Passing Notes.

Otago Witness, Issue 1582, 18 March 1882, Page 18

Passing Notes.

To. people like Mr Gordon Forlong this must be' a terribly disappointing world. , It is a worjd in which the course of political events and the indications of prophecy are' continually leading up to some tremendous catastrophe which never comes off. Everybody will remember the sinister hopes which attended the arrival of the year 1881. All, competent authorities .agreed that doomsday was at hand. ' The Great Pyramid, Mother^ Shipton, the unfulfilled prophecies, the perihelia of ,the great planets, demanded una ■ voce a general smash in 1881, and towards the end of the year Mr Brunton was, probably getting his coals in by the sack, like Dr Cumming in 1848. It is evident now, that 1881 was a fraud, and the prpphets of evil do not seem to ,be able just yet to fix- upon another date. The end of the world is, for the moment, indefinitely postponed. Meanwhile, , some impending horror being absolutely necessary to give a zest to life, ,Mr Gordon Forlong is directing his attention to the -war-oloud which, most oppor- ' tunely, is reported to be gathering in Europe. He has thought out the political situation, defined ' exactly the course of approaching i eventß, and obligingly ; communicates the intelligence to the Daily Times. Believers in the" Great Pyramid will learn with, gloomy •satiafactionthat there is certainly to be war. 11 Tidings will suddenly reach us soon th,at i France Jias, thrown, in her. lot with Russia. Itajy will be opposed to Austria, and will side with. France "—which will certainly be very magnanimous oonduot on the part of Itajy, considering her discontent with French, doings in Tunis. However, that iB a detail j and we go on, to learn how Mr Gordon Forlong proposes to involve England in the war, which,, of course, is the essential point. England is 'somehow to be, involved, and New; Zealand* too; and 'the "somehow," as- Browning elegantly says,. "may, be thishoW": "Englajic(' i 8i 8 neutrality is , impossible, because her navy is powerful "—-which is just why I should have said, it was possible.. But no, f • England dare not allow,, them" (t.c, France, ißussia, and Co.) "to enter her ports and compel her! to .side with them, which they would, do if she Btood neutral 1" ' In 1 other words, England is to fight whether she will or no. ' Tie belligerents on one side would like her to join them j andj because she won't, will attack her out of sheer ■f'cussednesß," in order, to make her join the belligerents on the other. A contest conducted on these singular principles may evidently >be extended without limit, and accordingly Mr Gordon Forlong proclaims that "New Zealand ought not to lose a single day in preparing for war." Certainly not. I quite agree with the suggestion that " Captain Scott, of the Royal Navy," who combines a knowledge of gunnery with the possession of sound evangelical principles,' should be consulted immediately as to the best means of repelling the Russian man-of-war which Mr t Forlong expects to see "some 1 fine morning ere long" getting the range of v the First Church spire over the Ocean Beach. The world, as I have remarked, is a disappointing world for prophets like Mr Gordon Forlong, iand that gentleman probably, doesn't quite know whether he believes, , his. /own predictions. But, '" as he says, it is well to be forearmed. If jwe could m^ke, iip, our minds to sink the ,Rotoihahana across the ship-channel at the Heads, and send' the. big dredge',' with Captain Scott, in command, to cruise off the Ocean Beach, jwe should feel safe. No Russian would approach within gunshot of, so, singular-looking a struc-ture-as the big dredge.

Mr, Gordon Forlorig's megrims apart, one would like to know, if only such knowledge were possible, -how much to believe of the alarming .war rumoura that are flying about Europe. What on earth have Russia and Austria to go to war about ? There is a mysterious " Slav question " which is supposed to be at the bottom of the trouble, but the " Slav question," whatever it is, would sleep quiet enough unless it were the interest of despots, one or more of them, -to poke it up. The " Slav question," like the " Eastern question," is a mere stalking horse. If Russia wants to go to war with Turkey, there ia an " Eastern question " ; if with Austria, there is a " Slav question." The real question is different from either, and it is a question which the peoples, whether Turk or Christian, Teuton, Slav, or Muscovite, will some day propose with emphasis, — the question, namely, whether kings and kaisers shall be permitted to convert Europe into a cockpit at their sweet will. Kaiser William has just addressed to his submissive Germans a manifesto, in which he admonishes them that tb • forms of responsible government, which hay* been creeping in from I France and England,, ure only forms, Absolutism is, and is to be, c real German system.

