Untitled

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1838, 13 November 1884, Page 2

In the presence of. an immense congregation, representative of all damnations of Christians, Mr Spurgtßi's fiftieth birthday was recently celebrated in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The Earl of Shaftesbury, who .was greeted with much enthusiasm, occupied the chair, and Canon Wilberforce was amongst the speakers, Mr Spurgeon was presented with .£4500, . Sheep in Queensland increased by 945,421 last year in spite of the fact that the losses by deaths and 'absence of increase in lambs were greater than ever previously known, One of Mr Spurgeon's stories is of an old lady who, wlien her wanted to take her umbrella in' a * shower, said, "No, now, you don't; I've had that umbrella twenty-three years, and it's never been wet yet, and you're not going to begin," A Footpath Preservation Society is the name of an association about to bo formed in England for the preservation of foot and bridle paths, as well sß>r the protection of all rights of way, vacaut spaces, village greens, dio. Tlio streets of Alexandria, Egypt, are paved with stone blocks so neatly that horse cars run upon them without rails, The car;) are open, and appear like an ordinary article, except that the wheels are twice the usual size, Jews actually own and work mordf' than one and a quarter millions acre* of land in Russia, and rent from the Crown nearly one and a half million acres more.

A new use has been found for tobacco waste by the papet manufacturers. The stock costs less than rags, and makes a paper said to be equal to manilla. A New York female, whose dog lost an eye in a light with a cat, employed an oculist to put a glass eye in the place of the member that had been clawed out. Britishers are the greatest letterwriters in the world, the average ner head being 3? ; whilst the Tlnlfc States is 21, Germany 17, France 7?, Italy 7 Spain 6. In the French Post Office it is proposed in future to stamp all letters liy machinery to save time and make the imprint of the stamping olearer than by i hand.

The yield of gold in the United States was valued at £6,750,000 in 1870, and £5,562,328 in 1883. The latter was the West yield during the last fourteen years. The Boston Young Men's Christian Union is providing carriage rides for invalids this season. Lust year it made over 1,000 persons lnippy in this delightful way. _ T|]o fibre of silk is the longest cqi]< tinuous fibre knqwi). An Quinary cocoon of a \vell-fetl silkworm wil| often reel IQOO yards, and an instance is given by Ct, Dandolo of a cocoon yielding 1295 yards, or a fibre nearly threequarters of o mile in length, At Naples the otljer (jay a stegjf torpedo boat was launched whicli had been built there lor the Italian Govern- ■. ment. In her trial trip she not only 9 accomplished the stipulated speed (30 miles an hour), but did 31| miles which is believed to be the best time on reoord.

There has lately beeu published in London a list of over 3000 Protectants who have become Catholics since the commencement of the nineteenth century, The Washington monument when finished will be the highest tower on earth. The highest pyramid is only 480 ft, and the spire at Oologno, completed two years ago, ut 520 ft high; but the Washington monument will overtop them all, being 555 ft in height, An English dootor has trjed tq count the riumbqr of hairs on a square inch of surface and reckons it to be 1066. This would give 127,930 for the whole head, while more thickly clad heads might have 150,000 hairs. jJjk The capture of the octopus is a lead-® ing fishing industry of China, these sea monsters being taken in great nunjbers at some of the Chinese fjshing stations, They are by (J'7' ingjn the sun, and then after being packed in tubs, are distributed among the chief centres of the country The record of the Parnell tribute of nearly £40,000 shows that of that sum Ireland contributed £28,650, America £5745, Australia £2200, Great Britain £I9OO. In Ireland the provincial analysis runsMunster, £11,746; Leinster, £11,690 Ulster, £3318; and Connaught, £1796, On his vast target field at Meppen Herr Krupp is having constructed portions of a large ironclad to try his famous guns against. These novel Jk targets are so ingeniously arranged as ™ to imitate ■ the motion of a vessel at •ea. &