NEWS AND NOTES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1747, 30 August 1905, Page 13

NEWS AND NOTES

“Yes i” said tike married man, mediifcatively, “when you see a woman hanging out a line of -clotih.es, and ike—line slips and 'lets the blessed lot down in 'the mud, that, my boy, is the psychological .moment an which to leave that woman alone."

“I want foul-pennyworth. of glory 'divine," said a -child to a chemist. •Everybody laughed in the -shop. “Are •you -sure it’s glory-divine -you want?’ said the chemist- “Yes, sir." _ “'W ell, <what does your mother want it for. -“to throw -round the room and in the 'back yard,” said the child. “Ah, it s chloride of lime you want,” -said the chemist.

amusing, and, apparently, tnie rstory i> related in the “Daily Chronide.” A prisoner was being conveyed to Dielsdortf, and was looked up in a waiting room until the train arrived. Tired .of waiting, he got through an open window, mounted a detective’s 3>icyule, and rede to the prison, fifteen iriiles .distant, and .stated that Jhe had •iodine to serve sis months. The governor thought he was joking, but a .telephone message to the station resulted .in a jaedi .being placed at ids disposal.

There sue more ways than one of trying to collect a men’s Bible class. A Yorkshire clergyman has hit upon the of a circular, in which the thesis is that men are kept away from church .they are “too fond of courting.” This is worked out under five .heads. It is sufficient to give two:— 1. “One man is courting his pipe, unooonscious of the tact that unless there iis a decided change for the .better he wall .see .mote smoke one day than he will dare for.” 2. "“Another is court-: jag ids .sweetheart—-a pleasant occupation as experience has taught me—-so; peiihaps the Jess I say on that point j .the better. Still, there is a time for; .everything, -even a itime to love,;’ so, .lest you weary the "lass with too muohj Attention, come to the class on Sunday ifor n change.” In the end the ab-, Aentee counter is’* urged to come to the ißibl© class to give his soul “a good c®guare meal.”

“Russell Sage has a perspicuous mind.” said a New York broker. “He can see through nearly everything. I .doubt if he was ever duped on an investment yet. They say that two promoters once called on 'Mr Sage to try to interest him -in a certain scheme of theirs. They talked to the great .financier about an hour. Then they took their leave, having been told that Mr .Siage’s decision would be mailed to them in a few days. T believe we’ve got him,’ said the first promoter, hopefully, on the way up town. T don’t know,’ rejoined the Tie seemed suspicious.’ ‘Suspicious ?’ said the first. ‘What makes you think lie was suspicious?’ ‘Didn't you notice,’ was the reply, fhow he counted his fingers After ,1 had .shaken hands with him ?’ ”

iMr JEEigginbotham, a Brooklyn (IJ.S.A.) Magistrate, had before . him a man accused of abandoning iii« -wife and child. die delivered this verdict:—“l sentence you to take your wife and baby to Coney Island once a week, to kiss her at least onoe a day, and give her £1 4s weekly. I further suggest that you give her a bunch of flowers -onoe in a while. You are commanded not to allow your mother-in-law to interfere with your household arrangements. This -sentence is of four weeks’ duration. At its expiration you will ‘both report here. If you have not obeyed the sentence you will be punished for 'contempt of Court.” The prisoner left the Court carrying his baby.

In -the early .part of this year it was reported from -the Bonin Islands that Volcanic disturbances which .began last November had-resulted in the appearance of a new island 480 ft high and 6200 yards in circumference. This was reported to Tokio.on March 6, together with details furnished by Bonin folks who had visited the new land. A party of scientific men and journalists was formed to conduct investigations, and on May 5 set out in the Hiogo Maru. At the Bonins they made provision for workmen, and then pushed on to the site. But there was no island. It had disappeared. Whether rough seas had disintegrated it, or whether the same agencies that drove it to the surface had withdrawn it again, the fact is, states the “Japan Mail/’ that it had disappeared. Possibly it may emerge de novo, as was the case with the island called Batsuma Fuji, which is now an aid acquaintance, and has a crater of its own.

Another feature of the remoter history of the Sahara is now revealed. We know that the desert abounds with traces of an ancient system of irrigation which the late Cardinal Lavigerie oontemplated restoring. We also know now, on the authority of the eminent explorers Foureau and Gentil, that the desert is thickly studded with extinct volcanoes, ancient and modern. The basaltic remains of the Grand Erb

and the many basaltic peaks of the Adrar are mentioned. But the most remarkable case is that of the Air district, where over a territory 93 miles in extent many volcanic peaks are met with.

