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Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 15, 14 October 1879, Page 2

Coroner Appointed. — Wo understand the vacancy caused by the retirement of Dr. Rockstrow from the Coronership, has been "at last " filled by the appointment of Mr Piers E. Warburton, of Shenstone Farm, Palmerston. The appointment of a layman to the office of Coroner will doubtless be regarded by the general public with satisfaction. It sometimes becomes desirable to hol.l an enquiry into a case Avhere a medical man has been employed; and if that medical man happens to be the Coroner for the district, it must be sorely against his wish to hold a judicial investigation' into one of his own cases. We hold, therefore, that the appointment being a check \ipon careless members of the medical profession, should be iv the hands of one who is not himself in any way connected with it. Mr Warburton's appointment fully supports this view, and we trust that future vacancies throughout the Colony will bo filled by laymen. We have only to add that from what we hsivo heard of Mr Warburton, we believe he is well suited for the position. How Th^ Valuations AnE "Made. — During th? last sitting of the County Council, the valuations made last yaar throughout the district came in for a good share of discussion, and the opinion was generally expressed that some better means should be devised to secure that all prop, rties be included in tho .valuation list, and that they be rated at something near their annual value. It is probable that when the next valuation lists are drawn out, the County Council will unite with the various Highways and Locul Boards, to secure the thorough inspection of the rolls, various persons being employed by the united bodies to object in cases where persons are omitted from the roll or undervnlued. This is a most nccetsary course, and will, we believe, achieve the desired end. During the discussion in the Council on Monday last, Mr Snnson pointed out several errors in the valuation of property within his district. In one instance, Mr 0. Bull was rated for ? section at £andon, whereas the land in question is owned and rates paid for it by Mr 11. Bowater. A second case referred to was that of the Sandon Flour Mill Company, which is rated for section JSI, with an annual value of 255; whereas the rfial owner, Mr C. Luudon, is rated for it at an annual value of £20. In a third cuse, Mr Sauson pointed out that an inferior cottage and small section ox land in Sanson was rated upon an annual value of £16, whereas it was rot worth anything like that amount. Registrar of Bikths, Deaths, and Marriages — We desire to suggest, Jin the interests of the general public, that the office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages should te removed to the Resident Magistrate's Court. - Some few years ago the appointment was conferred upon Dr liockstrow, at the instance of several influential residents of Foxton. At that time there was no resident Clerk of the Court, nnd accordingly the person most suitable was the gentleman referred to. Now, however, that there are two officials connected with the Foxton Court— the Clerk and Bailiff —it certainly is felt that the general convenience would be promoted by Mr Baker, « lerk of tho Court, being appointed. In the first place, Dr Rockstrow's residence is about half a mile from the Main street, whereas the Court house is central ; in the second place, the present registrar is frequently absent from town, leading to great inconvenience and trouble on the part of persons who may desire to register ; and in the third place, we regard the public office of a Court as a more proper place for a registrar than a private house, a considerable distance from the township. Country settlers have complained frequeutly to us of the inconvenience and trouble at present attached to registration — all of which would be obviated by the appointment of the Clerk of the Court to the office. Counr. — A sitting of the R.M. Court will be eld at Otaki this day. The Bench will be ocenpied by J.P.'e. Sleepers. — Mr Rllaby, of Wellington, having obtained the contract for removing the sleepers now lying at Foxton to Port Chalmers, has made an energetic start,' ns we hear a couple of vessel* arc now en route for Foxton to engage in the work of removal. History Repeats Itself. — A rather amusing episode occurred in the House of Representatives on Friday last. ''The Clerk to tho Hous9 (Mnjor Campbell) read a letter from a tribe of Maoris, complaining of the great waste of pub lie -time there had been, and pressing the House to get on with the business of the country." We do m t know whether the innocent Maoria had been " put up" to this " dodge " by either one side or the other, but an antiquarian correspondent has pointed out to us that those '■ men of Kent" whom Sir Goorge 