TOWN & COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5951, 23 March 1880, Page 4

TOWN & COUNTRY.

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Supreme Court. —There, will bo a sitting 6f the Supremo Court in Chambersto-morrow morning at 11 o'clock. . i TIMA jiU rimileges connected with these races were sold on Hatorday' last, by Moflirs Jonas, '‘Haft,..olid Wildie, and realised a total of £628; being nearly -£100 more, than they were sold for on any former occasion. « . I . North Canterbury Baoes.—Acceptances for the various handicaps ln : these races, to* be held on Mondoy. noxt, and entries for the district races,' 1 close this; p>m>, when there will be a meeting of the Stewards to ascertain their financial position and other matters. Death of Mb Gbabk, the .Engineer.— By a letter received by the Drainage Board, il would appear that Mr Clark, Consulting Engineer to the Board, and who was jalso consulted by the City Council on thO Water -Works scheme, pn Jan. 22,1a5t,0f dancer, in the liver. '■ >, . , i ~, —— held

Leeston.—A thanksgiving service |wae hoi in tha Lseaton Wesleyan church lastJSnnday, conducted by the Rev W. Worker. The church was very* tastefully decorated: with evergreens and flowers,, with .the taxt on a red ground with white ’ letters. “ The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” while at the foot of the pulpit was a table of fruit and ears of grain.,, ~ Mosel Yachts.—On Friday night a,meeting of owners of model yachts was i held in Ly ttolton,. at iwhich ‘ a face was arranged for the boats on Good Friday. A discussion on allowing crooks to be vised in, turning the boats resulted iff the decision that they should be only guided by hand. The course is to be the same as that mftrkM outlon New Tear's Day. The entries are expected to be numerous. , „ | , ‘ TheHomebush-HoHoeata Section.—lt is understood that in consequence of a series of article which appeared in the Star last week in reference to the filing for tenders for the Hpmebush-Hororata section of the Canterbury Interior Railway, the friends-of- the Hon John Hall communicated with him npon (the Subject by telegraph, and the! Premier has,' in reply, intimated ijthat: he ’ has no. objection to a reference of the question to the-Railway Commission now sitting. , ’ WAiKAkAnm Conibubnob, KjpAioirThe conference of delegates from the various .'local bodies Interested in Messrs Dobson: and Son’s report on the Waimakariri lapsedyesterdayfor want of a quorum, the only representatives present being Mr G. H. Blaoki well, Mayor ■of Eaiapqi, and Mr Isaac Wilson, Chairman of the Kyreton Road Board. Mr E. Coup was present,| but ff qt being a member of any Board, the j meeting adjourned till a date to be fixed l by- the •Mayor. j . ... Ttbbkll’s OAsB.-r-It will be,remembered that some months ago an actor named Tyrrell was l arrested atPott Ohalnier* in mistake, for another man, brought to Christchurch, and put to very great f inconvenience in consequence; The case as was pointed out at the time was a particularly hard one, and . the authorities made as much amends aspossible by giving- Tyrrell a free pass to Invercargill. This, however, was not much, and : we are glad to learn from a Southern paper that the Governmentßave” given the young man £3O in satisfadtibn of His clffims for compensation. It was stated, with what, truth we do not know, that an action for £IOOO. damages had been, entered ;■ against the ; deteojiye who arrested Tyrrell.' Undo* the eircuinstonces it is not likely that more will be heard, cif it. 1.0.0 F., Lbeston.—A meeting of persons interested in opening an Oddfellows’ Lodge at Leeston was held at the Leeston. Hotel on Saturday evening last, There was a fair attendance, and Mr Jameson was voted to the chair; The Chairman stated 5 that he had called the meeting to discuss certain; matters in connection with opening a Lodge, and read a letter : from the Secretary of the Southbridge Lodge, stating that the petition for a Lodge in Leeston had been duly forwarded to the District Lodge in Christchurch. The meeting took a conversational tone, when several matters of interest were discussed, and: it was stated that already 19 new members had agreed to join, and it was thought ,that before long there would be 80 new members. It was. resolved to bold the meetings fortnightly on Monday evenings at the [Leeston Hotel. !

