Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JAN. 26, 1899.

Manawatu Herald, 26 January 1899, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JAN. 26, 1899.

An actor recently appeared before 1 French police magistrate on the charge of calling a highly respectable but lumpy lady a camel. " May I not call madam a camel ? " asked the accused. v Certainly not, sir," said ■he magistrate. " But I may call a iimel madame ?" " Well, I suppose jj." The accused turned to the complainant : " I salute you — madam. An amusing instance of the expe-' lients resorted to by men summoned ho attend as common jurymen, in order to avoid serving in that capacity >ccnrred recently. One morning a little girl, whose eyes just peered above the desk, timidly excluimed : •' Please, sir, father cannot come; he cannot jut on his boots." The judge asked he nervous little creature what was •he matter with her father. She lesitated. Evidently she had not >een instructed further than the statement she had made, and, looking Straight into the judge's eyes, sa.id: " Well, sir, my father does not wear boots ; he's got wooden legs ! I was not told to say anything else, sir ; that's all." There is now on view in Lyttlelton a model of Westminster Abbey entirely nade of New Zealand woods. It is 10ft. bng and sft wida at the cross. It was constructed by Mr Peterson, who some years ago built a similar model of St. Peter's at Rome which was exhibited in various parts of the Australian colonies. The new model has taken live years to complete, and has required some 500 ft. of timber. The unemployed difficulty does not seem to be bothering Petone just now. The local Council invited tenders recently for carting material to the stop bank and for removing a building to the recreation ground but receiving no response, decided that the work should be done by day labour. The remarkable point about the "ital statistics for the last two years, so .ar as the Wellington registry is concerned, is that the birth total was practically the same for both years. In 1897 there were 1305 births registered in Wellington, and in 1898 there were 1304, a difference of only one. In 1897 the deaths numbered 837, as against 911 in 1898, or an increase of 74 for the year just closed. The marriages for 1897 numbered 494, as against 542 in 1898. or an increase of 48 for the latter period. Provision has been made by the Hawke's Bay Education Board that teachers must produce a medical certificate that they are of good constitution and free from any bodily or other defeGt or infirmity likely to prove detrimental to success as a teacher. The wife of a warder in Woolwich Arsenal, -who lives at Plumstead, has lust given birth to four children. One died but the others, with the mother, are making favourable progress. Messrs Ausi:tn Bros, have purchased the Foxton sawmill from Messrs G. A. Gamman and Co., and will commence cutting this week. A photographic film nine miles and a half in length, is somewhat of a novelty, even in this age of big things. Three of these articles of the size stated are now in process of construction for use in a cinematograph. The cost of these films is about two hundred pounds a mile. The New Zealand Times estimates, from the revenue returns in the Gazette ' there will be a surplus of £635,000. The Horowhenua Racing Club have received a- permit from the Colonial , Secretary to have the totalisator at their race meeting. 1

The arrivals in the colon}- last year were 18,856 and departures 16,159. Mr F. Pirani, M.H.R., has been summoned as a witness in the Marine Department cases to be heard on Tuesday next. The New Zealand Time 3 was on Monday published in an enlarged form and now appears as an eight-page journal. Linotype machines are now being used, and has a result the quantity of reading matter supplied has been doubled. Queen Victoria recently expressed her views on the marriage of members of the English aristocracy with American girls. She confessed she at first viewed these marriages with some anxiety, but added that her fears had since been allayed, and the Queen now thinks that American girls from the breadth of their education, independence and rapid changing life, are better able to adapt themselves to the new environments than the more stereotyped English girls. The .Queen also thinks it unfair to insinuate that mercenary motives are frequent causes of the marriage of impoverished nobles to American heiresses. We would draw the attention of our readers to the half-yearly stock-taking sale of F. Loveday's, which commences on Saturday 28th inst. Having special reasons for clearing out £1000 worth of stock, this firm is going to do its best by offering special lines at clearing prices. A special invitation is given to inspect their stock, and prices. Constable Gillespie, who is wellknown in this district as a conscientious officer, is in Palmerston at present for the purpose of removing his family to Temuka, where he is now stationed. — Standard. At the Education Board meeting at Wanganui it was resolved that Messrs Pirani and Lethbridge be asked to wait on the Minister of Education re giant for a Techincal School at Palmerston North. We have jnst received the return showing in detail the cost of the Police Commission. The whole of the cost reached the respectable total of £4146 2s Bd. Mr H. S. Wardell, the chairman, was paid £731 15s gd, which was for salary and fares. Commissioner Pitt got £567 7s 1 id, and Commissioner Poynton £337 2s nd. The witnesses expenses amounted to £455 5S nd, and the printing of the evidence cost £882 15s. Tho Income Tax for the year 1897 — 98 amounted to £115,210 gs id ; previous year, £105,504 7s sd. The Land Tax for the same period was £267,286 10s 3d ; previous year, £272,309 is nd. The shrinkage is attributable largely to the purchase of Gertain estates by the Crown. The Greenwood Family played to packed houses on race nights, both the performances being much enjoyed. A moonlight excursion by steamer to Paiaka will take place to-morrow evening, leaving the wharf at 7 o'clock. The band will also accompany the excursionists. Miss H. L. Tansley leaves Dannevirke on > onday, next, for South Africa, via Sydney, having accepted a a twelve months' engagement with the Payne .Family. The A.M. P. Society's new business last year was over three and threequarter million, the largest since 1892. Each individual colony showed a substantial increase over the previous 3'ear, aggregating over £600,000. With a view to securing the site of the late Royal Oak Hotel for a Town Hall in Wellington, Councillor Luke is moving that Mr Gilmer should be asked to cancel his lease on condition that lie is provided with an equally suitable site. The curiosities of the year's post in England, as usual, revealed the existence of a large number of absentminded and careless people. Of the 2030 millions of letters posted, more than seven and a half millions never reached their destination. No fewer than 38,800 of these letters were actually posted, without addressess and contained property valued at £4715. The whole of the letters returned to the dead letter office possessed property valued at £593.947. Thg number of letters which could neither be delivered to the addresses, nor returned to the senders, was 720,172, or 9 per cent of the total number of letters dealt with in the returned letter office. The parcels found in the post without addresses exceeded 12,000. In providing for the entertainment of the German Emperor, the Municipality of Beyrout has spent the whole of the coming year's taxes, and will now, in all probability, be obliged to collect in advance those of the year after next, in order to meet current expenses. This is only one of the many instances of the strain which was put upon Turkish resources in connection with his "Majesty's tour.