PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1891.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9084, 16 May 1891, Page 2

PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1891.

. The mail steamer Alameda, with the colonial. mails to April 25th, arrived at 'Frisco from Auckland on May' l4th, oon triot date.

The Rev. W.. Grant, who is about to leavo New Plymouth for Leeston, in Canterbury^ will '; preach his farewell sermon at the Presbyterian Church tomorrow (Sunday) evening.

Messrs Hunter & Nolan, of Auckland, , notify that the sale of Messrs Williamson Bros' furniture, advertised to take place next week at " The' Pah," Onehunga, will not be held. The whole property has been disposed 1 of 'privately to Mr Wilson, of , Broken Hill.

While a mob of bullocks wero boiog' landed drone, the Q^irloch -at the • breakwater % dn Friday pnesjanimal jumped overboard and swam out to" sea as far as the. Seal Rock, on which he landed. After a. look round the rock the bullock again took to the water, and swam over as far as tho Moturoa rook, and then made for the" breakwater. • On reaching the erid-of the mole the animal changed his mind, and Bwain seaward again, between the Moturoa .j and Mikotdhi rocks, and after a good cruise round ho landed at the seaward Bide of the breakwater,., greatly cramped in his j limbs, after being a couple of hours in the water. Several of the mob were driven down on the beach, and joining- in with these the runaway ,was. "got back to the main body. The animals were brought down here for fattening purposes. Mr C. Stewart Munro, (district 5 agent for the Mutual Life Association of Australasia, is at present in town in connection 11 with tiie advancement of the business, of his Office in this town and district.

The question of life assurance is an all important- one, and 'those of o_ur readers who have not as-y6t'iaken out policies in any office aro referred to an advertisement which appears in affotKer column, in which tho advantages of insuring in the Mutual Life Association of Australasia are fully set forth. This Office claims to give special advantages to the public, and a perusal of their statement in another' column would repay the reader. Mr T. M. Davies is the travelling agent, and Mr P. C. Morton the resident agent for the Association. In the balance-sheet for the year ended December 31, 1890, it is shown that the interest alone covered all claims on the Society, leaving a margin of over £9000r

