MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1319, 5 November 1883, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

1 The Melbourne ->iv"ovj_ Court-the* other day granted the petitions of six hnsliands for separation from their wives. In one case an Englishwoman (Mrs Ah Yang) sought for a divorce from her Chinese husband, on the ground of adultery, and desertion. She had, saved about £600, which he took from her and wem to China with it ; Her petition was granted. | We take-4*h^.-following amusing skit from a Sydney paper: —■" A man in a New Zealand town sued the Corporation j the other day for injuries sustained one- * : uight by coming in collision" with a j telegraph post And he got £3& \ damages. This is the kind of law we ! believe in. We think a stop shoul I j be put to fhe midnight roystering of telegraph posts and such things. Ihe ; way thev go tearing around at nights ia , something scandalous. A man is going. j peaceably home and one of these harumskarum posts cannons up against him and leaves him iii such a condition that, j if he is able to find his own door, he is probably unable to explain how he gotthere. ■ Aj.cl so it id that mistrust and suspicion are sown in the family. If there, were aiiy decent laws here, Wi know oue rufnauly 'specimen of this class we should issue a summons' .again st. It 'is a pillar-box;, and is . as^pased to.aUnd'-wi Uw Winer _t IVjo j street which wh . at present make famous by living in. But, does it .'stand ? Not much—at night, anyhow. We have endeavoured to teach it a lesson once or twice, but in vain. Last time we tried we stayed in for three weeks afterwarda We are sorry to have to make such an accusation against what ought to be a respectable feature of the street, but weareuow constrained to do it We believe it drinks. If we only had those New Zealand rail gistrates over here, we faucy we could get damages enough from the Corporation to retire npon for injuries sustained through the pillar-box alone. But there is no justice in this country." Thick heads. — eavy stomachs bilious conditions—-Wells' May Apple Pills- —anti-bilious, cathartic sd. and Is Moses, Moss & Co., Sydney, General Agents. The cry is so frequently raised, says, the "Medical Press and Circular," that the profession bf medicine is overstocked in this country, that any pros-

