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Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 38, 16 September 1867, Page 228

Adulterated Tobacco.— Among the samples of adulterated, tobacco examined at the Inland Revenue Laboratory were several containing liquorice, others fermentable sugar, and some tannic aoid, 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 itß 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 thie last thirty years..

Editorial. Courtesies.— -In a recent number of the Foixtown Fusilier appeared the following editorial note :—“ Postscript. —We stop the .press ’with ■ pleasure' to announce the decease of our contemporary, 1 Mr Sniaggs, editor'of the Eoxtown Flash. He has now gone to another and better world. ; Persons who have taken the Flash will find the Fusilier a good Stationer.

- The Mobmans - in . Peril. —Americans are, as a rule, much: ashamed of: the existence of such a sect among them, and now that the railroad is'pushing towards Utah, it is impossible for the disciples of Brigham Toung to preserve the exclusion which has : hitherto been all-important to them. Emigrants will cover the country, and the Salt Lake will no longer be a prison to all who. go there. *' Dissatisfied Mormans .will merely have to jump , into the bars, instead of running the risk of being murdered in the vain attempt to return to their former homes. More than once Oongress'has shown a disposition to “ put down” Mormonismj but; the difficulty is that it is doubtful how far Congress has the right to interefere in Territories, and Utah is a Territory. Bat Senator Howard is about.to bring the point to a .practical test. He has brought forward amendments to a bill for regulating the selection of grand and petit jurors in Utah, which, if enforced, would effectually break up the present Mormon settlement.’ Only persons lawfully appointed shall have , the power to solemnise marriages; “consecrated” or “sealed” marriages are declared illegal, and any member of the “so-called Mormon Church’’ and cohabiting with a woman under the pretence of such marriages will be liable to a fine of not more than 10,000 dollars, or less than 500 dollars, or to imprisonment of from three months to three years. Heavy penalties are also entailed upon all persons who assist at these spiritual marriages. Without polygamy Mormanism would have no charm in the eyes of its followers, and if Congress succeeds in abolishing polygamy the Mormans must seek a home in some other country. Senator Howard’s attack will cause the greatest excitement to the Mormans which they have known since their memorable flight to the Salt Lake. Correspondent of Times. ■

A Blind Professor. —ln the year 1712, in one of the Fellows* 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 well as scholars, and bn the table before them lay a small drawer of Roman coins, concerning some of which the battle waxed hot. Over one headless emperor, whose very name and date none but the initiated could guess at from the coin before them, the discussion grew especiaUy fierce. It had been purchased as a rare and matchless gem by the elder of these two collec tors, who both agreed , as to its extreme value, but differed as to its exact date. Their friend by the fire took no partin 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 fingers, he next applied, it to his tongue. This done, he quietly laid the headless Augustus down on the table, saying as he did so, “ 50 b.c. or 88 A.D., the thing isn’t worth a shilling ; I 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, “ Action ocego hum dtnheiso ,” “ the blind man has picked up a coin.” The thing that had been shown to him and detected was a clever counterfeit gbt up for the occasion of an antiquarian sale, just as Roman coins were dug up a year or two ago in making the i hames embankment.. Yet this seen judge was Nicholas Sauuderson, a blind man, who had never set eyes on a coin good, bad, or iudifferent; having lost not. only hiß eyesight, but even his very eyeballs, by the small pox in 1682, when but a twelvemonth old. He was now Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in the first University of the world, a friend of Wliiston, Halley, and Sir Isaac Newton, whose “Principia” formed, one chief subject, of his public lectures.• His whole life from boyhood had been one of striking interest, though wo can here do no more than touch on the few ’ salient -points 'which startle us iu the career of a blind man. At the Free School of Penistone, in York** shire, and with the help of a reader and such books as his father, an excisemen, could procure for him at: home, by dint of unwearied perseverance he managed' to acquire such a knowledge of the classics as to master the works of Euclid, Archimedes, Diophantus, and Newton, in their original Greek aiid Latin. This was all done before he was twenty; at'twenty-five he was a famous teacher in Cambridge ; at thirty, Lucasian Professor, M.A. by royal mandate, lecturing on the 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 Ways. * \

