Local and General News

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 99, 30 January 1886, Page 2

Local and General News

There is a big rata tree lying over the Taonui road, on the top of the hill opposite Mr Goldfinch's bush. This had better be removed, as the road is rendered impassible by it. We learn from a Sydney correspondent that Mr Malcolm, formerly of Makino, went "through the mill" in that city once to the tune of £9,000, and a second time for £300. On the last occasion the assets amounted to the enormous sum of 60s. The Sydney folk are softer than \re bolieved them to be. Mr Svendsen has just opened up a very superior selection of boots and shoes from the best manufactories in the colony. His new advertisement will appear next week, but in the meantime he invites his numerous customers to call if it is only to examine the boots with a view to future purchases. Lord Dalhousie will be a visitor in this locality in a few days. The principal estate of this nobleman lies in the parish of Cockpen, in Midlothian. It has belonged to his family for many centuries, and the well-known Scotch song " The Laird o' Cockpen" was no doubt written about one of his ancestors. A report was current ia town on Thursday that Major George had been offered £4,000 for his horse Nelson, the would-be purchaser being a commissioner acting on behalf of several leading bookmakers. Major George refused the offer, and declined to say what price he would take for the horse. — Post. The Foxton Racing Club had a satisfactory settling on Wednesday evening, as over £60 will be earned to the credit of the Club's funds out of the proceeds of the last meeting. The protest against Eambler for the Maiden Race, on the ground that he won a Ladies Purse at Otaki, was sustained, but that against Maminga for winning the Cavalry Race ,at Bxills was disallowed. The stakes in this race thoreforo go to Maminga's owner. Tho protest against Marksman for the Hack race was withdrawn. — Munawatu Times.

