All Sorts

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 18, 2 May 1907, Page 38

All Sorts

The latest quotation for radium is" £160,000 an ounce. . ' . , . The reindeer can endure more than any other draught animal except the-, camel. A reindeer has been known to pull 200 pounds at ten miles "an hour for twelve hours. ' Gentlemen, of the jury,' cried counsel for the prisoner who- was charged with forgery, and who looked like being convicted, ' remember that /my client is hand of hearing, and, that, therefore, the ,voice q& conscience appeals'* to .him in vain !' ' When in doubt,' say& the weather prophet, .' always predict something disagreeable.' • What for ?' • ■ ' If you're wrong, people are so pleased they 'don't critioise you. ' In the course of an address given in Glasgow by the~ secretary of the National Thrift Society, it was_ stated that the paupers of the United Kingdom at the present time numbered 800,000, or very nearly equal to the European population of this Colony. .These, placed four abreast would form an army cne hundred miles in length. The 'solution for gradually dissolving such an army Was r the exercise of thrift, temperance, and in-., dustry (by the up-growing, generation. " The legal profession in New . Zealand .was increased •by 45 'during the past year, there being over 800 at the present time who take out certificates. Nearly 500' of these practise in the Northi Island, and over £00- in the South. There is, therefore, one solicitor to. every 1194 of population, or one to every 298 male adults. The practising solicitors of the Colony are distributed as "follows r— Auckland, 167 ; Canterbury, 117 ; Gisborne, .20 ; 'Hawke's Bay, '38 ; Marlborough, 9 ; Nelson, 16 ; Otago, 114 ; Southland, 28 ; Taranaki, . 50 ; Wellington, 220 ; Westland, 22. There are sufficient people in England and Scotland paying the annual tax' imposed by the Inland Revenue upon the uae of armorial bearings to produce a sum of over £70,000 each year. The great bulk of this sum is paid by people who care not an atom either • about their family or their arms, but pay the tax regularly simply because they have carriages or plate heraldically decorated. The really old families of the realm, however, use armorial emblems for decorative purposes to an extent almost incredible in the eyes of those familiar with them only on notepaper, table silver, and carriage panels. The chief industry of Bethlehem of Judea is that of mother-of-pearl work. The shells are brought from the Red Sea, and in the hands of native artisans are polished' anfl carved, the larger into elaborate designs ; the smaller are cut up, for rosaries and crosses. The work is all done by hand, and the methods are amazingly primitive to a spectator from the home of steam anfl electric power. But the results ; are .extraordinary. Under the magnifying- glasses every detail is' seen- to be perfect in outline and in finish. About a hundred and fifty people make a living by this industry,- which is five hundred years old. There are some curious facts about our cal&ndar (says a writer in an English magazine). No century can 'begin on Wednesday, Friday, •or .Sunday. The same calendars^ can .be used every twenty • years. Octo"ber always 'begins " on the same day of „the week as" January, April as July, , September as .-'December. February, March, and November also begin- on the same daiys. May, June and August always begin on different days from each other and from every other month in the year. The first and last days of the "year are always the same. These rules do not apply to leap L year, when comparison, is made between days before and after February 29th. ' . The financial strength necessary to obtain - admission to .the London Stock Exchange- is -ridiculously disproportionate to that- required in the, case of -the New York Stock Exchange and the Paris Bourse. In Paris an Agent de Change has to be a capitalist with nearly £100,000 within his personal possSlsion. . The number of members is limited to seventy, and admission is. only possible in the event of the death or. resignation of a member. The vacancy is sold to a candidate at a price fixed .by the committee— the latest price being about £60j600. In addition to this amount, the candidate must satisfy the committee fthat he is possessor of a .working capital of at least £20; 000, .and he must also deposit £800,0 with the committee and £4000 with the French Treasury. ,