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Waipawa Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 782, 28 May 1885, Page 2

In a conversation on March 18 with a distinguished general who was advocating a plan of a railway extension iu Turk* utan, the Czar is said to have uttered the following words : —I cannot conceive that any Hut the wildest dreamers can imagine for one instant that 1 have the intention of declaring war, seeing that no success of our arms would repuy us for the sacrifice we should be called upou to make. The future of Russia in Asia,” continued the Emperor, “ is predestined to a glorious accomplishment by means of tho irresistible march of civilisation, and not by the employment of force.” The large emigration from Italy is worrying the papers of that country. They say that the shiploads of people taken from Italy to America are draining Italy of its most productive factors. The tide of emigration, they say, is assuming such proportious as to l>e calamitous to the State, and an instance is mentioned where one Prefect alone issued last year 6000 passports for emigrants to America.

A correspondent of the Australasian sends the following to that journal :—I think the following extraordinary occurrence is worthy of being recorded as something perfectly unique in the history of that formidable brute the shark. It was witnessed by tho late Captain Millis, formerly harbour msster of Belfast, in this colony, who reluted tho circumstances to me, aud 1 have not tho slightest doubt of its truthfulness. Captain Millis was then engaged in whale fishing. 0110 day he and some of his crew were standing on a headland looking out for whales. Below them a narrow opening in the cliffs led into a small bay, in which they saw a great commotion going on between a whale and a number of immense sharks. The whale was trying to get out to sea, but every time he made the attempt the sharks fiercely attacked and drove him back, and several of them kept cruising about the narrow entrance. By and by, the whale l>cgan to show symptoms of exhaustion, when suddenly one of the largest of the sharks sprang out of the water, aud threw himself acros the whale's nostrils, thus preventing li from breathing. In his terror aud distre* the whale opened his jaws and roared. In stantly the other sharks, who were evidently expecting this darted at his tongue and tore it out. This seemed to be all they wanted, for as soon as they had devoured it, they made off to sea, leaving the whale to its fate. Says the Auckland Herald :—lt seems that to obviate the complaints that are made as to the delay iu the adminstratiou of justice in our Inferior Courts, a Justices of the Peace Bill is to be brought in the next session of the Goverment, which is virtually to compee Justices to sit, under penalty of having their commissions cancelled.

The Melbourne correspondent to Public Opinion writes : —The reproach under which Melbourne has been labouring for some years in its lack of tramways will soon lie a thing of the past. The first sod of the Richmond line was turned ou the first of January of last year, and in August next the line, .fthich has cost £IOO,OOO, is to be opened for traffic The right of construction of the lines in the city is held by the Tramway Trust, who have obtained permission to borrow the money necessary to carry out the work. The scheme comprises the laying of 33 miles of cable aud 17 of horse trams, and is estimated to cost a million sterling. The works are under the superintendence of Mr G. O. Duncan, who had charge of similar works in Dunedin, and he is acknowledged to be one of the most competent men obtainable for the position of supervisor. Although the greater part of the plaut has been imported, so as to afford patterns for future use, a good deal has been put into local hands, and the carrying out of the lines has already afforded employment to a greater number. After 30 years the property falls to the municipality through which it inns. A sample of American cheese in London recently analysed proved to contaiu neither milk nor auy of its derivatives. Its chief ingredients were lard and colouring matter. It came l'rdtn New York State.