Miscellaneous Extracts.

Hastings Standard, Issue 273, 17 March 1897, Page 4

Miscellaneous Extracts.

MONEY PLENTIFUL. On Wednesday evening (says the Southern Standard) the Gore Borough Council opened tenders for a loan of £IOOO for seven years at 4i per cent. Twelve tenders were received, all of which, except two, «vere for the full amount of the loan. One at £lO2, one at £ 101 15s, two at £lOl, one at £lOl Bs, one at £IOO Is Id, and seven were at par. The tender of Mrs Fenwick at £lO2 for the full amount was accepted. Three of the tenders were local financiers. The price received (L2 premium) is considered exceptionally good. PLURALITY OF WIVES. Mrs Connor, who was recently elected a member" of the Utah State Legislature, defeating her husband, who was also a candidate, is one of his four lawful wives. She indicated to a reviewer that she certainly would not oppose polygamy, saying : A plural wife is not half as much a slave as a single wife. If her husband has four wives she has three weeks of freedom every single month. She and her children can order their lives, and do not have to wait and be ready for the husband. When the fourth week comes round, she's glad to see him, and she does not mind getting three meals a day for him and making the children stop breathing to give him a chance to read. A plural wife has more time to herself and more independence every way than a single one. Jealously? Unhappiness ? Not half as much of it among plural wives as among single wives. Plural wives look upon marriage as a sacred duty and not as a means of self-seeking vanity.

SANTA CLAUS NOT DEAD. Blessed are the illusions of childhood even in these scientific and materialistic days Santa Claus is not dead. A little Glasgow girl has proof of his existence. Anxious to rid the dear old man of worry as to what he should bring, she penned the following note :—"Dear Santa Claus, —I want a doll and a coach. That is all." She addressed it, " Post Office, Glasgow." The little note brought a smile to the face of the wearied, overworked postman, and at the breathing hour he read it aloud to his fellow-officials, with the result that out of the fulness of their parental hearts and their Christmas boxes they quickly subscribed the necessary sum, and a deputation was appointed to purchase and forward the doll and coach to the little suppliant. A TEETOTAL HORSE.

What the Westminister Gazette calls a well-authenicated story of a horse with a strong and manifest dislike for public houses comes from Cumberland. This intelligent animal is owned by a gentleman residing at Askham, whose business takes him frequently to Penrith. It was his usual custom to put up at a tavern in the town, and when making only short stays he left the horse standing outside. Recently, however, the horse absolutely refused to stand outside that door, or, indeed, outside the door of any public-house. A week or so ago the culminating point was reached. The owner went inside, intending to return almost immediately, but scarcely had he turned his back when the four-footed advocate of temperance solemnly marched about a hundred yards down the street, and then stopped—as if by deliberate intention —outside the local temperance hotel. The owner has taken the hint. AN ILL-STARRED COURTSHIP. Mr Wynter held an inquest at Aston recently on Alfred Phillips, 84. For the past fifteen years he had been engaged to be married to a Miss Catherine Perks, and although they had arranged to get married on several occasion, the event had always to be postponed in consequence of shortness of employment and other causes. The ceremony, however, was definitely fixed for Christmas Day, but the deceased's father died that day, and on the night previous Miss Perks broke a blood vessel, and became dangerously ill. Miss Perks improved in health, and the wedding was fixed for a Sunday. When the time arrived, however, the young lady was not sufficiently well to go to church, and another postponement became necessary. The following morning the disappointed bridegroom's dead body was found in a pool of blood in the garden. Deceased had evidently stabbed himself in the neck, and lain in the garden until death ended his sufferings. A verdict of " Suicide while temporarily insane " was returned.

A CUNNING DEVICE. An ingenious device resorted to by a London pick-packet is described by a correspondent of a contemporary. She writes Some time ago I was staying in Devonshire street. Portman Square, with a young American widow. We had .struck up an acquaintance together on board the s.s. Italy, returning from New York. One day we started off to tin- bank to change a draft for LlO. My friend took six L 5 notes and LlO in gold. The latter I offered to carry. The note* she put in a pocket-book in the .side pocket of her dress. Returning along Oxford street, a tiny terrier ran up to us, and catching niv friend's dress in her teeth, •* worried " it. A gentleman the owmr hastened up, and raiding his hat apologised and caught hold of the brute, which hung di?[ crateh t-> hj» di.A: last he succ.H'ded in dra»gmir it off, aud laughingly -aid. •' .1 <>y must suspect you of carrying a kitten in your pocket ; he always losses his temper and politeness when he thinks

of cats." We passed on, rather amused than otherwise. As soon as we bad entered our house the young widow, with a shriek of dismay, discovered that her purse with the thirty pounds was gone. The police, to whom we stated our case, said that it was the work of " Dandy Jim," the crack pickpocket.

