OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 12

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Boiled parrot is considered a luxury by the Mexican 5 . There were 11,600 foreigner, settled m China in 1897. A doetoi'a fee in China \aries from fourpence up to a shilling. About one half of the Japanese railways are owned and run by the Government. K\ery day in the year the people of the United" States use 12,000.000 postage stamps. Some of the paper made in Corca is so strong and deiuo that it i-- u»cd to cover umbrellas. An Ene'ish syndicate ha* been formed to de\elop and utilise the iron deposits of Tasmania. A dog got into the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society's gardens and killed one of the kangaroos. ithin the last five weeks over 1100 rats have been received at the Christchurch City Council offices. About £50.000 was put through the fotahsptor at the various race meetings in New Zealand on Easter Monday. In time of war France pnts 370 out of every 1000 of her population in the field ; Germany, 310 ; Russia, 210. A church in London still possesses an income originally given to it for the purpose of buying faggots for burning heretics. The Australasian-, at Johannesburg have formed a club, of which Mr G. Hutchison, ex-M.H.R. for Patea, ha-> been elected the first president. A straw stack and a number of bags of oats belonging to Mr W. R. Baird were destroyed by fire at the Toi Toi estate on Saturday last. At the meeting of the Southland Education Board last week it was proposed to establish a series of classe- at Gore for the benefit it teachers in that centre. Letters of naturalisation have been issued to the following persons: — William Baker, Porr. Chalmers; Carl Frederic Augustus Diehl, Oaniaru ; and to A T ictor Joanson, New River, Invercargill. A writer in the World 'ay?: "I am told all the Cabinet ha\e been vaccinated. Lord Londonderry and Lord Ashbourne are both iiiirsiiiar their xirms, and among otlieii Lord Kol>erts has suffered much." Notwithstanding the heavy thunderstorm which recently visited Cromwell, the local paper, the Argus, states that many of the people are carrying their water from the springs near by and from the river. An incident of a stormy nature occurred between the Mayor and Cr Hunter at the Gore Borough Council's last meeting. The latter refused to obey the ruling of the chair, and it was not until after the unusual procedure of passing a resolution to fine him that he apologised and enabled peace to be restored. Writing to a friend in Bolclutha, an erstwhile resident of that district, who is now in Sydney, states that so far as New South Wale.-- is concerned the results of federation are very disappointing. It now takes, the writer .-ay.s. 26s to buy what could be pipviously purchased for 20*. What at present appears to have been a dastardly attempt to wreck a tram occurred at higlewood, Victoria, recentlj r . The tram loft Bondigo at 11.15 for Korong Vale. At a s-pot in the .-critb, two miles on the Korong Valo j-ide of Inglewnod. on a steep gradient, a largo ironstone boulder weighing about 201b wa^ placed between the rails. Fortunately it wa-- .'•truck by the cowcatcher and biokeri. Mr H Rae, of Melbourne, sailed from the- Bluff by the Waihora on the Bth (iays a. southern exchange) in charge of four Clydesdale entire colts selected and pur chased on her account by Mr Robert Cup ple.s, jun., of Otautau One of the colta belonged to Mi James- Noble, of Otautau, and (t)jt 200 guinea- Another w a-> bought front Mr John Cam<k for 150 guinea-), and the two othei> rejlwd high prices. Mr V Thompson, of the defence staff, has invented a little .irtiele in which a \a->t atveunt of u-eful combination is oiowded into a .-.mail space. By means of hin culinary ni-ti ument, applet may be peeled and fired, potatoe- scraped and pared and their eye-, picked out. \egetables =liced and rapidly cut into tmall tluc- for .soup, and \egptable-,, toast, or nutmegs may be grated. The in--«tiument. which has boon patented through the agency of Mp-«t* Baldwin and Rayward. will be Useful m ex cry kneheu, and should find a rapid sale. A number of cych»ts seem to make it a practice when riding through the main streets to come down tlie Prince^ s,treet rise to Rattray ttrcct at high speed, regard less of what might be tho consequences at the cro c «ing weie some obstacle to appear. On Wednesday a young man. who seemed to hate but little rontiol of In-. inuchinc, <-U--hc(l down tile lu-t a^ a hrn.-e and

