GLEANINGS FROM PUNCH.
New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Rōrahi III, Putanga 166, 3 Poutūterangi 1847, Page 4
Mō tēnei niupepa
GLEANINGS FROM PUNCH.
Equality. — A .general levelling, which, when the world is full of flats, may be perfectly practicable. Equity is, according to Blackstone, synonymous with true justice, and is the soul and spirit of law. As spirits do not dwell on this earth, we > can understand the visits of real equity being few and far between, in accordance with its angelic character. The humourous Mr. Selden — by-the-bye, what a melancholy age it must have been when the lawyers were the best humourists — calls equity a*" roguish' thing', 1 ' because it varies with the conscience of the Chancellor ; and as that is larger or narrower; so is equity. Had he lived in these days, he would have compared it to a pair of India-rubber trowsers, which, when the straps are cut, fly half-way up the leg, and leave it bare, which he would probably have declared to be typical of the fate of the client. Equity gives relief when the law has failed, the relief often consisting of the process of relieving the suitor of his money. Excise Duties. — The taxes levied oa articles of consumption produced within the kingdom. The word is derived from excido, to cut out, and means that a good slice is ta- r ken«*oul of everything affected by the excise duties. They • commenced in the reign of Charles the^irst by a tax on beer, and Oliver j Cromwell being a brewer, was no doubt excited to rebellion by this attack on his double X. If he had been a milkman, and there • had teen a duty on chalk, he would probably have been equally refractory. Among exciseable articles we find soap, which was ielt to be such a grievance, that " How are you off for soap," 'has become a common mode of , salutation among the poorer classes of society. .There is a heavy excise duty on hackney coaches,-fcut the heaviest duty of all falls upon the horses employed in drawing the vehicles. In these cases, however, there is often <a tremendous drawback,, of which nobody gets the benefit. Exports. — Things sent out of port. Puffendorf doubts whether a large lump of doubtful < beeswing taken from a bottle of twoaud-fourpenny port can properly 'be termed an export. Exehange^Bill of. — A. convenient mode of settling a debt of many pounds by the outlay of a few shillings. The expression of a philosophic debtor, who exclaimed, 'There! thank Goodness, that's paid !' -was used on the occasion of his giving a Bill of Exchange which he had not the smallest hope of taking up when it should happen to arrive at maturity. It is said that exchange is no robbery, and 'd, fortiori, a Bill oLExchange-can be no robbery ; therefore, in giving such an instrument, when it is realjy of no value, some persons seem to think they are not robbing their creditors. So long -as the bill has the legal stamp, it cannot be said to have the stamp of fraud upon it. Bills of Exchange are of very early origin, and it is clear that the Greeks and Romans had a gieat many bill transactions. In the time of Julius Caesar, Brutus quarrelled with his friend Cassius, because he had been raising money improperly ; and very likely on a bill, which he had got discounted by what Brutus delicately calls an " indirection." It is thought by some that Cassius got his name from «ontiuually going about among his friends, exclaiming, " Cash us a Bill," an hypothesis which is much in favor, though admitting of a good deal of controversy. His exclamation, " I sent to you for gold to<pay my legions, 'Which you refused," .proves that he had. been wanting, to borrow ■money, arid it is/very likely that his "legions" .were the swarms of creditors by, whom he was .continually pestered. Evidence. — The legal means of getting »t facts— or concealing them. There are many general rnles of evidence, but the chief art is required in dealing with adverse witnesses, who mast either be bullied or bothered, according to .circumstances. When, all, other .resource? have failed, it is safe, a»a general ,rule, ( to ask., m witneis whether be has ever (Compounded with his creditors. As be will ppobably, become very, indignant, and lose ihis, temper after this •question, t an important point has,been gained,, for the bftcrjsjer, byJkeeping *cool, will have, an advantage, over the witness during, the.. remainder, of th;e, examination.
Cheap Daily "Papers. — It will be'remembered that De Girardin, the founder of •the IPresse, killed Armanid' Carrel, the clever ■editor of the National, in a duel. The Presse was started at forty francs a-year- at a time when :the general price of newspapers was eighty francs. The experiment was bold, but it fully succeeded. The thing was done well and' thoroughly : the paper was in all respects equal to its contemporaries ; in taleot it was superior to most of them, surpassed by none. De Girardin and his associates made a fortune ; the majority of the other papers were compelled to drop their prices, some of the inferior ones were ruined. The innovation and its results made the bold projector a host of enemies, and he would have found no difficulty in the world in getting shot, had he chosen to meet a tithe of those who were anxious to fire at him. But after his duel with Carrel he declined all encounters of the kind, and fought his battles in the columns of the Presse instead of in the Bois de 'Boulogne. — Blackwood's Magazine for October.
Ibrahim -Pasha's Garden. — "There is another fine garden in the vicinity of Cairo, which belongs to Ibiahirn Pasha, and occupies the whole of the little island of Rhoda ; the locality pointed out to travellers as being the spot where Pharoahjs daughter went down to the river to "bathe, und found the infant Moses among' the bulrushes. This garden is under the superintendence of Mr. Trail, a Scotch horticulturist ; and is rich in every variety of tropical vegetation and Indian trees^ besides whatever productions can be made to succeed in this dry and burning climate. It is laid out in the English style ; and the beautiful flower-beds, and the graceful willows drooping their flexible branches over marble balustrades into the calm Nile, reminded me of the fair gardens of the West, and some of those lovely creations of my own country which have no equal in any other part of the world. No pains or expense have been spared in rendering the gardens of Rhoda as complete as. possible : but when I inquired of Mr. Trail whether Ibrahim Pasha understands enough of botany or horticulture to appreciate the rare collection of plants and trees he has assembbd together there, he assuied me that all his Highness's knowledge of that science is comprised in enjoying a:fine f peach when it is served at his table. The ladies of his harem are occasionally permitted to visit the gardens ; but Mr. Trail declares that he would rather see a flight of locusts alight upon the premises than these fair recluses,. They gather half the .flowers, tread down the remainder, devour all the fruit within their reach, and six months are scarcely sufficient to repair the ravages effected in less than six hours-toy them when they are let 1 loose in the bowers of Rhoda." — ■ Romer's Tour in Egypt.
Wool-washing. — "It is known that a fleece of wool, inits natural state, is impregnated with greasy matter, which has to he got rid of, as far as possible, hefore it can be subjected to the ulterior jjrocessesof manufacture — this necessary purgation is undertaken by the wool-washers. The waters through which the, wool is passed and purified, become necessarily the receptacle of the fatty stuff thus discharge — the habit with the wool-washers has been to throw away these greasy washings as worthless. If, in country districts, to the pollution of the neighbouring streams ; and, if in towns, to the nuisance of the streets and thoroughfares. In summer time, and hot weather, the decomposition and pernicious exhalations of those washings become an exciting cause of disease in towns snch as Rheims, Elboeuf, &c, where the woollen manufactures of France are more largely carried on. Now, however, by an ingenious appliance, the evil may not only be obviated, but converted into a source of gain to the manufacturer, and healthy profit to the public. " By the simple addition of a certain quantity of potash and slacked Jirae, M. Pagnon- Yautrin has obtained the saponification of the gc-easy washings, and employs the soap so formed, for scouring the fibres or threads of carded wool ; thus making, as it were, the fleece scour itself." — Chambers's Edinburgh Journal.
