OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2927, 20 April 1910, Page 4

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

On an average every man, woman, and child in London takes over 188 journeys a year on local railways, 'buses, and trains. Tobacco and snuff yield far more Cusrevenue than any other substance paying 'duty on entrance to England, and * eugar comes next. The Czar, according to a Sofia news- . paper, has expressed his intention of (presenting Bulgaria with several warships now lying off Seb'astopol. While the capital or wealth of the United ; Kingdom is put at £15,000,000.000, that of ; the remainder of the Empire is reckoned at only £7,250.000,000. It is stated that at least three Volunteers who attended the Kitchener encampment at Johnsonville are at present suffering- from fever in Nov/ Plymouth. The Government Printer has just issued the catalogue of the Hillside Railway Workshops Library The library contains ■upwards of' 13,000 volumes. With .Wilbur Wright as chief instructor, the U.S.A. Government has founded a ' school of aviation for ofricors, and voted a : sum of £IOO,OOO for experiments. At Newcastle (N.S.W.) Captain Cor•rance, of the steamer' Vienna, has been fined £2OO for allowing two Chinese, prohibited immigrants, to enter the Commonwealth. ".■.,,, At the first sales of ostrich feathers for the present year, recently concluded in London, the quantity offered from all sources . was 110,6001 b. which srsalised about ' '

( The Rev. J. R. N. Bell, of Corvallis, Oregon, is a member of 161 secret orders, nearly every legal secret curder in the world, excluding those whose main purpose ie fraternal insurance. The Wyndham Farmer states that the Millar-Wade milking apparatus is now being used by several dairy farmers in the* , district, all of whom speak in terms of praise regarding its work. The Emperor of Austria, Who will be an octogenarian this year, rises at 5 o'clock, i and gets through much of his work before • most persons are out of bed. His meals are of the simplest character. A wealthy English philanthropist has given £200,000 to establish institutions to bring the services of skilled dentists within the reach of the poorer classes willing to ipay in proportion to their means. Under the new Stamp Act relating to racing club meetings, the Government received £2327 for five race meetings hold in Easter week. Of this sum, £620 was re.ceived from the Feilding Jockey Club. ; It is reported' that Messrs Gould and : Dunnatt, owners of the Sherwood Downs state of 10,000 acres, have offered that property, which is situated near Fairlie, to the Government for closer settlement pur poses. The ex-borough foreman of Inglewood has issued a public challenge to any councillor to.resign, "and," he adds, "I will contest the seat with him as a protest against the : council's aotian re the organisation of the I staff." - I As evidencing the hardness of the ground

from want of rain a Te Houka farmer informed the Clutha Leader that he had tried six horses in a double-furrow plough, but failed to make any impression on the ground. " Limberneok," a new disease, is playing havoc with thei chickens in Ewan, N.J. One farmer has lost nearly 500. The fowls lose all control of their necks, and their heads droop until they almost touch the ground. When the last mail left Sydney the ship Ditton was lying in port awaiting to clear on the Homeward voyage with a freight of 53,439 bags of wheat— : said to be one of the largest cargoes of wheat taken" from Sydney. . The Napier Waterside Workers' Union has passed a resolution in favour of "severing Hawke's Bay from" the Wellington industrial _ district, and urging the formation of Kawke's Bay and Poverty Bay into a separate district. Up till about seven years ago totara timber was being exported from Wairarapa (states the Wa.i.ra(rapa Daily. Times). Now however, this timber is 'being imparted from long distances to supply the growing needs of the district.

Recent catastrophes have shown that navigation is not even safe in the Mediterranean —of all seas, remarks Paris Figaro. It is time that lighthouses were erected in many dangerous spots- where they are still wanting. In Boston, U.S.A., a quarter of■ a million people are living entirely on vegetables and nuts. They dress in white, sleep in draughts, abjure milk, and remain alone for half-an-hour a duy. By this means they hope to live 1000 vears. Prince Scipio Borghese, famous for his Paris-Pekin motor-car journey, having failed to be elected to the Italian Parliament, has, writes a Turin correspondent, decided on an expedition in the Himalayas in emulation of the Duke of Abruzzi.

A cash box containing £ll was missed from Mr G. Glover's premises, in Geraldine, some weeks ago, and it has now been found in one of the fences of the Gera.l--dine domain. The box when found, had £.l and some silver and copTCrs in it. While M. Celestin Fillon," director of the electrical station of the Orleans Railway Company, was explaining the mechanism of the dynamo to his subordinates, he put his hand accidentally on an electric cable, and received a fatal shock of 5500 volts. The Auckland City Council has decided upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee to vote a sum of £SO to the Auckland- Musicil and Literary Competitions' Society, the decision being the outcome of a solicitation from the society. A burnt finger caused the death of a printer at Manchester. He slightly burnt his finder while lighting a match, and a week later, complaining of pain, he was removed to the infirmary, but died from shock following the amputation of the fingor.

By the rearrangement of the Timaru Borough Council 1 , waterworks loan of £60,000 there, will be a saving to the ratepayers of £I2OO per annum to start with, and the saving will be greater after-a time when still more favourable terms are obtained.

