NEWSY NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1321, 24 June 1897, Page 9

NEWSY NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE.

In the first week of May there died at Dublin Mr Thomas O'Hanlon, one of the "characters" of the Parliament of 18881892. A London paper gives the following interesting particulars concerning the deceased: —

Mr O'Hanlon was the hero of many J comic incidents in the House of Com- ] mons. He was a tall man, of commanding physique, and had realised a I large fortune in the spirit trade in Ire- , land. He was self-educated, and much amusement was created by his bringing in a Bill for the reform of Irish University Education. Mr O'Hanlon usually watched the proceedings of the House of Commons from the gallery reserved for members. On one occasion, taking exception to the interruptions in debate of a gallant officer, the holder of a Victoria Cross, on the Unionist side, he came down from the gallery and sat down immediately beside the offending general to keep him quiet. A fracas was narrowly prevented by the piesence of mind and tact of Mr Speaker Peel. After the Parnell crisis, Mr O'Hanlon, who had enthusiastically sided with Mr Parnell, did not seek re-election. His speech in Committee Boom 15 produced one of thi few scenes of merriment in the tragic scenes which heralded the deposition of Mr Parnell, for whom Mr O'Hanlon made the comic excuse that the "Chief" had yielded to the temptations of London society, and that if there had been a Parliament in College Green there would have been no divorce suit and no occasion for it. This statement, which was uttered in absolute seriousness, provoked irresistible laugh - ter, amid which it was observed that Mr Parnell, who sat pale and silent, relaxed for a moment into a sickly smile.

Everybody remembers the foolish sneer at "the blackman," Lord Salisbury's snobbish reference to the colour of a highly educated Hindoo gentleman who was elected a member of the House of Commons a few years. The case of Lord Salisbury's " black man " is recalled by the story of a Mr Mullick, an Indian student who has been excluded from the Inns of Court Rifle Volunteers by the colonel of the corps. The Westminster Gazette makes the following remarks on the matter: — That an Indian subject of the Queen should be excluded from a Volunteer

corps in the Mother Country on the ground merely of the colour of his skin is hardly credible in these Imperialistic days. Colonel Lofthouse has taken up several positions on the matter, but is still obdurate. The Inns of Court,

though they recognise that they havo no jurisdition in the matter, take Munich's view of the case, and have in vain endeavoured to win over the the recalcitrant to reason. There is nothing to support Colonel Lofthouse's contention. Natives of India have been admitted into the Volunteer Corps at Oxford for thirty years; they are admitted in other parts of the country, and there is- actually a precedent in the " Devil's Own," where an Indian student was admitted. Whatever may be the cause of the exclusion, it raises the suspicion that it has been dictated by the narrowest class or national prejudice ;' while from the Imperial point of view nothing could be more deplorable. We may make use of Indian contingents when war threatens; we boast largely of the 800 millions of subjects to the QueenEmpress, and yet when a native Indian desires to join in the defence of the Mother Country he gets a rude refusal.

The avarice of the French peasant is well known, and a story has recently come to light which proves how cleverly Napoleon made use of the fact. It is a German paper which tells the story, which wnl no doubt be scoffed at in France, and runs as follows : Thousands of five-franc pieces are split into two halves by the French peasants every year, in the hope of "discovering" an immense hidden treasure. This treasure, according to legend firmly believed in France, is an order to pay the holder 100,000 francs in silver five-franc corns. When Napoleon Bonaparte first set the fivefranc piece in circulation the conservative mind of the French revolted against the numismatic revolution, notwithstanding its zeal for political revolution, and it was very difficult to induce a Frenchman to receive or proffer the new coin. Hence, according to the story, Napoleon gave it to be understood that he had ordered a cheque for 100,000 francs, written upon asbestos paper, to be concealed in one of the new silver pieces. From that day to this nobody has objected to the fivefranc piece.

Most of us have read of the alleged danger to children which comes through the fondling of cats and dogs, hydatids from the animals being apt, it is asserted, to effect the children, The British Medical

Journal, we notice, now sounds a note of j warning to those who make pets of I parrots. Says the Journal : — \ These birds are the source of a disease, I psittacosis, which has lately occurred at i Genoa. The disease takes the form of | malignant pneumonia, and the duration j is from eight to ten days. The mor- I tality is 75 per cent, at the beginning of I the epidemic ; there is a long and grave j convalescence ; children are almost \ immune; the old instead are most j predisposed. The post-mortem examinaj tion of two cases by Professor Lucatillo showed a general infection prevailing in , 1 the lungs, in which one observed the j most varied acute alterations of lobular pneumonia; this infection did not [ exempt a single organ: there was ! incipient dissolution of the blood ; and the spleen was so softened that it could not be extended. It is those individuals who lavish caresses on the birds that usually suffer.

There are some interesting particulars of the King and Queen of Greece in the current Lady's Eealm. Both are devoted to the sea. The Queen is never so happy as when on her yacht, and she possesses the distinction, as we have pointed out, of being the only lady admiral in the world. The late Czar, who was fondly attached to his beautiful cousin, conferred on her this naval dignity, and, next to the Evangelismos, the charity in which she takes the greatest personal interest, is the admirable Seamen's Home, established by herself, which proves a true haven of refuge to all foreign sailors who have to make a more or less long sojourn in the yEgean Sea. Many stories of the King are told. One of these is worth quoting. On a dark winter night in 1882 his Majesty was walking along one of the quays surrounding the Piraeus, when he was heard by a soldier on guard. " Who goesthere ?" The King hesitated, being unwilling to reveal his identity, and turning abruptly he walked rapidly away. The soldier fired, slightly grazing his sovereign's shoulder. The next day the sentry was greatly surprised to receive an invitation to the Palace. Complimenting him on his excellent aim and attention to duty, the King s with his own hand pinned on the asj tonished soldier's coat the Order of the Redemptor.

