MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1547, 13 May 1885, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

«. The following details concerning a recent English cause c^lebre appear in a London paper : — Lord Durham* suit for nnllity of marriage <m th* of his wife's insanity came on for trial before Sir EL Hannvn cm F«*br«avjr 2.">.h, Uiriadyship'sgaardiaa dof»M Hmio: the sii!», and con tending w.a: at ilij urn. of ta« nuuriu^t Ui«

was of sound mind. Th« wedding took place in October, 1832, the respondent, Miss Ethel Elizabeth Louisa Milner, being then 22 years of age. Last August, while on a visit to Yorkshire, her ladyship attempted t» throw herself out of a window, and she was then placed in an asylum. Lord Durham described at length his acquaintance with Miss Milner leading up to their marriage. He admired her beauty, bnt found her fnsm the first cold, taciturn, reserved, and strange, saying little beyond " Yes " and " No" and "I have something dreadful to t»ll you," which she never explained. This conduct, bis lordship said, was attributed by one of Miss Ethel Milner'g sisters to a shyness caused by affection for his LoivJship which would disappear after marriage, but on the wedding day h« came to the conclusion that Lady Durham was an idiot. Judging from the decision of the court mentioned in our telegi*ams, the Bench found reason to suppose that the lady, was forced into the marriage though her affections were not at present engaged. Her taciturnity would be as easily explained by this as by the theory of insanity. The following long word may be foand agreeable to cowpositofß : — L?anfairpv*-llg%vyrigyll£ertrotnvllgwreh-wyrbyllgo^erbwllyonttvsiliogogogeeh . It consists of 70 letters and 22 syllables, is the name of a village in Wales, and means : — " St. Mary's white hazel pool, near the turning pool, near the whirlpool, very near the pool by Llankilo, fronting the red rocky islet of Oogo." The placehas the repatation not only of bearing the longest name in her Majesty's dominions, but bears the unique position of having the longest name in the world. Further particulars are to hand of the demand of the Seamen's Union in Sydney. A.n attempt was made to compromise .the matter on the lines that the Zealandia should be allowed to leave Sydney as" she came in, and disband her Chinese crew at San Francisco, where shipped, on the understanding that a white crew would be engaged at the current i"ate of wages. This the men pesitively declined, pointing oat that the Chinese ci*ew had been originally taken on board at San j Francisco eisrht years ago as passengers, and the white «rew disbanded her**, and they thonght it only fair that th« Company should do the same in the present case under the altered circumstances — viz. , take back frheir coloured crew to San Francisco as passengers, and ship white men at once at current rates. Any other terms than these they positively refused on behalf of the men. The present strike is only the initial one ©fa series. The men intend to enforce their demands upon ocean going steamer*;, whether the articles are signed in Sydney or elsewhere. They urge that the Zealandia is indirectly subsidised, inasmuch as part of the subsidy paid her by the New Zealand Government is* drawn from Now South Wales, where non-subsi-.diset' vessels employing Chinese labour agree to give up their intercolonial trade, as the China Steam Navigation Company has done. On the other hand the agents say they consider to be a reasonable offer — viz., to take on white men at current rates as soon as they have returned their yellow crew, but if the men refuse these terms they will recommend the owners to change the headquarters of the Company to San Francisco, and point out that this will entail a loss to the port of about £25, 000 a year. Tha London Chronicle gives the following particulars of the death of | Detective Richard Barber, while in the discharge of duty remarking that j in view of the dangers and discomforts I of a policeman's life, an" little short- | comings should be regarded with a lenient ey« ; . " About 2 in the morn- j ing a man, giving the name of James Siinth, but who waa recognised as a ticket of leave man whoso sentence will notexpira till 1886, was in operation on the roof of some buildings in Royal Mint street, Whitechapel. His situation having been observed, he was i approached by Barber and Constable "j Batchclor, whom he greeted with a i volley of stones. This, however, did i not deter the officprs, who mounted the roof regardless of the danger to •which they expoied themselves. The prisoner either from timidity of for some other reason best known to ! himself, beat a retreat across the tops of the honses. The night was frosty and the roofs slippery, but the pns«n«*r being without boots ran swiftly, or, as Constable Batchelor expressed it l like a cat,' Barber followed close upou his heels, and, after a chaso of 20 minute*, was about to capture him, when he fell through a skylight, and his head coming in contact with the floor below, was killed on the spot. For the moment the prisoner escaped, but, falliuir through another skylight, alights \ on the bed of a person who did not receive his visit in a cordial spirit. Tbi3 person made such good use of a broomstick that the prisoner surrendered at discretion, and when brought before the magistrate complained of the inhospitable treatment he had receivi d." " Decline of man." — Nervous Weakness, Dyspepsia, Impotence, Sexual Debility, cured by " Wells' i ! ealth Renewer." Druggists Kempthorne, Prosser <fc Co., Agents, Chiistchnrch.