LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 110, 14 April 1885, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A curious story is related in a Carlisle contemporary. . Some time ago a gentleman purchased abroad for less than three sovereigns a small . Indian god. Aftor keeping it a few months some question arose as to the quality of the metal in which it' was cast, and, when tested, the image turned out to be a golden one. Subsequently it was sold for the sum of i>2so; An exchange says that a curious fact in natural history is reported from the Hrunui district. There are immense quantities of the native flax there, all of which presents a healthy appearance ; but not a single flower stalk of the present season is to be seen, much to the bewilderment of the " crowds " of bees that have in the past years had ample opportunity of becoming giddy with the sweet surfeit of the flax blooms. The same thing occurred, we are told, some ten years ago. The inference would be — though we do not know whether this is the case- I—that1 — that in the absence of the | usual. flower stems the plants will have shown extraordinary vigor in their new growth. This absence of flowers has been noted in the North Island as well, especially in the Wanganui district. In calling the attention of .the Salva- ■ tip,n~ Ajpmy in Masterton to the com* plaints made about the danger to traffic caused by their musical and torchlight processions, the Town Clerk concluded thus : — " In making this request, it is j felt that your known and expressed wish for the good of others will at once impel you to discontinue a practice that is proved to be fraught with danger to your fellow-creatures." At the Council meet- ' ing on Tuesday evening the Mayor asked whether any reply had been received to this letter, and being informed that there had, been no communication, he remarked that ' the Council appeared to be treated with contempt. Just at this moment (says the Star) the loud voice of the Salvation Army Captain was heard in the street, and further discussion within the Council Chambers was completely drowned by the hymn that followed. The other day the Earl of Northbrook (says a London paper) was entering an office in Whitehall, inside the door of which stood a messenger, accompanied by a detective in plain clothes. Lord Northbrook was passing by them when the messenger said, not in the politest tones. " "What ia your business?" "Oh it l s all right, my good man," said the earl, and attempted to pass on. " But it is not all right, my good man," replied the messenger, " I must take your name, please." •• Certainly," said the Earl, " my name is Northbrook, and I am at present First Lord of the Admiralty ; I am pleased to see you exercise so much vigilance." At the end of this mutually courteous discussion they mutually bowed, and Lord Northbrook, relieved of suspicion, was allowed to go In olden times choice wines used to be sent onao or twice to India and hack, in order to improve their quality. Wo do not know whether the quality of steel railway railß can in like manner be improved by long voyaging ; but an expert, inent is about to be made in the matter with some rails belonging to tho Manawatu Kaiiway Company which are now on board the Euapehu at Lyttelton. There are two or three hundred tons of them, and to discharge them here on the Euapehu's arrival would considerably delay; Stlie* 'departure of that vessel for England* <whlle their place would have to be, supplied with heavy ballast to trim the vessel, properly. As the Eailway Company is not in immediate want of the rails, the directors have complied with a request made by the Shipping Opinpan y to be allowed to take the rails 1)0 W3 again and back for delivery here on the nest voy&%&, the Shipping Company being of coiu'hs responsible for insurance and possible damage. It is not often, we (Post) imagino, that cargo ia carried twice round the world.

