MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 255, 10 April 1880, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.

CHIPS AND SLICES. A contributor to an English paper p writes :—“ Of the LSOGO entrusted by V - the Baroness Burdetfc-Coutts to Mr W. Aehmead Bartlett, for personal distribution in Ireland, L2OO has already f been given to .help struggling fishermen in Galway who have had a bad fishing , season, to.pay theit little debts to tradesmen without incurring the run'ous system of borrowing,-which so much prevails: ,1 .hear, one of the . special objects of charity to which the Baroness wishes v this moh y devoted is the organisation of small loans to tradesmen and little * farmers, to be. repaid.. at some future time without interest charged on them; Helping people to help themselves is far , better charity, and. capable .of wider f extension; than the simple doling out of *y daily bread or money.” An important experiment with the telephone ia reported to have been made at Omaha on the 25th of January. The. object-* of--th® expiriraenfc was to ascertain whether conversation could he carried on between the Uhnn Pacific Transfer on the east side of tho Missouri Kiver, and the American Union Office at St, Louis, a distanc-’ of 410 miles, A previous trial had been unsatisfactory but that of the 25th of January was a .complete success. An ardinay conversation was carried on with the utmost ease, the most noticeable fact being that - while the enunciation of the words was clear, they came invariably W with the regular vibration at a musical ■ note. The conversation was varied with singing,-,of which apparently not a 'note was lost. A St. Louis singe*' sent over the wire, in a clear bar-cue 1 voice, " Sweet bv-aad-bye," which was , repeated by Mr France, »t the Otnans Telephone Exchange The St I>.-sis singer then seat ‘ 4 I'm a pßgriia. and. a -stranger.”- which again was repeated - back by Mr France. This is said to to be the longest distance over which tho tele] .hone has been success fully worked. A plan has been prepared for giving effect to Lord Derby's ideo of bringing investments in the *foaJ» within reach of the poorer classes of the British community. For this purpose it is proposed to make the post-offices of the United Kingdom available. Under the plan it will be possible for an investor to obtain L2O in consols, and the belief is that a large number of the smaller capi talists would avail themselves of tais security.. The Home Government, following out the policy intimated by the acquisition of the, telegraph lines, are now endeavouring to obtain a monopoly of the water sup) iy to the metropolis ; the “ Standard” says that the negotiations between . the Government and the London water Companies have proceeded much farther than was supposed ; the terms ot th t'ansfer have been settled with all the companies the payment being calculated on a capitalisation of the dividends, estimated with due regard to all contingencies. To procue the money wherewith to pay off the shareholders ot the various companies, it is said, that the Government contemplate the cieation of water stock, and the local rates of the metropolis will be made the guarantee for the payment of the dividends. A crime of a dreadful nature is reported from the west of Cork county. Daniel Collins and his wife carried on the business of small dealers in groceries and other wares in a house near Leap, on the mail carriage road between Bandou and Skibbereen. They were tly quiet and industnous x people. On Saturday morning, the ‘ brother of Collins, who lives dose .by, passed Daniel Collin’s house, and seeing it closed, he knocked. Receiving response, lie pushed in the - found the mail and his wife m, a dying state. The.wifeyras lying at one end of the bod wiU'a wound on the—head, and the husband wi» at tli«-'6ther end insensible from, loss of bldbl which flowed from a wound in the'throat. Near 1 the.bed floor lay : a hatchet .with which life'woman-had been struct. She was sufficiently conocious, her brother-in-law states, To inculpate her husband, and there Was evidence apparently that, after the latter had attempted to murder his wife, he tried to take his own life with a razor. The woman is not expected to recover. Collins is under the surveillance of the police. Jealousy is the motive of the crime.