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Evening Star, Issue 3196, 19 May 1873, Page 2

The Hobart Town Mercury states that a man named Fuacus walked four miles in 25 minutes 6 seconds.

The Thames Evening Star thinks the Ministry, notwithstanding all its misfortunes, will die hard, and require a great deal of killing. An over-zealous sergeant of police in Auckland entered an hotel the other night to see whether any breach of the licensing law was being indulged in. In the darkness he fell down stairs and received severe injuries. A Hobart Town schoolmaster, whose services had been dispensed with by the Education Board, endeavored to persuade his masters to rescind their determination by this appeal :—“ After being thirteen years in this department, where upon earth can I expect employment. 5 ”’ The Board did not attempt to answer the question. The Wellington Independent's ©pinion of resident magistrates is that, “in nine cases out of ten, the resident magistrates know nothing more of law than they have been able to pick up from their experiences on the bench. Most of them are ex-police officers, or gentlemen put into the office without any regard to any special qualification. ”

The convict Osterchamp, who received a sentence of five years’ penal servitude for murderously assaulting a young woman who would not marry him, as also her father, and another person who tried to render assistance, is apparently inclined to follow up his murderous inclinations at the Pentridge Stockade. A few days ago he attempted to assault Mr Overseer Kilmartiu with a pickaxe, but fortunately he managed to escape him)

In the Canterbury Provincial Council, on the 13th inst., Mr Studholme moved a resolution affirming the expediency of the dis- : mtinuance of the fee charged on the introluction of sheep into that Province. MeihSors who spoke in support of the motion urged that the discontinuance of the tax would allay the feeling of irritation (which ne member' of the Upper House said was carried up to the Assembly), that its imposition raised in Otago. The motion was carried on the voices.

The Chief Inspector of Customs at Auckland recently obtained samples of beer from the principal breweries in the Colony —From Wellington, 4 samples; Canterbury and Otago, 22; Auckland, 10; and Nelson, 6 After being analysed, they were all found to be free from adulterants of any kind. This number of analyses having been performed upon samples selected unknown to the brewers who manufactured the beverages with so satisfactory results, speaks very favorably of the character of Colonial brewers, and shows that they provide good and wholesome malt beverages for those who desire them.

The usual half-yearly competition for the Artillery Company’? Challenge licit took place at the Anderson’s Bay range, on Saturday. The conditions were Five shots at 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards ; Ilyihe position at the two former ranges, and any at the two latter. The weather was anything but favorable for shooting, a strong wind from the N.E. prevailing in the morning, and in the afternoon the rain and scpially weather greatly militated against the chance of any one who fired then winning t’ c belt. Gunner D. Kcid is again the winner, with the score of 54 points.

