PROVINCIAL AND GENERAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 203, 21 December 1871, Page 7

PROVINCIAL AND GENERAL.

During the first nine months of the year 1592 adults and 2643 children in Auckland received poor relief. .It is stated that shops and dwellings are going up in all directions in Poverty Bay. A newspaper will be started there before long. Nearly 100 persons were declared by coroners' juries to have died of starvation during last year in the metropolitan county of Middlesex.

James W. Marshall, the discoverer of gold in California, has been forced in his old age to resort- to lecturing &nd selling the written history of his Hue and adventures in order to gain a livelihood.

The following appears in the " Wellington Independent " under a heading "A Call" :— We understand that it is the intention of the G-overnment to call to the Legislative Council one or two gentlemen representing the goldraining interest. Might we, in the interest of the other House, suggest the hon. member for the Dunstan ?

Riboulard, the contractor for the destruction of the Vendome Column, has just been discovered in a furnished apartment in the Rue Jacob (Quartier Saint-Germain) disguised as an ecclesiastic. On taking the lodgings he gave his name as Frangois Mario Hortus, Bishop of Thermopyloe. Some time since the house was searched, but the agents, struck byi*the sacred chai'acter of this personage, simply entered the room, saluted, and retired. Since that period his behaviour had given rise to suspicion, and on being arrested he avowed his real name.

A traveller in China relates : — " That same night a juggler, who was one of the great Kaan's slaves, made his appearance, and the Amir said to him, ' Come and show us some of your wonders ! ' Upon this he took a wooden ball with several holes in it, through which long thongs were passed and laying hold of one of these, slung it into ,the air. It went so high that we lost sight of it altogether. There now remained only the short end of a thong in the > onjuror's hand, and he desired one of the boys who assisted him to lay hold of it and mount. He did so, climbing by the thong, and we lost sight of him. The conjuror then called to him three times, but getting no answer, he suatclied up a kuife, as if in a rage, laid hold of the thong, and disappearc d .in his turn. By-and-by he threw down one of the boy's hands, then a foot then the other hand, and then the other foot, then the trunk, and last of all the head. Lastly, he came down himself, puffing _ and blowing, and with his clothes all bloody, kissed the ground before the Amir, and said something tc him in Chinese. The Amir then gave some orders in reply, and our friend then took the lad's limbs, laid them together in tbeir places, and gave a kick, when, presto ! there was the boy, who got up and stood before us! All this astonished me beyond measure, and I had an attack of palpitation."

A Mr. Arnold of Sydney, has invented a process of utilising waste leather. By means of machinery, he will be able to manufacture the waste leather usually considered valueless and destroyed into a sub-

stance harder then leather, impervious to water, and capable of taking a beautiful polish. It can be used for soles of boots, winkers for horses, buckets, book covers, and a great variety of useful and fancy articles*.

' The telegraph construction parlies have taken away from the great centre of Australia all the mystery so long attached to it. There is no desert — no scorching sun plains unendurable by whites. The worst portion of the interior is that which is nearest to South Australia, and the besb is that which is farthest north. It has been found well-watered, well-grassed, welltimbered, picturesque in scenery, and gold- producing on the head-waters of the Roper River. Settlement will speedily follow the formation of the telegraph.

The risks taken" by the Government insurance in Canterbury- alone are said to amount to considerably over £80,000. "* There arrived recently at the Eichmond Springs two beautiful belles from New York city. Their trains were endless, their costumes wonderful as to fabric, fearful as to expense ; rich and rare were the gems they wore, and it was estimated by good judges that their complexions cost at at least ten dollars per box. They exercised " Pink and White Tyranny " over all the poor gentlemen invalids who were seeking health at the springs, and were the envy of the expiring lady invalids -w,ho\vere buzzing- around the springs in search of a long lease of the world and its vanities. These belles arose one morning from refreshing "slumber,, and determined to renew their beauty by a sulphur bath. To the bath they went with, * dazzling "flakes of the previous evening's rose and*pearWtill on their faces, . Alas ! that, in this instance, a thing of beauty was not a joy for ever. The sulphur changed those lovely, those expensive complexions to blue-black. The color would; not come off. -Those complexions were first-class aud warranted to • wash, and those belles thus unexpectedly- put under Jhe protection oi tlje Fifteenth Amendment

went away from Richmond Springs in haste. They are now under the care of an expert chemist in New York. There is a moral to this story somewhere, but " we do not now remember what it is. Each reader can select a moral to suit.— Utica (N. V.) " Herald."

The " Association for Promoting the Reunion of Christendom " has recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary in London.

