GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8020, 6 August 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

THE ADDRESS OP VEMT3 AKD ADOVr, The non-delivery of a telegram .-«♦'. Manchester to Lichfield was attends ? some amusing circumstances. s Qm b? tapestry was lent by Mr. Litchfield th ° !d dealer, to the Jubilee Exhibition ' requiring the return of a certain ** pacticulansed it in his telegram by .? ';. fie the size and subject, "Venus andAdn •"* ending the message with sender's n°f V ' "Litchfield." A clerk at once r° v " Venus and Adonis, Litohfield " f p! j ed to making every effort to deliver the m & ' U: the Poet Office officials were conetrTi'"'wire back to alanchester that no V „ a * Adonia could be found in the J al city. ca wed;ji A MALE BARMAID. Victor Rosenburg. an effeminate-lnr*-young fellow with long dishevel L, 2 ' was charged at the Liverpool Pol,!' ~ a;r with stealing a watch and chain helnn 1 ' Thomas Ware, a publican. He f, ? tj engaged to appear at a Ware's in his great character of ma u 7 . '" maid. After he left the watch £ I- bI V and found pledged. He was lESg* fomale attire in a publicho U3e in TiY n appearing as "The Jersey Lily" and .?!& Beautiful Dachess of Devonshire " tt committed to the sessions. ' **

THE EOT ASIC OJLUDESS OF THE \V O R LD According to a report; of the \U n i , Horticultural Society, there are It); bnt • gardens in the entire world, and thevarnt'k* 1 distributed :-Frauce and her colonic" o-°' England and Ireland, 12; the vl ?{ colonies, 27 ; Germany, 34 ; Italy 23 •t> ■ and Bibera, 17; Auatria and Hine/nTi? Scandinavia, 7 ; Belgium and Holland '-"I colonies, Spain and colonies, and the States, 5 each ; Portugal and Switzerland each ; Denmark and Roumania " \ Brazil, Chili, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece" GW mala, Japan, Peru, aud sjervia, 1 each TS list may be completed by mentioning th! gardeps oi Geneva and Lauvain, and a & that have recently been organised in Eneli.h India. At least halt of the gardens above are kept by the Government IS ct > cent.by universities, sometimee in coDjunotion with the general or city government n"r, cent, by cities alone, and i> per cent hi private donations. Out of the same number 9-i per cent, are always open to the public "ft per cent, are open to visitors on Snndav only, and 73 per cent, publish reports or contribute in some such way to ecieatifiresearch.

INTOXICATING DRINKS IS THE CKITED STATES. Mr. F. N. Barrett, editor of the American Grocer, has prepared at the request of the editor of the New York Chiatrian Advocate and published, both in that paper and D detail in the quarterly report of the Barean of Statistics, an elaborate report of the amount spent bet year in the United Stitea for intoxicating drink. It foots np to sevea hundred million dollars, an amount which Mr Barrett computes to be between onetwelfth and one-sixteenth of the entire coat of living. Those who drink: this lin ncr constitute about one-fourth of cur entire population; they pay for it two and onethird times as much a3 it costs the manufacturer. This remarkable calculation has one featnrc of hopefulness. It shows that the use of spirits and of wines is decreasing while beer is taking their place. "sl A SPEAKING CANARY. A correspondent writes as follows from Montroße:—l am happy to say I am ths possessor of a canary th*t talks fluently* which certain persona of influence in this place can testify. I may state that about twelve years ago, when coming from India, 1 brought a green paroquet, which is really a good speaker, and this canary learned to speak entirely from it. About three years ago I got the canary quite young, and both cages have hung close to esch other almost ever since. I believe if all the bird's little sentences were put together, they would amount to over thirty words. A novelist's DEBT. At Westminster County Court, Lady Constance Howard appeared to a judgment summons at the instance of Mr. Ouantrell, furniture dealer, Wardour-street, Oxfordstreet. His Honor Judge Bayley asked the defendant if she was married, and she replied in the affirmative, but added that her father (the Earl of WinchiJsea) had stopped her annual allowance, £200, and she was entirely dependent on her husband, in reply to Mr. Gribble, • solicitor for the plantiff, Lady Constance said it was true that she was a novelist, and had written the following novels:—"Mated with a Clown,"" Darling, "and"Only a Village Maiden," but she had only made about £'20 oat of them. (Laughter.) Mr. Gribble: Didn'tyca write "Major Tcodle's?" Lady Constance: No; the Major" was burnt. (Renewed laughter.) She also denied that she wesi much into society now, and a3 to nova' writing she found didn't pay. His Hone: eaid he had no power to commit a marrie? woman without separate income, and Hi missed the summon?, SECRET OF STATE FOK SCOTLAND. In the; Court of Session at Edinburgh, on June 7, the Marquis of Lothian took the oaths of office and fidelity as Secretary oi State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal. All the judges except Lord Fraser were present, and Lord President Inglis administered the oaths. The Marquis afterwards held a special lev6e. In accepting the custody of the Great Seal, handed him by the Solicitor-General, he said he felt all interests in Scotland were looking to the office to which he had recently been appointed as their centre, and expected it would bo J great benefit to the country in future. Tea Marquis of Lothian was subsequently presented with the freedom of Edinburgh in re* cognition of hie services to the city in varioc capacities. THE BATTLE OF DOGALI. King Humbert unveiled at Rome, on June 5, a monument to the soldiers who fell in the battle of Dogali. The statue bears the names of those killed, numbering between four and five hundred. The 51 survivors of the gallant little bind formed a group en the King's left during the ceremony. The King conversed afterwards for some minutes with Captain Michelini, who was left for dead on the field, and who is the only officer surviving out of 2S who were engaged in the action. After speaking to the men and returning their salute, the King shook Captain Michelini by the hand, amidst loud " Evviras" from the large crowd assembled. A SEPOY SOLPIER RUNS AMUCK. A shocking tragedy occurred at KurMCK lately. A Sepoy of the Twenty-sixth Nat!" Infantry having got possession of forty round" of ammunition, ran amuck through the lines at 1 o'clock in the morning. He first shot W Sepoys who wero asleep in the barrack verandah. The alarm was immediately sounded, and tho regiment turned ont, but nothing could be done till daylight, when detachments were sent in various directions to search for him,, Meanwhile the murderer had proceeded to the soldiers' bazaar, and had shot four shopkeepers who were Bleeping outside their houses. He then went to the plain behind the infantry lines and shot rive cartmen. When he found that the regiment had turned oat, he took refuge in a stone enclosure" whence he fired many rounds. The Colonel called for volunteers to rush in upon him, ana two Sepoys responded. When they got within six yards of him he shot himselt through tho heart. The eleven men whoa) he had shot were killed on the spot, or diec in a few hoars. PROPOSED LIQUOR PROHIBITION" PABTtt A preliminary conference convened by 3 number of gentlemen interested in this euD« ject was held on May 24 at the Memorial Ha". Farringdon-street, to consider the formation of a National Prohibition Party. The Rev. I* Brooks presided, and, having opened the pro ceedings, Mr. Alex. Gustafson delivered w address explaining the objects of the conference. Hβ said thoao present behevea £ was a national crime to encourage the arm traffic and a national duty to abolish Ik - Tho efforts put forth in that direction b» u been manifold and sufficient for the accomplishment of their object if they had been properly concentrated. It was to devise too best means of gaining that end that they *« gathered together. Hβ was glad to see twj the people in Canada were beginning to >■** Use their duty in the matter, and that wn members of Parliament were already uovinj in the right direction. He did not agr with the direct local vote only, because i" question was. a national, not a local one. ___