MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1187, 25 October 1882, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

A few days ago a Mrs Moss, residing at Winchester, in the district of Timaru, presented her husband with the somewhat rare gifts of triplet ; and

Mr Postlethwaite, M.H.R., has we [earn, written to the Government re* guesting that the usual Queen's bounty may be granted to the worthy couple who, even prior to this late addition had been blessed with a numerous? family. There can be little doubt of the Government acceding to the re? quest, especially as the amount will not need to be placed on the Estimates, It has been stated in Victoria that attempts are being made to get Sir Charles Gaven Duffy appointed Governor of Victoria. The Melbourne correspondent of a country paper writes :— " As far as 1 can gather, the facts are that Sir Charles was offered the post of Governor of Ceylon, which he was disinclined to accept. Since then his friends have been urging Mr Gladstone to give him that of Govern nor of Victoria. This would,however, be too great an infringement of the pre? cedents of the Colonial Office, so there is no danger of !-ir Charles being thrust upon us. He is in great favor with Mr Gladstone, owing, to his havr ing warmly supported the policy of that gentleman since his return to England." The Rev. W. Kelynack, on lectur* ing in Hobart on the subject of the Wesleyan Missions in the South Seas, complained that the 250,000 adherents of Methodism in the Australian colonies only contributed to the object at the rate of 6|d each yearly. Mr Proctor published an acticlo some time ago entitled " A Menacing Comet," in which he suggested the pos sibility that that comet might be persuing a rapidly converging orbit, which would ultimately lead it right into the midst of the sun's fires, in which case he pointed out that the meteror streams which are supposed to follow a comet's trail, by infringing on the sun's surface, might produce such an outburst of heat as to an-: nihilate all life on the globe. By the fire in the mail-room of the Maska seven registered letters, about 1,750 ordinary letters addressed to the City of London, and two bags from Her Majesty's ships in Sydney, com. prising part of the New South Wales August mail, were burnt, " The wedding presents were numer-r ous and of considerable value." Some? thing of this kind is often appended to the accounts of fashionable marriages, given in the London papers. What will our fair friends think of the followT ing dowry, presented to the daughter of Meer Goolam Baba, Nawab of Surat, on her recent marriage ? It reads very much like an extract from the " Arabian Nights " : — " The procession which carried the bride's dowry to the bride-: groom's house is worthy of special mention. A number of elephants, horses, carriages, and palkees led the procession. After them came a number of female servants, all in snow white clothes, each bearing in her hands a covered tray. About fifty youtha followed with rose-water decanters of silver on silver salvers. Then came 500 coolies, some carrying magnificent bedsteads, curtains, pillows, <fee.' com^ plete; other with swings, benches^* boxes, cupboards of various designs, sofas, f chairs, tables, and, in short, all the paraphernalia of a modern house. • hese were followed by seventy-five females, each carrying a tray of sweet? meats. One hundred men with cooking utensils brought up the rear. Some of these men carried on their heads basket-loads of lamps, wall shades,;' chandelirs, etc. In fact, it was a regular exhibitonof domestic goods.". The Napier Telegraph thus touchingly refers to the effect the Gaming ' and Lotteries Act had on the Spring Meeting: — Quietly disposed people— people who don't drink, nor crush and worry their way through a greedy crowd of gamblers to invest a pound in the totalisator — had precious little to amuse themselves with on the course. These sort of people don't know one horse from another, and they get heartily weary of the whole thing. The fun of the English racecourse, the doodle-em-bucks, to get your future told, to invest in the lucky bag, or spring the wheel of fortune, to see the wonderful ways of earning an honest or dishonest penny, have all flown from New Zealand race meetings. The pall of a forgotten Presbyteriansm that blended whiskey with long sermons has fallen over our public holiday gathering. The only relaxation permitted on such accasions — so peculiarly Scotch — is intxoication. And so, for want of any other outlet for their money people drank, and drank, and then they fought There was more fighting yesterday than has ever before been seen on a Hawke's Bay course, and the drinking and the fighting may all be directly attributed to Parliament allowing itself to be ruled by a little set qf ijnsor phisticated goody-goodies. The Minister of Mines has informed [ Mr Munro, M.H.R., that it is the intention of Government to commence the construction of a road to the Moki hinui repfs at once. The Coroner's jury drawn together at Auckland at the inquest on the late Mr Richards, was a somewhat mixed one, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, Christians and Freethinkers. Dr Gol dsbro' (the Coioner) had provided on the table copies'of the New Testament and of the Old Testament, and informed jurors that they could be swopo.

