Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 1480, 27 March 1880, Page 9

Sparks and Glennings.

Riuderpaeii ia spreading in Russian Poland. The net stump duty in Groat Biifcain on patonis for inventions in 18/8, wtis £1.73,161. Emperor William sent £i) 00 to tho euit'orors by the floods in Murcin, S^nin. Thorfi nro more house 3in London than in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and New York. Aa old mining town, hitherto unknown to the whitiift, had been discovered in Arizona.

A sweet potato, weighing 191b, was grown in St, Landry parish, Louisiana (U.S.), this year, Since the Ist of January 24,993 Gorman iin migrants have landed at New York.

The Chinaman who found the big nugget afc the Palmer has left for the Flowery Land. The population of Victoria at the end of last year numbered 899,420,

Cara are being run in New York now on schedule time by compressed air. The Suez canal was opened for commercial^ traffic in November, 1869. The battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18th, 1815.

Oarlotta, ex-Empress of Mexico, is recovering her reason.

At latest dates, the Ellimgowan, missionary steamer, was at Teste Island, New Guinaa,.

A man has been n.rreated a.6 &oolwa, S.A. , on suspicion of being Ned Kelly. . During the last few years the population of Invevcargiil has nore than doubled itself.

An English soldier at Woolwich has been guilty of naming his infant sou Oetewayo. An English cricket player was lately killed by a badly aimed ball striking him on the ternpie. Pine tree cones, which contain tho seed, are being exported in large quantities to Europe from British Columbia.

Prince Bismarck, though no sportsman, 1 has magnificent forests full of gani9 attached to his ooutitry seat of Varzin. In Europe it is becoming a fashion for people of rank and wealth to travel in private railcoad oars.

During the progresa of the Grant party through lowa the train at one point made 45 miles in 40 minutes.

"At Mudgee the Roman Catholics have iv 12 years raised and expended £18,371 odd on ohuroh and school .buildings. Sir William Wallace, the popular Scottish hero, was exeonted ia London in 1305, when only 35 years of age. A Pittsburg physician has a bed of mushrooms growing in his collar, from which he keeps his table almost constantly supplied. To purify the river Tliamas large quantities of lime are daily thrown into it near where the London sewers enter.

A Chinese junk has been attaokedby New Guinea natives, who were repellod with great difficulty.

An English clergyman recently committed suicide oa the Isle of Wight by sliding down a cliff 600 feet high. Herr GreuvHoh, editor of the Tagwaclit, esti mates tho number of Socialists in Switzerland afc 15.000.

The Augusta (Georgia) News claims ' that tho water melon loceipts iv that city are worth §100,000 a year. A bill compelling natives to wear clothes on the main roads of the colony lun been passed through committee in tho Natal Parliament.

" Frank Mildmay " wan the fir3t novel written by Captiin Frederick Marryat, a native of London, and au oifioor in the roy.il navy. A woman natnad Eiiza Lucas has ( been sentenced to death at Sandhurst, Victoria, for the murder of her husband.

Johnny Campbell, the aboriginal bushranger, has shot at and wounded a tracker who wai looking for him near Maryborough, Queensland It ia reported that 23 prospectors havo been massacred by the Indiana in south-eastern Utah.

The Bank of England wag incorporated ia 1G49. It oovers five acrea of ground, and employe 900 clerks. Lako Superior is 360 miles iv length, has a mean deph of 900 ft, and stands about GiOJLt above the level of tha Atlantic.

A boy 16 years of ago, lately hanged himself at Liverpool,' because somebody had " found fault with him."

Two tribes in Morocco recently had a desperate conflict, in which 190 were killed on one sitfo and 90 on the other. The Denver, Colorado, Tribune says that beforo the season clo3es 3000 buildings will have been erected in that city since the Ist of Kfay. A two days' fight took place in Texas recently between Indians and hunters, seven of the latter being killed. The Sydney Municipal Council ia indebted by way of debentures to the extent of about £559,460. A West Chestsr girl is reported to be dying from arsenical poisoning, the arsenic having been absorbad from a tooth filled by a dentist. The complete returns regarding the Victorian eleotions give the Opposition 49 scats, and tho Berryites 37. G-ernian 13 henceforth to be the language spoken in the ptivnto a1?a 1 ? well as in the public schools in north Schle3wi». Vitzoftu, the village at.the foot of tho Rigi, is threatened with destruction, the wall of rock behind it showing signs of falling. According to the latest returns, the liquor duties iv Russia yield the revenue £32,000,000 sterling a year. Blackwood's Magazine will be edited in the f uturo by two Scotch divines, Dr K. M. Phin and Dr A. EC. Charteris.

