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South Canterbury Times, Issue 8137, 22 January 1895, Page 3

It is stated by a Napier paper that the shortage in wool this year in Hawke’s Bay is equal to a value of £25,000. An Auckland settler paid sixpence for three fish the other day. On opening one of them he found a half-sovereign, of date 1845, embedded in the stomach. Result, three fish and 9s 6d ahead of it, as the sports say, A. writer in the Napier Telegraph is looking lor a certain printer with a bludgeon. He wrote of a man who knew “on which side his bread was buttered,” but the genial comp, made it read “on which side his head is battered.” The second local wool sale of the season was held in the Assembly rooms to-day. About 4000 bales were catalogued. There was a fair attendance of buyers, one more than at the previous sale. Up to 1 p.m. prices showed a decided though small improvement, with a more marked rise for best lots, and there were not many withdrawals. There was not a large attendance of interested spectators.

The authorities of the s.s. Duke of Westminster are dissatisfied with the amount of assistance given them by the Bench to-day in enforcing discipline and contracts with their firemen. One of the firemen who refused duty here, and said that ‘ ‘as a matter of fact he wanted to be paid off,” obtained his desire, at a penalty of seven days’ imprisonment and a deduction of 7s and 24 hours’ pay from the wages due to him. Perhaps the Bench took into consideration the fact that the refusal of duty occurred in port, and not at sea.

The Napier News finds a silver lining to the cloud of low wool prices : —“ We believe indeed that the price of wool is settling down to a permanently low level, and that we need not again lodk for spasmodic rises. This is perhaps not so much to be regretted as might be supposed. It puts a stop to earth hunger, and prevents the acquirement of huge areas of land by individuals or companies ; and this has the result of promoting close settlement of the land and its occupation by small farmers. Thus, though prices fall to a permanently low level, the demand for wool will always continue, and the production of wool and mutton which is now no longer the exclusive function of the great landholders, but is also the industry of the small farmers, will grow in importance, and the wealth it earns will be more evenly and widely distributed among the people. Thus the fall in price may be indeed a blessing in disguise.” Some amusement was obtained at a recess speech by Mr McLachlan M.H.R. at Ashburton out of a question concerning the balf-holiday for offices. He was asked to tell the meeting whether the merchants’ and auctioneers’ offices had to be closed on Saturdays, irrespective of what day is made the half-holiday. He was on the spot and would know all about it. Mr McLachlan said that was a delusion. Those on the spot knew less about it than most people. When they came home they read the Bills, and then they knew all about it. The Bills were read by the Chairman of Committees at a great rate and the clauses were passed before one could say “ Jack Robthat a member had to be pretty smart if he wished to speak on any of them. Being pressed to give a plainer answer, Mr McLachlan seemed to be a little at sea in regard to the wording of the Act, and amid laughter was told that perhaps when be had studied the Act a little more he would be able to tell them more about it. The mover of the vote of thanks said he thought the half holiday question was one of the things that should have been looked into by members, and the replies made by Mr McLachlan showed that he did not know what had been passed, and he hoped next session he would not allow Bills to be passed under his nose like “ Jack Robinson.”

The Temple of Truth at Christchurch, which was sold by auction yesterday to H. S. Worthington, for £3050, cost with the land, about £6OOO. After discharging a mortgage and all debts and legal expenses out of the £3050 there will be about £1750 to be divided among the debenture holders. A meeting of these claimants was held last night to discuss what was to be done with the proceeds of the sale, and it was agreed to set up a committee to divide the money equally among the debenture holders. It was made a condition that one of their number who has commenced legal proceedings shall withdraw the suit, otherwise the matter will be placed in the hands of the Supreme Court for legal liquidation. Mr Worthington attended the meeting, and made a statement blaming certain debenture holders for scheming to make trouble. He then declared that he had not purchased the property for himself, and would 1 ave it vested in himself and two trustees for the benefit of the “ work,” and he would moreover pay all balances on the debentures up to their face value, and to those outside the organisation he would add interest. All this he did as jan act of grace, for which there was no legal liability.

The New Zealand Times’ Masterton correspondent writes :—Some few days ago I mentioned that a local resident had discovered what he claimed to be an antidote for scalds and burns. The resident in question isaMr Jones, other* wise ‘ Professor’ Jones, an erstwhile secondhand dealer of Wellington. The Professor intimated through the local paper that he intended giving a public exhibition on Tuesday afternoon. Accordingly a large and sceptical audience assembled on a vacant section of laud, where the Professor had a copper boiler faUfcf water. After supplying u lot of

fuel and enduring a lot of banter, the Professor decided that the water was boil - ing, and removing his coat and the covering to his cranium, and turning up his sleeves, he made three dashes at the water with his hand. Then he performed a sort of Maori hake, and rushed for a pot containing a thick yellow substance, which might have been taken for paint or anything else. The perspiration fairly poured out of the professor as he sought relief from the pain occasioned by the the scalding. For half an hour or more his hand was stepped in the magic pot, but to no purpose. The crowd was unsympathetic, and mocked at the torture of the unfortunate man, whose hand was covered with blisters, The professor admitted that the experiment was a failure, and though he intends giving another exhibition he does not think that there are as many millions in the discovery as he at first anticipated. The British Bimetallic League lately offered a prize of a silver cup worth £25 and £25 in cash for a best essay on the comparative advantages to England of the single gold standard. Fifteen essays were sent in, and were submitted to Lord Farrer for judgment. His Lordship concluded that while some of the papers dealt very well with parts of the subject not one of them dealt with the whole in such a manner as to deserve the prize. The bimetallists will probably say that the essayists failed because monometalism has no advantages. At the young Czar’s wedding only a fraction of the company assembled could witness the actual ceremony for want of room, and the rest wandered about the Winter Palace. There 1050 rooms in this place. One of them is the famous Malachite Room, a mass of gold and white with malachite monoliths for columns and pilasters, malachite mantelpieces, and malachite tables, all polished like ivory. It was impossible to look upon this, probably the most precious both in a pecuniary and an artistic sense of all the magnificent suite, without recalling an incident of the Vienna Exhibition of one-and-twenty years ago. A London jeweller called the attention of a Russian Prince to this malachite bijouterie in both silver and gold. “ What strange people you English are,” qouth the Prince. “ to make malachite into jewellery—l make chimney-pieces of it.”