GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7788, 6 November 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

BURNING OF' A SDSSIAb The steamer Vera, belonging l Umh^ let Company, M been tt. the Volga, near Saratoff. Xh ß d 7 fire carried a large number of J atner .whioh bound from Astrachan, anC.>' W« up the river. One evening , ff pr ° c eedi» had been lit on board the 6t3ff 7 ha Ij ®Pi that a hanging lamp in the fi r !l had fallen and had set alight f 7* c»bia work. The passengers, mosfc 0 the *ood. retired for the night, rushed J wh had ot .ta of the wildest panic, S'H i Q , overboard, his example bin„ ,° <vL many others. The captiin ? oll# »{ H* ordered the ship to be run S at; full speed near the .hj lh ? J 0 " 0 th /' "Earner »C„'| K o* noo embedded in the bank, but t >>«.£ mained in deep water, thus V ter ° re rescue of passengers only p oU jki Sg th, part of the ship. It i 8 fearW> th persons lost their lives.- 411 *£054 200

I BIG OAS BILLS, There is good news for the *• gas bills. The South Metro Do « bi> pany has lately reduced tie r,H ° M Com by 2d per 1000. Therred uce£ e of *. S lent, if the consumption remain!/? 8 *». to » diminution of £40,000 aVP • ti,D arv | pany's income; but it app2 U >«n,! j meeting that instead of any dim °® tie had been an increase of ffionn Utlol U!i»r, half-year's working of tn e redn° a ] Jefi « The l.ondon householder will dS, tsr that the ether companies Will f ! % W to heart. Why in the world .» u e "Qui of the Gas Coal and Coke Com» per 1000, when the South Me? lnjr 1 ? 3« content with 2s 6d ? * Cro ( „ j, SINGULAR USE FOR INSTAXIi»» GRAPH T. ' 0113 HOIo. . According to the Court OUn ,,, ironmaster in the ISorth 0 house and works are dazzling™' *&«» by the electric light, has adoltj ous contrivance, by which L 11 Noisome information as to what m 6 le «a his not unfrtquent absences f ro m i°° dari "« several of his rooms and in his offi c °® e ' 18 a concealed apparatus in the waiu tlleri, ii of a roll of prepared photogranhia n C ° D,ut:n « a train of clockwork. Every ho is silently opened by the machine™ instantaneous photograph is tiken I ,a is going on in the room. On tin a " tiut return he delights to develop tip ß ""' ® ,n ' s and it is said that they have turn'Ylf" 68 ' very strange information indeed "n ma who received his dismissal iom™w erk pectedly, and boldly wanted to £ UDex " reason why, was horrified when .1, 9 photograph in which he was depicted lS 1 in an easy-chair, with his feet it J' de.l, while tb, clock m t«*'„ * pointed to an hoar at which he ought tT* been at his busiest. The servai.tl' , , the beat dining room furnished angtw/k ? ling scene., "' A HAIB7 CHILD. There is being exhibited at present inparJ. a type of a very primitive race of hamanif It is a very curious specimen, entirely covered with hair, the skin very dark; the cS would remind one of the chimpanzee Th. hairs on the arms.and legs follow the same direction as those on a monkey-the i«n are thin and short, while the arms are very long. It appears that the tribe to which she belongs dwell more on trees than on the ground. The child is twelve, and seems to have a certain intelligence, iad takes great interest in her doll. Her eyes and hair are very fine, her nose is flattened, and her ears are deprived of cartilage. She has thirteen pairs of ribs, and consequently thirteen dorsal vertebra:. The race to which she belongs it found in the north of Siam, and several families are kept at the cour» ■ ft™ D < Siam. s

CURIOUS EFFECT OF LIGHTNING IS AMERICA.

The Continental and American journals are full of accounts of severe storing and strange freaks played by lightning. Of this latter variety one of the most curious which we have met with is the following During a thunderstorm at Plainfield, New York, a young lady lifted a lacquered metal tray which was lying on a table in front of the window. At this moment a blinding flash of lightning caused her to throw it hastily down. The next morning, on examining the tray, it was seen to bear an excellent profile likeness of the young lady apparently burned into the metal. The tray is to be placed in a public museum." We should like some more definite details as to this remarkable event, but if it lacks veracity it is at least cleverly invented.