The use of the variety of poawoed botanically knownasfucus vescictiloausfoi reducing obosifcy, has obtained recognition in professional ciroles abroad.

It is announced officially that the Empress of Rußsiahaß had an attack of plueriey which has aggravated the chronic affection of the right lung.

The San Francisco Bulletin gives currency to a statement that the Marquis of Lome and Sir John M'Donald, Premier of the Dominion, will shortly visit Austr ilia,

The Australian Mutual Provident Sooiety is the oldest and the leading life assurance society of Australia. Itwaa founded in 1819, jusb 31 years ago. A new paper ia announced in Paris with tho title of Gil Bias. It htobo in the afeyle of Hie Figaro, with a slightly E°publican tinge. ThFigaro i 3 just now Oon3ervative. Near Sebaotopol the pedestal of a bronzo atatue has been dug np. It ia covered v/ifch Hillonio inscriptions belonging to the second century beforo the Christian era. During 18/8 the nnmboi. 1 of applications for letters p-itenfc for invention iv Great Britain w-ia only 5343, being, however, 391 tuofo l\un th,ii of the preceding year. Iv Boston several hundred ladies bftvo already registered ac voters on educAtionn.l matters, ami those who have presented themselves havo been from tho educated classes.

Hard times oontiutw to rei?n in Ba^lancl, "Reduction of wagea of employees ia very widespread, and Beem3 to be the neoeasary result of ike abate of business.

The Elizabeth street and Iledfera tramway (Sydney) shows a net profit, after allowing for depreciation of plant, at the rate of 35& per cent, per annum oa the cm^rfcor's business,

A Icirned ungijtrato ab Loetb recently dooulnd fcha 1 , egf^a were nnt rae\G, nnd tha', n mm cjvJd not bo puwieuad Ti-dor tho kw for pe'i'wg 'ihotn when, unfit fovi 1 .o 1. Tlio liduaa »X. Williann' Labo, B.;tivi Columbia, uro said to be slawing, and ttioir chief ha<-: r.ubiibhod a p.itlie'io lo'otor ia their behalf. Af; Maytown, Palmer river, flouvia not procurable. ' On ffobruary 1-lih a Ohinoae storekeeper sold the last of some bad flour at £,<jo per toe. , „ . Tho organic complaiut from which Princa Bismarck is suffering is Raid to be tho incipient s l ago of fatty degeneration of the heart, as yot but slightly developed. The Premier of Now South Wales baa promised a deputation that tho Government will shortly introduce a measuro providing for the support and protection of the aborigines of that colony. The greyhound ia short-lived. Afc tho ago of two years, he is full grown, and at bis fifth or sixth year ho is worth little for the Bpori of coursing. He may be said to run himself out in three years. The funeral cortege of tho Dawars consisted ot, 35 persons in front of tho hearaa, 128 following it, 10 carriages, and two horsemen. The streets were crowded with persona desirou9 of witnessing the procession. TJio people o£ Lisbon obtain their milk in a decidedly primitive manner. Oows are driven from house to house in tho morning, and as much mil's drawn from the udder as each customer may desire. This method ensures against adultoration. Governor Weld, of T./- mania, is relate! to Archbishop Vaugban. He belongs to one of tho noblest Devonshire families, whose lineage and fidelity to Catholic faith and principles dace beyond the Norman Conquest, Mrs W. Wallace, the stroke oar of the ladles' crewoftheCalifornian Theatre Rowing Club, and the best lady siugle sculler in California, will most likely row a race with Grace Florence, who has quite a repuiatiou in the East. The Loohaber axe, formerly one of the most destructive weapons of the Scottish Highlanders, has now become a relic of the past. Except in antiquarium museums, or municipal figure-heads, it. is now never seen. _ # To give an ide.i of tbe ravaged of dipthena ia southern Rusai.i, it may be mentioned that in the one province of Pulfcava, about 7000 persona have died of the disease in each of the last three years. A correspondent; of a Msnahostsr paper declares that most of the original furniture of the cottage in which Bums was born is now stowed away in the garrets of a house in Chester road, Manchester. The monks of tho Gofchard Hospice stnte that during the winter ending September 30 they havo relieved 11,101 indigent wayfarers of all nations, among whom they have distributed 45,966 rations. Amongst the 112 ladies who appliod for admission into the Medical Institute of St. Peters burg were 40 Jewesses. Of the 77 who were accepted after undergoing the necessary exami. na-iona, 26 were Jewesses. . , , - The Duke of Clovelaud has lately evicted from their home 3on his Devonshire estates ia Eugland about one hundred and sixty famihox Thoy and their ancestors have occupied their houses since fche Norman conquest. There being no pign of a reduction or. tho Russian troop 3in Poland, and Lithuania, tho Austrian Cabinet, acting probably in concert, with the Geraau Government, deem it necessary to prepare to increase their forces in Eastern Galicia. . 'Mr John Henry Challw, an old resident of Sydney, aud a former member of tho firm of Flower, Salting, and Co., ling left tho immense sum of £100,000 to the Sydney University, which is the most princely thing ever yet done by an Australian. The Daily Times regards wifch alarm tne teudence of population to a disproportionate growth in the centred and would view with satisfaction a good number of those who aro now unemployed trying their luck as true coloniits in the interior, ' . Another actov in the great Polish lneurrecUon of 1831 has passed away. This was Theodore Mowvski, who died at Paris on tho 22nd of November afc tho aga of 82 years. He was Minister of War in the Provisional Government of the insurrection. The costs of the prosecution of Rosonberg for tho libels on Mrs West and Mrs Langtry, as sent into the court in the first instance, were no less than £1200. This sum was reduced by taxation to £800, of which Messrs He-id aud Marie, the printers of the libels, are pledged to pay £6oo. „ , „ A Philadelphia lady ia tho owner of a valuable relic in the shape of a manuscript copy of Wesley's hymna in tho handwriting of their author. The book descended to this lady from her grandfather, to whora it wa3 given in partial payment of a debt by the con of the man who printed the first edition of the hymns. Glynn, the amateur ex-champion oarsman of Scotland, aud now residing in San Francisco, Cal., intends to challenge tho winner of the coming raoe between Leahy and Hoyt. Glynn iq 35 years of age, and held tho Scotch championship iv 1866. Sir James Wilsou, Speaker, of tho Tasraamau Legislative Council, died on the 28th vlb, He was one of the moat aßtnto politicians in Tasmania. Anthony Trollopo alludes to him in his well known work on Australia as one of the most cleav headed and statesmanlike men whom he met in the colonies.

