Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 144, 14 December 1894, Page 2

Local and General News.

Mr Baker, the Commissioner of Crown Lauds, was a visitor to Feildiug to-day. Members of the Manchester Rifles ' t wlio attend the concert this eveuiug, are rc^uested to appear iv uniform. A moetiug of the Fmldiug Sports Committee will bo held ut Mr Sberwill's office tliio evening, at 8 o'clock.

The parade of the Manchester Rifles on Thursday next will be held in liimboltou road. A movement is on foot to obtain swimming baths for Woodville. When is Feilding going to move in that direction ? The bridge nt MrOldershaw's, Mackay's Line (Benconsfield), has now been completed and is open for traffic. A meeting in connection with the protective works on the Oroua river will be held to morrow in Mr Bray's oflice. The leech slugs are now in evidence ou the plum and pear trees. These pests can easily be destroyed by spraying with helibore preparation. In Germany a merchant was recently heavily fined for using a quotation from tho Bible at the head of an advertisement. Vice-Admiral Bowden-Smith draws £365 more under his new title than he did as Rear-Admiral. His pay is now i! 1460 per annum. Examinations for matriculation are now being held in Wanganui. Miss E, Watts from tbe Collego-street School, Palmerston, is a candidate. Four well-known Auckland citizens, who some time ago went away to Coolgardie with i'3oo, have just got back with a joint capital of 10s 6d. The Public Trustee has been advised from Auckland that the estates of 28 persons who perished in the Wairarapa disaster are beiug placed in his bands for administration. A number of young ostriches have been hatched out at Inglewood, Taranaki, this season. The birds, both young and old, are reported to be thriving. 11 Don't tell me of to-morrow ; give me tbe man who'd say, there is a good deed to bo done, I'll pay for my paper to-day." This dosu't scan very well, but it is full of feeling. The language used by some of tbo lads who attend the Awahuri State School is said to be very florid, not to put too strong a point upon it. Some of the residents have complained on the subject. Tho calculator employed by Christchurch Truth says a sum of money has been sponged up from this colony by travelling showmen, temperance and theosophist lecturers in tho last quarter century as would have paid off half our national debt. A Taranaki paper says : — " The freight value of the first of the bi-weekly produce trains run between New Plymouth and Wellington is computed to have been worth over .£IOO, aud the experiment may already be regarded as eminently successful. Last week at the Stratford dairy factory the milk received for the da; reached the enormous total of 34U0 gallons. It is expected that for the next four or fiye months the average weekly output from this factory will reach 10 tons. At Gladstone, Wairarapa, recently during an electric .*torin, the centre horse in a plough team of three was struck down by lightning and its mane singed off. It was at first thought the animal was dead but it recovered in half an hour, The Mayor of Ottawa has raised a furore by proposing a tax on bachelors for revenue purposes. The difficulty is there are 150,000 more males than females in that blessed Btate. The bachelor clubs in the Dominion are up in arms against the proposal. 'W The Postmaster General regrets he cannot see his way to accede to Mr J. Wilson's request that notices from local bodies in connection with valuation and rates be permitted to pass through the post office free of postage. Mr Ward adds that it is the intention to abolish francking altogether. The Secretary of the Feildiug Sports has received nominations from F. W. Bowen, who has lately been performing in Sydney, for both of the walking events. K. Bayue's nomination, which was received by telegram yestorday, has not been accepted, as the necessary fees have not come to hand. Cyril Tyler has as keen a sense of fun as boys usually have. During the whole of the preludo to Mascheroui's "Aye Maria " at one of his concerts in Dunedin, his face was wreathed iv smiles. The reason was that a mouse scampered about the floor near the front seats, causing tho ladies there to devote more attention to their skirts thau to the music. A unicyclo has lately been invented in America which runs by its own momentum after it has been set going by the usual pedalling method. A forward inclination of the rider's body keeps the wheeling revolving, a backward inclination stops it, and in turning a corner the rider leans as ho wants his machine to go. The wheel has no steering gear, aud is 6ft in diameter, and weighs 1851 b. Sayß Chnstchurch Truth :— After New South Wales has been shooting its unemployed into New Zealand lor the last two year 8, it puts up a notice that only men who have been domiciled in that colony for six months will have any chance of employment. The New South Welshmen should hide their faces for shame. They were down for the Cbristchurch races, and in a hotel bar telling dog yarns when one friend — most truthful man — said, " Gentleman, dogs know a lot ; 1 once bad a dog, when shepherding up country, sent out with a flock of sheep ten miles from the homestead. That dog minded the sbegp by himself for three weeks, and only lulled two for his own eating ; and when their mouths were ex amined it was proved he had picked out the only two old broken-mouthed merino ewes in the flock. -Truth. The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Tiaies hears of an active autumn campaign by the Opposition throughout the whole country. The Hon Captain Russell may be expected to address public meetings at Auckland, Feilding, and in other northern districts, and Dr Newman, Hone Heke, and others of the parliamentary party will devote themselves to the campaign, which i 6 I am told to bo prosecuted with unwonted vigor. Mt Scobie Mackenzie is expected to take a hand in the South, and elsewhere. A youth who attends tho Feilding State School, and who is apt to have a taste of the cane pretty frequently, made preparation tho other day for contingencies. When tho Head Teacher was doiug his duty, ho observed that the lad accepted his punishment with sublime indifference, and his suspicions were therefore excited. He ordered the boy to •• strip off " and found that ho had on two singlets, two shirts, au empty sugar bag, and two pairs of pants. He made the mistake of not " yelling a good 'uu " at each stroke. He will know better next time. We would give our readers a final reminder of the concert to bo given this evening in aid of the funds of the local Fire Brigade, which takes place in the Assembly Rooms. Tho object for which tho concert is being given is a very worthy one, but, independent of this fact, the excellence of the programme which has been provided, including as it does — in addition to many favourite faces— several new performers, should be suificicut iv itself to draw a very largo audience, and wo have no doubt but what this will be the case. Several items of a novel character will be introduced, and the programme, as a whole, is one which canuot fail to give a largo measure of oujoymcut to even the most exacting a,udjeuce.

