘Then why do you ply him with liquor!’ ‘I don’t, sir.’ ‘You do. Ihave seen you do it a dozea times; and last night you took rum into his room, and made him so drunk he would have died where he lay if I had not loosen- ed his neckerchief. ‘I am sorry to hear that, sir; but he was sober when I left him. The fool must have got to the bottle the moment I was gone.’ ‘But that bottle you put in his way—I saw you—-and what was your object? To deaden his conscience with liquor, his and your own, while you made him your fiend- ish proposal. Man, man, do you believe in God, and a judgment to come for. the deeds done in the body, that you can plan in cold blood to destroy a vessel with nine- teen souls on board, besides the live stock, the innocent animals that God pitied and spared when he raised his hand in wrath over Nineveh of old ? While the clergyman was speaking, with flashing eyes and commanding voice, the seaman turned ashy pale, and drew his shoulders together like a cat preparing to defend her life. ‘T plan ta destroy a vessel, sir? You never heard me say such a word; and don’t you hint such a thing in the ship, or you will get yourself into trouble.’ ‘That depends on you.’ ‘How so, sir? ‘I have long suspected you.’ ‘You need not tell me that, sir,’ ‘But 1 have not communicated my sus- picions. And now that they are certainties, I come first to you. In one word, will you imnin f your intention, since it is found out?’ Horse Rugs and Circingles,| ‘so 7 or Tere tee ever was in my head? said Wylie. ‘Cast away the ship! ‘| Why, there's no land within two thousand miles! Founder a vessel in the Pacific! JOHN STUMBLES.. Do you think my life is not as sweet to me as yours is to you?’ of these words, and, by a puzzled expression that came over his face, saw at once he had assumed a more exact knowledge than he really possessed, Hazel replied that he had said nothing about found«ring the sbip; but there were many ways of destroying one. ‘For instance,’ said he, ‘] know how the ‘Neptune’ was destroyed— and so do you; how the ‘Rose’ and the ‘Antelope’ were cast away—and so do you.’ At this enumeration, Wylie lost his color and self-p ssession for a moment; he raw Hazel had been listening. Hazel followed up his blow. ‘Promise me now, by all you hold sacred, to forego this villainy, and I hold my tongue. Attempt to defy me, or to throw dust in my eyes, and I go instantly among the crew, and denounce both you and Hudson to them.’ ‘Good Heavens!’ cried Wylie, in un- feigned terror. ‘Why, the men would mutiny on the spot.’ ‘I can’t help that,’ said Hazel, firmly; and he took a step toward the door. (To be continued.) ee ee Home News Items. A deaf mute called at No. 4 police station Hamilton, Ont., and wrote three slates full of a story that he had been cruelly beaten and robbed. The man was covered with blood and mud and a warrant was issued for the parties suspected. Mr. John H. Stafford, of Brantford, Ont., offers to build a hospital at a cost of $12,000 and hand it over to the city on certain conditions, one of which is that no religious service shal) be held within its walls except at the special request of a patient. It is stated that a number of the citizens of Montreal have contributed largely to a collector for a deaf and dumb institution in St. John, N. B., and are at present giv- ing subscriptions, under the impression that they were giving to that excellent institution, the McKay Institute. The Windsor Mail, referring to the im- proved condition of the cotton trade, says: ‘‘We have it on good authority that our Windsor mill, which is now selling its own product direct to the trade, has received orders enough for some special brands of their goods to keep them busy for four months to come.” _ Rev. Dr, Wilson, Cuarte of St. Georges’ Cathedral, Kingston, Ont., a leading An- glican clergyman, has created a sensation by attending the all night prayer meetings of the Salvation Army and taking part in its holy communion. Dr, Wilson takes the, full responsibility for his action. It is understood he has been allowed three months leave of absence. Of course one hears a good deal of talk about the coal from the Saskatchewan; it is now proved beyond dispute that the North- west has an inexhaustible supply of this all- important element in all manufacturing in- dustries, and probably these discoveries, next to the building of railways, will do more towards the real settlement of a large population in the Northwest than anything else. Says the Winnipeg Times: Regina is collapsing. Pile of Bones creek is frozen up and the solitary town well has become erratic. The other day, at a meeting of the Town Commissioners, somebody said that if a fire broke out the town would be in grevious peril; where upon another com- missioner said that ‘it would be cheaper to let the cursed place burn up than to buy water to put the fire out.” Now that the dynamite scare is over they have a playful habit ci shooting through windows in Halifax to keep up the ‘‘intense interest.” On one night last week says the Recorder, Thos. Forhan, sail maker, was seated in his place of business, when a crash of glass, sharp and quick, caused him to start. He came out and looked around, but could see no one. He went back anc went on with his work, when a second crash brought him to his feet again, and a window was broken in close proximity to where he was seated. A search revealed a bullet lying under the window partly covered with putty, and a mark on one of the bars of the sash showed where it had struck. Mr. C. J. Brydges, Land Commissioner of the Hudson Bay Company, who is at present in Montreal, made the following statement, in conversation with a reporter, regarding the state of trade in the North- west: ‘The business situation has very much improved; and the outlook is decid- edly favorable. The stock of goods is very much decreased, and all the merchants are following a very proper and conservative course in regard to not purchasing too heavily and keeping thejr stock within bounds. The coal fields in the Northwest have also proved a most important factor in building up the country, and to-day cars are loaded immediately alongside of the coal fields and shipped all the way between Winnipeg and the Rocky Mountains.” A blue-book recently published