Local & General News.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 61, 1 November 1884, Page 2

Local & General News.

We have to acknowledge receipt of the October number. of the New Zealand Industrial Gazette. The quarterly meeting of the Licensing Committee will be held at liie Con.t House, .Feilding, ; on AJonduy, Deceuii < r Ist. .

A meeting will He held in Hal combo this evening to make arrangements for sports. This year's lambing has been very good all over tho district. The average has been upwards of 100 per con:. I Stock grazes and others are directed to notice an advertisement from .\lvj). E. Ainesbury, which appears in another column. ' I A man named Miller, working in Bartholomew's timber yard, was bitt,-n on the hand to-day by a katino spider. The sufferer is in the doctor's hands. The best harbour in the world is in New Zealand, but whether it is that of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, or Ak;iroa is not decided. By nn amendment to the Police Offences ' Bill, in the Sunday Trading clause, pro- j vision is made for cxuuipling printers engaged on morning newspapers from an earthly penalty for breaking the Sabbath by working on that day. Messrs J. C. M iller and Richard Phelan have been awarded the Humane Society's silver nirrlal f^r their rcfcne of the High school boys lust summer from Bird Rock, off Ocean* Beach, {huiedin, whither they had gone sea fowl nesting. The Woodville Examiner says :— We regard Mr Maearlhur, of Man-iwatu, as one of the best authorities in the colony on local kovernnii'nt, nnd none h.-is moved more actively to break up the dual system, nnd revert to the Road Boards. The popularity of the Feilding Public Library and Reading Room is steadily increasing. Tins is owing in a great measure to the liberal supply of books and ppriodic.-ils, and the courtesy and attention of the librarian, Mr Beaufort. His numerous friends in Napier (says the Daily Telcgrfiph) will learn with much regret that Mr John Sheehan has had another serious attack of his old coin plaint of quinsy, and very greats fuar.s were entertained- on Tuesday last as to his ultimate recovery. A very lively discussion is going on in the columns of the Manawatu Daily Times between (ho committee of the Manawatu J ckey Club and tho late secretary, Mr T. R. Walton. This squabble will not do the affairs of the ciub any good. Mr Tnylor, the chairman of tho Kiwitea Highway Board, is about to remove his lares and penates from Turakina to his farm ou the iLiwitea. A new and commodious building is now in course of erection to receive M rs Taylor and family. This gentleman will be a valuable acquisition to the settlement. The many New Zealand friends of the late Sir i 'onald Maclean will be interested to learn that his only son, Mr R. D. D. Maclean, was married on the- 4th insL., at Thorganby Church, East Yorkshire, by the Lord Bishop of Killalon, to Miss Florence TDite, youngest daughter of Mr Thomas Butlor-Stouey, J/oriluiid Park, county Tipperary. The members of the Primitive Mothodist Church here are preparing and collecting material for a gigantic gift auction to be held on December the 20th, the proceeds of which will be devoted to the liquidation of the debt of that Church. A very influential body of canvassers has been appointed, and we wish their combined efforts the success which so worthy an object deserves. As an illustration of longevity on the part of horseflesh, tho Wairarapa Star mentions that a fine mare, now quartered at Mr Neill'B livery stables, in Masterton, was the property of one of the settlers who had to fly for their lives at tho time of the Poverty Bay massacre, and she wears a deep scar on her rump, showing where a native tomahawk caught her hb her owner was making good his retreat. The mr.re, which, though aged, is in good plump condition, is tho property of Mr T. B. Hitchings, of the Whareama. The second night's performance of Mi and Mrs Hart's " Happy Hours" at the Town Hall on Thursday was, as we expected, well attended. Not only was there a capital house, but the entertain nent gave even more pleasure if possible i.nn the one of tho previous night. Tho performers have now fully established their reputation iv Feilding a first class company, and will be sure to be well patronised on any future re- appearance. We observed a new and most objectionable phase of ltimkinism in the hall at the second night's p-rformance, to which we shall refer in a future issue. A very satisfactory proof of the lasting qualities of certain New Zealand woods under water is afforded by a specimen of niiro timber recently brought up from the South and now on view at the Government Buildings. The piece of wood in question formed a portion of the wluirf pile driven in the Bluff Harbour in 1863. and although under water for 21 years, i* in almost as good a state of preservation now as when cut in the bush. With aucli evidence as this (says the Post) it is a matter for surprise that contractors in New Zealand do not pay greater attention to native timber for bridge and wharf work and leBS to the woods of tho other colonies. During the hearing of a caste in the Supreme Court at Wellington, in which a question of shelter to stock was involved, Judge Richmond remarked (says the 'Post') that it was gratifying to hear a good word spoken for our 2^ew Zealand bush, for it was a pitiful thing to see the ruthless destruction of the bush by settlers in all direction*. When they succeeds! in destroying the thick native bu*h, so serviceable as shelter for stock, they sought to replace the dauange don«r by planting trees which were not nearly so useful for the purpo«<* named, and n«>t nearly so beautiful a» the forest trees of New Zealand. Mr Travers added that the fault was made a condition in some cases that settlers taking up bush land should destroy a certain acreage af fbreat. The chairman of the West Coast of America Teh-graph Company reports an account of an attack made by a large whale on a telegraph cable. He voluntarily a* tacked the cable, and having had a free fi^'ht with it, p-ml for his temerity with his life, for he was held prisoner for «evon days nnd then mangled unto death. The captain of the repairing steamer writes: — "Having picked up twenty one knots of cable, and, while continuing picking up, an immense whale came up to the bows entangled in the en bio. It seemed to me to be about 7"ft in length. In its struggles to get free, the cable cut right into its sides, the whole of its entrails coining, out, and great streams of blood. Iv its last dying struggle it- parted the oable on the bow sheaves, and floated to windward of the steamer. The cable was twisted up in the form of a wire rope for about two fathoms, aud in six dfferent part* it had tii? nppeanuice o£ having been bit' en thrmgh su.lHc.ienlly to cfco'p all comtinnieatioii. Thero i<s no doubt Hie wha v had been the cause of interruption." '■■'■

