Local and General.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 490, 25 March 1881, Page 2

Local and General.

It is said that successful experiments have been made \u fxporting, from New Zealand to tlie Horns markets, a quantity of butter in hermetically sealed tins. An 'order fov the supply of a Dumber of such tins b nON 7 .being executed in Christchurch. The people living in the neigboihood of Okebamrton are ijj the habit of collecting tbe exploded shells ..used by the Royal Artillery in their pracij.se. A h ybinder mimed Hodge found an Unexploded sbelj and, wishing to see what wks inside tlie missile, he .attacked it with "V hammer What was left after the explosion was found a quarter of a mile from the spot. Thk following is the text of a letteK addressed to a Wanganui paper. The editor has been cruel enough to publish it verbatim et literatim :— At Pollock's, Fielding, Mar. 11th, 8 p.m., 1881. Sin, —As you have seen proper in today's paper (the Chronicle) to try and poison the Minds of the people against Us —At the distance of 50 miles before We Reach your Town, We hope YOU You Will have the Manliniss to publish our Reply, We are not prowling About the Country to do Evil, as you infer, But to Warn the people of the Coining Judgments of God, And prcacti to them " the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ " as the Way of Escape therefrom. All Who Choose to hear, and give heed thereto, "is invited to do so." The Rest is Warned to Stand from Uuder, and Mind there Own Business.—Respectfully, Elders John P. Sorensen, And John S. Ferris.

While Clara Stephenson was doing the< pathetic buidness in "The Colliery Girl " at the Sydney Opera House on March 5, an uninvited '■ dawg "made its appearance be/ore the foot lights, and wagged its tail with evident delight at Clara.-, performance. The audience screamed with laughter, and Clara —well, she didn't swear audibly, but she thought a •' lipap."

One of the Directors o" the lato City of Glasgow Bank has bought a charming re idenee in Switzerland. Pleasant thoughts upon the even handedness of jtislice spring up to one's mind.

There has been no sitting of the Resi dent Magistrate's Court since our last, His Worship having been absent holding Assessment Courts. Yesterday M. Brew was brought up befora His Worship tho Mayor, and lined 5s each on two charges of drunkenness and using obscene language. We observe that at a meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, held '*n Chrisfchurch on Wednesday, the requests of the Akaroa Borough Council were acceded to—viz., that the dsad-house at the Hospital should' be made available for a public morgue, and that the Mayor should have authority to distribute charitable aid in urgent cases.

Mr J. H. Smith, draper, announces that his clearing sale will only last another fortnight. With a view i»f effecting a speedy clearance, he has made further reductions in his prices, especially in dress materials and new winter goods* The premises are opened till 9 p.m.

The following extraordinary, resolution waa pessed by the settlers in the Waipu (Auckland) district lately :—'Tha. any col.eetor of the yaid dog tux visiting Waipu be con&idered soc-iuily on a level of degradation with the common informer aud be treatsd as a voluntary outcast from till posbib.e association with any respectable member of society." Mr Hannafoid, the collector, haß protested against being insulted in thia manner, and requested protection trom the Government.

Parliament is not in session, and this is therefore the correct season for big gooseberries. But it isn't a gooseberry that we have to chronicle on this occasion, lint a carrot—and such a carrot! The vegetable in question is ]()£ inches in iei.gtii, 20 inches in circumference, anil ueigna upwards of 61b. It is of the snort horn variety, and was grown hy Mr Tosswill, ot Green's Point.

It is ready refreshing to find any person ivady to believe in the possibility of the interests of the publio being in tue least conserved by the gre.it Tuif interest, the iiorse-owniag-cuni-iiettiiig-iiiig fraternity. Considering iiiat these Later t-imply latten on the giiuibiiity of human mauie, the belici bhows a wondrous power oi' faith which ought to be sufficient to move mountain*. Tiie following in a sporting reporter's vonion of latent Liree

