The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Issue 167, 6 August 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1879.

Temuka Races. — A 1 committee meeting was held in the Crown Hotel on Friday evening last. Members present —Dr. Hayes (in chair), MacPliersou, Storey, Wilson, MacBratncy, Tombs, and Spillane. Tbe following resolutions were passed : —That the annual races be held at Temuka on Friday, 19fh September next. That Dr. Hayes, B. Thomson, and the Treasurer be empowered to sign all cheques for the current year. That Messrs. Storey. Thomson, and MacPherson be a sub-committee, to draw up a programme, add report to meeting of Committee on Monday night. The following ofllcers were then elected: —Judge, Mr. John Paterson ; starter A. Mcßratnoy ; Clerk of Course, B. Thomson ; Clerk of Seales, H. D. Macpherson ; llandicappers, 11. D. MaePherson and C. Storey ; Stewards, Dr. Hayes, A. D. Wilson, M. Spellaue, W. Williamson, H. DeEcnzy, L. Tombs, and W. C. Nicholas. The meeting then adjourned till Monday night, when the programme was discussed and agreed to, as will be seen in our advertising columns.

TkMUKA No. 1 RIFLE VOLUNTEERS. —The usual monthly inspection parade took place at the Volunteer Hall, Tcmuka, on Friday evening last. There were present 3 ofllcers and 33 rank and file. The company was put through a number of outdoor movements by Captain*';Young, and at the conclusion was complimented by him both for their efficiency iu drill and average attendance. A meeting was afterwards held at which a letter was read from the Defence Office, Wellington, conveying the thanks of the Government, to those members of the company who volunteered for active service, and informing them that their offer had been recorded, and in the event of their services being required they would be duly communicated with. A unanimous vote of thanks was passed to Mr. W. Williamson for his gratuitous services in drawing the plans and specifications for the Rifle Butts.

A cablegram states that Continental hops have been damaged by the weather.

The Merchants’ Shipping and Underwriters’ Association report under date London, August Ist—Arrived : Alice Pratt, from Port Pine (South Australia) ; Loch Urr, from Port Miulacowie (South Australia) ; Oamaru, from Port Chalmers.

Pate dE Foie Giias. —Iu Strasbourg two hundred and fifty people are engaged iu the business of cramming geese for the manufacture of pate de foie gras. In order to bring the birds.’ livers up to the proper condition of disease thirty pounds of food arc required. Twenty-three fetrasbougers have the monopoly of the trade, receiving altogether about a quarter of a million dollars yearly income, nearly four fifths of which is for the liver.

Making Bad Worse.— The churchwardens of a church in England, being disgusted with the penuriousness of a rich peer, who, since, the collection began to he taken up in,a hag instead of a plate, contributed nothing but coppers, resolved to shame him into liberality. They nut a slit in the bottom of the bag and passed it first to his lordship, whose bronze penny fell with a resounding clash on the. floor, plain to he seen by all men. Next day his lordships took all his prayer books and cushions home,' and deserted to church for good and all. Eating His Own Words.—A singular penalty was substituted for the brutal and degrading knout in Moscow lately. The offender was the author of a quarto volume which was found obnoxious to the authorities ; after a short and summary trial the book was pronounced libellous, and the writer was condemned to publicly “ cat his own words.” The, sentence was literally carried out, the entire book being cut up into morsels, which were fed to the unhappy man, amid the jeers and laughter of the assembled populace, until the whole hook was disposed of. Misery in Paris. —M. Lenevcux,' the Counsellor of the Municipality of Paris, has just published a work which contains, some startling facts about “ the hancl-sornest capital in the world.” The hook is entitled “ Paris Municipal.” From it appears that there are in Paris 9,935 households where one finds two beds in a single room ; 4,563 have rooms containing three bed ; 1,118 have rooms containing four beds. The rent of the domiciles ranges from 100 to 200 francs a year—2s to 50dols, 4,128 lodgments are lighted only by chassis a tahaliere —“ snuff-box sashes,” the smallest kind ; 1,800 are lighted from a corridor or stairlanding ; 3,000 nearly have neither stove nor chimney. “ Under such conditions,” says the ‘ Devoir,’ “ how can we wonder that the labourer should prefer the cabaret to his home ?”

UTLisrxo Waste.— The beet-sugar industry in France has received a great stimulums in the shape of the utilisation of waste product. After the sugar has been extracted from the beetroots the pulp, or molasses, is fermented and distilled to obtain a raw spirit, the refuse being calcined in furnaces to recover the salts of potach. This latter process destroys a quantity of organic matter which was known to contain valuable matter. M. Vincent, chemist to a large distillery at Courrieres, has succeeded in obtaining from the refuse large quantities of a valuable liquid know as chloride of methyl, which is of great utility in the arts for the purposes of refrigeration, and also for the production of some of the aniline colour's. The new process will necessarily incrcas the value of the “ mollasses,” and will thus cheapen the production of beet sugar, bringing the later into stronger competition with the produce of the sugar cane.

Sweetly Salutatory. —Mr H. B. Coiterill tolls us that this is how people in Blonde, Central Africa, salute each other. A man will approach a group of iiis friendsisquatted in the shade and. taking his seat besides them, will gently pat his ribs. This is answered by responsive pats. He then diffidently remarks, “ Sokire” (a corruption of the Arabic “ Good morning.”) The remark is re-echoed by his friends. He repeats it ; they repeat .it—faster and faster, till the word denegrates into “ Sodi,” “ Sold,” “So,” “So.” When all are panting for breath (this having continued for seven! minutes), one of the party will introduce a variation, “ Aji,” and off they will start on the new tack, “ Aji—Sold—Aji—-Sold,” and so on till, the tempo becoming more rapid, the Aji” becomes “ A—A—A,” and at lent a duet of grunts is instituted, which continues (sometimes to the accompaniment of a musical instrument) untill all arc thoroughly tired out.