i Representation of the people, parliamentary institutions, are phrases merely. Ministers are responsible'to Kaiser William only ; their acts are his acts ; as he pulls the strings the puppets must dance. If a truculent idea gets possession of a certain octogenarian brain in the Imperial Schloss at Berlin, all Germany must forthwitharm andmarch. Such is the drift of the Kaiser's manifesto, and, for a cartoon satirising it, London Punch was seized in the German Post-office the other day. In Russia, the Czar has Nihilism on his hands, and is supposed to want a foreign war for the sake of "distraction." In Austria, the Hapsburgs, having fared ill in all their recent military ventures, are supposed to be capable of wanting a war to see if the luck hasn't changed. Two Continental monarchs arrange a war as coolly as a pair of dowagers arrange a whist set. Russia and Austria are thought just now to be looking out for partners. When each has secured a partner the old wicked game will begin. On the subject of European wars I am very much in agreement with the tearful and unsophisticated Jeannette : — O were ] King of France, or better, Pope of Rome, There should be no fighting men abroad, or weeping

maids at home. But all the world should be at peace, and kings should

, have their right, ' ...... And those who make the quarrel their right, be the

only ones to fight. If the Hapsburgs, Romanoffs, Hohenzollerns, and other royal broilers would personally fight out their own quarrels, after the example of the Horatii and Curatii, there would of course be nothing to object to. I would be one to make a ring and see fair play.

Can it be possible, as I see is reported in the Home papers, that Noah's log-book has at last been discovered, and that we are to have at length a full account of the incidents of the Deluge— direct from the hand of that great navigator? Something has been discovered, but what ? Mr Rassam, the eminent Assyrian explorer, tells us that certain cylinders that he found enclosed in a coffer under some asphalt paving near Baghdad, which everybody knows is on the River Tigris, are supposed to contain the earliest records of this remarkable event, tradition having assigned the locality where the discoveries were made, as that where these records were buried. The old lady who could not believe when told stories of flying-fish, but whose faith was quite ready to accept the announcement that the wheels of Pharaoh's chariot had been discovered in the Red Sea, would readily believe in Noah's log-book. There is really no impossibility in the case, only we live in a sceptical age. I Traditions of deluges are common all over the world, and the Australian blacks are said to haVe one of a beneficent deluge, in which 'case a big frog that had swallowed all the waters, ".luckily burst when "an eel made him laugh j by dancing on the tip of his tail." (Authority. ] Saturday Review.) The Chaldean account of j the Deluge, which comes nearest the Scripture narrative, was recorded on cylinders, ] 'and the inscriptions on these cylinders have been interpreted by Mr George Smith, of the British Museum. There are some peculiarities about the interpretation of these cylindrical " documents." A considerable dif- ( ference may arise as to the meaning of a word. For instance, one man translates a particular word "goat," another translates it "immortal boul,"— a slight divergency, it must ibe acknowledged. But somehow, by hook or crook, these wonderful interpreters manage to get out a connected narrative, and we must take it on trust jas likely to be somewhere about right. Mr Rassam can't read the records he has found, and only infers that they are Noah's log-book, from' the probability that something of the kind would be found there. Let us hope that some light will at last be thrown on the questions how far the Deluge extended, and how the animals were got into the Ark and out again. These ancient diggings are mines of wealth, because the books of those days were so much more lasting than books are nowadays. Four or five thousand years are nothing in the history of these ancient libraries. I wonder how many modern libraries will survive the wear and tear of even a thousand years. What with recent discoveries of mummy kings and ancient Egyptian papyrus rolls, and these wonderful inscribed cylinders of M. Rassam, we really may get some light thrown on those perplexing questions which have so long bothered Bible students, who can't quite believe in the literal truth of the stories told in Genesis and Exodus, and yet feel that there is something more than mere myth in them. It may be bo, but as Mr Bunthorne. impressively says, " I cannot tell." I only hope Mr Rassam isn't hoaxing us ; they say he doesn't joke.