" Ada Mantua " has supplied us with the names and addresses of the principal winners in her last consultation on the Great Autumn Handicap. The first prize (£3GO) went to a station hand on the Ida Valley Station, Otago ; the second (£180) to a well-known fanner at Milton, Otago ; the third (.£120) to a well-known consultationist in Christchurch. The programme on the principal handicap oL : the Queen's Birthday meeting at Foruury, Dunediu, of 6000 members, is now open. At a sheep sale in the Wairarapa last week the following were the prices obtained :— 9OO half-bred lambs in the wool 4s ; 150 half-bred lambs, culled, Is 4d ; 800 old Merino ewes, Is 9d ; 10 old rams, 6s 6d. The wool and wheat markets seem to be affected by the war excitement of the past few days. Wool appears likely to be still lower in price, especially crossbred varieties. Wheat, on the contrary, is getting (inner in price, and in the event of war would probably rule considerably higher than for some years past. The loss on wool may be corapeusated for by the rise in wheat. It was reported in Wairarapa a few days ago that. Messrs Beethatn Brothers' woolshed at Parai, on the Brancepeth station, was destroyed by fire. The loss is estimated at £15OJ. The following cases are sot down for hearing at the divorce sittings of the Supreme Court this week :— Erlenmeyer v. Erlenmeyer, Waller v. Waller, Smith v. Smith. The Rev. Mr Isitt said in his farewell sermon at' Master ton, that whereas at one time the pulpit was the educator of the people, the Press now has taken that position, as far as secular affairs were concerned. The death of Mr Elliot, the Grand President of the Order of Druids, took place ou the 19th March at his house in Melbourne, at which he had arrived the previous night from Sydney, where he had been standing umpire in the match English Eleven v. Combined Australian Team ,played the previous week. The correspondent of the Town and Country Journal 'says he was greatly upset by the heat of the journey. When he got home he was seized with a fit, and expired iu much pain next morning. Purchasers of town sections in Woodvilie are fearfully disgusted at the announced intention of the Government to depart from their original selection of the Bowen-street site for the railway station, and to erect the building iu Masterton Road. We understand that some of the quarter-acre sections near the Bowen.street site were bought at as much as £1000 a piece on the original i understanding about the railway station, and the change has created consternation among the unfortunate ' purchasers. The Waipawa Mail advises a dep'uta-. tion to the Minister of Public Works" on the subject. . ■ Thursday's Dunedin Star says :— Miss Maggie Knight, premiere lady of the " Silver King " Company, was this morning marriad at St. Paul's Church, by Archdeacon Edwards, to Mr H. R. Jewett (" Captain Spider "). The Ruapehu was to have sailed for London last evening. She sustained no damage when aground in Wellingtou. Pahiatua is evidently a religious com- ' munity. At a recent meeting of the local school committee it was decided that religious bodies have free use of the schoolroom on Sundays, and that Freethought bodios be charged ss. The chance of buying laud adjoining the Main Trunk Line is one which should be eagerly taken by the public. Messrs Beckett, Hammond, and Dick, of Marton, will offer on the 25th instant 4500 acres part of the Rangitara Block and Huutervillo extension. The township sections are already cleared, and available at once for building purposes. The terms offered are easy, and no doubt will lead to the disposal of all the lots. r . At the inquest on Captain Davidson, who committed suicide at New Plymouth, Inspector Pardy said that on the day thu fatal deed was committed he saw deceased standing in front of Mr Bayly's shop iu Devon-street*. •• He had h.'s hands in his pockets, and was leaning with his back against the shop. I was so struck with his appearance that I stopped aud looked at him. He looked to me like a man who had some greac burden on his mind, as though he was on the verge of insanity. I never saw such a woe-gone look on any man's face iu my life. His look haunted ine afterwards; I could not imagine what was the matter with the poor fellow. I was going to speak to him but thought better of it,nudsimply noddedand passed on, he nodding iu reply." Says a Marl borough paper : — A station hand uamed Matheson met with an accident at Blairich the other day. He fell over the traces of a pack horse, and the starred animal kicked so severely asto break his leg below the. knee.: Matheson crawled some distance to his hut, broke up an empty powder keg, aud bound the staves round the broken leg with pieces of harness. He then mounted his horse and rode along till he met Mr Mußae, who took him in a trap from the Jordan to Blenheim, and deposited him at the Hospital, where he received proper attention. On their way to town they met Dr Porter, who examined the leg, and pronounced the ' temporary measures adopted by Matheson to be excellent, aud such as, but for the flesh wound, would have put him on the high road to recovery. Matheson seems to have displayed pluok and endurance, combined with a knowledge of rough surgery that does him credit. The Anglo- New-Zealander contains a highly eulogistic notice of Mr Ballance's scheme of special settlement, the regulations of which it republishes. Thtre has been a search mads to find out who is the oldest Freemason in Great Britain. The result is Mr George Stirtan, of Mount Pleasant, CouparAngus, is credited with that rank. He has been 77 years a Freemason, aud has now reached his 103rd year. It was thought that Sir Moses Montefiore was the oldest mason. The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company's steamer Tainui went aground in Lyttelton harbor for a short time on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after leaving the wharf she got stuck in the mud, and remained fast for abcut ten minutes or a quarter of ah hour, but managed to get oft without any assistance. It is also stated that on leaving the inner harbor, the Tainui grazed a sand bank in the vicinity of thu moles. She sailed for London direct early on Suuday, so that no damage could have been tainedThe Wairarapa Daily condemns the Ministerial peregrinations, " Though cheap and showy travelling may be attractive," it entails a lot of defective legislation, through the hasty manner in which Bills have to be prepared, instead of being well digested before Parliament m'ebts. ' ; - l A volunteer from Gonlburn, one of the Sydney contingent for the Soudan, went to Yass (his native place,), to bid his friends good -by h, and he was escorted to the oration by about -75 persons, who cheered him most heartily as he got into the carriage. When the cheering' was over, a prisoner, who was in the next carriage, put his head out of the window and said to the crowd, " Give a cheer f<>r un\ boys, as lam goiug to serve Her Majesty, too."

