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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 202, 24 September 1878, Page 2

In a speech at the railway banquet at Dunedin, Mr llobin mentioned that the New Zealand Timber and Wood ware Factory Company at present employ over one thousand workpeople, and pay about £2500 weekly in wages, while they have about twenty vessels carrying their goods to and fro,

John B. Davis; brother bi Senator Davis; of West Virginia, has ioo acres in tomatoes on his farm near Richmond, Virginia, the biggest field iu the United States.

According to the I"Te\y York Tribune, Mr Loring Pickering; an editor and newspaper proprietor in San Francisco, lias obtained a patent for a " machine to telegraph a page at once." It is stated that an entire page of a newspaper may be transmitted in from fifteen to thirty minutes, the copy delivered being ready for use for printers.

A Richmond, Mo., sow recently came to her master's place from the woods with three youug coons among her pigs, which she nursed as if her own.

Albert Mellen, who recently died r.i Dallas, Texas, cut off his left hand in 1864, while prisouer of the Union troops at Viclcsburg, rather than w,ork On the fortifications under h negro guard.

It is said that the Porte will shortly appeal to all leading foreign capitalists for aid in developing the resources of Turkey. Captain Burnaby, the hero of the ride to Khiva, will run for Parliament as Conservative candidate at Birmingham. The fortune of the late King of Hanover, which will be '•' administered" by the German Government, is estimated at £4,000,000. General Todleben, the commander of the Russian forces, and Lord Napier, the prospective commander of the British, look enough alike to be called twins. Thi3 resemblance might cause confusion iu case of a war.

Count von Moltke has received several threatening letters lately, stating that if he dared to make such another speech as his last he would be shot;

A very unusual case was tried before Judge Ward, at Tfmarii, lately. Charles Frederick Sheridan pleaded guilty to making a false declaration before the' Registrar atTimaru, for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of marriage. Prisoner's counsel pleaded that prisoner was an American, and did not understand the laws of Hew Zealand, as he had only come here recently! Prisoner's wife's father was satisfied with the match his daughter had made, and it would be a great injury to the young bride if the accused were to be imprisoned. The Judge said he considered the ends of justice would be met by imposing a fine. As Mrs Sheridan's father had been brought from Auckland to give evidence, and the expenses of the Crown were large, he would make the fine sufficient to recoup the Government for undertaking the prosecution. Defendant was fined £30.

The Napier '] '<•/«;., raph says:— "lt is now palpable that the members of the Grey Ministry are thoroughly divided and have no fixed principles. It is like a rope of sand, and is bound to give way. The Ministry is divideed into three parties. There are Sir George Grey and Mr Sheehan worlciug together} Mr Ballance iind Colonel Whituiore, and possibly Mr Fisher, and there are agaiu Mr Stout and Mr Maeandrew. They were obliged to withdraw their Licensing Biil owing to quarrels in the Cabinet, and for a similar cause even the Education Act cannot be amended."

In the discussion on the question of convicted criminals being disqualified for life from exercising political privileges, as suggested by the member for Gevaldine, an interesting episode iu our history cropped up quite inadvertently. Sir George Grey said that when he drafted the New Zealand constitution, in the draft, criminals were debarred from the privilege of beiug allowed to become electors — but when the draft was returned to him Mr Gladstone had added the words unless they had been pardoned or suffered the punishment awarded them. " I was very angry then," the Premier said, "but now I know that Mr Gladstone was right aud I was wrong "—Aew Zeulamier. The " Loafer in tbe street" professes to have received the followiug letter from a correspondent :-" Sir,— Do you not think that tbe visit of the Australian Cricket team to San Francisco would afford New Zealand an opportunity of meeting them on neutral ground and with even numbers ? Tor instance we could put iuto the field an eleven of played out Premiers, as follows : —Atkinson, Domett, FitzGerald, Fox, Grey, Polleu, Stafford, Vogel, Waterhouse, Weld, Whitaker. Many of these are already in Europe, and if the remainder were sent to meet them at San Francisco, at the public expense, accompanied by Mr Speaker Fitzherbert as umpire, the field of politics would be considerably cleared for a time. If you approve of the suggestion, telegraph to the New Zealand agent to get a wicket prepared."

The New Yorkers have added a new misery to human life. Their high level railway is said to be a success. This atrocious contrivance is a railway laid upon iron pillars 20ft high, cemented by girders, and driven in upon the track of the tramway cars/ The passengers, therefore, are on a level with the upper windows in the streets, and the train, which moves at 15 miles an hour, rushes past the upper floors at intervals of ten minutes. As the contrivance costs only 100,000dolsa mile and carries passengers profitably at a half-penny a mile, it is sure to supersede tunnel railways in great cities, and to be the most effectual of all contrivances for destroying the small remains of peace. The passengers ascend and descend by spiral iron staircases, fixed at the principal ports of traffic.

Rabbiting (says the Dunedin Herald) has now become a permanent industry on many stations, especially on the Southland runs. The men who have joined the noble army of rabbiters, are of the most nondescript class. In some cases, ex-gamekeepers and poachers, whose sight was early trained to the use of the gun, are to be found; whilst on the other hand,"men are to be seen who, until recently, never saw a white tail gleam amongst the bushes. The dogs to be found rabbiting are almost as nondescript as the owners. Good hounds there are to be found at work certainly, but the majority are mongrels. It is astonishing how soon the dogs, no matter how ill-bred, take to the work, and develope into good hunters.

