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Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 134, 14 May 1883, Page 2

As a new peril for London pedestrians, it is now stated that the telegraph wires which are carried over the tops of houses m London streets have lately increased m number to such an extent that it is con* sidered high time thnt some supervision should be exercised over their general construction and arrangement. A strong gale of. wind may; any , day bring •; down a , number o£ these wives, together with the tovrers and chimneys to which they are fttached'; It is well to rem ember that a snapped wire would out a man's head off. This beirfg the case, people walk about the streets m more imminent peril of their lives than if they were m the midst' of the Atlantic. Some of the principal streets m the City of London have over athousand 'different wires running over, head from house to house. On the euthority of " General " Booth himself (says Town and Country) we are told that the Salvation Army has ac-: quired more property m 1882 than m the previous 17 years m its history. The " common people," ie is said, contribute at the rate of £88,700 a year. What the uncommon people give is not stated. We see that £13,679 is set down as the out* lay for the " general spiritual fund," but "then " general "is with a small g. Altogether, this so-called army seemato be an organisation not only for saving souls but also for saving mcney. The marvellous offering of flqwers a memorials of regard and respect for the late M. Gatnbetta, on the occasion of his funeral, was the subject of universal and inevitable comment at the time. A writer m the " Figaro " now makes the statement that the floral crosses piled round the coffin m the Palais Bourbon, where the body lay m state, were trorth over twenty thousand pounds, there having been more than four thousand of them, and the smallest having pretty certainly cost not less than two pounds. • Uoldaheaded English observers say that their country is about to enter npon a long era of great prosperity.