News and Notes.

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 24, 8 September 1894, Page 9

News and Notes.

Nearly 3,0 C 0,000 needles are in use every day. As a rule women have better eyesight than men. A steam bicycle has made its apperance in Germany. About 1000 bootmakers are out on strike in Melbourne. Broad nails belong to gentle, nervous, bashful people. Madame Patti recently sang at the Albert Hall—fee, £BOO. “ God Save the Queen” is sung in nearly twenty languages. Cholera is killing hundreds of people in Prussian Poland. The rate of interest is fixed by law in Switzerland at five per cent. Mataura dairy factory pays a dividend of six per cent this season. The progeny of a pair of rabbits, in ter years, will number 70,000,000. Sir G. Grey winter on the Continent, and returns to London in the spring. Ninety-seven out of every hundred Arctic explorers have returned alive. In Shakespeare’s time the prices of admission to a theatrical performance varied from a penny to a shilling. The Wellington furniture trade is agitating against the competition of John the child - like and bland. An ordinary piano contains a mile of wire, and no end of worry for a learner’s next-door neighbour. The barking of a dog on earth can be distinctly heard by balloonists at an elevation of four miles.

The loss occasioned by the Scottish miners’ strike, is estimated at six millions sterling.

A Unionist shearer was shot in Queensland during an attempt to fire a wool shed.

The strength of a horse is equal on an average to that of seven and a half men.

One out of every 180 inhabitants of the United States owns or rides a bicycle.

Four times more Irishmen reside in the United States than Englishmen.

About 1500 people have lost their lives through forest fires in Minnesota.

The highest masts of sailing vessels are from 160 to ISO feet high, and spread from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of canvas.

J. Lawlor’s warehouse, Sydney, was burnt down on September Ist. A fireman named J. Brown was killed by the falling debris. In Roumania a duty of Is per bottle has to be paid on foreign wine. There is a tax on female servants, on door plates, and on doctors.

There are in Lancashire alone 320 industrial and provident societies, with an aggregate of upwards of a quarter of a million members.

Mr T. Green, of Gore, says that brighter times are in store for all, and that it is evident farmers think there is more in cows than even in frozen meat.

Thanks to a free wool tariff, all the United States woollen factories are resuming work, and a great wave of prosperity is predicted for the next few months.

Statistics show that 23,010,0CX) inhabitants of the United States are maintained by agriculture, 15,620,000 by commerce, and 11,520,000 by manufactures.

Different men, different minds. Christchurch licensing committee has extended licenses to 11 o’clock, and Dunedin and Invercargill committees refused to do so. Rumour has it that Mrs Yates, of Onehunga, intends to be a candidate at the next general elections. She has a cemetery bill to engineer through the House. London contains one - eighth of Great Britain’s population, has a larger daily delivery of letters than all Scotland, a birth every four minutes and a death every six.

The Invercargill Cycling Club held its annual meeting on the 31st inst. Everything was reported to be in a very satisfactory state. Thirty-eight new members were enrolled.

Germany and; Austria have about 150 cooking schools. A lour years’ course is necessary ere a diploma is granted. Most of the hotel chefs have diplomas from these schools. The marriage rate of Germany rose 10 per cent, in the year following the Franco - Prussian war. The same phenomenon was observed after the French war which ended in 1815.

The Prussian army contains but one officer raised from the ranks. This is Colonel Lademann, who was promoted for acts of bravery in the Schleswig-Holstein campaign in 1864. For the feeding of London a little more than 323,083 tons of meat, poultry, .and general provisions were delivered last year from the public markets alone. This total was some 15,000 more than in any previous year. Our local Coolgardie (Wilson’s River) is looking up. The Golden Site Company have had their first crushing, and from 130 tons of stone obtained the highly satisfactory return of 204 ounces of gold, or about £BOO,

Horses that have been broken down by hard woik are put in good condition in a short time by being fed with infusions of roasted coffee and ground coffee beans mixed with honey. This is common treatment in Germany,. There is a gun in the British navy —a 22-ton Armstrong—which hurls a solid shot a distance of twelve miles, the highest point in the arc described by the shot being 17,000 feet above the earth’s surface. The discharge of the gun cannot be heard at the place where the ball strikes.

