BURIAL ON THE BANK OF THE CONGO.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 401, 17 October 1884, Page 6

BURIAL ON THE BANK OF THE CONGO.

The body of the dead man has been, previously smoked and dried over a slow fire, so tnat the flesh, except upon the hands, 1 shrunk reduced a leathery covering round the gaunt bones. The face had been gaudily painted with scarlet, yellow and white pigments, and the whole body was encrusted with the red dye of the camwood tree. Round the noße and mouth was wrapped, a band of cloth, and gay-patterned cottons swathed the body. For some reason tiie hands were quite plump and well covered with flesh, as if in life. The dead man had been placed in bis grave in a sitting poßture, many layers of native cloth lying; under him, and ready to cover him up on the top were piles of cotton stuffs received in trade from. the far off coast, and representing to these natives a considerable amount of wealth. ■ In the vague, half-determined notions which tha people here have conceived as to a future; existence, everything in the spirit world .issupposed to be a pale copy of things existing on the earth, so that for this reason they pat cloth, vessels of pottery, and, ia the case o£a chief, dead slaves into the grave, in order that the deceased, on. arriving in the Land d£ Shades, may not appear unprovided with the necessary means of making a fresh start in, a new life. The grave in which this man had been buried had been dug in a hut, 'and tfie head of the corpse was not more thaiFiwo feet below the surface. — Extract frbm' a? a Congo letter. . : : : ,^v/mA

In the discussion on the Government Irzflarance Association Bill, Mr Cowan supported it, staling that the institution had'bnJy existed since 186y, and yet already' there were L 1,000,000 of accumulated funds. .. The, aim of Government was apparently only to popularise the insurance, business" by the .px'esent bill. Theouly jkrtof the'billhebbject^to l wa3 the extension of business outside -the limits of the colony. Until the accrued funds were double their present amount he did not think that was safe. . ' '' iU During the debate in the committee of fee House on the Loo.al Courts Bill the Premier stated there waa an instance on ; re.cs>rd!pf a certain Re.side.ut Magistrate haying once- fined himself £5 for drunkenness. We C'EreiiiDg Post 1 ) believe that jthis remarkable occurrence happened in- a certain town i» tbisUslSnd souie 25 years ago, when fch.e official in. question was also at thft time a member of,, Upper Housw* .w At the, banquet given in honour of the' jLlnternatfoflal Medical Congress at Copenhagen, the other day a curious custom was obseiied. The dinner was laid on 42 tables. -, Before every course a large bell was rung, and at the moment in marched iGS servants, four to 'each table, each wearing the number ofhis^table and carrying a dish. When every one of ;the little army had reached his table;, a halt ? w»s made; then, the bell sounded again, aadllitamediatejy the waiter* served the guests." J The « Prairie Farmer' (Chicago) states an offer has been made to Australia to contribute to the European supply ©f oleomargarine. Holland houses "write that confidence in the American article' had been shaken'; aDd. that, knowing thM Australia is celebrated for meat of fine quality, and that: too taack fat is put up with the preserved meats,- they would suggest that margarine factories should be started in the colonies. ' .' ' ' '' " There was a warm debate in" the House on Tuesday afternoon on the third reading of the District Railways Bill. Accusations of jobbery were fvtjeiy exchanges. Mr :Rolleston declared. \\\9,% it was a job on theWfe of the Government. Mr Stout rejoined /that, if s^, Government of which the -hon. member for Geraldine was a member in 1 879 I proposed an even greater job. in regard t©> the same railways. M.r_ Thomson, of Clutha. who also strongly opposed tfcw bill,""' was fiercely attacked by Mr Seudon,wli6draggedup the C^tJina, Kiv,er "contract to the 1 hon- memI her's aetriment, and also accused him of j having taken steps to get the motion fot j the appointment of a committee of inqniiy ! expunged trom the order paper. Mr Thorni son explained that he knew nothing of the: contract being let until he was. told it had been done. The Speaker aw* Mr Holmes, both absolved him from. t&& other chaifce m regard to the mqt^ t hereupon Mr Seddoa • withdrew hjft accusation, and the hon.-mem> tow.^aw Oftt 9^ the, embrogUowith'fiyiDS j colons, Mr Brycg objected against charges j of this kind beimj introduced into debate, I and tn qtioguQ. style- of argument which has 1 lately bsejft adopted in the House,. Sir ; JuU\\sY(fgel replied on the debate, and a division was taking on the third reading, f having been called for by Mr J. W* Thomson. The result was a large majority in favor of the bill, the numbers being— ayes, 40 ; noes, 21. An aged -woman named Elizabeth Jenkins, livwg alone at Gap. road, near Winton r , v?as burned to death on Tuesday. A man named Henyy Howe* was received! into the Dunedin Hospital last Tuesday evening, from. Tapanui, suffering from a f ra.c,t<u.red thigh caused by his horse bolting. Sir Stafford Nojthcote and Lord'Kandolph Churchi'3, who are prominent members o£ the Conservative party, have_ bad an uncomfortable, experienoa at Birmingham* It had been arranged that they should address a Conservative demonstration' in that town, but the Liberals gathered in force to prevent it, and a riot ensued. Sir Stafford and Lord Randolph narrowly escaped being roughly handled by. the mob. Easily proven.— lt is easily proven that malarial fevers, constipation, torpiditjrof the liver and kidneys, general debility, nervousness, and neuralgic ailments yield readily to this great disease conqueror, Hop Bitters. It repairs the ravages of disease by converting the food into rich blood, and 'it gives new life and vigor to the aged arid 'infirm always, See,