At an early hour on November 21, the inhabitants of Port Ahuriri were alarmed at hearing a rifle discharge, and on proceeding to their windows, they witnessed an exciting chase. A young man, in very light attire, was seen madly careering through the deserted thoroughfares, and endeavouring to elude capture by two persons in hot pursuit of him ; he eventually succeeded in reaching his domicile and locking the door. As this case, we understand, will lead to legal proceedings by an injured husband, we refrain from further comment. — " H. B. Telegraph."

A good story is told in a book just published — the Life of Young the comedian — of a farmer's" wife whose pond had been used by some Baptists for the immersion of their converts. Hearing of it, she was very indignant, and vowed that the intruders should be kept off in future. "I aint no idea," sbe said, " of their coming and leaving all their nasty sins behind them in my water." The sense of moral propriety in a pond, and of its being rendered unfit for its normal uses by such contamination, is very finely brought out in this saying.

The Paris " Liberte" publishes the following letter, which has been addressed to the editor. The letter is written in print characters, and was forwarded through the post : — " 200,000 citizens of Paris, 4,000,000 citizens in Europe are active members of the Internationale. You are required under penalty of death to discontinue your attacks upon the members of the Commune. The Sergens de Yille, the Gardes de Paris and their families are all condemned to death within a year by the Supreme Council of the Association, aa are also all the officers of the butchering regiments. The capitalists are condemned. We have numbers. We have strength. Discipline is being organised. Old society must perish ; it will perish. Not a hair shall fall from the heads of any of the members of the Commune, or prepare for immediate massacre. JO Internationale, the mistress of Europe."

The Abbe Brasseur de "Bourbourg recently passed through Panama on his way to Europe. He is at present transiting from the Mexican some annals of the world's history from the time of the Deluge, and which, he asserts-, bear uuC every aupposlclon eoutained in his previous works ; confirm the views of Agassiz and other geologists as the great movements which the world's surface has undergone ; prove the former existence of a continent which joined America and Africa; that civilisation was carried from the so-called new world to the old; and finally, that the ancients knew more of geography and the currents of the ocean than is known at the present day. The manuscript from winch he translates is written in Mexican in Latin characters, and in its introduction states that it was -copied in this manner from hieroglyphic characters on bark by a priest of the house of Montezuma, who feared its contents would be lost because the Spanish conquerers at that time were seizing and destroying everything they could lay their hands on which might tend to preserve the existence of the former language, or orthography of Mexico. The publication of this work will cause great discussion amongst the savans, and this the Abbe anticipates ; he says that he believes fiually the whole world will be compelled to acknowledge the truth of the statements he makes, but which at the present are sneered at by scientific men, and entirely pooh-poohed by historians.

A Wanganui butcher advertises mutton afc from l|d to 3d, and beef at from 2d to 5d per lb. ' A contemporary says that a Californian, who has recently returned to San Francisco after 15 years' sojourn in Australia, writes to a local journal that shortly after his return he was asked " whether New Zealand was somewhere in Chili."

Some New England lady, Mrs. Daniels, we believe (says the " Richmond Inquirer") — another of the Daniels corns to judgment — has invented a new-fangled apparatus for keeping the ladies' stockings up, which is to supersede the time-honoured and knightly garter. It may do well for those ladies who lack sufficient rotundity of limb, but our Virginia woman are not deficient in any of the necessary adjuncts that go to make up the perfect mould of form, and can keep their garters en and stockings up without resorting to any new inventions. What will the Yankees aßk. us to surrender next ? The garter is an old and cherished institution ; and, although the elastic invention with the buckle' has been adopted by many city belles, the free born and unconventional country girls still stick to twiue and tape, and other strings— some even using as a tie the primitive wisp of straw. We will have none of this new-fashioned hip attachment gearing. We are true to y our ancient ties. It is a direct assault upon our civilisation —

a blow aimed at our gartered rights — and we will resent it while we have a leg to stand on. Ladies, bo true to your stockings. Unfurl the banner of the garter, and inscribe upon it that grand motto of the grandest order of knighthood ever established, " Honi soit qii/i mal y pense " — and there is not a man, young or old, in Virginia but will rally round the fl&g, and shed his last drop of blood in defence of the garter rights of women.

" A notable feature of College Commencements this year," says the " New York Tribune," "is the frequency with which Japanese faces appear. The Government of Japan has sent several hundred young men to this country to be educated, and in a few years they will carry back with them all that our eollege3 can give in the way of scholastic culture, as well as such germs of Christian civilisation as may effect more for the ultimate advancement of Japan than a century of ordinary missionary work. According to universal testimony, these young men are ape, thoughtful, attentive, well-behaved, and eager to learn. Year by year the number of those coming hither appears likely to increase, and the result may be that in 1900 Japan herself will have become the Athens of the East."

