AUSTRALIAN CABLE NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 1761, 26 June 1877, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN CABLE NEWS.

Sydney, June 25. Arrived — Zealandia. ♦ INTERPEO YIN CI AL. ■Wellington, June 25. The Loan and Mercantile Agency Coy. report under date London, June 22nd, as follows : — ln wool the competition is increasing and quotations average a penny to a penny halfpenny better than at the opening ; the principal advances have been m superior greasy, superior combing, washed, and cross-bred combing. In washed the market is firmer, m scoured the market is unchanged. Sales close on the 26th. The competition by both home and foreign buyers is active. The tallow market is quiet ; mutton is quoted at 425, beef 41s. The wheat market is flat. The weather here is favorable for crops. Adelaide wheat C3s, New Zealand 565. The leather market is flat; best hides lOid per lb. Sailed : Albion, for the South. Passengers ; Messrs Shandlow, Green, Siliett,

Beiuon, Ewert, Hussey. Crown, Miss Pardon, and Mr and Mm WoudneU. Auckland, Juno 25. Arrived : Dilpussund, 100 days out, from London, with 17 passengers, all of whom are well. A special telegram from Wellington'reports that Mr Pasimore, superintending I engineer of constructed railways, is about I to sever his connection with the railways 1 of the colony. Several alarms of fire took place on Saturday night, but nothing serious occurred. The football matches are lacking m spirit, owing to the late fatal accident. Dunedin, June 25. It has been determined to keep the lists for the Macandrew teitimonial fund open for a few days longer, and it is understood the presentation will he made on the ere of his departure for Wellington to attend the next session of Parliament. A public meeting to consider the railway question will be Jield early next week. Outward Exai-isn Mails. — The mail via Sun Francisco will close on Thursday next at 3.30 p.m., and that by Suez on Friday at the same hour. Tub Kojian Catholic Chukcit. — The oolirctiou nt tho Roman Catholic Church yesterday amounted to no less a sum than £00. This money goes towards liquidating the debt on the church. There were, we arc informed, upwar Js of 700 persons present at the evening service. Smart Wobk. — Mr Johnstone, of Ashburton, recently laid a bet of £5 with Mr Simmoni, Macksinith, Timaru, that ho could not make twelve pairs of horse shoes m one hour. The bet was taken up, and Mr Simmons went to work at Messrs Parsons and Ilendcrson's foundry, and won easily. In forty-five minutes the job was completed, and the dozen pair? of well-made horse shoes are still to be seen nt the workshop. Roman Catholic Cmmcii, Waimate. — On Monday last his Lordship Bishop Bedwood arrived from Timaru by the oa"ly train, on a visit to the members of his communion ut Waimate. Ho preached a sermon m the new church. There was a good attendance, and a considerable Bum was collected on the occasion m aid of the church funds. RIFLE VOLUNTEEB COUPS. — All those who intend to sign the requisition asking the authorities to sanction the formation of a Volunteer RiQo Corps m Timaru, should do s-> at once, as tho deputation present it to Major Lean on Friday. Tho requisition now lies at Mr Turnbull's store. Weslbtan Cnrjucu, Waimate. — The new church (St. Paul's) whs opened for service ou Sunday last. At morning and evtn'ng services tho Rev. Mr Lee, of Lyttelton, preached sermons suitable to the occasion. Tho new church, which is of tho Gothic style, is very commodious, affording convenient sitting accommodation for 350 adult. The buildiug is erected near the old church. At the opening services collections were made for the trust fund, and the contributions amounted to £17 13s. A soiree m aid of tho building fund will be held m the Oddfellows' HkII, on Tuesday evening. After tea the Rev. Mr Loo, lh» Rev. Mr Lindsay, and other gentlemen will address tho meeting, and tho choir wi!l render select pieces. Entertainment.— The pro^rammo of an entertainment to be given to-morrow evening, under the auspices of tho 1.0.G-.T. L-j'lues m Timaru, appears m our advertising columns; It is nn excellent one m all ivsp>cls, its attractions being further enhanced by the fiircu of " Twenty Minutes with a Tiger." TiMAEtr School. — Tenders a' c invited for building a j milor's homo at the Timaru Public School. Plans and specifications may bo seen at the office of the Chairman, Mr E. H. Tate. Tenders are to bo sent m to the Chairman of the Education Board, at Christchurch, by noon of Tuesday, July 3rd. New Council Chambers. — The ball and bnnquet m commemoration of the opening of fclie new Council Chambers, will bo held m tho Mechanics' Institute on Tuesday, July 10th. Wo understand that sixty double tickets have ulready been disposed of, and the demonstration promises, m every wav, to be a success. Mr Charles Green, of the Ship Hoted, is the successful caterer. A cold collation will be given on tho afternoon of the same day, nt which the members of the Timaru Fire Brigade, the local agents of the Insurance Companies, etc., will bo present. The Georgia Minstrels. — This troupe, consisting of thirteen performers, gave their first entertainment last evening m the Mechanics' Institute to a crowdod house. Wo have already, on a former occasion, said that the Georgins were not a painted troupe, but originals with regard to ' pedigree and complexion, and we naturally expected that Jaat ovoning's entertainment would have been perfectly free from any blemishes apparent m the get-up of fictitious niggers. In this, however, we wero somewhat disnppointed, and came away with the feeling that the surreptitious imitations we have formerly witnessed m the old country were not far behind the originality of the " Originals " ; indeed, it is a matter for debate whether painted niggers or real blacks are preferable. The performances given by tho Christys, are m our opinion equally as good, if not better, than the entertainment we witnessed last evening ; although m the ona case fiction is substituted for reality, and "• white men, corked, sing and dance m lieu of their Ethiopian brethren. Nevertheless, tho Georgias deserve every credit for the admirable way m which lait evening's performance wai carried out. The bones and tatnborine were all that could be wished for, and the falsetto chorus to "Mollie Gram," by JD. A. Bowman, and the " Little Log Cabin m the Lane," by C. R. Hicks, were executed iv a most pleasing manner. Too much cannot be paid of " Brudder Bone's Baby," and it would be difficult, to determine whether the infant enjoyed the music or the gruel best. Suffice it to say the audience laughed («hame to them) at the baby's convulsions, and**tho little infant expired after a few spasmodic efforts to sing "God Save tho Queen." The Big Black Four decamped too soon to convey any adequate idea of their sufferings, and " The Troublesome Servants" next came on the stagp, only m time to be swallowed up by Billy Wilson, who was followed by Hoeoa Ea?ton, m p, charming solo on the banjo. The entertainment concluded with a laughable farce, entitled " My Wife's Visitors," of which too much cannot be raid either for the piece or the actors. The Georgias have created such a sensation m this town that we need hardly say more of what we saw last night. -We wish the enterprising Minstrels every success, and hope that whereever.they will perform that "we'll be dar."

