Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 77, 25 September 1894, Page 2

Local and General News.

To-morrow the Rangitikei Racing Club bold their Spring meeting at Bulls. The 1.0. G.T. will hold a social in the Forester's Hall this evening. Stockholm has the highest death rate from drink of any city in tbe world— 9o in 1000. The population of Christchurcb and suburbs has fallen from 48,846 to 41,590 since January, 1891, aud that of Auckland has shrunk by one-fifth. There will be a meeting of tho Shooting Committee of the Manchester Rifles on Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. at tho Empire Hotel. A special meeting of the Pohangina Road Board is to be heLJ on Saturday next to make a special order fat the purpose of providing 10 per cent, additional on a loan of 43492 raised for completing the main road within No. 2 Ward. On Saturday night last Mr J. G, Browne, a candidate for election to tb,e Pohangina County Council, addressed a meeting of ratepayers in tho Nikau schoolhouse, and met with a very favorable reception. We have to acknowledge receipt of the Mutual Provident Messenger published quarterly by tha Australian Mutual Provident Society. It is a very interesting journal and con-taies an illustration of tho very handsome offices - of the Association in Auckland. Mr B. Le Prou, who a short time ago carried on business in Birmingham, has taken over the smithy at Colyton recently earriedon by Mr S. Ingram, and after October Ist will undertake #J1 kinds of bUcksmitbiag work. As Mr Le Prou is well k»o\v» jvc have no doubt he will receive a fai* ghare of support. An inquest was held at Palmerstoo yesterday afternoon, at the residence of Mr a. McCarty, on the body of the late Sidney Cleaver, who was killed while exercising $he hurdle-racer Mangatanoaroa on the Palmerston race-course on Sunday. A verdkjt was returned that the deceased was accidentally killed by a horse falliug over him, a*£ Jbat no blame was attachable to anyone. In the course of the hearing of a case IB the Christchurch Supreme Court last week <bhe question of epileptic patients being c*pfi&G of lucid intervals brought out from Br**iw .ft fact not generally kuown— that is, tligA^-hpmet, Luther and Napoleon Bonaparte Mr E. W. Seager, who was called W »? expert in lunacy, said that tbe test mad© aao of by him to ascertain whether brain softening had set in was to get tho patie«t to pronounce tlie word "Opawa."

The Bishop of Nelson will hold a confirmation service in St John's Church of England on Thursday evening. A Church of England clergyman at Kerang, Victoria, has issued a writ against his churchwardens claiming £167 for arrears of salary. Professor — " And now my boy, what is your ambition in life — the law, the ministry, politics, science ? " Johnny — " If I can't be captain of a football team I want to be half-back." The polling of the ratepaj-ers in the Manawatu County Council Special Rating District re loan of £250 to protect the banks of the Oroua river took place at Mr A. Dermer's residence, Awahuri Road, yesterday. A unanimous vote was recorded in favour of the loan. Gamblers having made much of a statement that Oliver Cromwell indulged in horse racing, someone has unearthed an Act passed under the Protector's authority, pioviding that those who made money by gaming at horseraces should forfeit double the money gained — half to the State, half to tho loser. The Duke of Northumberland is the greatest landowner in England. He owns 200,000 acres. His land reaches from sea to sea, in the North of England, and he can ride a hundred miles from his feudal castle without going off his own demesne. His income is about £180,000 a year. Mr Pinkert, the inventor of a land and water tricycle, started from the French coast on his machine, intending to cross the Channel to Folkestone. He had a terrible experience. The sea was rough he lost bis way, and was seasick. In this condition he was picked up by a smack and landed at Bouloguo. The rivers in New Zealand are singularly inconsiderate, and our own Makino stream is no exception to the rule. In order to act as "a protective work "a bank of gravel was being raised in its bed below the Manchester street bridge, but before the work could be completed —down came the Makino and put the whole structure in jeopardy. This is not fair. It costs the ratepayers money. With the approach of summer there are doubtless many in this district who will spend a few weeks at tho sea-side, and those who contemplate this enjoyment could not do better than communicate with Mr C. Plimmer, of Plimmerton, who announces by advertisement to-day that " Plimnierton House '< is now open for the reception of visitors # Each of tbe out going steamers to China latelj lias taken large quantities of lead from Sydney, a good deal of it being from the mines at Broken Hill- One of the China Navigation Company's vessels had as much as 1000 tons on boaid, another 400 to is, and the E A. Company's Airlie •ailed hence on August 25, took 3440 burs of lead. Dr. Pollen has pointed out in a letter to an Auckland paper that in 1838 Mr J. B. Montefiore, of Sydney, deposed before a committee of the House of Lords that the timber obtained at Hokianga (white pine) engendered the white ant. Another Auckland resident has deposed to the fact that these insects were known to exist in the Auckland district at least 38 years ago, and he concludes that they are natives of the country. An article upon " Population and Re cruiting" in the United Service Magazine brings out the curious fact that Scotlaud owing probably to tbe depopulation of the Highlands, no longer contributes her proper share of soldiers to our army, On January Ist, 1893, there were 27,000 Irishmen in the army and only 36,0"0 Scotchmen. From London alone 5000 recruits per annum are obtained. In Russia the hardest field work is done by the women, and they get lower wages than men. Their hours are from 4'oclock in the morning to 6 or 7 o clock in the evening, and 7sd a day is big wuges If the? receive food their wages are even less than this, and in some parts of Russia girls get4d aday and board them* selves In other regions their wages rise as high as lOd, and in verj few parts of the empire they are paid even more than thu. A correspondent of the Christchurch Press advises farmers to go in for barley. Ho says — •• Last season there was a keen demand for barley. Any good sample was eagerly bought, and if there had been 100,000 bushels more it could havo been sold. The writer recommends (on the experience of experiments at Home) the use of nitrate of soda with superphosphates for barley — 1001 bof nitrate and 1501bs of phosphates per acre will more than double the crop. Mr Byron De Winton, the world-famed botanist, who was advertised to give a lecture in the Assembly Rooms last evening, on the subject " Many have tried and failed," had to postpone his lecture owing to the sparcity of attendance caused through a continuous downpour of rain during the evening. However, as Mr De Winton will stay in Feilding for about a fortnight, residents of the town and district will have an opportunity of hearing him, as he will commence a series of lectures this evening with the one entitled " Many have tried and failed." Mr De Winton's object in visiting Feilding is to introduce his herbal remedies and in doing so be provides instructive lectures dealing with social, political and religious Juestious, and he also refera to his ravel* in Egypt, Turkey, South America, China ami other portions of the globe. He brings with him the highest credentials and the most commendatory of press notices for his sermons and lectures.