NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2826, 13 October 1883, Page 2

NOTES.

This ia Iho golden ago of notoriety. It is only neceßeary to bo notorious m order to command social distinction and all sorts of privileges. It is not necessary to bo famous or distinguished m any way for wisdom, virtue, courage, or any other favorablo quality. It is quito suflicient to bo notorious, — simply to bo familiarly known by nnmo through thu newspapers, — even for somn bad, disgraceful, or humiliating peculiarity. To bo exceptionally low, to occupy an abnormally shameful position, indeed, is quite enough m these days of triumphant notoriety, !o inako a man a considerable personage m tho world. The newspapers aro mainly responsible for this strange characteristic of tho period ; nn<], having produced it, they aro bound to respect and to foster it as much as possible. This is how they perform that function. All tho leading papers m London tho other day published tho following paragraph :_" M r Mar- " wood, the public executioner, was pre- " sent for a short time yesterday among " the strangi'ra m tho gallery of tho " House of Lords. Ho afterwards went " to tho House of Commons, and was " accommodated with a scat m the " Speaker's gallery." Any ordinary person m tho humbler ranks of life, a working man of any sort, or even a small tradesman, is invariably referred to m tho London papers as "John Smith," or "tho man Jones"; but the 1 hangman, being notorious, is dignified with a " Mr." Fancy "Mr" Marwooil, tho public executioner, visiting tho gallery of the House of Lords and being " accommodated with a Host m tho Speaker* gallery" of the House of Commons ; and fancy tho newspapers formally recording the fact ! What is tho worship of notoriety bringing tho English people to ! The common hangman, of course, may bo a very respectable fellow ; although for our part, we cannot imagine any decent man who could eirn a living otherwise, taking to such a revolting trade. Bnt respectable or not, ho is still tho common hangman. Ho makes his living by the lowest of all lawful occupations, the killing of his fellow creatures ; an occupation so repugnant to humanity that ninetjr-niuo men out of a hundred would almost rather die themselves than undertake it. He spends his hours of " business " m handling and preparing for death, and finally " vurkiiig off" tho most horriblo wrotches m the country; a function so degraded and so abominable that, if a substitute has on any occasion to be found for him, it is difficult to tind one out of tho company of tha worst of criminals. Ho makes this filthy work his regular pursuit from tho moat sordid motive. Ho gets about £20 for each man ho kills ; and tho more men thero are to bo killed, tho bettor for him. That such an official is necessary, bo long as capital punishment lasts, is obvious ; and that being so, it is just as well to give him .1 permanent status, and to get aa respectablo a man us possible. But to make him a public character is perfectly monstrous. To " accornmodato " him with privileges and courtesies not gonerally afforded even to men of considerable social standing, is equally absurd and offensive. It ought to bo a condition of the hangman's office that ho keep himself strictly m the background. What would be thought of it m New Zealand if a man who had been employed to execute a criminal were to appear as a honored visitor to the House of Representatives, or to be "accommodated " with a seat m tho Speaker's gallery of tho Legislative Council f Thero would be a cry of shamo and indignation all through the colony. They aro never tired at Home of sneering at colonists, and especially at their supposed obsequiousness to celebrities ; but ivo are thankful to say wo havo not yet reached auch a pitch of hero worship as to toady tho hangman ! In this country a man who has taken tho sheriff's pay for strangling a murderer, is looked upon as a necessary brute ; and is expected to tako his money and make himself scarce, lest, if his identity wcro discovered, he should be stoned or duckod by a disgusted public. " Mr" Marwood is treated vory differently. Wo should not be surprised to hoar of his being presented'at Court. Thero was a great fuss made last session because the House of Representatives sat for an hour or so after midnight on Saturday, m consequence of the Otago Harbor Bill being stonewalled. People said it was scandalous, disgraceful, calculated