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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 89, 14 April 1881, Page 2

A recent storm in Sydney is said to have been short, but tremendous while it lasted, with thunder and lightning enough to satisfy all the ghouls and vampires of the universe. The hailstones were lumps of ice, some of them as large as a bantam fowl's egg, and naturally enough, glass was smashed in all directions ; aud the only cheerful faces next dayjwere those of the plumbers, who were completely masters of the situation arid doubtless supreme happy, A volcanic ernption has taken place on White Island, resulting in the conversion of the flat which formerly existed on the far side of the hot lake into an active volcano. The new crater reaches from near the landing to Big Ben, the name of one of the blow holes on the island, which is also showing unusual activity. The changes on the left hand side of the island are greater than those on the right. The steam from the crater is visible for a considerable distance at sea. Texas papers are speaking of the late " George Eliot," as " a very gifted but very immoral man."' Yes, poor old fellow, ho had his weaknesses ; but as a pugilist he stood unrivalled. England will not soon forget his celebrated " Mill on the Floss." The Poverty Bay Standard contains the following remarkable item :— "lt is stated that a dwarf, measuring only two feet three inches in height, has arrived in Gisborne, and will exhibit himself in aid of the Roman Catholic Church funds. He is said to be a native of Bengal, a*Qd reputed to be yery wealtby."

If we may judge from a paragraph in the Kumara Times angling on the West Coast is sometimes attended by perils of a very extraordinary character. According to tbat paper a .''well-known angler, fishing in the Teremakau drew up what he afc first supposed td be a Bplendid fish. He was grievously disappointed and somewhat alarmed to find that his'" prey " consisted of a charge of dynamite with a long piece of fuso attached. The fuse had evidently been fired with the intention of destroying fish, but had not ignited the charge. The angler lost no time in throwing back his dangerous prize into the river. A rare act of self-denial i 3 recorded in the Times by a gentleman who says his informant is his brother, serving in the Horse Artillery at Cahdahai* •— '■" A gunner Of the Horse Artillery, after General Burrows' rout, gave up his seat on a limber to a wounded man, and marched in on foot over that tertiblo dessrt of 52 miles. Tbey bad no food nor water since tbe day before, and it is difficult to exaggerate the suffering under that terrible heat*. The gunner had had his heel shot off, and had limped the whole of that dreary distance without uttering a sound or letting a word escape him that he too was wounded, Oue of the largest projects for adding to the pleasures of New Yorkers next summer i 9 a "grand floating 'paleee," to be permanently mbored off thfe Battery. It is to be gOdffci long, Soft; wide^ with three 1 decks and bathing conveniences oeiow, The charges of admission will be graded to suit the finances of all classes, and there will be music after;noona and evenings, with eatables and drinkables. Tbe whole will be gorgeously, illuminated at night by hundreds of gas jetß, and a number of electric lights. " Where aro you going so fast, Mr Jobn son ?." " Home, sir, home; don't detain me. I have just got a new bonnet for my wife, and must deliver it before the fashion changes." The practical joke of a lively "My lady " who cannot be out of mischief, says a London paper, was to fill the shower: bath of one of her admirers, at a country house they were staying at, with ink. Many. lemons were, used ere the ill-used one could put in an appearance. He bore it like an angel. Many remarkable incidents took place at the last English election, but probably no more extraordinary item occurred in any election agent's account thau in one furnished when Sir Francis Burdett stood * f idi Middlesex : "To extraordinary mental anxiety on your account, £500," Lord Campbell (says the Laio Times) was a tutor, a dramatic critic, a reporter in tbe gallery, a law reporter, a pupil in a pleader's chamber, a barrister, a Queen's Counsel, a member of parliament, a law officer, ah Irish Chancellor, Chief Justice of England, Lord Chancellor. He made a happy marriage, had a uuited family, devoted children, a long life, and a painless death. What more could mortal man expect or desire. ? For a long time past the medical men of Northern Ohio haVe beeh astonished at the continued existence and growth of a child of J. A. Kinsley, of New Philadelphia, whose flesh was as hard as a stone. All efforts to render the little one like ordinary children proved unavailing. Prominent showmen heard of the phenomenon, and offered to give an immense amount for the privilege of exhibiting the child, but thi3 the parents would not allow. At length tbis singular being has died, and the desire on the part oif the doctors and others to get possession of the body is so great that ifc has been placed by the parents in a strong vault, which is constantly guarded by faithful watchmen. At the annual general meeting of the N Z Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Mr Thomas Russell C.M.G., the chairman, inthe d)uraa of his speech, said tbat in tbe minds of some persons,' though not of those who knew the country, there were doubts as to the future of New Zealand, and unfavorable inferences were drawn from the amount of tbe public debt compared witb the number of tbe population. But he maintained that such comparisons were most unfair unless they took iuto account fche resources and capabilities of the country. In New Zealand, with an area equal to tbat of the United kingdom, they had a Boil which was naturally rich and a climate bo genial that they never expeperienced either the severity of an English winter or the Bcorcbing heat of an Australian summer. In 1869 there were only 600,000 acres of land under cultivation. In 1879 it had increased to four million acres, the increase being all attributable to the making of roads and railroadc, or rather bits of roads and railroads, for they were yet mostly unfinished. \Vhen they were finiehed the population would no doubt increase, and the quantity of land brought under cultivation increase also j and as the soil was richer than that of California, and the distance shorter, the cultivators-of grain in New Zealand would no doubt compete successfully with those of California, and grain aa well as wool would form a Btaple article of export. Very fortunate. Missey. — " And do you know Reggie, our doctor brought a new baby to our hohse yesterday morning, and papa was away up country, and it was just lucky that mamma was at home at the time, or I don't know what we should have done." A Maori was rather astonished by Professor Haselmayer the other day says the Hawke's Bay Herald, The simple aboriginal hitched his horse up to one of the posts at the edge of the footpath, and the Professor immediately cbiiimenc«d to admire thf animal, but, whilst feeling its points he somehow touched the saddle-flaps when shillings unaccountably fell into his outstretched palms. The Native noticing the silver torrent;, and thinking he .had been defrauded of some hidden weaith lie hito neve? been aware he possessed, rose to the occasioh, atid jumping around, let loose the girth and battered the saddle against the post, but couldn't raise even a jingle. Dismay was depicted on his bronzed and dark-complexioned face, _ and as he hurriedly rode away, he exclaimed « Taipo." The Home News says j— "The ancient preßtige of tbe Lord Mayoralty of London is now seriously threatened. The new Lord Mayor, as people well know, is only an alderman, but a shining light in his own particular chapel. His lordsbip bas scruples as to the propriety of dancing, proper enough in a man, but awkward io a Lord Msyor. He even carries his objections so far as to set bis face against children dancing. At the usual children's ball at the Mansion House tbe other day it was suddenly discovered that there was to be no dancing, and a very dull evening was spent in consequence." The Rangitikei Advocate of the Bth inst. says :— lnformation has been given to us of an incident which occurred in this neighborhood a day or two ago, which recalls tbe days when Dick Turpin and Claude Duval roamed the highroads and byways of the old country, and levied blackmail upon rich and poor alike. On Thursday last aMr N. Lumsden, a young gentleman well known in Rangitikei, was "stuck up "* on his way from Wanganui to Parewanui, in the neighborhood of the ■Wangaehu-hill, by a man on ioot, who was bid in one of the old gravel-pits at the side of tbe road. As the night was dark (it was between 12 and 1 o'clock) Mr Lumsden did not notice. his assailant until be sprang out to dutch his bridle rein, and the animal he was riding being young and skittish nearly unseated him. He # managed, hoWever, to unfasten one of his Btirrups, and with this he endeavored to chastise the wouldbe; highwayman, but bis horse taking fright he' was' obliged to leave a settlement with that individual until a future occasion. We understand that Mr Lumsden has a shrewd idea as to the identity of his assailant, who he believes must have known of his intention to travel from Wanganui to Psrewanui at the time he did, and must also: have been aware that he carried a sum of money upon his person. If, aB appears probable, tbis was tbe case, a certain public-bouse loafer in Wanganui may hear something more of the matter in the course of a day or two. We (Hawke's Bay Herald) understand tbat a friendly society of a novel character has recently been started in Napier. The chief difference between it and kindred societies is that instead of making a weekly allowance to a sick member be will be sent to the hospital, and a sum equivalent to tbe allowance and the fee ordinarily paid to a doctor will be given to the funds of that institution. It iB argued that tbe members will thus receive better treatment than is possible in the majority* of homes, while the hospital will be benefited. •

