Local A General News.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 90, 13 January 1885, Page 2

Local A General News.

By "bur the greater number of victimwere women during the late cholera epidemic of Naples. The blanched footstalks of celery are said to be an excellent cure for nervousness, and palpitation of the heart. The blonde girl is now ont of fashion, and the day of the brunettes has come again. Those who bleached before may now prepare to dye. A private letter to a friend in Feilding conveys the pleasing intelligence that Mr G. Metard, now of Paris, has entered into hymeneal bonds. Members of the Manchester Rifles who intend to take part in the Easter Encampment at Nelson will be requested to give in their names on the 22nd instant at the district prize firing. At Dunedin, on Friday last, in the Nenthorn murder case, the jury found the prisoners guilty of manslaughter. Judge Williams said he agreed with the verdict, and sentenced White and Crowley to five years each, and Fitzgerald to three years. Mr Andrew Young, the well-known coach proprietor, of Wellington, has served a writ on Mr N. Reid (of W. Q. Turnbull and Co.), claiming £5,000 damages for slander and defamation of character of plaintiff and his wife, by words spoken 1 ooneerning them by the wife of the defendant.

The Honorable John Ballance, Native Minister, went south by train last night en route for Wellington. The new Warwick-street bridge will be co far finished to-day as to be ready for traffic to-morrow morning. A Jockey Club has been formed in Marton. This will be a death blow to the moribund Rangitikei Club. The Palmerston Soap and Candle Manufacturing Company (Limited), is being wound up voluntarily. On January Ist the new system of •"'time momenclature" was adopted at Greenwich. Twelve o'clock midnight is now known as twenty-four o'clock. Pleuro - pnumonia has broken cut among cattle in the Moruya district, Australia, and the Mount Muirhead district, Victoria, Polynesia and Melanesia will date their histories from 1884 as the year in which their partition began by the Great Powers of Europe. The next English and European mail, per Tongariro, will close at Feilding Post Office on Wednesday, the 14th day of January, at 7 p.m. The Octopus when cooked is said to possess a flavour peculiar to itself. It is esteemed a great delicacy in Japan, superior even to a tabby cat, or brindled dog in China. We have to acknowledge receipt of No. 2 of a new weekly journal — The Egmont Star — published at Hawera. It is a most creditable production, full of interesting local matter, and is well advertised. We learn from the Standard that there were several cases of sunstroke on Saturday in the neighborhood of Palmerston, though none of a serioes nature. Palmerston manages to get a head of Feilding even in sunshine. The Palmerston Friendly Societies Sports on the Anniversary Day, the 22nd instant, will probably be the best that gay city has yet seen. The committee are sparing neither trouble nor expense to secure success. Australasia sends annually nearly £20,000,000, to England as interest on borrowed capital. The Old Country should keep this fact " steadily in view when she is considering questions affecting the general welfare of the colonies. Repudiation has already been hinted at by a " high politician." The Archbishop of York, speaking at York recently said that the British nation spent £136,000,000 a year on drink and " only a paltry £1,050,000 on the extension of Christianity in the dark places of the world." It is easy to see which " the British " likes best. In Formosa there is not much sickness, but when a man is ill they string him up by tie neck and let him down again quickly. This generally kills or cures him, and if the former, his death is celebrated by a general spree, so that they always can have "a good time" when they want to. One of the most popular books of the day in England is called "Our Old Nobility " an analysis of the peerage showing the ways and means by which England's greatest families obtained their landed possessions. The present edition is sarcastically dedicated to Lord Salisbury. The Manchester Rifles held a church parade on Sunday last. At 10 o'clock the men assembled on the Square, and were marched to St. John's Church under tho command of Captain Macarthur. Forty men, including officers were present. The Feilding Brass Band played the company to and from the church. The new uniforms were worn and had a good effect, adding much to tho soldierly appearance of the men. During the service at the English Church on Sunday morning when the Reader came to that part of the let's m, " and Solomon in all his glory was not clad like one of these," two of the Manchester Rifles in all the pride of their scarlet uniforms, who were too late to march up with the company, walked into the church. The words were so very apropos that a gratified blush tinged the cheeks of the unpunctual ones, while a ripple of a smile was seen to pass over the faces of some of the most devout. At the' meeting of the School Committee held last night it was found, when the lists of subscriptions were handed in, only eight pounds or less than one third of the sum actually required to give a treat and prizes to the school children, had been promised or subscribed. In order to make up the deficiency, Messrs Watts and Worsfold have undertaken to canvass the town to raise the needed amount. We hope that every person will contribute towards so desirable an object, and do so with liberal hands. It was very noticeable at the meeting of Mr Arnott's on Saturday evening last that very few of those who had signed the requisition calling the meeting or the one requesting Mr Wright to preside, were present to stand by these gentlemen. We think that when persons who have some grievance, real or imaginary, take upon themselves to call their fellow burgesses together, they should at least S resent themselves, and have something efinite to lay before the meeting, or be ready with some motion on the subject, which was not the case on Saturday night, the consequence being that the whole affair ended in smoke. The following is a description of the piece of workm the shapeof an oven, fire place, Ac., complete, which has been manufactured hy Mr Hoskings, blacksmith, of Bowen-street, to Ihe order of, and on the plan of Mr Bray, and which was briefly referred to in our issue on Saturday last : — The oven itself ia 2ft 6in x Ift 4ft. The back of the fire place is 18 inches in height! In each corner is a flue for conveying the smoke and, draught from underneath the oven, On both aides of the latter are hobs, that on the right side being a miniature oven intended for plate wanning, and which if necessary, can be used to bake small articles. There is an ingenious contrivance in the shape of a valve for letting off all the steam from the oven without diminishing the heat, so that meat can be fairly roasted, instead of merely baked, as it is in most colonial ovens. The top of the oven and other principal parte is constructed of fin plate, and the braces are placed under instead of oyer the top. another advantage, and which effectually prevents warping. The hinges and other fittings are highly polished, thus making the whole affair ornamental as well as useful. There is no fixing required, the whole concern being ready to be placed in position and used immediately. This colonial ran-^e, as it maybe caTed in a capital contrivance, and has 1 been splendidly made, and is said to . be worth nearly £20.

