MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1294, 7 September 1883, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Queensland annual pastoral rent list, just published shows that the number of runs in the Colony is 9039, showing an increase of 1120 over the previous year. The total amount of the rents for the year was £23G,046, an increase of £40, 000. At Auckland, the next twelvemonths promises to be a busy one, especially in the building trade, and most of the works will tend greatly to adorn and beautify tiie city. What between the New Zealand Insurance Company's block, the Harbor Board offices, the Free Public Library and Art Gallery, and private establishments of various kinks, not less than £100, 000 will be expended in buildings of an ornamental character during the coming year. When the Prince of Wales walked out to vote in favour of the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, passing on his way the rows of Bishops, who bowed low to him, some of them felt evidently distressed at finding themselves thus in direct opposition to their future king, the head of the Church that is to be. Four towns in Switzerland—Winterthur, in the canton of Zurich, and Lenzburg, Baden, and Zofingen, in the canton of Orgovia— are threatened with a declaration of bankruptcy, and the consequent sale by auction of their municipal property. It appears that some years ago these towns guaranteed a loan for the purpose of making a direct line ofrailwav between Lake Constance and the Lake of Geneva. The undertaking was a failure, and the grass is growing between the unused rails. The holders of obligations, who lent 6,000,000 f upon the municipal guarantees, now claim their money, with interest and expenses, increased to 10,000,000 f. Winterthur has paid her share, but the three Orgovian towns refuse payment, declaring their utter inability, and Winterthur must stand or fall with them. The intervention of the Federal Council has been sought in the matter, and unless it can soon make some, satisfactory arrangement the creditors of the municipalities will obtain a decree of bankruptcy against them. A million and a-half of kangaroos, 178,000 rabbits, besides wallaroos, wallabies, paddy melons, and native dogs were destroyed during the past twelve months in New South Wales. Sir William Fox says that there are between New Plymouth and Foxton inclusive, one hundred public-houses, and that the estimated receipts from each were at least £1500, in other words, £150,000 was spent in drink annually within the area mentioned.

The winds were whispering low, and the sentinel stars had set their watches if they bave any to set, up in the skies, as Mrs Tomly leaned from her cbftmberwindow and in a low and trembling voice. "Is that you, Henry?" Now, it is a peculiarity of Mr Tomly that when under the influence he has great difficulty in finding his homa He was once arrested as a burglar, and several times kicked out; so when he heard the female voice say, "Is that you, Henry?" he said, " "Fore I ansher that question I'd like ter know if that's you, Sarah 1" holding on t» the front gate and leering up at Sarah's chamber window. "Why, certainly, Henry, it is me." "Is this comer of Austin avenue and B street V " Why, of course it is, Henry," "Then," said Henry, indignantly, as he swayed up against the fence, " of course it's me. What yer ask fool'sh questions for 1 Don't yer knew yer husband 1" On Saturday week (writes the London correspondent of the Dunedin Star) Adelina Patti, looking as charming and petite as ever, made her entree at Oovent Garden in "II Barbiere." No one can point to the artistic experience of thus peerless cantatrice as instancing the fickleness of popularity. Her career in England is advancing towards of a century's duration and has never known a change, the favor accorded in 1861 lasting (unbroken by the thousand events of twenty-two seasons) till the present time. Regular opera-goers know what to expect on " Patti nights ;" but to those who only occasionally drop in at Covent Garden 1 , the scene the other evening, when tfre audience for the first time caught sight of the familiar little figure standing at Don Bartolo's window, must have seemed wonderful. As a rule " swelldom " hardly ever applauds at all. Few prima donnas are worth bursting a pair of white kids over. But Patti is altogether different. When "La Diva" appears the theatre overflows with flowers, guinea, stalls rise in price to thirty shillings, ond her entree is the signal for a thunderous salvo of cheering, handkerchief waving, and clapping. Saturday eveniug was the same as it has been ou similar occasions for years past. There was the same great house, the same applause, and the same entire conviction that nothing could be better even in the best of all possible worlds. The Bishop of Melbourne sees in the young of Australia a great deal of young feeling and intellectual brightness, and a readiness to learn ; at the same time a certain superficiality of fueling, a curtain, crafty sharpness,- & certain irreverence — both want of reverence for elders and the American, tendency to turn the deepest feelings and the loftiest thoughts of our nature into burlesque. At a meeting of the Philosophical Society, Dr. i i ector gave it as his opinion that the tidal wave which visited the New Zealand coast yesterdaj, was caused by the volGanic eraptioa which had been experienced in the neighborhood of the Straits of Sunda. He said the Island of Suuda was r - nowned foi' the severity of its eruptions, in 1772 a tract of country 13 miles long and 6 broad was swallowed up, 3000 pc sous losing their lives ; this was followed in 1815, by auother severe shok, when 7000 lives were lost, the, noise of the eruption was heard thousands of miles away. Some idea of the inexnaustible treasures of the sea may be gathered from Professor Huxley's lecture at th« Fisheries Exhibition. He states the astounding fact that 'a shoal of cod was usually from 120 to 180 feet deep, and contained 120,000,000 fish in a square mile. In other words, one single shoal contains more fish than the whole of the Norwegian fisherman catch in two years. This one shoal of cod will consume every week, at the very least, 840 millions of herrings, a supply that would victual London with herrings for a year. Another interesting fact which Professor Huxleymentioned was that an acre of good fishing ground will yield more food in a week than an acre of land will do in a year. A sis days' walking tournament, arranged to take place in Melbourne between the well-known athletes O'Leary, of America, and Edwards, of Melbourne, was inaugurated in the Exhibition building, Charlton Gardens, on Sunday night The men were on the track at about midnight, and a few minutes after were started. The track is of oval form, measuring 220 yards, thus giving eight laps to the mile. It is a little over sft in width, and consists, of a layer of damped sawdust enclosed between parallel lines of timber. The management of the entertainment is under Mr J. C. Seymour, who is also the trainer of the Victorian athlete. The referees are Messrs Cheltenham and Carrick, the scorers being Messrs Oollin and Lyons. About 150 persons were present at the start, which was effected at 7£min. past 12. Both competitors seemed in good condition, Edwards showing a little more vivacity than O'Leary. The first lap was executed in a go-as-you-please style, as was also the second, which took exactly lmin. 7£sec. to complete. On the third round Edwards increased his pace r and passed O'Leavy, who, taking no notice of the fact, kept on at the easy heel-and-toe swing with which he started. At the end of the first mile Edwards had gained a minute on O'Leary, and a little later still he had gained a lap. The introductory mile was walked by Edwards in lOfmin., and by O'Leary in llfmin^ The contest will be continued until 11 o'clock on Saturday night next.

