By the Way.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 17, 3 May 1895, Page 3

By the Way.

Spooks. Bobbie Burns and General Gordon floating round East Gore. Mary Queen of Scots evidently cavorting around the same unlikely locality. Extraordinary statements by an essayist at Gore Debating Society. And he appeared to be in deadly earnest, too. Haldane Fnrm Settlement ballot at Fortrose on Wednesday last. Commissioner Williams gave some capital advice to applicants. The Gore traffic bridge busiiess being put iv train. " Scobie " to be entertained at a banquet by his Tuapeka frionds. A golf club, with a membership of 70, has been started in Wellington. A " merry-?o-round " at Cromwell is said to be raking in Lls per day. The National Insurance Co. pay a 15 per cent, dividend. The Eev. L. M. Isifct left for England by the Gothic yesterday. | Otaeo Acclimatisation Society give 2* a head for old shags and Is a head for young shags all the year round.

Ilev. J. N. Buttle, Wesleyan minister, who had the honor of "opening" the Gore church, has accepted an invitation '<"> preach its anniversary services on Sunday, May 12. Mr Buttle is « popular preacher and man, and has many old friends throughout the district. The rapidity with which certain species oF insects move is something truly astonishing. The common houso fly is known to make 603 strokes per second with his wings, and the dragon fly 15C0. In tho case of the fly the GOO strokes cause an advance movement of twenty-seven feet. Theso are figures on ordinary flight, and it is bolieved. that the fly is capable of increasing both the strokes and advance movement sevenfold. The 'Lyttelton Times' has discovered that the Hon. Mr Beeves' liberal legislation for shop assistants ti ono of the ( oldest of English institutions. It appears | that a law was enacted by King Canute, which has never, been repealed, to this effect : " Let every Sunday's feast; be held from Saturday's noon to Monday's dawn," and this law was only a confirmation of one promulgated by King Edgar the Lane, a.d. 958, commanding the relinquishmentof all labor at mid-day on Saturday, and its resumption on Monday at daylight; Attention was called in the North London Police Court the other day to one of the " glorious anomalies " of the English law. A mother wished to know if her daughter could sue a yonng man for breach of promise, and this conversation took place :— Mr Lane : How old is this young man ? The applicant : ITot twenty-one yet, and he, has expectations when he is of age. Mr Lano : Oh ! he is not twenty-one, isn't he ? Then he is an infant in the eye of the law, and his promise is worth nothing. It is absolutely not the least use to you. He is old enough to rr°.rry, but hot old enough to make a promise. — That seems funny, doesn't it ? But still, it is the law. American System of Copying Letters. — A very simple apparatus for copying a lotter without a screw-press has (says ' Invention ') been brought out in America. It consists of.a wooden roller, a couple of inches longer than the width of the paper it is to be used for, and two sheets of thick) strong brown paper or tracing cloth. The paper or cloth is covered both sides with strong cotton twill, which is pastel on md stitched round tho edges. The two leaves are of equal size and two or three inches longer and wider than the paper ■to be copied from, and they are Hth fastened by a row of tacks to the wooden roller. A damp sheet of tissue sdcl the letter to be copied are laid smoothly between the two loaves, which are then rolled up on the wood, and it is claimed that a good copy is secured by the mere pressure of the lands in rolling up.

, bank is likely to do. If I were a farmer, i I would be inclined to find out first whether or not the Government would assist, before handing myself over to the mercy of tho bank, at seven or perhaps eight" per con t. The general opinion at the end of harvest was that there would b 3 nt> prices going for cropping land this year, in face of the low prices to be obtained for produce ; but the result proves this not to be the case, as seen by the sale of Wantwood cropping leases, whore as high as 21s has been paid, and this by a very careful farmer, who will see the thing through ; but whether he will get a return for his labor is greatly a matter of s speculation, and I think the chances are • as much against him as they are in his favor. Threshißg is mostly finished. The | season has been a very short one, and, so far as yields are concerned, it is next to impossible to say how they panned ou<. The stuff mostly ail threshed out well to the bulk, but not so well to the acre. Of course, this is good for the mill, but not so good for the farmer. Riversdale has got her Anglican Church opened with great eclat, and now wo are going to have in its train the inevitable bazaar in aid of the funds. This one is sure to be well patronised, as it is tho first, and bazaars tßkn on with tho public until they are surfeited. May 2nd.