General News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 233, 26 February 1876, Page 19

General News.

The West Susses Gazette chronicles the death at Pulborough of Charlotte Elizabeth Grasmark, aged 100 yeai’S aud nine months. It lias been resolved at Sheffield to establish a women’s confederation; or trade union, to include all classes of women engaged in the local manufactures. In the London School of Medicine for Women there are at present, the British Medical Journal hears, upwax-ds of twenty ladies studying. John Henry Miller, a Turkish bondholder, committed suicide in consequence of the repudiation of its liabilities by Turkey, and his consequent ruin. The Army and Navy Gazette says :—Another name has to be added to the not over long list of militai’y barristers —Captain Spalding, 104th Fusiliers, having been called to the bar of the Middle Temple. The Scotsman states that a new society for the abolition of vivisection is now being organised undei' influential auspices, and that Mr. Thomas Carlyle is among the distinguished literai’y men who have joined it. The Stockport magistrates have imposed the full penalty of £5 on a woman who had sold some of the clothing of a son who was suffering fi'om small-pox. The result of the defendant’s indiscretion was that several other persons were attacked by the disease. Mrs. Wood, wife of a laboring man, x'esiding at No. 6 Cambridge-road, Markhouse-common, Walthamstow, was delivei’ed, on the 11th November, of four premature female infants (stillborn), by Mrs. Mary Ann Avenell, accoix* cheuse, of Beulah-road, Walthamstow, and is now doing well. A melancholy ice accident occurred at Edmonton, and resulted in the loss of four lives, three girls, who feH through a treachei’ous reach of ice, on what is known as the Slide, being drowned, the same fate overtaking a yoxxng man who bravely went to their assistance. Two ladies have resolved to enter the legal profession. They are named Richardson and Orrae, and they have taken chambers in Chancery-lane. The latter lady,, we believe, acquitted herself remarkably well at the Ladies’ College at Cambridge, and she is a sister of Professor Masson’s wife. Lord Denbigh, speaking lately at the opening of a homoeopathic hospital at Birmingham, expressed a wish to see similar institu- p tions established in all the great centres of indxistry. He had himself practiced homcepathy during forty years.

