LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 23, 24 December 1883, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Remington, chemist, is about removing his Medical Hall to premises now being erected m RangitikeUstreet which will give him additional accomodation for his rapidly increasing connexion. The new position is if anything superior to his Dreseat one, from a commercia point of view, and should bring him a material accession of busings. The new shop is to be 'suitably fitted Up with every requisite convenience, and Mr .Remington hopes to be m occupation towards the end of next month. , The tender of E. White has been accepted for the cutting, saving, and stacking of hnj m. the Stindxed paddocka. ■ The tendency to remain m centres of j population faays a Wellington paper) appears to be as strong as ever m New Zealand, notwithstanding the efforts ■ which have been made to settle the country, and by this means make the towns. A gentleman residing m, one of the country: districts,, whose occupation and connection with various public bodies place him in' a position to have a good insight m such matters, informs us that it is very fre<Judnt!y a matter <>f the greatest difficulty m his district to obtain the services of anyone competent to do clerical work. In contrast to this we have the fact that there were 37 apolicants for the poat of /junior clerk m the Corporation offices, at a salary of £50 per. annum, • and 4$ for the secretaryship of the Wellington Meat Export Oo } the salary at* tached to which is £300 ocr annum. Ten seamen have deserted from the ship Westland at Wellington, and on» reason suggested is that' the 'men got acquainted with some of the immigrant girls brought by .the ship, and ran a^ay from their duty to join their sweethearts on shore. One deserter, named William Watson, was recognised while working as a bushraan at the Upper Hutt, and on being charged ia the Resident Magistrate's Court yetterday, he denied his identity, but was i lentifted by the chief officer as an articled seaman whose, time had not expired. Whether Watson had married an immigrant sweetheart off the same ship was not stated, though the chief officer thought that w«8 tha peculiar attraction tohich had caused so many deserters from the Westland.. Watson was sentenced to a month's hard labor;- /I The following appointments have been made m connection with the collection of agricultural statistics i— Mr £. S, Wardell, R.M , for Wairarapa East and West : and Mr F. M. Deighton for Manawatu, Rangitikai, and Oroua. Tenders are now being invited by the Engineer. ia»Charge fei the North Island for about 8 .miles* of formation on the Wellington and Napier railway, at what Is called Kopourangft, or Opaki, contract. Some -little while: back the prominent Wairarapa settler appeared much interested m, the progress of the line at this part, and appointed a deputation to wait on the Government to urge that work should be energetically pushed forward. At that time, however, the surveys were already being pushed on as fast as possible, and immediately after their completion the tequera to which we have referred were invited. When the formation of railway is completad, all the money at present voted by Parliament for the Wellingtoh*Napier line will be absorbed. In view of the great cry that is heard at present — more particularly from Christchurh— with respect to the unemployed, it is worthy of note writes a Wellington paper that Mr M'i£enzie, contractor, has been m town for some da 7s endeavouring to obtain about 50 navvies for work near Woodville &t 8s per day, and bas failed m his object. Messers Joseph Jay and Co. also require (50 men for work m the Forty* Mile Bush at the aame rate of wages, but are unable to get them, These tacts speak for them-' selves. ■- -■ • '-~-" : - -—■'- - ■--■ Anglo* Australian writes m the European Mail :— ' During the last few days I have been btenkfastinx, dining, and supping, off the New Zealand host fish—a'particularly fine viand — pigeons, swamp hen«, nod excellent mutton, 'all of which have reached. this country m first-class condition, thanks to the refrigerator. The pigeons have the true garaey flavour, and this consignment has done not a little to popularise New Zealand fish, flesh, and fowl, and that, too, m certain hitherto sceptical quarters.' As showing the remarkable changes ] which a few years may effect m the township, from a residential point of view, we iNortnanby Star) note that out of 7Q adult 8 who resided m and around Normanby m 1877 only seven now remain ; and of 130 who resided m Hawera m the same year there are now only 56 remain* ing, or not one-half. Of course, these numbers are now exceeded, but by other individuals. Dr Flint, Piofessor of Divinity m the University at Edinburgh, his been elected a correiponding member of the French Institute, an honour never before conferred upon a Scottish Presbyterian minis-* ter, with the single exoeption of tbe late Dr Chalmers.