At a meeting a few weeks ago at the Church House, London, on behalf of the Zululand Mission, Bishop Selwyn spoke of Sir George Grey as probably the most competent of colonial administrators. The right reverend prelate, writing to a friend who asked him for further reminiscences, says—

He was very kind to me when I was a very small child, as he was to all children. I saw him again in 1867, when he had ceased to be Governor (of New Zealand), and was living on his beautiful island of the Kawau. He invited me down there, and we had a very pleasant time, and I again saw his marvellous fascination for children, as he completely won the heart of a little girl who was with us, and cried bitterly when she had to leave her " dear Grey," as she called him. The only thing that I can recall is a word by Sir Bartle Frere, no mean judge, who told me when I called at the Cape in 1879 that he had thoroughly looked into the works which owed their origin to Sir George Grey, and that none of them which were directly due to bis initiation had failed to accomplish its purpose.

The Rev Dr Bevan, an eminent Melbourne preacher, has been telling a British Weekly interviewer that lie does not believe the average Australian colonist has any great knowledge of English politics, " I doubt," he said, " whether he could name more than four or five English statesmen. But that is the case in all countries in relation to the politics of other lands. The other day I was in a bookseller's shop in Bale, and the man was showing me a group of the leading politicians of Germany. lie was surprised to find that many were quite unfamiliar to me. ' Tell me,' I said, 'how many English politicians do you know ?' « Well,' he said, ' there is MiGladstone and Lord Salisbury, and—and, well, surely there is a Joseph something.' Now, do you know," continued Dr Bevan, " that that man's position is not so entirely different from ours in Victoria. For nxyself, I must confess that I have no idea who is the

present Home Secretary." Dr Bevan may be able to speak for the Victorians, but New Zealanders are as a rule very, well posted in English politics.

The other day the Cape Government was saved from defeat on a "No Confidence " motion by the casting vote of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. It is pointed out in this connection that previously the closest division on a motion of this kind was in the House of Commons on June 4th, 1841, when the famous motion made by Sir Robert Peel against the Ministry of Lord Melbourne —" That the Ministers of the Crown did not possess

the confidence of the House of Commons, and that their continuance. in office was, therefore, at variance with the spirit of the Constitution" —was carried by a majority of one.'

Commenting upon -the Cape instance j and referring to the Speaker's casting vote, a London paper remarks : —lf the numbers on each side in a division should happen to be equal, the Speaker of the House of Commons (and of Colonial Assemblies constituted on the system of the House of Commons), who otherwise never votes, must give the casting vote. In the performance of this duty he is at liberty to vote like any other member, i according to his conscience, without assigning a reason, but in order to avoid the least imputation on his impartiality, it is usual for him, when practicable, to vote in such a way as not to make the I decision of the House final, and to explain his reasons, which are entered in the Journals. Thus, on July 24th, 1867, the members being equal upon a proposed resolution relative to Trinity College, Dublin, the Speaker stated that the ' principle involved in the resolution was one of great importance, and if affirmed by a majority of the House it would have much force. It should, however, be affirmed by a majority of the House, and not merely by the casting vote of its presiding officer. For these reasons he declared himself with the noes. In the House of Lords, where the Lord Chamberlain, if a Peer, takes part in the divisions, in cases of equality of votes the " not contents " have it, and the question is declared to have been i-esolved in the negative.

It's an ill wind that blows no one good. The Glasgow Herald says that much amusement has been caused by a printed announcement, stuck up on his barrow by a well-known local vendor of Turkish Delight—" a penny a slab," who does a brisk.trade in Argyle street on Saturday night. The legend reads as follows : Five thousands tons of pure Turkish delight captured by the Greeks at the battle of Melouna Pass, to be heaved away at heartrending prices. Another big consignment, taken at the fall of Larissa, coming. Thousands of Turks and Greeks slain fighting for these identical goods. Now is the time co show your patriotism and sympathy for the Cretans. Eat Turkish Delight, and solve the Eastern Problem, at slaughter prices. Buy now while the war is raging and experience what the Turks are enjoying.

The latest medical wai-ning to cyclists comes from Dr Earl S. Bullock of New York. The trouble all arises, according to this authority, from " over-doing." "Ride a few miles, just enough to exhilarate," he says, " and the result is benificial. Take too long a ride, and the rider will feel as if he had drunk too much. These facts have been demonstrated to me by personal experience. The disease called the vibratory movement has become widespread. It is purely a nervous affection, and more often affection, and more ofted afflicts the "scorcher." Notice a man who has it, and you will observe that he cannot keep still for a moment." This affliction Dr Bullock attributes to the inclined position of the saddle.

The list of bicycle diseases set out by Dr Bullock is a long one, but the one which he regards as the most dangerous of all is the " bicycle spine." The pitch forward of the body of the scorcher especially exhausts the nutriment from the pulpy interior of the cushions or intervertebral discs which are placed between the bodies of the spinal vertebra? : This portion of the spine loses its soft and spongy character, and becomes dry and hardened cartilage. Deprived of its elasticity, the bones of the spine draw closer together, aggravating the normal curvature. The action of the complaint is the same as if a piece of whalebone

wore being compressed at the ends. The curve that would result in the middle of the whalebone is precisely that which the backbone of the sufferer from " bicycle spine " will assume when the complaint has become sufficiently aggravated. The " bicycle Wrist " and the "bicycle eye" are also among the diseases described.