Miscellaneous.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume XII, Issue 1228, 9 May 1857, Page 4

Miscellaneous.

V BY \\ LkDS GROW APACE. Tide in a J he 130 Howers having seed-vessels on a single plant of groundsel, and in each seed-vessel there are 50 seeds. Thus, one groundsel seed is father to 6,500 sons, more than there are ol visible stars in the firmament. Many uf these settle where they cannot live ; many exist only to be eaten by birds. It is not meant that all seeds should produce pl Hits, very many are as much bread to the bints as seeds of corn are bread to ns. If, however, by an accident, every son to which a thriving groundsel seed is parent, grew up, throve, and produced new seed in the same proportion— an impossible assumption—the descendants of a seed of groundsel in the second generation would exceed in number 40,000,000 ; the telescope itself his not enabled us to see so many stars. Chick weed is less prolific, though, indeed, even that may produce as many as 500 seeds upon each | lant. But, then, lock at the red poppy. It can yield 100 flowers from one Tool; and, from each flower can develop no less than 500 seeds ; 50,000 may, tberefoie, by chance he the number of its offspring. Black mustard and wild carrot produce families ol magnitude about equal one to another. One may, w h( n in perfection, produce 200 flowers with six seeds in eccb, the other GOO flowers, within each two seeds. One dandelion root may have 12 flowers, while each dumb lion flower yields 170 seeds. The seeds of one sowthistle may number 25,000. One plant ol stinking chamomile may yield 40.000, one jlatit of mayweed 45,000 seeds,—Dickens's Household Words. Considerable excitement has been caused in Southampton in consequence of Mr. T. Falvey, (Editor of the Hampshire Independent), stamp distributor of that town, having been suspended from his office by ihe Boaid of Inland Revenue for interfering in the Southampton election, by speaking at public meetings in favour of Mr Richard Atidiews, one of the candidates for the representation ol the Borough. Mr. Falvey has acted nndtr the advice of eminent counsel, who declared that he had a perfect right to do so previous to the issue of the writ to fill up the vacancy in the representation caused by the elevation to the Cl.iel Justiceship of Sir Alexander Cockbnrn. Mr. Falvey has received communications from some uf the most eminent members of the bar, assuring him that he has not violated the statute passed in the ninth year of Queen Anne, by taking pert in the preliminary proceedings of the forthcoming election in the above-named town. He has also received numerous letters from members of the Civil Service, imploring him to stand by his order, and secure the rights of nearly 20,000 civilians from unnecessary and illegal restrictions.— Home News. Renewed Visit of General Tom Thumb to England.— We perceive, among the list ol passengers in the steamer Baltic, just arrived in Liverpool from the United States, the name of Mr. Clem L. West, whois the agent ol General lorn T humb, and an announcement has been made to us that the latter “ wonder of the age” is about to pay another visit to this country. Ik "Will sail on the lOlh (Wednesday last) from America in the Persia, and is accompanied by his. mother and other memlers of the family. This remarkable prodigy of nature will first bold his levees in the metropolis, and from thence proceed to the chief cities of the continent—travel ling entirely on his own account. The General, we learn from our private correspondence from the New World, is much improved, both in a

