Local and General.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1036, 16 December 1881, Page 3

Local and General.

Tint English cricketers hj ive finally ac•c«]ile l the terms offered liy the Canterbury 'Cricket Association for a three days’ match •in Chiistchuroh.

The will of the late Mr C. 'Pond, tho well-known partner in the catering firm of Spiers and Pond, has been proved under £215,000.

'ls the last number of the Government “Gazette” to'hand it is notified that ’l4 gold-mining leases in the Tuapeka East district are cancel led, while in the Nelson South-West district 37 leases are to he granted.

Musses Ross and Glendining are now ■ addim; very extensively to the Roslyn "Woollen Factory both in the shape of 'buildings and plant, a large quantity of 'machinery being at present on i s way from home, and expected to arrive shortly.

A I.ox don cablegram in the Melbourne “ Age,” dated December 5, is as follnwv“The town residence of His Royal Hi h- ■ ncs3 the Prince of Wales has been burglariously entered, and jewellery has been •stolen of the estimated value of £80,000.” Goliisbrough’s monthly wool circular shows that Melbourne as a wool market is st-adily but surely growing a id giving signs and evidences that in a verv fewyears the bulk of the wool will find buyers there, as both Continental and American buyers are -increasing. The present season is now in full op'ration, and from October"!2 to Nov. ■22, 62,(353 bales have been sold at prices ranging from 9 1 for greasy to 22J 1 per lb. for scoured. The same lb m also report that considerably nine business is passing in grain, they having.quitted 9,000 bags at from 5s 21 to 5s 5d per bushel for nulling, and that 10.701) bags have been shipped home between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1,0.

Hi T. L. Simpp.'-RD, Clerk to the Court ••at Palmerston, lias linen suspended from •du*yby Mr Watt 11.M. The-reason for ■tins st-.-p it is understood a 4 o alleged in- ■ subordination, the taking possession of the office without authority, and fre- • fluent absence from duty. The matter will ■be referred to the Minister of Justice. Mr Watt, it seems, was at Palmerston on ■'Saturd.av, and wished lo obtain so-uieolficial documents'from the Courthouse. Ongoing 1 here ho found the place locked and the • clerk absent, and the R. M. ha to make an undignified -entrance by a window. Mr ■Shepherd, too. intended using the bailiff’s -office as his private residence, but Mr Watt ■ obj eted to such a course, ati i his given orders for the immediate • removal of Mr ■Sheppard's personal belongings and furniture ■from the buildings.

We received l-y the last mail several late numbers of “'The'Tasmanian," a weekly paper published at Launceston, Tasmania. What struck us-most in its columns is lira imiffing news, and if lire number of companies reported on is any criterion of the importance of the mining industry, Tasmania for ils size must I e far in ad van -e of any of the neighboring colonies. There aio 7S ■ quart 3 n-iningiCnmpanies reported on, and : any ■ number of oilers just alluded to,; while of tin, and-silver, lead, and iron iniiws their name is 1-gion. Of these latter. Mount Bi-choff, Mount Heemski k, and Mount Clan Ic are the principle tin centres, bn* that metal appears lo exist all over the 'West- C^ast.

Thr Clyde School broke up for the holidays on Tbursd iv last, and we-under-stand it is to meet again on Monday, the Jammy 23rd. after alive week’s vacation. Mr Stevens piovided out of his own purse a i.umlsr of vaffia le prizes, and presented the a to the more forward of the scholars in each class,

Tx matters scholastic, the examination of the local candidates for the Otago Provinoia Junior Scholarships commences' on Tuesday n-xt, the 20th instant ; the place of examination is Cromwell, and the four competitors are all from* Clyde. Now, the queer thing in connection with this matter is the sending the boys to Cromwell. The why or the wherefore this is done, or from whoso saprisnt -cranium the order of march oozed out. postcrily will know not. We shoul'i, however, much like to know the wot thy, so that -we could present him with a leather medal.

Ax aesthetic writer speaks of a fair young girl “ vanishing like the dew before the morning sun.” This is shot-kingly vulgar. In plain language it means that she dried up.

A wealthy man in Maine, who died last month, was so ardent a Prohi -itionist that ho has attempted in his will to enforce total abstinence not only on his children but on his tinhorn grandchildren.

Some men have hard luck. A Boston artist painted a uiotnre of bullfrog having a spasm in a not of red paint, and the critics •pronounced it a tine copy < { Turner’s great painting, “ The Slave Ship.”

Alluding satirically to the Gaming and Lotteries Rill, thn Hokitika “Star” informs ■its readers that New Zealand newspapers are to he prohibited from publishing a' marriage notice in future because marriage >is a lottery. ■ Coffee prepared from date stones is the •newest thing In breakfast table drinks in 'Christchurch. The beverage is popular at Home. It is described as possessing the fragrance, flavor, and all the other good ■flualities of coffeq, but none of the hod ours.

