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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3039, 23 March 1881, Page 2

By the outward San Franoisoo mail on Saturday Messrs. Beck and Co., of Clive and Hastings, will send home for a firstclass steam flour mill. Since the discussion in the Legislative Council last year, we notice that Justices of the Peace as they become insolvent resign their appointments. Mr E. W. Mills, of Wellington, is the last case in point. We learn that the pah at Waipawa has now a " permanent population" of forty-five natives, as a sort of garrison to hold the property against any legal measures of pjectment that may be atempted by Mr Harding. The programme is published of the sacred concert to be given by the Simonsen Company on Sunday evening next. Ihe first part is composed of gems from the " Creation," and the second part of beautiful selections from several oratorios. The following are the total receipts of property tax payments advised to date : —Hawke's Bay, £i 0,120 7s 10d; Canterbury, £46,892 ; Waitaki, £8240 ; Wellington, £29/244. The above amounts are exclusive of sums received by postmasters during the week ending the 21nd inst. The death is announced of Mr P. H. Russell at- Timaru. The deceased gentleman was a cousin of the Hon. H. R. Rnssell, and was formerly a partner with Mr J. D. Canning in the Oakbourne estate. Mr Russell'had been ailing for some time, and had intended to take up his residence once more in Hawke's Bay for the benefit of his health. Sporting men in Wairoa living close to the borders of the Auckland provincial district will have an opportunity of doing a month's good trade with Napier in native game. In this district of Hawke's Bay the shooting season for native game does not commence till May 2, but in the Auckland district native game may be shot from the Ist April. Native game is defined to be wild duck of any speoiep, bittern, pied and black stilt plover, wild geese, dotterell, and pigeons. The mission services which have been taking place at the Catholic Church during the past ten days were brought to a conclusion yesterday evening, when the Rev. Father Le Mennant preached his farewell sermon. We understand that the mission has been a great success, and that the spiritual advice and admonitions of the rev. missionary will not readily.be effaced from the memory of the Catholics of this town, who are deeply grateful for the religious consolation which they have received. Father Le Mennant left by the early train this morning for Wellington, where he purposes opening a mission. Before service last evening the confraternity of the Children of Mary marched in procession from the convent to the church attired in their regalia, and bearing torches, and the night being perfectly still, and the sky clear and starlight, the sight was a very pretty and imposing one,

The Key. G. Sa_ will preach in the Lutheran Church this evening at 7.30 o'clock.

In the case Clark v ; Bradlaugh, an action brought against the member for Northampton for illegally taking his seat in the House of Commons, judgment has been given for plaintiff in the main question. Since the decision Bradlaugh has absented himself from the House, and Gorst has given notice of his intention to move that a new writ be issued for Northampton. Bradlaugh offers to resign his seat and seek re-election.

It is understood that a process of gradual but steady reduction in the numbers of the Armed Constabulary is quietly going on. All discharges are granted directly applied for, and the vacancies thus created are not filled up. We believe also that any casual vacancy in the regular police force is at once filled by a transfer being made from the Armed Constabulary. In this way a very appreciable reduction in expense is said to be in course of operation.

An enquiry into the stranding of the Silver Cloud was commenced this morning, before Judge Kenny, Captain Calchrie, of the Loch fleet, and Captain Hill, of the A nasi. Mr Patten, of the Customs, conducts the enquiry for tho Marino Board, and Mr Lascelles watches the case for the pilot. Tho examination of tbe mate of the Silver V'lcud, and of Mr Kraeft has occupied the whole of the morning. The evidence was almost identical with that given at the previous enquiry. The evidence of Mr Kraeft was not completed when.we went to press.

The bridge by the railway on the new Taradale road was blocked up from halfpast nine o'clock last night till ten o'clock thio. morning by a waggon, heavily laden with Umber, having, by some means or another, been jammed right across the road. It wa* dark, of course, when the accident occurred, and from the position of the dray the wonder is that the driver did not send team and waggon over the bank into the water. We may inform waggoners that when accidents of this nature happen it is necessary to inform the authorities, arid to take precautions against the obstruction causing accidents to others. There is a penalty of £10 a day attached to the obstruction of a road.

For nearly two years past the following note has been appended to the KegistrarGeneral's monthly vital statistics:—"ln the case of Nelson the population is given according to the estimate for January, 1879, as the local authorities have not yet supplied the information necessary to enable the estimate to be corrected. In the other cases the estimates are for the Ist January, 1880." How much longer is this neglect on the part of the Nelson officials to be tolerated, and the colonial records to be rendered inaccurate through their negligence P This note is growing monotonous, and it is high time that the dilatory officers at the " Sleepy Hollow " were peremptorily ordered to do their duty,

Mr S. Swafbrlck, for thirty years general manager of the Great Eastern Railway, is at present in New Zealand, being engaged, with his two daughters, in a tour round the world. On being interviewed at Ohinemutu, on the subject of New Zealand railways, by a correspondent of the Auckland Herald, he expressed an opinion that a lack of energy exists, and that our Government do not study their own interests sufficiently by devoting more attention to the interests of the travelling public. He considers that the authorities should work tho railways— say for a period of three years —on a clearance of expenses only, and devote the residue to the benefit of their customers ; and that greater travelling facilities, with a reduction of the tariff, would quickly enhance their funds.

