LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 8 July 1887, Page 9

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Messrs G. Kynock and Co., of Birmingham, have made proposals to the Victorian Minister of Defence for establishing an ammunition factory in the colonies. They make conditions that Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland will guarantee to take a minimum quantity of 10,000 rounds of cartridges per annum, grant them a suitable site of 25 acres for erection of their factory, allow them to import duty free any materials required in connection with the factory, advance them conjointly a loan of £15,000 to be paid gradually, the agreement to be in force for 15 years, and the cost of the ammunition to be between 10 and 15 per cent, higher than imported ammunition.

In connection with the suicide of Mr Thomas Chirnside, of Werribee, the well-known Victorian sportsman, ifc appeare he had been drinking heavily of late, and having evinced suicidal tendencies was under treatment by Dr Fitzgerald. 1 ' He lived'out at Werribee Park with his brother Andrew, and just previous to his deathhe wanted.some liquor, andon its being refused he deliberaj-ely got a foiling piece, loaded it,

tied a string to the trigger, put the muzzle to his head, and blew off the top of his skull, killing himself instantaneously. Deceased was 72 years of age, and unmarried. News from Tonga by way of Fiji states that on the first Sunday after the departure of H.M.S. Diamond, 30 Wesleyan 'churches were reopened, and the people flocked to them. There were no policemen at the doors noting the attendants. Then a law was passed, or an old one amended, prohibiting people going from one place to another to assist in holding services, under a fine of £5. Preachers are exempt, but they may not hold service •in any town unless there are six adult residents (Tongans) in the town who have attended all ±he fonos, and complied with the town arrangements, and have been resident for one year. The result of this was .that fully half the reopened churches were again closed. Police have again been noting down the attendants on Wesleyan places of worship, and forwarding the lists to Mr Baker. The people are in a state of ferment, and unless Mr Baker is removed, it is said to be certain that sooner or later his life will be again attempted. Business is worse than dull, and the German firm of Ruge and Co. has closed its establishment. A tragic affair occurred recently at the farm of Mr Hugh M'Gilton, near Red Hill, South Australia. Henry Holland, who is supposed to have been a suitor of M'Gilton's daughter, visited the house during M'Gilton's absence. He felled Mrs M'Gilton to the ground with a stone, and then attempted to murder Miss M'Gilton with a razor, inflicting a wound close to the main artery of the neck. During the struggle that ensued the poor girl received another cut from the back" of the neck to the spine, and extending to the right collarbone. The gash was Bin in length. Her left arm was also severely lacerated. The would-be murderer, on the approach of Mr M'Gilton, made off into the adjoining scrub, where ho was afterwards found dead, with bis throat cut from ear to ear. Miss M'Gilton is in a precarious state. The success of the First Offenders' Probation Act in New Zealand has decided the Victorian Government to introduce a similar measure there. Applications for patents have been received aa follow : — For an invention for improvements iv sheep-shearing .machines, by William Ryley, of No. 3 Wilson street, South Yarra, Victoria, engineer ; for an invention for preventing chimneys from smoking and promoting ventilation to be celled " Stinnear's Smoke and Ventilating Cone," by John Stewart Stinnear, of Christchurch, New Zealand; for an invention for cutting chaff, to be called "The Improved Chaffcutter Knife," by William James Simpson, of Kirwee, Canterbury, New Zealand. The Rev. George Lindsay, of Otepopo, has decided to decline the call he received from the Presbyterian congregation of St. David's, Auckland. A number of lodges have combined together and opened a friendly societies' dispensary, in George street, where medicines may be obtained The enormous railway traffic in Melbourne on Jubilee Day on the suburban railway system may be judged from the following :— The number of persons who used the lines converging into Prince's bridge and Flinders street stations was 218,221, and on the railways terminating at Spencer street 56,351, or a grand total of 274,572. The receipts at all the south suburban stations were £2527, 165, and at those on the north suburban system £1227 11s 7£d, or a total revenue of £3755 7s 7^d. At Flinders street station alone 36,562 persons purchased tickets, while at the whole of the stations on the, South Brighton, St. Kilda, and Port Melbourne lines a larger amount of business was done than, on the occasion of any previous great celebrations. The .individual traffic through the stations on other lines of railway was not so large as that on the abovementioned lines, but still it was sufficiently great to tax the resources of the officers of the department to the utmost. The Western Australian bushrangey Hughes attacked the police while' pursuing him on the 25th ulfc., and fired three shots from a MartiniHenry rifle. He missed the constables, who were only armed with revolvers, but Hughes again escaped, leaving his swag behind him. Mr M'Minnis, the reoently -appointed professor of agriculture at the Adelaide University, has had to resign on account of cancer in the throat. He is dangerously ill, and will return to England. " Shot and shell " is an item now to be frequently seen on the manifests of vessels clearing from London for Australasian ports. The Centurion, now at Auckland discharging, had iron shot to the value of £1120 on board. The Letterewe, now on her way to Wellington, has shot and shell valued at £900, and the Dova, for Dunedin, has ordnance valued at £8950 For Melbourne, the ship Port Adelaide has ordnance to the value of £830. The ship Derwent, for Sydney, has shells valued at £900, and the Florence, for Tasmania, shells valued at £430. Another very significant line now appears on the ship's papers— namely, old iron. The Letterewe las 37 tons for New Zealand, and the Derwent or Sydney, 20 tons. At an extraordinary meeting of the Christchurch Meat and Produce Freezing Company a resolution to voluucarily wind-up tho company was confirmed, and Mr Burns was appointed liquidator. A man named Pitt, practising the medical profession in Sydney, has been committed for trial for the manslaughter of a child, whose death, it is alleged, was accelerated by his improper prescribing. , n T ¥ « eath was announced at Norwich, on May 19, of Sergeant George Wilde, one of the survivors of the famous Balaklava charge, in which he had three horses killed under him. In addition to his Crimean career, Wilde served with distinction in one^of the Maori wars in New Zealand. The St. Andrew's Presbyterian congregation, Chnstchurch, has resolved on giving a cail to the Rev. Gordon Webster, Free Church minister of Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland. Among letters strongly recommending this course was one from. DrDunlop, of Dunedin. In acknowledging the receipt of some 2Sm copies of Mr W. N. Blair's lecture on &« industries of New Zealand from the Chritfchorch Industrial Association, Sir F. D. Bel) stated ifc as his opinion that the lecture was one of the most interesting and complete histories of the rise and progress of the industries of New 55p» land that had been compiled. The alterations made by the Representation Commissioners in the boundaries of the electorates appear thi3 week, from these it will be seen that two of the ojd electorates ia OfcagcW^ r ~; namel y' W *ft«naiti and Moesaki for were the old members. Their place is taken by the one new electorate of Waihemo. In Canterbury, Geraldine, represented by the Hon. Mr Rolleston, and Wakanui, represented by -Mr Ivess, disappear, and their place is taken, by

