Odds and Ends.

Otago Witness, Issue 1419, 1 February 1879, Page 30

Odds and Ends.

[Compiled expressly for the Witness.] There were 14 farms entered in Victoria for the special prizes presented by the Hon. W. J. Clarke, for the best-managed tenant farms. Mr Patrick Donovan stood first, Mr E. Grills second, and Mr A. Pollock third. The following reverend ladies have recently preached in New York : — Mdmes. Van Coat, Brigham, Allyn, Whitney, and Satterwaite, and Misses Greenwood and Smith. The circumstances are favourable to the employment of the electric light in large workshops. There is always in these concerns a superabundance of motive power, and the electrio machines can ba driven without cost. ' • | President Hayes* message is of a rigidly neutral tint, even where it touches upon his hobby — the conciliation of the South. His utterances on the Chinese que3tion ; which were looked forwtrd to with special interest in California, are vague. An American paper says :—" What with England sending us her F«mian3, France her Communists, and Germany her Socialists, the United States will soon come to be regarded < aa a convenient and cheap penal settlement by all the European Powers." Scotland has latterly been flooded with lectures, speeches, and addresses. Almost , every member of Parliament has appeared before his constituents, and given an account of his 'stewardship. ' A revolution in dancing circles is promised in Paris this winter. Quadrilles and cotillons are to disappear, and to be replaced by stately ballets, such as were danced in the times of the three last Louises. Mr James Gordon ' Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald, has started from Paris for St. Petersburg,* on his way to 'Afghanistan, "taking with him M. Ivan de Woestyn. It is : hard bo say whether the rabbit plague is worst in South Australia or Victoria. Most distressing reports as to the destruction of crops are in circulation. The London Times admits that "a modification of the Victorian Constitution is acknowledged to be desirable, and a reasonable ' reform" ought not to be impossible!" " Hygiene of the Brain " is a curious work just published in America, bearing "upon subjects suggested by the title, in which many distinguished persons describe their physical and intellectual habits. The collector' at Boothbay, Maine, has among hio curiosities a Chinese god marked "Heathen Idol," and next to it a gold dollar marked " Christian IdoL" A thing the railway authorities might do for the convenience of passengers is to put a neatly' framed time-table in each carriage, showing the down and return journeys, ;with the stoppages for refreshment, &c, [marked in red letters. , If the electrio light should really supersede gas, the effect will be very great on Borne of' the coal-yielding districts, especially on those which are exceptionally rich in •seams of gag coal. It is said that when Mrs Hardinge Britten delivered her lecture in Melbourne upon "Ancient and Modern Masonry," she gave many signs that were not noticed by the uninitiated. A company with '3,000,000 dols. capital, 'has been formed at London, Ontario, Canada, to make india-rubber from the juice of the milk weed. In proportion to the population there were fewer marriages in Massachusetts in 1877 than duriag any year in which statistics have been kept. It appears that the report of the discus sion between Mr M. W. Green and Mr Thomas Walker, held iv Melbourne, is for sale by Mr James Neil, herbalist, George street Queenslanders are fencing their runs with a three-inch mesh wire-net fence, four feet high, to keep back wallabies and kangaroos. A mass meeting was held at New Orleans, on the sth November, which adopted resolutions expreßsing, io the most eloquent and emphatic manner, the gratitude of' the city for the aid afforded during the prevalence of the yellow fever. A private letter from General Grant states that he still intends to travel eastward through India and China, and thence home by the Pacific and San Francisco, in about a year. Garibaldi writes to & Sicilian correspondent as follows : — "The future 'of tbe world is republican. Say so openly to Sicilian young men. For the present ifc behooves us to Ett^pbrt the Cairoli Ministry." . It is stated that General Thomaß Ewing and Senator Jones, of Nevada, have purchased the James River and Kanavha Canal in Virginia. The stock of the Company has been recently two cents on the dollar. The body of St. Francis Xavier was exposed in the Cathedral at Genoa, in pre- ■ sence of many Catholics from various puts of the world. The ceremonial was impressive, and excited much religions enthusiasm The influx of immigrants into the United States from Europe is extraordinary for this period of the year, and the indications are that immigration on a large scale ia beginning. The Congregationalists claim 366,000 mem- , bers. At the begineing of this ctntury tbe average annual contributions for missions was 8 cents a member. Last year it was 7 dols 52 cents. In New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, if a woman marries a maß who has already, unknown to her, a wife still living,, this second wife's children can inherih tht-ir father's property equally with the children of the real wife. During the year 1877, 2622 drowned bodies were brought under the notic > of coronets' juries in England and Wales 522 bodies were of the female sex, and 805 wrre the bodies of children under twelve years old*