Captaiu Edwin wired to-day : - Same indications as wired yesterday. A number of applications for New Zealand Consols have already been received by the Trcasurj% Cn Friday next the school children will give a concert in the Assembly Rooms. Full particulars will be advertised tomorrow. The Herald is of opinion that tbe Easter Encampment will be held near Wanganui. The Hessian fly has already made its appearance in the wheat crops in the Wairarapa. The polling on the proposal to raise a loan of £300 for the Makino Special Rating District took place yesterday, with tbo result that tbe proposal was carried. There was a very good attendance at Mr Carr's Feilding sale to-day. The entries of cattle were large, and sheep fair. Competition was fairly brisk, especially for cattle. Tho half-holiday question is cauaing some stir in Welliugton. A meeting last night decided that Wednesday be the day of closing. Last week a meeting was strongly in favor of Saturday. Which is it to be '? A Wairarapa clergyman, referring to the drop in wool nnd the calling up of the Bank of New Zealand shares, consoled his congregation by the remark that, though these things for the moment meant temporal loss, they would under grace, result finally in spiritual gain. — Chronicle. A meeting of the Jockey Club Committee was held in Mr Goodbehere's office last night, when accounts were passed for payment and a statement read which showed the profits of the receut meeting of the Club to be .£_oo, after paying all expenses, including £25 for a roller. The Wellington prophet Eugene who induced a number of people to leave Wellington and follow him to South Africa by declaring that New Zealand was to be swallowed up by a tidal wave, is now at the Cape, buying cattle, prepartory to pushing into the interior to some high lands where waves will not come. Acting ou telegraphic information which he received, Constable Tuohey yesterday arrested two young men in Feildiug, named respectively Jas. Studdon and Joseph Mason, on a charge of breaking into two houses in Otaki and stealing notes, gold and silver to the amouut of £14. The men were brought before Mr Carthew, J.P., this morning, charged with the offence, aud remanded until 10 o'clock to-morrow morning.