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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 28 September 1880, Page 2

A number cf defaulters under the Land Tax Act had calls to the Kesitjepfc Magistrate's Court this morning at the instanpe of Mr. 11. B. Martin, Land Tax Commissioner, to explain the causes of their non-payment of the tax. In the majority of the cases, the defaulters preferred paying to pleading, and had satisfactorily settled the question prior to their natfios being called. The balance had judgments recorded against them, In accordance with a resolution passed by the shareholders at the annual meeting, the Directors of the Baths Company are calling for tenders for the lease of the baths. An advertisement notifying the fact appears in another columu,

Thirteen gentlemen attended the meeting of the Fire Brigade Concert Committee held iast evening at the Star and Garter Hotel to consider the programme and make other necessary arrangements in connection with the concert. The programme submitted to the meeting was a very satisfactory one, and should draw together a large attendance on the concert night.

A meeting of the Union Cricket Club was held last eyening, at the Imperial Hotel, Mr. A; Hartley occupying thp The new rules drawn up by the Committee wepe read and adapted. An alphabetical match was arranged for Saturday next between sides chosen from Ato K and Lto Z. .It was decided to accept a challenge from the Timaru Mechanics' Cripket Club, the match to be played at Tiniaru o;i tjife 26th October, A vote of thanks tp the cjjair the proceedings.

The members of Lodge Waitaki are re* quested to meet in the Masonic Hall tomorrow evening for the purpose of paying a fraternal visit to the Lodge Kilwinning. A pais of fiofsns in a waggonettee belonging to Mr. John tirpeafield bolted from Messrs. Reid and Gray's yard yesterday afternoon, the cause being the rattling of some sheets of iron. Wiien the horses started Mr. Greenfield ran up and caught hold of ong of thp prices instead of the reins, whi-n he was knocked dowp, thp tWft olfr side wheels passing over his ribs, and one over his nose, Tjie horses thep went at a rattling poco down Thames-street, along Tyne-street, and on to the Breakwater road; when they ran into the quarry, where, of course, they were easily captured. Very little damage was done to the "turnout," one of the,horses escaping injury altogether, while the other only received a few slight scratches. Mr. Greenfield was driven home in a hansom, when it was found that, in addition to a number of bruises, he had sustained a fracture of ouo of hia rih». ?h e affair caused a-good deal of excitement, ancj bow the horses escaped almost scathless after gcftjng into the quarry is really wonderful.

The first edition,- as it may he called, of the f eyißed gf the JSTejv Testa}

ment, maybe expected in the 'antgmn, and along with the English translatipn' two recensions: of' the* J Greekv.text v mifo.be i§sued ; simultaneously $ the one from the Clarendon, and the other from> the Pitu • . . tf&f* ■* Press. These . two texts wyL a notable' and. rather in the differerent methods ' pursue 3-' in their construction. The Oxford text will represent the critical spirit of -the. nineteenth century, which is somewhat prone to seek new departures aud to- the past. Accordingly the Claren'tTon the, text which, the. reyisionists„.Jia,Te found, it, necessary ~tq frame for tljgipSeives, after careful weighing' and matufe'consideration of all available evidence for and against the readings adopted. -"-For the behoof, however, of those weaker vessels who continue to have a superstitious veneration for the name of Robert Stephens and the Greek used by the translators of 1611, all passages in which the Oxford text departs from the received text will be indicated by footnotes, and in these notes the reading of the Textus Reeeptus will be given. The Cambridge test will, on the contrary be neither more nor less than a reprint of the Textus Eeceptus with footnotes giving the reading adopted by the revisionists. Professor Palmer is responsible for the Clarendon text, Dr. Scrivener for the other. It is with regret that we hear it said that the form in which all Englishmen know, and most of them use, the XtQfd's Prayer, is no longer to be th.e form which is to pass current;. Wo shall rejoice if the report, which ia widely circulated, proves incorrect.};a greater calamity thanchange, as rumor declaresjto. it would be difficult at the present moment to imagine.—Athenc^ujp,