Rangitata. The third seat which the South Island loses is in the West Coast, Nelson, and Marlborough group ; the Waimea electorate, represented by Mr Kerr, and the Picton electorate, represented by Mr Conolly, now being one electorate. The Wellington district practically receives two new seats, one being in Wellington city, and the other in what is known as the Bush district, between Woodville and Masterton. The third seat is given to Auckland. A prisoner came before the Supreme Court on Tuesday who has spent nearly the whole of the time since 1869 in gaol for numerous offences, principally of larceny. John Edward Taylor's first known offence was that of forgery, and he was twice subsequently convicted of the same offence; and then there are no less than 12 convictions for larceny, chiefly for stealing wearing apparel, recorded against him. Mr Justice Williams remarked that it was difficult to know what to do with such a man, and in passing sentence observed that he had no wish to pass a sentence disproportionate to the offence, but in the interests of society a heavy sentence was necessary, for the prisoner's career had showed that immediately he was at large he would again come before the court. The prisoner was sentenced to a term of four years' penal servitude. The following tenders hare been received by the Public Works department for the Barewood bridge masonry contract, Otago Central railway: — Accepted: John Whi taker, Dunedin, £13,934. Declined: Black and Allison, Dunedin, £14,566; J. M'Cormick, Dunedin, £14,588; R. Meikle, Dunedin, £16,969 ; James Munro, Dunedin, £17,182; Winsley and Bignell, Dunedin, £17,231; Thomas H. Davies, Dunedin,' £17,317 ; Sangsterand Gunn, Dunedin, £18,057. The Lake Wakatipu Mail states that Mr W. Miller, sheep and rabbit inspector, Queenstown, has lately returned from a visit to country in Canterbury, on the borders of Westland and Otago, and surrendered by runholders on account of high rents ; Mr Miller's mission having been to inspect the country with a view to offering suggestions as to the most desirable boundaries, rents, &c. The various land boards evidently take different views as to the propriety of accepting surrender of runs, the Canterbury body appearing to accept same at once unconditionally, whereas the Otago board in most cases declines to accept under any circumstance. The Hakateramea Licensing' Committee find themselves unable to grant a license to Mr John Henderson, at Glenavy, although they are unanimous in the opinion that it should be given. The local option poll taken was against a further increase, but since then the township was laid out and disposed of, and all trains stop at the railway station. When the poll was taken no votes at all were given at the nearest polling booth to Glenavy, and at the other, which is 40 miles distant, about five votes were recorded. The circumstances have been brought under the notice of the Minister for Justice. A notice appears in the Gazette that Kate Emily Hall, wife of Thomas Hall, claiming as a devisee under, and as administratrix of, the will of Jane Cane, late of Timaru, deceased, has applied to be registered as proprietor of the land included in certificate cf title, vol. v, folio 56. The Insurance and Finance Journal draws attention to the fact that in connection with the fire which damaged a small portion of ijhe cargo of the ship Himalaya on her voyage from Glasgow to Otago, while the actual loss on ship and for cargo damaged or jettisoned amounted to £133 3s 6d, the expenses of adjusting this claim amounted to £255 13s. The Gazette notifies the appointment of Joseph Culling (of Hillgrove), Robert Ewing (of Hampden), and Andrew M'Kerrow (of Moeraki) to be trustees, to be called " The Moeraki Sea-bathing Trust." The Rev. John Dunlop, M.A., D.D., is appointed a minister to officiate under the Marriage Act. iJIr J. ,C. Brown, M.H.R. (says the AngloNew JZealander), having completed negotiations with a JJondon syndicate with reference to the amalgamated Blue Spur claims at Tuapeka, Otago, New Zealand, will return to the colony by the June mail via San Francisco.. Mr Brown has been making special inquiries into the frozen meat trade, and is just now on a visit to Bristol to inquire as to the possibility of initiating a direct trade in frozen mutton between that port and the constituency which he represents iv the New Zealand Parliament. Mr Gladstone, by invitation, addressed a representative body of Non-conformist ministers and others at the residence o£ Dr Parker, at Hampstead, on May 11. He said the present year politically was one of absolute retrogression. He pictured the conditions of things in tho House of Commons, where a majority possessed by a too servile temper had adopted legislation which was puea mischief for the interests of the country. The right hon. gentleman justified the language he used in regard to the Irish Nationalists in 1881 as warranted by the circumstances of the time ; but there never was any reason for charging Mr Parnell and his party for complicity with crime. Protracted debates, of which _ complaint was now made, were certain to ensue when a Government proposed to take from the people, under the name of crime, methods of action which in an unhealthy state of society were their only perfect remedies. 'Let the Government make it a bill against crime only, and not against combination and exclusive dealing, and let them limit its operation to a definite time, and he would answer for it tha debates would be short. With regard to Home Eule, his first object was to carry that measure ; but his next desire was to meet every reasonable objection and to improve the structure of the plan .of U&b year, so as to secure the greatest amount of support. Many of its opponents admitted that Home Rule must ultimately come, and he warned that class that the effect of a protracted contest might be to expand the demands made. The tomato leaf is .credited with almost extraordinary powers in eradicating blight that may attack trees. Attention appears to have been first drawn to this fact in Valparaiso, where a gentleman placed the leaves of the tomato around the branches and trunks of peach <fcrees which had been attacked, and found to his surprise that not an enemy remained, except < where a curled leaf prevented the tomato leaf from exercising its influence. Another application banished the rest of the blight. The infusion from some tomato leaves steeped in fresh water sprinkled over roses, oranges, and other iplaats completely #eed them from insects. The cliseowsry is an important one to those engaged in gardening operation*. The opening ceremony ©f the Adelaide Exhibition was a very imposing spectacle. As the procession entered the hall an excellent orchestra, under the direction of Professor Ives, pealed forth the National Anthem, adapted to the occasion by Dean Plumntre, the whole assem- . %lage rising in the body of the hall, and the f <three galleries were filled with spectators, each ' •of whom paid half-a-guinea for the privilege of the ceremonies. The Mayor of Adelaide read an address narrating the circum- * =e4ancea under which the exltfbitiQn was