On a recent Sunday 22,000 cyclists passed through Kingston-on-Thames. Some were fined for furious driving, and the Cyclists’ Union, numbering 50,000 riders, threatens to prosecute those who imperil the lives of pedestrians.

The Salvation Army is nothing if not original. At present they have one of their officers travelling through the polony showing, |by means of the limelight, various scenes in the life and death of Christ, and other views bearing on the subject. The ‘ Gospel by limelight’ is certainly a novel idea, and it was not surprising that the local barracks were packed last Sabbath evening, on the occasion of one of these services, admission being by silver coin. A large number of views were thrown on the screen in quick .succession, and their life-like appearance greatly impressed the audience. Several hymns were exceedingly well illustrated, the limelight apparatus working without a hitch. —The proceeds over the ordinary collection go to swell the fund for building a rescue home in Dunedin.

At the quarterly meetngof the Invercargill licensing committee on Monday an application to transfer the license of the Gladstone Hotel to the Prince of Wales Hotel was refused, as were also applications for extensions to eleven o’clock. As if the Government had not al ready enough troubles to meet, Mr Slesinger, of Dunedin, is indignant with Premier Seddon for stating in the House that women in Switzerland are absolute slaves. This he regards as a libel on his native country, and threatens to report the mattee to the Swiss Government. What awful consequences may ensue, who can tell ?

The Gore dairy factory pays no dividend this year. After paying 3d per gallon for the milk and providing for depreciation of plant, the balance to credit of profit and loss was only increased by 18s lid. Meagre support by suppliers and initial smallness of capital are the reasons given for no dividend, and an improvement is looked for next year. The tariff question is once more before Parliament. Speaking on this question when introducing his Financial Statement in 1891 the late Hon. Mr Ballance referred to the large amount paid through the Customs by the working classes, and said: —“ 1 will endeavour to show the amount of taxation paid through the Customs respectively by an artisan and a labourer, each having a family of five, the former receiving 63s a week, or £137 per year, and the latter 39s a week, or £lOl per year. The artisan would pay in duty £l2 10s 4d, equal to 9T per cent on his earnings, while the labourer would pay £ll 11s sd. or IP4 per cent on his earnings. This allows for no broken periods, nor for periods of sickness or nonemployment, during which the earnings might cease, while the paying of duty, at least to some extent, would continue.”

Mr Heke, one of the Maori members of the House of Representatives, did not figure largely in the recent financial debate, but what he said was to the point, as thus : —ln reference to the moneys intended to be borrowed for the purchase of Native and private land, I will say this : that, in my opinion, there is no necessity at all to go in for borrowing for that purpose. There is plenty of Crown land which is lying idle. An hon. member : Where is it P Mr Heke : All over New Zealand —more than sufficient to satisfy the hunger of everyone in New Zealand. I think it would be far better for the Government to use the money which is intended to be borrowed to purchase private and Native land for opening up Crown land.

What can be done with a farm of 47 acres and 19 cows situated near to a dairy factory is shown by a correspondence going on in.the Taranaki Herald. The farmer, from September to May (nine months), sold to the factory 9261 gallons of milk, which brought him £ll7 17s 9d ; 15 calves he sold for £2l; 4 heifers, £9 ; 8 pigs, £l6 ; 12 tons of potatoes, £36; — total receipts, £199 17s 9d. He paid rates, £2 12s 6d; for ploughing, £2 ss; for seed potatoes, £2 17s; and for grazing fees, £5 ; total expenditure, £9 12s 6d. Net return, £l9O 5s 3d. These figures should afford food for thought for our settlers.