O.R.Y.—The members of the Engineer Cadets mustered at the Drill Shed last evening and.prooeeded to Cranmer square, where they were put through an,hour’s steady drill by Lieutenant Kemnitz. The lads show very good training and will be a credit to the headquarters battalion at the Wains ate re-, view. Thirty-five members have signified their intention of going to Waimato. The arrangements for the Christchurch review at Easter are rapidly approaching , completion, and the grounds of the Drill Shed present to the passer-by quite a martial look. .The Drill Shed itself is being fitted with new chacdeliers and extra gas burners, so that the shed and grounds on the night of the ball will present a very pleasing appearance. The Engineers, City Guards and Artillery Corps are hard at work practising for the various competitions at Easter, and by th«j way;in which they go through their various mahoeuvroß they will no doubt distinguish themselves in the various competitions. Steakdxng or tub Schoohbb Saxon,— This vessel, which got oh the North Spit of the Kaiapoi Bar oh Saturday mornpg, was floated off again during the night tide, but by some unaccountable means got oh to the south shore opposite the signal station, where she how lies. Part of her cargo of i timber has been landed, and the. representatives of the South British and New Zealand Insurance Companies went down yesterday to decide what steps should be taken regarding the remainder of her cargo, and towards getting the vessel off. The vessel is a good deal strained, and is making a quantity of water, but as she is well inside the river she is out of the sea, except'just at the top of high water when the easterly roll comes right in upon her over the bar. There should be no difficulty in getting the, vessel off when her 1 cargo is all out of her. Captain Mackenzie is the owner of the vessel, and this is.the first trip he has made in her. 'The cargo of timber is consigned to Mr J. Sims, and is insured in the New Zealand office for £l7O, while the schooner is. insured for. £760..in the South British office, .The vessel is valued at £IBSO, and was built at Auckland. | Sefton,—-An Entertainment was given in the Town Holl ph.Friday evening in aid of the Irish Relief Fund. Notwithstanding that many in the district were prevented from attending by threshing operations the hall was crowded to excess, ;Th(j completeness of the arrangements for the comfort and amusement of the audience reflected great credit upon the Committee, who' had been indefatigable in their efforts to make the entertainment a complete success. Mr J. Barclay presided, and explained the objeotpofthe meeting, after which the first part of the programme, consisting of songs and readings* was gone through, the following ladies and gentlemen kindly assisting s Mrs Vaughan, Misses Adams, Mathias and Scott, Hev E. Tout, and Barclay, Hunter and J. Wilson. During this part of the Entertainment two well-known gentlemen gave the "Mulligan: Guards,”: which excited roars of laughter, and received a; well-deserved encode- ■ The prograipme oon- : eluded with the amusing comedy of "Oor Geordifi, the Horrid Barbwan,”; given by a number of. amateurs, end the 'ffotaemaxtee', well-merited the applause Which was bestowed in' a most liberal manner. After votes of thanks the rooms was cleared, hpd. dancing indulged in {Mr H. Ferguson noting*® M.O.V untUtho early hours of the morning forced, the company to seek their, homes.

