The Star. MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1897. NOTES AND NOTIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5851, 23 April 1897, Page 2

The Star. MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1897. NOTES AND NOTIONS.

At last there seems to be a reasonable prospect of a Horticultural Society being established, and on such a basis as will ensure permanence and prosperity. We see no reason why a scheme should not bo formulated that will ensure tbe hearty cooperation of the two existing societies, the members whereof devote themselves to the cultivation of roses and chrysanthemums. All sections of flower-growers, professional and amateur alike, should be induced to become practically interested in such a society; and the mistakes of the past will surely serve as indications to a better way. We hope that the committee which has been set up will be able to frame a thoroughly satisfactory constitution, and that in the course of a few weeks the new Horticultural Society will be an accomplished fact. We would suggest to those who are taking a specially active part in the matter, that the educational possibilities of such a society should be kept steadily in raw, and that every possible endeavour should be made to foster a love for floriculture amongst the thousands of school children. What's in a name ? It is a question that has often been asked, and one seems to find a quaint reply in some announcements that appear in the columns of an English journal. These are not selected. They are simply clipped q\\X iv oni} batcli : — Mr Maximilian Kutschera has been appointed Austro-Hungarian Vice-Consul j at Hong Kong. Don Francisco de A. Caballero y Modiano has been appointed Spanish Vice-Consul at Honpf Kong 1 . Don Emilio de Motta y Ortiz has been appointed Spanish Vice-Consul at Singapore. Mr Shiinizu Seizaburo, Jushichi, has been appointed Japanese Consul at Hong Kong. Mr Chang Chin-hsun has been a2>pointed Chinese Consul-General at Singapore. Mr Arakawa Minoji Jurokiu has been appointed Japanese Consul in London. The Melbourne Aye. has been able to publish some criminal details that are not without a humorous aspect : — It . Avas an affecting story of a spieler's deception of a helpless foreigner that Louis Armand related to the police. Armand had entered a city hotel and tendered a .£lO note on the defunct Provincial and Suburban Bank in payment for a drink. It was natural that the licensee, on having a .£lO note handed to him to pay for a sixpenny ordei*, should look at the note very carefully, in view of the large number who have been victimised of late. Noticing- the name of the bank, and making the excuse that he had not got sufficient change, he despatched a messenger for the police, detaining the cus-tom-i- in the meantime. When the constable arrived the worthlessness of the paper proffered was explained to him, and it was pointed out that in the spaces left for the names of accountant and manager were the words, " Don't take it," and " Oh, you fool !" The poor Frenchman seemed heartbroken, and, in accents tremulous and tearful, he stated that a stranger who had made friends with him in Flinders street had obtained ten sovereigns from him in exchange for the note. All who heard the tale were shocked at the heartless fraud, and on the constable's advice Armand formally reported the supposed offence. When the reports came before the detectives, Detectives Bannon and Bear were particularly attracted by the writing on the note, for a Provincial and Suburban note bearing the same words was among the proceeds of a burglary committed at the residence of Mr Charles Ladwig in Bendigo Street, Prahran. No time was lost by the officers named in visiting the residence of Arinand, in Wilson Street, South Yarra, and when they interviewed the ill-used alien, they recognised in him a man whom they had had under surveillance for some time past. Accordingly they arrested Armand for burglary, and lodged him in the Prahran watch house. When Mr Ladwig's house was broken into, the bxu'glar entered the bedroom where he was sleeping, and stole a gold watch and chain, £o in cash, and the whole of the clothing lying at the foot of the bed. When Mr Cecil Ehodes was under examination in London relative to the Jameson raid, he displayed no mean degree

| of ability in scoring points, and, perhaps, | one of his most successful hits was the institution of a comparison between the Transvaal business and the action taken I by King George of Greece for the relief of | thefJCretans. Mr Ehodes said:— "As far as I can see, there is no difference between the Cretan question and the Transvaal question. The only difference I can see is j that the Cretans are foreigners claiming I their own rights, and that in the Transvaal iit was your own countrymen. In one case | there. is absolute sympathy, and in the other case there is not. "Nauticus," in the World, p U t3 the point neatly in a "little ballad with a big moral" :— It was a thoughtful schoolmaster "Who birched the uj.per grades. " I trust that all of you have read She lesson for the day," he said. " In Harcourfs 'Book of Raids.' " " Now, who was Jameson ? Tell me, you." Please, sir, some time ago He entered Mr Kruger's land To lend his friends a helping hand, And gave away the show. " Gcod boy. And who was Georgeson, next ?" " Please, sir. he did the same ; He entered Abdul Hainid's land To lend his friends a helping hand, And nearly spoilt the game." " Good boy. But as to Jameson, next ? Was his a righteous plan r" " ' Unbiased critic* will agree In damn ' — iv judging him to be A bad and reckless man." " And what of Georgeaon's raid ? "Was that Likewise a lawless quest ? " " Oh, no, sir, he deserved to win ; ' His courage wokeau echo in The throbbing Liberal breast! ' " " But if thnir actual aims were one, And onethe course they took, Pray how should Jameson be a knave And Georgeson very fine and bravo? " " Please, sir, it's in the Book ! ."