Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 226, 30 January 1894, Page 2

Local and General News.

• Mark Twain is in bad health. He caught a severe cold during his recent trip abroad Mr Thomas Britton, of Raugiwahia, warns the public not to harbor or otherwise keep his wife. At the Police Court yesterday a man named Andrew Peterson was fined 5s and costs 2s for being drunk. The Mayor, Mr Oarthew, was on the bench. The number of cattle in Queensland is 6,000,0)0 and sheep 22,000,000. Notwithstanding all the existing boilingdown and meat works, the surplus this year is estimated at 421,000 cattle and 2.0i)0,000 cheep. The famous World's Trio and American Novelty Company will appear in the Feildiug Assembly Rooms to-night and to morrow night, when the pantomime " Sam Kee's Laundry " will be produced. Miss Warne is appointed to the charge of the Pukeroa (Spur road) school. Mr R. Evans, the former teacher, is promoted to a larger school. During the short time Mr Evans has been there he has proved himself an efficient teacher. Every scholar passed at the last inspection. We have just heard that Messrs D. and W. Mausou, of " The Pines," have disposed of, to Mr Henry Williams, of Napier, at a fairly satisfactory price, some 3500 acres of their valuable Waituna property. Mr Williams will be a valuable addition to the settlers in that rising district. Mr H. E. Bergerson announces in another column to-day that he has started business in Raugiwahia as a general blacksmith in premises next to the hotel. Mr Bergersou has had cohsiderable experience in shoeing in Palmerston North and also in country places, and may be relied on as a capable workman. Mr J. E. Henry has received another appointment, that of haudicapper to the Nelson Jockey Club, the members of which, we feel sure, will have cause beforo long to congratulate themselves on the selection they have made. Apropos the Dunedin Evening Star styles Mr Henry the " prince of handicappers." The Feildiug Cricket Club have obtained a splendid net for use at practices and it was used for tho first time last evening. This will be found a great convenience to the players when only a few roll up, and should also act as an incentive for them to practice oftener. Without this they canuot expect to make a very creditable display when they meet better trained opponents. Early next week Mr T. H. Brediu will open a general store in the new premises next to Mr Brent's furniture warehouse, in Kimbolton road. We understand that the new stock has been selected from the very best wholesale houses in the colony, and will cousist of drapery goods, groceries, crockery etc., in fact every article that is likely to be wanted in a country district of such varied requirements as this.

Masterton, with a population of a very little over 3000, possesses no less than nine local administrative bodies. At the ••Burns" anniversary at Pahiatua the Premier saug with great effect " Ye banks an' braes o' Bonny Doon." Building operations are being pushed on rapidly by the contractors for Messrs Brennan and Marshall's new block of business premises. If the place goes on increasing at its present rate the town of Birmingham will be a full fledged Borough in the course of another year. A private letter from the orange country north of Auckland conveys the un* welcome news that owing to the unsettled weather and other less traceable causes the crops of oranges and lemons threaten to be a failure this season. The Returning Officer, Mr Edmund Goodbehere, notifies that an election for one councillor to represent the Onga Riding ■will take place at Messrs Ransom and Son's store, Waituna, on Monday nextMessrs Gorton and Son, hold a sale at Mrs Campion's farm, at Campbelltown, to-morrow, commencing at 1 o'clock. There will be no reserves and it may be mentioned that the cows are at present supplying the Campbelltown Dairy F"actory. Luncheon will be provided. Mr A. Russell stated at the meeting of the Mangaone River Board on Saturday that on his homestead and on several near it, the rust was attacking the wheat crops. He attributed the spread of the ruet to the very wet winter and the succeeding hot summer. There was a prettf complete discussion as to the cost of harvesting a grain crop at a meeting of creditors on Thursday (says the Timaru Herald), and the conclusion come to was that an average crop costs 10s an acre to get into stack, and another 10s to get it from stack to market. The article on " Banking in New Zealand " which recently appeared in the Australasian Trading World has proved a splendid adyertisment for the Bank of New Zealand. The provincial press have quoted freely from the article, and most oditors have chosen the portion in which the chief bank of the Colony is so warmly commended. During 1893, 147 persons lost their , lives by drowning in this colony. Of these, 21 fell into rivers or harbours, 10 ' were bathing, 5 children were drowned ' in tubs, 36 iv boat accidents, 13 were • crossing rivers, 6 were overtaken by flood i 4iu shipwrecks on the coast, 18 were i found drowned, and 1 committed sui- , cide. i Messrs Edwards and M'Beath report i wages for last week a 9 follows :- Married ; couples. £70 to £90 ; carpenters, 10a ; bricklayers, 12s ; blacksmiths, 9s to 10s ; i painters and glaziers, 10s ; plumbers aud gasfitters, 9s to 10s ; etoremen 42s to 60s ; draymen, 42s to 50s; coachmen 309 ' to 33s ; grooms, 25s to 355 ; gardeners, ' 6s to 8s ; farm handf, 159 to 25s ; milk- ! men, 25s to 27s ; botelmen, 20s to 40s ; . barmaids, 25s to 30s ; waitresses, 15s to f 2()s ; cooks, 25s to 40s ; female do, 25s to 35s ; housemaids, 12s to 20s ; general servants, 10s to 14s; nursegirls and boys, 7s to 1 03. We are still able to report a good demand for servants in tow a and country. The Dowager-Duchess of St. Albans, whose remains were cremated at Woking recently, is by no means the first of the Upper Ten urn-buried. The late Baron Huddleston ordered his corpse to be burnt, and his wishes were duly carried out. Other notable latter-day cremations have been those of the Duke of 4 Bedford, who died in 1891, of Lord and Lady Bramwell (dying within three months of each other), of Mr A. W. Kinglake, the historian, of Mr Emil Behuke, the voice specialist, and of the late Earl of Southesk. The annual cremations at Woking now run up to between 30 and 40 a year, and are steadily innrGnaina.