NEWS IN" BRIEF.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 70, 29 August 1874, Page 7

NEWS IN" BRIEF.

A woman, named Minnie Benzie, late of Hokitika, has been committed for trial at Westport, for attempting to commit suicide by drowning herself in the surf. The scraping up of the Wealth of Nations claim, Reefton, for the past week resulted ia a return of 3380z sdwt of amalgam. Two men, named Dennis Sullivan and Charles Shadworth, have been killed in the Northern Wairo, near Auckland, by treeß falling on them, whilst working as bushmen.

The ' Star ' publishes the following slight erratum : — ■" By a typographical error the oratorio to be given by the Choral Society on September 5, was announced in our advertising columns as " Madman," instead of " Naaraan."

A player at whist may bold over 635 thousand millions of various hands, so that continually varied, at fifty deals per evening for 313 days or 15,650 hands per annum, he might be above forty millions of years bafoi-e he would have the same hand again. The Venerable Archbishop of Tuam speaking of the press, says : — " Of such a powferful instrument of good or evil, we should be all anxious to extend the beneficent, and check the baneful influence. If, however, you wish to have an honest press, you ought to honestly and generously support it." >

The Bey of Tunis recently bought the dwelling of the Christian Brothers, who are conducting schools in that city, and presented it to them.

The Catholics of New Brunswick are moving strongly for separate schools, and have prepared an address to the Queen on the subject.

At Adelaide the unemployed miners are applying to the Destitute Board for rations.

The Colac (Victorian) Meat Preserving Company manufacture tins of plum-pudding requiring only twenty minutes, immersion in boiling water to render it fib for the table.

It may not be known to our readers that a son of the celebrated novelist, Charles Dicfeens, has been following the occupation of a squatter for some years in Victoria. From the * Australasian ' we learn that Mr Alfred Tennyson Dickens has been appointed Acting-Secretary to the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company. A seam of twelve feet of coal has been discovered at a depth 248 yards on the Duke Sutherland's Trentham estate. A correspondent of the • Daily Telegraph ' has been on a vitifc to Bazaine in captivity. He seems to have been much struck with Madame Bazaine, whom he describes as a " Mexican, with dark hair, j lustrious eyes, dark eye lashes, and eye brows beautifully curved, a mouth indicating unusual resolution, and a radiant, lovely face." The Emperor of China has ordered a collection to be,, made of Chinese poetry from the earliest times downwards. This collection will be published in two hundred volumes. It is also stated that he has in his possession a library, numbering over 400,000 volumes. As an example of enterprise in the Birmingham button trade, we may mention the fact that quite recently Messrs Green and Cadbury, of that town, posted in one day 153,000 sample cards of a patent twohole linen button Jtliat they manufacture, to ladies in London and suburbs, the postage on the same amounting to £329 12a 6d. According to a Parliamentary paper just issued, the amount of barley imported iato the United Kingdom last year, was 2,587,498qr8, or 9,241,063cwt5. Europe consumes about two-thirds of the petroleum produced in the United States.

Some curious statistics relative to paper-making have been recently made at "Venice. It appears that tkere are 3,960 paper manufacturers in the world, employing 80,000 men and 180,000 women, besides 100,000 in the rag trade ; 1,809 millions of pounds of paper are produced annually ; one-half is used for printing,, one-sixth for •writing and the remainder for packing and other purposes. The foundation stone of a new Catholic Church- has been laid at "louth Shields. The building will accommodate 1,000 persons, and viU cost £8,000. A nian. in Illinois committed suicide by drowning, lately, in bix nches of watei'. He could not have done it alone, but his wife, with hat self-sacrificing devotion and hopefulness so characteristic of her iex, sat on his head. A Western paper chronicles marriages in this style : — " The couple resolved themselves into a committee of two, with power to add to their number." A novelty in suicide is reported from Adelaide. A telegram says : «A. ma n named John Allen attempted suicide by putting gunpowder in his mouth and lighting it with a fuse. The injuries are bo serious that a fatal result ia expected." The ' Times' has established a private telegraphic wire direct from its Paris office to the head-quarters in Printing-House square, in Lon- ' Nelson has gone back to the good old days. A watchman now cries the hour in the street at night, just as in the time of " Tom and Jerry in LondonIt is reported that one of the manufacturers of confectionery in Melbourne ships upon an average about six tons of confectionery to New Zealand per week. Seven thousand miners in South Staffordshire accepted the terms arranged between the delegates and the masters.