cart appeared on the Rattray street crossing. The cyclist just managed to run in front of the horse, striking it on the nose, and then, feeing another cart in front, he attempted to turn down Rattray street, regardless of the fact that many people were passing along in front of him. The natural consequence followed, and he collided with an ekWly gentleman, though by tlii? time the -pee-d had considerably slackened, and neither was hurt. Mr Willcic. (Government veterinary surgeon, who was in Lawrence during the week inspecting the. Tenth Contingent horses, remembers Lieutenant Handcock, of the Bush Veldt Carbineers, who, with Lieutenant Morant, wa.« tried by court-martial and shot for the cold-blooded murder of Boers in South Africa, as a "student in the Royal Veterinary Institution, London. He did not, however, pass his examinations and take his status as a veterinary surgeon, though no doubt he acquired a sufficient knowledge of the business to be of use in a rough-and-ready way on the African veldt. He was not, during his student davn at the institution, exactly a model of all the proprieties, to speak charitably, and was just the kind of man to find both congenial companionship and occupation in a, regiment composed as the Bush Veldt Carbineers was. — Tuapeka Times. A heartless case of poisoning a husband •was reported last month from Renne«, France. A farmer married a girl aged 21 nearly three months ago, and took her to his home at Mozerale. Although he was only 26 years off age, he had succeeded, bydint of hard work, in placing himself in comfortable circumstances. His bride easily induced him to make a will in her favour, and, this secured, she cast about for an easy moans of getting lid of him, and eventually poisoned him by giving him an infusion of hemlock. Suspicion was aroused by his untimely death, and a short inquiry revealed the woman's crime, which she has now confessed. It seems that, although she consented to marry the man, she idolised, another young man at present serving in the army, and conceived the crime with the object of buying him out and living with him on her murdered husband's money. There ought to be no stagnation in the building trade in Wellington in the immediate future, to judge from on indication given by Mr Seddon when replying to the deputation of commercial men on Saturday. He eaid that in a very short time the new Magistrate's Courthouse, costing about £10,000, would lie started; then it would bo necessary also to erect a Public Trust building, to coat about £40,000 ; there would be the new Custom House, to cost about £23.000, and the extension of the Post Office, and a building would be required also for the Agricultural Department. At the present time, said the Premier, the Government was paying over £4000 a year fcr rentals, and whilst this was unwise from a business point of view, there was also the more serious view to oe considered — that under an arrangement by which Government- departments were scattered about the pity, proper control was impossible. — New Zealand Time-. Mr A. .1. Park, patent and trade-mark agent, Manse street, Dunedin (authorised by the New Zealand (Jo^einmenf), Mipphea the following list of Ncv Zealand applications for patents, compiled from the New Zealand Gazette of the 3rd April : —Auckland— A. Dennos, brooch-pin catch ; T. Farrer, window fa-tener; J. Wiseman, gaiter; Macky and Bigelow, nutlccks; J. Grattan, saw regulator; C. Hodge, spark-arrester; A. Struthers, towel-rack; J. Salinger, operating air-brakes ; R. Arthur, marine oil engines. Canterbury — M. Peryer, cleansing composition ; W. Thomas, printing process ; E. Rawnsley, table tennis ; A. Rowntree, mou'-tache-guard ; F. Cowper, ping-pong. Hawke's Bay — W. Bartle, fiufhing closets; J. Moioney, girtli and surcingle: H. Henderson, manufacturing water n;as. Marlborousrh — U. Catlev, la^tmt?-nii:< rr-> Otasro — K. Walkei, aerator; f. Payne, taihngshtacker; F Oakden, cement manufacture; A. Murray, tap; J. Shepherd, dredging machinery; J. Smith, hair-curler. Southland—A. Duncan, gate-hinge; .J. Fahey, .sheaf-earner. Wellington— T. Balhngcr, skylight : .1. Warring, traction engine brake; Towgood and Allison, tent-: T. Philpott, oiling a\les : J. Purkib, matchbox ; C. Wycherley. .••enuring horse co\ er- : Harrison, and Kirkland. fire e-cape: Langstone, M'Leod, and Brooino, fuel ; K. and N. Jackfon, stock mark; H Le\inge, gas lamp. Westland— G. Heppell, gold-sai ing :J. Jay, furnace : .T. Macklny, boot sole All questions relatip.q; to patents and trade-maik-s may be addressed to A. J. Park, patent agent, Man'c street. Daner'in : 53 Etk street, Imercargill : 208 Hereford >-treet, Chri«tchurch; and 26 Shortland street. Auct. laud._

The bursting of ;i -waterspout cau=ecl a sudden flood a. the Waimata Ri\er, the water coming down n a wall five feet hi?h. It swept away £» luukv ovd p:ur of hoifcC-<; driven by a senior iia'ni_d Young. Mr sToung jumped clear and c caped, but th: Wsob suid trau Lav* uot LiJui *t*ia siagft-

During 1901 thore were iinnoited into the colony bOl l bicycle-, valued at £54.047, ami £71,190 worth of bicyelo maternal. 1 lie duty p3id was £17.017. P.icycleg pay '0 per cent, duty, and, adding ilu^ io iiie I £54,047, the avcrajjo wine ol tht- UMtLuuei