menial and social view, since his visit to th? British dominions some ten years ago —stfll ibouuding in transatlantic wit and humour, and not increased in s’ze. His first visit created a sensation in the “great world of London.” and the attraction and novelty will be none the less now. The Great City Forgeries.—At th? Mansion House, Saturday, January 3, an unusual degree of excitement was eviijc°d, caused by the examination of Saward and Anderson, the per- • ons charged with extensive forgeries upon a number of bankers of the City, ami who are also mixed up with the la’e gold robbery on the South Eastern Railway. On the bench with hi* Lordship were Alderman Rose, Aiderman ll.de, Mr. Oliveira, M.P , Mr. D ike, Aiderman Carden, and several others. The specific charges brought against the prisoners, and upon which they were arrested are: —James Anderson, of Freehold-street, Dnrham-road, Iloxton, servant, was brought up for bis renewed examination on a charge of forging and uttering, on the 14tb June, 1856, a bill of exchange for £lOOO. with intent to defraud Messrs. Heywood and Co., bankers, 4, Lombard street. James Townshend Saward, Villa House, Walworth Common, bar-rister-at-law, was also brought up on suspicion of being concerned with the said James Anderson in forging and uttering the said bill ol exchange. Mr. Mullens, solicitor for the B inkers’ Society, conducted the case for the prosecu’ion. Mr. Rees, solicitor to the South Eastern Railway Cumt any, attended to wat h the proceedings. The results of the investigations n*nv gring on, will had to some most remarkable disclosures concerning the large frauds which have been committed for many years past upon various banking houses. As in the case ol a well planned gold robbery on the South Eastern Railway, the evidence of one of the accomplices, convicted ol another offence, has led to the arrest of other persons alleged to be implicated in the proceedings, so in the case of ihese great frauds, it has been owing to the evidence of convide I forgers, and old accomplices, that light has been thrown upon the circumsunces connected with these cases. Although the frauds committed by Saward and bis accomplices are said to extend over a perod of many years, and to embrace the enormous sum of horn eighty 10 ninety thousand pounds, the solicitor for the prosecution in the present case, relies only opon such portions of the evidence as aff ci the series of forgeries commencing in the month of January last year. I he charges which will he gone into, include the forgery ol two checks in the month of January, of £l4*2 13s. upon Mesurs. Barclays and Co., and purporting to have been drawn by Mr. Doe, jttnr.; one check lor £9l, purporting to b>drawn by Mr. Ash upon Smith, Payne, and Smith, presented on He 21st of February; three checks upon Ransom and Co., for a total amount of £206 165., purporting to he drawn by Mr. Beamish ; a bill for £386 17s. 104. on Messrs. Hankey, purporting 10 bo drawn upon Mr, Dobree by Messrs. Jennings and Co. on the 18th of April; a bill of £l,OOO on Messrs. Kinnaird and Co., purporting to be drawn by Messrs. Crossman and Co.; a check ol £llO 7s. Sd., in favour of Mr. Hunter, purporting to he drawn by Mr. Turner, solicitor, upon Messrs. Gliding and Co.; and, finally, three checks (or £250, purporting to be drawn by Mr. Brown in August, upon another bank, whose name was not nu•nlicned. Saward, one ol the prisoners, was, according to the Law List; admitted at the Inner Temple, as a special pleader, in 1848, ami lie is now apparently about h»riy or fifty years of age. His name was first brought prominently before the public in connection with the bullion robbery on the SouthEastern Railway, in May, 1855, ar.d for which Pierce, Burgess, and Tester, have been committed lor trirl. When under examination Agar stated that Saward, “ the barrister,” as he was called, had disposed of 600 ounces of the stolen gold a' £3 2s. 6d. an ounce, and had paid the money he bad received for i< into Agar’s hands, receiving a commission of sixpence or a shilling an nunc?. During the police inquiry al the Mansion-house into the circumstance:; connected with the gold robbery. Saward was living at Villa-house, W..1-worili-commcn, but as scon as Agar’s statement inculpating him appeared in the newspapers, he left that neighbourhood, and all traces of him by the police were lost. At the session of the Central Criminal Court some months since, two men, named William Salt Hardwick, a retired mariner, about 56 years of age, and Henry Atv/ell, engagedin no business, were charged al the Man-sion-house with forging and uttering a check for £5OO, purporting to be drawn by Mr. Alfred 1 urner, a solicitor, of Red Lion Square, upon Messrs. Go-ling and Co., bankers, of Fleetstreet. Hardwick was also charged with forging and uttering a bill of exchange for £l,OOO, purporting to Be accepted by Messrs. Stephen Kennard and Co., with a view to defraud Messrs, Heywood and Co., bankers, of Lombard-street, In the case of Mr. Turner, that gentlemen was waited upon by Atwell, and instructed him to wri e to another person, whose name and address he gave, for a debt (upon an 1OU) amounting to something more than £lOO. Thece instructions were cariied out by Mr. Turner, who was in the course of a few days waited upon by a man who said he was the person applied to for the money, and paid Mr. Turner the amount claimed. In a day or two the confederate called h r his money, and was paid by Mr. Turner ly a a clrck on Gosling and Co., which served as a guide for a subsequent forgery in Mr. Turner’s name. The addresses given by both the men were correct, as they had taken apartment! for a short time for the purpose of successfully carry, ing out their scheme. This forgery was clearly brought home 10 Hardwick and Atwell, and they were both convicted for the offence, and sentenced to transportation for life. The only witness examined on the 3rd instant was Atwell, one of the persons so convicted ; his colleague and accomplice is also to be examined on a future •lay, as well as about thirty other witnesses, who will be called to corroborate the statemeniß they may make. The evidence evinces most remarkable foresight on the part of the members of the gang, and proved that such precautions were used against discovery as must have effectually prevented their nefarious operations from coming to light, had it not been for the disclosures made by convicted members of the fraternity. On the 7th inst. the prisoners were again examined, and afterwards remanded.

A female, who had been ohseived standing some evenings since near the Hotel du Nurd at Bethune, suddenly thrust a parcel into the bands of a gentleman who came up, and then ran away. On opening the parcel the gentleman, to his surprise, found 20 bank-notes of 10OOf. each with hese lines: —“ A person who wishes to remain

