CLIPPINGS.

Evening Star, Issue 3106, 1 February 1873, Page 2

CLIPPINGS.

During the passage of the Black wall liner Highflyer, from London, to Melbourne, a fatal accident happened to Mr Gascoigne, a second-class pass* nger. At half-past 10 on the night of the 21st December, he was struck by the foretopmast staysail-sheet, and knocked overboard. The night was very dark and tempestuous, and the ship going at the rate of thirteen knots, so that nothing could be done to save the unfortunate man. In the last number of the Jewish Chronicle.: there appears a singular article from the pen of Mr J. B. Barnett, the well-known Hebrew scholar, in which he contends th*t the prophet Jeremiah, with the remnant of the tribe of Judah, migrated to Ireland, and was no other than the celebrated Irish reformer and lawgiver Ollam Fola. The prophet brought with him the Lia Fail, or stone of destiny, which was subsequently conveyed by an Irish prince to Scotland *or coronation purposes, and centuries afterwards removed to Westminster Abbey by King Edward the Third, since which time all the Kings and Queens of England, down to Victoria, have been crowned upon it. <■ This stone, Mr Barnett says, was that which was originally kept in the sanctuary of the first temple in Jerusalem, and wai known as “Jacob’s Stone,” being none other than the stone directly apostrophised by King David as “the stone which the builders rejected, ” but which was destined for peculiar honors. Faraday adopts Flourin’s physiological theory that the age of man is 100 years. The duration of life he believes to be measured by the time of growth, When opoe the bones and epiphyses are united, the body grows no more, and it is at 20 years this union is effected in man. The natural termination- of life is five removes from the several points. Man. being 20 years in growing, lives live times 20 years—that is to say, 100 years ; the camel is eight years in growing, and lives five times eight years—that is to say, 40 years; the horse is five years in growing, and lives 25 years ; and so with oilier animals. The man who does not die of sickness lives anywhere from 80 to 100 years. Providence has given man a century of life, but he does not attain it because he inherits disease, eats unwholesome food, gives license to his passions, and permits vexation to disturb his healthy equipoise. He dgea not die—he kills himself. The professor divides life into two equal halves —growth and decline—and these halves into infancy, youth, virility, and age. Infancy extends to the twentieth, becauseit is during this time that the tissues become firm ; virility from 5 ! to 75, during which the organism remains complete; and at 75 old age commences.

The Southern Cross says Now that New Zealand has begun to cultivate the ‘’harvest of the sea,” it will be well to pay some attention to the harvests reaped in other countries from the seas around their coasts. From an exchange of the last mail we take the following, which will be read With interest :—“ Fiora the returns of the Scotch herring fishery this season we 1 find 600,000 barrels have been cured for export, value L 900,000, and it is expected the value will reach L 1,2 0,000 when the west coast an 4 Shetland fisheries are known. In the distance of 26 miles on the Aberdeen coast, including Peterhead and Fraserburg, 280,000 crans, value L 400,0 0, were taken. Each cran averaging 840, gives over 240,000,000 of fit hj cured on these shores alone. The total fishings of Scotland this season will amount to L 2,500,000. The boats may be put down at 5,000, manned by 40,000 fishermen Compare this with the her rings caught op the Irish coast, where they are equally munh-

Rons, and we find the value about L 500,000 (one-fourth, or L 125,0 0, falling only to the share of the Irish boats), while the Scotch boats on their coast have made so rich a harvest. There are over 9,000 boats and 36,000 fishermen returned here by the inspectors, and yet from their report the Cornish, Manx, Scotch, and French, took three-fourths of tbs fish. The Argus, in its European summary dated January 2, says:—lf the progress of settlement is to be estimated by the number of acres which are selected during any given year, then that progress during 1872 must be regarded as very satisfactory. The ugly question, however, will present itself —Are these lands being turned to profitable account, or are they likely to be, by those by whom they have been selected? In many instances the reply would no doubt be in the affirmative, but it is certain that if any large portion of the lands taken up are rapidly brought under cultivation, we shall soon have a large surplus of produce for exportation. During the past year there have been sold by auction 1,452 acres of town land, 2,807 acres of suburban, and 105,298 ac es of country land, and there have been selected, after being passed in at auction, 358 acres of suburban, and 30.052 acres of country land. Under the free selection clause of the Act of ( 1869, there were selected during the year up to the 2Lst December last 755,372 acres, and under the clause relating to selection upon the goldfields, 16,231 acres. This makes a total of 911,270 acres of land alienated, or in progress of alienation from the Crown during the year. Of course, some of the lots taken up by selectors may be forfeited, and to that extent, and that only the above catenation may be interfered with. Of the land previously held under lease or license, .there were converted into freeholds during the year 584,237 acres, making the total area dealt with by the Lauds Department during the year, 1,495,507 acres. An Anecdote in connection with the Ballot.—"ir Stafford Northcote told a story of the Ballot when at Rowderham lately, which has been touched up and reproduced as follows A candidate in his canvass was told that a particular publican was for the Ballot. It was no use his going there. He went, and the following conversation ensued :—“ Are you a supporter of the Ballot?” “No,” said the candidate. “Then,” replied the publican, “I will vote for you.” The candidate expressed his surprise, as he had heard he was in favor of the Ballot. “So 1 was,” replied the voter ; “ but I will tell you what happened the other day. There was a club election, and out of twenty members of the committee, fifteen promised to vote for me. When the Ballot, took place seven did so. 1 did not mind that, but the thing was that the whole fifteen came to me, one by one, and said, ‘lt was a great pity that you were not elected—l voted for you. ’ ”