The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1879.

Kumara Times, Issue 900, 19 August 1879, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1879.

Some dastardly thief broke into Mr Blake's workshop at the bridge on Sunday evening last, and purloined the box in which subscriptions to the local Hospital have been contributed by persons availing themselves of the bridge when crossing the river. The box was subsequently found in close proximity to the bridge, and it was evident from its appearance that the thief had used a stone for the purpose of breaking up the box to obtain the contents. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Hospital Committee will be held at the Secretary's office, Main street, this evening. The farewell banquet tendered to Mr Cornfoot by his numerous friends, which was porsponed in consequence, of his indisposition, .will take place this evening, and from the high esteem in which Mr Cornfoot is held as a citizen there will doubtless be many present to wish him " God speed," previous to his departure. We understand that a complimentary beneGt will shortly be tendered Mrs Williams, in recognition of her valuable and voluntary services as pianist on every occasion in which an entertainment has been given in this town, for charitable or other purposes. The writs for the election of two members to represent the Grey Valley in Parliament will be found in another column. The nomination will take place at the Court House, Greymouth, at noon on Tuesday, 25th inst, and the poll (if necessary) on Friday, sth September. Through a line being dropped in the report of "Private Progressive Works," which appeared in our issue of last evening, the simile intended to be conveyed between " pug" and bakers dough was to a certain extent marred. The words '' a light weight when placed on the dough is being kneaded," should have read "a light weight when placed on the dough in a baksrs trough will rise and fall while the dough is being kneaded." We are requested to state that Mr Peters of Dillman's Town has a few tickets remaining in Tonic's Sweep on the Metropolitan, and as the drawing will take place shortly those wishing to secure an interest therein must apply at once. The Tnangahua Times says :—We have it on reliable authority at Wellington that Mr Blair's report was dictated by Mr Macandrew, Minister of Public Works, and the estimate of the amount recommended by it to be expended upon Greymouth Harbor was framed in the District Engineer's office, at Hokitika, and this without any inquiry by the Government as to the design of the work on which the money was to be expended. A gentleman who buys largely for the French cavalry maintains that it frets a horse terribly to be groomed when brought in hot and dripping with sweat, and that he should be permitted to eat his ration in quietness. Instead of rubbing down, he suggests a covering of straw, kept on with a light blanket. This dries the coat without annoyance, and "leaves the animal twice as fresh as when subjected to the English process." " Gentlemen of the jury," said a Tuscarora lawyer, "what kind of swearing has been done in this case ? Here we have a physician—a man who", from his high and noble calling, should be regarded as one who would scorn to stain his soul with perjury, or be guilty of given utterance to an untruth ; but what did he testify, gentlemen? I put the question to him plainly, as you all heard, ' Where was this man stabbed V And what was his reply ? Unblushingly, his features as cool as though cut from marble, he replied that the man was stabbed about an inch and a half to the left of the medial line, and about an inch above the diaphragm, and yet we have proved by tliree witnesses that he was stabbed just below the Young America Hoisting Works." The way of trangreasors must be very hard indeed in the Old Country, when religious effort is so widespread as is evidenced in the following paragraph : !' A letter appears in the London Times, under the heading, ' The Tract Nuisance' : 'The birth of a child having bsen announced in the Times of Monday last, my wife receives this morning the accompanying tract—' Heaven or Hell.' If the wellmeaning people who send their anonymous communications would consider the physical and mental mischief which their illtimed interference is likely to produce, they surely would desist. Under any

circumstances, the public certainly have a right to announce a birth or a death in your columns without being subject to annoyance.'" So poor married men have the best of it after all. The result at which Dr Bertillon, a well-know French philosopher, has arrived, after a careful and patient study of the mortality tables of every country in Europe, is that marriage is, without exception favourable to the prolongation of existence. He has recently published a long and valuable essay, in which he proves by statistics that marriage is conducive to longevity, and is therefore, an insurance against crime, disease, and suicide. He arrives at the conclusion that a bachelor of twenty-five is not a better life than a married man of fortyfive. He contends that celibacy a a certain period of life ages a man at least twenty years, and a state of widowhood in men even more than that. We clip the following specimen of the amenities on debate in the New South Wales Legislature from a Sydney paper : —Mr O'Connor interrupted Mr Lucas to say that it was easy to see that Mr Lucas didn't do much work—he was so fat. On this Mr Lucas, with rather more animation than he usually exhibits, turned round upon Mr O'Connor and said that was a nice remark for a member to make who was a pig butcher. The hon member, he said, was always talking about pigs ; it was pigs everywhere with the hon member —pigs in the House, pigs out of the House, pigs hanging up outside his house; in fact the man was pig from head to foot. This little encounter caused some laughter, and appeared to be keenly enjoyed by Mr M'Elhone.