GOSSIP BY THE MAIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1188, 5 September 1874, Page 8

GOSSIP BY THE MAIL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The further lessening of the hours of work for women and children is the subject of a Hill which has passed through Committee in the House of Commons. Ie provides that women and children employed in factoiies shall not be allowed to work more than 56& hours per week, and also directs that after the year 1876 children under ten years of age shall not be sent to work at all. In contrast to this prospective amelioration of the lot of working women, stands a statement made by a Miss Downing at a recent meeting of the Victoria Discussion Society, of which Miss Emily Faithfull is the shining light. Miss Downing stated, as an evidence of the eicerness of women for employment — she might more correctly luve ascrib> d the result to the pressure of necessity — that a recent advertisement for a matron for fin asylum was answered by no Jess than 970 applicants. The same ludy also expressed the opiuion that trades unions were a groat obstacle in the way of women obt<ining employment. It rioes not yet seam to havo occurred to the female mind to form trades unions of women, but things will probably come to this in time. Those unmarried men who share the dread entertained by Mr Weller, sen., for widows, ought to fight shy of Scotlaud. The lately published returns of tho last census show that in that portion of the United Kingdom there are 129 widows out of every 1000 } marriageable women, while in England t^e I proportion is only 116 iv the 1000. The , | Scotch widows also immensely outnumber the Yiswm, ttoe fl§w<s r«spectiv«ty

being 148 241 and 52,789. These last figures, however, may tend to reassure the timid, inasmuch as it would appear from them that a Bmall proportion of widows, as compared with widowers,' marry again. On the other hand, it might be argued from the same figures that the mortality among husbands is much greater than that among wives. The Registrar-General preserves a discreet silence on this point, possibly lest he might deter men from marrying, and it must be remembered that some years ago he frightened the bachelors of Scotland by showing that celibacy was more fatal to adult male life than any disease. Between the dangers of celibacy and marriage, the look-out for men would be a poor one, were it not for the well-known adaptability of figures to prove anything. In these days when it is regarded as impossible for a wealthy person to be a thief unless he be also a monomaniac, it is refreshing to see a wholesome example set as to this matter. Strange to say it is Russia that has furnished the much-needed example. A member of the royal family of that empire — the Grand Duke Nicholas— has been found guilty of stealing his mother's jewels, and has been punished by bauishment to the Caucasus for life, and by being deprived of his decoration for service in the Khivan campaign. It is to be hoped this stringent dealing with so exalted a personage will have some effect in encouraging honesty in Russia, which has up to the present time been the paradise of thieves.

That Good Templars are not averse to drinking claret, or what they take to be claret, was recently disclosed in an adulteration case tried at the Staffordshire Quarter Sessions. It appeared that the claret in question contained logwood, a "very large quantity" of sulphuric acid, and fusel .oil, and that it cost the vendor les3 than 6d per quart in bond. The barman stated that this claret, which contained a very large proportion of spirit, was known in the district as " Good Templars' claret," on account of its being greatly in request by members of that body. It is sad ts read that this painful declaration caused "much amusement" in Court.

Some experiments with the diamond drill are attracting considerable attention in engineering circles in England. In Sussex the drill is being used in a boring which is being carried on at Battle, for the purpose of trying to find the Wealden coalfields. The boring is now over 1000 feet deep, and the diamond borer has executed it in the most satisfactory manner, not only where hard rock had to be dealt with, but also in going through clay, where it has hitherto been regarded as but of little value. The cutting part consists of a hollow cylinder, set with diamonds, aud caused to revolve rapidly by means of machinery. Another interesting experiment with the diamond-drill is being carried on at the mouth of the Tees, where the drill is employed to bore in sunken rocks holes which are charged with dynamite and fired by electricity. In this way it is hoped that many dangerous obstructions in harbours may be removed. The drill has also been employed in sinking shafts for coal mines ; in fact its use appears to be extending daily, and it is favoured by the plentiful supplies of inferior diamonds now received from South Africa.

Sir W. Carro 1, an ex-Mayor of Dublin, must be a peculiarly constituted person. He recently summoned an artist with the conglomerate name of Michael Angelo Hayes, for libelling him in two cartoons, which, Sir W. Carroll said, had caused him "more bodily pain of mind" than he had ever before suffered. Fortunately for him the jury were a sympathetic and intelligent body of men, who understood exactly what "bodily pain of mind" was, and awarded him £40 as a solatium for that extreme description of anguish. His son, who had been attacked iv the same manner, did not make a similar statement as to his physico-mental sufferings, and the jury therefore, regarding his pain as of an ordinary character, awarded him only a farthing as damages.

America is par excellence the land of strange sects, and among the strangest of these seems to be a sect rejoicing in the name of the Dunkers. These no doubt estimable people have been holding a convention at Girard (Illinois), where they discussed one or two questions of the greatest spiritual importance. The first of these was as to the manner in which the beard should be trimmed. After giving the matter the serious attention its magnitude demanded, it was resolved that the fashionable style of beard (whatever that may be) was not permissible ; that the beard must be allowed to grow to its full length, and that anj r member of the body who did not comply with these directions should be subjected to church discipline. It was also recommended— probably at' the instance of the sistors, though the report is silent on the pomt — "that the moustache should be trimmed shorter than the lip, that the mouth might be clean to receive the kiss of brotherly love." When these recommendations are attended to, the Dunkers will speedily advance in sanctity. The increasingly aristocratic nature of flunkeyisin has just received a marked illustration in London by the establishment of a Flunkey Club. This institution is not to be open to any aud every person who wears plush breeches and straw calveß, but is to be reserved for the "upper ten" of the servants' hall. Wite this object the entrance fee and subscription are fixed at high figures } while, to make assurance doubly sure, ifc is stated that "the institution of the ballot ia rigorously utilised to weed out low persons." The premises of the Club are in the expen« sive region of Vere street, and they aro furnished "in a style of much luxury." That nothing may be wanting to make " Jeames" happy in thinking that he is a gentleman becau&o he is living like one, a French cook has been engaged at a salary of £400 a year to minister to the creatuie comforts of the " select " flunkeys. It may be safely prognosticated that preserved meat will not enter into the menu of this institution, that article being only good enough for the low persons who have the misfortune to. be masters.

The New South Wales and Queensland papers are full of accounts of the doingsof Blondm, the great tight-rope walker, and Town and Country gives a sketch of tip bi^tojy,