MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1182, 13 October 1882, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The result of the Jolimont railway accident is thus summed up by the Argus :— " A loss killed and wounded equivalent to that of the British Fleet at the bombardment of Alexandria; the payment of L 50,000 in damages; the expenditure of twice that amount indirectly ; the sacrifice of the profits of the line for a year — all brought about, as the report says by the breaking of a wheel-tire, such tire being both unsound and dangerous." A curious robbery is reported from Melbourne. A son of M'Gregor, butcher. Carlton, was sent to pay into the bank, money and cheques amounting to LBO. When near the bank he was met by a man who asked him if he was Mr M'Gregor's son. Eeplying "Yes," the man told him that the manager of the bank was ill, and had sent him to take the money. The youth innocently handed it over, and the man has not since been heard of.

The longest span of wire in the world is used for a telegraph in India, over the River Kistnad, between Bezorah and Sectanagrum. It is more than 6000 feet long, and is stretched between two hills, each of which is 1200 eet high. Notwithstang the moralising that has been indulged in about the iinpecuniosity of the Duke of Hamilton and the consequent sale - f the art treasures of Hamilton Palace, an English journal says it is as well that it should be known that the t uke of Hamilton is by no means in want of money, and that his only object in selling the contents of Hamilton Palace is to realise unprofitable property, and to invest the proceeds in land. The noble Duke is now in treaty for an estate in Lanarkshire, for which he is to give something like £90,000. As a residence, Hamilton Palace has no longer become tolerable, much less attractive, in consequence of tlir growth of factories and population about it; but the Duke has two other estates — namely, Broderick Castle, in the island of Arran, and East Park, in Suffolk, which are amply supplied with costly and beautiful pictures, statuary, and other works of art While a young farmer was at work in a fide' near Hpringm.*ld, Mass.) on May 27, a man and woman came along in a carriage, and offered him £100 if he would marry thn woman immediately. He accepted the terms, called a justice, was united to the lady, and took the money. He was much surprised by his bride's accompanying

[ the man back to the carriage and ! riding away with him. Who his wife is or was, or why his honeymoon so , quickly passed, are questions on which ! the happy man can make no giujss. j An extensive piece of mining work, almost a novelty as far as this colony is concerned, has just been completed for Mr James Butterworth, Charleston, who now owns the important waterrights formeily held by the Progressive Water Race Company, The Herald reports : — " Mr Butterworth has had constructed a tunnel-syphon through the granite formation underlying Mount Pleasant Gully. The water is conveyed into the syphon by a race from a dam in Whiskey Creek, and falls into a shaft, one hundred feet deep on the south side of Whisky Terrace, and thence flows through a tunnel, or more properly speaking an underground syphon, finally making its exit up another shaft, from whence it is discharged into a race on the opposite side of the gully,"

11l reference to the harbor works at Hokitika and Greymouth, a correspondent, who is contributing a description of the West Coast goldfields and reefs to the New Zealand Times, thus writes :— " An endeavor has been in ado here, as at Hokitika, to make a good entrance to the harbor, and lessen this danger of the bar by means of protecti vu works. At Hokitika, where there is no stone available, wood has been used. At Greymouth, huge blocks 'of limestone, quarried from a hill close to the mouth of the Grey river have been employed. In both the failure is so evident, that it is to be hoped that no more publij money will be squandered in a vain attempt to baffle the Pacific Ocean. When a river brings down immense quantities of loose shingle, and the waves of the Pacific are boating constantly on the shore,, with a current bringing shingle from the south, a bar will be formed at the mouth of the river, So far, the only result of the protective works both at Greymouth and Hokitika has been to carry the bar further out to sea. In both places tobe shore has filled up behind the works as they have advanced, and the entrance is just as bad as ever it was. In Greymouth the loose blocks of stone washed away from the works havo settled on the bar, and are the terror or shipmasters. Here, too, the north spit has approached most perilously near the south protective works. It was owing to the narrowness of the channel that the Lioness was wrecked. The wind and sea caught her, and hurled her upon the base of the works, where she was instantly stove in." A somewhat strange incident is ifeported to have occurred at the Royal Horse Artillery athletic sports in Dublin, at which the Lord Lieutenant was present. The greasy-pole competition, after much diversion, was, won by a driver named Baker, who, on reaching the top of the pole, surprised everybody by shouting loudly, Three cheers for Parnell (" » : c was ordered down and marched under escort to the guard-room. Alderman Henry Ingledew, of Newcastle, said to be the oldest solictor in the United Kingdom, died recently aged 96 years. Mr Ingeldew, had been a solicitor for upwards of 75 years j and, entering the Newcastle Town Council when 53, he was 43 years a member of -that body. The rapid spread of electricity in various forms is constantly giving rise to new and unheard of accidents. The other clay a fire escape was being pushed along a road at Brighton, in England, after drill, by three firemen, when it came in contract with . ah electric wire crossing the house-topsat . that point ; the fluid ran down tlje escape wire, and gave the men holding the steering rod a shock i^iat compelled them to let go. A fourth, not knowing what was the matter with his comrades, seized the rod, Uafl getting the full force of the shock; which, had been divided between the other three, was lifted from the ground. The > pain was intense, and it was some hours befere he recovered. The othe'rmen, recovering themselves, and taking hold of the woodwork, were enabled, to extricate the machine. Investigations made in Germany concerning the comparative vitality of children under various methods of feeding, exhibit some peculiar results. Thus, of 100 children nursed by their mothers only 18,2 died during the first year; of those nursed by wet nurses 26,33 died;ofthoseartiflciallyfedGO died; and of those brought up in infetituv tions 80 died to the 100. Again, taking 100 well-to-do persons, and a thousand poor persons, there remained of prosperous, after five years, 943, while of the poor only 655 remained alive, after 50 years there remained of the prosperous 235, and but 65 of the poor. The total average length- of life among the well off class was fqnnd to be 50 years, as against 33 among the poor.