The number of depositors' accounts in the savings banks of Victoria, which at June 30, 1909, was 375,000. now totals 550,000. The accumulated funds in the same period have grown from £9.213,000 to £15,000.000 —an increase of nearlv £6,000,000. y

An Irish lady, Miss Lilian E. Bland, has designed and built for herself a biplane glider, 28ft wide. Several satisfactory glides have been accomplished with the machine, controlled from . the ground by ropes. The engine and propellers will be fitted later.

The-many thousands of lascars who are in the steamers trading beLondon and Indian ports have a special claim to kindly assistance (says the Calcutta. Statesman) Probably they are in ore helpless in London, than any clas6 ol foreign seamen. A youth of 16, named Ainley, has committed suicide by banging at Huddersfield; he had been depressed for fear of having to undergo a further operation for a complaint in his throat. The coroner said he was afraid the present generation was impatient of suffering. An ice gorge 40 miles long filled the Mississippi River at St. Louis during January. The river is not often frozen over during winters there, but at this time one cou?S cross from bank to bank, though not easily because of the heaping up of irregular, jagged pieces of ice. About fourteen years ago a girl name-! Fawcett. a resident of M'lntyres (Vic), had the misfortune to break a needle in one of her arms. Recently the broken piece, one inch and a quarter long, after travelling up one arm and across the body, came out of the other arm, leaving no ill-effects. A Feilding bride and, bridegroom struck bad luck in Wellington en route for a honeymoon in the South Island. Not only did the bride's Jug-gage go astray, but the couple arrived at the wharf in time to see the boat gliding gracefully away. However, they spent a happy interval in Wellington. Several volunteer corps have applied to the Defence Office for permission to puir-

chase new uniforms for recruits. The applications have been refused for the present, as the Council of Defence has not yet decided upon a field service uniform for all branches of the service. The matter is now under consideration.

Deep-sea fishermen at Timaru are catching large numbers of groper at the present time, and . nearly" every day about 30 barrels full of groper are sent to Christchurch (says an exchange). One day recently the whole fleet of oil launches secured the record catch for the port, totalling no fewer than 700 fish. Messrs Charles Begg and Co. (Limited), music warehousemen, of Dunedin and Wellington, have purchased the freehold of the land in Manners street, Wellington, on which" "The Hat Box" and M<r fehakes's tobacconist shop are situated. It is their intention to erect a handsome fourstorey music warehouse and shop on the property. "■■ ' In _the years 1906-1909 inclusive 44791 b of opium were seized in New South Wales, of the estimated value of £13,438. The penalties imposed totalled £4909, and the penalties paid £2041. Only 11381 b were seized in; Victoria;, in West Australia £)6lb; while in Tasmania there were only two cases. Informe.s in New South Wales received £125.

The Queenstown Borough Council will ask its representative, Mr W. Fraser, M.P., to bring before the Municipal Cbnfe'rence during the next session of Parliament the desirability of imposing a tax on city tradespeople who open out in Queenstown for a few days. It is thought (says the Mail) that they should be (placed on the same footing as hawkers. <\-'- For some time past the Christchuirch Presbytery has paid the expenses of members in travelling to' meetings, lees 2s and the odd, pence. At the •• eetirig of tia* Presbytery on Tuesday 'it was decided, on the motion of the Rev. A. Begg, that as the railway fares had "been increased, members would have to pay 3s and the odd pence towards their travelling expenses. Maoris must have quaint ideas of billiard-markers, evidently thinking they are walking banks {says the Wairarapa. Age). One dark-h.aired 4 Native, going by the sobriquet of "Midnight," strolled Into a saloon in Grey town a few days back and played a game, which he lost. He calmly presented the marker with a cheque for £2OO with instructions to " take Is 6d out of that." - - -

In the absence of the knowledge of the principles of first aid by those about him, Thomas Howland, farmer, 50 years of age, bled to death at his home, four miles from Dimboola (Victoria). Howland knocked an ulcerous sore and burst a varicose vein near the ankle. His daughter attempted to stanch the bleeding by applying flour, but this had no effect, and he died within 10 minutes.

A specimen of the bronze or shining cuekoo was shot a few days ago in a garden at St Andrews. This is the second specimen of this migratory bird that has been seen in the district during the last few months. These birds usually migrate from New Zealand in January for their winter home in northern Queensland and New Guinea, and it is most unusual to see them in this country so late in the year. Regarding intemperance among women of the leisured class, the Bishop of Croydon relates that he was in conversation recently with a medical man in one of the large residential towns in the South of England, who told him that at that moment he had no fewer than 12 ladies on his list who thought nothing of consuming a bottle of champagne at a sitting, and were slowly killing themselves by drink. While fishing in the inner harbour it Napier on the sth Messrs Thomas Lain°and Leslie Balfour hooked a stingray of enormous dimensions. After a. struggle extending over half an hour, and with the assistance of the occupants of another boat, the monster was gaffed and hauled aboard. When measured; it was found to be 9ft long (the tail being over 6ft). and estimated to weigh something like 1301 b.