music enjoys mainstream popularity in the United States. September 19 – Alfred Dreyfus is pardoned in France by the French Ministry of War. The patent for the first water meter is granted to Edwin Ford, the water superintendent for Hartford City, Indiana. September 20 – Captain Alfred Dreyfus is released from prison at Rennes. September 21 – A special session of the Orange Free State's parliament, the Volksraad, meets at Bloemfontein in South Africa to discuss war with the British Empire. At the same time, three British transports depart from Bombay in India with troops to the Cape Colony in South Africa. The Dominion Line steamer Scotsman sinks in the Strait of Belle Isle in Canada, killing 15 women and children. September 22 – Elections are held in Sweden for the 230-seats of the Riksdag (formerly 182 seats). The Lantmanna Party retains majority control. Following a court-martial in Spain, Admiral Patricio Montojo, who had surrendered the Philippines to U.S. Admiral George Dewey to end the Spanish–American War, is relieved of all commands and placed on the reserve list. September 23 – Austria's Chancellor, Prince Franz von Thun, and his cabinet of ministers all resign. September 24 – A crowd of several thousand men in London disrupts an anti-war demonstration in Trafalgar Square and shouts down the Peace Association speakers as well as hurling "decayed apples and eggs and other missiles." September 25 – A Serbian court sentences 30 people convicted for conspiracy to attempt to assassinate the former King Milan, with the two main leaders being sentenced to death, and 10 others getting 20 year prison sentences. September 26 – General Manuel Guzman Alvarez of the Venezuelan state of Sucre joins with General Cipriano Castro in a revolt against the Venezuelan government. September 27 – Former U.S. President Benjamin Harrison concludes his special assignment of arguing in favor of Britain before the Anglo-Venezuelan arbitration tribunal. September 28 – Austrian auto designer Ferdinand Porsche attracts worldwide attention when his first car, the Porsche P1, wins the Berlin Road Race with such speed that he crosses the finish line 18 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. New Zealand's parliament approves a proposal to send troops to support Britain's Cape Colony in South Africa, while the Orange Free State parliament votes to support the South African Republic (the Transvaal), as war between the British and the Dutch appears imminent. September 29 – The