, , GBAUAM .RlflW«88( TUB ALLBOBD iOATTiK BTEALp4~ faghinit;. Graham Flowere of stedling cattle_ acct selling them in the Bangiora ealeyarde, will come on for bearing at tfie. Magistrate's Court, Grejmputh, on March2s. ’* i „ v- t< Tub W aim ax abxbi.-—Amcngit the various rivers in the Northern district that were in flood yesterday, consequent upon the heavy rain of tho day previous, was the north branch of tho Waimakariri. : The stream was full, the Eyre water making it muddy, while the main drains in the Bangiora district wore adding very materially, to the supply,, ( OiiAiMAHTB.—By referonoe to the report of. the City Council tt|eMi^ ( it will be seen that Meisrs Robeon and Soh have claimed Mr Blackwell’s alternative water supply scheme as theirs. OChey congratulate the Council upon having' accepted such a. scheme after . having expended some hundreds of pounds in professional advice. The Council, however, .has undertaken, through the Water Supply Ooijnmitteo, to point;out to Messrs Dobson tho inaccuracies contained in their letter. , Academesof Mubxo.— Tho AretKusa Star -Dramatic Company will open a short season at the Academy of .Music next Saturday. This Company, whiuh consists of-22 performers, had a very successful season at Invercargill and Dunedin, aud have ! become great favourites with the public. The Arethusa Company are now playing at Timaru for a few nights on their way here. Amongst the members are Mrs Hill, Miss Arethusa May, Mr Butfdrd, Mr Musgrove and other well known artists. • j The South Expbbss, As; South express was nearing -Normanby station on Saturday- afternoon, a passenger named Patrick Hanley lost his balance and fell from the platform of one of the carriages on to the side of the railway line. On the up-train reaching Timaru, the accident was reported to the offloials, and the District; Station Master proceeded to tho spot on ore of the engines, bub only to ascertain that Hanley had received no injury from the fall, but had walked on along the line to Makikihi on his way home. Accident at Txmaeu. —On Sunday afternoon a little child named Allen was.severely injured by a kick from a horse, which was wandering at large in Brown street. ! Sho was standing near the horse, and ft kicked her in the face, inflicting.a severe wound over the loft eye. The child %as taken td the , Hospital, where the wounds were dressed, and the little , sufferer is nowlmproving rapidly. The injuries are not likely to prove fatal,; The horse was taken charge of by tho police, and while being driven to the pojind it showed its vicious temper by charging Constable Thoreau with open month. ■ A Bbtival.—The City Council, at its meeting last evening, had a revival of the stormy proceedings of bygone days. , The aggrieved person was Councillor Gabes, who was considerably twitted respecting Bis house to house canvass in connection with the projected erection of poblio urinals. ; Whilst still labouring under a^feeling of irritation, a letter from Messrs Dobsoft and Son came up, and Councillor Gapes, who ‘constituted him 1 ' self the champion of these gentlemen, again became the object of a pretty general attack, which was, however, not at all of a spiteful Character. Apparently unable tq endure longer the verbal fusilado, Councillor Gapes Abruptly left the Council Chamber, 1 The! Teamway and the Cabmen.— At last evening’s meeting of tho City Council, a memorial-was.read fvoBT as bold era o? Hackney carriage And. drivers’ licenses, complaining of the. injustice to which were being subjected. They alleged that the frontage of the railway station was so taken up by the tram cars as to shut them ont from competition, despite the fact-that while the cabmen and others contributed a considerable amount to the funds of the city th'e proprietors of the tramway paid nothing. In the resulting discussion, it was shown that one piece of ground, which by special by-law had been declared to be a stand for ’busses, had also been given up to the Tramway Company. A conference was arranged between the By-law Committee and the Chairman of Directors of the Tramway Company. " 1.0.G.T., E.C.—At a meeting of the Liberator Lodge, No. 1, at the Temperance Hall, Gloucester street, on Thursday, March 11, Bro J. Hollingdale, W.0.T., presiding, Bro William Kent was unanimously elected Electoral Deputy. Several new members wore made, after which the Lodge closed. On Thursday, March 18, Bro J. Hollingdale, W.0.T,, presiding, after adding two more members to the roll, a vote of condolence was accorded to P.W.O.T. Bro Miller on the loss of his late wife. Bros Bridges and Hill, Lodge Deputies, announced to the Lodge the final result of the ballot for the District Deputy to be in favour of Bro William Kent. The meeting was addressed by s' rne brothers of the ship Waimate, from Lj ttelton, and one brother from England. Sovual brothers and sisters assisted in tho harmony of tho evening, after which the Lodge was closed in ' the customary manner. Adyentuees of the Odd Odfeddows’ Hadd.— For some time past, workmen have been engaged in removing the old Oddfellows’ Hall, Lichfield street, to make room for a new structure. The old building was purchased by Mr J. Willey, of St. Albans, who decided to place it on a section at the rear of the Railway workshops, at Addington, and there to convert it into two cottages. The front and large portion of the building was first removed, the usual large trolly being placed underneath it. As the affair, when in travelling order, was much too high to be got under the lines of telegraph wire at the Addington railway crossing, a considerable detour had to be made by way of Riccarton. All went well until getting into Crewe road, where a boggy piece of ground, extending koine 40 chains, was encountered. Naturally enough the heavy load persistently sunk the wheels into the ground,, and for two days no .fewer than 10 horses, aud 12 men were employed in getting the structure over the treacherous part. ■ The continued straining was fatal to the structure. It was by perseverance got alongside Mr Willey’s section, Ond there it fell to pieces, forming a complete wreck. Grown wiser by experience, Mr Willey is taking the rearward portion of the hall to pieces previous to removal. Hbathcotb Talley Wesleyan Chuboh, —; The seventh anniversary of tho above Church was celebrated on Thursday last in the District Schoolroom, by a tea and public meeting. The catering was entrusted to Mr Hiorns, of Christchurch, who provided an excellent spread. The tables ware presided over by Meadumes Duncan, Collins, Gray and Hurdley, and the Misses Kent; Weir, Sinclair, Chambers, Duncan, M'Dowall, Perkins and Buxton, when about 230 persons partook of the good things provided. After tea the room was rearranged and the public meeting commenced. The meeting was opened by the choir singing a hymn, and prayer by the Rev Mr Reid. The Rev Mr Baumber apologised for Mr A. O. Newton, 8.A., who was to occupy the chair that evening, hue had to return home earlier than expected, and requested Captain Davie to take the chair. The Chairman, after a short address, expressing his pleasure at being present that evening, palled upon Mr A. Martin, sen.; to read, the report from which it appeared that the income for the year was £24, and the expenditure -the same amount, thus•;still leaving a debt of £l3 on the Church property. The report also intimated that a vestry and porch required erecting, and that the church should be painted. Able and interesting addresses were delivered by the Revs Messrs Beok, Smalley, and Baumber, and Mr Dawson. The latter gentleman gave i a history of Methodism in the Valley, pointing .out that sixteen years ago, when he first preached there, be had the hill aide for a church and a boulder for a pulpit, and on the one side of him were the tents or camp of the tunnel workmen, and on the other the, tunnel works, the congregation being in the middle. During the evening several anthems from Sankey’s collection were supg by the choir, , under the able leadership of Mr Kent, Miss i Kent presiding at the harmonium. After the usual vote of thanks to the ladies who jpre- : sided at the tables, tho choir, the School Com- j mittee for the use of the school, and the ‘ Chairman, tho Benediction was pronounced , by the Rev Mr Baumber, which brought, to a , close the most successful anniversary ever ( held in, the Valley. The total proceeds rea- ■ hsed £l7. i ,