In respect of the Joliment railway accident the Victoria Government have already paid 1.2,489, exclusive of .medical fees incurred by the injured. Claims by injured amounting to L 42 950 are to bo referred to juries. The representatives of those killed claim 1.17 650.

M. Gambhtta’s definition of religion is worth putting on record. In his 'lecture on the subject of lay education, he said “ Religion means the tie which attaches man to man—the real religion is that which enah'es man to salute his own dignity in the dignity of-others.”

Switzerland has another lake. A huge mass of reek and earth fell ihj other-my from a mountain side at Somnix in tho Grison", blocked up the course of the Johel, an influent of the Raise, and conve-ted die valley into a lake. The village of Surrhoin hard by, is in great danger.

A TRAGEDY similar to that committed on "the Brighton Railway has just occuned on the line from Rails to Turin. A man entered a first-class railway oonpe occupied 'by a gentleman who was alone, and after ■wounding him seriously threw him out of tho -carriage. The victim is believed to he the German Consul at Leghorn. Mr W, Hoskins, the well-known actor, was married to Miss Maud Douglass, a member of the Romeooy Company, on Sunday last Mr Hoskins was so ill at the time that he had to be lifted out of his bed and carried back again, II he imu ridge was celebrated in a private manner, oaly a few friends being present.

A box contninig valuable documents belonging to Professor R uleaux, the German Commissioner to the Exhibition, is missing It contains all the vouchers for the money expended by. the G ;rman Commissioners in Melbourne, and its non-app -a.ance has caused uneasiness amongst tho authorities in Germany. The box, which was shipped by the Khedive in May-last, was insure 1 for 1.259 iu the South British Company of New Zealand.

A Forester at Wellington recently brought an action against the -Court of which he was a member for the recovery of further sick pay. The decision of the Bench was that although lie was incapacitated from following the employment he pursued before the accident oecured which threw him on the sick fund, the Society was not responsible, as the evidence proved that he could earn his living-in another wav il adgment was for the defendeuta with costs.

As amusing incident was witnessed in the grounds of the Lodge, Milton, the residence of the Hon. H. \V. Pitzwilliam, M. P. A tine-fox had been seen prowling about the premises some tirno, and at length Reynard elite, el the p ovate grounds where Lady Mary FifczwilUam’s donkey was grazing. The ass immediately resented the intrusion and fairly chased the fox out of the grounds, to the very great amusement of several onlookers. A mul-sao has been discovered buried in the earth at a place called M‘Donald’s Hole, near Mudgee (N.S W.) It had evidently been undisturbed for many years as it wa-i much decayed. When carefully opened, a large number of bank-notes were found,-which crumbled to dust when exposed to the atmosphere. Neither the name of the hank nor the numbers could be deciphered. The parcel appears to he a relic of some bank rohb»ry which must have taken place a great many years ago.

■ Having a drake in bis possession that for a few days showed unmistakeahle signs of a desire to incubate, Mr Hopgon l, of Riverton, more for curiosity than with any hope that it would bring out the birds, placed half-a dozen eggs under it. With the fidelity, however, i hat-would throw doubt on his sex. his drake-hip sat most faithfully, with there u!t that in course three strong birds were hatched, and have since been tended with the utmost solicitude, Mr Hopgood, says the “ Western Star ” vouches for the sex of the bird.

An inquest has been held at Bradford, Englan •, concerning the death of a girl named Whittaker, twelve years old a h.-df timer at Ea-tiivook; Brittish -School. On Wednesday she failed to -work out a sum correctly, whereupon a 'teacher named Arthur Wdeeler struck bar on the bands and on the heal with a ruler. She went home, complained of pain in her head, and die! the next day The cause of death was certified to be ir-flamation of the mem branes of the brain. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Wheeler.

A curious custom prevailed in Paris at the beginning of the present century. When a new pi ess was receive 1 in a punting office it was the custom to dedicate it to one ot the patrons or patronesses of the establishment. There was a family fete, the Governor or his wife acting as godfather or godmother, received the homage of the workman, who presented a bouquet. The new p- ss was covered with flivvers and gay ribbons, and on its bed was an appropriate dedicatory- epistle in type. The godfather or godmother gave the first pull, and thus iuau .'Urate'll he press, and the day ended in festivities and mutual congratulations.

Tuit organised a debating society in Dead wood last week. The - fact that the President was a dead shot, and sat with two revolvers in hau l kept the society in compari'ive quiet while the question, *• Ought a flush royal to beat four aces?” and‘-Is it vveked to lynch Mexicans on Sunday?” were debated. Bu‘ when they tackled the question, “Ought you to fire when a man r. aches for his hip pocket or are you bound to wait to s-e wr.ether it's a revolver or whisky bottle he’s drawing?” the President couldn’t control them, and live funerals was the result.

