Alutum in Parvo.

Otago Witness, Issue 1499, 7 August 1880, Page 6

Alutum in Parvo.

• [Compiled, expressly for the Witness.] The London Unitarians propose to erect at a cobI; of £500 a sUtue to Robert Raikes in front of the Essex street Chapel. Modern Jews are said to number half the university students, half the barristers, and more than half the merchants of Vienna. According to a Westphalian paper, four extensive layers of black marble have been : discovered in the Wiohengebirge, St. Enoch Railway Station, Glasgow, is now permanently lighted at night with the the electric light. The medicinal value of the eucalypti is 'testified by the fact that the French Government a few years ogo planted over three million in Algiers for climatic ends. Mrs Hepworth Dixon is to receive from Queen Victoria a grant of £100 a year from the Civil List in consideration o£ her late husband's services to literature. Dr Wagner and Herr Wilhelmj are gravely chronicled as giving each other a kiss of greeting before an astonished audience at the Albert Hall, London. Mr Edwin Arnold, the author of " The Light of Asia," is the son-in-law of the Rev. W. H. Charming, the nophew of Dr Ohauning. Professor Nordenekjold has been created a baron by the Swedish Government, and Lieutenant Palander and Mr Oscar Dickson have received patents of nobility. It is reported that the Chinese are about to transfer their merchant vet a els of foreign type to the American flag to protect them in ithe event of war with Russia. In the midst of a geaeral conflagration a Japanese householder can only ensure immunity for his property by promptly offering a sufficient bribe to the firemen. A superstitious custom, peculiar to the pr°eent reigning dynasty in China, is that no Emperor can b« buried in th.3 same place as his predecesßor. The Russian army at present stationed in the Kingdom of Poland comprises 60 regiments of infantry, SO of calvary, and 15 brigades of artillery, composed of three batteries eaoh. The cotton grub is ssid to be making aerious ravages among the plantations in the United Statts, and it is thought that the coming orop will be less than that of last season. Old postage stamp 3 are bought up, washed, regummed, and sold a3 new by New York dealers, who thus defraud the Government of something like a million of dollars every year. The Tokio Times says .-—"Here is a vast; city containing 1,000,000 inhabitants and without a solitary steam machine in use or existence— with hardly an effioient land engine at command. The United States Government is fitting out an expedition at San Frandsoo to search for the Arctic exploring vessel Jeannetfce. The Jeannette went by what is called the eastern passage by Bohring's Straits. The consumption of road metal in France is annually about 1,326,000 cubic metres on the national roads. All this is bruised and reduced to mud and dust every year by the wheels of vehioles arid the hoofs of horses. The Great Eastern Railway Company are about to adopt a service for supplying Bait water at any house within the ordinary cartage delivery of the company in London or the country. The largest cargo of live stock yet imported from America has been brought by the Bteamer lona, from Boston to Liverpool, consisting of 734 cattle, 800 sheep, and 200 pigs. Only six animals died on the voyage. The directors of the Crystal Palace are about to provide, within the palace grounds, a series of panoramic views illustrating the Siege of Paris, reproduced from photographs taken during the progress of the seige. It is reported from Cairo that two Catholic missionaries, French subjects, have been imprisoned by King John of Abyssinia, who retains them in custody. The French C nsul at Moesowah has demanded their release. During 1879, 80,000 acres of prairie lands in Minnesota were planted with forest trees, and rows of trees were planted along cuntry highways to the extent of 280,945 rods, or about 878 miles. The American Shorthorn Hard' Book, vol. 19, for the present year, will show an increase of about 20 per cent, in number of eatries over 1879, or nearly 90G0 names in all. Mrs James Brandtr an eminent English teacher, has been appointed by the British Government to the high position of Inspectress of Schools for Madras. The appointment was wholly unsolicited. In 1867, 42,000,000 head of sbeep producod 147,000 000 pounds of wool; in 1877, 35,000,000 head produced 208,000,000. This shows a wonderful improvement in the science of sheep husbandry The Chinese, apparently, have known how to manufacture steal from the very earliest ages, and in the time of the Hau dynasty ironmasters were appointed in Beveral districts of the old Leangohou to superintend the ironworks. As a proof of the progress of Cyprus, it may be mentioned that whereas in 1877 the value of the exports and imports amounted to 16,000,000 piastres, in 1878 they amounted to 40,000,000 piastres, and in 1879 to 53,000,000 piastres. Three specimens of the ox tribe from Zulu land (a bull, a cow, and an ox) which are exceedingly Bmall, anived at Windsor Castle recently, as a present from Sir Garnet Wolsley to Her Majesty the Queen. They were taken to the Prince Consort's Shaw Farm. Louis Watso, the Indian chief, who is over 100 years old and who lives at Lake George, has just received a 1 ng- expected pension from the British Government for warlike cervices rendered aa Chief of the Abenaquis in the contest of 1812. GeneralM. W Gary, of South Carolina, has published a letter, in which he Bays that he is satisfied that the next Legislature ought to prohibit the wearing of conoealed weapons and the granting of licenses for the sale of liquors at the Court-houses. The diameter of the earth multiplied by 108 gives the diameter of the sun ; the diameter of the sun multiplied by 108 gives the mean distance of the sun ; and the diameter of the moon multiplied by 108 gives the mean distance of the moon from the earth.

