Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, AUG. 4, 1898.

Manawatu Herald, 4 August 1898, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, AUG. 4, 1898.

A few of the strange signs seen in Ninth Avenue (New York) shop windows: — "Frog's legs just in." " Clocks attended by the week, month or year." Fancy spring lambs," " Your pants pressed while you wait," " Chicken's livers here," " Private letter-boxes to rent," " White Leghorn eggs."

The •' Times," commenting on the death of Prince Bismarck, says the greatest personality in Europe has been removed. All the British, Continental and American newspapers recognise his consummate statesmanship.

During the last few months the property known as Riverslea says the Otaki " Mail " has been undergoing vast improvements at the hands of its enterprising proprietor, Mr F. J. Ryder, who has leased the whole block (some 90 acres odd) to a Chinaman, for gardening purposes. A comfortable five-roomed dwelling house, two stables and two storerooms have been erected on the property, and stumping, draining, and ploughing operations have been entered into extensively. At the present time there are 60 acres ploughed and ready for cropping, while the remainder will be made ready for next year. The soil is really splendid and ! should give very satisfactory returns. We understand that the lessee took charge yesterday, and in a short time will have some 15 or 16 hands employed on the place. The Manawatu " Times " says, Mr W. Just has left us a sample of cotton grown at his nursery in College-street. The pod is precisely similar to that grown in America, and the sample appears to show that the country is suitable for the production of the cotton plant. Nearly 30 years ago some bishops or archbishops belonging to the Greek church came to stay at Hawarden; they were handsome and dignified men but they brought no luggage with them, and never changed their garments. Herbert Gladstone, then a mere boy, was made a good deal of by the Eastern ecclesiastics. After they had blessed him and stroked his hair one day he crept up to his father and asked, "Is the reason why they have to use incense in the Greek Church because they never wash ?" Owing to M. Zola's suspension from the Legion of Honour, M. Barbier, •dramatist, and several other litterateurs have resigned their Grand Crosses. One hundred and twenty members of the House of Commony have petitioned the Government to introduce legislation next year in fulfilment of the pledges to provide to scheme of old age pensions. The Cuban lady is a very fascinating creature, says Mr Richard Davey in the " Fortnightly." She is elegant, walks gracefully, has pretty featuren, beautiful eyes, admirable teeth, and splendid hair, but spoils herself by her insane fashion of coating face, neck, shoulders, and arms with rice-powder to such a thickness as to give her a most ghastly appearance, not unlike that of a Pierrette. Coquettish as a young girl, she is generally both devoted and blameless as a wife and mother. On the other hand, she is capable, on provocation, of displaying fiendishly vindictive and cruel traits, a fact only too well known by many a poor ex-slave. The leader of a small French expedition to Sokoto, West Africa, under Captain Casse-Maajou, has been massacred, as well as six Senegalese. According to the North China Herald of May 30 the Russians seems to have come to the conclusion that Port Arthur and Talienwan are not such a catch after all. Port Arthur will only hold about seven ships, and when then they are once in there they are like rats in a trap, and can only come out one by one. As a foreign admiral is reported to have observed, it is a beautiful place to blockade. Talienwan is an open bay some six miles wide and six deep, and open to all easterly winds. If Talienwan is to be, as it appears, the terminus of the Russian Trans-Siberian railway a good and safe harbour must be made there, and probably one of the smaller bays will be chosen for this purpose. "If a man when drunk tumbles against a window and breaks it that is no criminal offence, and I cannot punish him for it," said Mr Kenny, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court this morning. And then he added — " You will have some difficulty in proving that such damage is malicious, and if you cannot do so it is no use bringing these cases before the Court." Accordingly, a charge against a man who, while drunk, had fallen through a large pane of glass in Willis-street was dismissed. — " Post." Arrangements have been made for the Rev. F. Isitt to address a public meeting here on Prohibition, the date when fixed will be published. A series of volcanic eruptions has occurred at the New Hebrides, but no damage of consequence has resulted. The volcanoes on the islands of Ambrym and Tanna are still very active. The Pope has urged the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Scotland to use greater exertions to convert Scotland. It is reported that a syndicate is making arrangements to purchase the Egyptian railways for £25,000,000 sterling. Mr T. Easton hands over the Church of England Sunday School completed, to-day.

In the Supreme Court yesterday the case of Roberts versus FitzGerald was decided. This was a case where Olive Roberts, an infant, by her mother as next friend, against W. C. FitzGerald, chemist and druggist, a public vaccinator, in which £600 damages were claimd for alleged unskilful and negligent performance of the operation of vaccination. The jury after twenty minutes retirement declared that, " We are unanimous in our finding ; we find for tie defendant." Prince Bismarck has left the following epitaph to be placed on a memorial stonj over his graye — "A faithful servant of the Emperor William I." Tiiis morning two lads named Gilbert Small and James Coley appeared on summons before Messrs Thynne and Fraser, J's P., on the charge of fighting in a public street on Saturday night. They both pleaded guilty, and from the evidence of L. Furrie it appeared that a younger brother of Coley's had been calling out something to Small which annoyed him, when James Coley told Small that if he hit his brother he would hit him. Small then asked if he wanted to fight, and the battle began. They were fined five shillings each, and the costs were nine shillings each. They neither professed regret at their conduct. John Walls, for permitting his chimney to catch fire, was fined five shillings and seven shillings costs.