HERE AND THERE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2105, 28 June 1894, Page 20

HERE AND THERE.

Eight hundred and eleven criminals have just left Odessa for the Island of Saghalien. Amongst them were 397 murderers, 186 thieves and robbers, and 63 incendiaries ; 24 were sentenced for sacrilege with robbery, 14 had killed their wives, 23 were forgers, and 2? escaped convicts who had already been sentenced to hard labour.

Four great apostasies have saved the modern world, says Seiior Castelar, in an article on Prince Bismarck, quoted by the Westminster Gazette. That of Peel, who abandoned the economic reaction; that of Gladstone, who repudiated Conservative ideas ; that of Thiera, who forgot the monarchic principle ; and that of Bismarck, who destroyed the feudal doctrines.

A correspondent of the Chicago Despatch, desiring to know how it felt to be very rich, put the question the other day to the great Mr Pullman, of palace-car fame, who is said to possess £10,000, 000 sterling. Mr Pullman said, " I believe that I am no better off— certainly no happier— than I was when I didn't have a dollar to my name, and had to work from daylight to dark. 1 wore a good suit of clothing then, and I can only wear one now. I relished three meals a day then a good deal more than I do three meals a day now. I had fewer cares, I slept better, and I may add generally that I believe I was far happier in those days than I have been many times since I became a millionaire. And yet it is a comfortable feeling to be rich."

The managers of the Federation of Women, a body composed of the lady presidents of all the women societies in San Francisco has arranged for a series of parliamentary drill classes to teach ladies something of parliamentary law. Those classes are now common in the various States. Before the olasses are ended a mock Parliament is held and the newly acquired knowledge is put to a practical test. The first and only lady lawyer of India is Miss Sorabji, a clever Parsee. She was induced to study law by her desire to help her countrywomen, who are forbidden by religion and custom to receive legal advice from men. The young woman won academic honours in India, and afterwards went to England and studied at Oxford, where she was successful in her work aud became a protegd of the late Master of Balliol. She worked ia a solicitor's office in Lincoln's Inn, and learned the practical part of a lawyer's work. So far her desire to practise in India has not been practically realised. Not content with the introduction of a sewing machine into the district school, intended to assist in teaching the children plain sewing, one member of the Napier committee recentlyexpressed his desire to see a practical dress--maker and fitter employed, so that the children might be taught the art of dressmaking in all. its branches. Following up this suggestion, another member remarked that this might lead, to the introduction of all the trades under the ■ sun into the public schools, and they would thus be able to turn a boy out of school afe the age of 14 or 15 with not only a finished educa- • fcion in arithmetic, &c, but an expert tradesman in the various branches of manual labour !

In connection with the recent case in which the customs authorities called in question through the Supreme Court the genuineness of invoices for chairs of German manufacture the Welling- • ton Post learns that conclusive evidence, certified by the British Consul at Hamburg, has.bsen received proving that the invoice value of the goods in question was a perfectly fair and legitimate price. The importers were willing ■ to meet the customs authorities in any reasonable manner, but nothing save legal proceedings would satisfy the official mind, and these > were instituted without any satisfactory result, and are now shown to have been quite uncalled 1 for.

Like the bold, bad man who recently exposed' 1 at Wellington the manner in which the spook" business was worked, some individuals at Watertown, New York, have been exposing a ■ materialising medium. A Mrs Roberts gave a seance before the Spiritualistic Society, which ■ was not considered satisfactory. She offered to give another if a wire cage was provided, , from which she undertook to make her esoape by supernatural means. The cage was duly to • hand on May 3, and a committee duly locked Mrs Roberts in the cage. It was an hourbefore anything was seen to emerge from*- the - cabinet, and then a white form flittedteronndJ in front of the audience, which sat in almost total darkness, and floated back behind the curtains. The form had scarcely disappeared! behind the curtain when one of the com." mittee, who had] cyawled- to the rear of the cabinet, seized an, arm- and yelled: "Turn up. the lights !." Another member* who had hiss hand covered with fresh ink, patted the ghosfc on the cheek, leaving a beauty spot that was* easy to recognise. There was a general, scramble and pandemoaium reigned in the< hall. The lights were turned up and Mrs Roberts stood in the midst of the audience in acostume so unconventional as to excite pity. A. woman in the audience loaned her a cloak, andi the medium's dress was found after 15 minutesi and the woman was left alone long enough to> dress. She then acknowledged that she had! been practising the fraud nine years,, but declined to give any details.

The Auckland Y.W.G.A. has 184 members;, and its receipts last year amounted to £295 11» sd. It starts the year with a credit balance of £4 8s 9d. Half the work done at the monthly sewing meetings is to be devoted to the Niger mission, in memory of Bishop and Mrs Hill.. A registry office for women is kept. In the local option poll recently taken in< New South Wales the Bame apathy that used 1 to prevail in this colony under the old act was apparent. In an ordinary election 50 or 70 per cent, of the voters on the roll will record their votes ; in these elections not more than 21 per cent, of those entitled to vote took the trouble to express their wishes. Of the 103 elections which have just taken place, the votes of 90 wards or municipalities have been against any increase in the number of publichouses, and 83 • have pronounced against the transfer of any licenses from old houses to new. There is one - provision in the New South Wales law which, though it seems wise, has not had the effect intended. It is provided that houses which have 30 rooms are exempted from being subject to the restraints of the local option vote. The rooms are added, but they are rarely utilised, and the result is to impose unnecessary expenditure on the publican from which neither he nor the community derive any advantage.

Jusb before the English Budget was brought in the Treasury received on account of spirit ■ duties a cheque for £21,000, being the amount due from a single firm in Leith on clearing spirits out of bond. This ia said to be the largest cheque ever drawn for a similar purpose,-