Soiree to the Crew oe H.M. Brisk in Sydney.— The teetotal portion of the crew of. H.M.S. Brisk were entertained at a tea meeting hut night, in the Temperance'Hall, by the No. .1. Division of the Sons of Temperance. After tea the Hon. I. B; Wilson took the chair, and -stated that they were met together 1 to welcome the total abstainers of thie'Brisk.' He was proud" to know that a teetotal society had 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 waß then gone through by the seamen, 1 who ted them selves very creditably. - Two complimentary addresses were presented [Jbf the No. 1' and No. 3 Divisions, ah(L the proceedings: then ; terminated with , thie National anthem being sung., .The hall was tastefully decorated with flags .and evergreens, and: the audience was ia numer* ous one.—Sydney Morning Herald, 9th Augusts •'

Austrian Breech-Loader —The Austrian correspondent of the Times gives ttie i following account of the new breech-Wading* rifle selected' by the Austrian Government. The arm is the invention of M. Werndl, of Steyr. Of the better known systems, it resembles the “ Peabody.” It is remarkable for its simplicity and solidity. It may .be said to consist of four pieces—the stock of beechwhich 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, oyer which the carfcridg&j is slipped into the barrel, and which opens and shuts between the barrel and the baokpiece;. and fourthly, the trigger. The manipulation of the gun is easy; there are four motions in loading. After discharge, the thumb is pressed against a flat nob, projecting on the left side of . the gun, and the lock thrown open. 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 breeoh locked, and the gun is then cocked. The gun may. also be cooked by a first motion immediately after discharge. It is possible to fire twenty-four rounds in a minute. At 1200 yards, a bullet from the “ Werndl ” will penetrate four inchea of deal board.

Total Destruction by Fire of the North Wagga Wagga Flour Mill.— Between 2 and 3 o’clock on Thursday morning, a fire, resulting in the destruction of between five and six thousand pounds worth of property, was discovered to be raging in Mr Chapman’s flour mill at North Wagga Wagga. The fire 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 either 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 ereoted about three years since at a cost of £3500. ' Several men of small means have lost the whole of their wheat crop, and will in consequence be put to sad straits during the coming summer; • . . . In the case of this mill the danger of delay in effecting an insurance has been most forcibly exemplified. The policy whs applied for in June last, the risk was accepted by the insurance company, t and nothing remained but for the owner of the property, to sign the policy, which has , actually been lying with the agent, Mr Heath, fot* the last threeweeks. Had the signature \>een attached, £2OOO would hare been saved;' but this simple matter was put off until too late, .and the loss has now to 'be borne as best it may. The lesson is, a severe one, but its effect will not be lost upon others who are now voluntarily incurring similar risks.—Wagga Wagga Express.

Whiskers in the Navy.— The following circular, under date Admiralty, May 15, 1867, has been posted at the several Royal Dockyards in the kingdom :—“ Sir, —I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you that they desire to draw the attention of commanders-in-chief and senior officers to a custom which appears to be somewhat prevalent in the fleet,, of officers wearing whiskers of such inordinate size and lengtb as. to. resemble beards, which,latter are prohibited by the printed instructions. The regulations of the naval service require that such irregular habits should be.prevented, and that" officers should be permitted only to wear the same length of whiskers as the seamen and marines, under their divisional am, Sir, &c., Henry G. Lennox.” On this the. .United Service. Gazette, remarks;— “We 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 im.comlnensurate amount of evil in betraying what utterly helpless tools Lords of the Admiralty ..are in the hands of. their subordinates. Some crotchsty officer At one ol our stations (we need not: name which) cannot grow a decent, pair., of whiskers, : or when they come, if he . can' grow ; them, they are grey, or green, or any other color than the fashionable foxy. 1 n 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 comes this order, hastily signed by an overpressed man, who hardly took a, minute to think of it before he signed it.* We trust the order will be allowed to die a natural death. Meanwhile, we should be glad to see that their lordships' fix a ■ minimum as well as a maximum of, hair. Surely if officers take a pride, in those ridiculous ex-' aggerations how worn,.it. is scarcely Tworth while to make a law about it.”

, Discovery of Capernaum. —Mr Keith Johnston and other‘gentlemen engaged in the exploration of Palestine recently made an important discovery.' At Mr Johnston’s who b'ehevebf tftatTeU Hum is the triie site of ancieht.Capenaaum, they" dug 'into the mould, hoping to find, the remains of the synagogue there* popularly; called the “White Temple,” and, aocording to, letters just 1 received, were ‘ rewarded with complete success,' finding/the supposed building -nearly ' or quite entire Should these tidings prove correct, the explorers have found the onlybuilding in which the Saviour actually was,'w[heh on earth wlush caube identified at this day.

