Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 138, 7 December 1894, Page 2

Local and General News.

Tho Taranaki Herald informs us tho wheel-tax is now practically imposed in that county. Tho Feildiug Sports Committee will meet on Tuesday uext, when nomiuatious close. The Mayor-elect, Mr W. A. Saudilauds, will take office on Weduesday, tho 19th instant. Tho Feilding Bowling Club will meet on Tuesday evening at the conclusiou of tho Sports Committee meetiug. A match will be^ played on the Feildiug grouud to-morrow between the Palmerston and Marton cricket clubs. It is understood that tenders for the erection of a drill hall will be called very shortly. A committee meeting of the Fire Brigade will be held this evening iv Mr Goodbehere's office, at 8 o'clock. Air Wm. Light, proprietor of the Denbigh Hotel, advertises that bo bas a complete stock of the choicest wines aud spirits ou baud. Christmas hampers will be made up to order. Judge Dennistou holds very strongly that wlien a man finds himself insolvent it is his duty to call bis creditors together, aud take their decision as to whether he shall go on or not. Lyttelton Times, apropos of Colouel Fox at Auckland : — " It is open to question whether scathing censure is the best means of remedying the defects of the volunteer army of New Zealand." After several very plucky attempts to climb Mount Cook, the party from the Now Zealand Alpine Club has returned to Dunedin, leaving the peak still unconquored. They got within 200 ft of the actual summit. The newest thing iv America is a musical dinner sorvice. The soup plates, as they are put on the table, play a march, tho dinner-plates miscellaneous melodies in sets, whilo tho dessert-plates dispense light operatic airs. The Manchester Rifles paraded last night when there was an excellent muster. Some really good work was done. After parade au adjournment was made to Mrs Hastie's Feildiug Hotel, where tho toast of the health of General Feilding was duly honored. Returns for November of the arrivals aud departures at the various ports of Colony, excepting Dunediu (which has yet to come to baud), bave been made up in the Registrar-General's department, and show that the arrivals numbered 2802 aud 1183, leaving a vet gaiu of 1619. Some two or three years ago a wellknown property owner on the Manawatu Line purchased 400 Bank of New Zealand shares at £15 per share. He has received no return ou his investment, and has now to pay a call of £3 6s 8d per share to retain them. Daiuo Fortune is fickle indeod. The Gift Auction and Sale of Work iv connection with St. John's Church is proceeding in the Assembly Rooms this afternoon and evening. During tho evening Mr Haybittle's string band will be in attendance, musical items will be given, and towards tho close of the sale all unsold produce, etc., will be disposed of by auction. Fifteen dollars a day represents the average amount paid into every saloon in the United States. This multiplied by 250,000, the number of saloons, and that result by 365 days gives the total of 1,368,750,000 dollars, or £275.000,000, which amount represents the drink bill for one year. No wonder there are hard times for working men aud their families 1 Bees are being trained as letter carriers by an English farmer. A bee is taken away from home, a letter printed by microphotography is gummed to his little back, und he is thrown iuto the air. He goes home like a carrier pigeon ; aud the chief advantage he enjoys over his big brother is that he cannot be seen in time of war, or, if seen could not very easily be allot. The Marlborough Express says : — Another old settler has joined the great majority, in the person of Mrs Anne Rucktnan, well-known as an old resident of the Wairau Valley. The deceased lady came out from Home in tho ship Olympia arriving in Nelson in the year 1841, and went to the Wairau, where she has resided since about 1854. She was one of the earliest settlers in the Nelson Marlborough districts. At a sitting of the Paluierstou District Court of Bankruptcy, held yesterday before Air Matravers, Clerk of the Court, Air Cooke, instructed by Air Bunny, ou behalf of Air Alagiuuity, of Wellington, made au application to havo T. AI. Jacksou, of Birmiugham, adjudicated a bankrupt on the ground that a writ of salo to cover a judgment of £170, had beeu returned unsatisfied. Thero was no appearance of the defendant, aud tho application wo* gvautcd.

The 'Frisco mail will bo sorted into private boxes at 4.30 p.m. to-day. A counter delivery of letters will be made from 4.45 to. 5.15 p.m. A woman named Mary Booth, alias Caroline Rout, alias Frances Barrett, was arrested nt Oamaru on Wednesday on a charge of vagrancy. She is wanted in Victoria aud New South Wales for extensive forgeries. A married woman named Margaret Lambert, residing at Surrey Hills, near Sydney, met her death last week in a simple* manner. She was cutting wood iv the yard, aud overhead was a clothes line, in which tho axo caught as it was raised for a blow, aud rebounding struck the unfortunate woman on the head, inflicting tho fatal injury. A story is being told concerning a horso dealer at a recent up couutry sale. At the close of busiuess some rather queer looking specimons of horses remained unsold. A buyer purchased one, for a few shillings less than A'B, and asked tho owner to return him balf-a--crowu 'just for luck.' The owner refused, but said, • 'Ere, I wont be 'aid ; take auother 'oss instead.' The following handicaps havo been declared by Mr E. H. Ricketts for the bicycle road race to tako place on Thursday, the 13th instant :— A. Way aud J. Mingius, scratch ; F. Mackenzie, 45secs; F. W. Treseder aud E. H. Fisher, l^min ; J. Watson, If niin : E. Feck aud W. J. Trevena, 2min. The course will be along the Awahuri road, from the Lee's Line aud back. Messrs W. A. Sandilands and E. Mills will bo judges. lii connectiou with the assault on a Chiuauiau in Palmerston on Wednesday, the victim, ou regaining consciousness, stated that an European asked for a bottle of lemonade, and permission to drink it in a back room, wbich was grauted. The Chinaman followed his customer into the room, when tbo latter struck him on the head with the bottle, knocking him down. As 25s is reported missing from the till, it is believed tbe object of the assault was robbery. The appointment of Mr Stanford will necessitate considerable alterations in the Court sittings. Mr Stanford whose headquarters will be here, will hold perodical sittings at Foilding, Woodville. Danevirke Foxton and Otaki. Mr Brabant, located as at present at Wanßanui, will also take Marton, Hunterville, Hawera, Patea and Waverley. The new arrangement which will take effect sometime next month, will of course relieve Mr Kettle of a good deal of Magistrate's work and give him more time for his District Court auties.— Standard, Tho heavy losses which have been experienced from lungworm and scour iv sbeep throughout the colony within the last few years are causiug considerable anxiety among sheep owners, more especially those whoso land is heavily stocked, where theso disoases are generally most prevalent. A new vegetable preparation — Brown's Bronchial Astriugeut—has recently been put on the niarkot, aud iv view of tho vory satisfactory results of tests which have been made upon affected sheep in various parts of the colony, tho proprietors are confident that if sheep men will uso the drench as a preventative, aud dose tho lambs early, they will avoid the heavy losses of previous seasons.