NEWS ITEMS

Colonist, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8062, 5 October 1894, Page 4

NEWS ITEMS

: (From our latest Exchanges.) A New Zealand farmer, upon being fold that bis daughter's ycung man loved the ground she walked on, gave bis consent on condition that he paid the mortgage on it, likening him to Jacob, who bo wooed Sarah. Evert ship from Rio that has recently arrived here (saya the ' Sydney Morning Eerald') has lost by fever some of its men while at that port, end it is not surprising that a Bbipmastsr declares that £10,000 as a bonns would not induce him to go to Rio. Be the stay only a couple of months, two or three of the crew are almost certain to be picked off by " Yellow Jack." The ship that arrived on Friday lost four men, and yesterday the ship, .Almora, which arrived from there, lost five of her crew, and the captain's wife died. The Almora was over nine months lying: ia the Harbor of Rio. The rebellion completely paralysed shipping business and the Almora was months before she could get clear of her inward cargo. _ .

If Shakespeare shared wish most] other men the idea that womea are ! chatterboxes, he certainly did not carry his belief into his plays. Of his characters, lha biggest talker of all is Hamlet, with 15G9 lines : Next, Richard 111 , with 1,161 ;lago, 1,117 ; Othello, 888; Coriolanus, 886. Qi women, Bosalind, the most talkative, has only 749 lines, not half aa many as Hamlet ; next is Imogen, with on'y 541 ; Desdemona, with 389 ; Beatrice, 309 ; Lady Macbeih, 261 ; and so on.

The London School Board has under its control rather leea than half a million children, it employs 7,800 teaobera at a cost of one million sterling, and it ha 6 430 schools for the Bites of which the ratepayers have peid two and a half millions. Last year 18,000 girle were in training at tbe cookery centres, and the cooking brought in a profit of £250. Besides these departments, the Board supports another devoted to teaching children who are deaf ana dumb, blind, or mentally defective, f-ach class receiving special instruction. It enable 3 12,000 to attend night classes last year, at which all sorts of subjects, from cookery to shorthand, were taught, it encourages thrift by means of penny Banks, which have 20,000 depositors and a balance in baud of £2000, and endeavors to spread a love of readiug by more than ! a haudred School libraries.

A New Zealand correspondent ] vouches for the following: — At a I small township a man was brought ap before two justices, for stealing a cheque from a station-hand. It wa3 proved that tha prisoner had cashed the cheque and spent part of the proceeds at the local etore, and the remainder at the pablic-honse. The bench, after deliberating, pronounced aa follows : — " We fiad that the prisoner undoubtedly stole the cheque, but as he tpect the money in the place we have decided to let him off with a caution." — ' Melbourne Argus. 1

JUe is proud of his magnificent constitution and fine physique, and was out walking lately with a friend built on more economical lines. As they reached a hilMop the brawny one threw out his chase, and thumping it wi.h both hands till it boomed like a (ralvation army drum, said:—" Ah. T — - would you like to have a chest like that ?" '£ , who is as

mentally acute " as tfcoy mabe'em," retorted promptly, " Why should you draw attention to my lack of brawn. I never draw attention to your lack of brain,"

A very grand marriage will shortly take place in London. Prince Ad ofphus of Teck is going to marry Lady Margaret Gros?enor. the Dake of Westminster's daughter, who will have a large fortune. The Duke haß a numerous family, two families rathtr, and is paid to have almost embarrassed himself by providing for his daughters so handsomely.

Mb John Reid, of Elder slie, haß according to the Oamaru • Mail ') resolved to cut up a portion of his estate at Elder alie (which is known as some of the finest wheat and potato growing land in the Colony), into farms varying in extent from twenty-five acres upwards* The land will be offered at a " live aud let-live " rental on valuation.

Dr F. A Cook, of New York, ia engaged in fitting oat his expedition to the Antarctic, but it will be over a year before he makes a start, His idea is to provision a steam whaler for three years, and to proceed from the Falkland Islands to Louis Phillippe, an eastern division of Graham Land, where he will place a lifeboat to serve as a retreat in case of disaster- At the farthest attainable point to the south, Dr Cook will land, and establish his headquarters. An exploring party will be gent oat and Dr Cook sees •' no reason why it should nofc ba able to reach the geographical pole, starting from the 18th parallel." Ilia eotire expedition will not number more than fifteen, five being scientists. The deepest gold-bearing quartz in Australia is the New Chum Bailway mine at Sandhurst at 2800 ft. It is believed to ba payable. The Timaru « Herald ' says : — The sand is creeping out in Caroline Bay. It is just beginning to show on the reef close to the north mole. A couple more Baa storms suob. as we have had this month, and one will be able to step on the sand from the mole at low wa'er,

Me Payn, in • Oornhill,' tells Rboat Dean Burgon's refasal to christen a male child Venus. The Dean was officiating as o orate at West Ilsey, in Berkshire :— •' • Vanus ? * I suppose you mean Venus. Do you imagine I am going to call any Christian child after that abandoned female, and least of all a male child?' The father urged that be only wished to name it afer his grandfather. 'Your grandfather ! ' cried Bnrgon. ' I don't believe it. Where is yoar grendfather ? ' He was produced : a poor old soul of 80 or so, bent double, and certainly not looking in the least like the goddess in question. 'Do you m6an to tell me, sir, that any clergyman ever christened you Vanus, as you call it ? ' 1 Well, no, sir ; I was ohristened Sylvanup, but they always calls me "Vanus 1 "" •■■■.'

A Palmeeston resident (eaya a ooc* temporary) baa conceived tha idea of erecting machinery at the Manawatu Gorge for the purpose of supplying motive power for lighting Palmerston, Feilding, Woodville, Ashursr, and Pahiatna with electricity, and has opened correspondence wi'h the. Electrical Syndicate on the question of this stupendous undertaking. TnE Oroydon (Queensland) crueh* ings for August were larger than for any previous month in tbe history of the field. The return shows 5,617 tons crushed for 11,262 onncesof gold not iacluding the oyanide returns. i Dividends totalled £10,300 and calla £1,491-

A collection of tree- climbing kangaroos which have been captured in North Queensland is on its way to the Zoological-gardeus, Melbourne. They v?ere caught by blacks in the high ranges along the Blomfield River, the only district in which this particular species is known to exist. They frequent ranges about 1,500 feet in height, and are nos found on flat country. Their capture is somewhat difficult, as they leap from tree to tree with remarkable agility, asd it ia necessary for several blacks to ascend different trees in order to catch them. These tree-climbing kangaroos (says the « Brisbane Guurier') have a welldeveloped brush on the tail, showing that they do not use it in leaping as doe 3 the terrestrial kangaroo. Meetings have lately been held ia different districts of Tasmania, re shipping fruit to England. At one of these Mr Moore stated that 110>000 cases of fruit sent to Loadon last season so d there for about £60,000, and of that only £18,000 came back to the gowere. It cost over £40,000 to market the fruit, and that was monstrous. Captain Evans expressed great sympathy wi h the action of the Council of Agriculture in waking up to furt'r <?r tbe iaterests of an important^ Tasmania industry. Mr James Roid a?. id he was prepared to offer sp*co by two boats bc-lor.g'ng to the Gulf iiae ; th?y wonll be hera about the begiun.ng of March and April. The steamship owners wanted to get 20,000 cases for each, but personally he thoaght 15,003 oaae3 on eaoh steamer would ba carried safely. It was proposed to send this fruit direct to Manchester, where tbere was a good market, extending to the North of England, and the South acd Midlauda of Scotland. He had made financial arrangements for the freight, and growers need not trouble about it. IS was a departure that deserved the support of the grower?.