Ovit of 217 private adventure schools in Birmingham only 24 can be recognised as giving effective teaching. In these 217 echools there are 8556 children, while the 24 accommodated 1926. It was reported at the last meeting of the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy that during the past year 239 clergymen and 187 widows and single daughters had been as* sisted bv grants, 298 children towards their education, and that 712 other widows and aged single daughters had received pensions. Mr. Gladstone’s celebrated question, “ Is the Church of .England worth preserving ?” has been discussed at large and influential meetings in Bradford and Manchester, and was answered in the former place with an emphatic affirmative, and in the latter with an equally emphatic negative. Prince Louis Napoleon has presented to the officers’ mess of the Royal Artillery at Aidershot several artistic statuettes of French artillery—men, mounted and dismounted—one of a Zouave, and one of a Cuirassier, as a souvenir of the period he was a member of the mess, and undergoing a course of training with the “ G Battery.” A singular tree is now growing in a wood near Eureka, California. The tree is half pine, half fir. Its height is about 7 sft., and for a distance of 30ft. above ground it is pine, the next 20ft. are fir, and the remainder to the summit is pine. The fir portion of the tree is In flourishing condition, and the foliage perfectly dense, but in the pine portion the leaves are scarce. Apropos of the reduction of foreign postage to take effect on New Year’s Day, the French Journal cles Postes makes a suggestion for economising labor. It is that, instead of the stamp being first defaced and the departure postmark afterwards placed on the envelope, the postmark should be placed on the stamp, one operation thus serving both purposes. Difficulties have arisen in feeding the large Indian hamadryad ( Ophiophagus claps) in the Zoological Society’s Gardens, in consequence of his refusal of all other food. except living snakes, which in the winter time is not easy to procure in this country. A supply, however, has been received from the Continent, and the Ophiophagus has just made a fresh meal. The monster is now engaged in digesting the sixty-second of his “weaker brethren” that he has devoured since his arrival in England in March last. The telegraph has again been successful in leading to an important arrest. Three, men some time since stole at Rio de Janeiro a quantity of diamonds valued at £22,000, and then left for the Mauritius. The cable brought the information to Paris, whence it was sent to Madeira, and then—there being no telegraphic communication between there and South Africa—it was taken by steamer to Cape Town. The result was that the men were captured at Port Elizabeth. Mr. Gladstone, in a letter on the subject of Convent Inspection, says:—“ I conceive that no institution should be allowed in this country which restrainsthepersonalliberty as commonly understood of its members or inmates. I am not cognizant of the facts with respect to the liberty of the inmates of nunneries on which the justification of the measure you suggest would have to rest; and I could not, therefore, undertake to introduce a measure on the subject, even were I taking a larger share, than is actually the case, in the general legislation of the country.” The Townsville correspondent of the Brisbane Courier writes :—“ No less than seven alligators were seen sailing about in the bay at one time, whilst a large brute has taken to camping on the sands near the pilot buildings. One of the pilot men had a narrow escape the other day. He had just returned in his punt from lighting the beacon at the mouth of Ross Creek, and was standing at the brink of the water, coiling the painter down into the boat. Close to him, and striking his leg -with every wag of the tail, was his dog, and within a few yards lay what the man took to be a log in the darkness. Suddenly the log became animated and made a rush at the dog, which it succeeded in carrying off, leaving the man in a state of dire bewilderment at the suddenness of the attack and his own narrow escape. Doubtless, had the dog not been, there, the man would have run considerable risk.” Unpleasant intelligence has been received from the Cape. Mr. A. J. Van Breda, the Assistant-Treasurer-General, was arrested for the theft of £52,567,-which, it is alleged,, he abstracted from the Treasury, and “ lent ’ to friends, most of them officials, and some of them in the Treasury. Defalcations are possible, of course, in other places as well as the Cape Colony, but it came out in the investigations that the defalcations extend over a period of fifteen years, and the books are so badly kept that the examining accountants appointed by the Government were six months hunting out the facts, and that the TreasurerGeneral never has the keys of his own department in his possession. No kind of thorough audit appears to be attempted. The affair was revealed, apparently after years of silence, by an accountant in the office. Mr. Van Breda was held to bail in £IO,OOO, but is reported to be suffering from mental derangement. A publican in Beechworth has a till with an ingenious device which rather astonishes any petty thief who tries to rob it in the absence of the barman. The handle is so constructed that it is not in point of fact the handle at all, for when pulled it does not open the till, but releases a false wooden cover, which comes down with a clatter, to be heard all over the house. The Ovens Spectator relates as a result of the contrivance that one evening, a Chinaman passing while the landlord was absent, could not resist so tempting an opportunity, and sauntering in must have reconnoitred the ground from the end of the counter, and then going opposite the till, leaned over and pulled the treacherous handle, which came away but too easily, when fell the wooden Kd with a clatter. Hearing this friendly alarm, the landlord put in an appearance too quickly for the escape of the would-be thief, who, however, put a bold face on the matter,

commencing to knock on the counter as if the noise proceeded from that cause, and said, “Me knocking long time, me want ginger wine.” We need not say the landlord served him out—but not out of a bottle, for there was little if any use in handing him over to the police under the circumstances. The missionaries of the South Pacific Islands, under, we believe, the direction of Mr. Turner, the author of “Nineteen Years in Polynesia” (says the Athenceum), are about to compile a comparative grammar and lexicon of Polynesian dialects. Some of the languages spoken in the Polynesian groups are said to possess words very interesting to the comparative philologist. The late Dr. Bleek discovered many in South Africa, which bore a close resemblance to aboriginal Indian words ; and now the Oriental origin of the Polynesian islanders is likely to be more fully established through the linguistic labors of the missionaries of the Pacific.

