THE Marlborough Experess Published Every Evening.

Marlborough Express, Volume XVI, Issue 64, 17 March 1881, Page 2

THE Marlborough Experess Published Every Evening.

THURSDAY, MAECH 17, 1881. LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. ! A Di.si'j.ay.—Messrs W. 15. Girling and Co.'s windows will be lighted this evening, for the purpose of displaying the firm's handsome new anivals of drapery goods. Twine JBinukks.—We cannot too strongly impress upon those of our farmers who contemplate the purchase of Deeriug String Binders for use nuxt season, the necessity for the despatch of their orders by the 'Frisco Mail. On the many excellent qualities of the. Deering machines, we have no need to dwell, but if anyone is desirous of obtaining information with regard to them, we will have much pleasure m allowing numerous testimonials from well known persons m this locality and m other parts of the Colony. jbjjNEßAii—We percicve that Mr H. C. Seymour". |he Traffic Manager on our local line of railway h&»? decided to delay the departure of the ordinary .afternoon train from Picton till 2.30. This m dotl§ *n order to pern) it persons from this district atte&l^g tn * funeral of the Jate Mr Welford. to return c same <%• i

The Greymotjth Races. — We are informed by telegram that the Greymouth races have been postponed till to-morrow, Friday, owing to the rain. An Incident or Bravery.— The ..ate Sir Cracrof t Wilson was a man of considerable personal courage, as the following extracts from Kaye's "History of the Sepoy War m India" testify: — "There wat^fortunately then at the station (Moradabad) a high civil functionary of immense energy and courage, a man equal to any emergency, and capable of any act of daring. Mr Cracroft Wilson was Judge of Moradabad." [Page 252.] " The resolute courage which the Judge had evinced from the beginning had made a great impression on the native soldiery, and now once more it was to be tested. As he rode towards the lines he paused m front of the artillery. The Goluudauze, whose treachery had been known from the first, laid their guns sud lit their port fires. Wilson's clear blue eyes calmly confronted the murderous design. Without a sigu of fear on his face, he rode towards the guns (not from them) and waved his hat as a challenge to the gunners. Abashed and overawed by the bearing of the intrepid Englishman, they slunk back, and Wilson was saved." Presbyterian ism. — A writer m the London Quartcily Review for October, gives a somewhat startling account of the condition of Presbyierianism : — "The works whose titles we have placed at the bead of this paper," he says, '* are among the ' Signs of the Times.' They add to the many palpable and abounding evidences that m Scotland the retreat from Calvinism has. become a stampede. The defection began long ago, and uttered its voice m many a moan of ' Moderatism ;' but during the last half century the spread of science, the advance of wealth and culture, the disruption of churches, the agency of Methodism, and the contact of Scotchmen with men m every part of the eaith, have combined to weaken the theological system which once seemed so firm. Now its collapse seems so imminent that men literally run each other m tbeir flight to other places of shelter." The remedy suggested by the writer is as follows : They do not recognise the fact that Methodism is escaping the shock of modern Rationalism to a very large extent, because it separated from Calvinism a century since. They have not permitted themselves to be sufficiently unprejudiced to learn from Wesley and his followers that " good words" are an essential part of the Gospel as well as '• faith," and to vindicate the one they repudiate the other. Heaking Sounds from the Sun. — The "Comptes Rendus" for November 2nd informs us that Professor Bell and M. Janssen have attempted to hear with the photophone the sounds believed tr accompany the rapid commotions taking place iii the solar photosphere. The experiments were made at the Observatory of Meudun, a selenium cylinder, being placed m diffierent parts of an image of the sun some two feet m diameter. No very conclusive results were obtained, but M. Janssen has further suggested that a sort of concentrated effect might be obtained by a number of successive photographs of a sun spot across a beam of light, the variations of the intensity of the beam producing sounds when they fall upon the sensitive ' photophonic pile' of selenium, Further experiments m this direction are still m progress, m thp result of which the scientific world is eagerly interested. If success should attend tbeir efforts, it would be one of the most wonderful achievements of science ever accomplished ; and m the light of what has already been done, it is perhaps nothing more than may reasonably be expected, Preserving Potatoes. — The San Francisco " Commercial Herald" says during the past year or two an important industry has sprung up m that State m the way of preserving potatoes for a foreign market. A machine has been invented for pressing and preserving patatoes m such a manner that they may be dried and kept for a number of years m any climate. No oxidisation or fermentation takes place m the process; they retain, to a great extent, their natural taste and original freshness. Shippings made to England during tbe past year have attracted attention, and the demand for Calitornian preserved potatoes m that country exceeds the supply. The first shipment to Liverpool brought the sum of 100 dols. per ton over all expense of shipment. Last year about 20 tons were shipped from San Francisco, which brought 45 shillings per hundred-weight, or at the rate of 3 dols. per sack for green potatoes. Selling Cattle by Weight. — "We have repeatedly," says the "Maik-lane Exprtss," "advised the selling of live stock by weight both m respect to fat cattle and stores, on tbe American system, and the feeders of Aberdeenehire arid Banffshiie are now beginnirjg to see tbat it will be to their advantage so to do. A weighbridge is m existence for this purpostts at TurrifJ, and m the Tarves distiict a small company has been formed to preserve and "maintain a similar machine. If the system were once started it would iapidly spread. Quotations would be exceedingly simple, and a host of middle men would rind their occupation gone." A PjiKCAiirox fob the Timks.— A London armouter is having great success with the discovery he has made of a coat impervious to the bullet of a revolver tired at ten paces. The coat bears no evidence of its purpose, and is m form and texture nothing more than a common shooting jacket. Outwardly lies the Scotch tweed, then a thin wadding of cotton, next a layer of narrow, thin bands of tempered steel, kept m place much as whalebone- is put into corsets, only the steel bands are vciy close together, being sewn into fine canvj's. and with only a line of stitching between each piece. Three layers of these steel bands sewn into canvas or niplete the armour of the coat. Another pi< vo of wadding is placed between the banis and the final lining, and that is all. The.hteel bands are supple, and not long, so that the coat hangs m a natural manner, and would never atti act notice. It is somewhat heavy, but tht weight falls principally upon the shoulders. The jackets ;ue solil at £'2fi. — "Trio London Argus." A.mk.kka.n Oi.viiiY - An English nobleman on aniving m New York accosted a policeman thus: Knglishman.— " Have you no gentry m this country ?" Policeman. — "Gentry? What are they?" Englishman. — " Meu who never do any work, and whose fathers never did any work." Policeman. — " Oh, yes, we have plenty of those but we call them tramps !"

