DANGEROUS KEROSENE.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 5, 25 November 1862, Page 3

DANGEROUS KEROSENE.

(From the Otaga Daily Times J) Sir,-^-I think the consumers of kerosene oil in this city should have their attention par.iculaily din-cted to the following very suggestive extract from the Melbourne Journal of Commerce, of date 30th of October : — "The stock of what is considered firstclass kerosene is light; but the maiket is inundated with low qualities, which ignite at 65 degrees, aud which the importers find difficult of sale at almost any price, the chief outlet for such being in small lots for distant markets, where the different qualities are not so well known." I fear Otago may come in for a shal*e of these small lots. Considering the truly dreadful conseque.ces that may result from the incautious use of. inferior kerosene oil, I think it is greatly to be desiied that the sale of it should be only permitted subject to inspection and undor proper regulations. But in the absence of any such exhibition of paternal eai.e for us ou the part of our "authorities," consumers must look out for themselves. I shall bs very glad to see our Gas Works at work so that we may get rid of what ap- J pears to me a source of seiious danger to this very inflammable city. I am, Sir, | Yonr obedient servant, B C.

■ ExTRAOUDIN'ARVSc'HBM&Of^CONVICTi;!* FoitOKit, — Colonel J. Buchanan Cross one of the most accomplished, formers in America, was convicted of forgery .a'>ont ihe commencement of last June, ia Philadelphia, and was sent to tile Extern; Penitentiary for five years,, About t\Vo days afterwards the United States maVshal. Milvyard, received a letter, purporting to come from Mr. P. H Watson, As-sis^ftnt-Secretary o' War. enclosing a pc ition for the pardon of J. IJunhinan Cross. That letter set forth that Cross was wanted to tie used on special business l>y the War Departmenr, that he was to be sent Smith, ami that, his pardon was very desirable. The marshal jnas directed to obtain the signatures of the District Attorney Coffee, Posi master Walborn, and (Jollertor Thomas, to the petition, and to take it to Hair son: ujrg for the consideration of Governor » urti«, of Pennsylvania. He was specially enjoined not to communicate on the subject with any of the local authorities, nor to entrust the business to asuhotdinvite, but to hrinjjCioss to Washington himself. The marshal had a knowledge of the hand-wvitinjr of the I Assts'ant-Serrehiry of War, which the letter appeared to be in, and the envelope nnd paper upon which it was written were the same as used in the War Office, and the letter itself had come from l\ ashinston under the frank, as supposed, of Mr. Warsin. Marshal Milword speedily obtained the &i»naiures of the district aitorney ai;d collector, but Mr. Walborn. the postmaster, had lefr the city. The same day he set out for Harrison lung with the letter and petition, which he laid before the Governor He found that the [ Governor had received a le'ter similar to | the one he h«d with him. purporting to j be from Mr. Watson, and requesting, by i order of Secretary Stanton. the pardon of Oross. The Governor immediately directed the pardon of Cross to be made out. The marshal then returned to Philadelphia, and with the deputv-irmrshal, rode to the pi ison and presented the pardon of Cross to the warden — much to his surprise. After providing- the prisoner wi'lh a decent suit of clothes they set out for,Wa.«hin»ton. O:ire on the road C' : o<s was anxious to gel out us he said, for something to eat, but the marshal refused. Th^y arrived in Washington in the afernoon, and went directly to the War Office. Mr. Watson was out, and Mr Stnnt«n was summoned. VI r. Stunlon manilVsted surprise, a-ked for an explanation, and sent for Mr. Watson, who, upon coming- in and examining the Idler pro' ouneeil it a forgery. After a short consultation, the Military Governor of Washington was sent for. and the had Cross taken to the guard-house for safe keeping by a file of soldiers. Next dny the prisoner \va< returned to his old quarters in the Penitentiary. This is the tltird attempt of its !<ind made by Colonel Cross — American Paper. Important Nautical Tnvevtion. — A novel instrument, designed for various j nautical purposes, has lieen recently in- j vented and registered by Commander Hay. K.N., an'i J. It. Stebbing. Esq., F.R.A.S , both of Southapmton The instrument is termed a compound protractor, and from the numerous duties which it performs, is likely to become very popular. By it the sun's mauneiio amplitude and azimuth (as well as all bearings) are obtained. There are also the means of fixing »he exact position of a ship on the observer by substended angles o!" objee s, and the readiness with which courses and hearing* on a chart are projected by its use is something magical. The instrument is fast becoming popular amongst the captains arid otlicer.