Almost like a character f roan the “Arabian Nights” is the story of the vast mineral wealth of Bolivia, told in dry official language by Mr Consul Harrison in his report to the Foreign Office on the trade of that country for the year 1904. As a tin producer, he says, undeveloped Bolivia even now occupies the third place among the countries of the world, and promises to occupy the first within a very short time. Only a part of the known mines are worked, owing to the difficulties ef transport and communication with the coast, but the Government intends to construct railways to open up the country tvith the money received as indemnities for territories recently oeded to Chili and jorazil, and surveys with that object in view have already been made. Tin, however, is only one of the scores of minerals with which .this veritable Ell Dorado abounds. Here are a few of those cited by Mr Harrison: —Gold, silver, opal, sulphur, .alum, alabaster, antimony, topaz, iron, copper, amethyst, borax, arsenic, . .quicksilver,, turquoise, mineral rubber, lignite, marble, manganese, platinum, petroleum, lead, sulphurs, zinc sulphate, and wolfram. With, all that undeveloped wealth, a superb climate, and an excellent soil, it. appears at a first glance strange to find that- only one mining company in the country is actually run by British capital. The explanation of this fact is, according to Mr ViceConsul J. Ramsay Smith, whose report on Oruro is also transmitted to the Foreign Office, that up to the last' few years Bolivia has offered little inducement to, and less guarantee for, the investment of British capital. The general trade of the country is also in the hands of Germans, that -being one of the .reasons Why British goods are not imported very freely. The population is .1,644,000, and the market appears to be a very promising one. The rate .of wages ruling in the country is, for ordinary workmen, 4s to 5s a-day; for -women and children, who are -employed in the mines, about half -this amount.

Philatelists place special value upon Western Australian and Tasmanian -postage stamps, because they depict local scenery. It appears, however*, that when existing issues of these stamps are exhausted, no more will be struck off. A promise was made to the Federal JParliament that the King’s head should be printed on all ‘ Australian stamps, and picturesque stamps issued in the States mentioned will therefore be withdrawn in favour of the conventional-design which will be printed in the other States of the union.

Most of the stone marbles used by boys are made in Germany. The refuse only off the marble and agate quarries is employed, and this is treated in such a way that there is practically no waste. Men and boys are employed to break the refuse stone Lute small cubes, and with their hammers they acquire a marvellous dexterity. The little cubes are then thrown into a mill consisting of grooved bedstone and a revolving runner. Water is poured into the mill, and the runner is rapidly revolved, while the friction does the rest. In half an hour the mill is stopped, and a bushel or so of perfectly rounded marbles taken out. The whole process costs the merest trifle.

A unique forestry feat is being carried out upon .the tallest tree in the world—namely, the Grizzly Giant. This (says “Cassell’s Magazine”) is one of the famous Californian redwood tree®. Experts in forestry declare that it is . dying of old agje, and the Highway Commissioner of California has decided to prolong its .life by removing the decayed portions of the roots and boughs, and by maintaining its equilibrium by a number of cables, which will be so placed as to support the trunk in a rigid upright position. At present the tree is leaning 18ft beyond its centre of gravity, and as the monster is 40oft high and 109 ft in circumference at its base, the erection of the cables will be in itself quite an engineering feat. Many of the roots have rotted right away, and these will be removed and the cavities thus made filled in with a wholesome kind of cement, just as a dentist fills the cleansed cavity of a decayed tooth. Then the decaying limbs and branches of the giant are to be “doctored.” They will he treated in much the same way as the roots. After the forest doctors have finished with the Grizzly Giant they will give their attention to the other big trees in the same grove, and it is to be hoped that their efforts will prolong the lives of these world-famous trees. _ Scientists who have examined the Grizzly Giant declare it to be 5000 years old, in which ease it is probably the oldest living thing on the face of the earth.

In his famous address at Toronto, perhaps the moist remarkable of all viceregal utterances in the Dominion, Earl Grey summed up the advantages which should in the end give Canadians -the

-hegemony of the New World in the following sentence:—“You own a country greater in area than the United States; you possess vast stretches of a more fertile soil; you enjoy a climate which produces a more vigorous race. ;of men; you -have no black problem to disturb you ; your lumber, your minerals, your fisheries, your water power all give you exceptional advantages; and I do not hesitate to say that if, in course of time, you do not give the lead to the United States, it will be entirely .your owhx fault.”

Colonel Picquart has been examining m the “Aurore” the state of the French army. He finds that Moltke’s dictum—- “ Everything money can give the French army possesses; as for the rest, we have the right to make certain reservations ’ still holds good. France, he affirms. has an excellent artillery, a rifle as good as any, strong and well equipped fortresses, and an adequate scheme of railway concentration. Tho question of numbers does not greatly trouble him. Both Germany and France, he say®, have 24,000 officers under arms, ■ and as for non-commissioned officers and men, Germany has 600,000, while Franee has 550,000. The chief weakness of the French system lies in the mode of obtaining the French .officer. “There is still a lack of homogeneity, owing to ■diversity of origin, and the political and religious dissensions that agitate the country:” He is confident, however, that France “possesses an indefinite capacity, as in the heroic-days of the revolution, for the production of such leaders, as she might require in case of war.” Germany’s great difficulty, on the other hand, is her inability “to rely on the nation to fill the gaps left by the death in war time of the superior officers.” On the whole, Colonel Pioquavt concludes that when the position of France to-day, as far as Germany is concerned, is compared -with what it was in 1870, “we have a light to await events with serenity.”