A YEAR'S salvation ARMY work IK LONDON,

. The annual report of the Salvation Army's . operations in London has been issued, from ) which it appears that there are about eight > thonsmd •'soldiers," exclusive of those in i the training home, working in the metropolir, aDd it is claimed that daring the year end id April 30th last 10,000 souls were saved. The work in Marylebone has been , vfi-y successful, although the Salvationists h .ve received very rough treatment. The report states—" Our lasses' dresses have been torn from their bodies ; our girl officers hive had to lead their corps to victory with black i eyes j" and further on says" At Rom* ford, the foes of earth and hell have united to overthrow the corps. We are driven to the streets, where until a few weeks ago, kicks and cuffs were as common as' Hallelujahs ' among Salvationists. Our good old friend, the big drum, is a perfect auxiliary | to our work." During the year about three hundred soldiers entered the Clapton Training Home. The balance sheet shows that for this year the London income from all sources was £5951. of this £3492 was collected by the local divisions), and the whole id®, less 30*, paid from headquarters for the rent of buildings. The remainder of the income was spent in salaries, printing, travelling expenses, rates and taxes, etc.— Fall Mall Gazette. THE POISONING OF A WEDDING PART*. The investigations made into the circumstances of the poisoning of a wedding party at Carlisle have now made considerable progress. Dr. Barnes, of that city, h»s re ' pared an exhaustive table showing wm» food was eaten at Che breakfast and at a tea later in the day by the 19 guests and servants. The result of his inquiries and observations has been to throw the strongest suspicion upon an American ham, which formed an item in the bill of fare. The symptoms of ® persons poisoned resembled those maninste by the people poisoned at the Welbeck Ad ey sale, six years ago, in which case the nines was traced by Dr. Ballard, Govermne Medical Inspector, and Dr. Klein, ot • Bartholomew's Hospital, to the , devoloped in American hams. con.io . the ham provided at the Carlisle we g breakfast are being examined microscopy for similar organisms. The who e patients who suffered from the effiec» , poison are now recovered, except a son, aunt of the deceased bride, and 8 now be pronounced convalescent. ' A BISHOP AMONG BKIGASDS, Some interesting details have come bof hand respecting the capture by brl S® t Monsignor Kyrilios, Greek Metropo .te liilassona. The captors of the Greek P ask a large ransom, knowing hi the very rich and in a position to p»y amount. It is said that the briijan j the Bishop to read a mass every J . oblige him to pray for the success undertakings, after which they » al down and piously receive his *P t benediction. These religious ban y . their prisoner very humanely, ana thing in their power to make him w a y fl the tedious hours of solitude in an g manner. The Bishop is trying ha vert these outlaws, and it; sieem mDora exhortations have at least had a j ouo effect, as all the bandits have, wi j enCß ing unanimity, declared upon \ h , e^ r ter ribla that they would abandon their calling and retire into ta ® to da __ M goon purpose of plying an honest tra ~~ as the Bishop's ransom is paid. „„. Tr no!" AND THE EXCLAMATIONS HAU-w "hurrah)" lamatiou It is supposed that we owe « c ' a hfl -Halloo!'' to the lingering trrfrt.ow«» times when the woods of eice3t ® r £ t s of infested by wolves. The in hen they Charnwood Forest, it is alle j at , nce , call desire to summon a person at a u . g j ( out, not " Halloo 1" but " U#l J°° P 1 * v 8 when said to have come down from j . i( ftJ one cried to another "A loup ! ? ° J*' fcance s, we should shout in similar circu " Wolf ! wolf I" Tho exclamation, orrw „ often considered, the war-cry, » a [ the according to M. Littre, derived from Sclavonic: In that tongue • hu-raj #1 j "to Paradise;" and the cry imp ie soldiers who weere slain while is v valiantly went straight to h9»Yen t — Magazine -;> ....