General Intelligence.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 73, 2 December 1875, Page 6

General Intelligence.

The daughter of a Sco'ch earl who got into (rouble arid wv.s divovoeAfroin hcv hi::bnncb has been re-iimvied ;o him, and they are about to proceed to New Zeals nd. The railway authorities of New South Wales ate Hbout to adopt the " Manu Boudoir Sleeping Car," The. advantages of this car are an elegant r saloon drawing-room by day and a luxurious bedroom with beds, hair mattresses, and fresh linen by night. A young lad washed the dirt from underneath the old Bank of New South Wales at Wetherstohes, and netted, gold to the vaiue of £7 15s for his labor. A dreadful murder has been eonA mitted at Morarn'a station,!' near Wentworth, Adelaide. Richard Anderson, a station hand, quarrelled with the cook, Edward Brown, and knocked down and dragged him into the river, j Both, were drowned. A northern journal congratulates the Ngatikuhunguna tribe on having a chief among them of sufficient wealth, foresight, and generosity that he can afford to give away a block of land of over 38,000 acres in extent for educational purposes. This is the most noble o-ift tbat any man, perhaps, in the whole of the Australian colonies, has hitherto conferred on posterity. Political honors, the ' Cromwell Argus' says, are at a premium just now — snug, comfortable billets, even, are as naught in comparison. Mr Main, 'he District Land Megistrar, is a case in point. If report speaks truly, this gentleman intends resigning* or has already resigned his appointment, with the view of wooing the sweet voices of the Mount Ida electors. . He is an old hand at electioneering, and Mr De Latour will find him a pretty hard nut to crack when the campaign opens. The 'Waikato Times' says: — We have learned on good authority that Inspector Northcroft's servant has just walked with his arms and accoutrements on the old mail track from Kihikihi to Taupo, through the heart of the King country. He accomplished the journey in two days, being every-: where hospitably treated by the natives. One ol the latest novelties we have met with is a set of what are known as ; " Neighbor's Hive?," exhibited in the j shop window of Mr Cleave, seedsman, Dee-street. They are certainly most ingenious structures,|evidently designed by some patient student of the habits of "■ the busy bee." By means of bellglasses, ventilation tubes to regulate the temperature, and artfully-contrived slides, &c, it . is rendered possible to direct the operations of the little laborers, and rob them of its products with impunity — a potentiality that will be fully appreciated by amateur bee- j masters. — * Southland News.' The ' Taranaki Budget ' in referring ! to an inquest which was held in that town, says : — The jurymen, some of whom went glumly to duty, had life put into them suddenly .on going to view the dead body. A red cow, fresh from the bush, wild and untamed, having managed to elude her driver, charged, the jurymen. Surprising agility "vyas shewn in the matter of clearing fences and racing on the part of said jurymen, who happened to be on foot. Brave men who had seen hard sjivica, and who would be the last to turn übout in front of the enemy in war limes, turned tail quickly from the cow and sued away as on wings. In proof of the time-honored adage that '• misfortunes never come singly," witness the following clipped from an Auckland paper : — " Since the committal of the prisoner Smith, at Auckland for passing valueless cheques, advices have been received that, by the death of a parent, he is now entitled to a half-share in the proprietory of the * Chester Chronicle ' one of the oldest newspapers in England." Poor Smith ! The gaol was bad enough, but a halfshave in a newspaper awaiting him when he conies out ? What has he done that he should be so persecuted. An Auckland contemporary of a late date records that "An outrage of so gross a character was never yet perpetrated in Auckland as that which occurred during the performance at the Prince of Wales' Theatre. Some miscreant in the dress circle sprinkled vitriol on the people below in the stalls; We can scarcely believe that this was done with more malicious intent than that of mere wantonness ; but had the liquid fallen on the face and eyes of anyone, disfigurement and blindness must have been the result." The following interesting anecdote of > a dog's affection for its master is related by the * Adelaide Observer :— " A few | days since a lad of Mr John Kennedy's^ of Sweet Home, saw his dog watching a hollow log and barking, and on going up he attempted to thrust his arm into the log, with an idea of pulling out an opossum j but the dog jumped between him and the hole, laid hold of his sleeve and pulled it. ' The lad caught him by the collar and threw, him back, and again attempted to thrust his arm into the hollow timber, when the dog again sprung to the hole and entered it, at the same time seizing a snake, unfortunately by the tail. In an instant the reptile fastened its venouous fangs in the dog's lip, from which the poor faith 4 ful animal died in about an hour — died in doing more than many a man woujd do for his brother, being \yith . hinj ■ equally aware of the probable deadlyissue of -the c0nf1ict." ......

