The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1880.

Kumara Times, Issue 1126, 8 May 1880, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1880.

The inward English mail, via. San Francisco, arrived in Greymouth this morning shortly before nine o’clock, by the steamer Grafton. The Kumara portion of the mail will arrive by this evening’s tram. There were three bags of mails but no passengers for Kumara by the Christchurch coach, which passed the Bealey early this morning. We learn that Dr. Clarke has been appointed by the Government as medical referee for the Government Life Assurance Department in this town.

The Georgia Minstrels will give their last entertainment at the Adelphi Theatre this evening, when the prices, will be reduced by one shilling to every part of the house. The programme to-night is an entirely new and novel one, and those who have not already witnessed the drolleries of these sable artists should avail themselves of this opportunity. The troupe leave for Greymouth early on Monday. The right to lease three sectiens—Nos. 17, 34, 312—in Seddon street, with the buildings thereon, will be submitted by Mr F. A, Learmonth to public competk tion oh Tuesday next, at the Public Hall, immediately after the sale of the freehold sections announced in our advertising columns.

Tenders are invited by the Clerk of the Warden’s Court for the purchase of a well-known sluicing claim and tail-race at Cape Terrace. Tenders will close at four o’clock on the afternoon of Thursday next.

■ From a notice that appears above it will- be seen that Mr Overton, of this town, has been compelled to relinquish his business as a hairdresser temporarily in consequence of bad health. A Melbourne paper publishes a cable message stating that intelligence has been received from the Cape to the effect that the perpetrator of the diamond robbery has been arrested. He is said to be one of the officials connected with the postal department.

The Queensland Telegraph Department, like our own, lias been getting into bad odour for the great delay in the transmission of telegrams. As the New Zealand department had exhausted all the stock excuses, the Queensland officials have been at their wit’s end to find something new. The “dickybirds” even had been played out by Dr. Lemon and Mr Maginnity. Necessity, however, is the mother of invention, and this is how the “ trouble ” arises in Queensland : trouble is caused to the Telegraph Department by the carelessness of youngsters in allowing their kite tails to twist round the wires, thus allowing the electric current to pass from one wire to another.” We recommend this happy thought to Dr. Lemon.

Two Malays, of the crew of the Francisco Danovaro, recently attempted at at midnight in the open sea to murder all on board, and get possession of the ship and cargo. They muredred one sailor and wounded two others, and were with difficulty overpowered. The ship reached New York, where the affair was notified ; but, the authorities declining to interfere, she is now on her way back to Genoa.

A destructive fire has occurred at Hull, in Canada, causing damage to the amount of three million dollars.

A story is told by the Home News, which would have formed a splendid incident for one of Lever’s novels :—An Irish M.P., apparently in that condition known as “ hard up,” received a letter, dated from a remote corner of his constituency and duly signed, announcing that a meeting had been held with intent to encourage him in his patriotic obstruction of the Saxon, and that a deputation had been appointed to wait upon him with resolutions. Where and when might they be received 1 The M.P., promptly taking up his pen, made an appointment for an early day, and renewing his injunction about the bailiff, gave orders that the deputation was to be admitted. With the hour came the honest voters, wearing green ribbons and brimful of loyalty. The M.P. received them In a private room, and holding out his hand to receive from the spokesman the resolutions agreed upon at the meeting of his constituents, had placed in it—a writ 1 , The meeting, the deputation, the green ribbons, and the copy of the resolutions, were all a device of an astute firm of Dublin solicitors.

In 1849 the late Prince Consort presented Professor Anderson* “the Wizard of the North,” with a superb suite of Highland chiefs ornaments, and the wizard, going abroad, took them with him. A recent visitor to Natal bought the jewels at an auction there, and has brought them back to England. The suite of ornaments, which is complete, from shoe-buckles to bonnet brooch, is of ebony, with large cairngorms, some of them of very fine quality. The inscription on the great horn is—“ Presented by Prince Albert to Professor Anderson, in testimony of the Prince’s approval of the classical arrangement of the grand fete, in conjunction with Professor Anderson’s own extraordinary magical performances, on the occasion of Prince Albert’s birthday, 28th Sept., 1849,” There are foolish people (says an American paper) who are worrying themselves about “Mother Shipton’s Prophecy.” This frequently published yam, purporting to have been written about 1448, and in it were foretold railroads, the admission to civil rights in England of the Jews, and of the end of the world in 1881. The whole poem or prophesy was written by Charles Hindley in 1862, and was a pure invention of his own, composed to insure the success of a business venture, and, after all, but one or two of the things named in it have come to pass. It was simply and ingenious aud successful fraud.

Byron’s celebrated simile of the suicidal scorpion (in the “Giaour”) was not long ago practically illustrated, if the follow* ing, sent by a friend, is correct“ A gentleman, opening a case of sugar in the London Docks, found a small scorpion ; and in order to put the fact to the test, ha placed it in the centre of a small circle of three inches in diameter, formed of cotton dipped in spirits of wine, which he ignited. The scorpion, after vainly endeavoring to escape, as soon as it felt the intense heat, turned up its tail, and darting its sting “into its desperate brain,” was dead in an instant.