News Items.

. The • Wanganni Herald ' says that Birß Stout's fee lor defending the Chinese in the Hat manslaughter ease was 150 guineas, and tbat it was paid by Mr Sew Hoy. The death is announced of two old Canterbury settlers. Mr Edward Pentecost, one of the earliest settlers iv. the Bangiori - district, died on Christmas eye; within five hoars of completing his 90th year. He arrived in Canterbury 87 years ago. Mrs Marsh, of Oxford, one of the first settlers in Canterbury, died oc Ohristmaß Day. Mrs Marsh arrived by one of the first four ships. M. Carxot, for the first time since his eleotion to the Presidency of the Bepublio, reviewed the French army at Cambrai ten days ago and seems to have made an excellent impression. Ho was most particular not to omit any mark of respect to the great bulwark o! law and order, and every time that a regiment passed him he arose to his feet and took off his hat to the standard. His wife fills her place in society admirably. It may not be geaerally known thai she is the granddaughter of the General Duponfc who capitnlated at Bayleu, after having won renown by the gallant manner in which hs -losed the circle around Mack at Ulm. The great Retshaw brothets, the pioneers end revolutionizes of lawn tennis, have announced their intention of retiring, Neither of the brothers competed in the Irish championship this year, which was won by E. W. Lewis, an Englishman, who defected the great Irish player, W. J. Hamilton, after au extremely close contest Then came the Koglish championship, | when W. J. Hamilton defeated W. j Benshaw, after another hard struggle, by a eoore of 6— B 6—2, B—6, 6—l, 9—4. This was the first champion■bip match in which 37. Eensnaw was evf r defeated. Ha has only been beaten in singles three times since he won bis first championship in 1881. and each time bis conqueror was Hamilton. His record in matches against that player is as follows : — In favor of- Hamilton, 76 games and 472 ".Strokes; in favor of "Benebaw, 58 games and 418 strokes. j Some time ago a passenger on the-; ...North London Railway .remarked in ,; the bearing of one. of the. company's' officials how easy it was to ' do ' the | the company. - =» I-o-'ten travel,' he said, * from Broad street to Dalston Junction without a ticket. Any one can do it. I did. it yesterday.' "When he alighted he was followed by the official, who asked him in a pleasant . and affable way how it was done. But tie wily traveller was not to be cajoled out of his secret by a few soft words. At last he agrieedto tell for a substantial consideration. This was l Kgiveh, 'Now, 1 said the eager official, i * how did you go from Broad street to "Dalston Junction yesterday Without a ticket?' ' Well,' was the reply, ' 1 walked.' ;'. .. According to Hayter's • Victorian Year Bppli' .for 1889!59p, dealing with the statistics of population, Melbourne now stands thirtieth on the list of the great cities of the world. At the head of ibe list is London, which contains 6,500,000 inhabitants. The Ameri- : can cities above Melbourne are : New York, 1,775,000 (or with Brooklyn, Jersey City, etc., 2,885,000) ; Philadel- , phia* 1,200,000 ; Chicago, 1,100,000 ; 7; Brooklyn, 840,000 ; St Louis; 600,000 ; and' Baltimore, 840,000. The chief : English cities are : LiyeqiSol (with : Birkenhead), 690,881 ; and Glasgow, o&?£0$i Buenos Ayres, 466*267, is just above Melbourne, 458,470 ; and after an interval of lien cities comes Sydney, 881,780. \ The feres in mest loljJbia; above casei are for 1889. v yoa q»ed PBABB' SOAP? ;^ ; \ : :

rtf'jQflncwirßooTttrolofleabhierboplroii' Darkest England 'with the following passage .i-i«l> S^iig D^tollotreV;th£:;saiae /aij The oWigfttipa to care for tbesa lost and perishing multitudes does not rest on tn^e acy more than it does To nfle h*s .Mssj. gtyeti lh£ -ide^,, :.'. itHit^q you ; tho2- means; tys v?hioli^-it ; may be realised,. Tho plan ha .;= mow beerj publilhefl to the world V it v %yb\i ! to;Bky Wb6tlwr.it is to rbfriain barren: or wbe;lier it is tp bear ffiiu n nonumbered blessings taailjthe children 6f r men;' % v : "-■" : :i; .'.'.''■ ' ..' ■-.