The 1 World* a ;Lpndon-^;xi'ew'spaper,-in its city artiele,.remarks :~"The debts of our colonies, with exception, perhaps, of New Zealand, ;ar6 certain to be paid." The 'Daily Telegrnph' says :—However we may politically differ from Sir ; Julius ' Vbgel, ! we are confident he never would have counselled the attempt to pass such a bald measure as? the Abolition Bill of last _> session, and, thus play into tho hands of his opponents, and make them the popular idols of the public on the eve of a general election. In its leader of the 22rd Oketopa,: 'Te Wananga thus wiites concerning Colonial Treasurer :— -" But an irritable, man is often indiscreet, and Harry Albert Atkinson left school at a preadolescent age." What period of life; can be called the pre-adolesent age ' Te Wananga' does hot inform us. A telegram from Invercargill says : —Mr J. P. Joyce, who has been for many years editor of the 'Southland News,' will be a candidate for the representation of Wallace!, Mr Joyce is a Provincialist, and holds liberal views on the land, education, and franchise questions, and is certainly one of the ablest politicians of the district. He is certain to run Mr Basstain very close, although if Dr. Monckton and Jock Graham insist upon going to theY poll, they will, of course, retard Mr Joyce's chance of success somewhat. The following is from a Victorian exchange : — "Two young telegraph clerks of somewhat hilarious disposition, found great amusement in carrying on a conversation with each other at a hotel j table by. ticking on. their plates with I knife, fork, and spoon. For the information of those not acquainted with telegraphy, it may be well to state that a combination of sounds constitute the telegraphic alphabet, and persons acquainted with those sounds can converse thereby as intelligently as with spoken words. While these funloving youths were seated at breakfast, a young man entered the dining-rocm with a handsome girl on his arm. The teleQTaphic tickers commenced as soon as the husband and wife seated themselves No. 1 opened the discourse as follows : — * What a lovely pigeon this is alongside of me — ain't she ?* No. 2 — * Perfectly charming; looks as if butter ! wouldn't melt in her mouth. Just married, I guess; don't you think so V No. 1 — * Yes, I should think she was. If that country bumkin beside her was out of the road, I'd give her a kiss for luck.' No. 2— Suppose you try it anyhow.' The reader way form some idea of the young men's consternation when the partner of the lady picked up his knife and ticked of the following vigorous message : — 'This lady is my wife, and as soon as she gets through with her breakfast, I propose to wring both your necks — you insolent whelps.' " An extraordinary hailstorm is reported from Brisbane. The ' Courier ' says : — " As Cobb and Co.'s coach was on its way from the Logan to Brisbane on the afternoon of the 29th October, it encountered, when about three miles from town, a prodigious hailstorm, and was battered by a shower of lumps of ice of extraordinary size. There was fortunately no outside passengers, but the driver was struck on the hand and the skin frayed by the blow. The horses became unmanageable under the blows they received, and bolted at full gallop, the driver only succeeding in pulling them up after the shower abated. Mr Shaw, the manager for Cobb and Co., brought a basinful of hailstones to our office as soon as the coach arrived. The specimens were a few which had fallen into the coach, and were gathered out of it after reaching town. They had no doubt lost a good deal of their substance by the time they reached us, but were still the size of hens' eggs. 'We weighed them and found one to turn the scale at an ounce and threequarters, and the whole lot averaged about an ounce and a half all round. The weight does not give a full idea of their size, for they,, were very light in proportion to their ftulk, and, when put into water thawed rapidly, showing, as they did so, cavities upside." A correspondent of the 'San Francisco News Letter,' now in England, writes: — "Many anecdotes are told concerning the sort ot relationship which exists between our honored lady the Queen, and her faithful servant, John Brown. Some of these must, of course be taken with a grain of salt ; but the following, I believe, can be relied upon : — John's affection for Her Majesty is very great. It was Prince Albert who first took the man, simply because he was straightforward and independent. John never alters his broad Scotch tongue for any one, not even Royalty itself. The Queen was once getting cosily settled upon her Highland pony ; the animal being small and the roads dusty, it became necessary to tuck up her riding habit with a pin John Brown was performing this office, when suddenly, * Oh, dear,' exclaimed Her Majesty, 'you have hurt me, Brown/ 'Your Majesty should wear mair claes, then,' was John's reply. Brown was presently after sent in to fetch a certain mantle, which the Queen described. Instead of bringing;the one wanted, John brought a much thicker one. f Brown,' said the Queen, 'that isn't the one at. all.' ' It's just this an' nae ither, your Majesty,' said John, buckling it behind the saddle. ; ' I ken mair aboot the weather than you ;'■ and ' the; Queen submitted like a child."

