MISCELANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1409, 4 June 1884, Page 2

MISCELANEOUS.

I ——^ — . The white ant 9 that threaten the stability of Boston State House work inside of the wood they attack, no sign of themselveß or their operations ' appearing on the outside. They have ' heen known to honeycomb a long : wooden pillar without giving any i external indication of their presence.' I On account of several recent cases i of death in England among children i j .who had been fed on wheaten biscuit, la physician states in the British | Medical JojSrnaf that infants under : .sixio^*ig)»ik'tnonUtei!ihould be fed. with. uothing whatever but milk. The N.Z. Times to-day refers to the success of Major Atkinson'* ' recent ! campaign, especially in Wellington and Auckland. It adds : "Tne Auckland peopler are evidently bitterly ' opposed to separation, and will support the Ministry in their efforts to prevent any attempts to destroy the unity of tin* Colony. Public opinion in the ! North is tending strongly towards a coalition of parties. The people are ' growing weary of the eternal bickering and strife of the rival parties. A union between the Grey and Atkinson | parties is talked of as a' prossibility. Very many believe that much < good might result from such a fusion. j Then a strong Ministry would be ! formed, and much useful legislation might follow. Sir George Grey has, ■ in fact declared tnat he would not try to Jo turn put the Ministry this session if i were to result in the accession to power 0$ Mr Montgomery, iln Vict«>ria*MKiService,^n.d'.vMr Graham Berry, who' were leaders of opposing parlies, neither of which was sufljciently strong to hold the reins for.any length of time, at last grew weary of fighting and united to form a Ministry. Whether such a union of parties will result here time alone can show. If the leaders could agree to work | amicably together, th« great bulk of j the people in the Auckland district, would be pleased. This pleasure would, we believe, be shared by a large body of the electors throughout the whole Colony." On April 2 Mr Edmund Yates, the proprietor of the World newspaper, appeared before the Lord Chief justice of .England and Justices Cave and Williams* to receive sentence for the publication in that journal of Jan. 17, 1888, of a libel on the Earl of Lousdale, in respect of which a criminal information was filed against him, and to whioh he pleaded guilty. The libel Was as follows : — " A strange story is in circulation in sporting circles concerning the elopement of a young Jady: bf the very highest ora^k birth with a yoUng peer whose marriage was one of affection, but whose wife has unfortunately fallen into a delicate state of health. The elopement is said to have taken place from the fcunting-field. The young lady who is only one or two. and twenty, is a very fair rider, and the gentleman is a master of hounds." The affidavit of the Earl of Lonsdale to the effect that the paragraph pointed to him, and that there was no foundation for the libel, having beenread, the Attorney-General addressed the Court on behalf of the Earl . joftEbnsdale, who had, he sai4. instituted these proceedings in the public intf«*Bt, »nd loft the matter fntirely in their lordships' hands. Jfr Russel Q.C,, opok* in mitigation of punishment, stating that Mr Y»t*f bud received the paragraph complained of from a lady of high rank, moving in the same circles as Lord ' onsdale, and who was a regular contributor tot tha

World. Mr Yatea has since done everything in his power to remedy the mischief whioh he had inadvertently done. The learned judges then retired to consider their judgment; and on '■ their return the Lord Chief Justice said this was a most cruel libel on private character published in a journal that lived by the ventilation of per- , sonalitiea, to gratily the tastes of* small minority of a privileged clatfe {t w«nU b« useless to inflict a fins* Mpl the sentence, therefore, was that the defendant should be imprisoned for four months. On the application of Mr Poland, Mr Yates was allowed to stand out on bail, himself in £1000, and two sureties of £500 pending an application to the Attorney-General for his fiat so as to ra,ise a point of law. Still a little more Garrnoyle. It appears that