Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 149, 23 December 1895, Page 2

Local and General News.

c A* The Feilding Star will not be published on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Several letters to the Editor aro unavoidably held over. There will be Mass in St. Bridget's Feilding, at 8 a.m., on Christmas Day. A trial shipment of asparagus, frozen, is to be Bent to London from Victoria. To keep a racehorse in even moderate condition in England, with proper attendants, costs L 325 a year. Owing to the Christmas holidays Messrs Abraham and Williams will not hold sales until after New Year. We have to thank the officers of the Agricultural Department, Wellington, for a very handsome Christmas card. We omitted to mention in our report of the Birmingham school picnic that Miss A. Richardson was amongst those who assisted to make the picnic sucessful. A man riding a bicycle in Caledonian road, London, collided with a prison van which threw him from his machine, ran over his head, and killed him ou the spot. Gorse is found to afford excellent feed for sheep on the poor hill country on the Wainui side of the Hutt Valley. Where gorse has been sown the land will carry five times more sheep than the rest of the conntry. A wedding was celebrated on Thursday at Summer Hill, the residence of the bride's mother, when Miss Alice Fergusson, second daughter of Mrs Donald Fergusson, was united in the bonds of matrimony to Mr D. Matheston, teacher, Stanway. An inquest on tbe body of the boy Herbert Orr, who shot himself when about to be arrested, was held at Dunedin on Saturday. A verdict of death from a pistol shot while in a state of mental excitement was returned. At the Native Land Conrt at Marton on Friday, before His Honor Judge Ward, the well knowu Ren Rev chief, Tapiue Maraenui (otherwise " Dick,") was sent up for seven days in Wanganui gaol for contempt of Court in iaterrupting the proceedings. A poll of ratepayers on the proposal to raise a loan of L466B under "The Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, " to construct roads within the Pohangina and Mangaone Ridings will be held at the County Council Ofiice, Pohangina Township, on Friday, 3rd day of January, 1896. On Friday last tbe children attending the Carnarvon school, with their parents, went for a picnic to the mouth of the Manawatu river. The picnic was arranged by the teacher, Miss Ecclesfield, and the school committee, who engaged seven boats to take the picnicers out. The novel excnrsion was greatly enjoyed by aU who took advantage of the opportunity for a trip to the heads. At Christchurch last week three pitiful tales of unhappy marriages were unfolded. The first wife deposed that she had been married two and a half years, aud duriug that time her husband had given her £16. Another sued her husband (who had not paid her anything and whom she had not seen for sixteen months) for the maintenance of tbeir adopted children. In the case of auother couple, who were married only as late as last July' the husband had disappeared, leaving his wife destitute. The local tennis courts were opened on Saturday afternoon last, there being a large attendance of members, and a nnmber of practice games were indulged iv. At a meetiug of members it was resolved " That the entrance fee be refunded in the event of members not residing in the district a whole season." A meeting of lady members was held to j make arrangements for afternoon teas, Mrs Macarthur presiding. It was resolved that Miss Giesen be secretary for teas and that Mesdames Giesen, Macarthur, Barton and Holmes be the host- j esses for the year. The Southland Times states that the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company has receiyed from London the foUowing report on the shipment of sheep per s.s. Buteshire:— "These ebeep met a bad market, bqth at Deptford as£ So}isb£eld, and wbile the qaality and condition wrepo not co good the prices were not satisfactory. £on»e ot the sheep were sold alive at 42a $d per head, but about 40s was the price more 'often bid. Tbis was not accepted by sellers, and the greatest portion of the sbipment was slaughtered and then disposed of at Smithfield at from 5d to 6£d per lb, tbe market at the time being very weak. The 'from your district, you will be pleaßed tb learn, were generally considered more sguable for shipment to thia market *!»*« titan thofi? rec&iyed frpm - '■' '-fetum,* ■■"■'■■'■-... i Cam*.. * ' ryy

Mrs Frank Bicker ton, a daughter of Mr George Richardson, of Kimbolton . road, Birmingham, died suddenly yesterday. She was confined about a fortnight ago. Great sympathy is felt for the bereaved husband. Anniversary services in connection with the Birmingham Wesleyan Sunday School will be held on Sunday, January 19th, wheu special sermons will be preached by the Rev T. R. Richards. A j picnic and concert will be held on the ! following Wednesday. The Rev A. Innes Jones held Church ' of England services in the Towu Hall, Birmingham, yesterday morning, when there was a large attendance. Mr Jones < stated the offertory would be devoted to ■ the nucleus of an organ fund as it was probable a Church of England clergyman would be stationed in Birmingham shortly. On Christmas night, December 25th, . a popular concert is to be held in the Primitive Methodist Church, for which a splendid programme has been pro- ' vided, aud as the prices are very reasonable, being only one shilling for front seats and sixpence the other, parts of the church, there certainly ought to be a crowded church. The Feilding " This " will give one of their interesting entertainments in the Assembly Rooms on Boxing night. It will be remembered that this popular local musical troupe gave an entertainment last month in Feilding, on the first race night, and were well received on their first apperance by au appreciative although not very large audience, and we hope to see the hall well filled on their second appearance in Feilding.