MISCELLANEOUS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 368, 15 May 1889, Page 5

MISCELLANEOUS.

The population of the United Kingdom is 36,000,000 ; pauper percentage, 2*90. The population of France is 37,000,000 ; pauper percentage, 3*5. The population of Germany is 46,000,000. We have no figures concerning the pauper percentage ; but the expenditure is known to be high in Prussia. The population of Belgium is 6,000,000 ; pauper percentage, over 8 per cent. The population of Switzerland is 3,000,000 nearly ; pauper percentage, 5. The population of the United States of America is 61,702,000 ; pauper percentage, 5 per cent. Details of railway traffic on the Government lines throughout the colony, for the past financial year are now available, and show that there were carried 3,132,803 passengers, or 309,047 fewt-r than in the previous year. Parcels, etc., numbered 399,706, or almost exactly the same ac in the previous year (399,728). 919,319 livo stock were conveyed, being 29,862 fewer than in the year before. There was alpo a decrease of 5,944 tons in the wool carriod (78,202 ions), but in grain and minerals there were large increases of 89,005 and 86,549 tons respectively ; and there were smaller increases in merchandise, timber, firewood, chaff, etc. The total Roods traffic for the year amounted to 1,920,430 tons, or 184,669 in excess of last year's figures. Thore were increases in all branches of railway revenue, excepting passengers, parcels, and luggage. The total cost of the railways open up to the 31st March was £13,352,978 ; the net profits for the year are therefore at the rate of very nearly 2f per con t. Nelson people have been agitating to secure the commencement of the Midland Railway at their end without delay. The Premier has been several times appealed to, and has replied stating :—": — " The Government will most certainly expect the Company to fulfil the contract, and to push on with the work at the Belgro\o end as well as ab Springfield. The Government look upon both workn as equally important. Mr Scott informs me that the difficulty at Belgrove is that the line has not been definitely located, whereas at the Springfield end the line has been tixed and the survey all but completed. He says that he is advised that Mr Wilson, the Company's engineer in charge, will leave London directly details of the arrangements of the Company are completed, and that he will then proceed to fix the line with the Government engineers. The Nelson people may rest assured that their interests will not be neglected by the Government." An extraordinary scene was witnessed in the Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, at Clonmel, recently. The Catholic soldiers of the garrison attend mass there every Sunday morning, and while the officiating priest, Father Byrno, was reading the Bishop's Lenten pastoral, in which he strongly condemned the action of the Government towards Ireland, and adjured the people co pray for their country in this time of ttouble, Lieutenant Geohegan, who was in charge of the troops, rose in his seat, and ordered his men to leave the building. As they did not immediately obey, he repeated the order twice. Father Byrne, addressing the men from the altar, commanded them to remain in their seats, and all the soldiers, except two sergeants, who followed Lieutenant Geohegan out of the church, obeyed the priest and stayed where they were until mass was over. On leaving the chapel Lieutenant Geohegan was hooted and hustled by a crowd of people, and when the soldiers marched for their barracks they | were accompanied by a crowd, who cheered them heartily for the course they had ttdopted. Before the officer left the chapel the priest publicly rebuked him, and told him that he should report him to his superior j officers. Mr James Mills, in his interview with the i epresentative of the " Sydney Morning Herald," made the following statement with regard to his company : — The fleet consists of 45 steamers, the Mararoa, Manapouri, and Wairarapa being the finest ships of their size afloat. The aggregate tonnage is 38,500 tons, and the combined strength of their engines 36,000 horsepower. Last yar the ships steamed 1,490,000 miles, burned 140,000 tons of J coal, of wrhich fully one-half was quarried in New South Wale", and carried as cargo 70,000 tons of coal, all of which came from I Newcastle. Their employees nfloat number 1372, of which 304 were navigating officers and engineers, 684 seamen and firemen, and 384 stewards and cooks. All those people were Europeans, and very many of them Australian born, a number in all departments being natives of New South Wales. As the years go by, and the younger men displace the elders, the proportion of Australians perceptibly increases. Then there is the staff ashore, 150 hands at least busy with books and figure^, and an army of mechanics and labourers defendent upon the company. £250,000 sterling represents the annual wages list> and 1000 tons of meat, equal to 33,000 sheep of 601b each, is the annual consumption ot meat on board the Union Company's ships.

A billiard match in which J. Roberts con ceded \V. Cook 4 000 in 12,000 up, spot barred, in the rooms at Grafton-street,Bond-street, London, terminated with a sensational victory for Roberts. In the atternoon Cook held his own with 345 and 173, aa against Roberta's 174 and 165, and scores at the adjournment being - Roberts 10,817 ; and Cook, 10,060. At his fourth attempt in the evening the champion ran up to the extraordinary total mi 690, which beats the record by 86. To show the rapidity with which ho scored it is only necesaaiy to mention that he totalled 903 in forty-six minutes. The final scores were— Roberts, 12,000 ; Cook, 10,205. "Once more John Roberts has been the billiard hero of the week. Not content with beating the record tor the greatest number of consecutive nursery cannons, in the course of which beautiful break he worked the balls almost round the table, on Saturday night he eclipsed the best — his own — spot-barred break of 604, with a magnificent run of 690 In addition to the glory of such an achievement, he reaped a more substantial rewaid, as Messrs Burroughes »nd Watts, in accordance with their very generous promise, at once presented him with a cheque for £100. The break was made on one of Messrs Burrougheo and Watts's gold medal tables, fitted with their patent extralow ' Eureka ' cushions and secret pocket plates. " There's a gentleman, aged 74 year?, living in Brighton (England), who has ridden no less than 74,000 miles since he took to cycling — 35,000. miles odd on the bicycle, and 41,000 on the tricycle. He declares^that during the whole of his wanderings he has met with no accident. Thi? he attributes to the care he has exercised, and the build of the machines he rides, which are constructed more with a view to safety than elegance. Dunn defeated Marshall in a rive mile match for £25 at the Carrington Grounds, Sydney, on April 19, the latter retiring after completing 2 miles and 3 laps. Dunn ran on until he had completed the third mile in 15min 3sec, when he was allowed to retire.