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Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1635, 8 December 1874, Page 454

A telegram from Copenhagen states that the Schleswig question has assumed a serious aspect. The Danish Ministry is trying to avoid moving in the matter, but public opinion, it is thought, will oblige the Government to protest at Berlin, and ultimately, perhaps, to retaliate by the ejection of Germans from Danish territory.

The following is from a Melbourne paper:—The strength of the ruling passion, especially when it happens to be the animus furandi, was very curiously exemplified a short time ago. A man who had just been discharged from Pentridge called at a certain bank in Collins-street, and laid claim to a large sum of money which had been standing to his credit for fifteen years. His signature was quite right, his statement as to the date of the deposit was correct, and the only thing remaining was his identification, for which an appointment was made for the following morning. The next day the ex-convict would have been the possessor of several thousand pounds. But he could not keep out of mischief ; that very night the ex-convict took part in a burglary, was arrested early next morning, and was very soon sent back again to bis old quarters. Meanwhile the bank still continues to retain several thousand pounds to which it has no claim whatever.

In the Bradford Observer of September 2, Mr Henry Hibbert endeavors to defend the working classes against accusations which argue that it is amongst those classes that drunkenness is mainly found. He says—" The reason why the working class appear to have above their share is that their class forms a sort [of receptacle for the refuse, debauched, and degraded of every other class* Any one doubting this, I ask them to visit the public-houses and low lodging-houses, and they may find there as I have found, educated men of every class that have been ruined by drink. I have met with reporters for the press out of employment, ministers who have lost their pulpits, commercial men who have lost their trade, doctors without patients, and some of the most respectable and wealthy of our townspeople driveu from home, all through the same vile scourge of our country, viz, drink; and when they have been thus ruined, they are looked upon as belonging to the lower classes (which is. undoubtedly true), but when they are said to belong to the working class, I think the working class ought to repel such statements, which tend to bring odium upon them." The extravagances of the upper strata of society are rivalled if not exceeded by those of the laboring classes. If a nobleman gives £I,OOO for a piece of china, or a wife of a manufacturer spends twice as much on a garden party, there is always this to be said for them, that they do not in committing such follies either deprive their families of necessaries or bring ruin upon themselves. But with our laborers it is different. They exhibit a reckless indifference to the present and future, and a forgetfulness of the past which is truly lamentable. The miners are at the worst examples. A story is told by a local paper of a miner at Attercliffe, near Sheffield, who entered a butcher's shop and ordered a steak to be cut from a piece that lay on the block, saying, " he was not particular to an ounce either way." The meat was cut and one shilling and fourpence paid for it, when the man quietly dropped it to his dog, waited till the animal had devoured it, and then sauntered off. In the same place a laborer was seen to break four new-laid eggs and give them to his dog. On the other hand, a puddler and his wife were lately brought up at Sheffield for neglecting their children. The children were found by the relieving officers naked, lying on a heap of coal. The whole furniture of the home, a single-roomed house, was " a bucket, fender, chair, table, and a mattrass, covered with filthj on which the whole family slept. The father was intoxicated, and the mother was so drunk that she could not hold her baby in her arms. The man was in receipt of £2 10s a week. After this, who will say that high wages mean prosperity ?

In Christchurch some boys have been fined 10s each for " tin-kettling" a newlymarried couple. Mr Bowen, in inflicting the fine, hoped the parents of the beys would punish him as well. The Evening Post says:—A drunken fellow, name unknown, went into the shop of Mr Beavis, in Willis-street, and took up in his arms one of Mr Beavis' children and began fondling it, finally taking it out into the street, where he stumbled, and fell right on the unfortunate child, breaking its leg in two places. He then bolted, and no traces have yet been discovered of his whereabouts.

Mr C. C. Bowen sat as Resident Magistrate on the Christchurch Bench for the last time ou Thursday, when the members of the legal profession assembled in a body, and, through Mr J. S- Duncan, President of the Law Society of Canterbury, tendered expressions of regret at Mr Bowen's retirement from the Bench, and earnest wishes for his success in his new sphere of action.