to bring the colony into contempt, andjso on and so forth. Many Members of the Houso protested most strongly against it, and, m short, thero was the deuca to pay generally. It was rather blackguardly, we admit. It is some consolation, however, to know that we are no worse than other people. The House of Commons recently sat till tho small hours wero getting biggish on Sunday morniii!»; and that pious, God-fearing Minister Mr Gladstone, — who insisted not long ago on an adjournment of the Houso to enable him to go to church on Ascension Day, actually passed tha Army Estimates through Committee on the Sabbath. Greatly scandalised were the unco' quid of " the land o' tho leal," as Gladstone once called Scotland by mistake. A meeting was at once called of the Presbytery of Porth and Aberdeen Original Secoders, held at Cupar Angus ; and it was unanimously resolved to send a memorial to tho Premier, protesting against " the late violation of the Sabbath day by tho Houso of Commons encroaching upon the hours of that day for the despatch of Parliamentary business." Wo shall be curious to learn what answer Mr Gladstone gave to this memorial. He has tho most extraordinary faculty of explaining things away, and making black look white ; and we doubt not ho managed easily enough to satisfy tho remonstrants that he passed the Army Estimates on Sunday from a conscientious desire to display his reverence for that holy day. Members of tho Blue Ribbon Army aro respectfully requested to skip this Note, becauso for them it is not likely to prove unto edification. Many of our friends have been enquiring of us lately what is a good thing to drink during tho hot weather of which we had a foretasto last weok. The Pareora water, they say, is full of lime and manure and other medicines, and is too stimulating for the ordinary system. Beer is heady and bad for the liver. Tea is indigestible and simply ruins the nerves. Milk is bilious. Limcjuico upsets the stomach. Hard stuff is apt to knock a man all to

pieces. Is there no harmless and j palatable compound, which while o quenching tho thirst, would yet invigorate I the Bystom and onablo ono to rise like a t giant refreahod ? For oursolvca, we g always find it best to do as fur us possible i' without drink. A very small quantity of f : fluid is all that is necessary, and we aro " bound to say that to our mind cold " filtered water is tho least hurtful, the l . cheapest, and by no means the least ( ploasant of bovcragea. Wo aro not ( bigoted, however, and for the benefit of -j those who like something tasty and t springy, wo willingly give the following { recipe which we have just mot with m tho works of ono of tho greatest living i authorities on such matters : — " In a i " silver or china bowl wide and deep ' " squeeze the juico of two oranges and i " lemons. Having removed the pips, ' " pour a sufficient quantity of iced water ' " to melt the sugar, and stir it with a ' " silvor spoon. Add a bottle of Bordeaux ! " or Uurgundy, and while still stirring, ' " add drop by drop half a pint of rum, | " then .1 pound of finely ground ice, on " which after ton minutes' repose pour a " bottle of layer-beer." Tho ice, of course, can bo done without, and bitter beer will do instead of lager. The head- . acho that this mixture will give you, if , you take a fairish dose.of it, is guaranteed to last for a week. llotai, Fi.orKi.va Jfn.r.B. — A meeting of subscribers to tlio Royal Flouring Mills Company is convened for 2 p.m. to-day, at Maclean and Stewart's rooms. SuTnKRr.AM>9 School. — A concert and dunce to celebrate the opening of the Sutherland* School will be held on the lOlli inslunt; proceeds m nid of the funds of the school. The Coloniai, Skcretaht.— The Hon. Mr Dick, Colonial Secretary, passed through Titmirn yesterday on hi* wot to Wellington, from Dunedin — and d'uhom'd deputations. FaRVHBs' C'O-OrRRATIVE ASSOCIATION. — We remind members of the " Co-operative," as this Association m fuiniliarly termed, that the annual meet ing takes phtco m the warehouse, at half-past eleven, this day. T.A.P.A. — The ordinary monthly meeting of the Committee of the Timaru Agricultural and Pastoral Association will be held at 2 p.m. to-day. As thin is tlie la«L regular meeting bci'ore the Show, the business will be important. Anniversary Skbvicks.