When the now rejected Affirmation Declarations Bill was -before the House Mr Sbeehan welcomed the bill, and referred to the careless and indifferent manner in which the oath was often taken and the name of the Deity invoked. Mr ■TurntiuU attempted to take Mr Sheehan to task for his statement that the oath was really a prayer for divine assistance. — Mr jSwanson innocently remarked that that was certainly a new form of prayer. His experience told him that if that were so it was the. bailiff who took the oath and the wituess merely kissed the book. Whsnever he said liis prayers he did so without the assistance of the bailiff! The result of the chess tournament was (the Jewish (Jhronicle says) a ■veritable triumph for Jewish chessplayers. Out of the 14 engaged in the chief or " master" tournament uo less than six were Jews. And in the prize li3t9 the first was takeu by a Jew, iSukertort, and the second prize wis likewise adjudged to another Jew, Steinitz. Besides these, another Jew, Englisch, secured the fifth prize, and a fourth, Rosenthal, obtained the prize allotted to the competitor who made ; the best score against the prize-win-•nera. Out of the eight prizes given no less than one-half were won by Jews. The very great number who ■ take rank among the highest players, and the success of Zukertort and Steinitz, clearly indicate that there must be something peculiarly adapted to the game. The mathematical bent «f; mind, the patience, perseverauce, And daring, and the peculiar , quality : lcnown as long-headedness are, all properties qf r the Jewish nature, which are equally ' Valuable for business and for ■chess. From the times of the Talmud / -Je^s have been pre-eminent at games similar to chess, and in modem times • -Jews have counted several of the best -players for- several generations. ' j . A wave of intense heat passed over . tlie United Statea during the first week iv July* causing the thermometer in some loc'il ties to approach 100 de#i*ee9.-.\-' The heat killed 672 infants in New York, city dtu-hig the. week. It ■also caused many . cases , of sunstroke throughout tivs country, six persons having died from ' this • -cause at New York on July 7th^ three at Brooklyn, live at I'hihdelphia, and two at Jersey city. While the inhabitants of New York were thus sweltering, a cold -wave swept, over from the north-west, causing fires to be started and overcoats to be worn iv Chicago. On July Bth in New York the thermometer in a few hours fell 35 degrees, aud copious rainsfell. x ■:■■-. The 'Mataura Ensign' says t— ln • addition to E uropean miners, the . jSwitzers goldfield supports some 200 Chinese, the most of whom appear to ' .. be doing well. There is also some • probability, of an increase of Celestials, ■enquiries having been made by; some •of those- with capital with a view of ..> purchasing a number o£ water, lacea in /the district for their countrymen. : xi..-<3iJQe,dawnfaU of the Salvation Army ■ is. now certain 1 and assured, ..The wer- • diet entered- against "General." Booth ;. fomat- keeping the covenants which lie.. . entered into with the lessors of the Grecian Theatre means, the papers say,. „»• loss of £20,000 to the ' Army and ■where the cash is to come from no one , seems to know. Any sympathy- that might have been felt for the " General" on account of the presumed genuineness of his character was scattered to the winds by the worthy man's conduct in the witness-box. Instead of «peaking ." the truth, the whole truth, aud nothing but . the truth." Mr Booth quibbled and equivocated in a most astonishing manner bringing down upon himself at last a stern re- . primand from the Jiidge, who expressed extreme surprise that a Christian minister in the defendant's position should have felt it right to deliberately evade responsibilities valuntarily entered into. " The sophistries put forward by Mr Booth to justify his strange conduct were" (tbe learned •Judge went on) "if anything mther an aggravation of the breach of contract. Entering into au agreejneut "with a mau holding the drtfenaaut's peculiar position, the plaintiffs |ad a right to expect fair and honest freatraent. 'Ibis, he much regretted to say, they did not seem to have experienced." If Mr Booth can conjure much more mouey out of the packets . of the public after- an expression of opinion like the above on the pjfcrt of ..*ue of Her Majesty's most fsjjmous Judges, people must be more- silly and more credulous than I take them to be.