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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 2977, 10 January 1881, Page 2

Tho s.s. Result is announced to take visitors to the Wairoa races.

Judge Fenton is still unable to attend to business from an attack of gout.

Mr Joshua Cuff, solicitor, from Poverty Bay, has commenced the practice of his profession at the Thames.

The Hawke's Bay County Council havo received a supply of dog collars, and arc now prepared.to issue them.

The Union Company's launch Boojum is announced to leave here for the Wairoa on Wednesday next, to arrivo in time for tbe Wairoa races.

Messrs Large and Townloy have on view in their shop, Browning-street, a most lifelike bust of Charles Dickenp. It is well worthy of inspection.

Messrs H. Monteith and Co. will sell the privileges in connection with the Hawke's Bay Racing Club's annual meeting at the Masonic Hotel on Friday next.

Tho mallet used by the Prince of Wales lately in laying the foundation stone of the new cathedral at Truro, was the same used by Charles 11. to lay the corner-stone of St. Paul's.

Mr Douglas McLean has forwarded to the honorary secretary of the Hospital the sum of £100, an amount which qualifies the donor to a life governorship of the institution.

Legislation for the million. We constantly hear from the mouth of Judges that modern legislation is always in favor of the insolvent. Why not ? Tho greatest good for the greatest number!

The Hon. J. C. Richmond is on his way to Nelson from England, after au absence from the colony of about nine years. He left London on November 10th, by the Orient Co.'s s.s. Garonne.

Mr G. P. Donnelly brought into town on Saturday a very handsome native made mat, formerly the property of the deceased chief Tareha, as a presentation from Mrs Donnelly and her relatives to Mr S. Locke.

According to meteorological observations Dunedin was the hottest place this morning in New Zealand. The three towns in the enjoyment of the warmest weather were— Dunedin, 70 degrees; Auckland, 68; Napier, 61.

One of the nicest building sites in Napier has just changed hands, the executors of the late James Watt having sold to J. W. Carlile, Esq., the property on which the residence of Mr Edward Sutton stood, the price being £1,300.

The Challenge Cup, won by the Artillery inthe shooting contest which took place this morning, becomes the property of the corps, and will be shot for by the individual members of the corps. The date of the firing is not yet fixed.

Colonel Whitmore, who left Napier yesterday by the Arawata, intends going to the West Coast before leaving the colony. He has been invited by a number of his old officers to visit them, and partake of their hospitality before his departure for England.

M. Benazet, whose revenues came from the gamblers at Baden, left six million, pounds to his widow. She was forty years old, and recently became insane. Being cured by a young physician named Thuile, she settled £8000 a-year on him, and married him.

It is not generally known that, by a recent Act of Parliament amending the Municipal Corporations Act, a person is not at liberty to make a cellar under his premises without first obtaining permission of the civic authorities, as in the case of erecting hoardings.

Our Hastings correspondent informs us that Mr Beck, of West Clive, has purchased from Mr Bryson that cornor section at Hastings, opposite Kelly's hotel, and adjoining the railway station ground, for the sum of £1000. Mr Beck, we hear, intends erecting a large store on the land.

At a meeting of the "Wellington Benevolent Institution, held lately, one of the applicants for relief was stated by the relieving officer to be a man who had recently tramped into town from Napier, and ho asked that his name be struck off the books, as he was too indolent to crack stones for his living.

Treeless lowa is being transformed into a forest covered country, by a law which remits certain taxes for five years on every acre Of fruit, and ten years on every acre of forest trees planted and kept alive. Over 85,000 acres of fruit and forest trees have been planted, and 200,000 dollars have been remitted in taxes.

We (Wairoa Guardian) baye received a remarkably fine sample of wheat from Mr R. D. Maney's farm at Te Awamate ; the heads are very full, and the grain plump and of good size and color. We hope that Mr Maney's success will stimulate our settlers to go in for wheat-growing more extensively next season.

We learn that the Commissioner of Crown Lands at Wellington has issued protection licenses for a quartz reef prospecting claim on the Tararua ranges, near Palmerston North. The applicants, who are experienced miners, have been prospecting there for some time, and now think they have hit upon a payable reef.

By the last steamers from -North South there arrived several well-know 31 members of the book-making fraternity, whose presence betokens the approaching Bacing Club's meeting at Clive. If our readers will avoid the " tips" of selfconstituted sporting men, to whose twaddle so much prominence is given by our morning contemporary, they will be money in pocket.

It is reported that Mr Craig, recently foreman printer of the Christchmch. Press, who went to Gisborne with a view to entering into partnership with Mr H. E. Webb in the Poverty Bay Standard, has instead arranged the purchase of the Poverty Bay Herald. The consideration has not transpired, but £1,600 for plant, goodwill, and book-debts would probably not be much wide of the mark.

