MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 361, 5 September 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Certain remarks on a gross case of cruelty to a private solflier which not long ago came before a court-martial in the United Sta f e3, says the Pall Mall Gazette, called forth remonstrances from American w riters on the suppojod injustice of dwel'ing on an exceptional occurrence as though it wer« significant of tho state of things which mokes frontier service in their army unpopular. But that ]t mny be really rery unpleasant for him when his conduct displeases his immediate superior seem* apparent fiom the proceedings of another pourt-niflvtinl, confirmed lust month by the Secretary at War at Washington. In this cisc the officer under trial, Captain Humiroville, of the 9th Cavalny, was so unfortunate as to have to deal with, not one, but seven misconducted privates ; and among the eight charges brought against him was a count for having handcuffed them in pairs and fastened them behind an army waggon, which they were thus compelled to keep up with on a march of 19 days' 1 duration, over an average distance of 21 miles a day. Tbat this severe measure was not taken solely to get mutinous men over tho ground, but in the way of punishment for its own sake, was shown by other count-, .u cording to which he " did further every dny, alter tho arrival of his waggons in camp, cause the eaid piivates i*ach to carry a log, weighing 251b, more or less, and, manu-led in couples, to walk before a sentry till midnight ; " and did, "as a further punishment," deprive them of all their rations evepfc the bread and meat, and did, " brutally refuse th< m " any fire to warm or dry themselves by, though they had no other change of clothing. In another inslniifo this officer " struck with a club" a private while held down, and in another had one " thrown into a stream of water when the weather was very cold, so necessitating his removal into hospital." Captain Humfreville, less fortunate than the officer before commented on, whs found guilty, and dismissed the service. But, notwithstanding bis severity, we submit that enough has transpired to fully justify our former, explanation ol the great difficulty in getting, men of decent character to enlist under the Stars and Stripes, notwithstanding the hbeial pay offered. During one of the earlier visits ofjthe royal family to Balmoral, Prince Albert, dressed in a very simple manner, was crossing one of the Scotch lakes in a steamer, and wa» curious to note everything relating to the management of the vessel, and among many other things the cooking. Approaching tho "pulley" where a biawny Highlander was attending to the culinary matters, he was attracted by tbe savoury odours of a compound known by Scotchmen as " hodge-podge," which the Higlander was preparing. " What *s tbat ?" asked the prince, 'who was not known to tbe cook. " Hodge-podge, sir," was the reply. " How is it made ?" was the next question. "Why, there's mutton intil't, and turnips intil't, tnd; carrots intil't. and " "Yes, yes," said the prince, who bad not learnt thnt " intil't" meant "in it," expressed by the contraction " intil't ;" " but what is 'intil't? '" Why, there's mutton intil't, and turnips intil't, and carrots intil't, and " " Yes, I see ; but what is ' intil't ?' " The man looked at him, and seeing that the prince was serious, be replied, "There's mwtlon intil't, and turnips intil't, " " Yes, certainly, I know." urged the inquirer ; " but what is 1 intil't'—' innl't ?' " " Whj," yelled the Biglander, brandishing his big spoon, "am nn I tellin' ye what's intil't? There's mutton intil't and " Here the interview was brought to a close by one of the prince's suite, who fortunately passing, stepped in to explain matters to the Highlander who opened his mouth with stupid wonder at the possibility thnt a wise man like himself should not at onco have known that it was the prince. At the Sutherland Police Court, a young man named Thomas Jfaini, boilersmitb. MilfieJd, was charged with having committed bigamy, by marrying Rebecca Wills, at St Pnuls, on the Ist of Fi bruarv, his first wife, Mary Jane Dixon, whom he mnrried m 1871, being still alive. In applying for bail, Mr Bobson sanl that this was onother piosccution for bigtimy at the instance of a first wife ; and thesQcond woman not having been deceived, and not complaining. If all the men in Sutherland with two wives, and if *11 tlie women in Sutherland with two husbands, wore to be brought up, the judges at the Durham Assizes might do nothing else but deal with bigamy. They all should be moderate, as the punish' ment would be. slight Mr Kayll asked Mr Eobson if bigamy was such a rery common tiling m Sutherland ? Mr Eobson said that with the help of tbo police, he would undertake to produco a hundred cases of bigamy in the borough within twenty-four hours. Not a few of them would be duplicate bigamies, with both husband nnd wife married again. Ihe sacrament of matrimonj' was unfortunately ond ignorantly popularly regarded ns an ordinary cnil contract capable of being dissolved by mutual consent. The prisoner was remanded. Tho individuals (siys the Wangamri Chronicle) who wer© fined 1* c ach and cos-ts on Fndny lnst for playing at a game of chance, adjourned to a cafe distance after the case was over and " shook off" who should pay tbe costs.

In tho Western States, wlicre land is subdivided into fqnnrpj or p'lrelk-lograms, the laving out of a farm would teem tn be one of the simplest things possible. Nevertheless ficqnent mistake* am made m doing tins, which add to the foncinj;, to waste of land, and to wasfo of time m Ts,its ng to an'l from work, and in hauling in tho crois. A tqnve field leqnires less fencing tlian one of pr. nter len^t'i thun b e ulth If .theiv are more ro :d« Ihm ne es a 17, land is wasted ; and if the homestead h at one end or at one side of tho farm, much time is lost in reaching tho distant field*. Wo propose 11 irethod of laving out a farm which avoids all these wastes, and in which the homestead is not only in the )most convenient, position, but is sheltered by belts of timber and plantations from the prevailing winds. The homestead faces the east, and is supposed to bo in tho centre of on 80 acre or a 320 acre tract. For a4O or 160 acre t -act which is squaro, the same general arrangement would answer. The fields are squares of 10 acres each m an 80 or 160 aero trac', and 40 acres each in one of 320 acres. A belt of timber is placed across tho north end of tho tract and along tho east side of the north-east field. Another plantation is made 111 tho north-west corner of another field; both of these together will furnish piotection to the farm and the farm buildings, winch should be plaoed somewhere near the smaller belt of timber and within its protection. The house is surrounded , by an orchard at tho rear, and scattered groups of trees ornament it and shelter it upon the east and south. If those who are now settling up tho vast prairies would take some pains to lay ont their new farms and plant, their orchards and protecting groves in some such method as is here described, the face of the country would very soon become a scene of unsurpassed beauty, and the present bleak, unsheltered, dreary aspect of the landscape in winter would disappear in a few years. The money value of tho timber, Ibid the shelter, with its accompanying beneficial influence J|pon the climate, would far more than pay the cost of labor and the very small necessary outlay of money. — American Agriculturist. The habit of giving brine to pigs in undue quantities has been found to cause them loss of sight and fatal constipation.