«n either, according to their .belief. One juror stepped forward and said : " What about those who have got no belief at all ? " Dr Goldsbro' replied that he was sorry to hear any man at this time of day make such an avowal. Did he not believe in a God — a Supreme j Being 1 The juror stated he did not believe in anything. Dr Goldsbro' : " Then, you can't ha sworn, that's all," .Juror: "Can I go, then?" Dr ■Goldsbro' : "By all means ; a man who •does not believe in anything, is scarcely fit to swear on anything." The young man who " didn't believe in anything " 'but his ovn infinite wisdom, after a .glance of compassion at his benighted •Christian and Hebrew fellow jurymen, •then passed out with a formal " Good day "to coroner and jury. Complaints are made of the inflated .reports from the seat of war; and the .stilted language used. Columns of the English papers are occupied with descriptions of ridiculous affairs and actions, in which a man and a horse may ;be wounded on each side. In a recent sermon upon the progress of events in Egypt, Dr Moor;house, Bishop of Melbourne said : "It Jiad pleased God that our interference Jiad been so far successful, and we all naturally and devoutly thanked God. But what was it for which we thanked ;Godl Did we thank God that we, a powerful nation, where enable to over,come the rebellious soldiers of a weak .nation, when they had not quarrelled with usi As well might a giant thank God that he had overcome a stripling upon whom he had forced a quarrel. Wfcy, then, were we to thank God 1 Was it that God had .•set the seal of His approval upon our policy 1 1f success were to be taken as ,the seal of Divine approval, then some ■of the vilest wars that ever were undertaken, some of the worst wars due to Napoleon's unscrupulous ambiton, had •received the seal of Divine approval. ;Surely not for that did we thank God. Then for what were we thankful, and properly thankful, that another proof had been given, in spite of recent disastrous failure, that our soldiers had ■strength, and courage, and that selfsacrifice which came from a sense of duty. Then, in the second place, he ■thought that we were all thankful that •we had kept the keys of the East and ;held the road to India." A London special to the Melbourne Argus says that the skull of Guiteau, .who was executed for the murder of President Garfield, has been stolen from the Medical Museum at Washington. The police are making every efl'ort to .discover the culprit, but as yet have Ibeen unsuccessful. Cats, it appears, now form an ingredient in English butter and cheese. "They are not cut up as they are for pork pies. They are utilised in this •way — butter and cheese are fabricated •out of oleomargarine. Oleomargarine is made from fat. Fat is made out of *he ordinary refuse of the dust-bin. The dust-bin often contains a cat. In Manxhester, during one year 13 tons of cats ■were found in the bins, and as much fat was got out of them as possible. The fat, or oil, obtained out of the tanks in •which the refuse is placed sells at £24 per ton. There is little wonder, then, that it should be utilised. Some one has sent me (writes iEgles in the Australasian) a series of newspaper cuttings, illustrating the lawless administration of law in Tasmania. Amongst them is one story which has an amusing aspect. The District Constable at a township on the Huon lost a gander. His wife imagined she recognised the bird in the poultry-yard oi a publican, and the D.C. proceeded to make a seizure. Warned by the landlord that he was making a mistake, he is reported to have said that he could swear to his gander " among five hundred," and carried off the bird. The landlord threatened proceedings for felonious abstraction of his property. The sagacious constable was, however, before hand with him, and in a short time the landlord was lodgrd in goal on a charge of felony. The case was rematlded for three day-3 — bail being refused. NW the wisdom of the anserin family is proverbial since the days of ancient Rome, and this modern member of it in the simplest way possible cleared up the difficulty. About a quarter of an hour after the publican was remanded — the clearly — identified gander laid an egg ! Py the inferential testimony of this remarkable performance the landlord was released on bail and the charge against him was ultimately held to be " not sustained." President Arthur has accepted an invitation to dine with a curious club, 150 years old, called the State of S chuykill Club, Philadelphia. According to the invariable custom of this Holy Mystery Society, all those who partake of its dinners have to take off their coats, don a cook's apron, and take an active part in the preparation of the meal. No servants are allowed, and even the dishes will be washed by the members and their guests.