A New Cotton Plant. — If the Times be well informed, a new cotton plant has been discovered m Egypt, the cultivation of which will upset all calculations about the supply of the raw material for Manchester, and will astonish the planters of the Southern States of North America. The new plant is twice at productive as the old. It grows to the height of ten feet instead of four or fire, and is so erect as to render it unnecessary to leave so much as the usual space between the plants. The cotton is of good commercial quality, and quite equal to the ordinary Egyption product, and the produce is at the rate of 14001bs per acre. The Dlant is said to be common m the Soudan, but nobody knows precisely where the Egyptian specimen came from. It made its first appearnn.ee ampng other plants, as the ugly little duckling did m the fairy tale. The seed is now sold m the open market, so that our Acclimatisation Society might see if it could not be introduced here.

WITOBOHAFT AMONGST THB NaTITES. — We regret to learn that the native* m the vicinity of Maketu and #otoiti (Arawa tribe) baviDg lost, bj supposed witchcraft, a young man of great rank named Te Kupe, are threatening to appeal to the old Maori custom of having vtu by taking the lives of the three

men wso are supposed to have makutueJ him, namely Mita Toiwks, l'ikiao, und Toi. Althoii«'ii mu'h cxi.'itoment is felt, and committee m 'flings have b-'en held on the question, Btill we tiust that it will eveutuite m the carrying out of amtive proverb. "Ht kohum kua rangona lcaore kau he tikanga. He kohunt kaore c rangona ka mate te tangata." The literal transition of which is — "A threatened murder being made known, the would-be perpe'rators fear to carry out their intention j but. if kept durk the act is more I likely to ensue." — Bay of Plenty Times.

