GENERAL NEWS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Issue XX, 13 June 1892, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

. Reports have reached London to the effect that the British Mission in Morocco has failed. i A London firm is urging the Argentine to e*tabli*»h a butter export I from that country. j In Damascus the natives denominate drunkards as victims of the " English [disease." Bicycles are not allowed to be ridden in Danish cities faster than . the speed of * cab. "Within 62 years Mexico has had 54 Presidents, one regency, and one empire, and nearly every change of Government has been effected by violenoe. Tobacco smoking is growing rapidly in England. Daring the last 50 years the consumption per head of population was nearly double. i It is doubtful if the debate in the Canadian j House of Commons on Mr Devlin's motion of sympathy with Ireland will come to a conclusion, as the bnsiness of the House will not permit sufficient time to be devoted to it. The amount spent and pledged to chaiitable institutes in Europe in 1891 by Baron Hirsoh was three million pound?. His gross winnings on the English turf during the same period, amounting to close on £8000, were given to London hosipafcs. Lord Sheffield states that the reception accorded the English cricketers taken to Australia by him was unparalleled in its splendour, extent, and continuity, and he hopes that England would extend a similar welcome to the next colonial team visiting England.

At a recent inquest into a case of infanticide, in Melbourne, the coroner, in directing the jury to return a verdict of wilful murder, said that there was nothing so easy, so simple, or so facile as child murder, Such immunity from detection attended it that it was come to be regarded as a trivial matter. The Friendly Societies of Wellington are joining in a scheme for carrying out funerals which is well worthy of adoption everywhere. i The proposal is that the societies should combine to get estimates from undertakers for tunerals on different scales, thus relieving individuals of bargaining or considering details at times of bereavement. The scheme, if adopted, will also produce a good effect by reducing the amount ppent upon funeral obsequies by people who can ill afford to do so. Several lo.lge» h ive already referred the matter to the Friendly S /duties Vigilance Committee tor definite aotiou.

Some folks know now to make the beat use of an official post, and one of them, I should imagine (writes " Atticua " in the Leader), is Dodds, legal manager of a Sydney mining Company. According to a report of the case, heard in Chamber^ Dodds issued a writ against the company for an amount owing to himself} accepted service of the writ in his capacity as manager, said nothing about the transaction to his directors, and allowed judgment to go by default and execution to follow upon judgment. Both have now been set aside at the application of the astonished company, who will thus enjoy their first chance of saying a word in their own defence. But a man like Dodds ought not to be allowed to blush unseen within the precincts of a trumpery mining office. He should be transplanted to Parliament, and made a Treasurer or Agent-General at the least.

A Berlin correspondent telegraphs : — Doctors Behring and WVrnicke, assistants and pupils of Dr Koch, make some important statements in a medical journal here relating to the treatment of diphtheria. Dr Behring years ago found that the blood of rats, which are never subject to anthrax, possesses properties which, if it be introduced into the system of other animals, conveys to them a similar immunity from the disease. This led Dr Behring to the general conclusion that the blood and serum of animals not susceptible to infectious diseases, when transfused into the bodies of other animals renders the latter non-susoip-tible also. The doctors now say that provided that there id a similarity of organism between men and animals, they believe themselves to be in a position to treat diphtheria successfuily by the above method. Last week we published a cable message from Sydney, stating that the steam 1 r Aroher had arrived there from an Island cruise, and reported that two Belgians had been t* nested at Ponape, for murder and piraoy. The following are the particulars of the affair : — During the cruise of the Aroher, sheet lied at several islands at which a mysteriously manned schooner had visited. At one place three natives were kidnapped by the unknown sailing vessel. Eventually the Archer reached the Marshall Islands, and while there a schooner named the Micronesia arrived with particulars of the arrest of a master and mate at Ponape, in the Caroline Archipelago, and the detention of their vessel. From the Micronesia's description these men and vessel were identical with the schooner that had called at the islands visited by the Archer, and the arrest ' was made on the statement of the cook of the schooner, who affirmed that the two men known as the master and mate had captured the vessel by shooting the former master and the supercargo, and poisoning the other members of the crew. The Spanish Governor at Ponape has sent the two prisoners by man- o'- war to Manila for trial, and has detained the schooner at Ponape awaiting its identification,

We are afraid that Mr Grosch and Mr McLean, who, ia last weeks papers were reported to have made a wondeiful discovery at Waipu of skulls with beaks of gigantic proportions, will have to submit to a disappointment, and that the Imperial Museum at Strasburg will not be enriched by any specimen fitted to cause a revolution in scienoe. Mr T. F. Gheeseraao, of the Auckland Museum, after reading the account in the journals, declaies that he has no doubt that the skulls spoken of are those of porpoises. He has seen them himself, and admits that they have a great resemblance to the skull and beak of a bird. The porpoise has two blow-holes, the hollows of which stand for the places where a bird's eyes would be. Some years ago the late Mr Chaaaberliu brought one to Mr Cheeseman, who closely examined it. Mr Chamberlin thought he had found the skull of a gigantic moa, but Mr Cheeseman wad able to determine without question that it , was the skull of a porpoise. These fish are sometimes driven on shore, and in old times the Maoris sometimes caught them. It is stated that the length of the upper bill and skull of the specimen found by Mr Gvosch is three feet. This would indeed be a monstrous bird. The moa has a very small skull, the largest specimen yet found being* only about seven or eight inches, skull and beak. It is stated that ' around the upper and lower mandibles are rows of empty sockets that apparently contained teeth.' No bird of which science has any knowledge has got teeth in its bill. A correspondent says that * several persons who have viewed the curio ».i object express the opinion that it has been the head of a large fish,' and these are no doubt right.

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