NOTES AND QUERIES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume 27, Issue 950, 27 June 1883, Page 5

NOTES AND QUERIES.

.At the enquiry concerning the late goods-shed fire, it fell to the lot of a Dunedin gamin, fifteen years old, to bo a witness. He said, he and his mate noticed the reflection of a flickering light on the window : Smith, asked him to *' give him a fcg.up." Witness said ',' no ;" some of the clerks might think they were "up to something." He said he smoked, but had not" lit, his pipe that evening. .Now, ii ' •mokinginjurious 1 Ought such youngsters, to be allowed to. smoke 1 ft the. habit be a manly and useful one, it. ought to be 'encouraged. I .auppqse. it semi a good' .purpose; for ma,ny eminent, men. and some .ladies umoke. Then! why not encourage the! practice ?, Why. hot teach jt in the public schools? Ha/yon're, laughing in, your sleeve, old fellow? It : wa's at school where you tearnt to sihotic \

•Mr Macandrew moved that the hours of sitting during this Parliamentary session be from 11 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. " Censor" thinks that the hours are rather long : we don't send our representatives to Wellington to overwork themselves : so long as they vote to each his honorarium, and get a few cheap trips in the Stella to become acquainted with this country of ours, which every one- of us is supposed to lend a hand in governing— they may inskruot the heads of the Various departments of the civil servioe what to do, and leave 'thetn 'to accomplish all ■ the work. , A petition, to the House asking ' them to , shorten their hours would strengthen the hands of Mr Macandrew in his philsn-, thropic scheme ithe benefit iof our honored 'representatives. ■•"'"•^^-■'^S^pßißilß II y ,

Sir George Grey, on Thursday week;, gave notice of an "Affirmation, in. Lieu of Oaths Bill." .G^ess his surprise and indignation -w-hjn, on |^eipllpwingTJyiedaesday the. (Minister of Ltnds a^e^ |the House to fix a date for the second reading of an and Declaration Bill, 9 which had .been brought in by the, Government. , T^he veteran ( knight. anfl , his : esquires prptes^d. veheniently against ] snehajoaode-of takingine winctqutof the, sails of gallant, old, craft.; iMr Holmeichara^erifledihe action pf 'Govern- ' n^ent ,«r .ft ineaftj^tte^pt: to '. jos#y ! Sir George Grey out of credit of carrying this measure. ',< " i

. Professor Black's, jepdrt on analysis of Colonial bieer4«iOAUsing;,no.entt ,o{ .tftttle ; the latest is a proposition that the English Church, iitanyjbe altered tp.read:with ( the following addition;— "Frpm>ad whisky, doctored brandy, all sulphides,, water, and othefibeverage; aboqiiiia^pnjb good Lord, deliver us." ,

Person's wha>e scholarship has, gained for them the 'degree of M.A. or B.A. are, as a rule, unable to write- English, or their brains . are ' too fertile !,to find expression 'in the 'vulgar tongue. Specimens of the style of Uipso, uLtrfc-English KUrati may be seen ; in r the "Educational Monthly,'.' in ar't)cl<j* i "in whig}} occur BU,Oh words as technique, .eikon, rjiqu,*nte, dicta, en , croupe and hyper-critical dilettante. Such wwtejrs. after writing an article containing, a few foreign phrases, may be. supposed, fo'ru^b .trajgetW their palms, or wash their hands in soap, all the while jfemarking that they have enriched the English language by the addition, of such-and-such.

"Uneasy lies the head' that wean a crown." rßy the failure of the' New Zealand Company in 1860, much 'of Otago came into the possession of -Our Sovereign lady Queen Viotoria. The crown still holds a large area, and it is reported that the Crown Lands are the principal breeding-grounds of the f bunny tribe. Now, under the Babbit Nuisance Act, the inspector may prosecute any landowner who doe* not take sufficient means for the destruction of th« rabbits. Can the inspector- sue Quean Victoria to show cause why she shall not be incarcerated for the period of 21 days or mulcted in the penalty of £10 for not fulfilling «he requirements of the Rabbit Nuisance Act ?

The candidates for Bruce ,are uncommonly candid (that's a pun 1) Mr Gillies complains that Jftr, . Motley "had gone over the country aflHjt stated that he (Mr Gillies) had an ,nxe to grind. $ow where was. the axe ?"— Thj* was a ; poser jno one could show the axe ! Mr James M 'Donald said he thought the, colonists, now, had plenty.of .spoaking.pqwer \n Wellington ; his idea would be r to, get more work, flone, a,nd to have less ( talk. -Try it on James, but if,you,tos little you may singstrtiq^*

The author of a letter which appears In the TtTAWttA Timbs of Wednesday last draws attention to the state of the County roads. Now, "Censor" wijl give one and all the benefit of a " wrinkle :" get twenty telephones by public subscription, and lay wires into the County Council chamber from each ratepayer's house on the line of bad road. ; Then set- up a din, viva toce. You'll soon get your rights after that. '

A more candid, ,a^<Halthful, exposition of the immigration policy and general political morality of Colonial !,Governments could not be found Than in the speech of Mr Griffiths, tfeliv.ered at North Brisbane last month, when lie said ; " Efery additional settler in the Colony incrc&iei ittborrowingpoioera and deoiwuu its amount. per htad of indebtedness."