'Jray brought back from the dead during the late native difficulty, saused a precedent upon which the Maoris who intruded tlr-ir very rude opinionsi upon the Houso could be punished. In 1701, these Kentish men presented a petition to the House of Commons, in which they besought them to " drop their disputes, have regard to the- voice of the people, and change their loyal addresses to Bills of Supply." The Commons refused to entertain the petition, and imprisoned the men who presented it ! Let us hopf, for the sake of the poor, unenlightened Maoris, that our Commons are more willing to acknowledge that the rebuke is merited, than were they who imprisoned the men of Kent ! Tle Latr Rainfall— A correspondent sends us the following interesting calculations regarding the late heavy rainfall : — Sir — In you* issue of October 3rd, you give for tho month of September latt, the rainfall to have been in the vicinity of Foxton 006 inches. Now iv order to convey to the minds of the people, this vast quantity of water, we will suppose the fall to havo extended over a surface of 1000 square miles, then the quantity fallen would amount to 14,078.692.000 cubic feet, which would weigh 392,817,857 tons 2|cwt 121bs. This would form a canal from Foxton to Wellington, v distance of 78 jniles, 1139 Yeet Sin (nearly) wide, and 30 feet deep. It also would fill a circular basin 4 miles in diameter, and 40-86 feet deep, capable of floating all the navies in the world. Pjiices Cubbent. — We have recaived the Ootober number of the above useful journal, which contains a mass of valuable information

New Hakeiiy —By an advertisement in another column, it will be seen that Mr J. \V Liddell is ikw prepared to supply bread of first-rate quality, his new bakery being completed. A N KcEsdAnY Work.— The Looal Board might with very'great advantage employ a mnn for a couple of clays, in either breaking or removing the large boulders which lie upon the newly -formed footpath from Mrs Burr's cornCi 1 to Mr Kuston's shop. The work is very necessary, unle&S the Board desires to assist the boot and shoe trade. A Suggestion. — We would suggest to the officeriu-charge'of the looal telegraph station, that some arrangement might be made by which the shipping board could be read before or after hourj. At prosont, it is placed in the porch, the consequence being that it is accessible only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. John Jones —The following telegram is from the Press Agency :—" Christchurch, Ootober 11. A man named John Jones was to-day committed for trial on two charges of forgery and uttering promissory notes for £45 and £37 H's 6d respectively. They purported to bo drawn on John Maysmor a commission agent at Feildinjr, and John \V. Williams, of Halcombe. It will be remembered by Manawatu residents that this is the " elderly individual " who was tried for embezzlement at Foxton a few months ago, and acquitted. Mr Maysmor gave evidence at the case in Christchurch. Pouticat,. — The usual struggle for place and power is going on at Wellington. Having been ousted, the Liberals are determined to make a strong attempt to regain office. Sir George Grey has definitely retired from the leadership, which is now held by Mr Macandrew, who has given notice to move to-day a vote of ' no-confidence " in the Hall Ministry. It isjextremely uncertain what' the issue will be. Parties are so evenly balanced that a single vote may decide the fate of the Ministry. However, Mr Maeandrew's party have signified their intention, if defeated, of ceasing nil obstruction. It is probable the division wll take place to nijjht. A Mystic Locket. — The London correspondent of the Hurl ford Courant. in a recent interesting letter, says that the locket which the riincelmpeii.il wore when killed, and which the Zulus left upon his body, contained the famous " Voudoo " stone, given by a West Indian woman to Josephine when the widow of Beauharnais. \hi9 was scrupulously treasured by her until she gave it to her husband, the First Consul, who wore it in every one of his campaigns. On account of his superstitious regard for it, it came to be considered the amulet of the Buonaparte family. Nnpolcon 111. wore it constantly during his captivity at Ham, and while the Second Empire existed it wus to be seen at Compeigne, in a li. tie red shrine. ThsrlMnce inherited it, and wore it in a locket covered with miniature paint-" ings. 