unknown, remits to M. Caron, receiver of the bureau de bienfaisance of Bethune, a sum ot 20,000 fiancs, under the formal and absolute condition that they shall be employed in the purchase of Three per Cent. Stock for the use of the said establishment.” The gentleman was not, as the female had evidently supposed, M. Caron, but M. Guillemant, bis father-in-law; he of course immediately handed over the money to M. Caron.— Home News. The Emperor and Empress made an afternoon r ill upon Baron J unes Rothschild, at the house, Rue L'lfTnie, No. 17, in which M. Salomon de Rothschild lately died. This handsome house was formerly occupied by the Queen Hortense, ami Louis Napoleon was born in it. The street at that tune was called the Rue Ce utti. The name was afterwards changed to that of the Rue d’Artois, which name gave place tn 18-30 to that of Rue Laffite. Many of the rooms in the house are still furnished in the style of the period when Napoleon 111. was born, a id snne of th-chimney-pieces are yet ornamented with the initials of the Queen of Holland. Toe Biron and. Baroness Rothschild showe I their majesties ov.r the house, and it is sail that the Etnperor manifested much emotion at visiting and recognising the scenes of his earliest childhood,— Home Notes. Porposed Large Hotel at Brighton — A prospectus has been issue ! lor a limited liability company to establish in Brighton one of the largest hotels in the kingdom. The capital ol the company is to be £50,000, and the hotel is ptoposed to consLt of the magnificent black ol buildings recently erected by Mr. Izird on the site of Williams’s Baths, and to amalgamate therewitn the Albion Hotel and adjoining property, thereby forming one grand hotel. A Fortune-teller Against his Will — A gentleman who gave his name and address, J. A. Frauklinski, of Claremont house, Bayswater, applied to Mr. Beadon for his assistance under the following circumstances Some person or persons bad assumed his name, and bad put advertisements in the newspapers offering to tell fortunes and calculate nativities. The conse qnence was, that his house was besieged with personal applications and letters, so that, in fact, all privacy and comfort were at an end. Now, he was himself a private gentleman of fortune, his wife was an English lady ; and as neither pretended nor professed to have any knowledge ol futurity, they wished to know whether they could nut have some protection from the annoyance which they now sustained. The applicant then handed to the magistrate a couple of adveriisemerits, cut from some paper, which were headed “Courtship mule easy, or the way to win a lover,” and “ 1 he future revealed, and nati iiits calculated.” The first advertisement was as fob lows: —“ Madame Franklinski will send to any address plain directions to enable ladies or gentlemen to win the affections of as many of the opposite sex bs their hearts may desire. The proposal is simple but captivating and enthralling, that all may be married irrespective of appearance, age or position—young and old, peer or peeress, a* well as the peasant, and it can be managed so that detection is impossible.’’ The other was :— “Are you in affliction? Is your loved one absent? Are you in doubt as to your future happiness in life ? In fact, are you desirous of knowing He future respecting yourself or any ■me in whom you are interested ?” Applicants weredtsirtd to apply to Madame or Professor hranklinski, at 25, Chapel-street, enclosing for the fust twenty-fuur stamps, for the second a feuf 2s. 6J. —The applicants state! that on application at Chapel-street, no one of the fame 0! I*ranklinski was to be found, hut applicants were referred to Claremont-hous°, his own resilence. —-Mr. Beadon was afraid he had no power to render assistance in the case. He believed, however, that publicity would effect all that the applicant wished. —The applicant thanked the magistrate and retired.— Lloyd) News, The Tunes’ correspondent, writing on the 19th of January, Fends the following prrticulars of a destructive fire at the Bank of Ireland :—

At five o’clock this morning, the city was 'hrown into a state of the greatest consternation by an announcement that the Bank of Ireland, one of the finest public buildings in Europe, and formerly the seat of the Irish Legislature, was 'n flimes, and that from the rapid progress of the fire the most serious consequences were to be apprehended. The prompt arrival of’.he engines however, aided by the assistance of the police, soon checked the alarm, and the fire, after raging fur about an hour, considerably abated—but the accountants* and bookkeepers’ offices ar?, it is feare l, completely destroyed. Fortunately the morning was perfectly calm, there being scarcely •1 breath ol wind blowing. Owing to the confusion and excit* merit as well as to the difficulty of gaining access to the building, it is quite impossible as yet to ascertain the precise amount of damage.

It appears that Mirs Roberts, the housekeeper, did not retire to rest until one o’clock this morning, and at that lime all appeared sale. The night watch l ad been for some time discontinued. Ihe houseket per’s apartments are immediately opposite the Accountant-General’s office, and at lour o’clock she wjs awakened by the glare of light issuing from the windows of the bookkeepers’ department. Miss Roberts forthwith gave the a’arm, when it was discovered that the flimes were raging with great lory, bat prompt assistance having been speedily procured, the progress of the fire was fortunately arrested, and, although the bookkeepers’ offices are utterly devastated, no further mischief has occurred to the building. The first person aroused was Mr. Dubedat, the cashier, who resides in the bank. The first thing be did was to order the steam-engine to work, and thus, shortly after the arrival of the engines, an ample supply of wa’er was obtained. The tanks on the roof were found, when most wanted, to be dry, but the tanks on the groundfloor were soon amply supplied, and thus the devastating power of the flames was got under. Hose had been carried in the first instance to Fosterpljce, whence a supply was procured until the tanks had been filled. How the fire originated is a total mystery. It was rumoured through town to-day that it occurred in consequence of an escape of gas, but such is not the fact. Yesterday, being Sunday, access to any of the offices was impossible, and it appears almost incredible that the fire could have been smouldering since Saturday evening. Miss Roberts keeps the keys of all the offices, and she alleges, we understand, that no person had enteicd any of them since they were closed after business hours on Saturday. On the whole, the affair is shrouded in mystery. The only property said to be destroyed consists of useless blotters; al the valuable books were locked up in the safes.