AN ADVANCED ABORIGINAL. An amusing incident, showing how advanced are the views of some of our New Zealand aboriginals, occurred at the Wesleyan Conference in Wellington the other day. The President of the Conference, together with several fellow-clergymen and laymen who are partial to the fragrant weed, had adjourned to a secluded spot to enjoy_ a quiet smoke. Suddenly a Native minister appeared upon the scene A look of amazement crossed his face as he beheld the curls of smoke ascending heavenwards. Then, recovering from the shock, he placed his fingers to his mouth several times as if taking the pipe from his lips, and, scanning the company, exclaimed, "Puff! puff! all the same the publichouse !" The President and his friends looked deucedly uncomfortable, and have since been wondering whether there is really any connection between the smoker and the publichouse.

THE RYLEY PROSECUTION. Dealing editorially with the recent Ryley prosecutions in Dunedin for offences under the Bankruptcy Act, the Star observes :—" The jury took a broad view of the case, and came to the conclusion that no charge of fraud had been proved, and that there had been no fraudulent on the part of the bankrupt. As to his utter ignorance of business, and reckless expenditure of the money so freely supplied to him by the Bank, there could, of course, be no doubt whatever; but it appeared equally clear, from evidence direct and circumstantial, that the Bank knew, or might have known, all that was going on ; and that it was much in the position of an accomplice in the rash speculations in which the money of the shareholders was being dissipated. The whole story reads like a financial romance, from the selection of Mr Ryle, who was sublimely ignorant of the conditions, to run a business which required technical knowledge and no little acumen, but was, moreover, in a very bad way, to the bursting up of the whole concern, in order, apparently, to save an infinitely small proportion of the very large amount expended in keeping ic going; and this at the expense of the outside creditors of Ryley's estate. As Mr Sim forcibly put it, the fact was established that ' the business was the Colonial Bank's business; that it was the Bank that was trading as R. Anderson and Co., and not John Ryley. The outside debts amounted to about £3OOO pr £4OOO, and the assets realised £IO,OOO ; so that Ryley had ample to pay all his creditors except the Bank, and the business was really the Bank's.' This was really the crux of the whole case, and accepting this view, as the jury manifestly did, the acquittal of the bankrupt was a matter of course." W r OMEN'S PRIVILEGES. Under the heading " The Tyranny of Woman," the Christchurch Press devotes an interesting article to the subject of -women's rights, and endeavors to show that it is a man's and not woman's rights that are contemned and ignored. The first of the advantages of woman over man, the writer proceeds to point out, is in regard to breach of promise of marriage, for which a woman can obtain heavy damages where a man would be laughed out of Court. Then a wife can have unfettered and absolute control over her own property, and can will it away from her husband ; but the unfortunate husband is always liable to be sued for maintenance. She has many other privileges in regard to property, not the least of which is that her husband is liable for misdemeanour, but she is not liable for his. With respect to divorce, it costs a man at least £-10 to get a divorce. Any woman can get a summary separation for the asking in the Police Court, with an order, too, for maintenance out of the man's earnings. Woman has many other privileges in this way, and her treatment in case of bigamy is very different from that doled out to the man. Summarising a number of woman's other privileges, the writer adds : " It suffices to say that for fraud, libel, ' waylaying,' seduction of a minor, perjured accusation and black-mailing by women, the difficulties of redress for the man are enormous or insuperable. If convicted of any criminal charge, women as a matter of practice enjoy constant privileges as compared with men in the way of sentence, prison treatment, and pardon. In civil law we find repeated the same exceptional immunities. No married woman can be arrested for debt, nor can she be sued for breach of contract, nor for bringing charges of immoral conduct against a man, though this last is highly actionable if attempted by a man against a woman. Many further details might be cited, but enough has been written to justify some resentment of the legal oppression under which the Englishman now cower*. " The legal subjection of women in England has gone and lon« aone. It is succeeded by a state of sordid subjection of the man to a Ka--ed public opinion, to a hysterica! pr.-.-., and to sentimental administrators of a corrupted law.' "