MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 32, 6 March 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

A good story about almanac!) is going tho rounds of tlio nowspapors. In an, up« country district in Napier a ninn had purchased own of thcso invnluablo handbooks, published by a looal nowspapcr! Kolying on its accuracy bo made a bofc that Lord Derby luul once boon Fremior of England. Tho bot was roforrod to tho dgoision of tho editor of tho papoi' whero tho almanao wns printed.. A paragrnph appeared stating iW Lord Dorby bad novor, boon Vrcmior. Tho publisher was. nslonioliod a fow dnys lator when ho ro« coivod a tologram to tho following effect : : — " Thon, look at you d-^-^lmanao and won p." A fow day B. ago it was statod by telegrum that im expedition to, Now Gainoa wns. being orgnnisod at Christchuroh. Tlio Lyttoltoo. Titnos of Wodnesdny rofors. to. i,t as follows :.—•••' Tho pcoposod expedition of Now Guinea is likely to moot with a vcijy cousidcwblQ amnu^t of su^ort.,

Tlio party it is proposed to form will not; bo confined to Cliristchurch, a* it '* intended tho West Coast, and Auckland. Tho intention of Ih? promoter*— w'>n »••« themselves prnetioal men— isi to get IO*» men to join tho party, caoh one hnvin-r a capital of £50. This will give JGSOOO. whioh it is thought will b« ample. Expeditions hare already been fitted out from Homo and from Australia to organise a search tor tho pr<-mous metil which is said to. exist in Now Guinea* and it U felt that tho spirit of 'enterprise should not be confined to thoso pin cos. Wo hour that alrondy n rousidcrahlo number have joir.od tho imr'y, nnd ihnfc tlioro will bo little, difficulty in cdtin^ the expedition Inirly under weigh. * , Tho Of ago Daily Times on a recent dnto published a very extraordinary lender upon tho subjeot of tho Civil Service, in which statements are boldly made which, if capable- of subs initiation, seem to cull for something moro than mere nowspuper criticism.. Tko heads of departments in Wellington and their more j immediate subordinates ar» represented as forming " a compact political ring,*' working thoir level be%t agamst tho present Government, and ignoring or bearding the several responsible Minister* whoso orders tluvy ore officially hound to obey. Oar contemporary expresses the opinion, nnd if bah of what ho says is truo we quite agree with him, that " «wy bend of every department in tho service, with ono or two honorable exceptions, should bo cleared out together with tlveir i mined in to assistants."— Exchange, A writer in nn English Church pnpor says that after carcfullv searching tho purochiiil rotfisters he finds that in St. j Pancras parisli with 2-2 district, chnrches, only 19 childron out of 100- born are baptised. In tho west of London the nverngrt is 23, nnd in the east only 14. The Oroelc Cabinet, nt a meeting oft tho 10th, decided upon pursuing a peaco policy. A popular demouskrntion in favor of war was put down by tho police. The King bus written a lotter to Vienna, saying war would bo fraught with groat dis« advantage to Greeeo, and he would not resort to it except from pressing ne« oessity. Tlio price- of a human jnw at tho seat of war in Bulgaria is 10f., moro or less. It varios nooordtnit to tho regularity, Round* ness, and whiteness of tho teeth, Iv Parif, tho quotation is 60 per oent. greater at wholosHle ra f es. The ghnstly wares are conveyed in oanes containing 600, and the teeth tiro extracted ofter their arrival at tho city to which tho jaws aro con« signed. The Government of Prussia has tolron a remntkaMe step backwards in the work of fiscal reform. Hitherto all municipal taxes in the kingdom have been levied through raios on rental and other direct imposts, but they havo risen so high ns fp produce popular discontent. Tho total asftoasment iv tho old Provinces hns increased from £'2.850.(XX) in 1857 to £5,800,000 in 1870, an ircrrnso of nearly 300 por cent in 20 years. Tho Government therefore,, propose to res" ore to the municipalities the right of levying indirect taxes— 'that is, in otherwordu, of establishing octroi duties. The oddest part of the proposal in that tho Government and Puriianient aro both aware that it is n retrogrtdo Ntep, and that it is defended only bh a ooncession u> popular iL'n»rn«eo and di.sliko of taxaiion. Tho inj iry d >ne fo trade will uot be crenf, as I'r'issi/in ofli* cials aro hones', but it in disai;recal>)i) to sco everywhere tkeso conscious coneossinns made by knowlodgo to iiiuoranco. Wl.'y onltivato giot>if gc4st in power is not to ml a?