GENERAL NEWS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4832, 4 February 1887, Page 3

GENERAL NEWS.

Fifteen thousand letters are returned to the. dead letter office in America every day. Lasson,a commission agent, who recently ' forged a cheque for £6000 in Melbourne, has been certified as insane, and committed to the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum. ■ The aboriginals in Gippsland intended to welcome the Governor of Victoria with a : . corroboree ; but Pis Excellency P**";??. to counttjntuice S» demoralising ati exhibition. The County Court action recently raisedby the Port Vale Football club against Stoke for Eking away three of. their players—Row- ' ley Bateman, and Owen—-ior bleach of a<Trecment, has ended in a verdict in their favor. Stoke were thus placed in a very awkward position, and practically -were at the mercy of their victors, who : dictated to V* them their own The conditions stipulated were";—lfro* be released from the Stoke F.C, .£2O» to bj the Stoke P.O. forjfc«ty§®sf?P ose!, iTi%e borough of Btofero, £10" ip be paid for penalties, court fees,'and law. expenses, When the | (.hique was handed over, Port Vale signed j ajfiileascior.llowleyi' Bateman, and O.wen, Mβ. thru? cl<j? : ed a unjave m ; ' ; Queen's Bench Division has gijen. a I ' decision whieli is- luintokea tofitenefr to <?» - view *Mch the law takes of betting, and I S yet commends .oroijy wrand - J^ They 'nfyOft$ would, eeem, <pftw

vocation being an illegal one, and it is tho fast no doubfc that 'totting , is an occupation ivhich modem legislation has done its best to put down. But, all the same, betting exists, and with somo portions —a very limited n umber one would think—it is a profitable calling. So tho Queen's Bench Judges have decided that on tf>o profit they make, betting mdn, like other people, must contiibntc to tho direct taxation of the country. A gentleman in tho public service has been informed by his medical mau that he must wholly abstain from every kind of intoxicating liquor, that, indeed, every glass of wine, beer, or spirits he drinks, is tho sfime us a nail driven into his coffin. There are a number of juniors, each of whom would obtain a step by thy retirement of • this gentleman from the service. Since the doctor's prohibition Ims become known they have acted with the most extraordinary hospitality to their senior. Ho is escorted daily from the public offices down tho town by three or four of his yonng friends, each of whom insist on shouting for him, the invitation eiich time being , , yHave another nail, old man 'r'' This has 'been going on for some time till tho juniors are bogiuning , to doubt tho doctor's skill. " "We may Mil him in the end," said one of them, " but it will cost a great deal more than the increase we would all get."—Ago.

United action for the destruction of vermin in the agricultural districts of the Colony has (writes tho Argus) apparently become an annual event. Last year an enormous slaughter resulted, and it is hoped that this year tho response to the appeal of the Minister of Lauds and Agriculture will be even more general and not leas vigorous than it was twelve months ago. The date has yet to be fixed, but it will probably be towards the end of February. The usual circulars are to-be sent to the local bodies throughout the Colony as soon aa the arrangementshave been finally settled. The new system of securing the destruction of vermin on Crown lands by tender is being tried with fairly satisfactory results in various parts of the Colony. It is less expensive to the State than tho system of employing men for the work, but it remains to bo seen whether it is equally effective. The general impression in tho department is that the results will not prove so satisfactory. Tenders arc being called for the supply of 1000 drums of bisulphide of carbon to be used in tho work of rabbit extermination dining the current year.

As a counter-blast to the suicidal practices of the fasting- men Succi and Merlatti, it is announced that Parisians arc about to contract for a new sensation in the shape of ebony Joe Hawkins, of Chicago, who may be termed the champion eater. Joe is a robust Ethiopian, by trade a tanner, and his gastronomic feats have been detailed at great length in pathological publications. His morning meal consists of coffee and milk, toast, ham and eggs, with bread and marmalade to wind up. At one o'clock he disposes of a sirloin of beef with potatoes and cabbage in abundance, a tart and cheese, all watered with ten pints of ale. At six o'clock he takes tea, pickled herrings, muffins, and ale, while his supper consists of a whole fish, half a shoulder of pork, potatoes, and numerous drinks. Joe has been continuing this regimen for two months, and will continue it, he says, for another. Parisians will no doubt find the burly and voracious black an expensive sensation, particularly after Merlatti, whose keep costs only a trifle for fresh water. Meanwhile Merlatti is dwindling away to a skeleton, but he persists in going on to the fiftieth day. Succi is also undergoing his torture, and fences daily, despite his increasing weakness.—Telegraph.

In the German Reichstag Major Haberding, of the War Ministry, delivered a lengthy roport on the military forces of Germany, France, and Russia, which he estimated on the present peace footing as follows:—Germany, 427,000 men; France 476,000 ; Russia, 614,000 in Europe alone. The speaker than gave very, detailed information about the technical organisation of the different armies. He stated the increase of the French army since 18S0 to be 23,000 infantry, and said that the French artillory is now stronger by 450 guns than the Gorman. After explaining General Boulanger's reorganisation plan, which includes an annual increase of 33,000 recruits, he turned to the Russian army. Here he computed the increase during the past six years at 108 reserve battalions, 104 squadrons, and 28 batteries, besides a complete division transferred from the Caucasus to Wilna, near the Prussian frontier. Moreover, the completion of the Russian railway system in the western provinces is advancing - rapidly. According to statement by General Vannoffsky, the Russian Minister for War, Russia's military organisation is based on the eventuality of war with Germany, Austria, . and Roumania, whose extreme force is estimated at two millions of men, which would be opposed to fully five millions of allied Russians and Frenchmen.

The Morning Star of Jaffna, in Ceylon, reports the death of the taxidermist of the Victoria Museum ir that town from the bite of a cobra, under very curious circumstances. While feeding a cobra, which he had supposed was harmless from previous extraction of the poison bag, it suddenly bit his hand. For a few minutes he took no notice, thinking the bite harmless, but pain and nausea soon began. Carbolic acid whs applied, ligatures were bound round tho arm, an incision was made at tho bite, and the" blood of the arm was wholly removed. Various antidotes were used, but the unfortunate man lost the power of speech, and soon after every musolo seemed to have become paralysed, and breathing entirely ceased. Artificial respiration was therefore resorted to, and tliis operation was unceasingly continued for nine hours, when at last the patient made an attempt to breathe, and soon regained consciousness enough to make his wants known. He steadily improved until the Friday, the accident having taken place on a Wednesday,"and then astonished those around him by statins: that during the severe operation of Wednesday night he was conscious of all that was taking place, but was unable to make his feelings known, not having power over a single muscle. It would seem that the poison paralysed the nerves of motion, but not those of feeling, for he could see, and hear, and feel, although the physician, even by touching the eyeball, could get no response either of feeling or consciousness. His partial recovery was, however, followed by a high fever, and inflammation of the lungs, and he died, perfectly conscious, on the following Sunday.