The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MOODAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 57, 9 February 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MOODAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Says the Wairarapa Daily, the train from Wellington arrived at Masterton an hour after its time. It met a head wind m the ranges which delayed its passage over the Rimutaka. Mi C. Hallard of Masterton bought 1 the " 'Kerect Cards " at the sale of privileges of the WelUngton-Hutt Races for the sum of i'so. An incident unparalleled m the history of railroading on the Missouri road, between Lincoln and Denever. A train of eight cars loaded with coal was blown a hundred miles by a tornado, the speed much of the way exceeding a' mile a minute. Tliey were overtaken at last by an engine, which coupled on and hauled them back. Recent re-searches show that electioneering was carried on m ancient Pompeii very much as at the present day. Inscriptions have been found informing the public that " a vote for Lentulus is a Vpte, for: honest government," and asking all patriotic citizens to vote for " Balbus, the true friend of the people." It is said that the wings of a common fly vibrate at the rate of 250 strokes per second; and those of the mosquito about 2,000 times. Coroner Danford Thomas (London) said at an inquest on October 23rd that h,e Ijeld about 120 inquests every year on the bodies of infants who wer6 orerluin or suffocated m their parent's beds. The use of a cot would prevent this sacrifice of life. In that fatal mode of sleeping was ao ofience at law?

A rich goldfield exists m the interior f of Senegal. The gold is collected by the' v natives and exchanged for salt, of which* there is none m the country — a quantity of salt worth Is .on the coasjt buying 12s worth of gold. " j A precious carpet has just been destroyed m San Francisco. It had coverad the floor of one of the rooms m the : Mint, and had been used for five* years. The dust of the precious- -metal used m '■ the coinage had, during that period, fallen daily upon.it, and when it was taken., up by the authorities they had it cut up m . small pieces arid burnt m pans. The : ashes were subjected to the jjrocess employed" with imnhig dust', and they rea-' lised 2,500d015. Thus the carpet, after years of wear, was more precious than , when it was n»v. It is stated that, m the. beginnm«-of; December fruit can'Tjß obtained cheaper m London than m any other place m the world. Thousands of barrels of grapes were sold at Id per lb wholesale., and; complete barrels fro"ih yds ■ upwards, j Apples imported from America were soldj at 8s and 9s per barrel, which generally: fetched 18s to 255. Chesnuts* sold as ; low as 8s per cwt. less ' than per lb,; which cost twice the price to grow.) Onions imported-from Holland. sold at 2s--3d per bag, or less than £d per lb whole--sale, and potatoes at less.Jihan Jd.per^lb.' , - A stranger, oh w^lkm^ i|he: Streets' of Ghina£for first Jdme is j«z-; zled, among otHer thmgk.byithej?ppsai-! ance of jars m various positions on the roofs of the houses. On enquiry he; laarns that a jar' placed, with Jits bottom'; end towards the street indieaCes that the: daughter of the house is not of age to' marry. As soon 'as she has developed into a marriageable maiden the jar is; turned with its mouth tp the street. When the young lady is married the jar is removed altogether. . : "A" Lover of Itabbit Pie writes to; the Globe pointing out that if the rabbits, which- super- abound m New Zealand," could only be* sent over here frozen, and sold at a reasonable price, an. immense demand would at , once .arise, and a very great benefit be conferred. pn the poprer classes, to whom such a change of 'food would be extremely welcome. Whilst on this subject, it may be worth while letting you know that vast quantities of frozen ' ducks are now imported fromEiver Plate. . A dramatic incident occurred recently at a , public lecture m Dublin. The lecturer^ recited ■'■'" Shainus O'Brien " and' graphically described the scaffold scene., Just 'at the most thrilling part of the recital a piercing shriek rang out from the body of the hall, and a woman was! /,'aeen struggling jn hysterics, and several | , men rushed to her" assistance^ but it was impossible; to restrain her until she 1 'fainted Iroin exhaustion. She was carried; from the haU to. a druggist's, where restoratives were applied.' When she recovered consciousness it was found she was the sister of Joe Brady, who was hanged for complicity m the murder of Lord Cavendish and Mr Burke m Phoenix Park. ) : " You can come •m now," said the family physician to the head of the house on the north side.