The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest' Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. TUESDAY, APRIL 28. 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 122, 28 April 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest' Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. TUESDAY, APRIL 28. 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Notice of election of members of Manchester Licensing District is officially announced elsewhere.

It is officially notified that persons wishing to hold appointments of officiers and non-cornniissioned officers m the New Zealand militia aro requested to forward theirjnames, stating qualifications to the officer commanding the district.

At the Thnaru Kesident Magistrate ' Court on Wednesday, Frederick Lucas was charged with wounding his wife with intent to murder. The nurse (says the Lyttelton Times) gave evidence to the frightful condition of the woman when witness opened the door of her house for her. She was wounded, bathed m blood from head to foot, and stood j trembling m her nightdress". Accused began to cross-examine his wife, addressing her as "My dear Katie," "My dear girl," &c, and enjoining her to " remember she was on her oath ;" but as he soon drifted into a rambling statement, the Bench stopped him. Prosecutrix was evidently terified by his sinister appearance, and shuddered at his' affectation of mildness. He was fully committed for trial, his-application to be admitted to bail being refused;. The accident to the West Coast coach by which Kemenyi was a passenger, fortunately resulted m no Serious injury to any of .the passengers, although Mr Frank Pitt, of the National Bank, received a bad sprain of the ankle. The accident, it appears, was owing to a white calf suddenly making its appearance from a clump of bushes at the entrance of Norris' Gully, which so frightened the horses that they made a clean bolt, and although they were skillfully handled by the driver, the wheel got into a ditch, and the coach capsized. The report of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company for April 23 shows that almost all the season's wool has either been shipped or disposed of by the growers. Grain (jrops m the South have generally been he&vy> and most have been stacked m good order. Greater activity of demand is reported for all sorts of cereals. On Friday, Mr William Gott, who is employed on the Wellington-Manawatu Eailway, after riding from Wellington to Pukerau, was found on dismounting to be suffering from paralysis. He was taken to Paikakariki m a boat, and was thence conveyed to his home m Wellington. Writes a Wellington paper:— The nuisance caused by larrikin followers of I the Salvation Army Band, which has j been complained of m other places, is growing m Wellington. Eecently the ; , local Salvation Army Band has been attended by numbers of larrikins, whose ( hooting and shouting have been very un- j pleasant. Prosecutions for having, sheep infected with lice are becoming common m seve- j ral parts of the Colony. j Oover .£SOO a year is paid for salaries alone to teach 29 boys at th« New Plymouth High School, Bees occasion alii' select strange places for their nests. The biblical story of a Bwann. taking posaeiJßidn'of the carcase of a dead lion has beta equalled m Rangitikei, where the dried rernaius of a cow served the purpose of a hive. Iv the East Coast district two swarms have found comfortable quarters iv the chimney of a settler, where they have accumulated a large quantity of houey. Here is an absolutely true stoiy. A marriage was arranged between two persons of Royal rank. Uufortunntely, the male party to the contract was not handsome, to say the least »f it, and, when he travelled accross the ocean to meet his bride, the most bedulous care was taken to prevent the friends of the lady from seeing him. One of the said friends and advisers removed all perplexities by observing "\ou need not take so much trouble to keep your mau out of sight. He may be ugly enough, but he can hardly be more than half so ugly as our woman." A rather remarkable discovery wag made on Friday by the workmen engaged m removing debris from the scene of the Te Aro House fire' \Vellington. On ono of the 'shelves which remained intnct m the carpet department five little kittens, two or three weeks old, were found lying on a mat, alire and well. The fire had been burning all round the shelf, but had hot m any way harmed the playful kittens. It is said thaf the Bank of France has an invisible- studio m a gallery behind the cashiers, m that at a given signal from one of them any suspected customer will instantly have his picture taken without his own knowledge. The camera has also become very useful m the detection of frauds, a word or a figure that to the eye seemed completely erased being clearly reproduced m photographs of l the document that had been tampered with. The death is reported of one of the pioneer settlers of Nelson, namely, Mr Tbqmng Lines, of Hope, who arrived m the ship Thoiijas Harrison in 1841. Recent visitors from Moturiki, Fiji, report that island to be infested with wild dogs. These have escaped into the bush from 'jFijian towns, and having increased m numbers have grown so bold and fierce as to have become a sourco of annoyance and alarm to the natives. Rendered sivage by scarcity of food they haunt tho neighbourhood of the towns, and aro killing off the tame animals kept by the townsfolk. In consequence of a telegram received by the police at Nelson from Wanganui, Christopher Smith Cross was arrested on Friday morning, charged with having embezzled £37 10s, the monoy of tho j Waftganni Heads .Railway Company, m j Aji.ri<, i.B§i. The accused was brunght j before {lie Refiklffit Magistrate, and on thn appHcnt'ion of tho Inspector of Police i was remanded till Tiu'iniiiy, P.ail was | aslcod for and granted, the' nonus*^ if) ; £200, and two sureties m £100 each,