- Mr John Weaver, the Mayor of Philadelphia, has suddenly climbed the dizzy heights .of fame. Six weeks ago, says the “Times” correspondent in New York, Mr Weaver “was unknown outside Philadelphia” ; he is now “a man with a national .< reputation, and his nomination for high office is talked of.”_ “High office” is, of course, the Presidency, and it is curious to note the service rendered by Mr Weaver which marks him out for the White House. He has dared to arrest a member of the Council for flagrantly violating the law. In most countries the arrest of a swindler would have been a matter of course. But America cannot reckon without its “machine,” and so Mr Weaver is acclaimed a saviour of his country for no better .reason than that he performed an elementary duty. He ha® for years been the very centre of a prosperous “ring” ; there is no trick of the “machine” which he does not know like his pocket. Therefore his sudden leap in eminence is the more surprising. And Philadelphia, respectable though it appears, is no mean city. What it undertakes it performs thoroughly and with a perfect cynicism. Under the auspices of Mr Weaver and hisv friends, we are told, the Philadelphians have long ceased to vote. For all practical purposes they are disfranchised. Dogs vote in Philadelphia, and niggers vote early and often, but the responsible citizens refrain from the ballot, either because they are too idle to go there, or because they have 'been personated before they get up -in the morning. *• * *

Some interesting statistics have recently been published with regard to the Berlin press. It appeal’s that 1500 papers are published in Berlin, that is to say, a third of all the papers that are issued in the German Empire. Fifty of these are political, and are published every day (against 38 in London); 30 have a circulation that is chiefly confined to the suburbs, and it is characteristic of these that they are written with the minuteness and familiarity of style which distinguishes a village chronicle, so that to ,the reader it seems as if every one is occupied in observing the doings of his neighbour. There are 60 humorous and satirical journals and 38 dedicated to music and the stage. Forty are published to champion women’s rights. In comparing these statistics with those of the London press, the advantage in point of numbers is decidedly with Berlin, and it is also worthy of note that Germany produces annually about three times as many hooks as England, although'German statistics on the subject include pamphlets which in England would hardly be dignified with the name of books.

All the treasures of Europe seem to be making thei” way to America . The largest part of the library of the late Michael Bern ays, of Berlin, about 9000 volumes, has been purchased by a rich Chicago merchant and presented to the CTniversify of that city. It will be remembered that the libraries of the historians, Leopold von. Ranke and Curtius, and of the scientist Dubois-Rey-mond were also l sold out of Germany.

Tchirikoff has just produced a comedy Which in spite of the censorship has been played in St. Petersburg. It is a satire of the life in a small Russian town, but people who are quick to read between the lines see in it an attack on

the whole of Russia, including even -it* Government. The hero is a provincial schoolmaster, who has a profound respect for the powers that he. Intellectually, he may be considered as one dead, for he understands nothing, and h )<1 never in his life felt the slightest disposition to take one footstep from the beaten path. This creature of routine de-iires that every one else should conform to his ideas, and if he sees a chair _ - or a table out of its usual place, he puts it back, remarking, “We must have order and symmetry; nature loves symmetry ; hence we have each of us two sides, two hands, two .feet.” “Yes,” replies his wife, “but we have only- one head, and sometimes that is an empty one.” The subject of the comedy is the transition of the wife from a state of passive obedience to one of active rebellion. against her lord; which thing? no doubt are an allegory. *■ * *

Bast year thirty-nine samples, representing every source of supply, and comprising twenty-one counties, were taken from milk cans at the various London railway stations. Being submitted for bacteriological examination, they were found to be impure and unclean in over 51 per cent, of cases, while 19 samples contained microbes of a particularly dangerous kind capable of causing acute gastro-enteritis.

A Japanese calendar, printed in English, bears as the inscription to a picture of begging, the . delightfully unconscious euphemism of “charity solicitors.”

Men who hare become rich often lay down for others to follow rules of conduct which do not bear the closest scrutiny .without revealing moral defects. But in the advice given by old Anselm Rothschild, of Frankfort, there is much, that is worth quoting. Inquire thoroughly and conscientiously, he said, into the particulars of the business you propose to engage in. After careful thought come to a definite decision, go ahead bravely, and never be discouraged. Do not burden yourself with useless acquaintances. Do not be snobbish. Be polite to all. Do not use intoxicating' drinks. Pay your debts promptly. Invest your money safely, and trust neither to chance nor to man. Stand up for your rights, and advance your interests sturdily but honourably. Be steady and arduous in your work, and success will come.