— The Rer. I). Gordon, of Tcniuka, will preach the anuiversarv services at the Trinity Presbyterian Church to-morrow, morning and evening. A children's service will also be held at 2.45 p.m. Collections at the services will be m aid of the church funds. Fatal Accident. — The unfortunate man Sutherland, who, as stated yesterday, met, with an accident on the Fairlie Creek railway line on Thursday, and had his right leg amputated nt the Timaru Hospital m the evening, died during the night from exhaustion and the shock to the system. An inquest will be held at 11 a.m. at the Hospital to-day. Samplp.3 of Grain. — During the hearing of the case Fendall v. Ogilvie m tho R.M. Court yesterday, a witness said he sampled the stuff m a number of stacks of grain by pulling out straws all round them. The Resident Magistrate said he would not accept any evidence as to the value of the bulk from samples obtained m this way ; ono could not get a fair sample by pulling out a few straws. Common sense says Mr Be3wick is right, and yet probably five out of six farmers sell their groin by samples obtained m this way. Accident to a Cnn,D. — Ono of Mr E. H. Lough's children, a little boy four years of age, whilo walking yesterday afternoon along tho eea side of tho railway station, tripped and fell, his forehead striking ono of the rails with such violence as to cause a nasty cut and a slight fracture of the skull. The wound bled profusely, so that tho injury was feared to be much worse than it wna. Tho accident happened near the blacksmith's shop, and Mr Walla, blacksmith, carried the child to Mrs Watkins' dispensary, where Dr Macintyre attended to him before lie wns taken home. Tho child's injuries aro not very serious. I'rzzLKD. — A farmer happened to call on business m one of our mercantile houses the other day, when Clerk No. 1 called Clerk No. 2 and handed him a consignment note, which ho read, " Please receive m good order and condition two skufllers." " What are skufllers ? " inquired Xo. 2. " I suppose they aro wrestlers," returned the other, who, looking again, said the note wus for two " shulllers." The farmer put m his spoke, and suggested that they might he implements to work iand with, but tho clerks were not satisfied with this explanation. Meanwhile the farmer is puzzled. Ho would not object to wrestlers, as they must be able-bodied men, but he sincerely hopes none of our respectable mercantile houses aro importing shulllers, as he considers we are wofully overdone with them already. EtfGLisn Cabl« News. — Tho following special telegrams appeared m yesterday's Prc3.i :— " London, Oct. 10th. The'late Bishop Short, of Adelaide, was interred to-day at Warblington Church, beside the remains of his parents. — Tho New South Walc3 exhibitors at the Amsterdam Exhibition intend to present a portion of their exhibits to the Dutch Colonial Museum, and the balance will eithor bo sold or presented to Calcutta. — Tho steamer Maranoa, built for the Queensland Shipping Company, has made a trial trip, and averaged 14 knots an hour. Speaking at the luncheon on board, Sir Charle.3 Lily, Chief Justico of Queensland, warmly condemned the apathy of Lord Derby with respect to tho annexation of New Guinea. — The Aborigines Protection Society have directed the attention of Lord Derby to the recent cruise of tho labor vessel Fanny, and to the charges made by Mr G. E. Morrison, explorer, of tho revolting treatment to which the nativo women of Polynesia hare been subjected. Lord Derby ha 3 requested the Governments of Queensland and Fiji to report upon tho matter." " October 11th. A body of Roumanian soldiers seized an Austrian barracks on tho frontier. The Austrian!, however, recaptured tho position, after making 60 prisonors. — The Times states that Sir H. B. W. Brand, G.C.8., is about to retire from tho Speakership of the House of Commons." Finn At Waimate. — About half-past threo yesterday morning a number of persons at Wainiafe were alarmed by the ringing of tho fire-bell, and it was soon ascertained that a four-roomed house belonging to Mr Thos. Collins was on lire. The house was situated m Rhodes street, not far from the Grosvenor ITotel. Tho members of the Fire Brigade lost no time m arriving at tho scene, but it was too lato to do anything to save the house, as it was all m flames before help arrived. There being very little wind at tho timo and the house detached from any other building, no danger to any other property was apprehended. The members of tho Brigado remained at the scene of the fire until it was completely burned out. The family