MISCELLANEOUS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 295, 25 September 1873, Page 6

MISCELLANEOUS.

His Honor Sir William Stawell, Chief Justice of Vitcoria, has had conferred upon him at Trinity College, Dublin, the honorary degree of LL.D., and the Irish papers refer in eulogistic terms to his Honor's long connection with this colony in testimony of his ability and high judicial character. A lady writing a gossiping letter from England to a friend in Ararat, remarks that the Shah's idea of female beauty may be gathered from the fact of his admiring the Princess of Teck, who is as round as a plethoric bottle, much more than the Princess of Wales, In expressing his satisfaction to Her Majesty at all the sights he had seen in England, he intimated his desire to see the mode of executing offenders, Her Majesty at once explained that public executions never took place except for the crime of murder. The Shah replied that if that was the only difficulty in the way he would willingly give one of his suite to be operated upon. Mark Twain in his Innocents Abroad gives a capital description of a visit to the Russian Court, and in that description writes of the future bride of the Duke of Edinburgh the Grand Duchess, then, of course, a comparative child, as follows : — " The Empress and the little Grand Duchess wore simple suits of foulard (or foulard silk, I do not know which is proper), with a small blue spot on it ; the dresses were trimmed with blue; both ladies wore broad blue sashes about their waists ; linen collars and clerical ties of muslin ; low-crowned straw hats trsmmed with blue velvet • parasols and flesh-coloured gloves. Ihe Grand Duchess had no heels on her shoes. Ido not know this of my own knowledge, but one of our ladies told me so. I was not looking at her shoes. I was glad to observe that she wove her own hair, plaited in thick braids against the back of her head instead of the uncomely thing they call a waterfall, which is about as much like a waterfall as a canvass-covered ham ia like a cataract. Taking the kind expression that is in the Emperor's face and the gentleness that is in his young' daughter's into consideration, I wondered if it would not tax the Czar'a firmness to the utmost to condemn a supplicating wretch to misery in the wastes of Siberia, if she pleaded for him. Every time their eyes met, I saw more and more what a tremendous power that weak diffident school girl could wield, if she chose to do it. Many and many a time she might rule the Autocrat of Russia, whose lightest word \ia law to seventy millions of human, beings ! She was only a girl,, and she looks like a thousand others I have seen, but never a girl provoked such a novel and peculiar interest in ma before." The following is from a San Francisco paper:— " The Government of British Columbia is offering splendid inducements to. .actual settlers— 2so acres for nothing! Under the provisions of the Land Act, assented to 21st February, 1873, it is stated that * the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appropriate any public lands considered suitable for settlement and cultivation, and not being mineral lands, as free grants to actual settlers, under such regulations as shall from time to time be made by order of Council. Such grants or appropriations shall include lands surveyed, or hereafter to be surveyed. No land located as aforesaid, nor any- interest therein, shall in any event be or become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or liability contracted or incurred by the locatee, his widow, heirs, or devisees, before the issuing of the Crown grant for such land. Afterissuing of the Crown grant for any such land, and while such land, or a»y part thereof, or any interest, therein, * ia owned by the locatee, or his widow* heirs, or devisees, such land, part or interest,, shall daring twenty years, next after the date of such location, be exempt from attachment,. levy under execution, or sale for payment of debts, and shall not be or become liable to the satisfaction of any debt ox liability contracted or incurred before or daring that period, save aad except any debt secured by a valid mortgage, or pledge- of such land made subsequent % to the issuing of the Oown grant, therefor.* We believe that neither, the United States nor any British colony has ever offered such- thoroughly liberal terms to. actual, settlers. We understand that a number of Califcrnjanst familiar with British Columbia hare already taken up laad under the pro* TOWO& ©Jt the »c* *W<* e*d^aM¥»^