The Prince /of Wales’s Double. —We notice the following in the Home Journal:—“A gentleman,well-known in London literary .circles, and who bears a very strong resemblance to the Prince of Wales, often receives marked attention, on account, of the likeness. He recently visited a second-rate London Theatre, and, as he through the door, he was stared at‘,by the box-keeper, who left him to rush off in quest of the manager. He had scarcely purchased his seat ere an official, with: a CotiplS of lighted candles, conducted him to the only private box in the house. Of course he was much- pleased with the attention; but one thing surprised him excessivefy-’-every time. the . curtain fell, the band, would insist upon atriking.up a very mild version of ‘ God bless the Prince of Wales.’ It is understood that, upon the strength of this visit; the theatre bias assumed the title of RoyaL”

Death of a Wealthy old MTavn, —An old woman has just died at Fumay, in the 'Ardennes, who was the very type of .avarice. She lived very miserably, halfstarved herself and went about in rags. A few days before she died she sold the sheets from her bed on the plea that she wanted to buy bread. At her death, after Borne minute researches, the sum of no less than 60,000 f. in gold and silver was found and carefully concealed in the cellar which belonged to her. apartment. In another part of lodging were two chests, both full, of gold. They were so heavy that the Justice.of Peace and his assistant could not lift them. This miserly woman has left a very extraordinary will. She has bequeathed a . sum of 2Q,000f. to the woman who did her household work, although a few days ago she .refused the small addition of one franc a month to her wages, •.

A Woman Devoured by a Tigeb.— A correspondent of the Shanghai Recorder gives the following account of an attack made bjr a tiger upon a Chinawoman, who was sleeping in', a mat cottage, at Chinkiang:—“ For a long time it has been stated by the natives that a' kind of tiger, termed the : * dogheaded,’ existed . on. the hills at Chinkiang, 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, 1 however, has at length been settled without doubt, for : on the morning of instant, there might have been seen, within, fifty yards of a foreign hong, the remains of a poor woman who had been kiUed and eaten during the previous night—a thigh bone (fractured) and a pbol of blood testifying to the strength, and ferocity of the wild animal. It appears -from a boy|s statement, that he was asleep with his mother in 'a mat cottage when he was awakened by an . immense animal,, with a head like a, dog, dashing in and seizing his mother, who uttered b&t one cry. Tho 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 variouspersons who had. heard , the report and 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 w.aa unheard of and unseen before the; Taeping Rebellion.”

, The Coal Trade of Great Britain. —The Amount Raised in 1865. It we take the area of Lincoln's Inn Fields,” 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 hss done in the seams, the British coal raised last year would form, on that base, a solid block of the height of 4229' feet, or as: high as Sndwdonjsurmbunted by another - mountain’ of half -its height. Again; taking .the distance from London to. Edinburgh, four hundred miles,the ’ same quantity, simfiary packed, would build' a wallthe whole way of twelve feet thick and > ninety-nine feet high, whilst if. put together in the broken state in which coal; is commonly-used, it would give a wall o£ more than double that thickness. This yearly production, obtained by the labor of- 240,000 men; is palbably a gigantic, effort for so small an area as . that of our united coal fields, and naturally excites apprehension for the future.”

Narrow Escape from Drowning;— On some teams going to Cooma with load- 1 ing, had to camp on the'Gundarob side’of the Molonglo on account of the swollen state .of its waters, and there remain until the flood. Bhould'sufficiently abate to admit of crossing- . Requiring rations, some time in'the afternoon a lad. named Polock accompanying the teams, mounted a horse with the intention of crossing the river, and coming into Queanbeyan to procure' sothe. When he gbt, into the river on the horse, it appears the ’ current was ./too strong,, and had the effect of washing the lad. from the animal, owing to its suddenly going under the water, and the . lad was carried rapidly down the stream;; fortunately,'assistance /was close at hand, and some men 1 seeing the extreme danger the lad was in,’ran with a rope and threw it out to hinv'who had, by this, time been washed ,a good distance down the stream ; he succeeded in catching fiold of it, and by its meanswas hauled to. the bank. - -He was thus savedfrom a watery grave, which without- such-assistance, would, undoubtedly, have been the result. —Queanbeyan 'Age, Ist August; ; : ■ Mb. James Gordon jun., of the New York ( intends, it is . said, to bring out & daily paper in London or b long.- ‘ " v •