In the Warden’s Court at Queenstown, on the Bth inst., Mr Grant made application to Mr Warden Robinson as to the granting of a lease in the bed of the Shotover River, under the terrace at Skippers, on which is situated the Eagar-Grace Co.’s claim. Mr Grant said that eventually the who’e of that terrace would probably bo washed into the river, and the granting pf a lease would be tantamount to stopping any work of that, kind, without granting perhaps heavy compensation to any lessees of the river bed, Mr Beetham said he had seen that a difficulty of this kind might occur. The Government had, however, leased river bed claims at Big Beach, and other places on the Shotover. The lease had been referred to the Executive. The best plan would be for Mr Grant to lodge an objection against the granting of the lease in the usual way. There was a fair attendance at the Queen’s Theatre on Saturday evening, notwithstanding the unfavorable weather which prevailed. The historical tragedy of “Richard III.” was produced, but was indifferently well put on the stage. The piece went very tamely, owing to several of the actors displaying but an imperfect knowledge of their respective parts, and of the nature of the characters they were to represent. The scenery was good, especially the tent scene, Mr Burford gave a favorable representation of the Duke of Gloucester, but he was not at all well supported. Miss M. F. Aitkcn, as Queen Elizabeth, was well received, and Miss Flora Anstead played well. Mr O’Brien and Mr Aveling acquitted themselves creditably. This evening, Miss Clara Stephenson will make her re appearance as Ixioji, in the burlesque of that name. An extract from a private let!cr published in the Australian Israelite states that in Jewish circles in Londmi the marriage between the Mon Kliot Yorke and Miss Annie de ‘■Rothschild, the second daughter of Sir Anthony de Rothschild, has created a most painful sensation among the friends and relatives of the bride. The match is viewed in the light of a severe domestic affliction in the loss of caste thus sustained by the family and immediate relatives, and the illustrious father of the house is described as being heart-broken at the calamity which has overtaken him. Yet it appears he was altogether powerless to prevant the marriage, and was even an enforced spectator of a ceremony that brought him so much pain. Miss Annie de Rothschild is twenty-nine years old, has a fortune in her own right, and was therefore free to marry whom she pleased. The entreaties of family and friends were of no avail: the young lady was not to be deterred from her purpose, and so what was painfully termed “the passing away ” of Annie de Rothschild was duly solemnised, first at the regwtrar’s office in London, and then in the parish church of Ely, the uncle of the bridegroom performing the ceremony. Two warm-hearted sons of tho Emer.ild Isle (says a Melbourne paper), on either side rf Elizabeth street north, after a severance of many years, recognised each other the other day. Oblivious to the fact that innumerable vehicles and equestrians were passing and repassing with more than ordinary velocity and pace through this great thoroughfare, the men ran towards each other, and had scarcely shaken hands in the centre of the street, when one of them named Brophy, residing at Flemington, was knocked down and trampled upon by the horse of a Mr Miller, which that gentleman was driving in his buggy to the city. Great was the consternation of the fallen man’s friend, who. in place of permitting the horse to go on, seized the winkers, and, amidst the imprecations of the crowd, kept the horse prancing on the body of his mate for some seconds. Another Irishman standing by, observing the danger of poor Brophy, thinking the end justified the means, and doubtless recalling the apothegm, “save me ffora my friends, 1 ' dealt the man at the winkers a well-aimed blow, which felled him also to the ground, and then extricated his friend. After some “ barneying,” they adjourned, not to the hospital, but to a hostelry hard by. Brophy received a severe bruising and an ugly scalp wound on tho forehead. A remarkable instance of recalling life by medical skill has lately occurred in Brussels. An unfortunate workman, overtaken by drink, had fallen into the Canal of Charleroi, which passes through the lower part of the town, and his body was not recovered for some considerable time, when it seemed hopeless to attempt to recall the drowned man to life, and the bystanders, after exhausting the common remedies, came to the conclusion that the man was dead. By good fortune Dr Joux, the medical officer of the 3rd division of the police of Brussels, was at home, and his assistance was called in, and at once he resolved not to regard the case as hopeless. For three hours, however, the most effective remedies suggested by modern science were applied in vain, when Dr Joux determined to have recourse to a more stringent treatment, and proceeded to apply plates of iron heated to a white heat to the upper parts of the body near the more vital organs. After some short time, to the astonishment of the assistants, faint signs of breathing were observed, and in the course of half an hour the drowned man awoke to life. At the present moment he is perfectly restored to health, and the onjy inconvenience which he has sustained,results from the severe cauterisation which the skin necessarily underwent. The novel treatment which Dr Joux extemporised so successfully on this occasion may well deserve attention. A good story comes from the Grey Valley. A short time ago a correspondent of the Grey Valley Times sent an account to that paper, of some bones that he had dug up on the Ahaura plains, which were supposed Moa bones. This discovery was repeated in other papers, and it was fully believed that the relics were those of a moa. It is evident however that a hoax was perpetrated, for the finder sent the following letter to our contemporary, who published it on the 7th inst. He says With reference to my report to you on the discovery of moa bones ou Ahaura plains, I exceedingly regret to say that my conclusions were precipitate, as the bones turn out to be those of a bullock. I deeply regr.eb having misled you, but have myself, with many of my friends, also been a victim to my credulity ; for, on finding the bones, I had every fragment carefully washed and scraped, and devoted many weefe* in an effort to put them together, au4 swwifoaljy

lost my belief in their genuineness till I dug up from the same spot two horns, four hoofs, and a pair of which, I was reluctantly compelled to admit, were evidences irreconcilable with npy former theory. Had [ not made the disoorepy last I am confident that X should have been able to, nut together a skeleton form which would Dear a strong resemblance to the moa, as I had only half-exhausted ray supply of material when the frame stood twenty-nine feet high, and called forth the admiration and wonder of all beholders.”

