AT THE CORNER.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5033, 28 February 1885, Page 2

AT THE CORNER.

[by nemo.]

Homo $um,\umani nihil a me alienumpwo.

I see by the Herald that a lot of our Thames Volunteers have offered their services for the Soudan campaign', 'more power to them. lam sure that the troops from the Australasian colonies will, if they go, acquit themselves creditably in the war. The experience of the trained civilian soldier will be found of .great service to the men of the regular army, and as for pluck before the enemy,' the Britisher is the same whether .in red, black, or blue coat. Neverthles* I fear that there is little chance of New Zealand'a •■ soldiers being sent to Egypt. ' „

*"\ "\ «*> . . •■ To all who indulge in a belief in ore* mation the following clipped from an American paper wilLbe interesting.—The 1 foundation of a new crematory has been laid in the suburbs of New York, and il was to be finished by Febrnaryl. The marble used in iti erection is theoldifount of the St Nicholas Hotel, and- was parchased at auction very cheap when that old landmark of New York was polled.down. The society has 500 members pledged aolemly to' the disposal of their dead bodies by cremation. Above the furnace there will be a hansome chapel, and after \ the religious service the body will be lowered by means of an elevator to the level of the fire, removed from the ease in which it reposes dnring the obsequies, wrapped in a linen sheet saturated with alum, and reduced in" the space of'4o minutes to the compass of 61b or 71b of fine grey ashes. If desired, these ashes oan be stored with the crematory authori« ties, or can be taken home as a relic. The best scientific appliances will be employed, for the detection of apparent as distinguished from real earth, and the company . expects to get a considerable income at ' fees for certificates of real death from persons who wish to be buried in the old* fashioned way. .., „ ••: . .; X X X Those (to put it in the mildest form)' exceedingly eccentric individuals, the American Evangelists, appear: to hare been getting into trouble at the home of.. the Bounty mutineers, Norfolk Island. (This reminds me, bye«tbe-bye, that one> t of them, Mr Pbelps, was on the Thamesa day or two ago, on a begging expedition for a church v there—how much good in this direction the subscriptions will do appears from what follows). Mr Dormant aodiMesdames Dormah and Phejps do not seem to be in favor, and according to the utterance of Mr John Adams at narrated by a Sydney paper's correspondent, "never before in their history had there been inch - a crisis, such iil-feeling, suoh disturbance amongst their people? and this he at* tributed entirely to the presence here. and teaching of certain - stranger*." This alone is a rather warm charge : to make against those wfco claim to be following- in the steps of Him who taught "Peace on earth, and. goodwill toward men," but the Norfolk Islanders were not content, with merely expressing their, opinion of the" " holy'" triplet," as Mr- Attains-went on to move (it.was at a magisterial meeting) :— "That the following regulation be added to the laws and regulations of Norfolk - Island, and that it at once become law: 'If it shall be decided at a public, meeting, of the colony by a majority of two-thirds of the adult male members there present at such meeting that the presence' of any person residing on the island is prejudicial to the interests of the community, it shall -.: be competent for such meeting to pail T a resolution expelling. such persons from the island, and he shall accordingly be expelled in the first vessel convenient for that purpose.'." After some discussion aJ. ballot was taken, when the motion was carried by 66, votes against .16. ,Th«----Evangelists will therefore have to make tracks, willy-nilly.: -■' . . ■ ; X X X Some wise acre down Sonth suggesta that a useful pickle might be made ef Karaka berries. Has he ever tried anjof them as a dessert ? I wonld advise him to , do so, but first to set his home in order, tor the berries contain a rank poison. ~ XXX "Reply psid "should invariably induce —one would think—an answer to i tele* 'i--gram, yet how frequently is it not the ease that, this rule is violated, and how. disappointing it must be to thW who are anxiously awaiting the reply or the transmission of which they have paid or are willing to pay. How cruel in many oases, and, to say the least, inconsiderate in others, auch conduct is** ' in the former how merciless, when ; some sighing swain perhaps awaits an an.d especially in oase that merotttai important wire from the lady of hit love fair One keeps him in suspense for several days if she replies at all. I have htard of such eases. ./,'•.