One bt,sh?l y'of ~cr. , it •<,•'- -ia, ."ili "c tbe averge, yield of wheat In, the .Bonalla.and Yarrawonda distric's, Victoria) 1 The Belec<ora are appealing to the Government for a postponement of their payment of rent. Queen Viptoria is about to be made a great-grandmother through the kindness of the eldest daughter of the Crown Prince of Germany, who was married in February last. • , . In. the New York penitentiary there are 27 clergymen, 42 lawyera, 13 doctors, and three printers. As usual, the piinter is behind , We learn from the New Zealand Christfaa Record that the neeting« tieldin Dunedin in connection wii-h the week of prayer, recommended by the Evangelical , Alliancey, were largely attended,-, and pervaded by a spirit of deep solemnity. The New York Times says, in regard to the report, that Keene and Hatch were about to corner wheat, that it is. utterly absurd ; that it wouM.be .impossible for any set of men to successfully get up a corner in grain. Smith and Jones were lately examining a gun that was not loaded. Of ; course it went off. Smith was filled with remorse, and Jones with bird shot number two. The foreigners who entered their names in the hotel rngisteT during the Paria show, included 58,916 from Britain, 28,830 from Belgium, 22,778 from Germany,. 13,573 ,fr0m the United States, 11, 980 from Switzerland, and 10,000 from SpaiD. < Dr MaeHale, of Tu'am, Ireland, is the senior Archbishop of the ltcm&n Catholic Church, and probably the oldest mitred priest in the world. , He has lived during the time of six Popes. Paper teeth are a new invention in Germany, and a number of .specimens were displayed at the late paper exhibition in Berlin. They are warranted, fully as durable as any other teeth. , - ' ■ . One hundred and eight delegates, claiming to represent trades unionß in all parts of the country, met in Philadelphia ou the sth. December to form a National political organisation. ■ , .> , Another great fraud in the public service has been exposed in America. It has been discovered, that the schools are crowded with teachers, who obtained , their certificates through the purchase of examination papers. It is said that, notwithstanding the', existence, of poor, late, and self sown crops, * general average for the Wimmera* district, Victoria, of 14 bushels of wheat per, acre may be expected. > * The Quarterly Journal of Science says that.Phelps' duplex telephone is as far beyond | Bell's as a .modern Westly -Richard's, central fire breech-loader is beyond a Joe Manton. The Grand Lodge ot Chinese Masons met at Vallejo, California, on the, Ist December; [ and was attended by many Chinese dignitaries | from various sections. ■ ■ : | ■ The New York Times employs a lady as live-stock reporter, and this lady, Mise Midy Morgan, has repently sent a description of the Islington Cattle Market to that paper. • Joaquia Miller has written another, play ' called Mexico. It is a story of American and Mexican life and love, , and will soon be produced with Elizabeth yon Stamwitz in theleading character. The Tablet has at length spoken oat against Chinese immigration. It. says that thair exclusion from the goldfieldsis a necessity which no sentiment should set aside.Edison's telephone is to be set up in every large town in England; The wires : attached to each subscriber's house will be carried to a central office, so that any two of them may be put in communication in a moment. I The teetotil organs are not quite pleased 'with the fact of the testimony of Sir James Paget, Dr Lander, and Dr Bernays pointing to the moderate use of alcohol. ■> Women are becoming more and n>oremascnline in their attire. Deerstalker hats have been succeeded by ulster coats, and. now we have in the Champs JElyse'es white waistcoats with gilt buttons. , The Rev. Dr. Copland Bays that ha brought forward his overture on education, leat the Bpcuralists might withdraw the school books at present in use, and thus reader the bchool system godless. The Tablet, referring to what it calls Mr Stout's attempt to "flout the parsons," says that his reputation for manliness v purchased very cheaply, as he knows that the clergy can neither nuke nor mar him. The Japanese preserve meat by placing it in porcelain vessels, and pouring boiling water over it, which congulates the albumen on the surface: Oil is then poured on the water, which excludes the air. The contemplated exhibitions in Australia —at Sydney, 1879,. and Melbourne, ,1880— are attracting attention in Europe. ■ The: London Times enlarges -upon the extraordinary developments of the colonies. Some ladies in New York City have formed an *'- Anti-Probate League.** Its object is to abolish the Probate Court process, a3 far, as wills and widows are concerned. Even farmers in England complain of hard times, and of the foreign supplies of grain, and other staple goods which compete with. English products. Notwithstanding, prices, are high. I Hundreds of people in Sheffield, Eugland, I are without fuel, and dependent upon the 1 charity of their neighb^uri for .subsistence. The Mayor has called a public meeting todevise means of relief. | "La Perichole" is to be given in the Alhimbra; but a London paper doubts \ whether Mifcs Soldene's broad style will please those who have b«et aoon*tomed to the refinement of Madamp Siliaa Do)*>fo. During the year 1878 the greatest quantity of wheat carried between any two stations by rail was between Oatnaru and Chrjatchurch. —21,004 tons. Ttya year the bnlk of the Oamaru wheat should c< me to Dnneilin. When the Mapleßon troupe yr&tr, oa their way from Eugl*n<t to New York, they gave a concert in mid ocean at mMnight, for the. benefit of the yellow fqyer sufferers. Tue editor of the CbVist aa Record pub. lifihes a ech«me for keeping the Loid's Accounts, which has been adapted by a number of his friends.. Tnry. are pledgwl to enter so mnca in a beck for tbe Church, every week. The Cromwell Argus says that landholders and bn^noss men throng** the Clutha Valley are earnestly beDt npon having a flour-mill established in the oia« trict.