CLIPPINGS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2082, 10 November 1885, Page 4

CLIPPINGS.

Thk. most ii'ccnt case of absence of mind h tint of an editor of a society journal who lei'ently copied fro'ii a hostile pip( r one of his own paragraph*, am' healed it, "Wietohed attempt at wit." At the annual pnhlie meeting of Kmmnnuel Congregational Church, O.imarn, on thu 27th October, the following res<> lutions, moved l»y the Uev. I'M ward Walker and seconded bv the It* John Rulivvoith, were unanimously adopted : — Resolved — Tliat tlm mot-ting expreses piofonnd thankfulness to (Jod that am <ersil tttention liai been ko efT'itivrly aroused Wy thn recent disclosuies in the Homo country to the widely piox.ilent and tniiMy dhb->lical train- known is proem. itiou, an 1 for tin* iintilnieut of prevrntnc reform which the (-'nmln.ll Law Amendment Act provides there ; (2) 7h.it this meeting also cxpiewj its I earnest conviction that tlie safeguarding of the present and future jouth of New Zealand imperatively demands speedy similar, but more thoroughgoing legislation in tins colony ; (3) That the duration of protection should extend to the age of 21 years, and corporal punishment be inflicted for violation ; (4) That, further, this meeting hereby appeals to every congregation 111 this country to express itself by resolution or petition upon this question, and requests that the chairman, the Rev. F. Seth Smith, will forward a copy of these resolutions to the Premier, the Hon. R. Stout. Why Don't Tiih Mh\ I'noi'osr ?— At the very time Mr Shackell is proposing to render marriage compulsory in Victoria j by taxing bachelors (sajsthc Australasian) the Norfolk Inlanders are also pu/zling their brains with the question, "Why don't the young men marry ? ' Matrimony is a subject that has much exercised the conductress of the " Ladies' Column" of the little new.spaper lying before us. " With the lots of young men and maidens above the statute ape, there being few or no marriages seem strange," says " Mitry Jane," "and it is a matter well worthy the notice of our rulers, who appear to lie busy just now, involving, as it dors, the future welf.uc and p r ospenty of our little state; ' increase and multiply,' the good book says. One never hears now of a marriage in prospect, or cren of courtships going on." There must be some universal cause in operation to account for the young men being so backward all the world over. The sanw reports reacli us from the United States, which so belie their name. The opportunities for flirting in Norfolk Inland are the quarterly reunions of the Kingston Club, which invites the ladies and gentlemen to delightful evening parties. The music is charming, the dresses extremely tasteful, and yet the evenings pass off without any proposal. " Mary Jane " says that the young men are too fond of flirting, they stand aloof fiom marriage It-cause th<y are afraid of ha* ing their liberty curtailed, or, perhaps, their innocent flirtations stopped, as, of course, they would after the ct remony was gone through, together with the abandoning of sundry other pomps nnd vanities appertaining to celibacy, liaehelors have not the excuse that 1 cuts arc hi^h and servants scarce, or that the young ladies cress ext»avacantly, for there is neither " block " nor arcade in Kingston. The customs, diversions and social perplexities of the community inhabiting this tiny spot on the map, lying midway between New Zealand and Newt aledonia, and opposite Port Jackson, are of like kindled with our own. And if spinster* rind bachelor? so hard to corner in an island no bigger than an average station paddock, separated by «">OO miles of ocean from the nearest city of refuge, it is time we sat down to ponder over the momentous question, " What is this world of ours coming to?" Animus a^ BvROMErKus. — I do not know of any surer way of predicting the changes in the weather, says a uorres{ujudent of tlit: Cincinnati Enquirer, than >y observing the habits of the snail. They do not drink, but in.bibe moisture during rain and exude it afterwards. The animal is never seen abroad except before rain, when you will ace it climb in;.' the bark of trees and getting on the leaves. The tree snail, ns it is called, two days before ram will climb up the (items of plants, a'ld if the rain is going to be a haul and long one, then they get on the sheltered side of a leaf, but if a short rain, on the out«ide. Then there nre other species that befoic a rain arc yellow ; after it, blue. Others indicate rain by holes and protuberances, which before a ram ns>e as large tubercles. These will begin to show themselres ten days before a rain. At the end of each tubeicle is a pore which opens when the lain comes, to absorb and draw in the nioistuit. In other snails deep indentation.-', beginning at the bead between j the* horns and ending with the juncture of the tail, appears a few days bt-foie a stoim. Kvery farmer knows when BYwillows fly low that rain is coming; B.lllol*, when the seagulls lly towards the land, when the htormy petiel appears, or Mother Careys chickens, as they are culled, predict foul weather. Take the ■nts : hay c you never noticed the activity they display before a storm— l hurrj, scurry, rushing hither and you «• if they were letter earners making six trips a day, or ex-pressmen behind time ? Dogs glow sleepy and dull, and like to lie before a iiie as lain approaches ; chickens pick up pebbles, fowls roll in the dust, Hits sting and bite more \iuou-dy, flogs croak mor»- clamorously, gnats assemble under tices, and horses display restlessness. When jon see a {man Hying against the wind, spiders crowding on a wall, toads coming out of their holes in u usual numbers of an even ing, worms, slugs nnd snails appearing, robin redbreasts pecking at our window*, pigeons coming to the dovecote earlier than usual, peieock.s squalling at night, mice squeaking, or geese washing, you can put them down as him signs. Nearly all the animals have some way of telling the weather in advance. It may be that the altered condition of the atmosphere with regard to eke' roity, which geneially accompanies changes of the weather makes tlumi feel disagreeable or pleasant The fact that a cat licks he-rut If In-fore a Blorm is urged by komic natuialiata as pi oof of the special influence of ulectiicity. Man is not so sensitive. Vet many feel listless be fore a storm, to say nothing of nggrarated headaches, toothaches, rlie-n-maticpains, and last, but not lea.it, coins.