gives a statement of the number and tonnage of vessels constituted at the principal ship- building ports of Canada from 1868 to 1882. The record, including steam and sailing vessels, is as follows: Steam. Sail. Tonnage. Halifax, 16 388 95 ,500 Pictou, 6 lll 48,260 Windsor, 3 233 139,000 Yarmouth, 4 267 169,900 St. John, 37 754 357 ,000 Chatham, 11 127 32,000 Dorchester, — 57 - 39,920 Charlottetown, 6 444 113,700 The highest record it will be seen is given to St. John, Yarmouth and Windsor. The average tonnage of Dorchester built vessels was O96tons; of Yarmouth built vessels 6364ons and of Windsor built vessels 596 tons, The lowest averages were in Char- ' Wylie eyed him keenly to see the effect Isttetown and Halifax, about 250 tons. te At 3 British News Notee. Mr. Labouchere recommends that child- ren, while studying geography, be taaght the courses of railways with the same care that they are taught these of rivers. The London Times shows a startling fall- ing off in the number of its advertisements. On Tuesday it had 36 columns, sgainst 48 on the corresponding day in 1882 and 5] in 1881. Mr. Alfred Mace, son of the celebrated Jem Mace, the champion pugilist of the world, is at_present giving a series of evan- gelical lectures at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and draws crowded houses. In England there are 3,600,000 cows and heifers in milk or calf, and about 180,000 tawilies are concerned in the industry. If each of these cows gives 450 gallons of milk a year, at sixpence a gallon the sum will amount to over forty millions sterling. / — DO ee Foreign News Notes. A new island of volcanic origin has been discovered in the Pacific. The departure of the Marquis Tseng from Paris is believed to be imminent. The Journal des Debats says if England should abandon Egypt the barbarians now at its doors would occupy the country. and civilization would suffer an immense loss. Portions of the French. press expres gratification at the defeat of Hicks Pasha, on the ground that a possible threatening of her Indian empire may engage England’s attention and enable France to assume her old position in Egypt. The Soleil fears England will seek to com- pensate herself for the loss of the Soudan by taking the island of Hainen, off Ton- quin, and advises France to accept Eng- land's assistance in the far east without paying for it too dearly. “TI don’t take much stock in proverbs,” said Brown to Jones.. ‘‘For instance, look at the oft quoted one: ‘A friend in need is a friend izdeed.’ Now most of my experi- ence with friends in need ‘is that they want- ed to borrow. Give me the friend that is not in need.” A championship match game of billiards between Jacob Schaefer and Maurice Vignaux opened in Paris on Monday night in presence of a large number of spectators resulting ina score of 600 in Schaefer's favor to 488 for Vigraux. The game con- tinues five nights; stakes $2,000. The centennial celebration of evacuation of New York by the British was an impesing affeir anda grand sucocss. There was an enormous procession, hundreds of visiting of prominence, including President Arthur and m:mbers of his cabinet, and governors of States, and thousands of strangers flocked to the city to view the ceremonies, Bahey Pasha, chief of police, and six officers of the secret police, are on trial at Constantinople charged wiih using their official positions for the purpose of black- mail. It is known that nine persons were convicted and are now serving Jong terms of imprisonment, in consequence of . their refusal to submit to the inordinate demand of the band of blackmailers. The latest number of the Nihilist organ, The Will of the People, gives harrowing de- tails of the sufferings of the ‘political pri- soners in the Peter and “Paul fortress, where, it states, they are treated like njur- derers. No distinction is made between men and women or between the sick and the healthy. Several of the, prisoners have gone mad and have committed suicide. Corporal punishment of the prisoners ia frequent. La Liberte publishes a telegram from Londen stating that the English have offered to mediate between France and China; that France has accepted the offer. The telegram also says that England has recognized that the interest of France in Tonquin justities the oceupation by French of both Sontay and Bacninh, but England strongly advises France to pursue @ con- ciliatory policy. Ewulating the enterprise of the States cf the great Northwest, Missouri shipped to England twenty thousand copies of a pam- phlet descriptive of Missouri soil, climate, resources and inducements to immigrants; but when the shipment, which weighs nine tons, reached Liverpool, there wasn’t a cent to pay even the landing charges. Happily, the lron Mountain and Southern Railroad Company’s advertisement was in the bro- chura, and the company’s agent advanced the money to pay charges. But now Gov. Crittenden declines to reimburse the agent, and it is possible that the tons of Missouri literature in warehouse in Liverpeol may be seized and sold as old paper to meet a charge of $60, Italy is getting as much ahead of us, says The London Herald, 28 Americy . La Signora Lydia Poet bas jus! been ac mitted to practice at the bar of Turm, aud #ppear- ed for the first time in her barrister’s gown to plead the cause of a young painter whoge pictures had been unjustly detained by his landlord, and much injured by the damp of the garret to which they had been consigned. The lady barrister obtained a great success for her humorous description of the subject of the pictures, and, amid much applause, obtained a verdict with goodly damages in favor of her client. She was escorted home, still enveloped in her lawyer's robes, by a large concourse of people, who gave her a serenade in the evening, in which the tenor voice of the young painter was conspicuous for its deep expression. -_—_—o °° <-_ o Horsford’s Acid Phosphate FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN, Dr, Jos. Holt, New Orleans, La., says ‘‘l have frequently found it of excellent service in cases of debility, loss of appetite, and in con- _Valescence from exhaustive illness, and per- | ticularly of service in treatment of women and children, ean MERE RON i 7 we vce Ao YR ARNIS ET ARETE HES a me yee, a8 a