organised, the difficulties which obstructed the achievement of the enterprise, and the patriotic liberality displayed by those who had succeeded in carrying it to a successful issue. Some felicitous allusions were made to her Majesty's jubi- . lee, which coincided with that of the colony. A very handsome gold key, having the Royal Crown upon it set with brilliants, manufactured by Messrs Young and Co., of Melbourne, was then presented to the Governor by Sir Samuel Davenport, with a request that his Excellency would declare the exhibition open. • One of the passengers by the steamer Went- . worth, which struck on a rock near Bowen, Queensland, makes the following strong charges in a letter to a friend at Townsville: — "The wreck was the most disgraceful of the kind I have ever known, and calls for investigation of a searching kind. At 1.40 a.m. we struck within 100 yds of the lighthouse. The night was clear, and tha sea calm. The passengers, with one exception, behaved well — grand is the word — but I ' cannot say the same of the crew, as with them everything was evidently in the wrong place. Thirty-three minutes passed from the time the vessel struck until the boats were lowered. No sooner were they in the water than one passenger flung his soulless clay into the first boat, claiming for a cabin passenger the right to be first on shore. As one of the boats left the side of the ship it was found that she was filling with water, and the only hard felt hat in the crowd had to be improvised to bail it out with. When nearly full of water it was discovered that the boat's plug was out. This was remedied, but it was found they had come away without a rudder. I saw no lifebelts, and they were evidently not where the Marine Board ordered them to be." Further extraordinary scenes occurred in the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in connection with a motion moved on the 16th inst. by Sir Henry Parkes— "That with the object of protecting the honour and credit of the colony from any misunderstandings in other countries of the true character of certain dis graceful proceedings which have recently taken place in the city of Sydney, this House desires Co place on record a fervent expression of the loyalty of the people of New South Wales towards the Throne and person of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and the unalterable attachment of this people to the law and institutions of the British Empire." Mr Dibbs moved to omic from the motion all reference to "disgraceful proceedings." After the supper adjournment Messrs Bowes and Melville rose together, and on the Speaker naming the former, he moved "That the question be now put," which was carried. The Opposition accused the Speaker of partiality, Mr Melville, in a towering passion, declaring it " a cowardly arrangement," whereupon a scene of wild disorder occurred, the Speaker losing control over members. Mr Dibbs' amendment was lost by 54 to 13, whereupon Mr Copeland called for three cheers for the Queen, which was responded to by members on both sides, who rose en masse. The Speaker tried to justify himself when quiet was restored, but Messrs Copeland and Melville adhered to their charges. As it was well on towards morning, MrM'Millan again moved—" That the ques* tion be now put," This brought down on him a perfect torrent of abuse from the Opposition. Cries of " coward," " the gag again," " the calico again," u a most unmanly thing," and various other expressions were heard, and the wordy combatants shouted themselves hoarse in ranging themselves for the division, which resulted in favour of the question being put. The dissentients at once left in a body, saluted by loud groans from the Ministerial side. When the names were recorded the members stood up, cheered, and sang " God save the Queen." The opposing party came back into the chamber, and some of them joined in the National Authem, and so ended a remarkable sitting. Tradition says that the patron saint of a certain Welsh church bears a name which runs into three lines of print. But one line of German fact is worth three lines of Welsh fiction. A Berlin newspaper has been offering prizes for long words, and this is the stately winner: — Transvaaltruppentropentransporttrampelthiertreibertrauungsthranentragodie. The interpretatioa of this somewhat involved idea would be " The tearful tragedy of the marriage " (though why tragedy and why tearful?) "of a drome? dary driver on the transport of the Transvaal troops to the tropics." Another gigantic attempt at alliterative word-making looks hardly less appalling:— Mekkamuaelmannenmassenmenr chelmordermohrenmuttermarmormonume n t cumacher; which is supposed to mean " the maker of a marble monument for the Moorish mother of a wholesale assassin among the Mussulmans at Mecca." It is only in Germany that they can do this sort of thing. An extraordinary seance of magnetism was witnessed in Paris on May 11 by some 200 journalists. It took place in a cage containing two fine lionesses, Sa'ida and Sarah, and an immense lion, Romulus. M. de Torcy had for his " subject " Mdlle. Lucia, a girl of 20. After presenting her to the spectators, M. de Torcy told her to go into a cage placed against the one containing the lions, and communicating with it by a door. He followed her in and made a few passes in front of her eyes. In a minute Lucia seemed to be fast asleep. Opening the door leading into the Hops' cage M. de Torcy entered it, and in obedience to his order was followed by his subject. She walked straight up to the lions. M. da Torcy then made Lucia kneel down in front of them. Roused up by Giacometti, the lion tamer, the lions now began rushing acd bounding round Lucia, who remained motionless. Two heavy armchairs were then put into the cage, and assisted by the lion tamer, M. de Torcy placed Lucia, who was now as rigidly stiff as a hoard, with her head resting on the back of one and I her feet on the back of the other. This was the j barrier over which the lions were made to jump with most formidable roaring. The gas of the establishment was turned low, Bengal fires were lighted, and the lions, urged on by Giacometti's steel whip, roared louder as they continued to leap over this barrier of human flesh and blood. At the last jump the lionness Saida failed to dear Lucia, and sent her rolling on the ground. She fell heavily, but remained inert till M. de Torcy waked her up by blowing on her forehead. The performance was over, and Lucia, M. de Torcy, and Giacometti left the cage, and were greeted with hearty applause by the spectators. Five minutes' imprisonment for committing bigamy (says a Home paper) is certainly the shortest term we ever remember being given. The ease was tried before Mr Justice Hawkins at the assizes for the counties of Liecester and Derby. The prisoner was Mary Ann Riley, a respectable-looking woman, who pleaded guilty to an indictment charging her with marrying William Robinson, at Leicester, in 1883, her former husband, to whom she was married in 1879, being then alive. Proceeding to pass sentence, his lordship said prisoner was married in 1879 to a man named Riley, 22 years of age, who treated her very cruelly. He was guilty of about as cruel an outrage on, her as 'man coold possibly be guilty of. He got into gaol, and when, he came out he deserted her. Afterwards phe married another man named Robinson, who also treated her cruelly, and then, according to her statement, they arranged .together to pro-

