GENERAL NEWS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1996, 4 February 1907, Page 1

GENERAL NEWS.

The reported engagement of Sir Thomas Lipton to Miss Jane Morgan, daughter of a well-known Philadelphia financier, is contradicted. Miss Morgan is an export yachtswoman, holding a skipper’s license, and she is known in yachting circles as “tho girl skipper.” Tho Prime Minister lias contributed £2O to the Dr. Clifford birthday fund, and has accompanied the gift with a letter of an appreciative character. The fund > arly in December had reached close on .CGfif'O The aim is to sccnro a total of £7900. An early date in February is named for the presentation. General Booth will not be present at the gathering of the National Free Church Council in Leeds in March next. Ho has cancelled tho engagement owing to his pi ejected visit to Japan. Sir Oliver Lodge Mill, however, address the gathering, and all tlie leading Fice Churchmen v ill bo present. Even at this early date the programme is piactically complete. Tn connection with tbc death of Dr. Giuseppe Lapponi, tlio Pope's physicianr it is a remarkable coinci dehco that some weeks ago a sick monk, attended l>y Dr. Lnppom, prophesied bis own death in 48 hours, the death of a comrade within a fortnight, and tho death of Dr. Lapponi within three months Each of tlio predictions has been fulfilled.

The following amusing conversation was head at the Exhibition between a lady and a Fijian who could speak English fairly well. “Have you been up the tower?” queried the lady. ■ ‘My Lord, no,” answered tlie I' nuiii, “me afraid.” “Don’t talk like that, corrected tho lady; “say, ‘My gracious, no.’ ” “Right, ’ said Lie 1 uian, “me say ‘My gracious if you like. The dusk visitors from tho snnny is "S of Fiji are nothing if not obliging Tlio Mangaweka Settler complains that guards on the Mam I runk Railway with a long service reooid receive only Bs'fid a day and are charged - s per week rent for four-roomed cottages, while engine-drivers receive 12s a day, are provided with a sixr oomed house and their rental is fixed at 8s fid per week, or an extra charge of fid only is levied for tlie use of two extra rooms, witn a salary which is one-third higher, than the unfortunate guard. Tho Settler _says the question naturally suggests itself Why this inconsistency ? It is related of a certain official in ing in the Wanganui district that he observed a roadman cutting a channel t'o drain off some water that had accumulated by the roadside, and he su'Tcrrsted that a better method would be" - to bail tlie water out. It-' is only fair to state that tlio official in question had but recently been promoted to bis position, find that be showed considerable aptitude in liis former occupation—needless to say, not connected’ with roads. Since the inoident above recorded be has gained some experience—at tlie expense of tlie public purse.

The death occurred in December Cousin, the writer of a few of our best-known hymns. Mrs. Cousin, vdio was in her eighty-third year, was a daughter of Dr. David Ross Citndell, Leith. She was married in 1847 to the Rev. William Cousin, then minister of Clielsn Presbyterian Church, London, but' who had previously been minister at .Duns. Berwickshire. Her best known hymn is “The Sands of Time are Sinking,” a hvmn which is now known and used throughout the English-speakng world. Mrs. Cousin was also the au-. thor of the hymns, “Oh, Christ, what Burdens Bowed Thy Head,” and “King Eternal, King Immortal.”

There appears to be no doubt, judging. by tlie information given to Mr. Alice Hunt by Mr. English, an assistant resident magistrate at lligo, Piitish New Guinea that Paupa will in time become one. of the most important of iho world’s suppliers of rubber. Papua has ail advantage over -the.. Congo and <jthe»—m+rbrn-Triiduo-ing lands m that- it possesses an abundant supply of two rubbers—the tree rubbers and the vine rubber. The prospects of the opening, up of a great industry are excellent. With respect t'o sisal hemp, too, there are most encouraging reports from Mr. English It is even suggested that a gross yield equal to about £75 ail acre is obtainable from the cultivation of sisal hemp. A new story is told by a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian about the late Hugh Price Hughes. Mr Price Hughes was addiessing a meeting in the Public Hall at Leamington, and the room was crowded and hot. He stopped in liis tpeech, and asked for the windows to ho opened. Gusts of cold air presently swept into the room, and people in the audience turned up their collars in alarm. i/on’t. lie afraid of the fresh air,” Air Price Hughes said. “If you have to choose between dy-

ing jrrom poisoned air or a draught, choose tlie draught.” And then he added quietly, so that only the reporters and the people on the platform heard, “You would probably die a better color.” Although the thermometer stood at freezing point, Mark Twain appeared before a Congressional committee on copyright law at Washington wearing white flannels. A frost-bitten member of Congress expostulated with him, but he replied that ho “had plenty of things underneath.” The humorist declared that dark clothes made him sad, and when a man arrived at the ago of seventy it was time for him to cheer up. “Tho best clothes I ever saw anywhere wore in the Sandwich Islands,” he added, “where state dress consisted of a pair of spectacles. Next to that I prefer tho clothes of tlie Middle Ages, which were resplendent with colors, pi limes, and brilliant trappings.”

