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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2560, 2 May 1871, Page 2

Scarlet Fever— We regret to learn that another person has died frum scarlet fever at Switzers, This is the fifth out of twenty cases reported from this district that has terminated fatally. Princess Theatre. Taking into account the usual shortcomings of a first night “ Faust and Marguerite ” may be looked upon as one of the best productions of the present management “Faust” has now been played in Dunedin as an opera, a burlesque, and a drama, and as the plot is supp.sed to be identical in all, no fur.her education is needed on this point. Last night the characters were disposed as follows : Mephistopheles, (preference to dignataries) Mr Lawrence, Marguerite, Miss Carry George, Martha, Miss Lizzie Buslie, Valentine (with songs), Mr Collier, Siebel, Mr W. Hill; each and every of whom did his utmost to the success of the drama; in this they were much assisted by some excellent and appropriate scenery, e.' pressly painted for the occasion by Mr Charles Massey, The services of the St, Patrick’s Brass Band also contributed to the general good effect produced. The performance concluded with “Nina Points of the Law,” one of Tom Taylor’s brilliant effusions, in which Miss Carry George and .Mr Musgrave acted with remarkable spirit, and divided the honors of the house. The programme will ba repeated this evening, and ought to run at least a week, upon its merits. What, the War Indemnity rbally is. —A correspondent sends us the following interesting explanation “ Germany claims from France tfaf sum of five milliards of francs for the war contribution. Let me tell your readers what this amounts to. One

milliard is equal to one thousand times a million, 25 francs are LI ; therefore, 1 milliard is L4O 000,000, and consequently 5 milliards L 200,000,0000. If we calculate 64 English sovereigns to the pound weight, the French war contribution would weigh 1395 tons, 15 cwh, 2 stone, 26 lb., and it will

require twenty railway trains, of fourteen trucks each, each truck containing five tons of gold, to forward this money, which would till in cubic measure a room eighteen feet long by sixteen feet in width, and nine feet six inches high ; or, 2736 cubic feet. If we calculate 16 sovereigns on their edges to the inch, it would give, English miles, 197, and 1500 feet, but if we put the sovereigns in a regular line, it would, on their flat surfaces, cover 106 acres. If, finally, a competent teller should take the counting of the money into his hands, and say he counts 60 sovereigns per minute, and works without interruption for twelve hours a day, six days per week, he would only finish his job m fifteen years and eight weeks.”