The following motion has been carried by the Good Templar Conference now in session at Auckland, " That in view of an early general election a Grand Electoral Deputy be appointed to act with the District Electoral Deputies in each centre of population in concentrating tho political power of the Order, so that any candidates who would vote for the control by the people of the liquor traffic should be supported."

Mr Henry Labouchere, M.P., the editor and proprietor of Truth,'ono of the brighest of the London weeklies, is described by Mr George Augustus Saia as " a scholar of well-digested reading, a travelled linguist, a diplomatist of nearly twenty years' standing, a shrewd financier, a brilliant conversationalist, a ready, incisive public speaker, a man of wit, a man of sense, and a man of business, and has mado a palpable hit in the House of Commons."

The hon secretary of the .Napier Hospital publishes in another column the list of subscriptions forwarded and collected by station holders.

Some boys at Taradale, yesterday,_ iv taking a walk over the Greenuieadows hills, noticed several rabi::s running into their burrows. Procuring a spade the boys had an afternoon's sport in killing 1 a good few of the pests. We believe that until yesterday it was not known that there were wild rabbits in tho neighborhood of Taradale. The discovery having been made steps had better be taken without delay to exterminate the intruders.

The Kaikoura Star ia responsible for tbe following:—"A new departure in sheepfarming in this district is about to be tried by the Messrs Parsons Brothers, Ash wick, who purpose going in extensively for cabbage growing as feed for sheep. Several acres of tho vegetable named will be sown, not merely as an experiment, but because they havo found it, by personal experience at Home, to be attended with excellent results. The area to be planted is said to be over twelve acres."

Since the first day of January over 200 dogs have been destroyed in Napier, the favorite place of execution being between the Bluff and the Spit. The inner lagoon, a gentleman from " ould Ireland" informed us, is " alive with dead dogs," and the vacant ground near the school reeks with the odour of decaying carcases. The attention of the Inspector of Nnisances is hereby called to the fact that it is necessary to the health of the port inhabitants that defunct animals should receive decent interment.

A house in Havelock occupied by Mr Giuehy had a narrow escape from destruction by fire yesterday. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon one of the occupants heard the crackling of burning timber, and it was discovered that the shingle roof was on fire. Prompt measures were taken, and a few buckets of water, from an artesian well close to the premises, quenched the flames before much damage was done? . The building is insured in tho National, and steps have at once been taken by that ofllco to repair the damage done to the building.

It will be remembered that Cr. McKay brought forward a motion in the Municipal Council some time ago for watering the streets with hydrants, but his motion was defeated. It seems that the streets of Sydney are watered with hydrants, and it has been determined to revert to the watercarts. The Sydney Echo says the watercart will be found infinitely more economical than the hydrants. These latter flooded the streets. Then as much mud was created as if there had been a heavy shower of rain, and the traffic speedily converted the mud into dust.

Courtesy to the fair sex seems to be rather at a discount at the Kumara. According to the local Times, Miss Clara Stephenson put to shame the gallantry of a large number of the sierner sex at the Theatre Koyal, by quietly coming to the front of tbe stage in the middle of one of the acts with a chair, and requesting " Will some gentleman be kind enough to hand this chair to the lady who has been standing since the performance commenced." The request was at once complied with, but there were many present who felt uncomfortably " small" at the particular moment.

The new Mayor of Masterton goes in for talking ad libitum. He has ruled that each member of the Borough Council may speak as often as he pleases, and the consequence was that at a recent meeting the replanking of a certain bridge was discussed in 33 speeches, 9 of which were made by the Mayor himself. The Wairarapa Daily says the charm of the w'lole thing was that the thirty-three speeches, beyond confusing the speakers and confounding the subject matter, led to nothing. When a resolution was pressed, the Mayor chucked it out, as if talking, and not voting, was the real business of the council.

One of the recently released " Ploughshare Warriors," now in Wellington waiting transit to New Plymouth, stated that he liked his incarceration so well that he would not object to undergoing eight or ten years. They had all been well treated, and got everything they wanted. '1 he native in question is a more than ordinarily intelligent aboriginal, and speaks English as well as most Europeans. He further says he was sent to gaol for no offence against the law, as he was merely ploughing his own land. The pakehas badly wanted a war with the Maoris, but the latter were determined that there should be no fighting.

