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Oamaru Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 4952, 20 April 1891, Page 4

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The luemW-rs. of the Midland Institute are this week holding at Hinningham their ; annu.»t conversazione. The special feature 'of this ye:*r hut been the hearing of the opera and pantomimes by telephone, the National Telephone Compnny having for the occasion fitted tip four moms in the Institute building. connected, with London f miles}. Liverpool (140 miles). Manchester *!>•"> miles), ami Bradford (125 nitle*). The ro«»tns are each titted to accommodate .*!2 listener*. so that 12)5 people at one time could enjoy musical jwerformanees g*>tng on in four far-distant towns. I >ver the London wire came first, between ! seven o'clock and half-j>ast eight, the : stratus of a concert. Tlict« the wire was : turned on to, the Savoy Tlieatre to hear i "Thf »tondolters," with such success that every one was very loth to withdraw from the "telephone until tlw curtain fell in London. In an adjoining room could be heard front Manchester, now '• Aladdin" front the Theatre Royal, now •• l;,> TVtp" front the Prince's. From ; Bradford came the sounds of a concert* ! white in the next ro >m the telephones record what is "on " at the Court Tlieatre. I Liverpool (where the Carl Rosa Opera i Company are performing an opera) : or tlVise wh»> want something lighter can hear the funniest parts in the pantomime •• Iv »',u-*"U Cntsoe." i»oiiiii performed at the Prince of W.ilc*' Tliotre. There is ••[tdte a fund of enjoyment to Wgol l»v the observant onlooker in studying the faces of the listening groups, many of whietl sit down with faces grave and dnhtotts and sceptical, to break forth within te» thanminute in merriment. If. it no uncommon thing to sec heads : wagging and kinds heating time as the listeners become transported by the rhythm of the telephoned music. li- is singular. as we learn from the current Review of Reviews, that Lord Wotsefey not only share* General (!ordonV belief in the latent p'issibilities of the Chinese, fust holds that thev arc the Coming Power, and that when their aide ! and capable men are no longer beheaded, and a sreat General has arisen, they will, with theircapsbilitiesof endurance, sweep ov»t Russia and India, and engage in war with thpKnslish-spcakingraces. TheSpcc- ' tator says;- "The Ktii'lish. the Americans, and the Australians will have to rally for a desperate conflict, probably in Western Asia, which will lie a veritable battle of Armageddon. Such prophecies are. of course, of small practical tisc ; but we as>ree that a very little inisiht set the Chinese moving, and that her millions, oriee left loose, could nr» more l» stopped than a stream of lava." Clerks and others who have a great deal of letter-despatching to do will lie very pleased to learn that there is a prospect of an unpleasant part of the work being made, literally, more f>alatable. At present those who have hundreds of envelopes to close l>ef»re dinner find their interest in that important meal considerably discounted by trie application to the lips and tongue of so much gum. A new envelope being put on the market has the adhesive stntF in another place, namely on the Iwxly of the envelope on the line where the Hap comes. By wetting the clean edge of the ttap the closing of ; the envelope is said to be just as efficiently j done without having to apply the tongue ! to. a sttWanw of very doubtful cleanli- | tvess. I This little chat about Oliver Wendell | Holmes is indulged in by !>. F. Austin in I the New Review :—" Don't ask me how I i am." said Dr Holmes a year or two ago. i "* It is a dangerous tiling to show a sym- ■ pathetic interest in my health, as if you | thought I must die because I am old. ! " Heaven forbid." said I. " Well, young people make that mistake sometimes, to their cost." he proceeded, with a wonderful twinkle in his eye. "'They write to me like this : * Dear Mr Holmes, as in the ordinary course of nature you cannot live much longer, please send me your autograph by return post.' What happens? Why. they die before the year is out. SV« when I see a young mail npproacliing with my health plainly in his mind, I say • Not a word on that subject, my young friend, it is a bad omen—for you.' " And he laughed with the glee of tiveand-1 twenty. A curious occurrence took place in connection with the Easter encampment in Sydney. Some 300 mounted cavalry arrived at Parramatta on Friday evening from the camp at Campbelltown. As many as possible of the horses were placed in the horseboxes at the Roschill racecoarse, and the remainder, over 200, were tamed loose into the Legcr reserve to

feed. While the corps were preparing for tea one of the horses, which still had on its saddle and accoutrements, broke loose. "Hie rattle of the accoutrements started the drove in the Lcger reserve, and a mad stampede set in. For two hours the frantic animals tore round and round in the darkness, all efforts to stop them being unavailing, and the mad gallop did not end till the animals were completely exhausted. It was then found that two had been killed outright, seven severely inured, and all more or less so. The diminution in the number of our criminals has been the subject of much congratulation of late. It may be that the actual decrease of crime is not sufficient to account for this, and that in part at least it is due to the shorter sentences now so generally imposed. But that crime is to some extent actually diminishing while the jKipulation is increasing, seems to admit of no doubt; and it is especially satisfactory to find that the criminal with a knowledge of a trade is fast becoming quite a rare bird. It is indeed a great and a growing difficulty in the building and rejKiiring of our prisons that, whereas up till the past few years skilled labor was .always to be found among the prisoners theniselvcs. the supply is dwindling every year, and the employment of free outside lalor becomes more and more necessary. —Daily News. At the Jews' College Literary .Society, on the occasion of the reading of Dr Adler's " Notes oil the Holy Land," Lieue.-Colonel Goldsinid made an eloquent appeal to his co-religionists to hasten the work of .Jewish colonisation in Palestine. The Jewish question, he told his hearers, will never lie settled until there is a Jewish State in the Holy Land. "In s»>me countries," he continued, " wo arc |>ersecutcd. In others we are barely tolerated. I am not at all surprised at this. What other race, with so glorious a history as ours, would tamely sit down and see the land of their ancestry ill the hands of a foreigner ? Italy has regained Rome, why should we not regain Palestine, instead of being contented to remain tolerated by the peoples among whom wo live !" An interesting story is going the round of the Berlin press. A soldier of the Reserves lately submitted to the Emperor a petition asking to be exempted from military service, but was refused. He has now openly refused obediunce because, " according to God's law and his own inward conviction, he may and will not kill anyliody either in war or in peace." He has been repeatedly examined by physicians, who find him thoroughly healthy, and accountable for his actions. Another soldier has now followed suit The story of the broom which Miss Jenny Lee uses in her vivid impersonation of "Jo" is not new, but will be interesting to those who have not heard it. Before the first production of the play at the Globe Theatre 011 the night of the last rehearsal there was no broom available. and Mi.ss Lee went herself out into the streets, and, after walking some distance, found a voting crossing-sweeper who was contemplating a new broom he had acquired. The old one was lying | close bv. and Miss Lee succeeded in purI chasing it for a shiling. This same j broom is still used, and has been all over 1 the world.