Local and General News

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 15, 23 July 1892, Page 2

Local and General News

~^* We have to acknowledge receipt of a batch of Parliamentary papers nnd numbers 4 and 5 of Hansard. Mr Carthew has a large shipment of new books to arrive this week. Country librarians should be ou the alert. The Examiner reports that dogs are being indiscriminately destroyed in Woodville, by laying poison on the highways. The Railway Commissioners wont reduce the freight on cheese because — they say— some should travel as " live stock.' A Pahiatua correspondent of a contemporary says : — " There is a butter mania in this district. Butter agents are almost as numerous as book agents used to be." Mr Bruce is to present a petition from twenty members of the Marton Small Farm Associations praying for alterations in ihe regulations and the right of pur» chase. Mr Scobie McKenzie said, in the debate now going on, that "He believed that if the Minister of Lands had a Chattels Securities Act and a Financial Statement put before bim that after half a day's study he would not know the difference." A meeting of those interested in the temperance cause was held in Glasgow House last night to protest against'the formation of tbe proposed " Working ' Men's Club." Mr Lethbridge "was voted to the chair. On the proposition of Mr Shearer, seconded by Mr J. C. Thompson, a committee consisting of Messrs Gould, Thompson, Shearer, Mrs Sorley, and Mrs Shearer was appointed for the purpose of drawing up a requisition, and obtaining ' signatures to the same, for presentation to the Colonial Secretary against a club license being issued in Feilding. Mr Lethbridge undertook to obtain somebody to go round with the petition for the purpose of procuring signatures thereto. The meeting then broke up after passing a vote of thanks to the chairman for presiding.

