TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 247, 18 October 1893, Page 1

TABLE TALK.

Rumours of war. More fighting in Brazil. Still more about the Aldia caae. Popular concert in the City Hall ■Mi night. Sir George Grey pleads for Professor Aldis. Tha Spanish are aboub to fight thf Moors. Now Zealand riflemen are doinjr well ah Sydney. Manufacture of china ia tha oldesb industry. There are signs of a Franco-Russian Alliance. Brazilian rebels are again bombarding Rio de Janeiro. The flagship Orlando, from Sydney, arrived at Adelaide on the 10th inst. It is said to coßt $30,000 a year to keep St. Peter's Church at Rome in repair.. A splendid half-tone photo engraving of the Parnell Football Club in the " Graphic " this week. Mr E. Bell, Mayor of Wellington, has re« turned in the steamer Arawa from his trip to Australia. The local branch of the Irish National Federation meets in St. Patrick's Hall tomorrow evening. Teacher—" John returned the book. la what case is book ?" Dull Boy (after a long thought)—" Bookcase." The deepest English colliery at present) is Moss colliery, near Aahton-under-Tyno, which is sunk 2,820 feet. The Austrian Government in order to increase the fighting power of its army has armed the drummers with rifles. The largest tomb in the world is the Pyramid of Cheops, 461 feet high and covering thirteen acres of ground. The imperial train in which the German Emperor and Empress travelled to Italy consisted of thirty magnificently decorated cars. Daring the complicated process of manufacturing stamps they are counted eleven times in order to guard against) pilfering, As a regiment, headed by its band, marched by, a little boy remarked: " t say, ma, what is the use of all those soldiers who don't play 2" In 1889 the Spanish postal service handled 112,351,000 letters, 1,141,000 postal cards and 50,752,000 papers and samples. There are 2,880 post offices. Off the shore near Point Rouge, Trinidad, there is a submarine epring of petroleum, and sailors are at times able to skim tho floating oil off the surface of tho sea. The Auckland University College Council will meet on Monday next in order to allow overtures to be made in connection with the dismissal of Professor Aldis. The Vigilant Victorious. Pictures of this famous yacht appear in the " Graphic" issued to-day. One shows the hull and tha other the rig of the fastest; yacht in tha world. Little Dot--" I don't see how cows can eat grass." Little Dick—" I s'poao when they is young the mother cows keepi sayin' to their childrens, 'It you don't cab grass, you shan't have any pie.' " Mr Gladstone is one of those incautious people who do not destroy letters. The venerable statesman is said to have a collection of 60,000 letters deposited in » strongroom at Hawarden Castle. The Auckland Racing Club Committee this afternoon held an inquiry into ths circumstances surrounding the death of tho young man Arthur Buckley, from injuries received at the Ellerslie racecourse. In the good old times when oil was ueed in lighthouses a 6,000 caudle-power lamp was considered immense. The latest electric lighthouse built in France iHeve at Havre) will have the power of 2,500,000 candles. A Tip.—Little Dick—" Papa, didn't you tell mamma we must economise ?" Papa— "I did, my son." Little Dick—" Well, I was thinkin' that mebby if you'd get me a pony I wouldn't wear out so many shoes." At the inquest at Dunedin on the body of Daniel Macarthur, an inmate of the Benevolent Institution, the jury returned at verdict that death resulted from asphyxia by choking, and that no blame attached to the wardsman or anyone else. At yesterday's meeting of the Board of Education it was agreed to forward a circular to School Committees informing; them that in future the Board will nob authorise the payment of any expenditure which may be incurred without previous sanction. Mr Earnshaw, M.H.R., addressed a largely-attended meeting at Christchurch last evening on prohibition. At the conclusion a motion was carried thanking him for his advocacy of the abolition of evila consequent on the drink traffic, and declaring that no subject had so strong a claim upon the attention of the working classes. Mr C. M. Crombie, Commissioner of Taxes, left here for Sydney by the s.s. Manapouri last evening. He is going to Australia in order to report to the New Zealand Government on the different systems of local rating, in respect to which it is proposed to make certain alterations. He will also examine into the working of the land and income tax in South Australia. Word was lately received at Sydney via Colombo of a terrible collision in tba Indian Ocean between the steamers Gelderland and Swordsman. The Swordsman sank and seven lives were lost. The Gelderland arrived at) Colombo in a badly damaged condition. Her bow was crushed right in, and nothing but the watertight bulkhead, saved her. Yesterday the first meeting in Auckland of the Commissioners appointed under tha Lands for Settlement Act was held in the Auckland Crown Lands Office, the objecb being to consider the value of three blocka of land (at Kamo, Thames, and Wfcikato), offered for sale by the owners to the Government. The Commissioners left for Whangarei last evening to inspecb the: Kamo block. The steamer Indignant, which was owned, by Mrs Patterson, of Launceston (Tasmania), and traded between LauDceston and Georgetown, was burned to the water's edge at Georgetown before daylight ono day last week. No lives were lost. The steamer was utterly destroyed. She waa insured for £1,000. The Indignant was purchased in Sydney saven yeara ago. Anxiety is felt at Sydney and Newcastle for the safety of the large iron ship Wool« ton, which left Newcastle in June last) for Valparaiso, and has not since been heard of. The Woolton loaded 2,800 tons of coal and 415 casks of tallow, and it is now 128 days Binco she sailed on a voyage that usually occupies from 50 to 60 days. The ship came out to Melbourne from London with a general cargo, and then went round to Newcastle, where she loaded for Chili. The interesting spectacle of a fight with a whale was recently afforded the crew of the steamer Danmore. As that vessel was entering Sydney Harbour from one of the Southern harbours, a great commotion was found to be caused by a thrasher engaging a whale in a fight. From four to. five minutes the crew of the steamer watched the encounter, and believed thai tho whale was killed, as it could be Been floating on the top of the sea some time after. Tho thraßher was aided by a swordfish, the lattor gashing at the whale from below, while the other attacked from above.