In reference to a correspondent's letter, signed " Cricket," we learn that the Hastings ground was promised for the match between English v. Colonials,butsome influence was brought to bear upon the secretary of tbe Hawke's Bay Club at the meeting of delegates, and at the close of that meeting he declined to let the ground on the loth. This match would have been the most interesting one of the season, and it is to be regretted that it has had to be abandoned, evidently through some jealousy among the players. 'Ihese miserable jealousies have been the ruin of cricket in Hawke's Bay, and should be reprobated by every lover of the game.

It is not often that a man wishes to be locked up, and for that purpose goes to Court for trial without being summoned. But, nevertheless, a case of the kind occurred in Napier on Saturday afternoon. A man named Charles Johnson, who was slightly under the influence of liquor, took up his quarters in the verandah of the Coarfc House on' Saturday, and interviewed all the officials demanding to be tried. In spite of their, protests that there was no offence against him, and that such a trial wouid be unconstitutional, he was not satisfied, and Sergeant O'M alley had to be sent for to convince him that he was wrong, and marched him off to the lock-up for drunkenness.

In reference to Te Whiti's remark " The potato is cooked," tho Post says we are informed that he added " It was not for a potato which had been cooked to discuss matters with the fire which had cooked it." It is also stated that he likened himself and his people to wild pigs pursued by dogs, and reproduced the old argument in another form —that it was useless for the poor pigs to argue the point with their canine pursuers, or with the masters of the latter. Lastly, again changing the metaphor, he said that he was a " sick man," and the Governor was tho doctor. A sick man did not go to tho doctor, the doctor came to him, and so ought the Governor to do. In short, he positively refused to enter into any discussion with the Governor except at Parihaka.

The pigs on the Waimate Plains are being rapidly thinned. One Hawera settler (says the local paper) has been carting away two waggon loads a day, averaging from 18 to 20 per load, during the last week. Eecently a party of men camped down at the Inaba Creek with three horse drays, and had nearly made up a load the same evening. The shouts of the pig-hunters, the barking of their dogs, and the squealing of the pigs can be heard from daylight till dark anywhere on the land recently sold. The Maori owners are quite prepared to part with their claim to the pigs for a very low figure, as they are afraid' that the new settlers will make short work of tbe pigs, and will not distinguish clearly between wild and tame or half wild or half tame porkers

Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of the Cape Colony, Lady Robinson and family, and Captain St. John, aide-de-camp to Sir Hercules, and Mrs St. John, arrived at Plymouth on the 4th November, in thoOrient Line steamer John Elder, from Melbourne. It was expected that Sir Hercules would not proceed to South Africa until the first or second week in January. He had constant interviews with the Earl of Kimborley at the Colonial Office, and was busily engaged wbfiii the mail left in making himself an cohrant with South African affairs. His time was so much taken up that he seldom appeared in public, and the Council of the Colonial Institute, who sent him an invitation to their inaugural dinner, received a reply from his Excellency expressing his inability to be present.

The following paragraph, extracted from the Volunteer Service Gazette of October 30, may interest members ot the Volunteer Force:—"The military tailors will have a busy time of it. By a general order just issued the whole of the badges of rank for officers of tho army are to be altered, both as to form and position, and the alterations are to be carried out without delay. Collar badges are, except for chaplains, done away with altogether, and the rank of all officers is to be indicated by stars or crowns, or both, placed on shoulder straps. They will be certainly more conspicuous in this position than on the collar, and we are glad to notice that the shoulder badges are to be worn on all descriptions of uniform, including even cloaks and great coats by all ranke, so that it will be for the first time possible to know whether an officer in undress is a captain or a subaltern. It would be well if the absurd differences of collar and sleeve braiding as denoting rank were also done away with, but we suppose that this would be expecting too much."

Mr Carter, the coroner for the eastern division of the county of Surrey, is, says the Pall Mall Gazette, one of magistrates who still cling to the notion that the capacity to take an oath is absolutely e«sential to 'the credibility of a witness. At an inquest held before him a lad of fifteen came forward to give evidence. In answer to tbe coroner he said that if he told a lie he knew that he should be taken to prison; but he did not know anything about God, and as to the " nature of an oath" he considered it a " hard question." Thereupon the coroner is reported to have said that it was lucky that a murder had not been committed in the presence of this lad, for in that case it would have been necessary to delay the inquest for a month until he had been taught the nature of an oath. It looks like an inversion of human reason to say that a witness who at tho moment of an occurrence is incapable of giving a trustworthy account of what he has seen becomes a more creditable witness a month afterwards, because in the meantime he has undergone a process of cramming in religious and moral principles. We should have thought that the lawpermitting affirmations instead of oaths extended to cases of deficiency of religious education. Where a witness shows a correct appreciation of the penalties of perjury, as the ignorant witness in this case did, it would be absurd to rejecthis testimony merely because his religioua education had been neglected .