A correspondent, probably feminine, under the signature " Equity," writes to the Times ! on the subject of Domestics, with special reference to the remarks of " Givis " thereanent. " I am not equal to the subject myself," says " Equity," "but I have served for many years, and have often felt myself slighted by people in my own station in life, for no reason but that I was only a servant. There are many good mistresses and good servants as well, and it is hard that we should be all ridiculed because of the worthless ones. If ' Oivis ' would imagine himself in the place of a little slavey (and there are many Buch), cooking, washing, and cleaning from one week to another, longing for a little freedom, yet afraid to ask for fear of getting snubbed, he would feel that servants are not always too well off ; and if they do have good times just now, why should they not make money as well as their employers ?" Bless their dear hearts, there is no reason in the world why they should not make money as well as their employers. Oivis never said anything to the contrary. I have not the least doubt that every good servant is perfectly well aware of her value, and capable of taking all advantage of the laws of supply and demand. But my remarks were specially directed to the growing difficulty of getting good servants at any price, and " Equity" throws a little light on one of the causes, She says (bat many

mothers who have been domestics, and have been looked down upon as " only servants," like to give their children a better chance. Just so, by all means let them give them a better chance if possible. But do many of the employments, such as factory work and dressmaking, which are preferred to service, really afford "a bettor chance?" I certainly pity poor slaveys who are always at work, and get more kicks than halfpence. But need any girl in this country be a mere slavey? Isn't it because they are utterly untrained, or ill-trained, dirty, slovenly, or wasteful, that "slaveys" become such? Are neat, respectable, and capable servant girls really looked down upon by peoplein the same station of life, as "Equity" would have us believe ? I have heard, indeed, that women who have been servants and " riz," do often make the worst and most exacting mistresses ; but given an average servant and an average mistress, I don't think the relations between them are in the least degree allied to slavery, or that Suian Jane is at all looked down upon because she takes a respectable "place." If " Equity "is right, however, and domestic service is becoming unpopular with colonially-bred girls, it only confirms the previously expressed sentiments of " Civis," who can but add " more's the pity."

The dairy-farmers of Otagowill be interested in learning that oleomargarine, now called "oleo" for short, is steadily "winning the fight" against genuine butter in the great pro vision markets of the world. So says an American paper. In New York nine hotels and restaurants out »f 10 use it ; 19 grocers out of 20 sell it, and the American people are obliged to eat it whether they want to or not. Proposals to colour the composition green or pink have been negatived by the Legislature. The only protection offered the consumer is a brand on the oleo-tub, declaring the contents to be "imitation butter." The grocer, however, empties the oleo on to his counter and sends the tub back. How is the poor publio to know what is oleo and what isn't, when oleo, by the confession of its bitterest enemies, is equal in appearance to all but the very "best butter? Dairymen themselves are coming round to oleo, and and have begun to inquire the price of " oleomargarine oil." These accounts are really alarming. The oil, I suppose, can be exported. Has any of it reached this Colony ? Probably butter is too cheap here to leave oleo a show, but I should like to feel quite assured upon that point. Another American dairy novelty is even more appalling than cart-grease butter. It is called " lard cheese," and, as the name indicates, is the sublimated product of a pig's " inwards." The only scrap of authentic information on the subject that I have met with is the following : — We are told (saya a New York correspondent) of one man who invested his fortune in lard cheese, which is to real cheese what oleomargarine is to butter, and took it to England, expecting to reap a' fine profit, for it was good-looking cheese, and as cheap as dirt. He put it into a London warehonse, and after selling a little at satisfactory prices, held the test for a rise. But before the rise came, word was sent to him that his cheese was flooding the warehouse, and must be helped away. Some thousands of boxes had literally run to oil, and the whole invoice was sold to a soap-fat man . The victim of this'aingular product of Amen can genius was an Englishman, so that little pity was iolt for him. Fortunately, .then, lard 'cheese can't be, exported, for which the heavens be praised I A Continental chemist announces that he is able to compound artificial eggs, shell and everything complete. Milk has long ceased to bo a natural product. Butter is now to be assisted by "oleo" oil, and cheese is to be "lard cheese." The dairy, if this sort of thing goes on, will .soon be positively a chamber of horrors.