were aroused by ono of tho younger members just m time to save themselves, but sercral articles of furniture and necessaries wore burned, tho inmates not having timo to savo all their things. The houso was insured m the National Company, m favor of the mortgagor. Mr Collins who occupied the houso, suffers considerably by the loss and damage to furniture burned. It has not been ascertained how tho fire originated. Resident Magistrate's Court, Waisiatb. — At this Court yesterday, before Dr Stackpoolo and J. Manchester, Esq., J.P.s, a man named Edward Georgo was charged by tho police with assaulting Thomas Hunt on the previous evening j also, with being drunk and disorderly on the same evening. Defendant pleaded guilty, but said lie had been drinking and did not know what he was doing. Evidence m tho case was given by Sergeant Ramsay, who said on the ovening of the 12th ho found defendant drunk m Shearman street, noar Thos. Hunt's, house. The latter eomplainod of defendant having nssaulted and boaton himself and his wifo. Thomas Hunt said defendant had assaulted himself and wifo, striking witness repeatedly, by which he was marked on the head and hurt about the Bhoulder. Witness had forbidden defendant to come into his garden, but had not molested him. Defendant wns sentenced to ouo month's imprisonment without the option of a fiuo for the assault, and fined 5s for being drunk, the Bench informing him that his plea of drunkenness could not ho admitted j that there was no doubt an unprovoked assault Lad been committed. The Court then roEe.

Exchange of Tros. — Tlie Harbor Board >n Thursday considered a letter from Mr M, Kennedy, of Greymouth, offering to hire the I ;ug Tit nn, placing at tho Board's disposal a! sOod tug (" such as the Plucky or Koputai'") m her place. We see by the Dunedin papers Hint tho Otago Harbor Board, nlso on Thursday, received a letter from " Mr M. Kennedy, r>f Timam," applying for the use of one of those tugs, which belong to the Otugo Harbor Board. The letter was referred to the Works Committee " with power to act," which probably means that as the busy season is over, Mr Kennedy " of Timaru," may have the use of one of the boats, if he will pay enough for it. Inspection of Prui.tc Buildinos.— The Onirmru Borough Council passed the following resolution at their meeting this week : — "That the Inspector of Buildings be instructed to report at next meeting of tho Council on the condition of the buildings used, or intended to be used, as places of public resort, more particularly as to the means provided for allowing, under circumstunccs of exceptional excitement, a speedy and safe exit from any bucli building : for the prevention of fire : for the extinguishment of fire ; for ventilation ; and generally on the fitnes3 or otherwise of each nnd ovcrv such building for the purposes of public assembly." There are a few buildings used as places of public resort which an inspector could scarcely report favorably upon, on all the points here mentioned. BUGQY ACCIDENT. — Yesterday afternoon a buggy accident happened on the reviewground, which, fortunately, was not attended with results so serious as the nature of the accident seemed likely to cause. Mr Wm. Collins, the well-known knight of the hammer, took his wife and a lady friend out to see the review m a buggy, and while riding round watching the manoeuvres of the cavalry, by some means the winkers came off the horse' This mishap so frightened the animal thnt it quickly jumped to one side, thereby causing the wheels to lock and the juggy to capsize. After the buggy turned over the horse dragged it a few yards along the ground, until, something giving way, it got clear. Mr Collins and friend got a good shaking, but Mrs Collins -was more unfortunate, her right arm being broken. Surgeon Chapman, C.V.C., was very quickly m attendance, and, making v sling out of a shawl, made the sufferer as comfortable as possible. Soon nfterwiird-s the parly were taken home. The buggy was completely smashed up, and how the occupants escaped with such comparatively slight injuries was n surprise to those who witnessed the accident. Ihish Emigration. — From a list just issued by Mr Tere Foster of the contributions to his Irish female emigration fund, it appear* that through this agency alone no less than 19,000 girls have been assisted to emigrate. Theso girls, Mr Foster says, have already sent home to their friends upwards of £25,000. Cricket