MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

Inangahua Times, Volume III, Issue 91, 19 March 1877, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

Moody and Sankey's Chicago building for worship, will accommodate 10,000. If will be converted iato stores after the revival is ever. "Government House" at Brighton, West Coast, appears to be turned to strange uses if we miy judge from the following paragraph from the Charleston Herald of a recent date :— " A fire occurrred at the Government House, Brighton, on Tuesday night last. The buiidiug was occupied by a man named Murphy, a bootmaker, who was away from the house at the time tha fire broke out. The building was burned to the ground, and Morphy, lost leather and tools to the amount of £50." Great efforts are to be made in Djblin to reduce the number licensed public houses, and q lite a warf-ire is ra^injj between the press, the publican.*, and the magistrates. Mr. David Kennedy, jun., son of th« we.l-known Sottish vocalist, has in tiie press a work descriptive of four years* tour round the world. It will be entitled "Colonial Travel." A Featherless F,>wl.— We were shown the other day a poult about three months' old, which has scarcely a feather on it, nor are there signs of any likely to grow beyond'a small tuft on its head and * few short ones coming from the end of its wings. There is a slight down on parts of its body, but the skin is plainly visible, and the fowl looks as if it had been plucked for cooking. The animal is strong and apparently healthy. It mixes with the other chickens, and is as lively as any of them. We have seen a hairless horse, but this is the first time we have seen a featherless fowl alive. The Re*. Dr Waddy, ex-President of the Wesleyan Conference, and a leading preacher of the Wesleyan connection, died suddenly at Bristol, on the 7th November, aged 72. He was for many years Principal of Wesley College, Sheffield, which he had a leading share in founding. A new iron ship of 1150 tons register was launched by the builders, Messrs Alexander Stephens and sons, Linthouse, Goran, on the 14th November, having been built for the New Zealand Shipping Company. She was christened the Opawa, and will shortly be laid on the berth for Lyttelton, Captain Fox being appointed to command her. The Glasgow papers state that the Opawa's figure-head is intended to represent Mrs Richardson, wife of yonr late "Master of Public Works," as they term him with one consent. Messrs Stephens and Sons have two more ships in hand for the same owners. A writer in the World gives the folfoHowing anecdote :— " Honor am>>ng thieves " I fear no longer exists. I have no wish to class ready-money bookmakers ander that category, further than that they prey upon the weaknesses of the backers, bat from an incident that happened daring the late Hough ton Meeting at Newmarket, I see too clearly that they prey upon each. A ready«money man at the termination of a race one afternoon' diving a capacious hand into his bag to satisfy the claims about to be made on him, brought up a handful of sovereigns. Let as hope that the arm that jogged his own and scattered the sovereigns in a golden shower on the ground was an inadvertent arm. I have only to relate the result. With whoops and yells his ••pals," who stood around him, flung themselves on the treasure. The owner battled in vain ; a few seconds, and not & piece of geld was to be seen. One " pal/