A correspondent who desires to test my "talent as an interpreter of hieroglyphics" sends me a Licensing Board nomination paper, written in what professes to be Chinese. The characters are really a cross between tipsy vulgar fractions and the symbols used in apothecaries' weight. My correspondent is informed that I read only genuine Chinese. Imitation Chinese I have not studied, except in the ferm of " pigeon English " — such as " plenty No. 1 good chancey this year," which is said to be the New Year's greeting at Hong Kong, and a very sensible greeting, too. Another correspondent, who signs himself (very unnecessarily) "Schoolboy," invites me to answer the following " questing " : — " What is the greatest event in life ?" As lam always anxious to oblige, this important " questing " has occasioned me considerable thought. When I was " Schoolboy's " age the greatest event in life seemed to me to be trousers ; later, I should have assigned that distinction to the kiss which I gave to the pastry-cook's daughter; later still, to the ungrammatical epistle in which she stopped my tick for tarts, and informed me that she loved Another. The answer to " Schoolboy's " question varies not only with our age, but our station. Murdoch the cricketer's "greatest event" is his big score; Mr M. W. Green's, his election for Parliament, which to some men would seem a very small thing ; M'Lean's, his Bhooting at the Queen ; Guiteau's, his getting hanged on the approaching 30th June. And one of the greatest events in "Schoolboy's "life will be the birching which sooner or later awaits him if he neglects his spelling-book, to write letters to the Witness. A third correspondent this week, who conciliates my good offices by stating that he is an ardent admirer of Passing Notes, asks me to "decide a bet" about the correct spelling of "initialed." Should it be spelt with one 1 or two? The rule is that in preterites and participles, 1, n, and r are doubled only when an accented syllable precedes— thus, confer, conferred, but offer, offered— in the last instance tho accent not being on the penult. In sonic cases, however, 1 is doubled without the penultimate accent, thus, travel, travelled. That " initialed " follows the rule, and not the exception, I infer from this fact, namely, that after t, ia like io i forms an improper diphthong, and all diph' thongal syllables are content with the single eonsonitnt-0, ff M soiled, sealed, Bailed, cau<

tioned, conditioned, &c, &c. I decide, therefore, for the single 1. And now (if the usual commission on the stakes is worth remitting) my address is, &c, &c. Civis. •~T-~~rnrinni ■ramni iiriiwn m imi w iiuiiiw iibimtim ■■■ih«i i immmii

Her Majesty the Queen has left England for a sojourn at Mentone, in the south of France, on the borders of Italy.

Mr David Hutcheson, who died on Wednesday at his residence, in Elm row, after a lingering illness, was one of the early Otagan 3ettlers, and for many years led a busy, arduous life. He was mail contractor tor a length of time between Dunedin and Oamaru, when, instead of by express train, the bags had to be carried on horseback, and the road, if such it could be called, wound over the top of Flagstaff, and through much of the roughest, bleakest country. His task in winter was often one of exceeding danger, for "the top of Flagstaff "in a snowstorm was the terror 1 of travellers, more than one of whom ,met death in its attempted passage. Mr Hutcheson afterwards took up the Shag Point coal lease, and opened out the mine there, sticking to hia speculation with wonderful perseverance. He had a good deal to do with West Coast exploration also, leading a party sent out about 1863, if we remember aright, by the Provincial Government ; and at a later period he cut the Haast track by contract under the Government. Mr Hutcheson sat in the Provincial Council for some years.

The Land Board on Wednesday decided to telegraph to the Government as follows : — " That the Board is impressed with the desirability of some of their number visiting without delay the runs and portions of runs which have! Been reserved for settlement, with a view of' recommending the Government as to the best mode of dealing with the same ; but before doing so the Board would wish to be informed whether any expenses which may be incurred in connection with such an inspection will be defrayed by the Government without the very inconvenient delay which has been experienced on previous occasions."