-of the \arious packet companies of the port of Sou h miptun, aud from the great advantages it possesses for nau'inal purposes, will probably be geneially adopted The Late King of Prussia. — Not long ajro the King, after a copious dinner, threw himself heavily on Ins bed, which broke down in the middle, and he angrily ordered carpenters to be fetched to repair the damage. When they arrived, however, the King was so fast asleep that no one dared wake him, and the men waited half the night. When the King at length awoke, he wondered where fie was, bat soon began abusing again. One of the men standing outside said, in delight, •• Why lie's a bettor band at it than we are." j — The Journals of Varnhagen von Ease — ! [Tngcbiithcr von Varnhagen von Knse.~\ Shrewd Gi/essfs, or Luc icy Hits. — According to a translation from ->.iehael Nostradamus' "Sv'ven Centuries «>f Prophecy," it appears that he not only prophesied tb» death of Charles I. of England, the establishment of the French Republic, the deaths of Henry IV. ;md Louis XVI. of France, giving the exact dates of each, but that, in 1861, a war would aiise in a country beyond the seas, that many would perish, that thcie would be the nio?t intense hatred manifested, that the war would hist f.iur years, when both parties would be utterly prostrated, and almost ruined, and then would embrace each other with great love and joy Nostiadamus died in 1 569. So far as was known, he apI pears to have been a true prophet. The Meagiter Brigade. — General M'Clellan reviewed this brigade, and took occasion to express his admiration of the bravery displayed by t!ie brigade on the battle-field, and addressed Brigadier-General Meaghfr as follows : — " Thank your regiments that were in the desparate. fight on Saturday and Sunday — thank them in my name, and thank them in tho name of the country." A private letter iv the New York Commercial, says General Meagher's Irish Brigade made one ot the most brilliant charges ever made, (at the battle of Fair Oaks ) led by their commander. In this charge they completely flanked the enemy's right, actually pinning some of the rebels fast to the trees. The 72nd Pennsylvania were drawn up to support him in case he did not succeed. jVieagher made a few remarks to his brigade before the charge, lie said — " Men, the Zouaves (7'2nd Pcnn.) are our support. Now, once for our adopted country's flag, and once for our fatherland. Men, follow!" and they did follow their brave chief to a man. After the battl~,he came out with his staff and ro.le down our liees, and never did a man receive such cheers. Leaving his Verdict. — " I remember," says Lord Biden. " Mr. Justice Gould trying a case at York, and when he had proceeded for about two hours, he observed, ' Here are only eleven jurymen in the box, where is the twelfth?' 'Please you, my lord,' said one of the eleven, 'he bas gone away about some other business — but he bas left his verdict with me ! ' " Just tug Thing. — An athletic specimen of the Emerald Isle calls on a wharfinger for a job. "The top o' the rnornin' te ye Muster P. ! I've been told that ve've in want o'' help." " I've but little to do," replied P. with mercantile gravity. " I am the very boys for yees ! Its but little I rare about doing— it's the money I'm after, sure !" The naioe reply produced him a situation. A Gesxi.e Hint. — A good story is told of a doctor in a town not ft hundred miles from Vermont. The doctor kept missing bis wood, and set watch. As was expected, it proved lobe the work of a near neighbor, who soon appeared, and culling out ' all the dry wood, started oil' with an armful. The doctor hastily gathered up an arm full of green wood and followed, truilging as fast as he could, and just as the man threw down his armful the doctor did the same, exclaiming, " There, you must burn green wood vtart of t'ue time, as well ag myself;" aud deputed, leaving tho thief to his own reflections. PUOTOGUAPHT UNDER "WiTEB. — A pliotograph has been taicen of the bed of the sea in Wejinouth Bay, by Mr. Thomson* The camera was placed in a box with a plate glass front and moveable shutter to be drawn up when the camera was sank to the bottom. The camera, being foeussed in this box on land for objects in the ground, at about ten yards, was let down from a boat, carrying with it the collodion plate., and the shutter raised and.plate, exppsed.fpr ten minutesThe box was draw^n up, and the imago developed was of rocks aiifi weedsj but the greatest advantage anticipated to be derived from this application of the art is to; obtain a knowledge qjf the condition "of: piers, bridges, piles and structures - under water.— English I'apti:

