GENERAL NEWS.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1081, 24 January 1879, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

1 Regular steam communication has been established between Liverpool and Cyprua-^the vessels, sai'.ing fortnightly. ':■ . ' ! ! • > '--'■-• In ]jsdhce architects and contractors are responsible fora period of ten pears ' for losses resulting from defective plans er. work.;? n:-- ' ',:.:'• ' r 'V^S ~?.\y The principal^ New York carriage-builders ' now insert a rubber cusbion between? the wood andiron of the axle, which secures safely and comfort : in/ Sriying. .. .. . . ... i..,y-.-- V s 'vo :'■■'■' ''■ The amount of money, that ;France is pledged to expend to relieve her^raiinMtdg, and to build other public works will! reach l,OOO,(K)O,O0O dpls in ten yCarsi. ; ; ■ :;:) !i '■' : ''•■■" ! "'_ : " : A handsome Eondbnt lady has voluteered to kiss 100' men ato ne dollar a smack; and send the' proceeds to aid the yellow feVer sufferers. ; A sceptic, who was ' badgering a simpleminded oldinari about a miracle and Balaam's ass, finally said : " How is'it pos'iblo for an' ass, to talk like a man ?"*' Well," replied the honest old believer, •with meaning empbasi?, " I don't see^why it ain't as easy for an ass to talk like a man as it is for a man to talk iikeXan ass/ / Five weaitjffllpngjiah girls are about to take the veil, all having considerable fortunes, in their own rights. They are: Liady Edith Noel, daughter of the Earl of Gainsborough,; the Hon. ; Gbnstance Howard, sister of .the Hon/ Maxwell Stuart, of.TraquharjPeebleshiref and the youngest daughter of Mr "Bloiiht, of Mapledurhara, the re- 1 pres^ntative of the st'aunchesb Catholic, family among commoners in England, ' ; r - The following summary of weather observations 1 taken at Leestori : during the last six months, will give some; idea of the; weather experienced over aJ large portion, of the Canterbury Plains during that period :— Days on which no rain fell^ 145 ; rainy day's (principally partial), 37 ; days of south-' 'west wind, ■46; ' days' of ! nor-westers, 116. The last items effectually spell " Dry season." ■ ; It is stated that thie Sultan has decided to reward Osman Pasha witli his daughter in iriarriage, for his gallant defence of Plevna. ■ '■ An amusing scene o'ccuredi during the late visit of the Queen to Dunbari. Two rows of children in the street, inßtead of throwing their bouquets in front of the carriage "showe'red'theln into the carriage itiself, repetedly striking her. She was greatly amused;' "' '' y h> '' '--■ '':■ ; ! '■■■"•' Aa one of, our Colonial young man. walked up. to the door of one of the com par tments'and knocking on \- the! same/ testily said; " For blateß ! sake r hurry up when in thunder are your going to get those pants on ?" (' jWhen I'm married, I suppose/ solemnly responded ;a female voice. The youth, had mistaken,the door, that was all, , „ I Great, inconvenience is caused by the present method of .collecting, court ,feps, and ; fines, in. •stamps, 'instead of J .aa hitherto in cash. J All in-; ovations are viewed- generally with disfavor for a time, but ; it is almost a certainty -that 7 not: only, will the rpresentj innovation; cause endless annoyance, bu]b also l.thafc -.there; ia every probability it wiifaffcer' a sKortrtirial' be abolished. '*gf& -has nothirig' ; t6 l recommend it. ' ; "■ '■ ; ; ; '-'[[ • " ' 5 It will be gratifying to those who feel interested inVthe'speedy c'ompietion 'of the GoreElbow" railway : line' to learil that lilr sJohn' Whittaker has secuced : the contract for bbth.sec-J tiona of ; the centrict price being £36,635 13s 8d for the .peimanentiway only. , The, rails. land sieep^rs-^jtrtdn^re provide J. the'OomMr Whittaker.! The total length of ithe line h-35 miles — is to be completed within twelve months. '... *■;.-.-.- ,:■ ; ; j ?;; >' . Mr Shanks met with a very hearty 'and fiat- 1 tering reception at Mataura Biidge, the' other morning, on his arrival from, lnvercar&i!]