A cable message this week states that Dr Lamson has been condemned to death for the murder of his brother-in-law, Percy M. John. The case is one which has exoitea much interest at Home, and a strong bar was engaged. Mr Montagu Williams, who defended Lefroy, was entrusted with the defence, and Sir Frederick Herschell, the Solicitor-general, Mr Poland, and Mr A. L. Smith, all wellknown barristers, were retained for the prosecution. The circumstances were briefly as. follow :— Mr John was a student at Blenheim House, Wimbledon. He was the heir of Considerable property, and had two sisters, one of whom was married to Dr Lamson. On December 3rd Dr Lamson called at the school, and saw his brother-in-law in company with Mr W. H. Bedbrook, the principal of, the establishment. The visit did not last altogether 20 minutes, and soon after Dr Lamson left the deceased began to feel ill. He/gra* dually grew worse, and then commenced to vomit,_ Complaining all the time of a burning sensation at the heart, while his lower, limba were paralysed; and, in spite of medical attendance, died in great agony the same .night. A post mortem revealed symptoms of aconite poisoning ; and it was proved that prior to the visit Dr Lamson bought aconite, and that during the visit the deceased young man,toolc a drink in which Dr Lamson placed a small powder. The case is remarkable as; being the first instance of poisoning by aconite, which ia of so deadly a nature that .one-tenth of a grain is sufficient to cause death. ' .

James Stewart, an employe of Messrs A. and T. Burt, met with a nasty accident on Wednesday afternoon. He was working at an emery wheel, when it flew 1 into - three pieces, one of which struck him on the left shoulder, fracturing it badly. He was taken to the Hospital. ■ i

A sitting of the Supreme Court in Banco was held on Wednesday, when his Honor delivered judgment in several important cases. The rule to enter a verdict for the respondent and to deprive the petitioners who recently obtained damages against the Government for injuries sustained by the collision at the Kensington crossing, was dismissed. Many of the points raised were decided in favour of the Government. The question at issue w ; as that of negligence, and his Honor " decided that there was evidence to go to the jury of negligence regarding the rate of spee^ at which the engine was running at the time of the collision. The judgment is a very exhaustive one, and deals with, all the material questions raised at the ' trial and during the argument of the rule, n the case of M'Leod v. Reeves the .rule for a new trial was made absolute. The action in this case was brought against Mr C. S. Reeves to recover damages for alleged malicious prosecution, the plaintiff having been prosecuted at the instance of the Committee of the Industrial Exhibition for larceny. The' appeal case Stephenson v. Shand was dismissed, the decision of the Magistrate being upheld. A rule nisi was obtained for a writ calling upon Mr Charles Colclough ■ to show by what authority he fills the office of Chairman of the "Vincent County_ Council. The Taieri County Council election question was argued, as was also a rule for a new trial of the case of Wills v. Marshall and another, upon both of which judgment was reserved. r

The 5 West Harbour Council^ at a special meet * ing' held on Wednesday evening, resolved to confirm the resolution passed at a previous meeting re the borrowing of £2000, for the purpose of carrying out necessary works within the borough. Steps will now be taken to ascertain the opinion of the ratepayers on the subject, and for this purpose a poll will be held about a week hence. } The sum collected for theiWidow Woodcock amounts to £315. At a meeting of the committee, held on Wednesday at the railway -station, Messrs James Ashcroft and Abraham Blackmore were appointed trustees, and requested to invest the money in a safe Building Society, and to arrange for Mrs Woodcock to draw at the rate of £1 per week from a date to be hereafter fixed by her. A very neat tombstone has been erected to the memory of deceased at the instance of the railway employes, and this will be paid for out of the fund. The subscription list will be published in a few days, there being yet some £4 or £5 to get in.

We understand that Mr R. Quin, secretary of^ the Benevolent Institution, has laid a criminal information for libel against Mr Hitchcock, who took so prominent a part in the inquiry some time ago.