The " prophet" who was recently tarred and feathered at Waipawa writes an eccentric letter to the Wairarapa Daily, which concludes as follows :—" For lam born as among a brood of chicks, among which appeared a young duck, an egg of that nature having been placed secretly by the Lord because he promised to send the longpromised duck, and it was hatched; and, because it differed in nature to the rest, and crossed water to others of its nature, and went to places unknown to others, where they could not get, and because its voice went quack! quack! alone, while its fellows went chick ! they all suspected it was mad. But neither its mother nor its brethren could stop it from quacking, nor change its nature. It died, and when it was revealed that it was the promised duck, many wondered what it had done to merit the title; but the Lord said everyone has a right to the title of their nature. It crossed the water, and followed the title of its own nature, and I have another feathered bird. Watch for the coming of a gander." This lucubration appears as difficult to understand as the myatic flag hoisted by " Paul" at Te Ore Ore.

" What's your little game P" is a colloquialism that might be applied to a certain well-known party in Wellington at the present moment. Thie person has adopted a novel piece of rascality to " raise the wind," by placing in auction rooms old boxeß partly filled with rubbish, to be sold as unclaimed luggage. Each box is securely fastened, provided with an imitation keyhole, and painted a dark slate color on the outside. On Saturday last rwo of these prepared lies were placed in Dwan's auction mart and, under the condition of " contents unknown," were sold for 5s and 6s respectively. On being opened the baxes were found to contain a miscellaneous lot of empty bottles, pieces of brick, sacking, dirt, and other rubbish. The victims at once saw that they were " had," and immediately demanded a return of their money, which the auctioneers declined to accede to. Of course no blame can be attached, to Messrs Dwan and Co., the auctioneers, under the conditions by which tha boxes were sold, but as a similar swindle has been perpetrated at Sidey's Arcade, in all probability something more will be Heard of the matter.—Post.

In reference to the treatment of frozen meat a correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald writes:—"l may state that I ana by trade a butcher, and served my time m Montreal, Canada, Theie we slaughtered at Christmas all the meat wo required until the beginning of May. It was frozen as it was slaughtered, and parked away to be used as required. When required for use, it was nlaeed in cold water, and m ten minutes "the water bad drawn out the ice, so that it could be peeled off the meat. _ If you attempt to thaw it graaually by hanging it up the juice of the meat runs out, and not only makes the meat dry, but discolors tho fat and blackens the meat. Now, with regard to freezing with the skins on, it will make no difference except increase the labor of skinning the animals. We used to get deer cent down the country in a frozen state with the skins on, but that was simply to keep them clean in transit. The way they were skinned was this : They were placed alongside a stove until thawed through the skin only) to prevent discoloration), and when one side was skinned the operation was repeated on the other side, when it was again frozen until required for use. Another hint I may give. I saw by the Sketcher that mutton is frozen without backsets. Now in Canada two backsets are used to each carcass, which flattens it out so that nearly double tbe quantity can be stored in tho same amount of space.

A curious explosion is reported by the Western Advocate. An employee mMr McNab's cooperage at Orange was preparing to cooper a whisky cask, and, when examining the bunghole, it suddenly exploded with a report like a cannon, which was heard for a considerable distance. The top of the cask was forced out, a portion flying up to the roof and forcing a hole in the iron. Another piece struck the man on the forehead with the pointed edge, inflicting an ugly wound. The injured man was taken to the hospital. As he was smoking at the time, it is believed that a spark from his pipe fell through the bunghole and ignited gas generated in the cask,

A rare act of self-denial is recorded in" the Times by a gentleman, who says his informant ia his brother, serving in [tbe Horse Artillery at Candahar :—" A gunner of the Horse Artillery, after General Burrows' route, gave up his seat on a limber to a wounded man, end rnarchad in on foot over that terrible desert of fifty-two miles. They had had no food nor water since the day before, and it is difficult to exaggerate the suffering under that terrific heat. The gunner had had his cwn heel shot off, and had limped the whole of that dreary distance without uttering a sound or letting a word escape him that he too was wounded."

We have heard of several devivices for utilising the telephone for the purpose of enabling deaf persons to hear conversation, music, &c, more or less distinctly; and one of the neatest of these is a " dental attachment" for telephones patented by Mr H. G. Fiske, of Kprinfiold, Mass., U.S., and described in the Scientific American. It is simply a strip of some material, such as vulcanite, which is a good conductor of sound, attached to the centre of the telephonic diaphragm, or to a diso in connection with the latter. The strip is held between the teeth, and transmits the vibrations to the teeth ot the upper jaw, so as to affect the auditory nerves ; the under surface of the strip being provided with an elastio coating which prevents the vibrations from arreting the lower jaw. The device is applicable either to the electric or the " string" telephone.—The Electrician.