Thbaxbb Eotal. —There wa« a moderately attendance »t the Theatre Koyal last SJh,*S£,**•? Macaire ” werragsinWormod. ■ % were; received with . gr*ft farour. To-n.ght the inffln programme will be repeated, { Tbaohbbs' EXAMINATIOK.-Tfae examinations in Class D and E yesterday at the Normal School, number who presented themielTes were—Moles, 28 j females, 27. The History. Mr J. P« Bestell, acted as superT The Libbl OAOB.-—Tho libel case, Stead v. the Directors of the Otago Daily Times and Witness Company, was continued yesterday afternoon, and as a printd facts case was_heid bt the Bench to have been established, the Managing Director was committed for trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. The other Directors did not appear, but sent letters and telegram? 'Vow* were considered by the ’Bench as written in very bad taste. As the prosecutor, however, was content with the committal of on®. Director, the Benoh allowed the informations against the others to bo withdrawn. A report of the proceedings will bo found elsewhere. t Beqadfibld.—The customary services in connection with the anniversary of the Broadfield Sunday School were held on Sunday last. All were delighted by a visit which Captain Peek, in spite of storm and rain, paid to the district. The i worthy Captain conducted the afternoon service, and taking his text from Ecclesiastes XII., 1, “ Bememher the Creator in the dayk of thy youth,” addressed the children in | earnest and impressive words, which were listened to with rapt attention by all present. Several hymns, chosen from a special selection prepared for the anniversory meeting, were very heartily sung by the Sunday School Choir. On Enday next the anniversary tea meeting will be held, on which occasion the school managers will be greatly pleased to receive a visit from Christchurch and other friends.

