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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 84, 8 April 1875, Page 4

As an illustration of the manner in which the Stftte railways are managed, the Ballarat Starrelates the following: —•"The oiher week a tradesman in Ballarat purchased some blasting powder in Geelong. He sent half of it to the railway station for transit to Ballarat, and the remainder he gave to a waggoner to bring up. The powder entrusted to the latter arrived at its destination in four days, whilst that sent by rail took a we^k in travelling the sume distance. Besides this, the charges by rail were exactly three times as much as those by the road." Windmill power is being extensively vtli^d in New York. The American Manufacturer says that upwards of a hundred windmills of a new and improved form are now in use in private bouses near that city for pumping water, 'sawing wood, grinding, &0., and in many instances are superseding steam and other agents of motive power. The San Francisco News Letter has adopted a novel method of exposing quackery under the head of v Our Quacks;" there is a lonsr list of the names of persons of whom the pointed question is aßked — " Gentlemen, you 'call yourselves doctors; have you a diploma?" The editor announces his attention of giving a gratuitous advertisement to any one who will satisfactorily answer the question. Many of the persons whose names are published are described as travelling "around," whilst to others is appended, "Old Clo," "Ex Policeman," "Coloured," " Shoemake," "Incarcerated," and so on. The address of each person is carefully stated, and the editor avows his intention of adding to the list from time to time. At the bottom of this list are several unmerciful exposures, in which quarks are charged with forgery of diplomas. The conflict, writes the London Spectator, between the State and the Roman Catholic Cbutch in Germany seems to become more and more bitter every day. Biehop Martin, of Paderborn, has now been deprived of his see by the chief ecclesiastical tribunal ia Germany, and it is supposed that the Archbishop of Cologne will be the next to lose bis diocese. In the meuntioie, according to the Pall Mall Gazette, the: number of Catholic priests either

fined or imprisoned amounts to 1400, and the Government has even forbidden the people to pray for the imprisoned clergy, on the ground that their prayers conduce, as of course they do, to a species of political agitation. The followiog is a new phase of reporting enterprise : — During a secret seeeion of a Chicago board of commissioners, one was astonished to ccc an augur tip projecting through the carpet, and, upon examination, found that a party of reporters bad bored through from the cellar with the object of hearing what was said. A young man, named Robert Leslie, who is employed in the lithographic branch of the Government printing office left his home on Saturday afternoon with the object of sketching landscapes in the vicinity of Kaiwarra. He did not return on Saturday Dighr, and his friends became exceedingly anxious for his safety. They formed themselves into a search party yesterday morning, and during the day investigated the course of the Kaiwarra stream and the bush in the neighborhood, but the party returned to town last night without discovering any traces of the younjj man. It is thought he may have wandered into the bush, and lost his way, in which case he will doubtless be heard of during the course of to-day. — Times The Evelyn Observer (Victoria) Bays: — Among the passengers by the ill-fated Gothenburg who have perished was Commander Andrew Ross, R.N. He was a young and very enterprising naval officer, who, eager for active employment, had organised a pearl fishery expedition, of which be was manager Recently he had resigned this employment, and was expected to visit a relative who resides in this country. Commander Ross was grandson of the Polar navigator, Sir John Ross, who headed the first company for steam navgution to Australia. He was also cousin to the late Admiral Sir James Ross, the explorer of the Antartic regions. The statistical editor of the Times, Grand Islfind, Nebrapka, says :— 9O, 000^00.000,000,000,000,000,0(10,000, 000 000,000,000 grasshoppers, at leaat, passed over here yesterday. There might have beeu a few more or lets, as we did not count them very closely. During the last week (says the American Journalist, of Decemher 30) uo less than two hundred daily and wt-tkiy newspapers have suspended publication in this country alone ; and it is estimated that. 8,000 000 dole, have been hst during the year in the publication busiuess. How tnut?y of the newspapers suspended because of the failure of subscribers to promptly pay their subscriptions will never be known with any degree of certainly. That a large mi jority of them owetheir failure to this neglect is undoubtedly true, although negligence on the part of advertisers to punctually settle their bills may have much to do with the extraordinary number of suspensions. Among those marked for discontinuance at the close ol the year is Appleion's Journal, which during the five years ot its existence is said to have lost over 100,000 diils. Concrete Music. — Two or three painful incidents are reported in the American papers to have occurred lately. The other evening in Williamsville, lowa, some samples of tar pavement had been laid down in a few of the side streets. Sixteen young men, "armed with every known musical instrument," proceeded that night to serenade a young lady, in front of whose house a sample of tar pavement had, unknown lo them, been thus laid Seating themselves on the side walk, with their feet on the roadway, they played and Rang with much feeling and good taste for snme little time. On attempting, at the conclusion of their performance, to rise, they found themselves in au embarrassed and uncomfortable position. They were, in fact, glueii to the pavement, and could only regain their feet at a terrible sacrifice of their clothing. After a lengthened discussion as to what was best to be done under the circumstances, it was decided that they must free themselves at any cost. They accordingly screwed their courage up to tearing point, and with a " mighty wrench " rose from the pavement, leaving behind them almost as much of tht-ir garments aa they carried away. Another case of a some what similar character is reported from New Jersey. A gentleman huving tiied the experiment last summer of ro( fing bis bouse with the material out of which concrete pavements are made, was much annoyed by the animated discussion carried on by the cats of the neighborhood on the top of his dwelling. Finding the noise unbearable, he ascended the garret one night and looked out of the trap-door. To his horror he found no fewer than 19(3 cats Stuck fast knee-deep in the concrete, which had been softened by the heat. Some of them had been there four days. The moment they caught sight of the owner of the bouse the whole 196 doubled their spines, ruflL'd their hnir, shook their tails, and i aye one wild, unearthly yell, which so frightened him that he fell down the step ladder on the head of bis wife, who was standing below with a candle in her band. Both husband and wife were seriously, but not dangerously, injured. — JBall Mall Gazette