Local & General News.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 3, 17 June 1884, Page 2

Local & General News.

We have received from the Government Printer the first batch of Parliamentary papers for the session. Messrs Halcombe and Sherwill's sale of stock at Ashhurst will take place tomorrow. A requisition is in course of signature, asking Mr Macarthur to allow himself to be nominated as acandidate for the Manawatn seat at the next general election. Mr John Ballance has published his address to the Wanganui electors, in which he states that he will be a candidate for their suffrages at the general election. We are glad to learn that Mr John Stevens, M.H.R., has promised to give his support to the petition of the Beaconsfield settlers for a postal service to be established between that settlement and Feilding. We learn from the Chronicle that the Maoris at the head of the Wanganui river have destroyed several of the trig stations lately placed on the proposed boundary between the Waikatos and the Wanganuis. Mr Tingey, of Wanganui, is now putting on a coat of paint and otherwise ornamenting the Feilding branch of the Bank of Australasia. The appearance of the building will be much improved when the job is complete. According to the items of the balance sheet ef the Palmerston Winter Race Meeting as published in the Manawatu Times of Saturday,, the receipts were £249 13s, the expenditure £261 ' 18s 6d, and the credit balance £101 ,12s ,6d.; These figures are rather misleading as i gfdinary mortals find it' hard to under- • I starid where the •'' credit balance" comes from, when' there is apparently a deficiency.

We direct attention to Halcombe and Sherwill's sale of fruit trees, which will be held at their auction rooms Fergusson street, on Saturday next. We fStandard) are informed a requisition is being extensively signed requesting Mr Burr to re-deliver his lecture on political economy. Shoud he accede a special demonstration to the ablo and popular lecturer is looked forward to. The Colonial Secretary has telegraphed that every effort is being made by the Government to complete the arrangements necessary for the suspension of the Counties Act within the county of Oroua. It is probable the suspension will be gazetted on Friday next. The Earl of Derby has appointed an officer to attend on the Maori Embassy. The petition of the natives will remain in abeyance until Tawhiao and his party have had a consultation with Bishop Hadfield who arrived at Plymouth last Thursday by the Tongariro. Mr Perry, of the Kiwitea, has two tons of butter now ready for shipment. He is only awaiting advices from Sydney as to the fate of a consignment of a quarter-of-a-ton sent about six weeks ago, and if the returns are favorable he will ship to the same port. The Admiralty have published a set of stringent regulations with regard to smoking. Only flag officers and captains are allowed to smoke in their cabins. Officers in uniform may not smoke in the streets, and the nse of the weed is denied to officers and boys under 18, whether ashore or afloat. On Sunday morning last the steamer Hannah Mokau, on her passage from Kaipara, with a cargo of timber, took fire in the after part of the hold. After great exertions Captain Dale got the fire under. He changed his course to Waitara, where he arrived at 1.30 p.m. The barque Andro Klas, Capt Murray, from Hong Kong to Auckiand with a cargo of sugar, was towed into the Manakau harbor on Sunday by tbe Lalla Rookh. Her crew of Malays were sick and dying with dropsy. The master had been misled by an old chart which shows Auckland on the west coast of the North Island. A private letter from an officer in General Graham's staff states that the flag of truce with the letter in a cleft stick, planted in view of the Arabs on the eve of the battle of Teb., was regarded by them as an infernal machine. They stood at a respectful distance waiting for the explosion. Concerning the religious persuasions of public school children, Mr A. G. Taylor, of the N.S.W. . Assembly, bas moved— " That in the opinion of this House the pupil 8 attending the public schools of colony should not be required to state their religious belief, and no record should be kept ofthe religious persuasions of the pupils." At the conclusion of Mr Burr's meeting last night, when the people were leaving the hall, several of the larrikins employed themselves in throwing handfuls of mud. We do not object to a little flour, but we think the line ought to be drawn at that comestible. Mud throwing is a cowardly amusement at any time, and we hope " our boys" will never again be guilty of so low a practice, Mr " Bertie Saverna" Hurst said, according to the Auckland Star, that he was the only independant member in the Honse, as no one knew how he would vote. We qnestiou if the gentleman knew himself, and many of his friends who remember how he formed one of the "famous four," Auckland rats, would agree with us in so thinking. Mr Hurst voted with the Government on the division and as he was in a minority has regretted it ever since. In the course of a case heard at the Magistrate's Court recently, his Worship expressed bis opinion that it wonld be desirable if members of the police force would not display so much assiduity in laying informations for bad language, pointing out that in tbe performance of their duties they must necessarily listen to phrases more forcible than polite. Mr Wirdeli explained that in many instances the offence was committed whilst the offender was labouring under great irritation, and said he thought it was not advisable- that in such ca.«es the police should proceed indiscriminately against the delinquents. From a return laid on the table of the House, it appears that the value of all real estate in the colony subject to taxation under the Property Assessment Act, including real estate under lease or other tenure, was £44,810,000.; the value of all persoual estate in the colony subject to such taxation, £40,190,000; tbe amount claimed as entitled tb exemption in respect of mortgages,, rent charges, and such like oh the real estate, £30,016,460; the amount claimed as entitled to exemption in respect of debts other than the foregoing, £13,040,000; and the amount allowed under the £500 exemption clause, £41.0CX)*O00. Messrs Williamson A Cos. Wellington. Share List and Investors' Guide for the 4th June, reports :— Money is cheap and offered in large sums at from 7 to 7£ per cent; nor are extravagant margins demanded by lenders as previously, nor bioad acres the exclusive security consideaed safe.- -We sincerely trust Wellington is not the only province in New Zeala-nd-- which claims exemption' from the wide spread,' and we. hope^ .exaggerated; cry of.' depression. "Here, there are none able and willing unemployed ; on the contrary, country districts complain of the scarcity of labor. In Wellington city, empty .dwelling houses were never scarcer, tradesmen busier, nor trade itself sounder.

We are sorry to learn that Mr W. Bishop, while riding to Messrs Bartholomew's mill this morning, was thrown violently from his horse through the aninwil shying and becoming restive. Mr Biship fell on to the rails of the tramway and sustained such injury to his hip as rendered him helpless and he had to be conveyed home in a trap, but he is not seriously injured. The new advertisement of Messrs Wollerman and Hutcheson, of Palmerston wine merchants, appears on our third page. The large and varied assortment of articles presented shows that this firm intends to provide for every class of .customer, and with goods of only the best description. Mr Wollerman will pay Feilding and its suburbs a visit in a tew days, when he will call on clients for orders, aad he may confidently expect to " do some good lines."