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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5736, 18 August 1879, Page 2

A meeting of persons supposed to belong to the Liberal Association was held in the Arcade on Saturday night, when, as had been expected, the chief feature of the evening was the address of Sir George Grey, the remarks of Messrs. Marks, Crook, and Fisher being thrown in as a mere make-weight. There was a very large attendance, and, all things considered, the"meeting was a very orderly one. Of course Sir George went over all his old well-worn stock of sentimental platitudes, and made his usual ad captandnm points, for which he was cheered as much as if for the first time they had then been promulgated to the world. A summary of what took place appears m another part of the paper. Mr. Mansford, K.M., presided at the Resident ’Magistrate’s Court on Saturday. A female drunkard, who had been locked up all night. was discharged from custody ; and a named Charles Henry Thomson, charged with stealing a side of bacon, the property of David Anderson, junr., received a sentence of three months’ imprisonment with hard labor. Mr Greenfield’s sub-committee for the Lower Cook Ward will meet at the Foresters Hall Tory -street, to-morrow evening at 7.0 U nm ’ and the sub-committee for Te Aro Ward will meet at the central committee room, Willis-street, at the same hour. A meeting of the committee of the Liberal Association will be held this evening at Lloyd s Chambers at half-past seven o clock. ine business to be transacted is announced as important.

To-day 'will be the last one for receiving tenders for the erection of a block of buildings to replace those which were burnt down at the corner of Manners and Cuba streets, belonging to Mr. G. Pirie.

An accident occurred to a Mr. and Mrs Brown at Xaiwarra yesterday afternoon, through the upsetting of a buggy in which they were taking a drive, in consequence of the horse having been frightened by some pigs crossing the road. Mr. Brown met with a fracture of the leg, and was conveyed to his residence in Wellington, where Dr. Grace was promptly in attendance, and set the broken

limb. Mrs. Brown met with some bruise', but not of a serious nature, although she was very much shaken. Mr. Brown was quite cheerful in the evening, and made very light of the injury to his limb, and also of some other bruises which he sustained, and thought he would be all right again in the course of three or four weeks.

Mr. D. Manson, the representative of the Waltham Watch Company, left per e.s. Wellington yesterday for the North, en route for the Sydney Exhibition, where his goods will form an important part of the American exhibits. During Mr. Manaon’s short stay here he has been visited by a large number of people desirous of obtaining information concerning the description of watch manufactured by the company he represents, and on hia return to Wellington in about six months’ time, he intends to give public lectures on the same subject. The Hon. C. J. Pharazyn has devoted his honorarium of £l-40 as follows :—To the Wellington Diocesan Fund he has given £SO ; to the Bishop’s Residence Fund, £SO ; to St. Paul’s Parish, £25; to St. Mark’s Organ Fund, £lO ; and to St. Peter ; s Bell Fund, £5. Referring to Mr. O’Neill’s probable candidature, the Thames Advertiser says:—“There is some probability of Mr. C. O’Neill, 0.E., of Wellington, contesting a seat at the forthcoming election in that city. Mr. O’Neill sat for several years as the representative of the Thames, and was successful in obtaining for us a second member, after repeated efforts on the part of a constituency long grossly neglected in this particular. We are sure the many friends of Mr. O’Neill, at the Thames and elsewhere, will be pleased at the prospect of his return to political life.”

A very beautiful outrigger sculling skiff has been built by Mr. H. T. Green, of Pelichet Bay, Dunedin, for the International Exhibition to be held at Sydney. Mr. Green built the Leander, the four-oared gig with which the Otago Club won the Henley Regatta. As may be imagined, a great deal of care has been taken by the builder in making the skiff, for severe competition is expected. The dimensions of the skiff, which is intended to carry a twelve-stone man, are as follow :—Length, 32ffc.; beam, 12in.; depth, s£in. The planking of the skiff is of cedar, a bare one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and the ribs of mako. It is fitted with a patent sliding-seat and patent swivel rowlocks, and is in shape what is technically termed a “ true round,” the bottom of it being nearly a semi-circle. We understand that Laycock, the celebrated sculler, applied to the builder for the boat, stating that “he would win the championship of the world in her;” but as Mr. Green had applied for space in the Exhibition, he decided to exhibit the skiff.

Considerable amusement was created in the Resident Magistrate’s Court (remarks the Timaru Herald) by some questions put by the plaintiff to a witness in the case of Burdou v. Spedding. The claim was for supplying music to a dancing class called the Zealandia Quadrille Assembly, and the defence to the action was that the music was so bad that no one could dance to it. A witness who described the music as “ something horrible," was asked by the plaintiff was be a good judge of music, and be answered in the affirmative, “ Why then,” asked the plaintiff, “ did you remain half-an-hour longer than you agreed with mo to play for you 1" The witness answered that they merely remained to amuse themselves, but the next question was not answered so quickly. The plaintiff asked if the dancers were such good judges of music how it was they danced “ The Lancers” while he played “ The Palermo Quadrilles.” The answer to this question, if there was any, was lost in the roar of laughter which it caused, and the general impression was that the music was not of the most select character, and that the dancers were not good musical critics.

The Venezuela Government sent over to the Paris Exhibition, among the exhibits in their department, a number of bottles containing “ cow-tree milk,” or juice of the brosimun glactodendron of tropical America. M. Boussingault has made a more complete analysis of the milk than has hitherto been possible. This milk, he remarks, approaches cow's milk in its composition, in so far that it contains fatty constituents, saccharine matter, casein and phosphate. But the relative proportion of these constituents differs widely. The total of solid constituents is three times as large as those of cow’s milk, and this vegetable milk would be better compared with cream. Butter presents almost the same conditions as are present in the waxy constituent in cow-tree milk. The solid constituents are almost identical. The analogy explains the nutritive properties of this milk, or rather vegetable cream.

