MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1549, 18 May 1885, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

a Till lately Bishop Lightfoot has been the enly unmarried bishop, but tbe recent appointments ef Canon Linden to the B**- of Salisbury, and of Canon King to that of Lincoln, afford ut tha unusual spectacle of three bachelors in the AnghVen Episcopate. All the traditions ef the Church ef England recognise matrimony as inseparable from episcopacy, and the undivided enjoyment of thes** honors by throe cnnt^mpmwri** is probably without put-all*! Cor sa-nra generations.

**''*M''-'--*-»»-*'---'--****SP 1 "^^ A large and Influential deputation of gentlemen, representing the Chatm ber of Commerce and tbe South Australian Aasociatie^Jpgether with leadingmerchants ando^ers net connected with these organisations, waited upon the Attorney-general recently in order to urge upon the Government the necessity for talking some steps to legislate tor the establishment of tribunals of commerce. Several of those present pointed out that their desire was to have commercial cases tried by . commercial men, and decided upon equitable rather than technical grounds, and without slavish adherence to pre •cedent. Mr Kingston, in replying, expressed sympathy with the wish to secure easy, equitable, and cheap decisions in commercial cases, and said that the Government, in any legislation they contemplated, would endeavour to secure those admirable advantages. Ho could not, however, sequence in the abolition of precedent, and he thought that * local Court in i full jurisdiction, with two lay Justices, fulfilled in a great measure the principle , , for which they, were asking. He proraised that tho matter would bo laid before the Cabinet - Referring te Lord Wolseley'* failure in the Soudan, the Times says : "We ftatect some time ago* that the key to j what was otherwise inexplicable in. Lord Wolseley r s movements would be found » in the deficiency ef transport. It appears that our belief was well founded The purchase of camels has, for "reasons of economy, stopped earl} in the campaign ; and the marches of Sir Herbert Stewart's column and the frequent going to and fro of convoys rapidly used up the camels, which were occasionally from four to five days without water, and without other food than the dry coarse grass to be nicked up in the desert. They appear also to have guttered from bad loading and from saddles not properly fitted. There was no chance of giving them a rest till their galls were healed, and at length the air was absolutely poisoned by the stench from their wounds and sores. Hence it was as tnucb as could be managed to turn out a sufficient number ef camels to carry the sick and wounded and the barest necessaries, including water. To accumulate stores was out of the question. How peer General Bnlller's resources in the shape of transports were is shown by the fact that when he quitted Abu Kru on his return march he had only 1179 camels to , 1675 officers and men, and that ia consequence a large amount of valuable stores had to be abandoned." A young lady from Melbourne named Hiss Martha Williams was killed while, inspecting the Imperial mine at Buninyeng. In company with the daughter : of the manager, Miss Chapman, she was lowered with what is technically known as a horse whip. Two or three seconds after the bucket had left the mouth ef the shaft Miss Williams' dress -caught in one of the knockers, and .in endeavoring to release the gown, she lost her balance and stumbling, overturned the bucket and both ladies were thrown out The mishap proved fatal to Miss Williams, for she was precipitated down the shaft a depth of 100 ft, and was subsequently picked up dead, with her neck dislocated and her arm and shoulder broken and frightfnlly mutilated. Miss Chapman almost escaped without injury, for, fortunately, she in her fall caught hold of a ladder in the shaft, and, with great presence of mind, clung to one of the rungs until help arrived. Painstaking people, who know next to nothing of^ printing, find a special delight in searching out typographical errors in newspapers, periodicals, and books, the detection of a blander, in their own estimation, posting a premium on individual intelligence — conferring theprivilegeof disparaging printers. Men Of intelligence, who write well but not legibly, never tire of pointing out mistakes of printers and oversights of proof-readers. The selfconstituted censors of typography may find food for wholesome reflection in the fact that just about one hundred years ago a number of professors in the Edinburgh University undertook j the publication of a book which should be a perfect specimen of typographical accuracy. Every conceivable precaution was taken te prevent errors of the types. Six experienced proof-readers were employed, who devoted hours to the reading ef each page. After their careful task was completed, each page was posted in the hall of the Univer sity, with a notification that £50 would be paid to any person who should succeed in discovering an error. Every page remained thus publicly exposed' Tor two weeks before being returned to the printing office. The proprietors ef the wark felt confident that the object so diligently striven for had been attained. Great was the diecora fitnre of the learned men when, on the book being issued, several errors were found, one occurring in the first line ef the first page — Printer's Circular. A New Zealand-born young lady is the first "sweet girl graduate" of the Sydney University, having recently taken her B.A. degree there. A •ontemporary informs us* that the honor is enjoyed by Miss Brown, daughter of the Rev. Charles Brown, who entered the ministry in New Zealand, and whose wife is a daughter of Father Wallis, one of the early New Zealand missionaries. Miss Brown was educated at the Girls' 1 1 igh School , Auckland., Not only the houses of the Mexicans, but whatever you admire is yours If you express a sentiment of approbation for anything the owner at once says : " Senor it is yours," but he simply intends to say something flattering, and you are therefore not expected to accept anything that is offered you. An amusing story in told of oir Spencer St. John, the English ambassador, which illustrates how this

national courtesy often provokes embarrassment. Sir Spencer, who is a gallant old bachelor, was promenading with some ladies in the park when he met a nurse girl with a bright-eyed baby. The ladies stepped to admire the little one, and Sir Spencer asked whose child it was. " Senor, it is 1 your own," replied the nurse, with a curtesy. Sir Spencer has never enquired as to the parentage of pretty children since. If there has at times seemed reason, writes the Pioneer, when estimating tho character ef the Anglo-Native press, to draw some distinction between the tone and temper ef the papers published in Bengal on one hand, and those of Madras and Bombay ou the other, there is happily no necessity to observe any such distinction in regard to their opinion on the Russo Afghan crisis. It is impossible to speak without cordial admiration not simply of the thorough-going loyalty which animates their, utterances, but of the ability with which the political ! situation is discussed. . There is no doubt thatiu the Punjab especially, the traditions of former invasions and their baneful consequences are still alive, whilst it is certain that the Hindus as a body are disposed to associate the rumored- coming ef the Russians and their following with the idea of Mahomedan domination.. But beyond this the truth is that, throughout native society, there is a large leaven of educated and enlightened men to whom the character and aims of Russian rule are thoroughly understood, and although they may not be altogether st(tis6ed with the British Government, they recognise its benevolence and disinterestedness, and value the freedom it bestows on them too much to care to exchange it for the pre-spect of a Russian despotism. Now this steadfast loyalty of an alien race is not merely a sentimental satisfaction, it means many big battalions. And if Russia ever counted on any sympathy among the great body of the natives of Hind ustan, much more their active support, she has altogether reckoned without her host.