MISCELLANEA.

Cromwell Argus, Volume 2, Issue 96, 12 September 1871, Page 6

MISCELLANEA.

Weather-bound Tor two clays at a roadside inn, I saw, for tlie first tiraa in my life, the process called “ lambing clown” carried on with great skill and judgment. The dupe—a shepherd, jnst paid oft' from a station—arrived and cashed his cheque (.some £25). Whiskey followed, as an inevitable consequence a shout for all hands. The landlord repeats the -close ; sheepey follows suit ; tea is ready, and despatched ; cards are asked for by sheopoc? / he challenges anyone to play ; all decline'; he forces the landlord to do so ; many more whiskeys follow ; the landlord fights shy of the grog; sheepey doubles his stake, and looses, of course; he doubles again and again, with a like result; and finally he goes muddled to bed, and in the morning finds himself minus £lO. Well, sbeepv pulls a long face, has a “ nip,” talks of where he is going, but still sticks to the bar. The second night, sheepy loses nearly all he has, and goes muddled to bed. The writer left next morning before sheepy was astir ; but the end can be easily imagined. Another night, and all will have gone; and after loafing round the bar for a day or two, sheepey shoulders his swag, and goes to look for another berth.— Star. Population of London.—in London, every eight minutes, night and day, somebody dies, and every five minutes a child is born. This great city contains as many people as the whole of Scotland, twice as many as Denmark, and three times as many as Greece. In its vast population of nearly 4,000,000, it has 140,000 habitual gin drinkers ; 100,000 abandoned women, 10,000 professional gamblers, 50,000 criminalsknosvn to police asthievesand receivers of stolen goods, 500,000 habitual frequenters of public houses, and 00,000 street Arabs. To keep this vast multitude of disorderly characters in something like obedience to the law, 0,000 policemen are necessary. Of the population of the city, only about 500.000 attend public worship, ! there being a million of adults absentees from Church every Sunday.

Supporting Colonial Industry. —Toe Bnllarat Courier relates that two married men, working miners—one the father of four hoys, and the other of two boys and two girls—died on the secretary of the Ballarat Wool c:i Factory recently, and requested to be allotted the one five and the other three shares in the company, for which they both tendered cash. It was exp’ained by the secretary that the terms of payment had been altered, and that as soon as the money was needed they would only require to pay os for each share in cash, and the balance by instalments. This they said they did not want: they had saved up £8 between them, and would pay the whole amount per share as soon as wanted, and would keep the money for that purpose, as they never expected to see Is of it back. Such a singular statement under the circumstances induced the secretary to ask what they meant, pointing out at the same time that there was no doubt of their getting their money back if the factory were manage I with skill and economy. They each said they would not expect anything, and they would not bo disappointed ; and that the sole object they bad in taking up the shares was to encourage an industry that would provide employment for their children, and for those of poor men like themselves. The “ Loafer" of the Press (Canterbury) learns that the Otago people a.ie going to introduce 2000 Chinamen, and asks “ Why on earth don’t ice introduce Chinamen i They are a very interesting race of people. They are patient, will live where another man would starve, —by the way, there are one or two local!tiesiu this Province which would give them a good trial in this respect. They will work cheap ; they will work harder than any two Europeans, and they are such rogues. Their dishonesty has something very interesting about it. I have seen a great deal of Chinamen, and the more I saw of them the more 1 respected them, and the less I liked them.” There is in the town of Meridan, Connecticut, says the “Scientific American," a Leflel double turbine wheel running under 210 ft. fall, and driving a manufactory. It uses only one half of a square inch of water, and runs at the marvellous ,speed of 3000 revolutions per minute, revolutions per second, which is by far the most rapid motion ever imparted to a water-wheel. This is also, beyond comparison, the greatest fall applied to the propulsion of a wheel in America. The wheel at Meridan is of the most dimunitive size, scarcely exceeding in dimensions the oldfashioned “turnip” watches which our grandfathers used to carry in their capacious vest-pockets.