Bishop Redwood.—The Rome correspondent of the " N. Z. Tablet," under date Dec. 31st says: —', Among recent visitors to Rome is the Bishop of Wellington, who brought an oflering of Peter's Pence from the clergy and faithful of his diocese to the amount of 1500 francs, or about £340 sterling. The Bishop looks m good health, and resided at the French Seminary of Santa Chiara. His lordship has already sent out to New Zealand five priests, and will bring three more with him on his return to Wellington, which will be before Easter. Thk Atmosphere ok Celestial Bodies. — Mr Jose J. Landeur communicates an interesting paper to Les Mondes on the atmosphere of celestial bodies. Whereas previous investigations have been piven about 250 miles as the furthest result for the height of the earth's atmosphere. M. Laudeur places it at no less than 22,000 miles. He corroborates his calculrtion by showißg that the height at which meteoric matter becomes incandescent on approaching the earth is far beyond the distance heretofore assigned to it and therefore there must be an- atmosphere at that greater distance to produce the incandescence. He also accounts for the spectrum of the aurora borealis, showing a marked coincidence with that of the zodiacal light by the theory that since the earth travels iv the zodiacal nebulosity from September to May, the rarified atmosphere beyond the earth's heavy envelope of air must absorb some of the constituent elements of the zodiacal nebulosity, and thus these elements make their presence apparent m the spectrum of the aurora, which phenomenon occurs m this rareiield outer envelope. M. Laudeur believes also that the difference between the observed accleration of the moon's mean movement and that obtained by calculation on any of the previously advanced hypotheses, which ia very marked, may be wholly explained by the resistance of this nebulosity m the moon's movement.