The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 79, 6 March 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

. The Star says the North Wairaiapa farmers are very satisfied with their returns this season. The recent spell of dry weather haß enabled them toi cut and stak their crops with th£ exception of a few acres. Contrary to expectatidn, the yield of wheat will be remarkably heavy, while that of oats is somewhat light. We have received from " Ada Mantua" the names of the winners m- her consultation on the Dunodin Cup. From them we learn that the first prize' was drawn by a musician residing m Dunedin, the nett amount being i-896. The second prize, the value of which was JJ44B, went to an employe m an Invercargill brewery. The third horse was drawn by a carpenter residing m Dunedin, the prize being .£224. Woodville is going ahead rapidly, and buildings are going up m all directions. . There will shortly be three saddleries, three bakeries, two banks, and an ironmonger's shop, and other classes of business are being established m proportion. Mr Hooper, of India Forest Department, has left for Auckland on his return journey. It is understood. that he is so impressed with the country, and has received so much attention from the Government, that he has offered.^to. give a portion of his services to the Government during his leave of absence, from. , India free of charge. He returns to the j colony m about six months' time. Mr Joseph Cadwick, junr., who is at present resident m Auckland, left the I Manaka on a recent Wednesday evening for New Plymouth by the ss Oreti, having engaged with the owner for a shipment of horses from Wanganui on her return triw. Mr Chadwick landed at New Plymouth on Thursday, rode to Opunake that night, and his horses rounded up from various places on the Waimate Plains on Friday, caught the train at Manutahi on Saturday, and shipped the horses (to the number of 60) by the Oreti on Saturday night. Wanderer m the Hawera Star contributes the following :— He was the fortunate owner of, say, nearly 2000 acres of rich land, and of many tat bullocks. A dairy factory canvasser came along and said, " Mr. , I hope you will take a few shares, if only to assist an undertaking that will benefit the hun-dred-acre small farmers." " Very, sorry," he replied, " I cannot afford to take any shares; but I don't mind helping you as far as I can. I gave all my sympathy to the canvasser for shares for the Auckland meat-freezing company the other day ; now I don't mind withdi awing it from him and giving it to you !" "Do you think this Manaia Dairy Factory is going to be a success?" said a canny Scot to a supporter of the project. "Of course it is," said the Yorkshireman, "If you will take up fifty shares." But he went away sorrowing. It is rumoured there is a probability of the control of the Civil polic* force being transferred from the Defence Department to that of the Minister of 1 Justice,

The two remaining cases of bloodpoisoning at the Wellington hospital, Robert Fryett and Hugh McFadyen, of Foxton, are making good progruss. Tho Armed Constabulary Station at Parihaka has been broken up. There are only a few men stationed at Opunako, and oue or two men at Manaia. There aro no Constabulaiy stations now to th<; south of Mania. The telegraph station at Parihaka has been closed, iv consequence of the removal of the Constabulary. There are no Europeans within a couple of miles of it. Tho names of the principal winners m " Robin Hood's" last programme on the Dunedin Cup have again been forwarded to us. The list closed with 7125 shares, being 5125 m excess of what was sold on the same event last yeai. Press representatives were present at the drawing. A ChristCHiirch visitor expressed surprise at the price charged for bread m Wellington. In Christchurch" the 41b loaf is sold for 4d cash, or 5d if booked. Two million three hundred thousand shank bones of oxen aie annually required for the Sheffield outlcry trade. More local industry. A charcoal establishment m New Plymouth will soon be employing over 30 men m cutting and burning wood. * We see by an Auckland paper that the bee industry is flourishing iv tho Waikato and other northern districts. Captain Daly, of Hautapu, Waikato, is sending 2J tons of honey to London. Previous shipments have paid shippers well by all accounts. How Victoria aids the grain-growing farmer may bo inferred from the following comparisou of railway rates m Victoria and New Zealand. To carry a ton j of grain m Victoria for 50 -miles the railway department charges 5s 64 as against 10s 2d m New Zealand, for 150 miles 15s as against 18s 6d, aud for 300 miles 19s as against 31s m this colony. The second prize for butter at the Calcutta exhibition was awarded for a fine sample of American oleomargarine. Someone spoiled a good joke, and the judges reconsidered their award. There are 14,000 acres of native lands m the neighbourhood of Tauranga, and the people of that town want Government to buy them and either lease or sell them for settlement. A contemporary states that m consequence of a statement made m the Melbourne Harbinger of Light some time ago that the Royal family are spiritualists, a well-known amateur exposer (residing m Adelaide^ communicated with Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Private , Secretary of the Queen, who has replied stating that the Royal family are not spiritualists. Sir Henry Ponsonby encloses a letter from Mr Alexander York, equerry to the Duke of Albany, denying that the Duke was a spiritualist, or had given, as was asserted, a slate to Mr Eglington. In Victoria (writes t the Wanganui Herald) the freezing chamber now plays an important part m the hams and bacon industry, and the curing of those very important items of consumption goes on uninterruptedly all the year round. In summer the pigs are lulled and the carcases hung up m the cool chamber until the temperature is low enough, then they are cut up aud salted, and still kept m an artificially cooled atmosphere, and theirf further treatment so managed that they are turned out as well cured as though they had been done m the middle of winter. This should cheapen the article to the public, as one cause of its high price m summer, was the difficulty of keeping up the supply daring | the hot weather. Our local curer, Mr T. D. Cummins, is preparing for largely increased operations this winter, and farmers cannot do better than fatten up all the store pigs they can procure at reasonable rates, as the demand for bacon pigs will be very keen and prices good.