The Sanitary Record calls attention to the results of 119 separate analyses of samples of ale and porter sold over the counter by publicans in various parts of London. They show a percentage of alcohol such that it is obvious that a person who drinks two quarts of fourpenny ale or porter consumes more alcohol than is contained in half a pint of brandy or whiskey. This will, no doubt, astonish a good many people who are apt to think a couple of quarts of ale day quite a moderate allowance, and when they find intoxication from beer among the lower classes so common, are apt to attribute it to some mysterious adulteration of beer' and ale. We have excellent reasons for stating that the main adulteration of ale and porter practised in London is the addition of sugar or treacle and water, and the lamentable frequency of intoxication is mainly due to excess of quantity rather than to defect of quality in beer. The Intercolonial Agricultural Exhibition, under the auspieces of the New South Wales Agricultural Society, is one of those valuable institutions which grow with the colonies’ growth, and afford the best possible guides to their progress. Year by year these exhibitions are held, and at them are gathered together the pick of the flocks and herds, and the best products of the soil from every colony. Squatters and farmers from all points visit the exhibitions and buy and sell and get gain, learn of the experiences of fellow colonists, add uew blood to their studs, and restock their stations with the latest and most improved machinery. The value of such institutions cannot be overestimated ; and now that New Zealand is being brought into more frequent and rapid communication with the sister colony of New South Wales, we hope to see them competing with one another at these exhibitions. The energetic secretary, Mons. Jules Joubert, announces in another column the plan of the exhibition for this year. A new principle in the construction of carriage wheels has just been patented by Mr. Robert Picken, of Birmingham, which is exciting some attention. In this new wheel every part consists of wrought iron, with the exception of the tire, which is formed of the best cast steel. The tire is constructed so as to protect the other parts of the wheel when it runs against the curbstone, or comes in contact with another vehicle. Neither in putting on the tire, nor indeed in any portion of the work, is a single bolt or nail employed, the spokes being slipped into their places in the rim and boss, and afterwards locked up by a nut, while the tire is firmly inserted into, a groove in the rim. The patentee has likewise made considerable improvements in the axletree and boss, the strength of the former being increased at the points where it is most liable to' give way, and the latter possessing accommodation for about four times the usual quantity of oil for lubricating purposes. Although made of iron and steel, each wheel is not more than two or three pounds heavier than ordinary wheels, and the cost of production is about the same in both cases. A sad ending of a practical joke is recorded by the Newcastle Pilot. Intelligence was brought into Newcastle on February 1, from Catherine-hill Bay, or New Wallsend, that the daughter of Mr. Thomas Boyd (a resident there, and late of Lake Macquarie) had lost her life on January 29, by being drowned in the sea. The circumstances under which the accident occurred were very singular. Miss Boyd, Miss Taif, and several other girls were bathing near the beach, when one of them, for a freak, dressed herself in male attire, and came amongst the others. As soon as Miss Boyd saw the young girl approach, and no doubt thinking that it was a man, she dived into the water, and was not seen to rise again. Her little dog (a poodle) jumped in after her. A man engaged at the colliery observing something wrong, at once went down to the beach, and on learning the catastrophe, at once dived down,-but observing several sharks about, he beat a hasty retreat to shore. Drags have been used, but the body has not been recovered, and was no doubt devoured by the sharks. Strange to say, the little dog was also drowned, and its body was brought up by the drags. Miss Boyd was but seventeen years of age. A singular phenomenon is creating quite a sensation a few miles from Erie, Pennsylvania, in the shape of a mouse-catching infant, surpassing in expertness the agility of the best canine or feline mouser in the country. The little girl in question is about a year old, and can just begin to inn about. The moment she wakes and gets out of her crib she goes to the old kitchen fireplace, which is infested with a species of small house mice, and sits down by a hole in the comer very much like a cat, with her eyes intently fixed on the burrow. She sometimes occupies this position for an hour without moving, till a mouse makes its appearance, when, by a sudden start, apparently without any effort, she seizes her victim by the neck. As soon as her prize is secured she seems to be electrified with- joy, and trembles from head to foot, uttering a kind of wild murmur or growl, resembling the halfsuppressed snarl of a wild cat. It seems as if

the mouse, when once out of its hole, becomes charmed or magnetised, and has no power, or, at least, shows no disposition to escape until caught, when it is too late. If any one approaches the child to take the mouse away from her, she will utter a shrill scream, .and then try to conceal her prize by putting it into her mouth.

