MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1630, 23 November 1885, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

English capitalist* are co nnwly remttel to h-i'd it the lvrt £5. H1. 000 of pnblin inV3*tmf»nt« H 8-wth Africa. English manufacture T*nd there an annual market for at least £4,000,000 worth of their ware*.

The expenses of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, giincessful Lilen" candidate in the rec«nt e'ectinn for Parliament, where rfcturned at £11 » 14s 4d, and those, of Mr Graham, the Oonaanrttire, at £894 8s sd. Thnionmsil ofthe E'ulnh Stitw tical Bociety shows that the m»an duration of life in England has increased during the las' 50 years. In male* it h« risen fro n 39.9 to 42.8 years. The censns of Belgium, taken upon the 81st of December 'ast, gives a tohil population of 5,734,958, of wh.un 2,891 146 fennlo*, showing an increase of 264.949 upon the census tak«« four ye'irg before. j T!i° Fs-piich militia, having <*hown themselves in thiresn days of ca»»p training, are, by competent critics, pronounced move like hastily raised bands than an army, so poor was their discipline and so lacking were they in "kill. The Repubro 0? Chile now owes on account of her railways £5,000.000. Io 1883 these railways earned a re vpnnn of £1,000.010." Th« railways of tho Argentine Republic are on the average earning an annual dividend of 6J per cenf. Two ladies, belonging to families of rank in Mezfcero, i'» Epirns, Enropeau Turkey, who were, s/>iie ti'iie ago, | abducted by ribands fron the Epirus mountains, havp been retor'tr>l on tie 1 payment of a rauso«n of J64009 each.

The. Salvation \rmy in S vifz^rlaxd is forbid'len Ui hoM tmf fwfclte ihmo4 inga whatsoever, and a<* * reumrkiiblK measure against the meetings, parents are forbidden to let th?ir children attend private; meetings under penalty of a fine.

The specie in the Bank of France increased £202,800 in nearly equal amounts of gold and silver. The present holding of the bank is £45,918. 040 sold and £4 4,017,3605i1ver against £68,334,190 gold and £44,031.240 silver a year ago.

A puUey thirty-four feet in diameter, and weighing eighty-three tons, has jnst bean nvvfa in England. It has grooves . fo?" thirty -two rop^s, which, toffethor, will transmit 1280 horse power, and the rim will have a volocity of more than a mile in a minute.

There are symptomi of revolt in some of the counties in Ireland ovf r the payment of Irish members of the next Parliament. Mr Parnell insists that each constituency shall '»c «ouipelled to pay iU own tnnmber a salary npon which he can manage to live in London.

In the ancient town of Ratislon, Bivaria, there was innch excitement some time agobecans** the rooks, w'.jk-h «l»on.ided in the spires of the venerable cathedr-il disappeared as if by magic. A similar occurrence was noted in 1878 just before the appearance of the cholera, and heuue the excitement.

On thn P(!hanjjina business the Manawato Stand.trd complains of the half secresy observed. It says : — •• Too great an air of n-.ystery pervades the whole business. W*» cannot at all con* ceivo what the parties have to jjain *>y acting in this way. The reasonable iufHrt*nc» is tli-4t the results are dis appointing, to use. a very mild phrase. Indeed, the eou itenan<icH of thontr in teregied havn already unfolded thN tale to the p-ib?ic. We ire still sin-iiline of the future of tin* reefs, and trust that the sn^pstio'i mule at the Ash u rat meeting will we earned into practical effect, us tliH only rational solution of the diffio'ilty." The Times says :— " In reference to the resivtof the Melbourne crushing h \n%y not be out of place to point ont that the promoters are interested in certain leases which may be affected f>y the early disclosure of particulars. At the same time here is reason to believe that. th<* result is not hy any moans so favoraMe as was anticipated evfin by the least sanguine, and we would strongly advise the pniilic in the meantime to exercise caution."