Local & General News.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 93, 20 January 1885, Page 2

Local & General News.

' * Thursday next having been proclaimed j a public holiday, the Feilding STAB will | not be published on that day* j The Hon. Mr Stout has been gazetted Minister of Education. . The Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath has been conferred upon Sir J^ A. Macdonald, Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada. Tins is the highost distinction ever conferred by the Queen | upon any colonial Statesman. J '■ ■ • Thiß. troupe winch-appeared in the Public i Hall on Saturday night was fairly patron- I isek-.' ' The 'performance did, not begin until 8.30 and! was /not of a very attractive character, the , roman rings, trapeze, and 'ground' tumbling beingall very mediocre, and. not ,r iip to paper." The Makino Band played a number of selections during- tho evening, and proved a greater attraction that the performance itself. The mare owned and 'driven by Mr Bennett, of Awahuri, has a profound antipathy to bicycles. It will be remembered that a few months ago this gentler man has his. trap upset by this mare ' 'bh'ving at: one of these terrors 'to timid: horses, -"he-same thing occurred: yester- : 'd^^o^pOsiteMi'Heni-ylßshepinJSorgu-wori street. The-animal, when it saw its enemy again* iappfrjaehingy shied violently and -upspttha vehicle,/ throwing Mr Bennett •and his son 'on to the road, fortunately without' inflicting- any injury.

Thursday next has been proclaimed a Bank holiday. We understand that Mr Halcombe will visit Feilding about the middle of February. The Wanganui Herald advocates the formation of a Cottage Hospital in Feilding for the Manawatu district. The attention of our readers is directed to the programme of the Palmerston Sports, to be held on Thursday next. We have to acknowledge receipt of a ticket from the secretary of the Foxton Racing Club for the forthcoming events. The Borough Council of Palmerston expect to be able to lay their new loan proposals before the ratepayers by the end of this month. We have received from Mr B. J. Gosling, the courteous secretary of the Tending Anniversary Fete, tickets of admission to the sports nnd ball. The case of Blackmore v the Borough Council will be heard at the next sittings of the District Court which will be held in Palmerston on Thursday the 29th inst. Good progress is being made with the grass seed harvest in the Harbor Board Block. So far the harvest is a great snecess. Not only are the crops immense, * but the seed itself is of splendid quality. In a very few weeks it will be the duty of the chairman of the Licensing Committee to take a poll of the ratepayers aa to whether the number of licensed houses may be increased in this district. The scholars attending the Feilding State School Will be entertained at a grand fete on Tuesday, the 27th inst;, at the conclusion of which the prizes will be presented by the chairman of the school committee and Mrs Nicholas. On Saturday last St. Steven's Church, Marton, was consecrated by Bishop Hadfield, assisted by the Revs. Jones, Toogood, Oopinger, and Dodwell. On the Sunday following at evening service the Bishop administered the light of confirmation to Upwards of sixty persons. It is pleasant to see the number of young men who congregate opposite tho doors of the churches in Manchester street, impatiently awaiting their opening ; but we would suggest to them the propriety of clearing the middle of the street tbftt* persons on their way to other places of worship may have free passage. A correspondent signing himself ' 'sport writes : — Sir, — Is it not time that preliminary steps in connection with our annual races were taken. I have heard many enquiries on the subject, and think, if the Feilding Races are to come off this year on Easter Monday, the club should be moving in the matter. The train arrangements for Thursday next would be considerably improved if i return tickets were made avadable for f the !ilst and 22nd instants, inclusive, for Foxton: and Wanganui, instead of only for the 22nd instant. Many persons desirous of visiting these places would prefer going by train the night before, but aro prevented by the additional train charge. Roberts has just beaten Sala in al billiard match of 10,000 up, in London, the former giving his opponent- 3,000. In this contest Roberts tried to make the best break on record * but he could not succeed in beating Cook's break of 309. Roberts played remarkably well, and Sala never 1 had a chance ; but, although the winner made several fine breaks, including one of 266, he could not cut the record. Last night's Herald says: — Mr W. Aiken, agent for Messrs Bartholomew Bros., Feilding, has received a cheque for £800 from the Equitable Insurance Company of New Zealand, this being the amount for which the Bannockburn's cargo was insured. The promptness in settling the claims on their company, speaks well for the Equitable Company for which Mr H. E. Dyinock is the local agent. An obstinate property holder in Feilding would not pay his grocer, .so a summons was issued and judgment obtained against him ; still he declined to pay. A further verdict under a judgment summons was obtained, and a warrant issued for his arrest. The latter he avoided by planting himself up at Ashurst where he remained in comfort, while his wife and child in Feilding were suffering from want of the common necessaries of life. However, his wehereabbuts was discovered, and yesterday he was arrested by Constable Gillespie and brought down to the lock-up, where he slept last night. He was duly forwarded to Wanganui gaol by train this morning, his delighted creditor being on the r_4_w a y platform to wish him ban, voyage. A rather amusing plan of seeking to get out of paying the dog tax was recently tried by a settler in an adjacent distiict. The newly appointed collector happened to meet him, and asked him if he had any dogs, and received a reply in the negative. . " I thought you had two," said the collector. "Well," said tjie other, «*lhad two, which I sent away into the bush, but strangely enough they just happened to come home the day Mr Blank called for the tfix." It is needless to say this 1 was a polite fiction A colonel in the Imperial arrny, ; serving with his regiment in India, has promulgated in a Sonth Australian journal a scheme for raising a gentlemen's corps for service in India, freed from certain drawbacks of barrack life ; ' and invite's application from young gentlemen of the colonies wishing to enlist where "no amount of professional work and training would frighten them,, provided their social existence could be rendered more in accordance with their feelings as gentlemen." The proposer predicts that d 2,000 suitable candidates came forward the Government of India might be induced, to raise a " corps of gentlemen," as suggested, the conditions and advantages of which he sets f orth at length. This would afford a splendid openingfor the "neer-do-weels" who are now too often shipped to the colonies to find Oblivion. At the Port Chnlmers Police Court on Saturday, Edward R. Faulknar, master of the ship Warwick, was charged wUh assaultinga seaman named Oscar Schieder dnring the voyage from Calcutta to Otago. The evidence was ithat ScheiaerSwas told by the captain to carry some tackle to the forecastle,- but he : did not set ajbout rt properly and tne captain then put the hook of the block' of the tackle into.Scheider s mouth and r jerked the' rope so that bis mouth was made to bleed ; the captain also struct, him in the face. Mr Fraser, counsel for-Scheider, also stated that the man bore the marks, on his side where the flesh was torn, by an albatross, which was set on him after lie was stripped down to the waist by' the defendant; bat the Magistrate would not allow the evidence to bY gone into, a. J th'e charge was riot b-fo^ the court; J Thecap-_in dented.' the ttrfsatflt with iherhookiibn£(''/sidmitted . hitting complainant about the legs with a' rcp<*. Ac. He wa/firied '&& and two i jru.ne>t-« costs. On leaving the court he was loudly groaned at/ ><- .■••.■"oi

