Local and General News

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 64, 17 November 1892, Page 2

Local and General News

Danevirke has been proclaimed a Borough. The new drill for volunteers has been initiated at Napier. Several passengers by the Tainni from London arrived in Feilding this morning. There are only 314,156 electors in the colony of New South Wales. Mr Ellery Gilbert, piano tuner, is now in Feilding. There is a wide ofference between preaching for profit — and profitable preaching, Mrs Elizabeth Finlay was fined £20 and costs, or one month's imprisonment, at Palmerston last Tuesday for sly grog selling. Tenders will be invited by the Crown Lands Department for the right to cut timber on the Totara Beßerve, Pohangina. Mr S. Daw drove a fiye-horse coach loaded with passengers and luggage to Femberton yesterday. At Gisborne on Tuesday night Dr. Scott, formerly Government Dispenser to the Maories on the East Coast, committed suicide by taking carbolic acid. < Volunteers will note that Colonel Fox's next visit of inspection will take place in the early part of the ensuing year, so they will see the force of attending all drills, Mr W. Kathbone, of Waipawa, has purchased the brood mare Watersprite, an inmate of the Middle Park Stud, Canterburj, for 150 guineas. Mr Peter Hume, of the Wairarapa, died on Tuesday last aged 82. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Wellington, and was much respected. An inset appears in this day's issue, respecting the Dobson-Kennedy Dramatic Company's performance, to be held on the 22nd instant. Mr F. R. Jackson has consented to stand for the Mayoralty of Wanganui. It goes without saying there will be no contest. The Premier and Mrs Ballance are now at New Plymouth where they will remain for a few days. Mr Ballance is rapidly improying in health. Mr H. Grave, a Melbourne solicitor' has been suspended from practising his profession for two years, for neglecting to hand over to a client certain moneys which he received on his behalf. Mr James Hugli, and family, left for Switzerland yesterday, and they expect to be absent from the colony for about a year. We hope they will haye a pleasant tripThere is an old soldier living in Northamptonshire, England, who is 107 years of age. He has been three times married, smokes, and is a moderate drinker. It is never to late too mend. On Monday last, while underscrubbing at Birmingham, Mr Ashworth had the misfortune to fall on his billhook and cut an artery. The injured man was taken to Mr Bainbridge's, and under the care of Dr Mussen is progressing favorably. It is estimated that 67.000 persons at« tended Flemington on Melbourne Cup day. This is 13,000 less than last year. The railway traffic from Sydney to MeU bourne for the V.R.C Spring Meeting this year showed a decrease ot fully 30 per cent on tbe returns of 1891. We are informed that Messrs Dwan Bros., of Wellington, have bought out the interest of the late proprietors of the Pemberton Hotel, and are about to push on the work of finishing the building so as to be ready for Christmas. Mr A. Green, manager for Mr A. Bell, of the Makino road station, droye 1100 prime fat wethers to Halcombe on Monday last, where they were put into the trucks and forwarded to the Wanganui freezing works. They were a first class lot. At Wellington last Tuesday, Mrs E. E. Borlase, the relict of the late Mr C. H. Borlase, Provincial Solicitor to the Province of Wellington, died after a long and painful illness at the age of 68. The deceased lady, who was the mother of Mr C. H. Borlase, solicitor, of Wanganui, was widely known throughout the district, and much respected by many of its oldest residents. A badly-informed contemporary says : — " Bagpipes are generally ascribed to Scotland, where they have been in use for a long time ; but it was an instrument upon which the ancient Greeks and Romans played." An ancient poem, in our possession, proves that they were known before the Greeks or Romans were ever heard of. We quote the following verse : — " An' music first on earth was heard In Gaelic accents deep, When Jubal in his oxter squeezed The blether o' a sheep." This is conclusive One of the most curious stones in the world is found in Finland, where it occurs in many places. It is a natural barometer, and actually fortells probable changes ia the weather. It is called " semakuir," and turns black shortly before an approaching rain, while in fine weather it is mottled with spots of white. For a long time this curious phenomenon was a mystery, but an analysis of the stone shows it to be a fossil mixed with clay and containing a portion of rock-salt and nitre. This fact being known, the explanation was easy. The salt, absorbing the moisture, turned black when the conditions were favourable for rain, while thedryness of the atmosphere brought out the salt from the interior of the stone in white spots on the surface. Yesterday morning the Bey. Father Patterson showed us a very neat and artistic card he has just had prepared, comprising views of tbe interior of his pretty little church, together with a portrait of His Grace the Archbishop in his robes, and a photo of himself, ranged round a capital picture of the building. These views are interesting, as being all the work of the Bey. Father himself, and the whole have been artistically arranged and taken on cabinet size, and finished by Mr George Shailer, whose portion of the work has been executed with great taste and skill. A mass of flowers and leaves has been worked in between the pictures, and the words, " Greetings from Palmers- j ton North," havebeen judiciously blended, the whole forming a most interesting souyenir of the Church. — Manawatu Times. A very extraordinary discovery (says the Bush Advocate) was made in the Danevirke cemetery on Monday. During the course of an excavation for a graye, the digger came upon a body in an excellent state of preservation. Aa examination showed it to be the remains of a man named Samuel Henry Kent, who committed suicide 13 or 14 years ago at Heretaunga, by blowing out his brains with a rifle. Kent was at that time working at a camp on Mr Wall's section. He had formerly been in the Navy, and often told the other men that he would kill himself as he suffered from some internal complaint. Kent was buried by Mr Allardice at 12 o'clock at night, and the unearthing of his remains after this lapse of time is somewhat extraordinary. More extraordinary, also, is it that although the coffin had long since decayod the flesh was well preserved, and the finger nails and hair had grown to a great length.

