LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 119, 24 April 1885, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the Marton R.M. Court a few days I ago, the ranger, charged a resi-, dent with a breach of the Impounding Act, by rescuing a horse which was being led to the pound. Complainant j proved his case. Defendant said the horse was on the road, and when it was being leu away by Mr Harrison he cut the rope. He thought it was the duty of the ranger to drive not to " lead" cattle to the pound, The.R.M. said . defondant had made himself liable to a penalty of £60. Fined 10s and costs. A New Plymouth clergyman heard a , burglar m his house, took out his sixchauibered life preserver and tackled his man. Striking a match he identified the man, and then ht him off sayiug " Go, and sin no inoro " The right to collect the oones, crusts of bread, coffee grounds, dishwater, etc., from the bakeries, barracks, markets, and other buildings under the supervision of the Minister of War m the city of Paris, is usually sold to the highest bidder. It brought this year £840, but the successful bidder will do well enough, for, if diligently worked, his privilege is worth £2,000 a year. j Tauranga boys are famous swimmers. The local paper gi^es a list of good i prizes which they have carried off during the past summer at Wellington and Auckland. A woman was the other day bronght up before a teetotal magistrate (says the National Guardian) on a charge of drunkenness. She promised repentance and said she would sign the pledge. Whilst the necessary form was being fetched, she leaned forward as if to make a whispered communication. The justice, expecting some expression of contrition lent ear to her speech, and was greeted with the inquiry, " Won't you send out for a drop of something before Idoit ?" Not even the gravity of the magistrate and the total abstainer could stnnd this, and Bhe was dismissed as iucorrigi ble. The annual meeting of the Ashurst Licensing Committee will be held m the, Corporation Office, Ashurst, on Wednesday, 3rd June next at noon. AH applications must be lodged at the Court House, Feildiiig, twenty-one days at least before the day of the meeting. At Waino, near Okarito, on the West Coast, some hot springs have been discovered which are said to possess most wonderful curative properties. The Ngatiwhakaue Maoris at Rotorua have established a School Vigilance Committee, the principal businens of which is to enforce the regular attendance of the children by imposing a fine of 5s on the defaulter's parents. Henry Berry, the successor of the famous English executioner Binns, is a pupil of the equally famous Marwood. He has discarded the manilla hemp of his predecessor, substituting therefore, a rope of Italian silk a little over fivenighthß of an inch m diameter. He is 33 years of age. An incident fraught with considerable interest is expected soon to occur m Brsdgeporl, Connecticut, at Barnum's menagerie, m the birth of a Jumbo. Should the event actually take place it will be only the third elephant m the world's history that has been born m captivity, the only previous instances m which there are any record having taken place m the States. The first was m New York m 1880, by Hebe, and the second m Bridgeport, m 1872, by Queen. It has been decided that the marringe •f the Princesß Beatrice to Prince Henry Battenbure:, shall take place m Whippingham Church, Isle of Wight, m July, while the Queen is at Osborne. As aninstanceof the rapidity with which messages are now received from Europe it may bo stated that some of Re liter's telegrams published on the 26th ult. reached Melbourne m 1 hour 58 minutes only, which is fully equal to the shortest time on record. The iiamo Suakim is tho Arabic for " the place, of Holl ; ' and it is rightly named for it ia tho hottest place on the Red Sea. The local option voting at Wanpanni took piace yesterday, but Iho puhlP evinced very liHle intense m thf matter At, trn o'clock only two votus had be»n pulled, at eleven five burgesses had registered their votes, and a! two (he total Btood at tho largo number of sixteen,—Herald

Messrs Stevens and Gorton's next stock sale at Feilding will be held on April 28th. A detailed list of entries is published m our advertising columns. Mr Kenuey, of Campbelltown, ha 3 a splendid crop of hops this season — over one ton m weight — the average yield being- 1,700 lbs. to the ncre. This speaks well for the Campelltown soil. Mr Kenney has got an offer of Is Id per.lb. for iiis hops this season. We (Martori paper) understand they are a very superior sample. The Star narrates the following: — A Maori " up the lino " was desirous of nominating a liorse for the Feilding races. He wrote out a telegram, attached a pound note to it, put the two m an envelope, put a stamp on the envelope and calmly dropped it into the nearest post office, without the formality of adding the address. Instead of the nomination reaching tho secretary for whom it was intended it arrived at the Dead Letter Office m. Wellington, from 'Whence it was duly forwarded to the correct address, but too late for the purpose for which it was intended. At a meeting uf the diiectors of the Rangiora Oil and Fibre Company, a sample of linen flax fibre 4ft llin m length was shown, Mr Clarke, the squatter who died m Auckland from narcotic poisoning, was newly married and travelling ou his wedding trip. A queer incident lately occurred m a Connecticut