7. Eastern Bushand ClifdSn, weekly. 8. Edendale, Seaward Downs, and Oteramika Gorge, weekly. # 9. Edendale and Wyndham, as required. 10. Eorfcrose and Otara, twice weekly. 11. Eorfcrose, Tokonui Gorge, Quarry Hills, Waikawa Valley, Niagara, and Waikawa Township, twice weekly. 12. Gore, East Chatton, Chatton, and Otama> twice weekly. 13. Gore, Waikaka Valley, Waikaka, and Wendon Valley, twice weekly. 14. Hokonui Post Office and Allen’s Hail wav Station, once weekly. 15. Hokonui Post Office and Allen’s Railway Siding, twice weekly. 16. Invercargill Post Office and Railway Siding, per load, as required. 17. Invercargill, Puyaegur Point, and Cro* marfcy, monthly. 18. Invercargill, Waikiwi, and Wallace town, daily. 19. Invercargill and West Plains, twice weekly. 20. Kingston and Queenstown, daily. 21. Lumsden, Mossburn, and Te Anau, twice weekly from the Ist October to the 31st March, and once weekly from the Ist April to the 30th September. 22. Mararoa and the Key, twice weekly from the Ist October to the 31st March, and once weekly from the Ist April to the 30th September. 23. Mill Road, Myross Bush, Roslyn Bush, Grove Bush, Mabel Bush, and Hedgehope, twice weekly. *24 Mokotua and Waituna, weekly. 25. Muddy Creek and Wendonside, twice

weekly. 26. Nightcaps, Opio, and Annandale, twice weekly. 27. Orepuki and Lower Waiau, weekly. 28. Otautau, Merrivale, Orawia, Eastern Bush, and Blackmount, weekly. 29. Otautau, Merrivale, Orawia, Eastern Bush, Clifden, and Blackmount, weekly. 30. Otautau, Merrivale, Orawia, and Eastern Bush, weekly. 31. Otautau, Merrivale, Orawia, Eastern Bush, and Clifden, weekly. 32. Otautau and Scott’s Gap, weekly. *33 Oteramika and Mokotua, twice weekly. 34. Paterson’s Inlet and Half-moon Bay } weekly. 35. Pukerau, Kaiwera, and Otaraia, twice weekly. / 36. Queenstown, Grlenorchy, and Kinloeh, weekly. 37. Queenstown, Arthur’s Point, and Mala* ghan’s, twice weekly. 38. Queenstown and Moke Creek, weekly. 39. Queenstown, Arthur’s Point, Maori Point, Skipper’s, and Bullendale, twiceweekly, 40. Eiversdale and Waikaia, daily. 41. Biversdale and Wendon, twice weekly. 42- Eiverton, Groper’s Bush, and Gummies Bush, twice weekly. 43. Eiverton Post Office and Eailway Station,

as required. 44. South Hillend and Heddon Bush, twice weekly. 45. Spring Hills and Corbett’s Railway Siding, once weekly. 46. Spring Hills and Corbett’s Railway Siding, twice weekly. 47. Thornbury, Isla Bank, and Drummond, twice weekly. 48. Waikawa and Waikawa Township, twice weekly. 49. Waikawa Valley and Chaslands, weekly. 50. Waikawa Valley and Chaslands, twice weekly. 51. Winton, Oreti Plains, and Heddon Buebj. twice weekly. 52. Wiuton, Gap, Brown’s, Springhills, and Hokonui, weekly. 53. Winton, Gap, Brown’s, Springhills, and Hokonui, twice weekly. 64. Winton, Brown’s, and Hokonui Railway Terminus, weekly. 55. Winton, Brown’s, and Hokonui Railway Terminus, twice weekly. 56. Winton and Gap, weekly. 57. Woodlands and Dacre, weekly. 58. Wyndham, Pine Bush, and Fertrose, thrice weekly. 59. Wyndham and Mimihau, twice weekly. 60. Wyndham and Mokoreta, twice weekly. The attention of intending tenderers is directed to the terms and conditions of contract printed at the back of the tender forms. Contractors whosetenders may be accepted, must be prepared to carry out the services for which they tender according to time-tables framed by the department. Forms of tender, with terms and conditions of contract, may be procured at any PostOffice. No tender will be considered unless made on the printed form. Tenders, endorsed ‘ ‘Tender for Mail Service, No. ,” to be addressed to the Chief Postmaster, Invercargill. W. GRAY, Secretary. * Services may be affected by railway extension, and may be terminated by the Post-master-General on his giving one month’s • notice in writing. In delivering and receiving mails at railwaystations it is understood that contractors deal with the guards of trains.