Local and General News

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 104, 11 February 1886, Page 2

Local and General News

St. Valentine's Day falls on next Sunday, so there is no time to bo lost in purchasing valentines. An exchange says it has been suggested that were Parnell made Secretary of State for Ireland, the Irish difficulty would be settled. So would Mr Parnell. Hessrs Halcombaand Sherwill's groat sale is proceeding as we go to press. The attendance is good and the bidding spirited. By a typographical error the name of Mr J. Campion, who has kindly undertaken to act as Starter, was left out of the programme of the Feilding Jockey Club. The Manawatu Daily Times and Wanganui Chronicle are requested to note this and make the necessary addition. Sections in the township of Featherston, Wairarapa, are at a terrible discount. Mr F. H. Wood sold one the other day by auction and it only fetchod £12. The price paid for the same section some years ago was £125. A worthy farmer in Morayshire had the misfortune to loso his wife by death. After the funeral he and a few gentlemon friends were sitting over a tumbler of toddy, when the kind-hearted farmer remarked : "That is trying enough, boys, but it micht hae been waur ; it micht hae been ony 0' ourselves. Fill up another tumblor."

Captain Edwin telegraphs to-day — Warnings for gales have been sent to all places south of Napier and New Plymouth. I Several good hematite claims have been taken up at the Ohinemuri gold field during the last week. The See of Manchester will be worth only £4,200 per annum to Bishop Moorehouse. j The Anglicans of Ballarat petitioned ' the deity to send honest men to the next Parliament. Quite righj;. The suttee is still largly practised in India. Over 30iX) widows by this means devoted themselves to death last year. ■ It is estimated by a competent authority that at least £300,000 will bo laid out in Wellington on building in the year . 1886. Ail monies due te Mr Duncan Mcßeth, now of Tiiupo, are to be paid to his attorney. Mr Robert Mcßefch of Kiwitea forthwith. Mr Joseph Smith, bricklayer, has finished the erection of a baker's oven for Mr Matthews, and has made an excellent job of the structure. The Auckland Star says it is rumored Mr Wakefield, M.H.E., will contest Waitara at the next general election. This is quite a new constituency. A lecture will shortly be given in th© Public Hall entitled " Stray leaves from my scrap book on the Soudan," in aid of the Feilding Presbyterian Manse Fund There will be a meeting of members of the committee of the Feilding Acclimatisation Society at Messrs Halcombe and Sherwill's office to-morrow evening at eight o'clock. We learn from the Manawatu Times that we are indebted to Mr Alex. Furgusson, the Mayor of Palmerston, for the exposure of the " Norman Electric Light Company" fraud. There is some talk of having an Autumn meeting on. the Foxton race course. This would be a grave error if carried out, as it would seriously injure the present popularity of their annual races. The £306 dividend in the Fire Brigade Handicap at the Napier Races went to 4 individuals who had a difficulty in scraping together the requisite five shillings to go shares in a ticket. In one of the retail shops in Christchurch, the Press says is to be seen a quantity of mushrooms grown in a gara den heie from mushroom spawn imported from England. Mushrooms grown in this way can be had all the year round. The Manawatu Times says there will be a revolution in the republic of La Plata, because a King has gone from Palmerston there. We hope Mr King will " keep his hair on," because we have only sent one Whisker from Feilding, and the supply is limited. A fashion paper informs us that the newest jerseys are pointed in front, very short over the hip, and finish with the jaunty French postillion in the back. We suppose if there is no "jaunty French postillion" handy, an English jockey could be substituted with propriety- -and equal taste. It was observed that the N.Z.S. Co.'s steamer Kaikoura has been flying the blue ensign, or Eoyal Naval Eeserve flag, a distinction showing that her captain and nine of her officers and the crew belong to the Naval Eeserve. The Kaikoura is a magnificent vessel with a splendid deck promenade. We are pleased to hear from a Kiwitea resident that a new sawmill is shortly to bo erected in the neighborhood of Cheltenham. The owner is