It isn't everything that grunts which will make good bacon. It is very easy to blush for the sins of our neighbours, but mighty hard to blush for our own. Captain Edwin telegraphs: — Weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. to-day — Telegrams to expect rising barometer have been sent to all places. The manager of the Feilding Branch of the New Zealand Clothing Factory advertises for a smart youth, aged about 16 years, to learn the business. At Inverell (NS.W.) a wine-grower named George Eisenmonger was fined by the Licensing Bench £30 and had all his wine — 1,000 gallons— confiscated for selling less than two gallons. Messrs G. Broad and Co., formerly of Temuka, have taken Mr Halley's vacant shop in Fergusson street, and will shortly start in business as saddlers and harness makers. The firm's advertisement will appear in the course of a few days. More commerce for Australasia. A telegram from Ottawa informs us that Canada will give a subsidy of £40,000 to a line of steamers from Vancouver to Australia, This will open a new market for New Zealand made woollen goods, which are the best m the world. As a number of the theatrical bills and posters of the Dobson- Kennedy and the Dampier Companies have been removed or defaced by some of our larrikins since they wera put up on Tuesday last, Mr R. F. Haybittie gives notice that in future the offenders will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law. A London Liberal parson was accosted by a Tory member of bis flock in high glee over the election of a wealthy distiller. ' Thank God !' exclaimed the Tory, ' our candidate has been returned, and the Church is preserved.' • Exactly.' replied the rector, ' preserved in spirits.' At the Moonee Valley (Victoria) meeting, held on October 22, the New Zealand bred Little Author (lOst) won the Steeplechase, of lOOsovs, two miles, beating a field of eleven ; and his countrjman, faddy, by Anteros — Atalanta, won the Selling Eace on the same day. A meeting of the Salisbury and Delaware Farm Homestead Associations will be held at the Dramatic Hall, Ashurst, on Friday, 18th inst., at 3 p.m., and of the Wanganui Harbor Board Small Farm Association, at Colyton, on Saturday, the 19th instant, at 3 p.m. It is imperative that all members attend. The late Mr Davis, the biggest bookmaker of his time in England, probably laid the biggest bet eycr recorded when he wagered LIOO.OOO to LIOOO against three horses owned by a Mr Clark, and entered in the Derby of 1891, There is also a bet recorded of L 90.000 to L 30.000, the big amount being laid by Lord Glasgow, and the smaller by Lord George Bentinck, who lost. What; they will do for them. Two young girls, both scarcely sixteen, have been charged at Ottakring with cruelty to animals. To secure the affection of their sweethearts, they dug out the eyes of 2 little twelve week old kittens and burnt them to powder. T,he powder was put into wine, which the young men drank. This prescription has been regarded as infallible since 1706. At a committee meeting of the Prohibition League held last Monday night, it was unanimously resolved to engage the Assembly Rooms for a whole week about the middle of next month, when Mr Tennyson Smith will deliver a series of temperance orations. This gentleman's well known abilities as a lecturer are universally known, so large audiences may be expected, on this his first appearand before the Feilding public. The Committee of the Feilding Athletic Sports met on Tuesday night, when the following appointments were made: — Judges, walking events — Messrs "W. A. L. Bailey, Walter Bailey, F. Y. Lethbridge, W. Reid, G, Say well. Jumping eventsMessrs G. Lethbridge, Rutherford, G. Kir ton. Time-keepers — Messrs J. Scott and G. W. Fowles. Stewards— Messrs A. R. Curtis, Donnelley, Downes, Bboth, J. Bartholomew (junr.), Burlace, . Alien, Waugh, Garratt, and Hamilton. The privileges will bo sold on Friday the 9th of December. Amongst the handicaps for the Palmerston Caledonian Sports, to be held on the 30th instant, are the following : — Caledonian Handicap — 100 yds event, A. H. Holder, A. N. Norton, and A. W. Watts scratch, I. Watts 4 yards ; 220 yds event, Holder, Norton, Watts scratch, I. Watts 8 yards ; 440 yds event, Holder and Norton scratch, A. W. Watts 6 yards, I. Watts 8 yards. Running High Jump — A. W. Watts, scratch. Vaulting— H. Adsett scratch, N. Austin 6in. 220 yds Hurdles — W. H. Arnott scratch, A. H. Holder and A. W. Watts 4 yards. The Illustrated Sydney News says : — As a lecturer in England Mr Tennyson Smith has achieved a distinguished posi.tion; and his work bears the highest endorsement. He has lectured in various parts of London more than a hundred times ; in his native town of Birmingham more than fifty times ; also in Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the most important towns in the kingdom. Such men as the late Mr Spurgeon, Charles Garrett, and many other leaders in religious philanthropic work have | spoken m grateful terms, not only of Mr Smith's extraordinary abilities, but, what is of more consequense, the earnest Christian spirit which animates all that I he does. The year before last Mr Smith, accompanied by his wife, left England for Australia in the hope that the change would be beneficial to Mrs Smith's health. We talk of depressed times (says a writer in the Christchurch Press) and put all our spare savings on the totalisator. I have the following fact on most reliable authority. A Christchurch bank has received in exchabges from its Sydney branch LI 50 worth of New Zealand 2d postage stamps. These are, or course, the stamps sent tor replies by investors in " Tattersail's" consultation. As each investor sends at least Ll, this means that at the very least Llß,ooo has gone out of the colony. But as a matter of fact, of course, many letters contain a great many pounds, especially where a number of friends club together. And this is one meeting out of the many in the year. Probably L 50.000 would be much within the estimate as our annual tribute to Australian consultations. Verily we are a nation of gamblers !