Untitled

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 973, 18 December 1882, Page 3

The London correspondent of a contemporary writes :—“ It is a singular fact that the English are being literally stamped out of London. Take for instance Regent street. Every third or fourth shop is kept by an Italian, German, or Frenchman, Why is this 1 Simply because the foreigner .. is more thrifty, and is, if I .mny . use the term, more of an artist, and has more go in him than the average Englishman. -The Englishman must have his meat and -his little, luxuries, while the German grows fat on hisoatmeal water and-cabbage with herring. ..This: question of foreign labour is facing us with staring countenance in the metropolis, and it is raising its head in all the large provincial towns, and especially in seaport places. The majority of men who work our mercantile marine are not English, they are foreigners. ‘lf I can get a Dutchman ’ (meaning by a Dutchman any foreigner) said a sea captain to me—‘ I infinitely prefer him to a countryman. ; The one is sober, the other is the reverse.’ The career open to the common sailor is not tempting enough either to the offspring of the British school-board. The question of the employment of foreign labour inEnglandhas a dangerous enough outlook already, without adding the Chinese difficulty to it.” We clip the following from a Melbourne exchange “ A gentleman suffering from consumption, and being annoyed greatly by mosquitos, placed pure carbolic acid at his bedside. It not only proved a protection agamst them, but it is reported it had a very beneficial effect on his lungs. The remedy is so simple that anyone afflicted with this disease would do well to give it atrial. The carbolic vapour inhaled destroyed the bacilli. . Carbolic acid possesses many valuable properties, probably many not yet recognised practically, j

A young lady in Sydney, according to the Auckland Star, had a very disagreeable experience recently. She resided al Dawes Point, in the‘centre of Sydney, and was playing some sacred music on (he piano. Hearing a hissing noise, she turned suddenly and was considerably surprised and startled at seeing a snake coiled round the back of the Austrian chair on which she sat, with the head intently fixed towards; the key-board, as if the reptile were thoroughly enjoying the sound of harmony that floated forth from the instrument. With great presence of mind Miss Brot continued playing, knowing the power which music has, or is said to exercise over snakes, and at the same time she called for one of her brothers, who :ran in and quickly despatched the venomous reptile, which, after being measured, was found'.’to be 3ft 9in long; Where it came from is a mystery, but in all probability it was attracted by the sound of the music, and equally in all probability had Miss Brot left o££ playing- when she saw it, it would have struck her With its fangs. : The following interesting paragraph-is from the Graphic The oldest newspaper in the world is the Chinese journal Ling Pan, or Capital Sheet, which was first published at Pekin in'the year 911. For nearly two centuries and a half the paper only appeared at irregular intervals ; but since 1351 it has been published weekly until the present year. Now the Ling Paw comes put thrice daily, the two first editions : being printed on .'.yelloW paper, and devoted respectively, to. business intelligence and to fashionable and general news, while the third, on red paper, is a condensation of the earlier editions, and -it is intended for;provincial circulation.” From time to time the growing of wattles has been urged on the. farmers of Otago as likely to pay handsomely. It seems that there is a great scarcity of .wattle-bark just' now in Victoria. A- deputation representing the tanhing interest in the north-eastern district waited on the Minister of Lands recently in reference to this subject. They said that the supply of wattle-bark for tanning purposes was becoming rapidly exhausted, and that if. something' were -not' done to recuperate the failing supply , the trade must: come to a standstill; They said there were very many persons ready to go into the speculation of wattle-planting if the Government would offer inducements -in the ..shape of cheap land, Mr Madden said it. was the intention ' of the Government to insert a clause in the. Land Bill providing that land should be let on easy terms to persons proposing to cultivate wattles.