Oaktbbbubt Collbgb.— -A apecial meeting of thd Board of Governors called for yesterday afternoon lapsed for want of a quorum. The members present were—Mr W. Montgomery (Chairman), the Most Bev the Primate, Bev 0. Fraser, Dr Coward, Messrs Teel. Sereday, and Tosswill, The Chairman said though he could take no vote in the absence of a quorum, he might mention that he bad colled the special meeting because the date of the ordinary meeting of the Board had fallen on Easter Monday, and as the business to be transacted made it necessary that! a meeting should be held, he had sent out notices for the special meeting. He wished they had had a quorum, as the Committee were anxious to obtain the sanction of the Board to the alteration in the boys’entrance to the Agricultural School, and also with reference to the scholarships, because it was necessary that these conditions should be advertised throughout the Colony without delay./ The Committee were very anxious to have these alterations made, and, under the circumstances, it was now a question with him whether he would call another meeting, or the responsibility of the work on himself! After consulting with his brother Governors, the Chairman resolved to call another special meeting for Thursday next at II a.m. A tea meeting and concert in aid of tbe Kaiapoi Wesleyan Church Organ Fund will be held in the Byreton District Schoolroom to-morrow evening. A public meeting Of ratepayers will bo held at the Oxford Bond Board Office on Saturday evening nflmis-paet 1 even. to nrgson the Government to proceed with the Oxford-Sheffield section of the Oxford-Temnka Bailway. Several of the merchants and other business sen* tlemen in Christchurch notify by advertisement in another column that their places of business will be closed for the Baster holidays. The annual general meeting of the Christchurch Football Club will be held «t the Commercial Hotel to-morrow evening at 8 o’clock.

Killed by a Meteob. —Aa David Meisenthaler, a well-known stockman of Whitestone township, was driving his cows to the barn about daylight on Jan. 13, he was struck by an aerolite and instantly killed. It appars as if the meteor had come from a direction a little west of south, and fell from an angle of about 60 degrees, for it first passed through a tall maple, cutting the limbs as clean as if it had been a cannon ball, and then struck him apparently on or under the shoulder, passing clean through him obliquely from below the right shoulder to above the left hip, and buried itself about two feet in the soft black ground. The poor man’s head and legs are injured, but the greater part of his body seems to have been crushed into the earth beneath the terrific aerolite, which is about the size of a common patent bucket, and ap* parently of a rough, round shape. It appears to be formed of what is called iron pyrites. Colonial Haedwabe ? During the Exhibition several addresses have been delivered by gentlemen representing from Home the larger exhibits of British manufacture, and lately a lecture was given by Mr Edwards bn the hardware of the Garden Palace. Mr Edwards represents the largest house in Birmingham, and having made the manufactured iron branch the study of 20 years, was enabled to point out a variety of interesting matter relative to the strides made during that period. In commenting on our Colonial efforts in this particular region of manufacture, ho said he could see no reason why the Colonies should not in a few years be able to turn out as good articles as come from the most accredited English establishments. He particularly alluded in terms of warm praise to A. and T. Burt’s exhibits of copperwork in the New Zealand court, which ho said were as highly and perfectly finished, -and quite as good as anything that can come from an English workshop. Teans-Continental Railways.—-Three trunk railways, writes an American correspondent, are pushing across the continent to tap our trade, two coming direct to San Francisco. The Atlantic and Pacific Bailroad Company has been revived, and will strike across the continent from Santa Fe to this city. It collapsed during the crisis following “ Black Friday,” of Jay Cook’s invention, but the bonds have since been held by the Seligmans, of New York, and this great Jew banking house now revive the enterprise, and will see it through. The St. Louis, Topeka, and Santa Fe line has been built to the latter town, in New Mexico, and the track is being laid at the rate of three miles a day towards Guyamas, in the Gulf of California, which is the objective! point. This would be a much shorter route for Australian and Chinese travel than by San Francisco, and Boston and St Louis capital, which is constructing the line, will be need to found in' this sultry port of Sonora, a rival to “ the Queen of the Pacific.” The Southern Pacific of Stanford, Crocker, and Co. will be at Tucson, in Lower Arizona, next month, and intersect the Santa Fe and Guyamas line somewhere near Silver City, New Mexico* on its course to the Gulf of Mexico, to jbin the Texas Pacific early in May. All over the Continent railroad construction is active — more so than in any former year ; and.the demand for steel rails; &0., has created a revival in the British iron trade. Gbbymouth Haeboub.—The Grey Siver Argus of March 14 publishes in full Sir John Goode’s report on the Greymouth harbour works. Among the numerical data used in the preparation of the report are:—Area of basm, 1572 square miles; average annual rainfall, 90 inches ;, rise of river water in heavy floods,-near the sea 4Jft, at Oobden Gorge 14ift;; fall in river from Cobden Gorge to sea at low water in heavy floods, 72 inches per mile; do, river low, 82 inches; do, at high water, river low, 1 inch per mile; heaviest seas, from S.W. to W.B.W. Sir John Goode recommends the construction, on the south side of the river, of a training-mound of rough rubble, 1800 ft long, merging on reaching the sea into a pierre perdue hreakwater 1200 ft long, the extremity Strengthened by concrete blocks. On the north side of the stream a similar training-wall, :1670ft long, mid a breakwater wall 1280 ft long. The southern breakwater is to be built above the highest reach of the tides; while the north walls are to be kept down to the level of high water of neap tides, so that heavy southerly seas may wash over and expend their force on the .beach beyond.. The total estimated cost of the works now recommended, including £8330 for dredging, whioh may not be required, is £162,040. Sir John ! Goode estimates that when the works ore completed, and their action has brought the'channel into a a dejpth of 10 feet at low water and 18 feet at high water of spring tides will be found in the middle of the chan-

