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Kumara Times, Issue 1099, 8 April 1880, Page 2

There was a very heavy fresh in the Teremakau river this morning and doubtless owing to the same cause in the rivers on this side of the Bealey the Christchurch coach, which was due yesterday afternoon, had not arrived at the time of our going to press.

Tenders are' invited by the General Government, through the District Engineer, for making a deviation on the Christchurch road between the forty-fifth and forty-eighth mile posts ; full particulars of which appear in our advertising colunis.

The great clearing sale of D. Davidson and Co. is announced as continuing one month longer ; when, as the firm have determined on leaving the Coast, the premises and remaining stock will be submitted to public auction.

The Albion Company's ship Timaru has made the fastest passage from Otago to London on record. She left Port Chalmers on the 6th of January, and reached London on March 14th, making the passage from anchor to anchor in 63 days. Two hundred lives were lost by the hurricane at St. Kitts, the West Indies, on the night of the 11th of January. A monster waterspout burst on Monkey and Canada Hills, and the water rushed in a huge column through the town, sweeping houses and other property into the sea. The destruction of property was fearful.

An inebriate retreat established in Adelaide a year or two ago has not been an unmixed success. The receipts last year were £BOO less than the expenditure, and although a certain number of drunkards had been kept sober for a limited period, the return under the head of decided cures is very meagre.

Earl Beaconsfield, Gladstone, Bismark, Emperor William, Gortschakoff, and the Emperor Alexander are in failing health, and all, except Bismark and Alexander, are over 70 years of age. The budgets of European nations form an interesting topic. The increase in national expenditure during the last twenty years is stupendous. France stands first with an expenditure of £119,000,000, Russia comes next with £107,000,000. Every nation, with the exception of our own and Holland, has during the past twenty years increased its national debt. France being the heaviest debtor. During that time our bugbear, Russia, has increased its debt, from £208,000,000 to £G00,000,000. The company formed some time ago for providing Russia with a volunteer fleet, are about to start a regular line of steamers for the carriage of goods and passen. gers between the ports of Russia in Europe, China, Japan, and the Russian ports in the North Pacific.

Ladies will wear waistcoats precisely like the gentlemen's this winter. This will cause fearful trouble. For instance

when a married man goes to bed lie will have to put a chalk mark on his waistcoat, or next morning he may slip on his wife's and not discover his mistake until he inserts his thumb and forefinger into his right hand pocket for that " half-crown," and finds a bent hair-pin oi-a dress button. Theiij no doubt, he will • suddenly remember there was a sovereign in the left-hand pocket of his waistcoat, and a five-pound note in his watch-pocket, and then'yoii will see him "do" a mile in about one miuute fifty seconds.