Some years ago an experiment was carried out at New Tivoli, Paris, in the presence of upwards of 200 people, to ascertain the degree of heat it is possible for a man to endure. A large dome shaped oven was heated by a very powerful fire for four hours. At ten minutes past eight a Spaniard of Andalusia, named Martinez, aged 43, went into this oven, wearing large pantaloons of red flannel — a had conductor of heat, — a thick cloak of the same material, and a broad brimmed quilted felt hat. Therein he remained, seated on a footstool, fourteen minutes exposed to the heat of from 40 to 50 deg. of the metallic thermometer, the gradation of which only ascended to 50 deg. He sang a Spanish song while a fowl roasted by his side. On coining out of the oven, his pulse beat 134 pulsations per minute; before entering it beat 72. In the second experiment he ate the fowl when it was sufficiently roasted, and drank a bottle of wine to the spectators. On coming out from his longer stay in the even his pulse beat 175, and the thermometer indicated a heat of 110 degs. of Reaumer. Immediately after, for a third experiment, he was stretched on a plank surrounded with lighted candles and thrust in the oven, the door of which was closed. He was there nearly five minutes, when there was a cry of" Enough enough take him out." On opening the oven doors a noxious and suffocating vapour had filled the oven, and the candles were all melted away. The Spaniard, whose pulse beat 200, immediately precipitated himself into a cold bath and in ii few minutes appeared smiling, and apparently safe ancl sound, befoie the audience,

The oldest woman in the world is Mary Bentou, xftio Jivos at Elton, Durham, England. She •taras borti ift 1731.

Bishop Verolles, the oldest French Missipnary iu China; has ju3t died, after 40 years of Easifern set-vice. Tlie Western Union Telegraph Company has been sued for £2500 damages by J. A. Connor, of Corinth, Mass, because of a failure to deliver a "telegram two days after it reached the office, so that Mr Connor could not reach his sister at Bethel, Tenn., before she died.

Some one discussing with Lord Beaconsfield the celebrated Salisbury circular, asked, " How do you suppose the Russians will construe that paragraph?" mentioning one iu particular. They won't construe it, I expect," replied our ready Premier; '•' they will decline it.

At the ( dinner Jiten in Berlin by the Crown JMude of Prussia to the Congress, before each plenipotentiary flowers were artistically placed so as to represent the different national colours of each nation. The bouquet placed before the Turkish envoy represented a crescent in white camellias in the midst of scarlet roses.

The Turkish Sultan is grievously in want of money, and has great difficulty in feeding even hia extensive household. Bakers, grocers and other tradesmen, to whom he is already much in debt, refused further sup plies without cash, and attempts to borrow, except in very small sums, have been without success.

The Wanganui Herald of the 14th inst. says: — Cases of lunacy are occurring with terrible rapidity in ttiis district. Within the last fourth weeks the medical gentlemen of the town have beeii called in to report on no lesa a number than six cases.

A meeting of the Suez Canal shareholders was field in Paris on June 11th, and a report read from M. de Leaseps showing that 1633 vessels passed through the canal in 1877, an increase of 176 as compared with tbe previous year. The total receipts amounted to 39,000,000f ., or 3,000,000f more than in I 876; and the net profit was 4,5 1 o,ooof of which there will be 3,19i5,000f. to be divided amoDg tbe shareholders.

".YEgles" (in the Australasian) writes :— The healthy climate of Tasmania conduces to longevity. It is never safe to call any one old across the straits, although there are a great many who* anywhere else, might be considered of advanced age. Quite recently a Tasmauian resident, aged 75, was about contracting a matrimonial alliance with a giddy young thing some ten years his junior. The event was imminent, when a difficulty arose, which stopped the nuptials. She was a Roman Catholic, and he was a Protestant, and the hitch was a failure to agree as to the religion in which the children of the marriage should be brought up. The " Loafer in the street " says: — Talking of insurance agents, they had better be careful. I judge so from a letter I recently came across in the coli'.nns of a contemporary. A medical gentleman has discovered that all the wide-spread pestilences we have had in the last 3i'O years are exactly coincident with the perihelia of the large planets. From 1880 to 1885 we are to have what has not yet happened in more than 1800 years — the nearest approach to the Sun of four large planets coinoidently — and the doctor in writiug of this event clearly looks forward to a good tiuie.

A New Plymouth telegram to the New Zeala'ider dated 19th instant says : — The Pirehaka half-yearly meeting has just come to a close, and the great prophPt Te Whiti has delivered his usual prophetic address to his visitors, the whole string of which was peace, peace, peace with the European*. He referred to the meeting called hy Ilewi at Waitaraonthe 18th March next, and sa : d that after tbat meeting the Maori and pakeka would live together as one people, aud be one nation. At the great meeting a new man was to appear, one who had never before been seen by them, and after that all would be peace. During his address he referred to religio is matters in what Christians would call a blasphemous way. He said Jesus Christ wus very good to the white man, but did not care for the Maori. They would have one themselves, who would hear their prayers and be as good to them as tbe pakeha Christ was to the Europeans. Their Christ must be of Maori fiesh and blood and must be crucified. How c uld they expect the white Ch-ist to look after the Maoris' spiritual interests ?" The Taranaki Herald remarks thai: Te V/hiti should try the experiment of crucifixion himself, and thus become the savior of tbe people.