AU3TUALIA LiUOEB TflAJf THE UNITED States.— When Dr. Hector was Ht the Centennial Exhibition m Philadelphia he exhibited a map which had some novel features, besides showing. 1 Hie boundaries of the Australian Continent', including West and South Austnlia, Queensland, New South Wales and the adjacent islanls; numbers arc plnced m the centre of plan of each indicating the area, the railroad and telegraph line, imports, exports, revenue, expenditure, exp>rt of gold, and number of population. This expedient gives at a glancj the most interesting information that a visitor would demand. Brother Jonathan was not long before be made a discovery which ho (bought impossible and astonished him very much. He could not believe it, and after ho discovered it itti possible he would not. Ho bad been m tho habit, during the period of his natural life, and a little beyond, of bo istins; that he possessed the largest territory m tba world, and that nothing could beat the States m respect to climate, products, or extent of possession. This mnp proves beyond doubt thnt, while (he 'area of the Stiles is 3,299,000 square miles, tho area of the Australian Continent alone is 1,994,241,014 acres, or 3,116,000 square miles, not reckoning Tasmania and New Zealand. New Zealand is about 100,000 square miles,, ami Tasmania 27 000. Including the wholo of tho islands, tho Australasian territory is shown to be m excess of the figures set down for tho United States. So Brother Jonathan m this matter has been " whipped." Journalistic Prostitution. — The following item is from tko last edition of that slrunge publication, the Lyell Argus : — " Complimentary. — a Lady (young and interesting of course) not far from Sleepy Hollow, having been pestering a certain Lyell resident as to whnt kind of » place the lyell ; the gentleman alluded lo after describing the beauty of the surrounding scenery the noblo appcarinco of the Township, as viewed (m rear) from the inck-up, the extraordinary piety and sobriety of its inhabitants, as illustrated by (he unsteady manner m which both Lilies, Gentlemen are sometimes to be seen wending their way along cliff street, their hearts being evidently m the right pl»co judging by the constant tendency they exhibit ' to drop on thoir marrow bones." — wound up by forwarding tho fair one a copy of the Lyell Argus. This it what he received m rpply ; the Lyell : conceived m error ; Born m iniquity j "Booked m the cradle of the deep ; Reared m sin ; Fed m whisky ; Died of starvation ; was taken up sontly ; wrapped up tenderly ; (m a copy of the Buster) and consigned to a warm climato' at the expense of, and with tho prayer* of, The BuUer County Council, Amen. Yours 'm spirit,' Jomima. P.S. I could print a better paper myself : (Jemima, we are open to sell or go 'mates' «. i. A.)" The items under the heading " Latest Telegraphic In-* telligenco" (condensed expressly for the Lyell Argus) are unique. Thus— " The Dutch have taken Holland. England remains neutral. A Bloody Battle took placo between the Turks and Russians ; at Kuttnroat cuker, Both sides won."

Sfxday m San Francisco.— A writer m an exchange says : — One of t'>e rcsulrs of the impotence of the churches is that there is m> public observance of the Sabbath. All the suloons are open, the billiard-rooms xro m full blast, there are performnnnei at nvjny of tho theatres, if not at allof them, the majority of the stores are not closed, and the streets aro filled wilh vehicles of all kinds. It is also the chosen diy for making excursions, and every Sunday San Francisco pours out her populalation by myriads over tho ferries to Oakland, San Rufaol, and 'o other points m the neighborhood of '.the city. Excursion trains are run by the railroad that goes northward to the Russian river, and by the Southern Pacific, which is to reach Sun Diogo some very fine day. A few of the travellers on these occasions simply go to enjoy the scenery, which is both wild tind beautifu', 'but the majorty are hunters after deer, wild du:ks, snipe, quail and other kinds of game. They have with them dog*, and the stranger who htppens on Sunday to be down at tho Davis-streot wharf whence thi ferry starts for Saucelito, tho terminus of the Russian river road, is startled at the sight so foroign to Eastern notions, and to the religious ideas to which these men have been bred ; for the great mnjority (ninetcontwentieths) of them are from States where a man would sooner think of quttin.; lm throat than go out with his dog and gun to hunt upon the Lord's dny. Ido not intend to pass judgment upon the abstract preposition of its being wrong or right so to Jo. I simply point out that the atmoipluro of a community so tinged with the mining clement quickly dissolves the most stubborn religioiu viows. Innocent Twain. — When Mark Twain lived m Virginia City he roomed with Dan De Quillo. All the misorios which Quille ever endured, and all the bad character he ever got, date from that time. They lived m several different lodging-houses, and were, turned out of them all, one after another, on account of Dan, who soon acquired a bad reputation Becond to none m Virginia City. No respectable family would harbor Dan, wlio ever knew anything about him, and the rery mention of his name would cause a landlady to hold up her hnnds m virtuous horror. One morning Mark woke up and heard the landlady's cat mewing about the door, which was left open. Dan was fast asleep, and Mark, grasping one of his boots, threw it wilh fatal precision at the intruder. Tho cat limped off with a broken leg (the boot weighed five pounds), and the woman secured the missile and waited for its owner to appear. Mark got up, dressed, ■ and went out with boots on. Tha landlady greeted him with a pleasant smile, and when Dan got up and was walking about m his stocking feet looking for his left boot, he received a scathing dressing down from tho landlady, who without allowing him to explain ordered him to leave the house. Mark condoled with him m his (rouble, and said, " I'll stick to yo, Dan." The next house they moved into had a pantry oloss to the room cocsigned to them. Every ni^ht Mark would steal two or three mince pies and eat them entire without giving Dan a sight of them. In the morning the landlady would be brushing about the door, Dan would bo asleep and Mark would open out m a loud voice as follows : — " Dan, this business won't do. Those pies don't belong to you. In the first place it is petty larceny, and then m the rest place it gets crumbs m the bed. We'll get notica to quit pretty soon. . Taint the square thing on the landlady. I don't wonder you have nothing to say. Now this is the last time I propose to speak about this," Tht landlady, who took m every word of this, would give poor Dan a notice to quit and never hear a word of explanation. " When you go, I go, Dan," Mark would say, and his brotherly fidelity would touch Dan to the core. The next place was an intensely respectable private family. When Mark expected to be out all night, he would slip up to the room and strew a few hair-pins around promiscuously, and scatter a few. .down m the foot of the bed, where they would be found, when the landlady was making it up. It would all be laid to Dan of course, "I va got a family here, and I want to bring my daughters up respectable," would be the landlady's remark, as she ordered Dan to pack up. ""When they fire you out. Dan, it means me tqo," Mark wpuJd say m brotherly affection that melttd Dan's inner nature and caused him to think there wen some true men m the world after all, and he used to remark m speaking of Twain, " A man who never shakes a friend m adversity is the noblest work of Qod."— Firffitw Nevada Ghroni&,