secute her for bigamy. Now there were cases in which he (the judge) had passed sentence of penal servitude for this offence, but he was convinced that the law against bigamy was never intended to apply to such cases as hers. Formally he ordered her to be imprisoned for five minutes. The effect of that was that she would be discharged instantly. . The woman was at once released from the dock and left the court. Defensive preparations are being actively resumed at Tripoli. One hundred thousand natives have been requisitioned by the Governorgeneral to perform infantry drill, and 14,000 for cavalry drill. Besides this number, other men are volunteering their services, and much enthusiasm prevails. The Tuapeka Times says : — " It seems incredible, but it is nevertheless true, that there are waggons on the road between Dunedin and Lawrence successfully competing with the railway.. While we have a train running between both termini twice a day each way, mostly half empty,' the unreasonableness of the tariff enables carriers to go down to Dunedin empty and load up for Lawrence at rates which pay them very well. Local merchants find an advantage in the road traffic, especially in the case of goods for which there is no particular hurry. Rabbitskins are also sent by the road to Dunedin, and in the wool season heavily laden waggons may be met with at regular stages. We understand that the same state of affairs prevails between Dunedin and Balclutha, and other towns along the line." In reply to a telegram from the mayor of Inyercargill, the Minister for Public Works has,' intimated that he will get the laying of the per-; manentwayof the Seaward Bush line to the end' of the present formation put hi hand as soon as possible, with the view of providing work for some of the unemployed. Some of our young men who .left the Wai-' rarapa for Kimberley .have (says the Standard) had strange experiences. W. H. Brooks writeß> to say that he left Cambridge Gulf at Christmas, not having succeeded in lining his pockets with Kimberley gold. He left the gulf in a 48-ton schooner for Port Darwin. The trip lasts on an average 48 hours, and the passengers on this occasion found themselves in food, and had to be content with a deck passage. A storm sprang up and drove the little bark out to sea and the discomforts of the deck passengers were enhanced by the pangs of hunger. There were 1 70 passengers, and so rough was the weather that the hatches could not be opened, and the sails were blown to ribbons. For 10 days the allowance was one biscuit a day, and for two days' they had no water. When at last the vessel got into Port Darwin 20 of the passengers went into the hospital there, and the others were so weak that they could scarcely walk. A Cooktown telegram in the Melbourne Age states that T. Keating, a tin miner at Mount Amos, reports having discovered the wreck of a vessel over 100 ft long lying in the mangroves under Mount Thomas, south of Arches Point. Only the keelson and ribs are to be seen. A large number of iron bolts are rusted through and break at a touch. The vessel is built of oak, with bottom sheeting of pure copper. The wreck must have occurred over 60 years ago, as large mangrove trees, 18in in diameter, are growing between it and the beach. A large and influential public meeting was held at the Masonic Hall, Kaitangata, on the evening of the 28th ult., to consider the question of the introduction of the Bible into the public schools. The following motion was carried unanimously—"That the Bible be introduced into the public schools as part of* our educational system." Further action was left to the school committee, who had called the meeting. A special meeting of the Oamaru School Committee was held on the evening of the 28th ult, to consider a letter from the Education Board with reference to the District High School, several reports from the board relating to the three local schools, and also a report from Mr Peattie with reference to the District High School. The letter from the board intimated that if the committee did not take immediate steps in instituting a change in the school the board would, and requesting an answer at once. Mr Jones moved a resolution affirming the necessity of a change in the teaching staff of the District High School, and leaving the matter in the hands of the Education Board. Mr Sumpter moved as an amendment — " That although the report of Mr Petrie, together with the comparative statement of work done by other district high schools, appears to corroborate that of Mr Goyen, thip committee are still of opinion that the former's ! recent reports furnished were calculated to, and did, mislead the committee, and still leaves the I correctness of all or any of them to be disputed. In face of the information now supplied, the committee are of opinion that, to remedy the existing state of matters, and in order to obtain better results, the board should give the whole of the staff, with the exception of the recent ap- | pointment (Mr Piper), notice that their services will not be required after the midsummer holi- [ days, all of them, however, to be eligible for reelection." The amendment was carried by 3 to 2. j The New South Wales^ Attorney-general intends to propose in committee on the Payment of Members Bill that the remuneration of each ; member be fixed at £100. A representative of the Melbourne Argus interviewed Lord Brassey with regard to naval affairs, and elicited the face that the visitor is not very much delighted with the Australian squadron. There were a good many vessels, a good many pennants flying, but when we came down to real fighting ships, there was but one. The Nelson alone of the Australian squadron could be classed as a fighting ship, and he classed her as only a first-rate ship of the second class. The Paris correspondent of The Times says that the * following " gives an absolutely authentic account of an unknown episode of the Turko-Russian War " : — " To understand the violent disappointment of the Russians after the Congress of Berlin one must know the following incident, which shows that Russia thought at the end of the war that she was absolute mistress of the Turks and of European Turkey. Count Schouvaloff, then Russian ambassador in , London, repeatedly telegraphed to the Russians to enter Constantinople, affirming that England would not raise a finger against the occupation of Constantinople on condition that GaUipoli should not be occupied, and that no attempt to blockade the English fleet should be tried. Accordingly a telegram was sent from St. Petersburg to San Stefano and to General Ignatieff ordering the commanders \to enter Constantinople and to occupy it at any cost. This telegram in cipher passed through Turkish territory, and before being transmitted to San Stefano came under the eyes of the Turks. An attempt was made to discover the cipher, but this trial succeeded only partially. Nevertheless, the Turks understood that the occupation of Constantinople was ordered by the Czar. To gain time they mingled the ciphers of the Russian despatch in such a fashion that it became absolutely unintelligible, and under this form transmitted it. There General Ignatieff vainly tried to discover the sepse of the order, and after two days' hard working asked for an explanation. Meanwhile Musurus Pasha, was ordered to inform the British Cabinet of the

