Manawatu Herald. [Established Aug. 27, 1878.] THURSDAY, SEPT., 8, 1904.

Manawatu Herald, 8 September 1904, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. [Established Aug. 27, 1878.] THURSDAY, SEPT., 8, 1904.

A reward is offered for the return of a lost cape, Mr A. Speirs was the successful tenderer for the contract of making certain alterations to the Foxton State School. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. advertise the first entries for their Himatangi stock sale, which will be held on the 19th inst. Messrs Mounsey & Co., under instructions from the Public Trustee, will sell at Palmerston North on Saturday next, three first-class violins, and other articles, the property of the late Jas. Mullins, deceased. In our report of the leap year ball of last Saturday’s issue, we omitted to mention who supplied the music. Mrs F. Walls (piano), and MrH. McKennie (cornet) contributed this valuable item in their usual first-class manner. Before Messrs G. A. Simpson and A. Fraser, J.’sP., yesterday morning, Peter Johnson was convicted and discharged for being drunk. William Kinley, an old offender, was charged with being drunk while in charge of a horse, and was fined £5 and costs 7s, or month*

If the earth were equally divided among its present inhabitants, each of ns, man, woman, and child, would get 23J acres. Germany employs five and a-half millions of women in industrial pursuits; England, four millions; France, three and three quarter millions ; Italy, three and a-half millions; and Austro-Hungary nearly the same number. Colorado will exhibit potatoes at the St. Louis World’s Fair of monstrous proportions. The Commission has 500 tubers that aggregate a ton in weight. The heaviest is xo pounds weight and the lightest 34 pounds. Passage at arms in the House of Representatives .Mr Aitken: “What have you done for the country ?” Mr Smith; “ I’ve done more than yon. When you have as many children as I’ve got you’ll do.” (Laughter). About 20,000 bags of oats will be ■shipped from Melbourne to New 7ak ■ land, commencing from Wednesday, for transhipment into a Home going steamer. By this route a reduction of freight will bo made. A certain gentleman, who had been in charge of the Government Veterinary Department, ]£d run amuck among the cattle in Hawke’s Bay, and in some cases destroyed \2 out of 16, 13 om of 14, and pretty well destroyed whoh herds - —Mr Wilford. Says a Taranaki dairyman : —Just at present, after a long spell, all the talk is of cows. We break cows in, we milk cows, we are slaves to and live for cows, we eat cows, we curse cows, and sometimes kick cows, and we dream of cows. A block in a watel'pipe leading into a shop in Queen street, Masterton, occupied two men the greater part of the day seeking the cause. Traffic was also considerably interfered with. When the block was at last discovered it turned out to be an eel about six inches long I William Henry Sutcliffe was committed for trial at Christchurch on Tuesday morning on a charge of per forming an illegal operation on a single girl. Thomas Lawrence was charged with procuring Sutcliffe to use an instrument on the girl. Messrs O’Connor and Tydeman, of Palmerston North, advertise a watch suitable for mill hands, farmers, etc. The “.Alpha,” watch is a perfect timekeeper, ane the above firm are selling them at 21s. A written guarantee is given with each watch sold. A Maori rushed excitedly up to the secretary of a local band recently and said : “ I want you to bring band np to railway ’tation. We got a dead body np there going to a.tangi. You fetch along band and big drum, make d good noise, I give you five poun’.” but the band wasn’t taking any. Some amusement was created at a wedding breakfast in Westport the other day, when the gentleman in charge of the principal toast, in proposing it, said he had known the young couple for “ scores of years.” A further diversion was created when he added, “ You needn’t laugh ; they are not so young as they look.” A rival to Dowie has appeared in the person of a man calling himself “John the Baptist the Second.” The latter denounces Elijah the Third as a fraud. Dowie describes bis competitor as a “ rnm distilled rascal, with hell for his destiny.” John retorts by calling Dowie a “ grey-bearded old scoundrel, with all the cunning of a serpent, and none of the innocence of the lamb.” The Marlborough Press says that Mr R. Adams, of Resolution Bay, has succeeded in gaining the confidence of a conger eel to such an extent that, at the sound of his voice, it comes forth from its hole in the rocks at low tide and allows Mr Adams to feed and stroke it. The eel is fully five feet in length, and its girth measurement is considerable. It goes away frequently for two or three days, but always returns. By his will Mr Herbert Chamberlain' a brother of the ex-Colonial Secretary who died in May last leaving an estate worth nearly £IOO,OOO devised all his property in New Zealand to his wife, but made a somewhat remarkable provision, to the effect that if she should give notice to his executors within one year of the granting of the probate that she is willing to sell such property to them for £SOO, then he gave to her during her widowhood an annuity of £2OOO and the use of his residence, with the furniture, etc., therein, or an additional £2OO per annum should she desire to reside elsewhere. In connection with the army manoeuvres, a horse of the Bth Hussars at Badesley North, broke its leg. A veterinary surgeon shot it in the horse lines, causing 500 horses to become panic-stricken. QThey rushed a wire fence, and many of them were injured severely. The bulk of the horses traversed the 14th Hussars’ camp, causing 500 horses there to stampede. Seventy animals traversed Winchester and 200 plunged into the sea at Southampton. Some were drowned, 20 died from breaking their legs and necks, and 200 are missing.

