CHIT-CHAT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 9922, 6 February 1894, Page 2

CHIT-CHAT.

PITHY, POLITICAL, AND PERSONAL PARS. Fine bright summer weather. Thermometer, in shade, " under the verandah," at 2 p.m to-day, 80 degrees ; in sun in front of office, lit) degrees. Taranaki County Councillors are making themselves personally responsible for bank overdraft. Proposed to run hospital drainage into Huatoki river which comes through centre of town. Taranaki County Council in an impecunious position. Several " Taranaki boys" passed Matriculation examination of the N.Z. University. Revolt of natives taken place in Guahiti, in north-east British India. Terrible fight has take place off Curitiba, Brazil. Government beaten. In libel case, Bell v. Fair Play, jury returned verdict for plaintiff with £1 damages. H.M.S. Lizard encountered Friday's gale when two men washed overboard. Bishop Moran gradually sinking. Toll gates are to be re-established throughout the Taranaki County. Rumored Inspector Broham will be transferred to Wellington to take charge of police force there. Wilful suffocation of infants common in Melbourne. Fourteen hundred women living in Melbourne are said to have cheated the hangman. Italian Premier, Rudini, is resigning. George Child, the American philantrophist, is dead. Vaillant, the Anarchist, has been guillotined. English cricketing team will visit Australia in autumn. Deficit in Italian Budget of £5,000,000. King of Dahomey to be deported to Tahiti. Professor Aldis does not take his dismissal pleasantly. Hot weather in Melbourne. Serious grass fires reported in Ararat district, Victoria. Ignition supposed to have been caused by phosphorised wheat. Professor Richards will be ready for the public to-morrow. A New Zealand visitor in London was robbed of £28. A " globe trotter" writes to The Times, " of the Australasian colonies, I like New Zealand best." Mr Valentine, Government Dairy expert says Taranaki district finest dairy country in world. The dead body of a man has been found in Auckland harbor. Fatal boating accident at Auckland on Saturday. One man drowned. New South Wales' share of Australia's wool oversea shipments amount to £6,1540,000. It is stated members of South Australia police force over 60 years of age, to be retired. Hares are now and again seen in the Taupo district. Tuberculosis has been detected amongst the cattle in South Australia. General Council of Medical Education of United Kingdom decided to recognise degrees conferred by University of Adelaide. German warship Bussard, left Auckland on Monday last. A man named Mitchell had his head blewn off at Craigieburn, New South Wales, through the accidental discharge of a gun. &£•.•. ■"> Cases of sunstroke have recently occurred at Masterton owing to heat. Otago Education Board has decided to award, for present, 10 junior and 10 senior scholarships. South Australia is going to try to settle the unemployed on the land. Total cost of St. David's Cathedral, Hobart, as it now stands, is somewhere about £18,000. In Tasmania, in 1892, there were 1,022,388 sheep in the island, 1,000,000 of which were not dipped. ' Frozen meat export trade still keeping up, according to returns. Dunedin is warmly urging the establishment of electric tramways. BertDe Maus, the popular Christchurch cricketer, made 113 in the match with New South Wales. A number of men lately discharged from Onehunga Ironworks left for gumfields of Awhitu and Manukau Heads. A correspondent in Truth says New Zealand oats can be grown with profit on the poorest soils, and can be sown as late as May. He also recommends Now Zealand potatoes to Irish farmers. " New Zealand," says the Dundee Advertiser, " promises to be a very formidable competitor with Denmark in butter market. Truth says " New Zealand finances are greatly improved, .and their securities may now safely be held." Lady Buckley has decided to return to New Zealand at once. Sir Walter Buller and Miss Buller were to leave London on their return to New Zealand on 18th January. New Plymouth portionof Frisco mail has arrived from South. Swarm of bees near Imperial Hotel this morning. New South Wales cricketers beaten by Canterbury eleven. Tho Takapuna arrived from north about 9.30 o'clock on Monday night, and left for south about 12.30 o'clock. Mr R. Price, of Napier, for many years editor of the Napier Telegraph has been on a visit to New Plymouth for a few days. He left for the south tins afternoon. When tho Taranaki County Council mot on Monday tho Chairman intimated that, in accordance with a request of the Council, he had seen Mr E. M. Smith, M.HJi., on the question of the Council obtaining assistance from the Govern- j ment. Mr Smith had communicated with the Government, and had received a reply that the Government could not see their way to give tho assistance of an engineer, as there were so many other County Councils in a similar financial position as the Taranaki Council. Mr Smith also stated that he had not received a reply on the question of the Government advancing the Council funds. The Customs officers of San Francisco have to deal with some of the most artful smugglers in the world. The Chinese arc a race of smugglers, and thore is not a people on earth mora fertile in expedients to evade the revenue laws. Their stolid, impassive demeanor serves them admirably in their contraband operations. Before the influx of Chinese labourers was stopped, a Mongol looking as if all his years were acquainted with only poverty and toil, would sometimes try to sneak ashore with a dirty old blouse stuffed full of fine silk handkerchiefs and scarfs and Indian neck shawls. The Chinese garment for cold weather is a quilted blouse or tunic, with a heavy filling of cotton. Silk handkerchiefs being light and fine, a single blouse would sometimes contain a valuable invoice. Sometimes a demuro Chinese maiden would step ashoro with the thick soles of her shoes stuffed with silk. A whole convoy arrived some years ago with their shoes stuffed in this fashion. An inquisitive inspector had his attention attracted to the extraordinary thickness of the solos and made an investigation, which resulted in a valuable seizure They have brought opium skilfully stuffed in bananas still hanging to the stalk and in oranges. One day, about six years ago a Chinese dressed as a cook walked loisuroly down the gang-plank of a Pacific mail steamer with a basket on his arm containing several loaves of bread. He shuffled right by a Customs house officer and would have got away all right, but on the wharf camo iuto collision with a drunken sailor. The sailor, wbq was to blame, gave the Chinese a violent shove, sending him sprawling and scattering his bread loaves. A policeman interfered and noticed that ono of the loaves had broken open. Ho started.to examine, and the Chinese startod to run. Every loaf was filled with opium