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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1236, 30 December 1882, Page 2

A housewifely duty which seem strange to our English eyes, but is always performed . by Dutch ladies of all ranks, is the washing up of cups and saucers. After lunch and tea, a silver bowl is brought in, and the cups and saucers are daintily washed, and carefully dried with a delicately fine linen napkin, usually beautifully marked in white embroidery with the initials of the family, surmounted by the count’s or baron's coronet if the family be noble. This time honored custom is now, I think, retained rather m a cherished observance of an old national peculiarity, dating, no doubt, from the days when ladies in all countries took the personal supervision of their linen and china closets.—“Cassell’s Family Magazine.” Major Henry Brown returned to Dallas, Texas, recently from a five months' trip z , through North-western Texan. He sent out by the State to survey and looseschool lands. He reports that buffalo hWL ters have nearly completed the extermination of the animal in Texas. Where droves of 5000 were seen a few years ago, not 500 are found now. He says the professional hunters have blessed that country in two ways. In the first plane by killing off the buffalo they have compelled the Indians to go scalp 4 farming farther west. The second blessing, he says, is the increase of grus, otherwise consumed in enormons quantities by the buffalo. Formerly it required the product of grass of whole counties to support them. A question affecting the right of ports to fly what flags they please has been raised at Weymouth, and caused some amusement as well as interest. Until recently there hu been flying from the pier-head of that port a royal ensign, which, at sea, can only be used on certain vessels of the fleet, and yachts whose owners have obtained leave from the Admiralty. The chief of the coutguard, from a misapprehension of his duties, sent ashore and ordered the flag to be lowered, and on this being refused, des* patched a boat’s crew to haul it down. They did so, and leaving the flag on the pier, ft was removed by the toll-collector, and a French tri-colour flag substituted for it at the pier*head. The matter subsequently reached the ears of the Mayor, who at once entered his protest against the proceeding, threatened the coai tguardsman, and ordered the toll-collector to take the man into cue* tody if he repeated this act of presumption. The Admiralty have, however, set the matter right by informing the town clerk that the chief officer of tne coastguard had no authority to interlere with any flags hoisted on shore.

| The quiescent state of Parliamentary j | questions at the present time strikingly ~ shown by the character of the speeches which are delivered by members of both Houses - of Patliament at Agricultural Society meetings in all parts of the country. The once chief theme is the campaign in Egypt, praise being invariably given to the skilful manner in which it was planned, and the brilliant manner in which it waa carried out to a successful end. The Archbishop of York's Thanksgiving prayer for the British victories in Egypt has been sharply criticised. His Grace’s effusion is not, most folks think, in particularly good taste. It reminds one indeed of the Emperor William’s famous letter to his wife during the Franco-Prussian war “ Thanks be to God, my dear Auguster, We’ve had another awful buster ; Ten thousand Frenchmen sent below. Praise God from whom all blessings flow." The Archbishop is scarcely very happy either when he talks about “the wide empire we have received on trust.” History does not calculate that Britain waited to receive her foreign possessions “on trust.” No, no— we took them by force, and we kept them by right of conquest. Clap-trap cannot disguise this fact, and the next time Dr. Thompson takes to composing thanksgivings, he will do well to be more veracious and less bombastic.