At the last Bar examinations of the Inns of Court, London, the Council of Education awarded a studentship of 200 guineas to Mr W. Baxter, of the Inner Temple, and of King's Inn, Dublin, for jurisprudence, Roman law, and international law. In 1880 Mr Baxter carried off one of the 100-guinea scholarships for the real-property examination, Mr Baxter, who is expected to be called to the Bar in May next, is a brother of Mr James Baxter trod M> Joseph Baxter, of this city.

At' the regular meeting of Opurfc Robin i Hood, A.0.F., on Tuesday evening; at Fort Chalmers, the secretary (Bro. G. L. Asher) read a communication from the District Secretary conveying the thanks of the district officers to the members of Court Robm Hood for the very great success of the arrangements made for the late district meeting at Port . Chalmers. (

An advertisement in the Oamaru papers calls for tenderß for carting 150 tons of grain from the Hakateramea Station to Oamaru, a distance of 60 miles, alongside 50 of which a railway runs. "The advertisement in question," says the Mail, "is a somewhat startling and severe commentary upon our national rail way system, especially when we take into account the facts that the railways were constructed for the purpose of opening up the •ountry and aiding in developing its resources, and that in a large measure the grain traffic of Canterbury and Otago is depended upon to give the Colony a satisfactory return for the millions expended upon public works." The railway arrangements during the OhristohurqK Exhibition season will be single fares for the return journey on the Canterbury railways, whilst on the Otago and Southland lines the same arrangements and fares that obtained during the Dunedin races will be conceded. A night train will run from Dunedin to Christchurch for the opening ceremony, which will be continued if the traffic warrants it.

The seed-cleaning machine referred to as having been forwarded to Timaru by Messrs Nimnio and Bla'r was to the order of the National Mortgage and Agency Company, not to the N.Z.L. and M. a. Company. ( Thames strkt Ihdbstjubb, by Percy Russell. This Illustrated Pamphlet on Perfumery, &c, published at 6d, may be had gratis from any chemist in the world, or John GosnJbM/ and Co , London.— {Advt.]

Meßsra F. H. Daniel and Co. announce the sale by auction, on the 20th prox., of Mr Robert Pritchanl s freehold properties in tho Arrow district. Mr Montagu Pym will offer for Bale by auction, on the 31st inst., a farm at Waikouaiti, together with buildings and improvements. The full particulars of the sale of the Rissington Estate appear elsewhure in this issue. Mr W. M. Barker offers a brewery in Sydney for gale.' The preliminary examination for medical students in the Univorsity of Otago is to take pln.ee on the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd May. 1 The competition for Scott Scholarship takes place on the same day*. The particu'ars of tho sale of crossbred and merino iheep to be held at Waipahi Station, by Messrs Maclean and Co., will be found elsewhere.

The Southland Education Board invite applications for vacancies at Lower Shotover and Poinbroke.

TheN.Z and A. L. Company announce that they aro prepared to treat for the sale of estates and farms la Canterbury, Otago, and Southland.

John Doogln is inquired after in our advertising; columni.

Messrs J. A. Duthie and Co., Milton, have a sta-ion property for sale within four miles of Milton railwaystation.

Messrs Maclean and Co. announce an important Bale of Clydesdale horses, fat and store cattle, farm implements, and laud at Waipori, on the 30th inst. A preliminary announcement of tho sale of Mr John Rußßell's entire horses, by Mr G. F. Martin, appears in this issue.' Messrs Wright, Stephensm, and Co. will offer merino ewes for sale, at the pound yards, on the gist inst.

Tenders are invited for ploughing 600 acroa at Romarua Station.-

Tho Land Board Invite applications for the purchase of 276 acres at Waipahi, on the deferred-pay-ment system, at 30s per acre.

Messrs Bastings, Leary, and Co. will sell by auction on the 20th inst. 560 acres agricultural lann in the Bock and Pillar district, and a numbtrof sections in the township of Hyde.

Messrs Wright, Stepbenson, mid Co. will offer for Bale by auction on the 28' h, uu agricultural and pas toralfarm at Waihola Gorge.