'I his nmulet is a piece of carved quartz, prepared by negio hanr's with certain mystical ceremonies. Aqcatic. — The telegram from Sydney (says "Cleanthus "' in the Australasian) that Tric'.cett was willing to row any three VictoriunSi picking up a fresh one at Ihe end of each mile, created not a little interest here in the proposal. It was at first regarded as unlikely that the champion would make such a match for the Lower Yaira; but I am informed on reliable authority th^t Trickett is quite prepared to do so. A race between Messenger and the Brothers Edwards and the " champion of the world " would be a most interesting event, and one which I should be glad to sue take place. The Major, in Ausis. — In the House on Friday last Major Atkinson, Colonial Treasurer, said " he would undertake to show that the finances of the couutry were in a wretched condition." He also told the House that " there was not one measure of the late Government fit to be brought to the House ; many of them, after two years, never having looked at some of those measures. The Government had eutirely to recast the Bills, some of which were simple nonsense as they stood at the present d iy," TnE Repueskntatiom. — In making his ministerial statement on Friday last, the Hon J. Hull stated that his Government eutirely believed that a readjustment of the representation of the .Colony was ne cessary But it was a work of difficulty. They believed that population should be the first consideration, but not the only one ; and therefore they objected to the Hill of last session, by which readjustment was made a mere mechanical mutter. They hoped to have the Bill settled on the floor of the House, and to give a just representation to every part of the Colony, so that they could have no right to complain ; — not* to carry a. Bill which would go the length of disfranchising some parts of the Colony, as would have been the case,if the liill of last session had been carried. The Sydney Exhibition. — The special Con espondent of the New Zealander writes as follows : — " It is evident that, whatever may be the ulterior benefits accruing to New tfouth Wales from this Exhibition, Sydney herself has not greatly prospered since it was opened. Business generally has been very slack. The theatres arc open night after night to houses that enn scarcely pay for the gas consumed The hotelkeepers have never taken as little over their bars for yoars past, while the landlords and lodging -house keepers, who had built for themselves golden castles in the air, have awakened to empty coffers and emptier beds. A month ago there was some little talk of there not being sufficient accommodation for the visitors to the Exhibition, but these visitors have not yet arrived in such greatnumbers, und very fair lodging and board can be obtained at an average cost of from two to three guineas per adult. Houhjs in good positions are at high rents, such as £20 to £30 a week, but these figures apply only to the very best, in a word, resident p in Now Zealand may rely upon paying the Exhibition a visit, without incurring any great additional expense." Sib George Gbky. — The Wellingto" correspondent of tho AUrlborough Times s fly3 :_« Whether it is the Premier £xU that in Mr Hall he h is got rather more than his matoh — or whether the late election campaign has used up his energies, I cannot profebs to say j still the faot Is patent that Sir George Grey hns shown much loss fire and animation than ho was wont to exhibit during last session." Rearing Cattle. — The Frarie farmer says : — The man who wears out a calf's teeth in the effort to make it shift for itself never raised a prime steer nor a good oow. Every dollar supposed to be thus saved in the young animal must be replaoed later by the expenditure of two- The man who feeds best while the animal is young makes the most money. This is generally recognised as true by our beat farmers, and hence the improvement in stock, and consequent cheapening in the raising of animals within the last ten years. The same rule will apply to all farm stook. If stinted while young, they never pay the breeder and feeder \ living profit. Hence the reaton why those who do not keep pace with the times are always complaining that there is no money in stock. The big prices paid by the best stock feeders are for animals that had their digestive organs kept intact by early and properly nutritious food. The value of a food animal liw in it* apUtudt to lay en

fiesh, and those kept steadily growing from birth will continue this growth and increase in profitable weight. To do this in the most ecoriortl cai t manner, the digestive organs must be originally ttrong and unimpaired by abuso. Oon Country — " I hear from a relative of your new Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, " writes the Star's London correspondent, " that he writes home to his friends such glowing accounts of your beautiful islands and their sporting capabilities' that he is setting some of them agog to pay a visit to the antipodes. One gentleman mode very minute enquiries of me the other day as to thp shooting and fishing, and told me that he fully intended paying Sir Hercules a visit, taking Canada and its Go-vernor-General, -who is also a friend of his, on the way." Gorse As Cattle Food. — According to the following quotation from the Mark