The Bay of Plenty Times says:—lt is with very great pleasure that we hear that Mr Silver, a gentleman who has been in Tauranga for some time negociating with the natives for the lease of Motuhoe Island, has succeeded in. acquiring the same. Motuhoe is an island of about 250 acres in extent, and situated opposite Rangiwaea. The lease is for 21 years. We understand that Mr Silver intends stocking it with a superior elass of sheep. We congratulate the district on this adjunct to the roll of settlers. Mr Silver, although only here a short time, has made many friends, and we heartily welcome him as a settler.

Many of our readers, and especially those on the West Coast (says the N.Z. Times) will remember the enterprising merchant and steam-tug owner referred to in the annexed paragraph, which we quote from the letter of " iEgles" in the Australasian of the 7th instant:—" Poor old Throckl Many a '52 colonist will read with a pang of regret of the death at the distant Queensland diggings of C. L. Throckmorton. Few men have had greater vicissitudes of fortune. His sanguine temperament made the experience of past reverses valueless to him. He always saw the silver lining without the cloud. I never knew him without a certain fortune just three months ahead. And sometimes he came very near. A merrier companion there could not be, and even those who suffered through his over-sanguineness could never be really angry with him. His widow has undertaken a business in Melbourne to enable her to maintain her young family, and without lowering her self-respect a considerate public may do much to aid her by according her their patronage.

According to the Auckland Evening Star, among the recent assisted importations to that city, is the " gentlemanly beggar." He is thus described :—" The iridividual in question had on a decent tweed suit, and was moderately clean and well favored in his personal appearance. When first seen he was opposite Somerville's corner, where he accosted two gentlemen who were taking a stroll. ' I beg your pardon, gentlemen, but have either of you a spare sixpence you can oblige me with ? I should be so thankful.' The tone was so respectful, the attitude so winning, and the emphasis on the word ' gentlemen' so nicely adjusted, that the desideratum was supplied, and in return for a profusion of thanks, he was begged not to trouble himßelf to think of so small a favor. The benevolent gentleman of the pair was however slightly taken aback on coming across the same apparition in Waterloo Quadrant about an hour later in the evening, and recognizing the same deprecating voice, the same reverential attitude, and almost the same words, ' I beg your pardon, sir, but can you supply me with a shilling to get a night's lodging ?' But the game was up, and it is fortunate for our gentlemanly beggar that there was no policeman within call."

The Bay of Plenty Times says:—We have every reason to believe that White Island, hitherto an almost sealed book to both Europeans and Natives, will ere long, become the basis of an industry of great importance. Dr Hochstetter includes White Island in the Lake Country. Ha defines the Hot Spring Country as commencing at the northern base of Buapehu and Tongarriro mountains, at the southern end of Lake Taupo, and thence extending in a north-easterly direction for a distance of 150 miles to White Island, The island abounds in immense deposits of sulphur, and has a large lake in the centre: fresh deposits were found on the occasion of the last trip of the steamer. It is this inexhaustible supply of sulphur which will cause the new industry. The island was purchased a few months ago by Messrs J. A. Wilson and William Kelly, M.H.R, from the representatives of the late Mr Tapsell. They leased it to Messrs Stewart and Appleby of Auckland, but owing to these parties not having ful* filled the conditions of the lease, a reentry has been made. The agent of a large and wealthy chemical firm in England of undoubted position is in treaty with Messrs Wilson and Kelly for the lease of the island, and there is no doubt whatever, that if the negociations are perfected, the firm will go into the speculation with energy and do the thing properly. Tauranga will probably be selected as the depot for the operations of the company, and the most likely spot chosen would be Monganui. The company would have a steamer running between the depot and the island, and ship the sulphur direct to London, thus saving both the time and expense of sending it to Auckland for transhipment. The benefits accruing to Tauranga from an institution of this kind are so appareht as to need no remarks. We understand that the agent will shortly visit the island for the purpose of judging of its capabilities for himself, and we hope it will answer his expectations, and that before long, the establishment of chemical works will be " uq fait accompli."