. ,The health of "our* member "was tpased in. bum : pers of champagne' in "a most' enthusiastic manner at both Gameroris^and Humphries; We feel satisfied that the whole of the-Mataura residents are proud of the position to which Mr Shanks has beeji elevated. ;.,... : ; An Eastern physician,l>r. T.S. Lambert, chaims that drowned persons may be resuscitated even if they had been dead -for hours. He first made this discovery by resuscitating a drowned chicken,, which lay in a 'pool of water till part of it was frozen stiff. r He simple got it warm, and it' came to life. Afterwards he tried it on a dog, and during the summer-drowned the same animal: twenty, times, and each times brough him round all right. The. steamship Great Eastern has, it is said, been, purchase d by ■a' company .who intend using her as a cattle boat to p'y between Texas and London.". She is now being fitted out at Milford Haven j and is to have new engines and boilers manufactured by the Clide Iron Worksj at a cost of 500,000? dols. i Befrigerators will be built in i her for, the purpose of ; carrying fresh heef. It is estimated that she will carry 2, 200 head of cattle and 3,000 head of sheep. The Moncrabeau orchestra at the Concert de l'Ofarigerie is the drollest company ever seen It is a society of Dutch amateurs, who play on instruments, made of cardboard, arid, who ..deypte their earnings to charitable purposes. They are dressed in the coatume of the old echevins, and arranged on it pyramidal platform surmounted by •heraldic devices and cardboard figures, which move their arms ami legs in; unision with the r mueic. When the curtain rises they look like a collection of court cards! At- the first springing of the rattle the whoW6Tcheßfcrarißeßt6"attention,'at''the second it executes a military salute, and the •third; every man sinks gracefully into his seat. The programme consists, chieflyjof characterestic music, such, . for instance^ as "Li Fquette ( dp Jou au VillatchV 'with accompanimeiits Of " cock .crowing, children squealing, and cattle lowing. The sounds, the instruments ;, and the genera) appearance of ; the orchestra are the drpUesteyer seen or heard. .^Thk last straw breaks t lhe camel's bapk. We are infermed ithat this is the conclusion .arrived at by a party of ?|^^emen musically inclined, .who were to have^pfe tp invercargill ;yesterday mprning.: j They : first^^ obtained tickets .for, themselves i then they ,^ chujrch for ticketsfor a number of Bppranp and cpnliraltp yotces, and we believe got them. Thdn they sent an~app|icatipn. for a cariage f or . a ptauo, and inreply they got_a ( telegram can- 1 celling ail the passes .preyiousiyr.iasiied to them. — :? Morning Herald.' v

!; The Mataura district appears ' to escape many of the storms which visit other places. In Wellington a heavy nor'-wester did a good deal of damage on Tuesday, and heavy rains on the Canterbury plains have damaged the railway 'lines, stopping communication for some hours, the swelling Rangitata river being the principal ' cause ©f the injury done. ' ; On the evenii g of the,Bth instant the Wairuoa School 'Committee met to consider the resignai jtion' of Mr HarnsT>n/'t*b'e "teacHerV wßTfiad/ been 'appointed head master of the Otakia school. The committee expressed great regret at Mr Harrison's resignation, a^he"ha6rgiven great tatisfaction in the district. After constating 'with hip, he agreed to withdraw his resignation ■ —the committee guaranteeing him a subsidy of £30 per annum lVexcess'of" his salary. Tiria ia ample evidence of the esteem in which Mr Har- ■ riaon is held in the district. He has done much ' to win the favour of the^esidenta, and under • his tuition the cbildren^attending the Bchool have greatly improved. How irate became the " subs " of the leading newspapers when formerly the- Press Agency wired'uninterestiug Hem. 1 Ink possessing the strong sting was at once used, and the Agency caught it hot. Now th(9^subs and others" are having a throw in. A new Association Biis been . formed, |tbe work beifig done prihcipallyby cne : of the staff of what are termed the leading jour- ■ hals in large centres. The. new^ order of things i .is anything, but ' successful. 