MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1240, 2 March 1883, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

» Thus advertised a Jack of all trades 'in England 100 yeaTS ago:—" Beards Taken Of, and iiegisturd ! By Isaac Fac-totum. Barber, Periwig, Surgeon, Parish Clark, School Master, Blacksmith, and Man midwife, Shaves for a penne, cuts hare for two pense, and oyl'd and powdered into the bargain. Young ladys genteely Edicated ; Lamps, lighted by the year or Quarter. Young Gentlemen also taut their gramtner langwage in the neatest manner and Great Keer taken of their morals and spelin ; Also Sarme singing and horce shewing by the real Maker! Likewice makes and Mends all sorts of Butes and shoes, teches the Ho boy and Jew's harp, cuts corns bledes and blisters. On the lowest terms; Blisters and purgis at a pence a peace. Cow tillonsand other dances taut at hoam and abrode. Also deals holesale and retail. Pirfumery in all its brancchis,. Sells all sorts of sationary Wair, too gether with blacking balls, Red henins, ginger-bred and Coles Scrubben brushes, treyclc, Mouse traps, And other sweotmetes. Ljkewice, Godfather's Cordial, Red Rutes, Tatoes, Sassages, and other "ardin Stuff. P.S. — I teaches Jo^'vefry, and them outlandish kind of things. A bawl on Y/cnsdays, and Fry days. All performed (G,J \:V.\\n) V.y :Je, ! Isaac !- ac-Tohim. An important -~n;t in rrg^.va to \ho

has just, been decided in Louisiana. James Crangle sued the Western Union Telegraph Company for a loss of 210 dollars which he had sustained in 'consequence of aa error made by a telegraph operator in sending his message, the counsel for thecompany claimed that the original despatch, which was produced in. Court, was so badly written, that the operator was not responsible for the- mistake in. transmission, and also claimed protection under' 'the printed contract on the message, particularly that portion regarding the repeating the same. The Court decided that a .telegraph company cannot, by special' contract relieve itself from responsibility for the faults or negligenceof its servants, and also that " a con dition in a contract that a telegraph company shall no . be responsible for errors or negligence of its servants, unless a message is repeated, and then only to- the extent of the cost of repeatingjsuch message, is an unjust and unreasonable condition and cannot be'inforced." The New Zealand Government affixes a somewhat similar •' saving " clause to fts telegraph forma. We wonder whether our Courts would take the same view of its effects as theLouisiana ones ? Apropos, of the Bible in schools queston the Timaru Herald's Melbourne correspondent writes. — " A discussion- at time quite as acrimonious as any par liam entry debate has taken place at theWesleyan Conference, how in session, respecting the introduction: of the Bible into the State schools. A motion tabled by the Rev. W. F. Fitchett, affirming the desirability of Scripture reading forming a portion of every clay's scholastic routine, was carried by 140 votes to 7. When tho fact is borno in mind that the Wesleyait denomination has always been strenuous in upholding the secularity of tho Education Act, the decision they havo ' all but unanimously arrived at through their representatives at the Conferenceappears somewhat anomalous. Mr Berry at Geelong (says the Age> denned the policy of his party asbeing : — " 1. To defend the Education Act against every asßault f and to» supersede the commission that had been appointed. 2. The maintenance of the policy of protection. 8. Opposition to the O'Loghlen Laud Bill proposals, so as to allow an inquiry to be made to secure bona fide settlement, ■with a provision securing the le^mg^^He'maM^e' country, to bona fide selectors. 4. The initiation of a comprehensive scheme of a water supply, by which water would not only be provided for farmers and their stock, but for a scheme of irrigation, retaining the .head waters in tho hands, cf the Government, so that its control would not be given to a few. 5. The initiation of a scheme of reform of tho Civil service without the appointment of another Royal Commission, and a proper supervision of the finances. A "converted" Sydney thief has been fined 40s for singing "In the sweet bye and bye " in the streetHe indignantly demanded if the Salvation Army were to be permitted to parade the street singing hyins, whilst he, for having allowed the fervor of his newly-converted spirit to pour itself out in song, was condemned to pay a 40s fine, or to be imprisonod for seven days. A Chicago paper says : — " Mrs Langtry travels on her shape, and people who've seen her say she's as pretty as a red waggon. For many years shestood up in a stall at flower shows and fairs, and sold button-hole bouquets at a nickel each. For this kind of work she received about the same wages as the Queen of England. But speaking of professional beauties, we don't think they ought to be encouraged. No man who has been clown town all day doing trade would like to go home, tired and hungry, and tind that the wife of hisj bosom has set up as a professional beauty. Beauty is something a man wants all to himself ; and after he has gone to the expense of getting married and setting up housekeeping, he dosen't feel exactly like sub-letting his newly acquired possession. Beauty may do very well to fill a house with joy and peace, and illumine every careworn crevice in si husband's heart, but when you come to spread the beauty all overEngland and part of the United States you find it spreads mighty thin, Beautyis for one home, not a nation. In fact, we consider that beauty is an article that should be kept strictly aud entirely for family use, aud not let out toother fellows on any terms whatever. That's why wo don't risk much on professional beauties." I love tho summer, said tho boarding school girl when she eloped with her arithmetic teacher. Mr William Hoyloj the well-known statist, nt tho closo of a latter to tho Tim ■• : .iy^: — 'Let it be borne in mind that ;]:■■■■; ';?.■ tii.^ I'-ux lon yoav* the roprh.tiyn -.>i :\\c Vv.it ;■"(.! •vi. I '.-.b:^ have

«pent nearly £1,364,000,000 upon drink, or nearly twice the amount of the National Debt; and when it is remembered that this expenditure represents about an equal sum of mdi Tect los 3in the burdens and mischiefs which result from drinking, or a total of direct or indirect cost and loss of over £2,700,000,000, it will show the "terrible character of the burden which has been weighing down the nations industries during the last ten years. No wonder, therefore, that there flhould be poverty, degradation, and misery. How could it be otherwise ? There are other reforms which the country needs ; but I venture to say that without a reform in the habits of our population, including both rich and poor, the uplifting of the masses is an impossibility ; but with this reform secured, poverty; degradation, and misery would soon be a thing of history, and along with it there would be freedom from the crime, vice, and moral pollution which are everewhere associated with intemperance."