designs of Russia, and to ask the help of Great Britain. The English Cabinet was summoned in haste, and an order was given to Lord A. Loftus at St. Petersburg to see the Czar, and to I inform him or his Chancellor that an occupation of Constantinople by the Russians would be considered by England as a casus bdii, and that, he, Lord A. Loftus, would have in this case to ask for his passports. The Czar then changed his mind, and when General Ignatieff's despatch asking for explanations reached St. Petersburg, the idea of an armed occupation of Constantinople had been abandoned by his Majesty." A classification of the unemployed in New South Wales shows it is asserted that 300 are new arrivals from England, 313 from Victoria, t 224 from New Zealand, 82 from Sonth Australia, and 169 from Queensland, , The Princess Beatrice's jubilee present to the : Queen was to consist of a tiny miniature of the late Prince Consort, enclosed in the interior of a ; sovereign. ; By far the most interesting prisoner detained within the walls of Mount Eden Gaol (writes' our Auckland correspondent on the 30th ult.) is | the prisoner Thomas Hall. His quick, intelligent glance, and the habitual look of hopeless woe — I indescribably hopeless woe — on his face at once interests the most casual observer. Those who have come in contact with him in prison believe that he will not long survive. He is a perfect martyr to asthma, which very much interferes with his rest. Already the, convict has developed into an "old soldier," and has various little tricks for attempting to' " scamp" his allotted task. He complains tbat he has fewer .privileges, than were allowed to him while at Lyttelfcon, and seems to think that 1 a person of his social position, should be allowed; a greater latitude than the common herd. He is allowed to receive letters from his relatives once every three months, and I understand that' both his wife and his aged mother have written to him. Mr Joseph Early, Kaikorai, gives a few, ■particulars of the raids made by ferrets on hen 1 roosts at the Kaikorai in a letter to the, Daily Times. He says : — From four visits' during the past six weeks we have had 27 fowls taken, and only succeeded in trapping two ferrets. Our neighbour, Mr William' Tounley, has killed the same number for a loss of 32 fowls ; without making inquiry, I hear Mr A. Barr, postmaster, lost 15, his man 20, other neigbours 7, 9, and 12 respectively. With ours' went two fine bred Brahma roosters, leaving' only one of the brood; curious to say, he walked up to the house the same evening, and has every night since, as soon as fed, quietly submitted to be lifted on a high perch in an outhouse, and as regularly walks down to his hens next morning. William Russell is gazetted registrar of electors for Hokonui, and W. Marshall deputyregistrar of marriages, births, and deaths for Cromwell. William Russell is appointed clerk of licensing committees for the districts of Winton and borough of Winton. The resignation of Captain C. L. Russell, East Taieri Rifles, and Lieut. R. Bourchier, Naseby Rifles, is accepted. W. J. M'Cormick is appointed a cadet to the Land Office. It is intended to close theßradshaw Memorial Fund this week. A sum of nearly £300 has been collected. The Riverton Harbour Board finds itself in the unpleasant position of having only a revenue' of £100 while the expenditure is £300. The members tendered their resignation in a body} but the Minister for Marine finds there is no law under which they can do so. To prevent the board having to " file," an attempt is to be made to get a full meeting to dissolve it. It was resolved to give masters of vessels trading to the port notice that there is no harbourmaster now at Riverton. The Mount Ida Chronicle asserts that the 800 acres of land in the Upper Taieri district which is at present being offered for lease as a pastoral run for 11 years would be taken up by several settlers under the perpetual lease {or {any other system which the Government might choose. A curious development has taken place in connection with the burning of the railway goods shed in December last. An individual named Barrett, at present' in seclusion for some 1£ months for the theft of a quantity of harness experienced recently an awakening of conscience and sending for a visiting justice, is understood to have made in gaol a circumstantial confession implicating not himself but somebody else. The Government, it will be remembered, jumped with remarkable celerity at the conclusion of incendiarism in regard to this fire, and offered a reward of £250 for information leading to the conviction of the offender. Barrett disdained at the time to take any notice of this offer, but has now made a statement to the effect that he actually saw a certain lad set fire to tho shed. Before doing this, however, he endeavoured to extract from the authorities an assurance that bis present sentence would be remitted. Unfortunately for Mr Barrett, however, his character and other circumstances are against him. He is a notorious thief, and his veracity is not unimpeachable. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the boy whom he accuses was not near the spot on the evening in question. The police will, no doubt, investigate the matter, but 'there is more than a probability that the high hopes of Mr Barrett will be dashed. Odessa papers report that in the village of Obodny, in the Government of Podolia, a peasant, reputed to be very wealthy and to have money hoarded in his house, reoeived a visit lately from three venerable-looking men, dressed in garments of a somewhat clerical fashion, who informed him that they were Christ | and the Apostles Peter and Paul. The sham Christ said to him, " I have given you great wealth, but you have omitted to exercise charity, so I have come to reckon with you. Give me your money." The terrified peasant fell on his knees, begged for mercy, and gave over 500 silver roubles, declaring it was all the money he had in the house. They were not satisfied, and he sent off his servant to collect money from neighbours who were indebted to him. The report of the presence in the village of such holy visitors brought a crowd to the spot. But the impostors' mistook their motives, and believed they had come to apprehend them. One of them drew a knife from under his clothes and attacked a peasant, whereupon the crowd seem to have become at once enlightened as to the true character of the trio, and, taking courage, overpowered them. The New York correspondent of the Argus writes : — " The woman suffrage recently adopted in the State of Kansas, in the northwest, has shown some very comical phases. Leavenworth is a military post, and a town of some 50,000 souls. It is strongly Republican, and the temperance party is well rooted there. In the recent canvass a liquor dealer was put as a candidate for mayor by the Democrats. The temperance people brought in as a speaker against him a woman from Illinois. She was reported in one of her speeches as saying that the aristocratic circle of the town, m which j the army officers- were prominent, reeked with, immorality. This was the signal for; an

