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Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 360, 27 May 1884, Page 2

We hold over '• Cyclop s " contribution, The firm of Avistin, Lewis and Co., Dunedin, have failed. Sir George Grey has made it tolerably plain that a coalition with the Ministerial party is very far from his mind, Thus the * Southland Times ' of yesterday : " Now that Mr Driver has declared his intention to stand for Hokonui at next election, we express our conviction that Hokonui will be his." We learn that four or five stacks of grain on Mr M'Culloch's farm near Rirersdale have been destroyed by fire. They were insured in the National Co. 'a office. Hanlan and Laycook rowed their match on the Nepean Kiver, near Sydney, on Thursday. . Hanlan won by half a length only ; but he never exerted himself, rowing away from his opponent when he pleased, and could probably have won by 60 length ß if he had wished to do so, The < Pall iMall Gazette ' states that the Government have virtually decided to despatch an expedition to Khartoum unless General Gordon succeeds in escaping. The same journal adds that the force will consist of 10,000 men, under the command of Lord Wolseley, and that the expedition will proceed to Khartoum via Souakim and Berber, j Mr James Beattie has received a leKor from Messrs Sievvrright and Stout, solicitoro to the Waimea Plains HaiLway company, stating that unless the claim against him for rates is settled at once the services of Ilgsident Magistrate will be called into Bion. In view, we presume, of this, a Ig of the Eailway Tax Committee is f for Wednesday. It is Bomewhat priate, to say the least, that the treato the committee should be the first There was some excitement at Mataura on Thursday evening, the primary cause being a drunken man's unsuccessful attempt to enter one of the moving carriages of the evening train to Invercargill. He missed his footing and, clinging to the handrail, was dragged along between the platform and the train. Mr T. Palmer, postmaster at Mataura, perceived the man's danger, and at imminent personal risk he seized him, held on to him, and together they fell back on the platform clear of the train. The matter occupied the attention of Messrs Green and Driver at the Gore Police Court on Friday, with the result stated in our report. / On visiting the local Athenaeum the other evening, we ascertained some interesting particulars regarding the institution. There are now 226 volumes on the shelves or in members' hands, and a large number of works ordered from Dunedin bookseller 3 are not yet to hand but are daily expected. The works have on an . average cost nearly 2s 6£d each, and are of a varied description including both heavy and light reading. The works most in request by members are of course novels. Historical books are neglected, but for works of travel and biographies there is a reasonable demand. Froude's History has not left the shelves during the present librarian's tenure of office, neither have Gladstone's Gleanings. The whole of the works appear to be kept in apple-pie order by the librarian, Mr Labatt, who has succeeded in obtaining a very considerable number of subscribers. There are yet many of our townspeople, however, who are not members of the institution, which has now reached suoh dimensions as to be worthy of general support, From Wyndham we learn that the Aln»» Lodge of the 1.0.0. F. held their third anniversary ball in Leahy's Hall on Friday last These gatherings have always bean smccessfuj and well attended, and the last wajj no exception to the rule. Dancing was commenced with punctuality, under tha able supervision of Mr James M'Lauchlan,and-» must we admit it?— kept up till 7.30 a.m. on Saturday. The spread was provided by Mr L»ahy, of the Wyndham Hotel, and many wejee the gomplimentary remarks passed as regards the excellence of the repast, y Mr Mathieaon, of the Amerw^n Carriage Factory. InvercargilJ, Las recently imported from America a useful article for our farming friends in the shape of the Auburn farm waggon, This waggon since it was patented three years ago, has had an immense sale, no ftwer than 17.Q00 having been disposed O f during that period. It is no heavier than, the ordinary farm dray, and being on four jrhoels the load is more evenly distributed, and the «ya#gon will carry considerably moro grain, straw, etc., $an the old fashioned article. It is warranted by the manu- | facturers to carry three tons. Mr John Russell, late of Waianiwa, had one. He says ft p J;he most useful implement on the farm, and. wjjfch jb\jro Ijght horsea he used to surprise his neighbors wfjbh. the loads he could carry. Mr Mathieson had ( one $o£shed on Saturday last, and when George .Orosbie Of. Lojyer Wyndham, ever on tlje look out for a good jthjng, saw jit he immediately pur- j phased it, When in Africa some month* ago, be hail ample .opportunities of seeing i the usefulness of suck machine?, vhjteb. are , as advanced as Brother Jonathan's style ot farming, with which we need hardly say Mr Croibie was also greatly pleased. We had almost forgotten to mention that the body of the waggon can be taken off and converted into a timber truck in a few seconds. Those wishing t# purchase would do well to write at once t6 Mr Mathjesoa, as he has only a few pn hand.