There are 497 legal practitioners in New Zealand to a total of 661,136 population. This gives one solicitor to every 1338 of the population, or 1 to every 568 of the male adults. If the net average earnings of these gentlemen bo taken at £400 a year each, it will be seen that the people of the colony contribute £198,000 every year towards the support of these legal practitioners, and fullyif half as much more towards that of^heir clorks ani other ! employees. flr* The following is^etter that was picked up on a coastal racecourse quite recently: — "To my darling Peat, — I.dont soposo I will be able to see you to-night, dear, but I will try ; if I dont I hope you will have good ! luck to-morrow. I will be bo anxious about you, if you ride, darling, think of 1 mo. I will be preying for you and that you will win. If^you win, darling, do not be reckless and gamble it all away. I won't see you to-morrow night, because of the play. I sopose. I, will go. Be good, my dariing love, and think of me. I will try and see you on the course. Good-bye, darling. — Ever your loving intended wife, Lily." ' "' . • One effect of the.severe winter in London was the extraordinary scarcity of vegetables. Cabbages could hardly be procured, and it took four or five of them to make a re-spectabledish.-The tiniest lettuces fetched sixpence each, were a'luxury for the wealthy.^ "CoVent "Garden market looked dismal and empty ia March — in I fact, ■ those whose* souls soared above potatoes were almost entirely, dependent on supplies fetched from such distant places as Jersey or the Azores. • We notice in the 1 Wanganui paper the death announced of a~ gentleman who was, during the Maori War, for some timo in New Plymouth.— Lieutenant F. J. Pringle, 18th Royal Irish. The Wanganui Herald says :—": — " The deceased came here with his regiment during the troublous times of the Waori rebellion on this coast and distinguished himself on several. occasions. When the troops were withdrawn from the colony Lieutenant Pringle . decided to remain in New Zealand and "sold his commission. He then engaged in flax milling, and in "common with all others who did so at that ' time lost heavily. In later years, be^was connected with a 'brewing business M Bulls, but for the last few years, owing to impaired health, had not engaged in . any business. The deceased was a highly educated person, and wellconnected at Home, where his elder brother, Sir . Norman Pringle, Bart., resides. Mr Pringle, who had made many friends during his residence on this coast, died after a long and' painful illness rather suddenly, at the Anchor Hotel, where he had been residing for some time past, on Sunday, May 10th. Of the entire human race, 500,000,000 are clothed — that is to say, wear garments of some kind to cover nakedness ; 250,000 000 habitually go naked ; and 700,000,000 only cover the middle parts of tho body. 500,000,000 live in, houses; 700,000,000 in huts and tonts ; and: 250,000,000 virtually have, no place "to. lay their heads. . ,l, l • v; .. . -.. Commenting on the defalcations of Bourke, late Town Clerk, and Harbour Board , Secretary , $t Gisborne, a Napier j paper says:—" The news contained in our telegraphic columns to-day points. to the fact that the-.late.' John' Bourke,' ofJGisi borne, committed* $uicideAto*feso'ape"' ; f rouV? the consequences, .of his own wrong-doing. It is said that we t ought to say nothing but good of the dead; but it is our duty to say that the man who was killed (by being thrown into prison) fop trying to expose what heTknew was going pn, deserves to bo exonerated now, and have justice done to his memory. Poor John Baldwin [ He was 6alled all the vile names imaginable because he spoke, tho truth. Why did not the members of the £1 arbour Board causa an investigation to be made of, Bburke's accounts when Baldwin charged him, as he did,- with what is now proved to have been his crime ? Because Baldwin was opposed to the party of selfishness in Poverty Bay, his word was' scouted and he was reviled, treated as a criminal, put in gaol, and killed I ! Wh t will his persecutors have to say now ? What of the strictures of the Judge,' and the fearfully heavy sentence ? Baldwin is dead: Bourke has committed suicide; the truth is out ! What have the protectors of Bourke and the persecutors of Baldwin to say?" John Ba'dwin, it will be, rometnbe/od, was the editor of a paper. in .Gisborne, 'and Was sentenced to six months' ' imprisonment, tor libelling Bourke, and died shortly after his release. According to late London. advices, the iron ship Roman Empire, which left Liverpool in July last, is now so much overdue that she is given up for lost One of her crew on leaving the Mersey was John Hinds, A.8., belonging to New Zealand. She was a vessel of 1542 tons, and belonged to Messrs G, Duncan &00, of London. It is also feared that the Malaysia, which, after a voyage to Sydney, left .San Francisco fpr Queeristown in August' last', has foundered. She was a fine ship of 1827 tons. If the surmises of th« fate of these ships are oorreot, it- it probable tha{ H livei hove bi«n Jpst,