Captain Edwin telegraphs : — Weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. to-day — Warnings for westerly gales hold good at all places. Messrs Cobbe and Darragh have just imported some toy air guns and saloon rifles of a useful size. Very bandy weapons for volunteers to practice with. A first and final dividend of 5s in the £ is now payable in the estate of Robert Somerville at the office of the Official Assignee, Mr G. J. Scott, of Palmerston North. Feilding is getting more like London eyery day. A crossing sweeper was at work yesterday on Manchester street, between the Bank of Australasia and Cobbe and Darragh's. Mr John Bartholomew was the successful tenderer for the supply and delivery of telephone poles for the Birmingham line. Delivery is to be completed within four months. The line will be in work before six months. Tfesferday Mr Joseph H. Hooper, dentist, paid his first visit to Feildmg. He intimates that he pays special attention to the preservation of the teeth of children, as well as those of adults. Mr Hooper will visit Feilding once a fortnight. Yesterday Mr Lazarus left for Wellington. He is well satisfied with his Feilding visit, having been well patronised. Mr Leary, of Palmerston North, is the representative of Mr Lazarus in this district, and will make periodical visits to Feilding. A meeting of the members of the Feilding Hunt Club will be held at Mrs Hastie's Feilding Hotel on Saturday, July 30th, at 8 o'clock. As the business to be done is of considerable importance to the members, it is desirable that there should be a full attendance. Tbe enterprise of Messrs Stevens and Gorton is deserving of success. We learn from the Advocate that the firm has purchased a section of land, containing 2£ acres, on which they propose to erect sale yards. A better site than the one selected could not be found in the district At last the Government has prepared an Act to remoye doubts as to the title of native owners to parts of the Rone Potae Block, orm plam English, "The law of the hat " block, in the provincial district of Auckland. The explanation of the title has already appeared in this journal. It is freely whispered that the proposal to " call " Mr Bolt to the Council as the representative of the labor classes in Dunedin does not find favor with them and that the Trades and Labor Council have made a recommendation in favor of either Mr J. A. Miliar.] Mr R. Slater, or Mr Alex, Judge. The offices oF the Manawatu Timber Company are now permanently open in their new premises on the railway reserve, Kimbolton road. The sheds and other appurtenances of a thoroughly well laid out and well regulated timber yard, will be erected as soon as the weather permits tbe carpenters to get to work. In connection with a paragraph which appeared in the letter of our Birmingham correspondent on Thursday last, we have been requested to state, by Mr Daw, that his coach services between Feilding and Pemberton have never been interrupted since they started, except on one week, when the road was rendered impassable by land slips. Mr Daw intends to run against all opposition of any kind whatever. There are some very unkind people in the House of Representatives, says the H. B. Herald. On Wednesday a gentle* man who rejoices in the name of Hogg, aud who is a " Liberal " of the deepest ballance dye weakened with " ingrain " or " self " color, in addressing the House stated that he was once travelling alone m a train. " Ah," said one of the unkind people, "it leaked out that you were going by the tram." Mr Hogg saw ncthing to laugh at, but othcre did. A strange story of superstition is re ported from' Homoliez, in Hungary. Several corpses of men had recently been found there with their heads cut off. An investigation was made by the police, and it turned out that these mutilations had in every instance been committed by young men were betrothed to the widows of the decapitated persons. The husbands had died a natural death, and the widows believed that in case they married a second time their first bus* bands would reappear and destroy their wedded happiness. Hence they had persuaded their new bridegrooms to decapitate their deceased partners. An important motion relative to the Licensing and Publicans Compensation question was made in the House yesterday by Mr Duthie : " That it is desirable that the Licensing Act should be amended and that (1) the members of Licensing Committees should be appointed by Government, to secure judicial per* formance of the duties devolving upon them ; (2) that no compensation should be payable to any person haying vested interests in any hotel when the license has been taken away pursuant to a decision, on a poll duly taken, by a majority of persons on the electoral roll for the district within which such hotel is situated. Provided that a poll ol the electors shall not be taken so as to reduce the number of hotels in municipalities to less than one hotel for every of the population, and in country districts to less than one hotel for every— —of the population." A phenomenal trip was made on Tuesday by way of experiment on the Wellington Manawatu Line. The result was not only to establish a New Zealand record as to high speed, bnt also to break all previous authentic records of speed on the 3ft 6m gauge in any part of the world. Otaki, the first stopping station, nearly 47 miles from town, was reached in 73 minutes running time, the run of 37| miles to Longburn was done in exactly 45 minutes, or at the average rate of 48^ miles an hour, and equal to that of several famous expresses on the English railways, and faster than either the Brighton or Doyer expresses, both widely celebrated. An average speed of 60 miles an hour was maintained for 15 consecutive miles, of which three were done in 59secs., and one in 56?6ee. representing respective speeds of 61, 62 and 64 miles an hour. This has never yet been authentically equalled on the 3ft 9in gauge anywhere in the world, the nearest to it being 59 miles. The total running time from Wellington to Long - burn was only one hour 57 minutes for the distance of 84 miles Colonel Fraser's Gaming and Lotteries Act Amendment Bill provides that it shall not be unlawful to hold any lotterj or sweepstakes on an event to be conducted and determined in public in respect of which the contributions do not exceed twenty shillings each, subject as follows:— "No lottery or sweepstakes shall be used or conducted except by such persons as the Colonial Secretary shall from time to time license for that purpose. Every person licensed to use or conduct a lottery or sweepstakes shall deposit with the Public Trustee a bond or guarantee to tho amount of £5000. AU tickets issued shall bear a stamp. The license fee shall be £25, and shall be paid to the local body of the district where the licensee has his principal place of business." The Bill also provides that it shall not be lawful for any racing club, trotting club, committee or association holding a license for tho use of the totalisator to deduct by way of commission, expenses, stamp "duty, or otherwise, on any pretext whatever, a greater amount than a sum calculated at the rate of ten per cent upon the gross takings of such totalisator, on each and eyery separate use thereof.