A correspondent of the New York Even* ing Post, speaking of cheap books, says that" Orion,'' an epic poem, by it. H, Home, was the cheapest book ever pub* liahed. It must not be assumed that " Orion " is wanting in merit, for Edgar Poe pronounced it to be " one of the noblest works of the age ; its defects trivial, its beautieß supreme ! " It consists of three volumes handsomely printed, having over 150 pages, and was sold for half a cent. It is said tbat the price of " one fathihg," at which three editions were promptly sold, was placed upon the title page by the author as a sarcasm on the low estimation into which epic poetry had fallen at that period (1843) in England. It may be well to add that but one copy was sold to each applicant, and that th 9 fourth edition was I raised in price a shilling, and the fifth to half a orown; the tenth edition is, we believe, the latest.

The Evening Post says: —A well-known squatter from ihe North Island, who recently paid a visit to Dunedin, inserted an advertisement in a local paper for a wife, stating that he had an income of £600 a year for life. In answer he had 81 applications, many of whom enclosed photos. The gentleman in question had copied the carte de visite of a well-known Wellington lady-killer, and enolosed one to eaoh applicant, at the same time making appointment to meet him at the Botanical Gardens, Dunedin, at an hour named. The squatter, in company with a few friends, turned up at the appointed time, and there were present forty-five of the damsels averaging from 16 to 40 years of age. After meandering about for an hour gazing at eaoh other much to the amusement of the gentlemen, they came to the conclusion they were the victims of a sell. We cannot say that the joke reflects much credit on the perpetrator."

From some interesting reminisoenoea of deceased German humorists recently published in Vienna, we extract the two following anecdotes of Heine and Saphir as eminently characteristic of the turn of wit respectively peculiar to each of those gifted satirists. At the time when Heine's fame had reached its zenith, he happened to be sojourning for a few days at Munich, and a Bavarian princess, one of his most enthusiastic admirers, hearing oE his presenoe in the capital, sent an invitation " to take coffee with her in the palace." Heine replied to her royal highness's bidding in these laconic terms, " Madam, I am accustomed to take my coffee where I have dined." Scarcely less severe was the rebuke once administered by the greatest of all Viennese jesters, past and present, to a wealthy Austrian banker and collector of autographs, who had frequently importuned him to" write something funny" in an album, which its owner carried about with him in society, in permanent readines to secure and carry off the signature of any celebrity he might chance to meet. Saphir had on more than one occasion adroitly evaded the solicitations of this highly objectionable financier; but one evening, fairly driven into a corner by his tormentor, album in hand, he asked for a pen and hastily scribbled the following words on a blank page of the inevitable volume, " Lend me fifty thousand florins, and, having done so, forget for evermore your friend, M. G. Saphir."

Tbe American correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says:—Now I am not going to lecture on New Zealand financiers, albeit I think they fail to perceive at once the strength and weakness of their position. I think you are in any danger of " repudiation," as I see one of the Canterbury members imagines. Moreover, I don't think you are very much to be pitied, and my advice is to give over "groaning" and knuokle down to hard work, and practice economy not " public economy" merely, which. is stopping some one else's cheese and ale, but private economy of !&• sourcss. When I first came to America, and observed the methods of the people, I thought I could formulate the secret of their marvellous industrial success thus :—" The United States—a country which has grown, rich by working extra hours." Now, if you would give up your eight hours' craze, and hit out like men late and early, do you think you would not soon create suoh wealth as would drag ><m out of the depression of " hard times ?" Hard times is the normal condition of all tr&es of men. If they chanced to strike a seetfdiK where manna fell, they would still be in a c_eqnio state of" hard-upness," because they not take the trouble to gather the manna ' late and early. It was the hard times of the past few years that developed the agricultural, mmmg 1 , and manufacturing industries of California, which, despite the prevailing dullness, is richer than ever it was before. Economise time, labour, and the task of the Colonial Treasurer will be lightened immensely. Your public credit will be improved; you will be able to borrow upon better terms, and Sandersonian jeremaids will not bring a blush to the cheek of old New Zealanders " in furrin parts. "

The Simonsen Opera Company produce • ( La Traviata" at the Theatre Royal tonight. Mr Lyndon will sell, to-morrow, furniture, &c, at 11 a.m. Mr T. K. Newton will sell, to-morrow, at Hastings, drapery, grocery, &c., at 10.30 a.m.

Impoundings in Napier are notified. Messrs H. Monteith and Co. will sell, on Saturday next, 20 horses, &c.

A number of new advertisements will be found in our " Wanted " column.