The Star. SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1897. NOTES AND NOTIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5855, 24 April 1897, Page 4

The Star. SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1897. NOTES AND NOTIONS.

« The action that was taken by the meeting held in the City Council Chamber last night has cleared the way for practical work in connection with the Hawke's Bay Flood Relief Fund. It was decided that up to and including May 24 all moneys shall go to the flood fund unless donors specifically desire their contributions to be set apart for the Jubilee Home. Any money that may be obtained after May 24 will be applied to the original purpose, the enlargement of the Jubilee Home. Such a course ought to prove satisfactory to the general public, and we believe that it will. It is obviously the first duty of the community to do what it can for the relief of thfi tarriblo disteoea that has been occasioned, and we make no doubt that the generosity of the people of Canterbury %vill be as fully evidenced as it has been on former occasions. Meastvvhile it may be taken for granted, we suppose, that all necessary preparations for the demonstration day will be proceeded with. If the procession and the subsequent programme are to be made worthy of the occasion, a good deal of preliminary work will have to be done, and the details should be taken in hand forthwith. In this connection a suggestion has been made by a doctor of music in Melbotirne, Mr Torrance, that is worth calling attention to. His idea is that on the night of June 22, a grand musical festival should be held. It is understood that a | signal from London will be flashed round the world, the cable companies making special arrangements for its transmission. Mr Torrance says: — "The performance might proceed until as near as possible to the time calculated, when a pause should be made to await the magic signal, which might be so arranged as to sound a bell or gong within the building. At such a moment the silence and intense expectation of a vast multitude would be little short of electrical, and the sudden outburst, vocal and instrumental, of wellknown strains, led off by an immense choir, and taken up by assembled thousands, would produce an effect seldom experienced and never to be forgotten by those present." A North Island contemporary relates a little banking incident as follows: — He stormed into the bank, and said " What's the meaning of all this nonsense. I paid Simpson a cheque and you decline to cash it. K"ow he's going about town insinuating that I'm a howling fraud." " But it was so unlike your usual signature," they protested, " that we really couldn't cash it. Have you the cheque ?" He had it, so they compared it with his signature in I the books, and found striking differences. " I admit," said the client, " that I had a few whiskies in when I signed it, but gracious you can see it's mine right enough." " Well it won't happen again," said the manager cheerfully. "Just call in some day you're in the proper mood and leave us your drunken signature, as well as your sober one, and we're ready to do business for you under any conditions." There have been many devices suggested for saving the eyesight. That of the Cincinnati Enquirer is one of the most novel. It proposes that all reading matter be set so that it may be read from left to right and from right to left. By this means the reader does not have to jump his eyes from one side of the column to the other, but merely drop them as he reads. Thus :— Dr Brewer, in his "Dictionary of following the tolls "Fabla and Phrase story: It is said that Spurgeon used extempore in students his practise to preaching from a text only disclosed his of one that and pulpit the in young men on reaching the desk and text his containing note the opening read the single word " Zaccheus." Ha then and, two or minute a for thought delivered himself thus: "Zaechens was made Zaccheus ;I am so ,man little a haste and came down, so did I." He .word the to action the suited We have not had an opportunity of seeing the uniform that was specially designed for the mounted contingent which is°to represent New Zealand in London, but this is how a humouronsly-ininded contributor writes about it : — It is about as uo-ly and inconvenient as could have been devised for mounted men. The material is brown kharkee with maroon facings ; the tunic, a pleated Norfolk jacket, has a bugle on the collar, and is further adorned with one real and four false pockets. The boots high-lows, or ammunition boots — are fairly amorphous and plated likeanironclad to ensure durability. It is to be hoped that stirrup-irons can be obtained of a size large enough to allow these boots to bo used with safety. The pants are of cord with a narrow maroon stripe, and are bmlt on the " Toulouse " design in order to allow for the probable development of their wearers during the voyage. Brown leather leggings complete the equipment. It is safe to say that such

a uniform has never yet been seen in NewZealand, and it is extremely doubtful if it has been seen anywhere else. And ib fits where it touches. Out of for%-five suits made up in Wellington, forty-four turned out misfits, and the remaining one is being put to rights locally. So great is the dissatisfaction of even the Maoris with this unique dress, that they are taking their mats Home for all occasions on which they wish to appear specially decent.