Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 504, 2 September 1857, Page 5

Miscellaneous.

SOCIAL STATISTICS

There are living in a certain boarding-house three maiden ladies, who, are known to have resided there for nearly thirty years ; yet those united ages, as privately confessed in recent conversation, amount to only 59. Thirteen married gentlemen, who, within the last week or so, have been convicted of having smoked in their own dining-rooms, have been severely fined a new bonnet, and in default, have been committed to hard labour of taking out their wiveß for an afternoon's shopping. Out of a hundred bonnets that were sold last week, it has been ascertained that more than ninety were supplied to ladies who had gone in just to choose a bit of ribbon. In a lodging-house lately, half a quarter of lamb, pretty nearly two-thirds of a 20lb. ham, two packages of chocolate, a pot of Dundee marmalade, the remains of a large pigeon-pie which had had one slice cut out of it, a easeful of Manillas, thirteen lumps of sugar, half a canister of coffee, and almost the whole of a bottle of French brandy, were dicovered (by the landlady) to have been consumed by the cat. — "Punch.

Hitherto, says the Star, it has been customary to speak of Lord Palmerston as an individual on whom the passage of years could make no impression ; but that can be said no longer. During the recess, he has all at once become very—very old. He has lost his jaunty air and vivacious manner; his limbs shake under him; and the whiskers that but recently were of a dark brown colour, are now suffered to exhibit that peculiar hue which naturally belongs to old age. Among the numerous incidents that have occurred during the few days.the House of Commons has been swearing in the members, one happened the other day that was very near resulting in an unpleasant detention of the Speaker in his chair for an indefinite period. The swearing in of the members was pretty brisk in the early part of the day; but as it drew near four o'clock, the groups that came up to take the oaths and subscribe-the Parliamentary roll became " small by degrees and beautifully less,', until the last one only numbered three. As they were introduced to Mr. Speaker, they passed round by the back of his chair and left the House. The last one who was presented was Mr. W. H. !F. Hume, the member for Wicklow, and after the formal introduction was over, he stayed chatting with the Speaker for about three minutes, and was about leaving the House, when Sir Denis Le Marchant called the Speaker's attention to the fact that there was not another member present to move the adjournment of the House. Mr. Hume was accordingly requested to return and do that kind office for the Speaker, or he would have been unable to leave the chair until some honourable member could be procured to release him. Mr. Hume at once returned, and, taking his stand at the treasury benches, said, " Mr. Speaker, I move that this House do now adjourn." There being no member present to move an amendment on this motion, it was carried, and the mover and the Speaker retired. Geeat Intention. —A new umbrella has been manufactured in Connecticut, called the "lending umbrella." It is made of brown paper and willow twigs, intended exclusively to accommodate a friend.

This Wellington Emigration Fund.— We find the following statement in the English Correspondence of the ' Sydney Morning Herald.' It is the first intimation that we have received of the occurrence, and scarcely comes with authority :—

" The first party of immigrants sent out by the Wellington Emigration Fund sailed from Gravesend on the 15th April instant, in the Essex, bound for Wellington, New Zealand."

TheiVew "York Times states one cause of New York ships arriving at Liverpool with mutinous crews and tyrannical officers : the ships are manned at New York by means of a villanous system of kidnapping, and men unexpectedly find themselves at sea when they awaken from sleep caused by drugged liquor, and are compelled by harshest treatment to do duty as seamen.