NAPIER NOTES.

Hastings Standard, Issue 56, 1 July 1896, Page 3

NAPIER NOTES.

[FeOM OCR OwX CoRRESPOXMXT.j Napiep,, July 1. You will be interested in knowing that the Pollards' put up a record last night in the shape of a house. They took nearly £124. These are supposed to be hard times; yet we can put £BOOO through the totalizator in two winter days—one of them wet—run a coursing meeting of two days, and pack a theatre till it can't hold a walking stick. Not a bad list for three or four days when, according to the croakers " there's no money in the country !" The breakwater had, if it can be possible, a heavier test yesterday than it has had to submit, to since the smash-up which proved that the top formation was going on too fast. The structure stood the test perfectly, but it was shown that before the steamers can lie comfortably alongside the wharves, the breakwater must be completed and the western mole finished. As it is, however, the steamers which had to pass on can now call in, and anchored off the breakwater wharf, can peacefully discharge cargo and tranship passengers without the slightest chance of danger to life or limb. This, of itself, is' a great advance on the performance in the bay of which I spoke to you previously. An attempt was made yesterday to lay the Flora alongside the Glasgow wharf, but the idea had to be abandoned, as the " range " was so great that hawsers parted as though they wore ropes of sand. And not that, either, for the pilot and one of his men got the broken end of one of these, and while Captain Kraeft was bruised in the leg one of the men was knocked down and shaken considerably. However, on examination by L)r Sweet, who happened to be on the wharf at the time, the sufferer was found not to have any bones broken. Considerable feeling is manifest here since it became noised abroad that the Legislative Council had thrown out the Asiatic Immigration Restriction Bill, which is aiuit'l principally at the Chinese and A-syrians. The Upper House really -(.ems to wish to come into conflict with the Lower, or with the people of the country. By the way, it is worthy of note that Una one

vote which could have settled the whole matter in favor of the reform—that of Mr Richardson—was 01:5 cc the men whom the Ballancc Government requested the Governor to appoint, and who was only, with others, put into the Upper House when the Home Office directed the Governor, in so many words, to do as he was asked by his responsible advisers. Mr Richardson has, with few exceptions, voted on the side of the opponents of reform ever since his elevation, and doubtless now Mr Seddon realises that it is not a good thing to put such men into the Council —even at the request, as in this ease, of his " friend " Sir Robert Stout. Are you afflicted with the streetcorner nuisance ? To put it more correctly, are you annoyed with the congregation of men by day and larrikins by night who stand on the street corner, indulging in coarse language and expectorate all over the side walk until it becomes a horror to the women who are compelled to pass along '? Because if you are, I should hope that you will assist uio in an endeavor to have the matter remedied h jre as well as in your own town. I feel sure I have only to call the attention of the police to this wretched state of matters to have some steps taken which will bring about a remedy of the abuse. If you can aid the people of Napier in this direction, you will have earned the gratitude of, at any rate, a large number of our mothers, sisters and wives. We have a perfect .Joey Bagshot here in the shape of a draper. His good lady presides over the millinery department, and her better half, as I have said, is like Dickens' character, "Tough, sir, and devilish shy." Had he been like another of the great English novelists creations in a millinery establishment, Mantilini, and complained of the "dentition grind," he would have been 011 his way to the " bow-wows " even now. On a certain occasion, then, there was a race-ball. The world of fashion was agog. The milliners were in ecstacies. There appeared on the scene in several establishments devoted to laces, frills, feathers and whalebone, a dark-skinned damsel. She was, she said, the niece of Tenore. She was going to the ball. Certain preparations were necessary and she decided to have certain additions made to her wardrobe in the shape of " a dream in dresses." She applied in vain to one or two large establishments and then she tried one of the middle scale places. Our local Bagshot was ut once taken oil" his guard. He did not remain tough, sir. The brown beauty was supplied with articles which I need not enumerate. They will be understood if 1 say they are dear to the feminine heart. The plausible maiden would also have a bodice and other outward embellishments. Duly measured, and so forth. Shewas, unfortunately for herself, rather too valuable on this last occasion and Joey got considerably "toughened." He instituted enquiry. Traced the dark-skinned one to her whare and discovered that she wasn't what she cracked herself up to be. What was he to do '? Women's wit came to his assistance. His wife undertook to get the goods back. The beauty was sent foe to " try 011 " the bodice. Meantime another messenger was despatched for her old clothes to her lodgings. "Would she try on the bodice?" asked the milliner. "Oh, 110, she really hadn't time." However, she was persuaded, and once in the hands of the good lady of the establishment she was reduced to—well almost a state of nature. The old clothes were handed in, and to these she had either to return or run the risk of a serious charge by going out into the street wearing little else than a frown ! As the dusky beauty bounced into her old clothes and then into the street, Joey embraced his better half and repeated ( inside of himself) that he was " tough, tough, sir, and devilish sly !" I am pained to have to add that it is said this same damsel has been under lock and key previously for similar little freaks. At the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr Turnbull, S.M., James Ramsay C'richton, atian Ramsay, alias Cooper, was charged (1) with the theft of a packet of bolt pi vets, value 2s Gd, the property of John Niven; (2) with the theft of a silver toast rack, value £l, the property of Catherine M'Lean, of the Occidental Hotel. Accused, who describes himself as a ship's carpenter, and has already served six months'imprisonment for the theft of tools at Gisborne, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment with hard labor on each charge, sentences to run concurrently. Frank Higgins and Charles William M'Gee, arrested afe Napier on a charge of stealing a silver - mounted pipe, value 9s, and 25s in silver, the property of John Wawn of Hastings, were remanded to that place. The adjourned civil case H. P. Cohen v. M. Johnstone and Co., claim £l4 14s 7d (dishonored promissory note), came on for hearing before Mr Turnbull, S.M., this morning. Mr Cresswell represented the plaintiff, and Mr Lee the defendant. Judgment was given for the amount claimed, costs 28s, and solicitor's fee £1 6s. At the meeting of creditors of C. M. Whittington this morning, tfee bankrupt's statement showed —Debts, £290 12s 7d ; assets, £SO ; deficiency, £240 12s 7d. The bankrupt attributed his failure to the proceedings instituted by Mr H. P. Cohen. Formally examined, he stated that the whole of hip liabilities with the exception of claims aggregating about £43 were incurred in" connection with the Court proceedings aforesaid. He had been for three years editor of the Waipawa Mail newspaper at a salary of £4 os, and had no offer to make. Messrs Cornford (representing Mr Cohen) and P. S. McLean (representing Mr Loughnan) were in attendance. The meeting was adjourned xine Ji,-.