MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 39, 13 May 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS .

A livo frog embedded in solid- rook has just been discovered in Auckland, N,Z. Hornld says :— " Mr H, M, Jprvpifl, of Ooromandcd, smit up ynstory to the soorolnry of Uio Auckland Jnsl'luton livo frog of tho Now #oa'and spoolos, which hud boon fond in tho rock at Tiki near Coroinnndel. In hi;< dosoviption of tho placo, Mr Jorvioa says, Whilst excavating in tho trap rook, on thoMiinst., fora quarts! loudor on tho top of a rango at tho Tiki, about four foot from tho crown of the rook, which uudorilc? floven foot of clay, tho live frog herewith, wan liboratorl. ltd eyelid h wore clo3od nt first, but gradually opouod, and displayed a pair of bright oyca. Tho frog has darkoucd, nnd nppnri'iilly hardened ninco il,a liberation from Ibo rook.' It wan quite lively ycatorduy whon dolivovod to Mr Choccfioniim, having a pnir ofoyoa as bright n« dinmondfi, and being beautifully marked with green spola. Tho Now Zoulund frog id quite different frow tho •- ■'..... j • •-< >

English op Australian fmxn. The lir«t vvns fouud at Coromandol about 1862 whilo prospecting for gold : aud another aliorty aftorvvards, by Mr Gibbons, whilst excavating to fix n 6>m ° n ono 9* * no crooks, Strango to say, those anjmals woro quito unknown Ihq natives, who aro acuto obsorvors. They had noyor socn or hoard, of n fyog, and oopwfluqiifly had, no namo for \\, and as thfl disoovory wag mado when Jho 'na^vft mi,nd, was agitated about Riv\ng up tho hind, for gojd mining tho Maoris carao to tho conqlusion that tho Europeans jyid discovered^ it, and that thoroforo tlio \and must thorn for gol(| mining, S\nqo then several frogs hayp boon found, especially at Paul's Crook, Coroniand,ol. 'Spooitnoiiß havo also boon discovorcd at tho Huia, at Optiki) and, in 18G7, ono was found by Mr A. Aitkin, at Thamo's. Those aro tho only plaooaj in tho colony, co far ns wo know, whori) original frogs havo boon foundi Mr in his communication to tho Instituto, stated that whitoin Aua* tjralia, ho waa ono of a party encamped near a wator-h'olo at tho timo of groat drought. A nativo boy followed some markings, du^g down a considorablo dopth And found a o.lay ball, insido of qjhich was a frog and about half a pinij of water. . Ihoro was a, numbor of sqoh rosorvoirs, which tho travolloro took po^oisipn of. ]?roRB havo been found in England omboddod in trees of largo growth, no that I it is olo^r thoy can stand a good doal of squeezing and a long fast. How tho frogs camo to Now Zealand — wholhor they woro i ancient inhabitants— how they got om« boddod in rooks — aro questions which wo will not disouss." "Atlas" tho writor. in tho World, is responsible for tho following, rathor, startling information: — So wo owo it to tho good houso of ono of eps barhaos>\ that Sj(o aro not already at war with l?»s---sin, Tho qocond timo tho English Fqun.lron, in aooor.lanco with orders received from Whitehall, proceeded to Rail up the Dardanelles, tho Csar and Princo QorU sohnkotE toloj»raphod to tho Grand Duko Kioholns forthwith to enter Conslai tnoplo Tho Grand Duko howovor, knowing tho condition of his a^my, and tho 6moutc which its appoaranco in tho Turkish capital would oxcito, took upon himsolf tho responsibility of disregordingtho Imperial order. Sinco tho invcnlion of the tolcphono various processes of tclcgru|>hy,&(i which havo boon inuso with tbo natives for mnny years in Ooylon other places, hnvo como to light. We (Northern Advooatc) havo just hoard of a codo of signals used by tho Maoris, tho existence of which is not wo believe goncrnlly known. ■ Tkj hreSSSMgJDGI* bear testimony to the Rcnuincnoss and ulilify of tho Maori tologrnph flystom. Ono day last wook Mr P. 8. B-own. of Ngunguru, M homo to , go to Putaua, and on his wny biieft whs , benighted at Taiharuru. When passing ' tho Horahora Crook in tho early pact of the day ho saw a boat with Maoris proparing to leave, Oh reaching Taiharuru, ho learned tho boat was oxpootod there lust night, but it did not arrive. Next morning ho found a Maori waving a atiek about to tho end of which was affixed a pi coo of wliito oalioo. Looking in tho i direction of tho Horahora a distanoo of j about 4 miloa, Mr Brown pcrcoivod a small boat standing out in which ho also noticod a stick and white calico. Tho signal was very small, but certain movo* i monts \yoro boing made with it, and woro vigorously nns.wcrod by the natives at Taiharuay, who not only appoared to .thoroughly understand tho dumb show but also mantainod a moro than an ordjnary amount