HERE AND THERE.

Evening Star, Issue 10766, 29 October 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

HERE AND THERE.

The motor car (says the London ‘Daily Telegraph’) has not achieved the signal and speedy triumph over all other forma of vehicle anticipated for it by its scientific admirers. The scare among cabmen has long since subsided, and the gleam of hope yhich appeared for a moment in the eyes ■of the tired cab horse has died out. It has become evident that the vision of a metropolis in which the sound of hoofs should be as unheard as it is in the streets of Venice will have to be adjourned, at any rate, until the dawn of the next century, and that for some years to come there will still be a certain demand for horses as a source of locomotive power.

The experiences of M. Alfred Page De la Furetiere, if not of the Rongement order,ought to. furnish a suitable plot for the maker of thrilling stories, a la Gaooriau, or to form the groundwork of another drama like ‘The Silver King.’ Thirty-seven years ago Furetiere was condemned at Nantes for an alleged attempt to murder his mother. As the family carriage was driving at midnight through the forest of Oouffe, a pistol was suddenly fired at such close quarters that it slightly scorched Madame Page’s face. The bullet pierced the hood of the carriage. M. Page said that ho dashed after the assailant; a second shot was certainly fired, and went throtlghfche young man’s leg. After the verdict given against him, he served fifteeen years’ penal servitude in New Caledonia before he was released. Restored to liberty, he made a fortune of two million francs in’coffee-plant-ing in the actual place of his imprisonment. The only point wanting in the tale is supplied by the assertion that one of the magistrates responsible for the verdict was the man who inherited the large fortune that the prisoner had to forfeit. Could anything be more romantic?

1 ■ 9 m .0 The new system of treatment-of prisoners known as the restricted association of prisoners has been introduced in Maitland Gaol (New South Wales). Under the new system, the prisoners’ meals are served in their cells, and in case of short-sentenced prisoners, under t)venty-five years of age, physical drill is enforced. The electric

! For th* flwt tin* in Iter cwwr cess of Wales figure* on a postage stamp, for Newfoundland has enshrined her on the new orange three-cent stamp which . was issued on August 1. This is -the-third of a series of Royal portraits to appear on the stamps of Newfoundland. The first two—the one-cent stamp with Her Majesty’s portrait, and the two-cent stamp with that of the Prince of Wales—were issued in November last. The next will be » half-cent stamp j with Prince Edward of York, andi about the : end of this year or the beginning of next a j five-cent stamp will appear, which will bear the Duke of York’s portrait.

A new Flemish word has been coined to express the French word “ auto-mobile.” Draw in plenty of breath and pronounce, it * ‘ Snelpaardeloofzon de rs poorwegpetroojrijtuig.” To be correct, if not already accepted, the word has at least been proposed at a session of the Flemish Academy *t,Antwerp.

A curious experiment has been tried in Berlin to discover how fast the military shoemaker could work in case of war. A kind of general rehearsal was held, to which 1,200 shoemakers were bidden. They were installed in the workshops of the Ist Artillery Regiment. The trial lasted a month, without a moment off. The shoemakers were divided into two bodies, one for day and the other for night work. They had in attendance forty workmen, ready to repair the machines in case of any temporary breakdown. During the four weeks the 1,200 shoemakers produced, by working day and night, the very respectable total of 2,500 pairs of boots per diem.

The ‘lmperial Gazette’ of - Berlin has piobably the smallest circulation of any newspaper in the world. Only two copies are printed daily, and these are reserved exclu sively for the Kaiser. The ‘ Gazette ’ contains a concise but lucid resume of the most important events that have occurred in various parts of the world.

General James, an ex-Postmaster-General of the United States, and an ardent advocate of international cheap postage, recently wrote to the Duke of Norfolk: “ International penny postage would triple and perhaps quadruple the service between England and the United States, My own ppinion a that the time is very opportune for you to consider the project, and I feel confident thav you would find a unanimous public opinion, whioh would warmly welcome an international penny postage.” The cable told us last week that the English PostmasterGeneral has acted on the hint from America.

The folly of fighting for heavy damages after defendant has offered a reasonable compromise was instanced in the action of Mrs Williams, widow of Dr Williams, against a Melbourne chemist. Dr Williams, a notorious morphia maniac and cocainist, was supplied by the chemist’s assistant with atropine in mistake for morphia. The negligence was admitted. Dr Williams injected a dose of one of the drugs into his arm, and die A—from atropine poisoning, as the widow alleged. The chemist offered her £4OO in settlement of the claim. She preferred to go in for £3,000 damages. The medical evidence was not clear as to the actual cause of the doctor’s death, the symptoms being consistent with cocaine poisoning. The juxy found for defendant, with costs, and the comely lady went sadly home to think about it.

1 Lloyd’s News ’ has followed up some re velations of prison life at Wormwood Scrubbs by a remarkable series of statements relative to Broadmoor. Money is declared to be an “ open sesame ” to privileges and luxuries that the non-paying cannot obtain. The following is an extract from the article published on August 7:—“ Five years ago a manufacturer was sentenced to fifteen years’ penal servitude for fraud. He was soon afterwards sent to Broadmoor as a lunatic. • After a medical examination some two years since, he was declared to be hopelessly insane, and incurable. His friends thereupon agreed to take him out of the country, and he left a free man. Thus ‘ hopeless lunatic ’ proceeded to South Africa, where he is a partner in a thriving business. Moreover, he has since visited this country perfectly sane.”

A unique dismissal of a batsman occurred in Cevlon in a match between teams of soldiers of the R.A. and R.E. A gunner was fielding in the “ country.” The ball was hit high in the air in his direction. He ran backwards to catch it, but, misjudging it, did not get his hands underneath. The ball hit him plump on the top of his pith helmet (a regulation one), and, instead of bouncing off again, it went right through, resting on his head inside. His helmet was flattened somewhat over his ears, and so he caught the ball! It was rough on the batsman, though the fieldsman probably found it rather hard.

A new phase of the Labor question was presented the other day to the Port Melbourne (Sandridge of the old digging days) Borough Council. The Public Works Committee of that body had recommended the acceptance of a tender for the supply of horses, drays, and drivers for twelve months at 7s 4d a day, although the specifications required that the drivers should be paid not less than 6s 8d a day. The Council were fortunately composed of practical men, who know by what means there could be a nominal compliance with the specifications, although the margin for contractor and horse and cart was only Bd. It was put plainly by Cr Bain, who said that “nearly all the tenders were in the names of companies. This meant that the men were proposing to sweat each other. They would pay a certain amount to the owners of the horses and drays, and then work for the balance.” An illustration of the truth of the saying that there are more ways than one of killing a pig. Of course, there was a councillor to plead that the “ interests of the ratepayers ” demanded acceptance of the lowest tender. Seme men will never learn that ratepayers have “interests” other than those represented by pounds, shillings, and pence, ani attempts to teach them are lost effort. The heart and conscience of the majority were sound. Members refused to deliberately shut their eyes to plain facts, and fresh tenders are being invited.