nel, a depth sufficient to allow of mg 12 feet to enter safely. Should thl tow g l> £ A® P?rt squire a greater accS bility, an extension of the breakwaters a di. tence of 3PO feet each would gi Te a depth of 18 feet at low water, and 21 feet at hieWw 2fe*jy nDBa ’ adnUUiDg Toßßela 15 feet

A Dubious Bbae,—There is a verv curing, bear at the Zoological Gardens, London wf site up when he sees anybody cominc begs for what he can get. If heTfhojJ anything and does not get it, ho pretends to commit suicide, turning round and bitins him self all over most furiously. 1 his i 8 animus’mg beast. Ho cannot bear being laughed At*

A Sagacious Pont.— Here is a story w Bounce Gossip of Grimm, a sagacious pony who acquired the trick of turning doorhandles and lifting latchesHe expected his mistress to come and see him often, and once when she had been prevented by illness and bad not seen him for a fortnight he deter! mined upon reversing the order of things, and went to see her, walking through the hall to the drawing-room door, which he opened as usual } and great was her astonishment to see him triumphantly nodding his head, as if relieved to find she had not entirely disappeared.” Thb Daily Pbess op the United KINGDOM.— The present list of the daily newspapers in the United Kingdom shows a much more healthy state ’of affairs than that of last year. There have been very f ew deaths and a considerable number of fresh arrivals. The names which have disappeared from the list are Saunders' Daily Neman* of the oldest papers in Ireland, formerly known as Saunders News Letter— and the Edinburgh Telephone , whose existence was of three weeks’ duration. The names which appear in it for the first time are the Barrow Evening Echo, Birmingham Daily, Globe, Midland Sporting News (Birmingham), Derby Daily Telegraph, Derby Evening Gazette, Northern Evening Mail (West Hartlepool), Liverpool Echo, Shef. field Sporting Tissue, Worcester Daily Times, Swansea Ship Register, A hr. deen Evening Express, and Dublin Morning Mail {& revival). There are, therefore, 153 : daily newspapers in the Doited Kingdom, as against 148 last year, of which 18 are published in London, 94 in the Provinces, 3 b Wales, 21 in Scotland, 16 in Ireland, and 1 in J ersey; 78 are morning papsrs, and 75 evening; 70 are published at a penny, 69 at a halfpenny, and the remainder, 14, at prices varying from three half-pence to threepence--65 are returned as Liberal, 42 as Conservative, and 4G> as Independent, or neutral. ; Thb Sultan.— Eespecting the Sultan of Turkey, who may be said to keep Europe in a perpetual state of Turkish bath, some interesting statistics have also been published this week. . Abdul Hamid’s favourite residence, the Tildiz Kiosk, is defended by 30 guns and garrisoned by 3000 soldiers. Attached to the establishment are five “talkers,” whose duty it is to scare away dull moments by pouring into His Majesty’s ears all the tittle-tattle, scandal, and idle gossip of Constantinople. These talkers have under them a staff of 60 spies and sneaks, who day and night poke their noses into the city’s holes and corners, and creep np back stairs in search of spicy items for the Boyal-ear. (We ourselves have a large number of such persons, whom we should be willing to lend, cheap, to a friendly Sultan.) There are four Sultanas and eighty odalisques, guarded by 120 black eunuchs, who have special servants of their , own, and live like fighting cocks. There are ten maitres d'hotel, 300 cooks, and 200 waiters. Ten servants take care of His Majesty’s pipes, ten more of the bit of carpet upon which he prays, and ten more pass their lives in making coffee for him. Notwithstanding the eternal cry of poverty raised by poor Turkey, the Suiian manages 1 to spend in his household not less than ! £2,200,000 a year. Pretty good for a nation. bankrupt in morals and pocket. Thb Deceased Wife’s Sistse Question.--Vice-Chancellor Malins has been hearing a !, case which will give a great impetus to the long agitated demand for a repeal of the modern law which prevents a man from marrying his deceased wife’s sister. Mr Listes, a farmer living near Worcester, has one little girl, who, being entitled to about £2OO per annum in her own right, has been made a ward in chancery. Her mother was obliged to be sent a lunatic asylum about four years ago, and when she returned home she complained of Mr Lister’s conduct towards her sister. Divorce proceedings were taken, but these were quietly set aside, and soon afterwards Mrs Lister was again sent to an asylum, where she died twelve monthsago. His sister-in-law, Miss Sorman, has continued to manage his domestic affairs, and it is admitted that she has behaved with the utmost kindness towards the child, who is very fond of her. But then there were these rumours about the conduct of Mr Lister and Miss Surman, the only woman in England whom he cannot marry if he desired to do so, and the Court was required to arbitrate on the matter. At the outset (says the Globe’s correspondent, to whom we are indebted for the foregoing particulars) the Yice-Chancellor took it into his head that Mr Lister must part with one or the other —either his sister-in-law or his child—and, as no argument or entreaty from counsel could shake his determination, Miss Surman at length consented to leave her brother-in-law’s house.