outbre&k of political activity among, the ladies. They denounced the statement as it deserved. The frightened oratress (if there is such a word) denied having made the statement. Her denial only inflamed her foes the more. * Society organised to move, on ' the polls. Ladies brought their carriages and liveried coachmen out to carry their servants, their washer-women, and even some of the frail voters known in the town as 'sports,' to the election, booths. They flocked about these places themselves, and plied friends, acquaintances, and strangers with their- personal soliditations for votes. They won the day. Whether they ought to be proud of it or not you can judge. As an object lesson in that purification of politics that I is one of the pleas of the woman-suffragists for i their scheme, it is well_ worth studying. ! Throughout the state, when any change in the relative "strength of the parties was made by the women voting, it was almost invariably in the direction of the choice of bad men and the worst party." Mr William Seed, who has just retired on a pension from the position of secretary of customs ■ and marine, has been in the serviceof the colony for 41 years. From an article in the Wellington Post we learn that he entered the service of the New Zealand Company first in 1846, and when the affairs of that company were transferred to the Government in 1851 Mr Seed was employed by Sir George Grey, who was then Governor. He was transferred to the Customs department in 1853 as clerk and warehousekeeper. He was afterwards promoted to be sub-collector at Napier, and was transferred to Wellington as first landing waiter in 1857. On Sir George Grey becoming Governor for a second term he again secured the services of Mr Seed, who afterwards filled the position of under-secretary to the Defence department. He became collector at Wellington in 1865, and later in the same year he was appointed head of the department by the Stafford Ministry. In addition to his ordinary duties in this department Mr Seed' has performed several special missions which enabled him to visit the Australian colonies, the Naviga•tor group and the Islands, and also Fiji, and during leave of absence (after 29 years' service) Great Britain, Canada, and the United States, where he gathered a large amount of information in cennection with lighthouses. He also served on several commissions. The Vienna correspondent of The Times says that the New Testament, which was translated into Hebrew by the late Rev. Isaac Salkinson, missionary among the Jews of Vienna, of the British Jews' Society in London, has been reprinted there in a second edition of 120,000 copies. Of this number 100,000 have been bought by the subscription of one generous Scotch donor, who requested that they might be distributed gratis among Hebrew-reading Jews all over the Continent. Two missionaries lately came from England to make a distribution from Vienna, and they have been sending copies to about 300 rabbis, many of whom have undertaken to circulate these Scriptures among their co-religionists. Very few have stated that they had any objection to read the New Testament. One of the most learned and respected of Hungarian rabbis, Dr J. Lichtenstein, has lately startled his co-reli-gionists by two pamphlets in which he affirms the divinity of Christ. The pamphlets, being very ably written, have been noticed by all the leading newspapers and^have raised much controversy ; for Dr Lichtenstein professes to remain obedient to the Mosaic dispensation while recognising that Christ was the Messiah. ' A sermon was preached at All Saints' Church on Sunday evening by the Rev. A. R. Fitchettupon the subject of " Ritualism." The rev. gentleman took for his text the words of Christ in answer to the ritualistic argument of the woman of Samaria : " God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." He said that complaints had been submitted to him concerning the nature, of the recent jubilee services, and although that was a point upon which he had no responsibility — his church having been unconditionally handed over for the special purpose— yet the occasion seemed a fitting one for consideration of this muchvexed question. The leading argument of a ; very interesting discourse which followed was that matters of- ritual were entirely indifferent I and unconnected with conscience. Upon no question was toleration at once so requisite and so rare. People had no more right to complain of the services at that church than he (the preacher) had to complain of the Bacchanalian gestures of the Salvation Army. Absence of ritual in worship was an absolute impossibility, no service being more really ritualistic than the mute impressiveness of the Society of Friends. Ornament and music were not worship- — that must always be borne in mmd — but still they might be important aids to spirituality, which was worship. Necessities differed, and allowance must be made for the differences. The ! world progressed, and instead of clinging to a false conservation, we must join in with the progression. The chief cause of increased ritual was the extension of intelligence and appreciation of art. Spirituality, with or without ritual' istic existence, was the one thing needful. A rather peculiar case came before the court in Wellington on Saturday morning. Allan Campbell, a bugler in the Wellington Rifles, was arrested on board the barque Glenara, waiting to Rail for Valparaiso the first fair wind, charged with being about to change his residence before delivering up his rifle, accoutrements', and uniform to the officer commanding the corps. The case was remanded to Monday, bail being allowed. The state of the Dunedin Hospital at the end of last week was as follows : — Hemaining from previous week ... ,„ 124 Admitted during the week ... ... 13 Discharged during the week ... ... • 6 Deaths (Alfred Larkin and John Warden) ... 2 ; Total remaining ... ... ... 129 One of the latest and most effective weapons of destruction is what is known as the Zalinßki pneumatic gun,. named after a lieutenant in the United States army, who has brought the weapon to its present stage of perfection. The motive power used is compressed air, and the invention is said to- have been originally | suggested by a schoolmaster who saw some boj» playing with a "pop" gun. The weapon, { ! which is to be utilised for projecting charge* of powerful explosives, was in the first instance intended for torpedoes. With an sir pressure I of 3001b to the square inch, a shell was thrown from a smaller class of gun of this character » distance of 2100 yds. Since this, however, the weapon has been greatly improved, the latest having an Bin brass-lined wrought-iron tube 60ft in length. A shell fired from it at an elevation of 35 deg. and an air pressure of 10001b had a range of 2| miles. Lieut. Zalinski I claims that while the gun is a very valuable I auxiliary for coast defences its use at sea is in no way restricted. The United States Government are now building a cruiser to carry three pneumatic guns of this class, each lO^in in diameter and 70ft in length, capable of throwing shell' containing 2001b of some high explosive to » distance of quite a mile, if not farther. The inventor states that a vessel ..as large as &d& d British man-of-war Polyphemus could car^ry iif° 16in guns capable of throwing a charge containing 7001b of explosive gelatine to the rai^e of •

mile, the charge being equivalent to ill' times that of the Whitehead torpedo with which the vessel named is fitted.