The mosquitos of Burmah (says the "Madras Mail") have a terrible reputation, but we .ne.ver imagined that they weresuchformidable- wretches that they could compel even, a sailor to commit suicide. Yet that is the character a local paper give them. It would appear that some years ago a sailor walking as sentry on the gangway of her Majesty's frigate Fox, when that vessel was lying at anchor on the Irrawady, was dreadfully teased and excited by the swarms of mosquitos which kept worrying him. No amount of fighting had the least eff-ct on them. Finally he gave up in despair, and calling to his comrade Bob, " I say, Bob," he inquired, " do you think hell is worse that this place ?" (using some dreadful expression in reference to his tormentors.) He said he did not know, but no doubt Quoth Bob, "It is pretty bad here, and unless we get the skin of an elephant, these burning stinging beasts will eat us up alive." The sufferer remarked, " Good-bye, Bob, I'm going to see if it's not cooler than it is here." With that he walked up the steps and gave one jump and away overboard he went, to sink to rise no more. The watch was roused with the cry " a man overboard.'" Boats were lowered and every search made to recover the infatuated man who wanted to £jet away from the pestering worrying mosquitns, and could not. He committed suicide in the frenzy produced by them. A court of enquiry was held next day, and their verdict was " Drowned himse'f when mad from the or o-.varms of mosquitos." The Commodore sent ashore and bought bookmuslin enough in town to supply each man with a set of mosquito nets or curtains, when the misery of these poor men was brought to a happy close.

In a book about Queensland, a University man gives the following :—: — " Now for the method of stocking a plantation with coolies. There are two ways which have been adopted, and found successful. One illustrates the ' force of persuasion,' the other the 'force of circumstances.' We will first; explain what is meant by the ' forre of persuasion.' This method is chiefly adopted on such of the islands as have been subjected to Christianity and civilisation. The man wishing to obtain the coolies sends out a achooner to one of the islands, having on board a general cargo, and carrying, as well, a man of gentle manners and persuasive aspect (a converted missionary, if possible) with a good stock of toys, tracts, idols, looking-glasses, Bibles, grog, and tobacco. All these are kindly intended for gratuitous distribution, after the cargo has been sold out. The schooner is then converted into a kind of floating bazaar and re-ception-room. Missionary meetings are held upon deck, and the little presents, as they meet the taste of each recipient, av x c distributed below When a favourable opportunity occurs, the natives are surprised and overpowered, andcarried over to Queensland. Some of them are persuaded to go of their own accord, but the proper complement could not easily be obtained in this way, as the art of * persuasion ' (an art as old as the father of lies) is rather a tedious one. The simplest way, after all, is to use the ' force of circumstances.' This method has been found the most successful one among the cannibal tribes, who, in default of missionaries, are in the habit of devouring, each man his vanquished enemy."

Borings are being made, with a tr iew to the construction of a tunnel under the Clyde at Glasgow,

At Ling, in Upper Austria, an " Education Congress " was lately held, at which" 2,000 male and female teachers met to discuss the (subject of religious and secular education. A splendid monument to the memory of the French soldiers who fell at Metz is to be erected there.

The fancied necessity for praying aloud doubtless had its origin in the heathen notion that the Being addressed is organised like man, and that the worshipper must reach His understanding through the sense of hearing. The whole conception is altogether extremely sensuous. Yet, nevertheless, some professed

Christian worshippers pray with as much vehemecce as did the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and, possibly, for the same reason — because they imagine that their Lord may be at a distance, or otherwise oecupisd, and that an unusual effort may be required to secure His attention. If they do not entertain Pagan ideas, why do they imitate the example of the heathen, who " think that they shall be heard for their much speaking?" Incessant importunities are surely not always nor generally the strongest indications of profound reverence for the Power we recognise. This becomes the more apparent in the light of a Christian philosophy, and the observation derives additional emphasis from the explicit testimony of Jesus—" The Father khoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him." — Dr. Brittan.

" Do we want a Governor and Second Chamber ?" This is the heading of a leading article in the " Nelson Examiner," the gist of which is contained in the following sentences: — " Since we have besn practically turned adrift by the Empire, there are no Imperial interests to protect, and, in short, the office of Governor is an empty sinecure which might be abolished to-moirow, if it were certain from experience that the Presidency of the chief Minister would work satisfactorily. A very similar account may be given of the Legislative Council. It is also a parody of an institution which is itself falling into decrepitude." Miss Delia Roberts, a Kentucky schoolteacher, 22 years of age, hung herself last week because of her love for one of her boy pupils, a lad not yet 14. On the evening before her death she went to tha boy's house, and calling him to the gate said ; "Ned, you will never see me again. When you grow to be a man and marry, tell your wife about tho woman old enough to be your mother who died on your account." Thus saying, she clasped the object of her strange passion to her bosom and was never seen alive again.