Wealth oe Gbbat Britain-.—Regarding ' Lord Derby's speech at Huddersfield, the Pall Mall Gazette says:—“Lord Derby is not prone to take an unduly cheerful view of things, and it is therefore satisfactory to find him speaking of the commercial depression through which we have been passing in the tone which he adopted at Huddersfield yesterday. In spite of all the adverse influences which have recently been in operation, there cannot bo a doubt that we are richer now than we were, ten years ago. ‘ Man for man, 5 as Lord Derby says, after making every allowance for the increase of population, ‘the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in this year 1880, possess a larger amount of property, a larger income in money or money’s worth, than they did ten years ago. In 1870 the incomes liable to taxation were _445 millions; in 1877 they were. 570 millions. In 1878 the sums deposited in savings banks were 53 millions,- in 1878 they were 74 millions. In 1870 the quantity of tea imported for use at Homo was 117,COO,OOOIbs; in 1878 it was 157,000,000188.’ Here, therefore, beyond all subordinate and collateral evidence of immediate pressure, there are sufficient indications of the substantial advance of the country in material prosperity, and no sign of its permanent decline. Trade, indeed, has ceased to advance by 1 leaps and bounds,’ but it has been advancing ana not receding; while the ‘ leap-and-bound ’ theory of its advance is in a large measure responsible for the over-speculation which has resulted in the temporary collapse that has follo wed the earlier period of reckless inflation.”

A Russian Scandal, —A San Francisco paper is responsible for the following little tale which has probably as much truth in it as such scandalous stories usually hare, it adds one more to the list of far fetched reasons that have been advanced to account for the attempt on the Czar’s life by people who profess not to be satisfied with the simple explanation of Nihilist _ antagonism : —lt seems strange that no mention is made w the English papers of a matter which is reported to be playing a very important part initussia just now as between the Czar, his wife and hie son, and which may soon produce themes important results. We do not vouch for tne accuracy of the tale, which indeed seems too wildly improbable to be true; but we know that it is generally repeated and believed m > Russia, and it has reached us from three independent sources substantially in the same terms. The tale told then is as follows this moment the Emperor is separate r ° the Empress his wife through a liaison he maae sdmeyears ago with a young Princess o * known name. The liaison has been g ?. known for the past seven or eight; years, .w during the last summer the matter becam one of public notoriety, as the inTzarskoe, close to the Palace. At last the ’Empress met the Emperor driving with two ■children, and demanded explanations, which resulted in her going abroad, and m her 01

■mcidng her determination not to return to fesßia. The '^pe^B\~lßel!jni ! ffiitt n .M I, 'tbo’ Crimea woe caused by the expected eonflneTn«mt of the Princess of- her third child.,wqd it is generally believed in Siuesia-'-thkt the -objtot of upsetting the train was to reach her. The report runs that the Princess has told her -tmtoOnw that the* Bmporor promijsed to many her if the Empress dies, and that be will in that cue abdicate in order the .mote easily to do so.