CLIPPINGS FROM ENGLISH PAPERS.

Waikato Times, 6 January 1874, Page 2

CLIPPINGS FROM ENGLISH PAPERS.

A XXXV" ntOCKSS FOR CMC MCI NO WOOL. Whether it bo on the bhecp's back, or after the clip, the way in which wool is cleaned i« of vital importance to all any* ay concerned with this great «taple of textile industry. Any unproved method whereby wool, however clogged with dirt or grease, can be purified cheaply, and mnckly without tionhle, and bo as uot to injure in anyway the fibre of the wool, is uucessaiily welcome as an economic diicovery, and claims the closest attention of all industrially or fommercially interested iv, wool. Such a discovery »eeins to have been made by the Bank Wool Cleansing Company, the patentees (one of the gentlemen connected with it being himself a retired squatter) aud exclusive manufacturers of » neutral soap, which, as a detergent, rmssesnes several remarkable and valuable properties. Giurantced to be destitute of alkali or acid, the chemicnl effects of which ou wool are well-known to be so destructive, the soap in question does not iv any case damage the wool, which it actually whitens. The patentees al*o claim for it an improving and prutervin o ' quality The w 00l h.is simply ti- be s.>akod pevinnsly in hot or cold water in order to remove loose dirt j after this the neutral so»i> t» be added in th» proportioo of oue gallon to UnUj t.> either hot or cold vatsr roady to

wash the wool or the sheep before shearing, the us >^^^HI nutation results in the. wool being r >ndero 1 {>mi L , -^^^^Hfl of a dazzling whiteness,, and that with au unbinkd^^^^H Cold water will answer, but hot effect an ecou^^^Hl material, time, and labour. In the wash ig of sl^^^^H value of this new ami powerful detergent ia enhanc^^^^^l grjatly by the fact that should the animal happen to si^^^Hl the liquid no harm will lesult ; another gr«r advant^^^Hfl th it it is free from taste orjsmsll. Potent he pre^^Hl cioa is for removing dirt and extracting grease it actu^^Hl so.'tens the skin of the hand of those using it, or eveii^^Hl sensitive lip. without hijuiy to the nkio We >ia\u^^HU curselvM the efficacy of the neutral soap tested ou^^^Hl very duty and greasy wool, and m this case the actioo^^^|l virtually instantaneous, the wool on being taken fmu^^Hl liuuid and dried becoming at once clear, white, and <^^H| cluau, while the fibre was decidedly perfect. The "Q^^^Bl soap acta with equal efficacy on cotton waste, which^^^Hl some of our readers know, intensely tuul at timed, au^^^H doubt the scopo of this new, innocent, and most econ^^^H detergent can be widely extended. For wool ptWi^^Hl and consumers, however, the invention promises to b^^Hl the greatest moment and value

Tho Earl of Derby was present at the Major's ban^u^^^U Liverpool on Oct. 16. In the course of his speech the n<^^H| curl discussed the question whether, with the piohia'^^Hl creased rate of wages, we should bo able to inaintan.^^^H commercial superiority. He was sceptical as to the dai^^^H which some person* apprehended, and asked who undersell us? Nor did he believe tint wages woulr^^^B permanently raised beyond their level by any artificial fIHH bmation, while he pointed out that scarcity of hands a^vs "1 led to improved mechanical agencies, which cheapened pro- J duction . Even the coal famine, he thought, might be a bless- ■ ing in disgui'e. Towards the close of his speech Lord Derby referred to tbe Ashantee war, which he thought would involve considerable cost and much waste of life, while it , could not increase our military reputation, or give us any J substantial advantage. There could, however, be no dS-'M ference among politician! as to the necessity of defending W British territory, or of resenting any attack. He did not JJ raise the question as to the responsibility for the quarrel, M but he doubted whether it was wi«e to take over tho Dutch ■ forts. He believed in the value of colonies to which EnglishjH people could emigrate, but thought that we had sufficientJH black subjects. Jfl^H

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF BIGAMY. £■■ Frederick Franci* Areliibnld Farquharson, a man of gooa^ address and about 30 years of age, has .just been committed by the Trow bridge magistrates to the Wiltshire Assizes on a charge of bigamy. The matrimonial history of this individual exemplifies the adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction." It appeared from the evidence that in 1859 he first married a lady named Buckley, but in 1861 he was divorced from her on the ground that when the marriage was contracted he was under age. In the same year, having a f tained his majority, he married Alice Bertha Henrietta Vmer Beuest, at Hackney Church-, London, after a courtship of seven months. On the occa-ion of this marriage the prisoner said nothing about the divorce. The parties lired together as man and wife till a few weeks since. Priir^ir was in the habit of frequently going into the country, ostensibly to do business. These excursions at last aroused the suspicions of the mother of hit London wife, and during one ot his absences she visited North Bradley, Wilts, where prisoner's mother residod, a lady of independent means. To her great astonishment the there found the pusoner living with another wife and family, lie having, it was shown in evidence, married on December 26, 1565, & young lady named Jessie Hooper. The mother of the London wife, on making this unpleasant discovery, acted with, considerable energy and decision. She compelled the prisoner, to begged to be released, to accompany her to Trowbridgc, where she gave him into custody on a oharge of bigamy. All three of the wives were present in court during a recent examination, and the two last have families. LOVE LETER IN THE VAULTS OF THE BANE OF ENGLAND. . It is not generally known that, under the provisions of its ancient charter, the (Governor and Corporation of th© Bank of England are obliged not onl/ to purchase at theit fair value any precous metals tendered to them, but also to tnko charge of any gold or silver, m ingots or plate, that may be brought to them for safe keeping. From time to time plate chests have been deposited with this view in the | vauhs of the Bank, and many of tßem have been there iolong that they are actually rotting away. On a recent occasion the servants of the Bank discovered a chest which, on being removed, literally fell to pieces. On examining tio contents a quantity of massive plate was discovered of the period of Charles 11. This circumstance might not in itself be very interesting but that there was found with the plate a parcel, which proved to bo a bundle of old love-letters, carefully arranged according to their datei. An inspection of them revealed a correspondence of a tender and romantic description carried on during the period of the Restoration. The name of the writer was found to be Berners, and, after considerable search among the archives of the institution it wa-» found that n family of that name bad been connected with the Bank about the time ny question. Acting upon this clue, the directors prosecuted their inquiry, and bein^, satisfied that a gentleman of the same name, now livir ;, i» the lineal repre->entntive of the owner of the plate and the* love-letters, both have boen handed to him.

