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Inangahua Times, Volume II, 30 September 1881, Page 2

Tbe electric railway in Berlin is spoken of favorably, but it is only a little over a mile and a half in length, and it would be rash to assume that a longer lino would be eq-mlly satisfactory. It has been stated that io crossing tbe l : .ne horses can be frightened from tbe shock received ; bnt I do not understand how thi* can be, for it is well known that birds percb on tbe te!e;.rnp'i wires with* out being disturbed by the current pass* ing between tbeir ebws. The Russian railor on board the Livalia would not hare been killed if, Then he grasped tho j electric light conductor he had" hotwlTh 1 bis other hand laid hold of an iron rod. thus completing the circuit through his b">dy. The conductors on the railway should nevertheless be insulated. In the electric tramway now being constructed : in Pans tbG conductors are to he carried j above tbe carriages. It is oven shorter j than tbe Berlin line. It therefore cannot j be said that the value of the eleetrio- 1 railway is established, or eyen that pro* gress is being made. Mrs Gordon, tbe first lawyeress who I ever addressed a jury in San Francisco, j recently defended a mnn accused ofi murder. She was dressed in black, and for her only ornament wore a rose in her , corsage. When she entered the courtroom a general thrill of emotion ran through the auditory, but this the ladyfeigued not to perceive. In tbe course of her harangue the applause broke forth many times, although it was severelyrepressed. At the end the jury pronounced a verdict of acquittal, which produced an explosion of enthusiasm: It is said that Mrs Gordon is young and beautiful, and at the same time elegant, and thai she was literally abte to carry the jurors off their .pet. If the acquitted individual was guilty, how lucky it waa for him that be chose this young and beautiful lady as the advocate for bis defence. The Wellington correspondent of the Press gives tbe following account of tbo affriy between Seddon and Pyke:— Th© next scene of the week was one in which a pair of tho goldfields representatives brought our Parliament down to a level we once thought New Zealand would never descend to. It was at tbat early hour of the morning when.' scenes will often ari«e, and when the- represents* tives of the Tress are not there to record them. Mr Seddon had voted after pairs ing with Mr Rolleston. The Chainnm's attention was called to it, and be said as usual that ho had nothing to do with pairs, they were simply a matter of individual honor. Mr Seddon rose and in his usual dialect said—' Hit is true sir, that I bad paired on the Bill with tbe Honorable Native Minister, but not on this here hi tern. Mr Pyke thereupon remarked that the Bill was made up of ' hitems ' and it only shows how much dependence there whs upon what he called his ' honor.' This produced from Mr Seddon two adjectives and a noun which are never heard in any decent society, and in return Mr Pyke's stick was raised in tbo air with a view to in» flict grievous bodily harm on Mr Seddon's face ; the blow was averted by tbe fatherly Turnbull and the fussy Hurst. I who rushed in at the risk of their skins ; 1 What— what— what,' said the enraged Pyke, ' bave you got to do with me if I choose to smash him ?' ' Nothing at all, I hope,' sad tbe smiling Turnbull, 4 but I have something to do with this House ; You can make as great a fool of yourself as you like anywhere else— -but not here.' Mr Pyke and his stick were hauled off into the lobbies, where he was loud in his demands for satisfaction on the Herculean Seddon, who could have pitched him out of the window ; next day Mr Pyke paced the lobbies inquiring forSeddon, with his stick in one band nnd a. list of bankrupt J.P.s in the other, which had been furnished to an order of tbe Legislative Council, and in which hia. enemy figured conspicuously.