Lord Curzon’s intention to return to the Commons when a favorable opportunity offers will not be barred by the fact that ho is a peer. He elected to ho. emoiled as a poor of Ireland when lie was going cut to India, and so kept tlie door of the Commons open for himself, provided, he is returned for a British seat. It is one of tlio merits of the Irish Act of Union, above the Scottish Act, that Irish peers can sit in the Commons, while Scottish peers tiro debarred. It was the fact that Lord Palmterston was a peer of Ireland which permitted him to spend his entire political career in the Commons. To-day, Viscount Vaientia, olio popular whip of tlio Opposition, presents tlio only case in point at the moment, of an Irish peer siflting for an English constituency.

A dangerous man, according to all accounts, has descended upon Wellington. lie is a peivn Iv.nvod, seemingly, by the earthquake. At all events he is (logged by convulsions of the globe. Calling at the Tourist Office the calmly mentioned that while he was in San Francisco the city was mined. He went to Valparaiso, and was soon induced to pack up by his friend the earthquake. He thought that lie would he safe from persecution in Jamaica, and settled in Kingston. The earthquake which had apparently been endeavoring to find the man’s whereabouts, at last got his address, and paid a visit to Kingston, hut the call came too late, for the man moved out just a few weeks ago. After this confession it would only seem fair that the authorities should deport the visitor who comes with a wake of violent quakes. Ho announces that he ,■ intends to spend the summer in Now Zealand, ami it will be no surprise, therefore, if the crust of the ground is perturbed all through tho country, following the line of the traveller’s itinerary.

WHY GO HUNGRY. If your stomach is weak and you aro suffering from indigestion, don’t sacrifice your health and comfort. Eat all the wholesome food you want. Then take one of Dr. Sheldon’s Diges-. live Tabules after pack meal. They digest your food and thus nourish and build you up, while the stomach is recovering its natural tone. For sale by A. W. J. Mann, Agent, Chemist. Sykes's Drench —Always Reliable. Farmers want a reliablo drench—one that will not fail when trouble arises. No drench has had such unqualified success as Sykes’s. Over a thousand farmers have written expressing thoir gratitudp for the remarkable cures which it lias effected. One of these is Mr. James Tomath, the -well-known dairyman of Shannon, Manawatu. -He writes: “I am in the habit of drenching my cows with Sykes’s Drench immediately after calving, and at all times on the appearance of inflammation of any kind. I have seldom known it to fail, and have always recommended it..”

A narrow escape from a serious accident occurred on Napier torrace. Just as a buggy containing a party of four adults and an infant had reached tho Burlington road corner, tho horse stumbled, with tho result that three of tho occupants of the buggy wero thrown on to the horso’s back, while one lady and tho infant were capsized on to tho footpath. Beyond a shock and tho shaking sustaino'd from tho fall none of the partv wore hurt.

How soon shall wo bo able to talk around tlio world ? Speaking in all seriousness ami weighing carefully bis words, an eminent, electrician made the prediction that within 10 years it would/be possible to talk under the ocean. “And. when that is done,” he said, “the problem of talking around the world will have been solved.” in tlio accomplishment! of this purpose, th i greatest obstacle that has been encountered is the loss in conductivity sustained by all underground telephone wires, ft was an obstacle that appeared insurmountable until a short, time ago. Then there was invented a coil which overcame tho difficulty. Now the voice travels almost'/, as easily and clearly over the underground wire as it does over the wire strung overhead. Ocean telephony is perfectly feasible theoretically, and must soon be practically.

Tlio fact’ that tho lobster is the swiftest of all tlio sea inhabitants has led marine architects and engineers to study its shape and methods very closely ’ with a view to borrowing hints for the construction of future vessels designed for speed. One scientist (says Cassell’s Saturday Journal) who lias devoted five years to a study of lobsters, has discovered that they can shoot through the sea at' a distance of twenty-five feet in less than a second. If an ocean steamship ecu Id travel in proportion to its length and size ns fast as a lobster, it could cross the Atlantic ill a very short, time. The amazing speed of the lobster is due mainly to its “tail,” in which are found delicate attachments,each consisting of a short stalk ami two lloxiblo blades which greatly' aid its progress. It is the mechanism and operation of the “tail” which tho experts are especially studying.

Lady Marjorie Sinclair, the only daughter of tho Eatl and Countess of Aberdeen, is one of the most talented ladies in society. Before she was 13 she had turned her though’s towards literature, and was editing a children’s magazine. She lias since written a play, and her writings havo been seen in several magazines. Like her mother, Lady Marjorie is also keenly interested in politics, and is an excellent platform speaker. Her marriage to Captain Sinclair, the Secretary for Scotland, was tho culmination of a loyig friendship. Captain Sinclair was A.D.C. to Lord Aberdeen when tho bride was a child two years old. The wedding took place in 1904, and tho presents included an enormous number of books, a tribute to the child’s studious mind.