The local horse Chance, it is ported, has been sold to an Auckland sportsman (Mr Comrie) for £Q5. The schooner Clio completed discharging 125 tons of flour, consigned to Mr N. King, on Friday evening, and sailed for Waitapu, Nelson, where she wilLload timber. - A Southern contemporary asserts- that - Mr Fergus, "disgusted with the turn taken by affairs political," is about to take a trip to England, and will, therefore, not be in attendance at next session of Parliament. The Rev, Mr Johnson of: Melbourne, has confessed to his congregation that he had been living with a lady not his wife, and begged for their forgiveness, but his listeners were not wholly sympathetic, and requested his resignation. ' It is not 'of ten that bankrupts dare to make jokes at the expense of their credi ' tors, bat the latest addition to the ranks enteredtho Borough Council of his town down as his creditor, and under' the heading "occupation" he puts them 'down as " gasworks." Magistrate (to prisoner) :. ".You are charged with throwing a glass at the head of your wife !" Prisoner (with a knowing leer) : " First of all, does your Worship know my wife ?" Magistrate (perplexed) : "I haven't the honor." Priouer (triumphantly) : " That's a pity. You wouldn't have asked me why I threw a glass at her head, but why I didn't throw the bottle." The Catholic authorities in Treves (according to Dalziel) announce that the coat of Joseph, the husband of Mary, which is preserved there as a sacred relic, is .to be exhibited to the faithful during the summer months, when pilgrimages from all parts of Catholic Germany aie expected to visit Treves. The ga r raent was recently inspected by a number .of clerical and learned experts and pronounced to be genuine Mr Justice Hawkins can be very-sarcastic when he, pleases, and this withoijt abating anything of that merry twinkle of the eye with which the bar are pleasantly familiar. At the Staffordshire Assizes the jury acquitted a prisoner of a charge of break , ing into a shop, and stealing cigars,' in spite of a strong hint from the judge regarding the weight of the evidence. Hereupon Mr Justice Hawkins, addressing the jury, said : " Gentlemen, perhaps you would like me to apologise to the prisoner in the name of the law for the inconvenience he has been put to." It does not appear that the jury accepted -this, but the judge nevertheless proceeded to carry it out. Addressing the prisoner, he said ; 'Fortunately for you the jury have found you not guilty, and I think you may go with .my own regret that you have been kept in .gaol fora month, seeing' that the jury think you didn't do it. You can go." Addressing the warder, his lordship added, " JAnd you must give him back the cigars and the box." One of the greatest characters of New South Wales is Tyson, the squatter millionaire. He is not absurdly liberal like some rich men, but he is generous at times. One day, says an exchange, he ' met a tattered swagman tramping along a lonely road.- Stopping his buggy he said, "My friend, you want a new suit of clothes, I'll give y&u a change." The man replied that he didn't know what he had done that the gentleman should seek to take a "rise" out of him, but Tyson, to show he was in earnest, produced a get of store tweeds, which he handed over. . In great surprise the swagger took them, Tyson merely exacting the condition that he should be given the wayfarer's old togs in exchange This being arranged Tyson bestowed £1 upon him and drove on. Next- day, at one of Tyson's stations in the neighbourhood branding was going on. In tho midst of ( it a disreputable vagrant humping a " bluey" turned up and watched tho proceedings. He noticed that Tyson's sheep were being marked^ with the manager's private brand. In the spirit of honesty he said to the manager. " Don't you think, mister, this is a little risky ?" The manager told him to mind his own business, and go down to the hut for a feed like a sensiblo man. " But supposing Mr .Tyson knew you were stealing his sheep in this way ?" observed tho swagman. The manager threatened to kick him off the station, and the wanderer thought' it time to mention that he was himself Mr Tyson, purposely disguised, and that the manager had better pack up his traps and regard himself lucky in not being prosecuted. He took the hint!

Rarely has au English commander-in-chief made a more .remarkable statement than I^ord Wolseley's confession that it has happened to him to refuse to allow battalions to go into action because he knew their commanding officers were unfit to lead them. Thus he has been compelled, when in the field and sorely want* ing men, to leave behind battalions composed of fine soldiers because the/ were led by incompetent colonels For he had retained viviily in his memory a striking passage in a work written by General Sir Charles Napier which he had road in his youth — a passage which he now tells us " ought to be written up in every officers' mess room, in every room of the "WarOffice, and where the Cabinet Council assemble from time-to time to select men to command armies in .the field." The passage referred to is: "An ignorant general is a murderer. All brave men confide in the' knowledge he pretends to p'osseas, and when,the death trial cornea their generous blood flowß in vain. Merciful God ! How can an' ignorant man charge himself with' so much blood ? I have studied war, long, earnestly, and deeply, ypt tremble at my owfc deficiency." . - "" \Vm't