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Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 15 August 1890, Page 2

A loit pm'se is advertised for. This mornin" at sayAn a heavy shock of earthquake was txperienced here. Yesterday evening a beautiful meteor darted across the heavens from east to west, We rogttt to have to announce that the H°v. Mr Olphert has been summoned to Auckland to see his father, who is exceed- '■ ingly ill. On Monday a procession of forty thousand marched through the streets of Brussels demanding universal suffrage. Mr John Sevens, well - known a^ the founder of the firm of Stevens A- Gorton, of Bulls, has fnllv determined to oonteßt. this electorate. He is expected back from India within three weeks. The news from the Welsh stnki* ii vevv sad. It is said that provisions in Sourli Wales aye at famine prifi»<3. M>at is 2^ vxm' pound. The htmi on strike show no sians of vi fl1 din<?. and famine is f«ared in the Bhondda District. We have no items under Mie heading of PavUament this issue, as there nvp no proceedings to report: nor do»s Pnvh'amnni slumber, it is simnlv swamped with n*-. sonn.l wrangle, and offevx a mo«t deplorable exhibition. Yet som» members do not think a dissolution necessnvv. Onv hemrimill^rs should mnl-e some representation as to the toial aWnc° of any pews }v the nripes ruling for fliix in London. We look up in tho lack of n*>wq n,s boding good for tho industry did they but know it. The population of H"!i«<>lnnd "roofed tlis Emperor with much onilinsinsm. T;i t>kincr formal po*sesvon. hr> said that twr-n^v veara aftnr the hatt> of \Wrth tli*v found thomselves in a position to ro-incovivtvato, without n war. tho l>m pi"o« of Opmiai) earth, an island which would harbour in safety the German navy ngainst any ene'nffis in the German Oeonn. All the English officials have left the island. The total aoit to the colon v of the proceedings of the Sweating Committee wag <T)l4 Of thiq sum f'2o3 went to the Convnisii{on< i rß in nllowane"^, at th« rnte of £1 per dav, besid's €24 for their exports: nSS ww drawn hv the Recr<«tarv : £114 wt* spent in reporting expenses, and £57 in advertising. The last section of the rabbit - proof Wiee alonsr the. boundary of New South Wales and South Australia will he completed about the middle of August, and tb<»n the feno will extend for the en*f>v> ]»«<rth of the border, a distance of 345 miles. Statistics relating to the flax industry, collated by the R«"»istrar-G»n^r,il, show thQ+ on the 31st, March '"it there- were 4307 persons emnlove'l in the flaxmi)ls of the colony, of whom 33R0 were m°n, 1444 wore boys, and 3 girls. The avornge onanfi'ty of gi-een leaf used to produce a ton of dressed fibre is rather more than 7-J- tons The cultivation of flax is carried out to on'y a very small extent — viz.. 1049 acres in AuoV'nnd, 130 acres in TaranaW, $5 acres in Marlborough. and 100 acres in NeUon— 13"7 ac-ec in all. Ths cnlMvat-d plant is fo'md to be greatly superior |fo the wild. Legislation, ameliorating the condition of th« working clasß»s, ha* taken rapid strides during the last few v^rs ; for we find, en the authority of the BliT 1 Books, that so late as 18^3 in well-managed factories in Lancashire the hours of labour of children were eleven hours a day; and that, although *he ordinary age for children to go to fattones was nine years, in all parts of the country, there were many of only five years of age at work. We note with satisfaction the proposed alleviation of the condition of the women and children fucforv-operativos in Tndifi. and trust that ns time advances their condition may be still further improved. Yesterday morning the coach to K»reru hroke flown at th<" lervy, on-iner to a dofpetivo weld in the axle. Thera were three nas«eng»rs. who accomplished the r»st, of the jonr^ey on foot : and in sneh good time (the best on record) that the train was eaiicht. W» mov mention that the pvn. nrWors did nil thov could to mitigate the inconvenienc* can*»d by the breakdown, as they despatched a lad on horseback with the mail* and forwarded a bngjry-and-pnir I after the passem'prs : which, however, only resiiltod in a dofid h"at — pass^ngprß nnd i bno.jy rnnobiii" I'io ut«lion neck-n.nd-neck. Jfescis T?;i v B«l H'Dore wpi'o on bonrd. «nd a bonk-nrrnnt thf> lntier nijiv have boon the | "Jonah." We believe that this firm has always, as yet. kept tha mail pnnotual.