touched, perhaps % liw expression, on , the ready-money OH* 1 * '•«« P* Wgat * , know it was the man't owl aapiUl) [ hasteDed to restore what he hti pi«k«l up. It was.half a foveidgn,? i There is some science, a little in|fttefy» , and a good deal of uncertainty lboifrtb» game of croquet. The other day, when ft clergyman made an evening call on one of his congregation, and was invited to 1 play a game, he said that he was only too ' glad, remarking that such social game* ' served sometimes to place pastor and parishioners on a more friendly footing. ' Before the first game was over, a yoiift* I lady hit him in the back with her mallet, be fell over a hoop, and two of the playete decided never to darken his church again on account of his cheating. A correspondent of the North-Eastero Ensign (Victoria) writs respecting a wonderful lusuj naturae : " A most extra* ordinary freak of nature has occurred itt this district recently. A cow on Mr Telford's run, the Xarrawoaga, station, has brought fo-th a calf with twelve horns growing from its head. Such parts of it as have been preserved are now in the possession of Mr Hugh Little, of this place, and have excited considerable curiosity. The two largest horns are thirteen inches long, and shortest threeinches, whole twelve growing straight from the head ; in fact there is not a bone about it like any known animal ever seeo before, for instance, the shin bones are all double, and others very strangely formed. We have a distingoised visitor by the Zealandia from San ifancisco, in theperson of Mr James Mace, the Champion of England. This well-known pugilist i* en route for Sydney and Melbourne,, where he will give sparring exhibitions* Mr Mace is a hale, hearty, and even gentlemanly man, 43 years of age, and of pleasing appearance, tjpou landing, he went to Perkins' Occidental Motel, and partook of a rofresber. He w*4 soon, recognised through a portrait ia Mr . Perkins' collection, by a Dumber of persons who followed him through th© streets. Mace is accompanied by MrHarrison, his agent. I, is related of a famous dean, who flourished in- the early . part of the century, that he, on one oc* easion, gave great scandal to bis doth, by being seen, one day, in animated! conversation on board a steamer with Mendoza, who, in his day, was as famous a pugilist as Jem Mace was a few years ago. Being taken to task by a brother clergy mm, for his affability to a member of the prize ring, the dean,. who was an enthusiastic sportsmio at heart, rubbed his hand* and replied, * " Ah, I knew lie was at the bead of his profession, and I meant to get something out of hiuv" So with those of us who may not approve of pugilism, and there atv a few now «rho do, the presence of ■ Jim M aca in Auckland may be interesting as bringing us back, ia the shape of the last veritable champion of Ea^ltod ft glimpse of those by-gone d*ys whea the prize ring was a national institution, and Jim Ward drank his sherry at the tables of the nobility. — Auckland Star. Philadelphia has the reputation of being eminently moral, if not tlie most religious city in the Union ; and she baa lately ex- > hibited her piety to the world by the strenuous effort which, she made to prevent the opening of the Exhibition oa> ■ Sunday. In the neighboring villages- ' Sunday is observed witb great solemnity,. , and there is little mercy shown to the unfortunate ' wight who is caught in. l\\s " overt act of selling greens of a Sunday > morning." He rimy be expected to bemulcted in a fine of five dollars. The penalty for swearing posted up at some of" the railway stations is about the samefigure. In Philadelphia, however* laws of this sort are a dead letter. The side doors of the larger beer shop* are in foU swing, and the Sunday eootumption of liquor goes on with elosel doors. there just the same as it does in nine out of every ten public bouses here. Tbree* fourths of the theatres produce representatioßS of a flagrantly indecent character,, such as would not be tolerated fo%» single--1 night in any English speaking community outside the United States; and the Press* with the exception of the Ledger, comments with approval upon the performance of the Can-Can, Naked Troth, and other ' pieces of a licentious stamp. The schoolmasters and parsons have their work to do if Young America is to be keptevett- ! decently respectable. The Whitehall Review say* it it pro bable that before long another " mystery" case will come before the public. ! The police aw investigating '«WC there » ' reason to believe is a moat fool ©rime, and 1 one which, in regard to the horror of the * details, will quite eclipse the BaUam my»* tery case. [ A Dunedin telegram appears ia toe t Wellington Argu* m ftltowis-* In the , libel case of Perrier v Reid, the force* , were settled in Chambers. The Jttdg* , expressed a hope that for UieereiH of toe Press the case would not come on for trial. The defendant applied fof • Commission to examine Cre^aton, and a 1 change of venue to Wellington is asked for by the plaintiff, but not «ettled." ( A butcher named Charlet Parsons, re- ; siding in Cloth 3 air, has been summoned ' to the London Guildhall by the Soeietjr ior the Prevention of Cruelty to Animate forcuHing off a cat's tail. It was proved

that tB feotifig anno;«a be< came th« aoimiil came into his house and ohased hist rabbits, caught it, tlioed »,way its <ail to the stump, and then threw it oat of the window. He was sentenced to 000 month's imprisonment with hard labor. A small fine was inflicted upon Joshua Pearsonr, who was a raombefr of a large and somewhat disorderly crowd, which assembled for the purpose of ruubbing Parsons. The Fife Free Press states that a few of the coins which were lately found near Jerasalem have been secured by Mr John Laroie, F.R.S., Kircaldy. The coins found consisted of shekels and half- 1 shekels of Jadoa, which are considered the most interesting of all ancient coins. They are silver of the great High Priest, and have the cop of manna on one side, and on the other the budding rod, with the legends in Hebrew. The date is also in Hebrew—viz., year one, being the first year of the Pontificate of Prinde Simon, or 144 years B.C. Notwithstanding their great age the coins are in fine preservation, both sides being perfectly legible.