The Smythesdale correspondent of the Ballarat Star writes ;—“ He was an old man, ninety years of age, named Robert Waterhouse. He walked from Adelaide and was on his way to some relatives at Port Albert. He had been in the army, and served under four crowned heads, and had now a pension of 2s, per day. He was born at Port Augusta, in the Island of Jamaica, and had had his right leg injured in years gone by by a flash of lightning, which damaged that limb considerably. Still, he avers that he can walk six miles per day. He, however, overestimated his powers, for he was found by Sergeant Crampton lying prostrated oh the side of the road between Smythesdale and Scarsdale on the 4th Inst., completely knocked up. He was not in a position to continue his journey, and he could not be brought under the elastic provisions of even the Vagrant Act, as he had 9s. in his possession ; but the Mayor kindly agreed to pay his coach fare to Balarat. Here the old war-horse showed his spirit. He was no pauper, and would not, and dare not, seek charity. It was against his marching orders ; but if he wot to Ballarat he would be all right. It was evident a little rest would benefit the old warrior, and taking up his stick he limped out of the police station, disdainfully refusing aid of any description.” It is not clear, but it may be suspected (says the Builder) that there is some at work, in the present state of civilisation, which renders the more gently nurtured, or more highly cultured, members of society specially unfitted to resist malarious influences. Connected with this must be borne in mind the manner in which the external atmosphere is more and more kept out from our houses. Doors' and windows close better, draughts are more carefully excluded, than of old. Appliances are introduced for artificially warming the passages and vestibules, the natural function of which places is to afford a graduated transition from the warm atmosphere of a chamber to the external temperature. Clothing is much more complex than was formerly the case. In the time of our grandfathers a man was called a puppy if he wore an overcoat. What would these hardy gentlemen have said to the Ulsters of the present day, or the sealskin jackets and coats f Human habit is so much modified by circumstances, that the adoption of all these safeguards against an occasional chill may have a direct tendency to lower the resisting power of the constitution. And there are well-known facts that square with this view. Such is the influence on the constitution of the prolonged heat of tropical or sub-tropical countries. The inference is not unnatural that the greater comfort, as we regard it, at all events the more sustained heat, which we are steadily giving to our abodes, is really tending to lower our constitutional power of resistance, not only to the great tonic, cold, hut to those influences against which that tonic has the prime function of strengthening the frame.

“ Where to strike an attacking dog ” is thus told by Land and Water ; —“ When you have the good fortune to be armed with a shillelah, do not, says General Hutchison, hit him across the head and eyes ; bear in miud that the front part of his forelegs is a far more vulnerable and sensitive spot. One or two wellapplied blows upon that unprotected place will generally disable the strongest dog,”

The London Daily Telegraph says “ One effect of the Zulu war has been to furnish a fresh illustration of an old truth—that England as a maritime power can bring her strength to bear at remote distances with astonishing rapidity. The First Lord of the Admiralty, in returning thanks for the Navy, appropriately drew attention to the share .contributed by bis department to the relief of Ekowa It was on the Ilth of February that the Government knew the extent of the peril, and so swiftly were the needful measures adopted that two battalions sent from England were in combat at Ginghilovo on the 2nd April, and on the fifty-first day from the 11th of February Ekowe Teas relieved. Before the 31st March, another battalion, a battery fully horsed, and three companies of the Army Service Corps were also in Natal, which is

about 7000 miles from our shores But it was not only the centre of power which had shot forth its reserved strength. England is at anchor in her island possessions or afloat on her ships of war all over the world. The electric wire had set in motion the 57th Regiment, quartered in Ceylon, and a transport carried that gallant corps to South Africa in good time for the inarch upon Ekowe. A few troops, we believe, likewise hastened from the Mauritius. Wherever there is danger, her Majesty's ships appear promptly on the scene of action.”

A negro battle was fought at a picnic in Georgia on the 10th June. A special excursion train left Havannah with colored picnickers, among whom was a company of men with guns and bayoo-.ts, commanded by a captain in full uniform. Go arriving at their destination a fight took place between one of the visitors and a local negro. The captain, who had been drilling his men at some distance, ordered them to fix bayonets and charge, which was done at the double. The crowd was clubbed and bayonetted indiscriminately. One man was stabbed by the captain and killed. They then opened fire, and several lives were lost. The local negroes rallied, nearly every man having weapons, and the military company retreated to the train. The courage of the railroad men only saved them. The crowd attempted to tear up the track, and poured volleys into the carriages while within range. This is a sample of negro ferocity. Here is another of negro piety : It is a Raleigh telegram (North Carolina), June 26 :—“ Robert Jones (negro), who murdered Rudolph Eaton (white) in the village of Rocky Mount, on December 25, 1877, was publicly executed at Tarboro, The sheriff left the gaol with the prisoner in an open waggon, the Edgecome Guard accompanying them, together with a negro fire company in red shirts. Jones talked, laughed, and poked fun at the sheriff, dwelt on his religious experience, and said he was going straight to heaven. He was the coolest man ever seen on the gallows. He drank wine in remembrance of all the brethren in Christ, and shook hands all around.”

There should be a good attendance [at Messrs. T, Kennedy Macdonald and Co.’s land sale, to be held in their mart, at 2.30 p.m. to-day, when they will offer for sale the properties in the bankrupt estate of Mr. McCredie, and also the interest of the trustees in the contract made by Mr. McCredie with the Government for the supply of sundry furniture.