This - Wellington .correspondent of the Lyttelton Times writes The usual lull in political affairs following immediately on the close of a session, has-this year been intensified by the utter weariness and yexation of spirit which characterised the expiring hours ftf t}ie last one. ... Less than half a Cabinet has been in Wellington at ahy one, time, and. business has been confined to .the barest, routine of administration. The whole Cabinet will soqu, be in harness, and one of the first tasks'to which they will devote themselves will, it is expected; be a re-distribution of portfolios. Notwithstanding statements to the contrary, it is quite on the cards that this may involve reorganisation, to'the extent of the moat impp.pvilav member of the retiring more or less gracefully, !At all events, should he retain his portfolio, it will be in the face of exceedingly plain hints from some of his colleagues, and from the Press generally, that he has mistaken his vocation." " . '

A sea captain, who was Asked by his jvife to look at sprite pianos while he was in the city, with a view, of huying her c®e, wrote home tp her ; —"I saw one I thought would suit you—blaok walnut hull, strong bulkheads, strengthened fore and aft with iron frame, sealed with white wood and maple. Rigging—Steel wire,- double on the ratlines; and whipped wire on the lower stays and heavier cordage.' Belaying pics of steel, and well (jjdypn lioijie. of oyer all, G feet 1 inch; breadtli of beam, 3S inches; depth of hold; 14 inches. Hatches can hj? bafteneel down, proof against. ten-J-earmold boys and commercial drummers, or home for a first-class Instrumental" —Exchange. "

The spectacle of the sun shining at midnight attracts many foreigners in Swedish Lapland during the month of June, For six weeks there is scarcely any night in the north of Sweden; the sun never sets, and the soil constantly heated, produces in a month and a-ha!f barley and other crops. At that time of the year the Laplanders pen up their reindeer and move their huts towards the cultivated fields. Being very hospitable, they greet with joy the arrival of tourists, who generally' meet at Mount Gellaware, 148 kilometres from Lulea. From that hill, which is qSQ-metres high, the beautiful spectacle of the " midnight sun " can be admired in better conditions than from any other place. June 24th is the day selected for the ascension ; it is the longest .day in the year, the sun being 22 hours above the horizon. This year June 24th was not favored by fine weather, and, qwiijg to a cloudy sky,- the auj} not visible at midnight, but the following day travellers were, well rewarded for their trouble, the sun

shining brightly at midnight. A thrilling scene recently occurred at Birmingham. A Mrs. Olivia Thompson, re-, siding at Small-heath, went to spe hej; son off by train at the Small-heath station of the Great Western Railway. After wishing him good-bye on the departure platform, she was in the act of crossing to the opposite side of the station when she saw the train from Birmingham within a few yards of her. In her terrified effcu'tg tp, get put of the vpay she stumbled aqd fell into the fourtfqot wg,y, while the son failed ifi the arms of a spectator. The enginedriver shut off steavr} and and brought the train to a standstill as soon as possible, but not until four carriages had passed over the place whore the woman lay. Tho spectators were much relieved to hear her call out from beneath the train, "All right, John; I'm all right," and she was soon after got out between the wheels without having su^-

tained any ifljjwy, The advent of Sir Arthur Gordon as the future representative of the Imperial authority in Colony (says the Christian Record) will, no doubt, be hailed with satisfaction amongst us from, a religious point of view, inasmuch as that horse-racing, balls, and theatres are not at all likely to be patronised by tljat Sir Arthur, who is tlje fqurth son of the late Earl of Aherdeen, holds evangelical views of the truth, and is not backward ia exemplifying such in his walk and conversation. The Protestant religion in Fiji has had his full sympathy and support since he assumed tho reins of government there, and liis departure thence will be regretted by the respective churches in thftt Colony, As a man of uniform integrity ancl he will nqt pursue a different course in New Zealand. This testimony to the moral, religious, Protestant, and anti-worldly-amusement proclivities qf ohp flaw Qoyevjior will (Ipuhtloas greatly comfort many an anxious rnind iji Dunedin and elsewhere.

