MISCELLANEOUS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 588, 25 July 1873, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Three R's.—Rail, River, and Road. Capital Punishment.—Flogging garrotter. A woman at Sandhurst was blown to pieces while drying gunpowder at a fire. We know a tailor who “cutsout” all his rival’s coats. Matchless Misery.—Having a cigar and nothing to light it with. A little girl, being asked what dust was, replied that it was mud with the juice squeezed out. An editor lately returned a tailor’s bill] with the following memorandum on the margin Your manuscript is respectfully declined, A modern scientific writer says : “One of the prettiest sights the human eye ever rested upon is gold in its liquid state.” It may be so ; but let us ho satisfied with it solid. Two children were violated at Sandhurst, and the brother hong himself on account of the disgrace to the family. His suicide and locality was revealed in a dream Mr. JMorley, carrier, and ex-Mayor of Sandridge, has been committed for trial for perjury, and the present Mayor lined fur using abusive language. In the course of a strmon preached in St. Peter’s Church, Eaton-square, London, the V iear showed that the colliers’ wages averaged more than double tbe amount now obtainable by curates. A correspondent of the Xcw York Herald proposes to reward the Rev. Mr. Ancient for bis gallantry at the wreck of the Atlantic by building him a church near the scene of the wreck, with a-light-house fur a tower.

“You have played the deuce with my heart,” said a gentleman to a lady, who was Lis partner in a social game of whist at an evening party. “Well replied the lady with an arch smile, “it was because you played the knave.” Scolding female, to husband No. 2. “Ob, it you only knew the difference between you, wretch, and my first husband 1” Husband : “Ido know the difference. He is happy now that lie has left you, aud I was happy before I got you ” lirowiison: “ Well, I always make it a rule to tell my wife everything that happens.'’ Smilhkins : “Ob’my dear fellow, that’s nothing. I tell mv wife lots of things that never happened at all.” Tfio lugubrious echoes of Exeter Hall have been awakened by the voices of a bitter little clique of fanatics, styled the “ Anti-tobacco Society ;” and, amongst other narrow minded and mendacious statements made by some member of that body, wo bog to call attention to the following : impervious to tbe truths of religion.” The first assertion is not true ; and we, who enjoy the moderate use of the weed, may retort by stating the well known fact that habitual dram drinkers cannot smoke. As to the latter, we are nob going to have our pipes put out through being told that tobacco is not mentioned in the Old Testament, or that smoking is not one of the Acts of the Afostles. Some such arguments as these, we suppose, this long cared orator would adduce to prove his thesis. “ Waiter ! bring us a pipe and a screw!”

Wc extract the following curious cure for whooping-cough from a contemporary : Hie little invocation which any one finds uttered over him by all who happen to hear him sneeze is probably to be referred to the age when involuntary agitation of of tbe body, from St. Vitus’s dance down to sneezing, were supposed to be the work of tricky little demons which had to be exorcised. And I think it must have been to some such primitive explanation of the whooping-cough that there has grown up in Austria the unique custom of treating that disease by administering the rod. When the child is seized with one of the coughing fits, the rod is vigorously applied. The physicians declare that this strange custom has been preserved because it is effectual, The whooping cough, they allege, is rather a nervous affection than anything else, and the flogging, besides being a good counterirritant, rouses the child to an effort of the w\\\ which often suppresses a cough.

The case of “Harris v. Nickerson,” in the Court of Queen’s Bench, recently, will prove useful in settling a question, which has been for some time doubtful, as to the liability of auctioneers. The defendant, an auctioneer, advertised in the London newspapers that certain brewing materials, plant, and office furniture would be sold by him, at Bury St. Edmund’s, on a certain and two following days. The plaintiff, a commission broker in London, having a commission to buy the office furniture, went down to the sale. On the first two days he bought a few Jots ; on the third day, on which the furniture was advertise 1 for sale, the whole of the lots of furniture were withdrawn. The plaintiff brought an action in a Loudon County Court against the defendant to recover for his loss of time and expenses. The Judge having given a verdict for the plaintiff, with leave to defendant to appeal, the Court above reversed the judgment, holding that advertising the sale was a mere declaration, and did not amount to a contract with any one who might act upon it, nor to a warranty that all the articles advertised would be put up for sale. A medical student of rome promise defined the “ foot and mouth disease” as a combination of chilblains and toothache.

Jpedltion. He believed that it the Council were to go to the General Government and state that, provided they were not able to immediately go on with the construction of those lines by means of the lotas, they (tire Council) were prepared to concur with the setting aside of certain lands as security for the construction of the lines, under certain regulations, they would at once receive the consent and approbation of the Government, and also of the Assembly, to their proposals. Therefore, he did not think there was any necessity whatever for sacrificing such a large extent of pastoral lands as was now proposed. The resolution the Council should agree to ought, as far as possible, to tally with the principle laid down in the Public Works and Immigration Act, as being a far more likely mode of getting their wishes carred out. That view should impress itself upon the minds of hon. members, instead of taking up a position antagonistic to the policy of the General Government. But if the General Government wished to have the lines constructed on the principle of setting aside land, it would be more preferable to apply to the Government to be allowed to borrow money upen the security of certain lands. He would move an amendment in the direction he thought the resolution should take, so as to test the feeling of the Council upon the matter. It was as follows :—After the words “ public tender,” those as far as the words “ hereby given ” should be struck out, and the words subjoined inserted ;—“ And that for the construction of said lines of railway, application be made to the General Assembly for authority to borrow a sufficient sum for that purpose on the security of one acre of land for every LI of money so borrowed, and further providing that the land so set aside as security may be opened for sale under the system of deferred payments or otherwise as this Council may from time to time direct, at a net price not less than 20s per acre, the proceeds of the sale of such lands to be placed to the credit of a Trust Fund for the redemption of the loan hereinbefore proposed.” The debate was adjourned till Monday. GOLDFIELDS COMMITTEE, The following reports by the Goldfields Committee were brought up by Mr M'Kellab : On the petition of 120 inhabitants of the Mount Ida district: That its prayer be granted, so far as that the Government consider whether the bridge prayed for could be erected on the plan proposed for erecting bridges in the Kawarau and Wakatip districts, and if it could be done, that It should be constructed at a point suitable to the requirements of the district as a whole. In any case the Committee was of opinion that the approaches should at once be made to a safe ford near Hamilton.—On the petition of 181 residents in the Mount Ida district, that it b« favorably considered by the Government, th« Committee further recommended that, as the Government proposed to bridge over the Deep and Lee streams, the line of road through Strath Taieri to the Taieri river, crossing near Kyebum, should be reported upon by the District Road Engineer, and that the road might be made available for the conveyance of pro duce to the Dunedin and Mount Ida markets, as such report might show to be necessary.