MISCELLANEOUS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 5011, 20 May 1889, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

It is roughly estimated that the TimesPigott tomfoollery will cost the highly moral Tory organ some £IOO,OOO.

Scientific conclusions are not always to bo accepted as Anal. When Lord Posse’s powerful telescope was constructed the far distant objects thought to bo in formless nebula? were said to bo in reality’clusters of stars. Prom this, however, came a further opinion that the nebulae were masses of gas. In a recent numdorof Harpers Magazine, by no less an authority than Norman Lockyer, they are said to be like comets, neither clusters of stars nor masses of gas*, but merely consist of meteorites.

Babbits were originally introduced to Australia by the late Thomas Austin, a Victorian squatter, in order to make sport for the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke potted over a hundred in half an hour in a small enclosure, and ever since at the Oolac factory not far from the spot, three score boys have been regularly potting rabbits in tins for the British public.

The grey mare which was in the car in which “ tskin the Goat,” drove the murderers of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr Burke

from Phoenix Park, in 1882, has just died at Menai bridge. After the murder the horse was bought by an Anglcaea horse dealer who sold it to a Menai bridge hotel proprietor, who used it for posting purposes. It appears that some short time since the mare cut her foot on a rusty nail, and lockjaw set in. The Sandwich Islands have hundreds and hundreds of lepers. Sydney has 12 lepers to start with. Queensland is going to start a leper settlement at Friday Island, if the people of Thursday Island will allow her. The Nouraean correspondent of the Paris Temps states out of 25,000 Kanakas in New Caledonia no less than 4003 are lepers. There are more than sufficient lepers in Victoria. Leprosy may yet be a problem tougher for Australia than the rabbit question. The polil ical situation in Hawaii is attract- | ing a good deal of attention in America. The “ San Francisco Post ” says : “ Private advices received in this city are to the effect that the coming elections will undoubtedly result in a complete overthrow of the present administration and a general change of its policy, with the view of annexation to the United states. The sentiment over the proposed annexation is running strong, and is a general feeling. This sentiment is principally among the middle class of Hawaiians, who are backed by the lower classes. The islanders took upon their annexation to the United States as their only protection from the attacks upon their commercial interests by the various foreign governments, which they believe will eventually result in the pos--1 session of their domain becoming an international question within a few years. England wants Hawaii. Germany wants it too, while the people themselves want neither and prefer joining their commercial and political affairs with those of the United States.”

(Why was there (asked Henry George in a recent lecture in London) so much poverty in this greatest of cities ? Even in new Australia they saw the same poverty. Some might say Ithero was so much overproduction. However, it might go down with a newspaper editor or a professor of political economy, he knew no savage would accept such an explanation. (Cheers and laughter). Others reply that poverty was a natural thing—“ The poor ye have always with you ” they quote. And even they said, if the rich divided their money, “there ain’t enough to go round.” The savage would say, “If there ain’t enough wealth why dont you produce more ?” The people wo put in our workhouses were simply people that can’t find work. Yet we had lots of land that we weren’t using. He only wished that among the Hottenots there were societies to send us missionaries. (Laughter.) They should ask questions, and let the bench of bishops reply. (More laughter.) Mr Gladstone’s brother, the late Sir Thomas, of Fasque, was an out and out-Tory of the good old sort. At one time he presided frequently at the local meetings of the parly in the little country town of Stonehaven, and he used occasionally to denounce in no measured terms what ho regarded as the wild political schemes of “my brother.” In personal appearance he bore a wonderful resemblance to Mr Gladstone. He had a commanding appearance, was over six feet in height, straight as a poplar, and altogether physically as fine a specimen of the North Country laird as one would meet with in a long day’s march.