MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 360, 3 September 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

A return just issued by the Treasury informs the country (says the Daily flews) of the ftb ounfc it h*t.paid k or when all is done, will have paid for the prosecution and conviction'of Arthvr Orton. The iUm total it fifjy-five.thousand three hundred and fifteen pounds some odd ■hillings and one penny. The nation which has paid fifty-fi v« thousand for the conviction of a single culprit may be congratulated upon its reiolute devotion to the pursuit of justice. Perhaps it cannot be congratulated equally upon the efficacy and cheapness of its legal systems. Mr Carlyle once described a certain celebrated State trial, a proceeding, golf up to determine, with immense trouble and cost, \i helper a person then in "full light pf everybody, had. or had not a nose upon hi» face. But that trial was contemptibly cheap when compared with this, and the question to be decided, was a cloud or a riddle whe» contrasted wiCb-thtf staik staring simplicity of the issue in the trial of + ie Claimant. We need hardly say that this fifty-five thousand pound* is, after all, but a small portion o£ -the money which ha* been paid for the purpose of confronting and exposing Arthur Orton sinoe he was "spotted! 1 sp,. unluckily in Australia. All the proceedings in Chancery, all the | state, that once we thought could never end, and which at last broke down suddenly, and e\ery thing, or 'nearly eVerything, that was done in the defence of the Claimant more recently, had to be paid for as well, and much of it on- far more liberal terms. The visit of Orton to England wa# almost like thai of come ogre of legendary time. We might have entertained half-a-do^en of the greatest Sovereigns for months without anything lifce'the same amount of cost and waste Only that it would not quite bay* suited the dignity of Justice to treat with her enemies, •»« presume that Mr Ortou could hare been induced to take himself off long ago for a tenth of the arnount-which it cost to obtain a verdict against him. A correspondent in India, writing upon the famine in Bengal, says : My flrtt excursion from the encampment in th« Eamnuggur mango vai to the golas, in which Mr Howe has stored the Government grain si it hat reached him. Ther* was all the savagery of the fiercest hunger in the struggle that raped here from early morning until long after the going down of the sun. No evidence could bare been clearer of » veritable famine of food. Hem were lean and haggard people, in whose naked frames the ribs stood out sharply as you may hare seen the framework of rafters on an unroofed house, on whoso naked limbs the joints showed in great knobs, because of the attenuation of tha flesh above and below them— here, I say, were snch people hustling and struggling and trampling— for what ? Not lor lawless plunder, not for indiscriminate charity, In the reckleW dispensing of which the first come may bo the best served, not for any special daintf . No, but that, with money in their hands, they might buy in fair trade, and at a high price, the food whioli xnonej was powerleit to procure for them elsewhere, because elsewhere there was no food. I own that no sight, not even that of the corpse of one dead of starvation, has brought the bitter actuality of famine home to my perception like this one. A document relating to Caxton, found amongst the miscellaneous records of the Exchequer formerly preserved at I he Chapter-house of Weitmimter.and of which Tho Academti reprints a copy, mentions thnt the Father of English printing had a daughter, married to William. Croppe of Westminster, tailor, and- ttfftt she and her husband five jears aft** CaUon's death, were separated by eccfesi^t jcjfr tntliprity.

TL« vessel, inUmdfd to .obviate sea sickness in the passage .tcroei the Channel, it rapidly approaching completion. rcitel ha* been completely plated and the fitting of ph«r engines and boilers in place will toon be accompliilied. Tbfs work will be done while the ihip it on the stocks, to that when she U launched the may the aiune tide be sent upon her trial trip. The vessel, so novel in her construction, i» an object of gnat interest, and scarcely a day ptsti ■ without teveral visitors froaa a distance inspecting her. The ■bip it 350 ft. long at the water-line, and for £Bft. at each end the deck it only about 4ft. nboTe the line of flotation, to that in rough weather the sea will wash over these low end*. The deck* on thu portion of the v ( ei*el have a considerable curve and the siJet of the ship are rounded off to •that the water may c.cape •■ speedily as possible. This form of end has been selected with a view to obviate any tendency to pit chine. Abow these low decks a breastwork ji erected about tight feet high. Jt it 254 ft. long and all the width of the vessel. The whole of this breastwork deck is to he de?oied for the use of the passengers, and that portion fore and aft of the paddle-boxes will be protected with stanchions. The restel will be propelled by four paddle*wheels, and 90ft. of the space between the paddles will be occupied by the swinging saloon. Beyoud this and »nd at each end the space is occupied nearest the saloon by the engines and next by the boilers. Ajb one end of the breastwork there will be accomodation for the crew of the .ship, and beneath their quarters stowage room for passengers luggage, Ac. At the opposite end of the breastwork the space is fitted with cabins for the special use of ladies, and below these cabinn there is a salooa 52ft. long, and fitted with sofa seats all round. Along the sides of the breastwork deck, between the { addlo-boxot, there are other cabins for Passengers, besides smoke-rooms and refreshment-rooms. RPhe Bessemer swinging saloon is making good progress, and already a good idea ot the principle may be obtained by an inspection of the work. Tbe saloon proper is about 70ft. long, 26 feet wide, and Very lofty. The weight of the saloon is borne by four large bearings, one at each end and .two near the cei^rj. Tjo end bearings are fixed on iron transverse bulkheads, which are well-stiffened by fore and aft ways to prevent them buckling. Tbe ••loon will be one of the most tuperblyiitted apartments afloat. The top of it will form a promenade deck, and it will be fitted ail round with seats. rlher Ihe saloon will be entirely under the control of the machinery in rented bj Mr Bessemer, and it it declared