A Scarlet fever is still in bourne, and several deaths; are reported, principally among young children, r : The v new , 7 Presbyterian 7 Church, Otepopo, is fast approaching eoEipletion, and will be opened oh 26 th .December. Two fine specimens of" tiger; f cubs have arrived irom India for the Mel- ; bourne AGoimatisation Society; ■ A Victorian wheat-sowing machine ; sows seed 60 feet wide as fast as a horse, can walk. It is attracting attention. The notorious Melbourne criminal,; Weechurch, is now on. his trial for attempting to murder Warden. Morari. The prisoner admits the attempt, but: says that it was not out of malice to the warder, but to relieve himself from the, tantalising and , unjust misery he was suffering, (We observe the trial is over, and the prisoner has been sentenced to deaih. The Melbourne exhibition was closed on Tuesday after being open for seventy two days. The number of visitors was 240;000, and the receipts £8000. The exhibits are now being shipped to Philadelphia, and the executive officials take their departure shortly. According to our Waikouaiti contemporary, nine of the Maories ac that place have joined the Good Templars. This, says the ' Herald,' should be an example to those rangitiras of the North Island, who are too fond of the waipiro. Two men were drowned at the railway bridge, Wanganui, on Saturday. Five men were crossing in a boat when there was a heavy fresh in the river, and the boat was swept against the line and upset. Two got out easily, another ] had a narrow escape. Two were swept a\ray. One leaves a wife and family. The bodies will not be recovered till the fresh has subsided. The following regarding the prevalence of foot and mouth disease in Aberdeenshire is from a home exchange : — At a meeting of the Local Authority for the county of Aberdeen, Sheriff Comrie Thomson presiding, it was reported that since the middle of Jul v.: there had been six new outbreaks of pluero-pneumonia within the county, and that thirty cattie had been slaughtered. At the date of. the meeting there : were four centres of disease. Foot-and-mouth disease had been unusually pre-' valent throughout the entire county, there having been no fewer than 561 centres reported to the police within the past two months. TII3 total number of cattle kept at these centres is 14,000, and of that number about threefourths were affected. The disease is : still spreading, 166 centres having been reported during the month. A co'nvertion arose as to the propriety of memorialising the Privy Council to grant powers to the Local Authority to keep Irish cattle out of the county, but the matter was left over. A complaint was made by a farmer that infection was spread by means of hunting dogs going over infected farms, and thence to farms on which no disease existed. It was resolved to abide by the rule now inforce in regard to dogs — namely, that dogs on infected farmsshall be chained, or otherwise prevented from straying. It was * unanimously agreed again to memoralise the Privy Council to extend the period intervening between the last case of pleuropneumonia, and the removing of the restriction from thirty days to sixty days. The San Francisco *News Letter' invites the Prince of Wales to visit Australasia and America. It concludes in the following style : — For mqre reasons than can be enumerated, we are better worth the acquaintance of j the ruler of the English people than any other human beings under the sun. Then let him come and look at us also, and let us look at him. We have somewhat to show him withal—somewhat of the curious, to those who would be curious intelligently, and according to the spirit of the age. We will lodge him in the grandest habitation wherein it is privileged for merely mortal man at this day to lodge. We will entertain him in the " Palace " of American sovereigns, and look you we will please the palate of him with him dainties. He shall glide over the boundless plains of California and see what irrigation means with us. He shalldrop to the depths of Comstock. and look upon mines and mining, the like "whereof are not to be seen elsewhere upon this footstool. The wonders of Yosemite shall be to him a possession and joy thenceforward for ever. And we will give him a welcome as hearty and as honest as ever greeted British majesty from the days of Norman William to his own. „ He shall lead a quadrille with beauty to make his head swim, and -take down to supper as much wit as would have curled the wig of his gallant granduncle. He shall think that the crown jewels of Austria have burst their iron guards to burn upon the necks and foreheads of our dames. TTn brief, ber twixt that " champagne atmosphere " which intoxicates even the strawberry vine into putting forth a. September berry, and the awful car-loads of silver bricks that render the tales of A.rabi^ only as sounding i brass, the 'Prinbe shall become a Oalifornian from crown to toe, and go back to his .wife and bairns the better husband;, and father for his experience pfuß.; 7 Thus shall he be the tye'tterAan^ King. . God save King Ed^ardVli* ?.