theatre. Comic opera was playing, and the musicians became so convulsed during a funny act by the Davenuu-Austin company that they were unable to play. The leader expostulated m vain, ami at last was compelled to turn to the piano for accompaniment. A curious triple wedding is reported as having taken place recently m Kentucky. The brides were three sisters, daughters of a farmer, lying at the time on his death bed. The ceremony was performed on the porch of tho house, to allow the father to witness it through the window. The three couples, aays the report, stood m line while the minister officiated. Hun Qua, the Chinese banker m Canton, is said to be tho richest man m the world. He is estimated to be worth £28.000,000. And he's a widower ! Dr D. E. Wilkie, an old Australian colonist, died m Paris recently, at the age of 70 years. He originated the movement which led to the Burke aud Wills expedition. . ..,., , .' Nearly half a million oranges were •brought to Auckland from the Islauds , last week. ' > ' The steamers Ringarooma, Oreti, St. Kilda, and the ship Akaroa, were all berthed alongside the New Plymouth I breakwater on Saturday last. The Grand Master of New South Wales, Dr Tarraut, says the Sydney | Freemason, forwarded at the latter end I of March, te the Acting Colonial Secretary, a cheque for the amount of £500, the donation of the Freemasons of New South Wales towards the Soudan Patriotic Fund. • t Harry Grayling, a boy of 11 yeas of age, is believed to be the youngest European that has ever stood ou the summit of Mount Egmont. The handsome return of 82 bushels 181 bof wheat per acre has been received by Messis Kiblin Brothers, lioyalburu Farm, Lake Wakatipu. Mr Kircaldie, m returning thanks to t»e shareholders of the Wellingtou"Lftuawatu Railway Compaq, hopes Mint the completion of the liiie will be undertaken by the Company—" keeping steadily m prospective the golden harvest awaiting them." Tho scene at the Charing Cross railway station when Gordon took his departure was unique. Lord Wolseley carried the General's portmanteau, Lord Grauville took his ticket for him, and the Duke of Cambridge held open the carriage door. One would imagine that m these days of sewing machines the condition of things which led to the writing of " The Song of the Shirt " could not exist, m this colony at any rate. But that it does exist was shown by Mr A. G. Johnson at a recent meeting of the Wellington Benevoleut Society. It was mentioned that the two women — mother and \ daughter, the latter of whom has a sick husband to take care of — were earning their livelihood by making shirts, and conjointly were only able to obtain 13s 4d per week by working long hours everyday. For undershirts they received 4d a pair, and 6d each for* ovehiuirts. This (8.13-8 the Post) is a deplorable state of things. Securities to the value of £30,000 were stolen on February 18th, while m transit from London to Liverpool. Among others there wer» transfers of the Grand Trunk of Canada lat Preference, representing £4,020, and of the 2nd, valued at £3,280, besides Italian Mexican, Portugese, Russian, and Peruvian bonds, and over £2,000 m Hungat ian Gold Rentes. A clerk of Mr George Foster, stockbroker, of Copthall Buildings, was entrusted to take thorn to Birkenhead. He seems to have fallen asleep after leaving Boston, and, on awaking ai Stafford, found his leather bag gone. There were two gentlemanlylooking foreigners with him m the carriage when the train started, but these had disappeared before he became aware of his loss. The Wellington correspondent of the Auckland Star says that it is contemplation to fijl up tha vacancies resulting from revocation of Militia Commissions from old volunteer officers. At the same time opportunities will' be givrn to men of all ranks to qualify themselves for the higher grades, and preseut themselves for examination for certificates, which will qualify them to hold commissions m the Militia. It is rumoured that it is the intention of tho Government to establish military schools similar to those of Canada, but I am inforinod by the Defence Minister that this will not be decided upon until after the arrival of tho Commandant of the Volunteer aud Militia forces, Colonel Hewott. "Civis," m the Otago Daily Times tells the following story : — A. meeting of creditors was recently held m a hotel not oiie hundred miles from George-street. The proceedings were rather grave and somewhat prolonged, the unfortunate debtor, not being able to show a satisfactory record. At the close of tho proceeds ings of course liquors were called for pro bono publico and also publicano, perhaps to drown the recollection 6f their losses. One libation followed 'another until debtor and creditors were all m the happiest of moods. The debtor sang a comic song, and the creditors applauded, and the proceeding wound up ab 8 a.m. with " Auld Lang Syne " and affectionate embraces all round. This felicitous state of matters should have terminated by the debtor getting a clean sheet. But next morning brought reflection, and the estate was ruthlessly wound tip on the basis of the creditors getting 8s m the M. Unfortunately it turned out that m the case of the smaller creditors the dividend had been " liquidated " before the symposium broke up ! Moral : Beware of meetings of creditors m the too seductive atmosphere of an hotel parlour. The Woodville Exumhicr states that the Hon. Mr Richardson stated on Tuesday night that lenders for tho Gorge line would be called for at an early date, and tho Government wished to push the work on as rapidly as possible,