of oxcitemont. In anower to Mr Brown's enquiries, ho was told that Ihqy (Iho Maori's), had been talking and tho Maoris in tljo boat said that thoy could not come last night ns thoy woro ,Bwampqd in tho, surf. No lives, wqro i lost, fortunaloly, SfS tho tide, was owning • in, Subsccjuontly Mr Brown loarptthat <tho fact ( s woro perfectly truo. Tl},o tolcn (graphing as describod to us by Mr^ Brown is really romarkablo, j l'ho Pwncdin llcrnld. onys _:— " A very pr»otic(il oxtoußion of tho franchise would bo to mako a Bupplpmontal,roll of qlpctors six months afjor tho first, which would bo equivalent t,o having two rogiatratious in tbo year in placq of ono. Tho plan offers several advantages. It is oloar that 'registration is most gonoral under an jantijjipntion of an election, and is apt to jbo forgottoa at other timosj and woro, th,prq to bo an oloqtipn in Dunodin— an loyont both posaiblo and dpsirablo, in view of, an abßontpo member— -thoro would bo a vory largo numbor of applications made to register. A year is a long time to w«it to got on tho roll if disfranchised, and indcod nn clcctcv onco registered should romain pcrmamontly on it, dospitp nny loss of tho qualifioatioii," Judgo Bathgatq says of Oddfollowship that "It ia^tho harbingor of » l»righlor day, tho morning gjo.ams of tho c/Tulgonco of tho noontidq of lovo. Information haa boon rccoivod, at Wellington, of the dpath by drowning, whilst crossing t]io Matatitaki, near TTampdou, i.i tho provincial district of Nelson, of Mr William O'Brien, shoomaker, aged 25 years. Tho i doccasod wo understand has friends living at, Grey* mouth. Tho Pall Mall Gozptto in roviowing Mr lioo's "Sir Gilbert Loigh," spenks highly of tho author's ability, nnd concludes its criticism by Btaljng"thnt thoro ia a wealth of fact, and power ofdes-

cviptivo writing and an earnestness in all ! ho says, which ruisos Mr llo<».V b'"»k 1.-ir ■ nbovo tho lov« I of ordinary uovels." A Wellington organ says.— "A parly of , Sportsmon wont up to Pahautanui on , Eastor Monduy for d day's shooting. In , tlioir list of intondod victims they did not include wild cattlp, nor did Uioir plans opuipriso a hunting spoue, in which Ihoy inoant to bo tjje gairjo hunted,. Yet bqth of thoso qn«ought oyouts camo qbout, Eor thoso sportsman suddonly found themselves i,ho ohjoots of pointed and 'nn^aitering attention on thq pa,rt of aifjld bull. % first they thought they would show a bold front, but on second thoughts' thoy decided tlioy wouldn't, Next they fahoiod they would hayo n ohanco of qocuring'pigopns if they olimhod up a troo to look for thorn, besides having an immeasurably suporior viow of tho landscape. They ascended (quickly, not that they wore in v hurry but they wcro anxious to soo tho prospect in a particular light, and did not enro. to waste timo in romping with common wild, bulls. They duly admired tho viow and tho bull po>» litoljr wnitoc^ for thorn at tho foot of tho troo. At lon^th thoy thought it v^as timo to descend, and ( they woro afraid that in going down backwards thoy might trend on tho bull occidontly, and perhaps hurt tho poor thing. So tricc\ to frighten I him away by iust firing a fow charges of shot in his faoo. Still ho would not go. and at longth a chanco shot penetrated his brain, and ho foil dead. Thon thoso sportsmon dosconded tho tree." A Victorian qoutemporary states that tho tondor of the South Australian llegistor for tho publication of Hausard was #6. for oaoh sitting of Parliament, with an extra payment of £2 Mty per ho'u,r after tho first four hours ; tho reports to bo published in yio llcgistor newspapor, and £300 to bo paid for 250 bound volumes of the, roports, According to May fair, application has bconmndo to tho authorities of tho Bank of England to lond, tho Government for throe months, upon tho Rccurity of a sixpenny income tax, tho 1,000,000, bank nolo, which is kept on hand to show visitors. It is thought that if on ontoring tho Qongross Lord Slisbury wcro in an oil'hand way to produce it and ask for chnii(jc ,a most desirable clloct would bo pro* ducod. Tho Into Mr J.ustico Follows (snys tho JVTolbouvne MeraH). paused much aniuscment to tho members of tho press by a habit of writing, his judgments on tho first scr ( np of paper which came handy. On several occasions his wcightly deliverances have, boon registered on thtj. back of grocors 1 bills, soipo r^ocoiplod aud others not. Probably tho .judge's family hnvo oi'lon lumted about for bills which lio in tho archives of tho Supremo Court. Uofrrring to tho discovery of gold, near Mount Cook by two photographoro^ in tho employmont of Messrs