Extraordinary. — It has been left for two elevens of boys under thirteen years of age to provide the cricket curiosity of the season. The other day, at Eastbourne, the side having first innings scored 75, and the opposite side scored 76, yet the latter beat the former by an innings and 1 run. On going m the second time, the eleven who had made 75 were all put out without a run being scored. Several instances are on record of an eleven failing to score, but not one, so far as we know, quite on all fours with the facts cited above. Papal Honors. — The Pope has just conferred on Sir John O'Slianassy, K.C.M.G-., K.G.G., since deceased ; Anthony Colling Brownless, M.D., K.G.G., M.R.C\S., England, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and Mr Nicholas Fitzgerald, M.L.C., the Knight Commandership of the Illustrious Order of Pius. This decoration carries with it a patent of nobility. The order is a temporal one, and is conferred upon members of all religious creeds, who from their distinguished attainments, high official runic, or gre.it public services are considered worthy of the honor. Dr Brownless is the founder of tho Medical School of the University of Melbourne, at which about 200 students are now attending the lectures. New Industry m Caxivounia.— A great number of experiments are being rnude m California with the seed of the Cochin China grape vine. Seed has been distributed among 800 persons m various parts of the State, and no pains will be spared to acclimatise this wonderful vine on the Pacific Coast. In its native state it has been found m altitudes varying from 100 to 3000 feet above the sea level, producing everywhere an enormous crop of fruit. With proper care, authorities m grape culture believe that the Cochin China variety can be grown m all the wine regions m California and on the Pacific coast. A vine similar to this, but more vigorous and productive, was lately discovered on the coast of Guinea by Senor Arpore, chief of a scientific mission sent to that country by the Portuguese Government. Tho plant was found to be about 4ft high, with a crop of grapes varying from 901 b to 1001 b on each Tine. The fruit waa delicious, and the wine made from it by Arpore and companions was found very good soon nftcr, rich m aroma, m color, and alcohol. A report is being prepared on the subject for the Portuguese Government. The Soudan and the Guinea annual tuberous vines are of the same genus as tho Cochin China ; but the first is a tlwarf and the second little better, as compared with the last-named. In Cochin it grows m some forests as high as 100 ft., climbing up uud around lofty trees, or stretching itself on tho soil, and m some places the vine becomes a wonderful mass of large clusters of luscious grapes from top to bottom. CnßiSTCiiuncn Cathedral. — The Telegraph, writing of tho Christchurch Cathedral, tays : — " While people of all denominations admire the building, because it is ccrtuinly an ornament to Christchurch, many monilUers have shaken their heads, and enumerated the mnny other ways m which, m their opinion, the money it cost might have been better employed. But these were only outsiders, and could not be expected to approve of the expenditure of so much money m building a Cathedral. Members of the Church of England, however, are by no means agreed that the Cathedral is an unmixed blessing. Only a day or two ago a member of the Anglican clergy, tho Yen. Archdeacon Hurris, expressed his opinion m tho Synod that since the opening of the Cathedral there had been a considerable diminution of the attendance at the parish churches m and near Christchurch. Another clergyman considered that the Cathedral services had tho effect of diverting the attention from the saving of souls to the improvement of the Church services by the introduction of surpliced choirs, &c. A lay member of the Synod, 3lr T. S. Weston, gave it as his opinion that the building was constructed prematurely, seeing that now nearly the whole of the Church property was mortgaged, a result he considered due to the great oxpondituro upon tho Cathedral. And another layman, Mr Grigg, went so far as to say that ho thought the Cathedral was absolutely destructive to tho work m the dioccso. Altogether tho erection of this handsome church m the middle of tho city is by no means a matter for unmixed satisfaction among Churchmen." Suffolk Cattle Fon the Dairy. — A recent number of the Agricultural Gazette