Earl Cairns resents the revelations which continue to appear in. the papers. There will remain nothing new to I >e revealed at the trial. Miss Fortescue's friends assert that the last letter written liy Lord Garmoyle j to that lady was a veritable insult. j He had left iVliss Fortescoe at Brighton,^pretending that he would return his ancestral . home ai, Bournemouth. But instead of . thiß he sent a letter breaking off the match and giving an imaginary list of titled friends whohad declared they would not see her. He added :• " Though we «jannot many w« will always be the dearest friendiL vly golrlenlmired darling will he my darling still," The letter from Earl Cairns justifying his son's desertion from his betrothed is lawyer-like, and marked l»y an utter absence of sympathy for the woman. He offered her first j?tt,ooo and then £5,000 to settle ! the matter. A. still later offer of £10,000 was made, but lias been withdrawn.—-• Modern Sooiety.' It would seeiu that Lord Garmoyle, .in his letter to Miss Fortf s<*ue breaking off his engagement with her, alleged as one of his reasons that .be Duke of Richmond h*4 said she never ootrtd be received at Oomh *»»<* fcoat hie JttAfitif* could not bear the idea of hiEktyife : not being allowed to pay her respects to her Sovereign. Are we to trader- V) , stand that his grace is himself of opinion that, because a young lady has been on the stage, she is not a fit person to enter the charmed circle in, which be is a bright particular star 1 or did he express authoritatively the determination of Her Majesty t The former is more probable, for the Queen is the last woman in Euglaud to inflict a social stigma upou any profession, or to allow her name to be used in order . [ to afford a young man an opportunity: to desert his intended bride. Be this as it may, assuredly a little reflection ought to have convinced his grace •€ Richmond that lie is the very last person in the kingdom, tq give iiini self airs, or even to allude to fr.re»entat : onß >kt Court History tolls us that in the' reign of Charles 11., to use the language of Mucaulay, "a handsome,, crafty, a*d licentious Fnmf|ifvfaAn, whom our f«de aucettppl foiled ! Madame Carwell," was sent over to ; England by Louis XIV, to hecoine tlie mistress of Charles, and to reveal his secrets to the French Codrt. It is to the presentation of this improper- _ female, who to frailty added treachery, rJiat the Duke owes his existence 'and the estates which enable him neither to toil uor to spin. — * Truth.' A correspondent communicates the following: — The Wellington Spiritualist Investigating Society held its usual op«n meeting at the society's rooms last night. A number of gentlemen were admitted hy invitation. The ! -service commenced hy the singing of hymus, and the reading of a chapter from the New Testament. During the singing of.the l^st hymn, the medium was.. , entrance^ and delivered aa. interesting address, the subject being, ' The recognition of children by their parents on their entrance to the spirit world.' The controlling spirit Kave an interesting account of how a cord of smpathy was kept up between mother and child, and instanced Some happy scenes of the meeting of parente aud children on their entrance to the spirit plane. The address v whioh lasted for half an honr, was listened to with marked attention. After the delivery of the address, the controlling spirit was subjected to a close examination relating to his own existence on the earth plane. A number of question were put by various gentlemen present and answered in a satisfactory manner. The meeting haying closed with prayer, a number of new members joined. A meeting of the association will be held during the week for tb» purpose of forming Additional circles."* ■ -.■■: A prominent master mechanic asserts that a locomotive, drawing a train of six coaches and burning soft coal, throws out from 40 to 50 bushels.: of sparks., in a run of a hundred miles: ■■• " The Queen's book has run into a fourth edition, making the number of copies disposed of nearly 20^00^. It is said that an American publisher put the book into the market at 4de£' ' It was immediately reprinted by another firm, and sold at Idol. 50c. But this was outdone by Harper Brothers, who brought out an edition of the book for 15c. (7fd). Lady Burdett-Coutts owns the smallest pony in thr world ; he is five years old, and stands ISin. high. " Jem Ward," the once famous pugilist, has di*d in the Licensed Victuallers' Asylum at the age qf 84. Like his profession, "Jem" had long since come down in the world, and, jus^ »b the modern breed of degenerate priiegghters are leaving the Qld Wotldj for the New, the old bruiser has !•£ the world altogether. His staying; powers, however, have been truly remarkable, bill though lie knocked