« A Woman," in a letter to the Daily Times, j advocates rapid railway construction as against the snail's pace method at present in vogue in the colony in the following vigorous terms:— ln looking over Sir Robert Stout's 6 peech in the Times on Saturday, I was particularly interested in, that portion of it where he pleaded for the completion of the authorised lines of railway now under construction. Who can doubt the necessity of this, no matter what the expense ? These great arteries are necessary ere the pulse of the nation can beat steadily and strongly. While in America a few years ago, I saw the practical force and utility of railways, whole states being reclaimed and settled with emigrants in a few months. The whole of that gigantic country is a network of railways. Precipitous mountains are scaled and rolling rivers crossed with seemingly no difficulty. But there they do the work slick off the reel — so many miles a day. Though, as in Arizona and Mexico, they had to defend their navvies from the Indians by a band of soldiers, still they never failed in their miles per day. Contrast this with our Otago Central — creeping along in the slowest, most wearisome manner — eight years ago since its commencement. The first portion will have fallen into ruin ere the last is completed. It's pitiful, it's shameful. The railway to Fortrose is another specimen of the sloth and tardiness displayed in this country. Commenced 10 years ago, it is still unfinished, and likely to be so, as I understand the sleepers are now unusable, being perfectly rotten through lying unused in the ground. I advocate railways heart and soul, but let them be built like a red-hot flash as they do in America, no dillydallying. There in the heart of New Mexico on an uncompleted line I saw trains passing all day long across the plain, transferring the necessary plant and material to build below Santa Fe, and to connect with the band working up from the Bouth; there 10, 20, sometimes 30 trucks and carriages attached would steam across the prairie filled with baggage and emigrants, whom they carry and place upon the land free of all expense, trusting to their vigour and endeavour in the tilling of the soil to provide them in the future with the necessary traffic. In that wild region I stepped into the most elaborate and stylish Pullman I ever saw, presided over by two black conductors in fresh new uniform. I uttered my astonishment and asked how it happened, why was such a carriage used in such a wild out-of-the-way place ? Why not have it on the C.P.R.R., and .use older ones here ? " Ah, madam, we know a trick worth two of that," was the reply ; " we put one best on here to induce traffic." Just so, and so should we. Build our railways— of course the little veins will beat feebly without their arteries — but do it rapidly — push them, drive them on, work north and south and complete within a given time and throw open what country we have, and offer opportunity and inducement to the masses to leave the towns and go to the country, prove. Another worthy and deservedly honoured member of the English Bench has succumbed to the implacable east wind of the late inclement spring season. Sir John Mellor is the last survivor of the three judges who tried the Tichborne claimant;, and his share in the memorable judgment on that famous case was perhaps his most notable judicial act ; but he served for nearly 20 years upon the bench, and was always remarkable for uprightness, unwearied patience, and great good sense. He had arrived at a ripe age, and just 54 years elapsed between his death and his being first called to the bar. Like most ambitious barristers, he embraced politics, but he did not easily gain a seat in the House of Commons, nor when attained did he hold it long, His first promotion to the bench was deemed a " job," and it was said that on his first • circuit the new judge was as much upon his trial as the prisoners brought before him. He amply justified his choice, however, and, although gifted •with no commanding eloquence, his industry, his keenness, and above all, his patience, made him an excellent judge. He was especially beloved by his colleagues of the bar for his great kindliness of heart. In describing the first night of a new play called the " Red Lamp," which turns on the distress of a loyal Russian princess upon discovering that her favourite brother is a Nihilist, a London correspondent of the Argus writes : — •' The part of the Russian princess in the • Red Lamp ' was- played by Lady Monckton, wife of Sir John Monckton, town clerk of London, a post of great antiquity and dignity, worth nearly £4000 a year, and carrying with it the curious privilege of signing the surname without Christian name or initials, like a peer. As far as I know, only two other people possess it — one is • Palmer ' and the other is the .Lord Mayor for the year. Lady Monckton is the amateur-pro-fessional who • created,' the part of Mrs Ralstoa in ' Jim the Penman ' a year ago. ' She has been busy as an amateur ever since she ceased to be burdened with the actual cares of the cradle about 20 years ago, and of late years she has taken more and more to acting with professionals. Her husband grumbled slightly, but | did not much mind so long as the engagements were in the provinces and in the dead season. Last j March twelvemonth he was suddenly startled by an announcement from his wife that the management of the Haymarket bad begged her on bended knees to accept an engagement at once at £40 a week in ' Jim the Penman,' a play which had been written by her chief amateur colleague, Sir Charles Young, but which no manager had heretofore condescended to read, all assuming as an axiom that a baronet must be necessarily a fool. The play ran for 200 nights, during which for all social purposes the unhappy town clerk found himself practically wifeless. Then the lady took a rest, reading 60 plays offered her by 60 dramatists, without finding a part fitting her powers. The 4 Red Lamp ' is the sixty-first, and she has fallen in love -with it." The Edinburgh correspondent of The Times records a remarkable change in the feelings and opinions of the Scottish people. Ever since the days of Knox, sacramental fast days have been observed by them — in past times rigorously observed. They were Scotch Sundays with an extra dose of sourness and grimness thrown in. Their observance was once enforced by a system of excommunication and boycotting too terrible to be faced by any but the boldest rebels ; and the kirk might call in the sheriff and other secular powers to punish those who did not abstain from business on fast days. Gradually, however, modern opinions have made themselves felt, and many persons, including some of the most faithful adherents of the Scotch churches, have declined to spend two days in the year in the only way which once seemed permissible. The fast day has become a sec alar holiday; the churches are empty ; the excursion trains are full, and so often are the publichouses. In large towns especially people are rapidly losing sight of the original meaning of the institution. Some of them scarcely know whether they owe it to John Knox or Sir John Lubbock. It is to the credit of the good sense of some of the presbyteries of the various Scotch churches that they have frankly recognised the change which has come to pass. The Glasgow presbyteries of

