MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 38, 31 May 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

In tho Sohiliomann Collection nt South ( Kensington (says tho Uuildor), ono of tho i skulls, " prohnhly of a woman," presents nothing ispeoinl for romnrk, oxcept. tho oven and regular backward slant of tho whole profilo (us far as a skull indicates profilo), tho hoad mifiUt have becu a tolcp

übly refined and intellectual ono in a peculiar fashion ; out the other skull found, as wo sco from the label, in the Trojin stratum, is so extraordinary animal in charaotor, with its unrrow receding fort"* hoad, projootiog jaws und powerful tcoth> tho lattor almost ontirely perfect, that if wo aro able to take this m any typical specimen of tho mon who "woro engaged in tho conflict about Troy, and who wero tho authors of much of tho work oxhibitod hero wo must ooino to tho conclusion that, iv spitoof the* clamour thrown around them by Homer, they woro, if physiological oharnotor moans anything, " sot of ruflluns very low in tho soolo of existence Certain Homoric oritios Iwvo already drawn this doduotion mainly frdrST* Iho peculiarly barbaric acts of Achilles I nnd the matter-of-oonrse manner in whicli they aro rogardod, besides tho general style of tho hand-to-hand combats of tho Hind, It is cerf.aiuly curious to find among these relies a skull so exceedingly calculated to confirm these uu-complim« entary estimates of 'lho heroic age.' The frequent bursting of kerosene lamps in railway carriages, arid tho burning of a portion of the Footsoray station buildings through that oauso (says tho "Melbourne Lead or) have engaged tho -attention of the oflicors of tho department. To Iho bad quality of tho kerosene used were attributed tho numorous accidents, and snmplos of oaoh brand of kerosono used by tho deportment woro forward to tho Government analyst. From tests modo by him, Mr Johnson found tho p lints of ignition of tho oils forwarded t> him were ;•— Diamond, lO4dog ; Devoid, 105 de« ; Oriontai, 124 leg, Fahronhoit. Nono of tho samploa woro up to tho res quired standard, and it has boon ascertained thnt nono of such high quality as specified in tho contract are to bo obtained in tho Colony. As tlio Oriontai has been provod to bo of tho best quality- it is intouded to uso it generally. A useful lesson in minim? enterprise is tnucht by tbo history of Dolooith (Corn-' wall) ono of tho oldest and deepest mines evor workc.i, and from which the greatest amount in vnluo of ooppor nnd tin ban been tnken tlinn in nil probability ever vn\* taker, from nny mino in tho world munoly upwards of £0,000.000 sterling. This was .ho result of detormined porsororanee, bold entorpri*o, nnd skilful management, nnd shews what may fairly bo exoeetod from some of the colonial mines if they aro worked in a similar way Djleonth has beou on the point of being abandoned sorornl times, when tbo amount of monov spont; without profltnblo return* had frightened the moro timid shareholders ; bur tb) bolder spirits generally prevailed, jmd tho io iult always justified their outiay. Mr Duncan of tho Grove, showod m » curiosity (suys tbo Mnrlbonv.gh Mxl.ress). It wns a medal to o <inmo.nior*!o iho sailing of Captain Cook's expedition Id New Zjonland, Ii was of bronzo. in *izo about thnt of the old twopenny piece, marked by fire and oorro'.vl by we ithor mid was found in Tuna U»y. nest tbo Crasxellos, lying on tbo surt'ieo of tlm irroud whern woro marks of an old M aori clcarins. On inn sido was tho inscription 'Ooorge HI.. King of Great Britain, Franco, ami Ireland,' On tho reverse side—' The IW'lulion and Advontmvr at iho top, in th" o'ntroof n very f^; rcprosontntion of two vessels, nnd betwJPl them ' Sailod from Knglnnd, Maim. 1772.' It is noteworthy tint Captain Cook spooks of thoso medals, and s.tn»os thnt ho mado a cairn on tho top of Tho Brothors. in which lie deposited rcvom! of Ihom, with coins nnd other articles Intf on his return bo found Vw contents had boon oafricd away, nor did ho ng.iin, traco thorn. The New Zoalnnder remarks that n Bimilnr mo<U\ is in the possession of ono of tho. members of its staff. Tfc wns found about fifteen yenrs i>ip, about, eightoon mile from Dnnedin. Or Jnck (it ono timo on- 1 nf "'^ IVTHJ-sty's inspectors) Mm< writes to th-> Times on tbo subject of «wii»ul+»-v oJucation—' My c^ntontion i», tliat t'ti« loi:nl enforeemont of school ntfendfince "lionl.l bo a« sparinc n» possible, nnd flf.t, th.i cxperioneo of Glnsaow shows Mint by <\ oroat denl of minulo nnd anxious hbor an efFoctual subs'ituto can be foii'i-1 f<>r most of it. But tbdro is much shll to do in Glasgow, as in ovory oth<ir 1 «r k 'e town, and tho difficulties of tho BonvA will bo-oo-no greater as they moro nnd more, nearly covor tho whole area of the city with good schools, nnd bocomo bound to deal with tho poorest nud rcoalcitantr Rtratum of tho population. They starfe.l two years Inter than tho rest of hngland, nnd threo years lalor than London, ho far, thoir systomofmuch persuasion and littlo punishment has boon very successful. They could never havo done what they havo dono without tho powor of punishmonk in rosorvo, but thoy hatro dono wol), I bolovo. to uso it only as tho last resort, nnd with great unwillingness.' Governor Weld, in a speech doliyererl at Launccston in Tasmania, on April 20, said that ho bad Colonol Soratohlo\ '.s authority for stating that Hobarfc Town and Kina George's Sound wero tho points most valuable to an onomy n.B strategical position, an<\ thoroforo most likely to bo attacked. Those places could bo ma«'o impregnable, and would entail groat efibtfcj nnd lmniensoexpondituro to recover thorn if once lost. The spcikor also mentioned the notablo fao 1 ; that Uussian nowsparors had lately published tho Colonial ]sank returns, and mentioned tho bullion as a vahinblo prize This indeed looks liko business,