On Saturday night there was a narrow escape from n serious fire at Prosser's Hotel, Marton. A kerosene lamp either burst or got upset m one of the downstairs parlours, and the room was speedily m a blaze. The damage done was very trifling. The«Marton post and telegraph office had a narrow escape from being burnt down on Sunday forenoon. It appears that a cadet m the oftlce ( Mr Taylor) lit a piece of sealing-wax to mend his pipe, and put the wax back into the cupboard still alight. Some time afterwards Mr Baker noticed the smell of something burning, and, hurrying into the office, found the cupboard on fire. The fire was extinguished without difficulty, through having beeen discovered m time. The Printer's party consisted of Mr Blair (Assistant Engineer-in-Chief), Mr Mills (Managing Director of the Union Steam Shipping Company), and Mr Rochfort (Surveyor of the Central Line of Railway). They travelled through Waikato, striking 1 the Wauganui river, reaching town by canoe. "With the party there also came to town Te Ngatae to Manuka, the chief of the Taumararnni tribe, and one possessing great influence. This noted chief has not been down to Wanganui for many years, having lived an isolated life at his own i settlement. Mr Rochfort remains m I town for a few days, and then returns to | Banana, whence he will travel through |to a section of the Central Line on i which a party of his men are engaged. The whole of the Ministerial party expressed themselves as highly pleased .with their trip. A correspondent, who takes a deep interest m the land settloment question j writes to the Wanganui Chronicle : — I The Otamakapua Block consists of something like 160.000 aereß. Of this there has been 5000 acres taken up by the Hal combe Association, 5000 by tbe Marton, and 10,000 by the Wanganui Association. There is thus left something like 140,0C0 acres of good laud. Would it not be advisable for the Government to survey this block into areas of say 300 to 450 acres, and put it into the market for settlement ? It would help the associations a lot, and the fact of thoi«- taking up their blocks with a township m the contra would enc'iance the value of the Government land, and cause sections m the township to be sought after by intending residents. In answer to inquiries at Wanganui the Premier was not able to say whether or not any demonstration could be 1 arranged at Marton, m connection with the Central Railway contract. E. Mills has publicly apohgised for inserting the false marriage' notice m the Wanganui Herald. Mr. and Mrs. James Smith, of Te Aro [ House Wellington, have forwarded a | cheque for £100 to the widow of the late Mr Squire Barlow, accompanying their timely gift with a gracesully worded letter of condolence. A Wellington correspondent who ought to be well-informed, says that the Government will have a clear majority next session. The same authority states that Sir Julius Vogcl looks wonderfully well, and has benefited so much by his trips to the Hot Lakes district that he is now quite able to discharge his onerous duties without trouble.; — Marton paper. | Wo are sorry to learn that Mr D. M. George, draper, of Pahnerston, has been obliged to apply to be adjudged a bankI rupt. A notification appears elsewhere from Mr Joseph Soler the celebrated wine i manufacturer,, Wanganui. Between 50 and 60 men are now employed on the works at the Marton junction of the Central railway, and operations are being pushed on with great vigour. The usual monthly meeting of the Wanganui Education Board was to be held to-day. At the R. M. Court. Marton, yesterday James Henry Roberts wss charged with having committed larceny as a bailee at Methven, m Canterbury. Accused was remanded to Ashburton. It appears that the prisoner, who is a lahonring man, was entrusted with two cheques by a publican at Methven to take them to the bank and got them cashed. He got them cashed, but appropriated the proceeds and cleared out for Martou. He has been m that district about a week.