so many •• out of timp," v/rito^a face tions contemporary. Old Time luis knocked him out at last. May hi and his profession both slumber undis tnrbed. It is /good b^si'ieas' to bn a populai preacher in America. -Mr Beeclier's stipend for this year is £5 00, and Dt TalmagePis to rebbive £3000. - TheVPostatsb afludes tq Hho subjecl •of a (i|amon Miiiistry, Wpfeiciuliy-ii conntSfunf*' With the^qgge&ifbflfli J. Evans Brown, thati ' GoverVun^nt , should be tormed of such men af Atkinson, Bryce, Grey, Maeandx-ew, Montgomery, and Yogel. It expresses its disbelief in the possibility of any such •' hippy family" 'being established. The editor of the World, who is under sentenceof four months'imprisonment for libel is just now 1 the snbj«ct of a good deal of comment iv London. Many severe citicisms appear iii the "newspapers upou the conduct of Lady fttradbrooke, the author of the paragraph that got Mr Yates into trouble, *ud oil the fact of her being permitted to escape puuishmont. But Truth -assures u 8 that she has not so escaped. TbejCUutt jbas ; jgiveii her the cpl'd *hoaSer" ii?^ pfet; v u'hraw«Bk^^ fiishipn, h«r lidiife" liayirig been strVtc^' ott' all tihelnvitation listsV arid fVis&tid that she Has beeii vorj' s^verly " cut" by the people at Marlborough House. Jioeitity, is sure to follow these, hints, and to he particulaily severe upon 4*nyo»ie in their liiidSt known to be 1 writipg fora society paper at'thei'ate oftwoiguineasa cpturan/ . ' - An instance of black political ingrapointed out by the Wianganui Hei-a^l.l which says ; — "The Ministerial /are rapidly "melting ttway. The staiincHestof them was Mr Morris, and he has' stated his intention of withdrawing his support on account of their native land policy. This ia the height and deptli of ingratitude, for did not Mr Morris -get the immaculate Government to take the lien off a reserve which immediately JleiriritO'thehandl otfflt Mpfris; *jfiilsdlMis&- : w*s pulic%^ikficl^by^ Sir ©e4^<?pey v in' the House, and it has never- been 1 denied, " When ro^nes fall out-honest inefl^W get their own/\ Thjß« lirst days of the session' will see the Cou- 1 ' tinnoni Uinidtrf packing vp H 'tu^ir trap!.' ■..;• • \ n /f} '•■•'•* • Mr'^f. Greenwall has shown" to tfS{Argiiß) the 1 following letter received by him frbriV ftjtes tangtvy,' dated New York, Febrtiify/ 26, 1884 :— " Siri — 1 do not feel 1 equal to going to Australia the cooiing sttmrner, and must ask you . to pdstporie my proposed r.heatiical tonr to th^tcp.uin^y to anothei' season. I write ypli)ihus earley that you may He put to aslifctle inconvmiienceas possible. I regret feeling obliged to wiite to'you to this effect, but I am quite worn out. . this., spring, feel it is nece ssaiy for wiy ne|lth ttf Ipehd th« sninmer in KnglduCr-Youfs f«iiWi i ftil'(jr,V Lillie XANOta^-ri-To Mr Moms Gvee»Wall." S|r Modrgdis, pecordiugto th^HelAustrarja. at Juie. pre|».>t ;«.i,o ( inpi\t is qne ; who has- never won a race h«.re. . jsi'r Modred, i* one of the most difficult animals ia the colony to prepare, and' hast, given his trainer, Alsopp, more trouble tban any other animal under his care. He is, titter wow then ever lie was before, and in about another month, all going well, will win a big race. This is worth making a note o£ The V»lack balling of two English bookmakers— Messrs Wallace and • West»robk— by Tallersaira Club has been very freely commented \.n in Sydney, and the whole qwtion is being debated iii sporting cii'cles. It appears that the firm refer e'a to has a big Sydney ready ru6ne # y co'iiiection, and that, on making 'appli'm Linn to be regisi£er^d/a6 booktniiiktfrsljv latt^rflaU's Qlv&ffiyrß^fcritoj»pßi%y M« way, they woqld h*qive t6 c pdy<£so apiece}; they weTflf proposed Viid seconded, Hut were 1 ultimately Ulackbal led.