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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 4
[miscellaneous paragraphs]
Messrs Wimble & Co., printers' brokers, have sent us a copy of the Evening Standard of 23rd April, containing a description of the new five-story warehouse erected by them in Little Collins-st., Melbourne.
There are more changes in American stamps. It is not many months since the 2-cent was altered from brown to green—it is now carmine, and very liable to be confused with the 4-cent. All stamps issued prior to 1861 are now repudiated by the U.S. postal department, and « though many are still believed to be outstanding, they must not be accepted by postmasters in payment of postage. Mattel-bearing these stamps, and offered for mailing must be treated as held for postage. » This seems scarcely honest on the part of Uncle Sam: but the holders need not be at much loss. Collectors will probably give full nominal value for stamps thirty years old.
page 58
Balmil joltum zuls is Volapük for 1890.
The United States tariff is just as inconsistent as that of any other country that attempts to adopt protection. The engravers are complaining in the trade papers that fashion cuts and other engravings are admitted duty-free, and ask for a prohibitive duty. No doubt they will get it. The vicious circle (or rather spiral) of trade restriction daily covers a larger area—and finds no end.
Archdeacon Stretch, of Victoria, is a clerical wag. He was once being bored by a parson named Cass, who had the hallucination that Napoleon was the subject of certain Scripture prophecies. Pressed for his reasons, he explained that « Napoleon » with the initial letter cut off gave « Apoleon » or « Apollyon. » « Ah, » replied the arehdeacon, « your own name with the initial letter cut off gives 'Ass,'but there's no revelation in that. »
A ridiculous encounter between two Dun-edin pressmen has caused some amusement. Not unfrequently the city correspondence column of country papers is used by newspaper men to introduce matters which they do not find it convenient to publish in town, and this is how the trouble arose in the present case. The Dunstan Times correspondent gossipped about some unpleasantness connected with the exhibition ball. Mr L., correspondent of the Cromwell Argus, retaliated, and accused the writer of malice. Mr K., the regular correspondent of the Times, took up the dispute under his own name, and wrote a reply of two columns, headed « In truth a pretty squabble, » which from its ponderosity, ought to have been crushing. He explained that the former letter was not written by himself, but by a friend, and accused the Argus writer of falsehood and scurrility. On this letter reaching Dunedin, Mr L. detected what he considered to be personal allusions, and calling upon Mr K., in his office, pulled his nose. His antagonist, in the approved melodramatic style, presented a revolver at Mr L., but did not shoot. The deadly weapon—as is usual with stage firearms—was not loaded. This was all, except that each of the principals sent a long account of the affair to his particular country paper, enlarging upon his own intrepidity and the poltroonery of his adversary—and that cross-actions for assault were taken, but did not come to a hearing, the matter being settled by mutual apologies.