The Pahuerston-Feilding Senior Cup football match was played on the Oval this afternoon. Mr J. H, Hooper, dentist, will visit FeiidiDg on Friday next, and may be consulted at Mr Garratt's, chemist, Manchester street, A Press Association wire from Auck« land states that Messrs McArthur and Co. have arranged to purchase the whole of the output of the Ouehunga Woollen Mills for five year*. This involves a total of £115.000. A cablegram was forwarded yesterday to the Right Hon W. E. Gladstone by his admirers in Wanganui. The cable r«n as follows : — " The Liberals of Wangamii congratulate you on your victory in tho English election campaign."— Signed, P. J. Connolly. Messrs Cobbe and Darragh, finding their business to be so rapidly increasing, have decided to utilise the vacant space at the back, adjoining the Manchester Hotel, by erecting stables thereon. The ; buildings now used as stables will be turned into store rooms. The Sydney millers are fully stocked with N.Z. wheat, for which there is a di minished enquiry, owing to the fall in Victoria. Quotations are 4s 6d to 4s 8d Oats are quoted at 2s 8d to 2s 9d—potatoes (NZ) £2 5s to £2 10s per ton, N.Z. butter Is 9d cheese 7d bacon 7d. A genius with a taste for statistics hns calculated that an average newsparer writer makes 4,000,000 strokes with his pen each year, or a line 300 miles long. A rapid penman draws his pen through 16<j feet in every minute. In forty minutes his pen travels a furlong. Mr Waugh, bookseller and stationer, has just receiyed a large supply of American novels, humorous illustrated publications, detective stories, and other books which are worthy of inspection. He is also local agent for Graham and Co.'s oil-painting enlargements from photographs, which vary in price from 50s to 25 guineas. Mr Waugh invites inspection of his splendid stock. Mr Montague held a very successful sale in his auction rooms yesterday, which was well attended. Tlio bidding was brisk and fair prices were realised for the various lots. Mr Montague announced that he will hold a large sale of trees on Friday next. Full particulars will appear in our next issue. We understand that Mr Montague is in treaty for the purchase of a central section on which he intends to build a large auction room here. A deputation of negroes waited upon the American President and complained of the outrages which were being continually perpetrated on Americans of African ongm in the Southern States. The President urged them to make a compilation of the outrages for the past year in order that the country might bo led to realise the number and enormity of the crimes, and to insist upon the coloured races receiving fair treatment. On Thursdry the 28th instant, Messrs Stevens and Gorton will sell a consignment of fruit, flowering, and ornamental trees from the nursery of Mr James Mitchinson, of New Plymouth. As in the past trees and shrubs grown by Mr Mitchinson have turned out well, we are confident that the coming sale will be largely patronised. The members of the House are now in a much better temper. We learn from our Wellington exchanges that they quote poetry at each other with the greatest impunity, and that angry words are seldom or never exchanged, unless the subject of the Central Railway is introduced by some indiscreet representative who has dined, not wisely, but too well. Then things warm up a bit. Dr Nansen, a great Arctic explorer, in explaining the sociology of the EsquU maux, said : " There is no such thing as one Esquimaux living in abundance and another in poverty. Successful fishermen arc expected to distribute portions of their spoil amongst their neigh • hours, and if one starves all starve. "Do unto others as you would be done by " is practised by the Greenlanders much more commonly than amongst civi Used nations," At the Criterion Hotel, New Plymouth a goodly number of travellers had met. One produced a subscription list for a poor widow woman whose husband had fallen down an artesian well and got drowned. Eight actually gave 2s 6d each in aid of the poor widow. There* upon the suppliant shouted tor the crowd, and repeated the process several times before the subscribers ' dropped to the fact that they were drinking their own money. The residents of Feilding should turn out in good muster on Wednesday next for a twofold object : the encouraging of the members of the Feilding Employes Association in their laudable object, and to assist in replenishing the funds of the Fire Brigade. From what we can gather the entertainment will be of an exceptional character. Seyeral ladies and gentlemen who have never appeared before a Feilding audience will make their debut ou Wednesday next. In the orchestra a gentleman from Auckland, who comes with high credentials, will manipulate the flute, and Mr Kitchen, with his string band will also assist.