pect of improved practice to be securt cl i by emigi'trtion may be acceptable to a i good many young men who are • "waiting for something to turn up.'' i Iu this connection it is interesting to ] learn that Australia offers advantages ; which cannot be exceeded at Home, if v/e may judge from the report of a transaction noted in the "Bendigo Independent," and by which a Dr. Henry L. Atkinson, of Sandhurst, became the possessor bfan antipodean estate in consideration of a 'money payment o« ,£40,000. We are authoritative'jy^jraformed that the geutlemau in rftiestibn proceeded to Australia som* l ybar i s ago as • surgeon on b6ard a sailing vessel, and that the whole of the large forttirie 'fie now possesses has been - accumulated during his : professional career abroad. Such an example majr* well commenct . itself to those who are on the look out for open ings here; artd while proving much that is creditable to the perseverance and industry of the practitioner in question, it also indicates the likelihood that others might fairly hope, withj he : exercise of similar qualifications, *o gain at any rate a compebmce by the exereise of their profession. According to an American contemporary, with the- past • sit months the use of steel nails' in the United States has increased largely. They came into the market about a year ago, and i found an immediate sale. One by one i the leading nail companiesof the United ' State_"tbok"tip this line of manufacture '■ until all now produce steel nails re- ' gularly. "No change in machinery was required. The knives for cutting the j steel plates dull much quicker than on < if eh •'• work, -but otherwise the cost of) manufacture is riot increased beyond' 1 the first coat of the steel bloom as compared with pigs or scrap iron, which is used in making iron nails. The great adfdntage of the steel nails is that they canbe driven into hard wood as easily as an iron nail will go into pine board. : We have seen steel nails driven into a white •' oak knot .without, bending. Nothing else is now used in laying hardware floors, as they require no boring, but are driven readily. For all kinds of hard finish they are es- ; pecially adapted, and as so much hard finish is now employed their use must now be on the increase. They are also used largely by car builders, and toxmakers are increasing the demand for them. Boxmakers have been using the better grades of iron nails, as they desire those which can be drawn and red riven. That the steel nail meets .this requirement better than f iny' other. , The pursuit, perhaps a litle unduly, of a new game (says a Home paper) has at last developed a new disease. Even in our amusements nature seems to warn us against excess. When skating-rinks were at their height of fashionable snpremacy, young surgeons > got to be quite adepts in dealing with, what is technically known as CollisV fracture ; and there are certain doctors who, each succeeding month of May, recognise the familar symptoms of"Academy headache." 'The newest; grievance is a little moie acute in its suffering, and more obstinate in its j delay. There are declica'e sheaths : which encase the muscles of the arm, and which may be wrenched and distorted ,by special exercise. Lawntennis is peculiarly favourable to this result, and , " a lawn-tennis elbow"; is added to the ills which nineteenthcentury flesh inherits. The 'cure is* 1 peculiarly disagreeable, as " perfect re*st" is one of the items in the doctor V progamme. A confirmed tennis-player can no more take perfect rest, than a,| confirmed glutton can diue bnjicpld..; meat. \ But he can ' play .with hi£ lfcft hand. : while jhei res- s . his right,' -aud >'■ tbosj-iftertnis elbow becomes anything like. 4*9 "tteual an aiTmerit : as' tennis j playid^ is'an i _o6bmp i lishmetit, we shall find . the ; number of left-handed seiisiblyancrease. . . / -A decision was given- by Mr M'Culloofev _i.M. 1 at Biverton the other day, which' ! is of' special inter* st to local bodies as bearing on. the question of respon_ibiirt^;:for accidents through ; the bad condition of roads. The Wallace ."' Cdunty- Council were sued for, £15, 'value of a horse which '-broke ibsi leg and had to be destroyed through j the- 'bid state of the Orepuki' road; ' The Council : are empowered, His Worship said, under the 185th section] of '' the Act 1 , id form, : consllt'uct, > ahß «. maintain: all public roads with iti' f Heir % jurisdiotfbnv ; -Ibf the- exercise of ; tliat power -tbe) Courioil' had gone as far as i their- -fund's- 'Would permit, and -^tlifere j was nq- evidence tp prove negligence, on. thev.part of . the Council. Judgment was given for defendant. ;, nj | , y i , Among the various , p¥ , opbs„ts v 'wliicH* * have been made for raising mtfrtey for'the spread of education among the poor, for originality and brilliancy the idea which has i^een's^aH^d' arid 'taken up in Dresden deserves a. very high place. Ilvhas occurred -to a'iriltn of genius in that city — unfortunately so far his name has not been published — that _ steel of high quality is an expensive and valuable commodity. Pens are made of this superior steel ; thu-efore, if, instead of throwing away their old pens, people would »-_t preserve them carefully, and contribute them to the cause of education, a large sum would be obtainable annually. I Dresden has accepted the proposal j with enthusiasm, and, everyone is saving old pens. It may be calculated that each working class man and wife ia London will use up as many as four r-teel pens a year; and that persons engaged in trade or business may — if short-tempered and hasty — smash or otherwise destroy one a week. A quarter of an ounce of pens would be a fair estimate of the average consumption ot each household in this metropo': p. A house to house collection world, of course, be organised, and the j-'jiis could be packed aud sent oZ by

rail to Shcfik:ld or Birmingham. As a toil nf old steel pens tniirht be worth ! sjome five or six pounds delivered at I one or other of these places, ifr needs ; but a slight calculation to estimate the ' probable result of -the simultaneous efforts of the community in the .cause of cheap education. Extraordinary high prices tyerepaid. for fish in the Sydney -mavke'VVn the Ist inst. Schnapper were sold at from £6 2s to £7 4s per dojien ; red; br;eami £1 6s 6d; garfish, $2 12s; and^srnali . fl atheads, 18s per dozen. The reason for these prices \yas the roughness. oL the weather, which- had 'precluded' fishing operations, and the fact that 'the' Jewish New .Year was coming ou, and • the Hebrews desired most- stronglyto o tain fish aud had little regarcbl'or COSt.' . s. •::• ;, , <i-