Wk find this oddity in the “Edinburgh Fugitive Pieces,'’ hy W. Creech, F.R.S.: “Abridgment of a sermon from these words: ‘.Man is born to trouble.’ My friends, —The subject falls naturally to bo divided into four.h -ads—(l) Man’s entrance into the world.; (2) his progress Hi ough the world ; (3) his exit from the world:; (-4) practical reflections from what may be said. First then—(l) man came into the world naked and bare:; (2) bis progress through it is trouble and care ; (3) his exit from it none can tell wheie.; (4) but if he does-well here lie’ll be well there. Now, I can say no more, my brethren d e ar, should T,preach on this subject from this time to nexc year. Amen,”

At Cleveland, Ohio, America, Air Bhang Lee, a Chinese laundryman, 'filed his peti tion for divorce from‘-his wife Elizabeth, an Irishwoman, whose maiden name was Miss Barnes In his petition ho alleges that he mo-'ried the defendant-in November, 1875, hut that after a time defendant fell from virtue, and has since made a practice of in discriminate association with such Cauca-sian-males as offered their attention. This is said to he the first case of the kind thin has ever occurred cast of the Rocky Mountains, -if it has ever been paralleled in the United States. Chang is-qitc a swell among his own countrymen, ownin ; scvc-al of the laundries of the city, dressing in the most approved style, and profuse in tinmatter of watch -ham and jewellery. Shortly after his marriage he cut off his queue, as some allege, in self-defence, his wife finding it much too convenient an appendage for bln comfort

There has been a revival of agrarian outrages and boycotting in Ireland.

An application for a new trial, made on behalf of the -Clontarf Pleasure Grounds lessee, in the libel case v. the Sydney “ Bulletin,” has been refused. An advocate of the use of tobacco hi support of his stand unearths an a-ticle written by Margaret, Duchess of Nowoa.sl.le, some 21)0 years ago. In defence of the seductive weed that lady wrote-: “It composes the mind, it busies the thoughts, it attracts all outward objects to the mind’s view, .it settles and relents the senses, it cheers the understanding, strengthens the 'judgment, spies out errors, it exasperates follies, .it heats ambition, it comforts sorrow, it abates passion, it excites to noble actions,.it digests conceptions, it enlarges knowledge, it elevates imagination, it creates fancies, it quickens wit, and it makes reason pleader and truth judge in all disputes or controversies between right and wrong.

A very fitting oxamp’o was male on Monday by some of the employes of the Kaiapoi Wollen Factory hy the directors of that thiiving establishment. The “ hands" in question, not b-ing able to control them selves, partook too fr-ely of the cup which both.cheers and inebriates on the arrival of •the return party from Lyttelton, aude-m ducted themselves in u manner the reverse of creditable. On Monday they were brought up before the chairman and directors, and severely censured for their un-seemly-conduct, and as a punishment they were given the choice of forfeiting a week’s wages or leaving the factory altogether.

The Church of England minister Kingbark has (says “ gE-glea in the Aus ra asion ”) asupreme contempt for the great unordained, and .has educated his family in his own way of thinking. The reverend gen tiemay had left his little son at a station while he went his rounds. -Before lie returned a Wesleyan minister called, an 1 the lady of tho house being engaged, the parlor-maid showed him into the drawingroom. Whereupon young Hopeful, who had recognised what he had deems,l one of the inferior order of clergy, remonstrated with tho maid-servant, saying so as to bo audible to the visitor, “ You havii’t shown him into the parlor, have yon? He ain’t a gentleman. He ain’t ordained like my pi!” A lady at Longhranch (America) died recent y from the effects of anti-fat medicine, which she had taken in 19 months. This is one case which lias been brought to light. Probably hundreds of others have committed suicide in a similar manner, and there are thousands to-day who are shortening their lives by taking similar compounds. All attempts to reduce corpulency in this way are in opposition to the law of nature, and are theiefo e, dangerous to human existence. The people who make these mixtures and put them up on tho market ought to be reached by the law in someway. Wu forbid drug gists to sell poison without a physician’s recipe and yet we allow adventnr -rs and quaks of all description to offer “anti-fat ” and “anti-lean” preparations, which poison the blood, and bring in most cases death to their consumers. If the sellers ; were made to die witli the buyers from j taking their own mixtures, we cannot help feeling that they would meet with a ! deserved fate. A man peddling arsentic from door to door would not be so danger. . ona to the community at large as the one who put up a nostrum in a patent medicine bottle which he knows at some near or re- ■ mote period, will be deadly in its effect. He i may never lie summond before the legal i tribunals but his own conscience must tell him that ho is criminal who committed, not, one but many murders.—“ Boston > Courier.”