CniNE9s Ches3. —At an eirly periot . Asiatic chess was divided into two brandies , known nmong't players as Chinese and In dian. They are different ?ames m many re . speets, and yet enough alike to show that ai some period they were the same. The Chinese game maintains its place m Eastern Asia, Japan, and m ths islands of the Archipelago, an I, with very slight modifications, throughout tha civilised world, th« Indian game is playe 1. Indeed, there is no difference between the Indian and Europoin games of chess, except that m the former the bishop is called tho elephant ; the rooks, or rukhs, boats ; the queen, minister. The movements of the pieces are the same. Of Chinese chess come description will be more novel. Their chessboard, like ours, has sixty - four squ'ircs, which are not distinguished into alternate black and white squares. The pieces are not placed on the squares, but on the corners of the "squares. The board it divided into tno equal ptrts by an unchequ»red space, which is culled tho river. There are nine points on each lin?, and fortyfive on each half of the board. They hare the sime number of piects with ourselves. Each player has a king, two guards, two elephants, two knights, two chariots, two cannons, and five pawns. Each player places nine pieces on the first lino of the b3ard — the king m the centre, a guard on each side of him, two elephants next, two knights next, ami then the two chariots upon tho extremities of the board ; the two cannons go m front of the two knights, and the pawns on the fourth lino. The king moves only one square at a time, but rot diagonally, and only m an enceinte, or court, of four iquarei,— to win his own, the queen's, queen's pawn, and king's pawn. Castling is unknown. The two guards remain m tho same limit*, but can move only diagonally ; thus w» have m our king both the Chinese king and his guard. Tho elephants move diagonally, two squares at a time, and cannot pnss the river. Their knight moves like oun, but must not pass over pieces ; ho can pass the river, which counts as ono square. The chariots and cannon move like our nasties, and can cross the river. The pawns always move one step, and may movo sidewiso as well as forward — lairing m the came line m which they movo ; they cross the river. The cannon alone can pass over any piece ; indeed, a cannon can take only when there is a piece between it und the piece it takes — which intervening piece may belong to cither player. Tho king must not bo opposite the other king without a pieuo between. All this certainly sounds very complex and awkward to an English player, and our game has tho preferable tondeney of increasing the power of the piecos (as distinct from pawns) rather than with theirs limiting their powers and multiplying their number. However, it is probable, whatever muy bo tho respective nii-rits of the two g-inies, that neither of them will ever be altered ; the Chinese, who can roast his pig only by burning tho sty, because the first historic roast-pig was co roasted, will bo likely to continue his chess us nearly as possible m the same form as the celestial Tialioan« and tho tci-rojtrial Yin-koang played it a million years a^o.