Tho newer school of Australian farmers is right on. top amongst 'the world’s agriculturists. The revolution now developing in the rural industries sees the youth of the country bringing brains on to the land. For a long time the successful farmer, or breeder of stock, filled the boys with ideas that land occupation was somehow' a poor, demeaning game. The clerk’s desk, the city counter, or the professional ranks were set up as the proper aims of the ambitious. The boys, in the starched collars and boiled shirt equipment, flooded the cities and towns. Now the stream flows eountrywards. The youth of the country is proving his adaptability to the soil, and he is, aided by good seasons, making things hum. That there is money in well-directed effort is proved by the case of tw r o brothers who are handling loss than 300 acres i.i tho Central Division. Last year they netted no less than £2OOO.

The Czar is below the medium height, and although lie does, not look a walk" lie can’ easily outdistance the average man. Pedostrianism is, in fact, the exercise that appeals to him most. He can go miles niid miles without requiring a rest, but nowadays lie indulges in but few rambles. Me does not fear death 'for himself, hut, says Cassel’s Saturday Journal, he believes that God intended liim to rule, and, therefore, ho avoids unnecessary risks. Tlie tales that are circulated periodically to the effect that ho trembles for his safety throughout the livelong day are as untrue as they are absurd. Nicholas LI. is also a fair oar. When he was in England somo years ago ho patronised the Thames frequently, going down to a certain boathouse unattended, and hiring a single-sculler by the hour. Now and again lie cycles. He finds no pleasure in pomp and ceremony, and were ho free to consult his own wishes he would cheerfully vacate the throne to-mor-row.

| The late Doan Stanley was very fond’ of Jenny Lind, but when she stayed at his father’s palace at Norwich ho always left tho room when she sang. One evening Jenny Lind had been singing Handel’s “ I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Stanley, as usual, had left the room, but he came back after the music was over, and went shyly up to the groat singer. “ You know,” he said, “ I dislike music. I don’t knoty what people mean in admiring it. lam very stupid, stone-deaf, as others arc color-blind. But,” he added, with some warmth, “to-niglit when from a distance I heard you singing that song I had an inkling of what people meant by music. Something came over mo which I had never felt before ; oh, yes, I havo felt it once before in my life,” Jonpy Lind p'as all attention. ‘I Some years ago,” ho continued, " I was at Vienna, and one evening there was a tatoo before the palace performed by 400 drummers. I felt shaken, and to-night while listening to your singing, tho same fooling came over me. I felt deeply moved. 1 Life is held cheap by the American football player, but a year ago ho was persuaded to liqodify soqie cif the most 1 dangerous features of his game, with the result that there havo been fewer deaths and serious accidents this year. Most of the universities notify a large decrease in casualties. Cornell has a very small -list of accidents. The report for this year gives only “one dislocated elbow (slight), several broken noses, two or three strained shoulders, two cases of water on the knee, and half a dozen sprained ankles.” The list appears formidable enough, but Americans consider it almost insignificant. The number of deaths attributed directly or indirectly to football in 1905 was 19, but thus far only eight fatalities havo been reported in 190(1. The improvement has been secured mainly by three changes in the rules. First, the ten-yard rule whie.li makes mass plays less profitable; second, the forward pass, which encourages open play; and third, the rimre severe penalties for brutality and unnecessary roughness.

Mr John Foster Fraser, ill liis notes, l 'ln and Out of Parliament,” gives the following picture of Mr Birrell: Whatever men’s views are, all politicians at Westminster like Mr Augustine Birrell personally. Indeed liis most vigoroi is political opponents are liis most ardent apologists, insisting that he is a much finer follow than the trade of politics' will allow him to show. Certainly ho brings a vigorous determined personality into the debates. There are hundreds of worthy men in the Commons, hut you could easily count the men of outstanding personality on the lingers of both hands. Mr Birrell lias a strong iron-moulded face; the mouth and the chin all determination, but the eyes good-natured and often whimsical. He would have made a good bishop or a good jm lgo. As it is lie is a lawyer, who has read much, written charmingly, and is not too severe on human nature. He is one of the front bench men who blush—supposed to be a lost political art. Another is Mr Balfour. Mr Chamberlain is the most sphinx-like man. I have seen him sitting with countenance almost waxen with impassiveness whilst the Chamber has been a cauldron of ironical cheering on the reading of some old speech antagonistic to recent opinions. On the other hand, when hits of old speeches or little extracts from written words are tossed across the table at Mr Birrell lie does not protest, hut he wriggles, clasps his hands, and crunches his lingers as though he were cracking filberts, and ho blushes a deep vermilion. But behind the blush is a smilej as though with detachment of mind he is rather enjoying the joke that a politician should be i luid by the heels,