Lane Express, gorse may yet become useful to farmers in other ways than for hedges : — Messrs M-Kenzie and Son, of Cork, who were awarded a silver medal at Kilburn for their new gorse •' masticator, " draw our attention to the fact that hundreds of cattle are fed on gorse in the Cork district. They claim that it can be cultivated on lands of little value to profitable account, and has been proved a nutritous , and economical food for horses and cattle. It is at once a substitute for hay, aDd an excellent green food in the winter ; while the only obstacle to its general use hits beeri, hitherto, the want of an effective machine to reduce it to a proper state for consumption. They also give the following extracts from tables compiled by. Professor Voelcker and Mr Lawes : — Fle«h Fat Name of Food. Formers. Formers. Furze or Gorse . . 3*21 9 f 38 Cabbage .. .. 1-63 - 506 KohUßabi „ „ 2«70 8.62 Mangel . . . . 1 54 8-60 Swedes .. .. 1-91 5»3 Carrots .. .. 0-60 10* 18 Common Turnips.. 1-80 4*43 ColverHfty .. .. 427 914. Incendiarism Extraordinary. — A singular attempt to burn the Christchurch Resident Magistrate's Court is thus described in the Canterbury Press : — Some time between the hours of seven o'clock on Tuesday night and eight o'clock on Wednes-day-morning, an attempt was made to burn the Resident Magistrate's Court. Shortly after eight o'clock, Mr Tnrnbull, the assistant bailiff, coming as usual to open the office, found the window in the bailiff's room, overlooking the back yard, open. Immediately under this window, inside the room, stands a table furnished with a set of pigeon-hole compartments, in which are kept forms of summonses, plaints, warrants, &c, as well as the books of the office. This table was in a state of disorder, the books had been thrown down, and were strewn upon the floor, and the official forms of informations, summonses, &c, — some blank, and others filled up— had been taken out of the compartments, piled on a chair, and set firo to. They were a complete mass of ashes, and the seat of the chair was bunt away, the back of it being still on fire. No further damage was done, and from the peculiar nature of the documents set fire to, it seems probable that the destruction of the documei ts from malicious or interested motives was aimed at, rather than that of the building. This is the more probable from the fact of the fire having been made at so late an hour in the morning. Had the crime been committed some hours prior to its discovery,. the presumption is that the fire would hare communicated from the chair, which stood close to the wall, to the apartment itself, and resulted in the destruction of the whole building. The de-' struction of the documents will put a temporary slop to the civil business of the court,' as it will take three of four days to replace them. Core for Colic. — An Illinois # farmer say 3 ho has never known the followeng cure for oolie in horses and cattle to fail : — Spread a teacupful, or more, of fine salt on the back of the animal, over the kidneys and loins, and kocp it saturated with warm water for twenty or thirty minutes, or longer if necessary. If the attack is severe drench with salt water. I hsivo a valuable bull, weighing nineteen or twenty hundred f which had a severe attack of colic a year ago last summer. 1 np&lied salt to his back as above, and being difficult to drench, we put a wooden bit in. his mouth, keeping it open about two inches, and spread salt upon his tongue, which, together with the salt on his back, relieved him at once ; and within a very short timo equilibrium appeared fully restored. I have for several years past successfully applied tnis treatment to othot' animals in my herd . The Kobomiko.— The value of the koromiko shrub as a medicine in cases of diarrhoea or dysentery is beginning to attract attention in England. Considerable quantities of the leaves are now being shipped horn?. The tutu, which is well known for its injurious effect when eaten by cattle, is also being collected for tha same purpose, though in smaller quantities at present, as it is probably used only in experiments, in order that it 3 vulue may be ascertained. Singing. — Another Tasmanian Nightingale (says the Tasmanian Mail) has ap« penred; this time from the Nortlf Miss Kate Harvey, who sang at Signor Pompei's concert recently, is a worthy successor to Tasmania's gifted daughter, Amy Sherwin. Her success was surprising from beginning to end, the enthusiasm of the audience being as great as it was deserved. There must be something in our Tasmanian sunny blue skies alt in to those of Italy, that our land gives so many staas to the musical world. Marie Oarandini, Bosina Ca'andini, Fanny Curandini, Emma Howson, Lucy Chambers, Amy Sherwin. and many others, are all Tasmnnians, and now we have an* other name added to the list, Kate Harvey, well worthy to be associated with them.