Burton Brothorsjsnf l)unodin, tho Greymouth Evoning Stnr i says ;—" They woro very rcticont on wbut thoy had disoovored, but tho simpio fact of their making such ! a pordons journey for mining tools nlpno would fairly lead to tho inferenco .that it must ha\*o been somothing very good, to induce thorn to do so. One of tho Burton party had an almost miraculous oscapo. Ho was passing oitbor round an oxtromoly dangorous plaoo when ho slipped and fell, bat a small tent that t^us strapped on his back caught in an ovor \ hanging brnnoh, and hold him suspended till his companions released him from his horriblo position, On their return they intondod to go up tho river Totara, with the hopo of being ablo to get up at tho baok of Mount Muollor, and thin avoid a groat doul of this Alpino travelling. As a proof of tho probability of an onormous rich gold -Gold being situated about tho head of tho Waiho, to which point tho adventurous parly has gouc, wo oro in* formod on roliablo authority that far lower down, at tho foot of tho right hand branch of tho river, hugo boulders icoyered with moss aro found, and in this moss, to tho very top of thorn, a good ', prospect of gold can always bo found, on ono occasion a piooo nearly an ounco being got, This ha 3 ovidonlly boon brought down from tho hoad of tho rivor, and spems to • provo tho oxistonco of n gold field of vast extent and richness. In connection with tho right-hand branch of tho Wailio a singular natural phono* menon is found. Tho w,ator of tho river is icily cold, and tho glacier is only two milos f rom •*• Between tho two, nnd within a quarter of a milo of main branch of tho river, is a hot, spriug that boils, incessantly." ' . Tho Lanco!; has discoyorod tho biggest subject of her Majesty in Nowcsatlo-on Tyno, Mr William Campbell, landlord of tho fluko of Wellington, stands 0. foot <l iMohcs in height, and weighs 53.' stono. 110 >tieasuro3 round tho shoulders 0(5 inches, round the waist 8(5 inches, and rcund tho oalf of tho log IJS inches. Jfe was 'born in Glasgow in ISofi, and h;is not f|uito attained, his 22nd yoar, From his birth he was remark'ibly stout, and at nino months old ho weighed four stono, at ton years of ago ho weighed 18, stone and has gono on increasing sinco then, and it is with dilliculty he keeps at his procont weight. Ho was brought up as a printer, but was compelled I'r.om his size to givo up his occupation. His appotito is not moro than an avorago ono, and, although not an abstainer, ho is a modorato in his uso of alcoholic drinks. If Mr Campbell goos on incmiiinß in bulk ho will surely be too big for IScW'. I castle, and wo may look to roo tho mas- | sivo Scot in tho metropolis. Is thoro ' not an opening at; tho Aquarium. Tho following extraordinary' tolograp* hin blunder' is recorded by Ihu Home ' Ncwsi—'Ou March i tho daily papers

i<i)iiinin<'il h R'Mitur's tolofr»"im from Bm« l)(Mi«', in fc'ii' olloot Mm'- Lviy Kcnnmlyr had >?iyon birth to twin*. Mio olilo.it buint» a son. Ft sooiiis tlni tho luossutfi* uohrilly rocitivnl by tho Company was— Qovtvn >r of Quoonslan.l— twins, f^rst son. Bnin^ informal that Sir Arthiyr Kennedy wasunniurrjod, nnd th,at there nnist bo B>mo mistake, it tolotfrphio ropotition wns do« umuded. It was received on Monday, March, }l» aii't shows tb,fit thq words really telotfrnphod by Router's agoni* vferc i 'Governor, Queensland ti^rns fy*t so( j/ — tho alliwoil, of ooqrflc,, hoim* to tlie Maryborouifli*Gyin,pio, railway in course of qotistr^ction.' 1% following extract from, a London, correspondent* letter explains tho r.onsoi\ of. Sir 1\ M'Doukhll'jj being sent to t«ki> tho onimand in Gannda.—Tlio spirit dis* played, by Canada in proposing to tako, part in, any measures whic.li might bo. ivquirod for tbo ' dyioncrt of ***<♦ national interests has j»«ven grout si\tis/flc.tion, Uoro to all frio.nds of tbo oauso, wliilo it hns oonsidorably surprised s •>ino. of our dpetaiflajres nnd philosophers, whoso 'only notim of n colony is drawn from'Goldwin Smith, us somotbin« which when it ceasos to uot trny n\>ro out of tho bother country, is struggling to, brook its Ijonds. ' It is said, that tit loast 10,00}), Canadian militia could bo calculutod upon to embark for foroign so.rvico. in the ovent of wnr. ' FjoiQ authentic iiiforrantion tho Vienna correspondent of tlio Morning Adrorlisor loans that Russia has in Turkey nnJ, iiouraania in nil 400,000, m,en and, V^V guns. 'In .Russia itsolf thoro uro yol 160,000 men and 000 guns, boyond tl»is tboro is a resorvo of 72,000, mon with 221 guns. Tho .Russian army in Asia Mi*r nor nmonnts to tionrU 100.000 mon.