Just as we thought! Tne 'Otago Daily Times ' says that Julius Yogel is entirely in the hands of his supporters* as to whether he will stand or not for the Bast Coast, The i Lyttelton Times ' states that an important bankruptcy is announced from Ashburton. The "well-known firm of M'Kerrow and Co., grain merchants, Rakaia, have filed their petition to be adjudged bankrupts, and Mr John Mann, a partner in the firm, has also filed his petition for bankruptcy as an individual. The liabilities are rumored to be very heavy. The London correspondent of the ' Ade laide Register' tells this extraordinary story: —A Bhorttime ago a superintendent of police and companions called at the house of a gentleman holding a high position in society. " We should like to see all your servants, male and female 1" The men and women came up. " There is no one here we want. Have you no other ?" " There is the lady'smaid." " Would you object to have her up, just to satisfy us?" said the superintendent. "Certainly not I" Presently the woman, a tiny woman, came in. The detective looked at her, touched her on the shoulder, and said " You're tho man we want 1" The pseudo lady's-maid was a ticket- of- leave man, hairless and diminutive. He had not reported himself to the police for some time, and they had looked for him. I understand that the lady Upon whom the convict attended has not yet recovered the shock of the discovery. This true history was mentioned to a doctor the other day, with a hint upon the difficulty of carrying on such a false personation. He had been in attendance, ha said, on an old lady during the last twenty years of her afe, and she lived to eighty, and when shef died she was found a forerunner of our ticket-of -leave friend. Lowther and one of its prominent residents figure prominently and far from creditably in a case heaid at Invercargill on Thursday last. Mr John Hare sued a contract ploughman named Mackintosh for the [ value of a cheque drawn by him, and paid to : plaintiff in the ordinary course of business | fer goods supplied to a third party. DefendI ant had had an account at the bank, but when the cheque was presented there were no funds—hence the action. Defendant would not swear that the cheque was not his, but told the following story : — About the date it was drawn he arrived at Lowther with Ll3 in cash, and put up for the night at Howarth's store, which is not a licensed house. *He had some liquor, and was of opinion from its effects that he had been drugged. He had slept for 24 hours after it, and on coming to his senses found he had 3s left. He had never been in the place before, did not know the storekeeper, and did not gamble. He thought he had spent about 10s in liquor for himself and others. He was not aware that he had signed the cheque produced and got no value for it. Together j with the cash he missed he must have spent L2O that night, if it had not been taken by unfair means. Defendant's counsel contended that the cheque was not negotiable, as it had a memo, endorsed on the back that 1 it was to be paid only into the " U.8.A." to the account of the , party in whose favor it was drawn — i.e., the up-country storekeeper. It was, therefore, not a legal tender for goods bought in a store, as plaintiff held, j The magistrate held that the memo, was not | explicit enough to warrant such an assump- : tion, and gave judgment for the amount ' pointing, out that defendant had a remedy against the original holder of the cheque if he had not received value fot it. Dunedin papera report a birth Tinder peculiar circumstances. A servant girl about 20 years of age arrived in the city by a late train from Palmerston on Thursday, and j went to some of her f rienda, but on account j of her condition it was at 5 o'clock next morning deemed advisable that she should go to the hospital. On her way thither a ! child was aotually born on the pavement in front of the post office. Luckily, within twenty minutes after the occurrence had taken place, Dr Martin was in attendance, he happening te pass by on his way to see a j patient, and the woman was made as comfortable as possible with blankets obtained from adjacent hotels. She was removed to the hospital about six o'clock, and both she and the infant are progressing favorably. A heifer has been lost at Mataura, A party wa&ts to lease a small section in or near Gore. Poison for dogs is laid on sections 499 and 500,.Hokonui. F. B. Canning and Co. hold a furniture Bale at Mataura on June 4. ( The virtues of " Champion Mixed Paints " are set iorth in an advertisement. Gore ratepayers are asked to meet on Thursday evening to discuss tha proposed rate. i Tenders are wanted for erection of stable i at Biversdale, and for ploughing and fencing ! at Gore. D. Matheson, Waikaia, notifies his intention of applying for a renewal of his publican's license. A Court for the hearing of applications for | relief under the 47th section of the Counties ; Act. will be held at Waikaia on June 20.