We are glad to hear that Mr Rees. Mogg, of Newtown, has received the appointment of master of the Government school at Awahuri. At the inquest on the body of Charles Griffiths, who shot himself at Tarawera on Thursday, a verdict was returned that he died by his own hands while in a state of temporary insanity. letters of naturalisation have been issued to Peter Kugener, platelayer, Cross' Creek ; Jacob Hiiwiler, labourer, Oroua; John Nilsson, former, Feilding; and Peter Jolian Anderson, farmer, Palmerston North. A pompous fellow made a very made* quate offer for some valuable property and, calling the next day for an answer, inquired of the gentleman whether he had entertained his proposition. "No," replied the other, "you proposition entertained me." The skull of a human being, believed to be of a race anterior, to the Maoris, with very flat teeth and otherwise distinct from the present natives, has been found at Castle Point, and is to be forwarded' to the Wellington Museum. A case of sticking up occurred in Napier early on Friday morning. A man named Watts, returning home by Dicken-street was set upon by two men, who robbed him of eight notes. The robbers were arrested and remanded. A most severe thunderstorm passed over Nelson on Saturday afternoon. Forked and zigzag lightning was almost incessant, for nearly two hours the flashes being visible. At the tame time there was a strong wind and heavy rain, and hail stones as large as marbles fell in places. It is feared that much damage has been done to the crops, which are very heavy this season. A jeweller of St. Louis has. rendered, himself an ob.eet of interest by. selling garters with bells attached. Depending from each garter is a tiny silver bell, shaped like a sleigh-bell. "The, '-. tin tinnahula'ion of this pretty pendant," says the jeweller's advertisement, "sounds delightfully melodious. Ladies wearing these garters are accompanied by a nmsical tinkle as they glide gracefully along." The Taieri Advocate is informed that at about two o'olock last Wednesday morning a rabbi ter, who was sleeping in a hut on the banks of a blind creek near Lee stream, was awakened by hearing the i oar of water ooming down the creek. He had just time to partially dress himself and run outside, when the water came in a vast body, sweeping away his his hut, drowning some of his dogs that were chained up, and carrying away about thrt c bales of rabbit skins.