A Saratoga graveyard is the dwelling place of an insane woman who delights in barricading the walks and pushing over monuments.

In Sweden women vote for three of the four orders of which the Diet ia composed — clergymen being elected by their own schools onlj. For the three other orders women take part in the election, " peasant women, burgheresses, and ladies of quality" voting for their own particular order iv the Diet.

" A Believer in the Darwinian theory" sends us the following .—". — " The Jen'viulon of a man from an ascidian reminds me of an illustration which throws great light upon the subject: I mean the analogous derivation of pickled cucumber from King Jeroboam. You think there is no connection between the two, just as you thought in the case of the man and the ascidian. Very well ; now mark how a plain tale shall put you down. King Jeroboam was of course Jeroboam King, affectionately shortened into Jerry King. That by natural process became Jer King, thence Jerkin, from which by easy transition G-erHn, which is identical with pickled cucumber. Q. E. D." — "Madras Athenaeum.

The. Auckland " EveTung Star " contains the following: — Talk about the Caledonian! but commend us to the Sailor Prince. As appears from our telegram, it yields gold and Bilver, bearing the profile of Her Majesty 1 Four sovereigns and five shillings taken out of the stamper-boxes ! Think of it geologists ! Ponder on it ye of antiquarian research ! Sovereigns in quartz, and crown pieces in mullock ! What is the world coming to.

The following is from an American paper, of course: — The editor of a newspaper in Richmond, Va., received ou Thursday last a polite, note from a lady of respectability in that city, signed by her full name, announcing that she would at eight o'clock in the evening of that day proceed to take her own life by the most available means, and respectfully soliciting the pleasure of a reporter's company to witness the ceremony. Punctually at the appointed hour the reporter and several other invited guests presented themselves at the residence designated, but owing to the interference of friends, or some other circumstances, the attempt was indefinitely postponed. But the purpose of the writer came very near being carried out. Of coursQ the ladj ia deranged. Some curious figures appear in the tabulations of the New York census returns as to nationality. Of then total population of 932,292, 720,990 are of foreign parentage on both sides, 38,12 L have either mother or father of foreign birth, and only 186,481, or less than two in nine, are of American parentage. Of then voters (malesover twenty-one), 113,285 are of foreign birth ; 55,447 being of Irish, and 41,752 of G-erman Parentage. The Americans in, America's metropolis are in a very small minority. The Beyront correspondent of the " Levant Herald " writes : — Negro slavery has once more shown its head at Damascus, and, sad to say, Christians are mostly concerned in it. A certain M. Mitri brought a complaint before the crimiual tribunal against his ex-partner, one Sirius, accusinghim of having " set slave against his master. 1 ' Sirius was condemned to

thirty days' imprisonment, or a fine of £7 10s. An Italian medical man long, too long in the service of fie Porte, sold a Christian girl to a Moslem. She fled back from him, and took refuge among the French Fathers of the Seminary. When the local government ordered her to be given up, these strong-headed men replied that the walls of the French seminary contain no slaves. Let us hope that they will be firmly supported by their consul.

The following is from the " Pall Mall Gazette " :— lf a statement that reaches us from America be true, our men of science may well take care how they expose " Spiritism." The Rev. Mr. Thornhill, ie seems, made such an attempt, but a steel collar was suddenly riveted around his neck beyond the power of any blacksmith to file off. It is true that he afterwards discovered that the riug had cured a painful tumour on his neck, and, being converted by this circumstance, he goes about with his steel ring on, lecturing in favour of the spirits ; but persons in good health, who would be without this compensatiou, might not and it altogether pleasant to find themselves invested with the symbol of slavery. A new form of eteel pen, containing a reservoir of ink, has been lately introduced by a Birmingham firm, who have named it, with a singular oblivion of the meaning of the word, the, "automatic Wonder Pen." The patentees claim that a fortnight's supply of ink can be carried in the pen ; and from the description we find that the ink is in a solid form, as only a little moisture, such as water, milk, or bee •. is required. Tens loaded with ink nj several colours are made, and are used by being dipped in the fluid, as is usual with the ordinary pen and ink "iEgles" in the ''Australasian," says :—lt: — It is said that one of the believers in the Nunawading Messiah met Sir James M'Culloch in the street not long since, and gravely informed him that '' The IJord had appointed to meet him (Sir J.) at 4 o'clock that afternoon." Whether from official habi , o • with a certain grim humour, Sir James is said to have been "Very sorry that he couldn't keep the appointment — x previous engagement at that hour," and so forth.