MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1414, 16 June 1884, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

. « A Bill has been introduced into the House of Commons to humanise the children, computed at 60,000, who live on canal barges, ami in travelling, vans. Judge Moles worth was present at Pentridge, in Melbourne, recently to witness three, prisoners flosjged. He was desirous of observing the severity of the punishment, and drawing his own conclusions as to its deterrent influence upon the recepients. He lias expressed himself in favor of short sentences with stvere corporal purishment, and not burdening the State with keeping offenders for any length of time. He also appeai-ed toconsider that the solitary system of punish- [ ment, carried out in its integrity — viz, lib of bread per day and no chance of any communication with any person — • would be even more beneficial ; aud iu this he is borne out by old aud experienced gaol officials. To the uninitiated it would seem that footprints would be as airy and unmarketable commodities as postholes or footless stockings without legs. But there is an advertisement in the Auckland Star offering " moa's footprints for sale," guaranteed genuine, at £5 per pair. The gigantic footprints were originally impressed on the sand, perpetuating the traces of the giant birds for all eternity. There used at one time to be a profitable market for moa footprints in the North Island, and an old whaler named Maori 'Jack made a good thing by manufacturing footprints to order, on the principle that relics of the battle of Waterloo' " are made at Birmingham. It is even said that specimens of Jack's hand-i-'---work are to be found in the Wellington and Christchurch museums. : "Pat." said a gentleman who wns fond of using high-sounding phraseology to his man of all work, "I am going to town at ten o'clock, and shall weed out the cucumber beds in the interim." "Interim?" thought Pat. 11 That's a mighty quare name for a garden, anyhow." "Is Mr Smith at home ?" asked a visitor who called shortly afterward. ' " Yis, sorr ; Ye'll find him at work in his interim, there beyant," announced Pat Samuel Taylor Coleridge was so bad a horseman that when mounted ho generally attracted unfavorable notice. On a certain occasion ho was ridiiur along a turnpike road in the county of Durham, when \w was met by a wag, who. mistakiny; liis mm, thought the rider a good snbjc.-t for sport. '• 1 say, youn ,' man," crL'd the ru3t : .'^.

" did you see a tailor on the road 1 ' " Y«s, I did ; and he told me that if I went a little farther I should meet a goose." We clip the following from the Christcbureh Press.— At Kaiapoi Court a case was heard in which a litigant sought to recover a large sum from a publican for money lent iu sums from £5 to £25, amounting to £60, against which boniface put in a grog score, which he claimed the sinus had been paid on account of. At one part of the cms? it -was expected . the Licensing Act ha vo been pleaded as a i>av ttx the set-ptf. seeing the plaintiff for' twelve months has been under the ban of a " prohibition order," but this was not Adiw. --The publican had also retained about twenty or thirty orders, si«nwH»y medical gentlemen, ordering ipr the plaintiff so many bottles of ale of brandy for \ l medical purposes." Tins part bftfie question was dropped, anil it will -iitill remain in donbt whether under, the Aj^a prohibited person, can be legally supplied with drink, -under a doctor's order ev«n. The -judgement -'in the case : wa4 rkfae¥vedv° 1 ... i, A stfttrigfe Btiiry^odnies from 'Canada conerrotfig — tho Salvation- Army A detachement of that j)ody having conimeuced operations at~ Kingston, the Itev Dr Willon, curate to Dean Lyster, took pa^t in -some dl theif-n»eet-ings, in; spite , of the -mno^siran.ce3 ,p,f . soinn of ; .his clericaf br^thern. K^ "Wilson",' Ihidwte'ver, p^erseverecT; aiid '^ftifii-'' attendiug ari-alKnight meetiii^lof the Army, jpoX opart.-iu a. .fte^bra^ou o:" the >■ a -lament. For this indiscretion. Ih3 ,l)ean . suspeuiL}e.d ,him, for tliree"*m'onths,' "whereupon ' Dr Wil- J son attended^ auptiieF ineetin^ r of the l Army, an<l gav4 : -au accoiiivt^dl Uis experiences. , :r fi appears thaia«^part o^ the iall niglit lrifeeting:therii J : w«ro_fiJcferar.. ordinary physicaV- f in«jrHifo»tastions, some of those present leaping iu the air, whifo^oilieHF gfoi ; fellea ' 6n/. the! /iidorA Dr Wilson at last beitiii»e affected with the same t excitementrand prostrated himself on the ground, at whiolv tfnifi he declares that he heard k v6i6e?^rdift Hearen 'approving: pf the proceedirigs of the Army. ' Wilson, .. . since this strange deliverance, has been permanently relieved of his ciaracy ; xiut;the J Low Church Party are; espousing his cause, and the Bishop 'of Huron lias expressed his willingness to find him a uew sphere of - action. /'"General" Booth would find Dr Wilson a great attraction on his nextfield-day. A man who has heard a voice froui. Heaven proclaiming that the of the Army are , divinely authpurised is not to be discovered 'every, .day.— Echo. ■■■-- :•-•- At his meeting at Gore Mr, Driver made the following reference to Sir Julius Vogel :-ttt" Of this, gentleman he would speak with. some i'eel ing of friendship, of long political connection, and of long personal intimacy. He was not prepared to say whether it was a wise thing for Sir Julius Vogel, or a good thing for the Colony at this particular time, that he should go into, politics. It. was a matter upon which he himself and those who asked him to do so were the best judges. If he.entered Parliament with the feeling that he was, as "some people thought, going to relieve them from the depression, and raise . them to a stage of gr»at prosperity, it would he (Mr Driver) believed, be his downfall. On- the other hand, he could conceive of Sir Julius doing some good through his persona 1 k nowledge of the affairs of the Colony, and by means of his ability. He might use his influence to bring parties together, and stop the bickering that had occurred iu the House.'' The Rev. R. A. Mortimer, Curate of St. Albana, Christchurch, writes to the JPress as follows : — Upou the subject of education Sir George, Grey is reported to have said — "The poor should have the same advantages for their children as'the. rich." Exactly. Now, at present a Christian education is the rich man's monopoly, because be can pay taxes for the poor man's secularism, aud then fees for his own Christianity. The poor man cannot afford this dual ' outlay. Certainly some in iny parish are paying 6d per week for 49 weeks a year; i.e., they pay me £1 a year for doing it, and four times as much to the Government for not doing it. This seems hard and unjust i.e., if a parent ! has a natural voice in directing the education of his child. Both SirGeorge Grey and Major Atkinson have acknowledged this, but both might have been more explicit. I call attention to the matter now, on account of the approaching general election. I have no. desire to " meddle in politics," at the same time it is only fair to any possible candidates for thie district to say that I shall work for any good man who will pledge himself to do all in his power to remove this outrageous imposition upon the office of the parent. We have heard enough of " liberty " to sicken a horse ; we want now to taste just a modicum of it. The Star has the following paragraph : We hope Mr Mitcbelson, Minister for Public Worka, will also be induced to speak. He is the second native of Auckland city who has held a portfolio in the Cabinet of New Zealand. Hi? career affords a striking example of the opportunities given to all men of energy, industry, and integrity in the colony, and the people of this city must feel something like a personal interest in him. There are three members of the present House who were boys at school togetherMessrs Mitchelson, Sheehan, and Cadman, and the mark they have made at a comparatively early age in the politics of the country speaks well for the climate of the North for the growth of public men. This is a branch of "special farm industries" for which Mr Fuderli Uid not suggest

