MISCELLANEOUS.
! Eighty-four years ago there w*i Drt a railway nor a locVmot : ve engine on the face of the earth. Lighting by gas was faint and feeble ; there were no lucifer matches ; soda water and cigars were recent innovations, and newspapers— -the present necessity of civilized lite— were scarce and dear. In Europe, Napoleon was thundering at the gates of kingdoms. Belgium was an appendage of Holland, the Pope held temporal power ; Greece had no eiiatonce ; Athens was governed by pashas, and WaUachia, Moldavia, Servia, Roomelia had not their apparently eternal sleep broken by any wild dreams of independence. Pillory and whipping post still stood for women in England. England imports some £100.000,000 of food, without including wine and othe? articles of consumption. If the Australian colonies can establish a trade with her in butter, frozen meat, and cereals, the effect on our market will be to relax its present stringency ; a father effect will certainly be a return^ to better times, to which all classes are anxiously lookiug forward. The colony of New Zealand is passing through the worst times it has ever known, and is bearing the heavy burden of taxation laid upon it with .patience and fort'tude. The lor price? of produce in the colonies is causing some of ouf leading men to look farther afield for a market. The Sydney papers ironically suggest an expedition to discover Skuthorpe, the alleged discoverer of Leichardt's journal, who richly des* erves flagellation with his own stock* wip for perpetrating his wretched hoax. Sydney was visited on March 14th by one of the severest thunderstorms experienced for some time past. At about 9 o'clock a.m. a heavy thunderstorm broke over the city, accompanied by drenching rain, The weather afterwards was very sultry, with much electricity in the air. Shortly after one o'clock a dense mass of heavy clouds bung over the city like a pall, and the air was very oppressive. This state of things culminated in a terrific thunderstorm, with a most extraordinary fall of hail The hailstones resembled jagged lumps of ice, many being as large as eggs. The shower was very thick and severe, the streets
being thickly strewed with lumps of congealed hail, Tbe beating down o these unusually large hailstone* cause* great consternation amongst tbe horsei in tbe street*, and many became res tive ; some bolted. Fortunately then was little or no wind, or much dama»( must have been done to windows. A it was considerable injury wai caused skybghts, lamps Ac, Tbe storm onl lasted about five minutes, but wa very heavy, and after tbe hailstone were exhausted tbe rain descended h torrent?, and cleared tbe atmosphere Lightning flashed at intervals during tbe afternoon, and after 4 o'clock another heavy thunderstorm passes over, lasting some time with drenching rain and hail. The cartoon byTennielin Puncl this week has special reference to the opening of tbe Parliamentary sessim and is entitled 'Twelfth Night at St Stephen's.' The leading politicians o tbe day are represented as beinj ushered on to a stage in msequerad mg costumes, and following im mediately behind* Mr Speaker, o "hose figure, however, very little ii seen. At the head of the band o roasqoeraders is Mr Gladstone, attired in tbe armour of a med'ttval knigh holding in h ; s gloved band a battle-axe and lookiog sternly back upon i defiant Irish man of the-Rorr of th Hills type, who in turn is dressed ii the fool's livery of Touchstone, wit! *Ye Land League,' and • Hostmction appearing on one part or other of hi garments. Fehiod Mr Gladstone and bearing his shield, is Lord Har tnagtoo, while Mr Forster in th uniform of tbe Boyal Irish Coostabn lary is also by, g ; ving atteation t the demonstrative Irishman. Behin< these figures is a procession i wMch are found the Home Secretary in the character of a stalwart policeman, carrying in his hand a birc labelled ' Juvenile Offenders,' M Bright in Quaker garb, walktn qu'etly along carrying a large qottl in his arms, labelled * Sedative fo Ireland;' Mr Cbamberlian, trottmj behind as a boy in buttons ; tin Duke of Argyll, with anything bu an agreeable expression on bis fa« pnd wearing tbe -kilt ; and the Lore Chancellor and Mr Cbildera in theii official robes. In rear of this com* pany the heads of the Oppo%itiot make their appearance—the Earl o Beaconsfield in the simple classiea attife -of EndyroW crowned witi laurels, .and bearing his abepherd*! crook ; the Sfarquti of Salisbury ari plumed knfgbKeMaut ; 8«r Staffer Noribcote m Old Mother Hubbard and Lord Randolph Churchill as i mountebank or tumbler. It is inttadftd to carry oil airangemeiif in regard to hospitals and charitable au after the dose of the current financia year (which expires on the Bl*t instant under, the same provisional and tea porary system adopted in similar drewn stances last year. The Sydney corporation is engraved ii making an experiment, tbe issue of whiel w?l be regarded with interest. Sine street hat been laid down in wood pavmj to (he length of 350 yards which Bhoul< give the method a fair trial. Seriou objections have indeed been taVen b Mr John Young to the manner in whie the parement is laid, and had the cat been regarded as one of ordinary eon strnction instead of an experiment, tbe would be important. The test, should a any rate, show how far wood pavemen could be relied on to reduce some of tb evils of city life. We are told that th pavement looks well, is clean, noiwlea under traffic, and, the street being flat ii crots section, a larger available width i allowed for traffic. To be a success th pavement should lessen tbe dost, almos obviate tbe noise, and be rid altogether o those occasional patobes of roagh broken keenly angular metal, which irritate tin soul and destroy the shoe>leather of th< pedestrian who has to cross a stree under repair. Take only two of thes< evils, tb* dtut and the nofce, and imagini what a debt of obligation wonld be owing to tbe man who could relieve us from them. Habit, to some extent, deadens their annoyance, bnt they are always present to assail yon when your nerves are jarred with other causes, and to make i all tbe little shocks of life harder and sharper. Tbe cost of tbe Sydney experi ment and the durability of tbe pavement will be important elements in its success
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Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 6 April 1881, Page 2
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1,075MISCELLANEOUS. Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 6 April 1881, Page 2
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