The Public Trust Oilico of the colony looks after the interests of craJifcors m intestate estates with a conseientioss exactitude, and attention io the smallest details, that is deserving of notice. Here is a case m point (says a Christchurch paper). A tradesman m town the other day received a large and offi-cial-looking ietter from Wellington, and on opening it ho read as as follows : — " Public Trust Office, 9th October, 1884. lie estate of . Please receive cheque for 2d, being dividend at 2s Gd m the A' on amount duo to you on account of the above estate, being on the preferential portion of your claim, 2s Od. — li. C. Hammerton, Public Trustee." • A correspondent sends the Pall Mall Gazette the following : — " I stood a few summers ago m Stirling churchyard watching the re-opening of a grave, the headstone of which bore dates reaching tolerably far back into the present century. The gravediggor was a chatty old man, ftnd seemed pleased to beguile his work with scraps or anecdote relating to neighbors dead and gone. By-and-by his shovel struck against something much harder and more resonant than the usual coffin-lid. ' Want can that be ?' I asked. 'Eh ! man ; but it's a safe,' he replied. ' A safe,' said I, my thoughts running upon Chatwoods and Miners; 'do you mean that people placed valuables here for safety ?' Whereupon he smiled at my innocence, and, clearing away a little more earth, showed me a strong iron band passing round the coffin, and apparently padlocked. This was a favorite contrivance for baffling the designs of the ' bodysnatchers,' then so much dreaded." An American paper reports the quickest courtship on record. A young lady who was engaged to a prominent citizen of Georgia, received a letter postponing the wedding, which she showed to an old acquaintance, a train conductor, whose train was just ready to leave. 'If he is not ready, I am,' said the conductor : • will you have me?' The answer was m the affirmative, and the conductor delayed his train till the marriage service was performed which did not occupy five minutes. It was stated that as a consequence of the dynamite outrages m London, 1,500 Irish had been dismissed from buildings m the conrse of construction m East London up to February 14th, and reports have been received that a similar movement had been started at Manchester, Liverpool, and other provincial centres. A boy aged 14, named Charles Sterne, from Campbelltown, near Foxtou, died m the Wauganui hospital yesterday morning from lung disease. The best time for planting trees will be during the next six weeks. Preparations for doing so should be commenced at once by trenching the ground — keeping every particle of the subsoil at the bottom. It is not advisable to put any manure m the bottom of the trench, but to keep it as near the surface as possible. We (Star) learn from the Auckland Herald that the editorship of the Wclliiigton Times has again changed hands. This report requires continuation, although not au improbable one, considering the peculiar idiosyncrasies of the gentleman who occupies a position of ill-defined responsibilities on the staff of the same paper. We are informed that contractors for the Heads Railway have finished the first " lift" of the ballasting, and are now pushing on with the final lift. It is expected that the Hue will be open m about three weeks or a month. There are yet the station buildings to be com pleted, but these will not take long when started. — Herald. The Anchor Lino steamer Wallace, Captain Bruce, when entering Hokitika ou Sunday last, went ashore on the North Spit. Up to the present timo ahe has received very little damage. An attempt was made ou Monday and Tuesday to float her off, but as the tides are vijry bad at preHeut, it was unsuccess- • ful. It is expected that she will get off m a day or two. The British Post office has given a contract for 150,000,000 postal cards to a German firm on the ground of excellence beyond those of competing firms. - A meeting of members of the Feild ing Small Parm Association was held m tho Town Hall, Feildiug, on Monday evening. There were about 30 members present. Mr Gosling was m the chair. Correspondence was read from the Goverumcut, stating that the block applied for had been granted, and valued at £1 per acre. After discussion as to the survey, it was resolved "That Mr Moutitfort be appointed surveyor to th« Association, and that the secretary obtain the necessary approval of the Government to such appointment." The time ot payment by the mo'iibers for the survey was then considered, when it was resolved " That the first deposit of 74d per acre for coat of survey b« paid to secretary ou or before the 26th May, and the balance m three equal instalments at intervals of three months from that date, aud that all who have not paid the first instalment on the date mentioned will have their names erased from the list of members." It was decided that a sum of 2s 6d per member be called up for preliminary expenses. Resolved " That the secretary write to the Minister of Lands, aud ask what prospect there is of a road being made to the block." A vote of thanks to the chairman coucluded the meeting. Rev. Copinger left Palmerston last evening aud will be away for a few we<>ks. Mr Snelsou undertakes the church duties during the rev. gentleman's absence.