Fearing competition, Prince Bismarck has refused to disclose or indicate the f utare colouial policy of Germany. No. 1 (with book) ; " Bessie, what's a creature with four legs called?" No. 2: " A qundruped." No. 1 : " *nd a creature with two legs is a biped ?" No. 2 : " Yes." No. 1 : " Then what's a snake P A stomachped P" The Wellington hangman, recently acquitted of burglarly, (his mate, a Mauri having received a sentence of fire years) has now obtained the rank of lieutenant in the Salvation Army in Christchurch. What a commentary on the Army and 1 its officers. An Irish gentleman was recently attended by an eminent London physician, who, pausing and looking at him witb an enquiring glance, said, "l should like know, sir, if your family have been longlived P" " Long lived, is it P" responded the patient thoughtfully. " Well, doctor, I'll just tell you how it is. Onr family is a West of Ireland family, and the age my ancestors reached depended entirely on the iudge and jury who tried them." Mr Fawcett's death was due to overwork, from incomplete recovery from his illness of two years ago, to the unseasonableness of the weather, and finally to the treacherous atmosphere of the House of Commons, which alternates between arctic cold and torrid heat. Muscularly he was the strongest man in the Ministry, except Gladstone, and he was the only member of the Government who was loved and respected by all parties alike. Though a giant in frame, he had childlike simplicity and tenderness of manner.. A Scotchman who had at an early part of bis career come to London, and as is proveibially the case with folks of his nationality, had remained in the Metropolis, was at the bedside of his dying wife, who had originally come from the Highlands, and had always retained a strange affection for the land of her birth. " Promise me, Angus," she said, " that ye'U bury me in the Hielands ; I could never rest down here." " Weel," replied the prudent Angus, who did not half relish the expense of removing tbe body to Scotland. " weel, I'll just see. If I find that ye canna rest quiet here I'll have ye removed to the " Hielands." Very little is known about the home industries practised in the Seventy**mjle Bush, more especially by the Scandinavian women* folk.— says the Napier Telegraph. They are adepts at carding and spinning wool, and from the raw fleece will turn out excel lent knitted socks, and other woollen garments. At lace making too they are most industrious, and some very beautiful specimens of this industry are manufactured in many a bush cottage. If the ladies of this district knew how much good they could do by patronising these local industries we are certain they would do so. The bush people are very poor in money, ani they are probably disposing of real lace at much under its wholesale market value.. Queen Isabella, daughter of Phillip 11., who flourished in the twelfth centuary, vowed not to exchange her linen till the City of Ostend had been taken by her soldiers. The difficulties that sometimes interfere with military enterprises evidently did not occur to the lady at the time she made her vow; but unfortunately the siege lasted three years, and so singularly truthful was Her Majesty's character that she kept her oath to the last. To testify their regard to her persistency the ladies of the oouri adopted a dingy yellow color for their ruffs and stockings, which they christened ' T'lsebeau.' This was the origin of the tint known as ecru, which comes up to the top wave in fashions occasionally, and would perhaps be less in favour were it remembered that it was originally made to resemble, as far as possible, very dirty linen.