Tt K^ .< the Tuilleiiefc^ aji^feye^L^ tlusAdecisieri^ ing it woiil'a^bißAtop^arge'V Cdolttpwn •' advicps v state v that goldis freelyicbmin^^in:; .There" ai'e ! gre&t 'com-... plaints 'of^iiikifficient' police 'prUtoctiphl SeterarEuropeans'have been' rimrdered and earwM off ty A tUa~ blacks, who Aatfe all cahhibalsA : " A ■■•-'.& Wages are coming down in : Wellington, carpenters ; how being only able' to coniman'd from lOs ;fo ; lis per day, while ;* on some of the railway cbritractli the wages have. been reduced to ; 7s for the best ordinary navvies. * '" When the Victorian' Assehibly met there was a good majority of members on the . Government side of the Housed Sir James; M'Gulioch, stated that lie would be prepared 'to make the'firiHri^ cial statement , on , Tuesday. The Government proposed introducingamehded " Land and Public Health Bills> also the postal cardsystera. - - ; A determined case bf suicide is re-i ported from the Upper HuttA A man nanied Richard Waygood; employed 6t William's Hotel, got up" about 6 o'clock-, and after performing some necessary wo rk,' retired into the taprooiri,and with a double-barrelled gun shot himself through the che^t. He appears to have acted very deliberately^ ' for it is surmised that he had a rope to'the" trigger^ and tnrned the piece towards his body • pulled the rope, and fell ' mortally wounded. -^ . - The Empress of Austria has derived much benefit from her residence at St. Valery. Sportsmen will regret to learn that her hunting days were nearly numbered by a fall when but ridiiig'. I She remained in Paris five days when " homeward bound," and enjoyed herself like a school girl, visiting the lions and shopping likejm . ordinary tourist. Paris, as the Prince of Wales observed!, is the only place where royalty can enjoy a holiday. Another distinguished lady is the bride-elect of Prince ' Milan, of Servia. She is occupied purchasing her trousseau, and is assisted by 7her future mother-in-law— a lady of AhonoX — and, it is; necessary to ' add, two detectives, as the latter have orders never to lose sight of her whenever she take's ! I her walks abroad. The' Prince sends,! j his fiance a telegraphic letter daily ,ahdi a bouquet. She had selected a white' velvet robe for her bridal costume, but had to relinquish it on account of thb weight. WritingjOf the arrest of Mr Solomon the Wellington correspondent of : the ' Canterbury Times ' sa}'s :• little excitement was occasioned on Sunday in the Empire' Hotel, by the arrest of one of the people staying there, air' B. PI. Solomon, a traveller for the. Dunedin firm of Matheson and Co. He was given into custody by a clerk of the Bank of New South Wales at Wanganui, who had followed Ahim, and the accusation is one of forgery 1 and uttering a cheque for £90 13s 3d, purporting to be drawn by Mr Andrew Todd, a Wanganui merchant. This cheque was paid without hesitation at tbe Bank, and the endorsement of the presenter was not even'requirei. No suspicion as to its genuineness was entertained for ten days, when it was found to be a forgery. The teller was then called onto recollect 1 by whom it had been presented, and he described,! and afterwards identified; Solomon as ; | the man; although lie had brily'seeh: j him once before— the day previous to: the presentation of the forged chequer— when he presented a genuine cheque for £10, bearing the same signature. The case has been remanded for'avvbek for further evidence, and Solomon! has : been released from custody on bail, which was at once forthcoming.. The matter has created some little, stir amongst the Jewish residents here,: Solomon being well known, and his, father occupying a very respectable; position in Punefiin.r "When arrested,the sum of £118 in cash ,\yas found upon him. or in his luggage.. A j