MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1636, 7 December 1885, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Age, referring to the sentenc* passed oil Mr Stead, Bays : — " The I*^T 18 unfortunate to him. bat the moral ( wction of the public and those who are familiar with the terrible character of the monster evil that he attacked )iltii<>Bt single-handed, find who admire zeal and courage even when it 11 lacking in worldly knowledge, will b« on his sile. He will go to prison wit 1 the consciousness of haviu«» forced a powerful aud lethargic Legislature to rectify a great wrong that was sappi I.!^1 .!^ the vitals of society, and of Laviu^ roused society itself to a Sense of tSie duty that it owes to its own reputation as a Christian and cultured body of men and women.*' According to a telegram from Constantinople, appearing in the Ikttlf \eiet, a youug Englishman ratneJ Charnaml has been carried off by brigands near Smyrna. They demand £9000. He writes:— "My captors are lx»th Mnssulina^s and Christians. Try and collect the ransom, U-canseai sure as my name is Fred, they will cat off my head if the money is not found. I f the brigands are pursnert by the authorities they will certainly kill me." Another notorious had-r with ins gang is at present on the hills of the Gulf of fsuiidt. The new &.R. Xfararoa, l»ni!t for th« Union Steamship Company of Ncvr Zealand, l>egan her career with a trip to Norway, carrying a large partj of more than 50 gnest* over much of the route vhich had been pre« viously traversed by the Princ* of Wales in the Osborne, and by Mr Gladstone in Sir T. Brawey's Sunlx>ara. The latest addition to th« fine fleet of the Union Company, which will run between Melbourne aud Dniir> din, is not only as sumptnously ap« pointed as her sister Ijoata, but it er»ti more artistically decorated Umu tlia by.st of Iwr f redt^ccasoia. It Aotii

l*» noticed that she is of large diir.eusioos that the older ships ot the i-o-n pany, being 320x42x26, and has 3,600 iii'ltotted hot-** power. H^r fleck ac co-iinrlitio i is ro-mrktbly extensive, for brides 1ow»t iipp*, main, and proman'vie deck. she. has a flying or ■In lv d^ok, which roofs ov«r a great part of the promenade deck. As the six boats and the exceedingly nsHful superunnnry, the steam launch, are lumg above the shade deck, the spacious promenade is toft clear for and aft, fre« for unrestricted exercise and unlitm'ed lounging. To the dining Raloon, in which is placed an organ of excellent tone, and a choice collection of books, an exceptional amount of light, air, and ornamental finish is supplied by a ha-idsome, elliptical dome rising through the upper deck of the promen ade. T!ie Mararoa can l»oast further of a drawing-room, an ttogant and d'iinti\y-d«corat«d apartment on the tipper "deck, 22ft sqiare, lined with American walnut ani other hard woods relieve;! by strained panels, bearing artistically executed band paintings, pilasters, "dados, friezes, and mirrors. The riohly upholstered furniture is portable, "so as to he easily removed at pleasure, and by raising the. Brussels «arpet a polished oak fl »or can I>e immediately made available fordanc ing purposes. Separated from the Jrawingroora by the npper part of the tfiniugroom dome is a delightful smoking saloon- No other vessel employs hydraulic power f>r so many purposes «s the M iraroa, which is fitted throughout with hydraulic gear, mule by Messrs Brown Bros., of Edinburgh, for working the cargo, steering the ship, and lifting boats and skylights. It is needless to say that the electric light is applied in every part of the ship, and that there is an electric bell system of communication. Ventilation is obtained by the company's automatic system, and the refrigerating engines have chambers for making ice and freezing beef and vegetables in tenten for ship's use. For the engines Mr Walter Brook is primarily responsible. They are direct-acting and «urf;»3« condensing, on the triple expansion principle, which ensures 20 per cent of economy over ordinary compound engines. The high- pressure cylinder k of 31in diameter, the intermediate sli'<, and the the low pressure 84in. Each has a piston stroke of 4ft 6mi With regard to the important consideration of Sailing •qualities, the M iraroa is esteemed a first class sea boat At a mating of the W«st Coast Riilway League held at ChrUtehurch last week, the following formed a portion of the proceedings: — A letter was read from Mr Templar of Manawatti, sent to Mr Howlaud, advocating the appointment of lecturers to go through the districts of Canterbury Advocating the. claims of th* railwiy. He also suggested that brandies should be formed in the country districts, sending debates to central league in Christehnrch, and that prospecting parties shonid be vent out. The Chairman mentioned that he had received several copies of Mr Pell's report of the mission of the delegates to London. Some discussion ensued as to the necessity which existed for a proper organisation of the League in the matter of funds to carry on the | work. It