out, a sdiipuscd " enquiry " into a case iv which the public appear to have boeii effectually "had." the soid "eiujuiiy" to be held by men who. it they htvve nut beeu in this ' ewhu " thumsel\es. are constantly engaged in practising iv a similar manner on a too confiding public.—"lt is satisfactory 10 find the committee of the Dunudin JocKey Club iaciag the Natator trouble. The following resolution has been passed by that body :— ' riuit it huving been brought under the notice of the committee that the repiesentative of the owner of the horse Natator, entered in the Forbury Handicap, accepted for the said horse at 10 p.m. on Friday the 25th of February, and scratched the s-aid hurt-e at 11.10 a.m. on Saturday, the 2Gth ; that the said lior&o Nutalor was sent away by train to Uiriatchurch at 7.30 a.m. oii the 2(jlh of February : and the coinii.iUee having leason to believe that arriiiigements were made with the Hail way Department for tne engagement of a box to convey the said horse early on the evening of the 25th, this club call upon the Hon. W.Robinson, the owner of the said horse Natator. for an explanation of the matter.' Pending the reply which is expected from the Hon. W. Kobinson, it would not be fair to say more than that the evident resolve of the committee to drag the whole question to the surface betokens a hea thy state of affairs, and must be approved of by all parties concerned" - A remarkable robbery was perpetrated at the Terminus Hotel, (Jhristchurch, on Wednesday evening last. It appears that \soini3 time before 9 o'clock the waiter's roiun, which is situated immediately to the left t>l the main entrance, opposite the Railwayx station, was entered during the temporary absence of the person in charge, and safe, said to weigh more than one \\wt., was taken out of the place and carried~c.w;iy. The contents of the safe consisted of £87 in money, together with a number of valuable documents. " Philoxenu3 was Kent to the stonequarries by Dionysins for contempt of his verses. Being recalled he was invited again to hear them. Alter listening, patiently for a time, he got up to go. ' Whither now ? ' asked Dionysiua. • To the quarries, 'saysho. " A talkative man was trimming the head of King Archelaus, and asked, ' How shall I cut ?' 'In silence,' replied the King." This should be framed and hung up in our barber's shops.

From Wel'ington we learn that: —Next to Major Atkinson's speech, the Asylum enquiry constitutes the main subject of public interest and topic of conversationEarly in the enquiry it was alleged than an inmate named Gannon, who for a long time past had been perfectly sane, was forcibly detained becauee his services were found usefu . Dr France, when under examination, admitted that he was detained only " that the Commissioners might see him." Mr Shaw, Chairman of Commissioners, has since seen Gannon and obtained his immediate release. He has offered to give evidence. The Post to.night, commenting upon the matter, says it is monstrous that " such a system should have existed for a single week or should be permitted to continue another day."

Ova attention has been drawn to the fact that one or more anchors are generally to be found on the little strip of sandy beach in Akaroa. Horsemen complain of possible damage to themselves and their steeds on a durk night by these obstructions. Now the question arises, is the beach in question a public thoroughfare, and are the anchors obstructions, or does the sand belong to the territory of Neptune, and are landsmen ia any case trespassers thereon ? We commend the point to the attention of tlie legal talent of Akaroa, amateur and professional. Meanwhile the judgment of the Court will be reserved. Concerning the banquet given to the Governor in Christchurch, a correspondent of a contemporary writes : —" But who pocketed the four pie-dishes and part of a table-cloth? Times are bad, but surely some thing more valuable than pie-dishes could have been annexed. As for the missing table-cloth, that can easily be accounted for. One gentleman, who shall be nameless, was so affected by the honor he had enjoyed of dining with a real live Governor, that he pocketed a piece of the table-cloth to keep as a memento of the grandest event in his life. The number of spoons and forks taken ac souvenirs has hot yet been made public. It was too bad, though, to keep the waiters hanging about for their money because a few articles were missing." Rα ye '• Frank Fudge":—And treating of horses, how is it, can you toll me, reader mine, that the mule, that most sagacious and interesting animal, has not been introduced into New Zealand to any great ex-tt-nt ? The mule is the very animal for our hills and dales, and the man who is enterprising chough to import a cargo of mules to the Colony, can reckon on acquiring a speed} , fortune. It'there were more mules an 1 less asses here there would lie fewer instances of cruelty to animals, for the mule is, to use a Hilicruianism, veryhtindy with his feet, and he thoroughly understands the ait of defending himself. 1 have just been rending of an American blacksmith who recently attempted to shoo a mule. The inii'o shod the blacksmith right in the istomacli, and drove two of his vest bii'tons into his backbone. The blacksmith got mad and threw the anvil at the mule. Iho latter caught it on the fly and sent the echo back again, and closed the performance by kicking the shop into toothpicks. Wo want some mules in New Zealand, my boy, some American mules.