the three great Presbyterian bodies some time ago recommended that two holidays should be substituted for the fast days. The presbyteries of Edinburgh have now done the same, and it is anticipated that their action will be copied in most parts of Scotland. The clergy, even if they wished to resist the desire for change, could not ; and they have done wisely in surrendering gracefully to a demand which had j become too strong to be repressed, and in recommending what would have been done without their approbation if not with it. The Vienna correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, in a message dated April 14, says : — The Arabian organ Mubascher announces the foundation on the west coast of the Red Sea of a new Mussulman empire, with which the maritime powers of Europe, and probably also the Sultan and the Khedive, will shortly enter into amicable relations. The tribes inhabiting the country between the river and the coast, the most numerous of which is the Beriamer sect, have detached themselves from the Caliph Abdullah, of Khartoum, and at a council of their sheiks one of them, named Mohamed Abu, was proclaimed sultan. He at once chose Kassala for his residence, and appointed two commanders for his army and five governors for his provinces. Thus, between the followers of the Mahdi and the Bed Sea coast a new empire has arisen which promises Boon to extend to the oases that are situated to the north of Kassala, between Suakim and Berber. The army of the new sultan musters 8000 well-armed men. According to a correspondent of the New Zealand Herald, the Hauhau Maoris of Hokianga who were followers of the Prophetess Maria still keep up their strange orgies. The fanatics number about 50, and are divided into relays or watches who relieve each other in their antics making the night as well as the day hideous and frightful by their constant howls. Sometimes they extend their orgies in processional form, partially covered with white bands of linen, to the no small alarm of the neighbouring settlers. At other times they tie Hp a supposed victim for sacrifice ; and on one occasion, having kidnapped, a Native boy from another settlement, they were proceeding in like manner as with the fictitious one. The lad was about 16 or 17 years old, and most fortunately the abduction was discovered, and, with the police and a large party of Natives, the fanatics were attacked, and none too soon, as they evidently intended mischief. However, their intended victim was released, and very soon on regaining his liberty made tracks for some relatives in a more distant part of the county. This last act has had the effect of arousing more energetically the action of the leading chiefs of the Native population in the counties of Hokianga and Bay of Islands ; and it is to be hoped that their more prompt and decisive action now will cause the fanatics to change ; their mode of life and live more quietly and orderly in their settlement. At the dinner given by Mr Armitstead to Mr Gladstone and the labour members on April 26, Mr Gladstone said that his correspondence with Mr Parnell had been of an extremely limited character ; in point of fact he had never in his life received but one letter from the Irish leader The document in question was writen five years ago, under circumstances of unusual importance, and he (Mr Gladstone) had hitherto refrained from referring to it, but its contents threw considerable light on the topic of the hour, and were strong evidence in favour of the contention that The Times letter was a base and malicious forgery. As soon as the facts in connection with the Phcenix Park murders were published, Mr Parnell, apparently foreseeing that in the public mind he would be associated with the crime, wrote a letter placing himself and his f utui c conduct unreservedly in his (Mr Gladstone's) hands. The tone of Mr Parnell's letter was such that he evidently regarded the murder with the utmost abhorrence, and he offered, if Mr Gladstone after a consideration of the circumstances thought such a step desirable, to retire altogether from his leadership of the party and from political life. If everything goes well, the Manitoba Railroad Company will accomplish the greatest feat in railway construction in 1887 ever attained even in the United States, tne electric light being called in to enable tbe contractors to push on the work without interruption. It is proposed to build 580 miles from the western end of the Manitoba road to Great Falls, Montana, aud 90 miles from Great Falls to Helena. This extraordinary step, it appears, is rendered necessary because of the delay caused by negotiations with the Northern Pacific Railroad. This latter road, which was the only one that could transport the steel rails to the other end of the proposed route, so as to enable the Manitoba Company to build from both ends at the same time, placed such a heavy freight rate upon the carriage of the rails that it amounted to a prohibition. The contract has now been let for the whole work, which stipulates that it shall be completed on or before November 23 next. In order that this may be accomplished the services of more than 5000 graders will be required, and in laying the rails the contractors propose to use a steam track-laying machine and employ three separate gangs of men, who will work eight hours each day, using electric lights at night, which it is expected will enable them to complete five miles per day. In this way the vast work will be done, and the Manitoba Company will have advanced its western terminus to within 750 miles of the Pacific Coast. In addition to graders and track-layers, large gangs of men will be required to build bridges, culverts, water tanks, stations, telegraph lines, &c. The Omimi Dairy Factory Company (Limited) are pushing ahead with the work of excavation for building. At the last meeting of the directors the secretary was instructed to call for tenders in the Otago Daily Times for tbe erection of buildings. It is expected that the factory will be in full working order by the beginning of September 1887. A correspondent sends the following with reference to the Highland Railway Company's last halfyearly meeting: — It may interest some of your readers to learn that even in the rural districts of the Old Country it is occasionally possible to rapidly acquire a competence. A small hotel recently erected at Auchnasheen, N. 8., at a cost of £1500, has been generously handed over to the shareholders of the Highland Bailway Company for about £6000. From the report of the meeting which appeared in the Aberdeen Daily Free Press I learn that Mr M'Bean, of Grantown, and Mr Munro, Dingwall, unsuccessfully endeavoured to get a committee of inquiry appointed to report as to the history of the transaction.

"ROUGH ON CORNS." Ask for Wella' " Bough on Corns." Quick relief, complete, permanent cure. Corns, warta, bunions. At chemists and druggists. "ROUGH ON ITCH" " Bough on Itch " cure 3 skin humors, eruptions, ring -worm, tetter, sale rheum, frosted feet chilblains, itch, ivy poison, barber's it

Country bridegroom (to bride, who has ordered a Charlotte Eusse at a venture): "How's the puddin', Mariar?" Bride (essaying paper cover and all) : " The flavour is about the best I ever tasted, John, but the crust is tough an 1 hard to swallow."-