A story is told of a parson who had a great objection to horse-racing. He visited a large school to examine the boys in Bible history, and asked “Who was Ishmae! ?” Quicklv the hand of a small hoy was elevated. “ Well, my boy, and who was Ishmael'?” kindly asked the worthy minister. “ Please, sir, he was a jockey,” came back the answer. So shocked was the parson that it was some seconds before he 1 could gasp out an inquiry for an explanation. “Why, sir,” said the young hopeful, “ it says that Ishmael grew and became an Archer.” Valentine Tapley (saysthe New York Tribune) has a heard almost twice as long as he is tall, and he is proud of his peculiar distinction. He lives at Frankfort, Mo., and the beard, which is the longest in the world, is more than eleven feet long. It has remained untrirnmed since the Civil War. Mr Taplev preserves his beard by ■ wrapping it from the chin down in a silk braid, rolling it up and wearing it under his shirt bosom,

It is reported at St. Petersburg that fwo reputed gendarmes, presenting ■he Minister’s written authority, obrained the release of Sasmoff, accused of the murder of M. Phleve, on the oretext that he was wanted to attend in examination at Court. The three men have disappeared. A mob of women at Collinsville, Missouri, were recently besieging a man named Frederick Hughson in his home, in an endeavour to capture him and lynch him for assaulting a young girl. The women caught Hughson in the street and hanged him to a tree. The j rope broke, however, and Hughson escaped to his house, which he barricaded. He was armed, and threatened to shoot the women if they attempted to storm his position. Women carrying guns were outside the house acting as sentries. Dr J. F. Rockstrow, who recently left for a (rip to the “ Fatherland,” writing to Messrs Mellsop. Elliott and Co., from Film Germany, mentions rhat he has given several lectures on New Zealand and says " New Zealand is practically. unknown ; nobody Can believe when I tell them the amount if our exports and imports-. If arrangements were made with the Government several hundreds of good useful servant girls could be brought out. Good girls only get from £y to fio per annum.” Dr RockslrovV is in good health and wishes to be remembered to all friends.—Standard. Thehnembers of the Misses \V it hers dancing class held a most enjoyable dance in the Public Hall last night. There were about 20 couples present despite the inclenlOnt Wcrlthei'. The floor was iu capital order, and dancing was kept up till an early hour, A boufttiful supper was provided, and was much appreciated. Excellent music was rendered by the Misses Withers, the extras being played by Miss J. Furrie. Mr R. Hickson made an efficent M.C. A capital night’s enjoyment was brought to a close by the singing ot “ Auld Lang Svne.” The Misses Withers are to be congratulated upon the progress made by their pupils* A resident of Stratford, writing on hedge shelters, says : —“ lam sure if the settlers knew the real value of the pampas grass they would plant it extensively. I simply allowed one portion of a hedge to grow at will for about five years, and then cut it quite easilv with ordinary garden shears, and 'then gathered up the clippings and spread round the roots of my fruit trees. In about six months it was quite rotten and made an excellent manure, whereas with any other hedge it would have taken days to cut the piece we did in one day, and it would have taken many more days to burn up the clippings. If yon plant about iSin to 2ft apart yon should have good shelter and a fowl-proof fence in about three years.”