On Monday forenoon last, a very destructive grass fire occurred in Pigeon Bay. It apparently originated in what ia locally known as Stewart's gully, and fa\ored by the strong southerly breeze then blowing, in an incredibly short space of time ran over miles of country towards the east heads, destroying in its progress some two thousand acres of winter feed. The Messrs Goodwin Brothers are huge sufferers, having lost over 100 cords of firewood ready for shipment, besides a large amount o: fencing. At one time their dwelling house was actually on fire, but by the prompt assistance of a number of neighbors was speedily extinguished. The lire in its march northwards completely destroyed every blade of grass on Messrs Kay Bros, upper section, besides burning a wharc and its contents. The Misses Marshall are also considerable losers, and fears were at one time entertained for the safety of a number of sheep and cattle, belonging to them, but these we understand have s nee safely turned up. The fire ultimately burned itself out at Messrs Hay Bros, run, East Pigeon Bay Heads, where its progress was arrested by some of the deeper gullies on that proporty. After nightfall the burning country presented a magnificent spectacle, lighting up the hills on the opposite side of the bay, and sending dense m eses of smoke , ; and sharp jets of (lame far into the heavens, while the space over which the great body of the firs had travelled, was illuminated with thousands of bright specks that served to show the outlines of the hills for miles, with a beautiful distinctness; the crush of falling trees, and the roar of the flames rushing up the gullies, being the sounds that otherwise broko upon the stillness of the night. A'together the cene was one of great splendor, and worth going miles to see. The fire has now quite exhausted itself, and only smoking tree slumps and blackened grass teK of its line of march. Pigeon Bay, along.with other parts of the Peninsula, suffers much for want of rain, and in the event of its not coining soon, fanners will be very short jof winter feed, and the mortality amongst cattle may be expected to exceed that oz previous years.

A vessel has been 'chartered at Nelson to load Home with bfirley. Tub Ashbnrton Mail, reports that an enterprising townsman, who in bis earlly days, had a great deal to. do with the cultivation of the sugar beet in now Germany, is at present engaged in manufacturing some treacle from Ashburton grown beet. The result of this experiment wilt bo shown at the fort!,coming Industrial Exhibition. Mr Georok Williamson (informs the Poverty Buy Standard that he has discovered a most effective but at tho same time a very simple cure for blight. After trying all sorts of things, he by accident found that cold tea loaves thrown at the roots of trees successfully combated with tho disease, and in a very short space"-of time causud the trees to become perfectly clean. Certainly a trial can do no harih, and if successful, one of the orchard gardeners' greatest troubles will be easy of removal. Persons cannot be too careful (says the Kutnara Times) in the rUsejof? dynamite when uaing it for blasting stumps, especially when in close proximity to the streets of the town. Recently a number of people in Main street were suddenly alarmed by hearing a dull explosion, followed by a crashing of wood and glass, and a second after seeing a heavy knot of wood, about 201bs weight, descend in the street opposite Rugg's right-of-way. On examination of the cause of the alarm it was found that a person in close proxamity to the rear of Mr Rugg's premises had blasted a stump in his garden, a portion of which had taken off a piece of board from the front of the bowling saloon, while another portion had smashed one of the Kumara Hotel windows. . The other day, says the Nelson Colonist, a little child, of some two or three years of age only, wandered from the house of its parents at the Moutere, and for thirty hours the baby was missing. The fathea of the little boy, Mr , W. Kramer, together with a number of friends, searched the country all one night an-i the whole of the succeeding day without success. Towards nightfall, however, the child was discovered some six miles from home, and he had made his way by some means through the roughest of the country, the ground bei'ig covered with high manuka, amongst which weie numerous swamps, and when found this little babe was nearly starved to death, indeed, it is almost a mirucle how ho survived the wtt and exposure, for he was completely wet through, and of courso he had nothing to eat the whole time.