says : — The greatly increased demand from America for all those British varieties of cattlo which aro without horns lias been of late one of the most noticeable features m the market for livo stock. We have gradually driven horns from off the heads of ninetecntwentieths of our iloeks ; it seems that a similar deprivation is awaiting the herds as well, at all events, m America. Wo do not ourselves believe that the advantages of a polled condition, m either sheep or cattle, are of anything more than secondary importance ; still, whilst the fashion lasts it is an item to be taken into account by all those who breed to get a profit ; and that Polled cattle are just now m very great request, and selling ut remunerative prices, is past all gainsaying. And side by side with the development of a great foreign demand for Polled cattle has :ome an enormous advunce m tho home requirements for cows which can be relied on to jive large and long-continued yields of milk. It is not too much to say that the value of all ?ood dairy animals has risen nearly 50 per cont. on ordinary specimens, md to an even greater extent on really jhoico specimens. These Bed Polled animals ire of very long standing m Suffolk, and m what is now called South Norfolk. They H-ere not slwiys whok-coloyed, tntl tb.6y

ere not always handsome, but they hare inlrinhly been great milkers. We ourselves iwc known an animal to give 161 b of butter i v week, and to continue to yield a largo rerun o for at least eleven months out of ilio velve. The milking character is, m short, of ich Ion 5 standing with this variety that it my be relied on as being inherent m it, ar.d Imost certain to be hereditary. Tjik Primal Cubse.— The Practical 'armer, lowa, asks : — Whence come the feeds ? A hundred years ago, when an higlish farmer introduced an iron plough, is workmen threw it aside and said it roughl m the weeds. And it was true. An Id neighbor says '• they're nat'rl to the sile." aid that is true. And" I payjnanure brings hem m, too. And that is true. The fact is, lie soil is so stocked with weed? from the urface down to bed rock that any ctter kind of cultivation encourages he weeds to grow, nnd with better rops we have still more abundant weeds, ii the precise ratio that it is easier to grow .cods than crops. And co weeds are natural o the soil ; for the soil is full of seeds, and he belter ploughing we do, with the better .loughs we have, the more the weeds grow ; nd the more we cultivate the soil, the more lew, or old, seeds we bring up ; and the more nanure we use, the stronger is the growth, t is very discouraging. The more a farmer vorks, and the better he does his work, the nore lie is pestered wilh difficulties of all rinds. The more crops, the more insects ; and he richer the soil, the more weeds. There is 10 escape from the old curse, and the brow must sweat, or the bread will not be earned, md June is the month when the curse falls he heaviest. No doubt, at the time this ■urse of endless labor fell upon mankind, the materials for it — the seeds of weeds — began o fall and stock the ground, and have been lccumulating ever since, and no one knows :iow deep they lie m the ground, everlasting md ncrcr-dyine, but waiting their turn to be Drought to the surface and to germinate. A Wise Deacon. — " Deneon Wilder, I ivant you to tell me how you kept yonrself and family so well the past season, when all tho rest of us have been sick so much, and havebad tho doctors running to us so often." " Brother Taylor, the answer is very easy. I used Hop Bitters m time, and kept my family ivoll. un<l saved large doctor* bills. Four shillings' worth of it kept us all well and able to work all the time, nnd I will warrant it has 3ost you and most of the neighbors £\0 to £100 apiece to keep sick the same time. I fancy yon'll take my medicine hereafter." See. —Adv. synopsis of new advertisements. \Va--hd3 ke yards, "cm Monciav ; wool, skins, etc., on Wednesday. K. Wilkin ami Co.— Will Fell skins, hides, fat, etc., on Wednesday ; have a number of (arms for ?ale. V. Collies and Co.— Will sell produce and mitccllancous goods this day. Trinity Presbyterian Church, Tiraaru— Anniversary services will be preached to-morrow by the Rev. D. Sutherland School— Concert and d»nct on tho 19th inst. E. Corni:-h-llas just received and has on sale a lar^e ?tock of new poods. Waiting employment— General servants at Davics* Labor Exchange. In Bankruptcy -Re R. Calvcrt.