Mr. Reverdy Johnson is now staying at the Westminster Palace Hotel. Though in his eightieth year, he retains all his faculties, except that he is hopelessly blind. One of his sons-in-law is with him, and reads the newspapers to him ; and his rooms are crowded with fellow-countrymen and English friends. He was called to the bar in the United States when only nineteen years of age. The following sensational story is related by the Hamilton Spectator :—“ Constable McGann, of Cavendish, was on Saturday, January 29, solicited by Mr. Carter, of Glenisla station, to make a search for a man who was living in seclusion on the run, and was supposed to be either a lunatic or a vagabond ; but certainly an intruder. The action was prompted, by the discovery recently of a human habitation in a cave in a secluded spot, with provisions and a billhead and account from a storekeeper at Balmoral. Fresh and salted mutton were also discovered in his private recess. The men on the station remembered frequently seeing a man loitering in the vicinity of this cave ; but not within the last twelve months. Constable McGann repaired thither, and after a careful search, a second cavern was discovered, the entrance to which was hidden by a heap of boughs. The constable crept in and discovered a man, whom he accosted thus: —‘What are you doing here ? ’ * What do you want to know for?’ answered the hermit. ‘Why don’t you associate with your fellow-beings?’ asked Constable McGann ; whereupon the man rushed towards the entrance, where stood a gun loaded with a bullet. The constable closed on him, and the stranger drew a knife from his belt, when a severe struggle ensued. Help was at hand, however, and the constable was relieved from a very ugly antagonist. He deserves the greatest praise for his daring capture. The prisoner was then taken to Balmoral lock-up.” In an article descriptive of the Lai Lai li’on Works, the Ballarat Courier says:—“ Up to the present, 130 tons of iron of first-rate quality have issued from the furnace, and the prices obtained, from about thirty tons sold, have varied from £6 15s. to £9. Assuming that the iron can be disposed of at the rates already obtained, and that the capabilities of the furnace can be increased—as there is very little doubt they can be, to twenty tons per week—there would be an annual profit of 60 per cent, on the capital expended. Thus twenty tons of iron, at £7 per ton, gives £l4O. The weekly expenses average (say) £BO, leaving a clear profit of £6O, which in a year would amount to £3120. This amount represents the profit on an outlay of less than £3OOO. Most people who know anything about the matter believe that iron has now seen its lowest, and that any week an advance of 30s. or £2 might take place, and in such an event the increased price would simply mean a corresponding increase in the profits from the mine. Allowing, therefore, for contingencies, wear and tear to machinery, &c., the shareholders of the Lai Lai Iron Company may be congratulated ou being possessed of a highly remunerative property. The project, however, having proved so successful, it is contemplated to construct a new furnace, capable of producing nearly 100 tons weekly; and as the -working expenses would only be increased to a small proportionate expense thereby, it is not too much to say that there is every probability of a brilliant future being in store for the Lai Lai Iron Company.” A certain Captain Hamilton was recently sentenced to five years’ penal servitude for fraud, remarking upon whose case an English paper says that it was his determination to begin with nothing and end by becoming a millionaire. In view of this, he agreed to purchase an estate at Lancaster Gate for £320,000; and according to his own calculations he was to borrow the £320,000 at £5 per cent, upon mortgage of the property, thus paying £16,000 a year as interest, while the property itself was to bi'ing him in no less than £64,000 a year. The surplus, £48,000, was to be set aside as a sinking fund, and it was consequently as clear as figures ever can be that in some five or six years the estate at Lancaster Gate would have belonged to Captain Hamilton in fee simple, and would have transformed him from a penniless adventurer into a millionare upon a small scale. Unfortunately for the “floating,” if we may so term it, of this ingenious, scheme, various petty disbursements were required, and in the course of the negotiations to which these small pecuniary difficulties gave occasion, the captain being of a sanguine temperament, made statements which as judged by the cold grey eye of the law, were false and fraudulent. Had he only had a few hundred pounds to meet the necessary expenses of “ promoting,” his scheme would, in all probability, have succeeded. As it is, there is nothing left for him except to patiently bide his five years, and then burst upon the world as the contractor for a foreign loan. In such a case he will not be the only contractor upon a large scale whose antecedents justiciaries, to use the exact words of the report of the Foreign Loans Committee, are not altogether equal to strict investigation. Oxygen is Life.—Da. Bright's Phosphodyne Multitudes of people are hopelessly suffering from Debility Nervous and Diver Complaints, Depression of Spirits. Hypochondria. Timidity, Indigestion, Failure of Hearing, Sight, and Memory, Lassitude, Want of Power, Ac., whose cases admit of a permanent cure by the new remedy i>hospiiodyne (Ozonic Oxygen), which at once allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and hfe to the enfeebled constitution, and rapidly cures every stage of these hitherto incurable and distressing maladies. Sold by all Chemists and Druggists throughout the Clohe Caution —The large and increasing demand for Dr. Bright Phosphodyne has led to several imitations under somewhat similar names ; purchasers ef this medicine should therefore be careful to observe that each case bears the Government Stamp, the words, Dr Bright’s Phosphodyne engraved thereon, and that the same words are also blown in the bottle