NEWS OF THE DAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5623, 19 November 1889, Page 3

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Mr Champion, one of the leaders of the recent London strike, says that 40,000 of the strikers were Catholics, which accounts for the great influence, as a mediator, that Cardinal Manning has been able to exert. I Here is a singular evidence of the J changing character of Metropolitan constituencies. North Islington contains iJOOO odd electors ; nearly 40C0 of these are said to be on the register in that district for the first time. „, While the number of existing drink licenses in London have not been allowed to increase of late years, the dram-shops of Paris have risen from 24,000 in 1880 to nearly 30,000 in the present year. In 30 years theconsumption of alcohol in France has trebled, and in ten years it has doubled. A painfully sudden death occurred during the progress of a marriage ceremony at the Registrar's office at Northampton. 1( A woman named Catherine Tiffany, whilst witnessing the marriage of her daughter, was seized with illness,and although medical assistance was called in, the poor woman expired in the presence of the t newly-wedded couple. An electric fire engine, which can be tapped for service whenever wanted, is the latest invention. The advantages claimed are that it can be started at full speed ; that it is much lighter than a steam fire-engine of equal power : that it costs one-third less ; that it is noiseless in its operation ; makes no smoke or ashes ; that it is safer and more economical. Mr Lumbholta, a Norwegian explorer of North Queensland, is reported by the Pall Mall Gazette as saying that he has been informed by native connoisseurs that white men, considered from a culinary point of view, are objectionable, having a disagreeable salty taste. Chinamen were described to Mr Lumbholt/, as having, in consequence of their rice diet, a tender vegetable flavor, but even they are inferior to black baby. The frequent attacks of illness to which the Pope is now subject have given rise in Rome to many cenjectures as to the future Pontiff. A correspondent of the Roma, who signs himself " F.G.,"' and appears to be well informed, has written two articles, which, after eliminating some eminent cardinals as impossible, he shows why it is probable that Cardinal Lucido Parocchi, the vicar general, born in 1833, is likely to become the successor of Leo XIII. The island of Trinidad, in the West Indies, appears to be saturated with pitch or asphalt. All round it drops of thud pitch can be frequently seen to ooze out from it into the sea. In its interior it lias a lake of asphalt l-\ miles in circumference. The pitch is cold and solid on the shores of the lake, but it increases in softness and temperature towards the centre, where it is almost boiling. This remarkable lake is underlaid by seams of coal, from the distillation of which, by the internal heat of the earth, the pitch above has been undoubtedly derived. Mr Benzon's much abused uncle and guardian (writes the London correspondent of the Dunedin Star) has not left that enterprising youth another quarter of a million to chuck away, but settled L4OO a year on him in such a manner that he i can't mortgage or anticipate it. The i meaning of the hints in Benzon'.s book • that ho may possibly again be in funds i some day is that he aspires to the hand l and heart of a well-dowered damsel. This r young lady broke off their engagement , when hay fiance became (as he gracefully , expressed it) " stoney," but has since rel lented. If the match ever comes off, her , money will, however, indubitably be . strictly tied up. b ' ' The women have a new use for t vaseline," observed a New York chemist I as he jerked his finger over his right r shoulder in the direction of a well-dressed - lady who was leaving the store after a havin" made a purchase of the petroleum a compound. " What's that?" "They are 1 using it on their shoes now." "On their s shoes V " Yes, and the ladies must b - given credit for having made a valuable a discovery. The ingredients of vaseline fi have a wonderful effect on fine leather, li and it is fast taking the place of all the [- compounds manufactured for softening the s shoes. Take a pair of shoes that have n become stiff and uncomfortable by cont- stant wear in the rain and apply a coat of h vaseline, rubbing it in well with a cloth, t- and in a short time the leather becomes as soft and pliable as when it is taken n from the shelves of the shoe-dealer. Yes, (I indeed, this rainy weather has caused in quite a boom in the vaseline trade." ie — Washington Post.

John Dcvoy, speaking recently at an Irish celebration in Chicago said : •' Since the appointment of Patrick Egan as Minister to Chili he has used the prestige aid influence given to him by that position for the purpose of aiding in the escape of Dr Cronin's murderers." This was greeted with cries of " That's so." In a number of Lloyd's Weekly received by a recent mail, appears two notifications under the heading of " New Companies." One notification is the proposed formation of ,i company, with a capital of L250,0<)0, to work tho New Zealand petroleum, and tho other is a notification of a company with a capital of L 250,000 to work the Xew Zealand ironsand. The latest addition to the Eiffel Tower stories is rather curious. An Italian merchant, having gone for his holiday to the south of France, took it into his head one day to run up to Paris and see the Exhibition. No sooner had he arrived on tho bunks of the Seine than he received a wire from home apprising him of tho defalcation and disappearance of a confidential clerk. The same day he paid a visit to the Eiffel Tower, and in one of the lifts met his erring com mis gallantly showing the sights to a fair member of tho Milan ballet. Tne Berlin correspondent of tho Daily News has had an interview with Herr Fricke, the African traveller, who was at Khartoum when General Gordon was killed. Herr Fricke states that General Gordon was convinced till a short time before his death that he would be able by his own influence to gain his objects without fighting. He did not realise his danger, and the messages he sent were sucl'i as to mislead the British military authorities as to the critical nature of his position. Pie might, however, in Herr Fricke's opinion, hav<£ escaped even two days before his death. He was killed, during the usual morning inspection of his troops, by some of his soldiers, and he was unarmed at the time. A startling revelation as to the foreign extract of meat trade was made at the Colchester Police Court, when a boy from Ipswich was charged at the instance of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with cruelty to a horse by driving it in the night from Chelmsford to Colchester in almost a dying state. Inspector Stanbridge stated that the animal was going to a man at Ipswich who exported hundreds of tons of horseflesh to Antwerp, where it was made into extract of beef. Horses just able to crawl were brought from all parts of the kingdom, as they were worth more alive. The case was a very bad one, and a fine of forty shillings was inflicted and the horse ordered to be slaughtered. Choral Society New music has arrived. Practice Wednesday, 7.45 sharp. Pull attendance requested. — Advt. The Cash Boot is picked with magnificent goods to suit the pockets of everyone, and the prices arc lower than ever. Gents' Elastic Side Boots, heel and toe plates, at 9s lid.— Advt.