that it will be kept perfectly free from rolling during the passage across the Channel, snd passengera, it it Will not feel any more unpleasant sensation than they would in going up or down the Thames. The ship will be supplied with two very large life rafts on the plan paten* ted by Mr Christie, and she will be steered and her capstans, Ac., worked by bydraulio machinery. She was designed by MrE. J. .Reed, C. 8., M. P., and Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Hull are both the builders and the engineers. At the "holy place" at Betklebem (says the Cologne Gazette of May 3, quoting from the fleue Fret Prette) the /Christian pilgrims hare caused a violent fray. Accoiding to a custom introduced some years ago the Latin Convent formed in spring a religious excursion to tbe Jordan, in which the pilgrims who hare arrived from Europe are accustomed to take part. On their return they attend generally |» Te J>eum in the Grotto of the Nativity. On the Bth ult. ,tbe multitude of pilgrims which this time was particularly numerous, returned from the Jordan to Bethlehem and wanted to enter with flying banners and in a great proces* ■ion to the Grotto through the so-called " Iron Gate." The Turkish military in charge of the Temple at Bethlehem, in order to keep the Christians of the different confessions from breaking their necks against one another, explained to the leader that the Latin clergy had, it is true, the right of passage through this gate, but that under present relations they must make tfceir way though the portal »f tbe Latin Convent which leads into tbe church itself. Thereupon the mast of pilgrims fell upon the troops, struck the officer* and maltreated the soldier*. When the district supcrintendeut appeared and was about'to interfere he did not come' off .better. In consequence of the scandalous proceedings, communications are going on between the Forte and the French /Consulate. It was merely owing to the surprising self-com-mand of the Turkish troops that the holy place was not bathed with Christian blood. The following touching lament for a deceased wife, from A disconsolate editor of a Missour, paper, appears in the columns of that journal : — " Thus my wife died. No more will those loving hands pull off my boots and part my back liair as only a wife can. Nor will those willing feet replenish the coal-hod or water-pail. No more will she arise amidst the tempestuous storms of winter and hie away to the fire without disturbing the slumbers of the man who doted on ber so artlessly. Her memory is embalmed on my heart of hearts. I wanted to embalm her body, but found I could .embalm {her memory cheaper. I procured of EU Mudgett, a neighbour of mine, a rrry pretty gravestone. Hig wife was consumptive, and he kept it on hand several years in anticipation of her death ; but she rallied last spring, and his hopes were blasted. Never shall I forget the- poor man's grief when I asked him to part with it. ' Take it, Skinner.' be hoarsely whispered, ' and may you never know what it is to have your.soul disappointed as mine has been ; ' and be burst into a flood of tears. His spirit was, indeed, utterly broken. I bad tbe following epitaph engraved upon the tombstone: — 'To the mertor/.ef Tabitba, wife of Mom Skinner, Esq., gentlemanly wditoVof the Trombone. Term. $3 a year, invariably in advance. A kind mother and an exemplary wife. Office over Coleman's grocery, up two flights of stairs. Knock hard. We shall miss thee, mother, v« shall miss tbee. Job printing. Job printing solicited Thus, like Eacbel weeping for her children, did my lacerated spirit cry out in agony. But one ray of light penetrated the despair "of my soul. The undertaker took bis pay in job printing, and the sexton owed me a little account I should not have gotten any other way. Why should we pine at the mysterious ways of providence and vwinity (not a conundrum ? — Pall Mall Qazette. A new coach has been started from London to Wetterham, a visage in Kent, and a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph describes the opening journey of the season, lie stys: We wars timed to leave the White Horse Cellars, Piccadilly, at 10.30, and punctual to the minute, Sir Henry de Bathe gives the word to. " sit fast." A crowd gathered to see us off, envying, doubtless, the good fortune of the dozen men and the one lady on our passenger list. Out of this encircling thrdog we emerge, and take our way down Piccadilly, attended by such musical honours as a lusty-lunged guard armed with a very long horn can yield. Soon, however, we leave the route of last year, which led through West Wickham, and from the point of divergence we are merely a novelty to be stared at. Brixton is left behind, so are Tulsehill and Lower Norwood — till, after a steady pull up Nun-nery-hill, Sydenbam is reached, and we sweep along the front of tbe Crystal Palace, with London and its southern suburbs out on the left like a panorama. None alight here, but when it becomes known that such an agreeable means of travelling to Sydenham is practicable, tbe Westerbam coach will regularly pull up at the great glass house. Our way lies down tbe opposite slope of the hill, through Penge, not long since a most rural village, now a bit of a province of houses, and so on to Beokenham, the end of our first stage, where we are due at noon. Honcoforth we have done with stuccoed villas and painfully trim gardens, and have looked our last for a time upon gas lamps ai}d polonel Hendersons myrmidons. On every side stretch the. fields, an expanse of green and yellow, the road is arcn«d with vendure, and the scent of May fills tbe air. We sire now at a considerable elevation, and looking to the rear can see right across the valley of Sydenham-bill, while on both hands tbe view has opened out in- striking fashion. J£eston-common it next patted, and Cudham. and now we are nearihg the end of our journey— seeing the end, in fact, when a broad and beautiful Weald spreads itself out beneath . u.s« and tbe houses of Westerham show themselves nestling among abounding* trees. Merrily descending the bill, we soon reach the skirts of the little place, and are greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of the entire school population assembled, and also by a crowd of the inhabitants of Westerham. hThe coach is perfectly appointed as far as money can make it, and it is altogether a most creditable and highly praiseworthy undertaking on the part of the proprietors and owners.