the payment of a bonus. If the crop is good, however, the producer can rely upon it that tho product will be profitable both to tho individual and the district. We can bespeak for Mr Mitchelson a very friendly welcome from any Auckland audience. Millers and grainbiokers will remember that the Ingest pi iced, wheat is now commanded by India, and statistics published by the Secretary of State fully verify the statement. It appears that th\e area tinder wheait in British India' comprises 20,0' ).0,000 acres, yielding About. 6,t)00,U0Q ., tons, The area in the native ! territory is abput 6,000,€00: acres, ftnd ; tfee yi^ld >bj)Atl;80Q;0" : -0;^s!-' ;::^jte i: "*oft'-whitc 'wlje^'wliich-lie'ails'oiTl^i^iii^tgi^ow.Sto greatest perfection, . in. ' 2^orthor.j> K^dia, Rajpootana, and'. Gujerat. The soft red . wheatf.rwks/DHxt, and comes chiefly ' fioih M«il>ud<la valley. It isestirnated that when the railway syfitem is more clevelopreda/greater pbrtiou of -the t^tar will in. gp'pet, ■years dp available for export., : The cost of .production va{'u:s,;t*ut : it is calculated at 2s per quarter^,. . -;-i . ' „:.. ,; :. :. ' %i\ ftri a^^salrttely tleliv«e(lby the ■ Gtaml- '■'M'^fccV.; hi : ' ! Nc\v ; ;Sp\ith ' Wales t- 00- If ..i '.»«{ i efeueil as follows to tiipliai^xfii^, ©jEijjt* order.:.^ I HinT that the-tqttti income- foiv the past year ending iDecmnber 81 has; been £39, 582- 2s 3&dk;> and' ' thf«*4(ptar> expenditnra ttppear ! .'a , : ' &fcisfa;ctorjr stalie ■ oT amiirp, ." J[inJ jjftufctt. "/«:« ,'.\,«^tice i , jthat the j .•', tpVat .',' (i amouiit. Aqf, amounts :t0^£32,092 ; 2s 4^> beipg only £494 tes'&idovuv the; ekpelidk turey we can come to no other coircl Ufciori ' ' thari'that the" 1 / time ..has 1 • arrived : When 1 lodges sjliprt^cl' % M^jpeijetl ta raise' tl ft? confa-ib.u^ti,bu7;..sufficieii^. [to; ■'.pjfy.'.^J ' expenses of the, lqcl^e,'as tftubniit i|^ is. ( Wixmg iaprinciple for,;lodgea:to live as it were 'uptow the -iriterpst off the/ money. saved ; inyear^orfßDy.^ ; ; ' '>•'■-*'■'■ ' ]