MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 5 March 1880, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

♦ Referring to the custom in London newspaper offices to hive rady biograph eal notices of eminent men. a contemn porarv has the following :— lnformation reached the metropolis Ute at night of tlie d^ath of Mr Roebuck, and at one of the offices a sub-editor went to a pigeonsliole nn I drew forth a ske eh of (he deceased member's career. It was a very interestin" article, and the editor was much pleased with it. On ir quiring nexr morn* ing for the writer, in order to compliment him, the chief was dismayed to hear that the writer find been dewri four years. The amount of Mr Koebuek's life which mnny thousands of peop'e rend with interest, was the work of a dead man. The American correspondent of the limes writes : — A pool has been made in grain, in New York — tlwt is, many pools hare been made, but they have all been absorbed by one great pool, represented by .Times lit. K -ene. Tin's English adventurer and successful Californian 'operator' is the representative and head of the combination. Quite a national qnes'ion here arises. They have lockel up ail the grain toward, and everywhere i in, Chicago, and all along the line to the | East and at the sea»board is chock full, i No movement of grain can take place from points beyond Chicago without their leave, and if the Western farmers sold their grain, buyers could not transport r to the coast. Thus the selling price of breadstuff j is depreciated, and the price in Europe is artificially raised. And the country sppeara to be powerless,

-4 q i-er story, which the Italians would have clnracterised as being "well" (oiui'!-'i"l. if not true.', comes from St. Pi-t.T-i'i'u-j. Lady DuSVrin, wife of the Briii-1 linvoy. went to Court to be presen!e! ia (he Czirina. On arriving at t lie Winter Palace, she was shown inlo an ante room, as she thought, where an aged lady, whom she took to be a miss tress of the ceremonies, was seated on the ottoman. The lady motioned her to a place beside her and entered into conver sation, but in a frigid Russian style. The handsome Irishwoman, with the Hamilton b'ood in her veins, had a little pride of her own, aul thinb'cg the Mv eovite waiting woman was rather patronsing to lite wiff of an Ambassador, assumed a sfand eff' on her side. The ceremonious dame became more ceremonious, and almost haughty. At length she a«ked : ' Have you seen my daughter lately P' 1 Pardon me, madam,' said Lady Dufferin; ' I fancy we do not move in the >-ame circle. Pray who miy your daughter be ?' The answer led up to a tableau ' The Duchess of Edinburg.' said the stately old femnle, who was no other than the Empress of Kussia. The San Francisco Post, referring to the legislation of lnst session, says :— The N>w Zealand Parliament lias conferred Hie elective franchise upon all fema'es owning real rstnte. It has likevri c c passed a law enabling married women to acquire separate property, enter into trading partnerships and conduct business apart from their husbands. This is the largest instalment of woman's rights yet accorded by any legislature. It only remains to mal.*e husbands responsible for all their wives' debts, whether contracted as sole traders or as partners ia any trading concern, without the former's knowledge or consent, to fill the cup of feminine rights to over-flowing iv the ' Britain of the 3ou*li.' The Times correspondent at Philadelphia telegraphs an account of General n rant's reception at Philadelphia. 16tb December, after his ' round "the* world tour. The pageant appears to have been <^ne of tbe nr>st imposing ever seen in the United States. The procession contained 70,000 men and 25.000 horses, the route traversed was nine miles in length, and the uumber of spectators is said to h ive heen at least a mi'l'on. The procession was, however, too much to handle in a single day. Although it started at halfpast 10 in the morning, it wa3 almost nightfall before the last division started, and when night set in the procession br< ke up, all leaving the line wherever they might be. General Grant, whose welcome is said to ha?e been most en« thusiastic, dined in the evening with tbe surving members of his Cabinets, and* other di-tin2M : shed 2ue*ts. He declared the demonstration to hare exceeded any* thing lie had expected. We may now expect to see third-term Grant put up for tl c next presidency. Mrs Isaac Bell, jun. s sistpr of Mr James Gordon Bennett, recently became the mother of a fine son. The day after (he young gentleman's advent his uncle t called to see him, and laid on his cradle one hundred United States bonds ol 1000 dols, each as a christening gift, or rather a gift of *' joyous amfoa^fariziird' ing to the old medics ra^H^^^B^e accession of a king. Mr O'Connor Powef^^^^^^^^^^| tluit the iState sho^^^^^^^^^^^^H " bag and baggag^^^^^^^^^^^^H Irish landlords; 1 distribute the 1 farmers, on djf^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M coyer intere^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H number J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^J require millons course, acres °^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| deferred l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l The existei)Q^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^| population, '^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| t'lit'd avarice owners of thew^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 1?45<6-7 did more foM^H^^^HH thnn a generation of controverP^^na debate cowl I huve done. Out of the pre-< sent evil some go.xl may coroe. The Chinese Ambassador at Berlin, Li-> Frtng"|iMO. says that from the Chinese inscription on one of the vases found by j Dr Schiiemann on Tv j-m soil, it is proved j (hat there was traffic between China and European boundaries about 1230 yeirs before Christ. The gauze linen found by Dr Schlipmnnn in the vase was made in China. Li-Fang-t ao contends that tbe Hyperboreans were Chinamen. j The memoirs of Prince Metternick, now being published, are capital reading I efore a smu iire, and in an easy chair, taken with those of Mme. de Eemueats, tlvy confirm Iho littleness of the Great Napoleon. The lat ter avowed he lost 30X00 horses in one night in the I'ussian campaign from the cold, and (bat bis generals were so demoralise I, that they cried like children : of the 300,000 men lost in the expedition of 1812. Napoleon confessed only 30.0)0 were French. In marrying an Austrian Archduchess, ' I made a fool of myself,' be said. Dr. Maccabp, Roman Catholic Arch* bishop of I'ublin, has issued a pastoral upon the IrUh land agitation to the clergy of the Dublin diocese, in which he says : — ' Unfortunately men proclaiming tbeir sympathy for tLe people in their deep distress a*e going through tbe country disseminating doctrines which. pushed to their logical conclusions, will strike at the ro<*t of that good faith an.J mu^U'l eorfideiKP which ai"j the t'ouuJ.i

fions of social life. The»e dooMm-a^ hare already produced their evil result?. The enemies of our people employ them as arguments against our just demand for aid ; halfhearted friends are driven away in despair ; and tba real friends of. the people are weakened in their ad« vocaey of the rights of the country. If just debts, fairly demanded, be not honestly discharged, a principle fatal to i he prosperity of the country will be established, and sooner or later, it tnil recoil on the heads of those who to*day may seem to be the gainers by its- j adoption.' >