News Of The World.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 109, 16 April 1883, Page 3

News Of The World.

It was currently reported last Saturday night' in Wellington, aays a local journal, that the first half of the loan for £400* 00 of the Wellington and 'Manawatu Railway Company had been floated m London, through the compßny's agent Sir Julius Yogel. It is quite true that Sir Julius Yogel has arrived; but the secretary of the company has.not jet received any news whatever from London respecting the loan. Under the heading " The New Zealander m Australia", there is now appearing m the Post a series of very readable sketches, giving an account of a tour through Victoria, and an interesting account of the metropolis. We have perused these sketches with both profit and entertainment. ■••-■•' • We (Waitara Press) are informed on reliable authority that the machinery for ten furnaces for smelting purposes is on the way from Home— six of them ■to be erected at Onehunga, and four near the. mouth of the Waitara river. It is fully expected that the' furnaces will be m full blast by Christmas. It is 'the intention of the company to produce the common iron at Onehunga, whilst at Waitara, owing to the facilities for gtting charcoal, . a finer iron will be turned out. The iron, we are also informed, can be made very much ch.d:.per than m Great Britain. As a proof that most of the fires m London are caused by carelessness, Captain Shaw reports that last year seventyeight fires were caused byjjchildren playing with matches, "154 from lamps, 106 by candles; .144 by lights thrown down,twen-ty-two from smoking, 100 from defective flues, and 126 from sparks from fires. The Marton paper says : — " Business is very dull m the township of Foxton at the present time, and there appears to be no immediate prospect of things brightening up. there are no.fewer than 30 houses to let m the township." A resident of Mara ton tells us that if the truth must be told Marton itself is m a similar or worse condition., , v There is a report which requires substantiating, although it is given on good auth« ority, that pressure of a very unusual kind has been brought to bear upon the English by ths French Government m regard to the Channel Tunnel. The secret has been very well kept m official circles, but we hear (says a home paper) that|though diplomatic courtesy has been strained to the utmost, Lord Gran ville has hitherto remained firm. The argument is that the English Government several years ago gave their Sanction to the scheme, and that it is a breach of an international engagement, to withdraw it now. Speaking of the settlement of the Waimate Plains, the Hawera and Normauby Star says: -—Considerable propress has been made m the Rahoto District within the past few months. There aacr c now a large number of settlers living on the land, and most of the Holdings have been fenced m and stocked. But even more rapid progress has been made m the Oeo district, land sold last September, being much of it fenced m and cleared, and m a great measure grassed down. Very sub' stantial fencing has been erected m most cases, and the stock throughout the distric is looking remarkable well. A rather amusing incident m connection with one of our recent agricultural shows cropped up at a meeting of the committee Csays the •* Tenterfield Star '). When discussing the appointment of judges, one of the gentlemen present objected to the appointment of a certain judge, as he said he had given the prize one year for honey to neatsfoot oil. of Sydney. The present name of the Hon Mrs JBligh that is to be is Florence Morphy. and she is not the possessor of a fortune) Rust is generally considered a terrible disease, and no doubt that as a rule it does greatly injure grain crops where it prevails. When the ground is ploughed up while wet,' and the grain is sown late, rust miy be almost reckoned upon. But it does not always follow that a rusty crop is entirely spoiled. In Tokomairiro, some years ago, a crop of extremely rusty oats fetched a higher price m the market than any clear grain. The result of the inquiry into the narrow escape from collision on. the railway near Clinton about a month ago was that the guard of the train which met the express was disrated. He consid ered he had been unjustly treated and resigned. The Marlborbugh Times circulates a rumor that at the next general election Te Kooti will be elected: unopposed fp r one of the Maori electoral districts. . The Napier Telegraph says. — [ [* Perhaps n e largest apple that we have seen grown *n the province is one grown by Mr A. R: W. Lascelles, at Olivedale. The apple weighs the extraordinary weight of Ub lOoz. The large sum of £1305 was paid fora telegram, of which we recently took notice as the longest one sent from Australia to England, sent by the New South, Wale 8 Government to the English newspapers ; and when explanation was demanded m Parliament, Sir H. Parkes said the object was to report the financial statement with such fulness as would counteract recent adverse remarks m the London Times m . warning the monied class against overborrowing by the colonies. The long, telegram, he said, was well worth what it cost to achieve so necessary an object, m protecting the oredit of that colony. : A few weeks ago, says the Sydney 'Town and Country,' the wife of Mr Detective Williams presented that gentleman with twins; on Saturday the wife of Mr Detective Tindal puid her lord and master a similar compliment. Strange to say the house m which Tindall lives belongs to Williams. The event is no doubt a very sad one m Tindall family circles, but the gallant D has the consolation of knowing that hehas won a' hundred new hats — those being the odds he accepted against the duble event.