Suez Mail Items.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3847, 29 April 1881, Page 2

Suez Mail Items.

An appeal to the Privy Council interesting to New Zealanders was heard a few days ago. The case was one in which Messrs Daniel and Co. claimed compound interest on a loan at 10 per ceut. contracted by .Mr Sinclair of Blenheim. Both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in New Zealand had decided that, uuder the circumstances, compouud interest was not payable, and their lordships now confirmed the colonial decisions, and dismissed the appeal with costs.

A new stenographic machine has just been tried in the Paris Chamber of Deputies, in the presence of M. Gambefcta and other members. The mechanism, which is an Italian invention, was worked by the daughter of the inventor-, A small keyboard, somewhat similar to a piano, communicates with the. stenographic sigDS, which are priuted on a strip of paper. A speech was read in Italian at average rate: and speedily taken down, After this a curious trial was made bj M. Grambetfa reading a French speech to the operator, who was entirely ignorant of the language. Her quickness of hearing, however, enabled her to transmit the various sounds to paper by means of the instrument, and the result was very satisfactory. ' ■ '■ , The. Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield has just completed a new selfextracting revolver. The weapon is made by a simple contrivance to reject empty cartridges, whilst retaining those that are unexploded. It is fitted with a side release-spring, worked by the thumb.

One day at a party where Tallyi'and was, Dupont de Nemours. harangued on his favourite theme, the language, of beasts. A"very stupid person undertook to controvert the theory, and when the person left, Tallyrand quietly remarked, " M. Dupont is right —beasts do talk." Ati American paper thus describes a talkaiive female —" I know a lady who : talks so incessantly that she'won't give an echo fair play. She has such an everlasting rotation of tongue that an echo must wait until she dies before it can natch her last words." " He was a fine looking young man, and ;: h© strutted down the sidewalks with an air of proprietorship in i every movement. "Beg pardon," said a stranger as he stepped up to him, hat in hand, in utmost humility. "Do I'have your permission "to remain in town overnight." g|Mike to Patrick ; " Did you ever sop a flying fish, Pat?" Patrick (with a look of wonder) : I've seen illustrati6ns of 'em, but never an original/ Mike (earnestly): '" Oh, I've seen waa alive, but it was stuffed J" Lady' to deaf butcher; " Well, Mc Smallbones, how do you fiudyourself today P" Smallbones;' Well I'm pretty well used "up, mum, Every rib's gone; they've almost tore me to pieces for my shoulders ; audi never had such a-run on my legs.','

Why is the North Pole like an illicit whisky manufaptory P-^Because it's a a sepret stfll.