An exmoition ot articles conneotei with the watch and clock trades was to be opened at Geneva in June and July. Prof es nor Arminius Vambery, the diatinguished Hungarian traveller and writer, has been lecturing with great success in London. He is a remarkable linguist, speaking fluently twelve languages. The Admiralty are about to pay to the widows of those lost in the Atalantft a Bum of money equal in amount to a year's pay of their late husbando. Other relatives who were actually dependent upon any of the crew of the Afcalanta will also receive some assistance from the Admiralty. An employee in a menagerie at Lyons was nearly eaten alive lately by seven lions, into whose cage he had entered for the purpose of cleaning it. The lion tamer, a woman, happened to be on the spot and rescued the man> but not before he had been fearfully mutilated, A phanomonen, whloh has attracted a good deal of attention from Frenoh meterologists lately, ia the difference of temperature of the two stations of the Puy- de-Dome Observatory, the mountain station being often If S3 oold than that of Clermont, 1100 metres below. Turkish papers announce that during an earthquake which took place early in May the vi lage of Heleddi, in the neighbourhood of Sinope, was completely swallowed up by the sea. Not a trace remains of its 60 houses and mosque. The villagers were all able to save themselves, so that not one of them Buffered any harm. The Duke of Devonshire has obtained the gold medal from the Royal Agricultural Society (Ireland) for hia cottages in the county Cork, which, according to the judges, combine comfort, accommodation, and economy in a remarkable manner, being not only the best, but the cheapest in the competition. Miss Ormerod, who has devoted a great deal of attention to the subjeot, and who is in communication by correspondence with 200 other observers, has arrived at the conclusion that dormant inseot life is not affected by extreme oold. The Washington University at St. Louis, Mo., has received in its history gifts exceeding $1,000,000, besides more than $100,000 received for Boholarflhip endowments. The largest sum credited to one name is $203,000, and the next is $179,500. A centenarian died at Hill Farm, in the parish of Stoke Prior, near Leominster, in May. His name was Thomas Smith, and he had been in the employment of one family for more than 50 years. He did agricultural work until he was 91 years of age. . The memorial provided by a national sixpenny subscription in memory of those who perished at the wreok of the Princess Alioe in September, 1878, has just been erected in Woolwich Cemetery. 23,000 persons contributed. In the United Kingdom last year lioenses were granted to 2648 common brewers, to 99,013 victuallers, to 37,849 persons to sell beer to be drunk on the premises, and to 10,079 persons to sell beer to be drunk off the premises. In Germany the majority of the theatres close on April Ist or May Ist, and not more than 50 remain open during the summer. About 7200 memberß of tho dramatic profession in Germany are thus placed out of employment, A considerable steel making industry exists in the present day in China, on the Upper Yangtze, whenca the steel is sent to Tien- tain for shipment and distribution. It fetches much higher prices than the Swedish steel imported into the country. ! On the German stage, during the winter season, which closed in April, about 8500 persons, exclusive of persons engaged as chorus singers, &c, found employment in connection with the stage in the 350 regular theatres of Germany. Archbishop Taschearn, of Canada, has issued a pastoral condemning the trades unions. He says that any Catholic who shall attack or oonspire to attack any person because suoh person works, has worked, or is willing to work at any price at which he thinks fit, shall be excommunicated. The Denver Tribune says that Cummina City, Colorado, is under a constant fever of excitement over rich disooveries. There aie claims being located and improved on every hand. Even the moonlight nights arc utilised for locating claims by those who are earning late in tbe evening. According to the France, the preliminary workings for the tunnel uniting England aad Franoe have bad the most satisfactory results. In 18 months they expect to have reached two kilometres under the Channel, and in three or four years to have completed the task. The " Palais de Versailles," with its park and dependencies, has been recently valued at 112 OuO.ooo of francs. The Luxembourg, with its immensely valuable art collections, is set down at 60,000,000 francs. The beautiful Chateau of Fontainebleau is valued at 30,000,000. On May 30th a man who appeared to belong to the better class of seamen attempted suicide by shooting himeelf in St. Catherine's Church, Abercromby square. Liverpool. The Nunc Dimittis was being sung, when the congregation were startled by a loud report in the staircase of the gallery. Sir Hugh Allan, the millionaire shipowner of Montreal, began life as a dry goods clerk with a capital of $100. He ia now worth $10,000,000, is 70 years old, and may be seen at his office, busy with the details of his business, from 10 o'clock in the morning until late in the afternoon of every working day.

An exhibition was opened in May at Dasseldorf for the display of the products of Rhenish Prussia and Weßtphalia, particularly the iron and Bteel trades. Herr Krupp's gigantic works oooupy an important place, as also those of Van der Zypen and Charlier at Deutz, the firm being one of the largest rolling- stock makers in Germany. The financial condition of the Transvaal immediately before the annexation was deplorable. The debt of the Republic was £295,071. The assets could not be ascertained ; £3512 was due to the public|servants, and £7344 to tho mail contractors. No fur* ther credit was to be had by the Government, and the condition was one of "simple financial paralysis. The total estimated revenue for the present year is £159,658, and, the stimated expenditure £154,757.