It is not so generally known as it ought to bo that the kernels of some stone fruits, especially peaches, contain prussic acid to an extent which may prove poisonous if a large number of the kernels be eaten, ihe following ca~e, reported in the last number of the Australian Medical Journal by Dr Samuels, of Wanganui, should make parents cautious : —“February 12, 1873, I was sent for to attend a little boy, aged five years, the son of a carpenter of this town. On my way 1 was informed that the littla fellow liad oaten something unknown to his parents, and was believed to have been poisoned. On my arrival I found him lying on the sofa in a state of partial coma. The pupils were dilated, the skin somewhat cold arid clammy, the pulse feeble. He seemed, in short, to bo suffering from the effects of some narcotic poison. Upon making inquiries, I was informed that about Kalf-an-hour previous to my arrival he had been seized with dizziness, stupor, fainting, inability to stand without assistance—in fact, it was described to me as in partial intoxication. Ho vomited an ounce or more .of masticated peach kernels. I at once administered an emetic, followed shortly by a full dose of castor oil, which soon acted on the bowels. I ordered him to be kept warm. After being placed in bed, ho slept for about two hours, after which he 'awoke and seemed recovered. This was obviously a care of poisoning by hydrocyanic acid (prussic acid) contained in the peach kernels, of which the child had eaten a large quantity. My chief reason for reporting this is that I notice but one case mentioned in Taylor’s ‘ Manual of Foi.ons,’ of poisoning by peach kernels.” The vagaries of justice are proverbial, but one of the most extraordinary instances of them is narrated in a paper to hand by the mail. At one of the English country fairs a little girl had a fancy to take a ride in a “merry-go-round,” and before the machine started paid the proprietress with a sovereign, the expense of the ride being a penny. The woman gave the child eleven pennies change, and intimated that the nineteen shillings would be returned when the temporary excitement was over. However, when the “merry-go-round” stopped, and the child asked for her nineteen shillings, the unblushing woman declared she had only reccivi d a shilling in the first instance. The woman was charged with and convicted of the offence of stealing the nineteen shillings, and on an appeal being raised to the superior Courts, a whole bench of judges decided that the woman, who was unquestionably a thief, was wrongfully convicted on a point of law. The law says that the woman could not possibly have been properly charged with stealing nineteen shillings, because the girl never bad nineteen shillings in her possession, and it was wrong to charge a woman with stealing a sovereign, because the girl gave this sum into the woman’s hands, so that on all shies the charge of stealing could not be justified by law. This is -J course a quibble, but the law would rather.encourage such quibbles than interpret each case by the light of common sense. It is an awkward piecedent, and in the matter of change, every one would be at the mercy of those who have the most unblushing impudence, and are most versed in the art of telling a lie and sticking to it.

The alt« ition of volunteers ia called to a general orler, which appears in another column. A general meeting of journeyman bakers will be held in the Glasgow Pie House on Wednesday next at 7 p.m. An emergency meeting of the Port Chalmers Marine Lodge, No. 942, E.C., will be held in the Masonic Hall on Wednesday. Mr K. Wilson will deliver a lecture in the Lower Hall of the Athenaeum to-morrow (Tuesday) evening at 8 o’clock. A summoned meeting of the Court Pride of Dunodin, A.0.F., will be hold in the Friendly Societies’ Hall, Princes street, tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 8 o’clock. We have stated, in our reference to the trial trip of the locomotive on the Clutha line, that the credit of turning it out in such good working order belongs to Mr Davidson, Mr Amos did not superintend its fitting up : he merely drove it on the day in question. An entertainment will be given at the Princess Tlrcatre, on W'ednesdy evening, by the Colored Opera Troupe, for the benefit of the widow and children of the late Mr R. Roberts. Such an appeal ought to meet with a warm response from the public of Dunedin, more especially as the deceased and Mrs Roberts (Mias Polly Leake) were resident in this city for a considerable number of years. The performances of the troupe are so well known that it is almost needless to say the programme will bo an attractive one.

A concert in aid of the funds or the H.A.G.B. Society will take place in the Head quarters Drill Shed on next Monday evening. The laudable object for which the entertainment is given should commend itself to the benevolently disposed, independent of the excellent programme which is annoupced. In addition to the concert, Miss Aitken will recite “Mansie Wauch’s First and Last Vi it to the Play,” and Mr T. J. Bunny will also recite Ayt uTs' Execution of Montrose.” We trust there will bp a large attendance on the occasion.