■:■ : ; Tiafi ladios* Dre6& Biform L ague pt Paris have adopted a 'plan of campaign*.' : Wtat they want is that all females should be empowered fn wrsr euit3 them best i>^ . J' fir particular walks of life. The >v it -,i itiea at the Perftctare of Poiioe ilaye nomjied to offer no !ppposiiiot^^<£sfif . proposed • dress reiofpa ' provlM'Mt nothing shall be done to cause ptmM scandal. Madame Maria Mattio and her friends have therefore lannohed a tiewumfbrm, or oqstume, whioh consists of skirt shortened to the ankleß and a jacket well open in front in order jto display a white puffed' plastro»> Tbe welters of "this attire are to eat their hair close ; to affect plain felt hats perched perkily on one side of the bead; lac d boot 3 and bracelets if thty like. Stays, however, are to bo rigidly eschewed. It must also be added that the lady leaguers are not quite satisfied with the pro* j ected abbreviation of skirts, aiid express hopes that they may be able to make them still shorter after the public shall have besom© aocnstomfd to the new costume, which v now visible occasionally in the afreet of Paris* . The Birmingham • I)sily Mail ' annouccoß that the Bafc Canon Wiloox, of Obristchtirob, New strett, has consented to allow the telephone to be introduced into his church, so that certain persocs may hear what take plaae at the service withoutpersonal attendance. At tbe end d the choir stftllflj on the top cf the lectern and the reading-desk of the pttlpit, will be placed small metallic- cased (ransmittaris. bo arranged that no member of the congregation, Unless familiar with the fact, would be led to suspect their real n ature . They will be so" regulated that sound will be gathered in without requiring the voice to be directed in close contiguity upon the plate of the transmitter. This will not be the first ococaaion upon which the telephone has been set up in a place of worship. At Bradford (Yorkshire) it is in use at an established, a Unitarian and a Wesleyah church. It has also been recently introduced at the parish church of Chesterfield, and at all these places subscribers have more or less exteneitely availed themselves of its use, and it has been found possible for forty or fifty persons to he ar a sermon simnltaceonsly-, - ■ In connection with the approaching meeting of the Science Congress at Christchurch, Professor Archibald has kindly consented to exhibit the phonograph and fully explain its workings and construction. He ia the bearer of a message of friendly greetings from Earl Kintore, Governor of Sotith Australia, to the Earl of Onslow, and the 'record' will be delivered at the Congress, where our Governor is expected to preside, ft is worthy of mention that Professor Archibald is a life member of the British Association, and will atter; '. the Science Congress on the 15th prox. in his capacity as a prominent ui ember of the parent body. He claims to bo the first person having the honor of introducing the Ediscn phonograph into England, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, and the Australasian Colonies. Cheeky John Maclean made his first appearance in London at the Surrey somewhore about 1861, as Peter Purcell in 'The Idiot of the Mountain.' Shepherd and Creswick were the managers of the theatre then, and Maclean was standing one day at the bar of Rooney's when a kind friend pointed out the newly engaged actor to Shepherd, who, having been ill, had not yet seen him. • You're playing in my theatre, Mr Maclean ?' Shepherd bawled. • I'm playing in " The Idiot of the Mountain," sir,' Maclean replied, half timidly. 'Glad to hear it, sir ; glad to hear ifc !' Shepherd exclaimed ; • You're not the idiot, surely ?' • No, sir,' Maclean answered with a serious face ; ' the manager who engaged me ia the idiot !' — • Argonaut.* The cost of the vast Trans-Siberian railway, on which project Russia is about to embark, is estimated at £75,000,000. The Imperial Government has decided to commence the construction of the railway with the funds at present at command, and only to have recourse to an internal loan as needed to carry on the work. Under all aspects, economic, strategic, political and moral, the railway is an enterprise of the utmost importance to the Northern Continent. Russian commerce with China, now estimated at about 60,000,000 f annually, will by its means receive a very considerable impetus, and Russia hopes to develop a large commerce with Japan, and also with the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies of: Oceania, which are only five days' steam from Vladivostpek, which, in the.bpinion of Russia, is far too isolated for safety. CADBUBY'S • UOCOA. . "A perfect Food". 11 — Health