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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XII, Issue 508, 12 September 1867, Page 1

Adulterated lobacco. —Among the samples of adulterated tobacco examined at the Inland Revenue Laboratory were several containing liquorice, others fermentable sugar, and some tannic acid, sulphate off iron, and logwood, whilst one sample of “roll” sent from Scotland actually consisted of oakum, covered with a thin rapper of leaf tobacco, and was, from its outward appearance, indistinguishable from genuine tobacco. The principal of the laboratory gives the weight of tobacco yearly consumed per head of the population at four pounds four and threequarter ounces, which shows a continuous increase during the last thirty years.

A Blind Puoi'KSSoa. —ln the year 1712; in one of the Fellow*’ rooms at Christ's College, Cambridge, sat three learned and famous men discussing a knotty point over the fire. Two of them were antiquaries, as we!! as scholar-, and on the table before them lay a small drawer of Roman coins, concerning some of which tli® battle waxed hot. Over one headless emperor, whose very name and date none but the initiated eo uld guess at from the coin before them, Ihe discussion grew especially fierce. It had been purchased as a rare and matchless gem by the elder of these two collectors, who both agreed as to its extreme value, but differed as to its exact date. I heir friend by the fire took no part in the discussion, but, at last when the coin was handed to him for examination and judgment, his answer was prompt and decided enough. Strange to say, he did not glance at the medal, but having felt it over very carefully with the tips of his lingers, he next applied it to las tongue. This done, he quietly hud the headless Augustus down on the table, saying as he did so, “ 5U B.C. or 8S A.D., tiie thing isn’t worth a shilling ; 1 doubt very much its being gold, and I’m sure it isn’t Roman and the next day proved that he was in the right ; thus, oddly enough fulfilling the old Portuguese proverb, “ Achou o eeyo hum diiiheiro,” “ the blind man lias picked up a coin.” The tiling that had been

Total Destruction bv Fire of the North Wagua u agua Flour Mill.— Between 2 and 3 o'clock on Thursday morning, afire, resulting in the destruction of between five and si& thousand: pounds worth of property, Was discovered to be raging in Mr Chapman’s dour mill it Norl It Wagga Wagga. The tiro continued burning throughout Thursday and Friday, and as portions of the walls gave way it was impossible to approach the ruins without danger. All the machinery is . it her destroyed or has been so injured by the heat as to be nearly worthless. Both of the mill-stones are very much cracked and split up, and when thoroughly cooled will no doubt tumble to pieces. The mill was a three-story building sixty feet long by twenty-four wide, and was erected about three years since at a cost of £3500. Several men of small means have lost the whole of their wheat crop, and wid in consequence be put to sad straits during the coming summer. . . . In the case of this mill the danger of delay tn effecting an insurance has been most forcibly exemplified. The policy was applied for in J uno last, the risk was accepted by tlie insurance company, and! nothing remained but for the owner of the property to sign the policy, which has actually been lying with tlie agent, Mr Jlealli, for 1 lie last three weeks, liad the signature been attached, £-000 would have been saved ; but this simple matter was put oil until 100 late, and the loss has now lo be borne as best it may. Tlie lesson is a severe one, but its elleet will nut be lost upon others who are now voluntarily incunnig similar risks.—Wagga Wagga Express.

SOIKEK TO THE CHEW OE H.M. BbISK I. SviJM'.V. —11)0 teetotal portion of tlucre w of H.M.S. Brisk were entertained at a tea meeting la.-t night, in the Temperance Hall, by the No- 1 Division of the cions of Temperance. After tea the Hon. J. B. Wilson took the chair, and stated that they wore met together to welcome the total abstainers of the Brisk. He was proud to know that a teetotal society bad been formed on board that vessel, amongst men who had no watchful mother or loving wife’s eye to guard them from the temptation of strong drink. A programme consisting of songs and recitations was tiieu gone through by the seamen, who acquitted themselves very creditably. Two complimentary addresses were presented In the No. 1 anil No. ti Divisions, and the proceedings then terminated with the .National anthem being sung. The iiali was tastefully decorated with flags and evergreens, and the audience w as a numerous one,—Sydney Morning Herald, yth August. I

' -«EW AUSTRIAN BuEECH-LoADEE ; —The Austrian correspondent of the Times gives the following account of the new ; breech-loading ride selected by the Aus :tnun Government. The arm is the invention of M. Werudl. of Stevr. Of the better known systems, it reseinb'es the '‘ Peabody.” It is remarkable for its simplicity and solidity It may be said to consist of four pieces—the stock of beechwood, which reaches nearly up to the muzzle of the barrel ; the barrel and backpiece of one piece of cast steel; the lock, consisting of a wedge, with a groove, over which the cartridge is slipped into tile barrel, and which opens and shuts bet ween the barrel and the backpiece ; and fourthly, the trigger. The manipulation of the gun is easy ; there are four motions in loading After discharge, the thumb is pressed against u Hat nob, projecting on the left side of the gun, and the lock thrown open, i By the same motion the discharged cartridge is extracted by a lever. Over a groove, which now appears in the wedge, a cartridge is slipped into the barrel by a second motion. By a third motion the wedge is thrown back, and the breech locked, and the gun is then cocked. The gun may also be cocked by a first motion immediately after discharge. It is possible to fire twenty-four rounds in a minute. At 120 J yards a bullet Irom the “ Werndl” will penetrate four inches nf d-,.1 Pnurd