TRAFALGAR DAT. October 21 was the 68th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. Sub;O ned is a list of the names of the veteran surviving officers who contributed to that victory, together witjh the r rank then and now : — Commander John Adamson fought as master's m ite on board the Britannia, and afterw arris assisted in nay gating the Berwick, one of tbe captured.7± guns ; Captain William Carleton wa* midshipman of tho Colo<siis ; Admiral the Right Hon tbe Earl of Egmont, thenthe Hon Mr Perceval was midshipman of the Orion ; IlieutColonel James Fynmore, R Jt., was midshipman of the Africa ; Vice- Admiral Joseph Gape was first-class volunteer in the Ajflx j Captain John Geary was midshipman of the Revenge, and ■wounded ; Commander Francis Harris was midshipman of the Tcmeraire ; Commander Sir T. W. Hoiburne, Barl., was fir»t-ela^-< volunteer in the Orion ; Captain Gilbert Kennicott was midshipman of. the Royal Sovereign, and received nearly forty wounds, and lost the sight of his right eye ; Admiral R. C. McCrea was midshipman of the Swiftsure ; Admiral Robert Paton was midshipman in the Bellerophon ; Admiral of tbe Fleet Sir Q-. R. Snrtonui, K.O 8., was midshipman of th^ Tonnant; Commander John H. Sanden was waster's male in the Swiftsurej Rear-AdmirtL Spencer Smyth was midshipman ot the Defiance ; Deputy-In-spector of Hospitals Peter Suther was surgeon in the Swiftsure 5 First-Lieutenent T. J. W. Tane, R M , held the i-.ms rank in the Lewatlian ; Commander W. Vicary was midshipman of the Achille ; Admiral William Walpole was midshipman in the Colossus ; Admiral Sir G\ A. Westphal was master's mate in the Victory, and was (<everely wounded in the head, and was laid in the cockpit by the side of his dying chief ; Commander Charles Wolndge was midshipnian in the Minotaur.

| ALABMING D4BKNESS. On October 23 Woolwich experienced a sudden and almost 4 unexampled visitation of darkness. The morning had been wet and gloomy throughout, but at 1 p m. the sky was overcast with a dark pall which seemed to obscure every vestige of light, from above The darkness was not that of a London fog, for viatas of lighted windows could be seen for a long distance. It more resembled the darkneas of > midnight, but there was a reddish tmb in the sky like that occasioned by a great tire. The atmosphere was very heavy and oppressive, the rain had ceased, and the wind, which, had been blowing from the south-east, entirely abated. The efiect was dismal in the extreme, and even terrible Nervous people experienced the most dread forebodings ; the more reasonable ones attributed the darkness to an eclipse of the sun, but found no confirmation in the almanac. Fowh went to roost, pigeons and other birds stopped in their flight to seek the nearest shelter, and every living thing seemed impressed by the gloom. The period of intense darkness lasted about 5 minutes, when light gradually broke in from the west, and an hour afterwards there w 18 brilliant sunshine.

CONSEQUENCES OF INTEMPERANCE. Some time ago, si»ysan ludian pap2r, the sergeants of the Rojal Artdl.ry at Ootacnmund held a quadrille party in the mesi-room, winch was kept up till far into the morning. In the'confusion of breaking up somo tumblers were left in the ver.indah of the mess building containing " heel-taps" of ale, brandy and water, and other drinkables. When the messboy camr to open the doors in the morning, he found a common kite in the verandah, which had evidently been making free with the liquor in the tumblers, for it was quite drunk. He put the bird inside, and after an hour or so, having slept off the effects of Ins debauch, the bird prepared for Bight by hopping out through the door into the open air, bnt no sooner did it show itself, than more than a dozen of other kites pounced upon the drunkard, and gnve it a moit unmerciful beating, insomuch that it was glad to seek the shelter of the mess-room once more, and would not go out again either by force or persuasion. One of the sergeants took the bird home, and it h now an inmate of his poultry yard— well fed and fat, and evidently fond of its present quarters. It never attempts to touch the chickens or ducklings, but goes to and fro among them quite unconcerned,, ns if it had been brought up among them all its life. It hu ' evidently lost its caste by getting drunk.