Count Mocenijo, the head of. one of the most ancient families of Venioe, has put for: ward a somewhat novel olaim, whioh, if rocognised by the British Government, will place him in possession of vast tracts of land comprising the whole of the most highly favored and best portions of the island of Cyprus. The niatter has already been the source of communication with the British Government, and the Count, sinco his pi' limtoftry correspondence -\yjth the lias placed tho affair in the hands of his London tolicitors, Messrs. Goldberg andLangdon. The Coupt bases his claim upon the fact that he is the direct lineal descendant of Catherine) Carnaro, a daughter of the then Doge of

Venice, who, in 1468/ married Lusignan, thereby becoming Queen of Cyprus, and"- of Cardinal Marco jCarnaro, the original pur?, ehasbr of the fends from the ancient Order of the KiiightsHospitallera. i

i ' | An Americaniwriterin the current number of the Contemporary mentions one or two facts which enable us to measure some points of advantage which their position gives to the people of the United States over ourselves. " For military purposes," the writer tells us, " the people of Great Britain, during the year Ending March, 1878, contributed a trifle oyer 18s each. During the same period the American people lived in security and maintained their honor, at the cost of only 4s 2d each for all purposes of national defence." This is very well; but what follows is really amusing. "Does any other nation," the writer proceeds, "however great its military power, pay to every private soldier who has lost hands, or feet, or sight, in its service, the pension of L 175 for the remainder of his days ? Every year nearly L 5,500,000 is paid to the disabled veterans of the American Republic." Certainly no other nation pays L 175 a-year to a disabled soldier, and most people will feel a trifle incredulous as to whether even America pays that sum.

Says Truth, concerning the Queen's recent drawing-room;—■" Ladies were not less decollete, tha-* at first. One, in pressing forward, positively lost the whole of the upper part of her dress, and had to be shrouded in shawls. As I was walking along St. Jamesstreet on the morning of the drawin£-room 3 observed £V orowd surrounding a brougham, iu which was seated a lady alone. Never have I in civilised society and in daylight seen a lady with so small an amount of clothing. Surely she might have covered her 'nakedness; with a shawl. The common people who did not nenefcrate within the chained portal csf St. James's stared at her in astonishment, and one somewhat dingy individual suggested that she ought to be suppressed as a vice.'" The Mauritius QQrvespandent of the S.A. Register, writing on the 18th June, states : "Qnthe ocoasion of_the Queen's Birthday the Governor held a levee, which failed, however, to attract many people; It has. been a matter of surprise in some circles to see how much of his popularity Sir George Bowen has been losing since his arrival in our Colony, feast year the levee 'was attended by nearly 1000 persons, and this time it scarcely attracted 350. This failure must be ascribed to different caixses, but principally to the new lists of invitation, to the Government ball. Many inhabitants of rank and high standing were evicted on tit \grounds [that had not paid a visit to Sip George ■and his family a,t their country ycsidence, ;Ileduit, distant twelve or fourteen miles •from town, Sotuq of the most influential ijbankers, merchants, journalists, barristers-at-law, planter-?, .members of our different scientific or literary societies were, to my personal knowledge, not. invited. It has always been the custom until now in Mauritius to give official or seTO-.ofßoial balls at the Government Ifv'.us.p; but Sir George, with his fo,r innovation, has decided that his soirees shall henceforth take place at R.eduit,. Much dissatisfaction T #as; been experienced on aooount of this resolution, and .the annual ball of 1800 was, aa.axonsequence, less numerously attended than in former years." We have before us (says a lvxeiu^rne paper) a circular addressed ta exhibitors, undertaking, upcsii the payment of so much easft, to publish an " exhibition supplement," to be issued with certain newspapers in Victoria, New South Wales, New Zealand, South Australia, and Queensland, a " literary notice" of the articles sent fof exhibition, an important condition of the bargain being "that the matter shall be submitted to and approved of" by the exhibitors before publication. The meaning of this, of course, is that the exhibitors a.re to say what they please about their exhibits, iind their own opinions are to be given to the world as the convictions of the newspapers in which they are published. In other words, exhibitors are to superintend the preparation of elaborate advertisements, which are to be passed off ax;, legitimate newspaper criticisms. We „aed not say that what is i§ neither more nor less than a, fraud upon the public. No reputable journal would allow its news columns to be occupied by matter of this sort, and we feel confident that the conductors of the 74 newspapers which- arc. named in the list would have nothing to do' with the transaction if its real natuva were known to them. :

At the h\ the capital of one of the Colonies, the congregation larger on the celebration of a fashionable wedding than iipon ordinary occasions of Sunday worship. On one day, lately a nuptial ceremony was to take place. TJiq bells rang out—seats and aisles crowded-—choir and organigt, in great |orce.. All went, as usual. middle of t^e.service,'the "ffko.se head level, announced, '-' A, collection will now lpe ,tna,'le 1" " wade that con- j gregation lpok in five seconds.