DE OMNIBUS REBUS.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 226, 1 March 1875, Page 4

DE OMNIBUS REBUS.

It is reported that the creation of new cardinals/s postponed till Easter. Numerous bishops have been appointed. A builder, when returning thanks to those who had drunk his health, modestly observed hat he was ‘more fitted for the scaffold than or public speaking.’ Some brilliant experiments with new Austrian guns have produced excitement in military circles. They proved superior to Krupp’s. The Pays has been suspended for a fortnight for attempting to implicate the Government in a conspiracy in favour of the Prince Imperial. Sir H. Barkly has annexed Griqualand east, Adam Hok’s territory, to British territories. Hok is pensioned on a salary of £IOOO a year. from the Ponds Tribe, mustering 2000 warriors, is apprehended. Nineteen men belonging to a band of assassins have been tried at Ravenna, and eleven sentenced to hard labor for life; four were condemned for from seven to fifteen years, and the rest acquitted. Recent advices from the Cape report that the Transvaal goldfields have created extraordinary excitement in the colony. There is a great rush of diggers, and gold, including nuggets, had reached Cape Town. The Government has accepted the invitation of the United States to send a commission representing this country to America for the International Exhibition of 1876. Dr Livingstone’s last journal, edited by the Rev Horace Walter, is just published. The subscriptions towards his monument at Glasgow reach £I7OO. The Athenaeum publishes a letter from Messrs J. B. Lippincott and Co., of Philadelphia, respecting certain liberties taken in the revision of the American edition of “Chambers’ Encyclopedia,” noticed a few weeks ago, Messrs Lippincott write:—“ We do not wish to attempt to justify the action of our editors in changing thf articles especially referred to, but in extenuation of their general course in the matter we would say that it was expected that our revised edition would be sold in this market only, and in the rewriting of certain articles they were naturally made to express what was believed to be the most recent and correct views of the subjects treated, from an American standpoint. It is hardly necessary to state that we would not have inserted voluntarily any article that would be objectionable to the Messrs Chambers, and we frankly admit that we were not aware of many of the alterations, the matter being left entirely to our editors. Still, the changes were made solely with a view to the adaptation of the work to the requirements of this country, and many of them were absolutely necessary to correctly present facts, especially in relation to America. Had we not, in numerous circulars and in the concluding editorial notice, fully stated that the work was revised to suit the wants of American readers, the Messrs Chambers would probably be justified in their serious charges. However, we shall now designate our issue as the American revised edition, and will cheerfully take such action as will relieve the Messrs Chambers of the responsibility of the revisions in our edition of their great work. “Anglo-Australian” writes in the European Mail: —“ There is an important note in the Lancet bearing upon the subject of skins taken from animals that had died from the cattle plague. It appears that at a recent meeting of the Academy of Paris, M. Jaccoud referred to an epidemic of typhus which he witnessed on board the packet Gironde, from Rio de Janeiro to Bordeaux. Twenty-four persons were attacked, of whom five died. The disease arose from a cargo of half-tanned hides coming from La, Plata, where for the last few months a severe cattle plague bad been prevailing. The author concluded that very serious fevers may be engendered by hides coming from animals stricken with the plague. He entered into the pathology and the therapeutics of the cases he had seen, aad considered that the authorities should step in. No cargo ought to be allowed to sail which does not bear the strictest hygienic investigation, and this carefulness ought especially to be extended to passenger boats. The importance of this suggestion will be seen at once. The practice here, I believe, is to destroy the skins with the carcase, and it would be as well that it should prevail in our colonies, as one diseased skin might imperil the lives of a whole ship’s company, to say nothing of those of the passengers.” An invention which will prove of great service to shipmasters and nautical men has, says the Argus , recently been made by Captain Davis, of the Hydrographic office at the Admiralty, It consists of an improved sextant, by means of which a series of observations can be made without the necessity of reading off at the time of observation, or removing the eye from the telescope. This is effected by means of a micrometer movement attached to the tangent screw, and indicators applied to the arc. It is particularly adapted for use in bad weather, for observing lunar distances, circum-meridian altitudes, and equal altitudes for time. The sextanthas been submitted to the Astronomer Royal, who states that “ the arrangement is simple, very little liable to get out of order, and I should think very effective.” The advantages claimed for the improved sextant are;—l. It enables the inexperienced observer to take observations with as much facility as the more practised; 2. By greatly multiplying the number of observations, the instrumental and personal errors are reduced to a minimum. 3. At sea, it enables a number of observations to be made in a short time withing being dependent (as is often the case) on one. 4, The differences of the altitudes being all equal, the check on the time-taker is apparent. 5, For night observations it is peculiarly adapted. 6. The micrometer movement can be thrown out of gear at pleasure. , The inventor, Captain Davis, was chief assistant to Captain Cox, R.N., during the survey of the south coast of England. The improvement can be fitted to any ordinary sextant (not having a tangent screw with a spring) ; and as any optician or watchmaker can fit them, nautical men in Australia can obtain the parts by post, with full instructions for fitting, by forwarding to the maker, Mr J. D. Potter, 31 Poultry, and 11 King street, Tower Hill, London, the following four measurements :—First, width of arc; second, distance between tangent screw and arc; third, the thickness of the arc ; and fourth, the thickness from centre of screw to top of arm, The price of the gttiogs is two guineas.