WHAT THE WORLD SAYS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1277, 11 May 1880, Page 3

WHAT THE WORLD SAYS.

If anything could show that this country is still an important factor in the affairs of Europe, it is the expectancy with which the result of the general election is awaited on the Continent. Intrigues and rumors of wars are, by common consent, suspended for the present, and there is an absolute dearth of political news in the morning papers. The Hartmann affair is a storm in a teacup. Speaking of advertisements, their whimsicality seems on the increase. In a recent Cardiff paper there wa3 the following gem :—" Lo3t, between the Royal and two o'clock yesterday, a bunch of key3." Bat the drollest thing I can call to mind appeared recently in the Pioneer, a well-known Indian paper :—" "Wanted, a situation as suake-charmer in a serious family.—N.B. No objection to look after a camel."

The Great Eastern, which has lain idle at Milford for some four years, is undergoing extensive alterations. Her paddleengines are being taken out of her, and she will in future be driven by twin screws. She is being fitted for the conveyance of cargoes of live cattle from America, and her passenger saloons are being redecorated. One of the largest private bank 3 in the City has lately been a sufferer from the ingenuity of a former clerk. The successful financier, after about three years' service at the private banker's, obtained an appointment at a colonial bank which kept an account with the private firm. Through his familiarity with the system of each bank he wa3 enabled to defraud his earlier employers to the extent of some six thousand pounds. Further, it is reported that he has raised money amounting to several thousands on the security of bills now in the possession of a jointatock bank. There is excellent reason for suspecting complicity. Detectives, instructed by the solicitor of the Bankers' Association, are hunting for the quarry, but at present the scent is not particularly strong.