FLASHES

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 42, 17 September 1887, Page 2

FLASHES

The Majeronls have bean doing splendid business in Napier and appear in Wellington to-night. When the Government had charge of the Napier Hospital the cost was estimated at £6OOO a year, but through some sivings being made.it cost,only £8849. When, however, It came under local management it cost only £2055 last year. Victorian tweed blankets and flannels are being sold in Sydney and Adelaide 20 per cent, below the prices asked lor the lame article in Melbourne. .... . Sir George Grey has been rather ill lately, but is announced to speak at Wellington and Wanganui before the elections. Re Lord Lome's fall from hii horie. Bays a critical contemporary : " Lorne has writt, o verses, has been Governor-General of Oanadd; and is the husband of a princess, bat he ban’t ride worth a cent. It does not say much for the dramat'c taste of the Auckland p opla when a music-hall, nigger show like the Hugo. Mini strels could taka more money than a magnificent combination like the Majeronis. And yet it was so. Bays the editor of the Wellington Herald I '■ We have seen cesspools in our days, wa have seen cholera, we have seen yellow lever,” etc., etc. Judging from his leading article! we should say he had lately seen snakes and had “ got ’em bad.' 1 Complaint is made of the quantity of sulphur in the gas at Napier. A rival to the gigantic gooseberry, A Tad; ranga man is happy in the possession of a Swedish turnip weighing 141bs. . Wellington lads and lasses will soon have a chance of spraining their ankles in a gigantic new skating rink. The celebrated pug., Jem Mace, is in low water, and has had to pawn his caps and belts.

Some of the good old Ohurch-and State Tories at Home do love Gladstone, and nO mistake. According to the Nottingham Ex; press, the vicar of a rural parish that town painted a large picture representing Mr Glad* stone in chains being dragged down by a flend into the infernal regions. This extraordinary work of art is lent round to the tea meetings organised by the Primrose dames. If, through the success of the agitation for women’s rights, women ever come to sit in the jury-box, infants will probably get to to criers in the Court.—Lowell Citizen. Not one single candidate in Southland is a professed supporter of the present Ministry. In his speech at Hastings the other day Captain Russell said he believed that part of the secret service vote of the Native Department was spent in influencing the electrons. Perhaps Wi Pere could tell us something about it. The Marlborough runs are being rapidly cleared from the bunny pest. It is said by people lately from Auckland that that eccentric)individual, Aitken Connell, is likely to give Mitohelson a stiff run for the Eden seat. Special trains are to be run on the election days to give the electors a chance of— kicking out the Stout-Vogel crowd. The foreign sugar bounty system is simply ruining the Fiji and Queensland sugar planters. Naturally enough they swear at protection. Mr W. O. Smith addressed a meeting at Herberteville, Hawkes Bay, the other day, and an unkind reporter says the school committee had to engage five men for two days to sweep up the dropped “ aitches." The election fight is raging stormily In Wanganui. Every morning the Opposition man, Carson, wires into Ballance, and nobly every evening does Ballance's paper, ths Herald, slang the Chronicle. 'Twas ever thus. By the way Carson is said to ba pulling up, and may yet lick the redoubtable Ballance* Too much joy to hope for. A plum for the people. While Sir Robert Stout, Sir Julius Vogel, and Mr Ballance lira away from Wellington on their electioneering lours, they get free travelling, £2 2s a day “ travelling ” expenses in addition to salary, and their " private secretaries ” also get salary, free travelling, and ” travelling expenses.” The cable says Gaudaur is awaiting the result of the Beach-Hanlan match, when he will challenge the winner. A Naphr charitable aid man wrote to the board the other day, and at the head of the notepaper was his monogram 1 A member suggested it was one of the lights oi other days. > Mr Meanteath said a good thing at Ta Aro the other day. He said that the Corrupt Practices Act should be extended to Ministers on the eve of a general election, as unde! existing circumstances they had the privilege of paying canvassers at the expense o! the taxpayer. The new Government printing office at Wellington is to be lighted hy electricity, A glove fight for £lOO a-slde took place in England last week between Thomas ,h ® Australian pugilist, and Goode, the result being a win for the latter. The following is a most pathetic election episode I The Carterton paper, after railing at his Greytown brother for "impudent falsehoods,” for the ■' grossest falsehoods,” tor '■ shameless and impudent lies," publishes the following sentence:— “A conlem* porary remarks that electioneering deranges trade, makes people bilious and cantankerous estranges friends, and excites nt> end of envy, hatred and malice, and all uncharitable* cess." The rabbits have already caused a loss to the colony equal to the public debt, and they're eating or spoiling tally a million pounds' worth of grass a year now ! A million pounds’ worth ol grass ? Why, all the grass in the country’s not worth a million pounds, is it 1 The grass in New Zealand's worth a hundred millions 1 It yields about four millions a year in the shape of wool, meat, skins, and so on 1 In the Te Awamutu district lambs appear numerous and strong. The lambing seems to have been very good this season, the late dry weather being much in favour oi A good precentage. Church conference of Waikato have in circulation petitions in favour of Bible-reading in the schools. The Remington-Lee rifle is to be the rifle used at the forthcoming meeting of the N.Z. Rifle Association. Thomas Burns, of Liverpool, can be matched to perform the following feats against any man in the world, namely, to dive off the Great Eastern steamship (70ft,) lying in the Biver Mersey, and to swim down to the landing stage, distance two miles, run to London and dive off London Bridge, ran back to Liverpool, and swim to the Great Eastern, for £5O or £lOO a,side. The English wool market is flrm with slightly lower prices than at dose of last sales. The wheat market is dull.