While a train wa3 passing near the Queen street bridge at Bnllarat a spark from the funnel lodged on a telegraph post, about 4ffc from the top, and in a few minutes the post was in fall blaza. fortunately the flame 3 were put out in a few minutes, the only damage being that the po3t was muoh charred. Mr Daviea, author of (! Bible English," is said to be well advanced with hia collection of words omitted or negligently treated by our standard dictionaries. _ Though not attempting to deal with etymologies, it will contaiu quota tions of special value for illustrating a world's history. The Saxon General Schoibera Hofen, who is 95 years of age and has just celebrated the jubilee of his general-ship, wag captured by tho French at Jeoa, served for a lime in fche'French service, and on Sixony joitviug the allies, bo oime one of Wellington's adjutants. lie retired from service in 1850. Joseph Welly, uudor r-'iitoico of doith for shooting with intone, diiri.tff tho at'ompt to rob the bank at Ounnatr-nM-i. (NT S W.), has made a written statement implicating foui? others. JIo denies that it w is hia intention to shoot Murphy, aud says he conld easily have sbot him if ho hud wMied Joseph Ilonry, a celobvalod ivan-iwi tcion* tisb nnd natural p^ilosoplipr, waa bom iv Allnny, N i r ., ia 1797, and Aijd in 1379 Bo i,o<?an"a eoriea of oxporimpr.'.'i in ol<>M.ric)ly in ' 1827, and ia said to have invents.! iho fir.-t machine movod by the agency of elcoU-o iiia,',nefcism. The old tiicTiof" geWmg up a shAm fighMn the gallery of a theatre, and then lhr>wiusj tbo stuffed figure of a man over tho railing, was successfully played at Loauvillo (U.S). The excitement in the lower part of the liouso cpasad quite a panio, aad an aotrega fainted oa tU^ utase,