Tue Moumans in Peril —Americans are, as a rule, much ashamed of the existence of sucli a sect among them, amt now that the railroad is pushing towards Utah, it is impossible tor the disciples of Brittham Aouug to preserve the exclusion which has hitherto been all-important to them. Emigrants will cover the country, and the Salt Lake will no longer In- a prison to ail woo go there. Dissatisfied Hermans will merely have to jump mto the cars, instead of running the risk of being murdered in the vain attempt to return to their former homes. More than once Congress has shown a disposition to “put down” Moraumism, but the diUlculty is that it is doubtful how far Congress has the right to mterefere in Territories, ami Utah is a Territory. But [Senator Howard is about to bring the point to a practical lest. He has brought forward amendments to a bill for reguhuing the selection of grand ana petit juiors in L tali, which, if enforced, would elfectually break up the present Mormon settlement. Only persons lawfully appointed shall have Use power to solemnise marriages ; “ consecrated ’ or “sealed” marriages are declared illegal, and any member ol the “so-called Alormon Church ” and cohabiting with a woman under the pretence of such marriages will be liable to a line of not more than 10,UUU dollars, or less than oOt) dollars, or to hnprisoi ment ol Irom three months to three years. Heavy penalties are also entailed upon all persons who assist at these spiritual marriages. Without polygamy Morin inistn wuuid have no eliann in the eyes ot its followers, and if Congress succeeds in abolishing polygamy the Mormuns u.u-t | seek a home in some other eon tr). Sena- | tor Howard’s attack will cause the grottiest excitement to the Mermans winch they have known since their memorable llignl to the Salt Luae. Correspondent ol Times.

shown to him and detected was a clever counterfeit got up for tile occasion of an antiquarian sale, just as Homan coins were dug up a year or two ago in making the 1 liamcs embankment. Yel this seen judge was Nicholas Sauuderson, a blind man, who had never set eyes on a coin good, bad, or indifferent ; having lost not only bis eyesight, but even lus very eyeballs, by the small pox in when but a twelvemonth old. Ho was now Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in the first University of the world, a friend of Whiston, Halley, and Bir Isaac .Newton, whose “Priucipia” formed one chief subject ol his public lectures, llis whole life from boyhood had been one of striking interest, lhough wo can here do no more than touch on tile few salient points which startle us in the career of a blind man. At the free School of Penislone, in York* shire, and with the help of a reader and such books us his father, an excisemen, could procure for him at home, by dint of unwearied perseverance he managed to acquire such a knowledge nf the classics as to master the works ol Luelid, Archimedes, Diophuntus, and Newton, m their original Greek and Latin. 1 his was all done be fore bo was twenty ; at I went\-five ho wan a famous te eher in Cambridge ; at thirty, Lucasian Professor, M 1. by royal mandate, lecturing on tlie solar spectrum, the laws of light, and the theory of the rain bow on none of which he had ever looked, —John’s .blind People; their Works and W ays

Editorial Courtesies. —In a re cut number of the Eoxtowu f usilier appeared the following editorial note ; —“ Postscript. —We stop the press with pleasure to announce the d cease of our contemporary, Mr Snaggs, editor of the Eoxtowu Flash. He has now gone to another and better world. Persons who hare taken the Flash will find the F'usther x good paper,”—ihe Stationer.

The Prikce of Wales’s Double. —We notice tlie following in the Home Journal: —“A gentleman, well-known m London literary circles, and who bear* a very strong resemblance to the Prince of Wales, often receives marked intention, on account of the likeness. He recently visi hed a second-rate London Theatre, and, as She passed through the door, he was stared’ at by the box-keeper, who left him to rush 'off in quest of the manager. lie had 1 : scarcely purchased his seat ere an o (filial, (with a couple of lighted candles, conducted him to the only private box in the house. Uf course ho was much pleased with the attention; but one thing surprised him excessively —every time the curtain led, the band would insist upon striking up a very mild version of ‘ God bless (lie Prince l of Wales.’ ft is understood that, upon tlie strength of this visit, the theatre has assumed the title of .Royal ’’

Death of a Wealthv 010 Misbu. —All old woman has just died at Bunny, in the Ardennes, who was the very Iplot’avarice.lplot’avarice. She lived very miserably, halfstarved herself, and went about m r.o's A few dajs before she uicd she sola the sheets from her bed on the plea that wanted to buy bread. At her sum of no less i Inin t>u,oUdt, in gold and silver was found and curefu ly concealed in 11 io cellar vvnit.li belonged to her apartment. In another pan, oi lodging were two chests, botli full of gold. They were .-o heavy that the Justice ot Peace and his assistant could not lift them. This miserly woman has left a very extraordinary will, she lias bequeathed a sum of 2O,UUOf. to the woman who did her household work, although a few days ago she relumed the small addition of one uauc a mouth to her [Wages,

