MISCELANEOUS ITEMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1746, 26 July 1884, Page 4

MISCELANEOUS ITEMS.

India has 10,000 miles of railway. The yew is the longer liver of trees. Population of Fiji is said to be decreasing, i Four million toriß of coal go astray in the Slates annually. ' ' The oherry blossom is the national ] flower of Japan. ' London consumes 0,500 tons of butchers' meat per week, Japanese paper towles are being used in American hospitals, | Great Britian pays twenty million annually for poiatoes. In Manchester there are four flourishing vegetarian dining-rooms. There are thirty towns of the name of Washington in the United States. The Duko of Wellington is known in Belgium as the Prince of Waterloo. Not one per cent of the female popular tion of India attends school of those of sohool age. In the last three years three million tons of shipping have been built in the United Kingdom. The Chinese army possesses neither surgeons nor doctors, and the death rate in consequence is astonishingly low. Eager to demonstrate the possibility of "living like a lord on Gd a day," the Manchester Society gave a penny Biipper of three courßes to 300 persons on Satur« day including a pudding of mysterious compound and enigmatical flavour. The supper was a decided success, George has beaten all previous records for two miles by some eight seconds, having covered the distance in 9rmn. 1 17fseo. in a London Athletic Club race. 1 Eleven English sea captaiua played a 1 cricket match at 'Friso against a local , club. The local men only scored twenty- , four, but the tars were all put out for two , extras, : The Age advocates in regard to the > amending law to regulate the liquor traffic, , the raising of the price of licenses, an increased excise duty on spirits, and a ' restored duty on beer. In 1872 a Mrs Blake made her will leaving £2OOO each to Mr Gladstone, Mr 1 Dillwyn, M.P., and The O'Connor Don. 3 In 1876 she died intestate, not having ■ signed her will. The legatees, however, l have just received a notice that they are r to be paid the legacies, s The failure of the National Weekly Life Assurance Society proveß to be a very disastrous and disgraceful affair. There is not a shilling left with which to pay any of the many claims against the Society and members who have paid into . its coffers for 30 years have lost all. f The last dividend of £1 per share det clared by the Long Tunnel Company, L Walhalla, brings the total amount of dividends declared by the company since its formation to £900.000. Sun Suey Shing, the names under which a Chinese importer was summoned to the City Court for an alleged breach r of the Customs Act, interpreted "Bright r and flourishing in great plenty." r A. man was arrested the other day 1 in Paris and examined by a Commissioner of Police on a charge of stealing 5 a meerschaum pipe. Nothing was 1 found upon him and he was about to be discharged, when the Comissioner thought it best to inspect a loaf of l( bread the man had with him. The loaf proved to be a " staff of life" in s more ways than one, as it contained e not only the stolen pipe, but a hundred-' f franc and a fifty-franc note, a gold ~ watch and chain and purse. s The best ministerssay the Chinese is s everybody; a definition applicable to 1 the wittiest individual, There are no 1 taxes in the interior of China, only dues ' are collected at the treaty ports, and i- while China buy European goods, r representing /about half a franc per i individual she exports produce for six t times that rate. " Civil marriage in South Africa is not a lengthy rite. ' A correspondent mentions that a happy pair entered the Queen's Town House, the bridegroom paid a £5 note signed a document, took his spouse by the arm and walked her g out of'the building, saying, "How do e you do, Mrs—l" The cermony lasted jj just two minutes, - The rich Sheffield Handicap, 200 yds, c was run off at Bourke on the Queen's 1 Birthday, and the prizes of £2OO, £SO, - £3O, and £2O were, won by Brewer, 16 e yards; Brooks, 11 yards : Malone, 1 1 yard; and Sane, 4 yards. The Champion e Handieap(prizes £4O and £10), 125 yds, £ fell to Malone, scratch, with Hegan, 4 I yards second. Time, 12|sec. '• How did I sing, mamma f asked 1 one of our Napier daises, when the little friendly gathering had dispersed. '' "Oh you sang pretty well," un- '' kindly said the better half of the I establishment; only I think you might have chosen something more approe priate than' We'd better bide a wee,' e You girls seem to think that your ' father and I always want to be saddled B with your drapery bills. And with 8 young Perkins turning over your ' music too! How can you expect him . to propose while you are uttering such sentiments. I'm astonished at your want of tact, Amelia!" and the irate mamma went off to bed. The number of immigrants arriving in New York during the month of " January, February, and March was II 49,200 against 49,622 in the first quarter of last year. r Particular to a shade,—(The vicar's e daughter has been distributing winter r shawls amongst the poor). The ut youngest Miss Qhaubaken—" Please, ■" miss, ma presents 'er complimints, and she's much erbliged for the orfer of n this ere shawl; but green don't suit 'er " complexion, and, ifhequally convenient, 0 she'd prefer a dolman, as she 'ears they're still worn." e "In our country," said the English--11 man, as he leaned back in his chair, P " before we marry, we arrange to settle a certain sum upon the wife," "Yes, ■' I know," replied the American; " but r with us it is after they are married ' that a certain class settle everything on ! > the wife and arrange to beat their '* creditors." " Ha, I see! And how do the creditors take itf "They don't r find anything to take." For choice language, commend us to '. A, G. Taylor, in N.S.W. He called '« Luscombe, another M. L.A.," a coward, l > a creeping thing, a knave, a rough, a cur, and a cow-headed rat." 'f Two female burglars were recently r captured in London. They could have " got away with their swag had they not stopped in tho house to try on some ■* new bonnets they found in a dressingroom,