Local and General.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 536, 2 September 1881, Page 2

Local and General.

Says a Christchurcb paper : —Wonders will never cease. One of the reporters, in attendance at our Law Courts, has purchased a pencil. The report, however, lacks confirmation.

Tub nomination's for three vacancies in the Borough Couucil caused by the retirement in rotation of Crs Culien, Noonan, aud Sunckell, took place on Wednesday. The three retiring Councillors and Messrs Adam**, Moecb, and Penlington have been nominated for the vacancies. It will thus be seen that the burgesses have six candipates to choose from. This shows an improved state of affairs as compared with the time when it was difficult to procure a sufficient number of candidates to fill any vacancies which might occur. Elsewhere appears an advertisement inviting the candidates to meet the electors at the Town Hall on Monday evening next to explain their opinions on municipal matters generally. Tho poll will be taken on Thursday next.

Tke report of the Government Insurance Commissioner, together with that of the English actuaries appointed to examine the accounts of the Department, has been laid on the table of the House. The latter find a surplus of £77,000 available for distribution, and recommend that a sum not exceeding £6G,000 be distributed. Respecting claims arising during the year, the Commissioner's report says : — " Mortality and death claims, which accrued in the year, embraced 80 policies, and arose from the deaths of 70 insured persons. They amounted in ail to £28,425. Among the number of claims are included 14 which arose from 13 deaths by accident, nine of which were deaths by drowning ; and of this last mentioned number, four (holding policies for an aggregate amount of £2000) perished iv the wreck of the steamship Tararua in April last. Two of the claims were caused by the suicide of the policy holders*. The ratio of mortalit}- continues greatly under the average expectancy, i he interest received on the invested funds for thf; twelve month.-' amounted to £20,505, or within £'.'.OOO of the sum payable for the death 11 aims *i rising for the isamc period.'' This may be considered highly .satisfactory

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company announce that they are prepared to make liberal cash advances on wool consignments. Mr A. H. Westenra is the local agent.

An alarming accident happened on one ot the railway lines near Melbourne on Tuesday morning, by which four persons lost their lives. Another is not expected to recover, and several others were more or less injured. "MrO.E. Hugo,lecturer on Physiognomy, announces his intention of delivering a lecture in Akaroa on or about Wednesday next. Mr Hugo has lately been lecturing at Rangiorn and other places in Canterbury. From the Press notices of his lectures we learn that lie handles his subject in a manner which amuses and instructs his audiences, and that his delineations of character are very telling. The Invercargill Magistrate gave a judgment some days ago of importance to newspaper subscribers, in an action to recover subscription dues. Defendant pled that he did not owe the money, having stopped the paper on paying his account in July, 1877. The paper has been delivered pretty regularly since he stopped it; the boys throw them down at his door. He did not know who picked them up ( nor what became of them. In reply to His Worship—He stopped the paper once, and thought that sufficient. It was their own look out if they sent it after that. His Worship said there could be no doubt he was liable. He ought to have again informed the plaintiff that he did not want the pnpsr, when he saw it laid at his door regularly. Judgment would be given for the amount claimed, with coste.

In another column appears the prospectus of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-opera-tive Association of Canterbury. The prospectus contains the names of a numerous and influential provisional directory, The object of the Association is, in brief, to bring the farmer, both as vendor of his produce and purchaser of his various requirements, into direct communication with the markets of the world. Never has tbe old fable of the bundle of sticks received a . better exemplification than in the progress made in modern times in the application of the principle of co-opera tion. Given honest management, and union among the supporters of such an undertaking, and its success is absolutely certain. The principle is perfectly simple, and is frequently applied to transactions in every day life. When two or three families-club together to procure a supply of coal, or a chest of tea, a temporary cooperative association is formed. The members of such an association stand to

gain in two ways. The large transactions entered into will enable the society to sup; ply their wants cheaply ; and on the other hand, if the prices charged produce a surplus after payment of expenses, the profits will be divided among themselves. We commend the scheme to the earnest attention of our local farmers. Forms of application for shares may be obtained at tho office of the Akaroa Mail.

We are indebted to the New Zealand L. and M.A. Company for the following :— The Orari arrived in dock on July Ist,, and on the following day proceeded to discbarge cargo. We were present during the landing of 242 cases, and subsequently saw the remainder of the consignment. The principal reason of the failure of this shipment to arrive here in the good order anticipated by shippers was undoubtedly the heat to which it was exposed in tha ship's hold. Captain Mosey reports that the arrangements for cooling the temperature of that pirt of the vessel in which the cheese was stowed proved on trial to be defective, certain chemical details having been overlooked, by means of which the application of the freezing mixture became inoperative. On his return to Canterbury he will explain the whole of the matter to you for the benefit of constituents ; and in the meantime we have obtained from him a copy of the journal that he kept during the voyage, recording the temperature day by day. In addition to the heat of the ship, a further cause of damage lay in the fact that many of the cheeses of which the consignment was composed were immature, and unripe for shipment. These gave way at an early period of the voyage, and by infection, _ materially contributed towards the impending decomposition of the remainder. When the Orari broke bulk, the stench arising from the hold gave ample evidence of the condition of the shipment. When the cases were landed this evidence was fully confirmed. Most of the cheeses were blackened, some were hard outside and full of soft, spongy matter within ; others were crumbly and broken, and many more were almost entirely in a liquid state. The cases were covered with slime and swarmed with maggots and flies. We had great difficulty in finding storage room in London wherein the cheese could be inspected by buyers, wharfingers refusing to take it in on the ground that it would seriously prejudice their stocks by contamination. Finally, however, it was brought under the notice of the trade, and after several ineffectual attempts to induce metropolitan buyers to purchase, it was sold to a provincial house at 18s per cwt.'' The journal referred to above shows that during April the temperature fluctuated between 52 degrees and G4 degress Fahr, In May it rose to 81, while on Juno 2nd the highest, 85 degrees, was reached ; ■thence to arrival the temperature recorded varied between 74 and 81 decree:-.