A "Woman Di-.v uiuru by a Tioee. — A correspondent of the Shanghai Recorder gives the following account of an attack made by a tiger upon a Chinawoman, who "as sleeping in a mat cottage, at Chinkiang:—“ Por a long time it lias been stated by the natives that a kind of tiger, termed the ‘ dogheaded,’ existed on the hills at Chinkia ug, and although the Chinese have at various times reported women and children being killed and eaten, yet for want of sufficient evidence they have never been credited by foreigners. The matter, however, has at length been settled without doubt, for on the morning of the 15th instant, there might have been seen, within filty yards of a foreign hong, the remains of a poor woman who had been killed and eaten during the previous night—a thigh bone (fractured) and a pool of blood testifying to the strength and ferocity of the wild animal. It appears from a boy’s statement, that ho was asleep with his mother in a mat cottage when he was awakened by an immense animal, with a head like a dog, dasliing in and seizing his mother, who uttered but one cry. The boy ran to where other people lay, but none durst approach the beast, who had in the meantime dragged the woman a few yards from the hut, and was devouring her. When daylight appeared they found but one bone above mentioned, and the pool of blood, which were seen by various persons who had heard the report ami wished to satisfy themselves by personal observation. The Chinese say the dogheaded tiger is far more formidable than the wolf, and differs in appearance, and that it was unheard of and unseen before the Taeping Rebellion.”

The Coat Trade of Great Britain, —The Amount Bused in IBdo. -“If wo take the area of Lincoln’s inn Jfiolds,” says Mr. Smyth, “ measured up close to the houses, at, eleven acres, about the dimensions of the base of the Great Pyramid, and could stack the coal as nature has done m the seams, the British coal raised last \ ear would form, on that base, a solid block of the height of t2gy feet, or as high as Suowdon°surinouuted by another mountain of halt its height. Again, taking the distance from London to Edinburgh, tour hundred miles, the same qu iiitily, similary packed, would build a wdl the whole way of twelve feet thick and muely-niuo feet high, whilst if put together in the broken state in which coal is commonly used, it would give a wall of more than double that thickness. This yearly production, obtained by the labor of 21A),OJt> men, is palbably a gigantic ell’ort lor so small an urea as that of our united coal fields, and naturally excites apprehension for the future.”

Whiskers ix the Navy.—The following circular, under date Admiralty, May 15, 18(i7, lias been posted at the several lioyal Dockyards in the kingdom :—“ Bir, I am commanded by tuy Lords Commissioners of tne Admiralty to acquaint you ihat they desire to draw the attention of commanders in-chief and senior oillcera to a custom which appears to be somewhat prevalent in the licet, of ollicers wearing whiskers of such inordinate size and length as to resemble beards, which latter are prohibited by the printed instillations. The regulations of the naval service require lint such irregular habits should be prevented, and that ollicers should be permitted only to wear the same length of whiskers as the seamen and marines under their divisional superintendence.—l am, Sir, &c., Henry G. Lennox." On this the United Service Oar.ette remarks; — ‘ Wo have waited with amused expectation to hear some of the comments on the late Admiralty order anent whiskers. If it has done good in creating much merriment and laughter, it has also done an imeommensur.ite amount of evil in betraying what uiterly helpless tools Lords of tho Admiralty are in the hands of their subordinates. Some crotelnty ollieer at one of our stations (we med not name which) cannot grow a decent pair of whiskers, or when tney come, if he can grow them, they arc grey 7 , or green, or any other color than the fashionable foxy. In consequence, he deems himself insulted by juniors presuming to grow something superior to that which he can cultivate himself—draws the attention of the Admiralty to the alarming increase in whiskers—and out com s this order, hastily signed by an overpreyed man, who hardly took a minute to ; think of it b fore he signed it. We trust tho order will be allowed to die a natural death Meanwhile, we should be glad to see that their lordships (ix a minimum as well as a maximum of hair. Surety if ollicers take a pride in those ridiculous exaggerations now worn, it is scarcely worth while to make a hw about it.”

Discovery of Cafersacm. —Mr Keith Johnston and other gentlemen engaged in the exploration of Palestine recent!}' made an important discover}. At Mr Johnston’s suggestion, who believes that Tell Hum is the true site ol ancient Capernaum, they dug into the mould, hoping to find the remains of the synagogue there, popularly called the “ White Temple,” and, according to letters just received, were rewarded with complete success, finding the supposed building nearly or quite entire. /Should these tidings prove correct, the explorers have found the only building m which the Saviour actually was when on earth which can be identified at tuts day. Mr. James Cordon Dennett, jun., of the .New Vork Herald, intends, it is said, to bring out a daily paper in London ere long.