A consignment of 4000 trout ova will arrive by train to-nijjht for plarins? in the Oroua. Mr Shnrwill will take charge of tiiom on their arrival. The postponed meetings of creditors, in re Ames'mry and Campbell, adjourned to yesterday, lapsed as (hero was no attendance of the trustee or anj of the creditors in either case. Tiie names of the fire members who voted against the £4000 subsidy to Public Libraries v\ere, Fergus, Lcvastaiu, Rollestou, Hursthouse, and Trimble. The vote was carried by 41 to 5. A London correspondent writes to the Town and Country Journal — "There is' a scheme afoot in London — I have seen the prospectus — to erect in Sydnay a grandjiotel, at a cost of £150,000. The building is to bo seven storys above the basemeat." We regret to have to call the attention of cattle dealers jind others interested to a very important typographical error made in Messrs Halcombe and Sherwill's sale advertisement for Thursday the 6tli instant. This was made to appear as for Thursday, the 11th instant. This mistake. i« corrected in this issue. The Advocate makes the Minister of Public Works say in reply to a question put by Mr Maoarthur, that logs of a certain description were carried on the railway at 2s Gd per 1000 feet, while i white pine was carried at 2;! per 1000 foct. If this wore true them would bfc no depression iv the timber trade in Manawatu. The Auckland Volunteers do not allow members on parade to show white collars above their uniforms or to wear watch chains or jewellery outside their uniform*. This is a step in the right direction, and will certainly tend to give the men a more soldierly appearance on parade th'inmo.it Volunteer corps in the colony now present. In another column wo publish an advertisement with reference to a purse lost by a servant girl a few days ago. This has not yet been returned to the loser, and as it contains the hard earned wages of a poor girl, it certainly seems a heartless thing for anyone to keep the purse. Wo hope this hint will hare the desired effect on the finder. At a lare meeting of tho Beaconsfield School Committeo the following resolution was unanimously carried, That the thanks of the committee bo tendered to Mr Delaney for the great pains he has taken with the children during tho time he has been in charge of the Bcaconsfiold school and we hope that our children may long have the benefit of his careful training. Gold-prospecting is to proceed in Hokianga district at once. The Northern Luminary of last Saturday tells of having met with "eleven Aucklanders, who comprise a gold prospecting party, intending to search for gold and other minerals in the Ilokinnga district. So far, the exact spot indicated is a secret. Two licenses have boen obtained from the Land Board granting permision to mine on two separate blocks of land." — Auckland Star. From Wellingt on we (Napier Telegraph) learn" that Mr Ormond has lately been interviewing the Hon. Mr Richardson, Minister for Public Works, with the view of urging the importance of pushing on the railway to Woodville. Mr < rmond has obtained a promise from the Minister that tho section, Tahoriate Woodville, sixteen miles shall be at once contracted for. Tho desirability of connecting the Napier lin« with Palmerston, via the Manawatu Gorge, has also been pointed out by Mr Ormond, and this route will probably, be adopted. A human reho of Pompeii has been discovered among the ruins is an exceptionally well p.e erved stato. It is the full length fossil of a man who was probably struck while in flight at tho time of the destruction of the city, upwards of eighteen centuries since. The features are well defined, the mouth being slightly open, showing the teeth in either jaw; the hands are perfect, and one is supposed to have held two keys, which were found clouo to it, while thp-legs are spread out and slightly raised ; th« left membor had, however, been broken, as the bone protruded. The demand for horses for export to Australia and other handy markets, as well as for Indian re-mount purposos, should incite our country settlers to breed a good stamp of animal. Horse-breeding is as industry for whioh New Zealand is especially suited and so long as the desired quality is produced there need be no fear of what are called good medium draughts becoming a drug in the market. At tho ] resent time an agent fora Sydney firm is travelling the Wellington district buying all tho horses of this stamp he can pick up, and wo understand ho is leaving behind him a commission to hare the supply kept up. — Post.