i The Manawatu 7Vww says !— The police are engaged investigating a curioUf .affair which has occurred iii the Gorge. It appears that a man named Walton recently started to ride through and has not since been seen. His horse has been found, and it is stated that a quantity of blood wa» also noticed on the road. One of the wonders of California is a feat of engineering which has never jet been described in any book, and but little known outside the neighbourhood in which it is situate. In Sonoma Country near the Pacific coa»t, may be seen an actual railroad bed in the troo tops. Between the Clipper Mills and Stuart Point, where th<3 road crosses a deep ravine, the trees are sawed off on a level with the lurrounding hills, and the timber and ties are laid on the stumps. In the centre of the ravine tow huge red-wood tr«ea, standing side by side, form the most substantial support. These giants have been loppsd off 70ft above tha bed of the creek. In consequence of the works undertaken by the Clerkenwell Vestry for widening the roadway by the side of St. James' Church, Clerkenwell. it has been necessary to disturb a great many graves and vaults in the Churchyards. The British Medical Journal records that one of the bodies exhumed was that of a finely developed woman of about 3"i ytars of age, which bore but slight evidence of having lain in the grave for 100 years. So far from showing signs of returning te its native dust, it appeared to have turned into a dirty white wax. It was almost entirely converted into adipocere — skin, fat, muscles, and bone. With tha exception of the leg-bonea and handa, the whole material of the frame was turned into this substance. The features were perfectly distinguishable, and any person who had known deceased in life would have readily identified her. The hair was partly sovered by a closely-fitting cap ; the teeth were all in place. A story is told of a pair of feet that must have been objects of regard in their day. One day a party of men. including Jackson, the man of big feet, were preparing to attend a political meeting. It was soon discovered that there was no way of con veying Jackson, all the vehicles were full. " I>g me ride that horse over there ? " asked Jackson. " There isn't a man in the world that can ride that animal. He'll work to a cart or a plough, but no one can stay on his back." " I'll try him anyway,"' and the determined man instructed several men to catch and hold the horse. The animal plunged and kicked, but finally Jackson secured a seat in the saddle. Everyone expected to see him dashed to the ground, but the horse looked round, saw the man's feet, and walked peacefully away. He thought he was between a pair of shafts. At the Johnstonville railway station, on the Manawatu Company's line, there was a slight mishap last Tuesday evening, occasioned by an error in shunting truelci. The train arrived at the station ■hortly after 9 o'clock, and having attached to it a number of cattle trucks, it was necessary that they should be thunted off. It appears that in returning tha other trucks they wore pushed with too great a force, with the result they ran into the train. The guard's van was sma«hed in front, and the mail van driven into a smoking carriage, the first mentioned being tilted up at such an angle that its forepart rested on the smoking carriage. The mail van oaught fire, but Mr Tabuteau, who was in charge, quickly put the flames out and transferred the mails into another van. The iron railing about the platform of the smoking carriage was twist d and bent about like so much wire, the windows are imashed in, and altogether this particular carriage and also the mail van are terribly knocked about. Fortunately no one was hurt, but Mr H. H. Elbeck. of Oroua Bridge had a very narrow esonpe, as he was stauding on the platform of tha smoking carriage just before the accident occurred. Three of the large truoks are also considerably damaged, and, vonghlv speaking, it was calculated last night that it would take £200 to repair the damage. — N.Z. Thw-s, Country residents would do well to remember that an extraordinary sal a of S«r. plus Winter stock commences on Friday August Ist, at the Wholesale Family Drapery warehouse, Te Aro House, Wellington. There will bo bargains sufficiently grsat and sufficiently numerous to tompt many to pay a visit to Wellington, and for those who cannot conveniently leave tlioir homes wrt are prepared to oxooute their orders with the utmost cii-pfulnrss and despatch at Te Aro House, Wellington. All orders must be accompanied by cash in the shape of Post OUce Orders, Postal Notes, Cheques, or whero theso are not available. Bank iWes, and will have our best attention. We have issued a price list of the great reductions made which we will forward free by post on application to Te Aro House, Wellington. And of what does this Surplus Stock consist ? It consists of Winter Dress Fabrics, of every description — Mantles, Jackets. Ulsters, Millinery, Underclothing. Calicoes. Sheetings, Flannels, Shirtings, Blankets, Carpets, Linoleums, Hosiery, Mens, Boy«. and Youths Clothing and a thousand other useful and desirable articles at 4 hr Wholesale Family Drapery Warehouse, Wellington. The genuineness of our sales hitherto has been thoroughly well known, and the present one will be fully up to theehnraoter of its predecessors. One thing should however be borne in mind, and that is, that those who wish to participate in its advantages should do so qnic'-ly. It last* only 15 days, and terminate on the 16th August at Te Aro Houne, Wellington.