Local and General News.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 210, 9 March 1896, Page 2

Local and General News.

There will be mass in St. Bridget's on Sunday next at 8 a.m. A parcel of letters, under a cover ad- : dressed to Blr Donald McKenzie, has been left at this office. , Tenders are invited by Mr Charles Bray (junr.), Engineer of the Kiwitea County Council, for public works as detailed in the advertisement. A general meeting of subscribers of the Starr-Bowkett Building Society will be held .it the offices of Messrs Wood and. Judkins, Kinibolton road, at 7.30 on Wednesday evening next. During the last week of the sale at the Bon Marche, the remainder of the season's millinery will ho cleared out at quarter and half former prices, and hundreds of remnants equally cheap. It was stated at the meeting of the Hospital trustees, Wellington, that owing to the improved sanitary condition of the city, consequently on the better drainage, typhoid has decreased fifty per cent. We learn with rcgrot that Mr Alfred Baker, who has been for .sonic time in business here as a confectioner, is about to leave Feilding and to take up his ro.sidouco in Hawcra. Duriu» his stay iv Feilding Mr Baker has won the esteem of everyone with whom he has come in contact, as a good busineas man, honorable aud upright iv his dealings, and a useful citizeu. We hope he will be pros--1 perous iv his new home. On Saturday morning last Mr F. Y. Lethbridge was driving a Hock of sheep along the cemetery road, when some sheep strayed into a paddock alongside the highway, and, while Mr Lethbridge was getting them out, a number of the sheep strayed on the railway line. Before they could be driven off by. Mr Lcthbridge, the down train from Wangauui ran into them, killing five and maiming another four or five. The nominations for the Rangiwahia Sports are very good, there being 31 iv for the Handicap and 29 in for the Mile. Altogether there are J.">S nominations, which is better than last year. Handicaps declared on Wednesday, 11th, in this paper. The Domain Board is having the ground fenced in which will be a decided improvement. Messrs Frankhouser and Picitzinau have secured the contract. There are several modes of disguising bad butter, but the following appears to bo the best. At dainty tables in America they are, says the " Gcntlwoman," serving perfumed butter. The butter is first made into pats, stamped, and wrapped in muslin, then laid on a bed oi violets, rose leaves, or carnations, another layer of liowers being put on top ; afterwards placed on ice, and allowed to remain for several hours. Eaten with crisp Vienna rolls and a cup of Mocha, this butter is delicious. The concert to be given in the Assembly roomr: on Friday evening next will be one of the best local entertainments yet given in Feildiag and should bo well "patronised, particularly as it is aid of the unfortunate man, Mr G. Leech, who was seriously injured recently. New solos, duets aud quartettes will "be included in the programme. The wholfi of the proceeds will be devoted to the object for which the concert is being arranged, as several gentlemen are paying all expenses. The first competiton, between members of the Manchester lliflcs, for Mrs Hastie's teapot will be fired for on the local range on Wednesday next. atf> a.m. and 2 p.m. It is open to the whole corps. Martini rifles, ranges this wnck ijOO, GOO, and 700 yards, handicap. The three best out of four competitions to count. The competition _ for Captain Kirton's riilo will be continued on the same day. Ranges for the following week— oOO, 500, and 000 yards. Dr Sorley has promised to give a useful prize. Jfc is officially stated by the Australian ) Mutual Provident Society that its new business for the past year shows a markked increase over that of the previous i twelve months, the amount of new assurances being but a few thousand short of three millions sterling. The new policies issued numbered 10,857, assuring i."2,089.G02. The Society may be _ congratulated on showing such a satisfactory return for a period, which, though brighter than the previous year, was yet not marked by auy great commercial activity. ' A stranger of an inquisitive frame of mind, upon asking why the local school was built in such a funny shape, was told that three years ago there was only one room, but that the children had increased iv Dumber at such an enormous rate that each year a new wing had to be added. Even now, said his informant, we arc thinking of another wing. " Great Scott I" said the stranger, " I was thinking of marrying a Stratford girl, but if that is what the climate here is like, my name is ' Walker.' " In an Edinburgh School the other day an inspector, wishing to test the knowledge of a class in fractions, asked one boy whether he would rather, take a sixth or a seventh part of an orange if he got his choice. The boy promptly replied that he would take the seventh. At this the inspector explained at length to the class that the boy who would choose the smaller part as this boy had done because it looked the larger fraction was very foolish ; but the laugh was on the other side when the chirping voice of another urchin broke in remonstrance, " Please, sir, but that boy disna like oranges V" On the interesting subject of pigs, the Wairarapa Daily Times feelingly re--1 marks:— Farmers complain of having too m&.uy pi.»s on their hands, and yet if a Mastertou housewife wants a nice piece of fresh pork she cannot always get it, if she desires good bacon it has to come to her all the way from Christchurch, and when she yearns for pork sausages the supply has to come all the road from Wellington. There is evidently some little want of local enterprise in these matters, and by a little combination farmers ought to be able to bring the local producer and local consumer into closer touch. A correspondent writes : — The social, commercial and political aspects of the drink question appear to be about to : change through the discovery of the method pi producing alcohol by the electrolysis of lime an.d coal dust. It is conndeutly expected that superior alcohol will cost from a penny to two pence per gallon by this new process, and a " liccuuf to drink," have to be substituted for the " license to be drunk on the premises." The malting floors will have to be turned into bating rinks and the heavy staffs of the distillery establishments join the army of the unemployed or don the- badge of the Salvationists. More holidays will become necessary less : work done and higher prices for it. — Hurrah ! On Saturday evening is,si Miss Keelan, who was employed as barmaid at Mi* Light's Denbigh Hotel, met with a pain- : iv.l accident. It appears that prior to gomg.io bed she was dressing her hair, When by sonjc means it caught lire from the candle aud on putting her baud up to her head to smother the jfire the lace around the sleeve of her nightdress became ignited and rapidly spread to the body. When she screamed for assistance the waitress was quickly on tkn scene and smothered the tire, but not beior.c Miss Keelan had been severely burnt about the arais and body. Dr Johnston was at once sent jfqr aud did all that was possible to'relieye the sufferer, who was sent to the Palnierston JELoapital yesterday morning.

At abont 6 o'clock on Saturday eyenMg as Mr C. Bray (junr.) and Mr Dawick f>f Palrnerstou) were riding down Kimbolton road on their bicycles they were " ridden down " by two reckless lads who were riding on horseback in thes ame direction. Mr Dawick's machine was considerably damaged and he had to carry it the remainder of the journey to Feilding, a distance of about four miles. Mr Bray's machine was only slightly injured, and he was enabled to ride home. Both the men were shaken by the collision. It is probable that the culprits will be prosecuted.