The well-known and popular boniface Mr Frank Evans is now managing a Temperance Eef reshment Saloon in Auckland. The latest picturesque phrase said to be current in London for the ordinary way of humdrum living is " living in drab." If all the amounts under ten shillings, owing by debtors in this colony, were paid, there would be no such word as " depression" floating about. Major Stewart's £750 commission for selling the Kotorua Railway debentures to the Government Insurance Association came out of the funds of the Company, as vendors. A boxing match is announced to come off at the Wellington Arcade to-night between the well-known middleweight, J. Pettengell, and Edward Sutton, one of the tars of H.M.S. Nelson. A notice to long-winded subscribers and others appears in another column. Their immediate attention is directed to the same, as our patience is well nigh exhausted. A Maori shoe-black made his appearance in the streets of Cambridge the other day, but (says the Auckland Star) as he demanded the modest sum of 2s for a 'shine,' the patronage of the public was not extended to him m any large degree. Mr Charles Fitzherbert, of Cinder hill* Mackay's road, invites tenders for the erection of three miles of strong wire fence. Tenders are to be sent in to Messrs Halcombe and Sherwill, or to Mr Fitzherbert at the beforementioned address. The new ship canal to connect the North Sea with the Baltic is to have a width of 200 feet at the water's edge, and of 86 at the bottom, with a depth of 28 feet. The cost is estimated at about £7,800,000. Persian artisans have neither compass, rule, nor spirit-level. They shape articles entirely by the eye, and are wonderfully expert at it. Fluted pillars are made by taking poplar logs and moulding the flutings on them m plaster. The ornamental capital is made in the same way. Messrs Stevens and Gorton yesterday afternoon sold by auction 472 acres in the township of Sandon for £10 per acre, the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company being the purchasers. The good will of a lease of 233 acres, adjoining, at a yearly rental of 5s per acre, was knocked down to Mr Hugh Cameron, of Awahuri, for £31. The boat built for the Wanganui UpBiver Steam Navigation Company has not come up to expectations. The Herald strongly blames the dominant directors for muddling. In justice to the contractor, Mr Murray, we must say that the steamer was built according to specifications. The only failure on his part is in the number of revolutions of the stern wheel, and this may prove fatal to the contract. [Referring to the probabilities of an early dissolution, the Uarterton Observer says: — We believe that Ministers will meet Parliament ; that they will sustain a defeat on a want-of*confidence motion, is what they themselves anticipate. As regards the future, if Ministers are not permitted 10 go to the country with a cry of Protection and the borrowing of more millions, we shall hare such a squealing from around the Treasury trough, that it will be heard throughout New Zealand. Last Friday evening a fight on a small scale took place at Messrs Shera's old buildiugs, between Mr Brandon, the Wellington artist, and the commission agent he had employed to sell the tickets in his art union. The dispute arose as to the amount of commission due. The ageut struck the artist with a stick. Mr Brandon sent for the police, who ordered the agent to leare the premises, and if he had any monetary grievance, to ventilate it in a court of law. He did so itume» diately. It is probable, says the Auckland Bell, that the case will be heard of again either in the Resident Magistrate's or Police Court. " Puff," in the Evening Press, says: — Wai-dell's rather out of sorts, poor old chap I What's the matter with him ? Why, he keep's writing to the Colonial Secretary in ever so many different capacities, but either by fatality or accident, he never gets any answers to his letters ! That's hard ! Perhaps he writes in so many different capacities that the Colonial Secretary doesn't know which to reply to him in ! Perhaps they've adopted Napoleon's system in the Colonial Secretary's Office ! What's Napoleon's system ? Napoleon hated correspondence, go he had all letters that he received put into a box, which was opened once in three months, when it was found that half of 'em had answered themselves and the other half didn't want answering ! A somewhat curious anecdote is related, among vaccinators, of a young woman whose curiosity had outrun her judgment. She investigated the contents of one of the vaccinator's receptacles in the house in which he lodged and wherein she was a servant. They were nice toothpicks, she thought, so sharp-pointed; a little wide, perhaps, and clumsy. She was going to have one anyway. She took one of the vaccine pointsj" which are ivory and easily mistaken for toothpicks by a servant who knew nothing ol vaccination. She picked her teeth with the point, and before long could not tell what was the matter with her. Neither could anyone else, until she showed, the doctor the toothpick. He knew then what to deal with. The result is better imagined than described, as the vaccination " took." The noble Maori has become proverbial for his quickness in adopting European customs. The following is the latest specimen in this direction : — A few days ago a native accosted Constable Cooper, and submitted a question regarding the • law of compensation. He stated that he ! had rented a dwelling-house from a pakeha, and had entered into occupation forthwith. He discovered, however, that the house was infested with bugs to an alarm- : ing extent, in witness whereof the Maori carefully unrolled a piece of tissue paper which he had in his hand, and disclosed . to the wondering gaze of the constable one of these interesting torments. What the Maori wanted to know was, not how to get rid of the interloper, but whether he could not live: rent free by way of compensation for the annoyance entailed. The representative of law and order gave up the conundrum, and passed on the anxious inquirer to one better skilled in the law of damages. — Auckland Star. •

The codlin moth is doing much damage to the cabbages and cauliflowers in the Waikato, and a remedy would be gladly ■welcomed by the settlers. The hand of death (says the Wairarapa Daily) has been busy among the old settlers of the district of late. To-day we notice the demise of two septuagenarians, namely, Mr W. Bambry, of Car* terton, who reached 71 years, and Mrs Banks, of Greytown, who had attained the age of 77. Both had been residents in the colony for a number of years. The Melbourne correspondent of the Ararat Advertiser writes :— ln the case of a man named Cox, who was sentenced to ten years the other day for sheep stealing, the 'mutton' were identified in an ingenious manner. The police had found it necessary to bring a shepherd all the way from the Pentland Hills. I When atked if he could point oat the stolen sheep, he expressed himself in doubt, but thought his dog c«uld. It seems that there was one ram in the flock that had an invincible dislike to ' collie/ and ' went for him on sight.' A mob of sheep were driven to a point, and the dog sent after them. The moment he came in sight there was a commotion in the centre of the flock, and out came the identical ram in full chase. The way the prisoner's face fell when the incident was related was a caution.