A. powerful whirlwind pained near Howloug, N.S.W, otio day htely, and on one of the farrfio that happened to be in ib track stacks wave overturned, sheds deriti-oyed, and the iron roof of a barn lifted off and carried a dis« tanca of 50 yards ; no lives were lost^ The Berry family have been receiving from the Vicloritn Treasury annual salaries as uudor :— ; -h' Graham Berry, £2J75 : his father iuliw- £-100; iirsb Ron-iu-Liw, £400; second do, J^26o ; first con, £2130 ; second do, £200— total, £3065. The third son— Graham Berry, j un., cat. 10 — ia iv the Treasury oa probation, ti'tuniafl; to receive a s-ilary. Sir Oh*iJ«3 Macmahon, by whom Sir Bryen O'lnghlon has been defeated at "West Melbourne, is described as being a real Irish gentleman, and formerly held a captaincy in the British army, lie was Captain Standish'B predecessor in the chief commissionership of Victorian police, and held office aa Speaker of the Assembly under the M'Gullooh, Kerferd, and Service governments. A child's hair has turned from dark auburn to snow white in Olsan, New York. A few weeks ago the little girl, who is nine yeara old, saw two or three drunken men in the street and was terribly frightened. She cried for three hours, and her paroxysms of grief were well nigh uncontrollable. Soon afterwards hor hair began to turn gray, and now it is white.

Indy Sabine, who has juab diad in England, was for many years a valuable agent in the progress of science iv England. Her husband was a member of the Royal Society, and Lady Sauine heartly devoted herself to his sciontific pursuits. She translated several scientific works, and the^e re-present but a tithe of the help she afforded to British science in rendering accessible to English readers the works of German tcientifio men.

On the night of the 13th of December, a logging camp on Yakima river, Washington Territory, caved in on a party of men, crushing them to the ground and severely injuring several. John Allison, one of the party, was crushed beneath the weight of a heavy wall log into a large onen fire. It became neoessavy to saw the log off in order ti extricate him. While this was being doaa, he lay upon the hot coals, wad was liberally rotated alive. Pork packers in the Western States of America have in seven years cut up an average of 1,430,000.000 lb per annum, or 7,000,000 hogs, and the East and the Pacific slopes have added 3 000,000 more, making 10,000,000 animals, weighing about 2,000,080,000 lb. If two thirds aa much iv weight, from 10,000,000 slaughtered on"' farms throughout the country should be added, the aggregate would be about 3,000,000,000 lb. An extraordinary billiard match wag plajal on January 6fch, before 4000 spectators, at Sheffield. The players were Joseph Bennett, ex-champion, and W. Mitchell, winner of the last two billiard tournaments in Lond6n. The game was 1000 up, and when Bennett had reached 3GO, Mitchell ran from 322 to 1000, thus finishing the tfame off hand. He continued his break and scored 4S more, hia total being 726— the largest in a great match on record. All but three points were made by spot hazards. Au English, paper relates that, in a farmhouse at Kirkcaldy, a tempting ham hang from o io of the rafters, and a rat, with rare instinct, gnawfld a hnla in the woodwork directly over it, and, descending, ate it's way into tho interior of the sweet morsel. One day tha housewife started to ttke the ham down, when out bolted tha depredator and up through its hole. Vna ham was a perfect shell, skin and bone only ro maining to show its form, while the rat had begun to build a nest in it.

Au historical gun is owned by Fernando' Hoaly, of Rehobobh, Miss, Ilis great-grand father brought it to America in 1680, and used, it in the French wars. Hi 3 son Joseph pat a new stock on the piece ia 1761, inserting a small silver pkto bearing the initials " J. H , 1761." Joseph's sou John used ib during the Revolution. It afterwards cime into the possession of another son, the late Stafford Healy, of Rehoboth, father of the present owner. He used it 14 days during the war of 1812, receiving therefor a ponsion. In 1820 lie restocked the gun and put in a n n .w lock, and, at his death, ifc came into the bauds of the present owner. The barrel io original, i 3 in good order, and the gun is still u:ed by members of the family as a fowling piece.

In New York, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, who subsequently joined the order of Masons, purchased a family burial plot in the Catholic cemetery, wherein several of his family were interred. At hia decease, it was desired to bury his remains in the same plot, but t'ae Church resisted, and a law suit eusued. The Court decided that the plot had been sold for burial purposes, and paid for, and^ that deceased, aa purchaser, was entitled to interment. The fact of consecration of ground not being recognised by the common law, could not bo taken into consideration. This decision, therefore, satisfactorily settles a long mooted point. When Sir Garnet Wolseley was in Natal, some years ago, he called together a meeting of all the great chiefs, and sent a special invitation to the Zulu monarch to be present. Instead of complying with this request, Cetewayo caused a bag of wheat to be despatched to Sir Garnet Wolseley, accompanied by a notification that tho Zulu warriors were as numerous a=3 the ears of wheat. Sir G-arnet was equal to the occasion, caused the corn to bo ground, and in that form returned it to the king, with a message to tho effect that if he (Cetewayo) did not take care, he (Sir Garnet) would .have him pounded like the wheat,