1 With Inyercargill > we have no reason to complain, but Christcburch and Dunedin are not in the boat. The " ABBociati^ttsageuc at the former place wired us ' a few nigWS since " that the offices of the, Annuities Department had. been 'transferred to r another building," and several other lively items L of news' (?) What would be said were we to i wire that Mr Jones had just opened a new shop, or come such local news ? - ; : The Hon. Mr Sheehan recently delivered a very sensible address to the members of the Auckland Working Men's Club, of wliichhe is '; president;: He advised the club to avoid " Religion, Politics, and Patronage,", and adduced ; i arguments in favour, of their doing so. He said , — :" There are working men and' working men. There were persons who called themselves working men, but have ; no cl im to ; be regarded in I that light. He remembered meeting one of this, r' sort on the Wellington wharf lately, he came up i to him jfeth much' confidence and said, 'Mr , Sheeha^plknew your father aud your mother ; b I knew-.you when you were alf ttle, hoy, I want i a 'Government billet.' This was not what a working man should' be in heed of. His reply was that there was no Government billet for J him. 'Well then;' the man, said, 'give me a !" passage to Auckland in the Hinemoa.' 'JXo.' " 'Then lend me £o.' 'No.' 'Then give me a " sixpence to- get a drink.' That was not the sort I of 'person to be called a working man." 'j ; Burton's Great Australian Circus appeared at * Matauraßrivige on Saturday evening in a paddock ad jacent. to Cameron's hotel. Nptwjthst£indiDg thattheeveningwasratherinconvenient 5 tb;the settlers, the 1 attendance was good. The I plerformahce was throughout equal to the repui tatiioa of the troupe, the programme carried out t being as. good as if the tent had , been crowded, ' and the aadience a metropolitan one. The proI prietor deserves success, for he has .gathered B round him an^^ array of talent^^ rarely got i together ■•: in !a circus -of^even greater' dimensions. 1 * The troupe is composed of nothing butjfirst-c]a£g i artistes, yet none excell to any great extent over - e ! ao|h other. Loyal i 3 the beat rider we haye : seen in the colonies. Braham has so of ten apj. Speared before colonial audience? that. everyone a is acquainted with his riding ; he ap--8 pears to improve on everjr|ji)ccasibn. The clown* c are very good, and the '©rchestra ;; i3 : also excelg lent. Two juvenile riders -prpyed themselves no riiiriean equestrians,, and the. dogs, and monkeys . caused immense .fun, as Jalso did some trick >i ponies. The'circus is no : do'ulbtthe'best'appoirited - that ;has yetrvisited the .Colony.: .:; a; ! 0 The Dunedin Star learns from^Mr Dalpympla / t 'the' secretary of the Society for the Establishment ' of Saving Banks; in that^he^hae. received \ 7 specimens ox the boolfs 'necessary to keeping thn ■ .accburits^of 'savings in tKo- Bohools and deposits' . with the Pest Office Saving Babkl A letter from' x Mrj Gray,, the head ,of ; the jppatal .Department, t» , ; '. Mr| Dai rymple enumerates , the books .as " Penny " ;Bank'«r6i^^i" -* Ledger," and*' Depositor's Bank k , Bpok,"'fchwrequißite number^f which will be ready s for jissue next week ; and that' it is intended to have everything perfected so as to ftdmif.^pf the. i. inauguration of the system bsing carried out on , " ;|lie' re assembling of the several school education , : apa'rfcmentß. - Thisfpartic^^ - out by the Education Board are to beat once - 'asked to what extent ;ifc may be desired; the system i' ; 'snail be adopted within the respective educational •' disiricts. Mr Gray denies that, the long delay in 5 projviding these books is attributable to inditfer--3; ,enee in the Post Office department. .;- h We trust ■ .that no impediment will .take place in introduc--1 ing' the system at once into all the. schools. 1: vj • Mf;i .±-i: /■■:■ ; ■ ■•"- .'. t- .O-ix iiii, ■■■<>.-.'.