- <QaiXV Mariwb Boaed. —^The Wanganui Chro- , nicli mentions the appointment of Capt.? Sharp' to | the Presidency ot this Board. The situations of Col- 1 lector of-Custome, Sub-Treasurer, and Postmaster at Wanganui, will, we presume, bo thus vacant. It is satisfactory to us to know that a gentleman with such a large nautical experience as CWpt. Sharp possesses, h«is received the appoint ment above mentioned, and we doubt not it will be equally;>6 to the colony generally. — Wellington Independent. Thb Baxlarat Bail-way. — The great Ballarat Railway stone-breakViig case, Conner v Williams. Came to ! d closb -on Saturday, after occupying the Supreme Court tour days. The verdict consisted of about a score of lengthy replies to a like number «f lengthy special questions put by the court, some being decided in favor of the plaintiff and some for the defendant, but on the whole the plaintiff got the best of it, subject, however, to the ruling of the higher court on points reserved. The most important question raised was, whether the contract tobreakmetal included quarry, injj ; and this has been reserved <or the upper court to decide* The jury were of opinion that quarrying was inclu led in the contract. The quantity of metal affected by this undecided point is 58,388 yards; the cost of quarying was assessed by the jury, at Is 6d per yard, so that the sum depending on this question is i>4,379 2s. — Geelong Advertiser Canteubukt Public House Bill.— Annexed are two Clauses of the Canterbury Public House Bill, which passed through committee on tho 7th inst. : — " If it shall be proved to the satisfaction of two Justices of the Peace that any person has become an habitual drunkard, and is injuring his health, or wasting his 6ubstance by excessive drinking, such Justices shall thereupon issue a notice in writing under their hands, setting lorth the name, personal appearance, calling, and usual placo of abode of such person, and prohibiting all persons from supplying to the person named in such notice any spirituousor fermented liquor whatever, and shall cause such notice to be published in all the newspapers, and a copy thereof to be sent t<» every holder of a licence under this Ordinance within the Province. Every person who shall, during the space of two years after the date of sus'i notice, knowingly supply, or cause tebe supplied, to any person named in such uotiee, any intoxicating liquor of any kind, or in any quantity whatpoever, shall, upon conviction before any two Justices of the Peace, be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, or to be imprisoned with or withcut hard labour, for any period not exceeding three months : Provided, that it 6ball be lawful for any one to anpply such liquor to the person named in such notice, upon the certificate in writing of two duly qualified medical practitioners that such lipuor is required by such person as a medicine ; and provided that such liquor shall have been supplied iv such quantities and at such times only as those named in such certificate.

Telegraph thboug-k the Middle Islakd. — Speaking of the proposed line of electric telegraph through the Middle Island, the N'lson Examiner says : — "The cost of carrying the scheme out from Nelson to the Bluff, is estimated roughly atL2O,OOOTho distance is, in round figures, 500 miles, taking the coast in Nelson and Marlborough; and, as the number of stations would be small, the whole, on a modest scale, may be constructed at L4O per mile average. The liuefrora Ilubart Town to Launceston cost L 62 per mile, someyears ajjo. Of land, the above distance, about 50 miles are iv Southland 130 in Ota^o, 170 in Canterbury, 100 in Marlborough, and 50 in Nelson. The whole proportionate contribution of Nelson would thus be about L 2.000, a sum quite insignificant for so great a benefit as this."

HE.ur Wei&iits. — The only remaining quest ion is that which lies between all heavy and light gymnastics, namely, whether strength or flexibility is to to preferred. Without entering upon a discussion of the physiological principles underlying this subject, I will simply say that I prefer the latter. The Hanlon brothers and Ifeenan are, physiologically considered greatly superior to heavy -lifters. But here I ought to say that no man can be flexible without a good degree of strength. It is not, however, the kind of Strength involved in heavy -lifting. Heenan is a very strong man, can strike a blow twice as hard as Windship, but cannot lift seven hundred pounds nor put up a ninety-pound dunb bell. William Hanlon who is probaWy the finest gymnast, with the exception of Blondin, ever seen on this continent, cannot, lift sis hundred pounds. Such men have a great fear of lifting. They know, almost by instinct, that it spoils the muscles. — " The -VVio Gymnastics" in the Atlantic Monthly. KSPKNTAycE. — A gentleman, passing by a country church while under repair, observed to one of the workmen that he thought it would be an expensive job. " Yes, sir," he replied, " and I think we shall accomplish what our worthy minister litjsso long vainly trifid — that is, to bring the whole parish to repentance." Bueke Monument. — This morning a block of granite, measuring about 6is feet by eight feet square, and weighing about eleven tons, passed through the square on its way to the site of the monument. It had trn horses to draw it, but it would apparently require others to draw it up to the steep hill to its final destination. Many inquiries have been made as to the progress that is being made iv its erection, and this stone is a substantial "mark of progress." We are happy to say that this is thft last stone requisite to complete the obelisk.which is to be entirely of granite . It has been furnished by Messrs. NicholU and KeWi contractors, and all procured from Blyth's quarry, Mount Alexander. — Castlemtiiiie Daily News. Oct. 27.

