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Inangahua Times, Volume II, 20 August 1880, Page 2

The Carsndinis will positively appear in Etaefton on Tuesday evening next. One would imagine that either money must l)e very abundant in Beefton, or the taetefor lorieulture at a rather high pitch. At Campbell's f|le th.c other day some camelias, which to our recollection is a vegetable with i flower something like a potato blossom, fetched as bigh as £9 apiece. I In the House on Wednesday last the fol« towing vote paved in Committee of Supply on the Public Works Estimates, the following votes passed -.—Nelson South-West Gold* field—Roads and Bridges, £16,400 ) roads to Oreymouth and Westport, £15,000. Westland—Boads and Bridges, £50000} Hokitika to Christchnrch, construction, supervision, and damage by floods, £18,427. Gene* ral— Roads to open up land before sale, £61,544. In the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Messrs Brennan and Bowman, Justices of the Peace, a woman named Mrs Smith, who for some time past has been wandering about the town in a shockingly drunken and neglected condition., was charged with vagrancy. She was sentenced to three months* imprison* ment. The unfortunate woman's case was a most deplorable one. Having yielded to drink some years ago, all efforts by hey husband to reclaim her proved unavailing, and deserted by husband and ehildron she lately bad fallen to a still deeper degradation, from which her imprisonment is even a benevolent release. The atsault case of Jaquea v. Pats tenon was dismissed. The County Council sat up to a late hour on Wednesday night, but the proceedings being in committee, the business was conducted closed doors. The Council resumed

again at 11 a.m. yesterday, and nearly the whole of the day was unprofitably spent in debate^pon the comparatively inconsequential matter bb to whether the Engineer should or should not after office hours be permitted to do private work. The discussion on this question having thrown the business back to such an extent, another evening sitting became necessary, and the Council having adjourned at 0 p.tn , met again at 8 o'clock. A long discussion then ensued upon the question of compensation to the owners' of bridges at Boatman's. Mr Archer, after much discussion, was awarded £30. Mr Bogers was awarded £15 in respect to a similar application. The Council then went into committee of ways and means, and may be sitting now for all we know. Messrs Cochrane and Sons have completed their contract for the formation of the Soldier's road. A resolution was carried in the Council on Wednesday last dispensing with the services of the EateiCollector, and the Overseer at Hampden, and reducing the Engineer's salary to £5 per, week. The Chairman notified his willingness to accept a reduction equal to £50 per annum in his salary. These reductions to take effect from the 15th proximo. The completion of the Inflexible, the Ajax and the Agamemnon is now promised during the present financial year. This will make an important addition to the actual available strength of the navy. The inflexible, the largest man-of-war afloat, is a vessel of 11.406 tons displacement; while the Dundolo and Duilio, her rivals in the Italian navy, are only 10,570 tons. The armament of the Inflexible, consisting of four 80« ton guns, is (says the Pall Mall Gazette) inferior to that of the Italian ships, each of whioh carries four 100 ton guns; but on the other hand, there can be no doubt that structurally the English vessel is of greater strength than the Italian men-of-war. The Ajax and Agamemnon are sister ships, each of 8492 tons, so that by the completion of the three vessels 27,654 tons of iron»clad shipping will be added to the immediately available strength of the navy. The Ajax and Agamemnon carry only four 38-ton guns, but as these weapons throw a projeotile weighing 7001 b with sufficient velocity to penetrate 14 -inch armour, the vessels must be regarded as offensively of considerable power, while they admittedly possess great defensive strength. An Irish belle, a young Tipperary lady whose beauty during the season has been the sensation of more than one salon in the gay capital, has, it is said, fascinated Prince Oscar of Sweden, and the house of Bernadotte and the mansion of a worthy Minister and justice of the peace are likely to merge in matrimonial alliance. The prinoe met the lady at the party given by Mdmev Jules Ferry in honor of Professor Nordenskjold. the Swedish navigator. It was a case of love sur le champs, and the prince hat proposed after less than a week's acquaintance. The catch would be more remarkable in point of rank, than fortune, the prince's income being under £5000, a point it is not likely to exceed. But the lady has good means of her own, and it is quite on the cards that Ireland will boast one of these days a real princess of native birth. An English exchange relates the following incidents:— On a recent Saturday, the opening of a metropolitan Pinion infirmary was celebrated by a tremendous " guzsling match," the wine flowing freely ; and in spite of the presence at the festive soene of a live bishop and a minister of state, a most disgraceful scene of drunkenness— no, dipsomania, they were not so ill bred as to get drunk — concluded the celebration. I quote from a local paper :— '• and thus ended the day of inauguration, which, beginning with a religious service, followed by an excellent luncheon was succeeded by a booae, after which an unseemly brawl, winding up with a slight touch of the Agapemone," one of these model guardians having kissed the married daughter ' of a brother guardian, and when remonstrated with adding insult to injury by declaring publicly that the lady " had given him warrant to suppose that his caress would be welcome." With referenoe to the octopus reported at Fort Cbalmers|by the master of the schooner Torea the other day, on her arrival there, Captain Grundy. It was about a mile off: Cape Egmont, floating and apparently dead. The vessel pasted within twenty yards of it, and the oaptain states that all hands bad a good look at it. The portion visible above . water was about 9ft in height, that being a part of the bady. Its length as seen was 39ft, the sides being striped yellow and white. The arms or feelers were black, and appeared to extend fully 50ft from the body. An immense flock of birds wsa hovering about it. It was a beautifully dear day, and ftj&%t 11 a.m. when the schooner passed. When you see a man come down town now-a*days with an expression of sublime ecstacy on his countenance, a glance of disdainful triumph in his eye, and a smile of self-conscious superiority over his fellow men as displayed by some recently-achieved victory, playing about the corners of his mouth : when he draws a handful of glistening twenties from his pocket, and, unasked, chucks them over to you with the remark, " Fay me when you like; " when he writes you out unsolicited orders for a new suit or hat; when he inquires affectionately how you'd like to go to Europe if he puts up the coin ; when, in hot, he has tlw general airjgf an Alexander, a Hannibal, a Cseaar, dflj i Napoleon flushed wilh victory so great atW j make all mundane things seem pigmies to his" 'giant intellect, do not think he has made a sudden million in stocks, has discovered a diamond mine in his back yard, or won a lawsuit of ten years' standing, that his wife has just presented him with twins that some distant relative has just died, leaving him a bank account at Bothschild's ; do not thing that any of the great occurrences in life, usually supposed to bring untold joy to the heart of man, has happened to him. You will be wrong if you do. " what, then can it be ? ' you will ask. Step aside and we will tell you. He has done the 15 puzzle. —Sen fr*nci§co News-letter.

Count Mocenijo, the head of one of the most ancient families of Venice, has put for» ward a somewhat novel claim, which if recognised by the British Goverment, will place him in possession of vast tracts of land comprjaing the whole of the moil highly favored and best portions of the island o Cyprus. The matter has already been the source of communication with the British Government, and the Count, since this pre» liminary correspondence with authorities, has placed the affair in the hand* of his London solicitors, Messrs Goldberg and Langdon. The Count bases his claim upon the fact that be is the direct lineal descendant of Catherine Carnaro, a daughter of the then Doge of Venice, who in 1468 married Lasignan, thereby becoming Queen of Cyprus, and of Cardinal Marco Carnaro, the original purchaser of the lands from the ancient Order of the K -lights Hospitallers. It is estimated that the general election in Great Britain cost, £13,000,000, the basis of the calculation being that the election expenditure of eaoh canidate averaged £2000. It is a scandal io the country that money should continue to bo so potent a factor in the composition of the House of Commons.