MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 8 March 1880, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Canadian Parliament bas voted 100,000 dols. (about £21,000) towards tbe Trish Relief Fund. According to an Irish paper, Rev. Francis Petticrew, of Letterkenny, re« cently delivered a lecture on the subject of • Scriptural principles regulating tbe servioe of praise in the worship of tbe sanctuary,' in the Second Presbyterian Church. The lecturer ' treated bis sub* ject with the lucidity of statement and force of argument for which he is so eminently distinguished. No one could mistake his meaning in respect to any aspect of the question discussed by him, as his utterances were most distinct and I gave no uncertain sound. His arguments in opposition to the use of instrumental accompaniment in the service of praise in the worship of the sanctuary, under the Christian dispensation, amounted to a demonstration. He made it transparent beyond the verge of all doubt, that neither in the primitive church, nor for six centuries subsequently, was the use of instrumental musio known.' The following London telegram dated 24th inst., appears in the Evening Post : —News from St. Petersburg states tbat a proclamation bas been issued by the Nihilist Committee couched in the most defiant terms, in which they announce their intention of proceeding to the last extremities in order to achieve their ends. They threaten tbat if & disposition to meet their demands is not made by the Czar by the 3rd of March next, their agents will set fire to the city. The greatest confusion and excitement are reported aa existing in tbe Russian capital, which is virtually in a state of siege. The police are making domiciliary visits, the guards afc the Imperial Palaces and the important public buildings have been strengthened, and numerous arrests cons tinue to be made. A correspondent writing from London, say?, ' I have been to a performance of the 'Children's Pinafore' afc tbe Opera Comiquo Theatre, and in my memory London has nat given a prettier performance. Every youngster in a sailor's costume, and every dainty lass that loves a saiior looking charming. Dear me ! there is such a little duck of a round child who plays Little Buttercup, a ' quaint, little comical woman, who sings as i clear as a bell in perfect tune. It is Miss i Everard, seen through the wrong end of ] the opera-glass. And then there is the ; First Lord, who reproduces the quaint i tricks of Mr Grossmith { and a charming 1 Captain Corcoran and Miss Corcoran, < botb natura), childlike, aud with none of i

the forced affectation of stage children ; and a most comical little atom of a midshipman that was ever seen, who will make the children scream with delight; and a Dick Deadeye, who is no doubt 8 born actor. But the boy who delighted me was the Ralph Rackstraw, a lad with one of those heavenly voices that we bear in cathedrals, and whose pure sobbing notes send a cold shiver down tbe back and tears into the eyes. The absolute simplicity of his acting, the mild melancholy in his interesting face, the expression of his eyes, and the purity of that wonderful voice relieve the humor ot the rest of the performance, with just sufficient sentiment and no more. lam a very old playgoer, and am said to be strangely particular, but I hive not for some time witnessed a performance tbat pleased me more.' The agricultural yield for the present year in the United Sates is calculated as follows: — Butter, 170000,000 dols. ; cheese and milk, 130.000.000 dols ; beef, fresh and tinned, 270,000,000 dols ; pork and bacon, 250,0<J0,000 dols; Indian corn, 410,000,000 dols ; wheat, 400.000, 000 dols ; total, 1,630,000,000 dols. The Oamaru Harbour Board's Otematata run, 65,000 acres in extent (says the Mail) has been leased to Messrs Ritchie and Charles de Vere Teschemakpr, at the annual rental of £3085. This was tie upset price fixed by the Waste Lands Board at the instigation of the Oamaru Harbour Board, they being of opinion that the rental at which it had been previously let (£730) was totally disproportion'e with the value of the property. Mr J. C. Firth, miller, of Auckland, who owns 1,000,000 acres at the Upper Thames, intends giving a banquet a f ter the harvesting. The same gentleman prefers a claim against the Government for £7452, tbe cost of improving the navigation of the Upper Thames River, In Dodson's Consultation on the Dun* edin Cup the first prize was drawn by Vallanee, the owner of Camballo and other horses ; the second prize, Messrs M'Farlane and Rochford, Dunedin ; and the third by Messrs Smith and Shrimpton, Timaru The winners in the Press Consultation were—Mr H. Lyons, first ; Messrs Grant and Co., of the s.s. Wellington, second ; and a resideut of Hawke's Bay, third. In Mr Abraham's Consultation the winners were — First, Mr W. Telford, of Alexandra, Otago,; second, Mr James Morkane, of Port Chalmers ; and third, a well known dis penser of soothing beverages living not a hundred miles from the Octagon Ifc is a curious fact that out of the forty horsea engaged in the Cup, thirlyse Ten of them in the last«mentioned sweep were drawn by Dunedin residents, while the first and second prizes fell to tbe two lucky snb scribers in Alexandra and Port Chalmers, and the third to one of the thirty»aeven in Dunedin. There appears to be some difficulty in the way of distributing relief in the West of Ireland. Tbe Guardians say that if works are ordered, wages are raised on the farmers who are already distressed; while if money is given directly, ifc tends to pauperise the people. The disbtttt| however, is admitted on allh^f|j^^^| quite Under tbeseJj^^^^^^^^ fsays the Spectator), >*^^^^^^^H to anJ^^^^^^^^H other way J^^^^^^^^^H when better times *^^^^^^^^^^^H serves self-respectJ^^^^^^^^^^^H the to-jjji^^^^^^^^^^^^H nary industry.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H whether j^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H av^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H sure neverty^^^^^^^^^^^^H keep tbe^^^^^^^^^^^^H epidemle^^^^^^^^^^^H instance, Mr Mitcl^^^^^^^^^^^H judgl|.^^^^^^^^^H the people without fo_i_^_^^^^^^H money, or credit, or money,^^W^JJ^ buy either, and believes the distress eß* tirely beyond the reach of private charity, Ifc has been ascertained, thafc if the flowers are removed from the potato plant j that the return of the potatoes is much larger, then when they are allowed to remain, and the apples to form aod to ripen. The result of two acres expe.i mented on, was, on the one the acre were the flowers had been plucked, 208 cwt, and on the acre left nntonclied, 188 cwt. The potatoes from the stalks from which tbe flowers had been removed were longer and more flowry, than from the others. This is easily explained, as the nutrim n' whicb is absorbed by the flowers and apples, will if prevented, enlarge the root crop. We trust the experiment will be tried here, and the result recorded for tho benefit of agriculturists and others. Tbe following remarks by a correspondent of the Auckland morning paper will amu^e Canterbury people :— « ln visiting the South recently 1 was as» tonished to see the manner in which public money had been squandered and thrown away in educational establishments and institutions. In one ease I saw a large stone residence for a schoolmaster which must have cost £3000 or £4000, standing empty, beeanse tbe master could nofc afford to furnish and keep up such a palatial residence. In an* otber place tbere was an average attendance of about tea scholars in a magnifia

i cent building wbich would bave given ample accommodation to ten times tbat oumber. Theo in the South tbere are ! colleges, bigh schools, grammar schools, normal training schools and an agriculi tural school, all splendidly endowed bat | the latter is without a single pupil, whilst __ I the results achieved in other cases do not | justify tbe expenditure. ____________M_________M__BMa_S______B