a gentleman from Cantorbury, and is now in the district making the necessary preliminery arrangements. We trust to hear of the mill being in " full swing" before long. At a meetinc; of the creditors of F. C' Benson, hotelkeeper, Benmore, the bank rupt stated that from the day before Christmas till two weeks after, ho had not tnken £2. The people in his district had all reformed. They had oitlu-r become Good Templars or joint'd the Blue Ribbon Ar«ny, and that had a good deal to do with the position he was in. — Dunedin Star. •On Saturday evening next, February 13th, the Makmo Brass Band will perform on the Square the following programme : 1. Quick March— "Georgette." 2. Quadrille -" Cordelia." 3. Polka—" Summer Flowers." 4. Fantasia— "The Christian Soldier." 5. Lancers— "The Zoo." 6. Quick March — "Belphegor." 7. Valse — " Cordelia." 8. Schottische — " Laxey Glen." God save the Queen. The maxim "let well alone" is not auffi ciently studied by our American cousins. Here are two illustrations of the fact. A man who secured £5000 damages ngainst a railway was diisatisfied, and moved for a new trial, the second trial has now ended with the amended verdict, " Damages, six cents !" The other case is that of a man who was recently acquitted of murder, and showed his gratitude for his escape by going straight away and getting mar* ried. Time after time newspaper proprietors on this coast have had reason to complain of the delay in transmission of telegrams to and from Wellington, but without any change for the better taking place. In order to find a remedy for the evil, we would suggest that a meeting of said proprietors be held in some central »r otherwise convenient place — say Palmerston, wfeore there are two papers published — and the subject discussed with a Tie It to memorialising the Minister at the Head of the Department. On the lßtof March, iVfr J. Newman, who has had considerable experience in managing pyrotechine displays, will hold one at the Heads. Ou this occasion the Heads Eailway Company will run special trains, and ©very facility will be offered to induce the public to patronise the show. The different classes of fireworks to show are of the finest description, and in the hands of a practical man" (says the Wanganui Herald; "are likely to be shown to advantage." Mr Newman has also undertukeu to hare a display at Palmerston on the evening of the race day. In reply tc numerous inquiries as to when the next bonus is due to policy holders in the Government Life Insurance Association, we (Napier Telegraph) have obtained the following information : — The last bonus was declared on June 30, 1880. By the Act the books of the Association had to be closed for division of profits on December 31, 1885. The business done up to that date is now being estimated by the actuaries at Wellington, and when their work is completed the papers will be forwarded t© the London actuaries, Messrs Bailey, Hardy, nnd King, for revision, and on their report the bonus will be declared. It will, pro* bnbly, be fully six months before the declaration will be mnde. It is, however, expected that a most satisfactory bonus will be recommended.

For the three vacancies on the Education Board tue only nomination so far received is that of MrThynne, of FoxUm* Mr Donald McKonzie, of the Kiwitea, intends shortly to have a 6-roomed house erected on his farm. Messrs Bell and Cleaver, contractors, of Marton, have the job m hand. Hop-picking operations at Mr Luke Ward's hop gardens, on the Awahuri road, will commence to-morrow. We are glad to hear the crop is a good average one, and will take some five or six weeks to gather. A new and commodious 8-roomed dwelling house has just been erected in the Kiwitea, near Mr Curnn's store, for Mr David Kilgour. The building is well finished in every respect, and reflects credit on the contractors, Messrs Bell and Cleaver, of Marton. A fire occurred at the house of Mr George Death, Kiwitea, on Tuesday morning last. The fire broke out at about 2 a.m., and nothing whatever was saved from the building. Mr Death is at present m Marton and is probably unaware of the loss he has sustained. Tke house was locked up, the only occupant at the time of the fire being an unfortunate dog, who, together with the furniture and household effects were totally destroyed. The origin of the fire is a mystery, as no bush fires were burning in the immediate neighborhood.