MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1284, 13 June 1883, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Sir W. J. Clarke recently transmitted a handsome platypus skin rug ,B,'s. .tj» present: ,tp,,H^Bi.;fl. .tlje Prince^qf, Y/ales. The present, which >A cost a hundred guineas, was enclosed in a handsomely-finished portmanteau. Over 30,000 people in New York are compelled by their occupations to turn night into day (says a San Francisco paper), and judging by the direction in which things are now driving, all factories and mills will eventually run uninteiTutedly through the 24 hours. One of the most valuable points to Germany' in regaining Alsace-Lerraine was the recovery of an extraordinary rich hop-producing district. An amusing disturbance (says Era) occurred at a Dublin Theatre a few nights ago. A young " masher" wished to throw a bouquet to one of the dancers, with whose charms he was smitten. Provided with a huge nosegay, and accompanied by a bosom friend, he made his way to a box which he had previously secured, and impatiently awaited the coming of the fair one. In the meanwhile his treacherous friend had quietly affixed a string to tho bouquet, which was in due course thrown by tho purchaser with the result that when the fair recipient stooped to pick it up, the "friend" pulled the string, and the bouquet returned to the box ! A " set to " between the gentlemen followed j and finally both were expelled by the manager. "Vanity Fair" says:— "The 'Life of Bishop Wilberforce ' is now universally acknowledged to be an astounding monument of filial impiety. The editor of this parricidal biography, not content with poutraying his father as being, in his lifetime, an adroit and arrant sycophant of the great ones of the earth, exhibits him to the world as a posthumous traducer of his ' brethren,' ever ready on the slightest or most tainted evidence to think evil of mon, many of whom were much his superiors both in pioty and learning, and eager to put on record every little morsel of disparaging gossip with the malicious gusto of a soured old spinster." A public debate was opened in the Protestant Hall in Sydney on May 22nd between. Mr Charles Bright, Freethought lecturer, and tho Rev. E. C. Spicer, in tho presence of a large assembly. The question under discussion was— "Are the statements of science and Genesis contradictory?" Mr Bright opened in the affirmative, and contended that the statements given in Genesis w -:- altogether in-—'!-OT-:-+il lr; ? Vi .; t i, . .. -.

produced a translation of the first portion of Genesis, the correctness of which he guaranteed, and. showed that | the teachings of science were exactly lin harmony with the writings of Moses. The tone of the speakers was. thoroughly courteous throughout, and both were well applauded by their' supporters. On one or two occasions a slight disposition was evinced to hiss Mr Spicer, but the better sense of the meeting prevailed, and on the whole fair play was given; to both sides. The Hon. G. H. Reid, Minister of Education,, occupied the chair. The debatewas to'be concluded' next evening.. ' A million and. a. half of kangaroos,, 178,000' rabbits,, besides- wallaroos, wallabies, paddy melons, and nativedogs, were destroyed during the past, twelve months in New South, Wales. The International Art Exhibition held in Rome this winter has astonished the world of art by unmistakeable proofs thatltaly has awakenedfrom her slumber of centuries, and promises to produce once more masterpieces in painting. . Mr Bradlaugli scored a point in* his contest with Mr Newdegate. The House of Lords has finally decided that a common informer has not the j right to sue for the penalities incurred by Mr Bradlaugh for sitting and voting in Parliament without having first taken the oath, and Mr Newdegate has probaV)ly been cast in costs to the aniouut of £5000. If the decision of the lower Courts had been upheld, Mr Bradlaugh would have been made bankrupt, and thus being rendered 1 incapable of sitting in Pailiament for a time. This has been avoided by Mr - Bradlaughe own dexterity as a lawyer : > but singularly enough, the same end has been accomplished in another fashion. The decision of the Court of i Final Appeal left Mr Bradlaugh free i to enter the House of Commons and reenact the offences which where the basis of Mr Newdegate.'s case. Accordingly the Conservatives were up in arms, and the question was raised by Sir. S. Northcote. To the surprise of a good many people, Mr Gladstone said that as a common informer could not now sue against Mr Bradlaugh, the Attorney-General would do so if he should again commit himself. This answer gave great satisfaction to the Opposition. The Sydney correspondent of the Australasian makes some serious charges against the Telegraph Department y\ .$ew T Sau£k . -Wales. He Writes : ""The x unexpec ed victory of Sting iv the Adelaide Cup has been the means of giving rise to a great scsndal here, and which will prohably lead to a thorough and much needed reorganisation of our Electric Telegraph Department. The first telegram that reached Sydney announcing the result was addressed to Tattersalls Club, having been despatched direct from the racecourse by a member of the Club then there, but before it reached its destination in Pitt street, a couple of smart gentlemen, who had become possessed of the information, availed themselves of the opportunity to take some of the bookmakers down. Those who suffered most severely were Charley Bannerman, who has now joined the ring, £00 ; and E. E. Jones, £50 ; and it is alleged that the information was surreptitiously conveyed from the telegraph operating-room to persons outside." He mentions other instances in which contents of important sporting telegrams have been disclosed. When Zulu won the Melbourne Cup in 1880 one of the messenger boys availed himself of the information gained in the office" to win £25 from a member of Tattersall's, and was covetous enough to desire to make more ; and when the championship sculling match between Hanlon and Trickett was rowed in England, the late Mr James PuncU, although, not receiving a single word by cable, was the possessor jn/Sydney of the result, and had it posted in his bar before the newspaper offices received their messages. The matter is to be brought officially under the notice of the Postmaster-general by the Chairman of Tattersall's Club. • There is said to be in a graveyard in Pennsylvania a tombstone inscribed, ' M ■thuselah Smith, aged one year.' The London Globe says .—" Taking compassion on a tiger at the Jardin des Plantos the other day, a Frenohman endeavoured to -break a few wires of its cage. The tiger added its own efforts, widened the hole, and at last bounded off through the garden. Its emancipator is now in a cage himself, at the police office, awaiting the arrival of a compassionate tiger to relcasohiin." The la to Prince Charles of Prussia left £6,000,000 to his son, Prince Fredrick Charles, whose daughter, the Duchess of Conuaught, may ultimately receive a considerable supplement to the modest dot (£6000) settled on her 'v P r .,c;c;ia at her marriage. The

Prince also inherits the estate and schloss of Sonnenberg, and the charming residence of Gilenicke, near Potsdam, where his father kept his famous pack of blood hounds. Louise Michel, the French petroleuse, says that Englishmen treat working women far better than the Frenchmen do. Women labourers at Lille work fourteen hours a day for a franc and a dalf (fifteen pence). In the south of Italy matters are far worse. There may be seen gangs of women half naked dragging the plough in place of oxen and urged on by the farmer's goad, whilst for payment they receive a few bronze coins and a handful of lentils. A special cable message in the Melbourne Age i 3 as follows : — " It is asserted on good authority that Sir Hercules Robinson, late Governor of j Cape Colony, will succed the Marquis of Normanby as Governor of Victoria./