Tenders for the permanent way on the Porima section of the Wellington Mmiiuvatu Railway were to close to-day An old well-known Featherston medico was lately sentenced to seven days imprisonment with hard labor for imbibing too freely. We (Hawke's Bay Herald) have heard doubts expressed as to the possibility of growing 20001b of fine tobacco on an acre of ground, and of obtaining a satisfactory price for the leaf if the production exceeded the amount which Vollbracht's Tobacco Company contracted to take. As some evidence on these, points we notice in the Planters Review that on the Cairns plantation, Barron Eiver, North India, the average crop is a ton and a quarter, or over 28001b, per acre of the best varieties, and that offers were received from Sydney houses for the purchase of the whole crop on the spot at from £70 to i-80 per ton. Delivered in Sydney it would, of course, be worth much more, as carriage from the north of India would be a serious item. During the hearing of a charge of perjury against T. E. Price, bookseller of Masterton, at the Wellington Supreme Court, the question arose why the defence had noj called evidence to disprove allegations that the accused had been seen walking with a female. Mr Shaw, who was acting for the defence, alluded to this in addressing the jury, and said it reminded him of the tale of a man who was once charged in New Zealand with committing a murder. Several witnesses were called to prove that they knew the accused, and bad caught him red-handed in the crime, but the defence called people who swore that they knew the accused and had not seen him commit the crime. The relation of this incident did not, however, disturb the equanimity of . Mr Bell, the Crown Prosecutor, who immediately retorted " But, your Honor, that happened before Captain Cook discovered New Zealand." Last Saturday week was the quartercentury anniversary of the battle of Waireka, the first occasion on which British volunteers were ever led into action. Major Stapp, the officer commanding this militia and volunteer district, was then in command of the detachment in the field, having been, on accounc of his military experience, requested by the senior officer present, to take charge, so that Major Stapp (says the Patea Mail) enjoys the distinction of being the first officer to lead British volunteers into action, and what is much more difficult — successfully bring them out again with their roll, including wounded, complete. An advertisement in a country paper says : — " Wanted, a young man to take care of a horse of a Christian disposii tion." : Never kick a man when he is down : it is cowardly. Never kick a man when he is up : it is reckltss. With the exception of the live cattle trade, in no branch of the Canadian export trade has there been such a wonderful development as in the cheese trade. In 1858 the Canadians exported cheese to the value of .£3OO sterling only. In 1883 this amount had increased to £1,300,000. The total exports during the season from Montreal alone amounted to 1,126,002 boxes. | Although no permission to prospect for gold in the King Country has been, or is likely to be, given to Europeans (says the Auckland Herald), the question of prospecting it themselves for gold, and notably the Bangitoto country, is agitating Natives at tbie present time. There is considerable jealousy among the leading chiefs as to the intertribal rights in the matter, and Hauharu, a leading chief opposed to Wahuni, called a meeting for Sunday last at Maungaorongo (the place where Mr Bryce originally met Te Koofci), to discuss the question of prospecting, which was expected to last over Monday and Tuesday, b.ut what resolution was come to has not yet transpired. A half-caste named Maxwell is said ' to be prospecting at the present time. When the foundation stone at St. Paul's Church, Auckland, was discovered in the recent demolition of that ancient edifice,an examination was made of the cavity in which documents, coins, etc., were, as usual on such occasions, deposited when the stone was laid. A broken bottle was found, and amongst the fragments of glass were five coins, two shillings, and three sixpences, also a copy of the New Zealand Herald, dated 24th July, 1841, and the remains of a piece of parchment. It was noticeable that while the newspaper was in a good state of preservation the parohmeht was shrivelled up so rnuoh as to be past restoring.