- t'jWhat aro v the returns ?" * " Three— two' girls and' 'one boy." " I want an official count doctor. I don't want any '76 business m this." " Don't be foolish, man." " I tell you I shall suspect fraud until there is an official canvass." Then he < apologised to the doctor, saying that he had been so : ■ Engrossed m politics, .that he had forgot- . ten where he was. During a thunderstorm m Northern Queensland recently. Jwen.ty-sey.en .sheep were struck dead by lightning. The total cost of the new HighSchaol buildings at Dunedin which aiie ■'tOr>be opened this week, is about : 4i8;opo. Two Auckland auctioneers have acceded to the request of a small section of the farmers who have been anxious for the ' sale of their cattle by live weight, and will give the new system a fair trial. Sections lb7 17* and" 12, block| 2, 8, ; and 14, Mangone, containing in|all 597 acres, have.Jbeen set apart as uerknanent reserves for pnmcary ' education ; section 466, Foxton, as a plantation and recreative reserve ; sections 5J and 69, Mutda, as ferry reserves. *:■•■•> i ■' Messrs Halcombe and Sherwill held a -very successful stock sale at Feilding on, Friday. . _ .Their own yards were filled with stock as were also the yards of Messrs Stevens and Gorton kindly placed at their disposal by that firm, There was an unusually large number or people present and a considerable quantity of siock was disposed of at satisfactory prices. We understand that Miss Mowlem who has * acted as organist m the Wesleyan Church for several years past ha.*retired from that 'position; -and that m future the instrument will be played by Miss P, Leary, The willing and valuable services so long rendered by the former lady should ever bo gratefully remembered by the choir and 1 'members of the church. ,' Mr Macarthur, M.H.8., addresses his constituents this? evening m the = Town Hall. We anticipate a large gathering [of the electors to hear Mr Macarthur' speak. , ; When Eean was playing Luis XI at the Theatre BoyaL, Edinburgh,. a_ rather laughable thing occurred. When the attendants announced, "The King is dead. lV a pious .Irishman m the stalls exclaimed, ■• ""And- -may the Lord have mercy on his guilty sowl I" Mr Florence, barrister and solicitor has arrived m Woodville, afid is about to commence practice there. vU«| - It has been suggested' that Ihe postal authorities should issue specially stamped envelopes at a cheap rate, say £1 per 1000, for the distribution of tradesmen's: accounts through the post. T At present many thousands are distributed every month by messengers. The sawmill plant consisting of a 14 horse-power engine' and boiler, which was damaged by the fire at the Makatoko Saw Mills, was offered at auction and realised £5. Messrs Parsons and Small, the proprietors of the mills, were the purchasers. . Several Wellington ladies have formed , thetnselves into a Committee to canvass r'for' votes for candidates pledged to ' close the public houses at ten o'clock at night. — ...... . : ' The Manchester Unity, 1.0.0. F. has an aggregate capital ot nearly six; millions sterling, and a; membership of nearly? 600.00 Q. 1 Writes the Waipawa Mail: — "Mr Macarthur is gaining support from those who. were amongst the bitterest of his foes. His ability, and the complete mastery he possesses over all Acts and forms of procedure, simply compel people to the belief and ' admission that he is the man m the Manawatu who is best fitted to hold the seat m Parliament. Unless we are much mistaken, the representative for Manawatu will not always remain a private member, but will be m quest as a leader before his political career has grown very much older j An old back-cduntry farmer, who had given his note m payment for a new •patent 'reaper and binder/ came into the bank to pay up, 'How docs' «he go V asked the cashier as he. thumped the bill*, .'.Well ye see, this; timo lafet year I sot qn the fence with 'a cigar iv my mo^uthi.and; an gmbrela over, pie, and watched thirty men a reapin* myj field. This year I reaped it myself, ana thirty men sot oh the fence and watched me.'

A correspondent of tho Public Opinion, (Dunedin) m a coininunicition sotting forth the advantages which would accrue train prohibiting Mortgages on land, says thai "In New Zealand we have .£30,000,000 of mortgage debt, oue halt of which is foreign capital ". . „ V Many of our struggling settlers, espedially , m Canterbury, are un.ilile to'pay the pro-' . sent rates .of r interest, and are combiu- . • in^to forcfe the Government to take up their mortgages at 4 per cent." SavsAVleduesday's Napier Telegwpbx, — rTp-day. the police were unable to bring Jero'miah iMurphy, a lunatic, before the Court^ owing to the abseuce of Captain Prcece, R.\L,"' as the law' only^ altows" such cases to be dealt with by a resident ipagistrate. ' Sergeant fiurtensliaw plained that the lock-iip was no place for such ; a mau to, he kept m, ashe was positivt'ly'daiwierous.Thobeuch suggested that a man might be put to watch him. The sergeant explained that it would take five or six men to keep him quiet, as lw^Nvns a yeryj. powerful man,? and ho was^.ifrafd of an' acciiient happening, m fact he had already injured one man for! life. ' , '