was pointed out that what ; -was wanted was at least £200 per annum, and they must arrange their organisation so that they eonld get this dnring the year. A lengthy <Tis«ti*mou ensued upon the matter of organisation, and ultimately it was resolved to appoint a Finance Committee to go into the whole subject, *iH report at an early meeting of the Committee. It was r* solved to arrange for the publication of a pamphlet descriptive of the resources of tl»e West Coast, and setting forth the benefits likely to aecrne from tlm construction of the Canterbury, Nelson, and West Coast line of railway. It was resolved to order 500 medallions at once, and that they he sold at 6d each, the manufacturer having agreed to supply them at cost price. Q<iitft a scare has been created in Adelaide by some recent disclosures in connection with two of the long established building-societies. The secretary of one lies under committal, charged with embezzling £1,439, and the secretary of the other has absconded, leaving, it is said, a deficiency of about £2030. Many cases of hardship are coming to light in connection with both societies. It is the old story. Everything was left to the secretary, and everything was all right till he got involved beyoud his means, when things began to go wrong, eventuating in disclosure and heavy loss. Both men were well liked, and one of them (Mr Fgremont) was a musical and dramatic critic of considerable ability- It is to be hoped that, as the result of the revelations that have come to light.* stricter investigation of the accounts, a y closer inspection of the securities, and a mote thorough audit will be made in the future than has been made in the past, not only in connection with these, bat also other financial undertakings. One show factory in Baston, by its machines, doe«, it is computed, the •work of 80,000 shoemakers in Paris, who have still to perform the weay, drudgery of mechanical labo* 1 . The steam power"*"ot ; tlje world dnring the last 20 years has risen from 11 \ millions to 20 millions horse power, or 152 per cent. Writing in the Sydney Evening News* on New Zeafand, •• Maori '* has the following remarks : — Enpare.nthese, let ris jh?t for a monent recapitulate, and array together these * biggest in the world' items, of which New Zealand is so proud. It is, indeed, a motley catalogue. First, the biggest dredge ; then the biggest water-wheel ; next, the biggest tvont; the biggest wooden

I building ; the highest wooden bridge ; ! the biggest cal.-aieous terraces ; the | biggest bird (if the moa still lives) ; the , biggest npplas— those of the Waikato ; ' the biggest and n>ost luxurious natural warm baths ; the biggest terraced formation ; the biggest glacier (that of Mount Cook —though that|ig doubtful I ; th« biggest tattooing on the Litest reclaimed cannibal, with probably the higgwt month ; the l»igg*st flax bushes j the steepest railway incline ; the biggest bodg of shingle ; thebiggestconcrete brea\«rater; the biggest proportion of rabbits to the acre ; the biggest artesian water supply (that of Christchurch) ; the biggest, beds of water cress ; the biggest Colonial debt; and, a* its admirers sar, the biggest hearted people, to which my own experience says amen ; and the bi^-st fntnr« of any of Britain's Colonies to which, with a Scotchman's proverbial caution, I say, 'Wenl, we'll see? 1 'Sous verron*: Now then, niWr ths<?, where are you, Yaukce Sam, or Victorian James?" A contributor to the Auckland UttraU says :— I have heard it freely and publicly stated that " halU cartridge" was served out aimmrsfc the " I'lank" to some of OnehnngaNavnls, at tin? late sham fight Fortunately the recipients observed it and pnt it aside ; bat even this patting aside did not altogether remove the element of danger. Some of the men got. very excited, and it was qnite possible that in the heat of the moment, the. possessors of the ammunition might forget its deadly nature and so make u«se of it.. Nay, more, ie is quite within the bounds of possibility that some though tles9 youth might have nsed it, if the blank cartridge ran short, thinking that by firing high, it would not matter. Now when it i 3 remembered that there have been fatal accidents with rifles thus elevated, even at 2000 yards distance, the danger becomes a very real one. Any way, th» matter should be investigated. If it be not true, minds would be relieved ; whilst, if it be correct, stern measures should be taken to prevent a repetition of such culpable negligence. It is related of a well known merchant that making his will and leaving a large property to a trustee for his son, lip called the young man in, and, after reading the.will to him, asked if there was any alteration or improvement he could snggest. ''Well, father." said tliM young gentleman, lighting a cigarette, "I think, as things go nowadays, it would be better for me if you left the property to the other fellow and made me the trmtee." In Great Britain there are 15,000 temperance ora;«nisaHons, and it is estimated 5,000,000 persons are total abstainers.