Sir George Grey (*ays the Star of last Saturday) was unable to come to town this week, owing to a Fijian native chief, and Mr Williamson, an English visitor, being at the Kawau. Sir George i 3 expected up next Wednesday. New Zealand law a few years since made it penal in £50 to shoot a rabbit ; now the furry pests -have decreased the • wool shipments of Southland by one-third, and runcarrying capabilities from 25,000 sheep to 8000. Afc Rockcastle, Kentucky, United States, recently, a hen flew into a house aud knocked down a rifle that was hanging on the wall. The weapon was discharged, nnd killed a clergyman who was visiting the family. What can bo achieved by a handful of people .in a new country is perhaps nowhere shown more remarkably than iv Austndia, where a population of only two million people has a total export and import trade of over one hundred millions. . The Rev Mr Fergusson, of Invercargill, is reported to have said at a meeting Pf his congregation that thera were several families iv that town actually starving. The Locomotive publishes engravings each issue showing hew boilers look just after they have exploded. This doesn't seem to hit tbe case at all. What is needed is a pic-, tnre showing how a boiler looks just before ' Vj ,",; "ping to explode. Wo could then learn when to get out v" tbe way. When one Ministry goes cut and another gets in in New Zealand there is 3- little struggle foi- the " loaves and fishes," but tht contest is decency itself compared to what takes place at Washington when a new President is installed, if we may judge from the following telegraphic despatch :■— " It is apparent there is to be a tremendous pressure brought io bear upon the President for the removal 0f persons now in office and the appointment of new* applicants. At one time to-day fully 500 office-seekers* were afc the White House endeavoring to get an audience with the President, and present their papers. Very iew wery admitted, and. the President said emphatically to a Senator who had called with an applicant that he would not make any removals at present and intended to require all papers asking for appointments to come through the proper department." The London Court Circular, having heard that Edison, as a means for producing incandescence, uses infinitesimal shreds cf bamboo, procured at a great exprse from Cuba, suggets that tbis new light ehould' be patented under the title of " Edison's Electric Ban> boozler."