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Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 302, 20 July 1868, Page 2

The Australasian, relates the following anecdote which has been in circulation lately of "dead lock" in Victoria which has raised a lau°-h at the expense of a race which generally contrives to have the laugh on their own side when any, money transactions are m discussion. A much embarrassed civil servant was summoned before one of our judges on fraud-summons, the amount between £3O and £4O. Putting the dead-lock m plea, the defendant obtained exceed: mgly easy terms—he was ordered to liquidate at the rate of £1 a month But not long afterwards he was brought before the same judge by a Hebrew money-lender, who held his dishonored acceptance for a considerable amount and in this case he offered payment also at the rate of £1 a month, paymenttobegin when the previous order had been satisfied. Plaintiff assenting an order was made accordingly ; and the consternation of the creditor on learning the true facts of the case' may be conceived. To wait three years before payments commenced, and to collect his debt during three years more, was more than he could stand, and he hurried into court to obtain an alteration of the arrangement. But he was too late. The case could not be reopened. The civil servant had for once been decidedly too much for the money-lender, though it is not unlikely that when all the ravelled accounts of the past two years have been finally adjusted, the service will not have greatly the advantage of the capitalist."

To San Francisco and back in two minutes ! That is the latest achievement of the telegraph, and it is worth taking note of, because, after a few more such exploits, people will get used to them, and cease to regard them as remarkable. On one day lately a dinner party at the Buckinham Palace Potel were entertained by an interchange of messages with President Johnson, Secretary Seward, the Governor of Cuba, and the Governor of Newfoundland. Wires had been brought into the dining-room for the occasion, and the return telegrams were received in from two hours twentyfive minutes to six minutes. But the San Francisco feat excels them all. To accomplish this the wires " joined up "all across America, from Heart's Content to the great Californian port. The message was sent from Valentia at 7. 21 a. m. on the first of February; the acknowledgment was received at 7. 23, the San Francisco time then being 11. 20 p. m. of January 31. The distance travelled by the message going and coming was about 14,000 miles. This is a large instalment towards the telegraph that is to stretch all round the globe, and bring us news from New Zealand and all intermediate places at least twice a day.— Am erican paper.