Rot in Siieep. — Wo hear from reliable authority that on the north side of the island the fleke is destrciying tho sheep m thousands. One person ha? lost lour thousand, and many other pioprietors ore also suffering. L)r. Grant, of Launceston, examined the liver of an apparently healthy sheep, and it appeared non-infected : but on submitting it to the operation of the microscope, the liver was full of fluko--. We havo heard also that bullocks have been infected by it, as well as kangaroos, bur. this wants confirmation. Should this disease spread, the wooi-growors will be serious losers, and it is reported that several of thn stockholders are killing their flocks for their skin and wool. — Hobartou Advertiser. Onr contemporary has been imposed upon, srad evident^ " wants information." Undoubtedly ilukfi is too prevalent but it does not exist to anything like the extent that the above paragraph would indicate. In' many districts, and especially on stations near the coast.it is unknown; in consequence, it is supposed, of the salt that is carried from the sea by the winds and df-nositeH on the hpt-bate. It is true that a diseased liver was sent to Dr. Grant for exarmnati' n, but it was unnecessary to submit it to the mic o scope, as it contained flukes an inch and a-half long ! — Lawuceston Examiner, Sept. 30th. The Supply of Wool. — It is important to observe how very greatly the British colonies have tnken the load in supplying; the requirements of the home wool market. Previous to 18 42 they sent nothing, but since that year their deliveries have been constantly extending, es the following figures show; — Year. Foreign Supplies. Colonial Supplies. 1821. ... 16,416,801* lbs. ... 205,761 lbs 1831. ... 29.110,073 „ ... 2,451,916,, 13<A1. ... 30,472.153 „ ... 16,498,821 „ 1851. ... 31.135.747 „ ... 52,170,2^8 „ 1861. .. 40,8->9,329 100,343,512,, Surely the extraordinary results here disclosed irresistably support the conclusion that, in a few years, the miscellaneous cotton deliveries will acquire a development corresponding to the growth of wool in the eolouie3. The longer tho American war lasts, the firmer hold will cotton producing industry acquire upon other parts of the world. — Albion* liica Coppke Mines i^r Quet!SSLa.sd. — Accounts were recently published in Queensland papers of a very important discovery that had been made of a mountain lode of copper in the northern part of that colony. One or two of our Sydney capitalists recently entered into arrangements with the discoverer, and despatched a party of practical arid scientific gentlemen t-> report upon the mine. These gentlemen have just arrived, and we understand that their report fully bears out tho antici- j pations that were formed as to tho richness of the ! lode. In a few days we hope to be favored with copios of the rep <rts. There are several thousand tons of the ore lying upon the surface, and the lode has been traced for upwards of 3,400 feet. We understand that the mine will be known as tho Eureka Copper Mine. — S. If. Herald, Oct. 20. PfIOSPHORESENCB OF POEK. — Tne bodies Ot marine fish and of some other animals frequently become phosphorescent before putrefaction begins. To do SO, the presence of humidity, oxygen and a Certain temperature are required. Monsieur Hankel, gives an account of this phenomenon aprearing on pork. The phosphorescence was silvery white, and enlightened the neighbouring objects. It was superficial, for on cutting tlie fiVsh with a knife the under part was obscured till after a certain time, when doubtless the oxygen of the air had had time to act. The phosplioresent matter was of an unctuous character, and M. Haukel could not perceive in it any traces of organized beings. The light was annihilated by the application of ether, alcohol, a solution of caustic potash, cold, hot water, and a temperature of 104 Eahr, but in the last two cases the light reappeared when the flesh was restored to the ordinary temperature. The light also disapeared when placed in a vacuum or in an atmosphere of carbonic. aeidi bu t returned : *heti A litfle i oxygen was perinited; t» onteft. SulpKUric a_id Snfai&ilafed it T ibrf >>**• OxoriisTed ox jrgen A)es riot sensibly affefifc «»to phosphoresonce, J'atty, oils lessen ,%,d««atw m (tb.w>w. the caie alsbwith distilled °u fc none <rf^ those -Kqiwb' J beidsno.'. p b»gpli6reßcoat , by contact , with this animal iriafterf^-* ~ :^%f • f;'" ; r i: i ' „*ct.'.^-*'-'«' i *---'''-- ; '' *' v ,"■•-*'-'" .